Cameron stood at the window that the three had been at just hours before. For the night, they shared the room. John had the bed. Jack had the other bed. Cam had the standing position, but she was getting 'tired'. She walked over to the nearest bed, Jack's, and sat down.
Jack slowly sat up in bed at the disturbance. "What…are you…doing?" he paused as he swallowed.
"Sleeping."
"Don't you have your own bed, your own room?" what the hell is wrong with you, Jack? You are straight, right?
"Yes. I prefer this room."
"Why?"
"I enjoy your company."
"Fine, just stay on your side." What is wrong with you!
Cameron pulled back the covers and slipped into the bed. The instant she pulled the covers over herself again, she was asleep.
He looked over at her. He loved all of her features: her angelic face, her smooth skin, her big brown eyes, her pouty lips, her-
-Stop it! She's a machine! No matter her past!
-Her swelling chest, her long brown hair, her-
He turned away from her. God, why do you torture me?
Her sleeping face haunted his mind as he slept. Her beauty, her-
-Shut up! He waited a few minutes. No sound. No thought. The silence was absolute.
You know you love her. He nagged himself. You're a cruel sadistic bastard. He looked back at her. Just a kiss. That's all. Just one and you'll be out of my mind.
He was about to kiss her when the alarm went off. Bob Marley's three little birds played as John whipped the sleep from his eyes. He couldn't believe that time passed so quickly.
Don't worry about a thing
Cuz every little thing is gonna be alright
Singin' don't worry about a thing
Cuz every little thing is gonna be alright
The six o'clock sun peaked out of the trees.
Rise up this morning'
Smiled at the risin' sun
Three little birds
Perched on my doorstep
Cameron's eyes snapped open and Jack threw himself against his pillow.
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Jackass. He thought.
Sayin' this is my message to you-ou-ou
"Great pancakes, Sarah," Jack said about breakfast.
"It's Mrs. Connor to you, and thanks." She was standing up, eating her pancakes.
Jack stood up and put his plate in the sink. "I'll be back soon."
"Where are you going?" John asked.
"We're in the money. I'm going to buy whatever I want at the wall-mart," he said, grabbing his keys.
The Eastern licks from an electric guitar played through the small radio. The Rolling Stone's paint it black played as Jack, John, and Cameron painted the room. Three pans, once filled with black, held three rollers.
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
The room was a black background with the logo of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon album on the wall opposite the beds.
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
Journey's Captured album was on the right wall.
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a newborn baby it just happens every day
I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and it has been painted black
Green Day's American Idiot was on the left wall.
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
It's not easy facing up when your whole world's black
The Fresh Price of Bel-Air logo was on the wall behind the beds.
No more will my green sea turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you
If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me before the morning comes
"Good, job. Looks freakin' awesome!" Jack shouted. "finishing touches," he walked over to the door and closed it. He took a spray can of black and silver.
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No more colors I want them turned to black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until the darkness goes
He began to hum along with Mick Jagger as he sprayed the door black.
I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
With the silver he sprayed a lightning bolt.
I wanna see the sun bloated out from the sky
He sprayed an A…
I wanna see it painted
He sprayed a C
Painted
He sprayed a D
Painted
He finally sprayed a D
Painted black
"Yeah!" he shouted out with Mick.
A gloss coating making the walls shine as the sun hit them.
"This wall owns all," Jack said.
"I didn't know they had music in the future."
"There's a lot you don't know. Some of which you don't need or want to know. But music and survival, that's what kept us going."
"Alright, John! Cameron! Jack! Come down here! I have a job for you!"
"What's she talking about?"
"Defense grid."
Jack had been sitting in his corner by the window for the past three hours, and it began to dawn on him his target wouldn't leave. He saw the machine in the house next-door stand up from his chair. Finally! He thought.
He grabbed his carbine, perched on the desk next to the door, as he hustled down the stairs to the front door. He threw open the door and pulled the binoculars from around his neck. Through them he saw Harvey driving off. He made note of the license plate. XDK-387. Kansas plates. He tore out his brick sized walkie-talkie and pushed the talk button, "John…yeah…John, he's going. Driving away."
The walkie had thirty seconds of static before John responded, "-is house-" static "-ecure?"
"John, I do not copy. Come again?" a minute passed. "John, do you read me?" Static. "Do you read me, over?" he got off his knees and walked over to Harvey's house. "John? John! John!"
"-Ouse, is-t, secure?"
"Yes, the house is secure, for now." He was right behind John now; he tapped him on the shoulder. "You got the stuff?"
"Yeah."
"Cam, go in and place these in all major viewpoints," he handed her plastique explosives, "and rig them for a synchronized explosion."
She took the devices from him. "Yes," she said simply, and walked off.
Jack and John both caught themselves as they followed her with their eyes. Jack looked away and whistled as John did the same and coughed.
Cameron crouched down and placed the bag of explosives under the bay window. She took the lead wire of the first and hooked it into the second. She did the same to the second and third, the third and fourth, until all twenty explosives were set up. She left the last lead open as a receiver. She took out a black box and plugged the receiving wire into the box; she turned it on and set it for signaled explosion.
"The primer is set, ready for explosion."
"Alright!" Jack said, amused.
"We should continue to add to security. Strengthen the doors, add explosives-."
The sound of a car pulling up startled Jack and John. It was Harvey. "Don't get out, go, don't turn…please don't turn," Jack repeated his mantra until Harvey was in his driveway. He stepped out. He was dressed in black leather. His eyes cloaked by black sunglasses. Heavy boots clunked on the ground as he walked.
He walked up to his house, no; an innocent family's house, and opened the unlocked door. The two held their breath; Cameron showed no sign of concern. Five minutes later he walked out, a sawed-off DPMS panther carbine just like Jack's was concealed under his oversized jacket.
He got back into the 1967 GT, backed out, and drove off. "Damn that was close," Jack said.
"Probability of John's termination in this area was minimal. The T-X23s are 'low-profile'. They operate in secret."
Jack pulled out his own carbine. "What are you going to do?" John asked. He already knew the answer.
A few nights ago, Cameron told him about Jack. He would become a resistance fighter. Ever loyal, though extremely gun-ho. Shoot first, shoot second, shoot third, and when-everybody's-dead-try-to-fit-in-a-question-or-two kind of guy. Someone he was sent back to 'convince' to join the resistance would develop a virus that might be able to take SKYNET down.
"What ever I gotta do."
"You're not going anywhere!"
"Sorry, Johnny. I'm going to kill this machine, just like I did Cromartie."
"You will not leave the premises."
Jack wanted to fight the machine; he had such a rush from the Cromartie fight. He wanted to disobey Cameron. He knew he should be subordinate to John and her, however. He unslinged his riffle and dropped it.
"Alright, I'll stay."
He bent over, "but if the T-X23 tries to kill you, I have first shot."
John was in the kitchen with his mother; Jack was in the living room with Cameron watching TV. In the kitchen, the eastern sounds of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir played.
On TV was an episode of Spin City. The perverted Stuart Bondek, who was played by Alan Ruck, was talking to Mike Flaherty, Played by Michael J. Fox, about how to go about firing James Hobert, played by Alexander Chaplin, when Caitlin Moore, Heather Locklear, suggested firing him from speechwriting duty.
"How about a knock-knock joke?" he suggested
"What?" Mike replied.
"Like 'hey, James?' 'Yeah Mike?' 'Knock-knock.' 'Who's there?' 'You're fired!'"
"Stuart?"
"Yeah Mike?"
"You are going to be the life…of hell."
Jack looked around as FX cut to a commercial. "Hey, Misses C. how's dinner coming?"
"It's coming, that's about all I can say," she said joking.
Jack looked at Cameron. He looked at her long and hard. He thought about he uniqueness, what made Cameron, Cameron?
In the words of Ian Malcolm, 'what makes you think human beings are sentient and aware? There's no evidence for it. Humans never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, our species simply repeats what we're told, and get upset if they are exposed to any other view. The human trait is not awareness but conformity; we are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion'.
Sarah and John had left the kitchen. The house would be silent, if not for the laughing on the Spin City. He looked over to Cameron; her eyes had not left the screen since the program started. She didn't even blink.
Suddenly Cameron blurted out, "What is it like?"
"What like?"
"To kiss? What is it like to kiss?"
He looked at her eyes. So innocent looking, so human. "Well, it's like, uh…it's like…an adrenaline rush. It's like a combination of an adrenaline rush, endorphins flowing." Come on. This is the opportunity you've been looking for!
"I am capable of feeling. My neural network mimics the human's perfectly. Stimuli within my brain allow me to discharge chemicals into receptors in my positronic brain and-"
Jack leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Cameron's lips were like velvet to his. The kiss lasted ten seconds until Jack pulled back slowly. Cameron did the same; she didn't open her eyes until she was sitting upright.
"Wow, I can just hear it now: Journey's don't stop believing? No, Lionel Ritchie's hello? Nah. I would sing jungle fever but…"
"John," Jack said, visibly embarrassed having been caught.
"Jack, a word?"
"No, Jack's a name…I'm pretty sure,"
"Get over here!"
With this Jack shot up and went completely subordinate, he had heard John like this before. "John, I'm sorry, man. It was just-"
"Just what?"
"Boys, soup's on!" Sarah yelled.
"We'll talk later," John said as he patted Jack on the shoulder.
Washington DC;
"Mr. President? We have a document for you to look over," a tall man in a suit sad the man in the leather chair facing the bay window. He had dark skin and a deep voice.
"Yes, Mr. Bates? What's this about, I'm watchin' those people out there."
"It's of security purposes. We all know about the A.R.T.I.E project, how it will uplink to databases all over the world, we hope to hook this up to our new AI."
"You said it was of security. Where is the security? So far all I hear is road control policy, more work for me."
"I'm getting there, sir. Now, with this technology, we hope to create a new defensive weapon. We know the war is escalating. How long can all of our enemies go on before bombing us? This proposition supports hooking the WOPR war computer up to our AI, SKYNET."
"So, give the AI one of the most powerful arsenals in the world and trust it with our lives? Haven't you ever seen I, Robot? Read Goliath? I'll bet you've never even seen WarGames!" he shouted.
"So, you are declining the project?"
"Oh, no, that's all sci-fi crap. I'm all for it!"
"Good, just look through this proposal in your spare time," the man said as he dropped a manila folder onto the president's desk. Rubber-stamped in red on the cover was Project 666.
The man walked out. His mission had been done. As he climbed into his black GMC, his eyes flashed red.
As he drove, the Department of Defense Secretary Jacob Lambert Bates lay dying in a huddled bleeding mass.
It was late in Topeka, about 11:39 PM. John was asleep, Jack was trying to sleep, Cameron's eyes were sealed shut. Jack rolled over and Cameron shot up suddenly. "Holy jeez!" Jack shouted in surprise.
"Update: SKYNET is now set."
"What? I thought it already was."
"The components to it were. The hive mind, the weapon control, the war strategist, and the main computer were. Now the central AI is inevitable."
"But, I thought that the duroquinone-"
"The duroquinone is half of the brain. It translates biotic signals to computer code."
"Biotic?"
"Yes. It is known that bacteria are far more useful that any other form of information storage. The DNA matrix allows vast amounts to be stored while keeping the space compact."
"So, SKYNET is a bacteria, translated through duroquinone, connected to a war computer, a chess computer and a control program computer?"
"Yes." She leaned over to him.
"Cam, what are you doing?" Jack asked, worried.
"I like kissing you," she said as she leaned in further.
"Cameron, what if John sees? I mean, he is your-"
-With that, she pressed her lips against his. The kiss lasted for twenty seconds. Cameron lay back down and left Jack stunned. There was something that didn't make sense to him.
When she had kissed him, she parted his lips with hers. Am I ever gonna get to sleep?
It had been two hours and Jack was finally asleep. He was having a dream of his last day in 2025:
"Cameron! Cam, over here!" John yelled. He was old, rugged, muscular, and had a long beard. A stolen plasma rifle was strapped across his shoulder. Cameron stepped out of the narrow hall of the base into the open room. The lights were out, another raid was going on.
"Yes?"
"Power up the time machine, use the auxiliary power. Jack, get down here!"
A blast shook the concrete and steel building; the lights flickered on and off. A fourteen-year-old Jack came stumbling down the stairs, grasping in the dark for a handhold. The red lights turned on as the backup generator kicked on. In his hand was a sack of pink flesh.
"You got the repair kit?"
He raised the bag, "right here. Why do I need the kit, anyway?"
"You never know what may happen, you might fail and I'll send a reprogrammed terminator to save your ass."
Cameron leaned into the retinal scanner, it recognized her and the six inch thick titanium sliding door hissed open, sub zero air floated out.
The inside of the newly revealed room was incredibly tight and cold and a bright light illuminated the darkness. He shook hands with John, kissed Cameron, and stepped into the quarters. She closed the door behind him and set the time to April 8, 2006 12:32 AM.
Jack breathed heavy in the cryostasis-like chamber, his lips were turning blue and his breath was visible. Claustrophobia was beginning to set in. "beam me up, Scotty," he whispered to himself.
Cameron paused a moment, wishing she didn't have to send him back, before hitting enter. There was a thundering sound, then a crash. Suddenly all was silent. Cameron leaned into John; he pulled her in and gently hugged her, patting her on the back.
The lights then turned off, the building shook again. "Cameron, go to the safe house," John said, handing her his rifle. She left, running down the hall, trying to spot the glowing red eyes.
There was a thunder in LA; the sound of gunshots was muffled. In an alley, the blue lightning spread out like veins from the sphere. In the ground, a crater was all the evidence that remained of the time traveler.
Jack stood up. He crawled out of the hole naked, the only thing he had was the sack with the advanced tools within. He walked out of the alley and into the street, where a honking semi almost ran him over until he dove out of the way.
Jack looked around. This world was alien. There was gunfire, but not gunfire upon machines. Man on man violence; one group fighting another group. He found it illogical.
He could only think of the lyrics to Kashmir. He thought they fit his predicament very well. Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face. Stars to fill my dreams. I am a traveler of both time and space. Where I have been, to sit with elders of a gentle race, this world has seldom seen. They talk for days for which they wait, and all will be revealed.
He searched the area, and found a department store. He broke the window with several blows from his fists and walked in. Suddenly alarms went off. He ran in and grabbed all the clothes he could. He ran through the streets, armfuls of clothes falling as did so. He ran into an alley and dressed. He heard sirens. Had no idea of what they meant, but they couldn't be good.
Cameron was having a similar dream, of her last day:
She walked down the catwalk and saw John. She ran up to him. "Hey," she said.
"Hey! Cameron, how's things holding up since Jack left?"
"Pretty good. Thanks Derek." She said as she walked over to the end of the catwalk, near the doors. Suddenly, there was an explosion.
"Cam! Get down!" John shouted as the large doors flew in. There were three T-X23s, one crouched as it landed on the door, the other two came running in from the left and right. The left went for Derek, the right for John. The remaining T-X23 stood up and walked over to Cameron in an intimidating manner. She whimpered as the silver monster picked her up, but this T-X23 had a thicker liquid metal sheet, it mutated to the form of Cameron.
"John!" Derek screamed as he shot the head of his machine with his M18-A2 LAPPPG. "Get Cameron!"
Derek shot the machine on John. He shot up and pulled his gun, but it was to late. The machine had taken another victim.
Cameron screamed as the machine stabbed her. "No! No! No!" John shouted as he ran up to the horrifying machine. Tears welled in his eyes as he grabbed the T-X23s arm, swinging it around and around. He tossed the machine, it flipped and began to stand up, running over to John. John ran over to it, turning his shoulder to it. He pulled out an EMP grenade from his pocket and readied it.
The machine and man made contact; John shoved the grenade into its chest. "Diiiie!" he shouted as he kicked off the metallic monster. He landed and ran over to Cameron, Derek was kneeling beside her.
The machine rushed them until blue beams of lightning expelled from each and every orifice. It dropped to the ground, most of its data erased.
Blood was coming forth from her wound in her abdomen and her mouth. John looked down at her, sorrow in her eyes. "Cameron, I love you," he softly said to her as he stroked her hair.
She tried to pull herself up to him, she could only muster out a weak mouthing of: "I love you, too…dad." John began to cry as he felt her life leave her.
"No, no. Pease god, no. Don't let her die. Don't let her die!" Derek stood over him as he began to sob. He patted John on the back, "Let it out man. I understand what you're going through."
They heard the roar of a 'pack' of T-X23s running toward the door. John nodded to Derek, who left with his M18-A2 LAPPPG drawn. John picked her up and walked toward the door.
He heard Derek's screaming in the hall. He walked slowly, drew his M18-A2 LAPPPG. He joined Derek and opened fire. Instead of gently pulling the trigger, he pulled hard; the beam shot out and exploded. Ten of the terminators were destroyed.
"John, go I'll hold them off!"
John nodded and ran deeper into the hall, leading deeper into the complex. The next few days were a blur to her, though she did know that John had his top scientists working on her. The T-X23s had positronic bacteria-filled brains, all of them. John used this to help him. The scientists used a once failed method to download Cameron's memories into the positronic bacteria brain. A female part in the positronic brain allowed the male end to be plugged in. Thousands of 'nerves' on the opposite end plugged into the human brain, this allowed for an exchange in information. The scientists put Cameron's memories, her thought patterns, everything about her.
The next thing she knew, she was lying in a hospital bed in the bunker. "Morning, Cameron." One of the doctors said. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept well, thank you."
The alarm went off. Mute Math's Thy Typical played as John woke up, walking to the bathroom. Cameron woke up, deciding to let Jack sleep in. Her last days in the future were things John could never know about. She walked downstairs. She turned her head, looked over at Jack, stood for a moment, and continued to walk downstairs.
