Chapter 13: Conversation with a Queen

Following Twilight's words I now understood what had happened to me, although I influence Twilight when I was fighting with it, I had opened my mind to a two-way communications! Normally Twilight had no real part to play only in protecting me and striking at my enemies, using my senses along the way. But with the emotions of Twilight coming into play it had filled me with a rage which I couldn't control.

"Twilight I understand how you felt." I said which was an understatement — I felt what he felt! — "But when fighting I need a clear head! Brak has made many copies of himself and so I can't afford to let you get unhinged like that when we fight them! We will find the real Brak and deal with him soon. So until then keep your feelings low." I said

'I will try my best ... but I don't understand why I feel such a way about him. I shouldn't feel such emotions.' Twilight said.

I have to admit that this had puzzled me as well, from what I felt it was almost savage hate that Twilight had given me, but how could a spirit feel this? I would have to think about this later as I had something else to do. I sheathed Twilight and then turned to Bran.

"Can you find out anything else about the creation of the Rune Swords?" I asked him.

He looked puzzled but nodded, I then went to the laptop that I had been given. I opened a communications screen, "This is Ambassador John, I need a neural connection kit, I have to trace a program called 'The Red Queen'" I said.

The woman at the other end frowned, "I have no record of such a program within the systems. Do you know where it might be located?" She asked me.

I shook my head, "None whatsoever! It was created by Brak Distar to aid him with his travelling; I would suspect that it's near the Green Lady." I told her

She gave a single shake of her head, "That would be impossible Ambassador; there is no direct connection to the Green Lady."

"But there is a neural connection, she's used it before to contact me, it appears as a glade in a forest!" I protested.

"There is such a background in the system, but it's not accessible from outside our interface units, you would have to return here to use it!" She said.

"Very well, can you arrange for the interface to be ready?" I asked

The woman seemed to concentrate for a moment, and I knew she was in communication with other androids within the complex, "We've agreed to allow this, information from system known as Morris details a copy of the AI was taken for some unknown reason. This could be the basis for another system. But we have no knowledge of where system this would be. There is a possibility that it has been inserted into another system." She now looked worried. "There is an 80% chance that the transportal system has been compromised." She added.

"And we've been talking about it over an open channel! Stand by to receive me." I said and then saw my men standing behind me. "I'm sorry but I have to go alone, Robert is still in charge and will assign duties." I turned to Robert, "Keep them all safe but make sure that Brenda is never alone!" I said.

Robert smiled, "That's no problem! We still have the guns that you gave us." He said.

I raised my own gun and pulled the trigger, there was no action. Robert's face dropped and he tried his own weapon with the same result. He looked at it in shock. "These guns are only to be used off this planet, they are not working here!" I told him.

"So we're back to our own weapons? Well at least we know what we're doing with those!" He said

I nodded, "Take care and listen to the guards, they're the ones in blue, but remember Lady Brenda has the highest priority, she has to be protected!" I emphasised.

"She will be My Lord, you can depend on us!" Robert said.

I said goodbye to Margaret, "Why can't I come with you? I could be of some help." She said.

"You might be needed here; they don't have our magical powers to help them." I said to her gently.

She looked at me sharply, "You're expecting trouble?" She asked looking around.

"At this time I'm expecting more than trouble, I think the end of the world is coming!" I said to her as I walked to the portal for the Android World, Genius was standing by the portal.

"I will protect the Lady Margaret." Genius told me but I shook my head.

"No! You are already a bodyguard for Brenda, you can't protect two people at the same time, you will concentrate your protection on Brenda, I'm sure that Margaret is capable of protecting herself, even if she doesn't know it yet!" I told her as I pressed the activator and the destination icon, the portal shimmered into life and I stepped through.

Somehow I felt there had been a passage of time as I arrived on the android world; the faces showed that they had been concerned for some reason. "Medical section, run a scan on the Ambassador!" An android ordered, I was presented with a Marcus double who quickly ran a device over my body.

"The Ambassador is unharmed Senior, there appears to be no injury sustained." He reported.

"What's wrong? I felt nothing just the normal travel from one space to another." I said.

The one that had been called Senior shook his head, "It was one minute between gates, this is unheard of, we've asked the Green Lady to tell us what had happened but she reports everything is normal." He said.

I frowned, "I thought somehow this trip took longer, but not a minute! Is the interface ready?" I asked taking charge of the situation — I hoped.

"Yes Ambassador, but after this I would caution you against it! If there is such a program in the Green Lady then you might not survive meeting it." He said.

"I understand that, but we need to either get rid of it or convert it, I can't do that from out here, I will have to be talking to the program, AI's are more involved than simple programming." I tried to explain.

"But that base AI, Morris, was programmed to function simply, why couldn't you have used that?" The Senior asked.

"Because that was just a choke on the functioning of a system, what we are searching for is an aware individual; she won't be set into any single system." I told him as we entered another room.

There was a chair in the room which reminded me of the electric chair, there was a large hood affair over the top of it which I knew wasn't a hair-dryer. The technician, who had been the woman in charge when Margaret was incorporated — incarnated? I'm not sure what the term was — and shook her head. "Ambassa ... John I would trust that you'd listen to us and not do this." I didn't reply but my look was enough for her. "Very well, if you'll sit down." She said indicating the chair.

"What should I expect?" I asked generally.

"We're not sure! The process hasn't really be tested." She said which was a great confidence booster, "Our simulations have shown that it would just being in a computer game, you have a limited control over your environment, just keep calm and you'll be able to do things that you think are impossible." She said.

I sat down and then waited while I was strapped in, I did ask about that and was told, "We don't want you thrashing around while your mind is elsewhere, this should keep you in position." I was told.

"Is this a two way connection?" I asked.

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well, can something else take over my body while I'm in there?" I asked.

The technicians looked at each other and then at the woman in charge. "We ... we don't know. This is all very experimental; we haven't actually researched what would happen in such a case. We can postpone this until we've researched it thoroughly." She said, and then she added, "But it could take several years to get this done."

I shook my head, "I'm not waiting that long! Let's get the show on the road!" I said only to be faced with blank looks. "Let's get on with this." I amended and was happy to see them nod.

The woman went to a console, "Clear the area, I'm going to activate in 10... 9... 8... 7..."

'Why not just press the button?' I thought

"5... 4... 3... 2..." I never did hear the number 1!

I was in the glade of the Green Lady, and she was there waiting for me. "Welcome Sir John, you are here without my needing to call you." She said with a smile.

I bowed before her, "I'm sorry Your Ladyship, but it is necessary. I have to ask this, has Brak Distar travelled through the portals recently?" I asked her.

The Green Lady frowned and then closed her eyes, there was a few seconds of waiting and then she opened them again. "I have no record of Brak Distar in my systems, indeed his pattern is not registered with me. I would say he hasn't passed through any portal since I was activated." She said calmly.

I sighed, it seemed that I had been mistaken, but then I remembered what I had been told at the base. "But Brak travelled to the mechanical world, just before they had their war, he was the one responsible for it!" I said.

The Green Lady shook her head, "That is impossible! I would have such a record in my files! Anyway Brak wouldn't..." She stopped herself.

I looked at her, "Brak wouldn't what? You've just told me that you have no record of Brak Distar, how would you be able to say what he can or can't do... Red Queen?" I said knowing my feelings were right.

I sensed, rather than heard, the blow that went past my head as the Green Lady, or rather the Red Queen, had raised her hand and sent a bolt of energy towards me. Something had warned me about it. I pictured a shield between myself and her, she shook her head, "If I can't defeat you here in her place, I'll take you to mine!" She said angrily

The glade faded away to a landscape with volcanoes in the distance spewing fire into the sky, the air was stiflingly hot and I was finding it difficult to breathe. The Green Lady turned and she was now dressed in a scarlet robe and dress, her hair was now auburn in colour.

"Now that is a change for you, I must admit it does something." I said but she didn't seem to appreciate my words.

"Foolish man, you are within my realm now! My master would be happy to know you no longer exists!" The Red Queen said with a feral smile on her lips. "This is where you will die, your lungs seared with the heat of my world, your flesh burning up as you stand here, can you feel your body starting to burn? You're breathing the hot volcanic air of this world!" She said

I could feel the heat, it was just as if I was in the middle of a volcano, my eyes were almost cooking in my skull, my breath was taking in the burning air, causing pain in my lungs, it was a torture of the highest type! I started to black out ... but then I realised where I actually was!

I concentrated on a cool breeze of air blowing into my face, and then it was there, pure refreshing air! I breathed in and out gaining my strength back. I found I had fallen to my knees and so I raised myself up.

"What are you doing?" The Red Queen said shocked, "This is my world, what I decide is what happens!" She said and the heat began building up again, I pictured a protective suit, and found myself enclosed in a volcano explorer's suit, with its own oxygen supply.

I thought of something else and then the world vanished and we were on an ice-flow, my suit vanished and I was now dressed in a warm parka with snow boots, the Red Queen looked around, "What is this? Where are we?" She asked.

I smiled, "Well I thought you were getting a bit hot under the collar, I thought this would be a better place for you to cool down." I said.

"I do not!" She said and concentrated, but I was prepared for that, when she relaxed we were still on the ice-flow, although now she was a penguin in red and white colouring.

"You know slick feathers suit you." I said smiling.

The penguin looked up at me and then down at its body, it opened its beak, "What have you done?" She asked.

I waved my hand and the Red Queen was back before me, "I liked it, perhaps you should use it more often?" I said.

"Enough of this!" The Red Queen said and vanished, passing into the data-stream.

I concentrated and felt her movement, she was going to appear behind me, I placed a shield behind me and her blow struck it, causing a ringing sound within the world, "I agree, perhaps you should quit now, as I surround you!" I said and began to split myself, until she was surrounded by ... me!

I watched from behind the circle of people, she was looking around trying to find me, but 'I' was invisible to her sight, "Red Queen, you are an imitation of life, trying to do what I can do instinctively, I suggest you give up and just listen to me." I told her my duplicates mouths moving as I spoke.

"Never, I was created by the Great Brak Distar, the last remaining Kytherian, when his planet was destroyed he vowed to ensure that those who caused the destruction would suffer!" The Red Queen said.

I was about to answer when I felt a question being sent to me, on listening to it I smiled and allowed the entity to arrive, The Red Queen was amazed as my duplicates began to turn around, they had started to spin before merging with each other, the spinning made the new shape blur but it could be seen to be transforming. The spinning slowed and then facing the Red Queen was the Green Lady.

I walked up to the two women who were glaring at me, "Green Lady may I introduce to you The Red Queen, Red Queen you already know this woman." I said.

The Red Queen looked at me with distain on her face, "Why do you call this construct a woman? She is only a mass of data!" She said dismissively.

"And so are you! Except I was designed to ensure the safe transport of people between the worlds, you were constructed to hide one person from me! I am more complex than you are!" The Green Lady said.

"I was constructed by Brak to ensure that..." The Red Queen was cut off.

"He was able to escape from his pursuers, who wanted to arrest him for his crimes against the Homeworld!" The Green Lady interrupted the speech.

"That was lies, lies created by those who would see him dead! He only wants to help the worlds! He told me so!" The Red Queen asked.

"And what of Brenda? Why is he so against her completing her quest?" I asked interrupting the two of them.

Both turned to me, "Lord John, Brenda is not the problem here, this program has helped caused the death of millions of people on the Machine world, and I don't know what else it might have done!"

The Red Queen shook her head, "That isn't possible! Brak wouldn't do that, he's only trying to do the best. As the last Kytherian I have to obey him!" She said.

The Green Lady started to laugh, I thought her programming was going mad, but then she pointed to me, "You haven't scanned Lord John have you?" She said to the Red Queen.

"Why should I need to do that, he's from the human world known as Earth, he isn't one of the masters!" The Red Queen said as if she found something nasty on her shoe ... and it was me!

"You've got your own records ... check them again!" The Green Lady said with confidence in her voice.

"Of course I have, you don't think that I would be foolish enough to depend on yours! Now accessing ... data located ... reading scan from files ... files must be corrupt readings are for Kytherian body ... this must be wrong." The Red Queen looked at me in shock. "You are not Lord John; you are an android masquerading as a Kytherian!"

"Sorry wrong answer, I have full memories of my childhood, and it's all in chronological order." I said with a smile.

The Green Lady frowned, "He is a living person ... well in the real world his body is!" She turned to me. "I'm sorry Lord John, but I've got to talk for a few minutes and I can't allow you to listen to me." She said.