Echo
01 Nov 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Part Nineteen.
Echo
_____________________________
Zooey remained seated in the cockpit of her Diamondback Explorer, her face a blend of stoic amusement as she surveyed the disheveled pirates clogging the narrow passageway leading to her ship's cockpit.
The collection of ships surrounding her presented an interesting mix. The Mamba and Imperial Clipper vessels were focused on speed and brutality, while the smaller Vulture was a straightforward brawler. The lone Cobra Mk III they had used as bait had once belonged to a small-time trader who had fallen into their trap.
Their message to Zooey was straightforward: surrender or face death. The child cowered in fear, hidden within the confines of her makeshift playground. Zooey regarded the face on the communications panel, returning a sneer as she silently acknowledged their ultimatum. The transmission ended, and the pirate ships maneuvered into flanking positions around her own. While her cargo hold was empty, their interest lay in her ship itself and what she might fetch on the nearest slave market—unless they had darker plans in mind.
Zooey pressed a key on her console, causing the cockpit entrance door to slide open, revealing the narrow corridor beyond. Her gaze remained fixed on the Imperial Cutter, which rotated to expose its open cargo hatch. On her aft camera feed, she could see the tiny, pinpoint thrusters firing as the boarding party approached her ship, securing their position on the rear aft access airlock.
Jason, a member of the boarding party, peered through the window at the woman seated in the pilot's chair. Prey that surrendered as quickly as she did rarely put up any resistance. The electronic breach they had placed on the airlock compromised the controls, granting them access to the inner chamber. Jason continued to observe the pilot through the airlock window.
The light on the inner chamber panel transitioned from red to green, signaling that temperature and pressure had stabilized. As the airlock door opened, Jason followed his leader and comrades into the short, narrow corridor, advancing toward the pilot. Each step felt increasingly heavy as if he were walking through thick soup. Jason knew something was wrong. The pilot, unlike their previous targets, displayed no fear or panic—only a curious expression.
Despite his efforts, Jason struggled to raise his weapon, his arms feeling as heavy as lead. He couldn't scream or relay a warning through his helmet's communicator. The pilot, her expression unchanged, stood up and stepped over his fallen comrades. Jason's body gave in to the oppressive weight, and he too collapsed onto his back. He gazed up at the pilot, who loomed over him, her eyes locked onto his.
A voice echoed in his mind, though her lips remained motionless. "With you, there is hope," the voice echoed as the world around him faded.
Jason blinked his eyes, as he turned his head, not sure of how much time had passed. He was still in the corridor, where he had collapsed, but none of the others were there. He still had his weapons, and the door to the cockpit was open. He could see the lady at the controls and the stars rushing past of the cockpit window. They were in motion, but he did not know where they were, or why the other ships in the squadron had let them go.
Jason wondered if she hadn't ransomed the boarding party and kept him as a hostage? He was the least of their members and the most disposable. They wouldn't have cared if they had lost him, but the one who led their group was an experienced earner for the pirate clan. His loss would have been a financial blow to the group.
"The boy who would play at being a pirate," a voice sounded as Jason pushed himself into a kneeling position on the deck. "There is a small galley forward and to the right. It is quaint but fully provisioned. Your body needs nutrients. We will not be at our destination for a few hours."
Jason shook his head and blinked his eyes, looking at the empty deck in front of him.
“They are back aboard the Clipper. We are following them.” The voice said again, but it wasn’t the pilot. At least he didn’t think it was the pilot. It didn’t sound feminine. In fact, it didn’t sound masculine either. He couldn’t place a gender on it, or where it was coming from.
“Worry about the who, where, and why later. Get yourself something to eat. The Clipper doesn’t have that good of a jump range, so it will take us time to get to our destination.”
Jason tried to draw his pistol, and when that failed, he tried to draw his knife. Neither hand cooperated as he dropped to his knees once more, as his frustration grew.
“You cannot harm anyone, so do as you were told and get yourself some nutrients, or you can take a nap,” the voice said.
“Who the hell are you and what the hell is going on!” Jason spit, his rage growing.
A disembodied sigh was more felt than heard as the voice spoke once more. “We have to get their nonsense out of your head before we can build something better of you.”
The world began to fade, as Jason collapsed on the deck plating.
"Will he be alright?" the child asked. Yes
To say that Rex was livid would have been an understatement, but he was a professional. He knew there was a time and place for everything, and while he was in the right place, it was not the right time. He waited patiently, sitting on the couch in Xochitl’s quarters, as Avery and the doctor provided their assessment of what they believed had happened.
Avery looked at the monitor, which displayed a series of timelines and graphs. Xochitl leaned forward in her chair, her gaze fixed on it.
"After an intensive series of tests, there is no evidence to confirm whether a purposeful copy had been made or not. It is likely that we will never know for certain. The entity itself is as confused as we are about what precisely transpired at the moment of its capture. That such a thing is even possible, considering its design and learned nature, has all of us confounded."
"You used the word 'purposeful,'" Xochitl stated, her eyes shifting between Avery and the doctor, who were standing together.
"Yes, purposeful," the doctor added, turning her head to look at the monitor, which changed to show a set of varying genetic information.
"As with prior hosts, the entity incorporates itself into the hosts' genetic structure, using that as a template to build a synthetic series where it can reside without harming the host. The synthetic series are discarded and purposefully dissolved within the host when the entity decides to change its domain."
Yatziri looked around the room. "I've smuggled data before that required a specific key code to be present; otherwise, it would delete itself. Is this synthetic creation similar?"
The doctor shook her head. "Not precisely, or not in the way you're thinking about it. This synthetic genome hosts a significant amount of data that interacts with all aspects of its host and is maintained by the host itself. Without a purposeful cancellation by its creator, which is the entity, the synthetic series remains viable and supported."
"You said it wasn't copied, but what are you saying now? That it was?" Xochitl asked.
"Not in the traditional sense," the doctor replied. "Its consciousness, if that's even the correct term, is integrated with Inspector Gladsen out on the dredger. Its functionality remains as before."
Avery picked up where the doctor left off. "Its echo remains, as the synthetic series was not terminated, leaving an imprint of itself inside its previous host, Zooey."
"Does this echo have any abilities without its creator?" Xochitl asked.
Avery nodded. "According to the entity, there's a statistical probability that certain innate abilities could exist, although it's uncertain what those might be, if any. It's not a scenario that has ever been encountered or postulated."
"In the worst-case scenario, could it be a full embodiment of the entity itself, with Zooey's mental state in control?" Yatziri asked. Both the doctor and Avery silently nodded in agreement.
Xochitl pressed a control on the arm of her chair, changing the readout on the monitor to show the restructured dredger bay designed to house Inspector Gladsen and the entity.
"According to this, they're nearing completion of the dredger bay modifications to house Inspector Gladsen and the entity. Once it's tested and certified, we'll bring them on board and continue our jumps toward the hub of humanity."