Just after the completion of the Terran Campaign from StarCraft
Flickering images floated through his thoughts in a mad dash. A smiling woman, the deck of a ship, a flying bird, each thought bringing with the odd mental taste of unfamiliarity. On each image he rested for a moment, before casting it aside and searching deeper within his thoughts. In answer to the call a new image rose up, an ocean with a sailboat sliding along through its depths. Standing on the deck a strange woman smiled up seeing him for a moment. With a small flex of memory he could “hear” the waves crashing, and the sound of a seabird crying out as it dove into the sea. Somewhere outside of the image that swelled to consume him, a voice called out.
“We have stimulation, okay Jacob try to take it to the next level of perception.”
Obeying the voice Jacob concentrated on the image, trying to sense more. Still the image remained unchanged. After what seemed like hours of concentration, the voice called out again. “Okay, Jacob that’s enough for today, I’m deactivating Mnemonic.”
With startling abruptness, the image vanished from Jacob’s mind as if someone had just unplugged his mind. Slowly Jacob opened his eyes, blinking back at the harsh light of the lab. In front of him the owner of the voice, looked at him with concern in her eyes.
“Recover okay Jacob?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” As he said that his head seemed to protest at his lie, throbbing with intense pain. “No I take that back, it hurts bad, how long was I under?”
“About fifty minutes, from the initial insertion into Mnemonic.”
“Fifty minutes! Shit that’s almost a full hour of insertion, no wonder my head feels like its about to explode.”
The look of concern deepened in Carrie’s eyes. “I’m sorry Jacob, I know how much it hurts after the insertion.”
Sure you do Mom. That’s why you wont go in anymore isn’t it, Jacob thought to Carrie resentfully.
Now Jacob your not being fair, I’d do the insertion’s myself if I we had someone else who was trained in the operation of Mnemonic, or if you would actually bother to apply yourself to learning how to work it. Then I could experience the insertions instead or riding piggyback on your mind.
Feeling the start of the same old argument beginning to surface, Jacob closed his mind against further comments, “My head hurts too much, I’m going to go for a walk, I’m sure your gonna be busy noting all the observations you made anyway.”
Jacob turned and left the office before Carrie could respond to that parting shot. With a sigh, she depressed a call button, over the intercom a masculine voice rang out, “Yes doctor Carrie?”
“DAVID, would you do me a small favor?”
“Let me guess, Jacob walked out on you? Don’t worry I’m already tracking him through the station. I’ll go find him and see if I can talk with him or at least occupy him.”
“Thanks DAVID, I owe you one.”
“No problem babe.”
The parting shot, brought a faint smirk to Carries face as she turned back to her notes on the computer, to put down the latest data while the sensations were still fresh.
***
The soft sounds of crying filtered through the vast Hangar bay. The source of the sobbing was the form of Jacob huddled against one of the walls hidden behind a stack of boxes. Jacob was so wrapped up that he didn’t hear the heavy thud of metal feet pounding rhythmically towards his hiding spot. He remained ignorant, until the entire stack of boxes was pushed aside by the gun turrets of a vast Goliath.
“Oh…hi…DAVID…I guess Mom sent you to pick me up and take me back.”
“Well little bud, your mom did tell me you left, but I’m not here to take you anywhere, just here to chat. That is if you want to…talk that is.”
Jacob frowned glumly as he stood up, “What’s the use of talking, it doesn’t change anything. I’ll still be stuck on this stupid station.” He punctuated his opinion by kicking the wall.
“Oh come on now Jacob life isn’t that bad on Krysen is it?”
“Sure it is, everyone here’s so concerned with their work they don’t have time for anything else. And I mean there’s no one to talk to out here in the middle of nowhere!”
The Goliath, hunched down a moment, its cockpit tilting forward in an almost comical expression of its own glumness, “what about me, don’t I count?”
“Well yeah you count, but…you know what I mean, there’s no one here my age, no other teenagers. The closest person to my age is, Dr. Barrister, and he’s twenty-eight! To make matters worse they almost never want to talk about anything but their latest research project, or the techies who never have time for me either. Its not fair that mom dragged me here when she got the appointment to research.”
“Would you rather she had left you back on Tarsonis IV, under the care of the government service?”
“No I guess not, I mean if I had they’d have put me into ghost training eventually, and from what mom tells me ghost training is really bad right now.”
“Bad doesn’t even begin to describe what they do to ghosts. I’ve got access to most of the Confederacy’s documentation stored on Krysen, and I’ve gone over their ghost program a few times.”
“Which means I can’t ever leave Krysen either, or stop being my mom’s ‘assistant’.”
“True but think of the bright side Jacob.”
“Bright side? Like what?”
“You’re on the most advanced science station in the Confederacy. You get to watch experiments and test machines that most other people won’t see in their lifetimes. You have all the knowledge of the Confederacy at your hands. Besides, how many eighteen-year-olds get to test pilot cutting edge wraiths, or have me for a friend?”
An unwilling smile came to Jacob as he replied, “And just what’s so great about having a computer for a friend instead of another kid my age.”
“Cause I’d like to see a kid your age do this,” DAVID said as the Goliath turned, leaned down, and grasped Jacob in between both gun arms. With a loud squeal the machine straightened itself to its full height of twelve feet and lumbered to the far end of the bay. Then it gently lowered the main turret setting Jacob down inside one of the Vulture bikes.
“Ready to ride man?” DAVID said, as he lowered the Vulture’s windshield. With a loud roar the engine came alive, and the bike lifted up under the influence of its anti-gravity field. Without warning the bike surged forward under DAVID’s control. DAVID quickly coaxed the Ion thruster up to full power, as he began to steer the Vulture even faster and faster around the stacks of crates in the Hangar bay.
“Hey Jacob take the helm.”
With that the steering mechanism popped up into Jacob’s hands as DAVID released control of the bike to him. With a loud yell, Jacob leaned forward into the wheel, and keyed the speed of the bike up even faster. After a few laps Jacob’s intercom activated and DAVID said over the communicator, “Jacob, think fast!”
Off to the side, one of the local servo bots little more than an operational arm on wheels, had been taken over by DAVID and flung an empty box at the bike.
With ease born from countless games like this, Jacob veered a little to the left to avoid the “missile” as the plastic crate crashed into the ground and slid some distance before coming to rest against the a stack of crates.
“Not bad, but here comes some another.”
A second servo in the bay fired a box at Jacob. Soon Jacob found himself under a hail of enemy fire as he drove around the bay dodging incoming boxes.
“Come on DAVID, is that all you’ve got? My mom could aim better than you.”
“Oh really, not enough challenge for you? How about this then.”
With a loud stomp and a cheesy roar that DAVID had pulled off a holovid, the Goliath that DAVID had been operating earlier came to life and menacingly strode over to Jacob. Jacob pulled his machine to a stop and waited for the Goliath to approach. As the Goliath pulled near Jacob bit his lip nervously, as he revved the Vulture engine for the upcoming match. As the Goliath stopped in front of Jacob, DAVID’s spoke over the speaker, using a voice over from one of his favorite old holovids. “Are you ready…punk?”
Then without warning, DAVID rushed forward and kicked Jacob’s Vulture back into a stack of crates, which toppled over onto the bike. “Tag your it Jacob!” With a laugh, the Goliath turned and ran off towards the far end of the Hangar bay.
“Why you stupid computer…no fair cheating like that,” Jacob cursed as he struggled to force his bike through the mess of crates. At last with a roar his bike pushed through the mess and he gave chase to DAVID. The bike gained on the Goliath with ease, although he was disadvantaged by the fact that DAVID could step over crate obstructions he had to take alternate routes around. When he at last had DAVID cornered, he pulled to a stop and gunned his engine menacingly.
“Looks like the score is about to be humans one, computer big fat zero!”
DAVID wasn’t given a chance to retort as the game was interrupted by a second communiquée sounded over the intercom, this time the voice belonging to the stationmaster. “Jacob, I need you to go get Dr. Kilm. We’ve sighted an incoming message drone broadcasting a high distress call, approaching the station. We’re calling a department heads meeting in advance since whatever prompted the Confederate high command to send that beacon had to be important. We think she’s turned off her intercom system again so, as not to be interrupted so we need you to get her down here if you would.”
“Sure thing Rick I’ll go get here.”
“Thanks Jacob. Oh and DAVID?”
“Yeah boss?”
“Can you take over a Wraith and retrieve the message drone for us?”
“I’m on it.”
Jacob jumped out of his Vulture and headed for the exit, while behind him the Goliath powered down as the sentience program turned its attention to firing up one of the Wraiths.
