Insignia by S. J. Kincaid Read Free Book Online

“They’re running a group scrimmage. Before they get into advanced tactical training, plebes are drilled in teamwork exercises. They’re also acclimated to the neural processors in their brains interfacing with something other than their own bodies.”
    It took Tom a few seconds to comprehend the words: neural processors … in their brains …
    He stopped walking. “Wait, what?” He swung around to look at the two adults. “What do you mean, processors in their brains ?”
    Neither Marsh nor Olivia reacted. It was as if they’d both expected this.
    Marsh said, “To become a trainee here, Mr. Raines, you have to have a neural processor installed in your head. It’s a very sophisticated computer that interacts directly with your brain. You’re still human afterward, just something extra as well.”
    Olivia’s hand squeezed his shoulder. Tom pulled away from it. “You didn’t say anything about—” he began.
    “What did you think, son?” General Marsh raised his thin eyebrows. “Our Combatants control machines, and they fight machines. You’ve got quick synapses yourself. But your brain isn’t machine fast. Not yet. Those kids in there? Their brains are.”
    Tom understood the zombielike stillness of those kids: the computers were inside their heads. The simulation they were using to train was running inside the computers that were inside their brains.
    “All the trainees undergo the procedure, Tom. It’s safe.” Marsh’s eyes riveted to Tom’s forehead. “What you teenagers have in great supply—and we adults do not—is neural elasticity. Your brain’s adaptable. Adults and neural processors don’t go together. We tried it, and it turned ugly. Adult brains couldn’t adjust to the new hardware. So we use teenagers. By virtue of your youth, your brains are primed for enhancement. The fact is, you can’t control Indo-American combat machines in space if you can’t interface with them. To become a Combatant, you need to cross some of that distance between human and computer yourself.”
    Tom gaped at him. “So all of the trainees here, and those combatants on the news, have all got these neural processors? Even Elliot Ramirez has a computer in his brain?”
    “That’s right. Even Elliot has one.”
    “What about the Russo-Chinese Combatants?”
    “They have them, too. This is top secret information. The public doesn’t know this, but it’s the key to everything. This is how the war’s fought. Combatants use the neural processors to interface with the unmanned drones in space, to control them, and wage battle against the drones controlled by the neural processors of Russo-Chinese Combatants.”
    Tom looked back and forth between the general and the social worker. He remembered that expression on Olivia’s face a few minutes ago when Marsh talked about showing him the training room, and his thoughts dwelled upon it. She’d expected his reaction. They’d both expected it. This was the catch. And they’d just decided to ambush him with it.
    He found himself thinking of Neil and the way he said Elliot Ramirez wasn’t a real human. His dad had been right. Elliot was part computer.
    Tom regarded them warily. “Does it change people?”
    “No,” General Marsh said.
    Olivia cleared her throat.
    “Somewhat,” Marsh amended. “But little changes. Undetectable to you. You’re still you in every important sense of the word. Your frontal lobe, your limbic system, and your hippocampus are all intact.” At Tom’s blank look, he elaborated, “We don’t alter your thought process, emotions, or memories. We don’t change the essence of who you are. That would be a human rights violation. But once we install some hardware in your head, you’ll think faster. You’ll be one of the smartest human beings alive.”
    “And, Tom, if you have doubts, you can decline,” Olivia added.
    Marsh gave a crisp nod. “That’s right, son. Give me the word, and we’ll have you back at the Dusty Squanto