Cybernova, page 16
Of course, who else?
I glance at Ash, and the look on her face perfectly captures the way I feel about the situation: disgusted, confused, and exhausted, but also intrigued. I pick up the crate, which is a lot heavier than I thought it would be.
Like damn, what’s even in this, a bunch of bricks?
I can’t help but chuckle at my own stupid non-joke.
“What’s so funny?” Ash teases, playfully pushing me as we walk back to Zeke and Dex.
“Nothing really…I think I’m just tired. This dumb box is really heavy.”
We share a tired laugh and keep walking. After a few more steps, my foot hits another crate. Ash points her light over as she realizes what happened. This one is quite a bit larger than the first, somewhere around seven feet long. I probably should’ve seen it, if I’m being honest. If I wasn’t so tired, I probably would have.
There are several more small crates on top of and next to the larger one.
We walk the rest of the way to Zeke’s makeshift station in the corner, and I set down the small crate next to where he’s sitting. Well, I should say I dropped the crate because my arms gave out as I lowered it to the ground. It makes a loud ‘thud’ as it hits the ground.
“The hell is that?” Zeke asks, startled.
I nudge the CYBR Corp logo with my shoe. “There’s at least a dozen of these crates in this part of the tunnel. I’ve got no idea what we’ve stumbled on, but it doesn’t seem like more of the same old, abandoned, Chrome Drone-infested tunnels to me.”
“You might be right, but then again, we didn’t know about those Drones until a few minutes ago, so what the fuck do we know?” Zeke moves his lamp closer and starts to examine the crate.
“Fair enough,” I reply, “We’ll keep looking around while you take a crack at that thing.” I hesitate, smirking as I think of a dumb joke. “Also, that’s another Johnny in the swear jar, young man.”
“I know you’re joking,” Ash replies between laughs, “but could you imagine how many Johnnies you’d have gotten from Zeke by now? Imagine the profits!”
We all share a laugh, including Dex, who’s sitting against the tunnel wall next to Zeke. He goes back to eating a cube of grey, unappetizing-looking nutrigel, then winces slightly at the taste.
“You really makin’ poor Dex eat that budget nutrigel crap?”
“Hey man, if that arm of yours secretly makes pizza, now would be the time to share.”
“I wish…but hey, who knows what’s in these. Could be a pizza oven for all we know.” I gesture to the metal crate beside me.
“There’s probably…some sort of lighting in here,” Dex chimes in, “I once was taken to a covert R&D facility where—” he’s interrupted by a brief coughing fit. “Where they were testing very hush-hush cybernetics and shit. It was a lot like this tunnel, now that I think about it.”
“Thanks, Dex. Also, I’m glad you’re doing a little better.” I reply, crouching slightly to give him a pat on the shoulder.
“Thanks, kid. So am I.”
With a nod to Astra, we split up to look for a way to get the lights turned on. I figure the walls near the entrance are as good a place as any to start looking. I shine my flashlight to the left and right of the concealed door we came in through but don’t see anything obvious. I start making my way around the room, combing the walls for any sort of wiring, switches, panels, anything really.
I glance at Ash. She’s moved pretty quickly to what must be the far end of the room. She’s actually much farther away than I expected. I shake off the feeling of unease that gives me and keep looking.
After a few minutes of excruciating silence and dull, dusty metal and stone walls, I see something. I almost missed it. It’s an extremely dusty metal panel embedded in the highly dusty wall of the tunnel, approximately six inches wide and a foot tall.
Pulling out the scrap of cloth, I dust off the panel, revealing a small latch on the left-hand side of it. It takes some effort to break the latch free of the gunk holding it in place, but eventually, it opens with a loud thunk. I swing the panel open on its rusted hinges, revealing a shockingly haphazard array of wires, as well as what seems to be the lever for the power.
I move to throw the lever but notice some of the wires aren’t connected properly, dangling uselessly. I’d rather not risk killing myself with an electric shock, so I turn to Zeke.
“Hey, Mister Technowizard, care to lend a hand?”
“You talkin’ to me?” He quips, “I’m already tryin’ to open this box for you. What am I, your errand boy?”
“You might be.”
“Don’t push it. And please, Mister Technowizard was my father. Call me Technowiz.”
“As you wish, Technowiz.” I tip an imaginary hat.
Despite his sassy response, he makes his way over to me, the light of his Holocomm coming closer.
“I don’t suppose you could take a look at this?”
“Listen, pal, I’m not looking for another shocking experience right now, not after that run-in with those Drones.”
My terrible joke earns a pained groan from my best friend. In other words, I just won the war of wits.
Suck it, Zeke.
“Take a look at this and tell me again that you think I should’ve just messed with this myself.”
I step aside as Zeke moves in, shining his flashlight on the electrical panel. “Oh, damn. Yeah, good call, man.” His expression becomes a look of deep concentration and a bit of confusion, which, having known him for as long as I have, is a clear sign he’s engaged Technowiz mode.
I move without another word back over to the corner. I sit down with Dex and grab one of the cubes of nutrigel from the packaging. I practically inhale it, not realizing just how hungry I am. I down another cube, pausing to chew it long enough to taste it, which is a mistake. It tastes like nothing, but not like how Fauxtmeal tastes like nothing. At least Fauxtmeal tastes like a close approximation of how oatmeal used to taste. It’s not Fauxtmeal’s fault that oats were boring. No, nutrigel is something…different. Somehow, it tastes like nothing if nothing was the worst possible flavor ever made. It’s the type of nothing that lingers on your tongue and in the back of your throat, like a bad memory that you’ve long forgotten.
Come to think of it, I’ve never put much thought into what it actually is that I’m eating. The regulations to list ingredients in food were ‘coincidentally’ lifted at the same time we started to eat entirely lab-based sustenance. Convenient, right? But hey, it’ll keep me alive long enough to complain to Zeke about how terrible it is.
“Hey, kid,” Dex says, startling me out of my apparently deep focus on these little gray cubes, “I wouldn’t spend too much time thinking about that stuff if I were you.” He flashes a wry, knowing smile my way, gesturing to the Nutrigel in my hand.
“Fair enough, I kinda just zoned out, to be honest.”
“No offense, but you look awful. And that’s coming from a guy who’s been mostly unconscious this whole time!” He laughs deeply, bringing on another coughing fit. Despite that, this may be the happiest I’ve seen him in the last few days, or maybe ever.
I laugh along for a bit. I can only imagine what I must look like after the sleeplessness, the sweaty filth of these tunnels, and carving through countless Chrome Drones. I could check in my Holocomm or something, but I think it’s best not to put too much thought into that, either.
“Listen, Dex, I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for you joining us. You didn’t have to do that. I hate to think where we’d be without you.”
“You really don’t get it, do you, Oliver?” He pauses, raising an incredulous eyebrow. “You’re the one who saved me, remember? I’d be toast or worse right now if you and Zeke hadn’t fought those Retribution bastards off in his clinic. I owe you my life, something I doubt I’ll ever be able to pay you back for.” He begins to get quieter as he finishes speaking, his face sullen and his eyes pointed downward.
“From where I’m sitting,” I reply, “I feel like I’m the one who owes you a great deal. Seriously, we wouldn’t be anywhere without your insight and knowledge of the way CYBR Corp operates. I don’t know jack shit about hardly anything, truth be told. I’m just an angry kid with some fancy swords and a fuck you attitude.” I grasp the hilts of my daishō as I say that, briefly reminded of how badly I need to fix the wakizashi. I chuckle at the hilariously true nature of what I just said.
“That may be true,” Dex says, chuckling with me, “but you’ve also got a good heart. And who could blame you for feeling that anger? I think we all feel that, for some, it burns deeper down. For others, it boils hot on the surface, bubbling over the edges of the pot. Believe it or not, I’m a lot like you in that regard. I’ve got a lotta regrets and even more anger inside me, but I refuse to bring more hatred and suffering into this world. You’re a good kid. Cut yourself some slack now and then.” He pauses, smiling at me with a sincerity that strikes me to my core.
I’m suddenly reminded of when I was a really little kid, like maybe five or six years old. My brother, Miles, he looked at me with a shockingly similar look to how Dex is looking at me now. I had tried my hand at picking a lock, wanting to impress Miles. I failed miserably and almost got us caught, but he wasn’t mad at all. He never got angry. He would always tell me the only thing we can do is learn from our mistakes and move on. He told me he was proud of me, that he would always be there for me, always love me, no matter what I did…
“You alright?” Dexter’s words bring me back to reality. I realize I’ve been crying, tears silently rolling down my cheeks as the memory washes over me.
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just…you reminded me of something my brother told me.” I try my best to give Dex a casual smile, though I doubt it’s very convincing. “Anyway,” I continue, wiping my eyes as stealthily as I can, which is not very, “what do you say you help me take down CYBR Corp? In turn, I’ll keep you alive, and we’ll call it even. Sound good?” I hold out my hand.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.” Dex shakes my hand. “And Olly, if you ever want to talk about it, I’d be happy to hear about your brother.” He smiles again. I feel tears well in my eyes again.
“Thanks, Dex. I really appreciate that. I might take you up on that once we’re a little safer and a little less covered in…this.” I say, gesturing to the myriad of fluids covering my body.
“You truly are disgusting, my friend.”
We share a laugh. Dex almost doesn’t cough.
I eat the final bite of what I now realize must be my fourth or fifth nutrigel cube and stand back up. I look across the darkness at Ash. She’s sitting on the floor and seems to be analyzing one of the crates. I turn to look at Zeke, now using what looks like a pair of fancy pliers to try and reconnect wires.
“Hey, Wiz Kid!” I call as I walk over to him. “How’s it lookin’ over here?”
“Your nicknames are getting worse and worse, Ol’.” He says quietly, not turning away from the electrical panel. Probably a smart move. “At least Technowiz has some respect behind it.”
“Oh, absolutely, your tech-wizardyness,” I say, bowing in the most sarcastic way I know how. “But for real, do you think you can fix this thing?”
“You know, it’s amazing. No matter how many times I tell you this, you always seem to forget the fact that it takes longer when I’m being bothered by hooligans like yourself.” He breaks focus long enough to tilt his head over, look over his glasses, and give me a judgy look only Zeke can deliver.
“Fair enough.” I step back a bit, throwing up my hands as if to plead guilty to my terrible crime. Now that I’m looking closer, the wires in the panel look way more organized than the tangled mess they were in before.
“Aaaaaaand…done.” Zeke steps back, gesturing triumphantly at the panel as he does so. Unfortunately, nothing seems to happen. No lights come on. Zeke furrows his brow, sticks the pliers back into the panel, shoves a wire more forcefully into place, and says, “I said, done!”
With that, a large clunk and whir is shortly followed by a series of ceiling-mounted fluorescent lights flickering on all throughout the room. My eyes have gotten so used to the oppressive darkness of these tunnels that I instinctively squint and throw a hand up to shield my eyes. After a few moments, my eyes have adjusted enough to take a proper look around.
I can now see that this room is quite large, though admittedly not as large as it felt when it was dark. It seems like it’s about the size of a basketball court, though much shorter in height.
I’d like to see that big guy get in here.
The sides of the room are lined with shiny silver crates, all bearing a CYBR Corp logo and covered in a thick layer of dust. In the center of the room stretches a large, black table, a few yards long and a few feet wide. The sides of the table have large mechanical arms of some sort attached to them every few feet or so.
I walk over to the table, brushing off what seems to be a control panel mounted to one side of it. The table activates with my touch, revealing itself to be a massive holographic workbench. Blue light shines from the entire length of the table as the large, blue, nondescript face of the Cerulean A.I. appears. It hovers expressionless in front of me for a moment before forming a smile and shifting to look directly at me.
Yeah, this is all perfectly normal. Not concerning at all. I guess I should say something.
“Cerulean, status,” I command, pretending everything is cool and I know what I’m doing.
“Voice command, accepted. User Oliver Wolf recognized. Hello, Oliver. Welcome to the Cybernetic Automated Research and Development System, colloquially known as CARDS. I notice this unit is quite dirty. Shall I begin the cleaning protocol?”
Wait just a damn second…user recognized? Me?
I look around at Zeke and Ash, who’ve joined me at the table. I can see from their faces that they’re just as confused and freaked out as I am. I glance over at Dex, hoping he knows what the hell is going on here. He shrugs.
“Um, yeah. Go ahead.”
“Very well. Please stand back.” A series of small arms appear from the edge of the table, armed with various cleaning attachments. They hum along as they scrub the table and leave a sparkling, clean surface behind.
“Cerulean, I have a question. Is your A.I. connected to all other Cerulean units in existence, transferring user information between you?”
“No, Oliver. User data is only transferred between units of the same type.”
“Ok…what do you mean by ‘the same type’?”
“I apologize, I assumed you would know. There are two types of Cerulean units: consumer units and internal units.”
“Elaborate.”
“Consumer units, such as tablets, Holocomm units, and so on, are available to the public, and you may log into any one of these with your consumer user credentials. Namely, your vocal and facial patterns. Conversely, internal units are only for internal CYBR Corp use. Only authorized personnel, or otherwise registered users with the proper clearance, may utilize such units.”
“And which type of unit are you?”
“This is an internal unit.”
Oh. My god. What!? But…what? I don’t understand. I’ve never touched one of these so-called internal units.
“Cerulean, how, um, theoretically, what would someone need to do to be a registered internal user, assuming they are not an employee of CYBR Corp?” I ask, my voice shaky as I try and fail to remain calm.
“There are several methods for becoming a registered internal user. For instance, one may be a registered contractor for CYBR Corp or a family member of an employee. Typically, an existing employee must request access on behalf of whomever they wish to give internal user permissions to, which is approved by executive leadership.”
My mind is racing so fast that it starts to give me a headache. I tap the mute button on the control panel, which supposedly shuts off Cerulean’s ability to hear us. I don’t really believe that, but it makes me feel better.
“Guys, what’s going on? I’m freaking out right now!” I walk over closer to Zeke and Ash, grasp Ash’s hand tightly for a few moments, then let go, not wanting to crush her hand.
“Hell if I know! This thing knows you. Why would it know you?” Zeke responds.
“That’s what I’m asking, man!”
“Ok, hold on, we can figure this out.” Ash cuts in, grasping my shoulder reassuringly. “So, assuming it’s telling the truth, and we have no reason to believe it’s not, then…” She trails off, the reality of the situation setting in for all of us.
“But that would mean…I’m…related to someone who works at CYBR Corp? Because I definitely haven’t used whatever this internal unit thing is before. And I sure as shit haven’t been a contractor for them. But that doesn’t make any damn sense, my whole family was killed by those bastards!”
“Either that,” Zeke chimes in, “or someone who works for them set you up as an authorized user for some reason. Neither makes any sense to me. Especially considering it needs to go through executive leadership.”
“Well,” Ash, the angel of reason that she is, jumps in again, “Olly, didn’t you say that Miles, when you guys were teenagers, he would always be messing with CYBR Corp stuff, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true. He was convinced if he could just crack open their system, we’d finally know for sure what happened to our parents, why they were killed by CYBR Corp. Why their bodies were never found…” I can feel my knees getting weak. I clench my fists, determined not to cry at a time like this.
“Ok, I see what you’re getting at Astra.” Dex, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, is standing right behind me, grasping the edge of the holo-table to stabilize himself. “It’s possible Oliver’s brother managed to crack our system and uploaded the two of you as authorized users. In that case, they never would’ve known you were users in the first place, so they wouldn’t have wiped your credentials. Though he would’ve had to be some sort of genius to get that to work.”
