Mockingbird…
A small song bird that is renowned for the music that it makes, however, in this case…
Only orders could be heard through the implanted ear device, a guff voice appearing in my head like magic.
"Testing, testing, one-two. Can you hear me Private?"
Can I hear you? Fuck, I can practically tell you just had a morning smoke.
"Copy that, loud and clear, Major," I replied from the testing room, giving a thumbs up to the glass window across from me.
"Alright, Private Barnett, everything seems to be working normal. Now, this device will produce very, very high frequency waves, allowing them to travel all over the world without having to bounce off any radio towers or satellites. When we communicate, it locks our two frequencies together, so they specifically seek each other out. No matter where you are on this planet, or even beyond, the connection should hold."
I nodded my head as the door opened and the connection was cut. The tall black man who visited the day after my family's death, walked into the room, a smile on his face.
"Very good, I'm surprised that it only took you 6 months to complete all the requirements. Usually, those compatible with the Neuro Link system take a lot longer to absorb all of the information, in fact, we are constantly adding people to the program, and they usually take 8 months to learn all the information, while the 'Mockingbird' implant and training takes another 4 months. Yet, you did it in half the time for both. This technically makes you in line with the first generation of troops trained this way, a pioneer if you will."
I listened to him talk, and honestly, I'm not doing anything special, just letting them do what they gotta do. Though, they didn't have to copy nearly all of human knowledge into my head.
"Yeah, though Agent Danzer, it isn't for the mentally weak. Felt like I had a fuckin sledgehammer pounding away in my head for a week after," I said while rubbing the back of my head, the memories still very fresh…
He laughed a bit, "Well, considering you now have basically the same amount of information stored in that brain of yours as the entire internet, and even more in terms of classified information, I'd say a headache is more than worth it."
I shook my head and ran through my mind, and he is right. It's basically like a random search on the internet except you already know exactly what you want to find. It's crazy to me that much information is basically on hand for me to use at any given time.
After I took the offer, making sure the farm would be taken care of, I was given a bit of time to pack. I really couldn't bring myself to bring more than some clothes. Taking anything family related… would've just made things worse…
Bringing along what I had decided to take, I was taken aboard a convoy of all black SUVs. We drove to the regional airport, a place that usually had only crop dusters and small single-prop planes taking off from it had a sophisticated-looking jet sitting at the absolute end of the runway. It probably is due to the fact that the actual runway is way too short for it to take off.
I boarded the jet with a few guards and Agent Danzer as we made the surprising takeoff. We flew out of the state, the American countryside split into mile by mile squares passed below us as I absentmindedly looked out of the window. We flew for what seemed like forever before coming down to land.
I came out of the light sleep I fell into and looked out to find the Alaskan wilderness staring back at me. Hell, I even could see a moose sitting on the fence line. I looked back at Danzer and gave him a questioning look.
He smiled and got up, moving to the exit of the jet as I followed, stepping out to the sight of a military base… well, at least that's what it looked like. Soldiers in black uniforms and combat gear marched and moved around the various roads and pathways. Tanks and vehicles in the same color scheme rolled along the roads as I walked behind the agent.
"Hey man, I'm guessing this is an American military base, but why the hell does it look like a goth's dream of an army?"
He kept walking and spoke, "Don't worry. This is just a new branch that was created due to the state of world affairs."
"Like revolution?"
He stopped for a second nodding his head and continued to walk towards what looked to be the command center in the base. Walking through the doors, I was met with a flurry of people. They were talking, yelling, giving orders, moving from place to place as what looked like holographs lined the walls with images and videos ranging from the local news to drone footage from the cities falling to the revolution. Each desk had a curved, holographic screen on it as workers and soldiers alike processed the information, multitasking like a 6th year senior in college.
I was lead through the vast command center till we reached a door. Moving through it, a room consisting of two human-sized pods. I looked at Danzer with a questioning look on my face as technicians began to program the pods with holographic tablets.
"This is where the Neuro-Link process will take place. You get into the pod and an anesthetic will be pumped into you, dulling your senses and putting you to sleep. Once that has happened, the helmet you will were will begin sending electric pulses into your head, establishing a connection to your X cells. Once the connection is complete, the information will begin to flow. We have all of the information stored in the supercomputers lining the side wall."
I listened to him and to be honest, had very little to respond with except…
"How much will it hurt?"
He looked at me with a questioning look, "We are about to pump literally all common human knowledge into your head and we are adding on top of that the classified information that the common man has no idea about…. Yes, it's going to hurt like a bitch."
I could only sigh and shake my head, "You sure bashing me over the head with a lead pipe wouldn't be the better option?"
He laughed, "Mr. Barnett, we are trying to advance humanity, not send it back to the stone age. If you want to start saying, ooga booga, then I'm sure that can be arranged."
"Nope, I'm good to go. Possible brain damage? Pfft, I can take it."
"Very well then, strip down to your underwear and climb into the pod. We will attach sensors, IVs, and other equipment to you to monitor your body's response."
After stripping down, I laid in the pod. The technicians begin to wire me up like some kind of computer. Hell, I looked like one of those old game consoles that sound like a jet engine firing up, with wires sticking out of every part of me.
They ran tests and checks, making sure everything was a go, and they gave a thumbs up. This subsequently sided with the lid of the pod closing over top of me as Danzer came into my view.
"Just make sure to relax. For you, it should only be about 10 seconds of darkness, while out here it will be close to 10 hours. You'll be awoken with adrenaline to counter the anesthesia if it is deemed necessary."
I questioned him, though in a muffled voice, "Isn't that bad if I wake up though? Couldn't it, I don't know, make me a Walmart greeter?"
That one got a technician to spit out his coffee and laugh a bit while Danzer just shook his head, "Relax, you waking up is a kill-switch for the download, cutting off the flow of information and we've seen no issues with others who've done this before. Everything should be just fine."
"Alright man… whatever you say…"
I nodded and felt the drugs taking ahold of me. My body became numb and I couldn't move, my thoughts slowed as I looked towards the ceiling, wondering what it would be like when I woke up.
My eyes closed and I fell asleep, making the process begin almost immediately as the machine lit up and started to hum.
Danzer looked on from an observation room, a coffee mug in his hand as he sipped the dark liquid, sighing a bit as a technician walked to his side.
"Sir, the subject appears to be taking the treatment well. However, maturity and mental stability may play a role in his outcome."
Danzer continued to watch through the window, "That young man has lost everything he once held dear to him. Hell, even the woman he loves stabbed him in the back. I will say one thing though, he is more than willing to do anything possible to get revenge on those who robbed him of that. And that my friend… is what makes him perfect for the task."
"Sir?" the technician asked, looking at him with a confused look, "How does that make him perfect? Shouldn't the instability make him unpredictable? Actually, scratch that, it should make him a liability, shouldn't it?"
Danzer just continued to watch, sipping his coffee, "It actually benefits us. He is consumed by anger and hatred, and as long as we direct that towards the people that hurt him and their allies, he will become a force of nature. He will use the tools we have and will provide him to great effect, his goal is the destruction of the Knights of the New World. We have the same goal, this is just raising both parties' chances of succeeding."
The technician had a look on his face like a human light bulb came on, "Ahhh… I see… so he is a human weapon?"
"Something like that…"
The two men returned to silence as they looked on, watching as a seemingly endless flow of information flowed into the pod, downloading into my mind as I slept peacefully.
Inside of my head, I couldn't feel or even sense the information. I was in a dark room, well, dark space is probably a better way to describe it.
There was nothing as I looked around, trying to see if there was anything there.
"Jesus Christ… don't tell me I was this fucking stupid. This is my own head for God's sake, why in the hell is it empty!"
I spoke out loud, pretty embarrassed that my head was as empty as it was. That's when I noticed something.
A small golden light, seemingly weakly fading as it laid on the ground nearby. I cautiously began walking towards it. Curiosity, and honestly, a little fear, gripped me as I approached the light.
Once I was close enough, I got a good look at the object. It wasn't an object though; it was a little bird.
It weakly looked up at me, and when it did… I felt something break in me.
I gave it a soft smile, crouching down and scooping the little bird up, being as gentle as I can while the little bird gave soft tweets. It looked up at me and I felt a connection…
It squeaked out a chirp, then it flapped it's little wings, raising itself up off of my hand. It flew until it was at eye level. My eyes met the bird's and it gently touched my forehead with it's own.
My eyes closed and I felt the bird's energy flowing into me. I lost my senses and soon, my consciousness followed. I heard a soft, feminine voice, in my head as my mind returned to reality.
"I am with you, my king, let me be with you for the rest of eternity…"
…
…
…
I awoke to the sound of the pod opening, my eyes trying to adjust to the light in the room. The technicians pulled wire after wire off of me and I was assisted in sitting up.
When I sat up that's when the pounding headache set in. It felt like a damn sledgehammer at a Communist labor camp, pounding away at the inside of my skull as I groaned a little.
"Fucking hell, this shit hurts…"
I said that as my eyes adjusted a bit and I saw Danzer standing there, a look of shock on his face. A shattered cup lay on the floor with coffee still present as no one had cleaned it up yet.
"What is it? Don't tell me I have a second head, or I'm impotent now, or if I get too angry I'll turn green and kick some poor billionaire's ass?" I said while patting my body, making sure everything is the same.
"You did it… you actually did it…" Danzer said in a low voice.
"Did what? What exactly happened to me?"
"You tamed it… it chose you…"
"Huh?"
He took a breath and closed his eyes, "You tamed the Mockingbird…"