The Alchemist's Children: Panacea

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Niknak lead them to an old maintenance room that showed signs of once being inhabited by a some homeless people that ventured beneath the subway. Signs of their unfortunate end were left stained on the walls near their bones. "Be quick," Niknak growled. "Goblins here recently...Forgeholm close..." He pointed to a pile of chewed bones.

  Callen didn't waste time getting to work. Nikolai began patching up the minor wounds on the rest of the squad, including Sarge, who declared the gaping bullet hole through his abdomen was 'only a flesh wound.' He taped himself closed with duct tape. As soon as they were bandaged up, the squad began securing the area. At Kusari's pleading request, Nikolai reluctantly left his medical kit with Callen, which contained spare electronics and first aid supplies before joining the rest of his team.

  "Alright...you're gonna have to do some cutting." Kusari warned as she set up her equipment as a pillow. "Think brain surgery...or lobotomy..." She was prone on her gear. "You ready?"

  Callen flipped open his multitool and inspected the knife. "You got a whetstone? This knife's pretty dull..." He sounded nervous.

  Kusari pulled a small sharpening stone out of her pocket. "Relax...there's already stitches...just slice them..."

  Callen sharpened the knife and pulled some clamps from Nikolai's medical kit. "Well, what should I do if you pass out?"

  "I won't." She grinned. "One of my upgrades allows me to choose to ignore pain."

  "Umm...you're lying..." Callen pointed out.

  "Am I? I guess I could just have a high threshold of pain." Kusari joked. "Guess you'll never know...now get to it..."

  "Here it goes..." Callen gulped as he began cutting and using the clamps to hold the folds of skin over her skull. He felt a rush as he looked at the metal and bone that made her skull. Part of him was concerned for her, but the majority of him was overtaken by the excitement of his scientific curiosity. He knew he had to go slow. So, he paused after the skin was pulled back. "Alright...walk me through this..."

  "Go slow." Kusari winced.

  Paying careful attention, he opened the screws on the metal panels with his multitool. With the edge of the knife, he piped off the panels and looked at the mess of brain tissue and computer circuitry interwoven in her head. He wished he had more time to indulge his fascination, but he had to work quickly. However, he realized this was his opportunity to discern vulnerabilities he could exploit if the gremlins were to betray him. He'd just have to be smart about what he looked at and make sure each action he took could be connected to repairing her.

  Using parts from his old computer, parts in the medical kit, and spare parts in his bag, he wired his wrist computer into her hardware. He made a few adjustments in the program he used to direct the Mavis robots. Without much time wasted, he was able to see her vitals, power distribution, network activity, and monitor her system's activities on his goggles. Of course, he made sure that the path was heavily firewalled. He didn't want her getting anything from his system.

  He started running a hardware diagnostic check. "I'll know what I can repair internally shortly, but I don't think I'm going to be able to fix that eye. There aren't any parts for that." He looked at her damaged eye.

  "I guess my depth perception will be off..." Kusari sighed. "And it’s on the side of the hand I shoot with..."

  "Guess you won't be doing any precision shooting...though your sword skills will be fine..." Callen said. "But, it could be worse..."

  "Yeah, just do what you can."

  Although she was dominantly organic, her cybernetic system was amazing. Information and energy flowed freely between her organic and electronics. Her electronics supplemented her organic muscles providing stimulus for extra strength and grace, but the down side is that it made her very fragile. Her brain controlled everything with the CPU working as an interface converting her thoughts into computer language, which allowed her to choose to communicate through a wireless network to other gremlins.

  Overall, her inorganic computers weren't much different from the computers that he had worked on in the past. The unfamiliarity came down to how the electronics interfaced with the organic parts. Through assessing some computing errors, he deduced that her biological system was primary and the computer was secondary. The computer's responsibility was to control her electronic additions and allow for her organic brain to control her entire system.

  The diagnostic told him what hardware had been damaged, and he began replacing what he had supplies for. With each repair, he tried to get the same feeling of electronic artistry that he had experienced while working to save her life, but to no avail. However, he began to reflect on the feeling, and remembered the rush was similar, if not identical, to what he experienced with the metal demons. He considered that pressure might focus his mind, or perhaps the rush of adrenaline as someone's life was at risk. Those conclusions didn't satisfy him and he couldn't put his finger on what he had done exactly. However, he was sure that in these two instances, he mentally interfaced with two different computers.

  When he replaced the busted hardware he could, he began working on bypassing any of the circuitry he couldn't fix. Luckily, he found some redundant electronics and was able to reroute the command signals to avoid the damaged parts. Unfortunately, he would have to make her less efficient.

  "So, what's the damage?" Kusari asked.

  "Overall, I'd say, that everything was going to be fine," Callen said. "And, you're going to be hurting, but who wouldn't be after getting stomped on by some evil monster and falling down a steep rocky tunnel?"

  "Yeah." Kusari said thankfully.

  "Do you know you have some redundant circuitry?" Callen asked.

  "Yeah." She said. "Is there a problem?"

  "No, the extra parts helped me fix you...but everything wasn't available. So, you're reaction time will be delayed."

  "So, I'll be slower...great..." She sighed. "But, can it ever be fixed?"

  "Yeah...just not here...but, if you don't mind I'll keep looking to see if there's anything else I can do..."

  "Please do..." She sounded afraid. "What's ahead of us is..."

  "That bad, huh?"

  "Very bad..."

  "I guess I can't even imagine." He began checking her programming. "I'll keep going."

  Carefully written into her operating system's subroutines, a combination of code caught Callen's attention. As he looked deeper, he noticed some of her programming had been recently modified. He noticed firmware had been added to run the new piece of hardware that had been integrated into her system. From what he could tell, the new hardware had to do with the strange black webbing deep in her skull. The symbols looked like the arcane and alchemical runes, but he couldn't exactly be sure. He couldn't read either. So, he began running diagnostics on this recent update in addition to other his data scans.

  "Kusari, how often do you gremlins get upgraded?" Callen asked as he attempted to decipher the strange code.

  "It depends, why?"

  "I just noticed that you got something in here that had a recent update."

  "Yeah, I had the first surgery for a new upgrade done right before we left. It's the precursor hardware for a skin color shifter device. With some special clothes, the idea is to turn me into a chameleon...then, I will be the perfect assassin. Goblins beware. Well, provided I survive this."

  "That sounds pretty advanced..."

  "A military prototype we stole from some surfacers..." She shrugged. "So, anything I should worry about right now?"

  "You should be better than fine for now, but you might want to have a gremlin doctor look at you when you get back. I don't know what will happen if the circuit board that broke isn't repaired properly."

  "I'll definitely get it looked at. That goblin hit me hard. I've met sewer trolls that hit lighter than that..."

&
nbsp; "If I had more tools, time, and didn't have to worry about killing you, I would do it right now, but..."

  She laughed. "Well, thanks for not trying harder." She looked at the floor. "I was partially awake when Nikolai declared me dead and argued with you about fixing me."

  "Nikolai couldn't fix you and he didn't know that I could."

  "How did you know?"

  He shrugged. "I just knew. I've always been good with electronics. I also have played around with some robots before. I just kinda hoped that you and the robots I played with were similar."

  "I guessed I lucked out." She smiled. "Thanks, I guess there is a chance that you might be some sort of savior."

  "Well, technically, I am now, but I don't even know if I'm the type you are looking for." Callen sighed. "I may not even make it."

  "But you passed the tests. Only the Marked One could have passed."

  "Yeah, that's the problem."

  "What is?"

  "Being the Marked One means that I'm broken worse than you, but there is no one who can fix me," Callen stated. "The doctor didn't give me much longer to live..."

  "But you keep going?"

  Callen nodded. "What choice do I have? I don't want to die, but I don't want my sister to die or any of the other kids. So, I have to go on this strange journey to do whatever your king wants so everyone can go home."

  "What about you?"

  "It doesn't matter," Callen said. "Just as long as my sister, Tende, and..."

  "And who? You just blushed a little bit."

  "I'm just flushed from the fight and saving you...I didn't..."

  She smiled. "Come on, tell me...everyone else, including your sister, is keeping watch."

  "Sadie," Callen admitted after a long pause.

  "Well, I guess you like her..."

  Callen shook his head. "No way. She is just a friend."

  "That didn't sound very convincing. But, either way, I think it matters if you get to go home. You fixed me in just a few hours...I bet you can do the same for yourself…if you have the resources..."

  "I'm good with electronics. I don't have electronic parts."

  "There has to be some way. You are the son of the Forger. He built us. I doubt he would ever let his son die. Maybe that's what they mean by making the mark come outside?"

  "Yeah, I hope. I have vague memories that come to me in dreams. I had a dream my dad made something to cure me, but it is just a dream."

  "The thing about dreams is that sometimes they come true. Today you saved me. Most gremlins couldn't even dream of doing that as quickly as you did." She smiled. "I'll do whatever I can, just like you helped me."

  "Thanks." Callen smiled.

  She sighed and looked down the tunnel towards were the other gremlins were preparing to continue the trek.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing."

  "That wasn't a nothing sigh. That was the type of sigh that my mom would give whenever she got the opposite of what we were hoping for one of my diagnoses."

  "Yeah...well...I guess you can say I kind of feel that way too..."

  "About?" Callen asked.

  She paused for a minute and let out a longer sigh. "Family stuff, it weighs heavy on the soul..."

  "Alright," Callen said slowly, but he decided not to push her further. "Why don't you test my fix?" Callen asked. "If there's a problem, I can try improving anything you may notice."

  After he had disconnected the wires, Kusari stood up. She was a bit wobbly at first, but quickly she got her bearings and she soon began working through a sword kata.

  As she practiced, Callen began analyzing the data he had collected on the both how she worked and the strange code. Her system was fascinating, but as he looked in detail at the code, he recognized a familiar pattern. He opened the file that contained the line of code that he took from the metal demons and compared them. His heart jumped. They were very similar, but not identical. The code he extracted from Kusari was more primitive. However, it didn't leave him with a good feeling.

  With nothing but unanswerable questions, he returned to watching her practice. She was obviously slower, but it was the best that could be done. She stopped and nodded after a kneeling slash. "It should do," Kusari said, with a sigh. "But I'm half my speed."

  "Look's like you still got it to me. But, I can take a look again." He scratched his head as he continued scrolling through the system data he collected. He stopped at the scans of her power distribution system. "Maybe rerouting power will help..."

  She nodded. "Alright," she said as she sat down next to him.

  He connected his computer. "Okay." He said once he was re-connected, this time with longer wires. "Try swinging the sword." He paid careful attention to the programming that regulated how the command signals and the energy powered her limbs. Energy and commands seemed to be routed through the black webbing as they moved between her brain and her electronics.

  In his curiosity, he began analyzing exactly how she was powered. A hybrid system that combined powerful batteries with an organic digestive system drove her. A combination of computer code and brain signals managed the cyclical relationship between how the system operated. He scratched his head and, with fear weaving into his mind, he began to wonder how the creature he was watching was similar to those horrible metal demons. They were both organic and electronic, like these gremlins. He shuddered at the thought, but there seemed to be a vulnerability here. A simple change could fry her system.

  "What?" She asked.

  "Just looking for a way to fix you further." He forced a smile and realized that he had broken a haunting expression. He turned his attention to the programs and noticed an oddity in her power distribution coding. "That mod in your head doesn't seem to be doing much for all the power it's consuming." He began working on the necessary programming to fix the issue. "I'm going to move power from it to your normal parts. Do you know if it is anything besides a part that will lead to your chameleon upgrade?"

  "Yeah," Kusari said. "Combat targeting and networking enhancement. It's experimental."

  "That's odd. This thing is just taking energy to run while sitting idle." Callen said as he worked. "I can't find a reason for it...it's taking too much energy to run when you're not in combat or networking..."

  Kusari shrugged. "Maybe it got damaged too? Can you do anything?"

  "I'll reroute your internal power grid and send the extra to your kinesthetic system," Callen explained as he worked. After a few minutes, he paused and scratched his head. "Well, I reduced the mod's power consumption by 25%. That looks like the maximum it will allow me to do. But, it will be better, I just need a little more...." He made a few more adjustments, and when he was finished, and felt a rush of accomplishment. "Okay, swing your sword."

  She did and she moved quicker than her recent practice. "Better." She admitted.

  "Glad I could help." He said, as be prepared to close her up. He was feeling particularly pleased with himself for both his repairs and gaining a greater understanding of how the gremlins worked. He hoped he could think of some way to use what he learned to his advantage. Otherwise, he, his sister, and all the captives were dead.