C.A.I.T.: Cyber Automated Intergrated Technology

By Tam Sturgeon

Sadie Reedman is handed a new job by her brother, Simon, where she works for him in his cyber laboratory. This is to entail keeping CAIT, his Prize Fighter, online, without any glitches, so as to fight the show-game battles he has pre-programmed into her matrix. Cait, the female cyber-form, is a clear winner, and proves it time and again. As Sadie builds Cait, there is some learning being done on both sides of the wonder-web, inside and out. Together, the two allies realise there is more to Simon than meets the eye, and changes come for him when a certain young addition joins his brainy cyber staff.

James knows an awful lot of clever stuff, and his life revolves around one thing, finding a way through to Cait’s world. He soon unlocks the security code, and by connecting with her, their worlds are suddenly opened up to a billion possibilities. There are secrets to be told, but they will never surface if a certain person has his way. James has one purpose, to show Cait there is more to battling it through her regular fight nights, and by doing so, reveals the biggest secret of them all.

Simon Reedman has more money than brain cells. He is not a stupid man, by any means, but he can be greedy, which is almost as bad. Money makes his world go around, and when those two things are threatened, by an old colleague and friend, he takes matters into his own hands. Determined his business will not fail because of some cyber-creation, he enters a battlefield where he is destined to lose. When the tables are turned by the creation in question, his worst nightmare finds and invades his ever-safe cyber-space, leaving him in the very darkness he created.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tam Sturgeon
• Release date: Jul 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463755013

Tam Sturgeon

Writing History of Tam Sturgeon1970’sI find myself reciting poetry at middle school in Christmas Assemblies. Pam Ayres a particular favourite (and remembered to this day).1980’sI start writing poetry in Secondary School, after finding a poem in a Sunday Supplement. An emotionally charged home life gives me reason to lose myself when my mother is being all weird and shouty. Poetry takes me away from that. I find it comes easily and is prolific. I write various lyrics and silly ditties for birthdays and weddings.2003-2004I start my first novel, Champagne Hurricane, a rock and roll love story, whilst I’m having an emotional breakdown. The first in the line of my life changing events starts with my Father dying then my first husband leaving me, all within 18 months of each other. I’m awarded Runner-up in a Writer’s Forum Magazine Competition. I start Art College and use my poems as part of my finals. It earns me a Distinction. I find I have enough material to write my 1st and 2nd book of poetry.2004-2009The next three books of poetry are written, one after the other in quick concession. I then relocate to Somerset. The novel is put on the backburner, due to a demanding second husband which ends very badly for me.2010I relocate back to Bucks, finding myself with little to show for my time away. I return to my writing and the first novel, which is finished before the New Year.2011A massive near fatal heart attack in the March leaves me on the verge of another emotional breakdown. I start to write my second novel and take a very level headed look at my life. Being housebound pushes me back into writing once more, and two more volumes of poetry are poured out before the end of the year. A new novel is also started, a Werewolf and Vampire love story, which runs parallel with the second. Six others novels are also dabbled with, but soon fall by the wayside.2012I finish the second, and two more books of poetry are completed. A 10th volume of A-Z Pocket Poetry is then completed. The third novel, still in its infancy, is set aside as the rhythm of the ode becomes my favourite once more. I tell myself the poetry collection will end at volume thirteen.2013With the New Year comes more poetry, the 11th book, 12th, and 13th. Later that year my first novel is ePublished to Smashwords.com and is welcomed with open arms by the readers, gaining 10, 5 star reviews, at this time I also ePublish three volumes of poetry. There is also a 14th book of poetry written. Sadly, it was partly lost due to my hard drive burning out. Some is salvaged, but it remains nameless and unpublished, to this day.2014‘Champagne Hurricane’ continues to gather followers as the poetry collection grows. I spend time in Canada and write the 15th volume, which is then made ready for ePublishing. The 16th book of poetry is started and finished shortly after. Come the Christmas of 2014 I have started yet another novel. Champagne Hurricane is suddenly rendered a trilogy.2015As the storyboard for Book 2, Different Directions, slowly comes alive, more poetry is produced. Lyrics are dabbled with, yet again, and along the way several other projects are started, most of which are all put on the backburner as the novel becomes a constant time-filler. By the end of 2015 Book 2 is a finished novel, plus I have rewritten and renamed Book 1, now known as Never Forever, under The Champagne Hurricane Trilogy title.2016At the turn of the year the 17th volume is started and then finished come the end of spring. A break is taken to travel. Upon my return, things pick up where they left off. The 18th is started, along with the Book 3 in the trilogy, Between Favours. These run side by side and see me through another summer, both finished about the same time. I also start writing a fantasy novel relating to the myth of unicorns and why broomsticks can fly. I get half way and am distracted by the thought I am wasting my precious time with needless thing, i.e. all the stuff I’m cramming into my laptop on a daily basis. I stop writing for the rest of the year, frustrated with not knowing what to do with any of it.2017So, anyway, early in the year I unpublished one novel, due to its lack of interest. I delete it from my back-catalogue, permanently. The 18th volume is then completed before the summer and the 19th is started. With The Champagne Hurricane Trilogy complete, what to do next? I write my first Action Thriller, a Novella, and finish it in a little over six weeks. As the close of the year faces me, I am ousted from my job of three years for highlighting a Toxic Manager case. I am rendered jobless in the New Year, with huge debts and nowhere to turn.2018The first two months of the year are taken up with ill health and what is to become another trilogy. Rewritten for the Young Adult and Teen market, the now gruesome trio, are all based around the same random grisly event but set in different eras, trips from my fingers. This is shortly followed by another short story, which almost touches on Sci-Fi, and is also initially aimed at the Y/A &Teen market, though it could also be enjoyed by anyone into the genre. It is at this point I also finish the 19th Volume of poetry and start the 20th. I diversify yet again, writing my own lyrics to classical and mainstream music. Drawing from my own personal experiences, I compose forty plus alternative ways of wording them. Alongside this, I turn myself into a product and decide I have enough material to approach the Agents and Producers in both the literary and music business.Find me on:TwitterInstagramFacebookThank you

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C.A.I.T

Cyber Automated Integrated Technology

Published by Tam Sturgeon at Smashwords

Copyright Tam Sturgeon 2018

This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

The names, characters and incidents portrayed within it are

the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to

actual persons, living or deceased, or any events

mentioned is entirely coincidental.

Tam Sturgeon asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work.

Cover imagery courtesy of the author.

Cover design by Tam Sturgeon.

Copyright Tam Sturgeon 2018

~

PART 1

Byte of Tera

One hell of deafening blast ripped through the night sky, sending shrapnel and flames in all directions. Lighting up the trees and undergrowth, it destroyed two jeeps and a shed, whilst incinerating three armed guards. Orange and red fire lashed at the sides of Oscar One, as pandemonium raged through its doors and into the yard surrounding it.

Grabbing at weapons of choice, the hour was upon them, their churning guts telling them so. Running for the main exit, the squad banded together, ready for their orders. Bursting out into the night air, chaos rained down upon them from all quarters. Firing started beyond the west wing, loud and in short bursts, in the direction of the trees, which were then reduced to shredded vegetation, as the night was brightly lit with neon flares and mighty flash-bangs.

They had to keep the N.E.M (Nothing Else Matters) under armed guard and in the safe, which was their number one priority, no matter what might happen, no matter what might come for them. Hugging to the shadows, with their night-vision in play, the six moved as if shadows themselves, close to the edge, their senses reeling. Halt, check east and west, nothing, move forward.

The patrol inched its way around Oscar One, as the alarms where finally brought under control, knowing the threat was out there somewhere, just waiting on them in the dark. Everything was checked and then rechecked, be aware of every single inch covered, and take no chances. It was deadly, the entity coming for them, and it was coming right now.

Radio silence, hand gestures only, eyes watching and ears straining. The gloom welcomed them, as they stepped beyond their markers, the silence deafening. Keeping low, almost lost undercover, their skin resembled the colour of the land around them. Weapons at the ready, for no one liked nasty surprises. In line with their positions, they slipped through the undergrowth with hardly a sound made.

More orders were quietly spat into their earpieces, the sunny babble a regular event.

‘... Stay on course, Grid Two taking affect in ... Three ... Two ... And mark grid frame on point ... Wait for map rotation, that’s it, steady on the flip ... And, set ... Stay on target for termination ... Coordinates are on your feeds, and ready to download through your usual channels ... Thank you, North Squad, you now hold the field ... Please proceed with caution, and have a nice day ... Over ...’

Knowing there was an ammo store dead ahead, they stealthily picked their way towards it. Extras were taken and added to their consignment, as quiet as mice with hardly a sound made. No man spoke, their full concentration on the task at hand.

Travis moved up next to Riley, his hardened face crisscrossed from his years in battle. Loading several rounds of ammunition into his utility vest, he quickly scanned their surrounding area. Grimacing, his words came at a whisper.

‘Peters reckons our Target has done to ground, it’ll be doing its usual, so heads up ... Always make sure you double check any oddities ... That goes for everyone, spread the word ...’

‘Yeah, sure,’ Riley replied, his voice on the low, his eyes small and mean. ‘And be prepared, bro, my sensory gauge is off the chart ... It hasn’t been this high since we did Nam, that’s all I’m saying ... A storm’s coming, DT, watch your back, mate ...’

Travis paled a little, his stomach burning, his eyes flicking around that small clearing in the woods. Back to work, after a quick drink to wet his stickily parched throat.

They peeled away in each direction, one team west, one team east, facing off the grid. Moving out of sight of each other, the silence stretched across the space between them. Eye to eye contact lasted mere seconds and, with that last wave, they were gone.

‘... Riley ... Cane ... Matthews ... Are you there, do you read me? ... Over ... Travis, Brody, Peters, anyone ...?’

The young man in the hot-seat spun to face the one in charge, and then he waited, whilst the information was downloaded into the mainframe hovering before him.

‘Sir, I’m sorry, North Squad has gone down, we’ve lost contact, and each of their links are now terminated ... South Squad is closing in ... Target is within range ... They are locked on, and ready ... How would you like them to proceed?’

Blue eyes looked down from the suspended monitor and blinked without effort. There was a slight pause, his mind whirring, the thoughts flowing.

‘... Scale it up, but don’t pound the area ... Send the south six in, hand to hand, with one fire small arm each, and a knife, a really big knife,’ was smiled, as he lit his fat cigar.

‘... All or nothing, Sir?’ was asked, as the young man typed in the access code, merely to jump the queue.

‘... Yes ... All or nothing, Hensley ... Now you’re learning ...’

Entering his office, as though he was being chased by a hurricane, his excitement almost exploded from him. Straight over to his bar, for two long ones, stiff, and over ice. Tagging along behind, was a young woman, who was not so excited, though she was trying to seem that way. What was sometimes sauce for that older gander was not always the same for the younger goose, and a lot of the time it showed.

‘I’ve never seen anything like it ... It annihilated them all, every one of them ... I’ve never been so proud in all my life ... Well done, you, and my applause, how you pulled that off, I don’t know, but you fluking did ... Hats off in your direction, you said it would, and it did ... Three stages, in one night, how fluking amazing is that? ... We haven’t seen anything like this before, it’s a world record, it must be, judging by the replays ... No server has, ever, delivered so much action, so far, or so fast, before, we hold the Charger-Board now, and I intend to keep it that way ...’

As she took a seat in front of the expanse of glass desk, he sat behind, as always, because that’s where he belonged. Her drink was handed over, which she relished as it sank into her, long and cold. If nothing else, it removed the nasty taste from her mouth.

‘... Reedman, I’m telling you,’ he smiled at the one opposite, ‘it was the play of the moment, and for a very good reason, how many kills? ... It’s the same reason why they tune in on their headsets, every week, like clockwork ... They love it, they can’t get enough, because it kicks ass ... Those that watch are addicted, so they have to know, they have to see it to believe it ... The public always love choosing the arena, and worship the vote every fortnight, but you know that, so don’t look so upset ... It won, didn’t it?’

The tall, elegant, young man walked around his big desk, in his gorgeous silk suit, rubbing his hands together quickly. Perching on the front edge, he looked at the woman sat before him.

‘... Our Hit Score is up by an astonishing twenty-three percent, and those reviews are hot, hot, hot ... Them, in there, locked into their Home-Link thread through Synchro-Switch Direct, they love the power, Reedman, they always have, that’s why they do it, and you have to admit the truth here, it’s the only thing left they have any control over ... So, if it’s so knackered it can’t connect into its super-link, in a week’s time, we’ll swap it for another version, and no one will ever know ... There’s several in there, right now, hooked up and just waiting for their chance in the limelight ... So, what’s it gonna be? ... Is it on, or is it off?’

‘The programme took a beating, you saw that, so have a little respect, and, no, she, wasn’t designed to take hits like that because, she’s, not a fluking war-bot ... She’s, a high grade platform of cyber-created life, one that learns from her mistakes ... I’m just wondering, Simon, do you?’ Sadie smiled sweetly, looking up at the man with blue eyes.

‘Reedman, I’m not doing this again with you, it’s getting boring ... Next it’ll be going on strike, over a credits increase, and saying it doesn’t get enough download time ... Tell, it, I’ll zap it in the butt with some extra volts and then terminate, it ... See how, it, feels about that, the spoilt little...’

‘Simon, okay, spot already, I hear you ... Let me check her files, which will take about a day, just to make sure they can take another pounding ... I’ll let you know tomorrow evening, that’s all I can give you ... Are you happy with that?’ she soothed, trying to buy some precious time.

No, he wasn’t happy. She could see it in his face and hear it in the big sigh, dropped on her, before he walked back round to his comfy leather chair and sat down. Once he did that, Sadie knew their meeting was over.

‘... I’ll give you ...’ he looked at his gold watch, ‘twenty-four hours, from now ... So get going, time is credits, and credits fill my high gloss swipe-card ... So, be gone, Gadget Girl ... You have lots of work to do ...’

His left hand waved towards the door as he spoke, it was Simon’s way of saying they were done.

If there had been something heavy at hand, for example, a stapler or a hole-punch, Sadie would have gladly thrown it at the specimen sat opposite, but there wasn’t, so she didn’t. Instead, she lifted quietly from her seat, and turned for the door. Almost free of that horridly flash office on the fourteenth floor, she was nearly there, but not quite.

‘... Oh, and, Reedman, before you go,’ came the slowly said words from behind, in his usual all-knowing way, ‘you haven’t forgotten what tomorrow night is, have you? ... Birthday dinner night, so you will be there, won’t you?’

‘... Yes, I might, but only on one account,’ she replied, opening the door to exit.

‘Oh, yeah ... What’s that?’ he asked, lighting a fat cigar and rolling it in his slender fingers, lazily.

‘... You stop calling me Reedman and use my given first name, Sadie ... If Daddy hears you at dinner, on his birthday, he’ll so clip your ear, again, just like last time, and then you’ll cry, just like the likkle baby we all know you really are ...’

Having the last laugh, she quickly poked her tongue out at her older sibling, before she darted out the door and closed it quickly behind her. Something hit his side of the wood between them, but she didn’t care what it was, she was gone already.

‘... Simon seems to think your matrix will take the increase in power shots ... I’ve added the changes so we’ll run it today, making any alterations required as you go through the grades again ... If we correspond the drop-shots with the correct mapping codes, you could feel a definite strength increase overall ... If you’re happy with that, I’ll run the diagnostics now, and watch for any spikes that might cause issues with the download ... After that, you’re on your own ...’

Sadie looked at Cait as she moved around her on the grid. No walls existed, all but lines and squares, side to side, and top to bottom. It wasn’t hot and it wasn’t cold, it was nothing, a sense not named, but a room nonetheless.

She was perfect, her skin, face and hair, the sculpturing of her contours, her shade and her light. No details were amiss, she was the sister Sadie never had, and the one she had always wanted. There was much of her in Cait, many flaws too, just the same as her re-creator. Blue eyes, long blonde hair, with pretty yet petite features, were a collective of what could be achieved within the realms of inspired input information.

Cait was everything Sadie wished she could be, everything and more. She let the programme build her own world, her own life, yet she was still a commodity to be flouted in the face of commercialism. Cait made big credits, and all those involved with Synchro-Switch Direct, they loved the limelight and adulation. Fame and plenty of spends came at a hefty price and, sadly, Cait was it.

‘I’m getting smarter, Sadie, I can feel it, in here,’ Cait grinned, tapping her temple with a finger.

‘Yes, you will over time, I’ve built it into you, so you would retain useful information, you know, the things that might be worth having on file ...’

Changing the projection back to a small cottage, Sadie walked to the table and took a seat. Speaking as she moved, Cait watched her with eyes as blue as the sky above.

‘One day this will stop, I promise, but until then ... You are what you are, and I can’t change that ... Your recovery time should increase with the booster packs I’ve put in place, but that will have an impact on your motion skills ... Because there’s more to process, you’ll have a minor delay before you can run, so just be aware of that, and be somewhere safe before implementing them, don’t be caught out in the open, get undercover ... Okay, I think that’s it ... Everything else is down to you.’

‘Ha,’ Cait, chuckled, as she moved to make coffee, ‘I finally got my upgrade, sweet ... But at such a cost, shame ... Never mind, it could be worse ... Simon could have given me a zap in the arse, like he suggested, before terminating me, so it’s not all bad, is it?’

Speaking from where she sat, Sadie watched Cait in the kitchen going through the motions, doing what everyday people did.

‘He can’t terminate you, he doesn’t hold the codes,’ Sadie almost laughed in reply. ‘Yes, well, he thinks he does, but they’re to refill the automated executive drinks machines on Level 6, which should come in handy if he gets thirsty in a temporary draught ...’

With two coffees in hand, Cait joined her and took a seat opposite. There was a smile there, for gaining that small piece of inside information. It would be filed away for future reference, along with all the other little bits collected over time.

‘Thank you, that’s made my day ... Poor Simon, not really as powerful as he likes to thinks he is ... Now there’s a man I’d like to get downloaded ... I’d love to blow his mind,’ Cait mumbled through a daydream, which was sat there, waiting to happen. ‘One day, maybe,’ she almost whispered, her eyes lost to the view out there.

‘Yeah, well, there’s a wish I wish I could grant, as your real-life Fairy God Mother ... One day, Cait, you will go to the ball ...’

The laughter stopped her, Cait’s laughter. It rolled from her, loud and felt, and full of