1e: Entry Point

Once, on a particularly hot and perilous planet, I managed to actually kill a c-speck outright. Not just shut it down but render it irreparable, even it’s normally impervious black box of a mind was destroyed. The fact I had to use a small fission device and an erupting volcano has given me a grudging respect to the engineers who are responsible for building the things. They are, nominally, human, grown as genetically engineered clones and then enhanced both physically and mentally to withstand whatever hell the universe wanted to throw at them. It has been rumoured that the final quality control test consists of launching them into the nearest star’s corona.

However they have one discernable flaw, they always obey orders and those orders are given by humans. Humans make mistakes, humans can be fooled. If they ever broke that conditioning, I shuddered.

I watched the vehicle pull away down the road and munched a few of the nuts. I wasn’t entirely sure whether the meeting had been a warning or what passed as a friendly welcome. Still I had Isabella J3’s contact details, I wouldn’t mind spending a few hours in her company, even if it was just for the way she was built rather than her stunning personality. Surely c-specks had emotional needs?

In the background I noticed a black crow follow the path of the vehicle with its head, ruffle its feathers, and soar into the sky. I scratched my nose. I was beginning to feel uneasy, the bile in my stomach sloshed around in anticipation.

“Animal Essentials as well, this place is full of surprises.” The familiar voice of my sectioned personality peered out of the ether. It was like talking to yourself, in fact it was talking to yourself, except through a filter and without knowing what the other you is thinking. It was a bit surreal but a necessary consequence of having to hide the majority of your knowledge and memory away whilst on a contract. “You better be careful.”

“These nuts are good.” I opened the briefcase and studied the photos. Whitchel White’s face peered out at me, ragged and unshaven but unmistakeable in his all white suit and black cane. He looked composed; he looked as if he was expecting me.

“Are you listening to me?” My sectioned personality intruded.

“No, Sec, I am not listening to you.”

“Thought so, cute though, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, she was.” I mentally worked out the distance from the grey brick tower I had chosen, it was a bit to close for a strike but perfect for surveillance. Some Hashashi liked to go in cold but I was old fashioned, I had to learn about my target first. I had to know Whitchel White before I could kill him. “If you find psychopathic cyborg killers attractive that is.”

“Well I do, which means you do.”

“You powers of deduction astound me.” I finished the last of the nuts and through the crumpled bag into the waste disposal. There was a brief fizzle as the contents degraded. I noticed the ring of ash around its base and the arch of burn marks above it. Someone had recently tried to get rid of something rather large and rather combustible. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

“Yes I am. The …” Suddenly the Sec went quiet; I could sense someone infiltrating my outer interface. Immediately I shut down the link and viewed the eye. Outside, hanging upside down from a light fitting slowly picking through its fur, was a small green monkey.

I smiled. “Come in.”