Chapter Eleven

Anticipating the Enemy

"General Connor," Mark greeted, resisting the urge to stand up and salute him. "What do we do now?" John wasn't exactly sure. He knew it was obvious they had to destroy Skynet, but they weren't certain how that would be accomplished since Skynet had taken off. He thought a little before answering. They had to find Skynet first, and to that they needed to know what Skynet would do…

"Guess Skynet's next move so we can catch it," John answered, and headed for John Henry. The AI, despite having hole in the top of his head, was dedicating his time to watching the city's surveillance cameras for sight of Skynet. So far, he'd had no luck. Skynet had correctly guessed how they were tracking everything and kept out of the sight of cameras. John Henry's task was made that much harder by not only trying to discover what Skynet was up to, but where Skynet even showed up on screen. The total number of hits so far was zero.

"I'll take over, John Henry," John offered. John Henry stood up and watched as the human 'took over' for him. As powerful as John was in his ability take a band of humans and influence them to his path of logic, he was a human. His mind possibly couldn't handle the number of cameras John Henry watched. John must have a theory about Skynet's location, or the human thought John Henry needed to recharge. John Henry would not need to recharge for seventy days at least.

"What are your instructions?" John Henry asked. John turned to face him.

"Well, I doubt you'll be able to travel with us in public; you've got a metallic hole in your head. Plus that would only be a weakness that Skynet could take advantage of. So try to repair your endoskeleton and your skin. If that's healed in time, then you can come along," John said. John Henry understood John's logic; it was irrefutable. Was it possible that John had manipulated and influenced him just as he did humans? If he had, that meant he was feeling something to some degree. John Henry set several processes to discovering it.

Cameron offered to help John Henry repair himself. John hid a smile when she insisted they do so at the table. She wasn't going to leave John's side, even if she was doing something else. He forced his attention to the computer screens. Skynet has two goals in this: kill me, jump start Judgment Day. Killing me means that Skynet has to come here, so I'll set the cameras on our street up, and jump starting Judgment Day means Skynet needs nuclear power. There's a nuclear power plant nearby as well as a military installation; better put up the cameras for both. So if Skynet goes towards either, I'll see it. There's no way it can leave the city without catching attention from theft or walking out, so it's stuck here. And since it has nothing else to do, I'm guaranteed to find it.

Derek and Joseph were actually sitting closer together than usual; they occupied opposite ends of the couch. Between them sat Ellison, who felt more like he was trying to keep them from going at each other instead of waiting and relaxing. But it wasn't each other that they were glowering at. Their target was Sarah Connor, who was sitting comfortably in a seat and paying both of them as much attention as she would the air. Ellison watched Joseph out of the corner of one eye and Derek out of the other. Between the two of them, he was more frightened by Joseph. The barely-adult aged man was an abomination in ways to God's plan. He had willingly changed his body, a sacred gift from God, and made it different.

If they were meant to have stronger strength and speed, they likely would have been created with them. What Joseph had done was in an indirect defiance of heaven, and he was bound to be punished for it. He had said before that he felt more like an animal and it was hard to be civilized. Perhaps that was how he was punished? By losing his humanity and becoming more feral, it seemed to justify becoming physically stronger? To lose his humanity was a terrible blow, Ellison guessed. Yet he had made a bold and grave move, bestowing himself by changing what had been given to him. Strength for humanity. And that was only his punishment on Earth.

Come to think of it, Ellison realized, as he glanced towards Cameron and John Henry, Joseph is not the only one who has broken heaven's laws. Haven't people in general? We took technology a step further and claimed we were as heaven above, that we could create life. We created life; we created machines that are both stronger and weaker than us. Isn't that a challenge, saying that we could do as well as above? And look what will happen to us for it. We'll be atomically bombed and engaged in a war for our survival. That's what our challenge to create life brings us: death.

And I can't forget Sarah Connor. Sarah, who made love to a man she barely knew. That love gave birth to her son, who is destined to save mankind from the machines we inflict upon ourselves. Sarah Connor has fought, killed, robbed, intimidated, beaten, and assaulted people for John. She's blown up buildings, hunted leads of Skynet and machines; she even went through years at a mental institution with an endless escape record. She's done all of this for John, her son. She has harmed lots of people in many ways. But she's done it all for John: doesn't that mean she's just being a god mother by protecting her son, who came about from sin?

John Connor is a mystery in and of himself. A product of sin is supposed to save us from the consequences of another. There is such irony and yet such power in his existence. I've felt the way he's moved people with his voice and actions. I've been moved by him just like anyone else. His destiny is real: the boy is a savior of humanity, and he's already more a leader and powerful presence than some adults I've met. He's preparing himself, has been his whole life, in order to save humanity. And yet even our redeemer from machines is not pure. He has a juvenile record as long as his mother's.

And what about him and Cameron? A blind man couldn't miss that they're in love? But a human and a machine can't possibly love each other: I thought machines couldn't even feel! But it's there, plain obvious on her face, that she loves him. And there's no doubt John would step in front of a car for her, either. It's completely against everything that religion has taught us. Mankind has always taken pride in what it's accomplished, but this is different. If I'm right, mankind didn't build Cameron, and John doesn't just take pride in her, she's the center of his world. So what of their 'unnatural' love?

What about any of the people here? They've all committed or been a product of sin, an offense against God. Even I can't claim complete innocence and white robes. Where does that leave us? Hell? I can't bring myself to accept that. Joseph may have altered himself, John may love a machine, the rest of us have sinned in some way, but we're doing it for the right reasons, right? They say good intentions pave the road to hell. But from what I've seen of these people, they've gone beyond good intentions. They've carried through on their promises, making them better than regular people. Maybe there's still some hope for us yet.

I hope so. None of these people are bad people; some of their actions, now that I see it, are sacrifices. Sarah has given up everything in her life to protect her son and prepare him for the coming horrors. Joseph has willingly given up his humanity for power to protect others where they cannot protect themselves. John Henry knows that he was created by humans as a challenge, but he has made himself to do more than that; he's helped them. John is the savior of mankind during the coming war; perhaps Cameron is more his reward for his efforts rather than a forbidden relationship.

Perhaps there is some salvation to be had, for all of mankind, through us. Maybe everything isn't so black and white. Others have killed to defend and protect. Isn't what we're practically doing? Aren't we helping save lives? Life was easier before I came upon this. But something tells me it's worth the doubt. Something tells me that all of these people are the guardians of humanity. That is worthy of redemption. God bless them all.

*****

Derek had been focusing deeply on two things: the first was getting his hand to move again, despite the small burnings of pain that frequently visited his arm. The second was to glare at Sarah Connor as much as possible so that she knew he was upset that he wasn't coming. They were down him and two super strong people. As much as Derek didn't like John Henry, the metal fought well and with a sort of conviction. Joseph was tolerable. Now they only had Cameron to go head-to-head with Skynet. John probably didn't mind her being fine, but Skynet had defeated John Henry in a solid fight. How would Cameron succeed?

He returned to glaring at Sarah. It was sort of infuriating how she rolled off his angry expression with so much effort as a thought. He refused to let himself and his plight be ignored that easily. I want to fight. I've been fighting this damn machine since I was little, and so help me if I don't get a chance to blow its bloody head off right here and now! You try stopping me from settling a personal score! I may not be able to kill the bloody metal that killed Kyle, or Skynet in my time, but I can blow it apart here and get some satisfaction. It's the Skynet from my time just cloned anyway, so it's still the same damn one that sent the metal that killed Kyle. I want to be the one to finish it! For Kyle, for my friends, and for everyone else that died because of it! So I'm going to glare at you until you let me.

Funny, as a boy you always tease and be mean to the girl you like. Well, I'm being mean to you Sarah, but it's not because you're attractive and yanking on me right now! I want to fight! As if she could read his thoughts, Sarah suddenly said, "Derek, you and Joseph are staying here. End of discussion." She didn't even look at him as she spoke, leaving Derek with his jaw open and the other three TechCom soldiers wondering if she was psychic.

Who can blame them? I wonder if she's freaking psychic! She just spoke in exact response to what I said! I swear women can read minds, and Sarah is no different…oh shit. If she can read my mind, then she knows, oh freaking metal she knows. She can't know, right? That psychic thing, it's just a joke, right? Right? I'm talking to myself in an attempt to assure myself Sarah can't read minds; that's sane. All the same, Derek paid more attention to Sarah's facial expressions as he glared at her. His heart sped up when he noticed a trace of a smile on her lips, the one that was so attractive yet positively frightened him right now.

She knows! She knows she knows she knows oh shit she knows I'm dead. There's no other explanation for it; I'm dead. Sarah already made it clear what she expects out of this relationship: nothing more than friends between a brother's girlfriend and his older brother. Kyle, why did you have to do that to me, causing me to simultaneously beat you and making us make that promise? I'll guarantee she remembers: women remember everything. And she knows.

Maybe if I act real normal, like I used to, she might think she was wrong. Just play bark and bite, like we did before…actually that's not a good idea. Sarah might beat me up again—I mean hit me when I'm not ready. I'm screwed. What am I supposed to do now? Derek's glare had slowly changed from angry to suspicious in a matter of moments.

John's head slumped off the end of his hand. He returned to the position and promised himself again he wouldn't fall off his own hand this time. Again. So far, Skynet had not appeared on any of the cameras so far. Maybe Skynet really was trying to get out of the city. It'd had enough time to. Maybe I didn't know Skynet as much as I thought. Just because you had one conversation with a machine cross of Hannibal Lector and the super soldier from Halo doesn't mean you know it and what it's going to do…wait, I do know how it'll act, because that's how it's been acting all along! It's not going to enter a building conventionally!

Quickly John changed the cameras to the insides of the military compound and the nuclear plant. He quickly turned off the military ones; the army soldiers inside were walking around and relaxing. They wouldn't be doing that if Skynet was there blasting at everyone in sight. He wondered whether there'd be any soldiers still around. Besides, they would've heard of a shootout on the television. He surveyed more of the power plant while adding more cameras of the block his house was on.

Ten minutes later, John was bored again. Skynet hadn't been that easily beaten; it still had not appeared on a screen. John barely noticed when one room shook. He noticed the second time when the room the camera was monitoring literally shook. What was going on? Earthquake? None of the other rooms were shaking. An explosion? Had he caught Skynet? To John's surprise, a photo fell off the camera lens, revealing bloody corpses across the floor. His heart sped up.

He hacked into the cameras in other rooms and had them move left to right. Their views and angles didn't change. John smiled to himself. Either there was a raid on a nuclear power, which had nothing of value, or Skynet was there, probably trying to blow up the city. And it would a be a very small coincidence if it was the former. He stood up, and Cameron was on her feet as well, reading John's expression.

"We've got Skynet at the power plant," John shouted, grabbing a gun and monatomic rod. "Everyone who's able, grab a gun." Everyone but John Henry, Derek, and Joseph did. Joseph and Derek looked put off by it. They headed for their cars, Ellison now riding with John, Sarah, and Cameron. John had a dark grin on his face Cameron didn't understand. He quietly explained that he was ready for round two. She processed his explanation and only loaded her gun.