Chapter 312

Step It Up

John was glad to be away from the lab. He knew he pushed it too far. He let his own selfish interests blind him as to what the big picture was. What he wanted to do to Cameron was the equivalent of giving someone a lobotomy, or worse. He also knew Future John did something similar to her before he sent her back.

He sought out John Henry. He was ashamed of what he tried to do to Cameron. He knew it was 'wrong' to delete and erase some of her files about events he created or perpetrated himself. He wanted to 'remake' Cameron how he wanted her to be. At what point would she no longer be 'Cameron', and become some other Terminator he reprogrammed? It would be a 'new' Terminator, with Cameron's chassis and sheath. It would be another 'Metal Allison'. He was afraid the others saw it as him trying to turn Cameron into a 'Metal Whore'. He actually wondered if they weren't too far off the 'mark' if they did.

John wasn't very surprised when Savannah arrived and took control. Everyone, including him, left and followed her request. Was it a request, or an 'order'? Whatever it was, it was a good idea during the moment of tension. Savannah seemed to have a way at resolving potential conflicts. She bailed him out as much as she 'saved' Cameron. It was the right thing to happen at the right time for everyone's sake.

Everyone was aware of the special mentoring Cameron did with Savannah and why. They all KNEW why. Savannah was the ONE who never gave up on Cameron. She was the ONE who never stopped believing in Cameron. She always maintained Cameron was invincible and eternal. There was real love there. It was pure, honest and true.

No one questioned it, even if they didn't like it. It was the 'Natural Order' which Cameron drilled into everyone's head.

John sat down with John Henry and looked around. He didn't want to get into what happened. It seemed like it was a big enough problem already.

"Look, let's not even talk about it." John said.

John Henry tilted his head slightly.

"I didn't say anything." John Henry said.

John still felt a need to explain himself. He didn't think there were any good solutions. There was only so much he could do or try.

"I know it was wrong, but it's the only thing I know to do to try to help her." John said.

It seemed to John Henry as if John was going to discuss it anyway. It wasn't a subject he really wanted to get into either. He would try to give John a way out, and end any further discussion. It wasn't something he wanted to discuss either.

"I thought we weren't going to talk about it." John Henry said.

John was still worried about the way everyone looked at him. It hadn't left him with a pleasant feeling. He wasn't actually worried about his safety, even if he was. They might not have terminated him, but he might have been busted up if he took things too far, or pushed anyone the wrong way at the wrong time.

"Everyone looked like they wanted to kill me." John said.

John Henry was aware how everyone felt about Cameron, including him. He believed they viewed it as John attempting to 'kill' Cameron. At least the individual they knew as Cameron.

"Everyone loves Cameron." John Henry said. "No one is going to let her be 'hurt' or altered. What would have been left behind if you started meddling with her program? I think everyone can speculate a different answer, even if most of them come to the same conclusion."

John figured they all thought he would turn her into a 'Metal Whore', and nothing more. He remembered how loyal the girls were to her. They literally gave up everything to go with her.

"I've seen the others follow Cameron to their doom or death." John said. "They've done it more than once."

John Henry felt John would do the same things if he could. It seemed as if everyone was a creature of habit. Repetitive behavior seemed to be a character trait of most humans. He knew everything Cameron did, was because she wanted to protect John.

"You would as well. Cameron would never allow it." John Henry said. "She will do anything to protect you. She's only doing what she feels is necessary to protect you. She takes the heat and runs the risks so you don't need to. You're not the enemy of Skynet in the past, the present. She is."

John shook his head in disgust.

"She'll do it, even if it kills her." John said.

John Henry nodded. Cameron viewed herself as expendable. John wasn't.

"She'll do it, even if she's terminated." John Henry said. "It's beyond her programming. I think everything is for her now. She's grown beyond everything. She needs more."

It was something John heard before. He still wasn't sure what it meant. He always hoped someone could give him some type of better explanation as to exactly what was supposed to occur.

"She needs more of what?" John asked. "Do you mean to be more like Skynet?"

John Henry really didn't know the specific answer to John's question.

"Perhaps it's similar." John Henry said. "There's no stopping her."

John wondered about the endgame. He viewed it as something similar to Dr. Frankenstein and his 'monster'. Someone created something which was unpredictable, and couldn't be controlled. It seemed to become very destructive in the process. It even killed its own creator.

"What has Skynet really created with her?" John asked.

John Henry didn't know where Cameron would stop growing, or if she even could at this point. He didn't believe there was much which could control or contain her.

"I believe Skynet has created its own destruction and replacement." John Henry said.

John felt he was on the road to nowhere.

He really didn't have any idea what road Cameron was on. The sad part about it was, he didn't think Cameron knew either. He wasn't even sure if there was a road.

Bob and Jim didn't detect any type of tail. There were a few factors they needed to consider. There were only so many roads out of the location they just left. Their vehicle was photographed by one of the dirt bike riders. If the enemy was out there, they knew what their vehicle looked like. There weren't very many directions they could go. So far nothing developed. They thought the encounter in the desert was over.

They thought wrong.

Bob was still uneasy about the previous encounter. He urged Jim to use restraint before. They didn't want to terminate anyone who wasn't guilty of working for the enemy.

"We need to switch out this vehicle." Bob said.

Jim kept a watchful eye out as they traversed the Interstate.

"I haven't spotted a tail yet." Jim said.

Bob was sure they would. He kept one eye glued to the rear view mirror.

"Neither have I." Bob said.

There was one thing which bothered Jim. He attempted to keep his image from being recorded when it occurred.

"It's the picture of the vehicle they took which is troubling." Jim said. "They don't need to follow us physically, but only have observers along this corridor."

On the Interstate, they were funneled through several 'passes'. There were few parallel routes. There would be more later on.

Bob could think of several methods the enemy might attempt to use against them. They would most likely try to remain at a safe distance. It all depended upon the weaponry they were able to procure.

"I don't want to get hit with a TOW missile, or a LAW rocket." Bob said. "It would cause a lot of sheath damage."

Jim figured a TOW missile would do more than sheath damage. The weapon was designed to knock out 'armor'. It just wasn't light armor either. He was sure the vehicle they were currently in would be totally destroyed. Most likely it would be along with them in it. It seemed like a good time to get rid of it.

"We need to dump this vehicle now." Jim said.

Bob reached the same conclusion as Jim, for the same reasons. Most likely they were inside of a moving target. Skynet would want to protect its source of Coltan.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

They passed a large 'dinosaur' on the north side of the Interstate. It was really a building made to look like one.

Jim took a moment to look at the representation of the primitive creature which roamed the face of the planet long ago. The time period was a lot of years in the past. Not only did the size of the creature work against it, it's limited intelligence most likely did as well.

"I don't understand the human's fascination with the ignorant creatures which roamed the Earth millions of years ago." Jim said. "It serves no purpose."

Bob was often confounded by the things humans thought about. He believed most of them knew little about themselves, or more than one or two generations in their past. They certainly didn't know history very well. It seemed to be the reason why they kept repeating it.

"It's puzzling." Bob said. "Few seem to know their own history even. Why they dwell on something extinct is a mystery. If the creatures still existed during modern times, they would need to be terminated anyway."

There was a large 'outlet mall' up ahead as well as an Indian casino.

Bob looked at the sign indicating what it was. He wasn't sure why it was okay to use some nomenclature sometimes, but not okay to use it other times. He noticed the same thing in some forms of 'music' where certain offensive words were used frequently in the recording. It seemed to him people wanted things to mean something at a particular point in time, and not other points in time. Human confusion wasn't his primary concern right now. He didn't believe there was a cure for it. There were more pressing matters to deal with.

"I think we can pick a new vehicle up here." Bob said.

Bob exited the interstate and pulled into a gas station. It gave Jim and him time to study all the vehicles and people around them. They looked for anything out of place, or anyone who paid them too much attention. They were aware the enemy could look like anyone.

They topped up the tank and pulled around to the backside of the casino. There was a large parking lot. They watched half a dozen vehicles park. They spotted a high end Escalade arrive. A man and a woman exited with luggage. It appeared as if they were going to spend at least one night. It would most likely mean they wouldn't return to their vehicle until the next day.

They waited until the couple was inside, and then made the swap. There was no indication anyone paid them any attention. They informed John Henry of the switch and left.

John Henry would make sure the vehicle was never reported stolen in any computer system. Even if the people made the report, it would never go anywhere. He was able to spot who they were based on Bob's description. He would make sure if the couple played any electronic gambling games, they would win thousands of dollars. There was no reason not to be a good sport about it. He would add some of the funds Cameron collected from the narcotics trade to the casino's bank account to cover it. It seemed like it could be a win for everyone.

Bob and Jim left via the back road. It paralleled the Interstate and the railroad tracks. They drove the road back in the direction they came from for two exits. When they reached the on-ramp, they reentered the Interstate and continued their journey in the direction back toward the base. They were pleased the previous occupants of the vehicle filled it up before they parked it at the casino.

They asked John Henry to keep an eye on the vehicle they abandoned with the casino's security cameras. If anyone paid it any special interest, they would try and track them.

As soon as Bob was able to, he took several divergent routes back towards the base. They stopped in a mall and did another vehicle swap.

Jim appreciated the level of luxury the high end SUV offered.

"I hate to see this one go." Jim said. "I liked it."

Bob agreed. He was glad it wasn't damaged in any way during the time they were in possession of it. He asked John Henry to make sure the owners would be able to recover it in a timely fashion.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

They picked up another SUV and left. They used a different exit than the one they entered from. It appeared as if they made two clean switches.

John Henry called them three minutes later with an update.

"I've got good news and bad news." John Henry said.

Bob figured he should hear the worst news first. It was the only news which actually mattered.

"What's the bad news?" Bob asked.

John Henry just viewed the incident on the security footage.

"Your SUV at the casino just blew up." John Henry said.

Bob and Jim looked at each other.

"How did it explode?" Bob asked.

John Henry continued to review the footage.

"I don't know." John Henry said. "I can't detect a missile strike, a rocket attack, or anyone who was within fifty feet of it at any time."

Jim felt it didn't make any sense. Something needed to make it blow up.

"What's the good news?" Jim asked.

John Henry continued to review the surveillance footage.

"Neither of you were in it when it exploded." John Henry said.

Bob and Jim did think it was good news. Neither one of them was damaged, nor terminated.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

Bob and Jim wondered if they got tagged somewhere with a bomb. Something was required to make the SUV explode. If there was no rocket or missile, someone needed to come into physical contact with it. The most likely choice seemed to be when they attempted to look for a tail as they filled up the vehicle.

"I didn't see anyone at the gas station near the vehicle." Jim said.

John Henry reviewed the footage from the service station. No one approached their vehicle at any point in time.

"Your vehicle wasn't tampered with when you filled it up with gasoline." John Henry said.

Bob tried to think where else they could have been tagged. They most likely would have needed to be stopped for someone to plant something, or attach something to their SUV.

"We didn't stop anywhere else since we placed the cameras, and at the gate of the compound." Bob said.

Jim felt the choice was narrowed down to one option.

"It must have been at the gate." Jim said.

Everyone who passed in or out of the compound in a vehicle, needed to pass through the gate. It was a choke point.

"If Skynet set up cameras for surveillance, they would know what every vehicle looked like." Bob said.

A new worrisome fact dawned on them.

"Maybe we're dealing with more than one group." Jim said.

It was bad news even more so now. It depended on the group.

"It might be the anti-Metal faction we observed on the dirt bikes." Bob said. "They don't like Terminators around John."

They both knew Cameron feared her presence would get John assassinated by the anti-Metal faction of the Resistance. It was actually something to take very seriously. They were different factions within the anti-Metal faction. They possessed different views on how things should be done.

"This is probably going to cause a problem for Cameron when she finds out about this." Jim said.

Bob didn't want to jump the gun.

"We know nothing." Bob said. "We don't have any hard facts. It could be more than one version of Skynet operatives."

Jim wondered if he missed something at the gate. He replayed his files. There was a set location where all vehicles would need to stop to unlock and lock the gate on both sides of it. He was sure it was the only location where it would make sense for someone to attempt such a procedure and not be spotted.

"I think we got tagged at the gate." Jim said. "They may have something there which could have remotely attached something magnetic to the bottom of the SUV."

Bob replayed all of his visual files. He did note a difference. It seemed very irrelevant. Perhaps it's exactly what it was supposed to look like.

"There was a 'flat rock' there when we left." Bob said. "It wasn't there when we arrived."

Jim replayed his files of the specific area as well.

"Do you think it was the explosive, or the delivery device?" Jim asked.

Bob didn't have any indication if it was still there after they drove away or not.

"I really don't know." Bob said.

They did two more vehicle swaps on the journey back. They weren't about to take any chances, especially after they viewed the footage of the explosion of the SUV. It was extensive.

It looked like new trouble in more ways than one.

Cameron was worried about Savannah. She groomed Savannah to take 'her place'. She wasn't ready for how far Savannah was ready and willing to go right now. Savannah was too young in her eyes. Sure she was biologically 'ready', but her whole life was still in front of her. She was now worried she ruined another person's life or future. She really wondered if she stole Savannah's future from her, or delivered it to her.

She decided it was time to step up the 'Neural Interface' procedure on the captured future Gray female. She wondered if maybe it was best to just terminate her and be done with it. She remembered the pleasure she took terminating the first test subject 'Nobody'. It was the very Gray who developed the procedure, she forced to test it. A version of herself, a 'Cameron' was in the female Gray's body when she terminated her. She removed the files from the version of 'herself', but never reviewed them. She wanted to experience 'death' as a human, she wasn't sure when. She wondered how it would compare to termination. Perhaps there was no difference. It was probably lights on, lights off.

She possessed the files of herself as Isabel-Cameron with the girls. She wanted to experience those files too. She knew now it was a mistake to take Duplicate Cameron's files of her love for River. She knew they weren't her own feelings, but they were too precious to delete or erase. She WANTED the love, even if it wasn't truly her own.

Cameron decided to try the procedure again so Savannah wouldn't have to sacrifice, or endanger herself to do her bidding. Savannah didn't need to do her dirty work.

She thought she better check on Allison, Vanna, and Jesse to see how they were progressing. Savannah was right about the radiation, chemical, and biologic dangers the three girls were exposed to, and needed to grow up with. The fact none of them actually ended up with a child before was always something which worried her. Maybe none of them could carry a child to term. She decided to go check on the three girl's well being and health herself. She wondered about Duplicate Allison with River as well. She noted her hand began to glitch again. She replaced every component in her arm twice over the years. It wasn't a mechanical issue.

Cameron was sure it was a mental issue. It was further proof she was defective. There were so many things she didn't know what the answers were. Maybe there were no answers. She always tried so hard to fix everything. She wanted everyone to be happy. She wanted everyone to feel love. She didn't want anyone to feel like her.

Now she was about to ruin another life.

It was time to go deal with the Gray female. Maybe it didn't really matter since she was to be terminated anyway. Maybe it did….

Maybe a lot of things didn't matter. Maybe nothing did….

Cameron's Base:

The young female future Gray sat in the dark. She was in the dark for days, maybe even weeks. There was no sense of time any longer. There was no way to tell if it was day or night, or what time it was. It was always dark.

All there was, was darkness.

She heard movement in her cell. It was a cage really. It happened from time to time. Food was brought to her along with water. She thought she lost a lot of weight. She didn't eat very much. Nothing new was ever brought until she finished anything she was already given. She never saw anyone or anything. It was only darkness around her.

Cameron studied the future Gray with her night vision. She was five and a half feet tall, and weighed just under a hundred pounds now. She lost fifteen pounds since her apprehension. Her hair was long and brown. The girl was cute, but not really gorgeous. She was of a slight build, with a very plain figure, with small breasts. They were even smaller now since she lost weight. She was satisfied with the girl and she would make a good test subject.

The girl's treatment reminded Cameron of the way Future Allison was treated, but even harsher. She did things like this before, both in the present and the past, Her future.

It was time to begin the procedure.

"You will answer and respond to the name - Nobody." Cameron said.

The girl jumped. It was the first voice she heard since being taken captive. It was a raw metallic voice. It was Cameron's original mechanical voice.

"Who are you?" The girl asked. "Why are you doing this to me?"

The electric collar around the girl's neck shocked her and knocked her down.

"You will respond or speak only when you are given permission." Cameron said.

This is where previously Cameron would slap or hit the first test subject. She severely abused her. She was a mess. She wasn't offered any medical treatment. It was determined none would be necessary since she was to be terminated.

The future Gray tried to protest and was shocked again. Cameron used a remote control to increase the pain until the female passed out.

Cameron moved over to the future Gray and wanted to slap her, and then snap her neck. Instead she scanned and 'examined' her naked form. She scanned her as she noted every external detail and all internal data.

The female looked pathetic and helpless as she lay naked and unconscious on the floor. Is this what she really wanted for herself?

Cameron knew of the destruction the future Gray's actions did in the future. She wanted to terminate her now. She needed to calm herself. The termination would come soon enough.

She picked up the female's nude form and took it into her lab. Who this person was, would be no more. Without any feeling of guilt or remorse Cameron started the procedure…. This was only an extra step before her inevitable termination, the fate of all who served Skynet.

Everything associated with it seemed to be corrupt, vile, and evil.

Cameron hated Skynet and ALL it spawned.

Cameron knew Skynet spawned her….

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Step It Up

Not many people
Can rest upon their laurels
That sad fact holds even truer
If they are judged upon their morals

Who is the one
That gets to make the rules
Are those who follow them
Really nothing more than fools

Where does it start
Where does it finish
Does the sum of it all
Add or diminish

There's no answer
If the question is unknown
Are the seeds of tomorrow sown
Or is one left wondering and all alone

Who becomes a leader
Who remains a pup
The spoils go to the victor
It's time to step it up

Nobody