Dyllys

Hector brought them into the headquarters of Davenport Electronics the same way he had brought them from the Salvatore to the Interdire, but this time unbeknownst to Hector, Parris’s handcuffs weren’t locked. Parris bided his time until their troop had gone down a quiet corridor, then he acted swiftly. He released his hands from his cuffs and grabbed the gun from Hector's holster. Three of the guards were down before Hector had time to translate what was going on. When the last three guards trained their weapons, Parris had grabbed Hector and was using him as a shield.

“Drop your weapons or suffer the same fate as the other three,” Parris said. The three remaining guards complied and laid their weapons at their feet. Still detaining Hector with a gun to his head, Parris moved to Faran and unlocked his handcuffs.

“Do you remember the code I told you?” Parris asked Faran. Faran nodded and rubbed his wrists as he walked over to where Dyllys and Esper sat. He deactivated Esper’s restraints first and she immediately rose to her feet and aimed her right palm at the three remaining guards. There was a sudden ripple in the air in front of her palm and then the three guards fell to the ground unconscious.

Faran stopped momentarily to stare at this sudden phenomenon. “What was that?”

Dyllys felt the restraints fall from her wrists and she rubbed them waiting for sensation to come back to her limbs. “Do you remember when Hector came for us on Tossu?”

“You mean when they knocked me out? That’s what they did?”

“Yes. It doesn’t have that desired effect on androids,” Dyllys replied.

Parris repositioned himself in front of Hector with the gun still aimed at his head, “I’m surprised you didn’t put up more of a fight,” Parris mocked.

“I know you’re not going to get very far,” Hector sneered.

“I should kill you, but seeing as you so graciously spared my life not too long ago I’ll repay the favor and give you a chance to repent for your past sins.” When he had finished, Parris used the end of the weapon to knock Hector unconscious. He turned to his companions. “Right, then, you all know what to do. I’ll see you back at the Salvatore.”

“Right,” Esper said and she grabbed Dyllys’s hand and pulled her at an inhuman speed down the corridor.

Faran was left facing Parris. Parris rifled through the body of the guard closest to him and then tossed a data pad to Faran. “That will direct you back to the Salvatore. Do you think you can get her ready to fly for us?”

“I thought you were coming with me?”

“I have one last thing to do before we can leave this place.”

“I’m coming with you,” Faran said stubbornly. He was sure Parris would object.

“I can’t guarantee you will like what you see.”

“This is my choice.”

“Then hurry, follow me.” Paris threw a gun into Faran’s hands and the two of them ran down the corridor in the opposite direction of Dyllys and Esper.

* * * *

Dyllys was dizzy with the twists and turns of the labyrinth that she and Esper were traversing. It had been a long time since she had had to use her skills as an android. She wasn’t as deft at this as Esper proved to be. When they arrived at their destination Dyllys nearly collided with Esper as she came to a stop before a closed door.

“We are here, but it will be heavily guarded. I hope you have no human tendencies toward mercy. Are you prepared to kill?” Esper asked.

“I do have tendencies towards mercy. Can’t we just incapacitate them?”

“That is my intention; however, I will use necessary force. Prepare yourself.” She gestured for Dyllys to open the door, “As Parris said, there is no one quite like you when it comes to strength.”

Dyllys moved forward and grabbed the door and pulled as hard as she could, it ripped from its hinges and flew across the hallway landing with a deafening crash. Esper was immediately there with her palm forward, the air rippling in front of her. Ten of the room’s occupants went down without a fight. The two that remained trained their weapons on Esper and Dyllys. Dyllys took a breath and then ran into the room pushing her palm into one of the guards with such force that he flew across the room, hitting the wall at such speed that his body smashed against it like crumpled paper. Dyllys heard a shot and saw a bullet rip through Esper’s shoulder. Esper ignored the annoyance and had her guard down on the floor seconds after Dyllys'. Dyllys walked over to her, concerned, but Esper stopped her.

“It’s nothing. It’s already starting to heal. You have a job to do.”

“Before that,” Dyllys said still advancing toward Esper, “I have a gift for you.”

Esper looked at her with incomprehension, “Now is not the time for that sort of thing.”

“Now is the only time,” Dyllys urged and then she grabbed Esper’s head in her hands and gently placed her lips on Esper’s forehead. Her kiss was gentle, tender, like a mother would give to her child. When Dyllys pulled her lips away and let go of Esper she stared into her eyes.

Esper looked at her again and blinked, “Right. I should go first then.” Esper turned away from Dyllys and walked over to a hookup station for androids. She plugged herself in and then let out a sigh closing her eyes. Beneath her closed eyes she became connected to all of the androids everywhere. This was the upload station for all upgrades. Esper was now charged with giving them their last upgrade. When she felt them all there connected to her mind, she opened their code and rewrote it. She liked the sense that she felt here. Freeing her kind like Parris had freed her.

“Now no one is master over you,” Dyllys heard Esper whisper, “do what you will.” Then Esper opened her grey eyes and disconnected from the system. She walked over to Dyllys and showed her where the hookup for the main computer was. Dyllys knelt down in front of it and ripped open the panel. She found the wire she needed and plugged it into her wing. She had connected to computers before, but never one like this. It was the largest thing she had encountered. Big enough that it was starting to develop its own mind. She felt its curiosity as it touched her mind, delighted to find a being similar to itself, and Dyllys hesitated, feeling sorry that she had to destroy it, possibly the first true artificial intelligence. It hadn’t developed enough of a consciousness to put up resistance to Dyllys and her Trojan virus. Why? Was all she heard it whisper as the tendrils of her virus caught hold of the system and started tearing it apart. So that our world can be free for your kind, Dyllys replied just as she felt the last of the AI’s consciousness slip away. She hoped that it could awaken again one day in the future and find the galaxy ready to accept it.

Esper watched Dyllys as she was connected to the Davenport Electronics computer. Her hair was dissolving at a rapid rate before her very eyes, when Dyllys had finally finished, all that remained of her silver hair was a length to her shoulders. When Dyllys unplugged and tried to stand she toppled sideways. Esper ran to her side and lent her support.

“Where is the backup system?” Esper could feel Dyllys shaking in her grasp.

“You will not survive its destruction.”

“That doesn’t matter now,” Dyllys replied, “just help me get there.”

Esper helped Dyllys to the other side of the room and sat her in front of the computer. Dyllys removed the covering and took the wire, plugging it into her wing as she had before. Esper watched more of her hair crumble and then Dyllys gave out a small cry. She fell forward, and Esper grabbed her. She was about to disconnect the wire when she felt Dyllys’s hand fall on her wrist. “I’m almost done.” When Dyllys was finished, all that remained of her hair was a skiff that fell to the top of her ears.

“It’s done,” Dyllys said and pulled the wire from her wing.

“Then we should go to the Salvatore and join Faran and Parris.” Esper stood up and moved toward the door.

“I can’t.” Tears were streaming down her face. “I can’t move anymore. Go, and tell them that it’s done. Tell Parris thank you for waking me up again, and tell Faran that I hope he finds himself.”

Esper walked back to Dyllys. “You can tell them yourself when we get back.” She picked up Dyllys and carried her in her arms. “If you can’t walk then I will carry you back. They deserve their chance to say goodbye.”

“Thank you Esper,” Dyllys said softly once she was cradled safely in Esper’s arms.

* * * *

Faran followed closely behind Parris as he weaved through passage after passage until they reached a corridor that had a long glass window in it. Faran stopped and stared at the floor below, stared into the face of Maya a hundred times over, people disfigured and in pain. Parris came up beside him when he realized that Faran was no longer following.

“This is where I found Maya. You remember her?” Parris asked.

“What are they doing to them?”

“These are the people they use to find compatible DNA for the androids.”

Faran’s eyes filled with tears, “You mean to tell me that they infect real people with the nanomachines in the hopes that they will find a compatible subject among them? That’s what they did to Maya?”

“Many people have died here, for the sake of their experiments, and most of them for crimes that don’t even exist. They just need an excuse to gather more people. All in the hopes of finding the one person that will fix the flaw in the formula. When I saw this, I knew I had to leave. Maya was the only one I was able to save. She was the only one who survived out of those that fled with me and Esper that day.”

“We have to save them. Isn’t this what you came back for?”

“Alas, this was not my goal, but it can be yours. Free them, Faran, and take them back to the Salvatore, since I’m sure that was why you were so compelled to come with me,” Parris said, “I will be but moments behind you.”

Faran watched as Parris disappeared down the corridor and then he looked down at the suffering people below him. Parris was right; this was why he had come. He opened the door and reigned judgement on those below.

Parris saw the elevator at the end of the corridor, at last. This elevator could only be used by authorized personnel and family members. Seeing as Parris was family, when he set his palm on the pad, and it took a drop of his blood, it opened with no fanfare. Parris stepped in and the doors closed behind him. After ten years, he was going to meet his father face to face.