Army Tech

Army Tech

Janet flipped the switch on the alarm clock, for the dozenth time in the past few months she would not be here to turn it off. She wound her long golden braid up and pinned it in place and then carefully placed her hat there, it was usually a balancing act but she had almost perfected it. Checking one more time she stared at her reflection, if she was caught, it would end her career as a US Army staff sergeant. If she succeeded with her plan she would effectively be a fugitive, she sighed and wiped at a tear that hovered in her crystal blue eye. The army was her life, her love, her career and now they had betrayed her. She could not turn over her project and the reason most people would not believe.

Sucking it up she turned, grabbed her pack, said a quick good bye to her home for the last three years and slipped into the depths of the night, it was two am and she walked briskly to the lab, looked around and slipped her key card into the slot, the door slid open easily. Unlike usual she did not sign in, she knew that later when they investigated, it would be her card that had opened the lab. She moved quietly to her desk and opened her computer, five hours ago she had left the program open, quickly she pressed a key and the program imitated.

Moving quicker Janet sprinted to Lab One and pulled open the door, “Thomas awake” she whispered. The eyes of the android opened, and he blinked at her. She had chosen to give Thomas her blue eyes and blond hair and now considered him to be the brother she never had. “Its time to go.” The nearly flawless bio-mechanical creature followed Janet to the door.

She stopped then and checked to be sure the uniform she had dressed Thomas in was correct. “You are having second thoughts?” the android asked lowering its voice to mimic her whisper.

She turned and smiled, “No, not one, we have to get you out. There is no way I am turning you over to Rampart so they can take you apart and reprogram you. They want to erase all of your good qualities and make you into a killing machine, and then they want to make millions more like you. I can’t let that happen, we, can’t let that happen. The world does not need a bazillion mindless androids out there killing with absolutely no conscious whatsoever.”

“You are using my words,” Thomas said and gave her one of his quirky smiles. Janet had not figured out just how Thomas had become a crossover from a machine to a humanoid but she would honor his choice to not become a killing machine. It was costing her everything but in all her heart she could not let the army continue its plan to create humanoid soldiers. Eighty-five present of Thomas was mechanical, the other fifteen was biological. He had a circulatory system and pieces of brain matter. Much of his brain had dissolved, she didn’t understand it but Thomas had explained that those parts were unnecessary as his mechanical body did not need all of the brain to function.

“Hello Jason,” Thomas said softly, “Are you coming with us?” He asked as he turned to face a figure standing in the shadows. Janet swallowed hard. Jason was her superior, Lt. Colonel Jason Reins. He stepped forward just as Janet turned towards him. He was the only man she had ever given her heart to, the one who had basically ignored her the last two years they had worked together, or so she thought. She had now been caught and her heart seized, she would be brought down by the one she cared for most in this world. Trying hard to stave off the tears, she stood at attention.

“Yes, Thomas,” came the whispered reply. Janet blinked and looked from Thomas to Jason. His expression was unreadable as he stepped closer. He sought out her eyes, his were the deepest, darkest chocolate Janet had ever seen, his soft, jet-black hair closely cropped on the sides was surprisingly long on top, she had never noticed because he always wore his standard issue hat or a cap. His gaze was soft. “If she will have me, yes, I plan to help you escape.”

It took a few moments for his words to register, then she stepped back confused. “G – go . . . with u-us?” She managed. She was still rigidly at attention, Jason reached up and touched her cheek. He smiled softly and his whole face changed, he was no longer her superior, she was equal, a friend, maybe more?

“Yes,” Jason said nearly in a whisper. “Thomas noticed my deep affection for you and revealed himself and the plans you two had to leave. He asked me to go with you, he believes you and I will each be lonely and even broken hearted if we are separated. I tend to agree with his analysis.”

“A – Affection?” Janet repeated, “deep affection, I have never once thought that you . . .” her words were silenced by a soft kiss from Jason. She grabbed the front of his jacket to steady herself and he slipped an arm around her pulling her closer. His essence was intoxicating and her mind was reeling. She had no clue he felt this way and she wondered how Thomas had discovered he did.

“Now I have used seven other ID cards including my own to enter the lab. I suggest we make a quick exit before the program realizes it has been looping and corrects itself. You know it will and then it will pick up visual and audio, we need to go quickly.” He released his hold on her and she scrambled to reach for her pack, but Thomas had picked it up. She straightened up and followed the two solders out into the night, still trying to wrap her head around what had just happened.

There was a jeep waiting, it was Jason’s personal jeep and she noticed as Thomas climbed in the back that it was loaded with camping gear. She settled in the seat beside Jason and soon they were cruising down the main road towards the one that would lead them to the back gate of the base. Janet looked over at Jason, never in a lifetime could she imagine this would happen. Jason had worked closely with her on the biological additions to Thomas. He had overseen her work from day one. All the other androids, nineteen letters of the alphabet, had failed, Thomas number twenty was the breakthrough. He lived, and he thrived.

Janet had never once documented Thomas’ developing personality. He began interacting with her in closed sessions, she was shocked and pleased and his development was rapid. In two short weeks he seemed as human as any person anywhere. She had cautioned him not to reveal this development to others. They would attempt to shut him down. When the project committee had seen Thomas perform for them they had decide he would be transferred to another lab to be programed for war, he would have his mechanical memory wiped and his consciousness removed she believed he would be destroyed or what was left would be devastated by his orders to kill without mercy.

It was Thomas who asked her to help him escape. To an outsider he appeared as human as the next person if one did not look closely enough, even then it was difficult to tell. When Thomas had included Jason, she had no idea. Now she simply watched in awe as he took over and slipped them out the back gate.

Once clear of the gate Jason headed up a road Janet had never been on. He pulled off on a rest area and turned to her. “Thomas, suggest I spring this on you. When I discovered his personality and your plan to help him escape, I told him he could only have my silence if he took me with him, and with you.” He smiled softly. “Keeping my distance from you was killing me and I had no idea how I was going to approach you, Thomas has given me the opportunity to let you know how I feel about you.” He took her hand and caressed it gently waiting for her response.

Janet decided she didn’t need anymore details right now her heart was full and she even set aside the multi-million dollar piece of army property in the back seat trying hard not to watch as she moved closer and kissed Jason the way she had always dreamed of kissing him.