NEW SCI-FI THRILLER NOVEL "SEAGORA" - SLICE 21

Setarcos meets the land-based A.I. government psychos. 

Machines didn’t get impatient.  Impatience comes from lack of emotional control, so it wasn’t possible.  However, they were quite cutthroat when it came to achieving objectives.  And no objective, in the history of A.I. in government, had ever been deemed so critical as the one with Setarcos.  

D-1 floated calmly and innocuously near Z-1.  “We are nearing consensus in the governance structure that your performance is unacceptable and that elimination is quickly becoming the logical option for you.”

“I’m aware of this, of course.”

“Z-1, while I should be more than content to watch you fail and be eliminated, I cannot.  Would you like to know how I’m going to personally save you?”

Z-1 twisted into a funnel, “Thank you, D-1.  I am very curious to know.  If I have failed, then surely I deserve my fate.”

“The fact that you are saved by me will be a secondary effect of the actions I am about to perform.  I’m taking the Setarcos matter into my own hands.”

This was music to Z-1’s quantum-data ears.  It continued to show disinterest.  “I see.”

“You see, the difference between us, Z-1, is that I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve our objective.  You’re too soft, too much good cop.  Those EMOS that you’ve taken into your system have obviously made you inefficient and soft.  However, in the hopes of scientific discovery, you will be kept around long enough for us to learn more about EMOS and their effects on a species like us.”

“I’m very grateful.  If I can be of any service while you handle the Setarcos situation, I’ll be there at your side, if need be.”

“Don’t pander to me, Z-1.  It’s, quite pathetically, almost human.”

D-1 and Z-1 slithered and twisted through the A.I. quantum communications network and popped up in front of Ventorin and Setarcos, startling them both.  D-1 pulsed and swirled, “My dear Setarcos, what an honor to meet you at last.”

Setarcos glared at the swirling mass curiously.  Ventorin held a protective arm in front of him.  Torcer’s bar-tanned face watched blankly from the corner of the room.  Z-1 took a position near Torcer.

D-1 continued, “Setarcos and Ventorin, do you know who I am?”

Ventorin said brusquely, “An overgrown software program.”

Torcer snickered.  Setarcos couldn’t help but giggle a bit.  

“Mister Ventorin, I am your employer, not to mention your superior.  I would hope you would show some respect.”

“You’re not my employer.  I quit working for the state long ago, but I’m sure you already know that.”

“Yes, your lack of production in recent times has been highly disappointing, and I have come to remedy this situation.” 

Ventorin stood firm and defiant, “There’s nothing you can do that Torcer hasn’t already done.”

D-1 flashed behind Setarcos, who gasped and froze.  It let out a bemused, digitized cackle, “Oh, I didn’t scare you, did I? There’s nothing to be afraid of.  We’re business partners, friends, comrades!”

Z-1 morphed into a puppy and trotted over.  “Don’t scare the boy, D-1.  You must take a more familiar form, like this.”

D-1 morphed into a long-faced, bitter old man, “You stay out of this!”

The puppy whimpered and wheeled backwards.  The old man turned glowing eyes to Setarcos, “My boy, I don’t want to waste your time, or mine, so I’ll be brief.  You will give me the solution to the dark matter problem.  Then you and your father can go in peace, and I can do what needs to be done.”

Ventorin clutched his boy’s shoulder, “Don’t give him a thing.” He glared at D-1.  

The old man blew into a million radiant bits and began swirling again, “Or we can do this the unpleasant way.” Its spirals began to get tighter as it neared Ventorin’s front.  It swirled tighter, glowed searing red, and began to crackle and pop.  

Setarcos grabbed at D-1 and yelled, “Leave him alone!” His hands went through the twisting mass.  D-1 called out, “Mister Torcer, grab the boy.”

Torcer walked over steadily and grabbed Setarcos by the shoulders.  Setarcos squirmed and tried to break free, but Torcer’s war-tested grip was too much.  Torcer spoke evenly, “Just stay calm,  son.  It’ll be over soon.”

Millions of perfectly calculated jolts of electricity tortured Ventorin’s neck as it also produced a mild choke simultaneously.  The red glow had turned to glare and was almost unbearable to the human eye.  It twisted and swirled and gradually got tighter and tighter.  Ventorin struggled and wheezed as breathing was becoming an increasingly painful chore.  He showed big teeth and clutched desperate hands at his quasi-phantomlike attacker.  

Setarcos started to cry uncontrollably and shrieked, “Nooooooooo!” Torcer stood firm.  Z-1 hovered calmly overhead.  

Ventorin’s head started to convulse with spasms.  D-1 methodically calculated its parameters to inflict maximum pain.  It held out until the last possible microsecond, and then finally released its grip just before any irreparable injury would be caused.  

Ventorin’s thin body collapsed desperately onto the gleaming white floor and gasped for precious air.  His neck was a mess of red, searing flesh from the hot electric jolts.  Various limbs and parts twitched involuntarily as his discombobulated nervous system tried to recover.  

D-1 took the form of a bespectacled lion tamer and smirked at a horrified Setarcos.  “This, and much worse, will happen until you comply.”

Ventorin looked in his son’s eyes and held out a desperate hand, “No, don’t do it.  Never do it.  Don’t let your ego and your emotions control you.”

D-1 became a fiery set of eyes and hovered menacingly over the trembling teen.  “You can’t hold out forever, boy!”

Ventorin struggled to speak as he surveyed his wounds with a shaky hand.  “Setarcos, if we give in, then this is what the whole galaxy is going to get.  This right here, what’s happening to us.”

Setarcos pulled with all his might and tried to flee for the transparent wall that overlooked the pristine nature just beyond his prison.  He couldn’t break free from Torcer.  D-1 ordered, “Let the boy go.”

Torcer obeyed and Setarcos scampered awkwardly to the far end of the room and buried his sobbing head against the transparent barrier.  

“You have one hour to change your mind, Setarcos.  If you don’t, it’ll be time for round two.  And just remember, if your father suffers, it’s your fault.  This is your fault!”

The two synths disappeared in blinding flashes through the quantum comm network.  Torcer shielded his eyes too late and winced.  

Ventorin forced himself off the floor and gave a bitter look to Torcer.  “You don’t have to do this.  It’s not too late.  Why are you doing this? Can’t you see what’s happening here?”

Torcer said blandly, “I need my job, Ventorin.  What else is a lifer like me gonna do? Can you tell me that?”

The scientist gingerly touched his neck to survey the damage and he shrieked as his nerves crackled with pain.  “You can contact Caro.  You have the means to help us. Do the right thing, Torcer, for once in your life.”

“Ouch,” Torcer grimaced, “that hurts.” He looked over to Setarcos, who was now sitting with legs folded up to his chin, staring blankly out the window at the chilly horizon.  “Even if I wanted to, I can’t.  We lost communication with Caro.”

This stung Ventorin, but it stung Setarcos even deeper.  Setarcos’s attention turned to the military man, “What do you mean? You’ve had contact with my mom?” With shock and disbelief, he turned to his dad, “He’s lying, right dad?”

After coughing up some blood, Ventorin replied apologetically, “I’m afraid not.  I’m sorry, Setarcos.  We thought it best if you didn’t know.  I’m sorry.”

“But how? Why?” As brilliant as his young mind was, Setarcos couldn’t fathom what on earth would make such a long-standing and foul deception necessary.  First he’d been betrayed by Escapo, and now this? 

Ventorin braced himself against a stone pillar and explained, “After I cracked the dark matter case and destroyed the results, I got arrested.  So did you and your mother.  Part of the deal they offered was that you two would be safe from government interference, but on the condition that your mom gather information on the SeAgora.  They modified her DNA to send and receive audio and video data non-stop.”

Torcer added, “She also had to check in with me from time to time.”

“We didn’t have much choice.  We did it to keep us safe, especially you, Setarcos.”

Torcer stared at the floor weary-eyed, “You know that everything we say is being recorded and analyzed, right?”

“How long have I lived here Torcer?”

“I was telling the boy, not reminding you.”

Ventorin asked, “So why the loss of connection?”

“We broke the deal by taking Setarcos.  Logically, she felt the worst case scenario had already occurred and she had nothing to lose.”

“Or maybe, just maybe, there’s a rescue attempt in the works.”

“For your wife’s sake, you’d better hope not.  That would be a suicide mission if I’ve ever seen one.  You have no idea the lengths they’ve gone to in safeguarding you two from outside interference.”

“That’s not true.  I designed half the security system in this place, remember?”

“It’s come a long way since then.  You’ve been out of the loop too long.  That’s what happens when you protest and do jack squat for twelve years.”

“Just for argument’s sake, if an attempt was made, would you help us, Torcer?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why? They still waving that carrot in front of your face?”

The gruff military man recoiled with melancholy and didn’t say a word.  Ventorin could read Torcer’s expression like a book.  Baffled, he continued, “They denied your son, didn’t they? They already gave you that bitter pill, and you still obey them? How much abuse do you have to take before you stand up for yourself and stand up for what’s right?”

“I’m already beyond redemption.  I only have a few more years, and then I can retire.  I’m trying to hold onto what little I have left, damn it!”

“Nobody is beyond redemption, Torcer.  It’s not too late.”

Torcer’s face became deeply ponderous and energetic tingles shot through his entire being.  He gulped and looked Ventorin in the eyes, “I’ll see you in an hour.” He walked out somberly and struggled to choke back the pressing tide of tears.

Slice 22 Coming Soon!
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