Black Star

Chapter Thirteen

The professor later recalled how he first became suspicious or perhaps aware might be a better choice of word. He became aware of changes in Jagger inconsistent with any organic human. Years later, he would laugh at how obvious it was, and yet he was willing to pass it all off with the lamest of excuses.

The pair were working late into the night, which was not unusual. Unfortunately, another thing at the time which was not unusual were the power spikes.

The humanists were becoming more disruptive recently. Over the years graduating from a bunch of eco nuts who were a quirk in society, living on its fringes to a fully-fledged nuisance to normal people of Heathen. There were rumours about how they had grown in number on the outside. If they breed naturally as some say then they were completely unregulated in numbers or DNA. If it was true that they were scavenging off Mother's systems for food and resources, then this might destabilise Heathen. 

Drake had heard there were millions of them out there, living like animals. Some said a handful barely survived outside with most dying in infancy or through other means. They were using physical organic breeding methods to produce a generation of juves who had never stepped foot inside Heathen. It was well known that the outside harboured viruses and germs of every kind. What was certain was there were growing numbers within Heathen and their attitude challenged every form of decency. They shunned technology and prophesied doom to anyone who would listen. They claimed the reliance on technology which had served humanity for hundreds of years would end in disaster. They had recently begun a new tactic of purposefully disrupting power supplies and transport systems causing aggravation. There were reports of graffiti or physically attacks on drones carrying out legitimate tasks. Not content to live like animals they wanted to take everyone else with them.

On this particular night, the spike that knocked out the lighting and the systems lasted for only a few seconds but was particularly deep.

So much so that Duke had become confused and had to be rebooted. The reboot process went on in the background, but Duke had mentioned it later. He never stopped functioning or carrying out his duties. This seemed to be the catalysts to what followed and the changes in Jagger's behaviour that made Touchreik suspicious. It was a day or two later when it all began.

The pair were sat opposite each other chatting about something quite inane.

"Tomorrow is Tuesday, would you like to switch days and we can visit the reserve instead?"

Jagger simply closed his eyes for around 10 seconds and became completely expressionless. Ten seconds is a long time and at first, Touchreik thought he might well be concentrating on his answer. He spoke not a word in response until he opened his eyes and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"No, I'd prefer to keep things as they are, it makes more sense."

This behaviour happened a few times in the days that followed and continued although less frequently. The time between the incidents widened, but they had a particular resonance for Touchreik. These kinds of niggling problems were familiar to anyone who had spent considerable social time with a hacked drone.

Touchreik was familiar with this behaviour with Ramona and had adapted to it quite naturally with her. He wouldn't acknowledge it because in her mind, there had been no pause in the conversation. Having discussed it with her, it appeared there was absolutely no break-in time for her whatsoever. Once he was aware then he would simply wait and then continue his conversation normally without making a fuss. He mirrored this behaviour with Jagger and so presumed he would have no idea of his suspicions. The problem was that Jagger was clearly no drone, he was a DNA human. One look at him would tell you that. His flawless skin was by no means flawless, not in the way a drone's might be. His mannerisms and movements were very fluid and cumbersome just like a human. He displayed all the traits attributed to organics and this made Touchreik feel quite unnerved when he decided to test Jagger.