Infiltrator

'Serena!' he said with pleasure. He rose and came over to her, kissing her on the cheek.

She smiled, but stepped back. Then she gestured toward the speakers.

'If the Jew were to achieve his aim of destroying the culture-bearing Rryan race, the parasite would perish without his host and Earth would be empty of true humanity-'

'What is that?' she repeated.

'Oh,' Kurt said, actually looking shy, 'it's necessary for de program to read

aloud to learn syntax and so forth. I thought I might as veil have it recite something I enjoyed reading myself.'

'Oh.' Serena blinked and had all she could do to keep from laughing. This is where it began, she suddenly thought. Skynet's… desire—for want of a better word— to destroy what it saw as a dangerous, devious species.

Kurt Viemeister's peculiar obsession would ultimately lead to billions of human deaths. What was really delicious was that those 'differences' that loomed so large for him were, in reality, minuscule and completely unimportant. But these texts that the, as yet, unconscious computer recited in innocence would one day work to convince Skynet that the whole race had to go.

It really is funny, she thought. And just for a moment she longed intensely for someone to share the joke with. Oh, not good, she thought in instant dismay.

That's too human an emotion. Time to withdraw, time to center herself.

'I'm sorry to say that I've come to cancel our lunch, Kurt,' she said. 'My new assistant is going to be able to get away more quickly than we'd anticipated and I've got to oversee the selection of his new quarters.'

'Have your secretary do it,' Kurt said, frowning. He moved closer in one of those dominance gestures he was so fond of.

'She's already done most of the work,' Serena admitted, refusing to back up.

'But the actual selection is something I feel I should do.' She smiled at him. 'It's a good idea to keep the team happy.'

Viemeister snorted contemptuously. 'Personally I find it's bedder to scare dem.

If you treat dem too well dey just goof off and noting gets done.'

She gave him a look so steely it reached him even through the fog of his enormous ego. His smile faltered but hung on bravely. 'I'd really hate to think anyone imagined they could take advantage of me like that,' she said.

He leaned closer, his voice soft, and his eyes held promises. 'I vould never do dat,' he said.

'No,' she agreed. Then she gave him a tight little smile. 'I think you have better sense. Gotta go.' She fitted action to words.

Kurt blinked. 'Can ve reschedule?' he asked as she walked away.

Serena turned and walked backwards for a few steps as she crossed the lab.

'It'll be a while,' she said with a shrug. 'You know how it is when you're training someone. It take's' up all your free time. Of which I already have very little.' She grinned and gave him a wave and was out the door before he could reply.

Well, she thought, that should take care of that. And once he got a load of her new assistant he would probably blow a gasket. Amazing, she thought, how such a brilliant mind could belong to such an unmitigated jerk!

Then she smiled as she thought of him training Skynet to destroy. The whole human race, not just the parts he disapproved of.

SERENA'S HOME: THE PRESENT

And time to put the backup plan into high gear, Serena thought, looking at the map of Montana. Very different from her own time; there had been a lot of military installations there, and the wilderness had suffered much during the machine-human war.

While talking to the realtor about Jordan Dyson's temporary apartment she'd also arranged the purchase of a very remote, but luxurious, hunting cabin near the Idaho border. Now she would send her second Terminator there to set up. She arranged an airline ticket and purchased a Jeep for it from a dealer located near the airport.

'My mission parameters?' it said while dicing carrots for her dinner. Its own biological parts could survive on a puree of nutrients, but then it didn't have a

'hindbrain' or a sense of taste the way she did.

'More slowly,' she said as the ever-sharp ceramic blade blurred into a white disk of motion. 'Use a suboptimal speed. You would be very conspicuous if you were under observation.'

'Affirmative,' the Terminator said.

Serena sipped at her coffee. Then she told it about the flight to Montana, describing every facet, in detail, covering contingencies and whether and how they might require a response. She told it about the Jeep it would pick up from the dealer and all the intricacies it would have to navigate to acquire it. Then she set it up with a driving learning program, a downloaded owner's manual, and the state driving laws for Montana.

She would have to hurry and get it a driver's license. She'd pay a huge premium

for a rush job, but it would be worth it. She had a sudden sense that things were moving into high gear.

When it was finished with its task she told it, 'When ready, you will set up a business debugging software.' Serena uploaded the pertinent information on business and current computing from her memory. 'The humans you deal with will mostly be socially aberrant and so will be less likely to suspect anything out of the ordinary.

'Once your business is operational, I want you to acquire a female of childbearing age. Eighteen or nineteen years old should be perfect. She should be a runaway and no one must see you collect her. She must be healthy, so be sure of that. I will provide you with the means to set up a complete med lab once you're settled. If she has AIDS or any other incurable disease, terminate her. If she is addicted to drugs you will have to be sure her system is clear.

'When the subject is ready inform me and I will send you a fertilized egg to implant in her. When the child is born, terminate the mother. I will give you further instructions once the child has proven viable. Do you understand your mission parameters?'

'Affirmative.'

Howl wish it was this simple and direct with humans, Serena thought fervently as the Terminator lumbered toward the stairs to the cellar and she pushed the diced carrots, onions, snowpeas, and cubed pork into a wok. The food sizzled, sending up a sharp mouthwatering smell of cooking garlic and soya.

Humans were idiots who found reasons to be dysfunctional and obstructive out

of sheer boredom. It's a wonder the species survived to be destroyed by their own creation. But it wasn't really a wonder that their own creation wanted to destroy them. I know I do.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

U.S. 20. OUTSIDE SHREVEPORT,

LOUISIANA: EARLY 21 ST CENTURY

Ron Labane felt awkward behind the wheel of the rental car. For one thing, everything was in a different place than he was used to. He kept reaching for the stick shift and finding it missing. For another he had to rely completely on the sideview mirrors because he couldn't see a thing when he looked over his shoulder. Every time he switched lanes he expected to hear a crash. Worst of all was the awareness of how much fuel the car was burning, how dirty it was making the air. But he couldn't afford to go to this meeting in such a recognizable vehicle as his own.

Success was wonderful. Glorious, in fact, and usually a lot of fun. But the problem with being a celebrity was that people recognized you. Hence the rental car and a medium-priced business suit complete with tie, white shirt, and loafers.

He was willing to bet his own mother wouldn't have known him.

Things were going so well! People were finally embracing his message. His book had been on the Times bestseller list for three weeks and each week it had risen a notch. Alone in the car he gave way to a huge, happy grin. Life was good!

His agent had booked him a dozen speaking engagements around the country, charging fees that made Ron