She had never been so excited in her life, all of Patrick’s behaviours felt similar, only this time there was something new, exactly what she was hoping for.
She took a folded West Keeper uniform from an assistant and entered Patrick’s room. He whirled on his heel and gave her an appreciative, appraising look. She had forgotten that she was wearing one of the long velvet dresses Hampon had given to her. When she put it on that morning she’d decided that it accentuated her feminine features aggressively, while leaving enough to the imagination to satisfy modesty.
“I’m sorry we had to put you in stasis after we saved you from Pandem. It’s taken weeks for you to recover. How are you feeling, Baudric?”
“That’s my name. Baudric Farley. Thank God, I couldn’t remember for a minute there.” He paused a moment, looking at the uniform stacked in Eve’s hands, then back up to her. His thumb passed over the corner of the book absent mindedly, repeatedly. “Feeling pretty good, actually. Having trouble remembering things though.”
“We thought that would be a problem, that’s why we included the ring your father gave you when you arrived on Pandem, and the book you were reading. That’s all we were able to recover after the attack.”
“You’re forgetting the belt. Would be useful, except there are no pants in here,” Baudric said with a wry grin as he picked up the thick fabric belt from the box.
“This should help, here,” Eve said as she crossed the distance between them and gave him the uniform. “I’m West Watcher Nora, you can simply call me Nora.”
He took the uniform and unfurled it. It was all one piece, only it was made to look like it was divided in the middle. It was dark blue and green set in a camouflage pattern with pockets on the chest, thighs and a built in thick belt. The slit down the front made it easy to put on. “What happened? The last thing I remember I was on the beach, then there was an explosion.”
“It was a fringe strike force. They caught our forces by surprise when they broke the outer perimeter. You were resting with your father after a day’s work,” to Eve’s satisfaction she could see the memory she created of him spending time with his father on the beach. It was the same experience he’d had earlier that day, only with the addition of his father. She had carefully woven him into the memories she developed using what she observed from his perspective earlier. Through the connection she shared with him as he stood before her she could feel that he was completely convinced, and relished the time he had spent with his father. The blanks, details of the man’s personality, were filled in by Baudric’s imagination. He was completely unaware of the lie in the memory. “You killed several soldiers yourself after taking a fallen guard’s weapon. There were too many of them, however, and you were overwhelmed. We got to you just in time and brought you aboard to recover. Thankfully, the invasion was stopped, and the assault was more isolated than we originally thought. You’re a hero, Baudric.”
“I don’t remember much of the fight. I know it happened, it feels like I’ve been through something, but I just can’t remember.”
“That’s perfectly normal. Your mind may be suppressing it, and you were badly injured, so some memory loss is to be expected.”
“What happened to my father?” He asked. The gravity of his concern was plain in the serious gaze he fixed on Eve; she didn’t need her link to him to know that his worry was genuine.
This was the moment when she’d know if all the time and effort she’d spent would be worthwhile. With a sorrowful expression she said; “He was killed when one of the invasion pods struck. There was nothing to recover.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. “I knew, I already knew,” he muttered to himself.
It was all Eve could do not to show how overwhelmed her senses were. She could feel that he was recalling the vague memory of the explosive impact that killed his father. Several implanted memories followed; chaotic recollections of the fight after the bombardment, and of taking the book he held in his hand from the pilot of the invasion pod. It was the Silkstream IV that he saw, that was what the invasion pod looked like, and the pilot was faceless, sealed in a Freeground vacsuit. All of that, mixed with his soul crushing grief, was enough for her to almost forget where she was. She shut down the direct connection with him and wiped tears from her eyes. It amazed her that the pieced together memories, none of which were actually his, could be so quickly imbued with his emotions.
Baudric noticed her distress and placed a caring hand on her shoulder. “Hey, we’ve all gotta go sometime. At least it was quick.”
She could do nothing but nod. His strength under such emotional strain was incredible, and it gave her pause. There was one more component to put in place, however, and she couldn’t delay. “I’m sorry. So many lost so much in the attack, even though it affected a small area. The reason why I’m attending to you personally is because I’d like to offer you a place in our special forces. After the skill you displayed I was hoping you’d enter into the service of the West Keeper Special Forces. With the galaxy turning on us after our enemies have alleged that we have something to do with the Holocaust Virus, well, we have no choice but to go on the offensive.”
“A chance to strike back at the people responsible for this? Sign me up.”
“Thank you Baudric. I have to attend to other things, but someone will come along shortly to show you to your quarters and other amenities.”
“Thank you, Nora.”
Eve turned to the door and was half way through it when Baudric asked; “Was Freeground responsible for the attack?”
She looked over her shoulder and saw that he was reading the recycling request on the front of the book. “Partially. One of their people developed the Holocaust Virus. We believe they’re the source of much of the hatred towards the Order.”
“Do me a favour; next time we get a shot at them, make sure I’m in on the action.”
“You’ll get your chance, Baudric. First, you’ll have to go through some training. We need to know what you’re really capable of so we don’t put you in unnecessary risk.”
Eve was relieved when she was in the hall and the door slid closed behind her. A few strides took her back around the corner where Lister Hampon was watching holographic displays all around him as they scrolled through the active analysis of Baudric’s thought and memory patterns.
“I can’t believe it!” he said excitedly. “Somewhere in that process was the key to grafting an entire, functioning, improvising, creative personality with a framework body! You did it! You cracked what we’ve been chasing for years! He’ll think, intuit, and adapt like any soldier while maintaining perfect loyalty and all the controls built into the new framework structures are still in perfect operation.”
“It was simple. I only had to give his emotions focus. Use something from his past that I could attach to real objects. In this case, I used his father and the ring he inherited. It’ll be easier with others. Baudric’s imagination had to build a lot of bridges on its own.. If we could create some sort of crisis where people lose loved ones it’ll work even better.” As soon as she said it aloud Eve regretted it. The emotions she experienced while she was linked with Baudric when she told him his father had been killed were still fresh, and the thought of causing that kind of pain in others almost made her feel physically ill.
“You mean a real crisis?” Hampon asked enthusiastically. “We could orchestrate something tonight.”
“It may not be necessary, we’ll know after a few more subjects. No need to disrupt our stock.”
“You’re right, no need to diminish our flock. Is there any chance you can write a program that will create memories like you did? By observing, recording and editing?”
“I’ll have one for you by tomorrow.” Eve said as she watched a Junior Crewman lead Baudric from the chamber. He would be shown the best treatment, receive private quarters befitting a Major.
“So the theatrics with the stasis tube, is that necessary for all the future frameworks?”
“No. As it turns out, Jacob Valance became emotionally whole because of his memories, even though they were unconscious in his case. He wanted to believe he had a past and the evidence of it helped him find an emotional foundation.”
“Do you think you could make the leap with others? Implanting unconscious memories instead of taking a risk with a fabrication?”
“Maybe if you have a few years to develop the technique, but the key is that they have to have a reason to be loyal that extends deeply into their emotional core. This new process leaves the frameworks with their memories intact with the exception of the ones we need to replace in order to implant an emotional contract. In the case of Baudric, the contract is simple; our enemies killed his father, now he’s dedicated to our cause until we have no further use for him. The accident you made with Jacob Valance was leaving him with a memory leak that influenced
