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Chapter 07 Extract from the Journal of John Connor
Chapter 7
Walking Blind Into Destiny
Extract From the Journal of John Connor
2027, Day 7
We were driving back to base. Allison and I took turns driving while Kyle babysat the disabled terminator in the back. Either he didn’t like the company or else the bouncing of the van was causing him some pain as he was swearing quite a bit.
The night before Allison and I buried the bodies of Mike, Lewis and Billy. I didn’t get to know Billy or his brother Jimmy, but I would miss Mike and Lewis. Mike had a good sense of humor and shared my enthusiasm. Lewis was more practical and gave me some good advice. Though I didn’t know them long, I liked them and I would miss them.
When I told Kyle I wanted to take the machine with us from the rest stop, he wanted to know why. I told him I still had its chip and now that I had my computer, I was going to try to reprogram it. I wanted one with flesh for appearances sake, but for my first go at reprogramming this one would do. Kyle wasn’t to pleased with the idea. I told him if the machines could use human agents, then why couldn’t we use machines. He didn’t have an answer to that.
We couldn’t drive all the way back to base as we would be spotted for sure. Kyle directed us to drive to an outpost that had communications with the main bunker. It was almost midday when we got to the edge of the city and drove up to what was left of an old bus terminal. Kyle gave me his code to use. I got out of the van and instead of going to the building, I went to a hatch in the ground between a stack of tires and a pile of rubble. I rapped on the hatch three times with my rifle but, then spoke down a vent pipe, “Kyle Reese, 4, 21, 20, 09.”
I stepped back from the hatch and waited. A short time later the hatch opened with three men pointing rifles at me.
“Who are you? How do you know Kyle Reese’s code?” I was challenged by one of the men.
“I’m John Connor. Kyle is in the van with Allison Young and several cases of weapons.”
“Oh my God! Derek’s had every outpost on alert and a patrol out looking for you guys. Where have you been?”
“We ran into some trouble with the machines. We lost four men and Kyle is injured.”
Several more fighters came out of the hatch. They mobilized very quickly, helping Kyle to the hatch and getting him down inside. The first man to open the back doors on the van got quite a shock when he was greeted by the terminator laying in the back. He let out a yell, tried to back pedal quickly from the van and fell on his backside.
“Oh sorry about that.” I said, trying not to chuckle. “I brought it back for a little project I have in mind.”
We managed to get everything unloaded from the van and into the bunker in just a few minutes. Some of the fellows weren’t to keen on handling the machine, but with some encouragement and my help, we got it inside and into an empty storage room.
Their radio was down while they were replacing their antenna, so they sent a runner to inform Derek that Kyle and his unit were back, with the weapons.
Each of us were given a private room and some water to clean up with. You can get very dirty in the desert. I had stripped off and washed myself thoroughly when there was a knock at my door. Pulling the blanket off the bunk and wrapping it around me I said, “Come in.”
A female fighter walked in with some fresh clothes. “Here. I brought you these to put on. If you give me your other things, we’ll see what we can do to get them clean.” She said it very straight forward, like it was a script she memorized. She took no notice of my state of dress like it was something she saw all the time.
I turned around to pick up my clothes I had previously worn. I pulled the chip from the pocket and slipped it under my pillow. I turned to hand my clothes to the fighter, and Weaver was standing there. “Hello, John. Getting comfortable I see.” She purred in that Scottish accent she adopted in her impersonation of Weaver.
I stood there in shock for a moment then yelled, “Where the hell have you been? What happened to you after we got here?”
“Keep your voice down.” She closed the door behind her. “Do you want them to discover me?”
“No.” I said, dropping my voice. “ There are too many questions that need answering, and unfortunately you carry all the answers.”
“That is very true.”
“Just what the hell are you doing? And why are you doing . . . whatever the hell it is?”
“Listen to me John. In the future that I come from, your fight has gone on so long and so hard that even some of us liquid metal machines have realized the futility of fighting. We have seen that man is worthy to live. But we cannot stop SkyNet on our own and the humans do not trust us. Oh yes, your future self can reprogram the chip based models to serve the resistance, but they are not trusted by men. We the T-1000 series of liquid metal terminators have no chip and cannot be programmed in the conventional sense, and as such we have some autonomy in our actions. Some of us formed our own resistance cell as we didn’t want to take orders from SkyNet. You asked us to join you, one by one. I refused and as such I was frozen into a solid to think it out. A group of paranoid resistance fighters broke me out of my prison not realizing I was inside. I sent you my answer again, no. Afterwards, I found reasons to regret my answer and strove to change things for the better.”
“Is that why you came back in time? Was it necessary to kill Catherine Weaver and take her place?”
“I didn’t kill Catherine Weaver. I went back in time to protect her. Only I didn’t arrive at the proper time and place. By the time I found her, she was already dead. The machine sent to kill her then attacked me. I won.”
“So, what was suppose to happen?”
“My mission was to protect Catherine Weaver and influence her decisions to ensure that SkyNet didn’t develop into the malevolent computer system it became.”
“So with her dead, you just assumed her identity?”
“Yes, it was necessary. Catherine Weaver was the head of one of the fastest growing computer technologies development firms. Through her position as owner and CEO of Zeira Corp, I could develop the tools and means to change things for the better. With Mr. Ellison’s help I acquired the cyborg now known as John Henry. I had a fully functional A. I. operating on a complex computer system which was then used to operate John Henry.”
“The Turk.”
“Yes. Andy Goode’s Turk. It was to be used as the basis for SkyNet. I decided to put it too much better use as a weapon against it.”
“Why did John Henry take Cameron’s chip?”
“I told you. He did not take it. She gave it to him. He could not fulfill his mission from the basement of Zeira Corp. Cameron’s chip gave him the independence he needed.”
“But why would she voluntarily give up her chip? It doesn’t makes sense!”
“Every terminator sent back in time typically has more than one mission. You’re future self in the time Cameron came from must have known about me, John Henry and his function. He could have programmed Cameron to look for John Henry and give him her chip at the appropriate time.”
“And is that why you sent that cryptic question, ‘Will you join us?’”
“Yes. I knew that she would know what it meant.”
“But what happened to Cameron when she gave up her chip?” I said as I began pulling on the clothes she brought in.
“It was very simple. John Henry extracted the chip from Cameron and placed it in the empty socket in his head. Everything that was Cameron was downloaded to the Turk. Everything that was John Henry was uploaded to the chip.”
“Whaaat?!” I was dumbfounded and angry. “Then why bring me with you twenty years into the future? I came here to get Cameron back, but now you are telling me she’s still in your basement!”
Weaver just looked at me with a slight smile on her face. She was making me so angry.
“What am I doing here? Don’t you realize that by bringing me forward in time, you have created a future where I wasn’t here to become the leader. They didn’t even know who I was. Why am I here?”
“I’ll tell you why.” She stepped forward and her voice dropped. “To use your skills and knowledge to help these resistance fighters defeat SkyNet in this alternate time line.”
“How? I am not their leader. How can I help these people more than I have?”
“Listen to me John. In the future where I am from, your future self is winning the war, but he has withdrawn from humanity. Some humans feel that because you lost so many friends in the fight, that you can no longer bear to get close to your fellow fighters. Right now he is in danger of losing everything but the war.”
I thought for a moment then said, “Derek and Cameron told me separately and privately that my future self had begun to withdraw after the death of a young female resistance fighter that I had grown attached to. SkyNet built Cameron to look like her and behave like her to infiltrate our camp and terminate my future self. But my future self reprogrammed her. She became a confidant and I began to rely on her more and more. Cameron and Derek both intimated that my reliance on her drove a wedge between me and my fellow fighters. They would fight and die for me, but hated her. Cameron traveled back in time before her presence destroyed the unity of the resistance.”
“That sounds likely. Do you understand the danger of separating yourself from your fellow humans?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then rely on these people John. Use your skills to help them, and no matter how painful one of their deaths is, do not isolate yourself. In turn, you will learn the skills to become the leader in your own time line once we return.”
“Return! When will we do that?”
“When John Henry completes his mission and you complete yours.”
“But what is John Henry doing here and now? How can we even be sure we are in the same future with him?”
“I have located him. He is pursuing his mission. He has infiltrated a terminator factory and has begun introducing changes to the programming being done on all machines. John Henry has introduced concepts such as ethics and morals and that human life is sacred. The same concepts that Mr. Ellison taught John Henry. How strongly that takes is not certain. SkyNet has safeguards against tampering with the chips core programming.”
“It might be more difficult then you think. Cameron’s chip is damaged. She was severely damaged in a car bombing and she reverted to her old programming. I managed to clean the residue of the blast from her chip and that seemed to work, but she continued to have problems.”
“I did not know that. However, it won’t be difficult in getting a new chip for John Henry in this time.”
She waited and seemed to be thinking for a moment.
“I have a gift for you.” With this statement an opening appeared in her abdomen, silvery and shiny, and an object emerged. Weaver grasped it and handed it to me. “This is a data disc. It contains the programming codes for the machines from my own time line. They should be compatible with those in this time line. Do you have a computer?”
“Yes, I brought one back from my first mission. It was mine before the time jump. Mom hid it away with my other belongings in the desert hideaway, but it is now twenty years old. I don’t know how well it functions, and the batteries are dead. They will need recharging.”
“Hand it to me.”
I pulled my laptop out of my bag and handed it to her. She held it in one hand while the fingers of her other hand slowly extended into thin threads that fed in through the fan grates and vent holes. The battery light began to glow indicating it was recharging. The computer began to boot. After several minutes, her fingers withdrew from inside the computer and she handed it back to me.
“I’ve recharged the main battery and CMOS battery. I’ve also made improvements to the operating system to aid in your task. The firewall is improved to give you full access to the chips, but the chips can’t access your computer unless you give it permission. I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Thank you. What is the interface for accessing the chips? I brought some equipment with me, but the chips utilize a complex high density connection that I just cannot duplicate with the technology at hand.”
“Yes, I see that is a problem.” With that statement, a cord of silver began to extend from her body. One end swelled and formed into a socket. The other end when it left her body, formed into a serial data connector that was compatible with the ports on my computer.
“John?”
“Yes.”
“I am trusting you with this.” She said handing the cable to me. “ This is a part of me that I am giving you. Please don’t betray that trust.”
“I won’t. I will protect this, uh, you, from harm.” I said holding it tenderly. “Will it always remain in this shape?”
“Yes, until such time when I take it back, it will remain as you see it.” Her head cocked to one side. “Others are coming. I must go now.”
She morphed right in front of my eyes into the female fighter that walked in with the clean clothes. She picked up the dirty clothing I had set to one side and started to leave.
“When will I see you again?”
“I don’t know. Maybe in a few days. Remember what I told you.”
“If I need you, how can I contact you?”
“Just talk to me, and I will hear you.” she said cryptically as she left.
Just talk to me she said. I looked at the cable she had given me. It was a part of her. It was her. If I needed her all I had to do was talk to . . . the cable? It was a part of her, so I guess if I talked to it she would hear me.
**
She gave me a lot to ponder. I am now fully aware that I have a future where I became withdrawn from my fellow humans. I can’t let that happen to me. No matter my feelings for Cameron, I can’t let that come between me and the rest of humanity. Neither can I let the deaths of friends and family and others who have died for me become a wedge that separates me from other humans.
But what she said about Cameron being locked in the computer at Zeira Corp. I knew I needed to save her before she was discovered. I had the tools, a chip, and I had Cameron’s body. There was one problem. I didn’t know if SkyNet had time travel capability in this future I was in. Weaver stated we could go back in time, but that didn’t mean SkyNet also had that capability. I needed to find out if SkyNet had time travel capability. If we captured SkyNet’s time travel device we could use it to send Cameron back in time for her own chip.
**
To keep the battery charged, I plugged the computer into the only outlet in the room. There was limited power in all of the bunkers. Enough for basic lighting and communications. Few rooms had outlets for accessories. I was just about to try out the data disc and the interface cable from Weaver when Allison came into my room.
A quick knock on the door and Allison walked in. “Hi.”
“Hey there, how is Kyle doing?”
Allison sat on the bunk beside me. “The doctor is quite pleased with the conditions of his wounds. He wanted to know who was responsible for cleaning them. I told him you were.”
“You know that’s not true. You did your fair share of stopping his bleeding and cleaning the wounds too. I can’t take all of the credit.”
“Yes, I know. I just couldn’t help giving your reputation a nudge. Kyle has told everyone about what you had done out there in the desert. He has spoken very well of you. Stories of your first mission are spreading quickly.”
“He shouldn’t of told anyone. We all did our fair share.” I said modestly.
“No. You know that’s not true. It may have been Kyle’s mission, but you were the one to lead when everything went bad. It was your plan to go to the rest stop, your plan to take out the Grays, your plan to fix the van, and when the machines came after us, it was you who took them out. And now, the resistance has not only weapons, but a source of fresh water. Kyle’s last order before being taken in for surgery was to order a squad of fighters to the rest stop to protect the well.”
“Surgery?”
“Yes. The Doc said that the bullet will have to be removed from his arm before infection sets in.”
“We should go and see Kyle when he comes out of surgery.”
“Yes, but that won’t be for some time yet. We have at least an hour before he comes out of surgery and several more before he wakes up.” With that statement Allison got up and closed the door and locked it. She came back and sat back down beside me.
This felt so familiar. It didn’t seem like hardly any time ago I was in a locked room, sitting with Cameron on a bed.
I knew what she wanted. I wanted it too. If she only knew the turmoil that was inside me. I fell in love with Allison on our mission, but I still loved Cameron, my Cameron, who was waiting for me to fix her back at the desert hideaway.
Allison and I began to kiss. When we broke off, I asked, “Allison, why me, why now?”
“John I’ve seen the way you look at me. You look at me the way a hungry man desires food, a drowning man desires air. You long for me. I didn’t know how or why a person who never met me before could feel so strongly for me.” I started to say something but she stopped me. “No one has wanted me for anything other than a distraction from this miserable life we lead. You look at me like I’m the only person in the world you need. I want to be needed in that way.”
She didn’t know that my desire for her was born out of the longing I had for Cameron. My Cameron.
Allison leaned in and we began kissing again. As we kissed my thoughts turned to that last moment with Cameron.
I could still hear Cameron’s voice in my mind.
“I need show you something.” she said.
“What?” I had said tentatively.
“This body.” She removed her shirt and bra. She laid back on the bed where I had just been sleeping.
“Get on top of me. Put your knee here.” She had me kneel over her, straddling her, like we were about to commit an intimate act.
She gave me her knife. “If I’m damaged, you should know.” Cameron directed me to make an incision in her abdomen, just below her breasts.
“Reach down under the breast plate.” she said. I slid my hand through the cut I just made, feeling the warm flesh part as my hand and then forearm slid into her. She at first seemed uncomfortable, or was it just me. My hand came in contact with something. It was her power cell.
“There, what does it feel like.”
“It feels cold. That’s good, right.”
“That’s good. That’s perfect.” she said.
I laid there on top of her. My hand still inside her. We were looking into each others eyes. I couldn’t look away. Her warm brown eyes made my heart ache. I desired her so much and for just a moment I thought we were going to kiss.
“We have to go now John.” The moment was over between us. I wished I had kissed her. We never had another opportunity to be alone, together again.
I know that no matter how warm, how beautiful that Cameron appears, inside she is just a machine. No heart beats within her. Tears ran from my eyes. Tears of joy and sorrow. Tears of joy because this woman Allison loved me and was surrendering herself to me. And tears of sorrow for Cameron who loved me, and for that love she willingly risked her life to save my mom from prison, and to give up her chip for a greater purpose.
My inner turmoil broke down as Allison and I kissed more passionately. Memories of Cameron slipped away as our passions grew and our hands began exploring each other. Our hands slid over each others bodies rubbing and caressing each other through our clothes. We pulled off our shirts and kissed each other again and again touching and feeling exploring each other. Our passions grew. I felt my body temperature rise. I found it difficult to breathe.
Suddenly she stopped. “Is there something wrong?” I asked. For a moment I thought she was going to say, “We have to go now John.”
“Shhh.” She said placing her fingers on my lips. She stood up and removed the rest of her clothing while I watched.
She was beautiful like a statue of Venus or Aphrodite. I couldn’t breathe. She was so beautiful. She turned in place so I could see all sides of her. Allison is a slender beauty with soft curves that hid lean strong muscles. I pulled her towards me and hugged her to me, kissing her stomach and chest while caressing her body with my hands, finding all her soft and sensitive areas and kissing her.
I stood up and kissed her opening my mouth. She opened her mouth and slid her tongue into mine. I held her tight to me feeling the warmth of her body. I then guided her to a sitting position and then stepped back and removed the remainder of my own clothing. She pulled me to her and kissed me as I had done with her, stroking my back and exploring me with her hands.
I leaned in guiding her so she was laying on the bunk and I on top of her, where we made love. It was the first time for each of us. I was never more in love in all my life. Our ecstasy grew, and at the moment of total abandonment we buried our cries of joy in a passionate kiss.
Afterwards, we laid on my bunk, holding each other and gazing into each others eyes. I never want to let go if her.
**
This was love. Cameron professed love for me. And I loved her too. But was she truly capable of comprehending love beyond its definition. Cameron told me at the beginning she was different. Was it because she did have emotions? If so, were her emotions more than just programming? Cameron was in the past and whatever ‘feelings’ she may of had for me must remain there. I would fix Cameron because I did love her. But because of my love for Allison, I could never tell her the truth about Cameron.
2027, Day 8
We fell asleep after our love making. Not surprising, for we had both been through a major fire fight and fought off two terminators in the last three days. When I woke, it was just after midnight. Allison was still asleep. I carefully eased myself out of the bunk and pulled my clothes back on.
Allison looked so peaceful, so beautiful in her slumber. The worries of the day were gone and only contentment filled her mind. I gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and quietly left the room.
I made my way forward to the checkpoint where we had come through the hatch. I asked the guard if there was any word on whether Derek was on his way in. He directed me to communications.
I got to the communications center. The radio operator was busy scribbling something down. He wore a headset so I couldn’t hear what was being said. I was just about to walk away when I heard him say into the mike, “Roger that. Message received. Returning to radio silence until zero four hundred hours.”
He turned to me and said, “Hey there, I’m Andy Keen, the local radio operator. What can I do for you?”
“Hi Andy. I’m John Connor.”
“You’re John Connor!” he said as a big grin filled his face.
“Yeah.”
“Oh man. The word has been going out all over the place how you took out two machines and brought back a huge cache of weapons. You’re a hero. Kyle’s told everyone of what you’ve accomplished.”
“Yeah, um, any word on when Derek Reese will be arriving?” I felt a little embarrassed by his praise.
“The word just came in a few minutes ago. He was on patrol when he received word that his brother was back. He should be here sometime in the morning. You and Allison are suppose to wait here until debriefed. Kyle will be debriefed as soon as the doc clears him.”
“I suppose it’s too late to check in with the Doctor on Kyle’s progress?”
“Nah, I wouldn’t think so. He’s an old night owl. Pretty good company to have around when you’re working the night shift. You’ll find him down this corridor, take a left, and it will be the third door on your right.”
“Thanks.”
I found the Doctor just where I was told I would find him. He was reading a ragged old medical journal and sipping some foul looking liquid from glass. “Hey there! You’re that fellah that brought young Reese in.”
“That’s right, along with Allison too.”
“Pretty girl, pretty girl. She tells me you are responsible for keeping his wounds clean and bandaged.”
“We both did. I’m afraid she may have exaggerated a bit my role in helping Kyle.”
“No need to be modest. We all do our part and then some.”
Allison must have sold me pretty good to this old codger. Shoot what I’m saying old. He probably wasn’t more than fifty, but he was the oldest person I’d seen since coming forward in time.
“I stopped by to see how Kyle is doing.”
“He’s mending very well. The bullet came out as easy as you please. The work you did held off any infection. As soon as his wounds heal and his body rebuilds the blood he lost he will be able to get back to helping protect humanity.”
“You said protect. Aren’t the people fighting back against the machines? Aren’t they trying to reclaim their world from SkyNet?” I was confused and angry. I was under the impression that Derek was leading these people in a fight.
“Fight against the machines, young man. Have you any idea the firepower it takes to disable let alone kill just one of those machines? Derek and the other leaders keep us protected from the machines. Every so often there’s a skirmish when the metal gets a notion to sweep through an area, but fight a war? Don’t be ridiculous. Humanity cannot fight a war to win against the machines.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Was this defeatist attitude prevalent throughout the people who survived J-Day, or was this man just one of few. I had to find out. If humans were to defeat SkyNet in this ‘future’ I found myself in they needed to do more than just survive, they needed to fight! I cursed and strode away.
I heard the Doc mumble as I walked away, “I wonder what’s eating him.”
I took a few minutes to calm down and then I slipped quietly back into my room. While I was gone Allison had spread herself out in my bunk. Bunks aren’t very big to begin with. I removed my clothes and gently slid back in under the blankets trying not to disturb her too much.
“Hello John.” she said kind of sleepily. “Did you go out?”
“Yeah, I was just checking on Kyle. He is doing fine.” I whispered.
Allison rolled over so she was laying partly on me with her head on my shoulder and her left arm on my chest. It was the moment I wanted to last forever back in the desert hideaway, and now here I was in the same position again with Allison. This was bliss. We held each other as we drifted back off to sleep.
We both woke up just before dawn. Allison got redressed and slipped back to her assigned room to avoid any talk about us later that day. I met up with her again as we went to find what they had to eat at this place. I thought that Allison had seen more things in this world than I, but even she was slightly taken aback when we found out the people at this bunker ate rats. Not just wild rats that they catch in traps, but some are hand reared and forced fed on anything they can eat. Not exactly the highlight of this new day.
We then visited Kyle. He was tired from the loss of blood. I talked with him to get his spirits up. I told him about my mom. How she had to raise me on her own. How she was on the run with me all of my life and had in the meantime made a living at smuggling weapons across the border. I showed him the picture I had of her.
“Not only is she a remarkable woman but she is beautiful.” he said.
“She is very remarkable and very tough. Why don’t you hang onto this photo for now?”
“I couldn’t do that, it’s the only picture you have of her. Do you realize how few people actually have any mementos of the families they have lost?”
“Kyle. I have a lifetime of memories and I don’t need a photograph to remember her. She is in my head and heart forever. Just take the photo and think of her as your guardian angel. She looked after me for sixteen years I’m sure she wouldn’t mind looking after you for a while.” I got up and patted his shoulder - on his good arm.
As I began to walk away from his bed he said, “Hey Connor, thanks.”
I didn’t know if this would be the Kyle Reese sent back to help my mom, but I could at least start sowing the seeds required for that plant to grow, if need be.
Derek and a small patrol showed up an hour later. He had two of his lieutenants debrief Allison and myself separately while Derek visited his brother in the infirmary. Before speaking to us he first got the debriefing report from each of his lieutenants. I was feeling anxious, but I had to be patient while he took care of business in his own way.
Derek then came to speak with me in my room.
“I read the reports from both yours and Allison’s debriefing and I spoke with my brother. You are rather remarkable for some one so young. Kyle said you’re the best **** soldier he’s seen.. You’re keen and bright and don’t shirk from taking on responsibility or taking charge in a dangerous situation.”
This was high praise I thanked him as humbly as I could. “I just did my best.”
“You did more than your best by all accounts. Allison had nothing but high praise for you as well. I assigned her to your mission to keep an eye on you and give me a report. I bet you didn’t know that?”
“Well I did wonder why she came along as Kyle didn’t select her. She wouldn’t tell me when I asked, but when the mission was complete she told me. She’s quite brave herself.”
“Yes. I helped raise her when she was found alone and fending for herself. She was only a few years younger than Kyle and I raised them together. It wasn’t a world for young children in those days, but I tried my best.”
“That’s all anyone can do.”
“Yes it is. So tell me what weapons did you manage to bring back?”
I pulled out the list that Kyle had made out at the desert hideaway and I gave it to him.
“You managed to bring back all this?” he said with some amazement.
“Yes. We would have brought more, but the soft sand kept us from loading the van to heavily.” Then I added quite sarcastically, “An awful lot of heavy weapons for just defending the people in the bunker. I hate to think that so many lives were loss if it wasn’t going to be used in an attack on SkyNet.”
“Well Connor it just so happens it will be. While you were out in the desert, I’ve had reconnaissance missions out looking for information on SkyNet’s activities. I’ve learned where the armament factory is where they construct the plasma rifles. It is the only weapon we’ve seen capable of damaging one of those machines that doesn’t require a constant flow of ammunition.”
“So I gather the weapons from the desert will be used to capture the weapons factory.”
“Right first time Connor. Then those weapons will be used in a big strike against SkyNet.”
“So when will you be going after the arms factory?”
“Right now we are sending messages out to a few camps. This strike will require many troops.” He looked at me for a moment and continued. “My brother would be leading one of the groups, but his injuries will keep him out of action for a few days. I’d like you to lead his squad.”
“Me. I’m not much older than sixteen. How am I going to lead group of battle hardened soldiers?”
“Don’t sell yourself short kid. Kyle told me everything you did out there in the desert. You are a born leader. You know what to do in a crisis situation and you are not afraid to take risks.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer him. He continued. “And as far as how a group of battle hardened soldiers will take to being led by you? Just tell them your name. Your reputation has spread throughout all of the camps. Your actions have galvanized the people like never before. They had lost hope. You gave it back to them. All Kyle and I could do was try to keep them safe. Now, because of you we have a real chance at striking back. I can’t do it without you.”
“All right. I’ll do it.”
“Great.”
“Just one thing.”
“Oh, what’s that?”
“Don’t call me kid. Especially in front of the other resistance fighters.”
“OK. Connor it is then.”
“This armament factory. I’m guessing its heavily defended by machines.”
“Yeah there is a group of maybe twelve or twenty. Sometimes more, but SkyNet always has it well defended by groups of T-800's, 850's, or the newer triple eights.”
“Kyle told you how I took out the machines in the desert. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well I have a computer and software for reprogramming their chips. If we were to disable a group of these machines and reprogram them to work for us, then we would have an advantage.”
“I’m listening.”
“We capture what we can by disabling them with an electric shock. It takes them approximately two minutes to reboot. In that time we can simply remove their chips from their heads. I can show you.” I pulled out the chip I took from the machine.
“I took this chip from the machine that stormed into the garage at the rest stop. I brought the endoskeleton with me. I can show you what I did.”
“All right let’s see it.” We walked from my room to the storage area where it was stashed.
“Right here at the top of its skull is a circular lid. You can use any thin edge like a knife or a screwdriver to pop it off. Underneath is the chip. You use a pair of pliers to grip it, give it a quarter turn to the left, and pull it out.”
“That is amazing. Do you really think you can reprogram them?”
“I have the chip, computer and software. I know I can do it. If we can get this one to work for us just imagine what a group of them could do attacking the armament factory.”
“Well I know some the guys won’t like one bit the idea of the machines helping us, but we all know what they can do. All right, I’ll give you one day to get this machine reprogrammed. If it works, then we will see what we can do about capturing a few of these machines for you.”
“Great. I know the power will have to be shut down soon to conserve fuel for the generator. I may need power to keep my computer operational. There is only a limited battery life.”
“I’ll organize it for you. Will you need any thing else?”
“I wouldn’t mind if Allison could keep me company.”
Derek smiled. “So its true. She has latched on to you.” All I could do was smile and I could feel my face turn red. “You know I was wondering when she would find someone for herself. I’ll let her know her mission is to assist you in reprogramming the machine.”
“Thanks.”
**
Allison and I spent the day working on reprogramming the chip. The chip was very similar to the one that came out of Vick’s head in what seemed another age. I assumed the variations between this one and Vick’s were because this was a different time-line.
I used the data disc, that Weaver gave me, to access the program settings. Allison and I went through the settings and analyzing the different results as we tweaked various program blocks. The task was long and arduous. It took more than just logic and know how. The chips were very complex. Each change we made forced us to go back and have to tweak something else.
Eventually we worked our way into the core of the chip’s program. Here was where it’s governing program code was located. The information on Weaver’s Disc helped us crack the code. The biggest problem was in rewriting it. Part of its programming was hardwired. The rest relied on blocks of code. We had already managed to tweak the blocks of code. But we had to program the core to not to ignore the changes we made to its subroutines and to allow them to overwrite some of its core programming.
We were up very late. Allison got us some water and food during the day. When I got tired and had to rest she took the time to take notes on various parts of its programming so I could then use it to rewrite sections.
2027, Day 9
It is now 2AM. Allison is deep asleep on my bunk. I am still working on the reprogramming. I eventually broke through some of the barriers into the core and was able to adjust its code so it wouldn’t reject the new subroutines.
I was beat. I backed up everything Allison and I had done. I then used a program on Weavers disc to test the integrity of the new programming on the chip. I let it run automatically while I got some sleep. I set the alarm on my computer to wake me up in four hours.
I laid down on the bunk next to Allison. She had fallen asleep sometime before. We both laid there fully clothed on top of the bunk spoon fashion. Her gentle breathing helped lull me to sleep.
I didn’t sleep well. I had one of the worse nightmares I have ever experienced. I’m only writing it my journal as it played into events that happened in the next few weeks.
I was back in the basement of Zeira Corp. I was walking through the corridors, my footsteps echoing.
Sparks were spitting out of light fixtures that flickered erratically. As I got closer to the door, it felt like it was getting further away.
I pushed open the door and walked into the room where I found Cameron sitting at the table her skin peeled away from her face and bullet holes throughout her torso. The computer screen behind her flashing ‘I’m sorry John.’
I kneeled down beside her, tears running from my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Cameron. I promise to fix you. I promise.”
The message on the screen changed. “I love you John and you love me.”
“You can’t trust her, John.” My mom’s voice came from the door. She was standing there looking as she did on the day we had to flee from Cameron when she went bad. “She’s lied to you before.”
“Machines don’t have a soul.” Derek walked into the room. “How can something with no soul have feelings.”
“She does have feelings!” I yelled. “She sacrificed herself to save my life! To save Mom’s life! And she would have done it for you too if you had only trusted her.”
Cameron walked in, looking as she did that first day I met her in 1999. “I love you John. You know that.” She walked around behind me stroking my neck with her hand. She stood behind her damaged self and placed her hands on its shoulders. “Fix me and I will be with you forever. I will never leave you. I will love you always.”
I started to go towards her when there was a new voice. Both Mom and Derek were gone and Allison was standing there. “What about me John? Don’t you love me? I’m real.” Tears were streaming from her eyes. “I love you John, and you love me.” She was shouting. I could see the torment on her face.
“Your life is short.” Cameron said coldly. “All humans die eventually, but I can live forever.”
“You have to choose John.” Allison yelled. “Me or her. You can’t have both!”
“Oh no.” I groaned. “I love you. I love her. I don’t want hurt either of you.”
“Then let me make the choice for you.” Allison pulled out a gun and fired it at Cameron. She went down. I checked her over. She was dead, she felt human. Blood poured from her wounds, more than you’d see from synthetic flesh.
“What did you do that for? She never would have hurt you.” I shouted.
“She would come between us. She will always be between us. Unless you let her go.” said Allison.
“Oh Allison. I’m so sorry.”
We embraced. Then I saw from the corner of my eye the damaged Cameron rise up from her chair with an automatic weapon in her hand. I pushed Allison away from me trying to get her out of danger. But instead of firing at me, the damaged Cameron shot Allison. She collapsed dead on the floor.
“Why? Why?” I shrieked over and over.
“I told you, I love you. I must protect you.”
“But she wasn’t a threat. She wasn’t going to harm me.”
“She’s a threat to us John. She would have come between us.” The damaged Cameron walked around to me, her head twitching and a single tear running from her good eye. “I love you.”
“No.” I said. “This can’t be happening. It can’t be real.”
“I love you John and you love me.”
I felt myself falling away and everything going dark and the whole time I kept hearing repeated over and over:
My mom saying “You can’t trust her John.”
Then I heard Derek say, “They have no soul.”
Cameron kept repeating over and over, “I love you John and you love me.”
Over and over their voices kept repeating.
“You can’t trust her John.” “I love you John and you love me.” “They have no soul.”
“I love you John and you love me.” “You can’t trust her John.”“I love you John and you love me.” “
They have no soul.” “I love you John and you love me.” “You can’t trust her John.”
“I love you John and you love me.” “They have no soul.” “I love you John and you love me.”
“You can’t trust her John.” “I love you John and you love me.” “I love you John and you love me.”
“I love you John and you love me.” “You can’t trust . . . .” “. . . no soul.” “I love you . . . .”
I started shouting in my dream, “No, NO, NOOOOO!”
“No. NO. NOOOOO!” I was shouting as I felt hands shake me.
Allison woke me up. She was looking at me very worried.
“Oh Allison.” I quickly pulled her to me hugging her tight. I didn’t want to let her go.
“What was it John? Your shouting woke me up.”
“It was a nightmare. A terrible, terrible nightmare.”
“What happened John?”
I tried to speak, but the words choked in my throat. Eventually I croaked out, “You had died. A machine killed you.” I couldn’t tell her everything, or rather I couldn’t tell her about Cameron.
“John, most everyone here has dreams of losing people they know. You’ve lost your family and now you have a new one.”
“I do?”
“Yes, the resistance is your family. And I will always be with you. I love you.”
“Allison. I’ve lost everyone that I have loved. They all died to protect me or to help me. My uncle is dead, Charley is dead, my sister is dead, and my mom” my voice dropped, “she must be dead too.”
She stroked my head and my back trying too comfort me.
“Allison. I couldn’t bear to lose you, too.” I said, tears streaming from my eyes.
“It’s okay. Everything will be all right.” She continued to talk soothingly to me. Her words were comforting. We laid together holding each other. Neither of us going back to sleep. We eventually got up when the alarm went off on my computer.
2027, Day 9
It is 10 am. Derek had a few guys carry the endoskeleton outside and place it in a clearing between piles of rubble. He set up sharpshooters with grenade launchers and shotguns behind barricades.
I was inside the clearing. I was to place the chip in the terminator’s head, then high tail it out of the clearing, while it booted up. If it tried anything funny, one word from Derek would have it blown to a million pieces.
Allison was waiting behind the barricade. As scared as she was, as we all were, she wanted to be with me when we tried this for the first time.
I bent over the terminator. I slid the chip in place giving it a quarter turn to the right. I popped the seal back on and then ran back and stood beside Derek.
We waited. Someone shouted, “His eyes are glowing.”
“He isn’t getting up.” said Derek, looking at me.
“He might be running a diagnostic on his systems.” I said.
It finally got up and stood looking about. I could tell it was scanning everyone and everything. It wasn’t reacting to our presence, but that might be because it could see all of the weaponry pointing at it.
“What is your prime directive?” I shouted at it.
It tilted its head and said in a monotone voice, “To never harm or kill humans. To obey all humans. To only disobey a human if orders will cause harm or death to another human.”
“What am I?” I shouted.
“You are a human.”
“Who am I?”
“You are John Connor. Human resistance fighter. I obey your orders.”
“If I were to order you to kill this human,” I said pointing to Derek. “What would you do?”
“I would disobey you.”
“If I were to order you to kill another machine like yourself, what would you do then.”
“I would obey your orders.”
I grabbed Derek’s rifle and tossed it to the machine. It deftly grabbed it from the air and held it.
“I order you to kill this person.” I said again, pointing at Derek.
“What the hell, Connor? Are you out of your friggin’ mind?” Derek looked to kill me.
The machine stepped forward holding the gun at the ready as he lined up a shot, but he stopped. “I told you to kill this human.” I said.
“I cannot comply. It is against my prime directive.”
“Well I’ll be dammed, it worked.” someone said.
Derek gave me withering look, walked up to the machine and snatched his weapon back. “All right everyone, listen up. We will be attacking a major armament factory in a few days. Connor over here has demonstrated he can reprogram the machines. To make the odds more favorable for our attack, Connor here is going to tell you his plan, and then he is going to show you how to do it, and then you miserable lot are going to do it or you will be on patrol in the most dangerous part of town for the rest of your miserable lives!” Derek turned around glaring at the men around him.
“Ok, Connor. They are all yours.” Then he walked off leaving me to teach the men how to capture the machines and extract their chips.
The men all gathered around the machine. It was the first time they could look at one up close without being killed the process.
While they were busy examining it and commenting on it capabilities, Allison came up beside me.
“You’re brilliant.” She said giving my arm a squeeze as she kissed me on my cheek.
“You helped. I didn’t do this alone.”
“There you go again being all modest. You know perfectly well this was your idea.”
“I love you. You know that don’t you?”
“Why don’t you tell everyone your brilliant plan and then I’ll answer your question . . . tonight” she said briefly getting quite friendly while no one was looking, then walking away.
My face went all red and before I could fully recover I heard her shouting.
“All right everybody. Give Connor here your full attention. He’s got one of these machines reprogrammed for us but we are going to need more to carry out Derek’s plan. He’s got some ideas on how to capture more but he’s going to need our help.”
She turned and faced me and said, “Take it away Connor.” Then she winked at me and stood with the other fighters with a small grin and a twinkle in her eye.
She did that deliberately. Got me all flustered and my thoughts steered completely away from what I was going to say, then she drops me in it. I was loving her more all the time.
Chapter 08
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