Veidan was adamant that Lauros would never have condoned leaving anyone to be hit with a bioweapon, not that Rennin suspected him. Only a human would do such a thing, or a machine in the fullest sense of the word. CryoZaiyons weren’t machines and the more time Rennin spent with them, the more esteem he held for them. Veidan made a move. “Check.”
“What a surprise, every move of yours kills something.”
“Would you prefer poker?”
Rennin smiled, “Nice try, Sir Count-a-lot.”
“Memory then?”
“Now you’re just trying to get to me.”
“You’re still in check.”
“I’m stalling, thank you so much.”
“You’re doing better. You’ve made it to six moves this time.”
Rennin suddenly clapped as hard as he could in front of the lieutenant. Veidan looked up instantly but otherwise didn’t react at all.
Rennin slumped slightly. “Sorry, I thought if I surprised you, you’d have a fit and I could win by default.”
Decora’s voice from behind him made him jump. “Interesting method,” the Medtech said, sitting down. “Saifer, I need a word.”
“So speak,” said Veidan, his eyes fixed on the board.
“It might be best in private.”
“The private and I have been through battle in body and now in wits, I don’t mind what he hears.”
Decora inclined his head. “Alright. I have some bad news. It’s about the cure, it seems to have caused some unexpected side effects.”
Veidan looked up. “Such as?”
“Your cells are rebuilding at almost thirteen times the norm for any android. Theoretically speaking, you could heal yourself almost instantly.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“That is only part of it. You also seem to be growing natural immunities to the remnants of Indigo Reign still in your system. It appears that in some minor areas you can recode yourself to block the weapon, if you concentrate hard enough.”
“I’m still not seeing a downside,” said Veidan still regarding the game.
“It’s restoring your coding to its original setting. Any new coding introduced, even if it’s beneficial to your efficiency, may well be attacked like a virus.”
“I can’t learn, is that what you’re saying?”
Decora clenched his jaw for a moment. “Not quite. We’re in uncharted waters here, Saifer.”
Veidan nodded once. “Is it degenerative?”
“No, I don’t think so. If anything it’s regenerative, your dead cells are revived and you only produce new cells if existing ones are ruined beyond repair. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“What are we looking at here?”
“Implementing upgrades will most likely result in a fit if you don’t take it easy, like the ones you’ve been having.”
“If I don’t take it easy?”
“Your body will need a cool off time of probably a few hours after each upgrade while your immune system assesses it, and integrates it into your body. It’s a side effect of Indigo Reign and the treatment, and I think it’s due to the shock your body went through. I would say it’s permanent.”
“How do you mean take it easy?”
Decora shrugged. “I don’t know, just don’t over exert yourself straight after an upgrade or you’ll more than likely trigger a fall or even memory loss.”
“Can’t you do anything?” asked Rennin.
Decora shook his head. “We’ve tried clamping it but it’s ghost code that’s causing it so it just reappears somewhere else, and I don’t know why.”
“Ghost code doesn’t just appear from nowhere,” said Veidan.
“That’s the other thing,” said Decora taking a breath. “I’m fairly sure it’s originating from your Instinctual Cluster, probably due to the trauma. I’ve been receiving very strange results from your system. Your regenerative condition seems to be tied to your moods.”
“So as long as I stay really happy I’ll be invincible?” asked Veidan, getting a stifled smirk from Rennin.
Decora wasn’t taking Veidan’s jibes very well, which was odd because from what Rennin had heard it’s usually the Medtech who’s ruining everyone else’s day with sarcasm. “Full-orga are healthier when happy throughout their lives and it seems to be the same with you. During your recovery, on the days you were more determined your cells healed at an incredibly accelerated rate, and the days you felt like giving up you didn’t progress at all.”
“Comedies and feel-good movies for you during downtime, is what it means,” said Rennin.
“I don’t know what it means,” said Decora sternly, eyeing Rennin. “Unlike your kind, our brains are severed from what serves as an immune system.”
Veidan smiled at Rennin’s comment but faced Decora with a serious expression. “What’s happening to me?”
Decora shook his head. “I don’t know, Saifer, and there’s nothing I can do.”
9.
Outbreak
Rennin and Carla stand face to face in front of the Antioch Cradle altar, the only Cathedral in Raddocks Horizon. The priest, Eugene Burnley, wraps their hands together with a ribbon. He has just performed the marriage rites with a smile.
There are a few people in attendance; they are all praying fiercely, absolutely nothing to do with the very last-minute wedding. Rennin tried not to let the desperation of it ruin something the boyish part of him has wanted since childhood.
Rennin wants Carla to be safe and outside the city. The only way to make that happen is through marriage. They won’t let a mere girlfriend out; marriage is required, or de facto is required at the very least. Briefly, Rennin wonders what happens to the unwed but he decides he doesn’t want to know.
Carla is dressed in her casual clothes with a rent-a-veil from the Horizon Casino district they picked up on the way. She looks just fine to Rennin who is still in his armour-weave outfit, still with the bullet hole through his anorak. Rennin is tapped on the shoulder by the priest and knocked out of his thoughts. “I said you may kiss the bride, Mister Farrow.”
Rennin decides to make the most of it. Gripping her firmly, he spins her round dramatically, holding her low for a kiss, just as they used to do in the black and white movies from the 1900s. The priest smirks.
He isn’t really a priest in the traditional sense. Very few organised religions maintained their original doctrines after the Convergence of 2188, where all religions were drawn together, and the most peaceful influences of all of them were amalgamated in a belief system named Meridian.
Despite not being a Christian priest, Eugene Burnley still wears the flowing black cassock and brandishes a crucifix around his neck.
Old habits do die hard.
“Now, you may sign your names here and here,” Eugene says indicating the applicable points on the paperwork, “and your witness can sign here.” Rennin and Carla sign their names then the watchman turns to Doctor Caufmann, their ‘best man’ and witness.
Rennin had to almost beg him to participate. The entire ceremony has taken less than twenty minutes, so Caufmann doesn’t look particularly vexed. He takes the parchment, signing his name.
Rennin watches Caufmann’s abnormally smooth handwriting stroke intently. Something in the back of Rennin’s mind starts ringing with familiarity; he’d dreamt something similar the previous night but can’t remember it for the life of him. Something about the war, he’s sure.
Caufmann smiles and shakes Carla’s hand. The priest directs them to stand at opposite sides of the altar, and to place their hands upon it. He then instructs them to close their eyes. A bright white flash follows, causing an instant of panic to cross Rennin’s mind. He hates white. And in that fraction of time part of the dream he had comes back to him.