#strict machine

[Los Angeles, a hotel in 7th Sector]

They removed his restraints after the first day.

The one named Soap brings him food and a fresh change of clothes the next morning.  He overhears the one named Gaz advising Soap not to get too close, that he’s not Keller.

Twelve hours later, Soap seems to have decided that he doesn’t care if the captive is Keller or not, he plans to treat him in as friendly a manner as he can until release.

In truth, Alex gave up the idea of escape as he spoke with Dr. Krieger through Gaz’s phone.

She’s beautiful, strong, and she believes she can win.  That’s enough for him.  They’ll be together when this is over.  No dermal demarcation.  He’ll have a chip in his arm again. He'll be free.

They'll be free.

Technically this body never had a chip to begin with, but he remembers the feel of it in his arm, the odd sensation of foreign material that guarantees citizenship.  Freedom.  Provided one follows the rules.

“So…what’s tha Doctor like?  Is she scary smart—hard ta understand?”

Alex gives Soap a glance before responding.

“Sometimes.  I know her heart, so when I don’t understand the words, it makes things easier.  She doesn’t mind explaining either, which helps.  She’s kind.”

“Aye, that’s good ta hear.  Always imagine someone with that kind of smarts has a lot ‘a power.  Seems a bit intimidatin’ but I suppose ya get used to it, I wager.”

He nods.  She does have a lot of power, more than she knows.  Or perhaps she does know.  She plans to take on the world and she’d do it alone if she had to.

As it so happens, she won’t be alone.

Never again.

[Los Angeles, Tower One]

Val was right.

You can’t trust anyone on KMA payroll.  As the last one departs the building for the abruptly announced facility renovation, the look in his eye reminds you that you have a small timeframe in which to achieve the unimaginable.

Upon closing the door to your office, you prompt the vid screen on your phone.

Val startles you as she appears in front of your desk, her hands folded neatly in front of her, the veneer of laboratory attire making her look more sinister than familiar.

She smiles gently, realizing the timing of her appearance would cause any reasonable person a fright.

“You’re about to call someone.  Don’t let my presence stop you.”

Picking up the microphone release, you pause before hitting the speed-dial button for Dr. Meridian’s private line in London.

“Are you going to follow me like this…everywhere?”

She contemplates your question, but only for a moment.

“Yes.  Unless you’d prefer Prime to follow you everywhere?”

“No.”  You realize you were too quick with your reply, even to the point of obvious agitation.  “That won’t be necessary.  Besides…he belongs to you.  My Alex is…offsite.  I’d appreciate it very much if you would hold him here instead, so I may see him.”

She shakes her head.  “I’m afraid that’s not possible.  You have the advantage in the Towers, in more ways than one.  Our deal stands, and you’re not permitted access to 03 until Alex and I are safely crossed into the exclusion zone.”

You take a deep breath, then hit speed-dial.

“Stay quiet and out of sight, please.  This won’t take long.”

[Los Angeles, Tower One, the next day]

Not all of the Alex series replicants were destroyed.  Several of the untagged units were neither activated nor documented.  The biological materials used to grow them were written off as trim.  Waste.

You stare at 04’s body.  He’s not awake.  No brain activity. Off-books.

Tears slide down your cheeks as you begin disposal protocols, first shutting down 04’s stasis resources, then preparing him for cold storage.  The federal agents must be convinced this is 03.  He succumbed to cognitive cascade before clearing for duty preparations.  He became violent. 

You used a sledgehammer from the demo shed to damage one of the isolation rooms.  You’re unsure if this will convince anyone, but Val assures you that bureaucrats won’t dig deeper if everything appears to be on the surface.

Another failed iteration.  Worse than the Simon series.  They’ll understand.  They won’t be surprised.  At least you avoided the public embarrassment of another iteration failing in the field.  Public outcry against replicant use on Earth, etc.

They’ll shake their heads in clinical sympathy, check the box, stamp the paperwork, and leave.

Val was right.

That’s exactly how it happened.

Alex Prime waits nervously behind the glass.

Val’s second replicant wakes within the reinforced polymer enclosure.

Her first replicant cascaded within hours of waking.  She saw herself when she opened her eyes.  Seeing you, Dr. Krieger, was too much.  Baseline imprints are fragile upon waking.  Although stability can occur in less than six hours, it usually takes several days for imprint stability actualization.

The second attempt is always the hardest. Still reeling from the sting of failure, and often from the graphic emotions felt for having witnessed cognitive cascade, you brace yourself for another catastrophic fall from hope.

If this one fails, they’ll try putting Alex Prime in with her when the next iteration wakes.  Perhaps he can prevent the quasi-inevitable. Maybe he won't be the destabilizing presence you assume.

You retained Simon-31.  Like all units in the Simon series, he has the federally mandated tattoos covering his limbs and face, announcing to the human world that he is a replicant.  He looks tired as he waits for Val-02 to gain consciousness.

Most of the Simon units were sold to Scotland Yard, but a few were auctioned to private security firms in Johannesburg.  The Cape holds the entire continent of Africa in an economic and martial stranglehold.  Cape representatives attempted to make another purchase months later, but you informed them the Simon imprints were destroyed, per contract, and there were no additional units on hand.

Simon-31 squeezes your shoulder reassuringly before you leave the room to join Prime behind the glass.

He speaks through the mic pinned to his collar, taking a seat outside Val-02’s enclosure as she opens her eyes.

“Easy.  You’re in hospital.  You’re okay.  I’ve got you,” he speaks in a soft voice but loud enough for her to hear through the drilled holes in the plastic panels, thicker than the panes that protect various world leaders from their own people.

“What hospital?  What happened?”  Val-02’s eyes roll slightly as she gains her bearings, coughing as she swallows spittle in her haste to speak.

“You’re in Los Angeles.  You grew up here, did you not?”  He places his palm against the panel, making sure she can see him.

She shakes her head, then loses her balance as she attempts to stand up, but she falls back down onto the cot behind her.

“No.  Grew up in Salton Flats.  Why does my head hurt?”

“You hit your head,” he says with mild humor.

Her body language changes, her expression contracting into concern and veiled panic. “Where’s Alex?”

“He’s fine, Doctor.  He’s just in the next room.  Almost done with some paperwork.  You’ll be reunited soon.  Can I get you something to eat?  Drink?  We have fruit juice you might enjoy while you wait.”

“Not hungry.  I need to see Alex.  Please.”  Her voice rises as her panic registers on the various monitors on your screen.  Cascade is imminent.

You whisper into the mic instructions to Simon.  He nods almost imperceptibly.

“Val.  He’s on his way.  I need you to do something for me while we wait.”

Her heartrate is topped out and erratic as she scrambles to her feet.

“What is this place?  It’s not a hospital.”

“Where were you, the last you remember?”

“I was with Alex,” she all but screams.

“Alex asked me to tell you something.  It’ll help you while you wait for him. He’s on his way.”

Val bends at the waist, hands to knees as she breathes hard.  It’s unclear if she’s listening to Simon.

“Alex says to trust anyone.  You see this?” Simon pulls back his collar and pushes up a sleeve.  “I’m a replicant.  I work for Alex.  But you can’t trust me either.  Take in your surroundings.  What does your memory tell you is true?  Breathe slowly.  What do you know to be true, right now?”

“I…I love him.”

“You love Alex?”

She nods as her breathing slows.  Replicants are always at their most fragile during the first few hours.  They have the images, the memories of the imprint, but lack the chemically reactive coping mechanisms in their new brain.

“Very good.  And what else do you know to be true?”

She leans against the far wall and slides down into a sitting position on the floor.

“He loves me.  And we’re getting the fuck out of here.”

Simon nods.  “All correct.  I’ll be right back.  Going to check on Alex’s progress with that paperwork.  You gonna be alright while I’m gone?  Will only be a few minutes.”

There’s a look of panic in her eyes, but she nods her head.

 Alex turns to you, his pulse jumping in his neck, just beneath his skin.

“Please, may I go to her?”

He’s been a mess for the last week after Val’s holoprojection was shut down for the interim.  To avoid multiple versions of her consciousness, they’ve committed to only allowing her to manifest through Val’s iterations.  No more holo. 

“She needs to eat first.  02 is vulnerable to cascade until we get her heartrate down, get her blood glucose stable, and convince her to demonstrate imprint stability.  Talk to Simon, tell him what you want her to know.  This is a process.”

Alex cracks his knuckles and paces the room as he waits for Simon.  When he appears, you step out to give them some privacy.  When Simon emerges from the room, he stands just outside of arm’s length.

“How’d you get into this mess, Doc?”

Your mouth cracks into a stressed smile as you suppress a laugh.

“It’s the revolution, Simon.  This is just the beginning.”

He gives you a sympathetic, tired look.  “Suits me.  I appreciate what you’re trying to do, even if it’s a long game I’ll likely never see the end of.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.  There’ll be plenty of time for thanks and other meaningless sentiments when you’re done.  Keep your head up.  Keep it in the game.  You’ve got a long way to go.”

He reenters the vestibule to the isolation room, the vacuum seal of the room cutting off all sound but what’s picking up on Simon’s mic.

Alex stares down at the two stitches in his arm where his chip once was, buried between his radius and ulna.

Simon confirms from across the room that the chip is still active, and that it’s genuine, before dropping it into a lab pod to be sterilized.

It’s been three weeks since Val-02 opened her eyes.  She’s stabilized beautifully.  Alex and Val have spent almost every night together in her quarters, making up for lost time.

You’ve been getting by with video calls from your Alex, still held captive somewhere in Los Angeles.  This is what it was like for Prime and Val.  In love, but unable to touch each other, and uncertain of the future.

Prime looks up from your surgical handiwork, flexing his arm and covering it with the bandage.

“You kept up your end of the deal…now let’s get Val and I across the border so I can hold up my end.”

Simon waits for further instruction, looming in your peripheral vision.  He places a hand over the receiver in his ear.

“Ma’am?” 

“Yes?”

“Meridian is on the other line.  What shall I tell him?”

“I’ll call him back.  Tell him I’ve got feds in the building.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

You turn your attention to Alex.

“Gather your things.  Whatever else you need, give the list to Simon.  He’ll make sure you have it.  We’ll depart before nightfall.  The timing of 03’s release?”

“There’s an outpost about two hours’ walk within the zone.  I’ll call from there to release him.  He’ll be at 7th Sector Terminal.”

“Thank you, Alex.”

He hesitates, studying you carefully, bitterness creeping into his expression.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

He leaves the room without looking back.

A part of you withers as you remind yourself this is real, all of it.

You stand in the middle of 7th Sector Terminal, the tiles beneath your feet shining like a starry night in the distant past, muffled, cold, but beautiful with the right melancholy and hopeful memory.

They’ve crossed over, more than two hours ago.

Simon-31 joined them, to your disappointment and surprise.  He at least gave you the dignity of a tearful exchange by phone before giving his final goodbye.  He said he’s not willing to kill, not anymore.  The coming conflict will be bloody, and he’d rather take his chances in the wasteland to the east where replicants live out their lives in relative peace.

He wished you and Alex the best of luck and happiness.  He said if anyone can change the world it’s you.  He said you already have…you just don’t know it yet.

When you lay eyes on him, you’re not sure if Alex is real.  He’s beautiful.  His eyes light up when he sees you.  As you run to his arms, you forget about the outside world.

You may be the incendiary device for the revolution, but hopefully everything can wait until tomorrow.  You’ve got an ID chip to implant in the man you love.

Before the world is upended, you want to enjoy a little time with Alex.

You’ll know when it’s time to set the world on fire.

SERIES MASTERLIST

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

SFW HEADCANONS

NSFW HEADCANONS