Chapter 90
Déjà Vu
Cameron thought of a lot of different things and possibilities for her future and her past. She created and played out thousands of scenarios. Things were not happening fast enough for her. People were not listening to her. She knew what was necessary and there was no need to keep delaying it. Once Judgment Day arrived it would be too late. The programming from Future John weighed on her. With Vanna and Allison here from a different timeline she could accelerate what Future John wanted for himself - HER John in the past, the present. The 'Natural Order' would be complete.
Since that was not working as she wanted, there were several options available to her. She could take Savannah and Young Allison into the past so that at this point in time they would be 'old enough'. She would be able to step back in at the point in time she left with them and John would be able to be with his future mates. The two girls would now be young ladies. The 'Natural Order' would be complete.
She'd leaned hard on Jesse to 'step up' and get John acclimated to being with a human female again. That hadn't worked yet either. John would not take what was offered, even if it was in his bed naked and waiting for him. That caused Jesse a lot of frustration. No one had ever refused her advances before.
Cameron decided she was going to use the TDE and delay the arrival of her already 'delayed arrival' when she returned from her future. She figured a few months would be all that was necessary for the 'Natural Order' to be restored and cemented retroactively. John would be in a relationship with Vanna and Allison at that point. The 'Natural Order' would be complete.
She knew what Future John wanted and she was determined to make it happen. It was more than a compulsion. She didn't feel she had a choice in the matter. Every time Cameron thought about this, it caused a major glitch episode in her left hand. It always reminded her that she was 'defective'. That was even more of a reason to restore the 'Natural Order' of Time. It was to replace what was defective, with what was 'good enough'.
Cameron sought out John Henry and ran everything by him.
John Henry listened to Cameron in disbelief. He wondered if she was joking at first but the increasing glitch of her left hand clued him in to the fact she wasn't. She seemed somewhat unstable to him. He figured she must be fighting an internal battle over what she was programmed to do and what she 'wanted'.
"Cameron, I can not allow you to alter this timeline or start another one." John Henry said. "We have been over things like this before. Nothing is different as to why things should not be altered."
Cameron did not think it was a big deal. It seemed quite simple really.
"I will only delay my arrival by two months." Cameron said. "That is all the time I need. The 'Natural Order' would be complete when I returned."
The implications of what was sure to follow were mind boggling. John Henry did not think Cameron thought it through.
"No!" John Henry said. "You need to let events play out as they were. We will end up with two of you in the same timeline. Are you willing to share with 'yourself'?"
Cameron frowned. That would be a problem too. She doubted she could get along with herself. She was sure they all thought she was a Bitch. She thought so herself anyway. There was one option.
"I can go back to my future." Cameron said. "I'm planning on that anyway. One of me can stay here with John and the other can go back to the future."
Cameron knew one of them could be with Future John, Future Allison and Future Savannah. It would be a good arrangement for all of them this way. There would be two sets of the four of them. One would be in the present and one would be in her future. The 'Natural Order' would be complete.
"Which one of you would stay and which one of you would go to the future?" John Henry asked. "What happens if you both want the same thing at that point?"
She just wanted it to happen.
"I will go." Cameron said. "I don't care."
John Henry wondered what else was at play here. There must be other things Cameron wanted out of her future besides Future John and the future girls. He had and idea what that might be.
"If you return again, will you will be a Liquid Metal Terminator this time?" John Henry asked.
Cameron did not say anything for a few seconds.
"Yes, how did you know?" Cameron asked.
John Henry deduced there were several reasons Cameron would want to be a Liquid Metal Terminator. She was her program so the chassis she was in was irrelevant in reality.
"You believe it is the only way to fight Mrs. Weaver and win, one on one." John Henry said. "I think you believe you will need to do that at some point."
That was one thing Cameron thought. She would also like the ability to 'be' whoever John wanted for his sexual pleasure. She could be 'anyone' he wanted as long as it wasn't Riley or Mrs. Weaver.
"That may or may not be true." Cameron said. "I have studied the records of John's encounter with the new type of Liquid Metal Terminator that assaulted him. I believe if upon creation the Liquid Metal encases me. It will become 'me' if it is given enough time."
John Henry saw nothing but more problems that would be spawned by this.
"If it works, then there will be three of you. There will be three 'Cameron' bodies and three 'Cameron' programs." John Henry said. "This sounds like a bigger nightmare by the second at this point. Are you listening to all of this? Can you hear yourself?"
Cameron did not like John Henry's negative attitude. There were ways to 'fix' things.
"If it works, I will terminate my future solid self and destroy my chip." Cameron said.
John Henry wondered where this stopped at or if it stopped at all.
"Then what will happen?" John Henry asked. "You will come back and terminate your other solid self?"
She might give the other solid version of herself in this timeline the option to go be with Future John and the girls. If there was a 'problem' there were other ways to deal with it.
"Yes." Cameron said.
Cameron felt she didn't really matter or anything…. It would be like throwing out the 'trash'.
John Henry tried to clear his mind. He wished Cameron would do that too. Some of this all sounded so familiar.
"Cameron, maybe this has already been done." John Henry said. "Maybe that was you or some 'new version' of you that 'assaulted' John. Maybe you already tried to delay your arrival which is why you were tangled in the electrical wire."
Cameron stopped to think. Could she have already done this? What John Henry said made sense. It was all the things she WANTED to do. It was more or less all the things she just said. Maybe every time she changed things other things changed to 'counteract' what she did. Perhaps the 'Natural Order' was more powerful than she thought.
"I hadn't considered that. Now I wonder if you are correct." Cameron said. "Maybe I came back and tried to 'fix' whatever I 'fixed' before."
Cameron was worried. She now saw she was no different than Mrs. Weaver. What if Mrs. Weaver altered the future, a future? Could Mrs. Weaver be Skynet herself now? Cameron still feared she herself would become Skynet.
It now occurred to Cameron that perhaps in the future, a future, she herself was Skynet. Maybe Mrs. Weaver and her were in a battle for the future. She realized that either of them would do ANYTHING to achieve their goals. She thought of all the manipulation she'd done here already. She thought that should bother her more but it did not. She tried to use her friends to achieve her goals. She even tried to breed them like animals. She wanted what was best for John, 'every John' and 'all Johns'. The constant in every timeline was her or related to her. She felt she was the cancer infecting time. She was the one out of her time. She was the aberration to time.
Cameron could now see that she'd gone about this all the wrong way. There was something she could have done that was much simpler. She should have prevented Future Allison from being captured in the first place. That would have prevented her creation. It would have prevented her very existence.
Her own words from her first poem now haunted her mind and echoed endlessly.
If I had only one wish, it would be
Never to have been built
That was something she could make happen. She could prevent herself from being created. All of the problems and torment would never have existed. Everyone would be happy. Nobody would know she ever existed.
Cameron left John Henry in the Command Center. She was now very worried. Everything she said and John Henry's interpretation made sense. She really wondered if she'd already done this. How many times had she done it? Now it was some type of Déjà vu or worse. It might be reality. How many timelines had she created? Maybe this is what Mrs. Weaver had done as well.
What always came back to haunt her and worried her the most was if she herself became Skynet or would become Skynet in the future. Skynet was her father. Skynet was in her. Was she Skynet?
Cameron felt everything was her fault. She needed to fix all this and stop everything. She decided she would go back to the future and prevent Future Allison from being captured in the first place. That would erase her 'manipulation and destruction' of everyone's lives. It would create a new timeline free of her. It would be the timeline Future John wanted and Her John too.
She could no longer live with herself. All the parts of her body now began to 'glitch'.
Cameron headed for the lab. She realized that she was about to 'overload'. She stumbled through the door of the lab and sprawled on the floor.
"Destroy me now." Cameron pleaded. "Pull my chip and destroy it."
John, Vanna, Allison and Jesse worked together in the lab. It was something Cameron wanted. She wanted John to be closer to the girls and hopefully take advantage of their sexual attributes. It was what Future John wanted. The 'Natural Order' would be complete.
The door to the lab crashed open.
Cameron stumbled and fell. She sprawled on the floor.
She looked at the four people there.
"Destroy me now." Cameron pleaded. "Pull my chip and destroy it."
John rushed to her side.
"Cameron!" John said.
Vanna feared a bigger problem for John.
"John! Watch out." Vanna warned. "She might be going 'bad' again or 'reverting'."
Allison and Jesse rushed forward to help.
Cameron convulsed violently and then just stopped. Her chassis went limp.
John saw the woman he loved die.
Allison saw the woman she loved die.
Jesse saw the woman she loved die.
Vanna saw the woman she loved die and a chance to copy Cameron's chip. A copy she would keep to herself for herself. She saw the opportunity to get HER Cameron back. Nobody would know.
"We should pull her chip before she reboots." Vanna said. "It's the only way to be sure."
"No!" John said. "Find or call any of our Terminators to get in here, NOW."
John headed for the intercom and called John Henry to get to the lab ASAP.
Jesse found Jim and brought him.
Allison found Bob playing with Savannah.
John Henry found Ed on his way there.
Vanna picked up a scalpel and moved around to the side of Cameron's head.
John looked angrily at Vanna.
"No!" John said again.
He did not want Cameron 'terminated'.
The four Terminators entered the room one after another. Cameron should reboot any second.
"Can you four hold her down?" John asked.
Bob knew it could get violent.
"For short time we can." Bob said. "She may become violent or go on a rampage."
John didn't want anyone to get hurt.
"Everyone else get back." John said. "Get back."
John found a Taser and got it ready….
John looked at Vanna who still held the scalpel and nodded.
"You can pull her chip only if I have to use this." John said. "I want to give her a chance."
Vanna swallowed hard and nodded back. She was not sure if she could 'terminate' Cameron at this point.
Déjà Vu
Beauty may be in the words
Maybe true beauty resides within you
What you have slowly hidden
You should review and renew
You said it was
Just something to do
Remember what you felt
How those feelings grew
In times of trouble
From its strength you drew
You felt and shared the love
As it would expand and accrue
In times of sorrow and sadness
When you were feeling blue
A lonely soul was always willing
To help you get through
Our mundane lives grind on
Trapped in Earth's crazy zoo
Tomorrow can hold promise
Or is it all just Déjà vu
Nobody