Return to Proxima Centuri Four

"The power of Love protect you Mister President," said Barton Hawthorne the Mayer of Montdavis, the largest city on Proxima Centuri Four.

"And you," replied President Rubinic.

"President Gleland will see you in a few minutes, he's currently working with CyberBio engineers and scientists to prevent the spread of the terrorist virus here. It would be catastrophic if we couldn't use any of our medical, engineering, construction, or any other of our droids. Proxima Centuri relies on Droids for 98 percent of its work force."

"Very prudent of you all. Certainly our scientists will share any information we have on the virus."

Jon Rishi, Paul Ashvale, Terrie Rishi, and Bob Zinfidel stood on board President Rubinic's ship, just out of sight of Mayor Hawthorne.

Changing the subject Rubinic said, "I expected a larger greeting, Barton."

"I'm sorry for the informal meeting, we've been at our wits ends trying to figure this out and haven't had time to put anything together. I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, but we're such old friends, I thought I could at least trust Jenny and Coren to meet me."

"Oh, they asked to," replied Hawthorne, "but we wouldn't allow it. They are locked inside a safe area with a lot of other important people. There are no droids allowed. Until we get control over this virus the people must be kepts from the droids."

"Just shut your droids down like we did."

"We can't do that, the planet will stop functioning. We'd likely run out of atmosphere due to equipment failure in a few weeks. Currently the droids are working as fast as they can on the rain forests, we're trying to move the schedule up by two years."

"What forests?" asked Rubinic sincerely.

"It was meant to be a surprise. We're working on making a stable habitat on Proxima Centuri. All the teraformers that were were supposed to be sent to Leo are working full time. Almost a million droids are planting seeds. We were on schedule for ecological balance in two years, now we're trying to get it done in two months."

"Fascinating. I though the people of Proxima Century didn't want plant and wildlife here?"

"At first they didn't, however over the last millennium people watched the Earth grow green and lush and have become home sick. Well, I guess you could say they think the grass is greener on earth because it has grass."

Rubinic laughed and said, "I have brought some visitors with me. I believe you've met all but one."

Terrie took Rubinic's queue and exited the space craft. "Hi Barton, how are you?"

"Terrie! So glad to see you, so is your husband here?"

"Yes," said Rishi as he exited the space craft, and Paul is here as well."

Paul said, "Hey Barton, long time no see. I trust my company is still in tact?"

"Yeah, you've got the best management team in the galaxy, a little time away from you isn't going to slow them down. I'm really glad you are all here, we need your help looking at the virus."

"We've been studying it at President's Rubinic's home on Mars," said Rishi, "we haven't been able to make any headway. It doesn't seem to be executable."

"We have copies, mostly fragments, from droids that were grabbed just before they shut down after being damaged by plasma gun fire."

"We have the whole code, provided by President Rubinic."

Bob Zinfidel walked off the ship and Mayer Hawthorne turned and stood wide eyed. "President Zinfidel! Its such a pleasure to meet you. I am honored to be able to greet you. If we had known President Rubinic would bring you, I'm certain President Gleland would have met you here today."

After saying those words, Mayer Hawthorne looked at President Rubinic who smiled sympathetically.

One of the newly hired castle guards stepped forward at the finger motion of Mayer Hawthorne who said, "With President Rubinic's permission, please take Mister Ashvale and Mister and Misses Rishi to CyberBio Corp so they can help with the virus."

"That's why they are here," said Rubinic.

"Great. President Rubinic and President Zinfidel, please come with me, we'll interrupt President Gleland, I'm sure he's anxious to see you've arrived."

Terrie, Paul, and Rishi followed the guard to a long hallway which lead to large clear cubes called translators. The doors to the translator opened and and the guard said, "three to go to CyberBio systems."

The Cube said, "Understood, who do we have here?"

Terrie, Rishi and Paul walked into the cube and the cube said, "Terrie and Jon Rishi, nice to see you. Nice to see you as well Paul Ashvale. I hope your visit to Sol was pleasant."

"Honestly," said Paul, "its nice to be back on Nanny Proxima Four."

The translator sped along vast corridors, sweeping curves, inside and outside of buildings. Fifteen minutes later it stopped at the hospital.

"Why are we stopping here?" asked Rishi.

"I told it to," said Terrie.

"But how?" asked Paul.

"I've got a lot of secrets," replied Terrie, "its not important now. We're going to need help, and I know where to get it."

The three of them stepped off the translator, the doors closed and they watched it proceed down the line a few hundred feet, pass a junction, stop and then fall straight downward.

Rishi, Terrie and Paul raced to a down looking window and watched as it plummeted to the man made structures below.

"Did you do that?" asked Paul.

"No," said Terrie, but before she could continue to speculate what happened, the power shut off.

"The virus!" said Paul.

"That would be my guess too," said Rishi.

Looking out the window, down on the city below, the three watched as lights went out in a sweeping pattern across the surface of the city.

The hospital resides twenty thousand feet in the air, on the old space elevator tower that had been built to bring building materials to the man made world. PC4 had been built from planetoids gathered from Proxima and Alpha Centuri, brought together and then pounded into a planet by gravity generators. Its core had been supplied by a mostly iron asteroid found in the Leonidas star system.

In the distance, Terrie, Paul and Rishi heard the whine of a ship's engines. "That's probably President Rubinic," said Terrie. "I hope Bob's okay." "Bob is probably with him," replied Rishi.

A door behind Paul opened and a droid walked in shining light from an appendage on its side. Paul and Rishi jumped in front of Terrie.

"That is not necessary sirs," said the droid, "I have not been infected, only the main computer system has been infected."

"But that's impossible," said Rishi. That system was designed to be impenetrable."

"But surely," said Paul to the droid, "if the system is taken over, so are you."

"All system droids have been shut down by executive order," said the Droid.

"Then why are you still on?"

Terrie pushed her way though her protectors and said, "This is one of mine, they are not on the main grid. Not even Terrie and Mary know."

"How many do you have?"

"There are six of these and I have another six unactivated who's wetware is exactly like Mary's."

"Six more?" asked Paul.

"Yes, six more."

"Please follow me Maam. I'll take you to your lab."

Terrie followed the droid. Paul and Rishi followed behind in the pitch blackness.

Rishi recognized the path they took, it lead to the droid repair labs.

Terrie walked up to a door labeled, "closet," placed her palm on it and it slid open.

"I hope you appreciate the trust I'm showing you," said Terrie.

The lab, like the rest of the planet was without power. Terrie followed the droid to a panel, slid it open with her hand and flipped a large lever. The room powered up.

"I hope you forgive me Paul, I stole one of CyberBio's back up fusion generators. I couldn't figure out a way to prevent the hospital from sensing the power drain."

The room was small and full of various equipment. In the center lay a work space covered in various plastic components, with jars of biological matter that had gone bad many weeks before. Terrie looked at it and said, "I forgot to put that back in the fridge."

The smell was horrible so Terrie picked up the various containers and threw it into a panel that would burn it to a fine ash. As soon as she closed the door, it locked and a readout indicated the temperature inside had risen to 7000 degrees Celsius.

"There, now lets figure out how to make some copies, shall we?"

"Is that such a good idea?" asked Paul.

"We need help. The whole planet needs help Paul. You know how much air we have before the whole population dies. We'll be lucky to be alive in two weeks. This must have been Rubinic's plan from the start."

"You think he's going to allow the whole population to die?" asked Paul.

"I doubt it," said Rishi "Eventually he'll need the planet functioning again, but for now he couldn't risk its interference in his plan for galactic conquest."

Terrie ordered the droid to get some food from the kitchens and then walked to six large clear plastic closets. There was a fine mist on the inside of the plastic that made viewing its contents impossible.

"Is that droid different from the other droids in the hospital?" asked Paul.

"Not anymore. Those six were my first attempt with wetware that functioned. Unfortunately they did not become sentient. They are based on CyberBio's class sixteen. Mary and Sherrie are based on class twenty-one."

"We haven't shipped class twenty-one yet," said Paul.

"I know, that's why I used you Paul, to get to them. I stole nine all together and set them up here. I realized what I had done wrong with class sixteen, then I put the sixteens back to factory specification."

"You stole nine of the prototypes?" asked Rishi.

"Yes. I put two of their hardwares in Mary and Sherrie. They were my first successes."

"Did you really ask them if they wished to be sentient?"

"No. That's a false memory I implanted in them to change their personalities."

"Wait," said Paul. "You said nine prototypes. These six and Mary and Sherrie count eight, where's the ninth?"

Terrie pressed a button on the wall near the large clear plastic closets and their doors opened simultaneously.

Inside where six identical copies of Terrie.

"Holy Sweet Jesus!" said Rishi, "You're a copy of Terrie! Do you have any idea how many laws you've broken. I mean how many laws she's broken. Wait. Where is Terrie?"

Terrie looked at the floor a moment and said, "my body was dying. I couldn't stop it. There was no medical technology that could extend my life and I couldn't leave my son and you alone in the world."

Terrie began pressing keys on a control board near the first cabinet and the droid copy of herself, nearest to her, woke up.

"Oh crap," Terrie3 said. "Longevity problems?"

"No. I need your help. Activate our sisters, copy my memory and then get to work."

"What could have been so bad that you need our help? You might be sacrificing our time with our son and husband." As she said that Terrie3 saw Rishi and shock flashed across her face.

"Just do as I say," said Terrie2.

"I obey only because I know I'm Terrie number three."

"That's why that memory is there," said Terrie2.

Paul stood with his jaw open as a beautiful, naked, carbon copy of Terrie stepped out of the closet and began typing frantically on the input pad of the computer near the closets. One after another the droids activated. Each awoke with the same thought, "No way is the longevity is this bad."

Rishi said, "to be honest, I've never been this turned on in my life, but answer my question, where is Terrie?"

Terrie2 walked to an another wall, opened a small door and out slid a tray containing the body of a very frozen Terrie Rishi.

"We're hoping we'll find a cure and be able to wake her up. That was the plan anyway."

"Wait," said Paul, "how long have you been a droid?"

"About a year."

"Sherrie faked healing you?" asked Paul.

Terrie2 shook her head and said, "I faked the whole injury and then manipulated Mary."

"Oh good, here comes the memory copy," said Terrie2 as she slid her human original back into the wall."

All the Terrie's blinked and then each of them looked at each other and said, "I can't believe it!"

"Its going to be chaos with all of us enabled. We're not going to get along."

Then they all announced, "it will be some time before we've separated our paths enough to behave differently. It is critical that you give us each something different to do to give us separate identities."

Rishi understood and said, "Terrie2, please wait here, Terrie3, take your sisters and get them clothing, you'll need the class sixteen droids to help you, then each of you take a system at the hospital and see if you can it going. If you separate the hospital computer systems from the planetary systems you should be able to light up the building, that should bring everyone in the city here."

Rishi touched Terrie6's shoulder. It was soft, warm and exactly as he remembered.

Terrie6 looked into Rishi's eyes and said, "I'm here Jon and I still love you. I'm just not exactly as you remember me."

Terrie6 leaned forward and placed her arms around Rishi, he did the same and squeezed gently, then the other Terries followed, forming a large cluster around Rishi. A group hug from seven perfect replicas of his wife.

Paul said, "What about me?"

"We used you," said Terrie2. "We're sorry about that," said Terrie7. "We needed your clearance to steal the parts to build these bodies," said Terrie4.

Terrie6 looked into Rishi's eyes and said, "I'm not really her. You understand. I've got everything but her soul."

Paul asked, "Do you have a soul?"

Of course said Terri3, we all do, they are just different than our mother who's in that drawer asleep, hopefully to awaken again some day.

"Cryogenic status was outlawed too, you know," said Paul.

"We know," said all the Terries at once.

Terrie6 kissed Rishi passionately and said, "Thank you for singling me out, If you like I will be your wife until Terrie1 is awakened."

Terrie2 spoke and said, "I will be our son's mother until she wakes up."

Terrie4 said, "and if you'd like Paul, I will be your girlfriend."

"Nope." said Paul, "too weird for me."

Rishi looked into Terrie6's eyes and said, "I know you're not her, its not necessary to offer yourself as a surrogate. I think we should just form new relationships. After all I've learned from Sherrie and Mary I think I can at least accept you all as friends."

"I'm glad for that," said Terrie6 as she squeezed him again.

A system sixteen entered the lab. She scanned the Terrie copies, isolated the one she was looking for and said, "Maam," to Terrie2.

"Yes," said Terrie2.

"Some people followed me here. They have brought food for Jon and Paul." The System Sixteen blinked, paused, then mysteriously turned and lead all the nude Terries out the door to the shock and amazement of the people in the hallway.

Terrie2 said, "I'm in constant contact with them, they'll keep me informed."

"You never told Sherrie and Terrie?" asked Rishi.

"No. They were the first people I had to convince I was Terrie."

"You succeeded?"

"I think so, but to be honest its hard to know for sure, that Sherrie is pretty devious."

The people in the hallway included the medical staff who worked on Paul and Rishi a month earlier. They brought in food, cleared some space on the lab bench and everyone, except Terrie2 started to eat.

"Do you think they'll get power going?" asked Paul to Rishi.

"I believe they will, the question is: will we get power back to the oxygen converters."