The Rise of the Cyborgs

Chapter 39/Brooklyn

I looked up and calculated the route up the side of the gorge back to the bridge above.

"It's three minutes and fourty seconds quicker to run. See you there." I said leaving Zoe/Frostbyte to drive. The way up was nearly vertical, but it was straight up the hill. The car had to zigzag its way up. The climb was incredibly steep. I pulled on the trees , plants and bushes to get up.

Getting up to the level of they overpass I scrambled up to the road level. There were black marks on the road were the sports car had pulled off. Checking I saw the convoy had disappeared. More cars passed but no one stopped. Most people were staring at their devices, sleeping. Their cars drove. Those that did notice wouldn't be able to program the car to stop and have even less ability to turn round and help. Only about a quarter of the population could drive by hand. They might phone it in. I calculated the traffic density and the likely hood of someone phoning. I had seven minutes before there was a reasonable chance of being spotted with a 95% confidence interval.

'Shøckwave' I said but each word I said was getting more and more desperate. I wasn't getting anything from him. I couldn't see his heartbeat, vital signs or any hint of network traffic. His cybernetic connection to me was off. That would happen if he was dead or his phone was crushed. Now on the flat, I could run next to the road. I rushed to the car trying to run fast but not so fast I looked abnormal. Up ahead the car had spun off the road and flipped over. It was now on its roof.

'I'm at the car' I told everyone. 'Shøckwave is trapped and not responding.'

While no one could physically help I got computations of the most likely path. The trajectory of the crash. No one could compute a most likely proberblity. The whole thing marshalled in my mind.

The way the car was designed the door wouldn't open with it upside down. Checking I broke the window with a kick. I looked inside. Brooklyn was hanging from the seat unconscious. He was upside down and trapped.

"Brooklyn!!!" I said aloud.

I could see from the micro-movements of his face that he was alive. Blood still flowed. His blood pressured was low. I had to get the car upright. I got out and then grabbed the passenger door. With a huge amount of effort lifted the side of the car. I picked the car up and rolled it over. The car rolled on to its wheels and rocked and bobbed up and down while it did it. I grabbed the driver's door and pulled it straight off its hinges. I threw the door down the embankment.

Soon Zoe turned up and parked her van. I tore Brooklyn's seat belt with my bare hands and ripped it apart like a gift wrap. I grabbed Brooklyn's head and tried to see if I could feel what was going wrong. By touching him, I made a body-area network connection. I wasn't getting much more than I did by the wireless connection.

Zoe rushed to me and knelt down beside me.

"What happened to him?" Zoe said as confused as I was. I could hear the desperation in her voice.

"I've got no idea," I said.

Zoe jumped over the car and reached in from the passenger side. I was still checking his eyes. There was a simple response. He was alive but beyond that, it was hard to figure out.

"Brooklyn, can you hear me ?" I said slapping his face. His head just rolled lifelessly.

While I worked, Zoe pulled out a USB cable and plugged her self into the car's USB port. Her face went blank as she dived the car's hardware. She looked up while I checked his pulse and breathing by putting my head to his chest.

"According to the logs, he was driving then just shut down mid manoeuvre," Zoe said to me silently. I could sense her concern. "he's bleeding."

On the far side of Brooklyn's head, I could feel red blood coming out.

"Did the car do anything just before? Transmission. Virus. Feedback?" I said to Zoe silently. It was much clearer and faster to talk digitally.

Zoe closed her eyes for a longer deep dive. I held pressure on Brookyln's head to stem the bleeding.

"We have to move fast, " Colin said in my head. "I'll remote drive the van. You to look after him."

As far as I could tell he didn't get any spinal damage in the car crash. I picked him Brooklyn and in my arms and carried him. I must have looked like an ant carrying a guerrilla. Booklyn's legs while more powerful than normal ones were still much lighter than typical flesh. Even so he wasn't a spring lamb. I stumbled to Zoe's van and opened the door remotely.

With the care of a new mother, I lay Brooklyn on the floor at the back. Springing up I put a rolled-up raincoat under his head.

"Its OK," I said not knowing what happened. "You're going to be OK."

Soon Zoe got into the van as well and we took off. In the distance, I heard the explosion as Zoe detonated the super high-density battery pack remotely.

"B,rooklyn" I said to him.

"Snyp3r" came Brooklyn's voice silently in my head. He moved. I found my eyes swelling up and a cold tear rolling down my face.

"I feel like I'm falling. Never to return from the abyss" He said silently. His voice sounded weak, like it was lost in the chambers and caverns of his mind.

I should have been finding a way to stop the bleeding. All I could do was cry and hold his hand.

"Brooklyn" I said "Brooklyn your'e going to be fine. I'm going to make sure. We are going to make sure."

"Such a lost world, never to feel your touch again." Brooklyn said "but hell is leaving without telling you that you are the most beautiful and special thing in my life. Remember of the first night what she said."

"Everyone back to the factory!" I said. "We can't loose Brooklyn. Not now. Not ever"