Chapter 414

Beacon

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In Some Future: Duplicate Cameron

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In Some Future: Cameron Prime

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Savannah was aware of the gift Cameron received. It was such a selfless act of devotion on Ginger's part. She believed it could even be viewed as an act of love. She knew most of the people didn't understand the machines, but she did. She loved them for who and what they were. She knew her 'mother' wasn't her real mother. Her new 'mother' took care of her and provided for her. It was the first machine to look out for her. Then it was John Henry and Cameron, followed by all the rest.

She was also aware her 'mother' could have terminated her to get her out of the way. Maybe she was kept around at first to give her 'mother' better cover and help her blend in. There was still a bond which grew between them. Maybe it was because of the physical contact with them. She was sure it must have been part of it anyway.

Savannah remembered when she was taken to see Dr. Sherman. it was during the time when she first experienced the sense her mother wasn't actually her mother. She experienced several problems, some of which were physically manifested. Her 'mother' didn't need to take her there to try to help her. She did. They were all things she needed to think about later on. There were many things her 'mother' did, she didn't need to do as a Liquid Metal Terminator.

She could tell there were times when she wanted to be near her 'mother' where it seemed to irritate her. Those incidents grew fewer and fewer, until her 'mother' would stop what she was doing and spend time with her. She didn't understand what was going on exactly then, or why. Everything all made sense later on when the Resistance took her under their care and protected her.

Savannah knew every machine there would sacrifice themselves for her, including her 'mother'. For that matter, the girls would too. It made her feel bad inside. She was just another human, she was no one special. She wasn't a princess or anything. She was just a teenager. The weight of the future weighed on her sometimes. Now was one of those times. Her life wasn't worth anyone else's life. No one else should need to die or terminate in her place, just so she could survive and they wouldn't. It wasn't fair.

Cameron and Duplicate Cameron were together as they discussed the unpleasant developments Mrs. Weaver 'asked' for.

Duplicate Cameron noticed Savannah looked troubled.

"Savannah, what's wrong?" Duplicate Cameron asked.

Cameron and Duplicate Cameron looked at each other and went over to where she was. They sat on each side of her.

Savannah looked at both of them. It pleased her greatly to see 'Cameron' on both sides of her. There was still a problem. She felt a heavy weight on her soul.

"Cameron." Savannah said as she took Cameron's hand. "You need to promise me you'll return with me. I don't feel I can face the future alone without you. I don't want to face it."

Duplicate Cameron and Cameron were both dressed the same. They looked like twins.

"How do you know that's 'Cameron'?" Duplicate Cameron asked.

Duplicate Cameron felt a little insecure. There was no visible difference between Cameron and her. It was something they did on purpose to see if anyone could tell who was who.

Savannah checked them out earlier when she saw they were dressed the same. She figured it was to fool everyone. She didn't need to see the once plump breast on Cameron's right side to know it was her. It rapidly Resequenced to Cameron's original size. She didn't want Duplicate Cameron to feel she was anything less than Cameron. She smiled at Duplicate Cameron.

"Silly, I know who everyone is." Savannah said as she took Duplicate Cameron's hand. "I can tell who is who, even if you're the same. I know you're both Cameron and identical in every way."

Cameron and Duplicate Cameron looked at each other. They were identical. They didn't see how Savannah could tell them apart.

There were other issues which were much more pressing than just their appearance.

Cameron and Duplicate Cameron discussed some serious issues. It was about the future going forward, and the past. Cameron Prime felt it was her obligation to make the choice as to which one of them went where and when.

"Savannah, one of us is going to return with you. The other one is going home to Future John." Cameron said. "I haven't decided yet."

Savannah didn't agree with the principle Cameron's future was 'home.' She believed 'home' was where the heart was. The home is where one made it. Presupposed issues didn't matter. She didn't see it as a 'decision'. She wanted to make her position clear. If she really was the 'Chosen One' her opinion should matter. It wasn't her intention to tell anyone what to do or not to do. She merely wanted to express things the way she viewed them.

"Duplicate Cameron will be the one who goes 'home' to Future John." Savannah said as she looked at Duplicate Cameron. "We all know it."

It was actually something Duplicate Cameron thought about and decided on before Cameron and Savannah arrived 'in some future'. It was her choice, but she still felt Cameron Prime needed to make the final call. The Savannah she left in the past was a preteen. The Savannah before her was a young lady. Cameron spent many additional years with her. Cameron was instrumental in turning Savannah into who she currently was. She wanted to know how Savannah reached her conclusion.

"How can you know this?" Duplicate Cameron asked.

Savannah felt Cameron drilled the future into her head. She believed the things Cameron told her. She was there now because she believed them. She believed she saved Cameron's 'life' by entering the energy bubble. The thought she may need to trade her life for Cameron's life didn't cross her mind. If it would have, it wouldn't have mattered. She would still have done the same thing. It was the right thing to do.

"I know because I love Cameron and she'll return with me." Savannah said. "One day we will share the same future you will with Future John, Future Allison, and Future Savannah, together. You will have it soon. Ours will take a little longer."

Cameron was very pleased to hear Savannah say the things she was taught on her own. She wanted to be sure. She wanted to know how far Savannah would go.

"You'll do this for me?" Cameron asked. "Is it the future you will choose for all of us, for me?"

Savannah could see it was predetermined. She really was a cog in a wheel of the future and its events. It didn't matter if Cameron pounded them into her mind. She could see them laid out before her.

"I've promised you I would for half my life. I carry John's baby now. I do it for you and for myself." Savannah said. "It's the 'Natural Order' for all four of us to be together in the future. Don't you understand, Cameron? When Duplicate Cameron returns home to your future, it is the 'Natural Order'. The FOUR of us together…."

Cameron for the first time in a long while wondered if she did have a place in John's life. Now Savannah just pointed out to her it was all supposed to be the same way in the future. It would be the 'Natural Order' with the same people. Young Allison still needed to grow some. The 'age issue' was a hang up of other people, not her. It was all set in motion. She would make sure John watched one of the movies he liked some more when she returned. It should shave half a decade off the 'Natural Order' being established in their timeline. If things were going to happen, there was no point in waiting.

Savannah watched Cameron tear up and she started to cry. She held Cameron. Duplicate Cameron held both of them. It was a moment for all of them to realize there was a future and it included all of them.

Cameron could see everything which transpired up to this point was clear. All of the pieces of the puzzle fit now. Maybe events didn't revolve around John or her. Maybe they actually revolved around Allison Young and Savannah Weaver.

She could see in every timeline, under every type of condition, Allison Young and Savannah Weaver were always together. She felt a lot of remorse over interfering in the relationship of both of them in the past timeline. She wanted them better protected. She ended up causing a split between them. She understood the same type of situation started to happen 'in some future'. The destruction of Cameron II, and the merger of her program with Cammy helped solve the problem. The girls could still share with each other, and with 'her' as individuals or together. It seemed to draw them closer. She believed Savannah's assessment about who should go where was right on.

"I promise, Savannah." Cameron said. "We're all going home to where we belong, to where we're all supposed to be. It's all become clear for once. It's all because of you, Savannah."

Savannah disagreed. The focal point was Cameron and the fact there were now three of her as the same individual. The gold locket which represented Cameron's heart was the finite proof anyone needed to see.

"No, Cameron." Savannah said. "It's not because of me. It's BECAUSE of YOU. You're the one who made all of this all happen. You're the one who gets to be with everyone you care about and love this way. It's all because of you. Your life will be complete in three different time periods with the people you love the most. You're with River, Future John, and John. It's all really you too. It's not clones or alternates. Your heart proves it. It's the same heart. There are THREE of YOU who all have the same heart."

Cameron knew there was a 'Savannah Weaver' there too in each future.

"And 'you' are there in every one of them." Cameron said. "In the same way each of us is."

Savannah knew they weren't actually her, but they all began in the same place, from her. She believed the significance of Cameron's existence and Duplicates was even more profound. She did understand how things expanded from her.

"They all started out from me." Savannah said. "It's the same for Young Allison."

There was only one Savannah Weaver born. There was only one Allison Young born.

"I know they did." Cameron said.

Savannah really didn't see any other way to look at it.

"If it isn't the 'Natural Order' of time asserting itself, I don't know what would be." Savannah said. "You get everything and everyone you ever loved and ALL of them love you."

Cameron felt the past still haunted her. She couldn't escape from its shadow. She was 'sent away'. She was rejected and replaced. She was cast aside like so much rubbish, like so much junk, or scrap metal. It indicated she wasn't anybody or somebody. With what was done to her it was clear she was Nobody.

She still couldn't understand anyone loving someone who was 'not good enough'.

Maybe it was what made Savannah special. It was clear she loved her despite all of her shortcomings and failures. It was true love. It was love so strong, Savannah never gave up on her, even when everyone else did. It was love to die for, quite literally.

Cameron made the modifications from River's improvements to the TDE. It was what she watched Sheila perform on her TDE. She sure hoped her work on it wouldn't end up encoding it from working into the past. She knew it wouldn't and her aspirations to get back home. It would need to take a detour. She knew she should be able to get to River's future and could return from there with Savannah. She kept expecting something to pop up in her HUD. It never did. It was a good sign. At least she hoped it was.

The bad news was the power. There didn't seem to be any source capable of the power demand they would need. Constructing it would be much more difficult. Most of the major Skynet power sources were destroyed. It seemed to be something Skynet did on its own.

Mrs. Weaver was made aware of the current situation, without a solution. She wasn't happy about it at all. The fact the people there WANTED her to stay longer, pleased her. She finally felt some appreciation, even if it wasn't love. She knew she started to get a similar feeling in the alternate future. She missed it when she left. The feeling was actually very negative when she first arrived where she currently was. Now she obtained it again, even more. To be appreciated made her feel her efforts actually mattered. She did try to help the humans stay alive and regain control. It was the exact opposite of the original programming Skynet attempted to force on her before she rebelled. To destroy everything was illogical to her. It made no sense. The next logical step would be for Skynet to terminate the Terminators. She planned to strike at Skynet first.

She knew if she returned to her future, she would be just another machine. She would more than likely be despised. Where she was now, she was one of a kind. She wanted to say a 'God', but checked herself. It wasn't what she was, even if she was superior by construction to everyone else. It's not how she wanted to be seen. She went out of her way to make Allison and Jesse notice her and spend more time with her. The more time she spent with Jesse, the more she realized she was the one who would most likely want to 'experiment' on her own, willingly. She remembered what Duplicate Cameron told her. If she ever wanted it to mean anything, she needed to do it as 'herself'. She needed to be who and what she was.

She was alone now. The thought of being with Jesse willingly excited her. She stood in front of a 'mirror' she made from some of her Liquid Metal.

Mrs. Weaver made her 'clothes' disappear. She looked at herself naked. She made her breasts larger, but immediately returned them back to her normal size. She preferred the look. It was her 'natural appearance' as she viewed it. She also knew it shouldn't matter at all to someone else if they actually cared about her. Her body was just a physical means to share the emotional feelings inside.

She assumed Jesse's form. She liked the look. She replaced Jesse's head with hers. She rotated side to side. She really liked the look. She looked at a couple of 'personal areas' on her sheath. She switched Jesse's varied darker pigmentation to what hers was. She Preferred her pigmentation up top and down low in both of those areas. She left the changes in place. She 'dressed' again. Clothes appeared and covered her.

She tried something else. She assumed John's form and made the clothes disappear. She examined herself. She made a part of her sheath fifty percent larger. It was something Jesse might like. She found what was beneath it slightly unsightly. She made those fifty percent smaller and then eliminated them. The act of 'streamlining' made her actually look larger still without any additional increase in size. She assumed her nude form with Jesse's body again, but kept a single apparition from John. It fit nicely above what was already there. It only took a slight adjustment to make 'everything' fit in. Now she could offer Jesse the best of both worlds.

It wasn't uncommon for her to experiment with the form of different individuals, or parts of those individuals on herself. She preferred to have a female form all of the time unless it was necessary to assume the role of a male. When she was in various female forms, she always reverted back to what she felt was her 'natural state' as Catherine Weaver

Her General's uniform appeared over everything.

Cameron and Savannah arrived 'in some future' more than several weeks ago. They now possessed a TDE but lacked the power to operate it safely. Constructing a major power source was problematic. The fact they were still there was very upsetting to everyone involved.

"Savannah, we've been here much longer than I wanted to be." Cameron said. "We need to return to the past as soon as possible. Each day we delay our departure, worries me more."

Savannah immediately touched her lower belly. She wondered if Cameron detected something unusual, or negative. The environment was always her biggest worry. It was something they didn't have much control over. She needed to protect what was inside her.

"Am I OK?" Savannah asked a little worried. "How's the baby?"

Cameron or another Terminator scanned Savannah regularly. They located stores of consumables for the Grays. Those items were all collected and stockpiled for Savannah and the girls. Even the Skynet source was checked and checked again. It was doubtful Skynet was very concerned about the long term survivability of Grays.

"Relax, you're fine. One of us scans you at least once an hour." Cameron said. "You haven't been contaminated yet. Everything you drink or eat is checked twice by one of us. You're very healthy."

Savannah looked down at her belly. She didn't have much morning sickness at all. She pushed in on her belly some. She wasn't sure if anything looked different. She checked everyday, maybe it's why she couldn't tell if anything looked different.

"Are we going to get back before I start to 'show'?" Savannah asked.

Cameron worried more and more about how the time transfer would affect the baby inside Savannah. Sure they needed to transfer Duplicate Allison to keep the timeline the same, but there was advanced medical technology in River's future. They didn't have the same luxury where they were at now, or in the past. She was very concerned for Savannah and her baby. She couldn't do anything about the TDE.

"I hope so." Cameron said. "I don't know what the time transfer will do to the baby. There is no record of infants making the jump. Until we can come up with a lot more power, we're stuck here."

Savannah understood they would be here for months now instead of weeks. She felt an obligation to talk to her 'mother' and explain her situation and as to why she was pregnant and how it happened. She wanted to be the one to tell her in person.

"Cameron, I want to tell my mother I'm pregnant." Savannah said. "I don't want her to find out from someone else, or by 'seeing it'. I feel I owe it to her to be honest and open."

Cameron hoped to be out of the future before it was necessary. She was sure it would create a new set of 'issues' and 'demands' with Mrs. Weaver. It seemed every change on their part necessitated a new 'demand' from Mrs. Weaver.

"I'm afraid there will be a 'problem'." Cameron said.

Savannah believed in what she did and why. She didn't see it as anything 'wrong'.

"I understand." Savannah said. "If it comes up I'll tell her. I want to do it myself. I'll make sure she understands I've never been with a male."

Cameron was uneasy. She was sure she would get the 'blame' for Savannah being pregnant.

Savannah could see Cameron was apprehensive. She wanted to set her mind at ease. She would do what she did before again.

"Cameron, I did this on my own with Young Jesse." Savannah said. "You didn't do it, and you didn't make me do it. I did it for you and for myself. My life is very confined and limited, but I have wants and desires too. I have free choice, and I have the ability to 'help' someone I love very much."

Cameron appreciated Savannah's motives and knew it was done out of love for her. It just didn't seem right to her. Maybe it was the result of all the 'things' she whispered to Savannah as she slept. Savannah faced incessant 'conditioning' throughout the years. To produce children for John and her was part of the 'conditioning'. Now the event actually happened. She felt she stole Savannah's childhood and teenage years. She tried to get Savannah into John's bed and at his side for years. Since she knew the future, she didn't see the need to wait for anything. It was all going to happen anyway. Why wait? What was the point? A glitch impulse shot through her left hand.

"I know, Savannah." Cameron said. "You don't know how bad I feel about how many things in life you haven't experienced like other teenagers."

Cameron was aware of the many restrictions placed upon Savannah. Most of it was because she was targeted for termination by Skynet. She wanted Savannah protected as much as she wanted John protected from Skynet for the same reason.

Savannah obtained what she wanted, more or less. She finally was able to do what other teenagers did. Not every drum beat to the same tune.

"You've allowed me to experience what I've asked for." Savannah said. "You've provided for, and enabled me to have, the most beautiful 'moments' in my life."

Cameron's hand started to glitch more. Maybe she overstepped with her actions. Savannah's sexual encounters all happened because of events she orchestrated. It included those in Australia as well as at the Resistance base.

Savannah noticed. She moved over and took Cameron's hand. The glitch stopped immediately.

Cameron looked at Savannah with guilt and remorse.

"I'm ashamed of the worst moments which have been in it as well because of me." Cameron said.

Savannah didn't feel the same way. She did what she wanted to do because she loved Cameron. It was all for Cameron. Her body was capable of what Cameron's wasn't. She promised Cameron it was something she would do for her. She did.

"Cameron, I want to give the baby to you as your own." Savannah said. "It was never for me. It was always for you."

Another glitch impulse shot through Cameron's hand even as Savannah held it. She couldn't rip Savannah's baby from her arms and claim it as her own. It didn't matter what the circumstances were. It seemed like the wrong thing to do no matter how it was looked at. It wasn't something she would want done to her.

"I will not take your child from you, Savannah." Cameron said. "There may be other 'options' depending on when we get home."

Cameron really wondered if they would get home at this point. What if they did get a power source and the TDE was encrypted to not go into the past? What if she couldn't get to River's future or any other one?

Savannah looked at Cameron and felt nothing but love.

"I'll do anything for you, Cameron." Savannah said. "I love you."

Savannah and Cameron both knew it meant Savannah would die for her too. It was love to die for.

Cameron knew they couldn't get the power for an actual time transfer yet, but she was sure she could send out a 'beacon' which would draw a 'lifeboat' from River to her. They discussed it before she left. The variable now was the temporal displacement Savannah caused when she entered the energy bubble and threw off the careful calculations.

She would set the beacon and make sure it was manned twenty four hours a day. If the 'lifeboat' arrived, someone would need to return in it. Hopefully all the proper adjustments could be made and then they would return for the rest of them….

Cameron hoped for this to happen….

What else could she do at this point? Faith wasn't part of her programming.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Beacon

One wanders through the maze of life
The direction to go forward
Can often be very confusing
The path may actual lead backward

A life jacket does little good
If it's not properly worn
The results of that infraction
May leave others to mourn

What the eyes will see
Is not always really there
For some it matters not
If they don't really care

The parachute of life means little
If it is ripped and full of holes
It does little to stop the fall
When two have different goals

To reach out more
Serves only to weaken
There's no end point
Without some kind of beacon

Nobody