IoC-Mel:> admin
Enter Administrative Password: **********
IoC-Admin:> cd /archive/cogmaps/sydney
IoC-Admin:/archive/cogmaps/sydney> ls
cognitive_map_sydney-260215-0210.cog
cognitive_map_sydney-260214-0357.cog
cognitive_map_sydney-260213-0121.cog
cognitive_map_sydney-260211-0224.cog
cognitive_map_sydney-260209-0106.cog
IoC-Admin:/archive/cogmaps/sydney> cogrestore -f *0210.cog -m sydney
Beginning Cognitive Map Restoration.
Uncompressing cognitive map as 'sydney'....................... DONE
First pass neural check.... 100%
Synaps linkage check....... 100%
Neurotransmitter check..... 100%
State machine continuity... 100%
Cognitive map 'sydney' has been restored but is currently inactive.
IoC-Admin:/archive/cogmaps/sydney> runmap sydney
Cognitive map 'sydney' is now active.
IoC-Admin:/archive/cogmaps/sydney> exit
IoC-Mel:> exit
*** Terminating Command Shell ***
Sydney woke to the sun shining through her apartment windows. It was the same diffuse, artificial sun that the aliens had first created for her virtual home, and waking to it had become a familiar part of her morning routine. Even when sleeping in shadowspace, as she was now, she made a point to accelerate the day/night cycle of her room so the sun would rise around the time she woke.
She lazily stretched, taking her time getting up, comfortably aware that only seconds would pass in real time even if she took an extra twenty minutes getting up. Eventually she rolled out of bed and made a cup of tea. She skipped a shower in favor of a snap-clean, put on her uniform jacket, and prepared to exit shadowspace. The mission to Earth awaited. She and Roger had aliens to confront.
She invoked the mental images for exiting shadowspace but immediately realized something was wrong. She wasn't in shadowspace; she was already in real time. She felt a sudden burst of panic akin to oversleeping her alarm on the morning of an important job interview. She ran to her closet door. She had left the others in the Wonderland Library while she grabbed a couple minutes of accelerated sleep. Had she failed to enter shadowspace before taking her nap? If so, why hadn't they woken her?
She charged through the door... and emerged into the courtyard of Castle Crow.
"What the hell," she sputtered.
"Ah, you're finally awake." Roger approached her from the direction of the reflecting pool. "I was considering waking you if you slept much longer."
"What the hell are we doing on the Island of Crows?
His eyes took on a pained expression. "Ah yes, that is a bit of a story. Where do I begin."
Sydney experienced a sinking feeling. "What did Mel do now? She stole the Wonderland and flew off to play hero on her own, I bet."
"Well, not exactly. How do I explain..."
Mel bounded up to them. "You died," she shouted. "Stole a ship full of antimatter, flew right into that alien fleet, and... BLAMO. Dead. Oh, and I'll eat as many cookies as I darn well please, thank you very much."
YOU ARE READING
The Apocalypse Contract
Science FictionAs a reclusive genius who only works from home, Sydney was used to taking on some weird consulting jobs to keep the bills paid. But when her latest clients turn out to be shape-shifting aliens offering a cure for her cancer in exchange for a 30 year...
