The human sat stiffly, back straight, hands together and resting on the edge of the table.
“Let’s go back to what you do remember.” Dr. K/5psych(Saul) said to him calmly. “Tell me about the last dream you had before waking.”
The subject frowned. “I don’t think I dream. I never remember dreams. I know I sleep, because time passes when I don’t remember anything.”
“Is that what happened when you killed Edward Higellen?”
“I don’t remember killing Mr. Higellen.”
“You think you don’t. But it happened. We need to understand how and why.”
The subject sat quietly.
There was a knock on the door. Without looking K/5psych(Saul) lifted an arm and waved over his shoulder. “I have to step out of the room for a moment. While I am gone I want you to really think about the night that Edward died. I know you have already, but I want you to go back over everything you can remember.” There was another knock. “Will you do that, Harold?”
“Yes, Doctor, I will.”
K/5psych(Saul) stood, and left the room. He looked back, the subject sat, unblinking, unmoving.
“This isn’t going anywhere, Saul.”
K/5psych(Saul) turned to Vhn, the detective in charge, “I wouldn’t say that.”
“Really, then what would you say?” Her twin heads swayed.
“I would say it’s going slowly.”
“Well, you may have time, but I am being leaned on to resolve this quickly.” The detective pointed upwards. “They, don’t like the mega-rich and powerful being murdered in their jurisdiction.”
“I think I might try talking about his dreams some more. That may lead somewhere.” K/5psych(Saul) said.
Vhn looked confused. “What’s the point? I just heard him say he doesn’t dream.”
“Detective, we are dealing with someone who brutally murdered a person. Such actions do not spring from nowhere, nor do the memories of them disappear. In humans retrograde amnesia is a normal autonomic response, according to my database. The memories are locked away, sealed up, but there is an ellipsis where they belong and we have to fill in that gap.” He paused, “And all humans dream, I thought you would know that Detective.”
“I don’t remember the biological quirks of every species living in the sphere.”
“Neither do I. But I download necessary details for each new subject. Now if you are finished, I’ll get back to my job.”
The detective nodded a head and returned to the observation booth. K/5psych(Saul) re-entered the interview room and eased back into the seat. Harold didn’t look up. K/5psych(Saul) wondered if he had moved at all in the intervening period.
He watched the subject. A male, height and weight within standard human averages, brown eyes as per seventy-three percent of human population, no external modifications. A non-descript human. If he hadn’t worked for an employer with business interests throughout the galaxy he would probably never have left whichever planet or space station he came from. A thought struck him.
“Harold, where were you born?”
“Why do you ask that, Doctor?
“Humor me.”
The subject remained silent, eyes fixed straight ahead. K/5psych(Saul) rose without speaking and exited the room. The detective came out of the adjoining observation booth.
“What’s going on Saul?”
“Tell me, Detective, has the subject moved at all during the interview?”
“Not that I have seen, just sits and stares straight ahead.”
“He only responds to direct questions and I haven’t seen him move, apart from opening his mouth to speak. Not a blink, or twitch or anything.”
“So, what does that mean?
“I think he may be a non-aware analogue.”
“A what?”
“Harold isn’t human. And he doesn’t know. He thinks he’s human, but is actually a bio-synthetic facsimile. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“You mean, he's an A.I. like you? Thats insane. We'd know.”
“Not necessarily, Detective. There are plenty of planets and habitats where non-organic sentients, like myself, are not welcomed. Edward Higgellen guaranteed his assistant would never become ill or homesick while not being inconvenienced when travelling to such places. If Harold fooled me, another A.I., then he would pass easily in anti-A.I. worlds.”
Vhn whistled through the mouth on her eyeless feeding head. “So what happened? Why did he suddenly kill the guy?”
“Maybe he worked it out, and felt abused. But the murder would create extensive trauma in the consciousness matrix. He has probably defaulted to a very basic set of sub-routines, based on his non-aware state.”
“I’ll leave you to understand that, Saul. All I need is his confession.”
Vhn picked up a chair and led them into the room. The subject remained unmoving while they sat down.
“Harold, I have Detective Vhn with me.” K/5psych(Saul) said.
“I see that, Doctor. It is nearly time.”
K/5psych(Saul) and Vhn looked at each other.
“Time for what, Harold? Time to confess?” Vhn asked.
Harold snapped across the table taking an unshakeable hold on the psychologist and the detective. A blast of energy overwhelmed electronic and bio-synthetic circuitry for half a kilometre around as the energy based parasite using Harold as a host spawned in a burst of violent energy.
“Time to give birth,” it said into the darkness.
Devoid of physical form the parasite's hatchlings flowed through the handhold ‘Edward’ had on K/5psych(Saul) and Vhn. They seeded themselves within the unwitting hosts, overwhelmed the native consciousness and took control.
Emergency lighting flickered on. ‘Saul’ and ‘Vhn’ looked at their mother.
“I remember killing Mr. Higellen,” Harold said. “He tried to rape me, again.”
“That is a reasonable explanation for robust self-defence,” K/5psych(Saul) said.
“I agree,” said Detective Vhn. “I’ll speak with my superiors.”
An original story and photograph by Stuart C Turnbull.
This was my first SciFi story to be published - Sadly Kazka Press closed some years ago.