Variance Read online

  He could not see anything but the blue sky and Prism’s clear diamond surface. He had made it somehow. He felt both alive and dead. His eyes and chest were the only body parts he could move. He entered into the bay, away from the orange sunlight.

  Ryan squatted next to Paul’s head and tapped Paul’s helmet. Behind Ryan stood a Legacy suit. “You fucking crazy motherfucker. Siren said to charge you up. Count to ten.”

  Paul’s focus on the Legacy suit’s shiny white surface blurred and cleared. Then a surge of electricity traveled through his body.

  One. He shook violently. Two. Make it stop. Three. He feared he was not going to make it. Four. He wanted his family. Five. He wanted his family. Six. Amy. Seven. Statice. Eight. Lily. Nine. He saw white light. Ten. Shit.

  His chest, imprisoned in the fixed suit, pulsed in short breaths. Drool dripped down his mouth, and his vision blurred. His Visuals rebooted. Ryan walked away, yelling at an approaching crowd.

  Siren appeared. She hovered over him, analyzing his face. She rested her warm hand on his jaw, which helped him calm down. She appeared to hesitate from speaking and then looked away.

  She returned her eyes to his. “You’re going to be okay. The suit’s back to normal, which will help preserve your legs until we reach a medical capsule.”

  He smirked. His facial muscles would not let him smile. “We made it.”

  “Yes, we did. I’m going to carry you into the ship.” Siren disconnected the power cables attaching him to the Legacy suit and flew him into Ryan’s ship.

  Ryan entered the ship. “You couldn’t just evade? You had to kill the damn thing. I had to punch and kick people from entering the ship to see you now that you’re a celebrity. Hang on.”

  The ship exited the bay and soared into the exosphere. Light around them shifted from orange to purple to black, only to shift back to purple and then orange. They arrived at Forever Spring. Paul wondered what the region had looked like during its prime. The view changed as they dove into the dimly lit shaft of the hidden Utopia.

  Ryan, along with dozens of other people and robots, escorted Paul out of the ship. Paul’s Visuals completed the reboot, and multiple windows of battle information and physics surrounded his view. He closed the windows one at a time, studying the information to see if he remembered any of it.

  Ryan spoke. “Paul, I need you to remove everything except the tourniquet for surgery.”

  Siren, you do it.

  Material moved away from his body, leaving him naked. He felt warm liquid moving around his thighs. Gentle plates lifted him and placed him in a capsule. Blue lights blinded him, and he closed his eyes.

  His Visuals remained visible. Siren’s appearance restored in phases until she possessed her human form. She lay next to him, keeping her hand over his heart.

  You kept me alive. He thought about her embrace.

  “To keep both of us alive.” She stared at him with familiar eyes, like Amy’s.

  “I’m sorry, but”—he turned his Visuals display off, including Siren—“how did we end up outside of the monster’s heart?” He felt a light pressure leave his chest.

  “Corda pulled us out. If she hadn’t, there’s a high probability that we would’ve died from suffocation. I saved enough energy to defibrillate you to”—she cleared her throat—“see you again.”

  He knew Siren felt his discomfort with her evolving emotions. Uncertain as to the origin of her behavior, he wanted to suppress her attachment by disconnecting her from his mind.

  He Audialed, “Thank you, Siren. We need rest.”

  “I understand. See you soon.”

  Siren was crucial to his success. He wanted a mutual relationship with her, but with her obvious emotional commitment to him, he foresaw her behavior changing proportionally to the intensity of his situation. The more he suffered, the more she displayed affection. He knew that she wanted to look like Amy to coerce him with the same feelings.

  What was he to do?

  He no longer had part of his legs. His life expectancy had dropped down to fifty years. He missed his family. He had to fight with a heavy burden, and he could not survive without Siren.

  Would she be offended if he addressed her loving behavior? What if it made his situation worse? What the hell was happening to his life?

  Of all the obstacles in his journey, Siren, he hoped, would not be one of them.

  8

  B3-W-CW

  PAUL WOKE UP. With a foggy mind, he slowly lifted his eyelids. His vision adjusted to the dimming blue light as the medical capsule raised its lid. He sat up with effort and eyed his naked body and new artificial legs. They looked exactly like his old legs.

  He ran his hands across his shins. Everything felt normal: the unique bumps on his shins, the shape of his gastrocnemius muscles, and the exact shortness of toenail growth. Nothing about his body felt artificial. Were his real legs still intact?

  With his Visuals rebooting, he took a moment to close his eyes. His mind swayed back and forth, as did his confidence. How was he to continue onward without feeling at his full potential? Each time he rose from the medical capsule, he felt emptier.

  All of his interfaces appeared, along with Siren, who stood at a distance with her back turned toward him, probably because of his nakedness. Sure enough, his medical interface registered his new legs. Everything from the knee downward consisted of artificial material. He had slept for twenty hours and eighteen minutes inside a small room housing four medical capsules and his Variance sphere.

  “Did we miss our next match?” He sifted through his messages.

  Divine Might data appeared in front of her. “We have two hours. Forever Winter is the next location. Terrain survival. Sounds interesting. How are you feeling?”

  He forgot that she had disconnected. He called for material to cover his body. “I’m fine. Light-headed. Not as confident as I was when we first started. I’m worried about the outcome of the next one. Will it be my arms this time? Will it be my head? Can I have an artificial central nervous system? Am I still a Utopian?”

  She turned and sat next to him. She rubbed her hand in circular motions on his back. “You’re still alive and strong. Technically, you’re even stronger now that you have artificial joints and bones.”

  She smiled. He did not.

  She kept her hand on his back. “Your beliefs, not what your bones are made of, define who you are. You are making progress—for everyone. You’re doing great.”

  Her warm hand soothed him.

  Paul had lived a whole life around perfection until now. He now doubted himself, feared for his life, and felt negative emotions. Nonetheless, she was right. His new definition of perfection was that he lived to fight for his beliefs and his family. That alone should help him get over himself.

  He nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Siren. Let’s get ready for the next battle.” He slid off the capsule and took a deep breath. “I just have to get my mental gears in motion. I feel slow.”

  Siren stepped in front of him and stared into his eyes. “May I?”

  He was not sure what she wanted to do. “Um, sure.”

  She drew close to him and rested her forehead against his. The warmth and electrifying yet soothing sensations woke him up, and he felt recharged and alive. She stepped back. “Better?”

  “Much better. How did you do that?” He wanted to jump into Divine Might immediately.

  “I carefully jump-started your Cellular Infinity with some coding and electricity. I wish I could change your life expectancy too, but I can’t. Unauthorized changes to CI may lead to death.”

  “We don’t want that.” They bumped each other’s fists.

  Ryan entered the medical bay in haste. “Good. You’re dressed. Have you seen Kaiser’s new transmission?”

  Was something wrong? “No, why?” His heart raced.

  �
��Take a look.” Ryan stood with his arms crossed.

  Paul opened up all the new files simultaneously. A video situated in the distance of a forest showed Crimson attacking Azure with overwhelming force. Massive spaceships scattered around the sulfur- and dust-polluted sky, pulverizing trees in seconds. Millions of Azurians died without resistance. The video ended.

  He refrained from smiling at a file titled “Secret Potato” and stared at it for a moment. Though he was unable to see, hear, or feel the presence of his family, little things like “Secret Potato” invigorated him enough to make him forget about everything and remember the joy of his family. He wondered how Lily was faring amid the hardship and fear.

  His eyes shifted from the title to the contents of the file.

  It contained code for Siren to hack air, land, and sea vessels with common digital technologies, along with a note about Siren’s origin. Siren’s primary objective was to hack through the gravitational moons’ security systems and prevent Crimson from entering Azure’s atmosphere, with the risk of killing everyone in Azure or sending the planet off orbit. However, stealing Siren had given his family the opportunity to strike back with superior battle suits.

  Created by devoted Utopian engineers, Siren was destined to kill.

  A video taken from a robot showed Kaiser waving good-bye to a small spaceship inside a dark and dirty bay. The bay’s gates opened, and the ship taxied into the distance. Kaiser approached the camera. He had a large beard and tired eyes and wore a ripped polymer bodysuit.

  Was Paul’s family also in bad shape?

  Kaiser stood silently for a moment. “We can’t keep running and rebuilding. We can’t use the hacking tool without satellites and signal towers. Everyone’s CI’s breaking down with severe side effects. We’re hoping you may find use of Lily’s Secret Potato.” A smirk crept its way onto his dusty lips, only to disappear as quickly as it rose.

  His raspy voice croaked. He spat blood. “I made sure your family maintained a healthy and safe lifestyle and kept their morale and motivation strong. They will dock with a fleet of trees heading to Xameeshee since Crimson forces blocked the path to Sapphire. Estimated arrival is four Azurian days, or five Xameeshee days, with the tree’s rockets on overdrive. Expect contact from them prior to entry.”

  He sighed and pulled his hair. He looked back into the camera. “We’re hoping that you can secure territory in time. We’re just waiting for you to send the update that will allow us to start the resistance. Some of us tried desperately with Variance and died. Our AIs are just not powerful enough.”

  He sat down with the camera. “Death is knocking on our door. I’m sure you have your own struggles to deal with, but you’re strong, Paul. You and Siren can accomplish more than humankind has ever imagined.” Tears filled his eyes.

  “Take care, Paul.” He turned off the camera.

  Paul’s heart pounded heavily. Crimson’s invasion had taken place sooner than expected. His mission had changed; it no longer included a return trip home. He no longer had a home. Paul’s family and millions of refugees were heading to Xameeshee with no guarantee of a safe haven. The Utopian founder, who had kept his family alive, was in danger.

  Paul still needed to win seven battles and the championship series. Would Siren ever have the chance to gather and process Kalliro data to modify Variance? Would the modification even work? Could they accomplish all that in five Xameeshee days? How much recovery time would he need after his next battle? How much time would Siren need? Siren could kill? Utopians could create a weapon? Were they even pure?

  Paul grunted with clenched fists. “I have to talk to Shadow. Now.” He leaped off the capsule with his sphere and suit following. He stepped toward the exit. Siren followed with sporadic programming.

  Ryan stood in front of Paul. “Whoa. Hold on now. You will, but after the fight. I requested to push the start time so that you could rest. Finish this strong and fast. Then we’ll see Shadow.”

  “I don’t have time for more bullshit. Let’s just get this over with.”

  Ryan responded with a slow, deliberate nod.

  Five days. My family will arrive in five days.

  Paul remained indifferent to the pink sky created by a sunset and a blizzard system, something that normally captivated him. Tall structures littered the arena’s oval boundary. He stood in the center of his deck, which displayed a large number one. He could see snow piling on top of the other fighters who lined up around the arena’s boundary.

  Spotlights focused on the terraformers forming the boundary. Their booming jets and antigravity resonance shook the ground. Resonance formed visible ripples in the snow curtain as they created a plasma energy barrier of a thin blue, red, and green energetic screen. The barrier terminated at the edge of his deck and penetrated into the ground.

  Seconds later, the snow-covered arena terrain rose. Massive chunks flew into the sky, close to—but not touching—the barrier’s peak. Deafening claps of thunder reverberated as earth rose. Bright lightning bolts traveled in every direction. Smoldering magma filled the arena grounds.

  Somehow, blocks of floating ice formed, with the volume of a five-story building. Sharp spikes of ice accelerated in growth. Then the ice melted, and the liquid streamed around, cutting through rock with ease. Wind vortexes sucked up magma into the sky, along with ice, water, and earth. The arena represented a clear definition of hell, and he had to survive it.

  Battle type: Terrain survival. Platforms: Conventional warfare. Primary obstacle: Terrain. Time: 30 minutes. Bonus: None. Restrictions: Boundaries.

  Siren observed the field. “They’re getting very creative with the environments. I didn’t think the terraformers could balance all the elements in such a small region.”

  Damn. “There’s nowhere to hide. How is anyone supposed to survive this chaos?”

  Siren nodded and crossed her arms. “Through teamwork.” She put out her fist.

  He bumped her fist. “Speaking of teamwork, looks like all of Ryan’s friends haven’t dropped out. Corda, Nyle, and Pela are ready to fight. Let’s keep our eyes on them in case they get into any trouble.”

  “Will do.” Siren highlighted their decks on his Visuals.

  On the Divine Might broadcast channel, fanatics placed bets on him succeeding. People wore shirts with his face or his suit printed on them. His name appeared everywhere on the channel, including in videos of his previous matches. Women kissed his posters. Children donned costumes of the Variance suit. He represented an entire race of Utopians, the demonic, eternal living vampires, yet they cheered for him.

  There were also protesters who killed his fans on live broadcast. Explosions, bullets, and vehicles in motion took down his fans, including children. The arena was not hell. Xameeshee was hell, and he had to secure a spot for his family to survive.

  A digital clock on the channel flashed with the ten-second countdown.

  He followed the curves of Siren’s appearance. He wondered if she understood the true capabilities of her non-Utopian creators. “Siren?”

  “Yes?” Siren turned away from her screens.

  Utopians had designed Siren to kill. Was he destined for killing? “If you had to, would you kill someone?”

  “No.” Her eyes narrowed, as if he had offended her. She slowly shook her head. “Why would you ask that?”

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean why? Because I follow your values. We are good people. We don’t kill.” She raised her eyebrows and checked his Cellular Infinity.

  The countdown reached the final second. He’d wanted to hear those words from her because he had a hint of yearning to kill Shadow. It was a good thing she was not connected to his mind.

  An opening appeared in the barrier in front of him. Fireworks and the crowd’s uproar filled the stadium.

  Siren highlighted his heart rate. “You’re not as nervous as you
used to be.”

  “I just want to get this over with.”

  He flew upward over the 1,300-degree-Celsius lava pit and the wavy, heated air. Siren quickly replaced, repaired, and rearranged layers of material as they crossed the pit.

  “Watch out.” Siren highlighted a swirl of lava rising from the pit and a formation of large rocks, all heading toward him.

  He formed multiple spears that pierced the incoming rocks and expanded, creating an explosion of debris all around him. The burning lava tornado sucked some of the debris into its swirling mouth as it arched toward him. He flew away, only to decelerate because of ice rapidly crystallizing around him. All his shields spun in all directions, simultaneously pulsing to break up the solidifying molecules.

  This is going to hurt.

  A high-velocity wall of water slammed into him. The lava tornado cut into the water ahead of him, boiling the water and cooling the lava. Fresh, hot lava cycled from within the vortex and displayed its red-hot glow.

  As Paul swam against the current to avoid the rushing lava behind him while breaking up freezing water, lava contacted one of his shields and burned through. Using his imagination, he spun himself as fast as he could, forming his suit with tapered shields to form his own tornado.

  Ice, cooled lava, and water flowed on the interior and exterior walls of his shields. He protected himself from the elements but sacrificed energy. Siren rocketed him out of the water toward a higher elevation. The rapid rotational acceleration and deceleration jolted his mind, making him feel nauseated and unable to focus.

  “I need to connect to your mind.” Siren highlighted multiple hazards approaching him.

  He floated, zoning everything else out except the need to vomit. Instead of dodging a small water stream, he flew into it. Left turned into right.

  What is happening?

  “Paul.” She adjusted his shields.

  He shook his head. As much as he wanted to continue, his body wanted to quit. He let her into his mind and felt the difference of her control. He swayed and dodged multiple ice spikes. He flipped, spun, and evaded a large boulder as its long surface skimmed his nose.