EarthFall

Chap 31 Real Humans...

"Hello?"

Carson said simply. There was a long silence at the other end before a man said:

"What is your name and number soldier? Where is the Commander!"

The Canis prowled over and growled into the Comm set, then sat on its haunches and licked itself.

"You want to speak with the Commander?" Carson asked.

"Immediately!" The man said sharply. Carson could tell he was accustomed to getting what he wanted.

"Yea, well you're speaking to him. My name is Carson Ezekiel Daniels, and I'm assuming Command."

There was laughter on the other end of the line.

"How dare you..." The director began.

"If you don't like it, learn to adapt."

There was silence, followed by the sound of glass breaking somewhere, followed by the sound of gushing water. What was going on over there? A few moments later, the voice came back on the line.

"You are certainly not, assuming anything other than a shallow grave... young man. I'll have you fed to the Sentinels for your little show of bravado here. I'll make you choose which loved one dies first. I'll--"

"May I ask with whom I have the pleasure of speaking?" Carson interrupted him politely.

"Stalfon. Director Stalfon Surdesh. You would do well to remember the name, it will be--"

"I get the feeling you're not a fan of this arrangement?" Carson asked innocently.

"You have no idea of the resources I possess--" But Carson cut him off again.

"That's too bad." Then Carson hung up. He touched the strange Comm device on the table, and the light went out. It grew dark and silent.

Carson looked at Hail. The man seemed genuinely horrified.

"What... what have you done?"

"What's the matter Hail? You scared? You can't even feel pain. Hell, you're less human than we are." Carson replied.

The Comm began to glow again. Carson smiled.

He tapped it the comm and looked at Doc.

"Where is shipment Z?" Carson asked in a neutral tone.

Hail began to yell something but Tucker and Cornelius smothered him with a makeshift gag.

"There is no shipment Z! It was meant to be the last batch of drones, but we felt no need to keep them warm anymore. They were disposed of. Can you imagine if we let them live? The kinds of lives they would lead? Rejected by society for being unnatural? You should be thankful we let you integrate at all before sending you on your way into that good night." The director said furiously.

Carson gritted his teeth. His hunch said this slimy bastard was lying... 1000%.

"Thankful? Us clones should be thankful for what you've done for us? Did I hear that right?"

"Yes! We let you see the world. Multiple worlds! We let you make friends, fall in love, pretend to be real humans."

"Are you planning on moving the population en mass to Earth anytime soon?" Carson asked, staying focused. He didn't want to get baited.

"Why of course! We just had to make sure any remnants of that twisted Ai remained. We were going to start sending missions a few months from now!" Stalfon screamed into the Comm.