Ghost in the Shell: Birth of a Species
Chapter 7, Survival of the Fittest
By Andrew Searls
Characters from Ghost in the Shell are creations of Masamune Shirow and not
my own.

LOS ANGELES, 10:15 AM, 18-APRIL-2031:

Taras sat on the rooftop and pulled the contraption out of her backpack.  It
was some sort of device that Frohike took most of the credit for.  She
looked over the dictionary-sized box before turning it on.  The box did
nothing for a couple of minutes.  Frohike had assured her that it was
normal.  Finally, the map appeared.  Several dots showed in various
locations on the map, most of them moving around at walking speed.

She studied the display.  What she needed was an individual that would be
easy to single out.  Without her thermoptic cloak, she needed this tactical
advantage.

It was no advantage.  She reminded herself that System must know where all
of its physical elements are at all times.  As long as the wetware
transceiver was on the air, the incorporated could communicate their
whereabouts to all other incorporated of System.

A single dot worked its way across a large, nearby intersection.  A wide
open space would probably be her best advantage.  She could pick up enough
speed to outrun anyone who chased after her.  The overpass provided a means
for vertical mobility if evasion became necessary.

She leapt down to the street and ran across the parking lot.  The
incorporated individual was dead ahead.  She veered to the left to get a
better angle, using some of the roadside shrubbery as additional screening.

Her target was walking away from her, apparently unaware of her approach.
As she leapt over the bushes, she took the debugger in hand.

A small voice gave a warning in the back of her head.  She usually listened
to those voices, but between lugging the back pack with Frohikey's
doohickey, making sure the debugger was ready in her hand, and tracking her
target, she was too busy to pay attention now.

The individual turned as she neared.  Her footsteps had been too loud on the
pavement.  She spared no time berating herself for such an obvious mistake,
opting to continue the capture by overpowering her opponent.

It held out both arms, as if to ward her off.  She decided a quick twist of
the arm to pin it behind its back would be the best approach.  Quick, easy,
and simple.

Except it wasn't.

She slowed as she reached it, grabbing its arm.  She ducked under the elbow,
pulling the arm to follow.  It didn't budge.  She pulled harder, noting that
the nitinol servo in her shoulder was heating up much more quickly than any
other component.  The arm still didn't budge.

It turned its head to look at her.  Its arm moved, lifting her off the
ground.  The answer was obvious.  She had picked another cyborg for a
target.  A larger, stronger cyborg.  Escape was her best option now.  She
let go and dropped to the ground, nearly losing the debugger in the process.
She turned to run back the way she had come.

The street and parking lot was filled with approaching human figures.  They
all walked slowly, mechanically.  Three hundred eyes tracked her every move
as she looked around.

The rooftop that she had come from was not far behind the crowd.  She ran
straight for it.  Just before reaching the line of people, she jumped.

The incorporated before her also jumped.  Five of them caught her legs.
They fell far short of the rooftop.  Taras watched as the incorporated below
cushioned their landing.  She was supported by a forest of hands.  Anywhere
she pushed or pulled gave too much to do any good.  The remaining hands
turned her over.  She noted that several of the arms were cyborg, gently but
firmly keeping her under control.  She looked up at the sky, trying to cover
her wetware plugs with her hands.

The numbers were overpowering, and her hands were pulled free.  She felt
something inserted into the plugs.

The incorporation was complete.

The Merged being known as Taras continued to exist.  That was her first
surprise.  She was conscious and aware of the link to System.  She could
still see, hear, and touch.  The crowd put her down.  Her body began to walk
away.  She was headed to the Tyrell basement labs.  Others hid there.  They
would soon become part of System.  She knew this the same way she knew that
trying to regain control of her servos was a waste of effort.

		**		**		**

SPACE STATION 5, HIGH EARTH ORBIT, 4:58 PM GMT, 6-AUGUST-2032:

The ship was complete.  Taras could see that through any of a hundred
different cameras and fellow incorporated, but she also knew that it was
true.  The same as all of System knew that it was time.

The completion of the incorporation of the human species left little doubt
as to what was next.  System would search the nearby solar systems for
intelligent life.  Life that could be incorporated.  Life that could help
System grow.

Taras thought of the irony that she was going to be one of the crew.  It had
the same bitter humor that she had when she realized that her number was
8610946696, indicating that she had managed to hold out for the final 10% of
all humans on Earth to be incorporated.  She was also a bit proud of the
advances that had taken place now that cooperation between individuals was
no longer an issue.  Resources were given and shared without question.  In
fact, the requirements for projects that System worked on were met as the
need became apparent.  The human race had learned the rewards to be earned
when war and conflict were no longer.  The only cost was that the human race
was also no longer.  Only System remained.

The ship was ready, and she was onboard.  The countdown continued silently
as the main drive warmed up.  She could understand the components of the
main drive, but her personal ghost could not comprehend the principles
behind the mechanism.  The knowledge of System was that it could bend space,
making the travel time between points short enough that the apparent
velocity was several times the speed of light.

The countdown reached zero, the main drive engaged, and the ship disappeared
from the station.

		**		**		**
SATELITE IN LOW ORBIT OVER PLANET YAMAGA, 8030 ROYAL STANDARD TIME:

Lhadatt was thrilled.  They had finally done it.  He was in space.  The
battle below had fallen away.  He now looked upon the cities on the night
side.  Their lights scattered across the land reminded him of the stars.  He
turned on the radio and thought about what to say.  He still believed that
no one was listening to him, but he no longer cared.

The curvature of the planet made him feel as if he was falling away from it.
Either that, or it was the vague notion of weightlessness that he had from
inside his suit.  His body was strapped in securely, but his arms and legs
floated in front of him.

He thought his message should include some sort of commentary that people
can achieve great things.  If they only work together, what even greater
achievements were within their grasp?

The sun approached the horizon, and Lhadatt watched the sunrise from 50
thousand ren above the ground.  He felt himself drawn into the spectacular
sight when the sun winked out.

He blinked.  What could have made a huge ball of flame suddenly fall silent?
He stared, hoping for a clue that would help him comprehend this mysterious
event.

It was not long afterwards that he realized that the sun was not
extinguished.  It was blocked from his view.  A large object was approaching
his small craft at a frightening speed.  He wondered if he was not the first
after all.  If some other country had beat them into space.

The object slowed as it approached, and stopped fairly close to him.  The
vessel before him was not a small, clunky can, though it was cylindrical.
The surface was smooth and free of markings.  Lhadatt stared.  He did not
know of any technology that could build an object of such size with a skin
that had no apparent seams.

The radio sparked to life, and a strange language emanated from the speaker.
He couldn't understand any of it, but he waited for a pause.

The pause came, and he keyed his microphone.  "This is officer Lhadatt of
the Royal Space Force.  Please identify which country you are from."

There was a short pause.  Lhadatt berated himself.  How could the pilot of
the other ship understand him if they spoke different languages?  He
shrugged.  It was no matter.  His final orbit was approaching, and he would
begin reentry before much could have been said anyway.  He would have to
report to everyone that they were not the first after all.  He didn't look
forward to delivering such bad news.

His answer came as a large number of voices, all speaking in unison.  "This
is System.  Your people will be incorporated into us.  Your physical and
technological distinctiveness will be added to
our own.  Your life as it has been is over.  Resistance is futile."

======================================================================

Ok, this is the alternate ending I mentioned.  It failed to make the cut for
the story, but I liked the idea too much to completely scrap it.  I decided
I might be able to spew it out in time for April 1st after all (if only a
little belated).  I think it's better to be a "Me too" than a "Never did".

While I agree with Razorclaw X that well intended practical jokes can go
wrong and cause harm, I fail to see the danger in a practical joke fanfic.


-Andy Searls
http://www.jps.net/searlsa

I'm not completely insane,
    some parts are missing.