In the grand conference room at the top of Rejzik, the Rejiz and his Council of Eight engaged in a lively debate on the events of the war games and subsequent trial of Allz.
“I knew it, Rejiz, I just knew it”, said Guz. “The Gods have graced us with a Solon and are giving us a chance to prove our vision for the galaxy is the right one. We shall bear witness to a glorious new era, thank Voz!”
“C’mon now Guz, you knew no such thing,” countered the Rejiz “This is a fascinating development, of course, and one that potentially bodes well for us if we continue to intelligently manage the situation. But is not without risks. You can’t simply raise Jehz to your shoulder and fire him like a force gun at our enemies, Guz. It’s more complicated than that. We still don’t know for sure if we can control him and even if we were reasonably sure we could, do we even need him now? Aside from the hiccup on Hayim, our expansion continues as expected, accelerates even. There are no challengers on the horizon. Why take the chance Jehz turns out to be unpredictable and the method of our undoing?”
“Because if he is half of what we think he is, we could reach our dream more quickly and with fewer lives lost! Maybe even create an improved version of our shared vision that exceeds what we have yet dared to dream. Can’t you see Rejiz? More than that, if we truly succeed, Jehz could also become an important agent of the Rija message, moving our spirituality and wisdom into a more central place in Given society. A place many of us feel we have long deserved and one that would raise all the Given to a higher plane, one free of the ethical challenges our current structure places upon us.”
The Rejiz stiffened. “Are you saying that because you think it would be better for the Given people or better for the Rija? Check yourself, Guz, it’s not at all clear whose dream you really desire. We may pull at the strings to keep the Given stable and on course, but we will never try to seize power. When the Balance breaks, my friend, we shall be the first to fall, don’t doubt that for a second.”
“I know, sir, I am sorry, I got carried away. Of course, I did not mean what my words seem to suggest. I only wish for the rest of the Given kilns to see us more clearly, feel how we can be a positive force in the everyday lives of all our brothers and sisters. Like it used to be. It seems sometimes as if many believe us to only be lurking the shadows, misunderstood because they don’t try to learn anything of our ways.”
“The foundation of a building is never seen, Guz, and never appreciated as the design flourishes and soaring beams draw the eye of the superficial and uninformed. But without it, the building, and all the lives in it, would crumble to dust. We must not forget our roles, Guz, we are already the most important kiln and the center of the Balance. To try and be more than that, to be more visible, is sheer vanity at best and probably something much crasser and more dangerous. We will continue to quietly teach those who will listen, guide those who ask, and steady the ship, firmly if need be, should we get off course. With Jehz we need to proceed slowly and carefully, let the situation develop organically. We are looking at a military application of Jehz’s powers, that much is clear, but I would prefer to support the man for now and remain agnostic on his integration into Musa strategy. That would seem to be the most honorable and potentially fruitful path. Does anyone other than Guz disagree?
“You know I must at least mention again my concern about Jehz’s military future, Rejiz,” said Sariz. “I have raised this point before, but now that we have seen a glimpse of his possible strength, should we not be trying to defuse this before the Musa rush ahead with their new toy? We have no idea how powerful and dangerous Jehz can be, and the fact that the first enhanced attack he delivered was aimed at Musa soldiers should not escape us.”
“Traitorous and cowardly Musa soldiers who tried to kill him and many of his brothers and sisters too, Sariz,” said Guz. “Let us not forget he was only defending himself.”
“I’m not forgetting, but the sheer power and lack of control exhibited on the battlefield should make us all wary. We have no idea where it begins and ends, and until we do, this looks like a reckless path that I will pray nightly we don’t regret. Shouldn’t we try to stop those who are getting set to build a bomb whose only function may be to blow up in our faces? Make another play to pull Jehz back in the Rija, say that he needs more training to be able to master his new powers. Say anything you wish Rejiz, but take this weapon out of Musa hands until we understand what we are dealing with, I beg of you.”
“Your passion and direct words are always appreciated, Sariz, and please know that I have given strong consideration to this possibility. In the end, though, it may be a even more risky move than doing nothing. The Musa would likely deny us and we would be right back where we started, only then with a dark cloud of suspicion over our heads that may cause them to separate Jehz from us. There is no compelling argument we could use at this point to convince them of a risk none of us can assess. I know it is uncomfortable, but we need to let this play out some. Let’s see what our Musa friends are planning and then consider our next move. Reach out to all your contacts and make sure we are listening closely when the plans are made for their new favorite son.”
The meeting broke up soon after and the Rejiz retired to his quarters. Despite his soothing words to the council, he felt less than confident this situation was under control. What if the Musa decided to use Jehz in the way that Guz had suggested for the Rija, to enhance their position within the kilns and expand their influence? Perhaps Jehz himself might attempt something similar once he realized the extent of his powers. Of course it seemed unlikely, but nothing about this situation felt at all familiar or predictable. For many nights now, the Rejiz had slept fitfully full of worry that the deep uncertainty of this situation had parallels with the time after the darkest chapter of Given history, the Syber Occupation.
The Given had been a peaceful and largely agrarian society when they first encountered the agents of the Syber. Well into the mechanical stage of development when the invaders arrived, they were mastering the ability to extract increasing yields from their rich farmlands. This was in turn causing an increasing specialization on the home world and freedom for some to pursue additional technological advances. Numerous attempts to harness electronics were made but largely stymied by the constant and intense solar storms that bombarded the planet. In the end, most of the efforts were abandoned and the level of advancement stagnated. It mattered very little for their survival and continued growth due to the abundant natural resources available and the Given people continued to thrive. When the Syber agents arrived however, encased in high grade armor and wielding heavily shielded force guns, the Given, known then as the Nomari were able to offer little resistance. It took many years to fully conquer the homeland due to the sheer size of the Given world and inability of the Syber agents to use most modern tech. But in the end, the last clusters of Nomari resistance were crushed.
A large percentage of the native Nomari population was then transported to Syber controlled worlds to work as slaves. Considered highly attractive and desirable by the Syber, they became the dominant domestic servant class. The close quarters and exposure to the inner workings of Syber society made them regular targets of their master’s extreme cruelty, which was legendary throughout the galaxies where the Syber were known and feared.
No one knew where the Syber originated from but they had risen quickly to be a dominant force in their corner of the universe, controlling hundreds of planets using their unique brand of violence, torture, and intimidation. Naturally larger and stronger than nearly all humanoid species, their physical dominance was enhanced by the extensive use of cybernetic limbs and implants. Unlike many similar societies that sought to integrate their cybernetics in a way that appeared to match their natural form, the Syber reveled in grotesque appendages that flaunted their artificial origin. Arms and legs with diameters much greater than the natural were common, as were unusual lengths. In addition, they were typically enhanced with extensive weaponry. Under Syber law only two limbs could be cybernetic though the remaining natural limbs could be and were often decorated with spike, arrow, and meat hook like piercings that were attached to metal inlays embedded in their bones. They also made seemingly made no attempt to conceal or even fully heal where their cybernetic additions were attached and the open, dripping wounds served to enhance their shocking and intimidating appearance.
For thousands of years, the bondage and abuse of the Nomari continued. Tens of generations were born and died without even seeing a picture of the Given home world or truly understanding that they had once been a proud independent people. Only the Rija attempted to keep the old ways and culture alive in any manner they could and were made special targets of torture and murder because of it whenever they were identified.
Long after even the thought of escape and rebellion had ceased to be considered by nearly all Nomari save the most independent Rija and their supporters, a boy named Gellen was born on the main Syber home world. Raised as an apprentice slave to a cybernetic engineer in the same manner as his parents had been, he showed a strong early aptitude for design and invention, making substantial improvements to the Syber implants at a very young age even though he had received no formal education. After discovering his early efforts, his Syber master had strongly considered killing the boy for his impertinence in touching equipment without authorization and showing an independent spirit he considered dangerous in a slave. Gellen’s designs were so advanced though, the master decided to try and use the boy as a source for ideas and to advance his own career.
The ruse was successful, and Gellen’s master Gonarc rose to the top of his field and became a very rich and powerful man. Gellen was as close to a son as a slave could ever be given his contributions to Gonarc’s success and the lengths he went to trying to appease his master. Of course, all this was done with an ulterior motive, to be allowed continued access to the workshop in order to feed his insatiable desire for tinkering and knowledge.
This arrangement continued until the age of twenty-one when Gellen’s father was accused of treachery and conspiracy by a Nomari informant. Convicted with the flimsiest of evidence, his father was given a typical Syber punishment. He would be forced to torture and kill either Gellen or his wife in a widely broadcast punishment games event that served as a form of entertainment for the Syber. After that, he would be banished to a slave planet for life. Should he choose to kill neither or himself, all three would be doomed to face an even more violent session of extended and vicious torture followed by death. The situation was common enough that Gellen’s parents had felt compelled to previously discuss what they might do in this situation and both had agreed that Gellen needed to be given a chance to survive. When the fateful night came, Gellen’s father tearfully carried out his sentence to the shrieking catcalls of his Syber audience. Gellen was also forced to attend and witness the event and that night made the commitment to himself and his parents’ memory that he would dedicate his entire life to ending the Syber occupation. Many before had made a similar pact after witnessing the depths of Syber depravity but few had the intellect, patience, and resources that Gellen commanded.
For years after his mother’s death, Gellen virtually locked himself away in the workshop, creating a stream of impressive enhancements much to Gonarc’s delight. Gonarc had been worried how his mother’s death might affect Gellen and expected it to reduce his productivity, but the exact opposite seemed to be true. During this time, Gellen, also began work quietly on another project, one he had been thinking over and designing in his mind for many years. The project was a new virus concept that he planned to embed in the cybernetic attachments with the hope of one day using them to facilitate his revenge.
To ingratiate himself more deeply into Syber society, he began volunteering for work with the Nomari Alliance group. The innocently named organization hid beneath it a most nefarious purpose, to use the Nomari themselves to suppress dissent, short-circuit rebellion and exert control. Drawing from the most desperate and spiteful segments of society, Alliance members were universally despised and feared for their control over the lives of everyday Nomari. Should you be targeted by an Alliance officer, only a very powerful Syber connection was likely to save you and even that was no guarantee as the Syber commitment to fear and intimidation made defense of Nomari politically untenable for most. Membership in the Alliance was difficult to obtain and involved an intensive investigative process and protracted probation. They could not take any chance of an undercover Nomari seeking revenge gaining access to the organization’s secrets and threatening the Alliance leadership hold on their power. Living a nearly nomadic existence ensured Gellen would not be challenged for questionable associations, but the betrayal of his father at the hands of a senior Alliance member proved to be a black mark that was nearly impossible to erase.
For years, Gellen pressed on, performing any task asked of him, including the public renunciation of his well-liked father at numerous public forums. Knowing that Gellen and his father were close, the Nomari of Zerian could not begin to understand his positions. Aligning himself with the very organization that under false pretenses had killed his mother and jailed his father was considered beyond forgiveness and Gellen was formally shunned under Rija order soon after. When the Alliance leadership learned the news, they began to be fully convinced of his loyalty and he was offered a probationary membership. He was an attractive candidate, obviously highly intelligent with remarkable Syber connections and that package proved irresistible to the Alliance. Gellen was ecstatic, his seemingly impossible dream now a huge step closer and he quickly began the next phase of his plan – a steady rise through the Alliance. He forged a solid reputation as a Syber loyalist with his ability to root out rebellious Nomari and back up his accusations with strong physical evidence. While this evidence was not strictly needed, it allowed Alliance members to at least attempt arguments at their impartiality and stress both the futility of rebellion and importance of compliance to regular Nomari.
Of course, often this evidence was manufactured using Gellen’s considerable technical skills but it was also artfully blended with whatever small shreds of truth his investigators could turn up. Gellen typically targeted mid-level Nomari rebels with questionable moral reputations in order to not overly weaken a force he would someday need to rely on. Even this level of betrayal was hard for Gellen, reminding him of his parents’ tragedy, and more than one evening was spent silently and tearfully apologizing to his victims after being in attendance at their punishment games. But Gellen knew full well the extreme actions that would be required to establish himself as a candidate worthy of being more fully integrated into Syber society. Many desperate Nomari had tried but very few succeeded and in order for his larger plan to have a chance, he needed to be much, much closer to the center of Syber power. To get there he would have to pay a price even higher than he had ever imagined.
Ten years later, Gellen had finally risen to the top leadership post in the Alliance, and was able to use his expanded contacts to wrangle an invitation to a Syber military event that would have numerous senior officers in attendance. He convinced his old and now dying master Gonarc to allow to him to promote his designs there. Gellen claimed he would be representing them as Gonarc’s but instead had planned on pitching the military leaders directly on more advanced ideas he had never shown to Gonarc and doing it as the creator. He knew it was a very dangerous move due to the Syber’s deep fear of outsiders but was hopeful his reputation and the military enhancements he had saved for this day would be compelling enough to keep him alive.
At the event, the Syber military commanders were indeed suspicious, but as he had hoped, Gellen’s role in the Nomari Alliance allowed him to keep the conversations going. After being able to establish himself without question as the intellectual force behind Gonarc’s company, a deal was struck. Gellen would be legally separated from Gonarc under military decree and set up in a fully stocked and staffed lab. There he would continue working on his enhancements while also retaining his role in the Alliance. Mere months after his lab officially launched, his initial modifications served to make the Syber cybernetic weapon implants significantly more deadly and proved crucial in multiple victorious military conflicts. In turn, Gellen’s reputation continued to grow and he began to be spoken of by the Syber in tones of reverence bestowed only on their most esteemed engineers.
Never before had an outsider come close to this kind of success or even been allowed to try. Now Gellen finally felt comfortable laying down the groundwork of his most dangerous trap. He had planned from early on to reserve some special enhancements for the general that he hoped would sponsor his work. He believed that the Syber commanders’ endless lust for more sophisticated cybernetics could be manipulated to get him what he really wanted, to open even more doors and extend his influence deeper still into the Syber command structure. This strategy had worked flawlessly on Gonarc and Gellen prayed and hoped it would work again.
He was right. Word of his work spread from the general’s contacts and soon Gellen was installing custom improvements for the cybernetic limbs for many of the Syber elite. During this time Gonarc passed away, and after some discussion of his legal status, it was decided that while Gellen would be considered the general’s slave for legal purposes, he would be welcome to live as any free Syber would. This nearly unprecedented move was deemed justified by the priceless contributions Gellen had made to both Syber expansion and Nomari repression. Throughout his rise in Syber society, Gellen had continued to pick away at what he considered to be the weakest leaders of the Nomari resistance. While seeming to cripple the rebels, Gellen’s moves in reality had the opposite effect. Strong leaders were given time to emerge and weaker ones who might have compromised the movement were never given the opportunity to do so. The Nomari resistance was strengthening. Gellen even went so far as to allow assassination attempts he had learned of through his spies to proceed under controlled circumstances to enhance his image with the Syber. During one of the attempts, his security temporarily broke down and he shot through the eye. At first he had been terribly distraught at the loss but he sustained no permanent brain damage and quickly learned the obvious visual value of having his sacrifice so clearly on display.
Not all Syber were equally enamored of Gellen’s expanding fame however. The general’s chief-of-staff Ballick had long been suspicious of Gellen, and when the news of the slave engineer’s symbolic release reached his ears, he could stay silent no longer and rushed to the general’s office.
“General, I just heard the news about Gellen and I must respectfully insist you reconsider giving this slave such a significant level of freedom. It is absolutely unprecedented and his weapons acumen make the risk incalculable. His father was a rebel after all, shouldn’t that alone give you pause to consider this one’s motives?”
“That was long ago, Ballick, and based on his reaction after his father’s death, there appears to have been no love lost between them. So if that’s your main reason for suspicion, it doesn’t seem like a lot to go on. His record is spotless, and he has single handedly cut down the rebellion of his own people more effectively than an entire Syber task force assigned the same mission. What more could you ask for? And we haven’t even begun talking about the technical contribution. He’s a certified genius who has dedicated his life to making us stronger.”
“That’s exactly my point sir. Doesn’t this story seem a little too neat and tidy for anyone but me? When have we ever seen this behavior from slaves, turning on their own families and their own people like this and for no real gain? What is he really after, General, have you ever asked yourself that?
“Who knows, Ballick, maybe he just wants to build stuff. Maybe he’s a little crazy – maybe a lot crazy. Who cares? What do you think he is going to do, attack you with one of his implants? He would not be powerful enough to overpower even an untrained Syber male child, so what kind of threat can he really be?”
“I don’t know sir, but I am going to find out if it is all the same to you. Remember the old proverb, General. When your enemy extends one hand in peace, be sure he is not reaching for your weapon with the other.”
“Thank you Ballick, I remember it well, but you worry too much, my friend. I’ve known Gellen for years and had him checked out numerous times. There’s nothing there. If it makes you feel better, have him followed, search his lab, whatever it takes. Just be careful about it, we don’t want to offend someone with Gellen’s friends and reputation. I’d rather not have to explain to the Supreme Ruler why his favorite engineer isn’t willing to build him any new toys.”
“I will, General, thank you for your deference and understanding.” What Ballick hadn’t told the General is that he had already pursued those avenues, and many more, but had come up empty. He had hacked surveillance cameras for months, ripped apart Gellen’s lab, and had his cybernetics broken down by the best Syber minds he could find. Nothing. Nobody could be that pure, thought Ballick, everyone had quirks, weaknesses, and indiscretions. It didn’t make sense to him that Gellen seemingly had none. It was almost as if he knew he was being watched and was able to control everything that could be discovered about himself. He was a genius all right, Ballick would grant him that, and that made him very, very dangerous. Gellen seemed to be many moves ahead in a game his opponent didn’t even realize was being played.
In the lab, work on Gellen’s virus slowly continued. The tech behind it was so new and he had to be so careful about being discovered that it was nearly impossible to test thoroughly. Nonetheless he felt he was making real progress. The idea that had come to him in the difficult, trying months after his mother’s death was finally coming to fruition. Knowing that he could not embed malicious code in the firmware used to control the implants without being discovered, he had instead developed a way of generating it on command using rare metals with special properties. He had told the Syber engineers they were there to provide special magnetic attributes that helped control some of the tech in the implants and this was actually true. But what was only known to Gellen was that they were also capable of generating special frequencies that could be converted into commands, commands that could be used to control and sabotage the implant and the wearer in devastating ways. Ballick and others examining his implants had been unable to determine their true purpose since they did have a legitimate use and there was little reason to look deeper after that was understood. While they were camouflaged, the rare metal components could not be completely hidden. There were hints in the structure of some of the circuits that could have drawn suspicion if examined by an engineer clever enough to guess at the possible use. Gellen prayed that would not happen before he had a chance to put his plan in motion. The early tests had been positive and the structures had now been embedded in implants used by nearly all Syber on the home world and beyond. He just needed a bit more time to work out all the kinks and develop a plan of attack.
Ballick had decided, however, that time favored his enemy and he moved to eliminate that advantage and force Gellen’s hand. One day, nearly a year after their first conversation, Ballick decided to again raise the topic of Gellen to the general, but this time with a different unexpected twist.
“General, could we discuss the Nomari engineer Gellen? It has been a while and I’ve been thinking quite a lot about him lately.”
“Still chasing your tail with Gellen, Ballick? I’m a little surprised you haven’t given up long ago and I’m guessing you didn’t find much or I would have heard about it already. But you are nothing if not dogged when you are in pursuit of something, I will give you that. So have you finally had a breakthrough?”
“Nothing like that, I’m afraid sir, in fact, quite the opposite. I’ve come to the conclusion that not only is he innocent, he’s a better Syber than most of us, General, as impossible as that sounds. Surely a better one than me. Contemplating that fact last night got me thinking though. Since Gellen has been so instrumental to our recent success and is so deeply invested in helping the Syber, wouldn’t the ultimate gesture of thanks be to make him one of us? Free himself from the bondage of the flesh and allow him to finally use the gifts he has so graciously bestowed on us. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sick and tired of looking at that stupid eye patch of his.” He smiled broadly at the general, hoping his insincerity would not be too obvious.
The general leaned back in his chair and thought about Ballick’s statement. Would it be possible? Despite Gellen’s contributions, he was still very much an outsider and there was a chance he would one day tire or become cynical spending his life making inventions for a people who were not his own. Making him a true Syber could encourage Gellen to commit to their cause indefinitely, perhaps even increasing his creative output. It was an idea with tremendous potential – if he could convince the Supreme Commander to allow it. The general needed to be extremely careful here so that his suggestion would not be interpreted in any way as treason. Given how explosive this topic could be, poorly chosen words could be the equivalent of signing his own death warrant. In the end, the general reasoned that the potential benefits to both his own career and the Syber cause were impossible to ignore and he began pondering how he could pitch the idea to the Syber command structure.
“Very interesting, Ballick, I like it. The Supreme Commander should be told of this at the next opportunity but I need to consider my strategy very carefully. I believe this could work out quite well for all of us.” He turned and smiled knowingly at his chief-of-staff. “Very well indeed.”
Ballick was pleased his boss had so easily taken the bait, so he decided to press on with the next part of his plan. “What about his family, then, General? Surely the opportunity to join Syber society means they...must be left behind. Not that it really matters, but they have done little to help the cause and Gellen should want to take a Syber wife to complete his transition, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I suppose you are right, Ballick. It’s a little sad really, I’ve come to like his little ones, but if Gellen is to be truly remade, it will be necessary to put them down. It would be a demonstration of his commitment that few could dismiss.”
***
The invitation to a meeting at the Capitol arrived at Gellen’s home in the morning and he was immediately out of sorts. In all his years of working with senior Syber officials, he had never been summoned to the Capitol nor had he formally met with the Supreme Commander in person. Of course he had interacted with him while installing his enhancements but the exchanges had been functional and without emotion or connection. Gellen was a slave and been given the indifferent treatment he had come to expect. He could not imagine why he would now be sent an invitation like this. Gellen worried that perhaps his virus had finally been discovered, knew he should have redesigned that receptor circuit he had worried that the Syber investigators would find suspicious. That must have been it! It was the weak link and he had long known it but had not been able to develop an alternative. What should he do?
He wondered if perhaps he should accelerate his plans and try to launch his attack today. He doubted it was ready but worried it might be his only chance. His wife and sons were not safe though and he knew they would be vulnerable when the suspicion inevitably fell on him after the attack. The number of engineers who could pull off a hack like this was very small. He had long planned to move his family into a safe house when the day came but there was no time for that now. What if he was wrong and they simply wanted to discuss plans for an expanded lab or some other mundane business? That wouldn’t typically fall to the Supreme Commander but Gellen had been extraordinarily successful and engineers of his stature were sometimes granted an audience as a thank you or to consult on some governmental plan. Gellen decided in the end that he had to go, but he would take some time to ready the early phase of his attack just in case. If things went against him at the Capitol, at least he then he would have a chance to set it off remotely.
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Gellen spent the early part of the day in his lab, double-checking his design and setting up the equipment that could be used to broadcast the virus frequency across the planet and attach to any communications headed off world. It was a huge risk to turn it on now but he had no choice. He could not let his life’s work die without even an attempt to fulfill its purpose, his people left to sink back into a mire they had no idea they were so close to being lifted out of, the boot of the Syber crushing the hand that had finally found a way to pull them to safety. It would not, could not happen. After he finished, and without saying a word to his wife and children, he silently dressed in his formal clothes and left for the palace.
Arriving at the Capitol building, he tried to casually scan the faces of the guards as he approached for any indication of how he would be received. There was no sign of hostility or unexpected chatter into comm units. No one seemed to even recognize him except for a few and their greetings were warm and sincere. Perhaps he had been worried for nothing.
He was quickly shown into the main banquet hall and given a seat of honor to the left of the Supreme Commander’s chair. A few minutes later, the commander and his staff came into the room, filling it with the pungent odor of blood and oil. Being alone with this group of the most powerful and ambitious Syber, a massive unnatural tangle of metal, flesh, wire, and tendons made him realize anew how despicable and dangerous they were and how deeply he wanted to put an end to their reign of terror. If only he could hold on just a little while longer. He would have his revenge and one day soon stand here in this very room over the broken bodies of his enemies and finally be able to ease the pain he had lived with for all these years, pain that was only a hint of what the Nomari as a people had suffered at the hands of these abhorrent monsters. He forced himself to focus, gazing casually with the blank, compliant stare he had learned instinctively to freeze onto his face after years of servitude. He noticed many in the room looking back at him, almost gratefully, smiling. He felt convinced now that he was not in danger and maybe he was getting some kind of citizen award.
At the head of the table, the Supreme Commander stood up. He swept his massive artificial arm outward. “Honorable guests, welcome and thank you all for joining us. We have come together tonight to make history and celebrate one of the most talented engineers the universe has ever seen. As you may have guessed, I am speaking of Gellen. Some of you know him personally but even those who don’t are likely to have been touched very directly by him though his peerless inventions and innovations. I, of course, am no exception to that, and consider the arm that Gellen designed and built for me to be a crowning symbol of the strength of the Syber warriors. His understanding of Syber technology and his creativity and purpose in pushing the limits of what can be done with it is absolutely legendary. Never has one come from such a modest start to achieve so much. Never before has an outsider embraced us and our culture so fully. Almost no being of any race, alive or dead, can claim to have helped the Syber as much as this Nomari has. Think about that statement for a minute and let it sink in. His generosity has been almost without comparison.
“Because his contribution has been so unprecedented, the only gift we can offer that would be adequate is also unprecedented in the annals of Syber lore. Many have fought valiantly at the side of Syber warriors or made contributions of the mind but none have ever been offered what we will offer Gellen today. Today we open our hearts and offer him a chance to join Syber society as an equal and to wear the implants that make us who we are. Just as our children are transitioned into adulthood by the enhancement ceremony, so Gellen will also be welcomed. If he wishes it of course and doesn’t give himself better tech than he developed for me.” The commander smiled broadly at Gellen. “Yes that last part is a joke, but the sincerity of our offer and the respect we have for your contributions is very real. We extend our deepest gratitude to you and hope you will accept our offer. What do you say Gellen?”
Gellen was stunned. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected this and didn’t even really know what it meant. He had never even heard of the enhancement ceremony as he had never worked on children though he could guess what it probably entailed and it filled him revulsion. All eyes were on him and he knew if he could carry this off, perhaps he would have the time he needed for his plan to succeed. He stood up and looked around the room.
“I am humbled by your gracious words Commander and would of course be deeply honored to accept your generous invitation.” A cheer went up around the room and the next few hours quickly melded into blur as he somehow stumbled his way through a banquet in his honor, his mind racing with the implications of what he had agreed to. At the end of the evening, the general took him aside and led him to a private room where Ballick sat waiting.
“Sit down, Gellen,” said the general, “we need to talk through a few details related to your conversion. First and foremost, congratulations again on receiving this high honor. It says all that needs to be said about how important and valued you are to all the Syber, including me. We go way back and have seen our fortunes rise together. I believe this is the step to ensure that it stays that way and doesn’t end until we stand side by side at the very top of Syber society.”
Gellen nodded, wondering where the conversation was going.
“As far as the implants and the ceremony, I’m not sure how much of our traditions you are aware of, but you may choose implants for any two limbs and one sense organ - eye, ear, tongue, your choice. No Syber is ever allowed more and obviously there is no going back, so choose carefully as it will in many ways define your Syber existence.”
Gellen wasn’t surprised to hear of the limit as he had always been aware of and puzzled by the fact that the Syber restricted themselves to two implants. He couldn’t understand why given how it limited their potential as soldiers and contributed to their bizarre appearance. He was guessing though that the Syber somehow didn’t see appearance as much of an issue. “I will think on it, General, but tell me, why are Syber warriors only allowed two implants? Why not replace all your limbs and as many parts as you can do safely?”
The general stared hard at Gellen and without a trace of irony said “We are not monsters, Gellen. Losing the last parts of our natural selves would separate us from our roots forever and turn us into soulless killers or worse. Perhaps with the limited knowledge of robotics among the Nomari before the conquest, these concepts are not known to you. They are however something that all Syber instinctively understand and we hope one day soon you will appreciate as well. Do not even consider breaking this cardinal law, Gellen, or you will regret it in ways we should really not be talking about on such a special occasion. You are forgiven for your lack of understanding as you are not yet one of us, but as a friend I ask you not to repeat that mistake. Are we clear?”
“Of course, General, my apologies. I meant no insult; I hope you understand that?” The general simply stared at Gellen with obvious anger on his face. Just as Gellen was starting to feel nervous that he had dangerously crossed some kind of line, the general took a deep breath and his features softened. “With regard to your family, we hope you understand and agree that you must break with them completely. In order to start your new life with us, your old one must be buried in the past forever.”
“What are you saying General, that I must leave them behind? It would be tough but if that is what I need to do…
“I know this may be difficult to hear Gellen, but you must go further than that. Only if your old life is truly destroyed can you be reborn as a Syber. Any pull from your old existence would distract you and place your new identity at risk. I hope you can understand that?”
Gellen put his head down as he realized what the General was saying. It took all the will power he had to not launch his attack on the spot in the hope he could watch in person as this vicious barbarian suffered and died right in front of him. However, Gellen still wasn’t sure if the attack would even work. This recent turn of events was pushing him into action but he was still hoping to buy a little more time in his lab to tie up any loose ends he could and finalize his plans. He had to keep his cool.
“Of course, General, I understand. May I leave now to take care of this…issue then? I am quite anxious to put this behind me and start my new life.”
The general surveyed Gellen closely. Gellen appeared shocked by the news but nearly anyone would be and he still seemed under control and committed. “Of course, Gellen. Can I send anyone with you to provide support and strength during this difficult time? I would humbly offer my services if you felt that would help.”
“Thank you, General, but I need to do this alone. Only then will I be worthy of the faith that you have placed in me. Since the beginning of our partnership you have acted as my guide and mentor, sharing freely with me your experience and wisdom. My hope is that after all the steps in my transformation are completed, you might begin to see me anew as a brother and true comrade.”
Gellen headed home and on the way rehearsed what we would say to his wife and children about his attack plan, which he had never mentioned to them before now. They would need to move immediately, leaving everything, including him behind, maybe forever. There was a safe house fairly close by and it wasn’t the most secure in his network, but at least they would have a chance to get underground and be transported safely out of the city. Arriving at home he quickly rushed upstairs, yelling for his wife, “Gayan, where are you, I need to tell you about what happened at the Capitol today.” He assumed she would be waiting for him in his office as she often did on days when he slipped away. Like most Nomari, she was gentle by nature and deeply frightened by the extremely violent Syber and the time Gellen spent with them. Waiting in the office comforted her and made their time apart a little easier. Surprisingly, she wasn’t there so he turned and ran down the hall to their bedroom.
Entering the room, he could see Gayan slumped on the floor, her dress and the rug deeply stained with blood. Confused and shaken he ran over to her, kneeled down and turned her over. She had been viciously attacked, her body battered and mutilated.
“I know you didn’t want any support, Gellen, but I felt it was the least I could do after, you know, all the things you have done for us.” Gellen turned and saw Ballick standing in the corner of his bedroom, a demented smile on his face. “You were of course going to do what needed to be done to begin your conversion, weren’t you Gellen? Not having second thoughts or anything I hope?” Ballick paused and put his hand slowly on his chin in mock contemplation, clearly enjoying this moment. “You know I told the General a long time ago that we should be worried about you. He could be a spy plotting against us I said but no he said, not Gellen, we can count on him always. Looking at you now though, I’m quite sure you had no intention of going through with it, Gellen, did you? None of it. Not the conversion, not separating from your old family. What else have you lied about I wonder?”
Gellen turned and looked at the door, thinking of how he might get to his son’s room and give them a chance to escape.
“Don’t bother,” said Ballick, “I started with the whelps, didn’t want them making a run for it when the fun started. So now that we are alone, aren’t you going to thank me for saving you from this nasty little chore? Don’t worry, I won’t tell the general that you didn’t have the strength to do it, that will be our little secret. C’mon Gellen, no gesture of gratitude at all? Oh well, that’s understandable, I suppose, this is all so difficult. Perhaps you can at least explain to me in an outraged tone how wrong I was to accuse you and how offended you are that I could think that you could be a traitor?” Ballick glared down at Gellen who hung his head in disbelief, silent. “Really, not even that? You’re not selling this very well, Gellen, I have to admit I’m a little disappointed. You’ve really got to try a little harder. I’m not going to enjoy it as much if it is this easy.”
Gellen looked blankly at Ballick, frozen with grief, not knowing what his next move should be. “Nothing? So I have I been right about you all along, then? I knew it, I just knew it. If only the General could be here now to see this. Now that would be something I would really enjoy. All this does raise an important question though. Where do we go from here, Gellen? Should I bring you back to the Capitol so you can go through with the conversion ceremony? Something tells me that is about the last thing you’d want right now so that could be rather delightful theatre. I know, that is a little dangerous isn’t it? Our clever little Gellen may have a surprise or two left up his sleeve, though I’m guessing whatever grand plan you’ve been working on never got finished or you wouldn’t be standing here now. Right again, am I? Let’s see, then how about this? When I get back, how about I tell the General that you called after arriving home and asked me for help. You said you wanted to go through with it, wanted more than anything to be with your Syber brothers, but you just couldn’t without my support and assistance. That was understandable, noble almost, turning to your new family as you struggled to move on from the old one holding you back. How could I say no or be suspicious when you seemed so sincere? When I arrived though, you and your family ambushed me with help from a team of Nomari resistance fighters. They are already dead downstairs in the living room, by the way, you probably didn’t see them on your way in, you were in such a rush after all. It was a valiant fight, but of course you are Nomari and I am Syber so even though there were more of you, the villains in the story all ended up dead. A rather downbeat ending to what started as such an uplifting story, but what are you going to do? I still end up looking pretty good, don’t you think, maybe even deserving of a promotion?”
Ballick took a step toward Gellen, and his coiled-up arm implant began to unwind from his shoulder and reach across the room. “Can’t help but feeling a little sad, really, I’m sure everyone will be terribly confused about what happened. Maybe the resistance made you do it, threatened your family etc., how else could someone as loyal as Gellen betray us? I can try to use this to motivate the general to commit resources to wipe out the last remnants of your little freedom club here. That would be a really nice capper to this whole sordid tale. I am really on a roll today!”
Gellen knew he was quickly running out of time. There was no way for him to make it to his lab and reach his main transmitter, Ballick was much too powerful for him to get past. The only chance he had was the prototype version in his pocket that was disguised as a crypto key. Reaching quickly for it just as Ballick’s arm began to wind around his neck, he activated the transmitter and began struggling against his captor, trying to hold on to consciousness and give the device a chance to work. Even if the transmitter design was successful, he had no idea how quickly the virus would take effect.
Ballick’s arm continued to tighten on his neck, cutting off all oxygen, and Gellen knew he was out of time. The transmitter had been too weak or something had gone wrong with the command conversion. He had been so close. Just as he started to black out though, Ballick’s arm suddenly started to spasm, loosened its grip on his neck and Gellen fell to the floor. Struggling to his knees, Gellen fought to remain conscious and keep his eyes on Ballick. Ballick had toppled onto his back and Gellen could tell he was in trouble. His implants continued to twitch uncontrollably and though he was struggling to move, he could barely roll onto one side. It’s working thought Gellen, I can’t believe it’s actually working, thank Voz!. He continued to watch with almost academic interest as the virus commands made their way through Ballick’s implants, shorting out all command circuitry while delivering enough shock to his biological parts to ensure he wouldn’t be able to move or seek help. Almost done frying the implants, thought Gellen, maybe ten seconds left, and then if everything goes well, the virus will harness all the power sources in the implants, escalate the amps, and start transmitting the virus. Normally, the transmission would continue until the power source started to die out. It would then use the final energy stores to deliver increasingly powerful shocks until the infected was dead. In Ballick’s case though, he used the transmitter to bypass the broadcast phase and immediately begin the shocks.
Gellen glanced at his watch and began the countdown as he knew this could be critical data for the next phase of the attack. He glanced up quickly at Ballick and realized he was still conscious, trying to speak. “Wwwhat did you do?”
“My best enhancement, yet, Ballick, I’m sure all the Syber are going to absolutely love it. Yes, you were right about me, I am a traitor, though I am not sure that is really the right word since I never technically became one of you and it is probably impossible to betray such loathsome savages as the Syber. Double agent maybe? Too bad for you no one else saw it, you really are good. I guess trusting a slave to design and build critical integrated body parts for an entire ruling class..really was not the smartest decision, Ballick, was it? All I had to do was wait and watch as your people grew wildly overconfident, chasing the next cool toy like a bunch of kids, never imagining a lowly Nomari could cause your downfall. It’s quite ironic that even though you thought I was not to be trusted, you could not resist having one of my implants installed, could you? If not for that fateful, selfish decision, you would have been able to save your entire race, been hailed as a hero, probably even promoted to general yourself with maybe even a shot at Supreme Commander. That’s painful to think about, isn’t it?
Gellen turned away and looked at his watch just as the lethal shock was delivered to Ballick’s system. “Sixty-eight seconds,” he said to the now deceased Ballick. “Pretty good, that’s not going to give your brothers and sisters a whole lot of time to react.”
Grimly, he walked down the stairs, through the living room where Ballick had planted the Nomari bodies as spies, and entered his workshop. Fortunately Ballick had not thought to destroy any of his tools or equipment. He turned the main transmitter for his virus on and then sent an encrypted comm to the Nomari resistance leadership. He had been in contact with them for months anonymously to try and begin preparing them for the day he would launch the virus. They had all feigned ignorance of the resistance of course, but he knew he had the right people. “It has begun,” the message said. “Prepare the people for the Awakening.”
Gellen sat for a moment quietly, taking in the possibility that before nightfall, all the Nomari might be free. His thoughts went to his dead wife and boys but he had to push them away, he needed to be strong and clear as success was still not guaranteed. Walking to his transport, he saw a Syber guard fall to the ground twitching. All that was left to do was to get to his lab on the capitol grounds. There he could switch on the transmitter that had been strategically placed to attach the virus to any outgoing distress messages, even in encrypted military comm. This would allow the attack to be spread to outer Syber worlds and ensure their total destruction.
Arriving at the outer wall of the capitol compound, Gellen found all the gates were locked and abandoned. Had the Syber already become aware of the attack somehow? He hadn’t expected the news to move so quickly, maybe the virus had spread unevenly, allowing survivors a glimpse into what was happening and a chance to communicate back to the capitol. Some of his models had predicted that outcome but with a very low probability. Jumping out of the transport, he risked trying his credentials to enter but was rejected. If he didn’t get inside this gate soon, the Syber would likely be able to summon reinforcements or quarantine the planet to stop the spread of the virus. Instantly, he knew what he had to do. At his home workshop was a new arm implant he had been working on for visiting senior officer. It was nearing completion and the officer’s security credentials had been recently downloaded. He might be able to use it to pass through the security locks, but the arm would have to be attached to a biological body to pass the scans, that much he knew. Could he possibly perform the procedure to attach it on himself? Gellen thought he might but he couldn’t take the risk of botching the operation. He had to ask for help.
Reaching out to his Nomari contacts, he would have to divulge his identity and place his trust in them. “The Awakening is in danger. Phase 1 has succeeded, but I will need medical attention to complete Phase 2. Please get a Nomari bioengineer capable with implant surgery and meet me at 14 Vartua immediately.” He hesitated but knew he had no choice if this plan were to succeed. Should Gellen decide to go to them, surprise them at their safe house, it seemed unlikely he would survive longer than a few minutes given his history with the Nomari resistance. “It’s Gellen. I am behind the attacks and despite appearances, I have been on your side from the beginning. The Syber will continue to fall only if you meet me immediately.
There was a long delay and then a message was sent back. “We’ll be there.”
***
Gellen was pacing in the entryway of his house when a group of Nomari resistance fighters burst in. After slamming him to the ground, a Nomari commander entered. “This better not be a trick Gellen, or your whole family will pay the price, I swear it.”
Gellen could only laugh bitterly while the commander stared. “I assure you it is not a trick, but we are very short on time. We need to go through that room and into my workshop so a Syber implant can be attached by the bioengineer. That is the only way we’ll be able to breach the security at the capitol complex and finish the attack. I need to warn you there are dead Nomari in there but it was done by a Syber, not me. He is dead upstairs next to my wife who is also dead, as are my children. His lethal attack on my family should prove I am on your side. What are you waiting for? Hurry!
The commander nodded to a couple soldiers who quickly bolted up the stairs. In a few moments, they returned and signaled the commander, who turned to the soldiers holding Gellen. “Let’s get him into the workshop.”
Entering the workshop, Gellen ordered the soldiers to strap him to the operating table in the middle of the room. “Where’s your engineer? Don’t tell me you didn’t bring him.”
A young Nomari stepped forward from behind the group of soldiers. “Here, sir.”
“You look pretty young. Have you ever attached an S-class implant before?”
The engineer shook his head, “That’s military grade. Almost no Nomari would have experience with them, except you of course.”
Gellen thought for a second. “This is going to be tough; the nerve connections are completely different than what you are used to and we don’t have time for a practice run. I’m going to have to walk you through it.”
“Walk me through it? How is that going to be possible, sir? You’ll need to be sedated.”
“Will I? We are just going to have to take our chances. Just make sure you work quickly and prepare some Norphed in case I pass out from the pain. A 15 ng shot should do it. If it doesn’t, wait 5 minutes and give me another. But not before the 5 minutes are up or I could be dead along with any chance of the Awakening succeeding. Now strap me down and get that power blade ready.”
The young engineer was nervous but sensed the urgency of the situation and quickly set to work. He cut through Gellen’s arm at the shoulder and quickly worked to seal off the major blood vessels. Through gritted teeth, Gellen guided the young engineer through the basic connection process. The pain was astonishing, but with an hour, Gellen was able to work the basic functions of the arm.
“Now get me off this table and over to the Capitol west gate. Let’s go, let’s go, we are running out of time. Gellen moved as quickly as he could to the street, a large jacket covering his new mismatched mechanical arm. He tried to avoid bumping anything as even a light touch sent a fresh cacophony of pain shooting through his shoulder. In addition to the pain, the arm implant was much too big for a Nomari body and its weight was constantly pulling him to the side, his back was aching already. He could only hope the engineer had attached the bone supports correctly or it would not hold. They rushed through the streets, passing the groups of Nomari slaves that were now wandering about, confused over the demise of their Syber masters and unsure what to do. Every Syber outside the capitol complex walls was now dead or soon would be as the virus worked its way through the population.
Arriving at the west gate, Gellen struggled to work the security apparatus, wondering if they had any chance of storming the Capitol complex with a Nomari army if his plan didn’t work. Given the number of Syber inside and their foe’s superior firepower and military skill, he thought it extremely unlikely. This had to work and after a few more agonizing minutes it did. The gate was unlocked.
Activating a map of the complex, Gellen pointed to a building a short distance from the gate, “We need to make it into this small compound here, that’s where my lab and the master transmitter is. Stay close to me, I have a small transmitter that should be able to quickly disable any Syber who tries to attack. If you see any, just keep your distance and wait, it takes a few seconds for the attack to kick in.
Moving quickly, they arrived at the lab building without encountering any resistance. As they approached the entrance, they saw a band of Syber running from a side doorway. It looked like they were carrying his transmitter. Gellen’s heart sank. He had no idea how they were able to identify it, hopefully they were simply looting and were completely unaware of its function but it seemed too much of a coincidence. Without the transmitter, the Awakening was in real jeopardy. He had no idea how long it might take to build a replacement as powerful, but he guessed it would not be soon enough to stop the Syber from sending their agents to retake the planet. They had to get it back.
Gellen began to run as fast as his injured arm would allow. “We need to stop those Syber. They have my master transmitter and if they make it into the inner courtyard, we may never see it again.” Some of the Nomari soldiers began to arm their weapons. “No!” screamed Gellen, “No weapons can be fired, you could damage it. We just need to get close enough for my pocket transmitter to work.”
They rounded a corner and found their way blocked by three Syber soldiers. The other half of the Syber group were running for the courtyard with the transmitter as Gellen had expected. Gellen stared at the soldiers and pondered his next move, trying to figure out how these soldiers could still be standing and what it meant. The virus should have been retransmitted to them from the Syber they had taken down as they came through the gate and made their way to the lab. Maybe they had more secure rooms than he had known about or perhaps they had begun to understand how the virus was spreading and switched all their implants to manual mode. Neither result was good news. Gellen turned on his key transmitter and hoped to get lucky. The Syber blocking their way fell to the ground before they could attack but the others had disappeared. He put one knee on the chest of one of the fallen Syber “Tell me where they went soldier, and you may live to see tomorrow.”
The Syber tried to smile through the shocks “They went to see your wife, Gellen, we all heard she puts on quite a show and Ballick has video of it all. You should have seen the fun he had with her before the end. What a mean, nasty boy he is, though your wife actually seemed to be enjoying it.”
Before the Syber could say another word, Gellen screamed in anger, pulled a dagger from his belt and drove it into the fallen soldier’s eye. The other Nomari glanced at him, shocked at the primal violence of it and wondered if he would be stable enough to continue and how they would proceed if he couldn’t.
Gellen noticed the concern on their faces. “I’m OK, or at least OK enough to continue. I’ve waited a long time for this and we have all made many sacrifices. Let’s finish the job. We need to head toward the main complex, I’m sure that’s where they took the transmitter. It appears that these Syber have figured out how to keep the virus from spreading so there’s no point is leaving anyone alive.” To highlight his point, Gellen drove his knife into the heads of the two fallen Syber and began walking toward the capitol building.
After entering, they began working their way methodically through the building, disabling and then killing all Syber soldiers they encountered along the way. By the time they reached the inner rooms of the Supreme Commander, Gellen was covered in blood, exhausted by the effort and stressed to the breaking point by the violence. He had tried many times to convince himself he would be ready for this, willing to do anything necessary, but deep down he was at heart an engineer not a soldier and the events of this day were breaking him apart. Gellen gathered his thoughts, silently speaking to his wife and children to calm his mind and steady himself for what was to come. Assuming he would have to blast his way in, Gellen ordered explosives placed on both sides of the door. Just as he was about to set them off, it occurred to him to simply try and open the door. Surprisingly, it opened.
At the far end of the same reception room that Gellen had been honored at just a few hours ago, the Supreme Commander and his wife sat in their massive armchairs twitching and convulsing from the shocks. Along the outer walls, fifty elite soldiers and members of the political circle lay writhing on the floor. In the center of the table sat the Master. Someone had managed to switch it on, disabling everyone in the room and initiating the process of hijacking all communications leaving the capitol complex to other Syber worlds. The Awakening would succeed.
So they didn’t know what it was after all, thought Gellen, smiling to himself at the thought of the Supreme Commander actually helping him annihilate his own people. It was so telling that the Syber could hold deliverance from a mortal threat in their hands and not begin to understand what it was. For a society so obsessed with technology, they seemed to have remarkably little insight into it or curiosity about it. To them it was like a toy to be played with as children and to lord over your friends who didn’t have one that was as fun and new as yours. That was a mistake that Gellen would never make. Why the Syber didn’t destroy the Master along with everything else in his lab after realizing he was the attacker seemed inexplicable. It looked as if they had believed that the Master would somehow protect them by disabling the virus or jamming the transmission. Why else would they try to turn it on? Gellen began to laugh.
As the Nomari soldiers looked on in stunned silence, he walked around the room methodically stabbing the fallen Syber through the eye, one by one. By the time he reached the Supreme Commander, his laughter had turned to sobs. Extreme feelings of loss over his wife and children finally broke through the resolve he had somehow managed to conjure from his desperation after Ballick’s attack. Gellen could not believe it was finally over. Standing behind the Supreme Queen, he grabbed her by the hair and stared into the Commander’s eyes as he slowly drove the knife into her skull. “Now you know what it feels like, Commander, to lose your wife, lose your closest friends. You finally have just the smallest taste of the bitter poison you’ve infected my people with. And that’s just the start. In a few days, your empire will begin to crumble and there’s nothing anyone on any of your planets can do to stop it. You won’t even be able to figure out how it is happening. The great fearless Syber empire, thought indestructible by many in the galaxy, brought down by a lowly Nomari slave. The end of your legend transforms into the beginning of ours and Nomari children will one day laugh and shriek at the retelling of how the brutal, monstrous Syber were brought to their knees and the Nomari awoke from their slumber of servitude to resume their march toward greatness waylaid so, so many years ago. May your Gods be unkind and your final resting place a sea of eternal suffering”. Gellen then drove the knife into the Commander’s head and collapsed to the ground.