JACK SWANSON SAT IN A LAB hidden deep in the mountains of Deer Lodge Montana. In deep thought, he realized that the dream of melding man and machine was evolving into reality. Hmm, the evolution of man and machine might be able to help me with my problem, Jack thought to himself as he rubbed his hands together. He looked at the two books lying next to his keyboard and then his thoughts exploded into mountains of creativity. Martin Caidin wrote The God Machine in nineteen sixty-eight, which sparked the imagination of millions of readers. It also got the attention of scientists and researchers worldwide. When he wrote Cyborg in nineteen seventy-eight, the truth birth of cybernetics occurred.
Jack put both of the books down then rubbed his chin while pondering the idea of the books. What if there was a way to transfer my soul to a cybernetic body? he thought to himself, Just then lights went off in his head. Jack picked up his cup of coffee then walked around the lab. He wanted to view his employer Cybertix’s progress in creating cyborg soldiers to fight against any enemy worldwide. On the far east side of the lab stood several cybernetic arms and legs in their development stages. To the right side of him stood cybernetic brains and all other parts needed to make a cybernetic soldier. The lab itself seemed massive in size.
It was time for him to finish his coffee then read from the morning paper. The newspaper published many stories about a huge amount of the population using cyborgs in the private sector. The government itself seemed to deny any involvement in cyborgs, which Jack knew better.
Today, he wanted to complete the building and testing of cybernetic eyes. Reading the paper would relax his mind and create an environment conducive for creativity. The newspaper’s date of December twentieth, twenty thirty seemed to have some special meaning to him. Where in the hell has this year gone? Jack thought to himself as he buried himself in building eyes at Cybertix.
The newly created cybernetic eyes would be able to see over five hundred miles with clarity and conciseness. With permission from N.A.S.A. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), Jack inserted lasers in both the right and left eyes. The technology sharing helped him to create eyes used to fight enemies of humanity, freedom and national security.
Many hours passed by, before Jack realized it was time for lunch. He decided to go outside and breathe some cold wintry crisp air. Reaching over to the right side of his desk, he grabbed his lunch then headed outside. As he walked past security, the cold air hit his face then astounded him. The cold air rejuvenated Jack’s senses as he walked toward the lake built by the engineers of Cybertix.
He took his socks and shoes off then placed them in water from the shore. It made him shiver and gasp from the extremely cold temperature of the water. Hearing his stomach growl, he took out a sandwich then took a big bite. The wintry landscape looked beautiful and refreshing. He watched a group of deer run across the field with grace and finesse. Up in the sky, a bald eagle flew then gave off a huge, bellowing yell. It was his way of declaring freedom for all. The sound of the lake water flowing over the rocks symbolized purity. It seemed to cleanse his thoughts of all stresses and pressures of his job.
Jack realized that his days on this earth were numbered. The cancer of his stomach and liver made him realize his mortality would soon end. Just as he took another bite of his lunch, his boss Josie Whaler snuck up on him. She looked like something out of a female body builder magazine. Josie sat at the shore, copied Jack, and put her bare feet in the cold water. Her fire engine colored hair shined then glistened in the wintry sunlight. Josie’s eyes were as blue and crisp as the ocean. Even with a body sculpted out of the Greek gods, her bosom seemed to bulge out of her shirt. Jack realized that she was way out of his league. Shit, I had better slap myself out of drooling over her body.
“Jack, we have something to talk about before time passes by.”
“What would that be boss?”
“You are one of my best employees here at Cybertix. I have come to a decision and what I am about to tell you must never be revealed to anyone.”
“Stop beating around the fucking bush, spill it!”
“Nobody knows in the lab that you are dying of cancer. I am aware that our company is going to lose a very big asset. Therefore, to put it in simple terms, a few of my trusted colleagues and I have transported parts for you to build a complete cybernetic body to your cabin. They used the tunnels used during the prohibition days for shipment of moonshine allowing us to move the cyborg parts without detection. Something else that I am also aware of is that you are studying soul transference. Correct me if I am wrong, you plan to transfer your soul to a cybernetic body at the point of death.”
“How in the Hell do you know this?”
“Jack, you are just going to have to trust me on this. You only have about four months left but our company wanted to help you with your innovative idea. I plan to do the same upon my own death.”
“It is really nice to have a boss that cares that much for me. You are telling me that you support this and have no objections.”
“Yes sir, if you tell anyone about this conversation, I will deny it ever took place. You also have a direct link to our supercomputers.”
Josie put her shoes on then she walked back into the lab. Jack’s eyes stayed glued to watching Josie’s ass as she walked back inside the lab. Mm, someday I want to make love to that, he naughtily thought to himself. Watching her made sweat roll down his brow, then caused a fire inside of his loins.
She left Jack to ponder and realize the big favor that his employer was doing for him. He headed back to the lab to finish out his workday after putting his socks and shoes on. Many of his colleagues greeted him and asked about his progress throughout the day.
Looking at this watch, he realized that his shift had ended several hours ago. Jack closed and secured his part of the lab, clocked out then headed to his old nineteen sixty-eight Ford Truck. Under the hood, the truck had an engine so powerful that a huge truck would be envious. The roads looked very slick but Jack adjusted to the road conditions then drove safely to his cabin. The cabin was located fifteen miles from the lab but it seemed like a hundred to Jack.
Two hours later, he pulled into his driveway to find his old and dear friend Ralph ready to greet him. His wolf dog walked with his muscular legs flexing and his tail wagging wildly. Jack looked into Ralph’s orange-colored eyes and smiled.
“How are you doing?” he asked while petting Ralph’s thick salt and pepper-colored fir.
Ralph responded back with his tail wagging and licking Jack’s fingers. He knew that his dog must be famished. They walked into the cabin. Jack quickly opened up a can of dog food then put it in a bowl for Ralph. The cabin seemed cold, which caused Ralph some discomfort. Jack started a fire that heated the entire cabin then went into his bedroom.
He sat on his bed then took a big gulp of water from his glass with his cancer medications, which was something that he detested. The water felt good to his parched tongue. The pills tasted nasty, like drinking dirty bath water. He almost threw up as the last pill went down his throat.
Jack opened a trap door that led to his lab. He looked around then walked down the set of stairs. Just as Josie promised, parts to build a complete cyborg lay on the table of his lab. Jack’s eyes got as big as silver dollars. Ideas went off in his head like an explosion of fireworks. Ralph knew where his master was and could come and be with him with the use of a special passage ways designed for him.
Jack sat at his supercomputer, turned it on to do some further research on spirit transference. After hours of research, he discovered that there were two types, good and evil. When the transfer took place, it would put him in a vulnerable position. The powers of good and evil would be at his fingertips. He needed to hold fast to the good side of the spirit world.
In the remaining months left in his life, Jack spent every waking moment outside of work inside of his home lab. Ralph watched his master’s body slowly fade away. Jack went from a blond haired, blue eyed, six foot, forty-year-old man that weighed two hundred and seventy pounds to a man of one hundred and two pounds with his head completely bald from chemo therapy, which did not seem to prolong his life. Ralph looked at Jack continually with very sad eyes. The wolf dog knew that his master’s days on this earth would be ending.
Finally, the day had come for him to test out the cyborg that he named Adam, which symbolized the beginning of humanity. Ralph seemed to be a little alarmed about the cyborg. He went upstairs to hide from the strange machine. Jack finally put the cybernetic eyes into the sockets and hoped that they would work fine. Jack designed Adam to look exactly like him. The cybernetic eyes looked just like his. The blond hair looked so close to human it was uncanny. Adam’s height matched Jack, which was six feet. Wow! It is just like looking in a fucking mirror, he giggled to himself.
Jack unplugged all of the cords hooked up to Adam and was ready to turn him on. He turned on his supercomputer and activated the boot procedure for the cyborg to wake up. The hair on the back of his neck stood up in nervousness. Within five minutes, the advanced piece of machinery sat up then looked at him. Jack had worked on every small detail. The cyborg had an artificial digestive system that would work like a human body. The sex glands he built with skin pretty darn close to a human. Adam’s movements were not robotic. They were just like any human. The cyborg got up, walked over to Jack then and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Who am I and where am I?”
“Your name is Adam and you are a cyborg, or an artificial humanoid.”
“Why did you create me, master?”
“Adam, I am dying of cancer and we are going to share that body. I will only do it if your approval is with me on this subject.”
Tears streamed from his eyes. Jack had created a life form able to discern feelings and act as if he were human.
Jack put Adam on a treadmill to gauge how fast he could run. He started with Adam running at sixty miles an hour then seventy, eighty then one hundred. It was time to push the limit. Jack went in increments of twenty until he reached three hundred miles an hour. Adam’s legs were nothing but a blur. Carefully, Jack gradually slowed down the treadmill down to zero. Adam stepped down full of sweat as if he was human. Jack handed him a jug of water and watched him gulp the whole gallon down. The ultimate test for Adam would be to consume a meal, digest it then dispose of it like a human.
Adam followed Ralph and Jack into the living room. Jack cooked up a couple of steaks, salad and baked potatoes. Adam sat on the couch stroking Ralph’s fur while he slept. The cyborg studied his surroundings. His eyes recorded everything around him. Adam used his nose for the first time and could recognize what Jack cooked up.
“You are cooking up steak, salad and baked potatoes.”
“That is one hundred percent correct Adam. Your scent glands are working, as they should similar to that of a human.”
Jack smiled as all of them sat down to enjoy the meal. He watched patiently as Adam consumed all of his steak. Ralph gnawed on a bone then watched Adam in awe. As soon as they finished the meal, Jack knew it would take four hours for Adam to digest the food. They spent those four hours watching television and acting almost like a family. Adam felt a pain in his stomach. Jack immediately took him by the hand and showed him what to do in the bathroom. He watched Adam pass the waste out of his body. When he finished, Jack looked at it and was almost human. Damn, sometimes amaze myself. I have created a God Machine!
The next thing to do would be to test out the sex glands to make sure they were in working order. Ralph went outside to go to the bathroom. Jack took Adam back into the lab and laid him down on the table. He put a chip into the back of Adam’s ear that would show him nude female images. Jack wanted to make sure that all of the artificial hormones were working and that Adam could ejaculate just like a human. He put Adam to sleep nude and covered only by a sheet. He turned his back to give Adam privacy.
Over an hour later, he watched as Adam’s penis grew engorged and then ejaculated from seeing the female images implanted into his memory banks. Damn, I did a good job creating Adam.
There were several tunnels built years ago dug by miners and moonshiners underneath the cabin. It would be a good place to take Adam and himself to allow the spirit transfer to take place. Jack picked a good-sized tunnel that led to a cave used by miners years ago to harvest minerals and coal. He packed enough food for Ralph for a thousand years. Adam and Jack made it so Ralph could come and go as he pleased.
Jack called his attorney and made sure all of his things were in order legally. The lab that employed Jack placed him on terminal medical leave. As the days progressed, Jack became weaker. He stopped taking all medication relating to the cancer. Ralph looked him with very sad eyes and licked his hand every night while he watched his master wither away into nothing. Jack only weighed ninety-eight pounds. Finally, on a Friday night, it was time to gather up everything needed to leave the cabin. Adam moved all food and water containers for both Jack and Ralph into the cave.
At three the next morning, Ralph, Adam and Jack made themselves at home in the cave. Jack’s body seemed to be shutting down on him. He placed Adam on a table and put his body to sleep with very shaky and unstable hands. Months prior, he had collected huge amounts of data relating to cybernetics, science, math and everything else needed. He plugged the live feed in the back of Adam’s ear. This would allow his cyborg brain to digest and process for the next millennium. Jack figured that a millennium would be enough time for humanity to adjust to a new life form.
Blood dripped out of Jack’s mouth as he lay on the bed next to Adam. With machines hooked to his body, he closed his eyes. The machines were there to monitor his vital signs until death. Ralph looked at him with tears streaming down his nose. It was too painful to watch, he left the cave to allow his master to die in peace. Jack put some Mozart on with some ocean sounds in the background to set his mind at ease with the surroundings.
As his body continued to shut down, it was time for him to focus and transfer his soul into Adam’s body. Boy, I sure hope this works for my sake, Jack thought to himself as blood and waste dripped from his cancer-ridden body.
Before Jack knew it, he found himself standing there looking over his body. The machines tracking his vitals showed all flat lines. Am I truly dead? Jack asked himself as he tried to touch his body and it went all the way through it. He had the sneaking feeling that someone was there watching him. To his left he could see a black image that looked at him with fiery orange-colored eyes. This evil creature gave off a scream that could be heard throughout all the tunnels. This made Jack stand there with a deep-seated fear in his heart. This black image looked at him with hypnotic eyes. Jack felt pulled by him. Did I leave a good life? Am I going to hell? Is this what God had in store for me? Is my sentence an eternity of misery? he thought in complete and utter terror. With a feeling of extreme nervousness, he looked behind him and about fell on the ground.
“Hello master, I am the artificially created soul of Adam. It is time for me to escort you into my body before something evil takes your soul. You are in a very vulnerable state of existence. That black image you are seeing wants to enslave you in an eternity of Hell and damnation.”
“How could this be, you are simply a machine?” he asked with a very confused and alarmed look in his spirit.
“Do not be alarmed, time is of the essence.”
Adam’s appearance seemed to alarm Jack but he warmed up to the idea. With skepticism, Jack took Adam’s hand and they both walked into the cybernetic body.
***
A month later, Adam had the ability to keep Jack’s soul asleep. It was time to build a surprise for Jack. Adam corresponded with Josie by computer. She provided parts to build a cybernetic wolf dog. When the parts arrived, Adam went into Jack’s lab and created a cyborg dog. Within a month, Ralph’s cyborg body was finished. It looked like him in every way shape and form. Ralph and Adam looked at each other and smiled. With the translation module in his body, he could talk with Ralph.
“You do realize that this will allow Jack and yourself to live on for the next thousand years, right?”
“Yes, Adam I am familiar with what has to be done.”
Adam and Ralph walked down to the cave. Ralph lay down on the floor of the cave. Adam plugged the live feed into his ear and went to sleep. He looked forward to waking up in the year thirty-thirty.
Chapter One
God Machines
YEARS AND DECADES PASSED while Jack and Ralph remained asleep in the cave. Many things in the world changed. World War III had come and gone. Russia, Korea used their nuclear arsenal against the United States. The freedom and stable government that existed before Jack’s passing was no longer. Rumor upon rumor flew world wide of cyborgs taking over and enslaving the human race. The world presently looked like something out of a holocaust. The beautiful landscape of forest and trees no longer existed. As far as anyone could see, it was all a nuclear waste dump. Many of the wildlife had mutated into strange and violent beings from the radiation of the nuclear weapons. Humans and their offspring mutated into strange savage creatures. The descendants had two sets of lungs and two hearts. Many of the females were born with three nipples. The necessity just to eat and exist seemed to be the priority among many.
May fifth, thirty-thirty finally came inside the cave of their deep sleep. Ralph’s cybernetic brain was the first to initialize and wake up. He got up and shook his body. Dust flew all over the cave. Jack stirred and then got up to look around.
“Ralph is that you old boy?”
“Yes, it is me. I have the ability to talk with you like a human. Adam built a voice modulator that allows me to speak as a human. Josie and he also developed this body, which allowed me to be with you once more in the future.”
“It is a very big honor to have you with me. Our journey from this point is going to flow better with you and me together.”
“There is good news and some bad news. What would you like to hear first?”
“Start out with the bad then lead to the good.”
“World War III has come and gone in the last thousand years. Much of the landscape that existed here in Deer Lodge is gone. The government that we love and cherished is also gone. Sadly, the human race has become slaves to a superior cyborg race built off the technology that you created over a thousand years ago.”
“You are just messing with me, right?”
“Nope I am not messing with you Jack. It is up to us to build a team and change this.”
Jack and Ralph made their way out of the cave to find the cabin as a huge pile of rubble. Dust flew while Jack picked up a big boulder that blocked the doorway outside. With ease, he threw it high in the air as if it were a pebble.
“Stop showing off Jack, it might attract unneeded attention.”
Before Jack could respond to Ralph there were five guns pointing at them and ready to shoot. Sweat rolled down Jack’s brow while he stood there frozen as a statue. Out of the midst, walked a huge amazon sized woman with scars all over her arms. Alongside her walked a huge man with long black hair with muscles that bulged out of his clothes. The clothes they were wearing seemed to fit the era of The Vikings.
“Identify who you are or we will shoot you where you stand,” the female said with an authoritative tone.
Jack and Ralph scanned the five strangers and noticed one of the girls had fire engine red hair. Her body appeared sculpted out of the molds of the Greek Gods. No this cannot be. She would have been dead ages ago, Jack quietly said to himself. Her bosoms looked like they were going to explode out of her shirt. When building Adam, Jack manufactured a scanner inside of the circuits of the cyborg to detect other cyborgs. Both Jack and Ralph scanned the body of this woman then confirmed that she was a cyborg. She walked up to them and scanned their bodies.
“Josie Whaler, you have successfully transferred your soul to a cyborg. The resemblance to your former self is uncanny.”
“I told you that my interests in soul transference matched that of yours. Yes, it is I and the body that you built is good. Everyone here please put your weapons away. I will let my old friend introduce himself.”
“My name is Jack Swanson and this is Ralph. My dog and I have successfully transferred our souls in these cybernetic bodies. Who in the Hell are you? This is my land that you are currently standing on.”
“You are the father of all cyborgs. My name is Shana Oggel and this is my husband, Rodolfo. We escaped with some of the other human prisoners at a camp about twenty miles from this pile of rubble. The human race is a minority at this point. Your technology went into the wrong hands over the last thousand years. They also used soul transference and basic humans are now slaves to an evil, superior race. Evil, murderous souls have been pulled from Hell and transferred to cyborgs.”
“When did the cyborgs take over?” Ralph asked while Shana and Rodolfo talked amongst about themselves.
“A talking wolf dog? What the Hell is going here?”
“Once a group of scientists broke into your lab and stole your technology, it spread worldwide. Cyborgs enslaved the human race January first, three thousand,” Rodolfo said as he came over to pet Ralph’s thick wolf fur.
“Ralph and you will need to come to our camp. You are an antique and I have some upgrades for both of you,” Josie said with an alluring look in her eyes toward Jack.
“What kind of upgrades are we talking about Josie?” Ralph asked as his ears perked up.
“To start out with your maximum speed with your cybernetic legs is three hundred miles per hour. With the implants that I am going to put in there, you will max out at one thousand miles per hour. The heart that Cybertix invented a thousand years ago is obsolete. In fact, it will only last two hundred years. The one that I have invented regenerates every one hundred years. The eyes that you invented though very innovative are also obsolete. The eyes that we have at our camp will have the same abilities but also will allow you to see through metal of any form. The last upgrade that needs to be done to your whole cybernetic body is artificial regeneration.”
“What is artificial regeneration?” Jack asked while scratching his head.
“An example would be if some other cyborg shoots a laser at your arm. The arm falls to the ground. Your body will regenerate another one in its place.”
“You built what Martin Caidin referred to as a God Machine.”
Everyone headed to the camp to relax and get to know each other. Jack noticed that Josie seemed to be infatuated with his appearance. Her eyes remained glued on him the whole way back to the camp. Hmm, maybe she’s not out of my league after all.
The camp itself appeared humble. The group built a lab for Josie, which would be Jack and Ralph’s home for the next month. They figured out a way to purify the radioactive meat they consumed. Their camp itself remained close to a neighboring stream to provide them with clean drinking water purified by rock and chemicals created by Josie. Due to the spring, some trees and vegetation grew, which transformed the damage of the nuclear holocaust into something livable. Shana seemed to be the head of the camp. She decided to prepare a meal before the upgrades would start. Rodolfo started a big bonfire then pulled out some meat to cook on the fire. The rest of the group checked their weapons preparing to fight at the drop of hat if it was required of them. Shana prepared some venison and everyone including Jack and Ralph consumed it.
“This meat sure smells good and also tastes good,” Ralph said while using his super strong jaws to chew the meat.
When everyone finished his or her meal, the evening hours approached. Darkness fell and everyone accept Josie, Jack and Ralph remained awake. They walked into Josie’s lab to start the upgrades.
Josie laid Jack down on the table of her lab to start upgrading his body. Ralph gnawed on a bone while watching Josie work on Jack. She shut him down and plugged some feeds into his body. The first thing she implanted was the newly upgraded eyes. Josie then opened the panel of Jack’s chest and removed the cybernetic heart that remained beating as she sat it on a tray next to him. The new one skillfully fit into his chest like a glove. Josie asked Ralph to leave the lab for a while to allow her to upgrade his legs. She undressed him completely and revered the hunky body of her old friend. Her eyes pretty much told the story about what she saw. Damn, he looks similar to that of a horse, Jose thought while looking at his crotch. At the same time, she opened a panel in each leg and put the implants into the existing circuits of his legs. The last step was to setup a transfusion of his old artificial blood. The new artificial blood contained microcircuits that would regenerate when a part of his body part separated from his body. With the upgrade complete, she plugged in a live feed and updated his memory banks with current events that he had missed from the time he went to sleep to the time he woke up.
Ralph walked in and she did the same upgrades to Ralph as he slept on the table. Thirty-six hours later, Jack and Ralph woke up from the table to find Josie drinking a cup of coffee and smiling at them.
“How do you feel, boys?”
“Not much different but it’s time that we tested out these new upgrades. This is to make sure that you were not filling our memory banks with garbage.”
“Jack, you cuss like you are still in the marines. Show some manners when you are in the presence of a lady,” Josie said scornfully.
Josie threw a set of sweats and running shoes toward Jack. He, with a hint of rebellion on his mind, put them on. There were hundreds of miles where they could run to test out their new legs. She put a digital readout watch on Jack’s right wrist, Ralph’s left leg and her own right wrist. All of them looked at each other then walked out of the lab.
Everyone in the camp smiled at them as they started in a flat sprint. Ralph appeared to be leading the pack. The digital readout on his leg climbed rapidly as he looked back at Josie and Jack.
“What is the matter? Why aren’t both of you keeping up with me?”
This pissed off Jack. His newly upgraded legs become nothing but a blur as he quickly passed Ralph with Jody by his side. Ralph kicked in the afterburner and came up right alongside of them. When their legs hit the ground, it sounded like thunder from the Heavens. They were going fast enough to out run the devil as if he were chasing them. Jack quickly looked at his wrist and he had reached eight hundred miles an hour.
“It is time to see what these hummers got!” Jack yelled as he pushed his cybernetic legs to the limit.
The skin on their faces peeled back as they approached a thousand miles an hour. Sweat rolled off every pore of their bodies. Each of them slowed down to stop for a second. None of them appeared winded or even tired. Beads of sweat rolled off his brow as he scanned around him. Jack looked through a boulder then noticed a hidden arctic spring. His tongue felt like a piece of sand paper. He quickly ran toward the boulder, picked up and threw it like a little pebble found on the ground. His eyes shot lasers with the remaining rock and water shot out of a hole. Josie smiled as all of them drank the cool water.
“So, you see, I am not bullshitting you at all. These upgrades are one hundred percent legit.”
Jack looked at Josie and Ralph then started out in a flat sprint back to the camp.
“Last one to the camp is a rotten egg!”
On the way, Ralph stopped in his tracks and gave out a deafening yelp.
Jack and Josie quickly stopped to see why Ralph stopped suddenly. As they walked up to Ralph, they noticed his paw stuck in a trap meant for a mutated bear. His blue artificial blood gushed out from his paw.
“Ralph chew off your paw!” she yelled with an urgent tone.
“Why in the Hell would I want to do that?”
With his jaws growling at Jack and Josie, he reluctantly chewed off his paw. The pain sensors kicked into high gear. Ralph looked at his dismembered paw. Miraculously, another paw grew in its place. Within five minutes, Jack stood there with his jaw dropping to the ground with a holy shit look on his face. Ralph got up and pranced around as if he were the alpha wolf. Acting as if he was still in pain, Jack and Josie walked up to him to comfort him. In a ploy of tricks as soon as they sat down next to them, he got up and started out in a flat sprint to the camp.
“Why you son of a bitch, I am still going to beat you!” Jack said while he and Josie made every attempt to catch up to Ralph.
As all of them approached the clearing to the camp, everyone watched in awe. Everything almost appeared as if in slow motion. Jack pulled up ahead then Ralph would stride and pass him up. Josie came alongside both of them then passed them. With his tongue hanging out of his mouth, Ralph entered the camp first. He slowed down with his nose in the air and his tail wagging. Boy! I sure showed them who’s boss.
Jack, Josie and Ralph wiped the sweat from their bodies then quenched their deep seated thirst. They rested and recharged themselves for their first mission as the dream team.
Shana poked the fire with a stick while in deep thought developing a plan. Josie looked concerned about how the group would go about getting the humans out of their prison. Jack and Ralph sat right alongside Josie.
“There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before we even attempt breaking the humans out of the camp. Where are we going to store them? How are we going to feed them? Can we really provide them safety? Have you thought about this long and hard?” Jack asked with a concerned look on his face.
“Every living soul within that camp deserves freedom. As far as where to store them or provide safety, they will be with us. I am very concerned about a food supply for everyone. Most of the lands cannot sustain life. Nuclear waste contaminated the soil. My other worry is the mission itself. We cannot afford too much loss of life.”
“Judging by my investigation, the camp itself is controlled by another collective. Someone remotely controls all of the cyborgs. We could capitalize on this weakness. There are very big machines that are programmed to kill upon being ordered to,” Josie said trying to ease the situation.
“By another collective you mean controlled from another location. Ralph, Josie and I should be the ones that go in there. The rest of you could cover us with laser fire.”
“They have cameras all over the compound. This seems impossible to accomplish,” Shana said with a defeated look in her eyes.
“If this camp is run remotely, we could make the camera loop over and over. All that would take is a laptop and a good Wi-Fi connection. In addition, I can program Jack, Ralph and myself to run our circuits on a lower frequency. This will make it as if the cyborgs do not even see us if we were walking right in front of them,” Josie said with an expression of light bulbs going off in her head.
“I have an idea to fix some of this land. We could do a controlled burn and use some very hot water from the hot springs up on this mountain. Our group could give about a hundred acres to plant some food. There are enough animals to feed our group for years. Let’s get our act together and make this happen.”
For the next week prior to the mission, Jack put his idea into motion. Over one hundred acres turned green with vegetation. Shana, Rodolfo, and the rest of the crew planted seeds. Some others hunted and made sure the camp had plenty of food to go around. Josie figured out a way to block the cameras. She made them show the same images to those who were controlling the camp.
If this is the case, our group should seize control of the whole camp. This may cause a war but it is time that humanity stood up for itself, Jack thought to himself as he counted how many laser guns they had in stock. Ralph seemed to be watching the whole camp. He appointed himself the guardian. Shana and Josie put the final touches on the mission’s plans. They all agreed that it would be best to strike at night.
The next evening everyone got ready for battle. Josie grabbed one of the laptops from the lab and her own laser gun. Ralph had the expression of a warrior on his face as he watched everyone else. Jack seemed to be making every effort to relax and keep his mind level for the battle.
Jack noticed an expression on Josie’s face. It looked like she’d accessed something that would be crucial to the mission. Shana and Rodolfo noticed it too. Ralph eventually caught on.
“What are you thinking about Josie?”
“I was just accessing my memory banks and remembering something. Over one thousand turned off cyborg shells are still at Cybertix. We could use them. You and I need to run over there with Ralph. We could activate and use them for protection during the battle.”
“There are some concerns about that. If you activated all of them at once, it would attract the enemy.”
“I have adjusted our bodies to run at a lower radio frequency. You and I could do the same with them.”
“Can they run independently or does one of us need to control their every move?” Ralph asked while his ears perked up.
“They will run independently and will follow every order given by me. I will also adjust their commands to follow orders given by Jack.”
“What do they look like?”
“They are simply all patterned after Jack’s appearance. The insides of them are metallic and alloy skeleton. Their eyes shine with a yellow internal laser. We could probably take over the camp itself and seize control of it.”
“Boy, we sure know who Josie has the hots for even to this day,” Ralph said as he showed his fangs and smiled big.
“Yes, I do have to admit. I have had eyes for Jack for many years. He was just too modest to pursue me because I was his boss. After this is all over, he and I are definitely going to have some face time.”
Jack, Josie and Ralph left and jogged back over to Cybertix. Jack looked over to Josie and watched her bosom go up and down. I was just too much of a chicken shit to pursue her but come hell or high water, I am going to have her all to my own.
Before they knew it, they were standing on the northeast side of the complex. There were large cyborg drones guarding the perimeter. Jack knew that some of the labs at Cybertix were deep into the ground and surrounded by lead. He knew what Josie had in mind. A huge boulder stood in the way to a trap door that would allow them access into the mountain. Using one arm, he rolled the boulder out of the way. Josie shot lasers out of her eyes to force the panel to short circuit and open. Ralph kept an eye out for them as the door opened all of them rushed in with Jack shutting the door behind them. They rapidly made their way deep into the lower levels of the lab. As soon and Jack and Josie found the door to the lab, they looked at each other and kissed passionately. Oh my God, get a room you two, Ralph thought to himself. They opened the door and quickly shut it behind them.
Jack and Ralph’s mouth fell to the ground as Josie turned all of the lights on. The cyborgs stood in hard clear containers. They all resembled Jack but their bodies looked like something out of an Incredible Hulk movie. They stood there in awe of the numbers and appearance of their army.
“Do you remember how to activate them?”
“Yes, because my retina is cyborg it would not work with the scan. Everything in this lab is set with passwords. Once I walk over to this terminal and type the password, all of the doors to their chambers will be open. Every one of them will boot up, open their eyes and then await orders. These cyborgs were the prototype for the government to use as soldiers.”
Josie showed no hesitation in booting up the supercomputer and typing the password, Adam. They watched in awe as the door to each of the cyborg’s unit opened. Dust flew from each container. It was like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Like a wrinkle in time, each of the cyborgs opened their eyes. They broke free of the straps holding them and walked outside of their cell. Every one of them looked at Josie as if she were their mother. As each of them walked completely out of their cell, their steps made the whole room shake. They were naked and their muscles flexed with each step. Josie stood there in awe of her creations.
“Our army is ready, Let’s find some clothes for them and get back to camp,” Jack said with authority in his voice.
Right before ordering the army out of the complex, Josie programmed them to follow orders from Jack. She also made their circuits ran off a lower radio frequency to avoid detection. Inside of their cells were a set of clothes, a laser gun and some good running shoes. They put them on as ordered by Jack. It was time for them leave. The entrance to the tunnel was not far from the lab. When all were ready, Jack decided to address them as their leader.
“All of you will follow my orders to the letter and will not question them. We have a big fight on our hands but I am sure that we will come out the victors.”
“Yes father, we will follow your every lead.” This answer echoed from all of the soldiers like a huge church choir.
Jack, Josie and Ralph led as the others followed. Jack pulled the door off its hinges and they walked in the tunnel. A few moments later, all of them jogged behind them to keep up. Ralph ran ahead of the whole group to ensure the safety of the whole group. The whole group ran with high speed to get to their destination. The closer they got the faster they went. Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at Jack’s cabin. They quickly followed Jack, Josie and Ralph to the camp. Shana’s eyes got big when she and the whole group saw the cyborg soldiers walking behind them to the camp.
The evening hours approached and the group agreed that there was no better time than the present. Jack sat and ate a piece of purified meat and drank from a bottle of water. Shana knew that Jack had some questions. She sat down next to him to prepare to answer them.
“Exactly how many prisoners are in this camp?”
“When Rodolfo and I were in there, we counted five hundred. That number is low because there are more arriving each day. I cannot give you a correct number.”
“Josie and I decided that with the soldiers, we are just going to take over the camp. Supplies will need rationing for everyone. There will be a need to appoint a leader among them. There should be one appointed for every one hundred people. We also may have to kill some of the enemy. If need be, we will harvest their parts and utilize everything that we can. Once we have control of the camp, the captives will need cleaning and proper clothing to give them their pride and dignity. Do you have anything that you think needs to be said, Josie?”
“Nope, I think that you covered most of what I was going to say.”
The moment finally came to liberate the camp. Josie carried her laptop and was ready to use it when Jack gave her the signal. All of the cyborgs walked in ranks right behind them. Within minutes, they arrived at the prisoner’s camp.
Chapter Two
Liberation
JACK HAD A VERY INTENSE LOOK on his face. He looked left then right before uttering the order to move in on the camp. Josie scrambled the surveillance cameras, which would allow the group to avoid detection for not too long. At the same time, Josie made sure every one of the cyborgs ran at a lower radio frequency to give them an advantage. Ralph looked very intense as his cybernetic eyes shined a fiery red light. The closer everyone got to the camp, the more intense things became. The cyborg’s steps sounded like trees falling to the ground. Sweat ran down the brows of Shana and Rodolfo as they approached the entrance. They looked at Jack with the expression of victory in their eyes.
The first cyborg came out carrying a huge laser gun and drew first blood. He hit Jack in the leg, which knocked him on his ass. Blue blood seeped from his leg as he looked back at the cyborg then shot him between the eyes. Jack immediately got back up. The wound healed itself as the army of cyborgs made their way further into the camp. Everyone noticed that the movements of the cyborgs guarding this camp seemed to be robotic. They moved like machines with little or no emotion. This told Josie that someone controlled them remotely. Jack directed them to split into two groups. He also instructed them to kill any cyborg in their path and secure the camp. Shana and Rodolfo took charge, split up with some of the cyborgs then went to the east side of the camp.
Jack, Josie and Ralph continued to the center of the camp. The human prisoners’ location was dead ahead and Josie knew it. Before they approached the entrance to the cage holding the prisoners, a huge cyborg came out of the ground. It looked to be close to eighty feet tall. Inside of its cockpit, two other cyborgs controlled every move of this goliath-sized cyborg.
“The only thing to do is to shoot the cyborgs in the cockpit.”
“Which one of us is the best shot?” Jack asked with sweat rolling off his brow.
“During the transfer of my soul to this body, I programmed my cyborg memory banks to be an expert marksman. I will do this. Step back and cover me while I aim for the cockpit,” Josie said with her eyes focused on the cyborg.
This reminds me of David and Goliath. The only difference is its Josie verses Goliath. I really hope she will kick their ass, Jack thought as the hair on the back of his neck stood up in a big adrenaline rush. He and some of the remaining cyborgs covered Josie as she raised her laser gun high in the air. She put the setting to magnum, which would destroy anything it hit. A cyborg came over to Josie that looked like her twin. Jack’s mouth dropped to the floor when he saw them side by side. The female cyborg copied Josie and pointed her laser gun at the cockpit of the huge monstrosity of a cyborg.
“What is your name?”
“My name given to me by our creators is Ellen Cooler.”
“Ellen let us knock the shit out of this machine then take this camp for our own.”
“Yes master,” she said in a worshipful way toward Josie.
“Ellen, my name is Josie and I am not your master. I am part of your race is that clear!” she said with sweat rolling off her brow.
Ellen acknowledged Josie by nodding her head in approval. Jack shot his laser at the legs of the cyborg to make every attempt to disable it. Josie and Ellen looked at each other then shot their lasers. Jack’s cybernetic eyes could watch the laser light go in slow motion to the cockpit. Josie’s shot struck first hitting the cyborg between the eyes. The cyborg’s head exploded and convulsed inside the cockpit. A slight second later, the second shot hit the second cyborg cutting his head in half. Goliath stood there motionless looking at Jack. All of the soldiers including Josie stood there watching the two of them. It was a modernized version of Goliath. Jack walked closer to it. Goliath shot lasers at Jack’s feet. Black clouds formed in the sky. Seconds later, multiple bolts of lightning hit the huge cyborg causing him to ignite into a huge ball of fire. Everyone took out his or her lasers and shot at Goliath. An explosion was about to occur. Jack and the rest of the crew scattered like flies to avoid fallout from the nuclear batteries exploding. Like a huge tree, falling with its base cut off, Goliath fell to the ground into many pieces.
Jack, Josie and Ralph felt they had made some headway in the mission. Sadly, one hundred more cyborg warriors rose from the ground with an underground elevator. They had no human shells. Each one of them had looked like a walking metallic skeleton with yellow creepy eyes. With every cyborg, a cyborg wolf stood at its side. Ralph’s ears moved back and saliva dripped from his exposed fangs. Josie looked at Ralph with horror on her face.
“Ralph, be careful with them. You are outnumbered, my old friend, and they will kick your ass.”
“I have never lost a fight yet and I am not going to start now!” he said with fangs exposed widely at the other cyborg wolf dogs.
Jack looked at Ralph with worried eyes. He looked back at him with an expression of reassurance that all would be well. Laser fire rattled the air as the cyborgs fought against them. Many of Josie’s cyborgs fell to their death but then a light bulb went off in Jack’s head. These skeleton cyborgs had no protection from the elements. In addition, he noticed two antennas on the very top of the wall that probably controlled all of the enemy cyborgs. Josie and Ellen noticed the same thing then shot at them with their lasers. The antennas exploded and fell down the wall, the cyborgs fighting them dropped where they stood. Ralph lay on the ground with a huge amount of bite marks on his body with blue cybernetic blood oozing from each wound. He got up feeling wounded and battered. Jack, Josie were met by Shana and Rodolfo and their crew.
There were piles of cyborg bodies all over the place. Shana took a big guzzle from a water bottle. She had blood seeping from several wounds but appeared to be alive and kicking.
“For the most part, I think that our battle is over. It is time to free the prisoners.”
“Damn those drone cyborgs sure gave us a run for our money,” Ralph said while his body healed from all the bites of the cyborg wolf dogs.
“They sure did but it’s over for now. It is time to let them know that they are liberated and free. No longer prisoners of a corrupted cyborg race,” Josie said while grabbing Jack by the hand and walking to entrance of the cage holding them.
Ellen and Josie noticed there were two panels that controlled the huge cage. Ellen went to the left side and Josie went to the right. Like two sopranos in a choir, they shot the panels. Dust flew in several directions as the cage door rose up to the ceiling. Suddenly it got so quiet all that all anyone could hear is rats scurrying to avoid capture. Jack and the rest of the crew stood there speechless as they looked at the malnourished humans before them.
“When was the last time you had a good meal?” Ralph boldly asked a very elderly man standing there shaking with very little strength.
“All of us have been eating replicated food. The cyborgs invented a computer that produces anything that you ask. Sadly, the food lacks taste and needed nutrients to sustain life. To answer your question my canine friend, it has been about three years from what I can remember.”
“Those days are over. Josie can adjust this machine to produce good quality food,” Jack said while he put his hand out to this old man as a gesture of friendship.
“I recognize who you are or my eyes might be deceiving me. You are Jack Swanson, the father of all cyborgs. Is that really you sir?”
“The soul is me but the body is all cybernetic. I successfully transferred my soul. My natural body died of cancer over a thousand years ago. By the way, what is your name?”
“My name is John London, a direct decedent of the Jack London, the author of the Call of the Wild.”
“How many people do we have in here?” Josie asked.
“There are four hundred of us in this room.”
Jack and Josie let all of the prisoners know they were liberated. They had the choice to stay with the camp or leave on their own. Jack, Josie, Ralph, Shana and Rodolfo spent the new few months making the camp livable. Josie adjusted the replicator to produce good nutritional food. They also supplemented meat and food from the area where they had purified the ground.
Due to World War III, winters in Montana were extremely harsh. The months spent working in the camp allowed the winter months to creep up on them. Jack walked inside of the complex to get warm and noticed Josie and Ellen working in a lab.
“What are you girls working on?”
“One of the former prisoners is an old medicine man. He shared a secret of shape shifting with his beliefs. This could prove very useful in our future battles,” Josie said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Shape shifting huh, how in the Hell are we going use this power? None of us here are human?”
“That is where you are wrong. Ellen and I have developed a way to program it into our memory banks. In our cybernetic brains are pathways that could facilitate such a feat. Here you should watch Ellen.”
Ellen turned into an exact copy of Jack. This made his mouth almost drop to the ground. Ralph sauntered in and almost had a heart attack.
“You are not shitting me, are you?”
Josie and Ellen figured out a way to upload this new power wirelessly to all of the cyborgs in the camp along with instruction as to how and when to use it. Ellen changed back to herself with a big smile on her face. Josie put her nose into the air and then had a very foul look on her face.
“Jack, when was the last time you had a shower? Your body odor is about to make me puke.”
“We were very busy with our mission. I totally let it slip my mind.”
To his luck, there was shower and clean clothes right inside of the lab. Not being shy, he walked into the shower room. Oh my God, I fucking reek! Jack said to himself while taking his clothes off and turning the shower on and getting in.
Not being shy, Josie and Ellen decided it was also time to clean their bodies. This made Jack smile as he soaped up his sweaty cyborg body. The shower stalls were open so he could see them. They could see his exposed, chiseled, manly body. While human, Jack had a secret crush on his former boss. While washing his hair, he focused on watching Josie with her luscious body. Josie and Ellen were exact copies. Both of their bodies beautifully sculpted from the molds of the Greek Gods. Naturally, this excited Jack as he redirected his attention to his shower.
Josie had her eyes glued on his muscular, well-toned body. She and Ellen both licked their chops watching him. At some point, I am going to have that body, Josie and Ellen both thought to themselves.
Moments later, all of them finished then got dressed. Josie smiled at Jack in a flirtatious way. It was time for everyone to have a meal. Jack appeared to be very hungry but also looked like he had something on his mind. Where are we going next? Why not seize the main source of control over the human race? he thought to himself. Jody knew what direction his thoughts took him. She and Ellen walked over and sat by him in the lab. Everyone else in the camp had already begun eating his or her dinner in the newly designed cafeteria.
“Jack, Ellen and I know exactly what you are thinking. She and I link to your memory banks. Your mindset is going exactly to the source of the failure of humanity. The thought of that crossed our minds several times. Our focus should be freeing and liberating slaves first, one territory at a time. Eventually, once a large population of humans are free of their grasp is when we will attack the source. It is far too big to hit them right now. Our lives would end quickly. Our group is small and we do not have the numbers to make this happen.”
“Have we taken care of Montana?”
“Yes, in the last months, some of our scouts freed the entire population of Montana. You are going to ask where we are going to go next. Ellen and I want to run this idea past you. There is a lot action in California. The scuttlebutt is that there is a camp located in the ruins of Los Angeles California. We thought we could take about fifty percent of the cyborgs with us. Ellen, Shana and Rodolfo would stay here and make sure they remain free,” she said with a look of satisfaction on her face.
“As long as this camp remains free and has the troops to protect their freedom, I do not have a problem with going to California. Do understand that our mission is going to be long and hard. Our work is going to be huge but having the human race’s existence hanging in the balance is motivation enough for me to do my best.”
They went and joined the group for their dinner. Ralph looked outside and could see a nuclear winter storm ravishing the camp. He shivered at the very thought of going outside to relieve himself. The dinner was filling but one thing that Josie, Ellen, Jack and Ralph failed to realize is that they needed some hybrid sleep. They had been awake and on the run for months. Their circuits and nuclear batteries needed some recharging. The cyborg bodies, when in hybrid sleep, replenish themselves. Jack took a bite of meat then looked at Josie. At the same time, they thought the same thought. Everyone finished their meals and went to their sleeping quarters for the night.
Josie, Ellen and Jack set up shifts to guard the camp while others slept. Ralph found some very comfortable accommodations in Mr. Landon’s sleeping quarters. Josie, Ellen and Jack found a room with two queen size cots that would accommodate them very well Ralph shut his system down and quickly went into hybrid sleep.
Josie and Ellen put on silky nightgowns, quickly went into one of the cots then quickly went into a deep hybrid sleep. All that remained was Jack. He rubbed his square chin then lay on the second cot and quickly fell into a deep hybrid sleep.
In his dream, Jack sat in a meadow watching wild horses running freely. Their manes flew freely as their hooves hit the ground. Wow, this is a very peaceful environment for me. Jack thought to himself. He closed his eyes then ran fast as his cyborg legs could take him. He saw someone that he never spoke to or laid eyes on in over a thousand years. Moments later, he arrived and his father Jack Swanson Sr. stood before him.
“Holy shit, this for real!” he yelled and then pinched himself to make sure.
“Son, I have been sent here by our Creator to give you a message. God had some big issues with you transferring your soul to a cyborg body. Angels above including your mother watched you and your crew try to allow humanity to exist in freedom. Our Lord is about to appear to you. Where you stand has just become holy ground. He has a gift for you. This will allow you to have powers of a god. With this power, you must use prudence and never use it for personal gain.”
A blinding white light came from the sky and landed in front of Jack. The white light defied anything seen by a cybernetic eye. God’s hair and beard looked a Heavenly white color.
“Take thy shoes off, from where thou walketh is holy ground. Jack Swanson Jr., you are working to free humanity. They are slaves to a race created by their own devices. I am making you a god like unto myself. Once your mission completes, you are to ascend into the Heavens and join your family.”
“Pardon me Lord, but how are you going to make a cyborg a god? The only thing that is human inside of this body is my soul.”
“You speaketh the truth my son but your soul is going to translate into that of a god. You will possess the power of a god and all privileges there in.”
Jack felt compelled to fall down to his knees. When he did, God laid his hands on his head and then said, “Behold you are a god and a child of the highest God. Go and restore humanity to what it was once before in its entire splendor.”
When Jack blinked his eyes in his dream, everything vanished and he woke up in a cold sweat. Josie and Ellen stood in awe at what Jack’s appearance changed too. He got up and went to a mirror. His hair had changed to a completely white color. He had grown a very long white beard. Jack’s eyes had changed to gold color. A ray of brightness surrounded his whole body.
“Oh my God, this was not a dream. You will not believe what just happened to me.”
“We do know what happened and with your new powers comes responsibilities. Our Creator put you in charge of freeing the human race. You are forgetting our memory banks are linked to yours,” Josie said.
“Josie and I also have another surprise for you,” Ellen said with a proud smile.
“What do you girls have under your sleeve?” he asked with a smile.
“Using the same technology as the food replicators, we have developed a way to transport our bodies from one location to another. It takes a whole group of people, turns them into sub particles and then rematerializes them into full form in another location. This will allow us protection from detection by the enemy. What do you think of them apples?” Josie asked with big grin.
“It is a scary proposition but I think it just may work. It sounds like everything is falling into place for our next mission. Have you tested this new technology?”
“Yes, we have with Ralph as the test subject. We transported him to several locations multiple times and rematerialized safely.
“When do you want to leave for our next mission?”
