Connections

This is pretty f-ed up. Started out as a 7 part SciFi Radio Play
which I released on my third album, 1893. All 7 parts had dialog
over different ambient space-scapes. And most of the dialog was
improvised--never wrote any of it down.

Then, I listened to the audio files--years later--and transcribed the
dialog into short-story format.

Which is this (sorry about the 'code' part, it was the only way I could get it to preserve some of the formatting)

Code:


   Connections

   Alex sat on one side of the shiny table, across from Doctor Ramsey. The windows behind the Doctor were opaque, and the walls were dull silver with abstract paintings staring inwards. From beyond the walls of the room came the sounds of traffic flying by and heavy machinery.
   “You’re not going to ask me about my mother, are you?” asked Alex.
   “No. We haven’t done that since, uh, 2052,” said the Doctor.
   “I guess I won’t need this, then,” Alex said, unloading a projectile weapon and sliding it across the table—brass shells pinged onto the table and rolled off onto the carpeted floor. Doctor Ramsey’s eyes widened slightly.
   “When we left off, you were talking to me about, uh, connections. Why don’t you start there?”
   Alex took a sip from the cup near him. “What’s in this stuff Doc?”
   “Something to, uh, keep ya, calm,” said Doc.
   Alex laughed. “Good one.” Then he placed his hands together, fingertips touching, and frowned.
   “Have you ever seen someone that you recognize, from before?” asked Alex, looking up into Doc’s blue eyes.
   “Of course, that’s, uh, perfectly normal. You mean you, recognize a face?” asked Doc.
   “Well, no. I mean, ya know, something goes off in my head, and I see somethin’. Ya know?” said Alex.
   “Well, what kind of, somethin’, do you see?”
   “You know like, you think it’s the same person but, uh, the wrong time.”
   “You mean like from your childhood, or something?” asked Doc looking confused.
   “Well, more like, uh, five-hundred, five-hundred years ago, ya know? Maybe… maybe, uh, three hundred seventy-two… something like that,” said Alex. He took another sip from his cup. It tasted buttery and smelled like almonds, with a hint of bitterness.
   “Really? How many times has this happened to you?” asked Doc.
   “Eleven.”
   “Eleven?”
   “Well, three of them are dead now… I mean, again—so eight.”
   “And these flashes, they’re always visual?” asked Doc.
   “Mm, no. Nah—not really. I mean sometimes, yeah. Sometimes, well yeah, I mean—mostly. What are you trying to say Doc?”
   “Well these connections that you--experience. What do you think they mean?”
   “Well, I’ve been thinking about it Doc. I’ve been thinking about it—you know I have. Can’t stop.”
   “I think I’m travelin’; travelin’. I’m with these people, and I keep running into ‘em,” Alex said, his voice rising in pitch. “I don’t know.”
   “But, they’re, they’re all from some…other time?”
   “Well, mostly, mostly the past. I mean, uh, yeah. Thaedeus? Well, the future, but, not very far. I mean, the rest, it varies, uh, yeah, I don’t want to go there right now. Ok?” Alex said, his eyes turning glassy.
   “Well why don’t you just, uh, pick one, someone you met, someone you saw and, uh, just tell me what happened?” asked Doc.
   “Yeah, ok, yeah, um, let me think,”  Alex said as he raised his cup and took a sip of the warm drink.
   “Ok, ok, ok. Well ok, uh, there was this, this girl, um, and, the first time I met her—somethin’ in, in my head. You know, she looked a little bit different, uh, and I couldn’t tell what time it was, um, I’m guessin’ a couple hundred years ago? You know, no phonebooths, no cars. I mean, could have been out in the country, um, and, it was powerful, ya know? Kinda fucked me up,” said Alex.
   “Um, yeah, so that was one time. I mean it was, it was visual—mostly. And maybe a little bit of converstation from back then floated through my head like a, a lightning bolt or something…. So, yeah, sometimes it’s like that.”
   “Ok. Um, yeah, that’s interesting, you know? I think you are making progress here and let’s pick it up from there next time,” said Doc, as he jotted some notes on his optical.
   “Yeah, sure, uh, anytime Doc. I guess I gotta come here. That’s what they say. So, yeah… I’ll see ya. See ya in a couple days. You know I don’t think this—I don’t think this stuff is workin’,” said Alex, holding up his cup, and then setting it down with a clink.
#
   The door closed automatically behind Alex, with a hum, and he walked the six steps to the familiar chair, and sat down. “Hey Doc.”
   “How are you feeling today?” asked Doctor Ramsey, as he tapped on his rectangular flat panel.
   “Good. Good. You know… I mean, yeah,” said Alex.
   “Why don’t we pick up where we left off? You were telling me about these, connections. You said three were dead,” said Doc, as he scanned his notes on the display built into his desk.
   “Yeah, three. That’s right.”
   “Why don’t you tell me about one of them? You know, what, what happened.”
   “She was so beautiful Doc. So beautiful,” said Alex wistfully, with a touch of sadness. He ran his fingers through his sandy blonde hair and looked far away with his grey eyes.
   “What was her name?”
   “What are you trying to do to me?” yelled Alex, as he lunged across the table toward Doc. There was a loud electrical crackle and Alex bounced back off the table and slid across the floor.
   “Jesus! When did you have that put in?” asked Alex as he sat up and checked for injuries.
   “After our last session. It’s a Mark IV Force Field; I wouldn’t try that again,” said Doc. A smile touched his lips. His dark hair was brushed to one side, and his blue eyes showed amusement behind the anachronistic glass lenses.
   “You don’t have to say her name; just tell me what happened,” said Ramsey.
   Alex stood slowly, walked back to the chair, and sat down. “She couldn’t take it,” he said sadly, quietly. “She killed herself.”
   “Didn’t you tell me that time is simultaneous, uh, everything happens at once? So she’s still alive…somewhere. Right?”
   “You don’t understand,” Alex said quietly. “You’re never gonna understand. She’s not alive here. Don’t you get it? Smart guy?”
   “So why did she do it?” asked Doc, pushing his glasses up with his right index finger, and checking the FF indicator—still glowing amber.
   “You can shut the fuck up,” Alex said, his voice rising. “Got me?”
   “Shut. The fuck. Up.” He glared at Doc with fire behind his grey eyes. He gripped the padded arms of the leather chair tightly and tried to control his anger.
   “All right… we’ll come back to this,” said Doc, as he tapped some more information into his screen.
   “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”
   “Because they caught me—motherfucker. Why do you think I’m here? You think I waltzed in here, ready to confess, ready to draw you a map of my personal shit? No. Because they fuckin’ caught me.” Alex leaned over the desk with both hands on the table, rising out of his chair.
   “Did you kill those people?”
   “People?” Alex said derisively. “They weren’t people. They were fuckin’ machines, man. They were in disguise. I know their kind. I know exactly who they were, and what they were doing.”
   “They weren’t machines,” said Doc, observing Alex’s reactions closely, and watching the body monitors, as they recorded everything.
   “Right. You’re always right Doc. Always right. That’s why you’re over there, and I’m over—the fuck—here.  That’s why there’s  a fucking invisible fucking wall Doc! That’s why you have to give me happy juice. Because I’m real, and you are a fucking, machine,” said Alex. He sat back down in the chair, and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
   “I’m trying to help you… deal with this.”
   “If you ask me about her again. I don’t know what I’m gonna do….”
   “There’s not a lot in this…pretty future of yours that can stop me. I know that.” Alex smiled and looked around the room slowly.
   “Let’s take a different approach. Tell me—tell me how time is simultaneous?” asked Doc.
   “Well, everything happens at once… obviously,” Alex said condescendingly. “I mean, not obvious to you I guess, but you know, your brain sorts it out, and puts it in a line because it’s fucking supposed to. But everything happens at once.”
   “When you’re asleep you can communicate with—with all the other yous. It’s obvious. Everyone does it,” Alex said, like he was talking to a child. “But not everyone remembers.”
   “So, the past, the future, now—it’s all now. It’s now. You got me? It’s now. Then is now. The future is now. You’re livin’ maybe one hundred lives at once, a million, infinity. It’s all happening now.“
   “That’s, uh, very interesting,” said Doc frowning and taking notes. “And how do you know this is true?”
   “Well, because I talk to them, uh, I mean me, you know? I see things; I hear things; I’m there; I’m here; I’m there; I’m here—at the same, time. Not when I’m awake usually, sometimes, yeah—right through. Close my eyes—boom, there. Open my eyes—boom, I’m here,” said Alex gesturing wide with his hands. “And things I can’t explain, things I shouldn’t know… but I do.“
   “The only explanation is if you fold time up, and you, put a pin through it, and it’s all now.”
   “Let’s continue next time,” said Doc, as he kept touching notes in on the unblinking glass.
#
   “They always bring me to the same room,” said Alex, as he sat down. “Why are the windows always black?”
   “They say you cut yourself and draw things on the walls of your room,” said Doc, ignoring the question.
   “I suppose,” said Alex sipping from the cup of ever present happy juice. At least it smelled good, and it was warm.
   “I have a scan of one of your drawings,  uh, it says Gossamer Web. You know what that is?” asked Doc, as he peered down into the screen that tilted toward him from the top of the metal desk.
   “The web of existence. It’s what connects me to everyone, everyone to me. Except for machines,” said Alex.
   “Can we just leave, the machines out, uh, this time?” asked Doc.
   “Love to Doc. You know I would.” Alex grinned.
   “Can you describe this, uh, web? I mean, do you see it?”
   “Well usually I have to close my eyes, but, sometimes I can see it—you know—with my eyes open. The threads connect; some of them are so small you can barely see ‘em. And they go off into space, and stop at the other person. Some of them are thick, you know, like ropes, and—there’s no way you can disconnect those.”
   “Interesting,” said Doc tapping the touch panel and looking up at Alex from time to time.
   “It’s like a spider web, and I’m the spider. I am the spider, you know,” said Alex touching his fingertips together. The backs of his hands were scarred.
   “Well you decompressed a BioDome and killed…two-hundred and fifty-thousand people,” said Doc dryly. “They’re still trying to figure out how you did it. Would you like to explain?”
   “Well you’re not going to think this is, uh, an explanation, you know. But it’s—I—I can control electrical things from a distance—ya know? As long as there’s electrons in there baby.”
   “Why haven’t you been able to escape then?” asked Doc, his eyes giving away a glimmer of his interest.
   “I don’t want out. Uh, not yet. Still trying to reach, uh, reach her.”
   “Reach who?”
   “You know who Doc. You know who. I’m not going to say it. We went over that last time. I really don’t think you want me to say it.”
   “Let’s talk about the explosion. How did you shut off the safety protocols?”
   “Well, with my—with my mind, I guess you would say. But even if I used my hands, I’d be using my mind, right? Let’s say, that uh, I think outside the box Doc. I think outside the fucking cybernetic machine,” Alex said smiling.
   “Well that doesn’t really clear it up for me,” said Doc. Let’s come back to that, uh, a little bit later.”
   “If you can control electrical things from a distance, then why can’t you, uh, control these machines that you talk about. These machines that are everywhere?”
   “Well, partly shielding, yeah. Some types of shielding, I can’t, uh, see through—as it were. But mostly because they’re not, uh, electrical. They’re not electrical. They use some sort of photons bouncing around in there. They run on light, kind of, uh, smoke and mirrors, disguises. Photons bouncing around in their head, you know.”
   “Why would you admit that you have this power?” asked Doc.
   “There you go Doc! You’re thinkin’!” said Alex with a big grin.
   “I can think of a couple a reasons. Uh, one: I know that when I leave this room, you’re not going to be alive anymore. That’s a good one.” There was a dangerous gleam in Alex’s grey eyes.
   “Two: I know that it doesn’t matter anymore, because this piece of tactical knowledge, uh, isn’t going to slow me down.”
   “Three: uh, perhaps I want it on tape? Perhaps I just want to rub your nose in it, so that when you wake up tomorrow and everything is fuckin’ different, you can rewind, and you can hear me warn you; you can hear me tell you right to your face, the way this shit is going to go down.” Alex drummed the fingers of his left hand on the table in an intricate pattern.
   “Or maybe I’m just a liar Doc? Maybe I’m a liar. Ever thought of that?”
   “Well I think of a lot of things—of course. It’s my job. And, uh, what I think right now is that, uh, maybe you should stop cutting yourself and drawing on your walls with your own blood—maybe? And that we’ll continue this at our next session,” said Doc as he leaned back in his chair.
   “I’ll think about it Doc. You know blood? It grows back,” said Alex, as he pushed back from the desk and rose. Behind him the door opened and the guards entered, to take him back to his cell many floors below.
#
   “Welcome back. I heard there was an incident? Someone said, uh, “Jennifer,” and you tried to rip his head off?” asked Doc as Alex looked up slowly. His hands were shackled in front of him, and his face was bruised.
   “You mean his fuckin’ head? Yeah, that might have been me. Sad. I was starting to like ya Doc,” said Alex between clenched teeth.
   “Do you mind if I ask you a question Doc? About people?”
   “Sure.”
   “You know people are different, right? Unique—except for twins maybe. Uh, so… blow up two-hundred and fifty-thousand, in a BioDome, and, you never expect to see those fuckers around again, right?”
   “I guess… What do you mean?” Doctor Ramsey looked down at his screen to make sure the recorder was getting this.   
   “I mean, I have, uh, seen at least fifty-four of ‘em. Exactly. Yeah. I mean I know it’s the same people: the same bodies. That’s why they’re not people Doc. That. Is. Fucking. Why.”
   “What does this have to do with Je—I mean, uh, the girl?” asked Doc.
   “You thought I wouldn’t say it Doc. Jennifer? You thought I would not fucking say that. It’s not a problem for me Doc. I can say it anytime I fuckin’ want to,” said Alex with venom.
   “It has a lot to do with her Doc. ‘Cause I’m bringin’ her back. I’m sure you would love to know how….”
   “You know it’s not possible to do that, right? She’s dead,” said Doc meeting Alex’s wild eyes.
   “Let’s assume that somebody, has a cortical scan of her, you know, three seconds before she died—maybe less. Let’s assume that whoever this is, has discovered that there are machines that are fuckin’ immortal, walking around fuckin’ town? Got me?” said Alex clanking his wrist shackles down on the desk.
   “What would this person do?” asked Alex, pulling his hands apart like he would break the chains that bound them.
   “You can’t get out of this building,” said Doc seriously. He disguised the worried look on his face well, but not perfectly.
   “Well I’m not leaving without her Doc. Not this time.”
   “Perhaps you don’t know about all the safety protocols we’ve had installed, you know, recently? While you were in solitary, writing glyphs on the wall with your own blood,” said Doc, unable to keep a touch of panic out of his voice.
   Alex laughed. “You are funny. Safety protocols, yeah? They worked real good last time didn’t they? Real. Fucking. Good. They ‘safety protocoled’ those fuckers right into fucking space. I gotta get me some of those protocols. Motherfucker.”
   “Let’s get back to, uh, the girl. When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it? How are you going to get out of your cell?” asked Doc.
   “You are going to let me out Doc. And you are going to get me a machine body,” said Alex, leaning back in his chair. Ramsey’s eyes widened.
   “You don’t believe me? It’s ok; you don’t have to believe me. Not yet.”
   “Well, I seriously doubt that I’m going to come down there, open the cell, and say, “Here is a machine body for you.”
   “That’s not really in my job description.”
   “Oh you’ll do it. You know when I said you’re a machine Doc? That was a lie. Pretty much the only lie I told you, except for the ones to protect you—from them. They’re listening all the time Doc—all the time. I have to be careful,” said Alex, scanning the walls again.
   “Well if they’re listening all the time, then why are you telling me about acquiring a machine body and resurrecting your dead girlfriend?” asked Doc.
   “There ya go Doc! I didn’t think it was going to happen today. But you went and did it! You’re thinkin’ again. Why? That is the fucking question. Why would I come in here and give away my fuckin’ plan? What the fuck was I thinking? Obviously—I wasn’t.” Alex touched his temples with his index fingers and flashed a crooked smile.
   “Or maybe, just maybe, there’s somethin’ you don’t know yet.”
    “Well, we’re gonna have to stop there, for the moment, uh, and continue this at the next session,” said Doc. “If there’s not an incident, that will be in a couple days. So I guess that part is up to you.” Doc hit a button on his screen and the door opened behind Alex.
   “I am a walking, fucking, incident Doc. You know that. But, I’ll be cool. I will be, fucking, cool,” said Alex as he rose from the chair and headed for the guards. They were dressed in black and gold uniforms and rarely spoke.
#
   “Hey Doc. Thanks for showing up,” said Alex through a slot in the silver cell door.
   “I didn’t have much of a choice,” said Doc. He glanced up and down the corridor anxiously.
   “Did you bring the android body?” asked Alex.
   “Yeah, it’s right here—inactivated,” said Doc, gesturing to his left.
   “I—I can’t open this door,” said Doc. “Only the guards have access.”
   “That’s alright,” said Alex. “You know that part about being able to work electrical things with my mind? Well that was true.” Alex closed his eyes and concentrated. He moved his hand near, but not touching, the cell door deadbolts: there were four of them. After a few seconds, the deadbolts clicked and withdrew, one at a time. Then the heavy cell door slid open with a clang.
   Alex walked out of the cell smiling. He looked past Doc and saw the machine body, lying on the floor, motionless. “Jesus Doc. Got your pick of the litter,” said Alex appreciatively.
   “Well you said, bring a female…body.”
   “Oh this one is female Doc. I can tell you that from here.”
   “Thanks!” said Alex, as he crouched down over her.
   “Well I figured if you’re gonna put Jennifer back in there, I should pick a good looking one,” said Doc, looking worried.
   Alex laughed. “I’m not putting Jennifer back in there.”
   “What?”
   “Did you seriously think I was going to put Jennifer in an android body?”
   “What’s that in your hand?” asked Doc, backing away from Alex and the body.
   “Cortical Scanner,” said Alex, extending it toward Doc with his left hand.
   “How did you?“
   The CS warbled strangely, when it activated, and the expression on Doc’s face froze.
   “Sorry Doc. I’m putting you in that body—nice tits.” Alex watched the dials on the CS intently. Best not to fuck this up.
   Alex grabbed Doc, and dragged him into the open cell. He lowered him to the bed, covered him up, and closed the cell door as he left. Then he knelt down over the girl and initiated upload. The CS lit up with a red glow and pulsed.
   “How you feeling Doc?” asked Alex as the girl’s eyes struggled open.
   “What happened?” Doc asked in a high-pitched voice.
   “Cortical scanned you. Uh, transferred—yeah.” said Alex matter-of-factly.
   “So you killed me, and put me in an android body?” Doc asked angrily, in his new female voice. “That wasn’t the deal!”
   “The deal was, I wouldn’t fucking kill you Doc,” Alex shot back. “Don’t you get it?”
   “You’re a copy. Uh, your body is in my cell.”
   “There is only one way down to the ReGen Chamber, and that’s with a machine escort—Doc,” said Alex defensively.
   “Why do you expect me to help you now?” asked Doc, in a thin tremolo.
   “You want your body back? I bet you do. Well, there’s only one way that’s gonna happen too. And that is if you help me. Because if you don’t—“
   “We don’t have time for this Doc. We gotta get moving,” said Alex. “Our window of opportunity is—fucking—slim.” Alex rose to his feet, helping Doc stand in his new body.
   “I really don’t like how this is going,” said Doc dejectedly. He glanced up and down the hallway with a worried look on his beautiful new face.
   “There’s something wrong with your voice Doc; it doesn’t sound quite, uh, human. You sure you didn’t grab a defective, um, huge-titted machine body? You know?”
   “Well, it was blank, so maybe the voice adjustments are part of the upload? I don’t know. It was the best I could find.”
   “It feels weird in here,” said Doc. “I’m not sure if I have a heartbeat.”
   “Oh you’ve got a heartbeat Doc. They are very good imitators. You don’t have a heart anymore, but I wouldn’t worry about that right now.” Alex grinned. It was not going to be easy looking at Doc’s stunning body while trying to walk and talk.
   “We’ve got to move!” said Alex walking faster. He held Doc’s hand to help steady him—her.
   “Ok, let’s get this madness over with,” said Doc in his not-quite-human voice. “You’re the craziest motherfucker that ever came to my office you know? Shit!”
   Alex led Doc down a series of corridors, navigating like he could do it in his sleep. He stopped at the end of a corridor, where a hallway led left and another right.
   “This is it Doc: the Access Tube. I think it runs ten clicks underground; maybe right through the fucking asteroid Doc. I’m not sure.”
    “Bet you didn’t even know this was here. Looks like a wall, right? It’s a wall. It’s a fuckin’ wall.”
   “It’s not a wall,” said Alex with a gleam in his eye.   
   “What do I have to do?” asked Doc, through her full lips. Blonde hair cascaded down to her shoulders.
   “Walk through it Doc. Just walk straight through it. And when you get on the inside, then you gotta figure out how to turn it off.”
   “Turn it off?” asked Doc looking down her shirt in amazement.
   “Jesus Doc! Did the cortical transfer work, or what? I think you lost a few IQ points.”
   “Turn it off, so I can come through. Only machines can walk through the wall Doc. Only machines.”
   “Ok, I’m going through,” said Doc in a high-pitched squeak. He hesitated, then walked forward, warding off a collision with extended arms. Doc vanished.
   “I’m in,” said Doc with a metal echo. There’s a panel: all kinds of alien symbols. Machine, android symbols. I don’t know. Uh, I’m gonna try a few things.”
   Noises emerged from the wall as Doc fiddled with the controls: bleeps and bloops and whirrs.
   “Ok. Nothin’. Ok, it shimmered for a second,” said Doc.
   “Try that again,” said Alex, as he watched the wall and kept an eye on all three corridors for signs of pursuit. He must have sent the guards away.
   The wall emitted a chime and vanished, revealing the transport chamber with Doc inside.
   Alex laughed. His eyes shone with excitement. “You—you got it Doc. We’re goin’. We’re goin’ down—to the center of the machine.”
   “Jennifer baby—soon,” said Alex to himself.
   “What’s down there—anyway?” asked Doc.
   “Technology Doc. Alien technology. Resurrection—fucking—technology Doc. That’s what’s down there. Comin’?” asked Alex, flashing a dangerous look.
   “What do I do?”
   “Just hold on Doc—we’re going down.” Alex hit a switch and pulled a lever, and the tube sucked them down faster and faster. For long seconds they dropped, feeling lighter and lighter. Then, finally, they slowed to a stop, at the bottom.
   “Oh—my—God!” Doc said.
   “You did it Doc!” said Alex, as he looked out into the room. “We’re here. We are fucking here. Jennifer is going to be so happy Doc. So—fucking—happy.”
#
   Doc looked past Alex into the huge chamber, then stepped out of the elevator capsule, into the vast room. “There are thousands of bodies in here—in tubes. Are they machines?” asked Doc.
   “I call ‘em brainwipes Doc. I’ve seen them before. They’re humans. I thought they were machines at first. They’re not connected to the web of existence anymore. I think the machines wiped their brains,” said Alex. He walked across the hexagonal mesh of the floor toward a row of bodies peering out of tubes three meters long.
   “Why would they do that? It doesn’t make any sense,” said Doc.
   “It makes sense Doc. Everything they do makes fucking sense—to them,” said Alex.
   “I think they are trying to download themselves into human bodies. I’m not sure if they’ve been successful—yet. We’ve gotta find, uh. We’ve gotta find Jennifer.”
   “Wh—what do you mean? She’s dead. Can’t you just pick a body? What kind do you want?” asked Doc. “This dress is tight.”
   “You’re telling me.” Alex looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow.
   “I don’t care what she looks like Doc. But she has to have green eyes,” said Alex.
   “I have a bad feeling about this. Why are all their eyes open? Are they frozen?” asked Doc.
   Alex placed his hand on a tube, above the face of a young girl. “I think it’s a stasis field. The tubes aren’t cold. We should be able to switch off the field, use my Cortical Scanner, and get Jennifer back. Just don’t fuck it up Doc.”
   Doc started walking along the row of tubes, looking into the eyes of the bodies. A shiver ran down his spine. “No. Blue. Yeah, Brown. Yep.” He kept walking. The tubes were a meter apart, and each row was over a hundred tubes long. “Oh. Hey. How about this one?” Doc said, stopping.
   Alex walked down to where Doc was waiting. “She’s beautiful Doc. What did she do? What did she do,” Alex said angrily, his voice rising, “to make a machine erase her fucking brain?” He looked down at the girl compassionately. She did look like Jen, except for the hair.
   “I don’t know. I don’t understand any of this,” Doc said, as he examined the foot of the tube. “Here’s a switch.”
   “Flip it,” said Alex as he gazed into the cold green eyes.
   Doc hit the switch, and a low frequency thrumming began. The light emanating from the inside of the tube changed from white to blue. “The field is off,” said Doc.
   “Time to wake up baby,” said Alex as the top of the tube slid down, exposing the girl. He punched some buttons on the Cortical Scanner, activated it, hit upload, and held it near her head.
   “Jennifer?”
   “Yes,” said Jennifer, her eyes blinking slowly.
   “Why baby? Why did you do it?”
   “It wasn’t your fault,” whispered Jennifer. “I never meant to hurt you.”
   “You destroyed me,” said Alex quietly. He brushed the red hair back from her face.
   “It was an accident.”
   “Took me twenty-three years to bring you back,” said Alex.
   “Twenty-three years?” asked Jen.   
   “I did some terrible things Jen.”
   “Then you killed Mark?”   
   “I wanted to,” said Alex. “Held a gun to his fucking head.” Alex looked at his left hand, remembering.
   “No. I had him arrested. Fucker.”
   “Still want to kill him. Want to kill him right fucking now,” said Alex. “For what he did to you,” said Alex. “Every day—“
   “But you should have killed him. You should have,” said Jen slowly, as if awaking from a dream. “You totally, totally should have killed him.” She struggled to sit up.
   “I’m sorry baby. I didn’t mean to let you down.”
   “Don’t worry baby,” said Jen smiling. Her eyes were having trouble focusing.
   “I think I hear some alarms going off,” said Doc. “How are we going to get out of here?”
   “They’re coming for us,” said Jen. “They are. They’re comin’.” She sat up and swung her legs out of the tube, then slumped into Alex, as he caught her.
   “Come on Jen. Come on Doc. We gotta get movin’—you want your body back don’t ya?”
   “I—I’m not sure. I can live forever in this thing, right?” asked Doc, looking down at his perfect android skin.
   “Everything’s gonna be alright baby,” said Jen as she stood, with her arms around Alex’s neck.
   “I want to believe you,” said Alex. “You know I do.”
   “How are we gonna get out?” asked Jen. “How, are we going to escape?”
   “I have a plan Jennifer,” said Alex in a low, dangerous voice. “You know, I always, have a fucking plan.”
   “They’re not gonna stop us this time. Not going to fuckin’ happen,” said Alex as he looked around the huge underground resurrection chamber for possible exits.
   “How are we getting out?” asked Doc with fear in his warbling voice.
   “What do you mean we Doc?” asked Alex.
   “They’re gonna kill me you know, for helping you escape.”
   Alex laughed. “They’re not gonna kill you Doc. They’ll probably brainwipe you and stick you in a fucking tube.”
   “I’ve got a ship—if it’s still there. But we gotta get to it,” said Alex as he started leading Jen away from the elevator tube, and toward the far end of the chamber, where the lights of a tunnel shone.
   “Help me with Jen Doc. She’s weak.”
   Jennifer started singing ‘You Are My Sunshine’ as Doc grabbed her left arm and helped drag her along. The tube behind them lit up as another capsule arrived.
   “Come on Doc, we gotta run,” said Alex.   
   “You make me happy when skies are gray—” Jen is singing, smiling.
   “Now is not the time Jennifer,” said Alex. “Seriously. Just try to stay on your feet.”
   “Jesus!” yelled Doc. The voices of the machines were growing louder behind them, and more voices could be heard in the distance.
   “They’ve got the elevator blocked off,” said Alex, looking back as they ran, with Jen between them.
   “Keep running. I’ll close the door behind us,” said Alex as they entered the tunnel. He slid the heavy door into place and latched it with a boom.
   “There they are!” yelled Doc pointing to the tunnel door. The machines peered through the windows at them. The sound of a MagLev train grew louder as Alex closed his eyes and rested his hands on the tunnel door controls. The door indicators flashed red and then faded out.
   “I’m so happy you’re back baby,” said Alex as he looked into Jen’s eyes.
   The machines started pounding on the tunnel door, and drilling into the control panel.
   “Hey baby. I love you,” said Jen sleepily. “Forever.”
#
   “They’re breaking through the door!” yelled Alex, as he grabbed Jen’s arm and began running down the MagLev tunnel, away from the machine soldiers, as the heavy door inched open. “Come on Doc!”
   "I'm hit!" said Doc, weakly, as her voluptuous body dropped to the stone floor, with smoke rising from her back.
   "They shot her," said Jen, struggling to break away from Alex and run back to help.
   "You mean him," said Alex.
   "What?"
   "Doc is a man," said Alex. "Uh, long story—leave him."
   "But we can't just leave her—I mean him—here to die," said Jen looking at Alex in disbelief.
   "She's just a copy. A machine. His real body is back in my cell," said Alex. "And probably very pissed off right now, with a killer fucking headache.”
   "I'm fading—" said Doc quietly, raising her head and looking up at them, as machines started coming through the doorway behind him.
   "Sorry Doc I—" said Alex, holding onto Jen so she wouldn’t head back.
   "It's ok. Save the girl. Never wanted—" said Doc, his head dropping to the floor.
   "They're coming," said Jen, her voice rising. The tunnel door was open and the machines streamed through: a dozen of them or more, holding pulse weapons.
   Alex and Jen ran, as fast as they could, ducking as they heard pulse shots bouncing off the tunnel walls. Ahead of them the tunnel intersected another, and a loud hum and rush of air was coming from the left.
   "This is it. MagLev. Gotta hitch a ride. Hurry Jen," said Alex. A MagLev swept by, from their left, with alternating cargo bays: some full, and some empty. "Jump!"
   They jumped together, landing hard, in a mostly empty cargo pod, and slammed into the left wall as the train picked up speed. The shouts of machines receded into the distance. The train didn’t stop. Alex kept his eyes closed tight, and rested one hand on the MagLev wall.
   "How far?" asked Jen after a while, holding her head in both hands as if it were made of glass.
   "Almost there," said Alex. “You even sound like her.”
   "Hey—hey, look at me," said Jen.
   Alex looked at her with haunted eyes. 
   "You've changed," said Jen.
   "Yes," said Alex somberly.
   The train shot through the underground like a bullet, for what seemed like eternity, as Alex looked at Jennifer in wonder. Alive.
   The MagLev slowed, as they approached the surface. The dotted lights of the tunnel yielded to the artifical sun of the BioDome. "This is our stop. Take my hand," said Alex, reaching out for Jen. They hopped off into a park with its cloned trees and carefully programmed stream. The MagLev kept going, and soon disappeared into another tunnel leading down.
   Hand in hand, Alex walked with Jen, remembering the way from long ago. This was a remote area in Dome Eight: unfrequented by machines or humans. The dense woods made travel difficult. They were fortunate that the MagLev surfaced in the right Dome. Alex led Jen through the forest, unsure how quickly the machines would be able to track them.
   After an hour of scrambling through the undergrowth, they emerged from the brush into a clearing, near a small waterfall. Alex laughed. "My ship. Still here. Stupid fuckers. Can't think outside the algorithm."
   "Right through here, Jennifer. It's a chameleon field," said Alex, leading her across the shallow stream and toward the woods on the other side of the clearing. There was a faint ripple in the air, like heat rising from the desert.
   "Ok baby," said Jen gripping his hand tightly.
   On the inside of the field the ship was visible: a silver needle emblazoned with glyphs, dented and blackened in spots. Alex opened the hatch on the bottom and helped Jen get in. Then he followed.
   "Why did you bring me back?" asked Jen, as the ship powered up and they strapped in.
   "I never got to—say goodbye," said Alex sadly.
   "What about the happy ending?" asked Jen, looking Alex in the eye, her green eyes misting.
   "There's no such thing," said Alex defensively.
   "Maybe this—time—"
   "No. Some things you can't fix. Some people, you can't fix."
   "But I—I'm a different girl," said Jen. "A—a better one." Her eyes welled up.
   "You took your own life, and left me alone," said Alex. "And it wasn't an accident."
   "No, it wasn't an accident," said Jen sadly. "Can you forgive me?"
   "I'll think about it," said Alex. The engines roared louder as he pointed the nose of the ship up toward the stars. The scanner showed the machines approaching the clearing as they lifted off.
   "Hold onto something."
   "You?" said Jen sadly, clutching Alex.
   The ship lifted off the asteroid; Alex activated the gate, at the top of the dome, and they disappeared into space.



A most enjoyable read Z!!
Excellent sci-fi story

Thanks Star! I think I leave a bit too many open questions, but I might
expand it in the future into a short novel.

It seems like a complex enough place that there is more to tell.

Z

There's enough there to make a full novel Z!! (a damn good one too)

Thanks Star! I think I'm getting better.

How's the album coming along?
Music has been slow for me this summer.

Z

z wrote:
Thanks Star! I think I'm getting better.

How's the album coming along?
Music has been slow for me this summer.

Z

Working on it right now. think another couple of tracks are in the bag! One track left to do! Then I got to start making some sense of it all, working out the track running order and stuff.
Got to do the inner art works with track listing, credits, dedications etc and back cover too. Spacey fractals I think

Steve:)

Star4mation wrote:

z wrote:
Thanks Star! I think I'm getting better.

How's the album coming along?
Music has been slow for me this summer.

Z

Working on it right now. think another couple of tracks are in the bag! One track left to do! Then I got to start making some sense of it all, working out the track running order and stuff.
Got to do the inner art works with track listing, credits, dedications etc and back cover too. Spacey fractals I think

Steve:)

Excellent!

Z

Had a good read of this today and I enjoyed it. You are very talented at this sort of thing.

As it stands it is a good short story but also certainly has the potential for much further development. Not only could you expand this into a full novel but you could easily write a prequel giving the history of the events that lead to Alex being captured and what he was like before he met Jennifer. Perhaps the earlier life of the Doctor could also run along side it.

Yes there are lots of stimulating ideas here......I would like to hear it as an audio book ....like a radio play as you originally intended.

Here's part 1.
Uploading the other 6 soon....
It was an audio play first.... so this is years old... 2006 I think.







Z

Part 2. As you can see each part has different ambient music underneath it.
That was part of the fun.





Z