A dangerous mission begins
June 12
<transcribed from audio diary>
[whispered] We’re in K.D.’s hovercraft, cloaked and headed toward the rogue scientists’ hideout on Luna Draconis. My hands are shaking as I make this recording. I don’t know what we’ll find when we get there.
K.D.: Keep your voice down! Sound vibrations could give away our position to the security patrols.
Lael: [quieter whisper] Sorry, I just… I need to get my thoughts out. It helps me focus.
K.D.: [scoffs] Humans and your coping mechanisms. Just make sure it doesn’t jeopardize the mission.
Lael: I won’t. [deep breath] Okay, so here’s the plan. We infiltrate the compound, locate Elias and the teleportation device memristors, and extract them both. Then I sabotage the machine beyond repair.
K.D.: And if Elias isn’t there? Or if he’s… you know.
Lael: Don’t. Don’t even say it. He has to be alive. Those bastards need him as leverage.
K.D.: Wake up, Doc. These aren’t rational actors we’re dealing with. They’re zealots. Prepared to die for their cause. We have to be prepared for the worst case scenario.
Lael: [heated whisper] I am NOT leaving without my grandson. Do you understand me—you tin can without a heart?
K.D.: [menacing] Watch it, flesh bag. Remember, you need me. More than I need you. And I’m sentient AI. I have feelings.
Lael: [sighs] You’re right. I’m… I’m sorry. I’m just terrified for Elias. He’s all the family I have left in this godforsaken future.
K.D.: Fear clouds judgment. You need to get your head on straight before we deploy.
Lael: What do you propose we do if… if the unthinkable has happened?
K.D.: We obliterate the place. Destroy every last bit of your research. Leave no trace for them to rebuild from. Cut off the serpent’s head.
Lael: [aghast] But that’s… that’s a whole facility! There could be innocents inside, workers —
K.D.: Collateral damage. Bound to happen in a war. And make no mistake, this is war. Just keep that little window open to the future for my next time travel cruise.
Lael: [sighs heavily] I don’t know if I have the stomach for this. I’m a scientist, not a soldier.
K.D.: Then grow a pair! You started this mess, you need to see it through. No matter how ugly it gets.
Lael: There has to be another way. What if we incapacitate the scientists? Lock them up somewhere secure —
K.D.: [laughs] Oh sure, let’s just politely ask them to abandon their life’s ambition and turn themselves in. Get real, Lael. It’s us or them. Kill or be killed.
Lael: [long pause] What if… what if I went back? To the past. Stopped myself from ever inventing the teleporter in the first place?
K.D.: Absolutely not! Meddling with your own timeline is beyond foolish. The paradoxical implications alone ...
Lael: But it would erase all of this! Elias would be safe, the scientists would have nothing to exploit ...
K.D.: And you’d be destroying this version of yourself. Snuffing out everything you’ve experienced and learned. That’s selfish suicide, not a solution.
Lael: [defeated] Then what do you suggest?
K.D.: We stick to the plan. Get in, get Elias, demolish the device. And if it all goes sideways… we rain hellfire on every last one of them. No mercy.
Lael: [heavy sigh] I don’t know if I can do that, K.D. Take innocent lives…
K.D.: Then I’ll do what needs to be done. Like I always have. You just focus on finding your grandson and sabotaging that infernal machine.
Lael: [whispering] Okay… okay. I’ll try to find another way. But if it comes down to it… Promise me you’ll get Elias out first. Before you… do what you have to do.
K.D.: [softens slightly] I promise, Lael. Family first. Now clench your jaw and swallow those pesky morals. We’re almost at the drop zone.
It’s go time.
[click of audio recorder turning off]
Image ©2024 Gael MacLean
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