Cyber Witch

Chapter 8.1 - Sure Would be a Shame to Die Now

Had to admit — some of her explanation went over my head. I asked, "What about the mind-control application?"

"That part is super-secret. Your uncle took steps to make sure very few knew about it. Theoretically, the bots could also rewire the brain and create false associations, thus bending a person's response to stimuli."

I blew out a breath. "Hate to think what a marketer might do with this. Could they make the public crave, say, Goober Gummies?"

Avia laughed out loud, which, in turn, warmed my heart.

She continued, "Something like that. But there are some things even worse. People could be compelled to accept certain political agendas, or to worship a dictator. Workers might accept slave-like conditions, or soldiers to never question an order. Some truly evil super-villain stuff."

"The public would never accept that."

"But they wouldn't know about it. People would line up to get the nano-bot health and longevity benefits. Then, if the mind association technology worked, Omni-Corp would nudge them to accept what the corporation desires, or whoever controls it."

"Damn... So, what's holding the technology back?" I asked.

"The problem is that every brain is wired different, and it's difficult to create new associations. Essentially, each brain has to be mapped to calibrate the nano-bots, and that takes a lot of clever programing code they just don't have yet. Right now, the best they can do is alter general emotional response."

"You said before that you wanted to create a cure?"

"I'm working on it." Avia tapped her head. "Since I have the bot control code, it's possible I could counteract it. But anyway, I have enough documents to expose Omni-Corp once we get somewhere to transmit them."

I grinned. "It seems the Cyber Witch is not so villainous, after all."

*****

We dropped out of warp as close to the planetary system as we could, as limited by the gravity well, but had to retro-thrust hard to match orbital velocity, using up precious fusion fuel.

From a distance, Eden did not live up to its name. Extensive ice caps covered almost half the planet's surface, centered at the poles. Narrow, pale blue-green seas traced bleak gray and brown landscapes, except for streaks of ice at higher elevations. Cloud cover was sparse, comprising only a few swirled white patches. This was a desolate world.

Avia accessed the shuttle sensors with her cybernetics. Data appeared on the forward view-screen. "Ambient conditions are acceptable, pressure and composition. The air is breathable, but cold outside of the equatorial regions. Gravity is only slightly less than Earth standard."

I glanced down at the red blinking numbers showing the fuel tank pressure. "We're running on fumes. I am cutting the fusion reactors to minimum to save what we have left for re-entry braking."

The blockish shuttle wasn't designed for atmospheric flight. Theoretically, the hull should withstand the frictional heat of re-entry, as long as we didn't go too fast. But that required high fusion thruster output, and we had only one operational thruster and limited fuel.

Avia refined the re-entry calculations in her head and input the parameters into the ship piloting AI, then displayed the course as a green dotted line within a holographic display. It skimmed by one of two rocky moons.

"We can use the moon's relative motion to help slow us down and save some fuel," she explained.

"Glad I brought you along," I remarked with a wink.

After a few tricky maneuvers, we settled into low planet orbit and searched for a landing site, and hopefully, not a crash site.

"There," I exclaimed, pointing at the holographic view of Eden's surface, "the green swath near the sea. It looks like plant life."

"It is." A wide, hopeful smile brightened Avia's face as she increased magnification with her mind, revealing unnatural straight lines and constructed structures. "I'm picking up energy signatures. Zach, the area is occupied."

My smile matched hers and hoped bloomed in my heart. "Okay, that's where we shall go. Can you make the calcs?"

"Already did," Avia answered.

"Too bad we can't call ahead and make dinner reservations." Unfortunately, the frigate attack fried the coms. We would come in unannounced, and I hoped they, whomever they were, would not be hostile.

After we buckled in, Avia supervised the ship AI as it fired the thruster, and we dropped into the atmosphere, aft end first. I stood by in the pilot's seat. Acceleration forces pushed us into our padded seats.

A low rumble began, but then strengthened into teeth-chattering vibration, and grit danced across the deck. The thruster output decreased as we slowed, but continued to control our velocity. My eyes flitted across key parameters displayed on the control panel.

"The hull temperature is rising," I yelled over the noise, "but within limits." But something else worried me more — the fuel tank pressure. "We are almost out of fuel."

"I know." Avia shouted, closing her eyes. "Making course adjustments to conserve. It's going to get rough."

She was right. The shuttle lurched upward, then fell down. If we hadn't been fastened in, the forces would have flung us across the bridge. Violent shudders pulsed through the ship, shaking as if a tectonic quake.

We lurched again. The maneuvering jets fired wildly to keep us from tumbling uncontrolled across the sky.

"There's too much atmospheric turbulence," Avia yelled. "Hard to hold on course--"

With a sudden jolt, her words became a cry. I grunted as the seat restraints constricted my chest. An alarm horn screamed from the control panel, and flashing red letters spelled out 'Pilot AI Fail.'

Wide-eyed, Avia whipped her head around to me, and I knew she no longer controlled the shuttle's descent.

"Shifting to manual pilot," I announced as I swiped the control panel, bringing up the thruster screen. "Sure would be a shame to die now."

With the shaking, it was difficult to operate the control slides. But by what must be divine intervention, I kept the ship intact. Viewed through a small rounded window, the ground came ever closer. As we further slowed, the bucking lessened.

Then the next problem hit.

'No. 1 Reactor Fail' said the alarm lights.

"We are out of fuel!" I growled, gritting my teeth.

Even though the fuel stopped, the reactor still had some residual heat. Flipping to the reactor screen, I used the heat to create superheated steam for the maneuvering jets, filling them to maximum capacity. Then I fired a lateral jet to swing the shuttle around nose first.

"What are you doing?" Avia asked, her eyes growing wider still.

"We will glide in for a water landing. It's the only chance we have."

Unfortunately, the shuttle had all the glide characteristics of a brick. I pitched the nose up slightly to increase drag. The ship bucked in response.

A green landscape flashed past a window as our momentum shot us past our intended landing site, turning a rugged rocky seashore.

"Hang on, Avia, we are going in hard."

Nodding, she reached across to place a hand on my arm. Her gentle touch inspired confidence, and a tingling warmth spread through me.

As the frothing water came closer and at the last moment before impact, I fired the forward jets at full output, hoping to slow us down at least a little.

Then, with a bone jarring jolt, we crashed into the surf.