The Measure Of A Man
Chapter 2
Murder, Treason, And Other Foolishness
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Disclaimer: I don't own Cameron, John, or anyone else. I guess I own my original characters from this story. You can rip them off if want to. I don't see why you would though.
During the ruckus Cameron calmly took a drink of water. More to appear human than because her organics needed more water at that time. When the noise died down she resumed. "Those are all facts, but history is more than just facts. History is people. People like you and me. Well, mostly people like you."
(Smile)
Cameron smiled as a ripple of laughter washed through the crowd. It was a small joke she had used many times before but it still worked.
"Sarah Connor was a friend of mine. She didn't want or choose the life she had. She had described herself to me as, and I quote, 'A nineteen year old half-assed hippie peacenik waitress.' She had no intention of becoming 'An unholy mixture of Rambo and The Virgin Mary.' Please check the pop cultural references on your screens for the definition of 'Rambo'."
Cameron paused as they checked their screens then continued. "Then one day her life was turned upside down. Much like the Virgin Mary she was greeted by a mysterious stranger. Mary was allegedly greeted by an angel. Sarah was greeted by a scruffy looking soldier. The messages were similar. Your unborn son is vitally important for the future of humanity."
"So now you're comparing John Connor to Jesus Christ!?" Professor Bailey objected angrily.
"No, there was nothing miraculous or divine alleged about John Connor. He was just a man. Aside from their initials they have nothing in common. But his father, Kyle Reese, came from a terrible future."
"Santascat! Nobody came from the future because, as we've already established, time travel doesn't exist!"
Cameron didn't even bother turning her head. "We've established no such thing. I'm sorry if the facts don't match the theories. Now if you can contain your excitement, I can continue."
"We can listen but we don't have to believe you," James muttered.
"No you don't. When Sarah Connor discovered what the future held she took her responsibilities very seriously. She changed her life completely. Skynet sent one terminator after her, it might send more. She went into hiding, dropped off the grid. Sarah deeply loved John but she knew he would lead a life full of misery and horror. She had to accept the fact that there were more important things than her child's happiness. This is a terrible thing for any mother to accept."
(Solemn expression, downcast eyes for 2.1 seconds)
Cameron continued. "Sarah needed to train her son for the destiny that was thrust upon him. She had to learn weapons, tactics, first aid, hand to hand combat, electronics, dozens of skills. But she had no money. She couldn't pay for the training and she couldn't get a job that would teach her these skills. At the time it was nearly impossible to get a job without using a social security number and Skynet would be able to trace her through Social Security records. She was forced to use her body. It wasn't something she took lightly. Some of the men she associated with were some rather unsavory characters. "
"Scum of the Earth!" James interjected. "Smugglers, guerillas, mercenaries."
"You'll get no argument from me. They weren't all bad. Charley Dixon was a good man. He taught her paramedic techniques."
"Yes, I suppose it was difficult to find an evil paramedic." James snorted. "Still, exposing an impressionable young child to people like that is criminal! No wonder John grew up as a psychopath."
"John was no such thing. Sarah always made sure he kept his bearings. Stayed true to himself. John was a hard man, he had to be. But he was also a gentleman. More than that, he was a gentle man."
"Let me know when you get tired of polishing that halo! The fact is that Sarah Connor was brainpopped. In the late twentieth century treatment for the mentally ill was still in it's infancy. Sarah was arrested trying to blow up a building with innocent people in it. She later succeeded."
Cameron nodded. "Yes, Cyberdyne Systems. Manufacturer of fine products such as Skynet and myself for that matter. Closest thing to a mother I'll ever have. She gave them ten minutes to evacuate. That gave the police time to shoot and arrest her. And she wasn't brainpopped either. You aren't crazy if the robots from the future are really after you."
"She beat her son!" Professor Bailey's tone was getting angry.
Cameron's voice remained calm. "She did no such thing. What she did do was train John intensely in the martial arts until they became as natural as breathing. When you are learning the martial arts you do tend to get thumped around a bit. If you don't, then you're not doing it right." She scanned the crowd. "I'm sure there are some martial artists in this room. Probably some rugby players too. Do you ever walk home with a few cuts and bruises?" There were several chuckles.
"Professor Bailey also brought up the Battle of Denver as well as Colonel Church." Harry stated. "You were at Denver weren't you?"
"Yes, the resistance suffered 3,287 fatalities including those who died of their wounds later. There was also an additional 116 missing. I would be the first to admit that Denver was a disaster and that Colonel Church was incompetent. Did John Connor make mistakes? Yes he did. That's part of being human. Even us non-humans clink up once in a while"
(Grin and slight nod)
The crowd chuckled and Cameron went on. "But John Connor also learned from his mistakes. Denver was a disaster but there was only one Denver. Colonel Church was a disaster but there was only one Colonel Church. "
"The main problem with Denver was that he used the same strategy that was so successful at Fresno," Marie added. "He didn't take into account that Skynet would learn from its mistakes too."
Cameron nodded at her. "Thank you Professor Njanga. Yes, after Denver he was continuously changing his tactics and strategies. And as soon as he found out about Colonel Church he immediately promoted Edna Walking Bear from captain to brigadier general promoting her right over Colonel Church's head. When he threatened to resign in protest General Connor accepted the resignation without comment."
"I'm sure that was a great comfort to the next of kin," James commented.
"Colonel Church sure made a bloody mess of things," Harry chuckled. "Southern Asia was in chaos. India and Pakistan didn't put their nuclear weapons under computer control. They were a lot wiser than the Americans in that instance. So Skynet created false radar and satellite images for each country showing the other one had launched missiles. Both retaliated and the subcontinent was devastated. There was no coherent government anywhere. Both sides blamed the other and old hatreds ran hot. By the time the USS Chicago surfaced near Mumbai to drop off the American Expeditionary Force, they were expending more effort killing each other than the machines. The AEF was supposed to advise them or new tactics and techniques, teach them how to reprogram captured terminators, and try unite everyone against the machines. Instead Colonel Church decided to take sides with the Indians against the Pakistanis. He also decided that he should be in command of the entire subcontinent which did very little to endear him to anyone. General Walking Bear did her best to repair relations but it was too late. She did the next best thing and put all the new information into a folder marked Top Secret then carelessly left it out where a known Pak spy could find it." That caused a round of laughter. "She also eventually turned the situation between India and Pakistan from open warfare to merely seething hatred and occasional sniping."
"The American Expeditionary Force was merely an imperialistic move on Connor's part," James said. "Not content with his little dictatorship he had megalomaniacal plans to eventually take over the world. In this case he failed. They caused a great deal of resentment. When the Chicago dropped off Major Wright and his group near Bristol, General Campbell said, and I quote, 'Once again the Americans are coming in on their white horses to rescue us poor benighted Europeans. It would be very stirring if those stupid bastards hadn't caused the crisis in the first place'."
"She later credited the coming of the AEF as the turning point of the War in Britain," Harry replied. "And they weren't trying to take over. I don't know if you've looked out the window lately but we have a fairly good sized island outside and I seriously doubt that six guys in a rubber raft could take it over." This caused a round of chuckles in the audience.
"She was just trying to be diplomatic with her American allies. The AEF units that Connor sent around the world were a clever ploy to spread influence and give the impression that there's one guy in charge who knows what to do." James stated. "A Messiah if you will. The strategies and tactics they offered were just common sense that any soldier would have figured out eventually for himself."
"No one else had ever figured out how to reprogram a terminator." Marie stated. "That was crucial."
"And I don't think Conner figured it out either," James replied. "An undereducated criminal such as himself could never do it. I believe that break through was made by some clever engineer. This engineer was probably quietly done away with so Connor could take credit. Probably by one of his new pet terminators." He gave a sideways glance to Cameron.
"You make a lot of accusations for which you have no proof," She replied quietly.
"The reason General Connor began the American Expeditionary Force was because he realized that defeating Skynet wasn't something the Americans could do by themselves." Professor Njanga tried to bring the discussion back on subject and distract Professors Bailey and Connor from the hostility she felt growing between them. "And it wasn't going to be done by small piecemeal attacks. It had to be all of humanity rising at the same time. Continuous pressure all over the world. Skynet couldn't reinforce one area without weakening another. Concentrate on the factories. Factories need raw materials. Cut them off. Humans still outnumbered the machines. Destroy the factories and you cut off their reinforcements. Defending the factories draw forces away from extermination missions. Destroy the factories in one area and reinforce the people fighting in another area. The AEF was necessary to coordinate the attacks and inform everyone of the strategy. Try to get humanity to drop their age old hatreds and unite. At least for a little while."
"That's just common sense," James countered. "General Connor just wanted to replace a machine tyranny with a human tyranny. He established a military dictatorship over most of North America."
"He established martial law." Cameron stated. "There was no coherent federal government left. There were six people claiming to be president and that's not counting the crackpots. It would have been impossible to hold elections. He reestablished an independent judiciary and held to the Constitution as much as he could. He also planned to reestablish civil authority as soon as possible. Just because he wielded power didn't mean that he abused it."
"Tell that to the Gottfrieds!" James declared angrily. "Where was their trial!? They tried to stand up to him so he declared them traitors and executed them on the spot!"
"The Gottfrieds were a special case. I was there. Not all humans wanted to fight the machines. There were some who felt that they could negotiate with Skynet. That humans and machines could share the planet in peace. They called themselves the Peace Party. Most of the other humans just referred to them as 'Those damned idiots,' or something similar. Most of them were pretty harmless."
Cameron took a drink of water. Her vocal chords worked most efficiently when they were wet. "John and Lena Gottfried were a brother and sister who were members of the Peace Party. They escaped with John Connor, Kyle Reese, and seventy six others from a Skynet work camp. The refugee party was attempting to cross the desert but were repeatedly attacked by hunter killer units. Connor wasn't able to fool or shake them. The refugees were armed and able to destroy the HKs each time but they kept coming back. Eventually only thirty one humans were still alive. John noticed that the Gottfrieds always went away by themselves prior to each attack so he decided to bug them."
"Where did he find a transmitter in the middle of the desert?" Harry asked.
"The aural receptors in my ears can be removed and modified to transmit for over a kilometer. I merely have to repeat everything I hear. John removed one and planted it on John Gottfried. It turned out that John and Lena Gottfried were transmitting our location to the HKs."
"He took this merely on your word Cameron?" James asked.
"On this stage you refer to me as Professor Connor and yes, he took my word. The Gottfrieds were taken into custody and an ambush set for the HKs. After the battle the Gottfrieds were charged with treason."
"They had no trial!" James slapped the table hard.
"No, the circumstances were extreme. The refugees were under pursuit. The food and water supply was marginal at best. Taking unwilling prisoners would have slowed them down endangering the entire group. There was no time to have a fair trial. The Gottfrieds knew too much about our plans to allow the possibility of them being captured by Skynet. John elected for summary execution supported by the rest of the survivors."
"So John Connor decided to take the word of a terminator over the word of two humans. He illegally bugged two American citizens without a warrant issued properly by a judge. He then decided to murder them in cold blood merely because they were inconvenient!"
Cameron's voice remained calm. "He did what was necessary."
"Yes it was necessary! That's the excuse every war criminal makes and mark my words, that's all John Connor was! A war criminal who should have been brought up on charges and executed if he had survived the war! He shot two people and left them out in the desert to rot!"
Cameron leveled her gaze on Professor Bailey. "Wars are a nasty, dirty business. You've never been in one. You can't always follow the rules. And no, John Connor did not shoot the Gottfrieds. I carried out the terminations."
"So you shot them!"
"No, the sound of gunshots might alert the HKs in the area of our location. The refugee column moved on leaving me alone with the Gottfrieds. After the others left Lena Gottfried confessed that Skynet had promised to spare them and their family in exchange for their cooperation."
"We have only your word that they confessed anything!" Professor Bailey's tone was accusatory.
"Yes you do. I gave them five minutes to prepare themselves and communicate with their deity. I then terminated them."
"How?"
Cameron held her hands up fingers extended in a classic karate chop manner. "I drove my fingers into both their skulls simultaneously. They suffered major brain trauma and hemorrhaging. Termination was instantaneous. There was no pain." There were gasps and murmuring. Even Harry looked shocked.
Cameron gave no sign that she noticed. "I buried the bodies then took their transmitter and by mimicking their voices I was able to lead the HKs to the north while the refugees moved southwest. I managed to rejoin John Connor thirty three days later."
"How very brave of you," James said sarcastically. "You deserve a medal. I suppose you helped him eat people too!"
"Cannibalism is a very serious charge because it violates human taboos. John had sent me on a secret mission and while I was gone, he and eleven others were captured in a raid by terminator units."
"What was your secret mission?" Harry asked.
"John made me promise never to tell."
"After all these centuries, there's no need for opsec anymore." Marie stated. "You can tell us."
"I promised him never to tell." Cameron's voice brooked no opposition. "After his capture it took me four months, six, days, nine hours, thirty one minutes and three seconds to track him down. He was in Work Camp CA38 near the Nevada border. Skynet either didn't know or didn't care how much food a human needs to survive. Human survival never was a high priority for Skynet. John immediately began planning an insurrection. But John and his core supporters also pooled their food rations to try to keep the children alive. To stay alive themselves they stripped flesh off the dead whenever the machines weren't watching. It wasn't enough. By the time I found them they were starving. Too weak to move. They were dying. I prepared a stew and nursed them back to health over the next four days until they could rebel and overthrow the camp."
"So you were able to smuggle food into the camp?" Marie asked.
"No."
"Then what did you make the stew out of?" James asked with a knowing smirk.
Cameron hesitated. This was something she never told anyone. She knew how squeamish humans were and she remembered the look of horror on John's face when he saw what she was going to do. But Professor Bailey had told so many lies and John had taught her that the only way to fight lies is with the truth.
"Me," She flexed her fingers. "I ripped the flesh off my body and fed it to them."
Author's note: I would like to thank all my reviewers; Tpolich, Kevrules92, Miguel Artadi, Flatlander, Jess, and anonymous dude. Metroid13 gave a nice long review with several good suggestions some of which I plan to implement. One of them was futuristic slang. I made up a few slang words for this chapter most of which could be understood in context. Santascat is a word I made up meaning Santa's poop or crap that doesn't exist. (Sorry, I'm not very good at this.) And remember that I do value your opinions even if I don't always follow them.