“How do you feel?”

“Like I just lost my arm, how d’you think I feel?”

“I think you should feel grateful we got to you in time.”

John paced the length of the operating table, a look of curiosity on his face.

“How does it feel? Can you feel anything?”

Jason flexed his fingers before pressing them together to form a fist. He felt nothing.

“No.”

John shook his head slowly before turning to the diagnostic unit and running a scan.

“Well, the prosthetic seems to have bonded with your implant circuitry. This makes for a good replacement, perhaps Skynet kept this in mind when it created you.”

“It’s possible.”

Jason wasn’t feeling very talkative. His lower right arm had been replaced with a T-900 endo-arm that was recovered during the raid on Topanga Canyon. He could move his new arm without discomfort or difficulty, but he didn’t have any sense of touch. Cameron stood to the side and watched him flex his metallic fingers.

“Your nerves are probably recuperating. T-900s possess sensors that allow for limited feeling; you should start feeling things in a couple of hours, albeit not as well as before. Your senses will be dulled considerably.”

Jason glanced in her direction. Cameron had, as predicted, become rather monotonous ever since her reprogramming. Jason knew that, just as he’d have to wait before he could feel anything with his new hand, so too will she have to wait before her emotions develop.

‘She’s not a little girl anymore.’

Jason finally summoned the energy to sit up, he’d been chased by numerous HKs and, after finally losing them, had a run in with a damaged FK. Curiously though, Jason discovered that he had the ability to broadcast a signal scrambler that tricked HKs and FKs into thinking he was a friendly. Jason was then found about a ¼ mile from the base and was dragged into the infirmary.

Running scan… Endo-arm Mark 900vk#3590 has been successfully mapped and added to anatomy… Do you wish to see the relevant data? ‘Yes.’ Gathering data… Endo-arm is functioning at 88% capacity… Note: sensory data is temporarily offline… Return of said data will occur in approx. 3.2 hours…

‘Just like Cameron said.’

“Oh, well. Could be worse, I could be dead.”

John shut down the diagnostic unit and frowned at Jason.

“How’d it happen, anyway? You never got round to saying.”

Jason sighed. He’d been trying to not think about it. Though he knew he had no choice, Jason still regretted having to kill Karen. She was, if only for a time, his partner.

“I was ambushed by Karen. She got the drop on me, shot off my arm, then I chucked a grenade at her. Boom, one hell of a way to end a relationship don’t you think? ”

John smiled a little, but not enough to make Jason think he was making fun of the situation. Cameron took a few steps forward and grasped Jason’s hand, examining it carefully. She ran her fingers up to his elbow and gently poked around. Jason could feel her fingers on his elbow, they were warm and soft. He wondered what she was doing for a moment until he suddenly felt a little jolt in his endo-arm. Cameron ran a finger across the underside of his fingers, and he felt them, if only slightly.

Analysing… Careful stimulation has provoked a response in the receptors… Endo-arm is now functioning at full capacity…

Jason couldn’t help but smile at Cameron and could’ve sworn he received one in return. John gave the arm a few taps which sent small ripples up his shoulder. It was like his entire lower arm had pins ‘n’ needles; he could feel, but only to a degree.

‘Still, I can feel a little, and that’s something at least.’

John clapped at Cameron.

“Well, well, well. It seems we have a resident miracle maker.”

Cameron looked confused and tilted her head slightly.

“I am not capable of performing miracles.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t one.”

--

‘That look: distrust. They think I’m a spy, or an assassin. And they know what’s under my sleeve, metal and clockwork. It seems I’m quite the pariah.’

Jason smiled to himself. Somehow, knowing that they feared him gave Jason a sense of control, a sense of power.

‘Was this how Cameron would one day feel as she walks down these corridors? Maybe, one day.’

Jason passed a couple of grim-looking soldiers and let another smile cross his face.

“Lighten up; we’ll get there in the end.”

They were unimpressed. Obviously misery was a daily routine for them. Jason put his eyes against the retinal scan, briefly engaging his thermal vision during the scanning process. The heavy door opened, allowing him access to the lab. John was already there, taking notes as Cameron sat in the chair. For a moment, Jason was reminded of her near-execution.

“And how is our patient today?”

John looked up from his notes and regarded Jason, his eyes drifting to the metal hand protruding from his sleeve.

“I thought I told you to cover that whilst in public, it makes the men nervous.”

“Sorry about that, I couldn’t help it.”

Jason took a black glove out of his pocket and covered his hand. Cameron looked at him curiously.

“Why couldn’t you help it?”

“Well, technically I could’ve stopped myself from showing off, but I was curious as to what their reactions would be.”

“Oh, thank you for explaining.”

Jason turned to John with a slight frown.

“That’s the twenty-seventh time she’s said that.”

“I think Cameron’s just patterned it as her default response.”

“Hmm. Sort of like a baby chicken, she imprints herself on the first thing she sees.”

“Which would be you.”

Jason felt a twinge of regret. That was no longer true.

“No, that would be you, actually. You wiped her memory; you were the first person she met after her reprogramming, her rebirth.”

John put his notepad down and considered her for a moment.

“Out of the ashes a new world shall arise. The old-world narrative shall be scratched out and rewritten; the young shall chart the course of the future.”

“Come again.”

“It’s a quote, can’t remember who said it, but I think it applies.”

This wasn’t immediately obvious to Jason however.

“How so?”

“All this time we’ve been fighting to stop the machines. Destroy Skynet. Destroy the Terminators. But what if we actually win, what then?”

Jason couldn’t give an answer to that, in truth he’d never looked that far ahead.

“Isn’t that enough? To win? To survive?”

“Not in the long run. As hard as this war has been, it will be microscopic compared to the struggle required to rebuild. We won’t be able to do it alone. We need the machines, as much as they need us.”

“I doubt Skynet would share your point of view.”

“Skynet is just a single intelligence, based upon warfare, death and destruction. But Cameron…”

His eyes glossed over. Cameron just sat there, quietly following their conversation.

“Cameron is the future, a bridge between man and machine. She can learn what it truly means to be human, to feel emotion. And that is what will save us; because if the machines can learn this, they won’t need to kill us. They’d be us.”

Jason finally understood what John was planning. His idea for the future… and the past.

“You’re going to send her back, aren’t you?”

“Eventually, once we’ve finished her upgrades.”

“But we haven’t actually done anything, aside from reprogramming her that is.”

“True, but there is something she needs.”

“And what’s that?”

John smiled at her blank face.

“Hope.”

--

‘How do you feel?’

‘Angry… and hurt.’

‘You didn’t expect him to fight back?’

‘I didn’t expect to get blown up. It’s just too… impersonal.’

‘You would prefer that he’d killed you up close, given you that final kiss?’

‘No I-… I don’t know. Everything is so confusing.’

‘That’s understandable.’

‘Do you want me to track him again?’

‘No, take some time to heal. I have another task in mind.’

--

“My name is Cameron; I’m here from the future to protect you.”

“Not quite what I’d be expecting. You can’t tell me who you are or why you’re here. Try again.”

“Hello, I can’t tell you who I am or why I’m here, but we need to be friends, your life depends on it.”

Jason burst out laughing. John covered his eyes and sighed.

“I’d totally buy it. People like a mystery girl.”

“You know, for someone who spent his entire life around machines, you sure do know a lot about people.”

“I was cared for by Luddite terrorists. Watching them interact was very educational.”

John sighed once more. He needed Cameron to be able to act like a normal teenage school girl.

“Alright, you have to behave like a normal girl. You will want to get to know me, start by asking me questions about myself, but make no mention of any of this.”

John waved his hand around the room, clearly referring to the future and every thing attached to it. Cameron tilted her head before speaking.

“Hi, what’s your name?”

“Good. John, what’s yours?”

“Cameron. Do you want to be friends?”

“No, okay look, people don’t ask each other if they want to be friends, it just happens. Ask about my family, about where I’m from, what my favourite hobbies are. What do I do on the weekends, that sort of thing.”

Cameron took a moment to process John’s advice before starting again.

“Do you have a mother? Most people do. I don’t though.”

“Yeah, my mom’s the typical over-bearing type. I’m sorry to hear about your mom, did she die or…?”

“No, she didn’t want me. She tried to get rid of me, but my big brother brought me up by himself. Ours is a dysfunctional family.”

Cameron’s gaze had drifted to Jason, who was frozen in shock. Cameron’s memories had been erased; there was no way she could remember that. Yet here she was, using it in her melodrama. John, apparently unaware of this development, continued.

“Okay, let’s try again. This time try to be a little more girly.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, when a girl talks to a boy it’s usually because she fancies him and wants to get to know him better.”

Understanding dawned on Cameron’s face as she analysed his advice.

“So it’s a form of courtship.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. You ready to try again?”

Cameron nodded and shifted her posture, giving her hips more prominence. Jason could almost see what was about to happen. Machines could be so naïve sometimes.

“Hi, my name is Cameron. Would you like to copulate?”

Jason once again dissolved into hysterics; even John cracked a smile, despite his obvious frustration.

“Never, ever, say that to a teenage boy, or anyone for that matter, okay?”

“I understand. Never seek procreation.”

John sighed once more and turned to Jason, who was trying to control his laughter.

“We’re gonna have to show her how people interact. Come here.”

“What, you want me to pretend to be Cameron?”

“Yes. C’mon, the sooner we do this the sooner she learns.”

Jason placed himself opposite John and glanced at Cameron, who looked on with interest.

“Don’t expect me to flirt with you Connor.”

“I wouldn’t want you to, just pretend we’re classmates.”

This was easy. Jason had grown up alongside his crèche mates and social interaction was commonplace.

“Hey, how’s it going? I’m Jason.”

“John.”

They shook hands.

“You new here?”

“Yeah, I just moved here with my mom.”

“That’s too bad; not many people would come here if they had a choice.”

Cameron watched intently, recording and analysing everything they said and did.

“So, you live with your mom, huh? Where’s your dad at?”

“He er… he died a while ago. I never knew him very well so, you know.”

“That’s rough. My old man was a real bastard, never let me do anything I wanted. It’s a good thing my mom shot him.”

John gave a false double-take before Jason laughed.

“Nah, just kidding, he moved out with another woman. So, you maybe wanna hang out later, you know, after school?”

“Sure.”

John and Jason finished their little display and turned to Cameron, who seemed a little disappointed that the show had ended.

“Is it my turn?”

“Yep, just add a little…”

John held up his hand, placing his thumb and forefinger close together.

“…bit of flirtation. Understand?”

“Yes, thank you for explaining.”

John heard Jason mumble something that sounded like “twenty-eight” before returning to the corner of the room.

“Right then, let’s begin.”

Cameron took a few steps towards him. She was close, but not uncomfortably so. She put on a friendly smile and tilted her head slightly.

“Hi, what’s your name?”

“John.”

“Cameron. I haven’t seen you around here before. You just move here?”

“Yeah, I came with my mom.”

Cameron gave a short laugh and smiled wider.

“Sucks for you.”

John laughed as well, though this wasn’t entirely staged. He was amazed at her progress.

“My dad’s a builder, what about yours?”

“A cop, or at least, he used to be. He’s dead now.”

Cameron let her face fall in feigned sympathy.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay; I wasn’t even born when it happened, so it’s okay.”

Cameron let a moment of silence pass. Either she was simply running out of ideas or was performing her part a little too well, John couldn’t tell which.

“You wanna get together later, you know; help each other with homework, that sort of thing?”

“Sure, I’d like that.”

“So, I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, count on it.”

Jason clapped and stepped forward, snapping John out his reverie. He’d gotten temporarily distracted by her eyes, which were the same shade of brown as the day they first met, so many years ago.

--

“TDE prepped and ready sir.”

John nodded. The day had come. Skynet had sent the triple-8 back to 1999, and now he had to send Cameron back as well. Jason stood beside him, equally distraught at losing their precious companion. Cameron watched them closely, scanning their expressions and identifying them as misery and grief. Cameron didn’t need to ask why. Jason took a step closer to John and whispered in his ear.

“Are you sure about this? Can’t we send another Terminator? Why does it have to be her?”

Three questions, each with the same answer.

“Because she can’t stay here. She doesn’t belong.”

“How d’you figure that? She’s family, she belongs with us.”

John cringed. Jason may think of her as a sister, but to John she was so much more.

“You want her to be able to live like a normal human, right?”

“Yes, but-…”

“Then you have to let her go. Only in the past can she live a normal life.”

Jason scoffed; he hardly considered protecting a teenage John from Terminators to be normal.

“Well I wouldn’t know anything about that would I? I never saw the world before the war.”

“You will, one day. I promise.”

It took Jason a moment to understand what John had just promised, and for the first time since being told that Cameron would have to leave, he had hope. Hope, because one day he would see her again, just as John would. Jason followed John’s gaze to Cameron as the TDE started the displacement. Cameron looked at them in turn, recording to memory the faces of her brother and her lover, before being hurled across time.


Next: Chapter 05: Exile
Previous: Chapter 03: Counter-strike