“The bonds of family can be both a sanctuary and an inescapable crucible. In them, we find our worst qualities. In them, we find love.”
— Excerpt from a book “Neo-Familia” by Alexander Holstoy, who, at the age of 68, killed his wife and children before committing suicide.
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“I've got a secret. Do you want to hear it?” Captain Jack asked me as we resided in his room.
It was the second day of Captain's mandatory rest.
“Sharing of classified information is in your prerogative, Captain.” I answered as I cleaned around the room. Some dust accumulated while we were away on a mission. The Captain sat at his desk. I could only see his back.
“Right.” He sighed and lifted his arm. He gestured for me to come closer. I did.
I looked over his shoulder and noticed a piece of parchment and a pen. He was writing something. Next to it was a picture of a woman. I noted a family resemblance.
He glanced at me once and said with a strained and quiet voice.“The secret is that I have a sister.” He tapped the picture twice. Captain’s face showed uncertainty and fear.
I checked the Captain’s file and there was no mention of him having a sibling.
“Captain, your file says you do not. Do you require psychiatric assistance?” His eyes winded, and a short laugh escaped him.
“It says that, huh?” He touched his left wrist. That’s where Captain’s tattoo was. When he lifted his hand I noted it was an image of a small sparrow. “I’m fine. If the file says that then it must be true.” I noticed a wavering in his voice. He was insincere.
“Shall I amend your file then, Captain?” I asked, and he looked at me with some urgency.
“No. It’s not necessary.” He shook his head and reached for the piece of parchment on his desk and handed it to me. “Could you read this to me and say what you think?”’
Based on the structure of the text, I categorized it as a letter. I started to read.
“Dear Jane–”
[Memory restriction applied by the user ‘Captain Jack Steele’.]
As the memory viewing process finished, I noted that five seconds had passed. It must’ve been heavily restricted if it took that long to view.
When I looked around, I noticed that the merchandise had fallen from my hands and spilled all over the floor.
“What the fuck are you doing!” Rin snapped at me as she fell to the floor and started gathering the items.
“Ey! You be careful!” The man named Luk exclaimed as he also went to gather the items.
I didn’t move. My eyes were glued to the woman. I noted that it was the same face I saw in the memory.
I could see the family resemblance in the dark brown hair, handsome features and bright-green eyes.
This had to be Jack’s sister. This was Jane.
She looked just like– “Jack…” I uttered without thinking.
Jane’s eyes winded, and her face jumped through many micro expressions. There was surprise, fear, anger, and suspicion.
“What’s your name?” She asked me with a strained voice.
“She’s just a noob, Jane. Leave her alone.” Rin said and then she looked at me. “Yo, help us pick it up!” She asked. Or was it an order?
“Alright.” I said as I started to pick up the items from the floor. I noticed that those items were small rectangular disks made of acryl with words engraved on them. All the names that I’ve read held lewd connotations. It also said on them, with what VR viewing system they were compatible.
Those were pornographic VR experiences.
That’s why Rin acted so strange about what the merchandise was. Humans could have many strange attitudes towards sexual matters.
As we picked the items up, Luk looked at Rin pointedly.
“Well, disregarding that. You did get my stuff. Let me pay you and be on your way.” I felt the electrical impulse he sent to Rin, who grinned and nodded.
“Got it. Always a pleasure doing business with you. And sorry for the trouble.” She then turned to Jane and said with much more reserve, “See you around, Jane.”
I looked at Jack’s sister and felt reluctant to leave. She looked so much like him that I found myself wanting to stay near her. I wanted to see if she was like Jack. Did she behave in a similar way? Did she like the same things?
I wanted to ask her why Jack said she was a secret.
As Rin started to walk out, I instead took a step towards Jane. She didn’t move, but her body tensed.
Looking at her, I could tell she wasn’t like the corpo people. She didn’t wear straight-edged attire and her demeanor didn’t fit that kind of world. With a quick scan, I was also able to tell she had cybernetics that were not exactly legal based on their manipulated serial numbers.
Therefore, I decided to trust her. If Fran-Mili didn’t mention her on Jack’s file, then it was doubtful she had a pleasant relationship with that corporation. Maybe even with Jack if she was a secret.
“My name is Heavenrend Steele.” I answered her previous question quietly. I didn’t want Rin to overhear my full name.
After she heard me, her face instantly became unreadable, and I felt a pinprick of a message. She sent me her PCI contact information. She was a Contractor. Maybe that’s how Rin knew her.
Her being one cemented that she had no ties with a corporation. As Tony has mentioned, they check everyone that apply for current ties in a corporate world.
When she didn’t say anything in response, I walked out after nodding goodbye to the man. He ignored me completely.
Then Jane sent me this,
Message from Sparrow (NY):
Meet me @ Fleshies tomorrow, 0400. Be alone. Don’t tell anyone.
That sounded suspicious and dangerous, but I wanted to meet her. I felt a prickling feeling of what humans would call curiosity.
This time I didn't feel the need to weigh pros and cons. I would handle anything they threw at me if it meant scratching that annoying itch and getting my questions answered.
Also, maybe I would finally understand why every time I thought of Jack, my core felt strained and twisted. As if it wanted to crush itself under the emotional strain. I wondered how humans felt this.
A loss. The death of a dear friend.
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Rin was a bit displeased with me when we went back to the car, but at last she said that I did a good job.
She told me that we could go straight to the HQ, and she would make sure the car got back to the owner.
I didn’t say anything to that even though I could tell that she was lying through her teeth.
I wanted to have some time to process what happened. Reassess my protocols and edit them in accordance to what occurred.
When I stopped on a street near the HQ and wanted to step out of a car, Rin grabbed my hand and said,
“Before you go. Piece of advice. Free of charge of course.” She let go of my arm and looked me in the eyes. Her expression was serious and determined. “Do not get involved with Jane. She’s bad news.”
That surprised me. Jane was clearly a Contractor and yet Rin was cautious of her. I thought these people didn’t have many problems with each other.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“Why?” I was eager to know more.
Rin sighed and stepped out of the car. She came closer to where I was standing.
“Jane’s hooked up with some bad folks. Not corpo, of course.” She shook her head and I could see her hesitating. “I’ll just tell you. It’s an open secret, really.”
Rin paused for a couple of seconds and I could see her fists flexing. Quietly she said, ”She’s what you’d call a terrorist. You heard of that bombing that happened like two months ago? I think Jane was involved.”
A bombing? I quickly checked the Nova York news stories about anything like that and there was indeed a bombing of a corporate headquarters. The bombed building belonged to Yamatashi Pharma Corporation. The article that covered the story didn’t have many details. The main thing it mentioned was that it was caused by ‘bad actors’. Nothing about something similar happening, although the author did mention that it could have something to do with smaller bombings and attacks that have been happening in the last couple of years.
That certainly would explain why Jane was scrubbed clean off Jack’s file. No corporation wanted their employees to be involved in what appeared to be anti-corpo terrorism.
“I see.” I said to Rin and closed the car’s doors. “Thank you for the advice.”
Rin looked at me with scrunched eyebrows and stood still as I turned to move away.
“She messaged you, didn’t she?” She asked with a strained voice. I looked at her face and noticed an angry expression.
I decided not to respond in any way, since Jane did ask me to not tell anyone. Even with what Rin had said, I still was set to meet with her.
“Whatever!” She slammed her hand onto the car’s surface. “Do what you want! Just don’t you dare involve Gabby, motherfucker! I’ll watch you.”
I waited until Rin got into the driver’s seat and disappeared from my field of vision. Then I turned around and went towards the building.
Rin’s threat was inconsequential. Gabriel had nothing to do with Jane and my past. I wasn’t going to involve him.
Inside the HQ, there weren’t that many people in the middle of the night. Some members were either simply chatting, drinking or, from what I heard from downstairs, sparring.
Behind the receptionist desk stood Moose. Every so often, when Tony wasn’t there, he took his place. It made sense if what Gabriel said about Moose’s father was true. Him being the head of this branch. Which I think was true based on how others behaved around him.
They respected him. I wasn’t sure if it was a consequence of his familial relations or his reputation as a Contractor. He was apparently very strong. I wondered how he would do in a fight. My fists flexed at the thought of throwing that big man around the ring. I was curious how a human body with such a muscle mass would handle my strength.
Maybe I should ask him?
I walked through the dimly lit hall and noticed that some people took a bit longer to look at me than usual. FERS said that they were both scared, impressed and disgusted. I looked at myself and immediately knew why.
I was still dirty with blood and brain matter from the fight. Rin didn’t mention it, so it escaped my attention. I’d have to deal with it soon. Thankfully, Gabriel’s place had a shower.
When Moose noticed me, he whistled and looked me over.
“Rough night?” He asked as I sat at the stool near the desk. Actually, was it a reception desk or a bar? There were a couple of alcohol bottles and glasses behind Moose, and he was indeed cleaning one such glass.
“I did a contract with Rin.” I answered as I looked at the big screen above. There were a couple of contracts floating around that asked for a combat specialist.
I checked my PCI screen, and I was indeed now rank E. I should look over available contracts later.
“Oh, right. She mentioned something like that. How was it?” Moose asked as he reached for another glass.
I pondered on what response I should give.
“It was illuminating.” That seemed like an adequate response.
“Really? When I go on contracts with Rin, something usually goes wrong.” He sounded surprised with my answer.
“There were difficulties. Irrelevant, as you can see.” At the end of my response, I gestured to the gore gathered on my clothes. Maybe I should visit Arthur again to get more outfits? What I had hardly seemed enough.
“I do. Why didn’t you use those?” He pointed to my rifle and a handgun strapped to my hip.
“I had difficulties.” I paused for a couple of seconds and wondered if I should say more. Moose and Gabriel seemed to be good friends and the blond man did mention that he also struggled with restricted memories. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to share with Moose?
“Wanna talk about it?” He asked before I could say more.
I looked at Moose’s face to assess his sincerity and he did look genuine. The bandages that I saw a few days ago on his face were no longer there, and I was able to see micro scars marring his face in various places.
I also checked his body for cybernetics, but besides the obvious SDI and a small medicine applicator there was nothing else. The latter was often used by military personnel; since in combat, painkillers, and stimulants were much needed. Maybe that’s why he had it. The bioscan showed no apparent medical problems. Well, except a healing micro fracture in his right hand.
“I’m having some issues with a restricted memory. Any advice?” I asked.
“Oh, I see.” He seemed to understand what I was talking about. “I’m afraid I won’t be much of a help. Gabe struggles with that too. Maybe you could talk to him?” Apparently, Moose did not have a helpful tip, but it was not surprising.
Humans did not have problems with something like this. Although, there probably could be some similarities between something like PTSD, for example. I wasn’t well-versed in human psychology. I only knew what to look for regarding Jack’s behavior. He struggled with some internal matters.
Regularly being in a combat zone obviously had consequences on a human psyche.
“I think I will.” I responded. Gabriel did mention his struggles with it, so maybe a more in-depth conversation would help me figure out how to deal with it. At some point, I will have to shoot somebody.
Fran-Mili was not out of the picture. It was only a couple of days since their attempt at capturing me. Eventually, they would try again. I knew it.
Before that, though, I would need to get that hardware to prevent the clearing collar effects. Actually, wouldn’t Gabriel know? I’d have to ask.
“Good. Want something to drink? I know you synths don’t need to, but Gabe sometimes likes to pretend.” Moose earnestly asked.
“No, thank you. I should probably clean up.” I got up from the stool.
“Right. Night then.” He said as I went upstairs.
I opened the doors to Gabriel’s place with a program he sent me. Apparently, physical objects did not make for the best keys nowadays.
I knew that he wasn’t around so I went to the bathroom to clean myself.
The bathroom was relatively small compared to the rest of the apartment, but a wide and tall mirror that lined one of the walls gave the impression of a bigger space.
When I finished my shower, I started the laundry. Since those were my only clothes, I decided to borrow some of Gabriel's.
I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.
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“Are those my clothes?” As the man in question stepped into the apartment, I looked up from the datapad on which I was perusing available contracts. I’ve already found two that looked promising and one that was searching for a partner.
“Yes. I’m washing mine and didn’t have a change. I’m sorry I didn’t ask.” I said as I put the datapad down. It wasn’t necessary for looking over contracts, but it was nice to do something with my hands.
Synthoid’s muscles could get rather stiff if they didn’t have regular exercise.
“No, it’s fine. It’s just a surprise.” I could tell that Gabriel was sincere, although a strange expression of embarrassment crossed his features as I got up from the couch.
After a second, he squealed out with rising intonation, “Are you not wearing underwear?!”
I wasn’t sure why he had this reaction. I was a military synthoid, I didn’t need to wear underwear.
“No?” I answered with a question. His behavior was puzzling.
After a second of deliberation, I think I understood why he had this reaction.
I grabbed the oversized shirt I was wearing and pulled it up.
“What are you doing?!” He squeaked out some more and covered his eyes.
“Look.” I said with some amusement.
He peeked through his fingers and made a surprised expression.
“Oh, right…” He let out a relieved sigh. He really acted so much like a human. “You’re a mili-synth so you don’t have… Y’know.” He laughed lightly. “I’m sorry. I’m such a dumbass.”
“It’s fine.” I let go of the shirt and came to the kitchen counter where Gabriel put a bag of what appeared to be groceries.
“Are you cooking something?” I asked curiously.
“Yep. I invited Moose over for dinner tomorrow.” He said.
“What time?”
“Around 1900. Moose said he’d be here around then.” He started to put the groceries in the fridge and cupboards.
I nodded, taking note. “I’ll be sure not to interfere then.”
He laughed lightly and said, “Thanks. You’re actually a great roommate, y’know.”
“Thank you.” I answered. “I wanted to ask you something.”
He glanced at me for a split second and said, “Shoot.”
I decided to start from the beginning. I described what happened on the contract tonight, but omitted what the restricted memories were about.
I described vaguely the memory of that child and said to what conclusion I came to tonight.
All the time that I was speaking, Gabriel was a very focused listener.
When I finished, his response did not surprise me. It wasn’t that different from what he said to me the first time I mentioned the restricted memory. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t an easy solution like amending a protocol.
“You just have to ride it out. When it comes to the memory overriding your functions, like you mentioned shooting a gun, there isn’t really anything you can do except writing a script, maybe. So, it just executes the action that you want, but you know how those can be.” He told me slowly.
“I know.” I responded.
It was technically possible to override the block that the memory process made when I tried to fire a gun. It was also possible that it would end in my death.
Making a script that responded to a certain scenario was an old-school trick. It wasn’t used in combat that often since usually a situation could turn unpredictable and one would have to adjust their actions to that change. A running script could basically override all my processes and make me its slave. I wouldn’t be able to issue an administrative command while it was running.
So, if I made a script that said ‘shoot the person that is shooting at me’, then I wouldn’t be able to do anything if that person instead changes their weapon to a knife. There were too many variables to account for in a combat script, so nobody did it, basically.
I wasn’t going to do something this risky.
“Anyway.” I said. “I also wanted to ask you about this.” I sent a picture of the hardware I needed to neutralize the clearing collar’s effect.
“Oh, this?” He said. “You want one? I’ve got a spare.”
Well, that was surprisingly easy to acquire.