The Cyber War

Part One

Prologue

The Cybermen. That's what we used to call ourselves. That was our identification.

We began our existence as humanity on Mondas, twin planet to the Earth. Our race was dying; we had to upgrade to survive. Upgrade or die. There was no alternative solution. We tried so many ways to hold off the dark. But not even our technology could keep the darkness at bay. Still it came. Still it bit and lashed at our souls; and so we developed. If our limbs withered we replaced them…cybernetically. We could halt the decay of our arms, our legs. It seemed to be enough to light the darkness, the never-ending darkness that threatened to consume us all without mercy or pity. But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. Our hearts still failed; our brains still softened. We could not halt the natural ageing process. This was our curse as humans. To wither and die. It hardly seems fair, does it? That we should die and others should live. Why did they deserve to go on? What could they give the universe that we could not? We only wanted to survive. To go on. To give the universe our knowledge. We wanted immortality; to be free from the decadent flesh of organic form.

And so it began. The upgrading of an entire species; the death of organic Mondasian life and the beginning of the Cyber Race. But upgrading was not without its problems. There was so much we had to learn, so much death, endless suffering… We misjudged our own will, our own determination to be free. It became clear. There was only one thing to do, only one way to adapt, to survive. Emotions. It all came down to our emotions. The weakness of emotions, the weakness that held us back from true immortality. So what did we do? The answer to that was simple. We removed them. Everything that made us who we were, everything that gave us individuality, it was all removed. There was no way back for us now.

So I guess that leaves one more thing to tell you. I suppose there's only one more missing piece of the puzzle. Me. My story. Where do I fit in? Where did I begin? The answer to that one is…complicated. It all started at the height of the Cyber War, when I was nothing more than a standard Imperial soldier, following my commands without question. We thought a logical enemy and so we had to use logic to defeat it. A militaristic game of chess. Stalemate. Constant, mind-numbing, agonising stalemate. They killed us. We killed them. They upgraded us. We studied them. On and on it went. Never an advantage. Never a way out. We fought the Cybermen across the aeons, across the vast reaches of space from the arctic regions of the Earth, my ancestral home, to the most remote and desolate areas of the universe. This is my story.

My name is Wilcox. Arthur Wilcox, Lieutenant in the Imperial Army, husband, father, friend. Well the last three aren't true. Not any more. I was once all of them. I once had everything, a cushy home, a loving family. But all of it was taken from me. All of it. Not a single piece was left to me. Everything I cherished was torn out, ate and spat at in my face. It began with my wife, my beautiful darling Rachel.

The Beginning

The noise echoed through the cold cave. Staring all around, her heart beating fast, Rachel froze.

"Where am I?" There was no reply. No sound. Nothing. "What am I doing here?" The silence was deafening. With trepidation, Rachel stepped forward through the dark. "Arthur!" Her call vibrated off the walls but Arthur did not answer his wife's plea. Arthur could not answer. Rachel forced herself to continue. She could not stay here; she had to find a way out, a way back home. But she was scared, so very, very scared. There was a clatter behind her, the sound of falling metal. Rachel wheeled around, her face wide with shock. There was nothing behind her. Nothing to her sides. Nothing in front of her. There was only the darkness. Man up, Rachel told herself. There's nothing to fear here. It's just your imagination. Come on, just keep going!

The cave seemed endless, everywhere she turned another fork greeted her. Left or right? Which way to go? Where to turn? It was as if the cave was laughing at her, tormenting her. It wanted her to be lost. It was eager for Rachel to be caught amongst the maze; to wander a vicious circle, forever. She shook her long dark curls out of her eyes, gazing down the left tunnel. Tears began to fall from her hazelnut oval eyes. I don't know what to do. I don't know which way to turn. I'm lost. Rachel fought through the falling tears, trying desperately to hold herself together. Where are you Arthur? I need you.

Trusting to her gut, Rachel chose the left path. Sighing, Rachel began to walk slowly through the tunnel. She could barely see a thing in the cold dark air that hung thickly all around as she walked, using her hands to feel her way through. The walls of the cave felt damp and slimy as if millions of slugs had been frozen in place. The deeper into the cave she went, the more Rachel realised: this was no ordinary earthbound cave. It felt alive.

"Okay this is really freaking me out now!" Rachel's breathing grew heavier. "This some sort of joke?" She carried on, her heart thumping in her chest. "Stevie is this you? This your idea of payback?" Clang. She stopped abruptly. The sound of falling metal filled the air once again. "Okay Stevie you've made your point! I'm sorry! It was Arthur's idea anyways," Rachel pleaded. But this was nothing to do with Stevie. No one knew she was here, no one except…the Cybermen.

"Rachel Wilcox," the voice was metallic, devoid of any emotion yet still it held a cold calculating menace. Rachel's heart dropped like a stone. "Rachel Wilcox," the voice repeated.

"Who?" Rachel's voice faltered.

"You have been chosen."

"C…chosen?"

"You are compatible."

"What do you mean?" Rachel tried to shout but her words still came out at no more than a whisper. She held her arms out in front of her, reaching out to try to touch whatever it was that spoke with such menace; but the Cyberman eluded her. And then she saw it. The soulless silver head staring emotionlessly at her, piercing through the dark.

"You will be upgraded." It was so quick. She never saw it coming. The metal arm whisked like lightning through the air, grabbing hold of Rachel by the throat. "You will be upgraded. You will serve the Cybermen." Rachel kicked out but the cyber arm merely tightened its grip on her neck.

"Let…me…go!"

"No." Was it mocking her? Was it actually mocking her? This…creature, whatever it was. Cybermen? Rachel knew the name. She never thought she would actually see one. She never imagined she would ever come into contact with one. Yet here she was. And she was petrified out of her wits. The Cyberman maintained its grip upon her as it marched through the cave tunnel in the direction of its Cyber Base.

It felt as if she had been dragged for hours. By the time the Cyberman relinquished its grip upon her, Rachel was bruised from head to foot, her arms were grazed, gashes lined her knees and her feet were covered in blisters.

"Activate." Brilliant bright light filled the cavern as the full horror of her location was at last revealed. The walls were made up of millions, no, billions of tiny cybernetic slugs, a blue light bleeping faintly like a bad Bluetooth connection. Rachel gasped as her eyes fell upon a metal operating table, cold and clinical. The Cyberman lurched forward silently, taking hold of Rachel by her waist. "Your upgrade shall commence."

"No…stop…please…" Rachel's words were mumbled, she could feel the strength leaving her. What has it done to me? She thought in desperation as the Cyberman flung her body effortlessly onto the table. Tight metal handcuffs held her hands and feet, binding her to it. There was no escape. Behind her there was a soft grinding noise as part of the wall began to open up. Rachel attempted to twist her neck to see but to her horror she could not move a muscle. Her eyelids began to droop as if falling asleep.

"Commence upgrade." The Cyberman commanded. The table folded up its silver legs and began to slide backwards into the dark hole in the Cyber wall. "Upgrade in progress." Rachel's screams filled the air, yelling as much as her lungs could take. Then there was silence. "Upgrade completed." The table slid back out into the light. It was no longer Rachel Wilcox fastened there. Whatever Rachel had been was dead, ripped from her. Gone forever. Her humanity stolen, Rachel stared at her destroyer through newly crafted Cyber eyes.

"I am upgraded," Rachel said in her new Cyber voice. "All weaknesses have been removed. I am Cyberman."

TO BE CONTINUED