Jay’s Brain ( “What’s going on in that head of yours?” )
The Insectoid ET dealt you a ferocious blow to the side of the head, and suddenly everything went black. Little did you know that several days would pass before you regained consciousness. You awaken from the darkness, and before you even open your eyes, the computer in your brain is feeding you information:
System Reset
Checking System Integrity...Complete
! File Allocation Table corrupt ... switching to backup copy ... Complete
! Primary bootstrap modifications detected ... altering command program ... Complete
Diagnostic System ... On-Line
Tracking System ... On-Line
Waldo System ... On-Line
Joshua System ... On-Line
Zone Implant ... On-Line
Information Library ... On-Line
Personality Library ... On-Line
ReadyYou have no idea what any of that means, but the listing of computerese quickly clears and is replaced by the familiar tracking system heads-up display. Your head hurts. Your head hasn’t felt this bad since your activation, 15 years ago…one week after the abduction of Jay Novachek. You do a mental double-take. That last comment seemed too detached. Even more so, considering that you couldn’t recall your inception date prior to the head injury. Everything starts coming back to you. The look of horror on Novachek’s face as he was brought before you. The impassive way your tracking system noted his location and vital information. Tears streamed down his face as the Jesda scientist bolted his head firmly in place. You watched the human react as his scalp was numbed by electrical stimulation. His eyes glazed over as the cutting unit sawed through the cranium. By the time the cranial cap was removed, Novchek’s screams had been reduced to whimpers. The body yet lived as the cooling unit was engaged, cryogenically freezing the brain in less than a second. The scientist removed the brain and sliced it into wafer-thin sections. One-by-one these cuttings were attached to leads and slid into your brain cavity. As each cutting slid into place, you mind and experience expanded. Soon you were able to access pieces of Novachek’s memories. You remembered his childhood, his first job, the smell of his mother’s perfume. Wafer after wafer was added and the feelings of life flowed through you. You remembered the newspaper, and the affair with the Jeanette, the married woman in distributions. Her touch, the way it felt when her lips touched yours. Then there was the inevitable breakup, and the fight with her husband. In the end, she quit the paper and the two of them left Des Moines to start over somewhere else. But you still felt the love for her. Still felt the pain. You felt the tears slide down your cheek. You opened your eyes and had the dizzying sensation of looking into a mirror. But you soon realized that the image seated across from you was nothing more than a cheap imitation. A knockoff. A cruel joke at your expense. The body with the opened cranium and dripping lines of blood had nothing to do with you. A part of you wanted to cry out in despair. But you suddenly felt so tired, and a voice in your head was asking you to sleep…
Human lifeforms detectedYour eyes burst open and you find yourself surrounded. The other party members are staring down at you, lying in a hospital bed. The tracking crosshairs quickly identify each party member, and feed you a list of distances and other key targeting information. As usual, you ignore the dancing crosshairs and focus your attention on Thann, who seems especially anxious to talk to you. He explains that while you were unconscious, one of the creatures had managed to open up an access panel in your head. He says it looks like something is missing, and asks if you feel okay.
Okay? You think to yourself. Of course I’m not okay! I’ve just remembered that I’m not even a human being anymore! I’ve only just learned to come to grips with the fact that my humanity had been corrupted by these machine parts, and now I learn that the very concept of my humanity is corrupt beyond reason! I’ve remembered that all that remains of the man I believe myself to be, is a series of brain-slice circuit boards!
But how could you say any of this? These people are your friends! They accept you. They believe in you. Thann’s look of concern deepens. Is there anything wrong with you? Is there any way you can find out? Of course there’s something wrong with me. The Jesda made me in a laboratory. The Jesda programmed me with knowledge of all their enemies. The Jesda programmed me to observe. To infiltrate. To…
altering command program…what?
Thann persisted. “Do you have any sort of diagnostic system?”
You remember the computer listing when you awoke:
Diagnostic system ... On-Line.You concentrate on that concept. Is there anything wrong with me?
Suddenly there is a flood of information scrolling across your field of vision.
Techno-Mechanical Systems...
Tracking System: Condition Nominal
Waldo System: Condition Nominal
Zone Implant: Condition Nominal
Information Library: Condition Nominal
Bio-Mechanical Systems...
Host Body: Condition Nominal
Host Brain: Condition Nominal
Joshua: Condition NominalBy mentally, moving the crosshairs onto each of the headings in the lists, you were able to bring up a plethora of information. The Waldo System, according to the schematic that appeared, is the socket for your hand. The Zone implant is closely related to the computer itself and is apparently wired directly into your nervous system. Everything made sense, until you accessed the Joshua System.
Although your body mirrors the physical appearance of Jay Novachek, the internal “organs” do not correspond so readily. All organs and constructs capable of supporting your host body, are arranged so that there is an open area in the center of the chest, located in roughly the same location as a human’s lungs. The Joshua System is a large object located in your chest cavity. Joshua is a bio-mechanical organism (Darktek)…come to think of it, so are you. The readouts give you the impression that Joshua is alive…at the very least, it’s body is comprised of the same building materials as your own. From the information provided, you get the impression that Joshua is payload.
And then suddenly it hits you like a ton of bricks. Payload is truly an accurate description. Joshua is an explosive device. You are a walking bomb!
Thann sees a look of shock appear on your face, and asks you if you found anything. Did I find anything? What a question! Damn straight I found something! I’m packing enough explosives to take out…
You try to clamp down on the outburst. You can’t tell anyone about the bomb! These people are the first friends you’ve had in fifteen years. If they knew you could explode at any second, it would probably throw a damper on that friendship.
And so, you do the only thing you can. You lie to your friend. You tell him everything is fine…