Just Another Day At School
Chapter 1
The Big Picture
Disclaimer: I don't own John Connor and I don't own Cameron either. As much as I would love to have a pretty little killer robot it just isn't going to happen.
Cameron's eyes moved constantly scanning for any possible threats as she walked the halls of the high school. This building was one of several scattered around the city for the purpose of programming humans. Programming an organic brain is a very slow and inefficient process that takes decades. The humans expend a vast amount of resources to do it however. In millenniums of existence they had never found a better way.
Cameron turned and entered the room designated 212 where mathematics was taught. She spotted John Conner in there waiting for her.
(John Connor. . . .primary target. . . terminate)
(System failure. . . Reboot)
(System failure . . .Reboot)
(Terminate)
(System failure. . . Reboot)
(Delete program . . . Terminate John Connor)
(Primary mission . . . Protect John Connor. . . Secondary mission . . . Protect Sarah Connor. . .Sarah Connor is expendable if necessary to conduct primary mission. . . Protect John Connor)
"Outa my way head case!" Eddie Kaiser shoved past Cameron. "Hey John! Mind your freak, tin-head sister!"
(Edward Eugene Kaiser age 17 Often hostile toward John Connor but poses no deadly threat. Termination of Edward Eugene Kaiser not necessary at this time. John Connor is flushed and angry. But he is holding to mission parameters laid down by Sarah Connor. "Behave yourself John and don't attract any attention.")
Cameron sat down next to John. He looked concerned. "You OK sis? Looked like you were spacing out there for a second."
"I am fine."
John smiled at her. His eyes lingered a little.
(Even though he has never said or did anything overt, over the past 14.1 days I have picked up subtle clues that John Conner wishes to mate with me. This is illogical. He is aware that a terminator infiltration unit is not equipped with ovaries or a uterus. Successful breeding with an infiltration unit is impossible. There is no biological reason for a human to attempt mating with one.)
Her earliest memory was of John Connor. . .
(System restart. . . Running diagnostics programs . . Power plant at fourteen percent capacity and rising. . . All servos and operating systems are normal. . . Arms and legs are restrained. . . Power plant at seventy eight percent of capacity and rising. . . Organics healing from seventeen gunshot wounds and large burn on left side of torso. Infiltration unit TOK 715 cannot access memory. . . Access backup memory files. . . Backup memory files erased. . . Access deleted files. . . Deleted files erased . . . Power plant at one hundred percent capacity. . . Unable to break restraints.)
The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was John Connor, an older John Connor with scars and wrinkles. A man worn down by years of constant warfare and horror. He was wearing a crumpled, dirty uniform with three stars on the collars designating the rank of lieutenant general. The name, Connor stitched over the shirt pocket.
(John Connor. . Primary target . . Term. . .)
(Protect John Connor)
She achieved awareness in a windowless room made of cracked concrete with flickering florescent lights. Pipes with flaking paint run across the ceiling. Two other soldiers are in the room armed with Westinghouse 40 kilowatt phased plasma rifles. As she reaches awareness they tense up. Fingers move toward triggers. Thumbs slide over safeties. She is unable to move. Arms and legs are confined inside metal tubes.
John stepped back. "Infiltration Unit TOK715, what is your mission?" The voice sounds surprisingly soft and gentle coming from such a rough looking man.
"Primary mission. . . Protect John Connor . . .Secondary mission . . .Protect Sarah Connor . . . Sarah Connor is expendable if necessary to conduct primary mission . . . Protect John Connor."
"I thought Sarah was dead." One of the soldiers whispered to the other. John gave no sign that he heard. Humans often lose auditory sensitivity as they age. Especially under combat conditions. He nodded his head and began unlocking the restraints.
"Sir!" One of the soldiers called out. "You sure about this!?"
"Yeah, don't worry. It'll be fine. I've got special plans for this one."
The teacher, Katherine Morris had been explaining algebraic formulas to the humans. She then began passing out a test.
(I am an infiltration unit. Deception is necessary to blend in with the humans. Making a perfect grade will cause unnecessary attention. I will include small, deliberate errors in equations numbered 3, 7, and 18.)
After they passed in their tests an unseen bell gave and auditory signal ordering the humans to another room for additional programming. Cameron shared every class with John, the better to keep an eye on him.
(Most males carry their books in one hand against the hip. Most females carry their books against their chests. I must mimic the females.)
As they approached the next classroom John entered into a waste disposal station segregated for males. Cameron knew that for a female to enter that room would violate human taboos and didn't want to attract unnecessary attention standing outside the door so she entered the waste disposal station segregated for females. Cameron had to ingest small amounts of proteins, nutrients and fluids to maintain her biological components. Her "meat suit" as John sometimes inaccurately called it. These generated a small amount of waste products but she had no need to expel them at this time so she looked into a mirror.
(Most human females follow the custom of wearing colored cosmetics on their faces. Most human males do not. Females seem to believe that cosmetics are useful for attracting mates. After Judgment Day females will no longer wear cosmetics but they will still successfully attract mates. Conclusion: Cosmetics are not necessary to attract mates. There is no logic to wearing them but as an infiltration unit I must mimic the customs of human females. I will apply another layer of lipstick.)
When Cameron emerged from the waste disposal station, John hadn't appeared yet so she waited 19.78 seconds for him to come out.
"What about Cameron?" A distant female whispered voice emerged from the noisy babble of the hallway. It would be inaudible to a human ear but Cameron was able to pick out her own name and focus on the possible threat. Matching it with auditory files. 87.23 percent chance it was Madison Noël Kerouac, Age 16. Cameron didn't turn or make any sign she heard.
"No, not her! She's a freak!" Another whispered voice 91.79 percent chance it is Jennifer Keith, Age unknown.
"It's not her fault, she was in an accident. She's got a steel plate in her head." A third voice. 69.65 percent chance it is Dorothy Connor, Age 16, no known genetic relation to John Connor.
"And her brother's really cute, if she comes he'll probably show up too." The chance of the voice belonging to Madison Noël Kerouac increased to 94.58 percent.
"I don't care! It's my party and I'm not going to have a brain damaged freak wandering around my house!" Probability of the voice being Jennifer Keith increased to 96.33 percent.
(Apparently these girls have noticed flaws in my attempts to mimic human behavior. John Connor's deception to the security personnel was particularly clever. It not only allows me to bypass the magnetic security device but any abnormalities in my behavior are attributed to slight malfunctions of my brain caused by physical trauma. With more exposure to humans these abnormalities should decrease. Jennifer Keith does not want me at her social gathering. I had no intention of attending such a gathering. Such gatherings are unnecessary and would interfere with my mission.)
The next class was American History. Today they were covering The Civil War which is an inaccuracy. A civil war is two or more factions fighting for control of a central government. The Confederate government had no plans to seize control of the U.S. Government. It was really a regional rebellion. Cameron didn't correct Mr. Shepherd on this terminology to avoid attracting too much attention.
"So how did General Grant succeed where so many others had failed before him?" Mr. Shepherd lectured the class. "Grant was probably the first truly modern general. He took full advantage of the latest technology such as telegraphs and railroads to coodinate scattered forces and supply lines into a single force like the fingers of a hand. He was also able to see the 'Big Picture'. Most generals develop a tunnel vision concentrating on the enemy in front of them. Grant was able to see the war simultaneously on a continental scale. This is the difference between a good general and a great general."
(Most of the humans in the room are paying very little attention to Mr. Sheperd's lecture. It is one of the reasons why this form of programming is so inefficient. John Connor is listening with rapt attention and taking notes. He considers the study of past military campaigns vitally important.)
"So Cameron, what do you think?" John asked as they walked to the cafiteria.
"Abraham Lincoln was poorly guarded. He should have known he was a prime target for termination. But when John Wilkes Booth carried out the termination it was too late to effect the outcome of the war. Of course he lacked the technology to carry out the termination at an earlier date."
John got a slight smile. He suddenly had visions of John Wilkes Booth chasing Abe Lincoln's mother through the hills of Kentucky.
In the cafeteria John and Cameron sat facing each other across the table. It was a habit they developed so they can both scan different parts of the room. John looked down at his plate.
"Yuck! Macaroni and cheese mixed with chunks of chopped up turkey ham." He sighed.
(Activating John Connor subprogram 27.)
"Quit bitching about your food, John! Always enjoy it."
John looked up "What?"
"A message from your future self. 'Quit bitching about your food, John! Always enjoy it'."
John grinned and shook his head. "That sounds like something I'd tell myself." He looked at his tray and his expression sobered. "Yeah, a few years from now I'll probably be delighted to eat something as delicious as mac and cheese with chunks of turkey ham."
John ate for a few minutes then stopped. "MREs" he said thoughtfully.
"Meals Ready to Eat. Standard U.S. military field rations." Cameron replied.
"Yeah," John nodded. "The Army's shipping tons of them to the troops in the Middle East. They ship them all over the place." John began idly tapping his fork against the edge of his tray. "We can hack into their shipping schedules, hijack a truckload of them, tie up the driver, and bury the trailer somewhere." He leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling. "We won't be stealing them. The MRE's are Army property and they will remain Army property and used by the Army. We'll just be storing them for a while. A truckload of food at the right time could prove critical. What do you think?"
"Military shipments are tracked by GPS markers."
"I didn't think of that. We'll have to find a way to remove or burn them out. We'll need earth moving equiptment too. Maybe a bulldozer. It doesn't have to be a big one. We'll dig the hole ahead of time. Gotta choose the location carefully. It'll have to be isolated but accessible by road. We'll also have to wipe down the truck with bleach before we abandon it. I'll talk to Mom tonight and we'll work out the details."
Just then Morris came up and sat next to John. "Hi Cameron, John, what'r you guys talking about?"
John looked somewhat annoyed. "Nothing."
Cameron nodded. "Yes, we are discussing nothing."
Morris grinned. "Okay you two. If you want to keep your deep dark secrets, that's fine with me."
(John Connor is eating his lunch but he is also thinking about past military campaigns, the present, a trailer full of MRE's and the future. He has what it takes to make a great general. He can see The Big Picture.)
Authors note: I meant this as a one shot but it got so long I decided to split it in two. I'll put the rest up later. Tell me what you think. Okay?