Shadow Core - The Legacy (23 page)

“And so is she, no doubt,” Static said as he snapped his fingers, Kade and Zen appearing out of thin air next to a surprised Toby.

“Oh! Hello,” Zen said with a sheepish grin.

“And just what are you two troublemakers up to?” Static asked in a serious tone which in no way matched his amused expression.

“I'm sorry,” Kade apologised. “I was curious, but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have been spying.”

“Apology accepted, but there was no need for that. You know I would have told you if you had just asked,” Toby said, more worried about how Zen would react at hearing her father's confession, though she seemed to be completely unfazed by it.

“And what about you young lady? What do you have to say?” Static asked Zen.

“How did you know we were here? I was so careful this time,” Zen replied without a hint of remorse.

“Not the answer I was hoping for I must admit,” Static said as he hung his head down in shame.

“Ha ha, go easy on her, she's just a kid,” Toby said in a reassuring voice, trying to cheer Static up.  

“A kid? She's almost twenty three... ooow!” Static shouted as Zen kicked his left leg in the shin.

“Ow, ow, ow... what is it with women and their freaking age?” Static asked as he nursed his aching leg, Zen not looking at all satisfied at his revelation.

“How did you two do that anyway?” Toby asked.

“I shifted our avatars out of the main environment, allowing us to hear and see everything but not be seen, or so I thought,” Zen said.

“'A' for effort, but you forgot to hide your ID's...” Static said while still nursing his leg, and then realised what he was saying. “Wait, why am I encouraging you?” He asked himself with a stunned expression.

Kade couldn't help but smile at the sight of Static nursing his leg. Wondering why anyone would have designed this virtual environment to be realistic enough to accurately simulate pain, of all things? And also how someone who had no body could feel pain at all? But perhaps such questions should be left for another time as there were more pressing matters to deal with right now.

“Gran... I mean Toby... I mean, hmm, what should I call you?” Kade asked.

“Toby's fine. I'm under no illusions of being your grandfather. But you should know that I'll always consider you and your sister to be my family. I hope that's OK with you.” Toby smiled gently.

“I'd like that,” Kade replied, genuinely happy.

“I’ve got to say, that went a lot better than I expected. Generally, people who are dropped into a situation like this don't react well at all,” Static said.

“I'd be lying if I said I wasn't conflicted about a few things, but I'm trying to keep an open mind,” Kade said, causing Toby, Static and Zen to nod approvingly.  

“Well I like them, they should join us!” Zen said enthusiastically. “It would certainly be a welcomed change. This ship needs more women!”

“I'm not sure if my legs can take it,” Static said, still feeling his throbbing left shin.

Kade smiled at the prospect, though she was a little apprehensive as well. She knew little about the Shadows beyond her grandfather's stories.

Her grandfather had always spoken highly of them and they seemed like good people, but Kade had no way of knowing for sure.

Kade couldn't help but end up looking a bit nervous at the prospect, which Toby picked up on.

“There's no need to rush. They should have a chance to learn as much as they can before any choices are made,” Toby said, putting Kade's mind at ease.  

“Thank you,” Kade said sincerely. “There is one thing I would like to know that's been bugging me.”

“Ask away!” Toby said encouragingly.

“Was my grandfather the original article or an Incarnate like Drake?” She asked out of the blue.

“Are you sure you really want to know? I mean, what difference would it really make? You may not like the answer,” Toby said, concerned at the reason why she would ask.

“I'm just curious about how many families he had before us, that's all,” Kade said as she tried to downplay the significance of the question, but Toby knew her very well and this was a very important matter to her.

“Very well, but first things first. You need to understand that in the same way I do not pretend to be some weird reincarnation of your grandfather, he did not see himself as a reincarnation of those who came before. Each new iteration carries the memories of all those who came before us, but we are each our own person. Do you understand?” Toby asked.

“I think so. But it's strange to think that anyone could so easily detach himself from his past experiences like that.” Kade said with a sad look.

“There's nothing easy about it. I feel all that your grandfather felt and all that the previous iterations of us felt. The simple truth is that without the ability to detach ourselves from actions and events of the past, we would be quickly overwhelmed by our own emotions. I remember good friends from several lifetimes ago, all the fun we used to have and how all of them have long since turned to dust. Without accepting that I never actually knew them personally I would be overcome with grief from their loss. I'll be the first to admit that it's an ugly and painful thing to accept, but unfortunately it is necessary. Especially if Incarnates want to avoid mental instabilities,” Toby said.

“I can't even begin to imagine what the weight of all those memories would feel like. And my grandfather had to deal with it for all those years, alone?” Kade asked with a sad expression.

“He wasn't alone. He had you and your sister, your mother and grandmother. He cared for you all and in you he realised his dream. It may sound strange, but in all of my previous lives the one thing I wanted was to settle down and raise a family of my own. It was the one thing I had never managed to do until your grandfather came along.”

“All that time and there were no other families? Is that normal?” Kade asked somewhat perplexed.

“It isn't unusual,” Static replied. “It doesn't matter how good a person is at detaching him or herself from the pain of previous lives. The pain from the death of a loved one can never be fully suppressed, no matter how hard one tries. So it's hard to raise a family knowing that you will end up condemning any future iterations of yourself to mourn their passing.”

“My, or should I say your grandfather's decision was easy. He had amnesia, and by the time he recovered his memory he was head over heels in love with your grandmother,” Toby said happily.

“So you don't regret it?” Kade asked Toby.   

“Not at all!” Toby replied without hesitation. “Your grandfather had a good life and a good end. If anything I'm a little jealous. Is that weird?”  

“A little bit... yes,” Static replied half-jokingly.

“Oh well,” Toby said with a shrug of his shoulders.  

Kade felt a strange mix of relief and shame.

Relief that hers was the only family her grandfather had raised; that while he was alive she hadn't had to contend with the memories of previous families for a space in his heart. And shame for feeling relieved at such a thing, which somehow seemed so petty and selfish.

But, irrespective of how she felt, she had gained a sense of closure. Her grandfather was at rest, and this person before her would never attempt to take his place in her heart. His intentions were clear enough that he wanted a place for himself, a small distinction which made a world of difference.

Toby could see from Kade's expression that she had come to terms with the situation. She had always been an open book to him.

He had been worried that she would have judged his lineage of lives as cowards, he certainly did.
All of his previous iterations had lived with a desperate desire to have a family, but they had also been plagued by an almost obsessive fear of losing it and being forced to live with the pain for eternity.
So many lives spent in fear of something which now seemed so silly to him. Toby was infinitely grateful to not have to deal with such uncertainty anymore.  

Toby felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The fear of being rejected by his family had been all consuming. And although it wasn't an experience he would ever want to repeat, he was thankful for the peace of mind this had given him.

There was only one thing left to do...

“Static, I think it's about time I complete my mission,” Toby said with a sense of satisfaction.

“Hmm?” Static mumbled, looking confused.

Toby asked emphatically, “The information on Nova's location! Don't you want it anymore?”

Static said happily, “Oh that, we already have it. Nexus is going over it as we speak.”

Toby said with a confused look, “You have it? How? I don't remember giving it to you yet.”

“Nexus grabbed a copy while she was reintegrating the information from your old Core,” Static said.

“I'm not sure I like the sound of that,” Toby said, looking worried. “How would she know where the information was without... oh hell no! Tell me she didn't?” He asked.

“OK, she didn't. What are we talking about again?” Static asked.

“Don't play dumb! I know you better than that. Did Nexus absorb my memories during retrieval?”

“Yeah, like I'd ever let her try that stunt again. I nearly lost her the first time and that was just with an Alpha Core. Trying to absorb the sheer volume of memories in your Core would have outright destroyed her matrix,” Static said, somewhat upset that Toby would even consider it.

“But if she didn't then how could she have gotten to the information? It's not like our memories come with a reference index that says: 'Nova's location, Book 2, chapter 6'. So how did she find it?” Toby asked with a perplexed look.

“That's... hmm, how to put it...” Static hesitated.

“That's never a good sign,” Toby said as he looked at Kade and then back at Static. “Spill it!”

“Well you see, she didn't absorb your memories, but she did kinda see them, as in all of them,” Static said, wondering how Toby would react.

“All of them? As in ALL! ALL? Are you serious!” Toby asked in a panic at the thought of anyone ever knowing everything that had happened in his life.

“Yes, but it's fine! She wasn't upset or anything. She said you had a good life, she even cried a little.” Static said, clearly amused at Toby's reaction.

Toby shouted, “That's not the freaking point!!”

“Ha ha ha, calm down, Nexus doesn't actually remember any of it. She merely parsed the information out of your Core. She only grabbed a copy of Nova's data.” Static said reassuringly.  

Toby said with a stunned expression, “You evil dipstick. You enjoyed that, didn't you?”

“What? No! Of course not!” Static chuckled.

Kade was trying her best to contain her laughter. She was failing rather miserably, but she was trying.

Kade's laughter was infectious, and Toby found it difficult to remain upset at Static.

Toby's mission was now complete, though it had taken him several decades longer than planned. Not only had he delivered the information, but had also gotten a new lease on life. It was a considerably better outcome than he had expected.

“I have no idea what to do now,” Toby said, though he wasn't sad at being left without a purpose.

“I have an idea. You want to try controlling the Zenith as its master AI?” Zen smiled.

“Are you trying to shirk off your responsibilities again young lady?” Static said, leaving Toby and Kade in shock at the revelation that this innocent looking little girl was in full control of the Zenith.

“You're the Zenith's master Artificial Intelligence?” Kade asked redundantly, surprised by the revelation.

“She is at the moment. Nexus generally takes care of that role, and I can do it in an emergency, but the task usually falls to Zen when her mother can't do it,” Static explained as if it was completely natural.   

“You think I could?” Toby asked in amazement, wondering what it would feel like to actually control a capital class ship. And not just any capital ship, but the Zenith itself.

“Dad can do it, how hard can it be?” Zen said jokingly, leaving Static reeling from the comment.

“Ouch! I'm standing right here you know!” Static replied in good faith.

“You're also more compatible with the Zenith than I am, so why do I have to do it? You know I don't like it! I swear this ship resists my commands,” Zen said, obviously unhappy at her task.

“The ship resists your commands? Is that even possible?” Toby asked.

“Nexus never seems to experience it and she made me promise not to take control of the Zenith again unless it's absolutely essential. The ship doesn't resist your orders, it has no will of its own,” Static said reassuringly. Leaving Kade with the sneaking suspicion that this was a conversation these two had had many times before.

“Fine! Don't believe me!” Zen scowled at Static and then turned to face Toby. “So, wanna try it?”

“Can I?” Toby asked. Waiting for Static's reaction.

“Sure!” Static smiled.

“OK! This will probably feel a little weird at first, but stand still and empty your mind,” Zen instructed as she walked up to Toby, stopping in front of him.

“Give me your hand and close your eyes,” Zen instructed as she reached out to Toby, Kade taking this opportunity to move next to Static who was just watching with crossed arms.

“OK,” Toby replied as he grabbed Zen's hand.

“Should they really be doing this right now? There is a fleet out there you know. What happens if they make a move?” Kade asked.

“It will be fine. The ship is in no immediate danger and I can override Toby's control if required, but I doubt it will come to that. Besides, it was his choice,” Static said, showing no signs of being worried.

Kade asked suspiciously, “Why do I get the feeling that you want this to work?”

“Probably because you have good instincts. I do want this to work. Before you came along the Zenith only had four people capable of controlling it. Nexus and Zen alternate the responsibility between them, Nexus doing most of the work since she knows Zen doesn't like it at all. But both of them are consummate pacifists and I hate the idea of putting them in a position where they'd need to fight. Drake does have the ability to take full control of the Zenith, but only for a limited time and at significant risk to his life, he is human after all. Which just leaves me as the one logical choice to take this ship through prolonged combat should the worst happen, and therein lies the problem.”