Page 11 of Agrippa's Acceptance

She didn’t object to being called a clone or told to get out of the way. If there was any possibility that Amelagar could be regenerated she would take any insult, do anything they asked of her. Agrippa leaned against the bed she’d been sleeping on and prayed to the goddess that he could be saved. Vowed to the goddess that she would ensure he lived.

Hamurabi worked with a skill and precision that would’ve reassured her if there had been more left of Amelagar. How could anyone save what was left of that once strong cyborg. She swallowed tears and stroked her arm where he always put his hand on her. The ryhov there had slowed down, as if missing his touch.

She knew rebuilding muscles and skin was easy. The technology was centuries old and the procedures should mostly routine. But they had almost nothing to work with. The steel that grew like bone was top secret bunrika technology.

“Hamurabi?”

“Not now clone.”

“I may be able to help with the Bunrika technology.” She bit her lip. Could she help? No matter how deep she’d gone into the clone database, she was never able to anything more than bits and pieces.

“I do not need your assistance, clone. Now be quiet.”

She hung back with every fibre in her being wanting to be the one healing Amelagar. Hours later Hamurabi stepped back from the pieces of metal bone and closed the see through regeneration tube. Cyborgs did not get fatigued like normal Tunrians but when Hamurabi walked to his office, she had the strong impression that he was dead tired.

Agrippa went to the glass tube and accessed the code. She had seen enough bits of Bunrika technology to know that is what she looked at. How did the cyborgs get their hands on it. The Souls have been trying for decades to get a hold of his research. Hamurabi had integrated the regeneration tube meant for clones with Bunrika technology and adapted it so that it would regenerate Amelagar. She was in awe of his genius. She memorised everything, to look over later. Maybe she could find a way to speed up his recovery. If he regenerated. At last, she couldn’t put it off anymore and she looked at what was left of Amelagar. Small wires ran from a central point to the silver bones. Her eyes narrowed. This was not a regeneration tube meant for clones like she’d thought. The tube was built for regenerating cyborgs. That’s how they got the Bunrika technology. It was programmed into the unit because the clones thought they’d be leaving soon. Clones merely activated another clone, but this regeneration tube was meant to repair cyborgs. Which means they meant to take the cyborgs with them on their journey.

Agrippa took a deep breath and looked up at the skull and right into that one eye that had escaped injury. Was he awake. “Can you hear me? Amelagar blink once if you can hear me.”

Nothing.

She sagged against the tube. It was better this way, but for some crazy reason she had wanted him to be aware, to reassure her. To make it easier for her to go to sleep that night. Knowing that he was not brain damaged. She placed her hand over the area where his heart should be. “Rest now Amelagar. I will be close by. You will be all right. I will make you all right.”

Chapter Nine

Warning, critical failure imminent. Something he didn’t know was noise bothered him. He wanted it to go away.

Darkness, unrelenting darkness. He did not know what it was, did not know it was a colour, but also a boon. It took him under away from the pain and the thing he did not know.

Warning, critical failure.

“Doctor, he’s crashing again.” A voice that was …

He was … something. A being. He didn’t know what he was, but he knew he was doing thinking. He couldn’t do that before. Could he? Was he the darkness? What was he? Pain.

Warning, failure.

Darkness took him to the merciful place.

More awareness. He was a being. Did he have a body or was he made of thought. Terrible pain cutting through him. He knew pain. He was a being of pain. No, a body of pain. Yes, he had a body, made up of pain. The darkness took pity on him again and swallowed him whole.

This time he was aware. Knew he had woken. He was pain, terrible pain. But he was, he knew he was a living being, not just pain.

“I will have to induce another coma.”

The darkness enfolded him.

When he became himself again, he was still pain, but he became aware of life around him. There were things around him. People, yes people. He strained to hear them, to see them but the darkness had him again.

“When will he wake up?”

“Any time now, though it will be better if he stays unconscious. He has a long recovery ahead of him.”

“Will he … will he remember. Will he know who he is?” The voice sounded upset. No, the female, yes, a female was upset. Over him? Was she his light?

The next time he became aware he was still darkness and pain. But he knew his name was Amelagar. And he knew there was a voice always near, a voice that was light to his darkness.

Knowledge came to him. He was a cyborg. He tried to do a diagnostic, but couldn’t. More information came to him. He was a cyborg that had escaped from the enemy. From the clones. He’d gone down to earth to help the humans and now, and now he was only half a head in a regeneration tube. Horror, even bigger than what he’d felt when he’d realized he would be dead or worse on earth consumed him. She had been around him all this time. Had seen him like this. He wanted the darkness to come and get him, it stayed on the edges of his vision, but didn’t take him.

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