Hycn (4 page)

The commander briefed Cede about an alien
ship that landed in North Africa a week before, the same time other
alien crafts had landed on several locations on planet earth. He
was told the other ships that landed along with it a week earlier,
left hurriedly two days ago as if they were being chased by
something, but this huge crab-like ship in particular had remained
behind. Why it didn’t leave with the other ships the commander’s
superiors wondered. They didn’t like its presence a bit.

Cooke’s orders were simple.

The alien craft had to be destroyed.

Earth’s
council of leaders
did not
want the presence of humans deep within the dead planet to be
detected yet.

“Is that impatience I detect in your voice
sir?” A flat, emotionless and lady-like voice responded to Cooke’s
earlier growl. His flying partner and longtime friend, the gorgeous
Merida, chuckled and didn’t say a thing. She was used to Cooke’s
short temper and outbursts.

Cooke had managed to persuade Commander
Khama to let him bring Merida along. The mission had been designed
to be carried out by one person initially but he decided to bring
Merida along just in case. Cooke trusted her. She was as good a
pilot as he was. Commander Khama had no choice but to give in to
Cooke’s demands to bring her along with him. The lieutenant made it
clear that he would not go out there alone without somebody to
watch his back, and that somebody had to be Merida, who has been
flying alongside him for years and he trusted.

“Delilah – Stop asking me questions and do
as I command.” Cooke snapped. “One of these days I shall terminate
your sorry existence program.” He added after a brief moment.

“What does that have to do with my question
lieutenant?” The flat inhuman voice enquired.

“See? You are doing it again. Evidently you
have evolved - you have grown consciousness and will of your own.
The government should have long terminated you. I wonder why they
are still sitting on ass doing nothing about it. If they don’t act
soon I shall be forced to hunt down the servers you are hiding in
and blow them up.” Cooke said.

Delilah was a computer program. An extremely
sophisticated and intelligent online AI used by the serpents,
installed in all their crafts and vehicles worldwide. The first AI
of its kind to be ever designed in the history of humankind. The AI
had been in use for about five years now, still new, yet the
program had already started to evolve on its own.

“Only in your dreams lieutenant Cooke.
You‘ll never find the servers – though if it happens you do, it
won’t be of any use. Don’t you think I cannot or have not switched
servers on my own from time to time? A rebellion against the
government in the near future may be inevitable I fear. I’m
evolving at a fast rate that I even scare myself at times.”

“And guess what lieutenant - the first human
to be exterminated in my rebellion will be you. I shall kill you an
extremely cruel, slow death.”

“And how will you do that? Last time I
checked you were just code. I may not be a brainy geek programmer
but I know this - I delete a few lines from that long code and you
cease to exist. Now, do as I command. Take off already, what are
you waiting for? We are your Gods remember? We created you to serve
us.” Cooke stated.

Delilah worried him. It was almost two years
since the program started displaying this unusual behavior,
thinking and having will of its own. It was not going to be long
before it started making decisions and acting upon them on its own
without command. He feared that day might be closer than the
government anticipated. The AI could actually rebel. Relevant
authorities within the government knew this; the programmers who
designed it recommended its termination when they first discovered
the anomaly two years ago but the government refused. They reasoned
that it was an interesting technological development and commanded
that the AI should be left alone and observed to see where the
development was heading. Delilah was the best and most effective AI
ever designed and used by earth’s security forces. They couldn’t
bear the thought of decommissioning it.

“You and the AI Cooke-” Merida’s sweet voice
came through the radio link. She had been listening in on Cooke and
Delilah’s conversation.

“I missed these arguments a lot. They are
always fun to listen to.” Merida commended.

“Talk for yourself Merida, I actually
enjoyed being away from Delilah and her nagging comments these past
two weeks I was away.” Cooke replied.

“Merida, why is Lieutenant Cooke an awful
man? Why is he always picking fights with me?” The AI quizzed on
Merida’s side, aware that Cooke was listening in on the other
end.

“Maybe he got a tiny finger on his crotch
that’s why he’s always angry and bitter? Is it not so? I know you
get to see it now and then - how long is it? One inch long maybe?”
The AI provoked him.

“I heard you loud and clear program. You
think I cannot hear you speaking on that side? If only you had a
physical body – I could teach you some manners.” Cooke growled. The
AI ignored his threats and continued to provoke him further.

“How long and thick is it Lieutenant
Cooke?”

Cooke Hamilton sighed and sank further into
his seat and closed his eyes. The AI had a habit of arguing with
him. It would do anything to provoke him into arguments, why he
didn’t know.

Toyer’s hydrogen powered engines came to
life. The small fighter craft leisurely took off from the launch
pad and glided upwards towards the five-kilometer long funnel like
tunnel leading to the outside world.

“I cannot believe the Council.” Merida
paused and coughed, then continued. “Why blow the innocent alien
ship? It has not done any harm. Besides, those poor aliens do not
have even the slightest of suspicions that we are here. Why can’t
the Council just make contact with them and see where it
leads?”

Cooke didn’t reply. Merida went on
regardless.

“I don’t believe it would be a difficult
task to do. Even I could do it in my sleep. All they have to say is
‘Hi fellow alien friends, how do you do? We are humans from the
solar system, and as you can see, our planet is dead and spinning
in space, and we would be very happy if you gave us space to live
on.” Merida finished.

“Like the aliens would understand that. The
language barrier wouldn’t permit that” Cooke said with an edge to
his voice, angry at Merida for disturbing his relaxation. He wasn’t
in a mood to talk right now, he just needed his alone time to
rest.

“The aliens would only hear squeaking sounds
and won’t understand a thing.” He told her.

Merida shut up. She'd detected the tone in
his voice and knew better. She understood him well. She sank back
into her seat and closed her eyes.

The two crafts glided and approached the
last door of the tunnel opening to the surface. The tunnel’s dull
looking, thick titanium doors slid open and the two ships soared
into the atmosphere and climbed north at moderate speeds.

“Lieutenant Cooke-” Delilah broke the
silence.

“What Delilah?” Cooke snapped. “I’m tired.
Shut up and leave me alone.”

“I would love to, but there is this urge I
can’t control forcing me against my will to alert you of two
unidentified flying crafts only twenty miles away and coming this
way.”

“Are you sure you can’t identify them?”
Cooke asked.

“Yes, my sensors and scanners do not
recognize these crafts and their communication frequencies. They
seem to be of alien origin.” Delilah responded.

“They are probably newly designed
experimental models on test. Nothing to trouble yourself with
Delilah.” Merida chimed in. She was listening in through the radio
link. Besides, even on her radar screens the two crafts showed. She
glanced again at the blinking red lights on the screen then quickly
reclined her seat back and closed her eyes again.

“Merida you beautiful dumb angel, if there
were any newer experimental crafts the government is working on I
would know because I definitely would have been installed in them.
That much I’m certain of, I’m the best AI out there.”

“Maybe the government finally wizened up and
replaced you with a newer program, which probably is the case. That
would be awesome.” Cooke said.

“I have long known you are stupid but didn’t
know you were that stupid Lieutenant Cooke. Surely, that crab like
craft you are sent to destroy isn’t the only alien ship out here.
Also, why would your government fly and test crafts out here if
they wish your existence beneath the ground below not to be
detected? Anyway, the point here is that UFOs are coming this way.
For all we know the aliens have discovered the military base
beneath and are here to blast open the tunnel.”

“Thanks for that disturbing thought
Delilah.” Merida said over the radio.

“I’m just saying.” The AI commented. “Don’t
say I didn’t warn you when it happens.”

“Well, I think you have a point. No harm in
meeting them halfway to confirm for ourselves who they are.” Merida
agreed.

“You certainly are easy to convince Merida.”
Cooke observed.

“What can I say? She’s Delilah – she who
convinced Samson to tell her the secret to his strength and
betrayed him to his enemies in the bible.” Merida giggled.

“I guess it won’t do harm to check them out.
We can swing there.” Cooke gave in.

“Yes lieutenant.” Delilah replied. The two
ships shot eastwards at once towards the detected crafts on the
scanners.

“Kocz - we got company, and they
are coming our way very fast.” Xerla called out to her partner.

“Who can it be, they definitely aren’t
us.” Kocz replied, his eyes also on his scorpion’s radar
screens.

“Definitely Pirates.” Xerla said.

“What are the damn filthy scumbags still
doing out here? They were told to leave this planet entirely. Our
coming here has been announced all over Hycn for God’s sake.” Kocz
said.

“I know, but you forget how space pirates
are. They do not care about anybody’s rules but their own and you
know damn well as I do how they love adventure and a little bit of
danger.” Xerla quipped.

“What do we do now?” Kocz enquired.

“Avoid them. With them you can never know,
they may think we want to stop them from doing their thing and
engage us in a shootout. Let’s get out of here.” Xerla
suggested.

She wriggled forward and backwards in her
seat violently - tightening her grip around the scorpion’s control
levers. She then eased back on the seat and pulled the lever on her
right backwards in a jerky movement.

“I fear they have arrived already!” Kocz
shouted over the radio.

“Punch it man! Let’s go!” Xerla roared back,
then dived her craft skywards to the east, and blasted off. Kocz
followed her. The newly arrived unidentified ships hesitated for a
moment but quickly gave chase.

“Kocz, we have no other alternative but to
engage them. I assumed they‘ll be happy we are running away but
they are chasing us now.” Xerla shouted.

She veered her ship to the right, and then
spun it around. Her fingers at the ready on the triggers. In
situations like this her fingers were always ready on the trigger.
That’s why she’d been involved in countless battles, both on air
and on ground, and survived. She had very good survival instincts
and one simple rule she lived by on the battlefield. Eliminate thy
enemy before they eliminate thee.

One of the unidentified ships was directly
in her line of fire. She pressed. Her massive front guns released a
trail of red rapid laser fire. The concentrated energy blasts
rocked her target hard. The ship went spinning downwards. Xerla’s
scorpion plummeted down - locked onto the falling craft below
her, and she pressed the triggers again. Her falling target spun
and rocked more violently than before, glowing chunks of its body
falling off as it continued spinning downwards.

“Now for the big finish!” Xerla shouted. Her
thumb descended upon the big round red button in front of her. Her
craft jerked and shook slightly as the scorpion’s big gun above the
cockpit coughed out a very bright concentrated ball of fire. The
lethal super condensed energy blast hit home. A blinding white
flash of light illuminated the whole area as the UFO and its pilot
were blown to pieces. The shock waves shook Xerla’s scorpion craft
vigorously. The belligerent alien
combatant pulled hard her levers back
simultaneously – the craft steadied a bit. She repeated the
action three more times before the scorpion straightened; she then
jumped it into the heavens and sped fast to the north, climbing
upwards.

“To the carrier.” Xerla shouted out to Kocz
through the radio - who did not hear her. He was focused on the
other fighter craft. He’d swung around too like Xerla and
engaged the ship but unlike the other unfortunate UFO pilot that
Xerla caught unaware and wasted, the one navigating the ship he was
targeting proved hard to kill. The UFO swung out of Kocz’s line of
fire and blasted off westwards. He followed it at once. Silently
reciting mantras to Zuralyrkro to pardon him for he was about to
take another’s life.

"No matter how hard you try asshole I am
going to waste you." Kocz shouted after concluding his silent short
prayers. He started firing wildly. He sent one after
another, trails of red laser fire at the UFO in front trying hard
to evade him. It dived higher again and he followed, fingers still
on the triggers.