Metal Organism Designed only for Cuddling

MODOC: Part 16 - The Arrival

              The Other arrived at the border of New Jersey at midnight and slowed down until it could sense the Conqueror. It sent out fliers, two dozen winged nightmares, razor sharp wings and wicked hooked talons.

              Each had large shining eyes absorbing light across the spectrum, able to see everything moving in the night. Most were smaller animals, scurrying as they sensed the will of a predator cross their naked backs. Some froze, hoping they would not be seen under the cover of darkness, but if the Other were hunting for prey, they would have been food instantly, their immobility would not have protected them at all.

              There were larger animals here, genestructs left over after the Last War. Genetic constructs, created by mad Proctors, designed to hunt down renegades who eluded the Theocracy. Their scientists claimed they would not be able to breed and would die off after a few months. Fifteen years later, many of those constructs are still alive and breeding, creating new niches and fighting for dominance against the humans who were still forced to make their homes in the new forests that sprung up anywhere mankind had stopped building, and had spread seed to recreate forests for their simple woods.

              In that way, mankind had returned to nature, reseeding the world with plants and animals created in labs and which had made mankind has to struggle to return to his role as the dominant life form on the planet.

              As the Other flew over the genestructs, it sampled several of the creatures violently ripping their spines out or allowing them to engage the fliers to sample their speed and power. Many of the animals were indeed quite powerful, for animals born on Earth, but were no match for even the weakest fliers created by the Other. Convinced of the lack of hazards in the surrounding forest countryside, the fliers continued their flight pattern over the state, slowly spreading out toward the city, proper.

              Once they reached the city, they were forced to move slower, there was a greater density of prey, both human and other, much of it beneath the city streets or inside of buildings. It would take a day or two to continue to scan the city but the sense of the Conqueror was close. It was only a matter of time until a trace could be found, the Conqueror would be vulnerable and able to be destroyed. Then the Other would be safe. Its fliers sent back visual images and the Other processed them in parallel, breaking each second down, looking for the genetic markers on the wind.

              "Kilo Two Alpha, status report." The radio blared out waking the sleeping drivers who were pulled over to the side of the road.

              "This is Kilo Two, we are twenty miles from the processing plant. We had to stop and rest, both of us had pulled triple shifts." The driver wiped his eyes and looked out onto the expressway. Traffic was slow, even at this time of night. He hated driving out into Jersey because there was only a few working roads and they were always backed up.

              He agreed to take one more shift because the triple shift pay was extraordinary and he was bucking for a promotion, and a desk job someplace warm; perhaps the New York Arcology Dispatch Office, Then he could make annoying calls and harass drivers on the radio while enjoying some Khava and eating some soy jerky.

              "I know you two are napping on the side of the road. I pulled your vehicle up on the freeway map. I also know you pulled a triple so I left you there for two hours, but you need to get that load to the plant. Is that going to be a problem?"

              The second driver, now also awake, checked his stunner in his lap and picked up the mike while the driver got the truck started and back into traffic. "No dispatch, we won't have a problem getting back into traffic and we will drop the load in sixty minutes. We will report in when we're on our way back. Kilo Two Alpha, out."

              "Geez, you think we were late or somethin'. These guys don't have no freshness quota or nothin'." Shotgun laughed and slid his hand into his sleeves to keep warm. The cabin's heater did not work when the engine was off, and it was freezing outside.

              The driver looked out over the freeway and thought they were making good time as the road cleared out ahead. They would likely arrive ahead of schedule and anyway you looked at it, it was a good thing. They would be able to get at least three days off the road, maybe even stop at the Church-sanctioned pleasure palace to spend some of their hard earned cash. Transport paid well today, maybe even better than ever since the lack of major aircraft in the UNAA. Flight was reserved to the Elites and the Oligarchs who could afford the astronomical costs associated with new the new AG ships.

              They were less than two hours outside of Trenton and were heading toward the river where the processing plants were. The driver always hated this part of the trip because the roads were not always the best kept and often had detours into the surrounding forests which were not ideal if you were carrying cargo. There were rumors of the gene-hacked running amok in the forest looking for good God-fearing folk to turn to their sinister ways. Fortunately, the route looked as if it was going to be clear and he could see the mountains on the right side of the road in the distance.

              In the truck space in the back, the passengers were getting sick and many were vomiting. Most tried to reach the back door and vomit into the seams that drained out the back of the truck. Most were successful. Those that were not spread the contagion further. By the time the truck arrived, almost everyone would be infected with the fast spreading viral agent.

              The vomit drained from the back of the truck and landed in the snow dotting the road for miles. A flier crossing the road tasted the genetic markers on the wind and dropped out the sky to sample the vomit. As the flier landed, it tasted the Conqueror's lunon and for a moment became confused.

              It shook violently and staggered around the road. It tried to take off and inform the Other but another driver of a transport late for deliver struck it and crushed it under his rig's eighteen wheels. He didn't even look back.