Walls of Steel (The Forever Gate Book 7) Read online

  When he finished, the Hivemind said: Did Fhavolin help you destroy the mothership?

  I am Javiol 44-57-79-312, egg donor...

  The Hivemind interrupted him. Replace the quadmind cap, Shell.

  Before the satoroids could do so, Javiol transmitted again. Is Hoodwink here, among you?

  Like Graol, Javiol would have never seen him before. Javiol would not know he was present.

  Hold, the Hivemind instructed the satoroids. Speak, Javiol.

  I have a message for him: Hoodwink, I'm going to track you down for the rest of my days for what you did to me. I won't sleep until the squirming remains of your body lie flayed before me, your peeled skin tanning in the sun while I ready it for hanging on my mantle. I'll gut—

  Replace the quadmind cap, the Hivemind instructed the satoroids.

  Javiol's transmissions ended the moment the satoroids reattached the metal object.

  Javiol, the Hivemind announced. You are sentenced to death for the crime of high treason. You planted a virus in the AI of the Vargos, thereby causing the destruction of said ship. You are a traitor to your race and a disgrace to all Satori everywhere. Shell, schedule him for execution by The Spike.

  I have placed him in the first available opening, the Shell returned. His execution will take place tomorrow with the rising of the thermal currents.

  Take him away, the Hivemind commanded.

  The satoroids carried Javiol from the cave.

  "And so ends Jeremy," Graol thought.

  Graol, this Hivemind has determined your innocence in the matter of the destruction of the Vargos.

  Thank you, Graol transmitted.

  Furthermore, we have decided that a Species-87A surrogate will help you adjust. Several of the surface cities were spared the nuclear armageddon 87A brought upon itself. We already have an extensive collection of surrogates populating these cities. I am sure one of the sub-pods would be happy to have you join their ranks.

  Many thanks, Graol responded. That is exactly what I need to complete my healing: to be among other Satori who also inhabit 87A bodies. But... may I ask the Royal Hivemind what it plans to do with the remnants of 87A on Ganymede?

  The Hivemind didn't answer immediately. It seemed to be weighing whether or not it wanted to reveal its intentions regarding the human species. Finally: We've let them persist as a barnacle in our side for centuries. It's time to remove that barnacle. When the new mothership is fully operational, it will be dispatched to the gas giant's moon to eliminate them.

  Is that wise? Thason sent. You have spent the past two hundred years building the new colony ship. If you send it, and we lose the vessel, it will be a terrible blow. We will be defenseless. We could end up trapped here.

  Then we will build another.

  Yes, Thason sent. In another two hundred years. I don't have to remind you that we won't be receiving aid from other pods any time soon.

  Though this wasn't the only colony or 'pod' of Satori in the galaxy, Thason was right, reinforcements wouldn't be arriving for a long time. The Satori species was spread too thin, its colonies scattered in far-flung corners of the quadrant. There were too few motherships with little incentive to depart a fertile colony. Once a pod found and conquered a suitable planet, the constituent Satori grew lazy, and normally wouldn't heed distress calls from other pods unless they were close to exhausting the resources of the conquered world. Eventually, if the calls continued for many centuries, they would grudgingly build and launch a colony ship, if only to fulfill the religious obligations of their race, which required the complete and utter destruction of all other species.

  Satori believed that when they died, their psyches were reborn again into whatever receptacles of consciousness were available: Satori, human, or otherwise. The Satori hated that. They wanted control over the species they returned as, preferring a Satori body—all other races were considered inferior. They actually felt they were doing humanity a favor by wiping them out. With no or few human bodies left, the dead human psyches had a greater chance of reincarnating as 'enlightened' Satori.

  When the Ganymede colony was destroyed, that would leave only the few humans who yet remained on Earth itself. Most of them would be completely subservient after two hundred years of alien domination, every man and woman likely passing his or her days in lethargic complacency, waiting to be chosen in the lottery to become a surrogate for a Satori host.

  Your fears are unwarranted, the Hivemind told Thason. The latest remote scans of the 87A vessel indicate a ship completely incapable of spaceflight. They are stranded on that moon.

  That doesn't mean they won't fire back, Thason insisted.

  Our upgraded defenses will easily handle any resistance, the Hivemind sent. It abruptly directed its attention toward Graol, as if remembering that he was still there. Graol, you may go.

  He straightened and relaxed his lower appendages twice in rapid succession, the human equivalent of nodding the head, and two of the satoroids escorted him out, leaving the former council members to debate the issue with the Hivemind alone.

  three

  Hoodwink strode between towering buildings of iron and glass on a street made of asphalt. The front entrances were unlocked, as were the doors on all the floors. He had explored a few of the towering monstrosities. Mostly they contained abandoned offices where people once worked, and on the lower levels, sometimes he found shops. Occasionally one of the shops was manned by a humanoid robot, obviously designed by the humans. One of the robots fitted him with a suit in a clothing store, and in a place called a "grocery store," another robot guided him through the produce section, pointing out all the different kinds of fruits and vegetables that were available to him at no cost. He left with a carrot in one hand and an apple the other. He finished both in short order and was promptly hungry again.

  Hunger. An unpleasant feeling he had forgotten about. Satori didn't need to eat: the colonies of algae in their gastric cavities produced light when digested, which allowed for the growth of more algae. Satori could live a thousand years without any external food supply because of it. Too bad his human body wasn't more like that. He might have to talk to a few Satori genetic engineers about augmenting the species.

  He walked past the powered flyers and wheeled vehicles that rested against the curb, free for the taking, ready to scoot him to wherever he wished. He wanted to use his own two feet for the moment, just happy that he had legs rather than lower appendages and a tail.

  He wore augmented reality glasses, or aReals, designed by the humans. He followed the overhead map that the aReal overlaid upon his vision, and headed toward the main city food generation facility, labeled "food court" on the map. He hoped he would meet other amiable individuals there, because while it felt good to be human again, he couldn't shake the disheartening emptiness he felt. Because other than the few robots, he hadn't encountered a soul since awakening in his new body.

  Finally he saw two people, a man and a woman, walking toward him. They carried "grocery" bags. They kept their gazes averted and stared at the pavement as they neared.

  He checked their biometrics on his aReal and confirmed that the bodies were unregistered: these were real human beings, not surrogates. He could hardly contain his excitement as they approached.

  "Hello," Hoodwink said.

  The pair stopped. "Hello," the man said, keeping his eyes averted. The woman refused to look up, too.

  "A fine day, isn't it?" Hoodwink continued awkwardly.

  "Yes it is." The man waited, still not looking at him, as if duty required him to remain where he was.

  "I'm new to the area, I am," Hoodwink said. "I have no friends. I don't suppose you would be interested?"

  "I'm sorry," the man said. "But we do not harbor Satori in our minds, yet. Though we look forward to that day with utmost yearning. Until then, we would not make good friends, I think. May we go?"

  "Yes, yes of course," Hoodwink said.

  The pair seemed relieved.

&nb
sp; He watched them depart, and felt sick to his stomach. One of the humanoid robots observed from a nearby shop. When Hoodwink met its eye, the robot turned around and went back inside.

  That's right, Shell. Watch me.

  The next few humans he passed behaved similarly. They stopped politely, listened to what he had to say, and excused themselves by telling him how excited they were to one day become Satori puppets, but unfortunately they could not befriend him until then, and if it pleased him, they would like to be on their way. None of them ever met his eye.

  Hoodwink didn't have the heart to tell them that if they ever were chosen to become surrogates, their own consciousnesses would be utterly obliterated. Then again, maybe they knew.

  At least Hoodwink could rest easy about his own body, as his was one of those the Satori had pre-grown, genetically engineered to have no consciousness of its own. At least that was what the Shell had told him.

  Near the food court he spotted a big robot resting on a street corner. A soldier of some kind. Vaguely humanoid, it was twice the height of a man and three times wider. A red visor covered the eye area. The joints were hydraulically actuated. It appeared to have a jetpack. In place of hands were weapon mounts: the right arm ended in some kind of missile launcher, while the left terminated in a nasty looking twin turret.

  According to the Satori archives, those particular robots were called Patrollers, and they'd helped clean up and repair the damaged cities in the years after the war. These days it looked like they served mainly as enforcers of the peace.

  In the sky overhead, quadcopters occasionally darted past: small surveillance drones that were connected to the same city-wide wireless network the aReals used.

  He reached the food court and went inside. The few humans present finally met his eye, and actually smiled. They were obviously Satori surrogates. He checked their biometrics on his aReal and confirmed that the bodies were indeed registered to Satori.

  He ordered something called a hamburger from one of the serving robots and then approached a table containing three surrogates: two men and a woman.

  "Well hello," one of the men said.

  "Hello," Hoodwink said. "Do you mind if I join you?"

  "By all means." He introduced himself as Gnarls. The other two people at the table were Lion and Gwen.

  Hoodwink sat and bit into his burger.

  "First time as an 87A?" Gnarls asked.

  "What?" Hoodwink glanced at him. "Oh. No. I've inhabited a human body for a long time, I have."

  "Well good for you," Lion piped up. "I've been inside human bodies off and on for the past two hundred years. Honestly, in my opinion, they're one of the more interesting surrogate species. The gustatory sensations, the sexual pleasures, the intertwined emotions. They're way more fun than the Xevianthi."

  Gwen smiled fondly. "I've kind of grown attached to my own body. I'm going to miss it when we finally pack up shop and head to the next world. I hear it's soon, you know. That's why we've created the mothership."

  "Don't listen to her," Gnarls said. "We're going to be here for a long time yet. This world's resources will last us at least another millennia or two."

  Hoodwink shuddered as he considered the potential ramifications for humanity of two thousand years of slavery. Two hundred was bad enough. But two thousand? The species would never be able to recover.

  "We were just about to head back," Lion said. "Why don't you join us? Have you ever experienced a sexual foursome?"

  Hoodwink swallowed his latest piece of burger. "That's all right."

  "We can have sex in the corner over there instead if you like," Lion said. "The robots don't care. Hell, neither do the other surrogates. They sometimes join in."

  Hoodwink raised a hand. "That's fine."

  "I thought you said you've inhabited a human body for a long time," Gnarls told him. "Surely you haven't held back from experiencing all the pleasures that go along with that?"

  "You know," Hoodwink said, standing. "Perhaps this was a bad idea."

  "No no, finish your burger, man," Gnarls said. "We're the ones who are going. Sit sit."

  When Gnarls and the others stood, Hoodwink obeyed.

  "I'll give you my aReal number in case you change your mind," Lion said.

  The transmission request appeared on Hoodwink's aReal. He accepted it, not wanting to cause a fuss, and then filed it away in his local trash folder.

  "Thank you," Hoodwink said. "Nice meeting you all."

  He watched the three depart, dreading that some other surrogate would join him to fill the vacuum. Thankfully, the others kept to themselves. He counted six individuals seated at three different tables. All couples.

  When he finished his burger, Hoodwink wiped his hand in the provided napkin and made his way toward the exit. He passed one of the couples, and they nodded, smiling at him. He thought he saw desire mixed with invitation in their eyes, and he quickened his pace.

  He bumped into another pair as he crossed the threshold outside. The couple exchanged pleasantries with him, and then almost immediately asked him to have sex with them. Hoodwink quickly excused himself.

  He supposed the Satori didn't have much else to do with their surrogate bodies. He understood then why the real humans he had met were so eager to end the conversations he attempted to strike up. They were probably expecting him to demand they all have sex right there in the street.

  He took a different route back toward the apartment where he had awakened. He was looking forward to shutting out that very strange, very repressed world.

  He passed a human woman seated with her legs stretched across the pavement, and her back against the building behind her. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Creamy white skin, high cheekbones, thin brows, a cute button nose, and long black hair clasped into an intricate pony-tail. Her eyes were startlingly blue. Her only flaw was the skin beneath those eyes, which was so thin that he could see all the veins underneath, the branching blue lines vanishing into the cheek area. Even so, for Hoodwink the veins only added to her allure.

  She held out a hand toward him, meeting his gaze. She was not actually human, then.

  Hoodwink felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment. He was about to turn away when she spoke.

  "Alms?" the woman said.

  He paused in disbelief. "You're begging?"

  "I am," she answered.

  He scratched his chin. "I wasn't aware that money was needed in this place?"

  "Oh it's not," she said.

  "Then why are you begging?"

  "I don't know," she said. "Alms?"

  He double-checked his aReal and confirmed that she was registered in the system as a human surrogate to a Satori named Ghra.

  Hoodwink sat down beside her. "I don't have alms. Mind, I don't think anyone does anymore."

  "That would explain why no one will give me money," she deadpanned.

  Hoodwink grinned. "I think I like you, I do." He reached for her hand. "I'm Hoodwink."

  "Sarella." She quickly withdrew her hand and looked away.

  "You seemed disappointed," Hoodwink told her.

  "Of course I'm disappointed. You have no alms."

  Hoodwink pursed his lips. "You don't want to have sex with me, do you?"

  Her face crumpled in disgust. "No!" She edged away from him.

  He laughed. "Good. You're the first surrogate I've met who hasn't tried to talk me into a threesome a minute into the conversation. Then again, I haven't met very many, I admit."

  "Oh they're all the same," Sarella agreed. "But I'm not like the others."

  "Maybe." Hoodwink noticed the sleeping bag rolled up on the pavement beside her. He nodded toward it. "You sleep out here?"

  "I do."

  "Don't you have an apartment?"

  She smiled wanly. "I prefer the streets."

  "Why?"

  She didn't answer.

  "You've been to the Inside, haven't you?" Hoodwink said.

  She peered
searchingly into his eyes, but didn't otherwise answer.

  Hoodwink nodded slowly. "I can tell. You're too different from the others. I never thought I would find someone else who knew my pain. Someone who had seen what I had. You're one of the other Fifty Surrogates, aren't you?"

  "I thought I was the only one," Sarella said.

  "No," Hoodwink told her. "You were never the only one." He wrapped an arm around her and gave her a half hug.

  "I felt so alone," Sarella said. "Like you, I didn't think I would ever find anyone who would ever understand me. I'm not Satori. Not anymore. I'm human through and through."

  Hoodwink retracted his arm. "I feel the same way." He stared at her features uncertainly, his gaze lingering on the veins beneath her eyes. "Come home with me."

  "No," Sarella said.

  "I promise I won't have sex with you. I only want companionship. Someone who understands the human condition. No real human being will even meet my eye. Please. I only want a friend."

  "I can be your friend out here, on the street." Sarella said.

  Hoodwink nodded. "All right. Then here I'll stay."

  And so he did. They chatted about everything in the hours to come, from the most mundane to the heartrendingly philosophical.

  When evening finally came, it was with some regret that he stood to go.

  "Are you sure you'll be safe here, alone in the dark?" he asked.

  "I'll be safe. Got some watchful friends nearby." She nodded toward the shop across the street. The robot shopkeeper could readily be seen beyond the window, watching them.

  And so he departed, only to return the next morning. "I brought you a sandwich." And they spent all that day talking, too.

  Hoodwink returned each day and their friendship blossomed. After a week he managed to convince her to come home with him. He set her up in the spare guest room and their friendship continued unabated.

  Until one day she seduced him.

  He had just returned from buying groceries. He placed the bags on the kitchen counter, and when he turned around, she stood there, spectacularly naked. Suddenly out of breath, he went to her, and mashed his lips against hers. She returned his kiss just as hungrily. He couldn't take off his clothes fast enough.