Page 57 of Seamus: Unconventional
“You and the dogs code?” Ben asks.
I wince but Cort corrects him. “Partners. They’re like human Brothers.”
I nod. “We don’t code but can copy and add what we want to code that’s written. It’d take me a month to try redoing everything the chef has so we used the code from the front and added Leon like the chef but to a watch. It’s been two weeks and they’re done with the tracking and jammer in two days. They’re better than me.”
Shadow sends Asa helped. “Asa helped,” I say for him and he chuffs.
Cort points. “Go over there.” I’d be afraid he’ll slice and dice me with his eyes but he’s laughing.
I hear Ben laughing as I walk to my girl and new boys.
“K-9 Partners come on up front.” Cort gets everyone’s attention but I don’t think he tries, his loud voice is just command or what I’d imagine command sounds like.
I turn at the hit to my back. Mase is shaking his head but he has that Blackhawk smile on. “You really are a nut.”
I nod because it’s true. Katie laughs watching me.
“Brothers, we have the new Club and K-9 partners but most don’t know why. Seamus and his partners are military officers. The K-9s are officers but I didn’t get all that meant until Ben showed. The K-9 partners were trained and tested at the officer rank they achieved. These K-9s are more than just officer, CIA fucked with our K-9 Brothers that have chips embedded in their brains. They didn’t ask for that, they were chosen because they’re like Zeus and his K-9 crews. Some of the groups were enhanced, injected and lost. Like the Alpha-Bits, enhancements for one thing or another so they aren’t all the same, but they’re all Officers who achieved that rank with work and experience. If you’ve worked with them, you know they use the hologram boards or the chip that’s in their brain. They all connect to Seamus who Brinks said is known as Mac the Knife to Delta.”
I laugh shaking my head. No one ever called me that to my face but I’m not correcting him.
“Light is his VP so Shadow will take Lead for all chipped K-9 partners. They will carry the Maestro rocker like all Protectors, as nomad for whatever Club they land in.” Land in like Sarge, I guess.
Shadow throws shit through the chip so fast I have to close my eyes. Looking down, I smile. His excitement is cute. This is why they’re gussied up with hats and medals tonight. I send a proud and get Light’s hat and hand it to Ben who puts it on his head. Shadow stops shaking and stands at attention again.
“With their new positions,” Cort points from Shadow to Light. “Lead and second comes with some admin work. Shadow sent me a business plan for working service K-9s retiring or at retirement. It’s a good plan and I passed it to Ben for the other territories. Every territory will have a partner or K-9 Lead that will coordinate the Service K-9, Brother match program, therapy, training facility and community involvement. It’s been brought to my attention that kids reading to a K-9 is a help to kids and the K-9 who is at retirement.” Cort smiles at me. “I just learned that too. So, Banks has the money for this. Hemy and Ben added to the programs so everyone is the same and our K-9 Partners and Brothers are able to live in areas of the country they’re comfortable in. This is strictly BSC Compounds but we have them in every state now and Ben will push international once we have more BSC out of country.” His politician smile shows. “Scotland and Ireland will be options as of the end of this year.”
Light barks once loud with the Brothers cheer making me laugh. They’re both stoked for this. The big red circle and line over the state of Texas has seers laughing.
Ben raises his hand. “This isn’t just an initiative to settle retirement for the implanted or enhanced canines. Seamus always defers to Light for how the chips work but he has an insight to the chip and wrote operational concerns and established protocols when he understood what the chip meant to their lives collectively.”
He waves his hand for me to stand by him so I move.
“The chip is a neural implant. You can start from there and answer questions so everyone understands that inter specie considerations need to be established because of what the CIA has done. The partners did not consent to the study or agree to experimentation but now have to navigate a world where no one even knows their capabilities, limitations or needs.”He’s right. Fuck.
I close my eyes and signal my partners. “Sombra, Luz. Display holograms for all.” I pull the pages forward showing how they move behind my eyes.
“Cognitive development in canines is what I first called what we woke up to, but I’m obviously not a canine. The collective thought process being enhanced in K9s and handlers is what they said but we knew it was a lie and how flawed that would be to larger groups.” I wave at Lights big hologram. “We were not controlled by the chip and used that detail to collect all they were monitoring and where this all was headed. The CIA is shortsighted on the best of days and their scientific capabilities are proven and show it in all areas that we witnessed and stole research from.”
The Brothers laugh when Shadow shows the redlined bar chart that lists studies we followed. “Most were said to be dismantled but they just go deeper underground and secure funding buried in bureaucracy at the hands of a few hoping for power over some perceived future threat.”
I pause letting that sink in, then go on. “The operational concerns I had aren’t about blame. Knowing who and how, helped keep us safe when they started hunting us. It gave the insight into what the neural implant could track, is monitoring and what coding embedded me into my partners, but more importantly them into me.”
I see Lights brain pic and nod. “For us, the first group and the other early groups, we were only implanted with the chip linking us together deeper than just a bond. We don’t get plugged in or connect to a USB.”
I wait for the laugh to die down. “Light shows how the chip works but I honestly don’t care. My concerns were always how they live on and my obligation to them as a new being in our world of denial-ism and hate. They didn’t ask to be enhanced, implanted, DNA culling models, genetically enhanced or surgically modified.” I smile. “Since I was surgically enhanced with a chip in my spine, I’m a bit of a hypocrite butImade that decision. No one ever gave them the chance and no one knows how everything done to them impacts their lives. So, we have a list of protocols. My farm workers knew to ask the partners medical or engineering questions in emergencies. It saved more than a dozen workers when we were found in Texas and more long before that. Ask your questions and we’ll show you how the Partners are different than tactical K-9s.”
“Did or does the chip hurt them?”
I point to Izzy. Her hologram board goes up and words show. “Day one sick, sleep. Day three no symptom.” Brothers are amazed.
A thought strikes me. ‘Shadow, get sound or speech to the keyboard.’ He sits with his eyes closed.
“Do you like working jobs?” Dreng asks looking at Light.
I nod for Light to answer. “Work important, purpose important, help to Brother important safety to all achievable. Partner similar to Ford. Work happy.” A saluting emoji shows and I laugh. Everyone else is stunned.
“I saw Izzy’s words and asked Shadow to get sound to their keyboards. They teach the rescues how to read in a virtual class by using accessibilities on the watch, phones or tablets. Through the chip we can work right off the server so every partner now has the ability to vocalize their thoughts.”
