The Cyber Chronicles V - Overlord (7 page)

"Tarl wanted
you to regain your strength, and, since you hate cyber rations, he
decided to feed you intravenously, so he kept you sedated. I wanted
to wake you up and spend time with you, more than you'll ever know,
but I was also hurt, and he kept me sedated for several days, too.
When he let me wake up, he insisted that you be left to rest."

"Why was he so
concerned that I regain my strength?"

"Because he's
like a damned broody hen with one chick where you're concerned. He
wants to take care of you, and I think he's terrified of losing
you, so he wanted to make sure you'd be able to deal with a
dangerous situation."

"Not because he
was concerned for his own safety, and thought he might need my
protection?" he asked.

"He has no
assurance that you would protect him, so no, I don't think so."

"You don't
think it's because I'm the only free cyber?"

"That's part of
it, but he likes you, too."

Sabre glanced
around as the curtains parted and a crewman entered, paused just
inside the door and addressed Sabre. "Overlord Ravian requires you
in ten minutes time." He placed a pile of clothes on the nearest
chair and left.

Sabre rose and
went over to gather up the clothes, then headed for the bathroom.
"I must shower."

Tassin watched
him leave, her heart heavy. His confusion saddened her, and she
could not imagine what it must be like not to understand your own
feelings, or those of others. She had always thought such things
were instinctive, and perhaps they were, but a lifetime spent in a
machine's cold, logical grip had stripped away his ability to
understand them. He had been far more human on Omega Five. Now it
was as if he had lost the ability he had possessed then, and she
wanted to know why. She rose and went in search of Tarl, whom she
found next door, sipping a drink and frowning at an unrepentant
Kole. The air was stiff with animosity, from which she deduced that
they had been discussing Kole's indiscretion.

"Tarl, you
understand cybers, don't you?" she asked.

His brows rose.
"As much as is possible, I suppose."

"He's changed.
He's not like he was on Omega Five. He's become cold and distant.
He was far more able to understand feelings then. Why?"

Tarl looked
thoughtful, swirling his drink. "When he got free on Omega Five,
he'd been out of training for how long? Five years? How old was
he?"

"Twenty-six."

"Six years." He
nodded. "Six years to develop a stunted personality and learn a
little about emotions from what he saw and heard around him. Then
he spent a year with you, learning about people and emotions. Now
he's been back to Myon Two, and they put him through a refresher
course only what, three years ago? Three and a half, at most?"

She nodded.
"What did they do to him?"

"You heard what
he told us. They reconditioned him, and then they took away his
memories. He came out of that place a blank slate, and even his
short-term memory was impaired."

"But he's got
them back now."

"Yes, but he's
unable to deal with them properly yet, and there's another reason,
I think."

"What?"

Tarl studied
his drink. "When he was on Omega Five, did he show affection?"

"A... a little,
mostly to Dena, the girl we rescued."

"He never
really showed any to you, did he?"

"Except for the
night he was taken away, no, not really. He seemed... confused,
unsure of himself."

"Much like he
is now," Tarl said. "No matter what he feels, and I'm sure he feels
a lot for you, he has no idea how to show it. Whatever he may have
learnt while under the cyber's control would only be dim
recollections, blurred images and snatches of conversation. All he
knows is combat. How can he possibly know how to express what he
feels? And he's not even sure what he feels, which only adds to his
confusion."

"Sounds like a
bloody basket case," Kole muttered.

Tarl shot him a
glare. "You have to give him time, Tassin. Maybe even another
year."

She flopped
into a chair, despondent. "Perhaps if he had another man to talk to
it would help. You know, neither of you has had a friendly
conversation with him about nothing in particular. It's no wonder
he doesn't think you like him."

"We've been a
little busy."

"No, we had
seven days of boredom on Blue Sun, and you kept him sedated the
whole time."

"I was -"

She raised a
hand. "I know what you were doing; that's not the point. He still
feels like a cyber because that's how you treat him."

"I..." He
frowned at his drink. "I'm only trying to look after him."

"But you're
looking after him like he's a cyber."

He hesitated,
then nodded. "You're right. I didn't see it. I'm so used to..." He
grimaced. "You're right."

Kole waved his
drink. "Hey, the only time I had a conversation with him, he told
me he wasn't equipped to deal with human emotions. It sort of put a
damper on the conversation."

"What were you
talking about?"

Kole frowned.
"It doesn't matter."

"You can't rush
him, Tassin," Tarl said.

"I'm not trying
to rush him; I'm trying to help him. I think he needs you two to
treat him like a man, and talk to him."

"He's not
exactly a talkative fellow," Kole remarked.

"He doesn't
need to talk; he needs to listen to other men talking about their
experiences and feelings, so he can understand his own."

"He needs an
adolescence," Tarl said.

"Yeah, next
time we're on a friendly planet, we'll take him to one of those
teenager hangouts and let him mingle with the boys." Kole chuckled.
"He'll learn a lot there."

"It's not
funny," Tassin said.

"No, it's not,"
Tarl agreed. "I'll try to talk to him."

She sighed,
shaking her head. "Unfortunately, he doesn't really like you. He
likes Kole more. Kole relates to him as a man, not a cyber, which
might be the reason."

"Oh great,"
Kole muttered. "Now you want me to explain the birds and the bees
to him, so you two can live happily ever after."

Tassin looked
down at her hands. "I know it's a lot to ask."

"No, it's too
damned much." Kole jumped up and marched into the other room.

Tarl looked
confused. "Did you two...?"

"No. But Kole
would have liked to."

"Ah, I see.
Then I agree with him. You can't expect him to -"

"All right!"
Tassin flung up her hands. "Let's just forget it."

Tarl nodded and
sipped his drink.

Chapter Five

Sabre
scrutinised the new clothes he had just donned in the bathroom's
full-length mirror. The pair of stretchy black trousers was similar
to standard cyber issue, and silver shin guards clad his calves
above narrow boots. A silver-studded belt encircled his waist, and
the vest clung to the contours of his chest. Two slim daggers were
secreted in the silver wrist guards that covered his forearms, and
a pair of lasers was strapped to his thighs. He thought the outfit
was too flashy, and avoided the reflection of his face, unable to
bring himself to look at the brow band. Glancing at the clock on
the bedroom wall, he discovered that he only had two minutes left
and cursed.

Kole stood
frowning at a painting in the lounge, holding a drink. The blond
man's brows rose when he glanced at Sabre.

"Well, the
Overlord's got you dressed like a dandy, doesn't he?"

"Dandy?"

"Fop.
Overdressed playboy. Rich idiot trying to impress -"

"I get the
picture."

Kole sipped his
drink. "Where are you rushing off to?"

"Overlord
Ravian asked me to meet him. I don't know why."

"Asked? Or
ordered?"

"I'm working
for him now."

"Wow, really?
What's the pay like?"

Sabre frowned.
"Pay?"

"Remuneration,
salary, lolly, boodle, dosh... money."

"That wasn't
mentioned."

"Well perhaps
you should mention it, then. If he's not paying you, that makes you
a slave."

"No it doesn't.
I'm free to leave whenever I wish."

"Are you?" Kole
strolled closer. "Be careful that you haven't escaped one prison
only to put yourself in another."

"That will
never happen."

"Sometimes
these things can just sneak up on you."

Sabre swung
away and headed for the door, finding a crewman waiting outside to
guide him to the Overlord's apartments.

A veiled,
black-clad man awaited him in a black room hung with swathes of
artistically draped white silk. Circular windows on one side gave a
view of stars, and glowing light spheres hovered under the ceiling.
Several tasselled rugs appeared to be woven from genuine
grey-striped white traba-hair, a rare yak-like beast that dwelt
only on a remote moon orbiting a dead, formally inhabited planet
whose star was on the verge of going supernova. The beasts had
adapted to the extreme cold of their almost airless world, and the
rugs were priceless. Sabre approached the man, glancing around for
Ravian.

"Where's
Overlord Ravian?"

"I am he," the
veiled man said in a strange, sexless voice.

Sabre stopped
in surprise, realising that Tassin and the others had only seen
this disguise, and that was why they had assumed Ravian was a man.
A glance at the scanner information confirmed that Ravian was, in
fact, female. Ravian faced Sabre for several seconds, apparently
studying him, then nodded.

"You look very
fine."

"Why am I here,
dressed like this?"

"You'll see."
Ravian gestured, and the curtains on the far side of the room
parted. A short, balding middle-aged man with pudgy features and
slanted brown eyes entered, glancing around with a tense, uncertain
expression. He wore a pale grey, seamless suit with a flame-like
red insignia on the right side of his chest. Sabre frowned at the
sight of it, but assumed a guard stance beside Ravian, clasping his
hands behind his back. The man approached her, his eyes darting to
Sabre and widening a fraction before he hid his surprise. He
stopped a metre away and bowed.

"Overlord
Ravian; I am honoured to meet you."

"Chief
Executive Atrashka. The feeling is not mutual."

Atrashka
shifted, looking uncomfortable, and, after several pregnant
moments, forced a stiff smile. "I see you have the benefit of one
of our products, grade A, of course. Had you asked, I would have
made you a gift of however many you wanted."

Ravian's head
turned briefly towards Sabre. "You assume a great deal, Atrashka.
Firstly you assume that he's a cyber, and secondly that I own him.
Neither assumption is correct."

Atrashka shook
his head. "But My Lord, I can see he's a cyber, and if you don't
own him, why is he guarding you?"

"He's not. But
allow me to introduce you. This is Sabre, formerly a cyber, now a
free man. Sabre, this is Atrashka, head of Cybercorp."

Atrashka's eyes
widened. "He's the... He's the rogue we've been hunting? My lord,
you must put restraints on him immediately. He's dangerous,
unpredictable."

"I
disagree."

"My lord, you
don't understand, he's -"

Ravian raised a
gloved hand. "Do not insult my intelligence. He is no threat to me.
But your outburst tells me much of what I wanted to know. You did
not, for one instant, think he was mentally deficient, did you? You
know he's fully functional, and so are all the clones you torture
with your control units."

"No, I was told
about him. He's an exception. The rest have minimal brain function.
They're not aware of what happens to them."

Sabre snorted,
and Atrashka cast him a nervous glance.

"Why should he
be the only intelligent one?” Ravian asked. “Of all the tens of
thousands you've produced over the years, why would the only one
ever to possess intelligence be the one who gets free of cyber
control through a freak accident? That's a hell of a
coincidence."

"They do
happen. I assure you, My Lord, the rest are deficient. They have
underdeveloped brains. I can show you the proof."

"I'm sure you
can trot out a tonne of manufactured evidence, and I find your lies
most annoying."

"I..." Atrashka
looked even more nervous. "What are you going to do?"

Ravian turned
to Sabre. "You are silent. Have you nothing you wish to say to the
head of Cybercorp?"

Sabre glanced
at her, then approached Atrashka, who backed away until the cyber
stopped.

"Why would I
bother?" Sabre asked. "It would be a waste of breath. He knows what
he's done, and insulting him would be like stepping on a worm,
hardly satisfying at all. He's just a bureaucrat who tortures
children and turns them into cyborgs. You're the one with the power
to punish him. I could rip his arms off, but someone else would
just replace him, and the atrocities would continue. I would rather
not have met him at all. Now I'll have to have another shower."

Ravian
chuckled. "You see, Atrashka, he's not only intelligent, he has
more integrity than you'll ever be able to grasp. I have judged
him, and found him to be not only worthy of saving from your
enforcers, but of my employ. He now has my protection. My judgement
extends to his companions. Tarl Averly's death sentence is
rescinded. Kole Arvan and Tassin Alrade are pardoned. You will
cease all attempts to capture them forthwith."

"But My Lord,
Tarl Averly is a former technician. He knows our secrets, and is
therefore a security risk. He could endanger the lives of
high-ranking officials who enjoy cyber protection if he allied
himself with criminals or assassins. He sabotaged a large number of
artificial wombs and caused millions of credits worth of damage to
our facility. He's guilty of -"