Chapter 2.1

I had only been back to my position for a day when we found Carla in our observation room. I wasn't sure how she got there, but I was assuming that in the memories with Amos, he was able to tap into my knowledge of the ship. It seemed like a reasonable solution to that question.

I spoke to my command staff, and Kari retook control of the ship, while I removed myself from active duty this time. I had thought about it and decided that it would be the best for Neo22.

I was so concerned about Carla! She was in stasis, frozen in the hospital section of the ship, and I wanted to get her out of there as quickly as we could.

"We don't even know if she's real," John pointed out as I spoke to him about it.

"That's true, but she might be," I argued.

"We know that Amos was able to change bodies to his specs. How do we know that she's not actually him?" He continued, unmercifully. "What if it's Carla's body, but with Amos' mind?"

What he said bothered me. I dearly wanted Carla to be real, but I was afraid that if she were, she would be so broken that it would be hard to get her back into her own mind.

I assumed the latter to be the case, but it could go either way.

If it was her body, with Amos in control, he had no answer to the question of how much of Amos was in her head. Doctors Jack and Sylvia were both studying her body, hoping to find out what was happening—trying to find out if it was Carla.

Kari continued her search of the ship each day, and I finally told her I thought that was ridiculous. We had him in stasis.

"Rose, did you talk to him when you found him?"

"No. Carla was catatonic when we found her."

"Exactly. If Amos can move his consciousness around, how do we know he didn't transfer into someone else?"

I looked at my friend like she'd grown a second head, then answered, "I guess we don't."

As the realization slowly came to me, Kari nodded. "I hope you're right, and I'm just being paranoid, but I don't want to find out the hard way that I'm wrong."

I sat in my living room, and I was scared. I was scared that I had considered Kari's caution to be ridiculous.

I finally looked up at her. "Do your job, Kari. You know more than I'll ever know about security."

She didn't argue, for which I was grateful.

As she left my house, I told her, "I'd like to accompany your people on their searches."

She shook her head. "You need to let others do their jobs, Rose. You know that. Please, trust me."

"Carla's my sister, Kari. I want that bastard to pay for what he did to her."

"Every one of us lost someone back on Earth, Rose. He took our home away from us. We can't return. They want him just as bad as you do."

After Kari turned and left, I said to myself, "I seriously doubt it."

John walked into the living room at that moment. He had decided to let Kari and I talk alone, and I guess when he heard the door shut, he came out of his office. "What do you doubt?" he asked.

I gave John one of my looks, but I didn't like to keep secrets from him. “That her people want to catch Amos as much as I do.”

This time he gave me the same type of look, but I couldn't hold his gaze. I was there when Amos' people ejected his younger brother with the rest of the medical personnel. I saw the disappointed look when his parents weren't on any of the ships that had escaped the destruction of Earth. I felt it too. How many times had I eaten dinner with John and his family on Earth? The crystals that held my memory remembered them perfectly. The expressions and mannerisms of John were so much like both of them that I couldn't help but love them too, and his little brother, Jake, was almost a carbon copy of him. Like Carla and me, I suppose.

I stopped as I thought that, and hung my head. Until the bots transformed me, we had no idea how similar Carla and I would be, but John and Jake knew it from the beginning. They weren’t twins, but they may as well have been. They were so close. John knew what he had lost while I could only speculate.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He sat down beside me and put his arm around me. “No need to apologize, Hon. I understand what you’re going through.”

I suppose in a way, he did. Of course, there were differences, but not that many.

My mind went back to that world we left so long ago.

Everything started to go downhill when an earthquake near Indonesia set off a chain reaction causing almost all of the volcanoes in the ring of fire circling the Pacific Ocean to erupt. One year later, earthquakes started under the sleeping giant, Yellowstone, and everyone knew that things were about to change.

The eruptions in the previous year had made things horrible. When Yellowstone erupted, human life was pushed almost to the edge of extinction. The only thing that kept extinction from happening was our stubbornness. Doctors found ways to help people fight off the ash, as breathing was nearly impossible.

Eventually, the ash had settled and was washed away in areas. Replenishing the flora was able to be done through seeds, but fauna was a different story. Many species were destroyed, and micro-robotics advanced incredibly to replace the insects needed to bring back the biosphere of Earth.

I sat there, daydreaming about the beautiful world we'd left behind. Even with the ravages of the horrible effects of the volcanoes, the world was still beautiful, in a stark way. Also, though Hawaii was several volcanoes, those weren't affected by the others.

Of course, the Earth was beautiful until the doomsday weapons reduced it to rubble. In a way, Carla or Amos had been correct. The fact was, he had built the damned things but never set them off.

When they cannibalized N22 to rescue N21, the missiles were set on a collision course with the sun. Paula and Fred had no idea what the armaments were, but the sun should have simply burned them up. The missiles, however, were programmed with enough AI to turn and hit their targets on Earth no matter what. Once they were launched, they would hit the earth.

It took years for them to make several orbits of Sol to adjust their orbits, but eventually, they did.

When we arrived back at Earth, hoping to be home after hundreds of years, we almost died from skimming the atmosphere to brake. The ship was attacked by the bots that had infected Earth, killing every creature on the surface.

My reminiscing was interrupted by a knock on the door. John opened it and welcomed Fred and Paula.

Paula was my sister, although she started as my brother. When Amos's games began on Earth, Paul was the chancellor. He was entering a meeting of his advisers, and the same fear hit. A woman ran out of the room and pushed Paul out of the way. He immediately changed into a woman. When the process was complete, he, or rather, she, ran out of the room the same way the woman had. It was partway down the hall that she realized what happened.

She locked herself in her office and wouldn't come out until her daughter, Ronda, was found murdered. Her husband, Phineas, had killed her because of the fear. He had suspected her of cheating on him with another woman. After Phineas was questioned, Rhoda, Ronda’s twin sister, told Paula that she was a lesbian, but Ronda was not.

When a man named Gene found her slumped over her sister’s body, the fear had left, and Rhoda inadvertently touched his hand. That started the transition in Gene, and a few moments later, he was a lesbian. They were bonded as lovers, with Gene as Gina.

Fred had been the first person to become the chancellor of Earth after the removal of Amos. He changed his last name to Freeman because he had not wanted to be associated with his brother. He had specified that Freeman signified just that. A free man from his brother's sick rule.

Before I could sit down, there was another knock. John motioned for me to sit, and he answered the door. It was my parents this time. When our daughter heard everyone's voices, she came out of her room at the end of the hall to see everyone.

Once again, I had to explain why Kari was in command. We tended to play ring around the rosy with control. I had been in charge of N21 for around a hundred years, subjective time. When N22 rescued N21, Rashda Smythe was in charge of it, for another hundred.

Paula had been in command of Neo22 when we came aboard, and after nearly a millennium, I took over. It had been only 59 years since then.

I waited a moment for my explanation, however. When my mother gave me her look, I asked, "Are Rhoda and Gina coming as well?"

Paula flashed her mother's look at me as well, but I wasn't in the mood to respond. "Look, I want Carla back," I told her firmly. "None of us got to know her very well once Amos got ahold of her."

“She’s been on board for a very long time,” Paula told me. “I know her very well.”

I stormed up to my sister. “Did you know Amos was there?”

“We don’t know that,” Paula responded, standing up and glaring at me eye to eye.

I held her gaze until Fred spoke up. “Carla didn’t seem to have any of Amos’ less than desirable attributes.”

I whirled on him. “Less than desirable? Less than desirable!!?”

My father stopped my tirade. “Rosie!” He never spoke so sharply, so I backed up and looked at him.

“Everyone here wants Carla back. Your mother and I have gotten to know her since we got to this ship. She's a lovely girl."

“But how much of that sweetness is Amos, Daddy?”

I immediately realized what I had done when his face fell. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“From what you said, Amos absorbed her memories,” Mom said. “If it’s Amos, he’s probably using her own memories and experiences to act like her.”

“But it wouldn’t be her, Mom. It would be Amos.”

“I know that, Sweetheart.”

I sighed and sat down. My mom’s argument seemed ridiculous to me. Of course, that was all contingent upon Amos being in there instead of her.

I looked at my father. "Daddy, what do you know about the bots?"

Our dad had been a molecular biologist before we left Earth. Once we were exiled, he switched to trying to understand the bots; however, he didn't make any headway until we were no longer under their influence.

"As much as I hate to say it, they are an incredible example of engineering. I've dissected a few of Carla's. They're no different than anyone else's."

"Then how..." John seemed to be searching for words, but my father stopped him with a raised hand.

"What appears to be happening is the bugs can connect a person's memory crystals directly to the brain. The incredible thing is since the memories are processed by a microscopic computer in the crystal's setting, the person is able to think incredibly fast."

"Can we remove them from a person's body?" Fred asked quietly.

My mom was still a medical doctor, although she had spread her field from molecular biologist to a full MD. Not that she was needed in such a capacity, but if we were able to extricate the bots, we would need someone with her expertise. She shook her head at Fred's question.

"I'm afraid not, Fred. I've examined several people, and in each situation, I've found that the person's immune system was non-existent."

"What?" Paula exclaimed.

"Somehow, the DNA to create it has been completely removed, and each person's previous DNA records are gone. I have no idea how to replace it."

"Grandma," my daughter, Pearl, said, "What if you mapped the DNA of a baby who hadn't received any bots yet? Could you..." She stopped as Mom shook her head.

"That's a great idea, Pearl, but we inject fresh bots right after birth because a child isn't born with an immune system."

"So, we're dependent...." Paula started, but John's exclamation stopped her."

"Wait a minute!!!"

Everyone looked at him.

"Pop, you said that the crystals connect directly to a person's brain."

Daddy nodded.

"So, is it connected to anyone now?"

A cold feeling suddenly spread throughout me as I thought of who the last person to handle that belt buckle had been.

"Kari." I gasped.

John was already on his feet. "Wait, John," I called. "Kari suggested the same thing. Why would she do that if she was Amos?"

"To make you hesitate like you're doing. To hide."

"And I fell for it again."

John didn't say anything. He just called Marc. "Marc, is Kari there?"

"No," his voice came back. "She just left."

"Where'd she go?"

"She was watching something on her computer, then got up, said she had to check on something, then left."

"Thanks, Marc."

"What's up? Maybe I can help?"

"I don't know what's going on, Marc. I'll let you know when I figure it out."

He closed the connection and turned to us.

Fred was the first one to speak. "Do you think she was watching us?"

John shook his head. "I built this house, Fred. There's no cameras or mics in here."

I could barely speak. My world was falling into complete chaos. "How many times have we had Carla babysit Pearl?" I asked quietly.

John called Marc back. "Marc, I need you to get a radio detector and get to our house ASAP!"

Marc didn't ask any questions, but he lived just a short distance away. He was there in less than five minutes.

"Okay, John. Talk."

"First, see if anything is transmitting from this house."

Marc shook his head but turned on his receiver. He frowned as he walked over to a picture across my grandfather clock. He ran the scanner over it, then squinted at a corner of the frame. "Got any tweezers?"

I hurried to my vanity and got some. I handed them to him, and he grabbed something that looked like an imperfection in the wood. He pressed a button and then walked into the kitchen. A moment later, he came out with a bowl. He looked at his detector, frowned, and into the bathroom.

"Can I go into your room?" He asked.

I blanched at that. Cameras and mics in our room? John and I had a very active sex life.

A moment later, he came out. "Was there..." I started.

"Yeah, " he said absently as he walked into the hallway at the other side of the living room. By the time he finished, he had a black speck in the bowl that represented every room in our house, plus both hallways, the front porch and back yard.

I was livid. "That bastard was watching us as we...!"

John came over and tried to put his arm around me. "Rose, settle down."

"Settle down! You want me to settle down?!"

"What's going on?" Marc asked.

"He's in Kari!" I exclaimed.

Marc's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"We don't know that," Dad countered me.

"We've got a pretty good idea, Dad." I was too angry to call him Daddy.

"Amos?" Marc asked.

Paula nodded as he looked around at all of us, hoping not to get that answer.

"When?"

"As far as we know," Paula told him, "she was the last person to handle the belt buckle."

Marc turned green. "That bitch, " he muttered. "That bitch!" Louder this time. Finally, "That conniving bitch!!!"

John looked confused. "What?" He asked.

"Dad, " Pearl said, sounding exasperated. "Marc and Kari are married. What do married people do at night?"

John looked at Marc with what looked like pity. "I'm sorry, " he finally said lamely.

"She said the problems with Carla made her think about how finite our existence is. We aren't immortal. We will die sometime. It's just a matter of when." He paused. "She said she wanted a kid to carry on our legacies."

"That sounds like Kari, " I said.

"You said Amos was revolted when touching others, " Mom pointed out.

Fred nodded. "He was always a germaphobe."

I shook my head. "He has Kari's memories too. She liked sex." I lowered my eyes. "She told me about it." I thought about what I'd just said. "She told me that she liked it." I tried to fix it, but I couldn't.

My husband confirmed that. "We'll talk about this later." He turned to me. "You need to take command, Rose."

"No! I'm too upset! Paula can do it!"

My sister shook her head. "No. It's your command now."

"Paula, I keep making mistakes. I've swallowed his lies twice now! How many more?"

"So you know not to believe anything he says. If his mouth's moving, he's lying. Besides, you need to prove to yourself that you can still command."

"I don't want to command. Not under these circumstances."

My dad stood up. He walked over to me, and for a minute, I thought he was going to... I really don't know what I thought.

He took my hand and gently pulled me to my feet. "I've never told you this, Rose. You were a great commander when you were." He paused, the rephrased it. "Before your transition. The thing is, you were so much more sure of yourself when you didn't have to hide the real you. You're an even better commander now." I knew it was silly, but I felt like crying. I don't know why, but I always felt special when Daddy complimented me.

I took a deep breath and nodded. It wouldn't be easy for me. Amos had victimized my little sister and my best friend, and now all I wanted to do was kill him. I had never felt that way about anyone, but these were different circumstances.

I turned to John. "Okay, I'm taking back control. Kari is relieved of all duties until we ascertain exactly who she is." I swallowed the lump in my throat as I said it. "Daddy, I need some way to tell who she is."

I picked up my phone and punched a unique code into it. The next thing I said was broadcast over every speaker on the ship. Even though we stood inside our house, we could hear my voice thundering into the woods and farmlands that made this bay special.

"Attention, everybody, " I said. "By now, you have probably heard that we have Amos Goodwin on board. Well. That isn't precisely true. We have his mind on board, and by using the nanobots in our bodies and our memory crystals, he appears to be able to... Well, hijack anyone he wants." I paused for a moment.

"Don't tell them about Kari, " Marc pleaded too quietly for my phone to pick up.

I considered, then nodded. He was right. None of us were genuinely immortal. We could be killed, and everyone on board had reason to kill Amos. If I told them that we thought he had taken over Kari, she would die. Instead, I modified the truth slightly.

"We don't know who he is in right now. We need everyone to make sure you are always with someone else. I need two guards with every member of the crew, and at every entrance to the command level. Thank you."

"You realize," Daddy said, "That won't keep Kari off of the command level. Her people have no reason to distrust her."

"I know." I started to turn to the front door. I planned to go to the bridge when the door opened, and Kari walked in.

---

Please don’t forget to give kudos, and I’d really love to hear what you think of this story, so please comment. Thanks!