always be there, we've
talked about this."
"Hmm - don't be so sure, your mother
is yet to be convinced."
"Then I will decide with you." He
was quite definite.
"We will need to get back to Hillary for
that discussion, Jared. let's pick up Brian and get underway."
And already the Pod was climbing to nudge
in backwards against the cliff top.
"Jared . . ." Ham hesitated.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"
The boy was gazing dreamily into the
distance via the high resolution screen.
"Oh yes!" he replied quickly
without hesitation.
The doors slid open and Brian entered with the
stag over his shoulders and a rifle in each hand. He shrugged the stag to the
floor, carefully placed the rifles against the carcass and then thumped Jared
hard on the bicep, a short sharp punch that caused the boy to wince.
He glared at the boy and raised one finger
in admonition. "Not on my watch . . . okay?" And then he winked.
* * *
They met in the war room, just the three of
them like a real family, but with Ham minus his favored android form and instead
presenting as the beautiful man. It mattered little, Jared was the focus here
and he knew it. He had clearly thought things through, rationally and
logically, and he was quite determined.
He took Regan's hands now and met her gaze,
waiting to let the full strength of his determination sink in, and then he told
her how it was going to be.
"Mom, I understand your concerns, but
at the very least this is my rite of passage, the neural web would always have
been given to me at this age anyway, and you're already happy for me to have
that. Ham will be operating and while he's doing that step, to insert a
processer just as he originally did with you makes perfect sense and he has
even improved things; you know that. The processer, the speed, the power
source; everything is better, and it's what I want. I have only one other change
from what Ham has proposed."
Regan felt flat, neutral, switched off, the
events out of her hands now and she knew it. She could rationally understand
that her fears were over harm coming to Jared and tempting her to try and put
the whole procedure off. But at the same time she had no doubt this operation
was also part of protecting him; it was a conundrum. Having said that, giving
him the neural web was one thing, the implant, the power source . . . this kind
of invasive procedure scared the life out of her.
Pushing her feelings aside, numbly she asked,
"And the other change you want is?"
"I need some privacy Mom, if Ham is
going to be with me, then I want my own Ham."
"I'm sorry," and she looked at
the beautiful man, "what does that even mean?"
Ham didn't avoid her look. "Regan,
Jared has discussed this with me, and I think we can make this work. He wants
me to split. One version with him, still constantly updating but with a cyber
wall so that some private areas are screened off, even from . . ." and he
hesitated, struggling for the right way to put it, "well, screened off
from me. In time, his me will grow with him, while still being linked to us,
like a brother perhaps."
Regan looked at him strangely. "And
you're comfortable with this?"
"I think so, I guess time will
tell."
She shook her head, coming to grips with
the idea. "So we'll have two of you, two Ham's, but slightly
different?"
"Yes and no Mom," Jared explained
excitedly, "my version will be named Mori."
Ham looked off to the side suspiciously.
"Mori?" she asked.
"Yes, Ham told me all about him, it’s
short for Moriarty, he was a brilliant character in books in the early
twentieth century."
Regan turned to Ham slowly. "Moriarty,
really? I take it that was your choice? Did you tell Jared he was a bad guy, a
criminal?"
Ham shrugged and raised his hands in
surrender. "He was a brilliant mind, what can I say?"
"You couldn't have chosen
Sherlock?"
He just looked at her in disgust,
"Come on - Sherlock? - really? Do I look like a Sherlock?"
It was over and she knew it, there would
talked about this."
"Hmm - don't be so sure, your mother
is yet to be convinced."
"Then I will decide with you." He
was quite definite.
"We will need to get back to Hillary for
that discussion, Jared. let's pick up Brian and get underway."
And already the Pod was climbing to nudge
in backwards against the cliff top.
"Jared . . ." Ham hesitated.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"
The boy was gazing dreamily into the
distance via the high resolution screen.
"Oh yes!" he replied quickly
without hesitation.
The doors slid open and Brian entered with the
stag over his shoulders and a rifle in each hand. He shrugged the stag to the
floor, carefully placed the rifles against the carcass and then thumped Jared
hard on the bicep, a short sharp punch that caused the boy to wince.
He glared at the boy and raised one finger
in admonition. "Not on my watch . . . okay?" And then he winked.
* * *
They met in the war room, just the three of
them like a real family, but with Ham minus his favored android form and instead
presenting as the beautiful man. It mattered little, Jared was the focus here
and he knew it. He had clearly thought things through, rationally and
logically, and he was quite determined.
He took Regan's hands now and met her gaze,
waiting to let the full strength of his determination sink in, and then he told
her how it was going to be.
"Mom, I understand your concerns, but
at the very least this is my rite of passage, the neural web would always have
been given to me at this age anyway, and you're already happy for me to have
that. Ham will be operating and while he's doing that step, to insert a
processer just as he originally did with you makes perfect sense and he has
even improved things; you know that. The processer, the speed, the power
source; everything is better, and it's what I want. I have only one other change
from what Ham has proposed."
Regan felt flat, neutral, switched off, the
events out of her hands now and she knew it. She could rationally understand
that her fears were over harm coming to Jared and tempting her to try and put
the whole procedure off. But at the same time she had no doubt this operation
was also part of protecting him; it was a conundrum. Having said that, giving
him the neural web was one thing, the implant, the power source . . . this kind
of invasive procedure scared the life out of her.
Pushing her feelings aside, numbly she asked,
"And the other change you want is?"
"I need some privacy Mom, if Ham is
going to be with me, then I want my own Ham."
"I'm sorry," and she looked at
the beautiful man, "what does that even mean?"
Ham didn't avoid her look. "Regan,
Jared has discussed this with me, and I think we can make this work. He wants
me to split. One version with him, still constantly updating but with a cyber
wall so that some private areas are screened off, even from . . ." and he
hesitated, struggling for the right way to put it, "well, screened off
from me. In time, his me will grow with him, while still being linked to us,
like a brother perhaps."
Regan looked at him strangely. "And
you're comfortable with this?"
"I think so, I guess time will
tell."
She shook her head, coming to grips with
the idea. "So we'll have two of you, two Ham's, but slightly
different?"
"Yes and no Mom," Jared explained
excitedly, "my version will be named Mori."
Ham looked off to the side suspiciously.
"Mori?" she asked.
"Yes, Ham told me all about him, it’s
short for Moriarty, he was a brilliant character in books in the early
twentieth century."
Regan turned to Ham slowly. "Moriarty,
really? I take it that was your choice? Did you tell Jared he was a bad guy, a
criminal?"
Ham shrugged and raised his hands in
surrender. "He was a brilliant mind, what can I say?"
"You couldn't have chosen
Sherlock?"
He just looked at her in disgust,
"Come on - Sherlock? - really? Do I look like a Sherlock?"
It was over and she knew it, there would
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