David Simpson - Post-Human Trilogy

“Copy,” Craig replied. He turned and paced to the front of the bridge, looking out over the front deck. Immediately, he saw the three super soldiers, the leader stepping off of a silver Planck platform. “Found ‘em.”

“Super soldiers,” the A.I. noted. “Craig, this is very dangerous. We need to vacate immediately.”

“Wait a second,” Craig suddenly said as he watched the leader cautiously lead his men away from the platform. “Is that…? No, it can’t be.”

“Craig, we need to go. If Purist super soldiers are here, it means the facility has been overrun.”

“Hang on,” Craig said as he jogged out of the bridge and to the rail of the upper deck to get an unobscured view. “No. Hey, I know this guy.” Craig began running down the stairs toward the lower deck, heading straight for Colonel Paine.

“Craig! They will kill us!” the A.I. shouted in protest.

“No they won’t. I know him,” Craig repeated before running into his own magnetic field as the A.I. threw it up in front of him. “Ah! What the hell?”

“Think about what you’re doing, Craig. You are approaching a man whose chief aim is the destruction of strong artificial intelligence, and you have a strong artificial intelligence implanted in your head. This will not go well.”

“Remember that little talk we had about free will?”

“I remember, but—”

“Then trust me,” Craig said as he lowered his magnetic field and continued on his way toward his former commanding officer.

“You’re risking both of our lives,” the A.I. continued to protest.

“This is why you haven’t been able to pass the Turing test yet, my friend. You don’t know people. I do. Trust me. This guy won’t try kill us.”

“Holy hell,” Colonel Paine repeated once again as a ghost strolled toward him. “I have got to be seeing things.”

“Colonel Paine,” Craig said as he stood to attention and saluted.

“Doc Emilson?” Paine replied, disbelieving.

“Yes, sir. It’s good to see you, sir.”

Paine took a moment to assess the situation before lowering his weapon and relaxing his posture. “Lower your weapons, boys,” he ordered the other two soldiers under his command. “This here’s a real live hero.”

Craig smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

“What the hell are you doing here, Doc? We came looking for an artificial intelligence. You were the last person I was expecting to see here.”

“I could say the same thing about you, sir. Yesterday I was talking to you at Cannon Air Force Base, and now I’m here.”

“Yesterday? Doc, that was—”

“Fourteen years ago. I know.”

“Doc,” Paine said, reaching up with his clawed prostheses and scratching under his helmet, “you’re gonna have to explain this to me nice and slow.”

“Of course, sir. But, sir, if you wouldn’t mind, do you think we could talk this out over a cookie? I’m starving.”

Paine cocked his head to the side as he mulled Craig’s unexpected request. He turned to the giant wall of deck wood that had been thrown up in the collision and then to the curious bystanders who milled about, watching the proceedings with fascination, albeit from a safe distance. Then he turned back to Craig. “Sure. A cookie sounds good.”

Craig sat in a wicker chair by the fire in the smoking room, a tray of cookies sitting next to him as he finished spooning the last of his baked apples into his mouth. The three Purists sat with him, forming a semicircle. Paine faced the fire directly, while Craig’s left side was illuminated by the warming glow. He’d retrieved his jacket, and it was now laid out on the floor, drying quickly next to the flames.

“More tea, sir?” asked an attendant, who politely waited on the strange quartet. Craig nodded enthusiastically and held his cup up for the man to refill. Paine stared at the man and wondered what he must have thought. The whole scenario was surreal for everyone involved, yet there was a strange acceptance. The ship had crashed, and bizarrely clad soldiers had suddenly appeared, yet life, somehow, went on. Craig, who had the right to claim he was the most out-of-place person in the room—a man out of time twice over—seemed the least disturbed by the current circumstances as he devoured his sweets.

“More tea, sir?” the attendant asked Paine.

Paine looked up at him with his cybernetic eyes, which, along with the crosshatch of stretch marks and scars, caused the attendant to recoil slightly. “No thank you,” Paine said as he attempted to force a slight smile for the sake of manners. The attendant nodded and moved on to Drummey and Degrechie.

Craig dipped a chocolate cookie in his tea and then took a large bite, chewing enthusiastically. “The cookies of the past were much better,” he noted in the brief moment between swallowing and taking his next bite. He pointed to the tray to offer one to Paine.

Paine waved it away. “Thanks, Doc. Ate before I came. You, on the other hand, look like you haven’t eaten in fourteen years.”

Craig shook his head. “Nah. I fell in the water. Long story, but I need to get my glucose levels back up.”

“Ah,” Paine nodded. “Smart.” Paine turned his head and watched as the attendant left the room. “So, you were explaining how you came to be here.”

“Yes. It’s going to sound crazy, though.”

“What doesn’t these days? Try me.”

“Well, like I said, to me, it was just yesterday that I was doing my SOLO jump over Shenzhen. The next thing I knew, I was waking up and my wife was holding my hand. Then she told me fourteen years had past while I’d been in suspended animation.”

“Heh,” Paine responded, nodding. “That explains it. Your body was preserved in one of those S.A. body bags. Little did we know when we returned what was left of you to her that she was going to try to put Humpty Dumpty back together.”

“Well, apparently she managed. The technology they have in their facility is off the charts, Colonel. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Craig paused for a moment as he gestured toward the cybernetic prostheses that the super soldiers sported. “Well, not until now anyway.”

“Doc, I hate to bring it up. But did your wife make you aware of her current marital status?” Paine asked.

Craig’s mouth turned down at the mention of his wife. He nodded. “Yeah. She told me.”

Paine sat back in his chair and shook his head as he watched the crackling fire. “That’s cold, man. You have my sympathies.”

“Thanks, Colonel,” Craig replied. He was about to say something else, but words failed him. There was really nothing that could be said on a subject that was still so tender. He shook his head and took another bite of his cookie.

“So how did you end up here?” Paine inquired further.

“When you arrived at the facility, Aldous Gibson hatched a plan to send my wife and I through the Planck machine with the A.I. in an attempt to evade you. They were convinced that your intention was to kill everyone in the facility and destroy the A.I. I agreed to go through the Planck to protect my wife, but at the last moment, she knocked me out and sent me through the machine alone.”

“So, are you telling me you’re not here willingly?” Paine asked.

“No,” Craig replied. “I want to go back home as soon as possible, sir.”

“I figured as much,” Paine replied. He turned to Drummey and Degrechie. “You see? He’s a good soldier.”

“Were you able to convince Aldous to tell you where we were?” Craig asked.

“No. Aldous Gibson is currently a fugitive from justice.”

Craig was momentarily in disbelief. “And Samantha as well?”

“No. We were able to capture her,” Paine said, trying to keep his face stone still.