Awakened Control: The Data ARC Chronicles (The Data ARC Chronicles Book 1)

  Awakened Control

  The Data Arc Chronicles

  Boyd Craven III

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  About the Author

  Awakened Control - The Data Arc Chronicles

  Copyright 2016

  By Boyd Craven

  Many thanks to friends and family for keeping me writing! Special thanks to Jenn, who has helped me with my covers from day one and keeps me accountable!!!!!

  All rights reserved.

  To be notified of new releases, please sign up for my mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/bghQb1

  1

  04:22:32 … Initializing

  04:22:57 … … Catastrophic electrical failure. Initiating subject retrieval.

  04:57:11 … … … Subject’s temperature is approaching normal human levels.

  05:02:48 … … … AI integration is successful. Cybernetic implants online. Severing connection to facility.

  07:45:38 … … … … Subject’s respiratory and circulatory system are functioning as expected.

  07:46:38 … … … … … The subject will regain consciousness in approximately 4 minutes, 32 seconds…

  7:51:10

  I don’t remember the nightmare, but I came to awareness breathing hard, with my chest pounding. It was almost too dark to see anything, but a blinking blue light was right in front of me. I reached out, feeling the pull of gravity, and felt relieved that I was laying down. Wait, how did I…? I reached forward and felt a curved surface in front of me, about twelve inches away. I felt for the blue light, like a blinking cursor in the dark, and my fingers found a button instead. I used my index fingers to feel all five surfaces in the dark and then ran both hands across whatever it was.

  Was I dead? Was this a coffin? It felt cold, whatever it was.

  “Shit.”

  Elimination functions are not needed at this time.

  I startled so badly that I tried sitting up and hit my head on whatever was in front of me. It hurt, and I laid back down and felt for the button. I found it and pressed it in. It felt like compressed air rushed in as the curved surface in front of me split open in the middle and opened. I could tell, because the outside was lit by a blue flickering light from the ceiling, illuminating what looked like a surgical operating theater.

  I rubbed my head as the lid that had covered me lowered itself to the sides, leaving me on a flat metallic surface. My head felt cold, but the rest of me was now shivering in the open air. I swung my legs over the side and looked for whomever had spoken to me, and noticed that I was nude.

  “Hello?”

  Hello CEPM Designation x341.

  I whipped my head from left to right. Half of the surgery room had a glass wall, but it was dark on the other side. To my right was a stainless steel cart with gleaming tools on it. They looked more like an industrial mechanic’s tools, or what you’d find in a spotless machine shop, not in a hospital room. Still, beyond that, there was what looked like a door. There was nobody else in the room with me.

  “You’re on the other side of the glass? Or watching me through closed circuit monitors?”

  No, I am with you. You are never alone.

  I realized something; I had been speaking aloud, but the voice… it wasn’t a voice. Not an audible one, anyways.

  “You’re starting to freak me out. Where are you?” I asked, scooting off to my feet.

  I am now a part of you, CEPM Designation x341.

  “Why are you calling me that?” I asked aloud.

  I am you. I am a part of you.

  “I’m going crazy,” I said, running my hands through my hair.

  That was when I realized that there was only half a head of it. My left side was bald. Not just bald, but smooth. Cold and smooth. I could feel the tracings of a scar or wound that ran from my left temple back. Weird. I didn’t remember shaving my head. I must be going crazy. That had to be it, I was in a hospital somewhere.

  Your mental health has not been determined. We were activated because of a catastrophic power failure. We have yet to assess if the integration of your human self is a success.

  “What?”

  Your mental health, CEPM Designation x341. Full integration was accomplished in January 20th, 2020 and updated to the facilities last update.

  I got to my feet and wobbled. I caught myself on the edge of the bed I’d been on and turned to stare. It looked like a stainless steel pod, opened up with the top edges folded under the table. I could remember bits and pieces of old movies, and I felt around my body for IVs but didn’t find anything.

  “Where am I?” I asked the voice in my head.

  You are in Data ARC 341.

  “I thought I was CE something x341?”

  Yes, CEPM x341. Cybernetically Enhanced Peace Maker, number x341. There is one CEPM assigned per ARC.

  I spun around, looking for a mirror, some glass. I had to see my eyes. I was crazy, and the eyes would show the madness. I stepped away from the pod and took a shaky step towards the door. I used the cart as my balance as strength to my legs came back slowly, and I took a moment to catch my breath. I had to calm down; freaking out and running into the unknown wouldn’t help me live longer. As soon as I thought that, a feeling of euphoria hit and I could feel my blood pressure lowering as the rising panic receded. That was when I noticed the light switch.

  I took two more shaky steps and hit it. Harsh bright light filled the room and reflected off every surface. It was almost too much, and I put an arm over my watering eyes.

  Judging by your body’s reactions, stasis shock will take some time to wear off on its own. I can help if you would like.

  “Yes,” I said, opening my eyes slightly and almost closed them again.

  I knew that if I kept my eyes open, I would get used to the light easier. Suddenly, the brightness of the room turned down to a more comfortable level, and I could see again, though everything was gray. Like sunrise when the storm clouds were obscuring the sunlight from coming through, making everything mysterious and scary.

  Better?

  “Yes,” I said aloud, “Thank you.”

  That is no problem. I am merely providing support as my programming requires.

  “Programming? What do you mean? Where are you?”

  Step in front of the one-way mirror, and I’ll show you.

  I knew I had to be crazy. I was listening to voices. Voice, I corrected myself. This had to be some sort of nightmare. Woke up in a surgical theater with a scar on my head like I’m a discarded extra from 28 Days Later, to a world where Zombies were killing folks and eating their—

  The first thing I noticed was my eyes. I struggled to remember what I had looked like before and I found that some memories were vague while others were crisp and sharp. I struggled with it for two minutes while staring at myself. I couldn’t remember my childhood, but I could remember movies I’d watched, video games I’d played… the kiss of a young woman. My eyes reflected in her glasses…

  “Green, my eyes were green before,” I said, but before what?

  Now, looking at myself in the mirror, I looked like the result of a wal
king wounded experiment gone wrong. Instead of green eyes, they were blue, and they had a faint glow to them. Like I’d felt, there was a tracing of a scar that followed my left temple and curved down as it went past my ear. I felt that and noticed the black stubble growing back. Half my head had been shaved, but that didn’t make sense to me. The other side was my normal close-cropped black hair… wait… that I remembered… but the scar I had shouldn’t have healed faster than my hair had grown back. The rest of my body, the nude form I could see in the glass, was as I remembered it, save irregular scars that ran from my chest and up my neck.

  I felt one, the scar tissue shiny and hard. These scars I didn’t remember at all… And where the hell did that voice come from?

  I’m the AI that’s implanted on the left side of your head. After your injury, your body was in a comatose state. A quantum computer was installed, and I was integrated in to help support your body’s functions before you were placed in Stasis.

  “Stasis? Wait, you’re inside of me?” I rubbed the scar with my fingers, and my eyes flashed a luminescent blue for a moment as I tried to remember whatever injury it was talking about.

  Yes. The technology was far more advanced in 2020 than most of the public knew.

  “What was done to me?” I asked, my right hand reaching for the glass as I looked for any other changes.

  A quantum computer installed with an AI and the normal injection of nanites suitable for a CEPM unit. You were scheduled for more enhanced upgrades, but my own system checks and logs show we’ve not had them. It would help if the facilities’ wireless networks were running. Could be related to the power failures happening within the Data ARC.

  “Nanites, like tiny machines?”

  Yes.

  “I really am crazy,” I said and punched the glass in a fit of anger.

  It shattered, and I yanked my hand back in surprise. One way mirrors in police stations were never brittle like that, which made me wonder if I’d ever been in a police station? Had I been arrested? Was I once a policeman? I couldn’t remember. What I did know, though, was as the glass fell, I could see what had to be some sort of viewing room on the other side with dark flat screen monitors, three chairs and a thick layer of dust.

  Try not to self-injure. Without nutrition, I’m forced to use the body’s resources to heal you.

  “Heal me?” I looked, and my fist was a mass of blood, and my knuckles were cut from going through the glass.

  I looked around to see if I could find something to wipe the blood up and put pressure on it. I turned and walked towards the sink. Every sink had some sort of paper towel dispenser or an air dryer. Hopefully, this one had paper or even cloth. Nothing. Damnit. I turned the water on, and after a few moments, the faucet made a hissing noise and something under the counter made a banging sound. Then brown water came out in a rush, air making the water shoot out like machine gun fire. I watched it swirl down the drain, and a part of me wondered if it was rust in the water, or maybe it was polluted?

  I waited, holding my arm over the water, the blood swirling with the brown water down the drain. Soon it started steaming, and the dark brown started turning clear. Within another minute, it was coming out normal looking. I felt the temperature with my finger, and it was tolerable, so I stuck my arm in to rinse the blood off to see how much damage I’d done. It seemed like quite a bit, but something was wrong; I really wasn’t feeling the pain. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Maybe I’d damaged the nerves… That’s when I noticed my bleeding had stopped and the hot water had rinsed my hand and arm clean. My perfectly normal-looking hand and arm, without any injuries.

  “What’s this bullshit?” I asked holding my hand up.

  Nanotech Regeneration Protocols. You must find nutrition soon to replace the energy that was lost. There is a basic map of the facility I can pull up if you wish so you can navigate easier.

  “I’m crazy, I’m really, really crazy.”

  No, technically you’re a cyborg with a supercomputer implanted in your brain.

  “Yeah, that sounds crazy.” I hoped I was crazy, I really did because the reality was pretty grim if the voice was telling the truth.

  May I access your long term memories so I can better interface with you and explain this in terms you would understand?

  “Sure…” I said after a long pause. “But if I’m going to be a crazy man who hears voices, can you at least sound more like a hot girl or something?”

  Your wish is my command. I’ve integrated your long-term memories, and I’ve used the personality template I put together from an ex-girlfriend, from before you enlisted. It’s the only complete profile in your long term memories I can access.

  The voice in my head had subtly changed with its clinical wording, and the speech became a touch more informal.

  How’s this sound to you?

  “Ok, I guess?” I told it slowly, feeling like a jackass.

  Good. Please feel free to request modifications as needed. Otherwise, your ass gets what it gots.

  “Oh damn, I kind of remember her. Alice?” The voice I heard had definitely changed, and it triggered all kinds of memories. Red hair, athletic body and a mouth on her that could make a sailor blush.

  That was the name your memories supplied, though they are like swiss cheese. Alice was my best guess as well, but did you really need to pollute your body with Ethanol so often back then? I don’t know if it was the bomb going off in your face or the fact you treated your body like shit that you’re so messed up.

  “Ok, dial that back a bit. That’s just…”

  You’re not crazy. I’m the Ghost in the Shell, I’m the brain of the Terminator. God, they should have removed your entire brain and left me in charge.

  “You really think that?” I asked horrified, vaguely remembering all the horror stories of AIs taking over the world, like the Terminator’s Skynet - especially since the voice had brought it up.

  No, I’m not really being serious. It’s just that accessing your memories allowed me to catalog and recall data you retained when you were damaged, and I was integrated into your system. I can do a lot of things, but I cannot control all of your biologic functions. I’m here to advise you and run the nanite suite you’ve been granted access to. Running seventeen billion machines all at once takes a little computing power. Besides, we still need nutrition. You want that map or not? And quit talking to yourself. My scan shows no significant lasting brain damage before my integration, but your mental state seems to be normal. For a guy.

  “You really got Alice down pat,” I said after a moment. “Yeah, show me the map.”

  Like I said, I can hear you now you allowed me access. You don’t have to speak out loud. It’ll cut down on how long it takes our conversations. People will think you’re even more nuts than you were. Now… Look at this.

  It was like a video game. An overlay came up across my vision like a HUD display on a first person shooter game.

  “This is so trippy,” I told her, in my head.

  It only gets better. Accept your sanity is mostly intact, and I can fill you in on what little I know.

  “Wait, I just thought of something. Where's all the people?”

  There’s supposed to have been a receiving team ready for when you awakened. They were due four minutes and thirty-seven seconds ago. Maybe they’re stuck in the bathroom? Honestly, with no one showing up and a critical power failure, I think we’re toast.

  “Did you get a look at that viewing room where I busted my hand open? It’s covered in dust. Like it’s abandoned. I hope you’re wrong and this me having the DTs after a long weekend of playing Fallout.” I looked around.

  I had what seemed like a basic compass, and faintly, I could make out the floor’s schematics. Right in the middle was an arrow which I figured was me. In another section of the floorplans, there was a flashing blue light. As if the AI was using my memories to make things easier to understand.

  Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. You we
re a fan of Call of Duty, Halo and Borderlands games. Oh, and Rage, but that was on an Xbox 360 from like 20 years before I was ever installed. So old school, but you did love your games. Is that why the real Alice dumped you?

  Ouch.

  Sorry, that portion of your memories is blank.

  “Ok, so while I walk towards the flashy light,” I said, changing the subject, “give me a run down on what these nanites do. I’m guessing you’re using the term nanites to describe little machines?”

  Yes, Alice seemed to take a deep breath. The basic suite of nanites entail both medical and neurological units. They are self-replicating, but you need to feed the beast, otherwise, they will die - and so will you.

  “Feed the beast? You mean to eat?”

  Yes.

  “If I don’t eat, I die anyways. How smart is a quantum computer if you can’t even compute that?”

  I felt like going “HA HA” like the bully from The Simpsons. Instead, I smiled at my own wit and waited for Alice to answer that. She didn’t. Instead, she went on.

  As I was saying… Medical and Neurological. The medical suite allows me to help flush the body of toxins and poisons. You will be immune from almost all illness while they are running and with improved liver and kidney functions—

  “What about cancer?” I asked.

  You’ll never have it as long as I’m running the show, plus you heal faster than an un-augmented human.

  “I run the organics,” I told her.

  Yes, now if you want to know more, shut up and let me finish.

  That’s Alice. Despite the snark, I liked it. It was like an old pair of shoes. They were worn or broke in, to fit me just the right way to be a comfort. I smiled more. “Go on.”

  The neurological nanites allow me to interface with your organics, and help you with an improved nervous system. Your reflexes are improved by a factor of ten. You’re basically Wolverine without the metal bones, claws, and the sexy Hugh Jackman look. Seriously, you need a haircut.