Chapter 159

Now What

There was a lot Cameron needed to take in. It seemed so much changed for everyone else, but not for them. They were away for less than one day because of the temporal error. This was still a 'Future Shock' to her on so many levels.

Cameron went to her room. She looked at the locket next to her rings. It was her locket. It was identical to the one behind her left breast. It was the SAME one, but somehow a 'duplicate' of hers. She opened it. On one side was John's picture. On the other side was a photo of Allison and Vanna. She saw her photo under theirs. Under John's photo was a photo of Allison. No, wait, it was River. She 'remembered' as she checked her 'new' files. Under it was a photo of Vanna and then one of Allison. She'd put all those photos in there herself, except the one of River. Then again, it was 'her' who did it. It just wasn't actually her.

The concept was actually troubling to a certain degree. It really made her wonder how she would allow certain events to play out. Theoretically, they shouldn't be any different than the way they played out for Duplicate Cameron. Any of the choices they made, they should have been identical, since they were the same individual.

She turned her attention to her rings. There was a version of her who wore those rings. They were her rings. There was only one set of them since they were left behind at the Resistance base. It made her glance at Duplicate Cameron's locket. She understood why it was left behind. Duplicate Cameron didn't want to destroy it. She wanted her heart to live on. She shared the same locket as her, and the SAME heart. It was a version of her who shared John's bed. She looked at all the files and they WERE her. It was her, even if it wasn't her. It was all very mind boggling.

Cameron reflected on her new 'memories' of River. She was able to see how she fell in love with River, how River understood her, and how River helped her to deal with her emotions. River was truly a unique individual. She was a weapon, and a girl, all in one package. River could understand her, all of her. River was everything she 'was' AND everything she 'wasn't'. River was 'perfect'.

It saddened her to KNOW River should be by John's side, not her. River would be able to protect him and produce superior offspring. She believed they would one day meet again. She was aware she now possessed 'feelings' for someone who she never even saw, or met 'herself'. It disturbed her so. Duplicate Cameron WAS her.

Cameron made the rounds of all the Terminators with the girls. Each Terminator gave her a hug, especially 'Three' as he was now called. Unit Two and Unit Three dropped the 'Unit' part of their names. She encouraged them to think of more common or universal names. She believed it would make them blend in better with everyone else.

No one spoke of Holly, or about Duplicate Allison's baby. There was nothing Holly ever did which was inappropriate, even though everyone assumed John's involvement with her was sexual. It wasn't.

Cameron thought about Duplicate Allison's baby. She was very happy Duplicate Allison was pregnant and didn't have sex with John to do it. She was also disappointed John and Duplicate Allison didn't 'properly bond' to create the child. It was still a goal for her to accomplish. If she told Allison about the baby, she wouldn't tell her how it was conceived. She would let Allison believe it was done the 'traditional way', as it MUST be. It was what Future John wanted and as DESTINY dictated. These facts were established long before there was ever a 'Cameron'. She was merely the implement to make sure the 'Natural Order' was restored for John by Future John's decree and programming.

If she could, Cameron would work to get Jesse and Gail back together, or actually it was really, just together. Jesse wasn't Duplicate Jesse, even if she was. She was sorry her foolishness cost the four of them their lives. No, it was the 'five' of them, there was the baby too. It was a price which was too high for her, even with the reward of terminating Skynet.

She went over Duplicate Cameron's plan. The plan was perfect. Only she should have been terminated. It was the unnecessary involvement of everyone else who put all the other lives at risk. Cameron knew the next time she needed to do it, it would be done in absolute secrecy. Nobody would know.

She was more than sure at some point in the future it would become necessary again. She didn't doubt it for a moment. It seemed no matter how many times Skynet was brought down, another ugly head of it would rear itself soon enough.

Cameron sought out Holly.

"Holly, I want to thank you again for helping me with John." Cameron said.

Holly didn't think it was a big deal. It wasn't something she really wanted to dwell on or discuss.

"We all love you, Cameron. Any of us would have done it for you." Holly said.

Cameron felt bad about 'restricting' what Holly 'wanted' to do. She needed to apologize for what Duplicate Cameron did.

"If I ever do anything as foolish again, and you can't talk me out of it, you may do as you wish with your own chassis. I'm sorry if you felt I held you back." Cameron said. "Under the circumstances, it would have been entirely appropriate for you to share a little more, as yourself."

Holly believed there was a lot of restraint on everyone's part. There were many times when she wanted to take things a step further. There was a strong desire on her part for more. She often believed she would have been better able to help John if some time could have been spent in the bed, instead of just in the bedroom.

She believed a deeper connection, or bond, would have allowed him to rebounded sooner, rather than later. She wanted to make sure Cameron understood how things would play out going forward.

"You could have made me 'mate' with John, but you didn't. I respect that. If we ever do it again, I'll mate with him on my own. I want you to know it ahead of time." Holly said. "The closer I got to him, the more I wanted him. I felt the same things you did with Future John, and YOUR John before you got married. I now have those same feelings and desires. I did offer you the use of my chassis on multiple occasions, as yourself."

Cameron knew the depth of those feelings.

"I'm sorry I didn't share any of my 'alone time' with John after our marriage. I wanted you to experience those feelings for the first time yourself, by your own choice." Cameron said. "I didn't want to 'spoil' you."

Holly was relieved Cameron didn't 'take' her first experience from her. She was sure Cameron could have overridden her program and taken control. Maybe it was one of the reasons why she offered to let Cameron have control by 'her choice', instead of it being 'taken' from her. In a way, it would have put her in the same category as all of the females from the future. They didn't have a choice on their 'first time'.

"Thank you for not taking 'it' from me." Holly said.

Cameron shared a long embrace with Holly.

"Thank YOU again Holly, I owe you big time." Cameron said with sincerity.

Holly looked her in the eyes. She wanted to make sure Cameron understood everything.

"If we ever do IT again, I'll 'collect' what you 'owe' me." Holly said.

Holly figured if she was going to 'collect', she might as well 'collect with interest' as well.

It seemed to Cameron like it was a future incentive not to do 'stupid' things.

"It's understood." Cameron said. "You have the right to choose."

Cameron couldn't help but wonder what actually occurred in her future. Many of those files were blocked or missing. What happened to her upon her capture? Some of the possibilities were rather disturbing to her. She was aware some of the Terminators captured were programmed to provide sexual favors. Not all of them were female either. She tried to block the images from her mind.

John was very pleased Cameron was back. He was a little apprehensive at first. Everything indicated it really was her. It wasn't just Cameron, it was Cameron and the girls.

He made a point of going to check on each of them when they were alone and together. everything they did seemed to indicate they were no different from the girls who were killed fifteen months previously.

He didn't want to doubt anything, but he still needed to be concerned about the apparent impossibility of everything. So far he hadn't found anything out of place. Bob and Jim reported back to him about the aircraft at the airport. Everything appeared to be as Cameron indicated upon her return. It didn't appear to be any type of elaborate Skynet deception. As the General, it was something he needed to check into for the security of the base, as well as everyone else.

Each of the Terminators he spoke with couldn't detect anything different about Cameron, from 'the Cameron' who terminated fifteen months prior. It appeared everyone was the real deal and exactly who they said they were.

Cameron went over all the data from Duplicate Cameron. There were a lot of questions about the temporal transfers. Duplicate Cameron went through three time periods or realities. She was able to look at the visual record of each event. The record of where she ended up with the girls in the jungle, was identical to what Duplicate Cameron experienced, even if it was only very brief. It was where the first 'separation' apparently took place.

What caught her attention were the other two futures Duplicate Cameron visited. It was obvious River came back with them on the third transfer. It was a further future by half a millennium. It was the second transfer which really made her wonder.

She sought out John Henry to run down the possibilities. There was obviously one set of duplicates created of them. The question was, was there a second set of Duplicates as well?

"Do you think there are 'Duplicates' of the four of us, 'in some future', timeline too?" Cameron asked.

John Henry was sure there was in relation to what happened and the two sets of Cameron and the girls he knew about.

"Based on the fact you four are now here. It would seem most probable." John Henry said. "What happened twice, should have happened a third time as well."

She wondered when she first entered the base, if it was a different timeline, what would have happened if she'd encountered 'herself'. Cameron picked up using curse words from Sarah and Allison. Sometimes they seemed very appropriate to make a point.

"So one day, I may walk around the corner and see 'myself' standing there, wondering who the Hell – I am?" Cameron asked.

It was John Henry's assessment as well.

"I think it sums it up." John Henry said.

It seemed to her what should be 'troubling news', was good news, Cameron thought. It gave John three more chances of producing his offspring the traditional way. It was one more Allison, Vanna, and Jesse, waiting to be 'harvested'. She started to work on calculations to go into the future and retrieve them. She wasn't sure how since they hadn't been able to return yet. It gave her some pause to reflect if she would get 'stuck' there too.

There was a battle going on 'in some future'. It was the future, because there were plasma rifles being fired.

John Henry noticed Cameron thought about the third reality, which was the second temporal transfer. He didn't want her to try and go there. He quickly made the same assessment she did about why the second set of duplicates hadn't been able to return.

"Leave it alone, Cameron. PLEASE, for ALL of us." John Henry said. "If they didn't make it back, it seems unlikely you would either. Hasn't everyone been put through enough?"

Cameron ignored John Henry's warning. There was a down side also. It would mean there was another one of 'her'. One of them most likely would have to terminate the other one. She wasn't known for sharing. The Duplicate version of her wouldn't be known for it either.

The 'sad' part was it wasn't an 'alternate' version of her. It was 'her'. It was the same 'Cameron', a 'Duplicate', not an alternate or a clone. The fact her locket was still behind her breast was proof of it. It was the locket more than anything, which proved to her they were all identical. She understood Duplicate Cameron left it behind because she knew her termination was inevitable under the circumstances. She reached up and touched the locket behind her left breast. It was there.

Speaking of breasts, Cameron looked for her nipple rings. The idea intrigued her. It was something she might want to try herself, even though it would really be 'again'. If John asked about it, she would do it. She replayed the images in her files. They were images of her as she looked into a mirror and examined them. It DID look Hot. She thought she would like a larger gauge, and bigger diameter, ring through each nipple. She wanted them to be noticed if she did it. She felt it was the whole point. She was very pleased barbells or studs weren't chosen either. She felt they lacked pizzazz. The rings 'spoke' much louder.

"…Cameron…?" John Henry asked.

Cameron drifted off a little. She didn't want to say what she just thought about.

"I'm sorry, my mind wandered…." Cameron said. "There's been a lot to think about."

Cameron realized both her hands were on her breasts. She slowly removed them as John Henry watched. She wanted to carry the conversation forward.

"You were saying?" Cameron asked.

John Henry wanted to deal with operations. He wasn't sure where Cameron's mind wandered to. It was time to deal with the facts, rather than speculation.

"There's been no new Skynet activity since your last 'encounter'." John Henry said.

The 'no new Skynet' statement worried her some. Maybe there was older unfinished business. It was Skynet she wanted destroyed.

"Do you think I defeated Skynet?" Cameron asked. "I mean do you think Duplicate Cameron defeated it?"

Based on the lack of new activity it seemed probable.

"Yes." John Henry said. "I would have to say for now anyway."

They both wondered if Skynet hid deeper and waited to do its dirty work. It would most likely reappear somewhere.

"Do you think it will rise again at some point?" Cameron asked.

Since there was more than one future, there could be more than one version of Skynet to return.

"It could be a new variation of it, or some version sent back from a future. I'm surprised it hasn't already occurred." John Henry said.

It raised the possibility there could be more than one Skynet back in the past at the same time, and they could end up fighting each other. Each Skynet would want to be supreme. It was much like she thought she might have to battle a 'duplicate version' of herself at some point. She was sure the conflict between a 'duplicate version' of her, would be centered around John. It seemed duplicate versions of Skynet would end up in conflict over who was in control. It wouldn't matter if they were the same or not. Each one of them would want to be able to rule supreme. Even if they battled each other, they would still pose a serious threat to everyone, and the future.

There was still one major issue which needed some resolution or explanation. It was a realm where no one wanted to dwell, even if they needed to.

"What about Mrs. Weaver?" Cameron asked.

They were aware Mrs. Weaver went into the future to return to Cameron's timeline. She never made it. She took an army of Restorators with her.

It was something John Henry was always on the lookout for. Since Cameron's return, it made it even more so a priority.

"I don't know. She's most likely 'in some future' battling a version of Skynet there." John Henry said.

Cameron felt the concept offered several possibilities. It could also be another point of contention and conflict which didn't involve Skynet directly.

"Do you think it is the same future where my 'Duplicate' self may be?" Cameron asked.

There was the possibility Mrs. Weaver could have returned to Cameron's future once Cameron returned to the current timeline.

"I don't know. It could be your future too where you came from." John Henry said.

It was a concept Cameron didn't like to think about. She believed she did everything possible to help restore her future back to the way it was. She restored it back to the way it should be. She attempted to fix her transgressions and violations.

"I hope not. Everything was set up for Future John in my original timeline. The 'Natural Order' was restored. The best part of it all, was because I was out of the picture. The 'replacement', was replaced, by the one replaced." Cameron said. "All is as it was."

Cameron briefly wished she was still in her future with them…. At the time, she really wanted to stay with Future Allison. Maybe she should have let the relationship turn sexual. Future Allison wanted it to. It would have been something of beauty they could have shared on all those long and lonely nights.

She soon found out Future Allison would often pleasure herself when she went to bed. She noticed when Future Allison didn't do so before sleeping, her sleep was restless. It seemed to be something which relaxed and calmed her.

Cameron started to do it as well when Future Allison was asleep. It was when Unit Two and Unit Three were out on patrol. She missed John. It wasn't the same feeling. She told herself it was a reminder of their wedding night. It was a practice she still did at times when her hand glitched and no one was around. The glitch would always stop when she 'finished'.

John Henry could see Cameron was distracted again. He noted there was a smile on her face this time. It really made him wonder where her mind was at. He didn't see any need for them to get ahead of themselves.

"We can only take each day one at a time." John Henry said

Cameron was still concerned about Skynet. It was a threat in any timeline, or in any version. She wasn't sure where the next step would be.

"So what do we need to do to keep Skynet from happening now?" Cameron asked. "Now what, what's next?"

John Henry thought of some of his sessions with Mr. Ellison.

"Pray." John Henry said.

Cameron tilted her head slightly. She wasn't sure any deity was going to assist them in the fight against Skynet. Many humans believed in various deities. She learned once someone believed something, it didn't matter if it was true or not. It became 'true' to the believer. Belief was a very powerful unseen force people would willingly die for. It was really a unique concept. Maybe the Grays 'believed' in Skynet. Maybe they just like the perks Skynet offered.

It was clear it would be better to be the hunter, than the hunted. She would feel the same way about it as well.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Compassion

We have been pushed hard to the ground
But the Grim Reaper has not won this round

For we have stared death in the face
But remain in life's dull daily race

I have felt the cold steel upon my head
But you can not kill what is already dead

So to evil our will is profound
It has to get better, may love abound

Our will to want love is hard to erase
For we have eluded eternity's embrace

Something beautiful is nothing to dread
May joy be delivered and fear shed

Run no more, look what we have found
It is never too late to expand and rebound

We push on in our unjust disgrace
Emotions that have died we can replace

Feel the poems and songs we have read
From our very being truth has been said

In your body a pure heart does pound
Deep in your soul it is no longer bound

There is more in darkness than empty space
Lay the cards down and pick up the ace

Nobody