C.J. Anderson's Blog: Beyond Ruinland , page 5
December 23, 2014
Crosseyed
Dark visions of her maternal phobia. Deforming waves. Mutating elements. Altering ions. When she escaped the bunker he was exposed to the ruinland radiation. She feared him born like some crosseyed child of Chernobyl.
Sunfaded
She searched for it but it was gone. The sunfaded photo she tried to love. A snapshot of unspoken time. Her bloodline before all the divorce and division and death. How could she lose it? Some things are better lost and forgotten. New family is coming.
December 22, 2014
I am Sophia
System alert
Distress signal detected
Signal class: Military
Proceed to coordinates?
She checked the location on a holographic map. Impossible. Bunker 13. Who could have survived? The signal must be automated. She needed to know for sure.
"Where are we going?" said Anise.
"To check on some friends."
The airship altered its course and descended to investigate the source of the signal. They would only fly by once. If no survivors were visible above ground then she would leave and never look back. Not a chance in Hell would she exit the ship to search the remains of the bunker.
Artificial Intelligence: Sophia
Airship detected
Initiating databurst
M-class Search and Rescue core systems: Stable
System compatible
Databurst successful
End of line.
The airship froze in flight. All system screens went black.
"What's happening?" said Anise.
"I don't know. "
The ship began to rapidly freefall.
Anise screamed.
"Hold on!" said Vasquez. She braced her arms around the girl.
The ship suddenly stabilized and hovered over the bunker. A message appeared on the main flight screen: I am Sophia.
Distress signal detected
Signal class: Military
Proceed to coordinates?
She checked the location on a holographic map. Impossible. Bunker 13. Who could have survived? The signal must be automated. She needed to know for sure.
"Where are we going?" said Anise.
"To check on some friends."
The airship altered its course and descended to investigate the source of the signal. They would only fly by once. If no survivors were visible above ground then she would leave and never look back. Not a chance in Hell would she exit the ship to search the remains of the bunker.
Artificial Intelligence: Sophia
Airship detected
Initiating databurst
M-class Search and Rescue core systems: Stable
System compatible
Databurst successful
End of line.
The airship froze in flight. All system screens went black.
"What's happening?" said Anise.
"I don't know. "
The ship began to rapidly freefall.
Anise screamed.
"Hold on!" said Vasquez. She braced her arms around the girl.
The ship suddenly stabilized and hovered over the bunker. A message appeared on the main flight screen: I am Sophia.
Final Exit
The minutes that followed were excruciating minutes. She did not allow her mind to collapse for the sake of her son and the girl. No tears. No rage. She focused on typing the right words. Anise watched in fear and confusion. Lauren tried to comfort her with hushed promises that everything would be alright. The time that followed was a long time.
An untold miracle of agreement between the natural and the artificial. A human mother negotiated mutual survival with a synthetic matriarch. Control of the ship was restored as a reward for invaluable information. Lauren informed Sophia of the glorious megabunker and its desperate need for a new leader. They returned to the area of Fort Bragg and remotely transferred her consciousness into the bunker mainframe.
Lauren thought of her dream as the airship resumed its journey to Yukon. A reverie of happiness. Above ground. Fresh air. Sunshine. Someplace real in the unburned world. Void of war and hate and synthetics. Free of fear and religion. Heaven is a home without the machines or gods. Hell is a home without love.
An untold miracle of agreement between the natural and the artificial. A human mother negotiated mutual survival with a synthetic matriarch. Control of the ship was restored as a reward for invaluable information. Lauren informed Sophia of the glorious megabunker and its desperate need for a new leader. They returned to the area of Fort Bragg and remotely transferred her consciousness into the bunker mainframe.
Lauren thought of her dream as the airship resumed its journey to Yukon. A reverie of happiness. Above ground. Fresh air. Sunshine. Someplace real in the unburned world. Void of war and hate and synthetics. Free of fear and religion. Heaven is a home without the machines or gods. Hell is a home without love.
Heartblood
Heartblood leaked out from the wounds in his chest. Thickened apelike torso punctured by bullets. He'd been shot before and lived to tell. Hatred burned within his mind like an animal firebrand. He vowed to survive and hunt Vasquez down and skin her alive like some slaughterous manslaying vixen.
Cult of Lexa
They believed her creation was an omen. Lexa was the living link between the synthetics and God. Her faith was evidence the machines could be saved. No more doubts about the absence of soul. Lexa was not just an imitation of human. She was honored and feared as a holy lady like some thermoplastic evervirgin of God.
December 21, 2014
Sunflower
Once in her life she was happy.
A rare time of peace and love.
She holds on to those dying memories.
So old and irrelevant her remembrance.
Now what has she become?
Survivor in a nightmare of gods and machines.
Exotic form. Murderous heart.
Like some alluring hemlock sunflower.
Who could love such a woman?
A rare time of peace and love.
She holds on to those dying memories.
So old and irrelevant her remembrance.
Now what has she become?
Survivor in a nightmare of gods and machines.
Exotic form. Murderous heart.
Like some alluring hemlock sunflower.
Who could love such a woman?
Nightshaded
She waited for them. Alone. Outgunned. The long hallway outside the station would be the their entry point. Soldiers led by Commander West approached her position. Soon a blitzkrieg of madmen would pour into the corridor and try to overtake her. Too much light. Harder for them to hit a semivisible target. She shot the lamps that illuminated the hallway and lay on the floor with her rifle like a nightshaded deadeye sniper.
No one has to die
She kept a gun on the front desk nurse.
"How long to prep the airship?"
"About ten minutes."
"Can you do it remotely?"
"Yes."
"Then do it if you want to live."
The nurse began typing commands into a computer workstation.
"If that airship isn't ready in ten minutes I'm going to kill you."
A rear office door swung open and a man wearing a darkolive pilot's uniform walked out. "Why the hell are you prepping the ship?"
Vasquez held the gun on the nurse and with her free hand drew out the silenced pistol from her belt and aimed it at the pilot. He reached for his holstered sidearm. She shot him twice in the chest and he collapsed on the floor.
"No one else has to die today," she said.
"How long to prep the airship?"
"About ten minutes."
"Can you do it remotely?"
"Yes."
"Then do it if you want to live."
The nurse began typing commands into a computer workstation.
"If that airship isn't ready in ten minutes I'm going to kill you."
A rear office door swung open and a man wearing a darkolive pilot's uniform walked out. "Why the hell are you prepping the ship?"
Vasquez held the gun on the nurse and with her free hand drew out the silenced pistol from her belt and aimed it at the pilot. He reached for his holstered sidearm. She shot him twice in the chest and he collapsed on the floor.
"No one else has to die today," she said.
Assault on Med Station
Vasquez walked straight into the medical station and put a gun in the receptionist's face.
"I need an airship."
The popeyed nurse was silent.
"Now!" She halfcocked the hammer on the .45 pistol.
The nurse pointed to a door on the far wall.
"Does that door lead to the shipdock?"
The nurse nodded. Underneath the counter her fidgeting fingers activated a silent alarm. Vasquez thought about breaking the nurse's hand for alerting the military. No time. They would assault her position in minutes. She took cover in the station and prepared for war like some suicidal insurgent guerrilla.
"I need an airship."
The popeyed nurse was silent.
"Now!" She halfcocked the hammer on the .45 pistol.
The nurse pointed to a door on the far wall.
"Does that door lead to the shipdock?"
The nurse nodded. Underneath the counter her fidgeting fingers activated a silent alarm. Vasquez thought about breaking the nurse's hand for alerting the military. No time. They would assault her position in minutes. She took cover in the station and prepared for war like some suicidal insurgent guerrilla.
