Founding of the Federation 3: The First AI War (24 page)

“You think people would follow a voice over the radio? They don't know you from Adam, and they won't care who you are related to.” She shook her head. “No Yorrick, it's not going to happen. Dad'll tell you the same thing I'm telling you now. If you push it, he'll let you do something with Roman just to prove to you it's not worth your time. It's not. Get over it and get on board.”

“Whatever. I'll talk to him later.”

“Right.” Wendy considered her options. If he did get killed … she'd have to do some discrete checking, but it might mean his shares would revert to her unless he had a proper will.

<>V<>

Jamey McGillicutty wasn't happy about losing the VR network. He'd fallen in love with a girl on Earth and the loss of the web, plus the potential loss of the girl, it hurt. It hurt a lot.

He rubbed the back of his mane. Yes mane, he thought. He might have been born a human but that didn't mean he had to remain one. Step by step he was turning himself into something else, something more. Evolving, becoming … something else.

He'd started with his first love, an African lion. Even before he became a teenager he'd gotten into body modification, albeit at a limited amount. When he'd gotten through high school and college, his friends had barely recognized him. He'd had his legs and hands surgically altered, his face, his ears … the list went on and on.

But some of the surgeries had been by illicit companies. And normals, called muggles by those who were different, had looked at him with disgust. So, he'd moved to space.

When the Neos had been announced, he'd immediately gotten a job with Lagroose Industries. He wanted to be close to others of his kind, if not by birth than by strength of heart.

He'd gotten it, though some of their reactions hadn't been easy for him to accept at first. Some had thought of him as strange; others had looked on him disdainfully. None had embraced him, not until he'd embraced them, becoming the bridge between Neos and humans. Or so he thought.

With his salary and access to the company's medical establishment, he'd continued his self-determined evolution. He'd become a lion, having his face reshaped into a muzzle, the hair turned into a mane, his ears docked and reshaped, his hands turned into claws, even a proper tail grown and surgically attached. He
loved
the look, the feeling of power, the strength, his teeth …. Like a proper version of a lion creature from Earth's centuries-old animation.

Still, it had its downsides. Table manners went out the window. His family on Earth had essentially written him off long ago. Speech could be a hassle too, what with his muzzle and long fangs. He'd gone through several sets of teeth before settling on his current ones.

He'd worked various postings until he'd been assigned most recently as a liaison to the feline districts where he belonged. He wasn't popular among some; a few complained he still smelled of human. That was tough for them. He was king of the jungle, and he didn't let them forget it. He tried to think of himself as tough but fair. He had few complaints from them on his record. At least, none legit or unearned.

So, being a giant lionoid had its perks: teeth baring, fur, the growl, the eyes. When he roared they
listened
. Well, most did. All but Snarf and his ilk, but he ignored them.

The snarfs weren't true Lagroose people. They tended to stand apart because of their origins and their insistence on clinging to not only their idea of independence but also their supposed disinterest in human matters. Eggbert wasn't a bad sort; he tended to support the others. That foolish enabling said a lot about the little cat. He might have a big heart but wasn't that bright.

That had to change. Eventually it might. But Jamey had a mission. He'd served in security for decades. Now it was time for him to help liberate his homeworld. Maybe, just maybe he'd find Esmerelda. Anything could happen he reasoned as he signed up for ground assignment. He knew with his history of being from Earth he'd most likely be tapped despite his age and appearance.

“What do you want, McGillacutty?” His supervisor, Dadsworth, Aka “Daddy” demanded, half exasperated.

“Sir, I want in. Whatever's going to Earth, I want in.”

“You missed the boat, didn't you hear? Charlie's left a while ago.”

“Not SAR. I want ground duty. We're going to need
soldiers
,” the chimeran said, flexing his claws in front of the camera. He knew the gorilla
hated
it, which was why he enjoyed doing it. “I'm in. I've been on the ground. I've got security training. You know I can whoop your ass in any VR battlefield sim out there. I'm in. I'll bet you Claudis will be in too, if he hasn't called already.”

Claudis was another lionoid. He was bigger, a bit older, and more cat than man now. He was also pretty good at just about everything from hand-to-hand to command and control.

Dadsworth grunted. If the lionoid was stupid enough to be gung ho, so be it. He didn't want a hero on his watch. Besides, if he said no, the cat would just nag the shit out of him until he changed his mind or bearing that, jump the chain of command to get his transfer from someone else, possibly Roman himself. He might as well save himself some future headache and go with the inevitable. “Fine, I'll let Roman know. Anything else?”

“Yeah. Get Snarf to piss somewhere other than on the curb near the front airlock. The cat has
no
manners honestly. He's as bad as a damn dog.”

The gorilla grimaced in distaste. “Whatever. I'll get maintenance to clean it up. All's quiet?”

“Of course,” the chimera answered.

“Then I've got better things to do than waste my time with you. Stick to the job you've got before you go off and play soldier. Some hero,” he said contemptuously as he cut the circuit.

James shut the phone off and put it in his vest pocket. He whirled his billy club, tapped it occasionally on a railing, and kept going. If he could whistle he would have. “Finally! Some action!”

<>V<>

Duncan shook his head as he sat down. It was still hard to understand some of the greater concepts the humans talked about. It was unfair, he was a generation 1 Neodog, created by their creator but not as smart as the others.

Their universe was filled with unfair things. Neodogs were to be the first of the uplifted animals. Instead they were among the last it seemed. The apes were so close to humans that it was understandable that they became like them so easily.

His kind hadn't had that easy road. The Dalmatian knew that. For over a century, they had served in the shadows as “smart dogs.” Jerry Lee, Niner, Rin Tin, Blaze, the list went on and on. Their forefathers and mothers, the legends of their kind. They walked in their footsteps now.

He'd gotten news that Bumper had lost his life on the ground. Now the humans were getting ready to go there as a war raged. He'd had to look the word up. What he had learned appalled him. Such death and destruction! On such a vast scale, it was hard to understand. And even harder to understand why … why it had happened, and why the humans felt the need to intervene.

But if they were going to go, he was sure his kind would go as well. Some were already on the ground, serving if they were still alive. Others like Buster Bumper's brother had already volunteered to go.

“We’re needed,” Faith said through her vocoder. Betsy nodded in support. Faith was a gen 0.8, the first of their kind to be able to walk on their hind legs without the need of an exowalker for support. She had terrible back and neck pain, and arthritis was starting to set in to her hips and lumbar area, but she was determined to sit upright.

Scooby grunted and nodded. The elderly gen 0.8 Great Dane had been another first for their kind, the first to be able to speak human language. He sat down, tired old eyes watching over them from the background. Duncan's eyes caught his briefly then looked away from the elder.

It was unfair that the humans hadn't applied what they knew about geriatrics to them as they had the other Neos. They said it wasn't until they were smarter. He didn't like the answer, but he couldn't do anything to change their minds.

As a fireman, rescue tracker, and senior canine field medic in the group, Duncan's nose was alert for any sort of trouble. He surveyed the elders in the group carefully. He didn't want any of them to get too excited, too upset. Many of the older generation, those prior to gen 0.6, were in exowalkers, wheelchairs, or bailey chairs. He didn't envy their daily trials but he admired their spirit, their zest to continue with their life with what dignity they could muster.

“We must help,” Buster said. Duncan heard a soft whine. He turned but there was a snuffle and then a dog licked her lips and shook her head no as if to shrug off his concern. He looked away after a moment. Better not to put on a display and draw attention to Einstein's accident. The others could smell it that was bad enough to embarrass the once strong golden retriever.

“We go,” McGruff barked. Copper stood and nodded eagerly. Both of the bloodhounds could be counted on to support the humans. They were in security and served as police for the sector. They were also trained in Search and Recovery. McGruff had done a stint on the ground a few years ago. Duncan hoped the old boy knew what he was getting into.

Chance and Petey nodded. The brother pit bulls were adventure seekers, troublemakers. They had a good heart but a malicious streak, constantly getting into trouble with the cats. Chance loved his “kitty catapult” a little too much. It had brought a lot of hoots from just about everyone who had seen the video. Well, everyone except the cats that had been launched.

Hooch and Caffall both stood and nodded as well. The mastiffs were also in security so it was a given that they would go. Chips stood as well. His brother Blaze was down there; Duncan knew he would go.

Duncan noted all of the younger generation; those of his generation were stepping forward. He wasn't sure what motivated them to do so. Was it the sense of adventure like Chance and Petey had? It certainly wasn't duty, though he wasn't sure in the case of the security people.

Most of the elderly couldn't go. They were smart enough not to go; they would just be targets.

“I go,” Ace said, stepping up, ears alert. He was a no nonsense Doberman, one of the up-and-coming security officers. His brother Gunner stepped up, but Ace turned to him. “No. One must stay to protect pack,” he stated flatly.

Gunner whined. When his brother growled softly, he straightened to attention and then nodded, eyes staring ahead.

“I go,” Duncan said softly. All eyes turned to him. He ignored some of the soft gasps of surprise and dismay. “Medic needed.”

“Medic needed here too,” Scooby said. But after a long moment of looking into Duncan's eyes, seeing the resolve, the Great Dane nodded. “Luck,” he barked.

Duncan nodded, wagging his tail slightly. He wasn't certain why he wanted to go, just that he did. He had to help; it was his calling. What he'd trained to do.

<>V<>

Tumagar surveyed his clan and nodded to himself. He was a selkie walrus, one of the few remaining that had been liberated from Gentek's labs. He'd hated it, hated the scientists there. Lagroose was his life, his second chance, his dream made flesh.

He was the beach master, the senior-most bull of the clan. The clan was patriarchal. Originally it had been open to all species of Selkie, but over time it had been reduced to just elephant seals and Walruses as the other subspecies went off to form their own breeding colonies. Some things, some traditions did not change despite human attempts to do so however. A beach master was the king of the clan, the final word on all things.

Two dozen selkies had survived the move from Gentek. To date, another dozen were missing. They were presumed to be slaves of Pavilion or one of the other megacorps. A few of the romantics in the clans insisted they'd found a way to a sea and were living there even now, which made their opposition to what he proposed even harder for him to comprehend.

“It is time. Time to stand. Time to do what is right,” Tumagar rumbled. “I ask not that you join me. I ask only that you understand. That you do your best to contribute as your heart dictates.”

“We don't owe the humans anything. They brought this onto themselves,” a female with a suckling calf said, shielding her pup with her flippered arm.

Tumagar envied the latest generation. Each that had come after him had been cleaned of the genetic defects that were in his flesh. Each generation had proven smarter than him in so many ways. But none dared out mass him. A few had tried to take his beach; he bore their battle scars with pride. They bore harsher ones. They also had been banished from the clan, though some still lingered in the outskirts he knew.

He had a human job to go along with his selkie one. Most of the selkie preferred to remain in the habitat they shared with the dolphins, though they tended to bicker with them frequently. He had accepted the dolphins. He'd come from a confining habitat in Gentek's lab; the massive complex was a gift beyond imagining to him to this day he thought, looking around the vast room.

He loved his job with security. He didn't throw his weight around; he had no need to most of the year. He'd
earned
the respect from his brother officers as well as the company employees.