Extensis Vitae

Chapter 18



Reznik woke up the next morning with a sense of peacefulness after the vivid dream from the previous night. There was a sense of closure for him now that he knew what had transpired with the DARPA program, and the events that had brought him to this point. The future didn’t seem as daunting now that he could remember the past. He might be on a path leading into the unknown, but it was a path of his own choosing, and he would make the best of it.

His only regret was that he and Myrna would have to part ways. They had grown fond of each other, but both understood that their paths lay in different directions for the time being. Her place was with the colony—at least until the day when the colonists would be ready to rejoin the surface population. Myrna seemed to sense that Reznik would not be happy remaining in the colony, even if he didn’t have obligations to fulfill, and was supportive of his decision.

After a shower and a hearty breakfast in the dining hall, he returned to his room to gather his belongings. Out of habit, he made a quick inventory of what he would be taking. All of his gear easily fit in his large pack, with the exception of the extra water bottles. His weapons and ammo, several changes of clothing, along with a coat and gloves were stowed inside. He wore a sturdy pair of work boots that were comfortable as well as hardy. He had enough rations for a couple of weeks, and energy bars, first aid supplies, and other odds and ends. He had filled two large water bottles and had a number of empties, which he would fill up at Colony 13. According to the experts, the water purifiers would work up to a month under emergency power.

The two wireless communication relays that the techies had given him were stowed inside the pack as well. Unlike a lot of the telecom equipment he had worked with in the past, these looked to be surprisingly simple to use. They were small gray metal boxes with antennas sticking out. According to the techies, all he had to do was find a couple of ideal locations in the tunnel and Colony 13 where he could fasten them by the magnetic clasp. A simple flip of the power switch should be all that would be needed to reestablish communications between the two colonies.

He also stowed the tablet computer that he hadn’t needed to use before in his pack. Myrna had loaded it with reference material from the Colony archives that he would probably need, since he had slept through nearly nine decades.

Deciding that he had everything he needed, he slung the pack over his shoulder and gathered up the extra water bottles. On the way out the door, he picked up Rin’s katana from where it sat in the corner.

Reznik stopped by Myrna’s room and she joined him. Together they began making their way down to the portal room. Her green eyes were sad as she studied his face. “So you’re sure about this?” she asked.

“I suppose as sure as I have been about anything since I woke up here,” he replied with a sigh. “I’m not as worried about the confrontation with the rest of those outlaws as much as just facing the unknown out there.” He gestured in the direction of the surface. “I mean, I’ve gone into plenty of sticky situations before, but this—who knows if the world as we know it really even exists any longer?”

“Judging from that group of murderous thugs and your soon-to-be-companion, the surface is obviously still habitable. The effects of impact winter should have ended years ago, according to the simulations. Your main concern should probably be all the radiation that was released from the ruined nuclear plants. Once the radioactive particles made it into the atmosphere, the wind would have scattered them all over the globe. Most of that should have settled by now, but there will definitely be hot spots to watch out for. I suspect there will be low levels of radiation in the food and water supplies just about everywhere. Because of the radiation and rapid climate change, scarcity of food and water will be a major concern as well. As far as the socioeconomic conditions—that I have no clue about.”

“Thanks, doc,” Reznik said affectionately. He put his arm around her and gave her a brief hug.

Myrna looked at him with concern. “Michael, I don’t like that woman. She’s cold and calculating—whatever you do, don’t trust her. She will do whatever it takes to get herself out of here. Since she’s on the verge of accomplishing that now, I’d bet that the first chance she gets, she will either stab you in the back or abandon you when you need her. I know you can take care of yourself, but please watch your back around her.”

“I know. I worry about that a lot, but what choice do I have? She can definitely handle herself in a fight, so I can count on her to look out for herself—that’s a given. But what I really need is her assistance as a guide. And once we reach the surface, things could get interesting.” Realizing that he was probably worrying her even more, he forced a smile. “I have a sense about her; she seems honorable. I think she will honor our bargain, at least.” He hoped his voice sounded more confident than he felt.

“You and your ‘honor,’” she said, shaking her head. But she slipped her arm through his as they continued down the corridor.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Myrna stopped and pulled a small, flat object from her pocket. “I had my father dig out those old storage drives from that facility where he found you, and I copied the files onto this chip. I don’t know if it’s only technical data, but I thought there might be a chance that you can find something useful related to your old military program on there. You can access this with the tablet you’ve got.” She shrugged. “It’s a connection to your past, at any rate.”

Reznik took the storage device and slipped it into an interior pocket. “That’s a great idea—thanks! Hopefully I can find out more about what happened to the DARPA program and the people who worked there.” He put his arm around her shoulders and they continued walking.

They arrived at the portal room a few minutes early. He nodded a greeting to the two guards in the booth.

A couple minutes later, he heard footsteps, and the security detail approached with Rin in tow. June walked at the head of the group of six. Reznik was pleased to note the shiny new rank pinned on the breast of her uniform.

“Hey, nice captain’s bars,” Reznik told June with a wink.

“Did you have anything to do with this?” she asked with a grin.

“Nope, not at all. It looks to me like the best person for the position received the promotion. Congratulations!”

June regarded him with a look that somehow managed to be proud and dubious at the same time. “Well, thank you for your vote of confidence. I just hope I can live up to expectations.”

“I’m sure you will,” he replied kindly. He noticed Rin silently watching the exchange. She gave an almost imperceptible nod at his glance. Her wrists were still cuffed, but she was calm and seemed content.

“The administrator specifically stated that she wasn’t to be uncuffed until she was turned over to you and the two of you were on your way,” June said apologetically. “He didn’t say anything about the leg irons, so rather than force her to shuffle all the way down here, I removed those.”

Reznik nodded. “Good thinking.” Just then, Swanson entered the room with Dr. Kane and another council member that Reznik didn’t know.

“It was such a short time ago that we stood here just like this, ready to see you off,” Swanson said by way of greeting. “Let’s hope that fortune smiles on you this time, as well.”

“I hope so, too,” Reznik replied.

“Just don’t forget our deal. Make sure you set up the relays and give us a status report when everything is taken care of on your end.”

“Right,” he agreed. “And not a word on the location or anything else about this facility to anyone on the surface.”

“Indeed,” Swanson answered. He stroked his mustache and regarded Rin. “Obviously, I have no control over you once you leave here; however, I trust you realize that exile is an extremely lenient sentence for your crimes. I hope that you remember not only the merciful and just sentence, but also the fair treatment you received here,” Swanson said smoothly.

Ever the politician, Reznik thought.

“Fair treatment, except for that minor incident with the beatings by the drunken guards, you mean to say?” Rin shot back. Reznik thought he could detect some amusement in her tone.

Swanson was unruffled. “That was a regrettable incident, and the perpetrators were punished accordingly—” he began.

“Don’t worry, Administrator,” she cut him off. “I am satisfied with the sentence, and I have no desire to ever return to this hole in the ground. No one else will hear of this place from me, either.”

Even though he wasn’t one who took well to being interrupted, Swanson looked pleased. “Well, that settles that. Uncuff her,” he ordered.

June removed Rin’s handcuffs and stepped back. Rin massaged her wrists, but made no other move.

“I suppose that concludes our business, then—right, my friend?” When Reznik agreed, Swanson extended his hand. His handshake was as limp and sweaty as ever. “Best of luck to you.”

“You, as well, Mr. Swanson.” Reznik looked around at the small group waiting expectantly. “Well then, I’ll say my goodbyes and we will be on our way,” Reznik announced.

“Open the vault door!” Swanson bellowed to the guards in the booth. The guards complied; the klaxon sounded and the red light began flashing. The hydraulics hissed, and then the huge door began to rumble open.

Once the din from the vault door and the ear-splitting klaxon ended, an eerie stillness settled in for a moment. The only sound was the faint hissing of steam from the hydraulic motors.

“Mr. Reznik,” Dr. Kane spoke up, breaking the silence, “I want to thank you again for your heroics in rescuing us. That was a hell of a thing, risking yourself for complete strangers, and I can never repay you. I’m so sorry that I didn’t think to tell you about the whole business with the activation code.” He wrung his hands in distress. “Things were just so hectic with everything that was going on…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Reznik replied. “I totally understand. I should be thanking you, actually. If you hadn’t picked up the pieces from the DARPA project, I’d most likely be rotting in that cryo-vat right now, all but forgotten.”

“I’m just glad that we were able to get everything to work right! The cryostasis and neural transfer were all new to me. I had researched it, of course, but the actual hands-on part—well, for that, you should be thanking my brilliant daughter!” He smiled and put his hand on Myrna’s shoulder. She smiled back at both of them.

“Indeed, that is very true! It’s been a pleasure, sir,” Reznik said and shook the doctor’s hand.

June stepped forward with a smile. “I just wanted to thank you again, Mr. Reznik. For saving our lives, for the training—for everything.”

“Don’t mention it. Just keep whipping those slugs into shape, and this place will have a crack security team in no time,” he said with a grin. “And please, call me Michael.” He extended his hand.

She ignored it and surprised him with a big hug. “Best of luck to you, Michael. Be safe.”

“I’ll do my best,” he promised. Everyone else stepped back to allow him and Myrna some space. He took her hand and guided her a short distance away.

“Well, I guess this is it for now,” he said. “Give me a call when you guys reach the surface, Myrna, and if you need anything, I’ll be there. I have a feeling it might not be too much longer before the administrators collectively decide it might be time to inherit the earth, as they say.”

She gave him a fierce hug, her beautiful green eyes filled with tears. “You take care of yourself up there, Michael. If I have any say in the matter, you can bet that you haven’t seen the last of me.”

He hugged her back. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. You take care, as well.” And with that, he kissed her deeply. She grasped his hand for a moment after they separated, and, as their fingers reluctantly slipped apart, he wondered if he would ever see her again.

He looked over to where Rin watched, her face inscrutable. “Ready?” he asked.

She nodded, and without further ado, turned and strode into the rough-hewn tunnel. Reznik waved to the others and followed Rin into the tunnel. He was surprised that he had come to care about these people in such a short time.

He tossed the katana to Rin. She snatched it out of the air, and hung the sword at her waist with practiced efficiency. “You’re probably going to be needing that.”

“Undoubtedly,” was her response.

Behind them, Swanson bellowed for the vault door to be closed, and then the rumbling of the massive portal drowned out all other sound.



***



They made good time on their way to Colony 13, moving at a brisk walk. Neither of them needed to stop for rest, so their only stop was for Reznik to install the wireless relay in the tunnel.

When his HUD indicated the approximate halfway point between the Colonies, they stopped and Reznik fished through his pack for the device. He noted a metal girder spanning the tunnel about a dozen feet overhead.

He stuck the relay in one of his cargo pockets and leapt up, easily getting enough height to grab onto the lip of the girder. Hanging by one hand, he snapped the comm relay onto the girder by its magnet. He flipped the switch and a red light came on. Within a few seconds, the light changed to green.

“Guess that’s it,” Reznik said as he dropped back down. “Wish everything worked that easy.” He picked up his pack again and they continued walking.

Reznik was surprised when Rin broke the silence a short time later. She had seemed content to walk in silence the entire way thus far.

“So what is your story?” she asked. “It’s obvious you aren’t a part of these Colonies. You have a fairly decent military-spec skin and extensive training. How did you get here?”

“Strangely enough, I just found that out myself not long ago. I was part of a DARPA experiment many years ago—before the Cataclysm, as you call it.” He went on to give her an abbreviated version of the story as he understood it.

“You are an interesting character, Reznik,” she said when he finished. “You will no longer recognize the surface world. It will be a bit of a culture shock, I think.”

“I would imagine so. And you? Do you remember much of the world before the Cataclysm?” He had always been bad with guessing ages, but he estimated Rin to be in her early thirties. He had no idea if she was a skin or if that was the body she had been born with. If she was a skin, she could be any age.

“Oh, I remember quite a lot from before the asteroid strike. That was certainly one hell of a bad day for everyone,” she said soberly.

“Were you on the surface when it happened?”

Rin nodded. “Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to secure a place in one of the Extensis Vitae Colonies. Being a soldier, I imagine you’ve seen some rough stuff before, but those last days—they were exponentially worse, as far as the anarchy and sheer desperation of everyone fighting to survive…” She trailed off, as if reliving the day.

Sensing that she was becoming more reluctant to talk about it, he simply said, “Well, if you feel like sharing, I’d be interested in hearing more of your story and what the Cataclysm was like.”

“My story is…complex. Perhaps another time. Right now, however, I need to make a brief stop to do something, or else I won’t be of much use during the confrontation.”

They were fast approaching the scene of carnage from the last battle. Reznik could tell by the stench of three day old corpses and the faint buzzing sound of flies. Surprising how flies seem to appear out of thin air when there is decay to feast on.

The corpses lay where they had fallen, bloated and ripe. What looked like gallons of dried blood painted the floor and walls. Reznik nearly gagged from the stench in the enclosed space of the corridor.

Rin appeared unperturbed as she stepped over a corpse and made her way to where Haze lay slumped against the wall. The outlaw’s eyes stared vacantly, and the butt of his final cigarette was still perched between his cracked blue lips. His abdomen was bloated from the effects of decomposition.

Grasping the corpse by the shoulders, Rin dragged Haze clear of the gore. His joints popped noisily from the lingering rigor mortis as if in protest as she pushed the corpse flat on the ground and knelt down beside it. A slender knife blade appeared in her hand, protruding between her second and third fingers.

Reznik went over and watched as she scraped at one of Haze’s eyes with the blade. He briefly wondered where she had been hiding the knife, since he had only returned her sword.

Seeing his curious look, she explained, “I need to peel back the cornea to expose the iris for the biometric scan, or else it won’t work. He has optical implants, so there won’t be any internal decay, but it looks like the cornea is organic—it has deteriorated since his death.”

“You sound like you’ve done this before,” Reznik replied.

Rin didn’t reply as she peeled the cloudy membrane free of the eye and flicked it aside. She withdrew her token from her pocket and reached back to pull her ponytail to the side. Reznik noted that the blade in her hand had disappeared. She placed the interface of the token against the unbroken skin at the base of her skull. The token somehow slid into the skin and snapped into place, a blue LED lighting up on it when the connection was made.

She looked at Reznik and he could see a red glow in the pupil of her left eye. “I can’t make any changes on my own once I enter command mode,” she told him. “You will need to do this to override the directives that Haze implanted. It uses voice command.”

Her vision was unfocused, as she was apparently looking at her HUD. The glow in her eye brightened, and then a faint beam of light projected Japanese characters onto Reznik’s chest. She turned her head slightly in order to project the letters onto the wall of the tunnel. The characters blurred for a moment and then transformed into English.

“COMMAND MODE ACTIVATED. INSTRUCTIONS?”

Reznik thought for a moment. “Remove previous directives,” he stated.

“INPUT BIOMETRIC FOR OVERRIDE,” the letters read. Rin leaned over the corpse’s face and a quick flash of light like a camera flash was reflected in Haze’s eye.

“IRIS SCAN SUCCESSFUL,” the message said when Rin sat back up and looked at the wall. “DISABLE CURRENT DIRECTIVES?”

When he replied in the affirmative, the next words displayed were: “PREVIOUS DIRECTIVES SUCCESSFULLY DISABLED. DO YOU WISH TO INPUT NEW DIRECTIVES?”

For just a moment, Reznik was tempted to give Rin new directives to keep her honest in upholding her end of their bargain. But he realized that doing that would make him no better than Haze. He found the whole process distasteful. She had entrusted him with access to her command mode, and he knew he would feel guilty if he took advantage of that. Besides, he would much rather earn her trust instead of having to compel her by using the token.

“No new directives. Do I need to do anything else, Rin?” She shook her head and he continued, “Disable command mode.”

“COMMAND MODE DISABLED.”

The projection winked out and the red glow was gone from Rin’s eye.

“That takes care of that,” she said. “Now I should be of more use to you in our upcoming confrontation.”

They entered the portal room and were again met with the grim sight of the woman hanging by the electrical cord in the open bay. The corpse was bloated, and in a much more advanced state of decay than the last time they had seen it. Reznik looked around, trying to determine the best way to climb up and untie the cord. Rin watched him for a moment.

“Shall I do it?” she asked. Reznik shrugged, not seeing an easy alternative.

Rin sprang into the air, and faster than the eye could follow, drew her katana and severed the cord just above the corpse’s head in one smooth motion. She sheathed the sword again before her feet hit the ground.

The corpse hit the ground with a sickening splat as the abdomen ruptured. Fluid from the abdominal cavity splattered on the concrete and fetid gas was released into the air. Reznik backpedaled before he could get hit with what was sure to be an even riper stench.

Holding his breath, he moved in and grasped the length of cord and dragged the corpse to the side of the bay and then unwound the cord from around its neck. He made a mental note to find a cloth to cover the body with.

“Maybe that wasn’t the best idea,” he muttered as he joined Rin on the loading dock. “It wasn’t right to leave her hanging there, but it sure left a nasty mess to clean up.”

“Well there’s going to be a much worse mess to clean up before we are done here,” she replied.

“I guess we should be glad that this mission doesn’t entail any clean up, then,” he quipped.

After that, it was just a matter of making preparations for the impending confrontation.