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A.R.Yngve presents THE ARGUS PROJECT
Mars, two weeks later. A sandstorm had just blown through Perkele Valley. The small white ship with the red strips came gliding down onto the dusty landing strip.
Its frictionless landing-skis touched (or, strictly speaking, almost touched) the concrete runway, and passed the Terran force that stood waiting on the ground.
On the side of the airfield facing the city stood Islington, in a protective suit, flanked by a company of war robots, plus two hundred freshly arrived Terran soldiers in full gear.
Islington waited, taking shallow, rapid breaths inside his helmet. A hulking black-clad figure jumped out of the white ship and rapidly walked toward him.
Without slowing his pace, Argus shouted to the troops, without radio - they could hear him through the microphones on their helmets. "I've come to pick up Venix, and I don't want any trouble with you! Okay?"
He came within five meters of Islington and abruptly stopped, fists by his sides, his eyes scanning the troops.
"I see you're all scared," Argus told them quickly and sternly, ignoring Islington as if Argus had usurped his rank, "and the drugs are not working. The sixth guy in the left front row - yeah, you! - just wet himself. That's good. Listen to your bodies! They know better than the drugs. I suggest you go home and look after Mother Earth. She needs you better there. I'm not asking you - I'm telling you - this war is over, go home!"
Islington cleared his throat and lifted a gloved finger to attract attention. Argus barely bothered to look his way.
"Colonel Clarke, we are actually not here to, uh, arrest you. As the new acting Chancellor of the Outer Defense Ring Charter, I have decided to pardon you for the murder of the previous Kansler, and offer negotiations for a new contract.
"However... in the interest of public safety I must order you to give up any stolen Fleet property. I'm talking specifically about your - uh, that ship, uh, over there. It is a security hazard and contains enough antimatter to -"
While he was talking, Islington made repeated, minute feet movements in his boots. Argus immediately saw that Islington was pressing switches with his toes.
"Oh, the new Direct Control isn't working?" Argus asked him with open, playful scorn. "On my way back I had a chat with some new friends in the Fleet, your own lunar scientists. Seems they had a change of heart, when it came out the Kansler murdered Boulder Pi and Amiella Minsky, and they understood none of them were safe. So we made a deal behind your back!
"While they pretended to give you a functional new Direct Control device, they figured out a way for me to block out the control signals - permanently. Now they just tickle me a bit. I've kinda learned to enjoy it, actually."
He squirmed and smiled in the most childish manner, delighting in his irreverence. I hope someone's camera is working, he thought. Ven is gonna have a big laugh when she sees this.
Thanks to generations of cultural indoctrination to repress emotion, transcending mere mood-controlling drugs, Islington managed to maintain his formal posture.
"I am confident that the Fleet shall find a counter-counter-measure. You cannot go on alone, Colonel Clarke. You need others to uphold your existence. You need a home."
"You're absolutely right, Islington. I resign from the Fleet."
"But why, man? Why?" Islington asked, in honest exasperation.
Argus had taken one step, was about to leave, but halted - and snapped. He towered over Islington, stared him in the eyes, and shot off a rapid-fire rant:
"'Cause I am the greatest! I can't be beat! I'm so tough, I eat planets for breakfast! Anyone tries bossing me or my girl around, I'll kick him so hard he'll make a new spot on Jupiter! You want a piece of me? You want to see if there's life on other stars? That's how far I'll kick your ass if you try to bullshit me! I can't be beat! I'm the greatest, baby! Bigger than the Big Bang! Elusive like a mist with an iron fist! I'm the king of the Saturn ring, the Terran Terror, the man with the plan, and I'm mad as all hell - you got a problem with that?"
Islington stood still until Argus had finished speaking... then rolled up his eyes and quietly fainted into a neat, discrete heap.
"Now 'scuse me, guys," Argus told the waiting, silent troops, "I'm off to meet someone. I could tell you, she's the best thing that ever happened to me -"
His sentence not quite finished, he darted away with superhuman speed, leaving a trail of dust blowing in the troopers' faces.
They waited until they were certain Argus was far away, and then quickly retreated to their landing craft.
***
He found her where she had promised to meet.
The sun had set now, and from the rooftop they could see thousands of lights across the city. In the distance, city lights seemed to merge with the stars.
For a moment they hesitated to connect - knowing that they both must have changed - fearing that the other would now be a stranger, a damaged and cruel person - a killer.
And in the next moment they understood, just looking at each other: sometimes they had been killers, in order to protect the parts of them that were not killers.
In subjective time, they were already hundreds, if not thousands of years old - time enough to stop being squeamish. They reached out and connected physically, and saw only each other in the space of the mind.
"I did some terrible things out there," he said. "I almost went crazy, waiting for you."
He embraced her with such intensity he was glad it was only in their connected minds, fearing he might have crushed her in the physical realm.
They made love for an uninterrupted month in subjective time, experienced moments of greater pleasure than any couple of flesh and blood could hope for, before she finally managed to answer in words.
"I forgive you everything. Neither of us had much of a choice."
"And we still love each other."
"Yes. And we are the only ones of our kind. At least, the only ones I know of. For now."
Their conversation paused, as they shared their experiences... Venix learned of Caver Pi, Rogan Din, Islington, and Navbutler.
Argus learned of Christof Foss, Kolya Keaton, Arjja Texeira-Berg and her family, Dave Roman and the other Martians, Sugar - and Brutus-G.
He was not unhappy that Venix had knocked that android's head off, even though it resembled his own.
Venix did not reproach Argus for hurling the Kansler into space, or destroying the robot that impersonated her.
"I still wonder," she said, resting in his arms, "how much of all this was in Boulder's plans all the time. He willingly let the Kansler use him to almost win the war and murder hundreds, while using the Fleet's resources to realize his own vision. Boulder Pi used us, too. I cannot say I like him, but I feel no hate. He made me free."
"Then... what are we?" Argus asked. "I'm sure we could find some of our DNA samples stashed away somewhere, maybe graft our old flesh back on top of this, but what's the point of pretending?"
Venix said: "Are we even male and female anymore? I can't have children like I once could."
"And I cannot impregnate you in the old way. First I was so sad about that, I couldn't bear thinking about it... but now I think there is hope. We don't have to try and be turned back into flesh, even if it could be done."
Venix said: "If we could become this, then others could too. There is another way to live and create our own, unique offspring. But how, where?"
"Not here in the Solar System. But somewhere... out there, other beings have taken the same step, and populated the universe. A different life, but it is life. We are more than machines. We still learn, we still grow. I am learning to see possible futures, but I cannot put them in words or clear pictures. In time, I will."
"Perhaps we could stay here on Mars a while, help them out, learn a little more... but you don't think so?"
"No. When I was reborn, at first I felt stupid, confused, clumsy... but now we are facing another problem. We cannot reach our full potential here. As long as we continue to live among humans who are slower and weaker than us by design, we will slowly grow dumber in order to adapt to them. We need to live among equals, so we must find our equals. Not sit around and wait for them to be created here."
"You are right. I waited long enough for you to be built."
They fed on each other's determination; the result grew so strong it almost hurt to feel it. Was this how the first humans had felt, when they first learned to speak a language and give names to things, to themselves?
"I admit the Kansler was right," Venix said, "when he foresaw that cyborgs are better suited for life in space than flesh. In a way, both the forces that build and the forces that destroy helped create us. Perhaps, in a way, both Boulder Pi and the Kansler were used."
"I don't need to justify my existence. You're alive, Ven - just enjoy it. But - Boulder never knew who I really was? The Kansler had him fooled. How did he manage that? Was it just luck?"
"I have no idea."
"And the Kansler fooled himself into thinking an old broken-nosed ring-fighter was no match for his intellect. He was so cocksure I wouldn't see the light, until it was too late for him. But I changed much faster than he had expected... with your help."
"You fooled them all. You really are the greatest."
"How shall we live? What should our children be like?"
"I want them to be like you."
"And you. We'll think of something."
"Let's go then. Pick a nearby star... a yellow one."
"Rather a red one, that goes with your hair."
"Gus, you big lug. Stop joking, this is serious."
"I mean it. A red star. Old, dying. Where all the Kanslers died out or moved out. If there's anyone left there, they must have been around a long time, and learned something. And got wise. So we could ask for their advice."
"Let's ride."
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