Cold Fusion - A Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Fusion Short Story Anthology

AtA part 2

By the time the darkness receded, Merakith could feel the space he was now in, shifting around him. Opening his eyes, he looked down at his hands and, instead of flesh and blood, he found them formed out of gleaming metal and plastic.

"Neurological functionality test in three, two, one," Ikon's voice droned inside his head before his vision exploded with light and shapes that took him to the limits of tolerance and beyond. Then it was gone, replaced by sound moving through tones and octaves, then pins and needles throughout his body.

"Full functionality confirmed," Ikon reported. "Consciousness transfer successful. Your remote unit is fully operational."

"Acknowledged," he said, making his fingers move with a thought to confirm that the android shell his consciousness was transferred into, was, indeed, under his full control. Satisfied that it was with that small test, he went on.

"Establish transdimensional neural umbilical," Merakith directed in that voice that was his, yet a little more flat and lifeless.

"Umbilical established," Ikon indicated even as he felt ghostly pinpricks in his left arm. "All neurological functionality is now in remote host mode. Putting your body into hibernation."

"Is the Star Song secure?" he asked to ensure the lock down protocol had been followed. He would hate to make the trip to the surface only to watch his ship abruptly fold out of orbit and leave him stranded.

"All systems secure and the Star Song is in a stable geosynchronous orbit," Ikon replied, referring to the massive scout ship he had piloted through folded space to this place. "You are cleared for drop, sojourner."

"Initiate drop," he commanded and the small, white space he now occupied, twisted 45 degrees to the left. Then, with a hard jolt, he was falling.

Instantly the featureless interior of what he now knew was the drop pod, lit up with a dozen different holographic displays as the pod's sensors began feeding data into the system. Speed of descent, atmospheric drag, gravitational force, and terminal location were all segments of what his artificial eyes were seeing in the panoramic display. While his android shell could've just as easily poured the data straight into his brain, generating a virtual display in his mind, he preferred the more tactile holo-projection. It may have been just a trick of his mind, but he always felt less disoriented by the transfer that way.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of being buffeted around by storms in the upper atmosphere, the pod's landing thrusters fired, slowing his descent with another hard jolt. If he'd been in his real body, the sudden change would've broken bones and ruptured tissues. His shell, however, was made of much studier stuff and the hard braking only generated mild discomfort.

Then the pod's landing alarms were going off as it neared the ground and its landing struts began to extend. For a brief moment the pod hung suspended as the landing thrusters equaled the planet's gravity, the blast serving to also burn clear the landing zone. Then it once more began to drop, easing downward to come to gently rest on the surface.

At that point Merakith sprung into motion.

"Initiating anchoring sequence," he said, his shell's artificial fingers dancing over the holographic interface that appeared in front of him in response to the completed landing. "Shield spikes deployed. Shield activated. Sweeping the surrounding area for hostile elements."

His fingers of metal and plastic became a blur as they wove over the interface, triggering subroutines and activating the pod's primary and secondary functions.

"Perimeter established. Negative on the scan for hostiles. Tuning the shield to filter out environmental toxins. Deploying test kit and autonomous assist."