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The Dream Machine Chapter 23: Relative “Ten meters to your north should be a steel door.” Dr. Sky said into her headset as she studied the map on her table. “There should be a key pad to the left of the door. It’s a base 16 number system, so you will need to use the digits as well as the letters to input the code.” “What is the code?” On the other end of the line was Aya. It was X, Zero, and Aya’s first mission together into enemy territory. The remaining member of their team, Dr. Sky, was at her quarters relaying information to them. “175627 in hexadecimal expansion.” Dr. Sky did a bit of calculation on a scratch piece of paper. “In base 16, the code should be 2AE0B.” “I had no idea the Mavericks would use bother using such a complicated code for one of the early doors.” Aya inputted the code. “Hm.. it’s not opening.” “But it says here in X’s notes that the base for the code should be the number of wings in this building squared. There are four wings, so it should be base 16.” Dr. Sky scratched her head. In her headset, she could hear an alarm going off. “Oh no! Aya! Did you set off an alarm?” “No… and inputting the incorrect code once shouldn’t set things off either.” Aya looked over her shoulder, getting a bit more nervous. “Are you sure we’re working in that base?” “From these notes, yes.” Quickly, she re-read the notes. “That’s what it says.” “I think I hear someone coming this way.” Aya punched in something else in the keypad. Once again, the doors remained closed. “Come one, this one…” She punched in a series of 0’s and 1’s, and the door confirmed the code and opened. Not wasting a second, she crossed the doorway and punched in the same code, locking the door. Dr. Sky waited in silence, not wanting to draw attention to Aya through her intercom. When she heard Aya sigh in relief, she burst out with a question. “Aya, what happened?” “It wasn’t base 16. It was base 2.” Aya wiped her brow out of habit; something she picked up from humans. “I tried base 15, then base 2…. Hoping they were using something between 2 and 15 as base.” “These notes must be wrong…” “Your apology is duly noted and accepted, Dr. Sky.” Aya smiled, then moved further inside the corridor. “Why don’t you check in on X and Zero? I think I can survive without your assistance, at least until the next locked door.” “Okay, take care of yourself until then!” At the press of a button, she switched lines to X. “X, can you talk?” “Yes, but I might have to whisper like this when I do.” X’s soft voice came over the headphones. “Do you need any help?” Dr. Sky asked. Even though she’s read the manual to spotters cover to cover, she was still a little nervous at this job. It’s not that the Hunters depended on her for life and death at every moment. What she was afraid of was that at those rare moments when one piece of information could mean success or death, she would mess up and say something wrong. So far, she’s already sent Aya in danger with the code. “No, I’m fine here.” The sound of paper rustling could be heard on X’s end of the intercom. “They seem to like to keep a lot of things in these old style filing systems… on paper, which makes searching through them much harder.” For a second, Dr. Sky wanted to ask X about the code to the door she and Aya dealt with earlier, but decided this wasn’t the best time to point out an error on his part. “The key code shouldn’t be on paper, though. It’s not a code you can remember. The key is the stream on the data disc, or on the copies on chips. There’d be no way to write it down.” “Yes, but it could contain something about where the data might be stored.” “Oh, yes…. Of course.” She scolded herself mentally. “If you don’t need anything, I’ll check on Zero.” She waited for X to ask for something, and when there was only silence, she dejectedly switched to Zero’s line. You’re just full of useful information. She took a deep breath, trying to regain her confidence, before speaking to Zero. “Zero, how’re you doing?” “I’m looking through these computer files… it seems that this place is nothing but a junk recycling facility for them.” “What?!” Dr. Sky almost fell out of her chair. “But the security was so sophisticated! I thought for sure this place would have something. The key code, or maybe the weapon itself!” “No luck.” Zero punched a map of the area up. “The building’s security might be high, but you have noticed that there wasn’t that many guards, right?” The scientist blinked several times, waiting for the fact that they wasted all night on a recycling facility to sink in. “Well, I guess this means we pull out.” “Looks that way.” Zero shut off the computer. “I’ll be at the teleporting location in probably 10 minutes. Have X and Aya meet me there.” “Roger.” ------------------------------------------------ “I’m sorry we spent the night digging through nothing.” X slumped his shoulders forwards. “The building design had such sophisticated security that naturally I thought…” “It’s okay.” Zero yawned, another habit he picked up from being around humans. “I guess this means we should take another look and include a couple more possible locations. Maybe they keep the keys in a shoe box underneath Doyle’s bed.” The girls laughed at Zero’s joke, but X didn’t seem to feel any better. “Okay, well, unlike you guys, I need a little longer than a three hour recharge.” Dr. Sky checked her watch. “Which is now dwindling to a 2 hour and fifty nine minute recharge.” “Why do you have to wake up that early?” X asked. “You don’t have shifts.” “Yes, but I do have to report to Dr. Cain at 5 am.” She sighed, rubbing her neck, which was sore from craning in front of the computer monitor. “He says he does his best work before breakfast.” “Too bad.” Zero headed for the door. “Let’s let her get to bed then.” “Speaking of breakfast.” X seemed to cheer up a bit. “Why don’t I swing by Dr. Cain’s office when you’re done and we can go to the cafeteria together?” Aya and Zero slipped out the door quietly when they realized what X was asking. “What time will you be done?” “Oh.” She smiled, and looked sideways slightly. “Nine o’clock.” Her eyes returned to look directly at X. “We should be done by then.” “Okay, I’ll see you then.” X turned and headed for the doorway, noting Aya and Zero peeping from the edge of the open doorway. “Are you two still here?” The two spies tensed up and dashed away, drawing a laugh from Dr. Sky. “Good night.” She called after X, who waved. ----------------------------------------------- “Hey Zero.” Aya nudged the Red Hunter with her elbow. “Has X changed?” “What do you mean?” Zero tiled his head. “Is this about him and Dr. Sky?” “Yes…” Aya stared ahead as they walked. “He just seems a little to… slick.” At her comment, Zero burst out in a round of laughter. “What are you laughing about?” “You thought that was slick?” Zero continued to laugh. “That was very amateurish. He didn’t even have a lead in line to asking her out.” “That’s not what I mean.” She shook her head, sighing. “The X you knew, would he just ask someone out without at least mulling about it for awhile? And wouldn’t he ask his best friend for some kind of advice?” “Hm…” Zero crossed his hands behind his head, considering what she said. “Well, yes, he probably would have made a bigger fuss about it…” “He hasn’t asked you for advice about approaching her, right?” Aya looked back at Zero, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. “No, he hasn’t.” Zero shook his head. “He’s learning!” He winked at Aya. “From the best, you know?” “It’s just… well… when did he have time to learn this from you? The X I knew before Eurasia wasn’t like this… at least from reputation, anyway. Between the time you got back and now, he hasn’t had much of an opportunity to do so, has he?” “I know him a lot longer than you have, Aya. He’s just gotten a little more confidence, that’s all.” “Isn’t it strange he started to like Dr. Sky so quickly? They haven’t exactly spent too much quality time together since they met.” “I see where this is going….” Zero narrowed his eyes as a smile grew on his face. “You like X, don’t you?” “What?!” Aya pushed Zero away, sending him to the other wall of the corridor. “I do not!” “Heh heh, ow…” Zero rubbed his arm. “I’m just kidding with you. I know you don’t feel that way about X, but you do consider yourself a big sister to Dr. Sky, right?” The other hunter confirmed by nodding. “I feel the same way. Don’t worry. X is a nice guy.” “I guess you’re right.” Aya stretched her arms. “Let’s get to the recharge bay. We’ll need the quicker recharge there if we hope to make the morning shift.” ------------------------------------------------- “And so…” Dr. Cain explained as he finished an equation on the board. “That is how we find the reference ratio for these three things.” He glanced over at where Dr. Sky was sitting. After she finished copying down the equation, she leaned her head on her notebook and sighed comically. “I think I need to surgically implant these ideas in my head.” She whined. “I haven’t seen this many equations since… since…EVER!” The door to Dr. Cain’s lab swished open and in walked X. “What happened to her?” X asked, then looked over at the dry erase board. “Ah. Never mind.” “Save me, X.” She reached for him melodramatically. “Save me from these equations!” To her reaction, Dr. Cain laughed again, leaning against his cane in her direction. “You just have to keep all these things in mind when you’re analyzing the virus! Otherwise you’re only looking at it superficially.” “No wonder I’ve gotten nowhere in the research.” She started packing up her things. “Can we call it a day for now?” “Yes, of course. But you really should look into the sciences other than your own field more than just on the surface.” “Yes Dr. Cain.” She made a face to X at Dr. Cain’s comment while her back was to the older scientist. “And I saw that.” Dr. Cain laughed again. “Just like a junior high student.” Embarrassed that she got caught, she grabbed X’s arm and dashed out of the room, calling out a hasty good bye before the door closed. “How did the session go?” X asked as the two headed for the elevator not far from them. “You look really tired.” “There were equations everywhere!” She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. “It was horrible.” “But I thought you liked science.” X raised an eyebrow. “Only when I get to pick what I need to learn and what I don’t.” Two hunters waiting at the elevator looked at X and Dr. Sky with amusement. Dr. Sky blinked, wondering what was so interesting, but soon realized she was grabbing onto X’s arm and leaning against his shoulder. As inconspicuously as she could, she slipped her arm away. On the rest of the way to the cafeteria, X told Dr. Sky about how he joined the Hunters and certain interesting missions he’s been on. X finished his story about the maverick who thought he locked himself inside a bank before going to the line to order for them. “There you go, mushroom omelets with some potatoes on the side.” X set the tray on the table before sitting down. “Here’s your coffee.” “Thanks.” She reached for the coffee and eagerly took a sip. “Ah… liquid sunshine” “So I’ve told you about myself, how it’s your turn.” X took a bite of scrambled eggs and pointed his fork across the table to her. “I don’t know much about you.” “Well, there’s not too much to tell.” She sipped her coffee. “I lived with my parents, who were research scientists. When Dr. Cain started building Reploids, I got a sister of sorts, named Allison. Not too long after that, she murdered my parents, tried to steal their research, and is now moonlighting as Commander Doyle.” “Did you like Allison?” X asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a sibling… then again, I don’t remember much.” “Yeah.” Her eyes wandered slightly as she thought of the past. “I didn’t have a sister until Allison joined our family. She was fantastic! I taught her how to ditch lessons, but she’d in turn teach me all the material I missed that day. She was…” Dr. Sky froze at the sight of a Reploid across the room. I don’t believe my eyes… Allison?! Allison had her eyes locked onto Dr. Sky as she slowly approached. “How?” Dr. Sky’s heart started to race faster as her sister approached, and finally stood directly behind X. “Dr. Sky? What’s wrong?” A faint trace of X’s words registered in her mind, but she never took her eyes off her estranged sibling. Allison bared her teeth in a cruel smile, and that was enough to set Dr. Sky off. In one swift move, she grabbed X’s knife, leapt across the table over X and plunged the knife into her sister’s throat. “My god… what’s she doing?!” Screams filled the room, filling the previous dull vacuum she was just in moments ago. Two Reploids pulled her off the body, which now she realized looked nothing like Allison. “What’ve I….done?” Dr. Sky looked back at X, who started first at the Reploid lying motionlessly on the ground, then turned his head slowly to look at her. Her heart sunk when she saw the cold expression on his face. A smile crept slowly to his face as she was dragged away by the two Reploids. “It was you!” She struggled against the Reploids, pointing an finger at X. “It was YOU all along! You just came back to hurt us all! LET GO OF ME! It’s HIM! He’s still EVIL! LET GO OF ME!” She bent her knees, trying to shake out of their grip. “SOMEONE GO TELL ZERO!” Fan Fiction - Top |
