The Cyber Chronicles IV - Cyborg (27 page)

“
What should he be eating?”

“
Cyber rations. It’s specially formulated to maintain a cyber’s
condition.”

She scowled.
"That sounds degrading, almost as bad as dog food."

"You don't
understand. Cyber hosts have an exceedingly high metabolism, and,
when they fight, they move at speeds no normal man is capable of,
which burns a huge amount of energy. Their cells are designed to
release more energy faster than normal, without the acid that
causes them to stiffen afterwards. They can lose up to five
kilograms in an hour of sustained exertion, and, although their
digestion is enhanced to compensate, poor rations, like synthetic
ship food, isn't enough to sustain them. Cyber rations may be
unpalatable, but it's rich in the energy, vitamins and minerals he
has to replace. By feeding him ordinary food, you've weakened him
considerably."

"He's not a
damned machine," she said.

"No, he's a
genetically modified human being, and you've got to understand that
he requires special food if he's going to perform the feats of
strength, speed and stamina he's designed for. When he's doing
nothing but sitting in front of the TV like a couch potato, he can
eat normal food."

"I'm not
eating that shit," Sabre said. "Have you ever tasted it?"

"Actually, I
have, and yeah, it's nasty."

"Tastes like
dog poo."

"If you want
to keep fighting and running around carrying Tassin, you've got to
eat it, or starve."

Tassin's brows
shot up. "Starve?"

"Yes.
Literally. Even if he eats four square meals a day."

"Okay."

Sabre glowered
at her. "No."

"Either that,
or he's got to eat normal high-energy food like meat, nuts and
cheese. That will help, but it won't be enough, and I don't know
where you'll find it."

"He'll eat
cyber rations."

"Good." Tarl
turned to smile down at Sabre. "Right, let's see if we can fix your
memories now."

Sabre
continued to frown at Tassin. "I'm not eating cyber rations."

"Yes you
are."

"Who's going
to make me?"

"I am."

"You and what
army?"

She smiled.
"Just me."

"Right."

"Just until
we're safe."

He sighed, and
the defiance seemed to drain out of him. "Fuel for the weapon."

"Stop
that."

Tarl turned to
the machine and removed the flat screen from the end of the
flexible arm, replacing it with a U-shaped instrument, which he
placed around Sabre's head, the ends over his ears.

"I'm going to
scan your brain now, through the gaps in your skull plating around
your ears," he explained. "It won't hurt."

Tarl switched
on the machine, and a strange image appeared on the screen, which
he studied. To Tassin it looked like a jumble of convoluted lines,
but deep within it were three spikes of glowing barrinium tipped
with spreading branches, like tiny trees. Tarl pointed at them.

"Those are the
hooks, as we call them. That's how the control unit accesses his
brain." Swirls of multi-coloured light swept across the image, and
Tarl tapped the screen, indicating them. "That's his brain
function. Sabre, try to remember a time before you were free."

Sabre frowned,
and Tarl peered at the screen, which did not appear to change, the
shimmers of light passing over it in random patterns. Then he
pointed to a tiny flash of green light near one of the twisted
hooks. "There. That's his memory, what there is of it. But look at
that. It ends in an unnaturally straight line, like it's cut
off."

"What does
that mean?" Tassin asked.

"It means I'm
right, but I want to make sure."

Tarl switched
off the machine and removed the instrument from around Sabre's
head, then picked up a peculiar device from the cart beside him and
turned to the cyber. "I'm going to examine the circuitry in the
control unit now, but first, I have to switch it off."

"Please
do."

"It's only
temporary; the unit will reboot automatically after fifteen
minutes." Tarl inserted the end of the instrument into the slot on
the side of the cyber band and pressed a button on top of it. The
brow band went black, and Sabre closed his eyes with a sigh.

Tarl studied
him. "You felt that?"

"It's like a
presence has gone. One that lurks in the back of my mind all the
time."

Tarl nodded.
"Unfortunately, it might try to take over again when it
reboots."

"Great."

Tarl bent and
pressed the side of the device to the front of the control unit,
pushing another button on it. Purple light filled the brow band,
and, to Tassin's amazement, a network of tiny lines became visible
within it, packed together in a dense maze of interconnected
filaments so fine that it looked like intricately woven cloth.

"That's the
circuitry," Tarl explained, placing the instrument next to the
hairline crack in the black crystal. "This isn't something I've
done before. Control units don't break, but I made this instrument
to try to find a way to break one. There, look at that."

Tassin and
Kole bent to peer at the tiny lines, but Tassin could see nothing
unusual.

Tarl nodded,
looking eager. "That's it, right there. A break in the control
circuit."

"We know it's
broken," Tassin pointed out.

"Yeah, and I
know what they did to fix it. That track right next to it is the
memory-access circuit. The software patch they uploaded switched
the control circuit to the memory-access circuit, which serves
little purpose. All it does is allow the control unit access to
Sabre's memories. They circumvented the break by diverting the
circuit to the next port, then rerouting it back to the control
hook in his brain."

Tassin
straightened, shaking her head. "I have no idea what you're talking
about."

"It doesn't
matter. That's why he's lost his memories."

"Why would
-?"

"Because it's
blocking them. The control unit uses fields of insignificant
electromagnetic energy to control the brain, dissecting it into
areas of usage. When they diverted the memory-access circuit, it
caused a null feedback field."

Tassin stared
at him blankly, and even Kole looked confused.

Tarl sighed.
"It built a bloody great wall."

"But the
software patch was removed," Kole said.

"Which cut off
the control circuit, but it didn't restore the memory access."

"So all you
have to do is restore the memory access -"

"And the null
field will vanish."

Tassin smiled.
"Then do it."

Tarl switched
off the instrument and swung away with a grunt. "It's not going to
be pleasant, Sabre."

"How bad?"

"Pretty
nasty."

"Why?"

Tarl put the
instrument on the trolley. "I'll have to shock the control unit to
open up the memory-access circuit."

"I want my
memories back."

Tassin frowned
at Tarl. "You're sure about this? It wasn't the shocks that the
cyber used to try to subdue him?"

"No. A cyber
host's brain is far more resilient than yours or mine. They're
designed to cope with the electromagnetic fields that are used to
control them, or they would develop tumours and loss of motor
control."

"He's had
co-ordination problems since his battle with the cyber."

"That could be
due to the shocks, if they were powerful enough, but memory is more
difficult to affect, and it's not stored in the area the cyber
would have attacked, since it's primarily hooked into his motor
cortex."

She shook her
head. "I don't understand. Please just help him. But don't hurt
him."

"I have to
hurt him. There's no other way. It's up to him."

"Do it," Sabre
muttered.

"Okay. We just
have to wait for the control unit to reboot." Tarl stood up and
turned to a shelf full of instruments on the wall and took down a
pair of wires with pointed metal ends.

Chapter Fourteen

A few tense
minutes passed, and Tassin tried to prepare herself for what was to
come, wishing she could leave, but unable to abandon Sabre. She
caught her breath as a red light appeared on the control unit and
flashed, then several more lighted, flashing in random patterns.
The diagonal lights on the left hand side began to come on, and she
counted them. As the seventh one lighted, the band blazed red, and
Sabre's back arched. His hands flew up to grip the brow band, and
Tarl stepped back with a curse, bumping into Tassin.

"Bloody
hell."

Sabre writhed,
his face twisted with pain, his fingers whitening on the brow band.
Tassin chewed her lip, her eyes stinging with tears as he thrashed,
then the lights on the control unit dimmed, several turning green
and starting to flash. Sabre relaxed, opening his eyes, and
released the brow band. Tassin's heart pounded with dread until he
turned his head and looked at her, sending a gush of relief through
her that made her legs turn to rubber.

"Sabre."

He managed a
wan smile. "Yeah, it's me."

Tarl swung on
her. "There was a risk of it taking over again?"

She nodded.
"It has been able to re-establish control in the past, even though
it's damaged, then Sabre has to fight his way free again."

Tarl’s brows
knotted. "Why didn't you tell me? I would never risk that!
Never!"

"You knew it
would try to take over when it came back on. You said so."

"Try, yes, but
I didn't think there was any chance it would succeed. And I didn't
think it would be so bad." Tarl cursed and swung away. "I won't
risk it."

"You won't
give it the shocks?"

"What if it
takes over?" Tarl shook his head. "It's too risky. He's not strong
enough."

"Will his
memories come back on their own?"

"No,
never."

"But he
remembered something from his past just a little while ago."

Tarl turned to
Sabre. "Do you remember it now?"

Sabre looked
confused. "I remembered something?"

"The slave
girl?"

He frowned,
shaking his head. "I don't remember that."

"You don't
even remember that you remembered it?"

"No."

Tarl sighed,
looking depressed. "This will happen from time to time. A small
portion of a memory will surface, leak through the wall, if you
like, then get sucked back behind it. He'll even lose some of his
new memories, especially bits about remembering stuff from his
past."

"What about
the injections Shasen gave him?"

Tarl snorted.
"Those are designed to help re-establish connectivity in a damaged
brain. His isn't damaged, it's partitioned."

Tassin looked
away, sorrow filling her heart.

"Do it," Sabre
said.

"You'd risk
it?” Tarl asked. “You could lose control."

"I'll get it
back."

"If I caused
it to take over again, I'd never forgive myself. You're the only
free cyber ever. How can you jeopardise that?"

"It's my
choice."

Tarl frowned.
"It's too dangerous."

Sabre sat up
and swung his legs off the couch. "I want my memories back. Either
you do it, or I'll do it myself."

"You can't.
You don't know how. You'll do more damage than good."

"If it damages
the cyber, so much the better."

"It won't. It
will only damage your brain."

"But you
said..."

"The cyber can
only use minute amounts of power,” Tarl explained. “I'll have to
use a great deal more. If it's done wrong, and it gets into your
brain, it will do damage, mostly to your motor cortex."

Tassin went
over to Sabre and placed a hand on his arm. "Perhaps we shouldn't
risk it."

"No." He stood
up and approached Tarl. "I want you to do it. The cyber hasn't been
able to take over since the software patch was removed. It’s only
tried once, so it knows it can’t re-establish control or it would
have kept trying. The techs on Myon Two must have known I could get
free, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered to upload the software
patch, would they?"

"No,” Tarl
said. “The break in the control circuit is plain to see, even
though it's only a micron wide. When the control unit tries to
re-establish dominance, it sends a surge along that track, but it
can't operate at that level of power without draining its backup
batteries, so it gives up. The break in the control circuit weakens
it, and your mind prevents it from regaining control, but if it
does regain control, it will re-establish the electromagnetic
fields that hold your psyche prisoner -"

"I know that.
I've lived it. The sucking darkness that holds me in a cold black
sea. I've freed myself before. I can do it again."

Tarl touched
the brow band. "If you're sure."

"I am."

"All right.
Lie down."

Sabre returned
to the couch and stretched out. Tarl went over to the machines and
took down the wires again, touching the ends together in a flash of
blue sparks.

Tassin gulped.
"What did you make those for?"

"I thought I
could fuse the tracks in Alpha's control unit, crippling it."

"That sounds
like it should have worked."

Tarl smiled.
"I thought so, but I soon realised that there's no way to fuse
those tracks."

"What about
the broken track? Could it fuse back together?"

"No. If that
was possible, the techs on Myon Two would have done it instead of
uploading the software patch. Maintenance techs only deal with
damaged hosts, so all I know about control units I learnt from
Alpha. When Sabre was taken back, he must have gone to research and
development, where I'm sure they studied him minutely. If he'd been
a B or C grade, they'd have scrapped him and replaced him.