From: timk@tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca (Tim Kuehn)
Subject: Cognos: Prelude to sleep
Date: 26 Jun 93 00:39:51 GMT
This is dedicated to "Bright Eyes" (you know who you are), who's feedback
and encouragement (someone finally wrote back!) gave me the impetus to
write some more.
More will follow. This is just what I had written when I ran out
of time to write tongight.
Feedback is welcomed and encouraged. If none is forthcoming, I'll have
little motiviation to continue writing this material.
Tim Kuehn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From the end of "THE POINT":
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flamboyant and No Nonsense watched Cognos's progress from a corner they
had taken up in order to continue their conversation. Still wincing from
the bruises in his body, Flamboyant observed
"There goes a man with neither style _nor_ substance."
No Nonsense said nothing but smiled grimly as he privately wished the
stumbling, suffering man luck. Then again, if that lumbering brute met
anyone else on his way to wherever he was going, they might be the ones
who needed the luck.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Begin Cognos: Prelude to Sleep
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Come child, we must hurry!" said the father.
"Where are we going, Daddy?" asked the daughter.
"On a trip darling," said the father. "We're not going too far,
I promise. We just have to leave here for a little while."
"But Daddy, I'm tired."
The father squatted down and looked in his daughter's eyes. Kirsten
looked back at her father with a trusting gaze, her eyes bright with
simultaneous wonder, concern, and confusion as only a young child could
have.
"Don't worry sweetheart, Daddy's going to take care
of everything."
Kirsten grabbed her father's neck and hugged him tightly. Daddy hugged
his daughter, tears welling up in his eyes. After brushing the tears
away, he leaned back and looked at her again,
"We've got to go now. Are you ready?"
Kirsten checked to make sure she had her handbag, then announced
"Ready!"
"Then off we go!" said Daddy.
Hand in hand, the duo passed out of the building into the night.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Still holding his head, Cognos stumbled out into the street. While all
his will and effort was concentrated on the maelstrom that was within
his mind, one foot somehow was placed in front of the other time and
time again. Occasionally he would stumble into a nearby wall or
reinforced glass display case. Occasionally in an effort to get the
pain to stop he would repeatedly pound it against the nearest object
at hand, be it a lightpost, concrete wall, mailbox, doorway. Once in
his delerium he grabbed a pedistrian who happened to be at the wrong
place at the wrong time. By the time he finished the pedestrian was
unconscious.
Unaware of what he had done, Cognos left the bruised and bleeding body
on the sidewalk and continued on, desperately searching for a way to
stop the pain.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kirsten was obediently following her father down a dark alleyway beside
an imposing building when he stopped, looked back, then sqatted down.
"Kirsten, will you do what Daddy says?"
Kirsten looked back at her father. She could tell something was bothering
him.
"Yes, Daddy," said Kirsten quiely.
Father hurridly looked back down the alleyway, then at his daughter.
"Do you remember how we played 'hide and seek'?"
Kirsten's expression brightened.
"Yes, I do! It's when ..." began Kirsten.
"Shhhh!" said father. "I'm glad you remember," said Daddy.
"Because I want you to do that now. Find a place to hide,
and don't come out."
Kirsten looked at her father with a puzzled expression.
"At all?" she asked. "But what if I have to go to the bathroom?"
Her father looked down the alley once more, then back at his daughter.
The worry was increasingly noticable on his face.
"Just do what I say, darling," said Daddy.
Kirsten's father gave his daughter a quick hug, then said
"Now go and find a place to hide -- quickly!"
After a gentle push into a nearby doorway of an abandoned manufacturing
complex, he disappeared. Kirsten was about find a hiding place like her
daddy told her to do when two shadows flitted by going the same direction
her father had disappeared. Kirsten looked after the departing shadows
and thought to herself,
<<Daddy's playing hide-and-seek and wants me to help!>>
Re-assured by that thought, Kirsten waited until her eyes adjusted to
the dim light, then found a place behind a rusted steel door in a
nearby room. There she squatted down on the cement floor and waited.
They'd never find her there!
Time passed, and eventually Kirsten fell into a fitful sleep.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Cognos, the organic side of his mind could not continue on forever.
It needed sleep, and sleep it would have. When his mind could not longer
shut out the need for sleep, his body fell through the nearest open
doorway, and stretched out full-length on the dirty concrete floor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
From organpipe.uug.arizona.edu!amethyst!noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!uunet.ca!xenitec!tdkcs!timk Mon Jun 28 14:56:59 MST 1993
Article: 1525 of alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
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From: timk@tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca (Tim Kuehn)
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
Subject: Cognos (Synthetic/Organic): Awakening, Assault, and Encounter
Message-ID: <1993Jun28.200213.9242@tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca>
Date: 28 Jun 93 20:02:13 GMT
Organization: TDK Consulting Services
Lines: 162
As promised, here's another installment.
Feedback is welcomed and encouraged. If none is forthcoming, I'll
have little motiviation to continue writing this material. Suggestions
of plot direction or character development are equally welcome. No
guarantees they'll be used, but the more I have the easier it is to
write this stuff.
Enjoy!
Tim Kuehn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From the end of: "Cognos: Prelude to Sleep"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re-assured by that thought, Kirsten waited until her eyes adjusted to
the dim light, then found a place behind a rusted steel door in a
nearby room. There she squatted down on the cement floor and waited.
They'd never find her there!
Time passed, and eventually Kirsten fell into a fitful sleep.
* * *
For Cognos, the organic side of his mind could not continue on forever.
It needed sleep, and sleep it would have. When his mind could not longer
shut out the need for sleep, his body fell through the nearest open
doorway, and stretched out full-length on the dirty concrete floor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Begin: "Cognos (Synthetic/Organic): Awakening, Assault, and Encounter"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Within Cognos's mind, Organic fell into a fitful sleep. Synthetic, unable
to exert its influence while Organic was in such a state, considered what to
do next. Although unable to exert any control over Cognos's motor systems,
all of its taps into Cognos's senses were fully functional, so it watched
and waited. The rising heat level indicated that day was almost come, with
the chord and volume of various distant sounds confirming that the city was
coming to life.
Soon Organic would recover and awaken. Synthetic bided its time, waiting
its chance to once more assail Cognos's form in an effort to bend him to
its artificial will.
* * *
The first thing Kirsten felt was the incredible pressure within her demanding
release. If she'd been at home, it would've been a simple matter to take
care of. But she wasn't home, and Daddy had said to stay hidden, no matter
what.
In an effort to get more comfortable, Kristen shifted her position behind
the rusting steel door. Muscles cramped from being held in one position
too long made her twinge with the effort and she wimpered quietly from
the pain.
* * *
Cognos's sensitized hearing picked up something moving close by, possibly
within the building he was in. Synthetic picked up the reading, analyzed
the type and direction it came from, computed a preliminary threat assessment,
and discerned that the source of the sound bore further monitoring, but
wasn't something to worry about so far.
Chemical changes in the host's bloodstream indicated that Organic was about
to resume consciousness. Sythetic turned its attention back to the host
and resumed preperations for takeover.
* * *
Kirsten's shift in position helped her feel more comfortable, but the
pressure within her was becoming more and more demanding. Daddy hadn't
come back to take her home, and what she could see of the surrounding
area didn't look very nice at all.
Kirsten stuck her fist against her mouth and stifled a sob of distress.
Where could her Daddy be??? How long would she have to wait???
* * *
With a deep breath, Cognos's battered form shuddered once, then resumed a
normal breathing pattern. His eyes opened to a first class view of a dusty,
dirty, broken concrete floor. Gently examining his battered and still-
pounding head, he he found the sleep-induction medallion and pulled it
off. Out from under the effects of the electronic transquilizer he felt a
lot more awake and in control of himself. Tossing the silver disk aside,
he rolled over, sat up, and promptly regretted the action. Still bruised and
damaged from his previous night's attempts to shake the pounding pain
within his head, he was a conglomeration of bruises, blood, and sore
muscles. The effects of the sudden motion almost caused him to lose
consciousness.
With a moan, he leaned forward, hands holding his head, and waited for the
sensation to pass.
* * *
Kirsten heard a low moan from the other room and pushed herself back further
in behind the doorway in fright. When no further sound was heard, and seeing
a crack of light between the door and the frame of the doorway, she risked
a peek through it. In the other room she saw a large, dirty man covered with
tattered clothes, blood, and dirt.
Then he rolled over, and sat up. Eyes set in a bloody, bruised, scarred face
seemed to look right at her, and she slunk back against the wall in fright.
After a while when nothing happened, she looked again and saw the man
leaning forward, his head in his hands.
Frozen in fear, she was transfixed by the sight.
* * *
Synthetic struck.
Blinding pain flashed through Cognos's head as Synthetic simultanously
assailed every part of his senses and mind. The unexpected onslaught
produced a sensation that was simultaneously every form of pain known
to man, and a few even man could not imagine.
Squeezing his head tighly, Cognos screamed with pain at the assault
while he fought to maintain his sanity.
* * *
As Kirsten watched, the man suddenly threw his head back and made a scream
which went right through her very being. So intense and frightening was the
sound that she temporarily lost all control of her bodily functions. Slowly
a warm puddle spread around her as wimpering, she pushed further into the
corner trying to hide.
* * *
In the midst of his internal combat, Cognos only vaguely detected a sound
he had not heard for many years. Looking around, he saw a warm liquid
spreading underneath door into a nearby room. Sniffing, he could tell what
the substance was almost instantly. However, his discernment was so blinded
by pain that he could not think clearly and only figured that the pain was
coming from someone somewhere, and whoever it was would pay dearly.
In intense pain, andrenalin pumping in an effort to help fight the effects,
he approached the doorway.
* * *
Kirsten could tell from the big man's footsteps that he was coming. Cowering
further into her corner, she started sobbing uncontrollably with terror.
Large, brawny fingers appeared on each side of the door, and then with a
loud tearing sound the door was ripped off it's hinges.
* * *
Having removed the only barrier between himself and his supposed tormentor,
Cognos threw the door into the room where it landed with a loud crash against
a machine's abandoned carcass in a cloud of dust. Reaching forward, he
prepared to wreak awesome vengeance on the one who would cause him such
pain.
* * *
Eyes squeezed shut, Kirsten cried out loud and hugged her handbag closer
to her violently trembling form.
From organpipe.uug.arizona.edu!amethyst!noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!news2.uunet.ca!xenitec!tdkcs!timk Fri Jul 9 09:36:25 MST 1993
Article: 1546 of alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
Path: organpipe.uug.arizona.edu!amethyst!noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!news2.uunet.ca!xenitec!tdkcs!timk
From: timk@tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca (Tim Kuehn)
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
Subject: Cognos: Search and Rescue
Message-ID: <1993Jul9.142550.8577@tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca>
Date: 9 Jul 93 14:25:50 GMT
Organization: TDK Consulting Services
Lines: 107
Character List:
---------------
Cognos: A big pug-ugly cyber-enhanced male with a serious
AI problem.
Synthetic and Cognos's synthetic (non-organic) and
Organic: natural (organic) brain.
Kirsten: Daughter of a mystery man told to "hide" and then
left her to fend for herself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From the end of "Cognos/Kirsten: Close Encounter, Far Search"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With a malfunctioning AI Cognos could no longer use his enhanced vision, so
there was no way for him to determine if the child was down there, much
less if she was alive without personally checking, so Cognos looked around
for a way down. Nearby was a descending staircase. Intent on his course,
he made for the stair as fast as his crippled limb would allow him and then
began heading into the darkness below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Begin: "Cognos: Search and Rescue"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cognos took step after labored step down the flight of stairs into the
nether darkness. In order to get relief from the AIs continued torment
he had to stop at times and lean heavily on the staircase railing. He
could tell he was getting closer to the child because the raw nerve-rubbed
feeling of the AI's assault was decreasing as he went lower. But it was
also getting significantly darker, making non-enhanced vision much more
difficult.
Once rested, Cognos continued down the stairs to the floor under the
hole. Looking above he could see the distant block of dim light
streaming down through the hole. The light illuminated some equipment
attached to the wall of the shaft. With careful steps he made his way
out of the staircase onto the floor and looked around. After his eyes
had adjusted to the dim light, he moved among the various industrial
carcasses looking for the child. His search did not take long.
What he found made him wince. While he was used to sights of death
and destruction, often as not wrought by his own hands, the sight
of an innocent little kid's body broken and twisted on top of a hunk
of metal struck him in his heart. And for the first time he could
remember, Cognos shed a tear.
But where there was pain and suffering for the child, there was hope and
encouragement for the man. Bruised and broken though she was, once Cognos
had found her her simple presence caused the AI-inflicted pain and torment
to immediately lift from him like a bad dream. Looking the child over, he
could tell by her wounds that she would probably die if she didn't get
medical attention immediately. But he dare not leave her to get help and
risk another attack from his renegade AI.
Having decided on a course of action, Cognos took off his large synthleather
jacket and laid it on the floor. With care and gentleness that would've
amazed even those who thought they knew him best, he lifted the kid's broken
body off the machine and laid her in the jacket, arranging her to make her
as comfortable over what was sure to be a difficult trip.
After making sure she was securely set inside, he closed the jacket over
her, then picked up the combination jacket and girl like a suitcase and
headed up and out of the plant. In short order he was out of the building
and headed down the street to a nearby chop shop.
* * *
The last thing Kirsten remembered was a floating sensation, much the same
as when she was riding in a car with her father. Then she felt a sudden
massive pressure, and then there was oblivion.
Until now.
All over her she felt sore. Something was repeatedly jarring her in a
motion that made her complaining stomach even more quesy. She tried to
move one hand, but found it wouldn't respond. Trying her other hand
only produced a burning, shooting sensation up her arm that caused her
to cry out in pain.
The jarring motion stopped, and she felt herself put down on something
solid. Her surroundings seemed lighter, and a gravelly voice said
"Glad to see you're still among the land of the living kid."
Kirsten managed to open her eyes partly, and saw a ugly face looking down
at her, set against the grey sky above. Kirsten gasped once in surprise,
and then all was blackness once more.
* * *
Cognos took the kid's waking up as a good sign. At least she could still
feel pain, which meant she might not be paralyzed from the fall, and the
local meatshop wasn't too far away. Picking up the jacket/girl, he was
about to resume his trip to the meatshop when suddenly a band of young
toughs appeared from a nearby alleyway and quickly surrounded him. Looking
them over he could see they were the common local street variety, with
more equipment and attitude than experience, and would've been easily
outmatched with his own experience and equipment -- had it had been
functioning properly. But with his AI not trustworthy, and a kid to protect,
there was no telling which way the odds were leaning. At least his
prodigious strength wasn't dependent on the AI to work properly, so he
had that advantage. Hopefully his knowledge and experience would tell
over the gang's speed and augmentation.
Cognos braced himself for combat.
From organpipe.uug.arizona.edu!amethyst!noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!decwrl!decwrl!olivea!charnel!psgrain!qiclab!therose!postmaster Sat Jul 10 10:44:59 MST 1993
Article: 1551 of alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
Path: organpipe.uug.arizona.edu!amethyst!noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!decwrl!decwrl!olivea!charnel!psgrain!qiclab!therose!postmaster
From: Tim.Kuehn@f30.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Tim Kuehn)
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
Subject: Cognos: Search and Rescue
Message-ID: <742252577.AA01717@therose.pdx.com>
Date: 9 Jul 93 22:25:50 GMT
Sender: postmaster@therose.pdx.com
Lines: 108
Character List:
---------------
Cognos: A big pug-ugly cyber-enhanced male with a serious
AI problem.
Synthetic and Cognos's synthetic (non-organic) and
Organic: natural (organic) brain.
Kirsten: Daughter of a mystery man told to "hide" and then
left her to fend for herself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From the end of "Cognos/Kirsten: Close Encounter, Far Search"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With a malfunctioning AI Cognos could no longer use his enhanced vision, so
there was no way for him to determine if the child was down there, much
less if she was alive without personally checking, so Cognos looked around
for a way down. Nearby was a descending staircase. Intent on his course,
he made for the stair as fast as his crippled limb would allow him and then
began heading into the darkness below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Begin: "Cognos: Search and Rescue"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cognos took step after labored step down the flight of stairs into the
nether darkness. In order to get relief from the AIs continued torment
he had to stop at times and lean heavily on the staircase railing. He
could tell he was getting closer to the child because the raw nerve-rubbed
feeling of the AI's assault was decreasing as he went lower. But it was
also getting significantly darker, making non-enhanced vision much more
difficult.
Once rested, Cognos continued down the stairs to the floor under the
hole. Looking above he could see the distant block of dim light
streaming down through the hole. The light illuminated some equipment
attached to the wall of the shaft. With careful steps he made his way
out of the staircase onto the floor and looked around. After his eyes
had adjusted to the dim light, he moved among the various industrial
carcasses looking for the child. His search did not take long.
What he found made him wince. While he was used to sights of death
and destruction, often as not wrought by his own hands, the sight
of an innocent little kid's body broken and twisted on top of a hunk
of metal struck him in his heart. And for the first time he could
remember, Cognos shed a tear.
But where there was pain and suffering for the child, there was hope and
encouragement for the man. Bruised and broken though she was, once Cognos
had found her her simple presence caused the AI-inflicted pain and torment
to immediately lift from him like a bad dream. Looking the child over, he
could tell by her wounds that she would probably die if she didn't get
medical attention immediately. But he dare not leave her to get help and
risk another attack from his renegade AI.
Having decided on a course of action, Cognos took off his large synthleather
jacket and laid it on the floor. With care and gentleness that would've
amazed even those who thought they knew him best, he lifted the kid's broken
body off the machine and laid her in the jacket, arranging her to make her
as comfortable over what was sure to be a difficult trip.
After making sure she was securely set inside, he closed the jacket over
her, then picked up the combination jacket and girl like a suitcase and
headed up and out of the plant. In short order he was out of the building
and headed down the street to a nearby chop shop.
* * *
The last thing Kirsten remembered was a floating sensation, much the same
as when she was riding in a car with her father. Then she felt a sudden
massive pressure, and then there was oblivion.
Until now.
All over her she felt sore. Something was repeatedly jarring her in a
motion that made her complaining stomach even more quesy. She tried to
move one hand, but found it wouldn't respond. Trying her other hand
only produced a burning, shooting sensation up her arm that caused her
to cry out in pain.
The jarring motion stopped, and she felt herself put down on something
solid. Her surroundings seemed lighter, and a gravelly voice said
"Glad to see you're still among the land of the living kid."
Kirsten managed to open her eyes partly, and saw a ugly face looking down
at her, set against the grey sky above. Kirsten gasped once in surprise,
and then all was blackness once more.
* * *
Cognos took the kid's waking up as a good sign. At least she could still
feel pain, which meant she might not be paralyzed from the fall, and the
local meatshop wasn't too far away. Picking up the jacket/girl, he was
about to resume his trip to the meatshop when suddenly a band of young
toughs appeared from a nearby alleyway and quickly surrounded him. Looking
them over he could see they were the common local street variety, with
more equipment and attitude than experience, and would've been easily
outmatched with his own experience and equipment -- had it had been
functioning properly. But with his AI not trustworthy, and a kid to protect,
there was no telling which way the odds were leaning. At least his
prodigious strength wasn't dependent on the AI to work properly, so he
had that advantage. Hopefully his knowledge and experience would tell
over the gang's speed and augmentation.
Cognos braced himself for combat.
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