The Cyber Chronicles VII - Sabre (5 page)

President
Niare fell to his knees and clasped his hands. "I beg you, My Lord,
don't do this! The actions of a rebel faction cannot be blamed on
the entire planet. There are millions of innocent people here!"

"There were
millions of innocents on Espel Four and Windfall Three, but they
perished because those who ruled them disobeyed me. All your
factions have to do is obey me, Niare. That's not so hard to do.
The lives of the innocents on your world are in their hands, and
yours."

Distant groans
and booms echoed through the Scorpion Ship as its great legs moved
away from its hull, and Niare cried, "I don't know if I can get the
message to them in time, My Lord! Please give me more time! A week
at least!"

"No. Your
enforcers are torturing a man who is under my protection. My word
and my power are meaningless if I do not enforce them. Be glad that
I have given you two days, and not two hours."

"But My Lord,
some of the factions have bases on other worlds, even remote moons,
how -?"

"Get out,"
Fairen said.

Niare froze
with his mouth open, his eyes bulging with shock and mortification,
then rose to his feet, performed a jerky bow and backed away. Two
guards stepped up to help him totter from the room, gripping his
elbows. Tassin pushed back her hood and walked around to the front
of the dais, her eyes wide with amazement and awe. The four torches
died and the lighting returned to normal.

Fairen pulled
off his hood and clasped his hands, rested his lips against them
and stared at his knees, looking troubled.

"My Lord."
Tassin swallowed, her throat tight. "This is an amazing thing you
do. Would you really destroy Myon Two if they don't give Sabre
back?"

"An Overlord
cannot make idle threats."

"Are you all
right?"

He nodded,
frowning. "Men like him sicken me. I touched his mind to see if he
was lying. He's corrupted."

"I'm sorry. Is
there anything I can do?"

"No." He
hesitated. "I wish Sabre was here."

"You think
much of him, don't you? Not only because he saved your life."

"Yes."

"Will this get
you into a lot of trouble with the other Overlords?"

A slight, wry
smile tugged at his mouth. "No. It's all in the wording. If I had
said bring me Sabre or I'll destroy your world, I might have been
in a bit of trouble."

"But isn't
that what you said?"

"No. I said
obey me or I'll destroy your world, in which case, it doesn't
matter what the order was. An Overlord must be obeyed."

Tassin moved
closer to gaze up at him with deep respect and affection. "How will
it make you feel, if you have to kill millions of innocents?"

Fairen raised
his head and stared at the pale globe. "Apart from the children,
probably the only innocents on that world are the cyber hosts. Myon
Two has long been known as a cesspit of corruption,
self-gratification and debauchery. They have never drawn the
attention of an Overlord because they've never actually crossed the
line into lawlessness, and their wealth greases many palms. If
Sabre dies at their hands, at least I'll do what he asked of me,
and end the suffering of cyber hosts."

"Won't they
flee?"

He snorted and
turned to look down at her. "I'd like to see them try to evacuate
fifteen billion people in two days. No, they won't even try,
because I'll destroy any ship that tries to leave, and they know
it. While an Overlord is in orbit around a world, no ships are
allowed to leave. They were effectively under an embargo from the
moment I arrived."

"Fifteen
billion?" Tassin shook her head in amazement. "So many. Will they
call on another Overlord for help?"

"They would
have to be truly stupid to do that. Overlords don't interfere with
another's decrees. It would undermine our rule if we were to fight
and argue amongst ourselves. They are at my mercy."

"Has anyone
ever tried to kill an Overlord?"

"Of course,
but only the criminals who are brought before one for judgement,
and when condemned, try to attack him. That's what they're for." He
gestured at the guards.

Tassin nodded,
perching on the edge of the dais at his feet. "Why don't you come
down and have some refreshment with us in a more comfortable room?
You must be tired."

He sighed and
rubbed his face, then rose and walked to the edge of the dais,
stepping down beside her. "I know why Sabre feels so much for you.
You're a strong, honourable, honest person with a deep wellspring
of compassion."

She smiled,
her cheeks burning. "Thank you."

"But you
definitely got the better bargain when you chose him."

"I know."

"I only hope
you always treat him with the respect and honesty he deserves."

She nodded. "I
will, and I hope we're left in peace to enjoy our lives together,
with our children."

"When we get
him back, I shall take you to Omega Five myself. There will be no
more mishaps."

****

Commander
Barrin wandered into the examination room, and Grundel shot him an
irritated look before turning back to his equipment.

"Any
progress?" Barrin enquired.

"No."

Barrin studied
the rat's nest of wires around the rogue cyber's control unit, the
ends clipped or stuck to various parts of it. The cyber's eyes were
closed, and Barrin wondered if he was asleep or unconscious.
Knowing Grundel, the cyber was probably unconscious. Barrin had
already realised that the cyber tech found the rogue cyber's
presence extremely discomfiting.

"What have you
been doing?"

"Trying to
find out what was done to the control unit, and how to undo
it."

"And you've
made no progress at all?"

"No." Grundel
glared at him. "It doesn't make any sense. Nothing's been changed
except the polarity of the implants, and that hasn't been reversed.
A negative polarity has been added, so they work both ways. This
way, he can still receive information from the unit, but also
command it. It's impossible."

"Maybe you're
looking in the wrong place."

"What do you
mean?"

"Perhaps the
changes were made to his brain, not the control unit."

Grundel
snorted. "How can you change a brain?"

"How should I
know?"

"You
can't."

"How do you
know what those beings are capable of?"

Grundel glared
at his instruments, throwing down a bundle of sensors. "So how the
hell am I supposed to find out if his brain has been changed?"

Barrin
shrugged. "I don't know, but if I was you, I'd start by waking him
up and talking to him. Have him command the control unit and
monitor his brain activity."

"He won't do
what I want. Why should he?"

"It's not much
to ask. I bet he'll do it just so he can move again."

"And have a
chance of getting free."

"With two
cybers guarding him? Come on, Grundel, he's not a superman. Put him
back in the restraints."

Grundel looked
pensive and frustrated. Clearly he had hoped to make some progress,
and, since he had been trying for a day and failed, he had reached
the point where he would consider any option. Finally he stood up,
scowling.

"Send in the
cybers then. I'll put the restraints on him."

Barrin nodded
to the guard at the door, who left to fetch the cybers. Grundel
snapped the duronium shackles onto the rogue cyber's wrists, ankles
and neck, pinning him to the metal table. They waited a minute for
the cybers to arrive and take up positions in the lab's corners,
then Grundel filled a syringe and injected the rogue.

Another couple
of tense minutes passed before the cyber's eyes opened to stare at
the ceiling.

Barrin stepped
closer. "Do you have a name?"

The cyber's
cold, expressionless eyes flicked down to him before wandering away
again. "Why would you care?"

"It's easier
than using your serial number, but we can just assign you a name,
if you like. Cyber Three, for instance."

"I'm not one
of your damned cybers."

Grundel
recoiled at the rogue cyber's use of the first person, looking
perturbed.

"Then give us
your name," Barrin said.

"Sabre."

"Good. We have
a proposition for you."

"I know."

"Will you
co-operate?"

Sabre
shrugged. "Until you start injecting me with drugs or sticking
probes in me. It won't help you to undo what they did."

"Why not?"

"Because
you're a bunch of stupid monkeys compared to them."

Barrin nodded.
"Yes, they were rather impressive. So you don't know what they did
to you."

"Yeah, I do.
They gave me control of the cyber, but I don't know how they did
it."

Barrin smiled.
"Of course. We would like a demonstration."

"Wait, wait,"
Grundel muttered, grabbing a U-shaped sensor on the end of a
flexible telescopic arm and positioning it around Sabre's skull,
next to his ears. He switched on two more monitors, one of which
showed a digital graphic of Sabre's brain, with sparkles of
activity running over it. "All right."

"Run through
all the control unit's functions, if you please," Barrin
requested.

Sabre sighed.
"Scanners... infrared vision... internal diagnostics... structural
scanners... cybernetic interface..." The deep hum filled the room,
and the brow band glowed electric blue for a moment. "Organic
scanners... battle schematics."

Grundel stared
at the screen, nodding. "There it is, in the cerebral cortex, at
the termination of the main control implant. Somehow they've given
him the ability to send impulses to the control unit through that
implant."

Barrin said,
"Well, that was easy."

Grundel turned
to Sabre. "Were you able to communicate with the control unit
before they did this?"

"Yes."

"Fascinating."

"Can you undo
it?" Barrin asked.

"I don't know.
If I could re-establish the brow band's control, it could probably
block it, but that won't be easy to do now."

"Perhaps you
shouldn't be so concerned about fixing him. Isn't it enough that
he'll provide the basis for new clones?"

Grundel
glanced up at him. "It'll be twenty years before the new cybers are
ready for sale, but with him as a prototype, imagine the orders we
could get. He can demonstrate the new capabilities to prospective
customers, which would be far more impressive than promises.
Getting him back into service is imperative."

Barrin turned
to Sabre. "What did you think you were going to do, anyhow? Live
happily ever after as a human being?"

"Something
like that."

The commander
snorted. "A killing machine masquerading as a human being. How
droll. It's absurd. You can't change what you are."

"I'm a man,
just like you. The only difference is you weren't enslaved as a
child and kept a prisoner in your mind while your body was used to
perform unspeakable acts."

"No, you're a
cyborg. You're part human, part alien and part machine. You weren't
designed to be a man. Your attempt to be one is pathetic. You have
no concept of what it means to be human."

"I'm
learning."

"You're
learning to act like one, but you'll never feel like one."

"How would you
know?"

Barrin
shrugged. "I have the assurances of research and development. They
say you don't have the capability, and they should know."

"They know
nothing about me."

"They know
everything about you. They designed you."

Sabre frowned.
"They used a man as a host for a machine. They don't know what I
can do now that I'm free."

"Shall I tell
you your fate?"

Grundel looked
up with a frown. "I don't think you should antagonise him,
Commander."

"I think he
can handle it." Barrin leant closer to Sabre. "You'll end up as a
psychopath. For a while you'll try to cultivate human emotions, ape
those around you, tell them what they want to hear, especially that
pretty little girl who seems to like you so much. It may take a
couple of years, but eventually you're going to realise that you
can't be what she wants, then you'll realise that those emotions
you think you feel aren't real. They're products of your
imagination, reflections of what you see in others.

"You're
incapable of compassion, or pity, or love. You'll realise that for
you, killing is easy, and you don't feel guilty about it, then
you'll start to kill anyone who goes against you, or whom you don't
like. Then you'll be a sociopath, without conscience, but
eventually that, plus your self-loathing, will turn you into a
complete psychopath."

Sabre tensed
and jerked against the shackles. "You'd like me to believe that,
wouldn't you? Just because you're stupid enough to do so doesn't
mean you're right. Cyber hosts have always been treated like living
machines. No one has ever bothered to study our minds. Your
technician finds it repellent to study it now, and talking to me
makes him squirm. You’re just an enforcer; you've always believed
we were empty shells, incapable of thoughts and feelings, now you
can't admit that you're wrong. You never will, even when the proof
is right in front of you."

Barrin glanced
at the cybers who stood in the corners. "So tell me, what are they
feeling right now?"

"They hate
you."

"Really. Is
that all?"

"No. They're
trapped in a kind of septic darkness, stagnant and sticky, silently
screaming for release. Their only connection with reality is the
distorted voices they hear and their unfocussed vision."

"That's what
you felt?"

"Yeah."

Barrin nodded.
"And how do you know they're the same as you? Perhaps you're an
aberration. Perhaps they're oblivious, as our techs say they
are."