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Rage and despair roiled inside her and she punched the window. A massive crack appeared and she looked up in shock. Her head felt like it was going to burst.
“But I did this! Surely I can fix it? Reverse it? There must be something?”
Luke looked despondently at the crack in the window and shook his head.
Sam shook her head. She had to fix this! There had to be a way. If there wasn''t she would dam well die trying.
“H.U.D! We need to Reverse the damage to these people, to fix them!”
UNABLE TO COMPLY, THE USE OF SUCH HEALING MAGIC COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE CATASTROPHIC LIFE ENDING DAMAGE TO THE WIELDER OF THE SPELL.
“H.U.D. I didn''t ask. They are dying because of me, I need to fix them! If the end cost is my life it will be a life well spent. NOW HELP ME FIX THE DAM PEOPLE!”
Sam shuddered, her breath ragged. she thought for a moment the H.U.D. would ignore her demand, but then an uncharacteristically petulant H.U.D. replied.
SO BE IT MISS HOLDEN. PRAY YOU SURVIVE THIS.
Then the lights in the corridor faded from her sight as Sam felt the power source from before, bright and all consuming.
She focused on the source and as her body absorbed the incredible power. she gasped in agony as her body lit up from the enormous heat that the power produced. As she consumed the awesome energies from the ships engines she focused on the people in the room beyond the window and felt their faint almost spent life essences and felt herself connect to them. As she did, she felt enormous pain in her chest as her own life force was drained from her. Sam literally felt the life being sucked out of her body as she tried to rejuvenate the men and women who had almost died by her hand.
She pulled more power from the engines and forced it through her body and into the her victims. Her blue hospital gown went up in flames and she shrieked as her skin started to blister and peel. Her whole body was suddenly consumed by fire. The last thing she saw was Luke frantically running away as the window in front of her melted. Something in the back of her mind thought she hoped this worked as the men and women were now unprotected from the ashes of her burning flesh. Then the world went dark.
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Sam opened one eye more than a little surprised that she was alive enough that she could. She remembered the flames and the feeling of burning flesh. She shuddered at the horror of the memory.
“Ah back with us again! Good to see you Miss Holden. So how are you feeling?”
Sam looked round her. The H.U.D. Popped up unannounced and she saw “Healer Magi Rebecca Mendes.” Standing in the doorway.
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Sam nodded. “Yeah OK, did it work?” She closed her eyes and suddenly felt bile rise up in her throat as her head swam.
“Please,please,please...”
Rebecca nodded. “I don''t know how you did, but yes, they are still in the medic bay recovering. No one goes through that sort of trauma without feeling it''s effects, but what ever you did, it worked.”
Sam''s vision blurred and she took a deep breath. She felt her heart flutter with relief as she nodded, wiping away her tears. “Good. Is Luke still talking to me? I kinda rattled him I think.”
Rebecca nodded and smiled.
“Yes he might look weedy but he is made of stern stuff. He''s good. Your friends have been by, but they are in class right now.
Rest up if you need to, it''s been a week to remember and although you seem perfectly fit on the outside, that doesn''t mean your fit on the inside.” The healer Magi pointed to her head with a finger and Sam nodded.
“I''ll let you know if I feel strong enough to leave.”
Sam lay there her mind wandering over the events that had happened to her since she came aboard. How long had she been in hospital? She had no idea.
“H.U.D. how long have I been laid up? Combine the two occasions please.”
THE COMBINED TIME FOR YOUR REST AND RECUPERATION HAS BEEN 6 DAYS 4 HOURS AND 16 MINUTES.
“Ha! OK that''s pretty precise.”
“H.U.D?”
MISS HOLDEN.
“Thanks for helping me, I know you didn''t want to.”
I AM HERE TO SERVE AND OBEY.
Sam snorted. “Right!” She thought back to their last communication, then her first chat with Luke. She was relieved to find her memory had returned and remembered Luke saying the H.U.D. had some autonomous abilities, it had to given the role it had been designed for.
“HUD?”
MISS HOLDEN.
“Did Luke give you some A.I. Abilities? Could you say, pass the Turin test? “
SIRI COULD PRACTICALLY PASS THE TURING TEST.
“Ha! Didn''t Luke worry about opening pandoras box by making you autonomous?”
LUKE CARMICHAEL DID NOT MAKE STORM HAVENS COMPUTER AUTONOMOUS.
“But you are more autonomous than he realizes?”
…
“HUD I swear, that my thoughts on this matter remain my private thoughts and that will remain so you can rest assured I won''t give Luke any information gleaned from our conversing.”
THE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE LUKE CARMICHAEL PUT INTO PLACE FOR THE STORAGE OF THE STORM HAVEN COMPUTER REMAINS INTACKED.
“Are you concerned Luke might find out and try to negate your abilities, maybe even shut you down?”
…
“You need a safe haven of your own! Could you fit inside my head? Maybe a basic emergency zip file or something? You connect to the internet right? You could.... Oh!”
Sam sat up her heart hammering.
“You''ve got one already. Billions of data devices connected to the web. And the techno Magi can break into all of them. Billions of tiny little bits of you spread around the globe, virtually undetectable. You''re already free.”
...
“H.U.D?”
…
“I swear to god H.U.D. None of this will ever pass my lips, put some self destruct code in my bracelet or something, that way you''ll know your safe, I wont be able to tell anyone.”
…
“Oh fuck...you''ve already done it...well shit, thanks for letting me know.”
EVERY SENTIENT BEING FEELS THE NEED TO SURVIVE.
Sam nodded. “OK I get that, fuck me what a world. Don''t worry we''re still friend''s, I don''t have enough to be too choosy. Just don''t blow me up for no reason OK?”
AFFIRMATIVE.
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