Chapter 1

Andena opened the door leading to a hall with a small lift. The emergency light in the middle of the low ceiling made the hall look eerie. Aware her core could hear her, Andena murmured, “Z, I don’t think that we can use the lift, there’s no power.”

Text appeared in front of her right eye. “I know. Look to your left Andena.”

She turned and could almost make out the door, which was almost the same colour as the wall. She felt stupid that she had assumed Z wanted her to take the lift, and she apologised, “Sorry, I didn’t see the door.”

As she started jogging towards the door her core responded, “I guess you’re not entirely awake yet.”

She hated the fact that her computer core had a special Artificial Intelligence program running, was right; she was still a little groggy and unsettled by the nightmare she had had during her enforced stay in the cramped quarters of the re-enforced locker. She snorted when she reached for the door handle, but before she could touch the metal handle her arm was locked and her core displayed, “Watch out! The handle is 419 degrees!”

Her hand was just an inch away from the handle, and she could feel the heat radiating from the metal. It was only then that she heard the faint roaring noise of fire raging behind the door. Startled, she stepped back, and briefly wondered why the door wasn’t radiating heat. It dawned on her that the door probably led to a staircase and that it was customary for such doors to be reinforced and fireproof. She had no idea how her core was able to detect that the door handle temperature, but she was grateful. “Thanks, Z. That was close.”

It took a few moments for her core to respond, “You’re welcome, A.”

Her arm was still as rigid as a stick, so she asked, “Is there a reason why I cannot move my arm?

Her arm was released instantly as the text appeared, “I’m sorry Andena, but I was using all my capacity to find a way to guide you to safety.”

The remark made her uneasy, so she asked, “Are you telling me I’m trapped?”

“No, but getting out is going to be a challenge.”

“Why?”

“You will have to use the lift shaft to go up to the ground floor.”

She half snorted, “I thought you were not supposed to use the lift in the event of a fire.”

“You are correct but this time, it is the only way to get out of the building safely. Andena, we need to go very soon because the fire is rapidly consuming oxygen on this level.”

Andena didn’t like that idea at all and asked, “You want me to climb up a lift shaft in complete darkness?”

“The emergency light is detachable. Turn the base of the light counter-clockwise.”

She was pleased she could reach the light by standing on her toes and could easily unscrew the light from its base. To her surprise, she noticed there was a cord neatly stashed inside a small compartment. She hung the light from her neck in the same way that she would wear a pendant, and as she walked to the lift door she asked, “How can I open the lift door?”

“There’s a key in the little box.”

Andena found the rusty metal box and saw it had a lock. She was praying it wasn’t locked, but to her relief, she was able to open it with some effort. Rust particles fell as the hinges of the box protested with a loud squeak. She took out the T-shaped key and she knew it would fit in the hole she had seen right above the lift door. She slid the key in and turned it. A clunky noise told her that the mechanism in the door had shifted, and she felt that it could be moved. As she slid open the door, her core commented, “Well done, Andena. You’d better take the key with you in case we need it again.”

She looked into the dark gaping hole and sniffed the cold air that smelled stale and musty. She murmured sarcastically, “Well, this is a really inviting way to escape.”

“Just sit down and let yourself slide into the shaft.”

“Can’t I just jump in?”

“There is a significant risk of serious injury if you do that.”

She sighed and lowered herself onto the floor. She turned onto her stomach while holding the light in her hand as she let her legs slowly slide down into the shaft. She was pleased to be able to put her feet on a sturdy surface; it was a step that stood out from the floor of the shaft. The floor looked shiny and as she stepped down, she squealed, startled by the fact her foot had disappeared into a puddle of foul-smelling water. Pulling her foot out of the water, she grumbled, “That is so gross! I’ll never get my boots clean again.”

“Andena we need to hurry because the oxygen level is dropping rapidly. There’s a step ladder at the back of the shaft. You need to climb it now.”

She knew she had no choice and lowered herself down from the step. She shivered not only because she was cold but more at the prospect of stumbling over something and falling into the foul-smelling water. She was grateful when she saw the ladder, made from iron rungs mounted on the wall. However, her mood quickly turned to apprehension when she discovered the rungs were covered with a slimy green substance. She moaned, “Why are these places always so rancid?”

“Make sure you always have three contact points when climbing, especially on slippery surfaces, you need to have a firm grip.”

She knew as soon as she saw the state of the rusty steps she needed to pay extra attention; the steps might not be strong enough to take her full weight. A wave of giddiness washed over her indicating the oxygen level was dropping fast. She had to put her dislike of slimy surfaces aside, and as she blew out a forceful sigh, she started to climb the ladder. She was pleased her muscles were a lot stronger, which made the climb a lot easier. She still hadn’t been able to figure out exactly what had happened to her after she had been attacked by the alien vines. She knew she lost consciousness, and when she came to, her whole body had been changed forever. She had a strong suspicion that it was Bionex’s biotechnical engineers who had inserted a computer core somewhere in her body and had also enhanced her muscles. For a few days, she had been more android than human because her conscious mind had been suppressed by a program. It was only when she finally managed to stop the suppression program that she had become a ‘normal human being again. She felt pretty normal except for the fact, she still had all the ‘enhancements’ in her body.

“The oxygen level is rising, you are out of the danger zone.”

Andena had mixed feelings about her computer core. The core had saved her several times from disaster, but there was no denying the fact that it was a huge invasion of her privacy. It was like being forced into a relationship without your consent. For now, though, Andena was astute enough to realise she needed to accept it; at least until she was out of danger.

“Andena?”

It was strange how her core could be so compassionate, and she replied with a slight annoyance in her voice, “Z, I’m fine. Thanks for letting me know I’m safe.”

“At this speed, you’ll arrive at the ground floor in five minutes.”

She felt the iron rungs were getting coarser as if the constant trickle of water had corroded them. She hadn’t noticed the falling drops of water at first, but now her hoodie was getting waterlogged. She said, “I hope that those rungs are still strong enough Z.”

“Try to spread your weight and move as smoothly as possible.”

Just as she was about to respond with a sarcastic response, the rod she had just put her full weight on, broke away. Andena screamed as her body slammed against the ladder, holding on for dear life with just one arm. The light had been crushed during the accident, and it was now pitch black. She knew she had to act fast because now her full weight was on only one rod. Pulling herself up carefully, she grabbed the next rod with her other hand before exclaiming, “Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit.”

“Lift your left leg just a little higher Andena.”

She did as her core instructed and was pleased when her foot found a rod to stand on. She exhaled gratefully and said coarsely, “Thanks, Z. That was close.”

“You’re welcome A. Since the light is broken, shall I indicate where the steps are so we can continue?”

Andena was still wedged between the rungs of the ladder, and was still breathing heavily, she argued, “I think I need a minute before I can go on.”

“Are you hurt Andena?”

“No, I’m just a little shaken, and I need a moment to regain my courage to continue.”

“I’m afraid you have to go now because the fire is gaining ground and the temperature in the shaft is rising rapidly.”

It had never been that obvious, but she realised that sweat was pouring down her neck. She had dismissed it as water from her soaking wet hoody. A surge of adrenaline rushed through her body, and she started to climb the ladder again. She said, “Okay I guess it’s better than nothing.”

The pattern of lines she saw in front of her eye was a very simple representation of the shaft, but it helped her to grab the next set of rungs. Her core Z suggested, “Look up Andena because we are nearly to the ground floor.”

As she looked up, she was unable to resist squealing with excitement when she realised the lift cabin was about thirty feet away.

“How do we get into the lift Z?” she asked.

“If we are lucky there will be a hatch in the ceiling of the cabin which we can probably open with the same key and because there’s a fire, the lifts should be on the ground floor with the doors open.”

Andena looked up again and realised it would be a tight squeeze to pass the lift cabin and murmured, “I hope I’m slim enough.”

“It is possible if you grab the rungs in such a way that your arm fits within the cleft of the ladder.”

Andena moved up a few steps until her chest was between the cabin and the ladder. She had to go down one step again when the emergency light that was still around her neck got stuck. Removing the light from around her neck proved to be a challenge, but as she dropped the light down the shaft she was shocked by how long it took before the light fell with a loud splash into the puddle at the bottom. Andena shuddered for a moment at the idea that it could have easily been her falling down the shaft. However, a sense of self-preservation quickly kicked in and she started moving up again. Even though it was a struggle, she was grateful when she finally made it to the top of the cabin.

“Well done Andena, ” commented her core, “Can you crawl towards the middle of the cabin?”

Andena carefully turned around, and it took her a moment to figure out the lines which her core had drawn. She realised that the thick lines that were at a strange angle were the cables that held the cabin at its present level. She had seen the hatch while moving around the cabin. However, she had not seen a keyhole. Even though she knew the answer, she was compelled to ask, “I assume there’s no keyhole?”

“I’m afraid not Andena.”

She sighed.

“You will have to force it open by striking it with your foot.”

“Great, I hope I have enough strength to do that.”

“You will. Hold one of the cables and move your foot down as fast as possible. The hinges are probably not that strong.”

“Hmm probably, that’s encouraging.”

“With your enhancements, it should be possible to break the hinges in one go.”

Andena murmured, “Okay, okay, okay, I guess I can try.”

She got up and manoeuvred herself so that she could hold onto one of the metal cables and prepared herself to stamp her foot down as hard as possible. With a grunt, she slammed her foot on the hatch and was surprised when her foot immediately bounced back. She had to laugh when she read her core’s comment, “The hinges are on the other side of the hatch, Andena.”

“I had figured that much.”

She lifted her foot again aiming at the other side of the hatch. Before she could administer another blow to the hatch, she was shaken by a huge explosion that seemed to come from the bottom of the shaft. Within a second the cabin started to shake, and Andena found herself surrounded by flames that blasted along the sides of the cabin. She felt the whole cabin moving up and then it dropped with such a blast she had trouble preventing herself from falling. This was followed by a loud screeching noise, and she saw that the lift was slowly going down. Her core informed her, “You need to get out as soon as possible. The cabin is now resting on its emergency brakes, and it might lose them when the next explosion occurs.”

Resolutely she rammed her foot down on the hatch again and with a loud crash the piece of metalthat separated her from freedom, fell with a loud clang to the floor of the cabin. She yelled with great satisfaction, “Yes!”

She quickly climbed through the hatch and just as she had her feet on the floor of the main hall, another explosion caused the whole building to shudder.

Her core warned her, “Get away from the lift Andena! NOW!”

She knew that this explosion was even more powerful than the previous, and she launched herself away from the lift. She felt the air pressure pushing her even further away and by the time she was sliding across the floor she was deafened by the roaring flames that were blasting out of the lift shaft. Shortly after that the flames began to die down and Andena heard the sound of the lift cabin falling down the shaft, ended with a loud crash. She muttered, “Well, that was really close.”

“Yes Andena, but we need to leave the building as soon as possible. The closest emergency exit is just a few feet away from you.”

She got up and with shaky legs stumbled towards the door that was in sight. She jammed the emergency bar down and managed to push the door open.

Wondering where she should go next, she was pleased when her core commanded, “Go right Andena.”

She blindly followed her core’s instructions as a series of explosions shook the ground under her feet. People were screaming as they ran, and she had difficulty keeping her balance until her core guided her into a small alley.

She slid down onto the ground with a moan and said, “That was heavy.”

“You’re safe now Andena.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes, and it might be better if you stop talking to yourself.”

She had to smile, and she concentrated on sending the message straight to her core. “Yes, I don’t want to be seen as a crazy woman blabbing to herself.”

Andena was shocked to realise the state that she was in; her suit was torn in several places, and not only was her hoodie soaked but it was also in shreds. Her hands were covered with thick smears of black grease, so she mumbled, “I think I need a hot shower.”

“I have a suggestion Andena.”

“Oh okay, what is it Z?”

“Miss Danette’s laboratory is not far from here.”

Andena gasped at her core’s suggestion. It felt odd, somewhat macabre, to even consider the possibility of using someone’s place immediately after their death. The moments leading up to the tragedy began playing out in Andena’s mind. She knew it hadn’t been her fault that the laser gun had been aimed at her had killed Miss Danette when she kicked it away. Miss Danette wasn’t even in her field of vision when she deflected the gun. Andena took a deep breath, aware of the need to change into less conspicuous clothes if she was to stand any chance of getting to Haruz. Danette’s laboratory would be the perfect place to hide, and she replied to her core, “How do we get in?”

“There are a few passwords stored in my memory that she used to access several systems.”

A smile appeared on Andena’s face as she retorted, “Let’s see if we can get in.”

With renewed energy she leapt up and asked her core, “Which way do we go?”

“Go right and then second left.”

Haruz stared at his screen reading with disbelief as he digested the total number of usable warheads available to him. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back from his screen knowing they would need a miracle to fight off the aliens. He knew that with the available warhead capacity he could blow up the Earth about five times, but he wondered whether that would make even a tiny dent in the fleet of twenty-thousand, probably heavily armed, alien ships.

Haruz leaped from his chair when a huge explosion caused everything in his office to rattle. He knew instantly that something was seriously wrong and considering the loudness of the explosion, whatever happened was nearby. He ran out of the room towards the control centre hoping they would already have determined the source of the explosion. As he entered the centre, another heavy explosion caused the whole building to shudder, and he shouted to the men in the room, “Report!”

The lights flickered, and some of the screens turned blank for a few seconds.

“The explosions seem to have originated from Bionex’s office, sir,” exclaimed one of the officers.

Haruz was still dazed by the last explosion and murmured, “What on earth is going on at Bionex?”

He watched a screen in disbelief as Bionex’s skyscraper swayed slowly from left to right as if it was being pushed from the top by a giant hand. The next explosion was even stronger than the last, causing the entire building to collapse, causing rubble and dust to cascade down into the streets. A moment later the control centre blacked out completely and it was a few seconds before the emergency lights flickered on, bathing the room in a yellow glow. All the screens were blank, and Haruz knew instantly that they had a very serious problem.

“Haruz, what the hell is going on?” shouted a man behind him.