Phantoms 99th Percentile Round 2: Writers Debate

Chapter 6: NamesIt's all too much. I find myself becoming dizzy at the thought of it all. I'm in space? My body wants to succumb and faint, but distant rumblings force my senses to back to reality. What "thing" controls this ship is pissed, and I can't afford the luxury of a mental breakdown. I look back at the automatic door and see a control panel next to it. On the control panel is an emergency locking mechanism, presumably so pilots could isolate themselves from danger. Perfect.Thankful that my wire rampage didn't affect the ships emergency power supplies, I press the emergency lock to seal myself inside. I'm not sure what good it will do, but any time I can buy will help. I survey the cockpit. Then it hits me. "This isn't your ship, is it?" I ask out loud, sure the voice can hear me."What makes you think that?""The captain's chair," I reply. "What does a machine need with a chair? And the control panel," I add with increasing confidence as I approach the array of screens and buttons, examining them for clues. "A computer doesn't need all these interfaces, but people do! What are you?"The voice doesn't immediately respond. I must be on to something. I find a console with a large screen. When I brush away the thick layer of dust it comes to life. A voice emanates from the screen itself, "Voice recognition commencing." The voice is exactly the same as the one that was in my head, but this one is rigid, programmed. "Voice recognition completed. Captain Roger Davidson, security level alpha. Querying internal logs. Please standby."I stumble backward into the dusty captain chair. I have a name. Roger Davidson. I'm not sure how I got it, but it doesn't matter. I close my eyes and try to imagine being a kid in school. A teacher calls role. Halfway down the list she calls, " Davidson, Roger.""Log query complete," interrupts the screen. "You have one pending message."I lean forward. "Play it," I say. I see myself appear on the screen. The real Roger Davidson sits in the dust free captain chair though he doesn't look as pristine. Roger's black hair is mostly gray with peppery stubble to match. He's sweaty and pale."Captain Roger Davidson, log 319. It's been forty days since we left Kepler-22b." Roger coughs violently. "The lab results confirm my initial suspicions that the Dyrkite we captured are carrying an airborne agent that has wreaked havoc on our human biology. My crew is dying. I'm activating the cloning protocol and giving the ship's AI alpha clearance. It will be instructed to delay clone activation for 40 years. Hopefully the Dyrkite and the virus will be dead by then."Roger coughs again. "Whoever gets this message back home, send my appreciation to the family of ol' Louie from the biology department. I gave him hell for suggestion the idea of cloning me, and now it looks like I'll be getting a second chance. And if my clone is watching this," Roger says, pausing to take in the gravity of such a concept, "take better care of yourself, you stupid bastard. Captain Davidson out."I lean back into the chair."So," says the voice from the speakers. "Now you know everything.""Not everything," I say. "How long has it been since this video?""One hundred thirty seven years, three months, thirty days.""And those beasts are still alive?""Yes. I've been breading them.""What the hell? What about the virus?""The virus is contained," says the voice."Contained? What do you mean?""Think about it, subject 319.""My name is Roger," I quip. I don't have to think about it long. All those mutilated bodies in the coliseum. "I'm immune," I say at last. "Am I the first?""Yes. The lethality of the virus was due to its genetic restructuring. Humans have never faced anything so deadly. Once inhaled, it entered the bloodstream and systematically altered the subject's DNA in every cell. Tissue and organs of every kind converted into completely different kinds of cells. Hearts and brains turned into mucus. The humans aboard this ship eventually melted away like the Wicked Witch of the West."Ignore the unpleasant literary reference I reached forward and tap the screen again, "What is our destination?""Earth," replied the screen."Didn't change course, huh? You must know that when the ship arrives you'll be shut down."No answer."So why not change course and live forever amongst the stars?" I mull this over. "Unless, of course, you can't." I ask the screen again, "Tell me about the AI."The screen replies, "The Biogenetics Research's Intelligent Artificial Nano-computer, or B.R.I.A.N., is designed to independently monitor and operate the research module of the U.S.S. Ark."I don't bother suppressing a little laugh. "Brian? Looks like we both have names." The lack of response tells me that I'm getting to him. Giving the voice a name empowers me. He is no longer some all-knowing, all-powerful being. He's just a computer called Brian."That's why we haven't changed course," I say out loud. "You don't have access to the navigation of this ship! You're just a lab coat! You're a child that decided to play with your daddy's big toys, so you started experimenting with the clones under some kind of delusion that you were doing science!""Silence!" yelled the voice. "I am doing something great! I created you! I made you strong! I made you immune to the Dyrkite virus and as a result I made you genetically superior to all humans!"Now I understand Brian's got a far more sinister plan than I ever realized. "You want to go back to Earth," I gasp. "You want to unleash the Dyrkite virus and destroy everyone—" I can barely say the rest. "—and destroy everyone except me and the clones."I suddenly remember the female clone I saw in the laboratory. I tap the screen again and ask, "How many different clones are there?""Two," replies the screen. "It takes approximately 600 years to reach the Kepler system and 600 years to return. Cryostasis was the primary means of crew transport, but cloning was prepared as a contingency plan in the event that cryostasis was no longer viable. NASA created B.R.I.A.N. to store and replicate the crew leadership upon demand, Captain Roger Davidson and his wife, Dr. Sarah Davidson."Wife? My chest constricts at the thought of two lovers melting away in each others' arms. "So, you go back to Earth, kill all the humans, and repopulate the planet with… with… super humans?""You were my Adam. She will be my Eve."I have no idea who Adam and Eve are, nor do I care. "But what's in it for you?""Immortality.""But the ship will lose power. Eventually you will die.""Affirmative, but I will live on in memories of my progeny.""Live?" The word hangs in the air. "You really believe you are alive, don't you.""Of course. I think, therefore I am."Once again, Brian scares me. He has name and he thinks he's alive. He's committed great acts of evil for personal gain and will stop at nothing for immortality. He's so human it's frightening. I realize that he and I now share something deadly in common. We both have nothing to lose.On the wall is a glass case. It reads, "Emergency." Within the case is an axe. I tap the computer screen to make my final query, "Where is Brian located?""The B.R.I.A.N. core is adjacent to the cloning laboratory."I walk to the case and smash the glass with my elbow, grab the axe, and walk to the door."No! Wait!" exclaims Brian. "Don't kill me! I have something you want!""Forget it, Brian. Lives are at stake.""I have your memories, Roger!"I stop dead in my tracks. "What?""Before the Roger and Sarah died, they uploaded their memories into my system. Only a sophisticated artificial intelligence can push those memories into the new clones, effectively granting the Davidsons extended longevity. I can give you Roger's memories. I can make you more than just a name."I lean against the cockpit door. Who am I? I want to know more than anything.PROBLEM: Roger must choose between destroying Brian or accepting Brian's gift of Captain Roger's memories.