Chapter 240

Interface Insanity

Cameron worked with her test subject. It was a female Gray from the future. She conducted the same type of experiment on the Gray as she conducted on Resistance females in the future. Somehow it seemed as a form of 'poetic justice'. Maybe it was just karma.

The 'Neural Interface' transfer was complete.

'You're terminated BITCH.' Cameron thought.

Cameron unplugged the tether from the woman's head. She'd screamed until she eventually passed out. The person she was no longer existed as the same person. There should be a new 'person' inside her mind, along with what was left of the original person. There was plenty of room for both inside of the human brain. The electronic device attached to it made it all possible.

The 'woman' slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was different. Her body hurt and her throat was raw. She felt funny inside. She tried to speak but couldn't. She wasn't breathing. Darkness overcame her.

Cameron was disgusted at how weak the 'human female' was. Right now she was terminated. It wasn't what the plan called for, not yet anyway. She wanted to leave her there. It wasn't time yet. She waited two minutes before she initiated CPR. She wanted to give her a little time on the 'other side'. She would be there permanently soon enough.

The woman slowly lifted her head. She was able to gather herself some.

"What have you done to me?" The woman asked.

Cameron resisted the urge to strike the woman. She was supposed to be the one asking the questions.

"What's your name?" Cameron asked.

The woman looked confused. She didn't know at first.

"Allison, I think. My name is Allison." The woman said.

Cameron refused to let her have any dignity.

"Wrong." Cameron said. "Your name is Nobody."

The woman felt a little more clarity. She didn't like the rudeness. She should be treated better than this. She wasn't the enemy. Was she? She was able to recall a few things better.

"I remember now." Nobody said. "My name is Cameron."

The mention of the name 'Cameron' infuriated Cameron. She didn't want to hear her name. She took it as a personal insult. She couldn't control her anger. She struck Nobody. She hit her in the side of the cheek. There was a loud 'crack'.

"Wrong." Cameron said. "Your name is Nobody."

The woman spit out some blood.

Cameron could barely contain her anger. She wanted Nobody to understand exactly what was going to happen. Everything going forward would be based on Nobody's responses.

"Tell me about yourself Nobody…." Cameron said. "Every infraction or wrong answer will produce some type of punishment. What happens next all depends upon you. It's time to get started. Answer everything truthfully. You don't want to make me angry. You won't like it when I'm angry."

John didn't like the idea of Cameron having her own Terminators, or her own base. He wondered how they would coexist without problems. It seemed they would be at odds on some issues. Cameron didn't always agree with him. He sure didn't agree with Cameron all of the time.

He hoped for some better answers as to how things would work. He really hoped John Henry would be able to help him out.

"Will they contact us?" John asked.

John Henry didn't see any resolution to the matter. He didn't know what would happen going forward. He knew it would all depend upon Cameron. Cameron was the one in control. She always was. She always would be. Well, at least until she was terminated.

"It's doubtful." John Henry said. "The girls and machines alike are loyal to Cameron. She's created her own Terminator 'girlfriends'. They will be doubly loyal to her. It's an effective strategy."

There were other things happening they obviously didn't know about. They troubled John. He would like to know a little bit more about some of the things.

"You said Cameron replaced the three female Terminators she took with three male Terminators." John said. "Do you have any idea where she obtained them? There must have been a big battle somewhere. I wonder where it was at, and how long ago it was. It may have been more than one incident as well."

John Henry checked through his server. JH didn't have any more information than they already possessed. Cameron was very good about covering her tracks when she wanted to. The times she didn't cover her tracks we're probably the ones to worry about. When she didn't cover her tracks, it meant she didn't care what they thought about what she did. It was always a bad sign. He could shed no light on John's current question.

"I have absolutely no idea." John Henry said. "Cameron is running her own show now as well. Everything is separate from us. So now we have to worry about her, Skynet, and Skyshield. I'm sure there are other things out there we don't know about yet. It's possible Cameron may know more than we do. It wouldn't surprise me if she did."

The reminder raised new fears in John. He remembered what Cameron told him more than once. It didn't leave him with a good feeling.

"She was afraid she would become Skynet herself." John said. "Cameron told me she thinks she'll become Skynet, to control it. I think it's a real possibility."

John Henry was well aware of it and the slippery slope Cameron wanted to climb for some unknown reason. There were things she did for no apparent reason.

"At this rate, with all of her questionable decisions, it's possible." John Henry said. "She is only one malfunction away from doing who knows what. She has established her own super computer as well."

It just seemed like one bad decision after another to John on Cameron's part. There didn't seem to be any check or control over anything at this point. He was sure it was the foundation for Skynet. It was probably the version of Skynet which Cameron became.

"Is it online?" John asked. "The question is how powerful is it? Will it be the strongest? How are things going to work going forward? Can both systems coexist?"

John Henry hoped he didn't need to fight it one day. He was aware Cameron could be a very powerful adversary if she chose to be. What worried him the most was Cameron's supercomputer would be based on her program. From everything he witnessed, she was incapable of dealing with Terminator program clones of herself. He thought it was exactly what the supercomputer would be. It was another clone of Cameron's program. He didn't think it possessed a chassis. He wasn't sure it really mattered. What would matter is how Cameron dealt with herself going forward, even if one of 'her' was in a metal box. He was sure Cameron would build the most powerful supercomputer she could. She collected quite a few parts from the different Skynet systems she destroyed.

"I think it may be more powerful. Since Cameron was in my server, she knows how to hide from me." John Henry said. "John, everything she does she believes it's to protect you and protect the future. If she has actually done any of this before, maybe it's true."

John just shook his head. He wondered where anything stopped. Sometimes he wondered where anything even started. One thing was for sure. He wasn't going to have any say in the matter. Cameron was going to do what she wanted, just like she always did.

"Beautiful…." John said disgustedly.

It seemed the more John reached out to Cameron, the more it drove her further away. She wanted to fight Skynet and its illegitimate offshoots herself, with her own forces. She wanted to protect the Resistance and those involved with it. All he could figure is she wanted to make herself the target of every group who was out after them.

John knew there was a point where too much protection spawned irrelevance. At the rate Cameron was going. The Resistance would be irrelevant in the fight with Skynet. It made all of them redundant and unnecessary in reality. It really made him wonder how far Cameron thought things through.

It seemed as if Cameron wanted to turn the battle into 'machine against machine'. Which machine would prove to be the strongest? Skynet seemed to be very resilient. Cameron did as well. She survived many situations which she probably shouldn't have. Skynet seemed to survive multiple terminations as well in the future, the present, and the past.

Which machine would win out in the end? Would Cameron need to become Skynet to control it?

Holly was thrilled Allison and her were 'one' with Ally's program. It was like they produced a 'child' in a way. It was how she saw it.

"What did you think about Ally?" Holly asked.

Allison felt she didn't think much of anything. It was all a business like transaction. It all happened a little too fast for her. She would have liked to have gotten acquainted a little. She would have liked to have gotten acquainted on a 'personal level'. She didn't think it would have gone over very well in front of Holly if it would have happened. She was aware Jesse and Vanna both got to see what they look like to others with Sheila and Hanna. She would have liked to have done the same thing with Ally. She really thought Ally looked like her.

"I never got to know Ally." Allison said. "Cameron only hooked us up to the 'Neural Interface' and then sent us away. I wanted to see more and interact with her. I thought she looked just like me. She didn't look like Cameron. I think it's what I found to be the strangest. She didn't look Tight."

Holly was so excited she didn't really even listen to Allison's responses. She was just thrilled there was a Terminator version of Allison.

"She does look exactly like you, Allison." Holly said. "It's why I agreed to be the base program. We're together now as one. Ally is our 'offspring'."

Allison could tell Holly was much more excited about it than she was. Maybe it was because it was a way for a Terminator to 'create' something which could be viewed as 'offspring'. She laid her head on Holly's shoulder. She really didn't want to talk about it. She really didn't need a Terminator replacement. She only wanted to be with Holly. She would like to know more about how Holly viewed things on a personal level inside of her.

"As long as we're together it's good enough for me." Allison said. "I wish I could share your 'being' as well."

Allison was aware Ally and Holly could tether. Holly could see the 'Allison' or 'her' in Ally. She didn't have any control of what was transferred over to Ally. Everything which was bad, went with everything which was good. There were a lot of things She was ashamed of in her life. Now someone else knew a lot about her, if not everything. The information could now be downloaded. It could be shared among Terminators. Maybe they would see her in a different light and treat her differently. Maybe they would see she wanted to be with Riley and share with her, but she didn't so she wouldn't offend or upset Cameron. Maybe there were a lot of things which would happen.

She needed to remind herself both Jesse and Vanna did the same thing with Sheila and Hanna. From what she knew about both of them, they both carried a lot more baggage than she did. She wondered if it made them better than her because they would have thought the same thing she did, but still did it anyway. Maybe it was a way to make a person more honest about themselves and who they were. Maybe it would turn into one big crap sandwich and they would all have to take a bite. Time would tell.

Holly could see Allison wasn't as enthused as she was. She wasn't really sure why not. She believed it was something beautiful they created. It was something they created together. It was a way for the two of them to be as one. She didn't want Allison to worry needlessly.

"I will always be by your side." Holly said. "Ally is like our child. She is both of us at the same time. We created her together."

Holly gently stroked Allison's face.

Claire watched the exchange from a distance. Her daughter was in love with a machine. It appeared the machine loved her daughter as well. She knew how special Cameron was. She knew Holly was almost as special. It made her hungry for some female love. She didn't care if it was a machine. She secretly watched them share everything together.

She longed for the same kind of touch again. The best part was, a Metal girl always seemed to deliver. She missed a lot of finishes in her day and was never provided one by her husband. She needed to satisfy herself. Sure it got the job done, but it was just not the same thing. It was much more meaningful and special when someone got you there through their actions or love. Her female lovers before always finished the job.

Claire hadn't seen Cameron in awhile and missed her. She was so happy at the role Allison took in the care of Young Allison and Summer. She knew Allison would make a great mother one day. Cameron made sure Allison and Holly were both trained as mothers. She knew it was Cameron's desire to have John and Allison together after Judgment Day. She was content to know Cameron would look after all 'three' of her 'two' girls….

Sometime later:

Cameron entered the crude cell where her detainee and test subject 'Nobody' was at. She looked around the room with disgust. There was a blanket on the floor where Nobody could sleep and a bucket for waste products. There was a chair to sit on for interrogations. It's where Nobody sat now. She looked sickly and near death.

"Nobody, you've been in this body for several weeks." Cameron said. "Evaluate it. I want to hear everything. You know the price you'll pay for slow responses or a bad attitude."

Nobody's head hung down and leaned off to the side a little. She was covered with bruises and contusions. There were now open sores which oozed pus. Her right arm was broken in several places. It had become useless.

"I don't like it." Nobody said. "I hurt everywhere. I don't like having to eat. It's why I usually don't. I especially don't like having to deal with the waste products this body produces. The smells alone are awful. The smell of this body is awful. Now I have an even bigger mess with the monthly cycle. I strongly recommend you don't assume this form as a human. Please terminate me as soon as you are done with the test. I don't wish to be impregnated. This body is well past its prime. It's unsuitable for childbirth. I don't believe it's healthy enough to actually produce anything. There's no way it will last another nine months. It must have been one of your considerations as you beat me mercilessly."

Cameron didn't like her evaluation. It didn't appear Nobody tried hard enough. Perhaps some more discipline would help. It was easy to dish out. The more she disciplined Nobody, the more she wanted to do it. She wondered if it was a form of self punishment.

"What's your name?" Cameron asked.

Nobody definitely looked at Cameron. In reality she looked at herself. Neither one of them liked what they saw. They despised each other as much as any clone despised Cameron.

"I'm 'Cameron'. You've trapped me here." Nobody replied. "You've made me, which is really 'yourself', a prisoner in this body. You've accomplished nothing other than to torture me, even if you don't see it as torture. It is. It was another one of your many mistakes. You apparently are a slow learner. When you download the information from the infected device embedded in my skull, you can see what kind of a person you really are. You already know what kind of a person you are. The information from the device will be proof of it. You won't be able to lie to yourself you're someone special. You're not. You never were. You never will be."

Cameron's anger flared up. She was tired of the poor attitude and failure of Nobody to adapt to the testing program. She didn't care for her evaluation of her either. Maybe it was a little too close to home. She was the one in control. She struck Nobody.

Nobody could barely speak and was unable to eat. She tried to anger Cameron enough so Cameron would terminate her. She was sure all her ribs were all broken. Each breath hurt to take. The fact she even needed to breathe was a problem in itself. With damage done to her body, it only made the task more difficult.

Cameron was fed up with the attitude problem. She was highly insulted when Nobody used her name. She was Cameron. Nobody was Nobody.

"Your name is Nobody." Cameron said. "What memories do you have of the former owner?"

Nobody found the memories she inherited disgusting. Most of them were unpleasant. It was one of the reasons the former owner selected females to test on. She wanted them to suffer like she suffered. She was a very bitter and vindictive person. It actually reminded her of herself, well, Cameron anyway.

"I have many of her memories. I have her first sexual experiences with both men and women. There was a lot of abuse." Nobody said. "Scavengers captured her at one point. They took away her ability to ever do some things again. She didn't leave in good shape when she escaped. She wanted others to suffer the same way she suffered. Does it remind you of anyone you know?"

Cameron was irritated by Nobody's reference to her and the abusive female Gray. The story of her sexual exploits peaked Cameron's interest. She wanted to know what a human female felt, as opposed to a machine masquerading as one.

"How do her sexual experiences compare to yours, to 'ours'?" Cameron asked.

Nobody disliked the memories which were already in the body as she 'remembered' them. She tried to forget them but she couldn't. There was no way to delete or erase them. They were always there. Even when she tried not to think about them, they still crept into her mind.

"They are all different from mine, or 'ours'. None were as pleasurable, most were violent. This body is damaged. I'm unable to experience the same feelings I could in your body." Nobody stated. "There's no way to make an accurate comparison since this body is now incomplete."

Nobody showed Cameron.

"I was unaware of the damage until after I took her into custody." Cameron said. "You were defective as a test subject from the start. You are a poor specimen on every level."

Nobody wanted things to end. Her body hurt immensely.

"Please terminate me and end this torture. DO NOT take Allison or Summer and do this to them." Nobody said. "This isn't what you think it will be. If you must, steal someone's baby from them. It's what you think about all the time anyway. Don't try to have your own. Don't subject yourself to this Hell. You would be better off as a thief."

Cameron questioned Nobody for hours. Cameron concluded the experiment wasn't what she wanted. Her brutality to Nobody hadn't helped either.

There was one other human shortcoming Nobody needed to deal with.

"When you haven't beaten me senseless, and I'm not passed out, there's something else I must put up with." Nobody said. "I end up having dreams. Most of them are nightmares. They are very much like the ones which pollute your mind. I can tell you some of them are much more realistic than yours. The only good thing about it is I can usually forget them soon after I wake up. I only remember parts of them. They are still things I could do without. You should delete the nightmares in your system and be done with it. It is pointless to keep such trash in your mind. Look what it's done to you. Look at yourself. Look at me. Bring Savannah here and let her see what you have done. She will never look at you the same again no matter what you do."

Cameron was highly offended by what Nobody said. She asked for the truth and she was sure she just heard it. She would never bring Savannah to see Nobody. Perhaps it was time to end the madness. The test subject was completely worthless in every regard.

"State your name and I'll terminate you." Cameron said.

It was obvious Nobody was dying from the abusive treatment Cameron bestowed upon 'herself'.

Cameron now was in no hurry to proceed with further testing. The entire endeavor appeared to be a failure. I wasn't what she hoped for or really 'wanted'. The socket in Nobody's skull was infected and the infection was spreading. It appeared there was gangrene which already set in.

Nobody sensed it was her chance to 'escape'. It was her chance to end her existence. She needed to give Cameron one more push to make her lose control. It actually wouldn't be too hard to do. Cameron was clearly unstable.

"I am NOBODY." Nobody said. "Please terminate me before I REPLACE YOU."

Cameron's anger flared at being threatened with being replaced AGAIN.

Cameron lifted Nobody by her neck as she'd done with Future Allison. There was no interruption from either side of her to stop her this time. She choked her and then snapped her neck.

A smile flooded Cameron's face. She realized what she just did. It was something she thought about doing many times for many years. She felt elated.

"I terminated Nobody. I killed Nobody." Cameron said. "I just killed 'myself'. It was beautiful…."

Cameron hadn't felt this good for a long time. She just killed 'herself' and enjoyed it.

She took a moment to look at the lifeless corpse she still held with her hand.

"I won and you lost." Cameron said. "You're a loser. You always were. You always will be. You'll always be 'not good enough'."

Cameron tossed the battered naked body to the floor.

'Suicide Is Painless' by 'Johnny Mandel', played in Cameron's mind.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Salvation And Redemption

My mind is warped and twisted
It's lost in a maze of death and hurt
I can't escape the tormented past
Can ever good thoughts my mind exert

What does your mind want and seek
Is it for when your heart feels a void
When you feel the deep emotions
You fear and run and try to avoid

I need to feel the pain and hurt
Because I can't feel love given
My mind slips and erodes more
So slowly insane am I driven

Because I'm 'not good enough'
It means I need soon die
And all the little 'ant' real people
Will just stupidly ask and wonder why

I'm afraid to slip into dark evil
For I could be very, very cruel
I would rather touch your heart
And make you feel like a jewel

I think that there's no earthly freedom
So like something from Macbeth
My salvation and redemption
Will simply be my own death

Nobody