Ace of Spades 1

Lost in time, Jack must face his inner demons and a harsh, new world.

         Jack sat up and gasped, pressing a hand against damp, black hair. That was his name, Jack. Wasn’t it? His mind was a haze of confusion. He looked around the room, trying to discern some clue to where he was. He sat upon an icy cold, steel floor. The air around him was thick and old, like the air from an ancient tomb. In every direction smooth, seamless steel walls held silent vigil. There were a few unlit monitor panels on the walls, and one near what appeared to be a door. Behind him was a large, bed-like, glass chamber with steam rising out of it. He had fallen out of that when he woke up a few moments ago. He looked down and realized he was wearing some sort of military uniform. The clothes were black and had a patch bearing an ace of spaces and a dagger sewn on the shoulder. Long black hair hung down to nearly his waist and was as soaking wet as the rest of him. Had his hair always been this long? As he thought, a woman’s voice sounded all around him

         System booting… running memory check… ok. Good morning, Jack. Your system is functioning at 45% and your last boot time was approximately 7pm, November 2nd, 2055.

         “W-who’s there?” Jack stammered.

         I am the informational representation of the XTL Mark 5 CPU. I am the core processing unit and operating system.

         “You’re a computer?”

         That is an appropriate comparison. More specifically, I am a component in a larger, cybernetic system that is deployed throughout your body. My primary functions are monitoring your system’s status, your health, and the control of the nanites that are located in your body.

         Jack felt even more confused. Why was there a computer in his head? Was he some sort of cybernetic being? Or a robot? He stood slowly, falling against the bed in an effort to steady himself.

         Caution, your body has not yet fully recovered from the cryosleep.

         The room was spinning about wildly, as if he was incredibly drunk. It took a good deal of time before he could stand on his feet without a hand on the bed for support. The room itself was dark; there was no light source that he could recognize.

         “Wait, how can I see if there is no light source?”

         Your eyes are equipped with 3D telemetry mapping capabilities. You have the capacity to see using a sonar device installed in your inner ear which maps your surroundings and stores them in a temporary database.

         “Oh, sort of like a bat.”

         That is correct.

         He stood in front of the door and looked for a way to open it. There was no apparent latch or handle, nor even some sort of button. After some time searching, he cursed softly and grumbled “How do I open this damned thing?”

         It is a magnetically locked door, which can only be accessed if the panel is powered on and the correct key sequence entered. Would you like me to try to open the door?

         “Wait a second,” Jack cocked his head slightly, squinting a strangely red colored eye, “I can ask you how to do things?”

         That is correct. I contain an extensive database of tutorials and simulations. If an inquiry is made in the proper format, I can reference this database and provide help based on the results.

         “Damn, that’s pretty useful. Ok then, how the hell do I open this door?”

         Please place your hand on the panel… one moment please… standby for electrical discharge…

         “Electrical what?” A loud crackle and flash of electricity shot from his outstretched hand and into the wall panel. Suddenly the entire room sprung to life. Lights flickered on above his head, monitors began to give readouts of all sorts of various data, and the bed chamber behind him began to make a soft hissing sound. The panel his hand was on came alive as well, and some sort of operating system began to load on the screen. After a few moments, there sounded a heavy clunk from the door. It began to slide open slowly, revealing a shaft that climbed up into darkness above. The door itself was perhaps the thickest slab of metal Jack had ever seen, easily more than twenty feet thick.

         Jack stepped out and looked up into the darkness. “That looks like a long way up.”

         Calculating… the distance is approximately 6.4 miles.

         “Mother of… that’s a long way to climb.”

****