Sirens went off and tore Dee'thmo'o out of a solid slumber. He jerked awake in his sleeping sling and immediately fumbled at the latches to free himself.
His brand new hand-dandy Terran datalink was blinking at him.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
He blinked at it and saw it all pop up.
Dwellerspawn and PAWM across the planet, attacking urban and industrial centers. Casualties were high and mounting.
They were in the city that Dee'thmo'o was in!
Blowing hard, Dee'thmo'o grabbed clothing and his ID and stuffed it into a carry-all, hurrying to the elevator. A dozen or so other beings were waiting for it with him, all them sleepy, all of them worried. There were colts and fillies crying, matrons holding tiny calves, and neo-sapients grimly staring at the elevator's display.
Twice the building rocked and the power flickered.
"We should take the stairs," Dee'thmo'o suggested.
"It's sixty-two flight down," a matron said. "My calves would never make it."
Dee'thmo'o nodded, despite the fact that he still felt it would be safer to the take the stairs he understood her concern.
Finally the door opened up and they all crowded in with other people
YOU BELONG TO US! roared out and Dee'thmo'o flinched from the burning pain.
The elevator slowly moved to the ground floor, stopping on other floors for more and more beings to pack into the small space. At the end the elevator was grinding and squealing and Dee'thmo'o was just glad to get out of the confined space. His datalink was providing him directions to the shelter he was authorized for. He'd paid good money for a private shelter only a little ways away from his luxury skyraker and was suddenly glad he did.
It was less than a mile away, at less than 60% capacity.
"Follow me, there's a shelter ahead," Dee'thmo'o said, waving at everyone.
Some followed him, mostly the neo-sapients, although a filly with a half-dozen calves were following him. The sky flashed repeatedly off in the distance, like lightning on a dark night, but the flashes were quick, sharp, and white. A rolling set of dull booms echoes through the streets and the sound of creaking metal and cracking macroplas filled the air.
Dee'thmo'o looked upward nervously, seeing the skyrakers slowly shift. A hoverlift in the sky suddenly began tumbling down. Dee'thmo'o watched, his mouth open, as it slammed into the side of a skyraker and exploded.
"Hurry, hurry," Dee'thmo'o urged, waving them forward. The filly handed him a tiny little calf, less than a year old, and together they all rushed the last two block.
There weren't many people around the shelter entrance, and Dee'thmo'o held the filly's hand as they moved forward. He waved the neo-sapients in front of him, standing at the back of the line. He looked around, wondering why the street the way they had come was empty now.
More flashes, then a dull boom off in the distance followed by a strange sound.
Screaming.
In the distance, there was the sounds of screams that overlapped, melded together, and turned into a roar. Flashes were coming faster and faster and Dee'thmo'o's datalink threw up a notice.
SHELTER AT 154% CAPACITY
SHELTER IN PLACE
He looked forward as the line suddenly stared moving forward. The elevator into the shelter was open and the line moved quickly as the big insect known as a Treana'ad waved everyone forward. Dee'thmo'o got to the front of the line as the elevator was almost completely packed.
"We're over-full!" the Treana'ad said. "Authorization only."
The filly next to Dee'thmo'o whinnied nervously, inflating her crests, barely on the thinking edge of panic.
Dee'thmo'o thought fast. He thought about his life before this. An Overseer, wealthy beyond most people's wildest dreams, he was still wealthy and privileged even though the Unified Council had lost the war against the Mad Lemurs of Terra.
He looked at the Treana'ad then waved at the filly.
"She's my wife! Pair bonded by the Breeding Authority yesterday!" Dee'thmo'o shouted. He held his card forward. "Please, take her and the children."
The Treana'ad took the card, gave Dee'thmo'o an odd look, and waved the filly and the calves with her into the elevator.
"Everyone get back, get back," the Treana'ad said.
The filly stared at him, her mind blanked by the screaming that was getting louder.
YOU BELONG TO US!
The others in the elevator picked up the colts and fillies, accepted the little calves into their arms. The Treana'ad pushed himself back in.
"There's no more room," the Treana'ad said oddly.
Dee'thmo'o just nodded.
"Unlock," the Treana'ad said. He unholstered the pistol from his waist. The Treana'ad held out one of those brutal looking pistols. Dee'thmo'o took it, looking down at it. The Treana'ad spoke as he hit the close door stud. "Save a round for yourself."
Dee'thmo'o nodded slowly as the door shut.
The filly was crying as she stared at him. The neo-sapients were just staring.
A Telkan lifted one fist in a salute to him as the door closed.
Dee'thmo'o watched as the cylinder lowered into the ground.
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The screaming was louder and Dee'thmo'o turned to look at the road behind him. Hundreds, thousands of beings were rushing forward, all of them screaming. Some were striking each other, others hitting themselves.
The crowd around Dee'thmo'o broke and ran, screaming.
Dee'thmo'o stood, staring at the oncoming screaming horde.
He looked at the pistol, then lifted it up. He stared at the oncoming crowd with his head held high.
His head suddenly felt hot and tingly, like his brain was full of pins and needles.
I've done a lot of bad things in my life, he thought to himself.
The crowd was less than ten meters from him. He pressed the muzzle of the pistol tight against the side of his head.
But I did one good thing.
Five meters.
Digital Omnimessiah grant me mercy.
He pressed the firing stud.
----------
SPECIES IDENTIFIER: 68 (LANAKTALLAN)
NAME: DEE'THMO'O
SEX: MALE
AGE: 319.4 TERRAN STANDARD YEARS
CAUSE OF DEATH: SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUND
UPLOAD STATUS: COMPLETE/VERIFIED/CRC CHECK PASSED
ENABLING LIMITED INTERACTION WITH SUDS RECORD
--------------
Dee'thmo'o was suspended in blackness. He couldn't hear his heartbeat, couldn't hear his lungs, the space was silent.
A dot appeared.
YOUR LIFE FUNCTIONS TERMINATED. IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT THIS WAS DUE TO A CIVILIAN MASS CASUALTY EVENT DESPITE YOUR SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUND.
Dee'thmo'o felt slightly startled at that. If his life functions were terminated, why was he seeing words written in Unified Galactic Standard.
YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY UPLOADED TO THE SENTIENCE UNINTERRUPTED DISASTER STORAGE SYSTEM
Dee'thmo'o frowned slightly.
YOU HAVE FIVE (5) LIVES REMAINING. NO PENALTY IS ASSESSED FOR SELF-TERMINATION DUE TO CONTEXT.
Dee'thmo'o felt as if he leaned his upper torso back in surprise, but realized he couldn't actually feel his body.
YOUR ESTIMATED TIME BEFORE RESHEATHING IS
YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN THE MASS CASUALTY DISASTER STORAGE BUFFER SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM IS TO PROCESS YOUR EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL STATE AS WELL AS DETERMINE WHICH SYSTEM YOU WILL BE WAITING IN.
THERE IS NO REASON TO BE ALARMED. THIS IS ENTIRELY ROUTINE.
DO YOU WISH TO REVIEW YOUR FINAL MOMENTS?
Dee'thmo'o shook his head. He could remember the cold feeling of the Terran magac pistol against his head, could remember the sharp cracking sound of the pistol firing when his finger had pressed the stud.
SENTIENCE STABILITY CHECKS ARE PASSED.
RELEASING ADVANCED VIRTUALLY REALITY CONTROL SYSTEMS
SPAWN LOCATION: REMEMBRANCE PARK #982
THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING TERRASOL DISASTER RECOVERY SYSTEMS FOR YOUR AFTERLIFE NEEDS
HAVE A NICE AFTERLIFE DAY
Dee'thmo'o suddenly felt like he was falling, but then everything seemed to turn to jelly around him. Light came first, streaming around him. Then the scent of cut grass, water, and a warm day filled his nostrils. He could feel soft grass beneath his hooves.
Everything appeared in a streaking blur.
It was a sunny day, he was standing on the grass in a park. Plants were all around him, sculpted to appear both natural and pleasing to the eye. Paths wound around him, where he could see Terran Descent Humans, Treana'ad, Rigellians, even Pubvians moving around.
Dee'thmo'o just stared at everything around him, staring to shake. He was dead. He knew he was dead, he'd pulled the trigger himself.
A Treana'ad matron came up, taking a hit off of her powersmoker and exhaling a large cloud around herself that smelled like pleasant sweet fruit.
It calmed him, oddly enough, and she moved closer.
"First time in the system," she said. Dee'thmo'o noticed it wasn't a question. Dee'thmo'o nodded and she sipped at her power smoke. "Trying to figure out why you're here?" Dee'thmo'o nodded again and the Treana'ad matron gave her species equivalent of a shrug. "None of us are sure. You're not the first Lanaktallan we've seen, more and more are arriving all the time."
"My planet was invaded. Dwellerspawn and Precursor Autonomous War Machines," Dee'thmo'o said.
The matron nodded. "Same with a lot of other people. We're taking a pounding out there," she sipped at her power smoker again and exhaled rings around her feet. "Well, you're dead, so you're safe here."
Dee'thmo'o looked up at the blue sky that was only broken up with puffy white clouds scattered about. "Where is here?"
"The SUDS system," the Matron said. She chuckled. "A Terran miracle."
"But where am I? I died," Dee'thmo'o protested.
"And the Terrans copied your sentience to this system so that you may be dead but you still exist," the Treana'ad matron said.
"That... seems impossible," Dee'thmo'o said.
The Treana'ad matron just shrugged again. "Terrans," was all she said, like it explained everything.
And to Dee'thmo'o, maybe it did.
"Have you ever seen baby Rigellian ducks swim?" the Treana'ad asked.
Dee'thmo'o shook his head.
"Come with me. We'll get some ice cream and sit by the pond and watch them swim and sing," the matron said, holding a hand out to Dee'thmo'o.
Dee'thmo'o took her hand and followed her.
------------
"Good try. You've almost got it," Legion said as Herod gasped and sat down. Herod was covered in sweat, breathing heavy, his muscles trembling as he half-collapsed onto the smooth fallen log.
"How come you figured out how to do it so easy?" Herod asked the plump matronly looking woman that was both standing next to the fire in the eVR space that overlaid the campsite and was sitting down near him.
"Because," Dee said, as if that answered everything.
"It can take a little bit. You're used to just existing in eSpace," Legion said. He sighed. "It can take a bit to get the hang of, but once you do, it's easy as hell."
"I hardly have," the Dee by the fire said.
"to concentrate on it now," the Dee sitting down finished.
Herod just shook his head, feeling slightly put out over how a meat-sack like Dee was able to figure out how to separate a virtual version of herself from her body using only her datalink and Herod, a digital sentience, was taking forever.
"It could be all the time you spent in that hazard frame is keeping you from being able to easily do this," Legion mused. He looked over at Dee as walked back over to herself and merged with the one sitting down. "Plus, she's a special case, I think."
Dee just snorted.
"Here, drink this, it'll help," Daxin rumbled, handing Herod a tin cup half full of whiskey.
"Thanks," Herod said. He sipped at it and stared at the rough dirt that made up the middle of the camp site.
Herod looked up when Dee suddenly stood up. She put the tips of her index and middle fingers against the bottom of the hinge of her jaw. "What?" she asked. She frowned. "Let me see."
Herod looked away as Dee's eyes suddenly filled with stars.
"Keep him in freefall," Dee snapped. "You're sure?" She paused a second. "I know you're me. All right, I'll be right there."
She moved her hand and looked at Legion and Daxin.
"There might be a problem," she said.
Daxin frowned. "What?"
"We've got Lanky's in the system," she said. "There's a bunch in Hell right now, a shit-ton in limbo, and a bunch in the transient buffer interacting with other people."
"Hackers?" Peter asked, looking up.
"No," Dee said. "They're somehow in the system. We're talking full blown SUDS files."
"How?" Legion asked. "They aren't SUDS'd up."
Dee stared at Peter. "Petey...." she said, drawing out the name.
"What?" the man asked.
"Any idea what Lanaktallan are doing in the SUDS?" she asked gently.
Peter flinched slightly. "Civilian or military buffer?" he asked slowly.
Dee touched the bottom of the hinge of her jaw again. "Military or civilian?" she asked whoever she was speaking to. Herod was pretty sure it was her digital demonic sentience, but wasn't going to make any assumptions as far as that psychopath was concerned.
"Civilian," Dee said.
Menhit slowly packed her pipe, watching the byplay with shielded eyes.
"They aren't wired up with the SUDS stack?" Peter asked.
Dee shook her head.
"I don't know," Peter said.
Dee looked at Legion. "Get a hold of your flunkies in the Black Box," she said. "We need to know how Lanaktallan are getting into the system."
Legion nodded. "Yeah, yeah we do."
"Things appear to have become more complicated that they first appeared," Menhit said softly, puffing out smoke as she made sure her pipe was lit.
Dee sneered slightly. "Go play prophet somewhere else."
Menhit just smiled slowly.
Herod shook his head and went back to paying attention to the tin cup. He drained it and held it out to Daxin, who gave a rough looking smile.
"Priorities," Daxin said, hefting the bottle. "When the plotters start plotting, honest men look to their cups."
"Amen," Herod said as Daxin poured the whiskey.