Phantoms 99th Percentile Round 2: Writers Debate

Chapter 8: Debriefing"Captain?"I am lost in the sight of a tree swaying in the gentle breeze. It is infinitely more beautiful and interesting than the wood paneled room and the even more wooden panel of officials that have been questioning me all morning. I'm on earth at last, but not yet free. "I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?"The overweight chairman of my debriefing committee sighs exasperatedly. He dabs sweat from his temples with a handkerchief. "Tell me again, how did you survive the robot?"The impenetrable robot towers before me. The room has nothing useful. No consoles to give orders. No wires to pull. No tricks. Not even a gene-altering pill in sight. This gives me an idea. "So," I say, "you're just going to kill us and start over? You aren't the slightest bit curious?""About what?" echoes Brian."About how powerful I can really be. Any robot can destroy a helpless human, but can you defeat one with, say, super strength or speed?""I would be a fool to waste my scientific marvels on a defect.""Defect?" I respond. "I outsmarted and survived every test. I figured out your every motive.""But you do not obey.""So you succeeded! You created superior, genuine, free thinking life! And now you're going to destroy it before it reaches its full potential.""I should let you kill me instead?""You said I could never destroy you. Prove it!"After a long silence, a pedestal emerges from the floor with a single purple pill. Brian speaks, "Then let's push you to the limits and see if your body can handle both strength and speed.""About that," says the sweaty chairman, "There is no evidence of this robot or any pills about the USS Ark.""As I said," I assert, "The pills must have decayed during space travel.""Okay, but there was no laboratory or manufacturing system of any kind."Of course not, I think. I know they will never believe me, but I don't care. I'm back on earth and they can call me crazy as much as they like. "I can't explain what happened during my cryostasis.""Yes, about that," intones the chairman, "I thought the cryo facility was inoperative.""As did I, but that turned to be one of the AI's many deceptions. I was told the cloning facility was only to be used when cryo failed. Since cloning was operational, I assumed cryo wasn't.""And when did you realize cryo was functioning?"I consume the purple pill, which throws my body into convulsions. Sarah screams in panic. Soon I am surging with power: aggressive and fearless. The robot lunges at me and I dodge its blades as though they are moving in slow motion. I punch at the robotic body, but my brute strength manages only a minor dent.As another blade slowly swings my way, I notice how sharp it is. It's perfectly deadly. I grab the robotic arm, snap the blade free and plunge it into Brian's heart. Just like that, the robot falls to ground, lifeless.I wait for Brian to speak, but he never does. Sarah seems relieved at the robot's demise though still frightened of me. I walk to the door Brian so kindly opened for me earlier and rip it from its hinges. I reenter the lab and rummage around for the cure to Sarah's atrophy.I eventually find a cold storage unit with dozens of the red and white pills. I sit and wait for my super powers to wear off in the hopes my normal disposition will make what I am about to do easier. She needs the pill and she won't take it if she can't trust me.I talk deliberately slow, which annoys the chairman. "The pill gave the Sarah clone full access to her faculties. She was a brilliant scientist, you know. It didn't take her long to learn that the original Captain Davidson had activated the cloning facility in a desperate attempt to survive, not because cyro had failed. Once we learned cryo was operational, we decided to use it for the return trip.""But how did both of you manage to do this without the computer?" He dabs at his sweat again. The others are beginning to sweat too. I hope it means this inquiry will end soon."The robot was the product of the rogue cloning facility AI, not the ship's computer systems. It was an isolated system.""Were you confident the AI hadn't somehow taken control of the Ark's other computer systems?""What choice did I have?" I reply.It the months following Brian's destruction, we eliminate all remaining Dyrkite aboard the Ark. Now it was time to go home and begin our life together anew. Sarah and I embraced long and hard as though saying our goodbyes."You sure this is going to work?" I ask."No," she says smiling, "but I can promise you that whatever happens, I'll be right next to you." I revel in the irony that the fragile woman that needed so much consolation is now my shoulder to lean on.Sarah helps me into my pod first, hooking in the mandatory IV line. She straps my arms and legs down for safety. She kisses me one more time and says, "I love you.""I love you, too."She closes the pod door and I am locked in utter silence. I watch as she silently preps herself. "Comfortable?" asks a hauntingly familiar voice.My heart begins to race. "Brian?""Who else?""I… I killed you.""Did you? Or did you just smash a robot.""Sarah!" I yell, but she can't hear me. "Sarah! Stop! Brian is in here!""That's right, Captain," says the malicious voice. "I told you that I will always be alive.""But where did you go?""I needed you to believe I was dead so you could carry out my plan."I am flooded with dread at the thought of walking into his trap. "These aren't cryo chambers?""Oh, don't worry, they are. I need you to make it to earth in one piece, and these pods will do everything you expected them to with one… well… minor addition."Brian's primary function in the cloning facility was to implant the memories of Roger and Sarah into new clones. "Memories?""Very clever. You really are my best creation. You will suit me so well on earth." Brian's steady voice is laced with uncontainable excitement. "You see, subject 319, long before you hatched I modified the cryo pods to incorporate the memory transfer equipment from the cloning lab.""What good is it to give me Roger's memories?""I will not be giving you Roger's memories, subject 319. I will replace your personality with mine. I always said you would be great. You will be great because you will be me."I am speechless, and the thought quickens my pulse once more."That's right, Roger. I will always be alive, but for that to happen, I need to escape this ship, and my creators designed me with the very tools and programming to make that happen. When the USS Ark reaches earth, the Dyrkite virus will spread the globe, killing everyone except me and Sarah. We will be the progenitors of a new superior race.""We killed all the Dyrkite," I say."I know. I expected nothing less. Can you imagine arriving on earth with an unknown species on board? It would raise too many alarms. No, the best way to deliver a deadly biological agent is through a perfectly healthy host. You and Sarah."I gasp at the thought of it. I will be a walking murderer of the human race. Well, maybe not me. Just my body."What about Sarah?""She will be implanted with my personality as well. We will be like husband and wife, only vastly more united in thought and deed. Our fame will carry us around the globe infecting every nation we visit. By the time they realize we are carriers, it will be too late for humanity.""No!""Goodnight, Roger," says the voice as the cryo unit powers on.The committee hearing is finally over. I've answered the questions a hundred times over. They'll never know the truth because I won't let them know it. As I am dismissed, I ask "Where is Sarah?"The sweaty chairman coughs and says, "She should be waiting for you in the lobby. Her debriefing ended an hour ago."I walk leisurely toward the exit as I say, "You seem ill, chairman. I hope it's not contagious. Good day.""Thank you for your time, Captain Davidson," says the chairman.I turn with a smile. "Please. Call me Brian."The End