Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Sophie From Shinola, Part 9

I'm hosting Vince's part of the story here. (look down just a little bit and stop being so literal.)
As always, the beginning of the story can be found here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
His eyes went blank for a moment. Then Blink woke.

Everything. He remembered everything.

He was human. A human agent.

Weary, corrupt Manhome knew of the Trageth threat. Knew it must fight. And when Manhome fought, it fought with masked technology few even suspected existed. It fought to win, putting no considerations before that of survival.

Blink felt not-Sophie discover his intelligence. But she didn’t realize he was human. Genetically altered in ways unimaginable on Manhome itself. The chip designed to be found; it’s removal a signal to Blink.

Remember.

Remember what you were. Remember who you are. Remember what you have been taught. What we have made you.

Like a booting computer, Blink loaded memories, processing all the information that had been hidden from him until now. He continued licking true-Sophie and feeling her warm hugs, acting like he was what he appeared to be. Not that there wasn’t real affection for her. All that he had done he remembered. All that he appeared to be he was. But it wasn’t all that he was. It wasn’t primarily what he was.

Not-Sophie became impatient. “We must go“ she told true-Sophie. “We’re not safe here.”

“Go where?” asked true-Sophie.

“Someplace safe.” She tried to move, but the barely-controlled panic had returned to true-Sophie, who still couldn’t understand why she heard the voice in her head; who the voice was. Not-Sophie had to be careful. She couldn’t fully control the body without killing true-Sophie. Access all its features, yes. But not control. And full control was critical if she was to evade the humans, complete her mission, and still keep all of them safe. Killing true-Sophie was not an option. She had affection for true-Sophie. Odd, but she admired how true-Sophie cared about Blink. How she had worried about where he was and if he had been safe. Unusual, she thought, in most humans. But that gave her an idea.

“Sophie, we have to protect Blink. But we can only protect him if we’re safe. And we’re not safe here. We have to go. We have to protect Blink.”

It was the truth, and true-Sophie could recognize it, even if she didn’t understand it. She quite fighting not-Sophie, giving her full control. Not-Sophie was relieved. Now she could carry out her mission. She felt the hunter seeker droid closing in. But it couldn’t find her. Not yet. She had her orders, her mission secret to all but the Prophet himself and a few trusted priests. And time was running out.

Blink stopped licking true-Sophie, letting himself be carried to wherever they were going. He, too, had orders. He remembered the last thing Lord Heinlein told him prior to the conversion. We aren’t asking you to be happy. The survival of our species is a stake. Survive first. Maybe then you can be happy.

He had his orders, coded into his very DNA.

You will destroy the Trageth threat. We have given you the weapons. We have given you the knowledge. If you fail the first time, you will adjust. You will evolve. You will find a way to win.

You are not allowed to come home. Ever. You can live if you wish. You can live if you can.

BUT YOU WILL NEVER COME BACK!

Part 10 on K-A's blog.

11 comments:

Tania said...

Lord Heinlein? HAH!!!

vince said...

Spell checkers, hah! The line "He remember the last thing Lord Heinlein prior to the conversion" is supposed to be "He remembered the last thing Lord Heinlein told him prior to the conversion"

Tania, I luvs me some Heinlein.

Nathan said...

Holy shit! I figured this would just be some fun. We're actually coming up a kick-ass story (even if the rest of the world might have trouble following it without the set of rules.)

Well worth waiting for Vince.

Nathan said...

Fixed it Vince.

Tania said...

I'm also guessing that "quite" should be "quit".

I am seriously intimidated by you guys. I hope my part is adequate.

vince said...

Thanks Nathan.

Tania, you'll do fine. Ya just gotta believe.

neurondoc said...

Speaking as an innocent bystander -- I am having a great time reading it!

Natalie

MWT said...

Wooo... a sinister turn. dun dun DUN! Looks like we've come upon a major conflict point.

kimby said...

Ok, I am home, I have coffee and am working on part 10. Should be up shortly.

kimby said...

Ok..It is up.
...and I am off to bed. Have a great day guys!

Tom said...

And now part 11 is finished.

I left a comment on Kate's blog.

Whew! (wipes sweat off his brow)