Hi. You know I like playing with this story, introducing and developing new characters. If you have read FI Pt. 1, You might remember that hanger -full of kids. Here's what happens a few years on, when they start to develop . I thought it would be fun to see how 'Rain', an eight year old terminator, would manage in 1999. I'm genuinely not sure if she should be allowed to kick Metal ass , or use her intuition and cunning to beat the T8 that's been tracking her since her arrival. Maybe she should use both . Please note this is not a story for younger children. This is when the mayhem really starts.
Tell me what you think would be Rain's best course of action and if you like her character.
The day Rain went missing the Techs had been upgrading the TDA systems . As usual, the entire labyrinthine maze of tunnels under The Base was absolutely out of bounds, to anyone . The Techs had spent months balancing TDA field stabilisation against expansion rates. If they ever get this wrong, there is a slightest theoretical possibility they could set off a chain reaction . Deep Time would begin to turn itself inside out and start converting all matter in the universe at an exponential rate. As a precaution, when they are testing systems , the Techs put up the Do Not Enter signs around the TDA Centre. Putting up a sign that reads Danger is a waste of time when you have a large number of small T1000I's running around- they really don't get signs like this.
On the day of the testing, most of Rain's peer group had squeezed along the inside of the old silo ventilation ducts. When they came to the square shaft over the TDA Centre they all crouched around the ledge and dared Rain to drop down out of the vents, which only small terminators can fit through. Her rite of passage was to run down these highly out-of-bounds corridor adjacent to the TDA centre, get to the far side of No.7 corridor and back again, before a full Time Sweep localised and passed through the what had been the previous 'containment' wall.
Rain is a perfect gymnast. She can easily accelerate up to 70 Kph and her proprioceptive stems are set up so, with the right momentum behind her , she can corkscrew rolling 360, springing off the walls and ceiling . Most of the kids watching in the vents had done this themselves . They all calculated Rain could make it to the far wall and back again, without the Techs even detecting they were up there. Time Static y trashed-out their tracking systems .
With the other kids watching out of the grilles , Rain climbed down B Shaft, slipped down the narrow duct , hit the floor running, taking off like a Tomahawk missile. Halfway along she rolled up the wall to avoid the emerging sphere , tracking exactly thirty three degrees across the ceiling.
At that moment Deep Time , did what we now understand it does : it consciously decided to place her . The sphere expanded , and in a crackling-blue twinkling of an eye, the corridor was empty and Rain was falling back through time , bouncing her onto the back of a disused car lot , Albuquerque , December, 1999.
Inside the vortex, Rain's Combat systems automatically did what they were designed to do in a adult system- they engaged. The Sentient interface that was Rains self awareness was imaging the face of The Holy Mother . She was going to go absolutely 'Hi- Charge' when She found out where Rain was.
Agent Ellsion sat down opposite a bedraggled eight year old girl and examined her . She had pale blue eyes, short cropped brownish hair She didn't appear to be of any recognisable nationality, more of a mix of all of them. After forensics had dabbed at her skin and scraped under her nails, they'd allowed her wash her hands and face - there was still a tidemark of dirt around her neck and hairline.
The little girl didn't hold eye contact . Instead, she made out she was intently watching the turning spools on the tape recorder . Ellison put his hand to his mouth and contemplated.
The child had been in police custody for over eight hours . So far she had been refusing to even talk , let alone tell anyone her name. She had a few sips of water but rejected any food. Even though a bed had to be legally provided for a minor, she hadn't slept.
When any of the interviewing officers, social workers or psychologists asked her a question she tilted her head to one side listened intently but scowled at them .
The gathering of psychologists and social workers in the next room suggested the girl might be high end autistic, Asperger's . That might explain why the Connor network had kidnapped and used her. Why they'd shoved her in front of security cameras and driven her around in a stolen car. The media coverage alone served to reinforce Connor's end of days sect delusional belief systems. This was Sarah Connor's MO : she manipulated hardcore ex-vets into believing her psychotic delusions and every so many years, all hell broke loose this side of the border. Then Connor went back to ground. Maybe John Connor had outgrown Sarah's apocalyptic fantasies . Maybe this little girl was his replacement and their new "Messiah". If that was the case- then God help this child
Ellison smiled, and waited a few moments before speaking: "OK you're what we call a Jane Doe . You know why that is?"
A pair of blue eyes glanced up at him, She'd read his badge when he came into the cell . Her systems reprocessed the information to make sure. It was the equivalent of cybernetic double take. James Ellison was in the First Chapter of Sarah . He was one of the early believers. But not yet . Right now he was FBI and this was getting very serious.
To Ellison's surprise Rain nodded.
"So Janie Doe Lets have a look at the file, shall we. I have to say I'm having trouble making any sense what's going on here, maybe you can help sort me this out? You ready?"
"Monday, Second of December two thirty two AM you're become a blip on my FBI radar , according to the CCTV, before it goes off, you apparently break into Billycats clothing and toy store, and you're in your birthday suit . You go on to steal one pair of children's size combat trousers, one black tee shirt, one black Gortex jacket , one pair of black socks, one pair of black gortex children's boots, two pairs of underpants and a big strong rucksack. Oh and One children's sized black peaked hat. You take the change out of the till .Hm, Ellison chuckles deep , you're not exactly your average Kindergarten material are you. I mean I've got two nieces and last year the eight year old wanted My Little Pony . Say, Do you know what My Little Pony is ?"
Rain looked at the tape spools going 'round. She scrunched her lips together and shook her head. She genuinely didn't have a clue. Where she came from, equine life forms in the Northern hemisphere were , as far as anyone had determined, extinct. She'd certainly never played with one.
Very carefully James placed an A4 photograph on the table. Upside down to her on the desktop was a black and white image of a large man in a leather Jacket, wearing dark shades. Ellsion examined Rain carefully, nothing registered in her expression.
"Monday 3.47 Am . John James, Specialist Gun Shop. Security cams go off . The back door is forced open the silent alarm fails to ring down to APD . One used Benelli 40 , also know as an M1014, automatic folding shotgun and one hundred rounds of high power twelve gauge , one Glock 17 three nineteen round magazine, again one hundred, this time .45 rounds. One Tazar and car charger. Now, they all go missing. So I guess we now know what the big rucksack was for. Now that's got to be heavy for an eight year old girl to walk around with . I've got to say looking at you ,I'm having trouble believing you did all this on your own."
Rain shrugged. The weapons had been the best choice out of the gun shop. It wasn't her fault Yoshi had built the Sentience Systems around a Core of original T8 Combat and other 'interaction' programmes. When you are eight year old Evolving T and in extreme danger everything defaults to Core . The problem is no one had envisaged an eight year old terminator having to fend for herself in 1999. Combat programmes had automatically selected the weapons for her. Following the suggested standard 1. 2 Escape And Evasion Strategy.
Ellison continued: "At this point, me an my colleagues are thinking , maybe we've got this little girl hunting elephants downtown ." Ellison smiled like it was a joke and moved the photograph over nine degrees nearer into her field of vision." Between you and Janie Doe I don't think you'd ever want to hurt an elephant, would you?"
Rain gave the slightest shake of her head. She absolutely would never hurt any other sentient life form unless she determined it to be a serious threat to herself and others.
"Monday 4.17. Security cams again., two seconds and they go all white crackling static, but that is you looking up at them in your little black combat hat. Like I say unbelievable Drake Wilkinson's Performance Cars And Auto Tuners. You know you really have studied this stuff . Out of all the cars there , you choose a modified, reinforced Volvo V70 AWD T5, . It got tinted windows and you drive it away . Now this car's like like a tank and it will outrun most of the other stuff on the road. If it cant outrun them , it will probably drive through them."
"So here's the really interesting bit, although the car is reported stolen, the file gets deleted,. The guys at APD don't put out the alert until Mr Wilkinson calls again to see if the cars turned up,because the car owner's on his garage forecourt going crazy at him
"We've now traced the hacker to Coffee 'N' Chox Internet Bar , but someone was in a a real hurry and didn't cover their tracks."
"And you're on camera again here, filling the tank on Mr. D Pizzey's credit card. You tell the nice lady who's at the till it's your dad driving and he's sent you in to pay with his card, you know the number. The lady also tells me there a church donation box for orphanage in New Mexico and you take a twenty dollar bill out of your pocket and put it in the box. She slips you a little cookie bar, " cause" , and I quote. you're "so adorably cute."
Ellison ran his hand over his mouth before he spoke: "See I'm all confused. I've got one little girl, wandering around downtown Alburqurque with no clothes, then she gets dressed up in army gear, raids gun shops and she steals very high performance armoured vehicles. Now, on the other hand this I've got what seems this other really polite, good little girl, who doesn't really want to shoot anything , and she's putting money in a charity box .
And everyone including Mr. Pizzey who you bumped into , and apologised, says how nice you are. So I'm just not sure what I'm dealing with here. I think what I have got is a good girl, and perhaps some other guys making her do bad stuff. - Do you ever think things like that yourself?"
Rain's systems automatically evaluated Ellison's interrogation technique. It was Classic Text-Read : separate the moral polarities of the human subject, "good side bad side", use one polarity as a bargaining tool for information in exchange for lowered threat and reduced negative stimuli . Most appropriate for an eight year old human in this time.
Just to put the pressure on, Ellison turns the photograph right around so Rain can see all of it. Ellison let the photo come free of its file . Rain looks up at him , she's been trained well, but Ellison thinks can read the slightest trace of fear in her eyes. Without saying a word his expression asked, do you know this man?
Rain nodded.
Ellison spoke quietly :" I'll do you a one- off deal . I'm allowed to do this. We'll take a break, those guys watching through that camera, switch it off and walk away -they need the coffee, you and me talk, about anything we like. How about that? "
Rain nods. He's lying about the camera.
The tape machine goes off. She knows the camera is still running , and recording, but she can fix that. Ellison rests his elbows on the desk and places his hands into a triangle they are like prayer hands. He touches then to his mouth and waits. His features are exactly as described in the First Book Of Sarah. She says nothing.
James crosses his arms and looks to the ceiling. "You know I could be at home watching the X file repeats now , on TV. Does your mummy and daddy ever let you stay up and watch the X-Files sometimes."
Rain has never experienced files beginning with the preface X, nor had she watched TV. She never had parents who let her stay up late, she didn't sleep, she only a few fragments of recall of her mother. Her mother was dead, she died in Century, Rain is what survived.
Rain decided to speak, when she did, it was a clear accent-less voice. James couldn't place it to any particular state or county.
"I haven't watched X files."
James made a big smile and his face lt up. She did speak!
"You going to tell me what I can call you?"
"Rain- you call me Rain " . It was almost a whisper- it didn't matter now. They were running out of time
"Do you live at home Rain ? With your Mummy and daddy?"
Rain shook her head.
"Would you like to call anyone and let them know you are safe?"
"No. "
Then she went back to looking away, almost scowling . Without any pressure James kept a comfortable silence.
Rain knows by 'heart' "Sarah Connor's rule: "In this time , no one is ever safe". Besides all the media coverage, ever since she arrived, an emergency location device had been activated by her Combat Systems . Unlike older children and adults she couldn't switch it off. She wasn't meant to be in Combat at her age, only training . She was giving out a distress signal that any T series or later could pick up within a hundred kilometre radius. In her time the only T's she would come across were friendly ones, ones that played with her and came to retrieve groups of children messing around in the labyrinthine mazes that ran between The Base and the old silos.
The Ts in 1999 weren't evolved, they were the sworn enemy. There was a T8 in and around every major city , in every slice of time up until Judgement Day.
Rain's Combat systems had suggested she prepared herself , drive around and wait for the Enemy T to break cover. Then she could outrun it and choose her ground.
As she'd driven past, a half demolished multi-storey car park had suggested itself to her as an ideal Kill Zone : Lots of leaning slabs , tight turns, and narrow spaces, some clear shots, she was quicker, but it was far stronger. The basic rule slow: it down , then take it out. But she hadn't managed to lure it out before half of APD descended on her and cornered her driving in a big loop around the freeway. The blockade of the freeway was effective, there were two helicopters overhead, and she had not wanted to damage any of the humans, so she got out of the car and surrendered.
All she wanted to do right now was exit this cell, because if she didn't, the Enemy T8 would turn up, tear this place apart , when it found her it would strip her memory , and, Rain knows where John Connor is going to be, because in her, time the war is over
and everyone knows the stories from the First Book Of Sarah.
Combat systems calculated if she was captured there was a strong possibility of a reconfiguration of the entire balance of Future History. Rains eight year old sentience understood this to mean everything , BIG EVERYTHING was going to be all her fault.
She pointed to the photograph on the desk. Her combat systems were showing her how to prevent oxygen from reaching Ellison's brain and causing him to blackout, then impacting the cell door with her right leg, thus removing it from its frame and hinges, it further suggested following Urban Escape And Evasion Strategy 2.4, via The APD Station Armoury.
It was then Rain, had possibly the most lucid moment of her life , she made a huge decision and that was to override what her automated Combat Systems were suggesting. They were not appropriate to her situation.
Everything went off her HUD. She began to shake, she put her hand to her mouth and began sobbing, real tears streaked down her face.
"He's coming here tonight, he's going to kill me and everyone in this building, I know where he lives, I don't know the name of the road, but I can show you where it is."
Ellison got up, he knows this is no idle threat, this was 1982 repeating itself . He opened the cell door and called for the duty Social Worker. When she came running in , she found Rain standing by her chair apparently hysterical with fear. She walked over and tried to calm her down. As the duty Social worker was saying " Everything's going to be OK Honey, you're safe now, " Rain's acoustics were picking up on Ellison organising SWAT reconnaissance to follow his car.
When the Social Worker let go of Rain and stood by the open cell door to see what was being organised . The Social Worker was already missing her cell phone.
Rain threw herself onto the camp- bed and curled into a foetal position with her back to the Social Worker. The CCTV camera crackled with white static and went off. In case of absolute emergency she had already looked up the telephone number to Red Valley School .
Cameron walked up to Red Valley reception with Mrs. Darling. Apparently Cameron had a telephone call from her niece. Mrs Darling couldn't really make out what her niece was saying, she was speaking so quietly. It sounded like she was in a hospital or something there was a lot of noise, people running in the background. She had managed to catch her saying Cameron Phillips.
Cameron Picked up the school telephone. She was curious, and said "Hi"
There was a high frequency blast of multilevel information way above the range of human hearing. Whatever was sending it was running on extremely fast interface and processors, even by her standards. It contained amongst ,other things ,the number of the telephone she was ringing from and the surname of the ower. It took a few seconds for Cameron to separate and decipher all the layers.
Cameron appeared to yawn and sent back her reply, again a multi- layered pulse, far above normal audio range. The layers shortened and translated in to contemporary language were as follows.
1. "Don't ever call me General, my name is Cameron."
2. "Don't be scared .I'm not angry with you , yet."
3. "Yes I am bringing Jadey with me."
4. "Whatever happens explain nothing to humans about any of this."
4a. "Keep yourself and them out of its range, keep them driving around the freeway. "
5. "Keep you combat systems on override unless its an absolute emergency. I know its hard but you can , you must do this."
6. "Fast as I can sweetie I promise, I'm coming for you now."
Cameron's face seemed to become emotionless when she looked at Mrs Darling,
"My Aunt's been involved in a minor accident in Albuquerque, I have to go now, and take care of my niece."
Cameron punched out the buttons on her own cell.
"Mum... Aunt Sarah's been involved in an accident. "
"Albuquerque ."
"We've got to go , now. OK fifteen minutes . Bring Jadey"
Cameron went back into the library to wait. She was connected to the internet for her History project . She'd would to have to destroy the log and path of Rain's call then cover her own hacking. She took a deep intake of 'breath' and 'exhaled'. The School Network and 'new' Broadband was so incredibly slow.