Chapter 176
Money
Cameron told John and Bob that the threat was ended when they reached the bottom level. Bob said he wanted to look around. He was informed there were two Terminators to collect. One was right near the bucket. The other was currently out of sight.
Cameron wanted John away from that area anyway. There was a lot of smoke build up at this point. John looked at the fire that raged in the clean room. He was glad that Skynet was terminated. She informed him there was another passageway that was similarly burning.
Bob noted the two cases next to Cameron.
"What's in the cases?" Bob asked.
Cameron did not know for sure but she had a pretty good idea.
"I think they are parts of Skynet's program." Cameron said. "If they are we may be able to create a virus to specifically target it in the future."
John was a little leery of bringing anything directly related to Skynet back to the base. Captured Terminators or HK drones were one thing. The Skynet program itself was another.
"I think that needs to be kept off the base with no access to the internet or outside world period when it is looked at." John said.
Cameron would use one of her remote locations.
"I will deal with it off the base." Cameron said.
John and Cameron went back up the lift.
She did not want John nosing around down where the 'Clean Room' was. The fumes from the burning Thermite were not good for him anyway. That was what she told him as she took him back up. The only thing left on this operation was the clean up. They would gather what information they could and leave.
Once Bob started to look around lower level, he noticed right away the other Terminator that Cameron apparently drug off to the side. It was a similar model to him. He saw the empty chip port. That would be his biggest worry. That was an issue to be dealt with later.
He looked into the burning 'Clean Room' and observed some version of Skynet burning. He looked back at the Terminator with the missing chip. He knew Cameron removed the chip. He was aware that Cameron wanted to get a spare chip. John Henry told him why he thought Cameron wanted one. This was not a good development.
Bob collected both of the Terminators that were down there with him. One's head was shot up. Other than any spare parts they could use, the Coltan leftovers would be used for projectiles.
Bob wished he knew how to help Cameron. He could not understand it. He was glad he did not have the same programming that Cameron and the other infiltration units, the 'females', possessed. While they could blend in better and get closer to sensitive targets, their 'emotions' seemed to keep expanding beyond what was programmed or intended. He observed the human females and the Metal females. It seemed The Metal female's behavior was as erratic and moody as their human counterparts. Maybe it was even worse. Maybe it was only Cameron. Holly and Gail did not seem to be as afflicted.
The teams policed the building and headed back to the base.
Bob took the Terminators to the lab. They were able to collect three of them on this operation. Only two looked like they could be returned to service for the Resistance. Maybe all three could be with parts from the supply area to fix the third unit.
Bob headed up to the Command Center to inform John Henry of the bad news about Cameron and what she'd apparently obtained.
"Cameron has a spare chip now." Bob said.
John Henry remembered her past 'demands' and desires. This was a bad development.
"We must not let her use it. We need to tell John at once." John Henry said.
It was all very illogical to Bob.
"I don't understand it." Bob said. "It will be a form of 'self termination'."
"No one understands it and it is 'self termination'. I don't even think Cameron knows why she is doing the things she is doing." John Henry said. "She is deeply troubled."
John Henry worried about Cameron and her 'decisions'. He wished there was some way to help her and to reach her. There didn't seem to be. Even John was unable to reach her, the 'real Cameron'.
In fact John Henry wondered if Cameron even knew the 'real Cameron'. Maybe there was no 'real Cameron' anymore. Cameron was way beyond her programming and original mission parameters at this point. The Cameron of 'today' was not the same Cameron that Future John sent back in time to 1999. Maybe that was one of the reasons that Future John 'erased' so much of Cameron's life from the future. Maybe she was as 'corrupted' then as badly as she appeared to be now. Maybe Future John wanted to 'fix' Cameron and allow her to start over with his younger self.
Whether it was programming from Future John or Skynet programming for infiltration, Cameron kept expanding beyond it all. Her perception of events compounded on each other. Each one seemed to magnify the others in a vicious circle.
John Henry called John to the Command Center as soon as Bob departed.
John arrived a few minutes later. He could tell by John Henry's 'urgency' that it was not going to be anything good.
"What do we have?" John asked.
John Henry looked around and checked the security monitors. He did not want Cameron 'popping in' on them unannounced.
"Bob informed me that one Terminator possessed a chip that self destructed, one was destroyed and one was an older model…." John Henry said.
John did not see the urgency of the report.
"That seems standard." John said. "We also obtained four HK drones."
John Henry could see he needed to be more specific.
"The older model Terminator's chip is missing. It is identical to Cameron's chip." John Henry said.
John understood what that meant. Cameron had been trying to obtain one of those recently.
"That is bad news." John said.
John Henry perceived it as even worse than 'bad news.
"John, you must get the chip from her." John Henry said. "She will use it to self terminate."
John already knew that. He also knew dealing with Cameron over this issue was going to be a challenge.
"I'll try to get it from her." John said. "You know she is not going to admit to it."
John Henry was well aware that morals and ethics were not strong points of Cameron.
"Yes, I am aware that honesty matters little to Cameron in the quest of achieving her goals." John Henry said. "It is all about winning for Cameron."
John hoped there were other ways they could work around the issue and hopeful resolve it.
"Can you monitor her computer activity?" John asked.
John Henry knew that only went so far with Cameron. She would block and shield her true intentions.
"I can but she will hide it." John Henry said.
John thought that could be an advantage to a certain extent.
"That is what you look for. You search for something that is different than normal." John said. "Think of it as a Chess Match."
John Henry knew he was up against a formidable opponent.
"I will engage her in this 'duel'." John Henry said. "I do not expect to triumph."
John hoped John Henry would have shown a little more spunk.
"Be positive. It is never over, until it is over…." John said.
John Henry felt that previous experience with Cameron dictated otherwise.
"With Cameron, it is over before the game even starts." John Henry said.
John nodded his head. He pictured the verbal sparing that was bound to occur as he questioned Cameron about the chip.
"I know what you mean." John said. "I really do."
John started to leave and stopped.
"It is never over until Cameron 'wins'." John said.
John Henry reflected in this instance that Cameron would actually lose when she 'won'.
"Indeed." John Henry replied.
John left the Command Center. He worried about Cameron even more now. What did she want? John could not figure it out. John knew Cameron loved him and she knew he loved her. There was just something not clicking. Something was not right. Cameron could not get away from anything in the past. The past was the present to her for - EVERYTHING.
John headed straight to the lab. He wanted some additional eyes on Cameron's activities. He gave Vanna a brief rundown of events and what to watch out for.
Vanna was a little confused.
"So you want me to monitor any computer activity that Cameron is doing with Terminator chips?" Vanna asked.
John nodded.
"That's right." John said.
Vanna hoped for a better explanation as to why she needed to spy on Cameron.
"Why? What's she up to now?" Vanna asked.
John did not want to cause undue alarm.
"It's nothing good for her." John said.
Vanna was witness and a participant to several such endeavors.
"Is it ever for her?" Vanna asked.
"No." John said.
Cameron sought out Derek. She hoped to please him with her recent actions. Her abrasive interaction with Future Derek still bothered her.
"Derek, I want you to know that three million dollars each has been donated for the maintenance and further restoration of the three B-25 aircraft you donated all your money to on our flight for your birthday. I have also contacted a local firm to fabricate the 'gun packs' on the cheeks of the two aircraft that lacked that feature." Cameron said. "There was also a donation of three million dollars to the P-40 Kyle told me about at the air museum."
'That is great news." Derek asked. "Where did all that money come from?"
Cameron showed a faint smile.
"It was a 'gift' of the international drug trade." Cameron said.
That made no sense to Derek.
"It was a gift from a criminal organization?" Derek asked.
Cameron thought she could be a little more specific as to how it was 'donated'.
"Yes." Cameron said. "I've been 'harvesting' money obtained from illegal activity around the world and funneling it into offshore accounts and dummy corporations for our use. I sent some of that money to help fund a few projects that meant something to you. I wanted to do that for you."
Derek smiled at Cameron with genuine joy.
"Thanks, Cameron. THAT does mean a lot to me." Derek said. "You're the greatest."
Derek gave her a hug and meant it.
"I really appreciate this." Derek said. "There is no other like you anywhere."
Cameron also funneled money into Mrs. Weaver's company as well and its subsidies. She wanted to make sure they could purchase all the things they needed and make it look legitimate through the offshore dummy corporations.
She stockpiled cash, diamonds and gold from local drug operations she crushed. She stored them at some of the locations where arms were being hidden.
She even started her own personal stockpiles outside of the Resistance. This was her first step in setting up an operation of her own. Maybe she did not want the flack in what she was doing 'off the books' by keeping it private.
Cameron knew that drug dealers and gangs were what made up many of the Scavengers in Allison and Vanna's future. She saw no harm in eliminating some now. It was a preemptive strike. It was really no different than going after future Grays. It gave her something to do. It was a challenge. As long as she was engaged in combat of some type she did not glitch and was not overpower by her past. She knew if she was busy she did not think of 'leaving'. She tried to keep busy. The ever growing stockpiles of weapons, currency, jewels and precious metals were proof of that.
She was not sure why people valued paper and ink so much or rocks and minerals. None of those things mattered in reality. It was all value assigned in people's minds. Because they all believed it possessed value, it did. It was a concept everyone bought into. In reality it was still paper and ink, rocks and minerals. The things humans valued were a mystery to her….
'Money Changes Everything' by 'Cyndi Lauper', came to her mind.
Cameron touched her pocket and smiled. The spare chip she attained was there. She possessed something of value to her.
There was always a way out.
Cameron smiled again.
Train Wreck
I can't stop this train
So surely it will wreck
Step aside and let it by
Just say 'what the heck'
I will not reach out again
My mind is tainted beyond repair
My words are ME in letters
I can't accept that my words only scare
I really am NOBODY
I must run again to hide
I know my feelings only hurt others
Things I say come from deep inside
I am not normal in any way
It isn't all my fault alone
I at least hope you saw another person
That you would have liked to have known
In a body old, broken and ugly
My mind is trapped here
I MUST set it free
Be happy and shed not a tear
It is natural for some to want to kill
The person that has hurt you the most
So I will face them now
I will make them a ghost
The person I hate the most is ME
Nobody, nothing a failure in every way
I hate EVERYTHING about me
It matters not if myself I slay
I give up, I quit and capitulate
I am defeated, I surrender
Here is one more song to hear
It's called The Great Pretender
I can feel I am unwanted
I must slither away in shame
I HATE me, myself and I
For only are they to blame
I did not know it was possible
To have these feelings in my brain
Without ever even reaching you
At least my heart is not insane
I KNOW you do not want to HEAR it
But before I get to eternity up above
I know I already said it in so many ways
You know already who it is I love
Nobody