Eric and the Quantum Dragon

Awakening Centre, 10th District, Pan City

Sunday December 30th, V26 (2046)

Naomi Tengaki lay quietly on her hospital style bed, arms crossed behind her head as she gazed up at the ceiling. It was a very boring ceiling she had to admit, made of reinforced Ceramite laid over toughened concrete and then painted a very sterile white.

The walls were not much better, three of them surrounding her small room and the last made from clear Ceramiglass, interlaced with a Titanium Steel alloy in a wide cross hatch pattern. Only one door lead out from her room, triple locked by a system of smart keys and heavy deadbolts.

A single view screen was attached to one wall and she had a single, barely padded chair to sit and watch whatever channels they allowed her. It annoyed her greatly that the screen was not placed so she could lie in bed and watch it. Despite her best efforts, the only way she could spend any time watching old movies or dramas was to sit in the pale grey chair, her feet laid flat on the tiled floor like she was back in school.

Stupid chair didn’t even have armrests, so she either let her arms dangle at her sides or crossed them in front of her chest. It was bolted to the floor so moving it or using it to bash open the glass walls was not an option, no matter how much she contemplated it.

To say she was bored after only one day in the facility was an understatement.

“I’m bored!” she called out as she lay there. She knew the technicians who monitored her could hear every word she uttered. Probably recorded them too and passed any juicy bits onto Archimedes. Or maybe he listened to her grumpy demands personally while he decided what her fate would be.

There was no reply to her outburst so she sulked a little more, pondering how her wife Alison was going. Naomi had been bundled straight into protective custody as soon as the Vault had re-opened, along with Quent Scarfe. She had seen the Emissary briefly as they were both unloaded at the Awakening Centre, her being escorted in one direction by her Haz-Mat suited guards and him in another.

He had given her a brief scowl over his gag and she had waved back with her cuffed hands. His utter hatred for her gave Naomi a small warm glow, which was nice considering how damned cold they kept her room.

“I’m cold too!” she yelled to the unseen technicians and wondered if they might raise the thermostat for her chamber. It seemed unlikely so she tried a different approach.

“I’m really hungry! Any chance of some food?” she asked loudly. In the distance she thought she heard a door slam heavily, but her room was soundproofed so she was probably imagining it. She lay there and played some mental games on her internal processor, thankfully still functioning after all she had been through.

She was engrossed in a complex word puzzle when the chime on her door sounded. She saved her game and opened her eyes, sitting up in her bed to see who was outside.

Yolanda Brackenridge was waiting there, flanked by two helmeted Guards.

“They finally arrested you too?” Naomi called out, laying back down on her bed and throwing an arm over her eyes. “Sorry, but this is a single occupancy room. Try next door”

“Very funny, Miss Tengaki” came the Witch’s voice over the intercom. “Make yourself presentable, I am coming in”

That got Naomi’s attention so she sat up in her bed, watching with interest as the door was unlocked by the Guards. As it opened inwards, both Guards stood alert and ready with their machine pistols. Like they thought Naomi, bare handed and wearing a long knee length blue smock over no underwear was going to charge out there and take them on.

Naomi got off the bed slowly and smoothed down her smock, wiggling her bare toes on the cold tiled floor. Over the toilet and shower cubicle (open sided) there was a small mirror and she quickly examined her face and hair in it.

“Looking sharp, kid” she told herself then turned to face her employer. Except she was not sure if she still worked for the Brackenridge company in any capacity since she was a prisoner of the Board of Governors. Yolanda had entered while she did her checks and the door closed implacably behind her.

“Please, take a seat” Naomi offered her boss and the Witch looked at the solitary uncomfortable chair and sat with a small sigh. Naomi leaned her back against the wall screen and regarded the other woman with folded arms.

“So, what happens now Mrs Brackenridge?” she enquired politely. She knew better than to burn any bridges before they required it, so she kept her words civil and respectful.

“The preliminary tests show a type of organic nano-machine in your bloodstream” Yolanda began. “They believe it has some ability to reprogram internal processors like yours and make you subservient to the controller”

“Really?” Naomi said in confusion. “I certainly saw that stuff in my eyes, the black oil, but I never actually felt any compulsion to do what Scarfe told me”

Mrs Brackenridge looked her over speculatively.

“I believe you, Miss Tengaki. My own theory is Scarfe either failed to inject you with a big enough dose, or some other factor made you resistant”

“Like what?” Naomi said, a trifle more belligerently than she had intended.

The Witch either didn’t notice her attitude or chose to ignore it.

“Do you believe in the power of Love, Miss Tengaki?” she asked.

“Isn’t that a pop song?” Naomi replied offhandedly then stopped smiling when she saw the Witch’s stern expression. “Er, maybe” she continued. “I would do anything for Alison. She is all that matters to me”

“Indeed” Yolanda acknowledged. “You risked your own life just to keep her safe. That is why you revealed the Emissary’s plans to me, wasn’t it?”

“Yes” Naomi agreed. “My life isn’t worth much, but I would sacrifice everything for her”

Naomi looked directly into the other woman’s eyes and asked the only question she needed an answer to.

“Is my wife still alive?”

Mrs Brackenridge smiled at her, showing far too many teeth to be normal.

“I made a promise to keep her safe, Miss Tengaki. I always keep my promises”

The older woman stood and adjusted her dress, the cost of which was probably more than the annual rental of Naomi’s apartment.

“They want to run some more tests, on you and the other infected Security team members” the Witch declared. “In the meantime you will be kept here, more for your safety than anybody else’s”

“Okay, I can live with that” Naomi replied flatly then her brow furrowed. “Pardon me, did you say some of my Security team are still alive?”

“Hmm?” asked the Witch as she walked towards the door. “Oh, the two who went to hack into the School computer stacks. I think they were Marrick and Konis. They got taken out by one of our ex-employees, a man called Jack Henderson”

“Old Jack Ironsides?” Naomi said with a laugh. “Poor buggers, coming up against someone like him. They must be lucky to be alive!”

“Yes. They are in the adjoining cells so if you shout really loudly you might be able to ask how they are”

With that, Yolanda swept regally from the room. The door sealed itself thoroughly and Naomi stood and watched until the woman and her escort disappeared from sight.

Naomi walked slowly back to her bed and clambered onto the blankets, her mind awash with new questions. She grabbed her pillow and placed it against the chill wall, sitting upright with her legs splayed out in front.

Alison was alive and everything else did not matter. She folded her hands behind her head and looked up at the white ceiling, a contented smile on her lips.

“Hey! Anybody listening to me? I am still cold and hungry!” she yelled out loudly.

St Helens Private Hospital, 7th District, Pan City

Eric woke to the pleasant sensation of someone gently stroking his forehead. He opened his eyes and saw the dark brown eyes of Seven regarding him intently from a bare handspan away.

“Hi” he said. “I guess I didn’t die after all”

“Hi” Seven responded with a smile. “You are definitely alive. Do you remember what happened?” She was still tenderly stroking his head, running her hands through his short blonde hair.

“Yes. The girls must have exited the virtual realm after I triggered the self-destruct on my Goblin suit. It all got stored in my personality core and transferred into my real world memory”

Seven stopped her fascination with his head and looked at him in shock.

“What? You remember being blown up?”

“Uh-huh” he agreed. “I recall all of my days fighting Nothing in the simulator right up until I died. It makes for some very strange memories”

Seven reached across and gripped his hands with her own, her warm strong grip sending a pleasant sensation through him.

“I’m sorry, Eric” she whispered to him. “I was so very foolish in everything I did”

He gripped her hands tightly and nodded his head in agreement, his head moving up and down on the pillow.

“No argument there” he confirmed. “But I understand why you did it”

Seven let go one of his hands and touched her temple, around where the magnetic induction port lay under the skin.

“I am connected to the Quantum Network now” she told him, her sense of guilt obvious to Eric. “Somehow Nothing triggered it when she abandoned my body”

“I’m glad for you, Seven” Eric replied honestly. “You finally got your dream”

She stared at him flatly and he knew why she was so torn.

“You lost your connection, didn’t you?” she asked him. “Because of me”

“I chose to disable the link” he assured her. “I had to make sure Nothing could not reactivate it if she took me over. I had to keep our world safe from her”

“Can’t it be fixed?” Seven wondered hopefully. “Is there any way to make it work?”

Eric grinned at her and took her hand again in his.

“Who knows? Stranger things have happened before”

=====

It was late in the day when his brother Two came into his room. Seven had been called away to a meeting and Eric was idly reviewing his memory files of the battles with Nothing. As harrowing as the memories were, he found them oddly instructive.

Without any connection to the Network, alone with his skills and limited resources he had fought and nearly killed an actual Dragon. In fact he was pretty sure the cunning creature had cheated somehow, restoring her damaged body at least a couple of times.

“Good to see you awake and alert, Thirteen” his brother told him in what was almost a cheerful tone.

“Good to be here, brother” Eric agreed. “I am not sure if I still qualify as Agent Thirteen anymore”

“Yes, well that is why I am here” Jericho-Two responded. “Archimedes has agreed to keep you as an active Agent, provided you pair up with Agent Seven. She will now fulfil your role as an Avatar of Archimedes”

“I see” Eric said in an even tone. The news was hardly surprising yet in some respects it hurt how quickly he had been pushed aside by the AI. “I assume Seven has agreed to this?”

“She told Archimedes in no uncertain terms that was the only way she would serve as his Avatar. Selena was quite prepared to have her Network connection disabled once more if he did not agree”

“Selena? Is that what she wants to be called now? I’ll have to remember that”

“I’m sure you will, Eric” his brother answered. “We never forget anything, do we?”

“No brother, nothing at all” he replied with a sly grin. “I remember everything”.