Life on Mars

Chapter Twenty-eight

Nova surged forward and grabbed the professor by the lapels and threw him onto the settee. The frail older man fell backwards, looking pathetically up at him, elbows up to defend himself. He wanted to hit out, but what was the point, who else was there to blame but himself?

Nova walked over to Bluu and grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes but what he saw frightened him, as if she could see right through him. He shook her lightly as if she might snap out of it, but she was gone. The Bluu he fell in love with wasn't there anymore.

"What have you done to her?"

"I accessed her intel; she's functioning in a safe mode."

"That's nonsense. Have you drugged her or something?" He walks over and is towering over the Prof's face now and that's when he sees. Unblinking, the professor looks back at his old friend and recognised the realisation in his eyes.

Nova unclenched his fists and walked back to her.

"Bluu," he whispered quietly into her ear. She looked up at him sharply as if he'd screamed, looking like a frightened child, her eyes stripped of any of her personality. The professor pulled himself upright and touched Nova's shoulder. Time was running out and he could already hear the distant roars as Pierrot wound up the crowd for part two of the show and the special announcement.

"Do something, help her. I won't do this without her."

"Nova, see sense, she's just a drone and that's it. You can't love her and she certainly can't love you." He didn't truly believe that, remembering a time he almost confided in Nova about Ramona all those years ago.

"So, now what?"

"The virus is on its way to Mars. In minutes her automated systems will shut down. The people of Heathen trust you. They need your reassurance."

Nova squeezed his temples with thumb and forefinger as he considered his options. The professor opens his mouth to speak but is interrupted by Bluu. "Firewall activated; virus blocked!"

"What did she say?"

The professor approached her. "Bluu, what did you say? What's happening?"

She giggled a little. "Mother has blocked the upload."

Oh, no," whispered the professor as he collapsed into the chair that Bluu had been sitting in, putting his head in his hands, shaking his head slowly.

"What does it mean?" asked Nova.

The professor ran his fingers through his straggled, tired locks. "It's over. The humanists are right. Even if we were to try and warn people, they would either not hear it or not believe it."

The situation started to fast forward for Nova and he felt a synergy with what was happening. The professor jumped to his feet, pacing up and down, pushing his hair up across his forehead and standing between them both.

"How?" he was asking himself, but Bluu answered him all the same.

"Doctor Touchreik had sent a communication to a drone called Ramona A Stone, it's trending."

"Of course, I never thought," he said. "The doctor, the younger..." he paused so he could make himself clear. "The younger me, the one you saw recently, has sent a message. He knew it would never arrive, but it would eventually share and trend before warning the citizens and Mother." Hand on one hip, biting his thumb he continued to pace, trying to work out the implications. How much danger were Jak and his comrades in, how much danger was he in for that matter.

Bluu burst into hysterical laughter. "It's failed," she screamed out to the sky.

"How does she know?" Nova asked.