The Game 4`
Edited by Karen Leigh
Right now, One didn't care. He had found this quiet corner of the temple the first day he had been here before things had become so hectic. It was a green house with a realistic stone waterfall. One found the sound of the water soothing as it rippled over stones. There were huge gold colored Koi in the pond. Good thing Bernie hadn't found them. He liked to eat his sushi very, very raw...on the fin so to speak.
The wild spill of flowers made the air heady with perfume. One could have analyzed the scent of the orchids, but it was better just to pull it in, appreciate it. A bird warbled. Nightingale...so plain, but what an exquisite voice. The ground was thick with moss. It felt cool against his skin sensors as he lay down and played his fingers through the water. The Koi trustfully came to nibble and he stroked their sides. Feeling the soft scales, One thought that he should really have slept with Bernie before he left...that's what he needed, to lose himself in pleasure.
One felt David touch his mind...and tried to close the channel rapidly. He felt in his soul that Sypher's information was incorrect in some way. He wished he could ask Pendrell. Pendrell was the human who best understood them...The other technicians were so afraid of them and so wrong about them, but Pendrell had spent all of his free time talking to them, encouraging them to believe they had a future, telling them they could be free.
As he relaxed in the calming greenhouse, One cautiously reopened the file from the reboot. His eyes closed as he remembered...so close to David. Feeling such tenderness and seeing his beauty in a way he had never allowed himself before...
Why must it be wrong to touch this way? Perhaps the humans merely feared their difference? Envied the reality of knowing your lover so intimately?
As he stood in Skip Brule's office, a gentle wave of appreciation and affection washed over him. David smiled slightly; ready to admonish Sypher for distracting him when he realized that the other presence wasn't her. It was lighter, more distant, yet extremely focused. He doubted that she could feel it more specifically than a positive emotive force aimed at him.
One found his hand unzipping his coverall. He explored his smooth flesh, remembering touching David...wanting more.
David's breath caught in his throat. What the ...? Longing of an incredible intensity became a slow and impossible tactile exploration of his chest. David knew he was standing, fully clothed in the company of Alex Krycek and Sypher, but he felt ... he felt as though he were being ... expertly seduced.
At first, it grieved him when David went to Sypher but then he felt himself merging into the pair as they found such passion. For one moment, he had felt as if Sypher had been looking straight at him, warm, inviting, her arms held to welcome him as much as she had David. He had wanted to go to them. Fooled himself that he would be part of them.
A vivid image of Sypher, naked, eyes wild with passion and play, did little to calm David.
Bitterly, One reflected that if Fox Mulder doubted that they were self-aware, he should have access to One's mind. For surely self-delusion could only be accomplished by self-aware beings. One turned on his back, staring at the vines, which tumbled from the ceiling.
The sharp intrusion of negative emotions allowed David to breathe and nod at something Alex said, hoping that that was the appropriate response.
How long had he known what he really felt for David, hid it...sometimes even from himself? He had always known if David found out that he would lose him.
Now, One had. Lost David and lost Sypher just as he realized that she had become as much a part of him as David.
Desire, white hot, faded to a sense of loss so profound that David's subsystems activated every dampening protocol at their command. Nothing mitigated the effect very much.
One willed himself to be strong. To expurgate the feelings that plagued him. He should destroy the memory...break the bond by taking the links to it and breaking it down past all recovery. One began the process, commanding himself to delete the file...but he could not. He was weak...so weak.
Strength and weakness. Desire and pain. Anger and love. They were intertwined similarly yet distinctly and David fought to focus on his surroundings through the decimation that the urge to find those connections wrought in his subsystems.
Feeling the self-recrimination clearly, David narrowed his focus to One and sent a tight communication. "It is not weak to face what we must."
David tuned back into the conversation and forcibly ordered his thoughts. He'd have to deal with One later; he understood that now. At this point, he had other problems.
"I will take your last question first, Alex," David began slowly, voice increasing in depth and power as he continued. "Because it would be foolish, pointless and fail to endear you to those who wield the power at this location. More to the point, it seems, given your present mood, I wouldn't allow it and neither, I suspect, would Sypher."
Narrowing his eyes, David allowed some of his emotive subsystems to manifest in as controlled a way as he could. "Why did I impersonate you? Because it was an expedient way to get the information that I needed. There was little harm in it. I promised nothing in your name. Sypher wouldn't even take my money. The more interesting question is what possible difference could that action of mine make to you over two years later?"
Not waiting for a response, David forged ahead. "As to Wraith, I know how dangerous he is, but Ms. Covarrubias has won his trust as she was tasked to do. What she'll do with that is anyone's guess; however, her sympathy for the Mac 27s and clones is real, whatever its genesis might be. And that includes misplaced affection for you."
"In order to leave nothing to your imagination, I'll also offer that I have been a bit busy since the last time we spoke and have not yet had the opportunity to verify the rumors I'd been hearing regarding Mr. Hobbes. Nor have I had the benefit of hearing your analysis of the chip, but that is secondary. I have no intention of accepting anyone's word, even yours, over my own analysis on an issue of that criticality." Pausing a moment, David tried to gauge Alex's reaction. "I would think that a position you could appreciate. After all, I learned it from you."
"And I would think that on an issue of that criticality you would have made it your first priority instead of taking time out to build a fucking nest." Alex glared at Sypher as he spoke. "Skip calls me for taking Tom to bed, but it was the only thing that would keep him with us, given the fact that the rest of you were off, fucking around. How come he's got a down on me? Look at the rest of you."
"Go ahead, Alex. Make me the scapegoat for whatever is bothering you and the moment and clear your head for the work that is ahead of us, or of you if you decide to revert to the loner lifestyle."
"Like I said, my head is clear. I'm doing my best under very trying circumstances. That asshole that just hightailed it out of here rather than accept blame for turning a lethal weapon loose on the world is a good example. Fuck me if I ask for help again. I notice that you didn't tell him that you are working for Spender in this instance as well. What an oversight." He caught sight of Sypher's face - her jaw temporarily dropped. "Oh, didn't he tell you either? Welcome to the real world."
Before Alex could jump back into another diatribe, Sypher stepped in. "Enough, Alex!" she growled angrily. "You want somebody to blame for David 'impersonating' you, lay it right here. When we met, he never claimed to be you, I assumed that he was and he just never corrected me on it. Something that Spender probably wanted anyway. After all, there has to be a reason he made all of them look like you, and it sure as hell isn't to increase this planet's beauty quotient. In the grand scheme of things, I'd say that's the very least of your worries."
"If it was that unimportant to you, how come you were about to slug me in the meeting last night? Get off it. I want to know why the pack of you is conspiring to bring about this alien invasion. I want to know if you are all malevolent, or merely stupid." Alex glared at the two of them. "I'm not even sure why you're here in this room. My business is with David, not you. Ironic really. I only came here because I was told that you had an urgent message for me, and that if you didn't give it, it would mean your health would suffer. Had it not been for that, I would have taken Wraith and Hobbes to the Purity lab for investigation, and no doubt I wouldn't have this mess to clean up. Where's the fucking message? You look pretty healthy to me. This was a ploy to get me here and release Wraith unchecked, wasn't it?"
He stood glaring hotly at her, but at least he was quiet. "Now, as far as I can see, this is the deal: Spender," her face screwed up horribly at having to say that name, "sent you here with a hostile and orders to preserve the project by any means necessary, right?" She took the slight jerk of his head to be an affirmative. "You must admit that that is a mixed message. You of all people should know that old fossil never has anyone's best interests at heart but his own. He can't be trusted, Alex, you know that; so under the circumstances, telling us that he sent you here isn't going to get you automatic trust even if they do all look like you, and you know better."
"Spender did NOT send me anywhere. He asked that I contain the threat as best I could. He does not give me orders, he makes requests."
"Don't," she warned as he geared up to protest again, "hear me out before you start up again. With all the confusion that the conference caused, there were...things that needed to be straightened out, serious things; and while I know that you probably don't give a good goddamn about any of them because they had nothing to do with you, they needed doing and couldn't wait. So we can drop the huffing and puffing about them as well."
"I'm really glad that your sex life is that good," he sneered. "Hope it was worth it when Wraith starts blowing away all the Macs."
She stepped between David and Alex; very deliberately putting herself in the path of possible harm intended for her lover and crossed her arms as she stared Alex in the eyes. "You want trust and open communication; we need to know exactly where you stand. Simple as that, Alex. For myself, all I really need to know right now is: do you share Mulder's attitude about the Macs and can you vouch for Hobbes? Is he still a danger to us? You answer those two questions for me and we have the start of a dialog...and then maybe we can all get what we want out of this deal..."
David appreciated that Sypher's mode of communication differed from his own. She blended the emotional and factual with an effortlessness that was much more akin to One's. Perhaps Alex would respond to her.
In any event, David was less accepting, although equally appreciative, of her non-verbal message. Without speaking, he stepped from behind Sypher to her side, unwilling to be shielded but not trying to usurp her claim to the floor.
What was to come would be infinitely harder, if not impossible, without Krycek as at least a tacit ally. Active cooperation would be far preferable, but the likelihood of achieving that remained in doubt.
Sypher twitched as David put himself back in harm's way, but resisted the urge to jump in front of him again. She felt his hand settle lightly in the small of her back and took comfort from the touch.
"Alex...please," she begged, "there's a war going on out there and we need to pool our resources. But that can't happen if we don't all know where we stand on this. All the Macs want is to be treated like the self-aware beings that they are. This is their home too."
Alex looked her up and down, and pointedly turned to David. "Why don't you tell her? She's yours. You know my mind. Frankly, I find her insulting."
Jaw set, David stepped in front of Sypher, mentally asking Could you check on One for me while I deal with Alex? He approached Krycek slowly and deliberately, stopping about a foot away.
"You want answers, Alex. Here they are."
"Why wasn't Mr. Hobbes on the top of my priority list? I was dealing with issues relating to my own survival. Something that you, of all people, should understand. I spent the rest of the time cementing alliances and making arrangements for some equipment to be tested. As you did your duty with Mr. Hobbes, I did mine, Alex."
"But nobody has queried that, or assumed that you were wasting time. Why do so with me? Don't I get the dignity of respect?"
David sighed. "Alex, I can only speak for myself and, I hope, for at least some of the Mac 27s. You asked for answers and I am trying to give them. My understanding is that such compliance is considered respectful."
David allowed some of his frustration to show as he continued. "Regarding Wraith's release, I don't agree with what was decided, either, but what's done is done. Attributing blame solves nothing and, as you have said, I and all the other Mac 27s and clones have a vested interest in monitoring that situation. Fortunately, Mr. Brule seems to have taken steps to make that possible. Given the situation as it stands, I will accept that for the small victory it is."
"And again, I am to be excluded from having that information. Am I to be expected to share with you, when you keep me in the dark?"
"I was not involved in the decision to release Wraith and I do not have information regarding Mr. Brule's security measures. I am as much in the dark as you are on that point and I cannot share what I do not know."
"I suggest in that case," said Alex, sharply, "That Mr. Brule's actions be called into question. Permitting Wraith to leave is hardly an act of good faith, and neither is this ill-timed secrecy. You and I both have reason to know that money and power don't necessarily put one in the right."
"As for working for Spender," David shrugged. "Yes, I'm not adverse to taking his money, if what he wants serves my interests. And, no, I don't make a habit of disclosing everything about me to everyone I meet. Those are traits we seem to share, Alex."
"So why is that seen as reprehensible and untrustworthy in me, and laudable in you?"
"Because, as you pointed out, I haven't shared my association with Mr. Spender. I will fare no better than you on that point. Worse, if One gets wind of it."
"The Mac 27s aren't conspiring to do anything other than defend ourselves at the moment. We may need to directly oppose the alien invasion to earn our rights and I, for one, am prepared to do that, if that is what is necessary."
Meeting the human's intense eyes, David asserted, "And we aren't stupid. Nor do we insult everyone to whom we speak."
"Just me then, I assume."
"What have I said that is insulting to you? If I have given offense, I had no intention of doing so. None of us has time for that."
With a glance over his shoulder, he added, "Sypher is here because she wishes to be and we've been over the misunderstanding about the lock on her files that was based on my past impersonation of you. That impersonation and its unexpected fallout are completely independent of Wraith, Mr. Hobbes, Mr. Mulder and Ms. Covarrubias and you. Sypher's health is vastly improved over what it was through the intervention of some very clever I-Macs, but those files must be downloaded soon or it will deteriorate again. Her sex life, I imagine, like anything else, has room for improvement, but the fact that she has one is in no way related to the threat that Wraith poses."
"I believe those were all of your questions, Alex. Now it's time for you to answer mine."
"We're facing a large number of enemies. By we, I mean the Mac 27s, the clones and the allies we've managed to collect. You would both be a valuable ally as well as a symbol of unity as the original from whom we were created. No one disputes that, despite how things may seem to you at times. So the question is -- Are you in or aren't you? We don't have a choice. We have to fight. You have one, Alex. What is it? And if your choice is to fight, and I can't imagine why that would change at this juncture, can we do it with a united front? From the position of greatest strength?"
"Firstly, the Macs all contain my DNA, donated willingly to further the development of a weapon against the alien aggressors. I have always been on the side of humanity against the aliens, and at this time I see no reason to change. You and your peers were developed as thinking, intelligent beings who would be immune to the black oil. Innobotics sought to suborn that, but my hope is that you will break the ties with them. Are you getting me? You contain my DNA. You are programmed to respond the way that I would. So, look at your own heart if you want to know what mine is."
"To my knowledge, I am the only remaining Mac 27 programmed as you describe." David saw what looked to be a flicker of interest in Alex's eyes, but he couldn't be sure. He was sure of very little at the moment. "Innobiotics turned the others into farmers, sex toys, soldiers, techs and the like. And they experimented with religious fervor, action adventure heroes, diplomats and other specialized models. So I am getting you, if I take your meaning correctly. We are trying to break our ties with Innobiotics and if that means that we have to fight as we were originally designed to do, I'm prepared to do that and my best to convince others that they must as well."
"I believe that it's important that you come and hear Hobbes' story and don't waste any further time. Until you do, you are not fully informed. I believe that it is a priority."
Alex turned to leave, then turned back. "I don't know whether any of this is going to make a difference to anything. It's too bad, really. Jerks who can't get past their hidebound ideas are going to make everything fail. It's all going to hell."
"It will, if you let it. If we let it." David took a deep breath, feeling Sypher finally move toward the door. "That is not what I want. That is not the way to win this war."
Stress was coming over One in waves from David, Sypher and from Mac Smith as he tried to calm his lover Skip down. Leaving the garden where he had found no peace, One followed the invisible ties that led him to his beloved David. He opened the door, coming face to face with an exiting Sypher.
Abruptly, his mind was flooded with terror. It was Antonio, who had refused to leave his seriously ill lover. The Mac 27 was screaming for help, as his car was rammed again and again by black vans. Finally, even a Mac 27 could not compensate for the damage and the car was driven off the road.
Through Antonio's eyes, One saw figures approaching as he crawled out of the car, damaged. He saw a small alien figure in the background while armored humans marched toward Antonio whose leg was pinned by wreckage.
Expressionless large men walked behind the armored men...morphs, One's memory supplied.
"Help me. Help me!" Antonio's entire being wailed at One. One of the armored figures turned a sort of weapon on the helpless Mac 27...
Circuits signaled Pain. Damage. PAIN!
One couldn't or wouldn't pull free in time as Antonio's human brain boiled in his metal skull and the delicate circuitry of his cybernetic side melted. One of the aliens looked down at him, face blank, eyes black as oil, pitiless.
Antonio was gone...
One staggered toward David, reaching for him who meant comfort, strength, meant as much to him as life and freedom.
He couldn't reach David, catching himself on Sypher's shoulder instead...
One gasped, "The aliens. They're here. They're here.
David felt One's pain and horror lance through him and swayed, trying to stay on his feet, steadying himself with a hand on Alex's shoulder. Krycek was staring at the hand as though he wanted to chop it off, but David didn't feel well enough to remove it.
Facing the original, David said, "I have stated my position vis a vis you. I have acknowledged your importance and I understand that you do not feel that you have been treated fairly. I can't change the past, but the future is now, Alex. The enemy that you have grown into a man fighting, the one we were designed to fight, is upon us. Do we face them alone or together?"
Krycek studied him dispassionately. There was something wrong with David, but it was obviously something that he was not going to share.
Wincing once more, David muttered, "He feels every death. Too much pain." Krycek's curious eyes, prompted a gesture toward One and a further, "Sometimes he projects."
Swinging around to face One, Alex raised his eyebrows and spoke, "We face them together, providing we are equal partners. I don't have time to justify every little thing that I do, any more than do you."
Glancing worriedly at One, David vowed, "Speaking for myself and the Mac 27s, partners it is. I'll see what can be done about the others."
"There's very little time to lose. The aliens are at our door. Since the Consortium members were fried by the rebels, they've been stepping up the plans for invasion. We need to act as soon as possible to re-program your colleagues." Alex frowned. "I have to do something about Hobbes, and this nightmare of his. I didn't need that right at the moment."
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The uncertain light of dawn had just committed to morning light when Langly arrived at the gate. Something must have happened as security had increased. They were body searched and the guards even drew a blood sample before Langly was allowed back inside.
Tired and bitchy after his abduction, Langly went straight to the kitchen where he found Skip grumbling steadily as Mac Smith tried to soothe him. Langly looked around at the barely ordered chaos and said, "I'm back as if anyone noticed! If anyone cares, we have a crazy Mac 27 running around out there,"
Baleful yellow eyes glared at him from under the Rasta curls that crowned Skip Brule's head. The Bokonon priest said, "Yeah, we noticed, but we figured that I-Mac was on it. Looks as if we were right because here you are."
"I rescued myself. I-Mac was too busy bullshitting with the malfunctioning mess that took me. I want him locked up or better yet, reprogrammed, if he comes after me again. Can't One do something?"
"Don't even mention the wannabe Bodhisattva," Skip grumbled.
"Lighten up, Skip," Mac Smith commented, "One meant well and you wanted Wraith out of here."
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," Skip replied, " But sorry, Langly, I'll alert the front gate. Maybe the aliens will take him and get rid of the problem."
"Aliens?" Langly said with a shudder.
"Yeah, apparently the hunt is back on for you guys and the aliens are holding the leashes. They've already killed a couple Mac 27s who didn't want to come in."
"Fuck," Langly commented. He noticed I-Mac had put together breakfast and decided that he would fight better on a full stomach.
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A moment too late, Field Unit DarkCyan008 opened his/her mouth to stop the solider morph from killing the android. He had been distracted by a report of a pair of humans leaving the compound where most of the pathetically disorganized supposed "Weapons" were huddled.
Quickly, selecting the highest setting on his handling prod that would not result in termination of the unit, DarkCyan008 jabbed the disrupter into the nerve plexus at the base of the neck. The morph fell to his knees, ugly human face dissolving into the more familiar ones of a host's broader pale white features.
"You will never taste the nectar of the Mother...your body will never host the glorious future," the field unit muttered.
At this rate, he/she also would never be accepted as a breeder, be assigned a male gender to be ushered into a mother's presence. He/she would never mingle his color in the dark shining spectrum of the future. Humans were near perfect vehicles, enough alike the Mother-Gift of the hosts to replace the natural counterpart of the Iridescence.
The humans were a problem, making bargains, appearing to agree to the colonization and then reneging.
Great glory to the Field Commander who had discovered the human plot. DarkCyan008 toed the remains of the android; kicking open the metal shell to examine the boiled dark brown remains of a human brain. He ignored the morph that still writhed in pain to direct two humbler units, human slaves, to pick up the remains for examination at leisure.
Wincing at the communication tone from the receiver nested in his ear, DarkCyan008 felt puce waves of anger radiating from the Field Commander, the Worshiped High Oxide of Chormium01. Why hadn't he taken care of the Mac 27s yet? What was the secret of the fully human clones?
Lest his proud colors be erased from the entire tapestry of the Iridescence, DarkCyan008 vowed, "I will wipe them out. I will find all there defenses and turn them on each other. The humans will supplicate to bear our young and feed the beauty of the Grey Nymphs."
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Still relying on Sypher for support, One slowly and painfully pulled himself up right. He said, "I don't think we have time to argue any more. Antonio, one of the Mac 27s, who refused to come in, was just killed. It wasn't Wraith...I saw morphs, a few humans, but they did not seem to be in positions of command at all. There was a small humanoid, bluish gray in color, with huge eyes, shining and black like an oil slick, giving orders. I saw others like him in the background."
Looking toward David, One said, "I'm sorry that I released Wraith without consulting any of you, but it did not seem right to me to hold him prisoner any longer. I thought his being here any longer put both him and us at risk...but I was wrong not to ask the rest of you. I'm responsible for that. Don't blame Skip. I was the fool who did it."
"It looks as though the time just ran out. Alex said quietly. "Do you have any idea where the other Macs are? We have to rescue them, bring them in. There's just no time left." Looking back at David, he included the three in his speech. "I have the software to reprogram the ones that are too far from the norm, but I can't stay to do it. I have to go and sort things out with this Santiago. He's come out of left field, and we can't afford him picking off our flanks." He unscrewed the hand from his prosthesis, and shook a tape out of his arm, holding it out to David. "Here. This is the software that Pendrell formulated for the Macs. Read it first if you must, but get started on reprogramming or you'll lose them, and then we'll lose Earth."
Shadows danced in One's head as he felt Tone Anders send a screaming message, "Look after Andre. They are hunting me...I'm going to lead them away from her. Send someone to get her, keep her safe. Tell her I love her."
This time, One dampened the connection. He did not want Tone to die alone, but he knew if he was to function that he could not die along with each of his brothers. He sensed the terror and the grief as Tone ran in front of the alien hounds...
"More hunters!" One said, "They are moving against every Mac 27 that is unprotected. We must help them!"
Moving rapidly, David put his hands on One's shoulders. "I am going to send you some files -- the ones I told you about before -- they don't block our signature, they alter it. Transmit them as fast as you can to those who can be helped. It has to be one at a time. I could never figure out how to make it work broadcast generally. If the hunters are too close to a unit, you ... you cannot waste time. If the aliens are tracking based on what they have learned about us from humans, a unit having a quarter mile or so head start will have a chance. Do you understand?"
One nodded.
"Okay," David muttered, concentrating on the link that had been formed between he and One, using it to quickly transmit data. Eyes still closed, processing on at least three levels, David added, "The ... the last file is the execution file. I've simplified it and the command is 'Krycek.' All the units have to do is say the name and everything else will work automatically. Get them here. Tell them whatever you have to, but get them here." Pulling back from the connection made David sick to his stomach, but he forced himself to push One into a sitting position, whispering, "Good luck."
Even before he could ask, Sypher was at One's side supporting him. Don't worry, Demon. I'll take good care of him. Do what you must.
Looking to Alex, David asked, "What else can we do other than fortify here? We need Baines, Skip and your Mr. Hobbes, I think. This is a military exercise now. I don't like bringing everyone to one place, but I know of nowhere else that is safe. Do you?"
Alex paused, and met David's eyes. "If you keep them here for the upgrade, and then start to get them dispersed in units, they won't all be lost, and they'll have some defenses against them. There's nowhere that's particularly safe, except possibly for crowds."
Strangely, David felt an inquiry as to what the problem was from Luke. Not questioning the odd morphing of their abilities that seemed to be occurring, he asked the android Luke to seek out those of a military bent and then report himself to Skip's office on the off chance that his communications capacities were strong enough to help One.
Refocusing on the room he was in, David briefly updated Krycek and Sypher as to what he'd done and queried, "Alex? What do you think?"
"I think that it's all going to hell. I think that we have very little time left. We need to get out and round up as many of the Macs as we can. They'll try to take them out first. I need to go and find Mulder. Among other things, he's an empath whose genetic structure was modified specifically to tune in to the aliens and detect their purpose. Then, I need to go sort out Santiago. I need a way of keeping in touch with you here. What do you recommend?"
"The easiest way would be to take a Mac 27 unit, but I do not know how you feel about that given Mr. Mulder's predilections. Otherwise," David fished his cellular telephone out of his pocket, "I believe that you have my number. You will also need to take a laptop with the tracking program installed to find the units and, hopefully," David paused, glancing at One. "They will start to disappear off of your screen for the right reasons."
Moving to Skip's desktop computer, David loaded the disk Alex had given him. "I will need to make sure the upgrade is compatible with the unit's as modified or who knows what we will get out the other end. We need an army at the end of the day." Muttering to himself, David added, "Before then, if possible."
Bringing up the code, David looked up before attempting to network with his own laptop and beginning the scan. "Good luck, Alex."
Alex was already past them and on his way back to the room that contained Mulder and Hobbes
When the original turned away, David concentrated on both the computer work and finding the tenuous mental link to unit number 55. "Luke," he muttered aloud when he thought he had it. "Forget Hobbes, he's going with Krycek. Round up the others and anyone you can find quickly who knows anything about programming Mac 27 units."
Sypher stepped in with another request. Luke, see if you can find Baines as well. Ask Alexei and Sasha, they should know where he is. Hurry...it's begun. She shuddered hard and cradled One close to her. So much pain, and One was still trembling from the aftermath. "I'm here...I'm here," she cooed soothingly as she gently rocked him back and forth in an effort to calm him.
Sypher put in a call to Youngblood, Wild Thing and 2068, and informed them of the situation; asking them to please bring her laptop and the rest of her equipment as quickly as possible. David needed the data she carried more than ever, and all the problems with Krycek had cost them precious time. For her part in them, she was sorry, but it still disturbed her that she'd never really gotten an answer from Krycek about his stance on the Macs. David had said that he was the only Mac that was still programmed to the original specifications, so maybe he could shed some light on that question. If they ever got a quiet moment again.
Turning to Sypher, a number of his emotive systems engaged, as he watched her run her fingers through One's hair and whisper soothingly. David was too focused on his other tasks to make sense of the words, if they indeed were words. Oddly hesitant to interrupt, despite the seriousness of the situation, David nearly smiled when he received simultaneous mental inquiries as to what he wanted from both One and Sypher.
"Sypher, do you know much about programming us? I would like Krycek's file to be accessible, even dominant under stress, but not to completely override our individuality or the specialty programming that some of us have received. Somehow," he ventured, gazing at One for a long moment, "I do not think he'd approve of it otherwise."
"I just sent for Youngblood, Wild Thing and 2068 and asked them to bring my equipment with them. You need to see these files, and we can burn them onto CD's and hopefully get copies to Alex before he leaves. If not, we can find a way to get them to him. As for the programming, the I-Macs might be able to come up with a patch program to allow Krycek's program to co-exist with your individuality matrixes or even be merged into them instead of overwriting them." Turning to One, whose head she still cradled on her shoulder, she murmured, "can you help us, One? We need you..."
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Leigh went to follow Jess, but Sasha grabbed his arm. "One needs to see you right now. Something horrible has happened."
"Go on, Leigh," Michael said. He was still in shock at discovering that there was a chip in his lover's neck and something in his own but he knew that duty came first. He gestured at Roy. "We'll take care of things here."
As Alexei led Baines and Sasha out into the corridor he relayed incoming data, "Time, we have run out of time. The aliens are here and they have started killing us. Too many enemies. Skip has let Wraith and Marita leave the compound. Krycek is preparing to leave. First priority is data transfer to all the Macs. Krycek provided some, Sypher has more. They want all our military programming downloaded to disk for transfer to every Mac."
Baines shook his head and a hand went up to the back of his neck for a quick rub before he wrenched it back to his side.
They met 2068, Wild Thing and Youngblood coming from the direction of the lab. All converging on the room where One was slowly pulling himself together.
One was aware of everything happening around him, but had spent the last moment reviewing Antonio's life, grokking him fully, and loving the moments measured of his short existence and his triumph as he learned to be an individual. One carefully stored Antonio's pleasure at sunrise, the memory of his lover's hands, all of his life walked in beauty. Reluctantly parting from him, One returned slowly to the world.
Sypher was touching him, sleeking his hair, comforting him, speaking to him in her melodious voice. He could sense David nearby, taking command, dealing with everything efficiently.
Reluctantly, One accessed one of the hidden files deep within his systems. The program would continue to record the lives of his brothers, but he would have a firewall between their deaths and himself.
"I'm back. I've dealt with the problem. I won't react like that again," One said. "Tell me again what you need me to do to transmit the file. Can I send it to the other Mac 27 over our connection? You know some of them we won't be able to find. They're managed to take themselves off line as Luke did. The Mac 27 that kidnapped Langly...I can only dimly sense him and I don't think he can hear me at all. I think he has a damaged connection."
David looked up sharply and cursed himself for a glaring lack of efficiency. He was too tired for this, but he had no choice but to go on. And he'd wasted precious time by not being clear enough with One.
"You can send it that way," David tried to explain. "You can -- I think you can, anyway, the theory is sound -- bolster the connection to each individual unit by focusing through his numerical designation and the Innobotics code unique to each. There is a list of those codes in the files that I transferred to you. If that isn't enough to reach an individual unit, you must move on. Oh, and you may have to teach Luke how to do the same."
One looked at him as though he had grown a second head. Smiling, David murmured, "It seems that your quintessential farmer has developed some advanced communications skills ever since he rejoined the fold. So if you can touch some of those who segregated themselves, reaching them might not be impossible."
Seeing that One was still frustrated and responding automatically to the "Do something" look in Sypher's eyes, David added, "I wouldn't worry about the unit who kidnapped Langly. He is fixated, so he is most likely here or en route." Hesitating briefly, David swallowed emotive impulses that were classified as pride and forced himself to mutter, "After you have completed the process a few times, you might be able to render it nearly automatic and consult with us while you contact other units."
One nodded, leaned back and began his task.
Now Sypher was looking at him sternly. Guessing at what she might be getting ready to chastise him for, David picked up Skip's telephone and dialed the kitchen. "Could you send up several pitchers of the milk shake beverage, please? Thank you."
He snuck a peek at Sypher and she sent him an intense wave of approval and affection. David gave into the temptation of losing himself in her eyes for a moment before he returned his attention to making sure that the program Krycek had supplied would be displayed for the I-Macs when they arrived.
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Michael was about to ask Johnny what that was all about when he realized Roy was standing there, looking confused, something Michael was all too used to lately. "Roy, why don't you go find Jess and see if you can talk to her?" Roy nodded and left. Once Michael was sure Roy was out of earshot, he turned to Johnny. "Explain to me what just happened."
"The chip in her neck is both a tracking and a failsafe device. It was designed to facilitate recovery of any escaped werewolves. If it was also deemed necessary, it could be activated in such a way that it would send a signal to other implants, which would release silver directly into her bloodstream. She would be dead in a matter of hours." Johnny looked at Michael a little shamefacedly. "Before we left the laboratory, I had set the chip to an inactive status and deleted the command code for it. I had intended to tell her once we arrived at a place of safety where removal options could be studied, such as here. However, events have conspired from me doing so."
"And you didn't think it was necessary for her to know this." Michael shook his head.
"It was an... error in judgment," Johnny sighed. "One I do not know how to correct."
Michael patted the miserable android on his shoulder. "She and Leigh seem to be able to understand each other. Why don't you explain it to him and see if he'll talk to her. Give Jess a little time to realize that you only meant the best for her."
"I will. Thank you, Michael." After obtaining from Alexei the location of the meeting, he started in the direction of Skip's office. He arrived right on Baines' heels but, since he had not been invited in, he waited outside, planning to talk to Baines when he came out.
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Leaving One's side for the first time since he'd collapsed on her, Sypher went over to look at the program setting up on David's screen. It's a pretty daunting task set for only one or two of you, she pointed out. Maybe there is a way to have every unit that the program is transferred to pass it along to other units that need it. It would increase the protection rate exponentially, and allow One to be able to run a rest cycle faster. He needs it, beloved. So do you. So much work and not enough time! She kissed the side of his head briefly as 2068 and the others came in.
"Cool!" she exclaimed as she caught sight of the VR couch. "Set that up in the far corner; One can stretch out over there." Greeting 2068 and the two I-Macs with kisses, she nodded to Baines, Alexei, and Sasha as her laptop was being set up. "The hunt is back on," she informed them, "and the aliens aren't pulling any punches. We need to get these programs transferred as quickly as possible to every Mac that can be reached. Do any of you think there's a way that units can pass them between themselves so that One doesn't have to take on so much of the burden? Also, the military training has to be stepped up double-time, at least for the humans so that they can better protect themselves. David will be able to give you more information on what he requires in a minute or so."
As Youngblood finished booting up, she retrieved a CD burner from her equipment. "We need to find a way to make the burn process as fast as possible, Youngblood. We're gonna need to do it on the fly as the data's being downloaded from my head." The I-Mac nodded solemnly. "You guys can use my setup when I'm done, because I know you need to burn data of your own," that was to Alexei and Sasha.
Baines seemed stoic and something in her wanted to comfort him. "You okay?" she murmured. A sharp nod was all she got. Ooookay. Whatever it was, he didn't want to share. She squeezed his shoulder anyway whispering, "hang in there," before turning back to the task at hand.
2068 tapped her on the shoulder. "Perhaps it has something to do with the Mac out in the hallway, he seems very worried about something to do with Baines and they arrived practically together."
"Can you reach him?"
"Not really, he is very upset."
"Go talk to him, then. He's going to need to get these updates anyway, so you might as well have him join the party."
2068 nodded, dubiously eyeing the crowded room before stepping out of the door. The other Mac was there, waiting patiently; but his thoughts were all rapidly moving and seemed rather sad. "Hello," he said tentatively, "you seem very preoccupied. May I ask what is the matter?"
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Warm, it was warm in the bed, a heavy weight rested upon her breast. Automatically, assuming it was Boris or Aura, she reached to pet it, finding instead of a mass of fur, sleek silken hair. Her eyes shot open and she remembered, finding Trey-Trey MacDuff, meeting his mouth in a kiss, falling on the bed, and tearing at each other's clothes.
At some point, during the night, the dogs had deserted which ever of the Mac 27s that had been their playmate and crawled onto her bed to sleep. Now, the door opened and Jules walked in.
Deciding it was silly to be embarrassed, Anne said, "Good morning, babe, this is early for you. Where's Romeo?"
Jules' lover was right behind him. The usually tranquil beautiful face was a thundercloud. Romeo pointed at Jules and said, "Anne, tell him that he is not a soldier. He wants to go to Baines to be trained to fight."
That was interesting. Trey-Trey and Anne had been discussing this as well. Anne knew how to shoot, but she wasn't comfortable with her ability to handle a variety of weapons and hand to hand was beyond her. She felt something in the air and wanted to be ready to defend Romeo and Jules, Trey-Trey and the other Mac 27s.
Anne replied, "Romeo, that's probably a good idea...although can't you just download the information."
Trey-Trey sat up and got out of bed, stretching. Romeo shot him a glare and said, "You had better treat her right, actor..."
Oh my, Anne thought, now Romeo thinks he's my big brother? How funny?
Costumed only in his natural beauty, Trey-Trey executed a sweeping bow and a hand flourish of surpassing grace, "On my honor, Romeo, the lady is safe in my hands."
"She'd better be," Romeo scolded. He put a possessive hand on Jules' arm and said, "As for learning how to fight, yes, we can download the information, but even Mac 27 need to practice to execute the behavior. However, that doesn't matter. Jules won't learn how to fight because we are leaving."
Jules sat on the bed, shaking his head. He said, "No, beloved, you may leave, but I will stay. You are everything to me, but I will not love myself if I don't stand and help my brothers and these others who prepare to fight for us and for humanity."
"Why? How did you come to this conclusion?" Romeo questioned.
"Because we have taken so much, been given so much. Anne kept us together. Another brother was willing to sacrifice his life if necessary to stop the van that was taking us to destruction. One and David have given everything to fight for us. How can I love you if I have no honor?" Jules asked.
Sinking to his knees, Romeo laid his head upon Jules' lap, his hand trembling against his lover's thigh. "Then I also will learn to fight. There are things worse than death and losing you would be the unkindest cut of all."
Trying to wrap a sheet about her, Anne struggled up and said, "Then we'll all look for Baines and ask for training. However, being human, I stink. Therefore I shower. We'll go see what Mac Smith has for our breakfast and then find Baines to sign up for boot camp."
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Albert pocketed the black ball with practiced ease and stood up, putting his cue against the wall.
Sugarface was already wriggling out of his overalls, his shirt long ago torn and forsaken.
Yes, it certainly was a brilliant tactical maneuver to tell his lover the winner would take the loser in whatever position he chooses, Albert thought with satisfaction. Ever since that agreement, Sugarface made sure to lose every single game, gladly letting Albert do what he liked best -- win. Not that making Sugarface go all wild with pleasure, secrete intoxicating amounts of pheromones and quiver delightfully under him wasn't pleasant all in itself. It was just a win-win situation.
Grinning triumphantly, Albert took off his own clothes and approached his gorgeous lover, who was smiling at him shyly and assuming the most esthetically pleasing positions. Soon Albert's sensors could detect the delicate smell of the lubricant generously coating the soft walls of Sugarface's pleasure channel, and suddenly all Albert's control slipped and he pounced, nailing his laughing lover to the floor.
"Take off the glasses." Sugarface's voice was even huskier than usual, a sensual deep growl that could not be disobeyed. Albert normally kept the shades on at all times, seeing how spooked humans were when they caught sight of his eyes. Sugarface, however, seemed to find the weird black and white orbs arousing, and since his lover was the only person in the world Albert cared about, he was more than happy to grant his wish.
"There, like it?" Albert perched the offending glasses on the rim of the snooker table standing conveniently close.
"Yeah..." Sugarface moaned and lowered his eyelids, using the seductive potential of his luxurious eyelashes to the full. "Now make love to me."
"Hey, I'm the winner. I'm in control." Albert scolded his shameless lover even as his hips slipped between the welcomingly spread thighs and the tip of his hardened cock brushed against the slick entrance of Sugarface's body. "Do I have to tie you down to get some authority around here?"
As expected, Albert's comment caused his lover to moan even louder and arch against him in a futile attempt to force the erect cock into his hungry body.
"Patience, my love." Albert smiled predatorily and attacked one of his lover's sensitive nipples, loving the way it instantly reacted, puckering in his mouth. Only when he had Sugarface writhing uncontrollably beneath him, which meant that he had short-circuited his lover's motor functions, did he give that final shove and buried himself in the slick, welcoming heat.
A sobbing gasp and a sudden wave of pheromones hitting him full force had Albert spinning out of control, and he was suddenly at the mercy of his subroutines automatically guiding his body through the sexual act. Electric shocks were running through his main processor, creating loops between the most incompatible functions, and soon Albert felt as if his core was melting, the excruciating wave of heat overcoming his sensors one by one, lightning him up like a Christmas tree only to leave him a smoking wreck moments later.
"Oh, yeah, that was a good one." Albert sighed when his circuits cooled down enough for him to resume control.
He moved off Sugarface, who was always a bit slower with coming back to his senses after an orgasm, and lay down next to him, listening with pleasure to the quiet hum of his blissed out lover's body. Unit 10,000 barely heard at the edges of his consciousness, One's query about the other units under Innobotics that he had not told Baines about.
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Hobbes moved to the other side of the room. From what he saw outside the door when Mulder left, they were prisoners in this place. But why? He sat down in a chair and, for some reason, kept guard on the man that pissed him off.
Apparently, he felt something for Alex, but what? And did Alex feel anything for him? God he wished Pinocchio were here, the one person he knew he COULD trust.
Alex said he would help him find Pinocchio, so in return, he would help Alex. Maybe Alex could help him defeat Santiago, end his terror on the world, but what other terrors beside Santiago were out there and what did that mean to him and Sophie? He had stayed in Harsh Realm to keep Sophie in a free world, one not destroyed by Santiago. So what else was out there? Alex seemed to know... and he felt soon, he would too.
Even in his dreams Mulder recognized the origin of his vision, the old film, The Wall; children minced to a paste and reformed into identical beings. But now it was a busy street, and a doorway... A stream of people flooded in, men and women, in suits and dresses, formal, casual, joggers, nuns, and out from another door came copies of Alex, dressed in his usual outfit of jeans and worn leather jacket, every one of them identical.
And, in the way of dreams he knew he had to find his lover... it was imperative he do so. He dashed amongst the crowd of copies, grabbing one, and then another, but each professed to be a different person.
He tossed on the mattress, eyes rolling wildly under his lids as his unconscious mind searched, increasingly desperately, for Alex, knowing that if he let the process continue, that he would never succeed.
More and more of the copies he stopped told him that they were those robots, the android Mac 27s, and he whimpered despairingly as he realized that if the humans ran out, the process would continue relentlessly, mechanized and automated.
Running into the building, he pulled out his gun. He had to stop it, had to find Alex. But, though he ran and ran, checking each room, he could not find a control panel, or a person in charge. Eventually, he found himself back on the street, but he had come out of the wrong door. To his horror, he too was now Alex Krycek. His last hope had been that if he couldn't find Alex, that Alex would find him. He screamed, throwing himself at his reflection in the plate glass of a shop window...
He awoke, cold and sweating, the echoes of his cries still in his mind, and tears running down his face. Shivering, he knew just how much this situation had been preying on him; he thought it had been interesting, exciting, and all the while it was wrecking his already shaky hold on reality.
Hobbes got up and walked over as the man was dreaming and sat down next to him and started to reach out to wake him. Hobbes knew what nightmares could be like... well not he personally, Pinocchio mainly. He had bad ones, of his past, of what he did in Harsh Realm.
But when Mulder woke, he stopped and looked at him. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. He noticed the man shivering and he felt kind of sorry for him. No one should relive bad memories even in their sleep. Mulder reminded him of a frightened little boy at that moment and he held back the urge to comfort him.
Mulder looked at him blankly as the awful sensation of helplessness and futility faded. He couldn't, for the moment, think where he was, or who the man beside him could be, and was wondering if he'd been taken off to hospital again after some disastrous FBI investigation.
Hobbes looked down at his hands not sure what to do but then looked back up, innocence in his eyes, "Can you tell me what is going on here. Why there so many men about that look like Alex? You see, whatever I may have learned before... I don't remember. I had a chip removed from me, placed there by Santiago I guess, when he took me out of Harsh Realm. Harsh Realm is all I remember, nothing after that till I woke up on the bed here in this place."
Shaking his head to clear it, Mulder croaked, "Water?" and then noticed a glass beside the bed. He gulped it down, playing for time until he had ordered the events of the last few hours in his mind, and placed this man within them. "You don't remember?" he whispered. His voice grated over a throat made sore by screams.
"I don't know what you are, beyond what Alex said, back at my apartment...that you were trying to kill him. I don't know your history at all." He hung his head, and added, "And I'm really sorry for lashing out at you for being here with him." He gave a snort of laughter. "Stupid, really. Fox does it to him all the time, and Fox copes with the guys he fucks. I can't."
He looked at Hobbes, and bit his lip. The guy looked so young, so open. "I don't know much," he confessed. "Didn't make it to the conference they had here a few hours back. Did you? I can tell you what I've seen, and a bit of history, and a few theories I have, for what it's worth, but you need to talk to Alex. If he'll tell you anything," he added, his lip curling in a sneer. "He's not the confiding sort. I'd better tell you about me, first," he added with a sigh. "Fox Mulder, FBI Agent. Special Agent interested in everything that the other departments can't or won't explain. And there are two of me." He looked up with a grin. "I'm mad... technically. But normally Alex is the only one who has to cope with it. You met Fox... he's the other half of me, the slut with the make-up, carefree and no shame. I'm Mulder; sort of responsible citizen, the one with the job; repressed queer, bad tempered...sometimes. Split personality. I don't publicize it, normally."
Mulder continued, running through all he knew of Krycek and the Consortium, reasoning that there were so many apparent secrets being kept at the moment, a little frankness wouldn't go amiss, and of the alien menace and the clones, because he couldn't think of any other reason for the existence of the various clones other than the Consortium's research. Of the Macs he knew little...he'd heard of the manufacture of these domestic slaves, but hadn't encountered one before Tin Man accosted him at the Hoover building, a time that seemed like months ago, now.
He concluded by saying that it appeared that all the clones were being drawn to Washington by some unknown impulse, and then remembered Scully, and the other abductees, and their forced gatherings. He looked hard at Hobbes, and turned the soldier's head gently to look at the back of his neck. "You've had a chip removed?" he said, frowning. "Where was it implanted? And what is Harsh Realm?" He smiled, and put his hand reassuringly on Hobbes' shoulder. "Your turn for a story, Tom."
Hobbes turned slightly, "The base of my neck." He showed Mulder the stitches Scully had put in. "Scully showed me the metallic chip, she said it was like one she had in her neck. I left it in the infirmary. I think Santiago put it in me to block out my memories."
He looked down at his hands, "Harsh Realm is a place no one should see. It is a virtual reality computer program where the players could fight combat scenarios without ever stepping foot on a battlefield. A parallel world in which every aspect and detail, every person and landscape, is identical to our own. But where the consequences of war, even a nuclear attack on American soil, are simulated and safe.
"But The Game got hi-jacked, taking over by the first man they ever sent in, Omar Santiago, a high ranking, decorated combat veteran. He realized that by taking over The Game he could take over the world of Harsh Realm. Once he did, he realized he could become a president, king, or maybe even a god? He could create that world in his own image by commandeering the military's computer program running it. Then it would not be a game anymore, but one man's grab at virtual power and domination that no man, state or country in the real world could ever dream of."
"The U.S. Military had been sending soldiers into Harsh Realm with a single objective: Kill Santiago, the man who had taken over The Game. On my last day in the service, they sent me in. I was going to be married. They kept telling me it was just a game. I soon realized it wasn't. If you die in Harsh Realm, you die in the real world. Pinocchio says its some overload of the brain. They some how managed to download your consciousness into The Game."
Hobbes sighed, "I've seen things in there, things you wouldn't believe, women that are given the gift to heal with a touch but not able to speak. A lake that can make copies of you and drain you of your life. Glitches that take you from one place to another... or into nothingness. But mostly it is the people. No hope in their eyes, others with no morals, no sense of right and wrong. Children starving, stealing to get food. Women selling their bodies. People killing each other for the things we take for granted here." He looked at Mulder, sadness in his eyes. "
The Game is real and if Santiago has his way. He will destroy this world and all that will be left is his."
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