Chapter 8

A.D. 2010

Keeping part of his consciousness on the activity around his cell, Will turned his attention back to Prototype Nine. He briefly considered teleporting into her cell, but realized that he could work just as well from his hideout without worrying about someone seeing him.

How you holding up, Tina? He asked in her mind.

Ten! Will! Thank God! Tina replied.

Okay, Tina, Will got right down to business, not sure how much time he would have. I've only done this once before, to myself, so bear with me. You have to make a choice: Do you want to be what you signed up to the program for, and maybe what I've become, or do you want to go back to being Tina, ex-soldier?

What you've become? She asked.

Rather than answer her, he flooded her mind with images of the things he'd done to himself, what he'd learned to do, and how he had escaped. Also embedded in the sequence were what he thought were the possible consequences of each change he expected to make to her.

Damn! Nine thought as she reeled under the onslaught of so much information all at once. Are you some kind of God, or something?

I'm just me, trying to learn how to deal with the situation in which I find myself, Will replied. I never expected things to turn out this way, but I still want to get the people that killed my wife and daughter, and this - whatever it is - promises to help in getting that done, so I'm not complaining. Thing is, the people that put these enhancements into us didn't really know what they were doing. They couldn't know. But I can fix you so most of the stuff they wanted you to have works, and the rest goes away. As in my case, though, it might also leave you able to do the stuff I've been doing, and you have to decide whether or not you want that, because I don't know how to do one without the other. I can undo what they've done, or I can finish it. Those are the only choices I have right now. Either one should give you some relief from the problems you're having with those implants, all you have to do is choose.

I still kinda like the idea of being a super-soldier, Nine thought, So I guess I'd like to see what's behind door number one. I don't suppose you know how to reverse all this stuff if I don't like it?

I can probably make you 'normal' again, Will answered, but I can't guarantee it. I've never tried it.

Fair enough, Tina thought back. Let's get started before all this damn noise drives me batty!

Okay. I'll keep feeding you the images of what I'm doing, Will thought at her. Who knows, maybe you'll find ways to improve on it.

For several hours, Will worked to remove the 'wrongness' from Tina's body. To give her some relief from the 'noise' generated by the implanted sensors, he started first on those, trying to isolate, first, the ones creating the most distraction for her. When he had finished with the sensors, he went to work on the microprocessor and saved the physical enhancements for last. When he was finished, Will coached Nine through a few exercises to see what effect the changes had had on her. She seemed to have the strength and better hearing, and could 'see' and 'hear' with her mind as clearly as he, but no matter how she tried, she was unable to affect objects around her the way he could.

'Mindtalking, ' now, became as easy as speech - easier, in some ways, since natural thought processes didn't have to search for learned speech constructs. They could simply be transferred mind to mind.

Thanks a ton, Ten, Tina told him as his focus withdrew from her body. I thought I was going to be lost in that hell forever! I told Robinson about it, but she couldn't, or wouldn't do anything to help. Damn! I'm famished!

They delivered a meal for you while I was working on you, Will told her. I guess they're used to you being out of it for long periods.

Yeah, for a while there, they were trying to feed me, Nine responded, but I finally figured out what was going on in the real world enough to feed myself, so they just leave the tray, now.

Well, that reminds me. I've got to find a better place to stay, and a way to get food. I suppose I could steal from the galley, but then they'd know I was still here, and maybe start looking in places where they haven't looked yet. Do me a favor, will you? My disappearance is going to screw Robinson's plans all to hell and there's no telling what she'll do, so will you kinda keep an 'eye' on her and let me know if she decides to do anything drastic? They think you're off in your own little world, so if anybody comes into your cell, just keep looking blank and pre-occupied and they should leave you alone.

But where will you go? Nine asked. How will I get in touch with you?

I'm going to the surface, and I'm going to try out these new abilities, Will replied. I'll take it in stages just to check the range of this kind of communication, but if I get out of range, I'll pop back often to check on you, okay?

Okay, she said, but don't leave me here, Ten. Eventually, somebody's going to notice that I don't have my implants anymore.

I won't be gone long.

With that, Will stretched his 'vision' upward, seeking a place on the surface that was not likely to be observed, but wasn't too far from Nine's location. What he discovered was that the wing of the complex where she was housed stretched far beyond the little airport where he had landed, and there were no other buildings or anything else man-made in that vicinity, including surveillance devices.

Gathering his energy, Will thought of a particular spot in the dry scrub and 'moved' himself there. The sun was high in the West and heat assaulted him, but the energy available from the heat and sun seemed to fill some sort of reservoir within him. To his amazement, as he absorbed energy from his surroundings, the temperature seemed to drop to a more bearable level, while his new abilities seemed to blossom and grow!

Glancing at the position of the sun, he figured it must be late afternoon. It seemed odd, after all those months underground, to once again think of the time of day.

Still reading me, Nine? He thought, though he already knew the answer.

Five by five, Ten, She replied, with relief, then, sensing the surge of energy within him, thought, Seems like a real friendly place up there.

Yeah. Now I've got to find someplace even friendlier. Let's try those mountains over there...

He scanned for a deserted, reasonably safe landing spot and 'jumped.' Turning his attention back to his starting point, he realized he had come more than five miles, probably closer to ten, and his connection with Nine was undiminished.

This looks like a pretty extensive mountain range, he told Nine. There ought to be a cave or abandoned mine, or someplace to hide out. Hang on...

Will began scanning the mountains, looking inside them with his new vision. He came across a couple of possibilities, but ... As he continued his scan, Will came across the perfect hideout. A small cave carved out of the inside of a mountain by running water which still rippled through the cave, about ten miles to the north. There were a couple of very small openings that would allow for ventilation, but were not big enough to allow anything larger than a raccoon to enter or exit.

This was a longer jump than he had tried before, but he was gaining confidence in this ability, and made it with ease. As planned, he found himself standing on a small, almost flat rock ledge. He could see nothing with his eyes, but didn't need to. His other 'vision' provided him with all he needed to know about the space he intended to call home until he got a real handle on these new abilities. The stream that had formed the cavern millennia ago still ran through it, and close examination with his 'vision' showed that it was relatively pure, having run down from higher up the mountain, probably from snow melt.

The cave was a bit chilly, and he would need a heat source, but he was reluctant to start a fire that might generate smoke. If he could heat up some of the rock, it would take a long time to cool down.

Could he use his new abilities to do that, somehow? Experimentally, he reached out with his mind to the nearest rock outcropping, feeling the energy inherent in its molecules. Unsure what to expect, he tried setting up a resonant vibration within a very small area of the rock. Suddenly a small "crack" resonated through the cavern and a tiny chip fell off the rock at the point where he was concentrating his efforts.

Well, that was useful knowledge, and he might be able to use that technique to shape the cave to his needs, but it wasn't going to get him the warmth he would need.

Changing the energy he used slightly, he narrowed his focus and examined the rock at the molecular level. As he applied energy this time, the individual atoms within the rock became agitated, and a tiny area began to glow first red, then white, casting an eerie glow around the small space. That was a start, but it had taken quite a bit of energy, and there wasn't a lot of energy here for him to draw on. Too bad he couldn't 'move' some from outside, like he moved objects. Or could he?

Experimentally, Will sent a thread of his own energy to the surface, willing it to spread out like a sail when it emerged from the rock into sunlight. To his amazement, it worked! Like an electrical conduit, the small strand began to pump energy from the external heat and sunlight into him. Being careful not to let that connection slip, he turned once again to the rock, this time, applying the resonant energy to a larger area of one wall. Small pockets of moisture steamed away with hisses and pops. Tiny algae plants and mosses cooked and burned. In moments, an area of the cave wall about one foot square was glowing red.

The area close to his 'heater' was uncomfortably hot, but as he moved into the center of the cavern, he felt only pleasant warmth radiating from the wall. He didn't know how much the air in the cavern would heat, and if necessary, he would adjust the heat later. For now, he was satisfied.

Considering his heating method a success, Will now turned his attention to food. He supposed he could kill game from the surrounding area to cook and eat, but didn't relish the thought of hearing the mental cries of whatever animal he chose for his meal. No, he decided, he would first try to find a source of pre-packaged food. If he got his food from human inhabited sources however, he was either going to have to steal it or find some way to pay for it. Also, he wanted to be sure not to create a pattern that would reveal his location to searchers.

The last part of that was easy. Since he could move around pretty much at will, he could scatter his appearances so far and wide that no one would have any idea where to look for him. The problem was how to pay for what he got. He didn't want to steal anything, partly out of common decency and partly out of sympathy for whomever he might take it from.

He had money in an account in Santa Clara, but suspected that if he went after it, the Feds would be all over him in an instant.

I need to find a way to finance us, Nine, he thought, any ideas?

Why not just take what you need? Nobody will know it's you, and with your abilities, even if they did find out, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

I thought about that, Tina, Will answered, but it doesn't sit right. Just because I can, doesn't make it okay to do it. Everything I stole would make life just that much harder for somebody, and that's not what I signed up to this program for.

Always knew you were a softy, Ten! Tina replied. Guess that's part of what I like about you. How about precious metals? Maybe with all those powers you've got, you can find some gold or silver or something.

Hmmm, Will thought. I don't know. Let's see...

Will had found the cave by searching for cavities in the rock that composed the mountain range, and had noted that some of the surrounding materials were denser than others, but would that help him find something like gold or silver?

Never having even thought about prospecting, Will had little knowledge of how to proceed, though he seemed to remember reading somewhere that gold was often found in quartz rock. Almost absent-mindedly, he heated the tip of a stalactite to white heat, giving himself a physical view of his surroundings for the first time. Sure enough, a vein of quartz ran through the cavern, but he could not see anything that looked like gold, and his mental vision showed no significant density changes within it. He allowed his mindsight to follow the vein as it sank into the floor of the cavern. Further down, maybe a hundred yards beneath his feet, the vein suddenly widened into a vast sea of frozen igneous rock, within which, he could detect both more and less dense material.

Figuring that the less dense material would not be helpful, he turned his focus on the denser areas. Some of them, including a rather large pocket within the quartz field, seemed promising, but how to know? Could he move a small sample into the cave for visual examination?

Focusing in on a small volume of the dense material, Will 'moved' it to the ledge in front of him. A small spherical shape appeared at his feet, and promptly began to roll away into the darkness. It had already fallen off the edge of the ledge by the time Will thought to react.

Physically, he reached for the marble-sized piece as it disappeared over the edge, and automatically, his mind sought to deny its escape. To Will's astonishment, the little ball floated upward to hang, steady as a rock, in mid-air before his surprised countenance! He became conscious of holding the piece by its positional energy. Experimentally, he moved it left, right, up, down, growing more assured with each movement.

Nine, watching mentally from her cell back in the underground complex, thought Wow!

Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on Robinson? Will asked, not really upset.

I am, Nine replied. But that doesn't take a lot of attention, and this is a much better show!

I wish I could say it's just parlor tricks, Will returned. This stuff is starting to scare me, Nine.

Yeah, well, she answered, if it scares you that badly, imagine what it's going to do to the terrorists!

You're a 'cup's half full' kind of person, aren't you Nine? Will thought at her sardonically.

In your case, I'd say that cup is damn near overflowing, Ten! Tina thought back at him, her laughter clear in his mind.

Yeah, well, I've got a feeling this could be a mixed blessing, but I'll take it for what it's worth for the moment.

Will turned his attention back to the little ball of material that floated in front of him. Holding out his hand, palm up, he let go of the ball with his mind. It dropped solidly into his palm, heavier than he would have expected from its size. The weight and the gold color made him reasonably certain that what he had was almost pure gold, but he needed to be sure. He knew of only one other material that might fool him into thinking it was gold, and while this didn't look like the crystalline structure of iron pyrite, he had never seen either metal excised from the earth in a perfectly smooth sphere.

He knew of a couple of other tests he could perform. Holding the ball between thumb and forefinger, he squeezed. To his satisfaction, the material slowly flattened. Even his enhanced muscles shouldn't have been able to do that to iron pyrite without shattering it, but the softness of gold was another matter.

Okay, one more test. The wall he had heated earlier still glowed red, so he looked around for something he could use to hold the metal against the rock.

At first he was stymied, until Nine sent Why don't you just hold it the same way you kept it from rolling away?

Oh yeah! Will thought back, then, in his best Homer Simpson imitation, Doh!

Levitating the now deformed ball toward the heat of the rock, Will pushed with his mind until it touched. It took a few seconds for the metal to absorb enough heat, but sure enough, the side touching the rock, and then the entire piece began to soften. Like cupping his hands under water, Will formed the energy holding the lump into a bowl shape just in time to catch the liquid gold as it melted into the depression. A few small bits of impurity floated on the surface, and Will sent out another small burst of energy to flick them away.

Withdrawing the now molten gold from the heat source, Will used the reverse of the technique he had used to get energy to heat the wall. He drew heat energy out of the gold and let it disperse into the air, watching the little golden puddle quickly solidify. He figured there was about an ounce and a half or two ounces of almost pure gold in that little ingot. Fair trade for almost anything he wanted to purchase for now.