The Cyber Chronicles IV - Cyborg (28 page)

"I learnt a
lot from Alpha, and one of the things I discovered is that the
tracks inside a control unit aren't made from barrinium, which I
thought was pretty strange, since it's an ideal superconductor. The
reason for that is simple: barrinium is a chemical blocker. It
doesn't allow its chemistry to be changed one iota, especially by
electrical means, and that's how the control unit commands the
brain, with a combination of chemical signals and electrical
impulses.

"So resling
was used, a metal that easily changes its chemical signature, in
fact, it's capable of discharging a wide range of chemicals, which
it then reabsorbs from the host. But resling only melts at
super-high temperatures, not with electricity, which was a bonus
for the cyber designers, otherwise cybers would be vulnerable to
electrical weapons like stun guns, which might conceivably fuse the
tracks in the control unit if they were made from barrinium."

Tassin glanced
at Kole. "I hope you understood that."

He nodded.
"Fascinating stuff."

"And all
highly classified." Tarl said.

"Could we get
on with this?" Sabre asked.

"But aren't
the hooks made from barrinium?" Kole enquired.

"Yes, encasing
the resling filaments. Only the ends are exposed in the correct
places in the brain, otherwise they wouldn't work." Tarl turned to
Sabre. "It took twenty-seven years to develop the control unit in
all its complexity."

"But there's
so much room for error," Kole pointed out. "The slightest mistake
and it won't work."

"That's why
sixty per cent of the one-year-old hosts are destroyed after the
cyber is fitted, because it fails." Tarl touched one of the
electrodes to the cyber band, close to the crack. "Now please be
quiet for a moment. Sabre, this is going to hurt, and it will
probably make the unit try to take over."

Sabre gripped
the edges of the couch and closed his eyes. "Okay, do it."

Tarl
hesitated, his expression tense, and Tassin wondered how they had
come to trust him so much, so quickly. Something, she decided,
about the open honesty in his eyes, and the way he spoke his mind
without hesitation. She held her breath when he leant over the
cyber, bracing himself by placing his arms against the sides of
Sabre's head. He lowered the second electrode, aiming for a spot
close to the first, then touched it to the flashing brow band.

A fat blue
spark leapt between the two, passing through the black crystal, and
Sabre stiffened, his eyes snapping open. The cyber band blazed red,
and Tarl recoiled, looking concerned as Sabre's back arched in a
powerful convulsion. Tassin stepped closer, watching the brow
band's lights, her stomach knotting as the seventh control light
flickered green. Sabre's lips drew back in a snarl, and his hands
snapped up to grip the band, tugging at it until his back bowed and
his arms bulged.

Tarl swung
away and hooked the electrodes back on the machine, then picked up
the odd device he had used earlier. Hurrying back to Sabre's side,
he braved the cyber's thrashing to grip one of his wrists, then
glanced up at Kole.

"Help me! Hold
him still!"

Kole took hold
of Sabre's arms, pushing him down on the couch as he continued to
writhe, groaning. Tarl tried to fit the end of the device into the
slot on the side of the brow band, cursing when Sabre moved his
head about, foiling him. Tassin realised what he was trying to do,
and for a moment it seemed like a brilliant idea, then she stepped
closer.

"No!
Don't!"

Tarl looked
up, his face slack with surprise. "I'm trying to shut down the
control unit."

"I know, but
when it reboots, it'll try to take over again. Let him win this
battle, instead of having to fight another."

Tarl released
Sabre and stepped back. "You're right."

Kole let go of
Sabre's arms and nodded, turning to Tassin. "It seemed like a good
idea until you pointed that out."

The brow
band's lights dimmed, several turning green and starting to flash,
but the seven lights on the left hand side remained a steady red,
to her relief. Sabre relaxed, his mouth open as he gasped, sweat
sheening his brow. He released the brow band, and his hands fell to
his sides. Blood oozed from around two of the struts, running down
the sides of his head. Tassin moved closer, gazing at him with deep
concern.

"Are you all
right?"

He pulled a
face. "What is that smell?"

"What
smell?"

"It stinks.
And I can taste it too. Ugh."

Tassin swung
to frown at Tarl. "What's going on?"

He smiled.
"It's worked. That's a side effect."

"Explain
that."

"A portion of
his brain has just been released from an electromagnetic cage, and
it's overcompensating. He may have hallucinations, too. Whatever he
smells, it's part of his memories. It's the first sign of their
return."

She turned to
Sabre. "What do you smell?"

"I don't
know." He rubbed his nose. "Smells like... rotten... corpses. It
was the swamp outside that city in Olgara. When they dumped me
after I put myself into cold sleep. It was where they dumped their
dead."

Tassin's heart
leapt with joy. "You remember!"

He frowned,
rubbing his head. "Bits and pieces. I have a splitting
headache."

Tarl turned to
a cabinet and rummaged in it.

Sabre closed
his eyes, grimacing. "My mouth's full of stinking mud. Tastes like
shit."

"It's just a
memory," Tassin assured him. "There's no mud in your mouth."

"I can taste
it."

Tassin touched
his arm, trying to distract him, and Sabre recoiled as if she had
stuck a pin in him. He leapt off the couch like a spring-loaded cat
and landed on his feet on the other side of it, yanking a laser
from its holster. Kole swore and dropped flat as Sabre fired a
quick succession of shots at the far wall, and Tarl threw himself
down with a tinkle of broken glass as he dropped a bottle. Tassin
cowered beside the couch, her heart pounding. Sabre swung around,
searching for an enemy only he could see, his eyes glazed. The brow
band blazed red briefly, and he dropped the laser and clutched his
head with a grunt.

Tassin peered
around the corner of the couch, her mouth dry. Kole crawled into
its shelter beside her. Sabre ducked an invisible blow and whipped
around, smashing his fist right through the wall.

"God, he's
going to wreck my ship," Tarl groaned.

Sabre backed
away, looking around. "Tassin?"

Tassin tried
to get up, and Kole grabbed her arm. "Are you nuts?"

"Let me go!"
She shook him off and stood up. "I'm here."

Sabre turned
to her, and her heart leapt with joy at the recognition in his
eyes. A slight, hesitant smile tugged at his lips. "You found me.
You did it. You freed me, just like you promised."

His face
twisted, and his eyes filled with anguish. He took her hands and
pressed them to his lips, and she tugged them free to slip them
around his neck. Sabre buried his face in the side of her neck and
enfolded her in a gentle embrace, and she held him close, stroking
his hair. Her heart ached and she blinked as tears stung her eyes.
After a few moments he held her away and bowed his head, rubbed his
face and blinked.

"Thank
you."

"You would
have done the same thing. How many times did you save my life?"

"Five, I
think." He glanced behind him as if he had heard a noise.

Tarl sat up.
"He needs a sedative."

"Do you want a
sedative?" she asked Sabre.

He jumped, and
then rubbed his thigh. "If it will stop this."

Tarl stood up
and rummaged in the cabinet again, filling a syringe. "It will
help."

Tassin gazed
at Sabre. "What are you seeing?"

"Memories, I
guess. All jumbled up. Sudden noises, pains, smells, tastes." He
grimaced. "Ugh."

"What is
it?"

"Dog food." He
glanced around, looking hunted, then swung to face her again with
an alarmed expression. "Are you all right?"

"Yes.
Why?"

"You were
hurt." He shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "The sonlar."

"That was
years ago."

Tarl knelt
beside Sabre with a syringe, but the cyber recoiled. "No!"

"It's okay,"
Tassin soothed. "It's just a sedative."

He turned to
her. "Dena?"

"She's fine.
Oh, no it's me, Tassin."

"Tassin." He
cast Tarl a wary glance. "Give me the sedative."

"Okay, hold
still."

Sabre closed
his eyes as Tarl injected him, struggling with more memories,
Tassin suspected. His hands jerked occasionally, and his legs
twitched, as did his head.

"You're doing
great," Tarl encouraged.

"Why is this
happening?" Tassin asked. "Why doesn't he just remember like the
rest of us?"

"We've open
the floodgates of a dam that has been cut from him for years. His
brain has lost the ability to process so many memories efficiently.
They're all rushing out at once. It will improve in time."

"How much
time?"

He shrugged.
"A few weeks, probably."

Sabre jerked
his head to the side with a soft grunt and raised a hand to his
cheek, then studied it as if he expected to see blood. "Shizana."
He glanced down and brushed at his belly, and the brow band filled
with electric blue light, its soft drone filling the room.

"Oh, crap,"
Tarl muttered, moving away. "Tassin, come away, or that will give
you one hell of a headache."

She shook her
head, and the drone deepened, reverberating around the room. Tarl
plugged his ears, then grimaced and pulled his fingers out again.
"That won't do any good."

Sabre raised
his head, and the full power of the cyber swept over her, making
her dizzy before he looked away. "Sorry." The hum and the blue
light died, and Tarl slumped with relief.

"Why is the
cyber reacting too?" she asked.

"It's sharing
his memories. That circuit has been restored."

Sabre bowed
his head, and his eyelids drooped.

"The
sedative's kicking in," Tarl said.

Tassin touched
Sabre's arm. "Come and lie down."

Sabre rose and
climbed onto the couch, clutching his head. Tarl went back to the
cabinet and took out a bottle of pills, poured a glass of water and
gave the pills to Sabre. He swallowed them and rolled onto his
side, his hands still jerking in reaction to his memories. Tassin
perched on the couch beside him, rubbing his shoulder.

"Do you
remember what happened to you on Myon Two?"

He nodded.

"What did they
do to you?"

"You don't
want to know."

"Yes I
do."

Tarl stepped
closer. "So do I."

He sighed.
"When I woke up from cold sleep, the cyber was back in charge.
First they tested me with electric shocks, then burns. I let the
cyber stay dominant." He held out his arm, revealing a row of tiny
white scars along the inside of it. "Nerve stimulation with
needles. Very painful. When they were satisfied, they downloaded
all my memories and watched them."

Tassin shot
Tarl a shocked look. "They can do that?"

He nodded.
"The cyber can translate biological memories into digital
images."

"They put me
back into the sensory deprivation tank," Sabre went on. "I don't
know how long that lasted. I got a bit vague towards the end. I
wanted to die. I remembered your face, on that last night in the
snow. That was what kept me sane. Your smile... and your words.
They were all I had. Finally they uploaded the software patch, and
my prison became permanent. Or so I thought." He closed his eyes
with a faint, sorrowful smile. "And I had nothing. Not even my
memories."

She stroked
his arm. "All this time, I thought you had your memories of our
time together to comfort you, but they even took those away."

"Then they put
me back into the training programme for a few weeks."

"Then Manutim
came and took you away?"

He nodded,
glancing around sharply, then relaxed again. "I went back to my old
job, guarding his shipments of drugs."

"But if you
were in active service, why did you arrive in a casket?"

"His business
took a hit. A rival smuggler took over a lot of his distribution
outlets, and I was idle for two weeks before he put me into cold
sleep. I think he didn't have any work for me."

"So he decided
to loan you to me and get me in his debt,” she said. “That
bastard."

"I would
dearly like to meet him again."

"I'd like to
see that."

"That might be
arranged," Tarl murmured.

Tassin looked
up at him. "How?"

"Well, Lord
Gaylor dabbles in making designer drugs. He has a lab, and he
supplies Manutim Alrade. The shipment I'm taking to Vygon One is
for him."

"He'll be
there?"

"Possibly."

Sabre rolled
onto his back and covered his face with a groan.

Tassin placed
a hand on his chest. "Bad memory?"

He nodded.

"Tell us."

"The slave
girl again... and the assassin I killed."

"Surely that
was... a good thing? Saving an old lady?"

He lowered his
hands, frowning. "He was the slave girl's brother, a slave too. And
my owner was a bitch."

"What
happened?"

"I guess he
found out what happened to his sister. He came to the mansion to
kill my owner, but of course, I caught him. He was a half-starved
wretch, covered in whip scars. She ordered me to kill him,
too."

"Oh."

Tarl went over
to the bank of machines, took a clear plastic bag full of pink
liquid from a compartment and hooked it to a tall steel pole on
wheels. He brought it over to the couch and uncapped a needle on
the end of a long plastic tube attached to the bag. Sabre glanced
down as Tarl pressed his thumb into the crook of the cyber's elbow,
causing a vein to bulge.