Master wu, p.22
Master Wu, page 22
“You don’t frighten me.”
“You should be frightened. You know what this girl can do.”
“Don’t bullshit me. I know your connectome didn’t even fill half of the available space in her brain. You will never be able to harness her skills. You are kidding yourself if you think you can.”
“I may never get her skills, but I am an evil bitch, and you don’t want to piss me off. Do you hear me, Willy, dearest?” She scowled but inside Jayne felt the horror of her words. Playing the part of an evil witch was not a task she enjoyed.
He turned to leave as he shouted at the remaining guard, “Leave her!”
The guard closed the door behind him, and Jayne flopped on the bed and turned her face into her pillow. She did not want anyone to see her eyes well with tears.
CHAPTER 28
Lies
The human brain was unlike every other organ in terms of sheer complexity. Every time a group of researchers claimed they had solved all the enigmas, a new one, or ten, presented themselves. It seemed that the brain was one organ that had dynamically embraced evolution. It did not seem to require twenty generations to enact a change. A single human brain could suddenly do things that it was unable to do a few years before. External manipulation was sometimes used to configure an area of unused or underused neurons to do something they had never done before. Sometimes this turned out as intended, but just as often, the results were unique and occasionally bizarre. Studies were done with subjects who had been deprived of sensory input since birth. Deaf or blind babies demonstrated that the human brain could allocate the reserved space to other tasks. The visual cortex, for example, is large and can provide neurons for other specialized activities. With the external enhancement, some visually blind subjects were able to see perfectly by using echolocation in the same way that bats are able.
Jayne knew she was truly inside the beast. It was the only way to cut its heart out and let it bleed.
She deduced that Thurston was working alone. His ego was far too mammoth to allow anyone else to tell him what to do. He was not on the path to the Forevers and the Omega Group, but he was posing a continuous problem. He popped up at the most inopportune times. The present situation was a case in point. He might have connections to the Forevers, but Jayne was sure those connections were tenuous at best. He must be captured, all of his research and data confiscated, studied, and controlled, especially things like connectome recordings. Knowing Thurston, she was sure he had automatic backups of himself in many locations. If she captured or killed this version, she did not want another version created elsewhere. He was like a hydra: chop off one head and two more take its place. She needed to somehow ensure that the entire beast was dead. The only way to do that was to get closer to him and make him trust her; trust Winter, that is. Her last gambit had been a good start.
She did what she’d said and had a shower. The warm water eased her tension. She was almost certain Thurston was not watching. He would not want to give her peeking comment credibility. She had created a huge doubt as to her identity and needed to use that to her advantage. After toweling dry, she sat on the bed and waited. The germ of a plan was forming. The only way to convince Thurston that she was Winter and not Jayne was to let him drug her. She would suggest he use some variety of truth serum and test her to see if she was Winter Bancroft. The nanobots should protect her from the effects of the drugs. She would have to fake her identity. She already knew much of the details of Winter’s life. She decided to search the memories commandeered from Winter and see if she had missed anything that might come in handy. Anything that exposed Thurston’s feelings and sexual desires would be the most effective in convincing him that she was indeed Winter.
She was also going to look in the quarantine. She knew that entering the quarantine was risky. A consciousness might have reformed. It might lash out. It’d had plenty of time to plan some sort of attack. She would have to be ready. She tucked her feet under her in a cross-legged fashion and breathed deeply. Her eyes closed, and she tapped gingerly on the door in her mind. There was no response. She eased the door open, half expecting an enraged Winter to leap up and try to take back what she saw as hers. There was nothing. She looked into the nooks and crannies and found nothing. Suddenly Jayne was afraid. As far as she knew, Winter had not left the quarantine. So where was she? Everything was gone. All the debris was gone. That space in her mind was uninhabited.
She searched for clues. She looked for any chemical traces that might lead her to what had happened and identified clusters of proteins that had accumulated between the nerve cells. This was not good: the beta-amyloid protein common to Alzheimer’s patients was accumulating. What was left of Winter had self-destructed, symbolically at least, by encouraging this protein. The neurons stopped working and all that was Winter went with them.
A part of Jayne was elated that Winter was no longer inhabiting her brain. She was concerned that she had no idea this had been happening in her own head. She initiated a cleanup, and the neurons reestablished themselves by coming into contact with other very active neurons. She opened her eyes. She was whole again for the first time in five years. She smiled. The elation was unexpected. She thought, “One down and one to go.” Of her enemies, there was only Thurston left—at least, that is what she hoped.
She waited for him to come to her. She did not have to wait long. The door opened and two men entered. Jayne could see a gurney just outside the open door. One of the men pointed a stinger at her and said, “We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. It is your choice.”
Jayne stood up, shrugged, and showed her empty palms defiantly, then walked toward the gurney.
The two guards were dressed in specialized protective suits. They said nothing, but the array of weapons pointed at her was formidable. She hopped up on the gurney and said, “Let’s go.
Lay down,” one of the men commanded.
Jayne laid down and was strapped in with sturdy restraints. A helmet was placed over her head and activated. She felt a series of probes extend from the inside of the helmet and press firmly onto her scalp. Jayne knew the purpose of the helmet. It was a variation of the helmet used by the Consortium to suppress her ability to think.
“This is something Dr. Thurston thought was necessary, but I think is overkill.” With those words, the guard turned on the helmet.
Jayne felt her entire body sag as if she was made of wax and someone had turned up the temperature. She turned her head to the side and heaved. She had not had any food for several hours and nothing came out. Her mouth was filled with the rancid taste of bile. Her lips and jaw sagged. She no longer had control over her facial muscles.
The same man touched his VID and spoke, “She is ready.”
They waited and Jayne moaned softly. Her arms and legs were strapped to the table. She could not move them, but her head lolled slowly from side to side. Drool poured from the corners of her mouth.
The large man Jayne had identified as Thurston entered the hallway and looked down at her. He quickly looked up at the man who had initiated the helmet. “Turn it down, you idiot. I don’t want her brain dead.”
The man touched his VID.
Jayne felt the effects of the helmet ebb. She closed her eyes and waited.
There was a hint of panic in Thurston’s voice as he reached down to Jayne and opened one of her eyes. “Oh frack,” he shouted. He flicked a beam of light into her eye.
Jayne knew her pupils had responded. She opened her eyes and sucked in a lungful of air dramatically. “For frack sake, William. There are easier ways to kill me. I told you it is me. I am Winter. I know I was a little nasty last time we met, but you were unpleasant too. How about you give me a little truth serum and ask me whatever you want? I will try to answer everything but remember, some of my memories were lost. I am sure I have enough to convince you that I am me. Doctor Winter Ruth Bancroft.”
Jayne did not know where the middle name came from, but she was sure it was correct. It would add another measure of authenticity to her Winter personality.
He turned to the man controlling the helmet. “Set the helmet to gamma,” he commanded.
The man fiddled with his VID.
“Take her to the medical bay. I will meet you there.” He walked somewhat awkwardly down the hallway.
The men pushed Jayne along. One of the guards led, and the other followed, pushing the gurney. They entered a lift and continued down another hall. Jayne said nothing. She stared at the ceiling and, out of habit, memorized any markers she might need later. They stopped at a set of double doors. The two guards took up a position on either side of the doors and the gurney was pushed into the room.
Jayne smiled at the medical attendant as he inserted a shunt in her left arm and connected a drip.
“What is that?” asked Jayne. Panic pushed her brain’s production of gamma waves. She felt the helmet surge. She relaxed, and the helmet ebbed.
The attendant did not answer.
Jayne stared at the ceiling and waited for Thurston to enter.
Moments later, he strode into the medical bay and walked up to Jayne. “Well, Winter, if you are, in fact, Winter, this will tell us definitively.” He held up a pressure injector. “I have prepared a series of questions. The quality of your answers will determine your fate.”
Jayne laughed. “It is me, William. I recognized you, didn’t I, despite the new body? You don’t have to be so damn melodramatic. Let’s get this over with. I haven’t had anything to eat, and I am starving.” He leaned over her and pressed the injector to her neck.
She felt nothing for a few seconds. “What is that stuff? If it is related to that prefrontal inhibitor I developed, it won’t work as long as this helmet is restricting my higher functions. Take it off me, William, and you will get all the truth you need. Besides, I have mastered only some of the things that Jayne Wu was purported to have done. It seems I got her brain, but I did not get all of her skills. What I did get is pretty fantastic, so I am not complaining.” Thurston looked at her, but did nothing.
“Do you think I wouldn’t have used her most advanced abilities if I had them? If you think I would have held back, then you don’t know me very well.”
Thurston turned to the attendant. “Take it off of her.” He then reached out to stop the attendant. “Better yet, just turn it off, but be ready to turn it on if she tries anything.”
Jayne pressed her advantage. “God, William. I swear I am going to whip you till you bleed the next time you want some of that special attention you crave.”
Jayne felt her neck flush with heat. She knew the nanobots were breaking up the drug Thurston had injected into her.
“It takes a few minutes to do its job. And, yes, this drug is based on the one you developed, but I tweaked it. It disrupts signals in the connective white matter in the frontal lobe and inhibits the formation of new connections. Liars must create new connections in order to support the logic of their lies. This drug suppresses that process,” he said with a smile.
Jayne sensed he was looking for her approval. “Excellent work, William. I hope you limited the dosage for this small body. You don’t want it to cause any permanent brain damage.”
He rolled his eyes at her. “I can do things without you.”
Jayne was careful not to point out the obviousness of his statement. He had just acknowledged that she was Winter. She hoped it would not take very much to convince him for the long term. Her neck continued to heat. She prayed her programming of the bots was effective. She did not want the entire plan to disintegrate. “Yes, I know you can. Let’s get on with the questions. Ask away.”
He glanced at the clock on the wall. “A few more seconds.” He continued to stare at the clock. “That should do it. How do you feel?”
“I’ve been better.” She let her eyes flutter, partially for effect and partially because the bots in her neck were making her feel woozy. Suddenly, the heat was gone and her thoughts sharpened. “I feel a little dull and I don’t like that at all.”
“Good,” he said sharply. “Let’s get started. I have five questions.
Please answer each in as much detail as you think is required to convince me you are who you say you are. No lying now,” he said with a grin.
Jayne was ready. She had reviewed all the information she had taken from Winter.
The first set of questions surprised her. “How many siblings do you have? What are their names? Where do they live? And what are their professions?”
Jayne scrabbled around in her head, searching for this information. There was nothing. Not a trace. She needed to lie, but what lie would resemble the truth? She considered making a bunch of stuff up on the off chance that he did not know the answers to the very questions he was asking. She could claim she did not remember, but who would forget their own family? The final possibility was suddenly the most obvious. The questions were bogus. She felt that luck was on her side. She would take a chance. She laughed. “Cute, William. Real cute.”
“Well?”
“I don’t have any siblings,” she stated flatly. “I am an only child born to Charles and Mona Bancroft.”
He continued to ask questions. To her mild surprise, Jayne knew Winter’s answers to every question which she gave matter-of-factly, as if she were under the influence of the drug he had given her.
After about 30 minutes, he stopped. “It appears you are who you purport to be.”
“Glad you think so.” She raised her hands as far as they would go in the restraints. “I am me, Winter Bancroft. And William, I never did thank you for all the work you did in getting me this new, powerful and, as you obviously have noticed, nubile body. I would like you to get me out of these restraints, let me go pee and feed me. I am starving.”
“Just because you are you, doesn’t mean I trust you. You are going to have to earn back that trust after dumping me out of my own shuttle.” He turned to the attendant. “Remove the helmet and restraints and take her back to her room.” To Jayne, “Would you join me for dinner?
“As long as I get some fracking food,” said Jayne.
She was led back to her room. She dropped onto the bed, smiled, and fell asleep. The remnants of the disrupted drugs slowly cleared her system.
CHAPTER 29
Spy vs Spy
From a criminal viewpoint, the world had not changed in a very long time. The world was filled with people who wanted illegal things or things they could not afford. It was also filled with people very willing to do just about anything for a credit. Much of the criminal element existed in places where the WG had little to no power. The Wilderlands made up most of these areas. These people were viewed by most as harmless to society. The attitude was to leave them alone to fight among themselves. As long as they did not try to disrupt the societal focus, they were irrelevant. They would never be part of the biome project. Their genes would not go to the stars with contributing members of society. In the end, the Swarm would take them all.
Jayne woke a few hours later. The first thing she noticed was a neatly folded pile of clothing set at the foot of her bed. She inspected them and decided she must wear them as opposed to letting the Sergio Partelli mimic them. The suit was good, but not this good. The suit occupied a set volume of space. This outfit occupied almost no space. It consisted of a sleeveless top that stopped well above her navel and exposed the tops of her breasts. The skirt would be more accurately defined as a wide belt. It was studded with a silver chain that hung in loops from the hem of the skirt. On each loop was attached a silver depiction of an extinct animal. Jayne recognized many of them as dinosaurs, including the T-Rex. The stockings came to mid-thigh, and the shoes were spike heels. They posed the biggest problem. Jayne had worn shoes like this only once before, and she found them downright dangerous. She assumed that Winter was adept, so she practiced and would write off her lack of skill to lingering effects of the truth drugs.
The whole outfit was, in Jayne’s view, tacky. She believed Winter would wear it to flaunt her new body, so she had to wear it. She applied some actual makeup that was left in the room for her. She had just finished making minor adjustments when there was a tap on her door.
They were still on the ship, and no one appeared in any sort of hurry to leave. That meant this freighter was dropping off or picking up. In either case, it must be leaving soon. Dinner with Thurston would get her some much-needed information. She would play her part and use her wiles and lack of clothing to discover whatever she could. As soon as he trusted her, she could slip into the role of confidant. Winter had that role in Thurston’s past, and Jayne must regain it if she were to find out all of his secrets. The only part she was unwilling to play, at least for the foreseeable future, was lover. It would be tricky to keep him at bay, especially dressed like a tart.
She shrugged and followed her guide to a small cabin with a white linen-covered table in the middle. Thurston was standing at the rear of the room with a glass of wine in his hand. As the door closed behind her, Jayne blushed. It was an involuntary response to his stare. She moved to stand behind the chair on the near side of the table and held onto the back of the chair, partially for support and partially for concealment.
“Let me look at you. I wasn’t sure you would wear this outfit. I am glad you did.”
Jayne stepped daringly out from behind the chair, placed one hand on her hip, and shifted her weight to the opposite side, as provocative as she could without losing her balance in the heels. “You like?”
The new body of William Thurston was not unattractive. He smiled and Jayne smiled back.
