Chapter 1

"Private Jones? Just what do you think you're doing?" Sergeant Tolliver shouted at the soldier holding the mop at slope arms position.

"Practising Sergeant. I've got to get into formation for the march past." Peter Jones, Private and hoping to be thrown out of the Army, said while making a mess of the salute.

"Really, well for one thing you don't use a government issued mop for practising, you use that for wiping the floor. Now Get On With IT!" Sergeant Tolliver screamed out the last and placed his fists on his hips as he watched the Private.

Jones watched the Sergeant turn and walk away after a few minutes, "up yours!" He muttered under his breath, he wanted to be thrown in the glasshouse and from there he'd be discharged from this mess.

He didn't want to join up, it's just that the government had declared a state of war and everyone was conscripted, so here he was after boot-camp assigned as a cleaner to this hole in the ground.

Officially it was Technical Bunker P5 located in Wiltshire in England, unofficially it was Last Defence, the computers in P5 were the top of the range with interfaces for direct communications with human minds, there was talk that they were able to take the memories of people directly and use them to 'ape' human thought.

Jones only had clearance for Level 2, personnel quarters, and the latrines on level 3 and 4. The way the base was built meant that level 4 was at Ground level with 3 just below it. Then at 100 feet there was level 2 with the top secret section (Level 1) at 500 feet and lead lined.

But Jones didn't care about that, he calculated that if he mixed some of the solvents with the detergents, then he would create a bomb that would damage at least half of the level and he'd be out ... he'd be in prison but that was better than being stuck in this no-way army.

The mixture was nearly ready and... "Hey Pete, how's it going?"

Jones looked up to see Jenkins approaching, "Hi, Frankie. Can't get away and the Sergeant's no help either." He said slopping the mop around.

Jenkins smiled, "Well I might be able to help you out, meet me at the lift at 1900hrs. It's going to be fun." He said and walked on.

Jones wondered what Jenkins had planned, but then anything would be better than this and so he decided to go. In the meantime this floor had to be shiny before the Sergeant returned, shiny enough to slip on... 'maybe he'd break his neck.' Jones though with a smile.

At 1900 hrs. Jones was at the access lift when the doors opened and Jenkins looked out, beckoned to Jones and ducked back in.

Jones looked around and could see nobody near; he stepped into the lift to find the panel was open, "What are you doing?" He asked.

Jenkins smiled, "Just messing about with the Old Man, I'm going down to Level 1 and the only way to do that is to tell the lift that we both have clearance." He said while twisting two wires together.

"But I haven't got permission, look Frankie I know I want to leave, but not at the risk of a firing squad." Jones protested and went to leave the lift, but the doors shut trapping him inside.

"Don't worry Pete, I'll tell them it was my idea, anyway this is going to blow your mind." Jenkins said as the lift descended.

After what, to Jones, was a lifetime the lift doors opened to show an empty corridor, Jenkins closed up the panel and pulled Jones out into the corridor. "What about the cameras, they're going to sound the alarm!" Jones pointed out.

Jenkins shook his head, "Nah they won't, I've jigged them to see nothing, now come on." He said and quickly walked along the corridor.

As they walked Jenkins began talking, "You see Pete, I've been busy while I've been here, I've learnt what's in store and I don't like their plans for me." He said

Jones looked at him, "What do you mean? What plans?" He asked.

Jenkins shook his head, "Don't worry about that because once you see this you're going to freak." He said and then smiled.

They arrived at a nondescript door and Jenkins opened it with a swipe-key. Inside was a laboratory, at the centre was an open tube, the height and width of a man, there was an upright pad with a fixed pillow inside it.

Jones walked around the tube, he noticed the heavy duty pipes and leads that were plugged into the tube and when he touched it he noticed it was cold. "Hey Frankie what's this?" He asked.

Jenkins went up to Jones and put his arm around his shoulders, "What you see here is the ultimate in cryogenic technology. The boffins think that this is capable of freezing a man down in seconds and will be able to keep him alive for years." He said.

Pointing to the open front and the pad Jenkins gently pushed Jones closer. "Just get in and you'll see what the poor fool that they've chosen will be living in for several years." He turned Jones around and pushed him back onto the pad.

"But if this is a cryogenics tube then he'd never know." Jones said while looking at the tubes that were inside the cryo-chamber, and then he noticed the door closing, trapping him inside the tube. "Hey Frankie what's happening?" He called out.

"Sorry about this Pete, but they were going to put me inside here and I can't let them do that, I like my life too much, just chill out and relax, you won't feel a thing." He said and pressed a large green button.

Restraints whipped out from behind the pad to hold Jones securely and then there was a hissing noise. "Frankie stop this, you don't know what you're doing." Jones managed to say as the hissing began to fade and his eyes closed, Jones was soon unconscious but held back.

Jenkins watched as the automatics inserted tubes into Jones, these would pump chemicals into his body and protect the cells from expanding when the freezing process started, because of the pain it was better that the... 'victim' was unconscious.

As Jenkins left the room he made a note on the board, 'Jenkins entered tube at 2000 hrs. as per instructions.' He turned out the light and closed the door.

Entering the lift he pressed for level 4, going into a toilet he removed his gear from a cistern and also made sure that the visitor's badge was visible, he walked out of the base and got into a waiting car. He kissed the woman in the passenger seat.

"Okay darling, let's live." He said and drove away breaking the speed limit as he did so.

Three days later the Nuclear and chemical bombs began to fall.

The light was bright and Jones looked around, "Hey Frankie where are you!" He tried to say but all that emerged was a croak.

"Relax Scout, you are recovering from a cryogenic sleep, parts of your body needs to thaw out a little more, just rest and relax." The voice came from a shape that looked down on him.

As Jones squinted he could make out a grey coloured shape and then darkness overcame him.

His dreams were strange, as if his body was being taught things that he hadn't been prepared for before, he was learning a language that he hadn't heard before and fighting skills that went beyond the normal 'boot camp' training that the Army had tried to drum in to him.

And again that voice - telling him to relax and let everything go, that he would soon be fit and ready for his duty ... but who was this 'Scout' that he was being called?

A spray on his shoulder made him come around. "You should be at optimum status now Scout. Your training has been augmented and you have a mini-computer stored just below your lungs, protected by your ribs." The voice said.

Jones looked at the speaker ... and it was a speaker in a human shaped robot, he slithered backwards in the bed to get away from this spectre. "What are you and where is the doctor?" Jones demanded.

"I am Android Medical Technician 5, the only active medical unit on this Base." The Android said without any inflection.

"I see, but where is Doctor Puc? He's the base doctor." Jones was confused.

"Doctor Puc died on the forty-fifth day of the War, when the medical section was destroyed by enemy bombs." The android said as he pulled Jones back into the middle of the bed.

"Okay then who else is alive on the base, apart from me?" Jones said his mind racing.

"The only living human? That would be you. Now the Command Staff wants to see you as soon as you are recovered." The android said making a note on the computer pad.

"Hold on, Command staff? But you said I was the only living person on the base? So how can they be in command, I should have priority over all of the machines. That's basic human law, correct?" Jones said thinking back on all the science fiction stories he had read.

"IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK, GRUNT? YOU'RE STILL IN THIS MAN'S ARMY AND YOU'LL FOLLOW ORDERS!" the voice this time came from a computer screen at the side of the room. The tone was one that made Jones stand to attention while still lying on the bed.

"Sir, yes ... sir?" Jones' voice faltered as he thought over what he'd been told, "Hold on just what's going on here?" He asked.

"Private Jones, you need to assimilate the information that has been fed into your system, we will activate your computer and leave you until tomorrow." This was a more professional voice, one that he almost recognised from the television programs he'd seen about the base.

"Doctor Hansaad? Just what's happening to me, and how can you be here when I'm the only human on the base, are you at another base?" Jones asked and then he heard a buzzing tone which seemed to fill his ears and his senses were overloaded.

"Nanite education units now activated, data being loaded." The medical android reported as Jones went unconscious again.

The last thing he heard was the first voice, the army voice, saying, "He's a complete washout he'd never replace the Scout..."

Reveille sounded at 0600 hrs. bringing Jones to his feet.

"Come on soldier; get to the parade ground for morning calisthenics." A voice spoke from the computer screens. Without thinking Jones ran from the medical quarters and into the large area where he stopped and looked around.

"Shit where are the others?" He said and then remembered what he'd been told earlier. "What the hell am I doing?" he wondered and then found that he was actually doing jumping jacks. He never did jumping jacks!

'What the hell is happening?' he thought to himself

'You are undergoing normal daily calisthenics, as laid out by Army orders.' A voice seemed to speak inside his head.

"What ... who ... where ... Just what is this?" Jones said out loud.

'Records of your activities on the base shows that you were 'excused duty' for early morning exercises, due to insipid back strain ... you no longer have this problem and so the Nanites have programmed your mind to follow the routines.' The inner voice said.

Jones gave an internal groan; he managed to get that into his records hoping to be labelled as 4F – unsuitable for Army, but it didn't work. Then he noticed that he was now doing press-ups. "But I'm not doing this!" he protested.

'Your mind has been removed from controlling your body; it is now running from the auxiliary computer in your sternum. I am the interface for that computer.' The voice told him.

"But that's not right; it's my body, I should be in control. And why can I speak?" Jones said confused.

"That's where you're wrong soldier, you were conscripted into the Army and from that time on your body became our property. And we know how you're going to behave, or else..." There was a flash of solid pain that ran through Jones' mind, "You were signed in for the duration and that's still going on, we are on war footing with the rest of the world, we just need to know their capabilities." The Army voice said.

"Field Marshall! That will be part of his briefing, you will just allow his body to complete the course and then he can have food, and we'll talk to him later." A new voice spoke and Jones' was shocked to realise that he'd heard the voice before.

"Very Well Prime Minister, but this man is a slacker and needs to be prodded to work, I know his type." The voice called Field Marshall said.

By now the effect of his force exercising was taking its toll on Jones' lungs, "I've ... got ... to ... get ... out ... of ... this ... dammed ... Army!" he panted as ownership was returned to his body.

The breakfast was dry muesli with rehydrated powdered milk. Jones tried a spoonful and spat the concoction out. "Any complaints?" A voice said from a speaker.

"Where's the real food?" Jones spoke up.

"Stocks are limited and can only be used sparingly; the breakfast you have there is nutritionally suited to you and provides all the calories you require." The voice said.

"What happened to the bangers, eggs and beans?" Jones said referring to the normal breakfast that was provided.

"Check your history file and then you'll know we have no livestock on the base to provide any of those comestibles. You'll have to make do." The voice told him and a click from the speaker told Jones that it was the end of the conversation.

Jones took another mouthful as knowledge flooded into his mind.

There had been a nuclear war while he'd been trapped in the tube, whatever Frankie had done it had made sure that Jones survived to be here ... instead of him, if Jones could find Frankie he'd kill him!

Then it sunk in, the War had killed everyone he knew, his family, friends and even the few mates he'd made at boot camp ... then his mood brightened, even Sergeant Tolliver was dead, so it had it had its silver lining side.

Then he realised that since the war was over then he wasn't in the Army anymore, because there wasn't an army! He was on his way out!

He took a quick, coldish, shower and dressed himself in fatigues and found himself heading to the lift to get his mop when his name was called on the intercoms.