Sunday Snippet: Flesh and Bone

Wow, half of July is gone and I'm trying to get my office organized and figure out how we're going to get my daughter moved into her dorm. If she can even move into the place. The clear out and organization is going better than expected. I ordered several types of smaller bookcases and some drawers to help corral all the crap I've had surrounding me for close to a decade. It's way past time.

I didn't get a ton of television watched this week but I do have a few updates. First, I'm still having feels about Arrow's final episode. There might be more coming about the series as a whole at some point.

Caught Roswell, New Mexico and honestly truly enjoyed the episode, "I'll Stand by You." The entire cast got some solid screen time and that makes me very happy. Special kudos for Michael and Isabel's arc and I loved Kyle telling Liz she's family because he gets what she means now. I'm starting to truly appreciate the complexities of the characters' interactions. So good.

Watched the penultimate episode of Strike Back and, damn, the cast brought their A games. Seriously, every single moment had me on the edge of my seat. The crazy fight between Coltrane and Wyatt topped the list because the size difference is almost comical but the entire point wasn't lost on me. The trio needed to clear the air and that was the best way to do it. And I'll freely admit I absolutely loved Chetri's journey. I love that she pretty gave a giant middle finger to her captors and that her end didn't happen before the team arrived. Another huge eff you to the antagonists. Excellent viewing. Seriously.

Started another new episode of Blue Heelers and this one is off the charts crazy. Different from the usual and I like that.

Began a rewatch of Hollywood Dirt, a Passionflix original. I love the chemistry between the actors and I also appreciate the fact that the casting department will go back to actors who are terrific.

Caught several episodes of Danger Man and both were ones I don't remember watching. Each ended up being terrific.

That's pretty much my week in a nutshell. Tonight's post is from Flesh and Bone, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

An AI that spouts philosophical mumbo jumbo, a past that may not be all it seems, and a link between both sends Peta Jones on quest to figure out the truth. It's a good thing she's got Abe Cantrell along to act as her voice of reason.

And a sneaky peek…

Abe Cantrell studied the interrogation footage. He shouldn't get involved, but one of the marines strongly suggested Abe needed to see what went down with the AI. Danvers also added—for Abe's ears only—that he should review the scenario before he went to see Peta in sickbay.

Abe let out a low whistle. "No shit. Glad he said something." Danvers had a soft spot for Peta because she reminded him of his little sister.

Abe's connection went deeper. He'd known Peta forever. Her grandfather and his met in basic training and remained close friends until Peta's lost his life in a car accident during peace time.

Directing his attention on the monitor again, he couldn't fault Peta's technique. "She's detached, but has to work at it." Which made sense, considering she'd never interrogated a prisoner before.

She even stayed composed when the progress stalled and harsher tactics had to be used but she wobbled a little.

Abe's gut clenched. He didn't blame her for the crack in her armor. She did her duty as ordered. But even he didn't like some of the forceful methods, which bordered on torture.

"Except we don't think of it as torture when it involves an AI."

The diplomats would be debating how to classify the artificial intelligence beings that looked and acted human. And, frankly, Abe would leave the discussions to them. He had opinions but the more he learned the more they changed.

"I want to talk to you and only you, lieutenant. If you make that happen, I'll tell you what you want to know."

Abe leaned closer to the screen. The Bensalem AI spoke quietly and directly to Peta. Peta motioned for the marines to leave after they got Bensalem seated across from her.

The discussion progressed rapidly and Peta got some solid information out of Bensalem.

Abe folded his arms. "But it's almost like it's playing her." Toying with its words until it could spring some kind of trap.

The male unit kept asking Peta nonsense questions—about her favorite foods, her preference for entertainment, and finally he asked something about her childhood.

Bam!

The exact moment the snare caught. Well, fuck. Abe rewound and viewed the footage again.

The AI homed in on a random event in her childhood—and pulled a thread. Abe couldn't hear the details but he read Peta like a book. From her reaction, the AI hit a raw, jangly nerve. There were parts of Peta's past she didn't talk about and Abe rarely pushed her to do so.

"Maybe I should have…"

Peta covered with a flippant comment. "We're not here to talk about me." She set the hands on the table then folded them together, presenting a relaxed countenance.

But the male unit had broken through one of her walls and wormed its way into her psyche.

Abe clenched his fist. "God dammit, old man. You put her in there." A kick of guilt jabbed Abe.

He shared the blame. After all, he'd told the commander Peta wanted more responsibility and could handle the extra load of work. She'd more than proven she could tackle hard assignments.

But interrogating an AI?

None of them had a lot of experience trying to get information from the units.

Abe leaned in again—focusing all attention on the male—and caught the split-second warning before it made its move.

"Fuck!" He still jumped when the male slammed Peta against the wall.

His gut clawed up to his chest and even the knowledge she got out—somewhat worse for the experience—didn't calm the racing beat of his heart.

The attack—and the viciousness behind it—lingered, even after the marines blew the door.

"Glad Danvers told me to dig into this."

The pain and defeat in Peta's eyes would stay with Abe a long time. The stab of fear he could have lost her wouldn't go anywhere either. The depth of what he really felt for her caught him by the throat—the exact moment Bensalem grabbed hers. The knowledge wedged itself deep and he didn't know what to do with the realization … but he had a good idea what to do for Peta.

Shutting the monitor down, he got up. "Be there. For whatever she needs."

I need to really dig in and tear this story apart. The sages keep feeding me scenes but they're random and aren't meshing together yet. It's time to get out the storyboard and start shuffling the pieces to see where they work the best.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Flesh and Blood

Seriously, the back and forth of warm then frigid weather is the one thing I hate about March. My sinuses rebel in a big way and it's never pretty. LOL

The Walking Dead had a great episode last week. Nice to see Rick and Michonne working together. Rosita on the warpath is also pretty great to watch.

The Flash is speeding along to the reveal of the big bad and I have a sneaky feeling I'm not going to like who it ends up being. We'll see what happens.

Legends of Tomorrow finally brought Rip back from the edge of evil… or did they? It's never one hundred percent certain with this group. Looks like a great episode coming up.

Arrow had the week off and I missed my Wednesday night fare. I'm not a huge fan of these stupid three-week hiatuses. Just show the damn episodes already.

Riverdale also had a great episode. This series is fast becoming my number two show. I loved getting some background about Fred and FP. That said, if Fred had a band in high school, why was he pretty much unable to connect with Archie about his music? Little things and details like this can make or break a show for me. Here's hoping there's some improvement there. I love sneaky Betty. Cheryl's right about Betty betting a terrible liar, but she's got some game with her clueless parents. On a side note, the seeds being planted for a messy situation with Betty, Jughead, and Archie make me happy. I'd like to see a little more Dark Betty emerge.

I finished up Jessica Jones and ended up loving how things played out. As hard as it is for my brain to wrap around David Tennant playing a raging asshole, I gotta give him kudos for being completely creepy. Started a rewatch of one of my favorite Australian series, City Homicide. I love that show. Also need to catch up on X Company and Murdoch Mysteries.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Flesh and Blood, a novella that started as a "what if" fanfiction and blossomed into its own story.

Here's the mini-blurb:

An AI that spouts philosophical mumbo jumbo, a past that may not be all it seems, and a link between both sends Peta Jones on a quest to figure out the truth. It's a good thing she's got Abe Cantrell along to act as her voice of reason.

And a sneaky peek…

"Are you insane, old man? Have you seen her?" Abe stalked after his grandfather, following the man to the back corner of his quarters where he kept an ancient desk. The old man sat down and thumped on the top twice, the bottom drawer slid open and he dug out the half full bottle of scotch.

He twisted the cap off and poured a healthy amount into two mugs. "I've seen her." The fuller of the two made its way in front of Abe. "Sit, take a drink, and calm down." He put the bottle away. "She's fine. Handled herself well under the circumstances."

Abe choked but didn't yell like he wanted to. Instead, he drained half the mug and calmly asked. "What the hell were you thinking? She almost died in there?"

His grandfather met Abe's eyes. "I'm aware of that." He heaved a sigh and Abe got it. Peta's injuries weighed heavily on the old man. And he would bear the responsibility, and the brunt of Abe's anger, because the guilt tore him up.

Williamson drained his mug. "Did you catch the footage around fifteen minutes into the interrogation?" His hand shook, only a little, when he set the cup on the desk.

Abe settled back and let the pissy attitude go. The commander didn't need Abe's antagonism right now. "The sentient stuff? Yeah. What of it?" The whole interrogation video creeped him out.

The old man pinned him with a concerned look. "It got to her there. That's when she let it in." He shook his head.

Abe thought about the tense exchange. He couldn't argue the point. Hell, even he'd been almost convinced by Bensalem One. He'd like to find the human who wouldn't be.

His grandfather heaved a sigh. "What happened to the days when the enemy was flesh and blood and bone?" He poured another finger of scotch. "I miss them."

The old man had a point. No one had seen the revolt of the AIs coming. But they should have. Complacency never won out over tech. The price paid in human blood already high, Abe couldn't see an end to it.

Peta almost became one of the casualties.

Abe leaned forward. "Peta didn't let it in, Pops. It barged its way past her boundaries." He leveled his gaze on his grandfather's. "The stuff about Peta's mom? That's not in any database in the solar system. The woman lived off the grid. How did it get that information?" Peta never volunteered personal details on official records.

Gib shook his head. "I don't know, Abe. But I'm going to find out." He laced his fingers together and studied his grandson. "The spiritual undertones of the AIs ramblings concern me. Maris Gradin-Jones was a grand dame in the guru community. Peta's well known in those circles, small though they may be, and someone could have been persuaded to provide personal details."

Abe didn't like the gut punch he got. "You think she's a target? That the AI went after her specifically?" His head jerked. "No. Not possible. It couldn't know you'd send her to interrogate it."

Williamson shrugged. "I don't know what I think, yet. But I know I don't like any of it." He leaned back in his chair. "This business about the AIs thinking they're sentient has been going on for a long time. The new twist about their Creator allowing the humans to construct them is a new avenue to explore."

Abe nodded. "What about the consciousness stuff? That they never really lose it unless they can't find something to download it into? We should have the tech crew run diagnostics on every single device that has memory, right? If you're looking for an inside source, I'd start there."

Gib agreed. "Already in the works. I'm also having everything scrubbed. If they think they come back stronger each time they download, we'll see if they can manage to get past a sweep."

Abe wondered aloud. "And if they can?"

Williamson confirmed Abe's fear. "Then we've already lost."

"Shit." Abe's shoulders slumped against the back of his chair.

Gib changed the subject. "Look, Peta got released from the infirmary half an hour ago. Go find her."

Abe already planned to do so. "And then what?" The old man had a reason, above and beyond concern for their girl.

"Just…" Gib paused and looked away. "Make sure she's not taking that thing's ramblings too seriously."

In other words, find out if Peta had bought into what the AIs wanted to sell.

Abe frowned. Spying on someone he cared deeply for didn't settle in his gut well. But his grandfather's concern might be warranted.

Abe sighed and stood. "Right. I'll track her down." He turned to leave.

Williamson called softly. "I wouldn't ask it of you if I didn't love her. And know you do, too."

Abe paused. He should've known the old man would pick up on it. And Abe would have said something if the discovery he really loved Peta hadn't just hit him. "I know, Pops. I'll watch out for her."

His grandfather nodded and poured another drink. The day's events finally catching up to him.

Abe exited quarters and headed for the bunkroom. Peta would head there first and if he got lucky, he'd catch her before she tried to hide away and lick her wounds.

Abe's not going to have an easy path in this story. Peta never makes anything simple.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Flesh and Bone

Happy Mother's Day to all the awesome moms out there!

If I'd been thinking ahead, I would have tried to have something put together featuring relationships with a mother and child. Sadly, I didn't think about it until now. J

Tonight's post is from Flesh and Bone, which will have a nice mother/daughter dynamic, but it's also a prime part of the conflict and might give too much away. L I've really enjoyed getting into this work because the idea of artificial intelligence gaining cognitive abilities and becoming self-aware really fascinates me.

Here's the tagline:

An AI that spouts philosophical mumbo jumbo, a past that may not be all it seems, and a link between both sends Peta Jones on quest to figure out the truth. It's a good thing she's got Abe Cantrell along to act as her voice of reason.

And here's the sneaky peek…

Peta Jones couldn't breathe. Her prisoner had a firm, deadly grip around her throat and no air could enter her lungs. And, Great Maker, it had happened fast. One moment they faced each other across a table and the next her back hit the wall and her feet left the floor. She struggled against the attack, but couldn't kick out. The prisoner used his free hand to drag the overturned table between them, pinning her in.

And crushing the hell out of her knee. Between the lack of oxygen and the sharp, stabbing pain radiating out from her kneecap, Peta had tears leaking out the corner of her eyes.

She could hang on. She heard the marines pounding on the hatch. They'd blow it any moment to get inside.

Or the prisoner could snap her neck before they had a chance.

KABOOM!

"Put her down! Right now. Now!"

A marine sergeant, Danvers if she remembered correctly, and two lance corporals surrounded the prisoner, weapons primed and ready.

She hit the floor in a heap, striking her hip on the table on the way down. Dragging air into her burning lungs, she watched the prisoner offer no resistance when the soldiers shoved him face first to the deck. Shaken, knee throbbing, hip stinging, Peta jumped when the sergeant gripped her shoulder.

"Medic's on the way. Sit tight, Lieutenant."

She gave a jerky nod, the only she could manage with her throat feeling so raw. Danvers stepped in front of her, securing the prisoner with a titanium steel tether. So far, the only thing that worked on the AIs. They could break free from or wriggle out of everything else with a little work.

The prisoner looked her squarely in the eye. "Say my name, Peta."

A rifle butt to his head didn't deter him.

He laughed and found her gaze again. "Say. My. Name."

Danvers stooped down, snarling in his face. "Shut up. You do not speak to or look at the lieutenant. Understood?"

The AI briefly flicked his gaze toward the sergeant and then upward. He didn't have to see her to continue. "Say it, Peta."

Her hand rubbed gently at her throat and she winced, the bruised skin tender under her fingertips. He wanted recognition, status. She'd been ordered not to give it to him.

Too bad she didn't always follow orders.

"Be—" Her voice croaked and when she swallowed it felt like shards of glass slipping downward. She welcomed the discomfort. It made her more determined to name the bastard and call him enemy. "Bensalem." She struggled to her knees, the injured one all but screaming out when she put pressure on it.

Drawing in a shuddery breath, she repeated, voice stronger. "Bensalem." She swallowed, ignoring the burning sensation. "Ben-sa-lem." Peta leaned in, just a little. "A name is just a word. It has no power."

The AI met her gaze. "But you'll remember mine, won't you, Peta?" He flinched when the butt of a rifle landed between his shoulder blades.

Peta swallowed again finally able to build up enough saliva for her next action. "Yeah, I'll remember." She spit in his face. "With fondness."

She jerked her head toward the exit and the marines dragged the AI away. As soon as they rounded the corner of the door, she collapsed, reaction and pain hitting her in one big wave. She stifled a sob, refusing to cave under the watchful eye of the monitors. A moment later, capable hands scooped her up and loaded her onto a gurney. She had no idea which medics wheeled her away, but crossing the threshold into the corridor brought instant relief.

Felt good to get out of the suffocating and noxious atmosphere of the interrogation room. Felt even better to let her eyes slide closed and shut out her utter failure.

The best thing? Breathing. Deep, soothing, calming inhalations. In. Out. Nice and slow.

The not so best thing? Trying not to freak out about how much the stupid AI—Bensalem One—knew about her personal life.

Peta had a feeling the revelations had only just started. There'd be more and she didn't quite know if she could handle it. But she'd try to be ready.

Once the gates were opened they rarely got shut.

Peta's journey isn't going to be easy, but she's got an excellent support team in place with Abe Cantrell and his grandfather. Exploring how she deals with everything she learns and giving her a safe place to pick up the pieces has been a joy to write.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flip side.

ML Skye