TekLords, page 20
“Forget it, Pach,” advised the silverhaired reporter. “Jake, the National Disease Control Agency completed its tests on the antidote and has okayed its use. That means your wife’s life will be saved, along with—”
“Right now,” he cut in, “I’m just here to pick up my son. After I take care of that, maybe we can all have a chat.” He increased his pace.
“About those killings in Kyoto,” persisted Insatsu.
The silverhaired reporter inquired, “How do you think your wife will react to your relationship with Miss Kittridge when she comes out of her coma and—yow!”
Beth had kicked her in the shin.
Breaking free of the reporters, Jake and Beth hurried into the hospital.
In the Reception Area Jake spotted the tall, thin Dr. Goedewaagen, who was the director of the Isolation Wing. “Doctor, I’m here to take charge of my son. He’s being released today.”
“I don’t quite understand, Mr. Cardigan. Was there something wrong over in Observation?”
Jake frowned. “Observation? We just arrived.”
“But I talked to you right here less than ten minutes ago. I personally handed you the necessary release papers for your son and thanked you for—”
“Jesus, a kamikaze.” Letting go of Beth, Jake started running toward the ramp.
According to the glosigns on the walls and the arrows on the floor, Jake had only one more ramp to go and then he’d be in the Observation Wing.
It had taken him at least five minutes to get this far. That meant the android dupe now might have as much as a fifteen-minute lead.
A part of him was braced, waiting to hear the horrible sound that would mean the kamikaze had made contact with his son.
“Damn Tora,” he growled as he ran, dodging startled human nurses and oblivious white enameled medibots.
Jake knew he should have realized they were going to try this. Dr. Chesterton told him about all the pictures of him Tora had collected. Pictures to use in constructing a believable andy simulacrum. A sim filled with explosives, programmed to recognize Dan and to detonate the moment he touched it.
Each breath Jake took burned his lungs, and his legs were starting to ache.
“No time,” he said to himself. “Not enough time to get to Dan.”
Jake pushed himself to go faster, ignoring the pain.
Two swing doors ahead labeled OBSERVATION.
He pushed through and was in a large rooftop area. There was a plastiglass dome over the Reception Room and the foggy afternoon showed outside. Around the oval room ran a bright yellow ramp that was dotted with white benches. A few patients were scattered around on them.
And standing by an empty bench all the way across the big room was Jake Cardigan.
A damn convincing facsimile.
He was smiling, holding out his arms.
Not more than a hundred yards away was Dan, carrying a small tan suitcase and accompanied by the nurse who’d befriended him. The nurse stopped, patted him on the shoulder. Dan started alone toward the waiting kamikaze.
“Dan! Get back!” shouted Jake, running along the ramp.
His son, surprised, stopped still and stared at him.
The simulacrum, though, started moving. “Danny,” it said, “you know me.”
“Down, get down!” warned Jake, running for all he was worth.
He caught up with the kamikaze, hit it hard with his shoulder.
The android staggered, went tottering into the plastiglass wall. A panel shattered and the simulacrum fell out into the mist. It was still about fifty feet from the ground when it exploded with an immense thundering boom.
Jake turned away from the misty afternoon.
Dan came slowly up to him, a smile growing on his pale face. “You saved my life,” he said quietly, dropping his suitcase to the ramp. Then he jumped forward and put both arms around his father, hugging tight. “I love you.”
Jake returned the hug. He smiled.
A Biography of William Shatner
William Shatner (b. 1931) is a celebrated Canadian actor, author, and film director known for his irreverent charm and his star turn as Captain Kirk on the first Star Trek television series, as well as many other roles.
Shatner was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. He majored in economics at McGill University and upon graduating took a job as the business manager at Montreal’s Mountain Playhouse, where he also pursued classical Shakespearean training. In 1954, Shatner began performing at Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival, appearing in Henry V, Oedipus Rex, and Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great—the play in which he would make his Broadway debut in 1956, as the understudy for Christopher Plummer.
After his first film appearance, in MGM’s The Brothers Karamazov (1958), and roles in the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone, Shatner was cast in NBC’s Star Trek, playing the courageous, unpredictable Captain James T. Kirk. Though cancelled in 1969 after three seasons, Star Trek became a cult hit in syndication, leading to an animated series and a number of spin-off television series and movies. Shatner starred in seven Star Trek films beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.
Shatner went on to star as a veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker (1982–86) and as aging trial lawyer Denny Crane in Boston Legal (2004–08). He has also remained in the public eye with frequent television guest appearances.
Shatner has published a number of novels, most notably TekWar (1989), a science-fiction thriller that inspired eight sequels as well as video games and a television series. His autobiography, Up Till Now, was published in 2008. He has also released three musical albums, including the infamous The Transformed Man (1968), which introduced Shatner’s unique spoken-word style, and the critically lauded Seeking Major Tom (2011).
In 2012, Shatner returned to Broadway after a fifty-year absence, in Shatner’s World: We Just Live in It, a one-man show based on his life and work. After a three-week run in New York City, he took the show on the road, touring around the country. When he isn’t working, Shatner and his wife, Elizabeth, divide their time between Southern California and Kentucky.
After graduating from McGill University in 1952, William Shatner began participating in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada. This headshot dates from his early days with the festival. (Photo Courtesy of William Shatner.)
Star Trek, the iconic science-fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise and its crew, led by Captain James T. Kirk, played by Shatner. The series first aired between 1966 and 1969. Shatner’s voice-over before each episode explained the starship’s mission: “to boldly go where no man has gone before.” This photo shows the crew from the original Star Trek. (Photo courtesy of Photofest, Inc.)
Shatner’s debut musical album, The Transformed Man, was released in 1968 while he was still starring in Star Trek. The concept album combined famous pieces of poetry with pop lyrics; for instance, Shatner read Bob Dylan’s lyrics alongside Shakespeare’s verses. (Photo courtesy of Universal Music Enterprises.)
To help the Gorilla Foundation raise awareness for their endangered species campaign, Shatner met Koko, the gorilla who became the foundation’s ambassador, in 1988. Koko can understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language and more than 2,000 English words. Shatner was awed by the strength of this imposing and powerful animal and considered meeting her a truly amazing experience. (Photo courtesy of William Shatner.)
Shatner recorded his second musical album, Has Been, in 2004. Produced and arranged by Ben Folds, the album featured Shatner’s prose-poems as well as guest appearances from Aimee Mann, Nick Hornby, Lemon Jelly, and Joe Jackson. In 2007, choreographer Margo Sappington used the album for a ballet called Common People. Shatner filmed documentary footage of their collaboration and released a film called William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet in 2009. (Photo courtesy of Shout! Factory, LLC.)
In 2004, Shatner joined the final season of the legal drama The Practice and won an Emmy for his role as law firm partner Denny Crane. In a 2004 spin-off, Boston Legal, Shatner continued to play Crane, winning a Golden Globe and another Emmy in 2005. He was nominated for several more Emmys before the show ended in 2008. This photo shows the crew of Boston Legal. (Photo courtesy of Photofest, Inc.)
Shatner and his wife, Elizabeth, with their horses. Shatner spends much of his spare time breeding and showing American saddlebreds and quarter horses. (Photo courtesy of Andrew McPherson.)
Shatner with his champion American saddlebred stallion, Sultan’s Great Day. (Photo courtesy of William Shatner.)
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
copyright © 1991 by William Shatner
cover design by Jason Gabbert
978-1-4532-8678-4
This edition published in 2012 by Open Road Integrated Media
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William Shatner, TekLords
