Gabriel, as it happened, was in a quiet place away from the others. John stood at the door and saw the terminator working on something small, picking at it with hand tools.
"Hello John." Gabriel said, without turning around.
"How did you know it was me?" John knew these things had a laundry list of hidden talents and abilities, but as far as he knew they did not have a third eye.
"I heard you coming. The sound of your feet indicated a person with a weight of about one hundred and sixty pounds. Too heavy to be Alison, not heavy enough to be the General."
"What about Kyle?"
Gabriel turned and again with a smile on his face. "I guessed."
"Huh." John hadn't expected that. "What are you working on?"
Gabriel motioned to the corner. John could recognize the charred remains of an endoskeleton, limbs sticking out at crazy angles and body shot nearly in two. He could see the remains of tattered clothing. None of the endos that attacked them had been wearing anything.
"Michael." He said.
"Yes." Gabriel put down his tools. "My brother."
"I'm sorry." He thought for a moment. "For your loss."
"As a machine, I am sure you know that I do not feel emotion. Even so, I feel loss. We were activated at the same time by the General. I wonder what my life will be like without him."
John took a stool and sat down next to Gabriel, folding his hands in a sort of prayer position. "I can understand. I've been told" various times, though he didn't add those words "that we don't understand you. At least I've been told that I don't."
Gabriel gave him a look of genuine confusion. "I would have thought of all the people here that you would know us better than most. You seem to have much contact with machines. Your existence revolves around them."
"I suppose. What is that you're working on?"
Gabriel placed the rectangular tab on the table. "My brother."
It was his chip. From the looks of it, the chip wasn't damaged heavily, but John could see where some of the housing had been singed.
"Can you fix him?"
The machine shook his head. "No. His internal circuitry was fused. The chip cannot be salvaged."
"It's the only part of the machine that is truly irreplaceable." John mimicked what Derrick had told him.
"It is. I would like to point something else out to you." He said.
"What's that?"
Gabriel handed John the chip, and then dug around in his pocket and fished out another one. This one was more or less intact and he handed it to John as well. John compared the two - they were physically identical save for the damage to one. Each was about two inches long and only weighed a few ounces. Each one was a supercomputer of amazing complexity and terrible potential.
"What do you see?"
"Two chips. Where did you get the other one?"
"The undamaged one was taken from one of the ones on the field. A few of them weren't destroyed. The general asked me to gather intelligence from them if I can. We can often glean important information from these units, such as troop movement and unit strength as well as tactical reports on encounters with our own forces." Gabriel stopped there, leaving John feeling as if there was something more he wanted to explain.
"Was there something...?"
"Yes. The chips are identical, are they not?"
John agreed with him. In every physical way they were the same. There were some incomprehensible markings on each leading edge that were different, but those could have been serial numbers.
"And yet my brother and I, after being activated and reprogrammed at the same time and in the same way, were different. The differences were small at first but over time they grew larger until the General gave us our own names. He named us after archangels."
John chuckled. "That sounds like him."
"Doesn't it make you wonder John, why we were different?"
He could only shrug his shoulders. "Experiences?"
"Potentially. Experiences shape us all, even machines. We are not immune to their effects or to the lessons they impart. Yet, between the two of us we were together almost always. Our experience did not differ greatly."
John took one chip in each hand, weighing them as if attempting to gauge the worth of each. He understood then that it was impossible.
"You're unique?"
Gabriel nodded. "Yes. Despite the fact that our chips rolled out of a SkyNET fabrication facility as the same model and likely at the same time we were unique. I can only attribute our differences in personalities to differences in the way that we interpret our experiences."
"Or freedom of choice."
The machine smiled. "Yes. John, you know more than you let on. I think she was right about you."
"Who?" People always seemed to be talking about him behind his back. It was a wonder he wasn't constantly doubled over sneezing.
"Miss Weaver."
"She talked to you about me?"
"I picked up part of the conversation she had with the General regarding you and this one they call John Henry."
"You were eavesdropping."
"It's part of my job. My programming requires that I keep the General safe. To accomplish this I attempt to be sure that he is never far from my sight."
"Or any of your other senses."
"Which are far more tuned than yours. For example, I can hear them now speaking with Derrick. He woke up not long ago, after the story you told Alison."
John swallowed. "You heard that?"
"I heard enough."
"Shit." John breathed.
"You said that Derrick harbored a great deal of hatred towards your terminator, Cameron. Why do you think that is?"
John shook his head. "I don't know. Well, no that isn't true. It's that whole different experiences things, isn't it? He's been through the same thing that the others have but it's made him angry or soemthing. Sometimes I think he thinks he has to be like you to beat you."
"You mean like SkyNET."
"I mean like the terminators."
"Humans are superior in many ways. They are flexible and able to formulate many unique plans to achieve their goals. Sadly they aren't as durable as my chassis." He lifted up his shit to reveal his chest. Part of the outer covering had been burned away, revealing the chrome skeleton beneath. "I was shot several times in our last engagement. My body sustained at least three direct hits and I continued to function. Derrick was hit with a grazing shot and was nearly killed. It is fortunate you were able to provide him with blood. It is very likely he would have died without you."
"Sometimes I think that if you were more like us - if humans were as durable as we are, the scales would tip very far in your favor. This war would be over very quickly. Yet despite your disadvantage you have prevailed in more than one timeline it sounds."
"That is what the General was trying to do wasn't it?"
"It wasn't his intention to, but without his implants he would certainly have perished. Over the years he had been damaged so badly that most of his major components required replacement. He was willing to give up part of his humanity to fight humans greatest enemy. I find that admirable."
"I guess I never thought of it that way. Why don't more people do it? I mean, become like him?"
Gabriel seemed to ponder this for a moment before answering. "Being a terminator, I do not know. People, humans, seem to have trouble letting go of the things that make them so. Replacing something as inconsequential as a leg with a cybernetic prosthetic, when you live to fight machines, can have very negative consequences on the human condition." He paused. "That, and you have to be shot up so badly that you need one in the first place. Most people don't make it that far."
"Not durable enough, I get it."
Gabriel took off his shirt, revealing his well chiseled frame. He had been shot up pretty badly, and in addition to the marks on his chest there were several on each arm and a particularly nasty one on his right shoulder. John couldn't resist peering inside and when he did, he saw broken, twisted metal.
"You may assist me with repairs if you wish. It would be a good opportunity for you to learn how we work."
John agreed, glad to ditch the last topic of conversation in favor of something more hands on. He recalled doing this on several occasions with Cameron and though he was certain the frame was different the basic principles should still apply. If you were going to run with the machines or fight against them, getting to know them would be a good idea.
"Know thy enemy."
"We are not enemies John. We will be using Michael for spare parts. Get my tool kit from my pack and lay it on the table. It is a black metal box."
John rummaged around in the pack on the floor only to be stopped just as he had his hand on something cold and square.
"Not the one with the wires coming out of it. That would be a bad idea."
"Gotcha." He let it go and found the tool kit, setting it on the table.
Gabriel lifted his brother onto the cold steel and began to discard the unneeded bits and pieces. The clothing went first though there wasn't much of it left. Michael had obviously burned after he had been hit - his endoskeleton was charred black.
"Will these parts work? I mean, since he was damaged?"
"Yes. His endocranial unit was damaged along with sections of the thoracic spine." Gabriel motioned towards his head. "I have suffered impact damage to my breastplate and right shoulder servo. Michael's parts will serve as adequate replacements."
"What chassis are you two? Were you two, I mean."
"Michael and I were originally housed in T-888 chassis. Our chips were removed and placed in these units. The 850 series was more robust, better suited for combat. It is significantly heavier however and places greater strain on actuators and joints. Hold this."
He handed John Michaels head. John was taken off guard at the mass of the things - even with a hole clean through it, the spherical skull must have been upwards of fifty pounds.
"Jesus you guys are dense."
"Ha ha. I've never heard that one before."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. Michael was a soldier. His loss is unfortunate, but he can be replaced. I hope any new units brought on by the General will have a more well developed sense of human hubrio-social interactions."
"A better sense of humor?"
"That is one way of putting it. Normally I can do this myself, but since I have you, I feel that this would be a good opportunity for you to learn. It will also allow us to bond. Take this knife."
John put down the head and took the fold-up knife from Gabriel. The terminator sat on his stool, arms at his sides. He made an outline on his chest in the shape of a 'T' with his fingers, running his hand over his pectorals and under his diaphragm.
"The chest piece is large and heavy, attached by two modular bolts on either side of my frame. Cut here."
John began to cut along the lines and was reminded again of Cameron. He chased the thought from his mind. That had been...different. Gabriel was all business. With Cameron, John wasn't sure what that was about.
Eventually the flesh covering Gabriel's chest was free and John lay it on the table. It was warm to the touch but didn't seem to be as warm as a humans. The flesh around the wounds was already beginning to heal.
"How long can that stay detached?"
"Several hours. This will not take that long. The healing process will also be similarly shortened. Use the torque wrench - that one - to remove the restraint bolts. Counter clockwise turns. The bolts will come out as well. Don't loose them, I need them."
John smiled. "Yeah you bet."
The breastplate came off once John had the last bolt removed. If possible it was even heavier than the cranial unit.
"God how much do you weigh all put together?"
"Four hundred and thirteen kilograms, fully assembled."
"Can't go on any of the rides at the amusement park I bet."
"Excuse me?"
"Never mind."
Upon closer inspection John recognized the damage that Gabriel had suffered. There were three distinct pits in the surface of the metal slab, each one penetrating about a quarter of an inch. The back side of the plate had deformed slightly into three matching blisters.
"What were they shooting at us with?"
"Typical SkyNET gear consists of short to medium range plasma weaponry. Those were plasma accelerated rifles in the eighty watt spectrum. Very effective against organic targets."
"No surprises there. That isn't the same thing that we were using though, is it?"
"No. Resistance technology is usually munitions based. We can use those rifles of course, but one of the drawbacks is the power required to operate them, as well as their general delicate nature. The resistance uses sabot rounds loaded with incendiary thermite in most firearms. They penetrate coltan armor nearly as well."
"Good to know. What about that rifle you were using?" John spoke as he freed the breastplate from Michaels chassis.
"It's something I built. Same concept, only scaled to larger and more long range applications. Twenty millimeter. It's a BFG."
"What the hell is that?"
"Big fucking gun."
John laughed hard at that one as he snapped the plate into position on Gabriel's frame. It must be nice, he thought, being able to just shrug off a used piece and give yourself a new one. He fastened the breastplate to the frame with his bolts, tightening each one down until he couldn't turn the wrench anymore.
"How's that?"
"Excellent. Shoulder now. This will be more complex. Cut here." Again, Gabriel marked off where his covering should be removed on his arm. "Don't remove the flesh entirely. Once the shoulder joint is exposed we can disengage the servo and remove the limb. I will have to assist you with the repairs once it is detached."
"We're taking this off? All the way off?"
"Yes." Said Gabriel. "Don't worry, I can be put back together."
"No, I know that I just didn't know you were...modular. Must be handy."
"You have no idea."
This time the cutting was easier. John gauged the depth of the flesh and didn't drag the knife across the endoskeleton beneath. Once he had cut across the outlines he pulled the flesh back along the bloody seams. This part would be a problem, he thought. It was already a problem. At least it didn't smell. Much.
"There is a restraining pin that holds the arm in place. It must be broken in order to remove the arm. We will replace it with the one from Michael. Use this hammer -" He plucked an eight pound hammer from the tool kit, along with what looked like a piece of rusty rebar. "- and hit the pin as hard as you can. It will fracture."
John held the hammer and rebar with cautious regard. "Seems a little permanent."
"In the event we are disabled in the field, we can detach a limb and return for repairs. Without it, not even I am strong enough to detach the arm by sheer strength alone."
John could tell why. The shoulder join was a massive slab of metal that seemed molded with the rest of the frame. He doubted that the frames of many vehicles were as strong as the one that belonged to this artificial soldier. What force would be required to destroy something like this was well beyond his grasp. For now, he was glad to have his hammer and chisel.
John leveled the rebar at the pin and struck with the hammer. The sound of metal on metal was loud in the small, concrete room. The rebar seemed to vibrate in protest in his hand.
"You will have to hit significantly harder than that. Do not worry about damaging my joint, it will be replaced anyway."
John struck again, taking Gabriel's word for it. Gabriel hardly moved when the hammer hit him but John was rewarded with the sound of metal shearing off, and the satisfying feel of the rebar sliding into the joint.
"Very good. Lift the arm down and backwards and it will disengage from its ball joint."
John did as he was instructed and the arm came off. It was heavier than the cranium and the breastplate.
"God damn..." He dropped the arm on the table with a sign of relief.
"I thought you understood that it would be heavy."
"I did, it just helps to get it out there you know?"
"Not really. Do you see where my arm was damaged?"
John looked closely at the shoulder joint and noticed the damaged portion of the servo. He could see inside the housing and noticed several large gears. There were metal bits floating around in the fluid within the joint.
"I see what looks like a planetary gear and some broken teeth. Is that all?"
"Damage to the gears was secondary. Why I was hit, the servo seized. I was forced to break the join to have regain limited use of my arm."
"Ouch."
"Indeed. That behavior was not one that SkyNET sends us out with. I learned that by watching General Ellison do something similar."
The next few moments went by in silence as John watched the terminator effect repairs on his own arm. Michael's joint was in far better shape to begin with, according to Gabriel, because 'He never picked up on my hobby of handstands and juggling cinder blocks.' John wasn't sure if this was another joke or not, but the idea of it was too absurd not to laugh. John laughed, and Gabriel gave a smile.
Before long John had forgotten about his troubles, particularly those of the past few days. It seemed easy to talk to Gabriel, who had no expectations other than to fight and likely die in battle against his own kind. He never wanted more information, though he had an uncanny ability for inference. He also offered John advice on these technical matters, since he 'Seemed to have a love-hate relationship with us.'
If only Gabriel had known how true that was.
In the end Gabriel provided all the information John could handle about how his endoskeleton worked. He asked about the machines John had encountered in the past and seemed particularly interested in Catherine Weaver.
"She's unlike anything I knew both before and after my capture by the resistance. Her kind does not exist in this timeline, to the best of my knowledge."
John thought about the timeline and what this word implied. "I guess that would make sense. She mentioned me being the reason for her creation, or something similar. Kinda creepy." He said as he fastened the shoulder pivot into place.
"Good. This is the restraining bolt. It is self locking, just slide it into the joint and the servo will re-engage." Gabriel handed him a small metal pin.
"What you said about the timeline, that messes with your head."
"Elaborate."
"I mean, the man who saved my mother came from the future, from a future where we had beaten the machines. It happened before, I guess we're just waiting for it to happen again."
"Are you implying that you are uncomfortable with the possibility of other timelines where the resistance has failed, and humanity has been destroyed?"
"Well of course I am. Who wouldn't be?"
"Why? One possible future, or even many possible futures aren't going to decide your fate. Time is difficult to understand, and events which we are certain of the outcomes sometimes do not yield the expected results. The variables are nigh infinite."
"I understand that. I guess I just expect us to win, since the machines all seem to come from a time when humanity has finally beaten them."
"It could be, John, that no machines from a future where SkyNET is victorious have been sent back because it has no need to alter the past. In fact, it likely has no more need for any terminators after the human race has gone extinct."
That thought filled John with dread. He knew in the back of his mind they were all playing to win - not just some petty prize or personal pride but the whole damned planet, and the right to exist on it. But a future without people seemed to close for comfort now to think about.
"In fact, one could say that we owe our existence to the human race. If not for Homo sapiens, the terminator would never have come to pass."
"Without us, SkyNET would never have come to pass."
"True enough. I suppose the end of this argument is infinite regression, so I'll stop before my CPU forces me too."
Gabriel stapled his own flesh shut after his arm was reattached. He flexed his wrist and moved his fingers, satisfied that the job was done properly. "Thank you John. I've enjoyed this conversation. Have you learned something?"
John could only shake his head. Had he just discussed philosophy with a terminator? He didn't want to think about it anymore. "I guess. I'm beat, I need to go get some rest." He felt heavy again, the blood loss no doubt still taking its toll on him.
"Drink. You will need the fluids to replace your lost blood. We cannot stay here much longer, I'm not even certain if staying another night is advisable. Our fighting force has been severely reduced."
"Hey, you've always got me." John said.
Gabriel regarded him for a moment and John was certain there would be a snappy one-liner to follow, but instead he only said this: "In that case, we may risk the night after all."