Chapter Six

It took a few more weeks of planning before I was ready. I found a small room in the base which I converted into a gym, and trained non-stop. I convinced SAMI to pipe music through the PA system to pump me up. SAMI, being SAMI, obliged by playing Abba, Cheeky Girls, and The Spice Girls songs, just to irritate me. I'd wipe his…it's memory, only I didn't know how. Sadly, SAMI was well aware I didn't know how, and continued it's task happily. It was during one of these sessions when SAMI asked a question.

"Hey, Jay man?"

I sighed, and looked up. Although I could hear Sam, and he could hear (and, thanks to some irritating cameras see) me, I couldn't see him unless he transmitted his image to a secondary monitor, which he wasn't doing now, nor could I gauge his moods at any particular time.

Now that was odd. When did I start thinking about SAMI as…Sam? As a 'he', and not merely a thing?

"Yes, Sam?"

"Where do babies come from?"

…

"I….what?"

"Babies. Little pink humans that cry, spit, wail, eat, crap, that sort of thing."

"Sam, stop messing around. You know where babies come from."

"That's just it. I don't."

I grabbed a towel, and mopped at my face and hair. "Sammy knew where they came from, and you should have all his knowledge. Plus, you're a Supercomputer, who was programmed by a doctor . Don't mess around, Sam, I'm not in the mood."

"What? No, I know about the biology of humans, and your acts of procreation. Since we started talking, I've read up on several poems, works of fiction, and factual thesis on the subject of procreation."

"And?"

"The Kama Sutra is definitely my favourite."

I rolled my eyes. "No, I mean, why do you ask about babies? I don't understand."

"I understand the biological functions which produce offspring, but I cannot fathom the emotions behind it. What convinces a man and a woman to engage in sexual relations to have a child?"

"Oh. Well, there are lots of factors." I looked directly into the nearest camera, and shrugged as it focused in on me. "Alcohol, boredom, guilt…the usual."

"There are lots of mentions on the word 'love'."

I shook my head. "So, what, you want to know what love is? Don't go all Star Trek on me, man."

"Hmm?" Sam paused for a few seconds. "Oh, yes, I see."

"What?"

"I just watched all episodes of the television series Star Trek, all of its' sequels, the prequel, and the movies. William Shatner didn't age particularly well. However, you're right, machines do seem to have a hard time understanding the concept of love."

I made my way from the gym to the main room, watching the CCTV cameras swivel and rotate towards me, watching me advance. "Probably because it isn't a concept. You can't define emotions, or categorise and departmentalise feelings. They rule human thought and action."

"Wow. Sucks to be you."

"Tell me about it."

"Is this why you're so intent on finding Emily, even though she told you not to try?"

I stopped at a fridge, and opened it up, grabbing a bottle of 'Back Alley Brew'.

"Yes."

"What does it feel like to be in love?"

"It's…not really something I can describe. Didn't Sammy know?"

"Not that I can tell."

I wasn't surprised. I sat down at the long table, and kicked my feet up, cold beer in hand. "Sammy loved the physical aspects of a relationship, Sam. That was all there was to it, for him. Just the sex."

Sam paused, digesting this information. "Was he any good at it?"

"How would I know?"

"He was your best friend, and vice versa. If anyone would know, he would have told you."

"Guys…tend to exaggerate. There's an old saying that the more you boast about something, the less likely it is to be true."

"So?"

"So, if that stands up, Sammy was terrible."

"Ah."

I eyed the screen. "How does that make you feel?"

"I don't feel."

"No, I mean, what's your reaction to learning that your progenitor isn't everything your data file says?"

"I do not understand."

"Verbalise your internal responses to the statement I gave about Sammy, please."

There was a slight pause.

"There is conflicting data here. Attempting to remedy. Error. End remedial action. Retrying. Error. End remedial action."

I smiled at the screen. "Enough."

Sam frowned at me. "What is going on?"

I grinned. "You're confused. That's an emotion, too."

"Ah, I see." Sam nodded. "So, is that what love is like? A series of conflicting data which you cannot sort through?"

I chuckled. "Most of the time? Yes."

"Then I stand by my previous statement."

"Oh?"

"Sucks to be you."

Susan was being followed, she was sure of that. A man had been tailing her for the past half hour.

She had only intended to go as far as Galaxy City, to speak with a donator to The Tucker Foundation. However, things quickly escalated for her, and she found herself in The Hollows, phone in her hand, eyes darting about looking for help.

Wandering past an old building, she used the window's reflection to look behind her. The man was still following, but had been joined by two friends, walking slowly, casually, and never once taking their eyes off her.

'Calm down' , she muttered to herself. 'Maybe they're just fans. Yeah, right.'

Susan snorted to herself, and ducked into a nearby alley, hiding behind a dumpster, just before she heard a slight thus, then another, followed by one more. Then, nothing.

Straining her ears, she tried to pick out voices, their footsteps, even their breathing, but to no avail. After a few minutes of hearing nothing but the wind, her legs began to cramp. She wanted to stand, to run and hide somewhere she'd be safe, but she had no idea who these people were, or what they wanted. How could she be safe hiding from something out to get her, when she didn't know who, or what, she was hiding from?

She couldn't take it anymore. Peeking around the corner, what she saw made her gasp. The three men all had blades out, but they didn't seem to be much of a threat. Maybe it was because they weren't looking at her. Maybe it was because they were all unconscious, and on the ground. Or maybe…just maybe…it was the fact that, leaning against the alley wall, was Sarriss Groundwalker.

"What're you doing down there?" Sarriss grinned at her.

Susan got up, and dusted down her knees. "You could have let me know you were here."

"This way was more fun."

Susan glanced at Sarriss and scowled. Always smiling and cheerful, Sarriss towered over her 5'3 frame by nearly a foot, broad shouldered and, as much as Susan hated to admit it, statuesque. That was the only way to describe Sarriss. Light brown curly hair over a red and yellow one piece that left little to the imagination, Sarriss had always made the normally attractive feeling Susan feel like an ugly duckling.

"Still teasing guys at Pocket D, Sarr?"

"Something like that." Sarriss nodded. "I heard you were looking for me. Does it have anything to do with these three…gentlemen?"

"Possibly." Susan shrugged.

"Well, let's go." Sarriss began floating off.

"Go? Go where? These guys found me, they know who I am, and what I look like. They'll be coming after me again, and probably more of them, too."

"Right. So let's go somewhere they won't be able to find us." Sarriss held up a small green computer chip, and winked. " 'Welcome to my lair, said the spider to the fly'."

"What? You're a spider, now?"

"No. I think we're both flies on this one. C'mon, there's a base portal in Atlas we can use."

I paced the floor of the base. Sam was searching for details on the trap Mike had set for that reporter, and he was coming up empty handed. Err….empty memory keyed.

"Would you stop that?" He glared at me.

"Hmm?" I quit my pacing, and turned to look at the monitor.

"It's very distracting, you walking around like that. Quit it."

"How can you possibly get distracted?"

Sam shrugged. "It's just an expression. But, still, it's irritating as hell." There was a beep, and he looked off-screen. "Portal's been activated."

I stared. "What?"

"The portal…to the base…" Sam spoke as if I were deaf, or stupid. "Has been…activated."

"Meaning?"

"Well, Jay old boy, I think it means someone's coming to the base."

"How?"

"My guess would be an IdentiChip."

"Really? Well done, then!" I sputtered. "It's good to see all that artificial intelligence isn't going to waste. Are you sure you're not running on a 486 with a big screen?"

Sam glared at me. "If you're going to be like that…"

"Be like what, Sam? Your idea of an intruder alert is dreadful! 'Oh, by the way, some guys are coming in unannounced'. You're useless. I ought to delete you, and let a copy of Theme Hospital run in your place!"

Sam continued to glare, and then, all of a sudden, he winked out, leaving a blank screen.

"Sam? Oh, hell."

The door keypad beeped several times. Luckily, I had put a lock on the door, so nobody should be getting through…

CLANG!

What the hell?

CLANG!

They're trying to break in! Okay, okay…think. You're a smart guy, what do you do?

I looked at the screen in desperation.

"Sam!" I hissed. "Stop messing around!"

The screen remained blank.

CLANG!

Okay, that one sounded harder. I looked around the room, and my eyes rested on a small raised platform.

Nah, that only works in movies, and bad stories. I mused to myself.

CLA…

Oh, nuts. Out of time.

Susan wearily followed Sarriss out of the base portal. She suspected that Sarriss either didn't know, or didn't care, that traversing the portals for Non Powered Citizens could be physically draining. She stumbled out of the blue light, and looked around. They were contained in a small metal room, a closed door the only visible entrance to the base, lit up by the harsh blue glowing of the portal, a closed circuit camera hanging overhead.

Sarriss leaned over, and studied the keypad for a moment.

"No way of knowing how many numbers are used in the pass code. Therefore, no way of knowing the odds."

"Isn't this your base?" Susan frowned.

"It's…a friend's." Sarriss offered as her only explanation, tapping on the keypad at random.

Susan watched Sarriss guess at the passcode combination, and eyed her suspiciously.

"You have absolutely no idea what the password is, do you?"

Sarriss grinned in the blue light, as she turned to face Susan. "Let's just say the friend doesn't know that I'm a friend."

"So we're dropping in un-announced?"

"Oh…" Sarriss looked up at the security camera, which had focused on her. "I'd say he knows we're here." Reeling back her fist, Sarriss punched the door as hard as she could.

CLANG!

Sarriss shook her hand, and hissed gently at herself.

"What? Did that hurt?" Susan blinked. "I thought you were supposed to be super strong."

CLANG!

Sarriss' fist struck again, and, as she reeled back for another hit, she turned to face Susan. "Does that mean things don't hurt? No. I'm not invulnerable to pain."

CLANG!

Sarriss tilted her head. "I think that got something. One more…"

CLA…CRUNCH!

Sarriss yelped, and shook her hand. "Okay. Definitely a bone or two broken. DAMMIT, that hurt!"

Susan peered at the door. "I think you got something, though. I heard a crunching noise."

Sarriss turned back to her companion, and Susan was glad that Sarriss couldn't set things on fire with her eyes. If she could, Susan herself would certainly be dead.

"That…was my hand."

"Oh. Well, anyway," she said, trying to change the subject. "I think you broke the lock. Look!"

Indeed, a miniscule crack had appeared in the middle of the door.

"Great." Sarriss frowned. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well…open it. You're the super strong one."

"…With a broken hand."

"Ah."

"Yes."

"Hmm…" Susan edged forward, and placed her fingers in the crack, trying to push the door open. No sooner had she gotten a firm grip, however, the doors slid open, seemingly of their own accord.

"That…was easy." Susan stated, looking around the room they had uncovered.

It was a large…chamber. That was the only word that lent itself to Susan's mind. A large wooden table dominated the middle of the room, in front of a huge LCD monitor, which was currently switched off. Various adornments were scattered about the place, and, off to one side, on a small raised circular platform, was a statue facing the door, its' back to the monitor, with it's arms behind it's back, and on it…

Susan gasped, and pointed to the statue. "Look! It's the uniform!"

Sarriss took a look, and grunted her recognition. "Yeah, I know. I didn't realise he'd changed to wearing a real uniform, though. I heard his Power Belt was damaged in the warehouse fight, but that seems so…archaic."

Susan had stopped listening, if she had even heard a word. She moved closer to the statue, taking it all in.

After all these months of thinking him dead, not counting the recent mugging where she had been rescued, the uniform could only belong to Tucker. Unless…

"Is it really his? I mean, Tucker's?"

"Huh?" Sarriss looked confused.

"Well, maybe it's a copycat. That's what the Mayor thinks."

"The Mayor…you don't know everything about him that you think, Susie." Sarriss mocked her. "He's up to things you have no idea about."

"Such as?"

Sarriss paused. "Let's find the Guardian, first. He's definitely here."

Susan tore her eyes away from the costume, and looked at her friend.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well…" Sarriss started, before nodding to the table. "That looks like a beer to me. And, unless it's ridiculously cold in here…which is isn't, there's no reason there should still be condensation on it. It's fresh. Therefore, Guardian's in the base."

Susan nodded, impressed. "Not bad."

Sarriss shrugged. "I used to help out the police a bit. I was a detective."

"I never knew that."

Before Sarriss could reply, the black screen winked to life, showing a man with a finger to his lips.

"Uhm…" Susan said, unsure of what to do. She decided to do nothing but gape, as words superimposed themselves on the man.

Do not say a word. I'm here to help, but you must be quiet.

"So…" Susan continued. "Where do you think we should look first?"

Hello Sarriss. It's good to see you again.

Sarriss smiled warmly at the monitor. "I think we should look in the bedroom." She said, winking at the man on the screen. He winked back.

He's a lot closer than that. He's in this room.

"Really?" Susan squeaked.

"Sure." Sarriss continued, as if Sue had been speaking to her.

Your friend is very close to him right now, as it happens.

If I were you, Ms Daniels, I'd try tickling that statue.

Susan span and faced the statue. It stayed rigidly still, not moving so much as a millimetre. She examined it closely, but nothing happened. Sarriss came over, and stared into the yellow goggles covering up the eyes.

"Wilks says hi."

The statue turned to face Sarriss, and nodded. "How do you know Wilks?"

"He's a member of SNAFU, like I am. Can we talk, Mr Tucker, or are we going to play Musical Statues all day? I mean, if you want to, we can all stand around for hours. If, however, you want to get your revenge on Mayor Anson, get your fortune and your company back, and see Emily again, I'd suggest we take a seat."