SODIUM:6 Defiance (16 page)

I asked Hershen about the species survivors that he had escaped with, were they still alive? His answer was "yes" and that as soon as the Ogle threat was taken care of new attempts could be made to open the DaCuban doors. It had taken many hours to convince the captives that he had rescued that they were now free citizens of the AMP. We would be asking one small favor from them that they would be fully compensated for. The Frekkin and Ogle were the only species who had stubbornly refused.

I then asked about the Frekkin and why they had made the sacrifice they had. It was a question that no one had answers to. From the number of ships that had been involved our experts had guessed that they had committed fully. Knowing as little about the Frekkin as we did, the possibility was still out there, that a substantial force was waiting for us. But our forces were far superior to what they had been and AMP Command was not overly concerned.

As preparations for battle continued I was taken to the ships infirmary where a new bio-organic QE Comm link was implanted just behind my right ear. It was now constructed from living cells and could not be detected by any scan known to the AMP scientists. It just looked like any other living tissue that would normally be found in its place.

With the minor operation complete I was taken to another room where a clone of me was seated. I was then introduced to my virtual self; they had taken to calling them "Virts." I sat down in a chair to the right of the clone and gave it a curious look. Its face was stoic, no expression could be found and its eyes were open and stared straight ahead, they seemed to be devoid of life.

I was told to close my eyes and to enable channel 477 on my new QE Comm. After a short pause my eyes were suddenly open. I looked to my left and became confused as an identical me was now leaning back in the chair with their eyes closed. I was seeing through the Virt's eyes!

I quickly opened my eyes and sat up fully in the chair, the Virt was now once again on my right with the blank stare on its face. I was told it would be confusing to my mind at first, but with training I would one day be controlling the Virt as if it was my own body. The initial training would take three months where I would learn to walk, talk and do simple tasks. It would be followed by another three months of advanced training and then another three if I was interested in enabling my Virt for combat... I was.

As I worked at my clone training another four weeks had passed before the military gave the thumbs up. AMP force clone training was complete and they were satisfied with the abilities they could field. The fleets were divided with 112 fleets remaining to protect the Earth while 306 would be used in the assault of the Ogle home world. Seventy-six million BGS Marines would be directly involved in the invasion.

I was bummed when the fleets began to depart as I would not be going along as a Virt. But I had been told that I could sit back in my chair and channel in to any Virt in the force where I would be able to see and hear whatever they saw and heard. It was an exciting thought to be able to freely move to any fight in the battle while sitting safely in a secure location so many light years away.

I was curious to know where all the live soldiers were being housed while their Virts went out to play. I was told that the location was one of our most highly guarded secrets as those lives could not be replaced if lost. If you lost a Virt in battle another could be trained given the nine months. It took time for the clone brain to learn to manage the thoughts and movements as it was commanded.

Zack then entered the room and struck up a conversation. We talked for half an hour about our lives over the last decade. He then revealed that I had been talking to his Virt the entire time. I knew Zack well, but I could find no indication that the man sitting in the chair before me was a Virt. The potentials for its use were nearly endless, as were the potentials for abuse.

The tech guiding me on the use of my own Virt then told of a little known secret about the QE Comm link. All link data was routed through a main server before being passed on to either the host or the Virt. A system of monitors was being put in place so that any abuse of the Virt system would be logged and held, if needed, for later criminal proceedings. Everything your Virt saw, everything your Virt heard and everything you had it do was captured and recorded.

It was scary how quickly the thought of "big brother" came to mind. Until such time as the laws caught up with the technology the Virts were all to be thought of as GFE (Government Furnished Equipment). The individual might have control, but they were only temporarily in charge.

I then turned to Hershen and asked if he had a Virt in training. The answer was no as no Kurtz had been successfully cloned. The tech then offered a further explanation. AMP scientists had been unable to replicate normal DNA from both Humans and Kurtz. That is, except for that of one individual... me.

They had been able to use my DNA strands as a base while further implanting the pieces that made each of us unique. My long compact strands had made the advance possible. The Kurtz however, had no base DNA, such as my own, and as such were unable to be cloned. I winked at Hershen and stated that at least I knew I would be talking to the real thing. He was less than amused.

Out of curiosity I asked the tech what would happen to the Virt if the real Human was to go unconscious or die. The answer was that the Virt would continue to function on the knowledge that it had. It was thought that at some point they would be able to continue on as their own individual, but none had yet achieved that level of understanding or awareness.

I asked how the Virts would respond to faster than light travel as the QE Comm link would cease to function once that threshold was broken. The tech informed me that the AMP scientists had solved that problem. The transfer technique used in making the bio-organic Quantum Entanglement had a side benefit of the unbroken link when moving at faster than light speeds. Once a QE link was enabled and embedded it would be in continuous communication with the other side until one or both ends were destroyed.

The entire concept of the Virts was fascinating. Man could now live his life without fear of injury or early death. Dangerous jobs would be a thing of the past as Virts would surely be utilized long before natural humans. Several hundred scientist Virts were already being readied for a journey to the other side of the galaxy, there they would be free to explore new worlds through their virtual selves. Again, the possibilities were endless.

With a new battle with the Ogle approaching I made an offer to debrief my own personal war aboard their ships and space stations. A group of military strategists listened intently as I described the Ogle's activities and habits. I talked for 32 hours straight before the meeting was adjourned. The intel would be parsed and passed on to the scene commanders for use in their individual team efforts.

With the meeting adjourned and hostilities about to get underway I was taken to a chair filled room and seated in front of a holo-display. It would be my post for the duration of the battle. As I had been told earlier, I would be allowed to attach to the stream of any Virt in the force where I could see, hear and feel the results of their actions. I scrolled through what seemed like endless lists of BGS combat soldiers before settling on a young Captain from Alabama. The Virt of Capt. Jenna Ross would be my eyes and ears for the beginning of the coming battle. I tapped into her stream and then settled back in my chair, waiting for the action to begin.

The Ogle had two battleships on patrol while the remainder of their fleet was docked. Reconnaissance showed that eight new battleships were under construction, they were attempting to rearm. Their actions however, would bear no fruit as our overwhelming force was staged for an assault that they would not see coming. I was giddy with anticipation.

Captain Ross was busily working to perfect her squad’s techniques. They would flow down a hallway while pumping out a continuous stream of gravity pulses. One advantage of the gravity pulse weapon was that the effects would extend for a short distance around corners. Those who waited in ambush around a corner or behind cover would be knocked backwards with the force of a sledge hammer. It was a deadly and affective weapon.

The captain was also one of the few Marines who practiced full shield drifting. The gravity weapon could be fired while shields were at full and the soldier invisible to the enemy; drift through a wall behind your target and let them have it, it was my kind of warfare.

After a day of practice and a good rest the squads were rounded up for their final briefings. Ross' squad would be jumping to an Ogle space station as the assault began. Her team would be responsible for clearing a one kilometer long corridor. I looked forward to tagging along with her Virt.

I took a moment to check on Zack and his crew. They were slated for planet-side two hours after the initial raids were to begin. Their transport would drop through the Ogle shields in a Starburst module where it would then race to a city designated as D12. Our intel teams had determined that it was the Ogle capital and that a special complex located deep within the city housed the Ogle Kurrat, their ruling council.

The sensations and the effects of seeing and hearing through the Virt were nothing short of remarkable. If there had ever been a form of entertainment on Earth, that made use of Virts, most citizens would never have left their chair. My heart was racing while only watching the preparations.

The Marines were soon gathered in the staging area and when the first horn sounded they made their way into a transport. Three minutes later a second horn sounded and the transports lifted off and lined up, each behind a Starburst module. When a third horn sounded the Sodium skins of the ship's dock deactivated allowing the Starburst modules to depart. Three seconds later the dock shields flipped on and the ships were once again invisible.

The first battleships of the assault had moved in close to launch their cargo. Five seconds later Ogle guns fired in defense, but they were too late. Three million highly trained vindictive Marines were quickly aboard their stations and docked ships, clearing the way for the planet-side assault. The two patrolling Ogle battleships were each met by a full AMP fleet and had fallen in a matter of minutes.

The docked warships never left their bays as hordes of Marines swept through them, terminating every Ogle they encountered. The cats fought with ferocity but their weapons, shields and tactics were no match for the invading force. Within an hour of the battle's beginning all 18 of the Ogle battleships and virtually every ship in their star system had been captured or destroyed.

As the two hour mark approached the last of the space stations had been cleared, the invasion was going exactly as planned. The estimates were that just under 6,000 Virts had been lost during the initial assault while their natural counterparts sat safely back home. The Ogle dead numbered close to 15 million. As a species they were fully committed to the cause and each would fight to the death, even if that death was certain, which it was. They were not a species that could be held captive.

Jenna Ross and her team had done an exceptional job in clearing out their assigned objective. They had terminated 128 Ogle without casualty. The same tactics I had the pleasure of watching the day before were put to use with precision and power. Their portion of the battle had taken only 22 minutes.

With the space stations offline the battle turned towards the planet. I switched views to Zack's Virt and watched in fascination as boots hit the ground in D12. The Ogle buildings were strange and somewhat resembled the carpet covered cat house we had on the farm when I was a child. Open ports on their sides with narrow walks to the ground or other buildings were the common architecture. The structures reached up to 70 stories in height while maintaining the outer crosswalks.

Zack and his team were assigned one such tall building and were quickly moving from floor to floor, blasting Ogles, as the insane cats sprang towards them. It was a bloodbath, but when fighting a crazed species that could not be reasoned with and who would not surrender, there were no other options.

As Zack's team climbed each floor the décor became ever plusher and ever more bizarre. Scratching poles adorned with precious cloths and cages with a variety of small animals were common. I had no doubt that the small animals were viewed more as snacks than pets. After clearing a room Zack stopped and raised the shield on his helmet. The stench was horrifying and the shield was quickly closed.

When the final floor had been cleared Zack's team was then ordered to close in and attack the Kurrat. The palace building was a maze of tunnels lined with statues of former Kurrat members. Again the cats fought with ferocity, but their efforts were futile as the Marines moved quickly through the palace.

I was on edge by the time the teams reached the inner chamber. It was protected by a static field. I watched intently as two Marines came forward with a device, setting it on the floor in front of a protected door. Three minutes later a window was opened through the static field and a gravity pulse blew the door off its hinges. The Marines streamed in and the 16 members of the Ogle Kurrat were dead within seconds.

Twelve hours after it had begun the battle for the ogle home world was over. Never had I seen, or ever dreamt, of such a fighting force as the one now fielded by the AMP. It was awe inspiring and at the same time chilling to see how quickly an entire planet could be overrun. The AMP force was truly something to behold.

Minor skirmishes continued for most of the day before all weapons went silent. The entire Ogle species had been eradicated. I was not a fan of genocide but in this instance the species in question was not redeemable. They had no conscience, no empathy, and no compassion for others. They were vial, murderous and undeserving of walking amongst others.

With the war over the AMP force next made a call on the Meche. They quickly surrendered and were placed under control of a military governing council as they were disarmed. It would likely take many years of good behavior before AMP Command had any thoughts of loosening our tight grip on their activities. They had been a force for evil and only time would tell if they could be turned. Their immediate surrender was a good first step.

Probes were sent to every star system in our arm of the galaxy in search of the Frekkin. There were no signs of factories or residues from manufacturing of additional ships aside from those that had been in the matrix. From all the evidence we had the Frekkin had sacrificed themselves to try to defeat the Ogle. We had no understanding of why and with only Frekkin citizen remaining, who had been a captive, it was a question that would likely never be answered. The Frekkin's worshipers, the Por Hollis, had perished along with them.

After decades at war our little universe was peaceful. The hostile species we had encountered had been eliminated or subdued. Many good species had perished, but the AMP stood strong. There had been thousands of battles and billions dead, but the war was finally over. In the end, it was our defiance that had helped us to persevere, our defiance of the rule of others that drove us to overcome, to survive.

Several months of post war celebrations and other activities brought us to a point where the doors at DaCuban were once again a thing of fascination. My Virt had been trained to a level where she could move effortlessly and perform most tasks. She boarded a ship for DaCuban and the following day was standing before the great doors. The eight other species, now free captives, stood on the deck before the doors. They awaited the opportunity to take another try at solving the great mystery, this time, as free citizens.

I watched intently as one by one the species bowed down to the crystals in front of them. The doors moved back with each new participant with the Human being the last. When the Human leaned forward and placed his hands on the crystal the light in the middle began to glow, but the doors did not move. Again, we were denied the knowledge of their secret.

I then stepped forward and asked if the Human was a natural or a Virt. The answer was simple, natural humans no longer traveled; it was a Virt and therefore did not have the natural DNA of Man. I requested that a natural be brought out to the site where we would know once and for all if the figure on the great door was indeed Human. A volunteer was soon on his way.

The following day the natural Human was the first to place his hands on the crystal before him. The light glowed and the great doors slid backwards by five meters. I was excited beyond belief as each of the other species placed their hands on the crystals. Anticipation had only grown when the final species, the only surviving Jessian, placed his hands on the crystal.

The light in the Jessian crystal began to glow and the great doors began to slide. I waited eager for what was coming, only to have my excitement dashed as nothing further happened. The doors did not open, their mystery was not revealed.

For seven days we sat before the great doors, trying every order of the participants, trying at different times such as at high noon or midnight. But the great doors would recede no further than under our original attempt. Time and again our efforts were without reward, we were at an impasse.

The lone Waffen then stepped forward and offered a suggestion. One of the rows on the door had a Waffen, a Human and a Kurtz. It was the only row that had all three participants present. Eyes rolled and grumbles could be heard from those in the crowd who now believed the mystery could not be solved. The three species stepped forward and began to bow.

As the Waffen touched the ring the crystal in its center began to glow and the doors slid backwards. The Human was next and again a glow was followed by the moving doors. The Kurtz volunteer, Hershen, then knelt down and stretched out his arms. He placed his hands gently on the crystal as he let out a long sigh. The crystal began to glow and the door slid back. Once again the crowd moaned as the doors fell silent.

I watched on with my own disappointment, but I noticed something different just as the three species began removing their hands. As everyone's focus was trained on the doors the light before the Waffen had begun to change color from red to green. When the three participants stood I called for one more try, the crowd again began to grumble.

I stepped forward and insisted that I had seen something the others had not and that we make another attempt. Several politicians in the crowd stepped forward demanding to leave as the days of attempts had been nothing but a waste of time. They had business at home to take care of, many things to correct and many things to achieve.

I then went into a short tirade about why the doors were important. It was evidence of beings more highly evolved than us, beings that could one day return with technologies... and weapons, that were superior to our own. After several minutes of patriotic fervor the politicians stepped back and gave approval to proceed. I had given a speech that they did not want to be on record as being against.

Again the Waffen knelt and his crystal glowed. The Human was then followed shortly after by Hershen for the Kurtz. The door slid to fifteen meters and the crystals continued to glow. As the three species continued to hold their position several minutes passed before the Waffen crystal began turning green. Another minute passed before the Human crystal turned, followed by another for Hershen.

We watched intently as the three crystals then began to pulsate. When the glow from the crystals turned to a pure steady white the great doors began to glow, the left door a deep red and the right a bright blue. In an instant the two doors shot backwards into the mountain revealing an oval room within. A Virt scientist was the first to enter, walking slowly down the corridor to the room that lay at its end.

Holo-displays of each species lined the long corridor. Symbols flashed beside each as the scientist moved slowly along. When he entered the room he was confronted with two doors. The door on the left had the ominous deep red glow, while the door on the right had the friendly bright blue. The scientist stood for several minutes before a holo-figure of an unknown species appeared before him. The figure stretched out his broad arms and then began to speak.

"Welcome Human. Your arrival has been as expected. This portal was constructed many millennia ago by beings other than ourselves. Its true purpose is unknown, but we have gathered that it was placed here as a decision point for each of the sentient species in our galaxy. Every 30,000 years a new set of species, from the rows on the doors, has evolved to the point where their reasoning and cooperation unlock the pathway to this room. Those species are then given three choices."

"They can choose to remain in the galaxy where they are, they can choose the red door to the left or they can choose the blue door to the right. My own species, the Biln, was the last to move through the doorway. This message was left for the benefit of whoever came next."

"If you choose to remain where you are, you must keep in mind that other species, some of them very powerful and very hostile, still inhabit this galaxy. There will be periods of great peace and advancement followed by millennia of war and sorrow. In the end, you will either rule this galaxy you have called the Milky Way, or you will perish as a species under the brutal fist of another."

"If you choose the red door to the left you will be taken to a new galaxy where the driving forces of your species will be exploration, discovery and conquest. It is a galaxy filled with strange wonders and beings with cultures that you will struggle to understand. Some inhabitants will be hostile while others will eagerly become your friends. This door, the red door, is not for the weak, but for the strong, curious and courageous."