Part 10 The Eternal Conflict

Synopsis: Jason and his companions have assimilated 1,5 million androids to amass a formidable collective. Now, they must prepare for a conflict with another large collective under the control of Tyco, the proto human who was responsible for the Phoenix Project and has become an android like them.

Chapter No. 96, Preparation

Strategy is the first step of any conflict.

While Molly, Margaret and Alexa searched for the possible location of the Tyco collective, Alex, Vince and I spent our time preparing physically and psychologically for the expected battle to come. After a workout and a swim, we retired to the Black Hole, the de facto bar on the agricultural/recreational deck.

As usual, scantily clad android bar maids served us beer. There were four of them now with Jessica as their leader.

"Have you discerned your other powers?" Alex asked me.

"I'm not sure what they are. I haven't had time to explore them."

"You have control over matter and energy, Jason," Jessica said.

"I'm not sure how that works."

"Use me to test your powers. Make my clothing change,"

I stared at her with confusion showing in my eyes.

"You can change my clothing or remove it completely."

Alex guffawed. "Oh, now that would be a wild trick to play on the women."

"Yeah, that would earn me lots of brownie points. Not!"

They laughed,

"Change my clothing, Jason," Jessica said.

I imagined her wearing a Star Trek uniform and she was instantly attired that way.

"Wow!" Vince exclaimed. "That's wild!"

I squinted. "What good would this be in a battle."

"You can change into reactive armor and instantly acquire any weapon you desire," Jessica said.

I stood up and instantly changed into battle armor and holding a BFG.

"Yeah, that would work."

I changed back to my normal attire.

"What else can I do?"

"Anything you wish," she said.

I wasn't sure how that would work either, but it gave me a bit more confidence that I might be able to handle a dangerous situation.

Later that evening, I got to wondering just how far I could teleport. I thought about our other three Explorer type vessels in our solar system. Suddenly, I could visualize the original Explorer-1's command deck and in an instant, I was standing on it.

Megan was the helmsperson. She turned to me and without so much as a blink, smiled. "Welcome, Jason. What brings you here?"

"I wanted to test how far I can teleport."

"You can go anywhere you desire," she said. "Just visualize it and you'll be there."

I had trouble imagining how I could visualize some distant destination, but I wasn't prepared to argue with her.

"How are things going here?" I asked.

"Everything is running smoothly, Jason."

I didn't quite trust that sort of reply from a purely mechanized being, remembering what happened with Hal-1000 in the movie '2001', but I could not detect any abnormalities. So, I transported back to my quarters on the Explorer-2. I was about to go to my bedroom when I saw Marie approach wearing only a smile. I smiled and visualized her as wearing a maternity dress.

Her eyes grew large before settling down. "Why'd you do that?"

"I prefer to see you dressed, my dear."

She felt down the sides of her dress. "Why such a fancy dress? Why didn't you put me in a sexy nightie?"

"I thought that you would prefer a maternity outfit. You're pregnant, you know."

"So what? I can still wear something sexy."

I imagined that and she was instantly attired in a Babydoll open black Chemise negligee. "How's that?"

"Wow! You should make these for all us!"

"I don't think I would want to be found dead in that."

She gave me a mock frown, propping her fists into her hip. "You nut you!"

I smiled. "I'll do it."

She laughed.

Molly made her appearance, but she was dressed normally. When she saw Marie, her whole face lit up. "Oh my God!" she cried. "Where did you get that?"

Marie pointed to me. "He made it appear on me."

Molly turned to me. "I want one of those!"

I thought about it and she was instantly attired in a similar negligee.

She grinned. "You devil you. You could dress and undress us at will."

I shrugged. "Yes, but only if given permission."

"You don't need our permission to do what you please with us," she retorted.

"On the contrary. I think I do."

She waved a dismissive hand at me. "You're just too good to be true. You allow us to tease you and don't try to retaliate."

"I'm not too comfortable about using my powers, especially on you women. You deserve respect."

"We are happy that you feel that way," Molly said. "It is yet another reason why they made you prime mover."

"Have you investigated the extent of your powers?" Marie asked.

"The only thing I've discovered is that I can teleport to anywhere I wish."

"Could we come with you when you do that?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe if we held hands." I extended my hands and they accepted them.

I thought about our command deck and in an instant all three of us were standing on it.

When Margaret and Alexa caught sight of us, they were excited.

"Where did you get those outfits?" Margaret asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

Marie pointed to me. "He made them appear on us."

Both Margaret and Alexa stared at me. "We want those!" Margaret cried.

I honored their request, which instituted a fusillade of laughter and giggling.

"Well," I said. "At least I know I can teleport people with me by holding hands."

Judy turned to me. "What you are doing is a simple parlor trick compared to what you are capable of."

"I find that had to believe, but what do I have to do to defeat Tyco's collective?"

"We are incapable of penetrating their central processing core. They, like we, have built up a barrier to normal digital penetration. The only way that their processing core can be penetrated is if you become small and enter their system."

My right eyebrow shot up. "How the hell can I do that?"

"You have complete control over matter and energy as well as dimensional shifs," she said. "You must imagine yourself being the proper size to penetrate their physical system. You must recall the movie 'Tron'."

I rubbed my face and then I realized what she was referring to. "Ah, I understand. Essentially, I'll have to be digitized and teleport directly into their computer system. I have no idea if that would allow me to get into their core processor array, but I'm willing to try it."

The others stared at me with concerned expressions on their young faces.

"Okay," I said. "I think I'll try a dry run in our processor array."

That seemed to relieve their concerns, but I was skeptical about the idea.