Visisonor's blog

Chapter 7

- Don’t you find it odd that I had to save Villa’s life?

We were walking down one of the many corridors of that hideout with layout too complex to remember, especially given that I’ve been there for what, half a night?

- The two of you were not supposed to be there… - replied Vera.
- But we were. - I pressed on. - The Trashcan holding Villa by the neck… I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.
- Trashcans are not entirely sentient, - Vera stated matter-of-factly.
- Great. They won’t be able to discuss the question of life, universe and everything.
- That’s not what I mean. They can fight on their own, but when confronted with logical contradictions, they enter standby mode and contact the control center for directions.

I was going to ask about these contradictions when something clicked: the killer robot, staring at Villa’s face at arm’s length distance…

- It recognized her, - I surmised. - And decided it was you.
Vera nodded slowly, the two of us exiting the corridor.

It all fell into place, like pieces of jigsaw puzzle. It wasn’t a boost of heightened awareness or any other nonsense that made me think that time froze. No, the trashcan froze instead, and that’s why I had no trouble aiming at its battery compartment lock, and this was how Villa could pull out the battery.

- What if it didn’t? If she didn’t get close?
- Then the chances of surviving would have been greatly reduced for both of you, - answered Rick, who was waiting us in the room we’ve just entered.

- So you are fighting for real.
- We cannot afford to be overrun, - he confirmed. - Thus we have to maintain a certain level of offensive capability. Not too high to destroy human forces, but sufficient to hold them back.
- Why does it have to be so complicated? - I wondered aloud, also noticing Tess coming in through another door.

- When you have two sides with equal firepower, the wit becomes potential advantage, - Tess stated, joining the conversation. - This is were you, field agents, fit in.
- But there is a catch, - added Rick.
- Of course there is a catch, - I sighed.
- Agents tend to think, and then ask inconvenient questions, or reach inconvenient conclusions, - continued he. - When this happens, the system tries to get rid of them. And most of them end up with us.
- What’s the point of all that? - I was scratching my head, both literally and figuratively. - Why get rid of agents after spending so much time and effort to select and train them?
- In one word: power, - answered Vera.
- I’d like to hear an unabridged version.
- The priority of human leadership is to preserve the status quo where they hold these leading positions, - explained Tess. - Everything else is just a means to that end.

- They are willing to fight this pointless war, - added Vera, - and sacrifice their best people, as long as they remain in charge.
- That’s… ridiculous.
- Indeed. - agreed Rick. - And we are trying to stop it.
- By actively participating in that same pointless war?
- Our real goal is to free more people like you, - he pointed out.
- And you want me to help.
- I can guess what you are thinking, - Vera seemingly noticed skepticism in my voice. - It must have been a mistake. Or you were framed. An isolated case, exception to the rule. That what we say just can’t be true. But it is. If you are an agent, you either die on duty or be sacrificed for knowing too much.
- It’s not just that - I turned to her. - I was hoping you’d come up with a way to stop the war, instead you ask me to keep fighting it, only on another side.

- We have a way to stop the war, - objected Tess. - At some point the critical mass of liberated humans will be sufficient to topple this structure and break the cycle.
- Still… - I shook my head - It feels wrong. I can’t fight my own people.
- It depends on whom you consider “your own people”, - remarked Vera. - What would you do if ordered to kill someone fighting side by side with you?
- What do you mean?
- This is not a hypothetical situation. I’ve seen it happen. Or rather took part in it.

And she told me about her last mission:

…

We were tasked with retaking a captured depot. It was laid out in such a way that the most tactically sound option was to split up and attack from two sides. So we did precisely that: Villa with half the squad took a longer path to strike from the rear, the other half stayed with me to charge head on.

But just as we were about to engage, my side of the depot was hit with artillery fire. Along with my entire group.

I was knocked out by the blast. But not for long. When I regained consciousness, there were flames everywhere, smoke, scattered debris. A trooper from my group was leaning against a broken piece of wall. I couldn’t stand up so I crawled up to him.

He was dead. There was a radio at his belt. I tried to grab the microphone and call for help, but realized it would have been pointless after hearing this on his radio through the static:

- …vors in team Bravo.
- I see the agent. … is … alive.
- I repeat. There … no survivors. Confirm.
- Acknowledged.

Then I saw another trooper moving towards me with a microphone in hand. He was not from our squad.

He stopped a few steps away and aimed his gun at me.

…

- You’ve managed to kill him, - I assumed.
- No. By that time, I knew my right arm was broken, and I was too weak from the shard wound in my side.

- Oh.
- So when I heard a gunshot, I thought it was the end of the line for me. But instead, the trooper crumbled on his knees and dropped face-first to the ground. And behind him stood a syncon with a smoking pistol. This is how I met Rick.

Vera went silent for a long time. It was clear even remembering this took its toll on her.

I came up to her and touched her shoulder:

- I am sorry you had to get through something like this.
- I haven’t seen Villa since that day, - she murmured absently.
- There is something you should know, - I decided to tell. - She might be starting to ask these, as Rick called them, inconvenient questions. Wondering why syncons are anthropomorphic.
- That’s good news and bad news at the same time, - she turned to face me, visibly tensed.
Then she gripped my hands in hers.

- Look, we won’t hold you here against your will. You can go back if you want to, even if it gets you killed. - Vera was speaking louder now, but her voice started to tremble. - And I know that as a sister of your teammate I am a total stranger to you. But I also know you care about her. About others. Other agents still stuck there. Please… We need all the help we can get to break them free. Will you help us? Will you help me?

Looking back at that exchange, I can tell that I remained undecided, up until that very moment. I was seriously considering leaving this syncon facility and getting back into human space to see what I could learn and do from within. I had no idea how to pull this off as I’d be captured on the spot by if noticed. I could possibly sneak in the way Tess seemingly did, but how long could I remain hidden without the vast intelligence data that syncons could access in realtime? Yet in the end I just couldn’t say no to Vera’s desperate plea. Getting Villa out was more important than mulling over which side I was on.

- I will help you, - I said meeting her gaze.

End of part I