Ouroboros

Count on Fiver

     Coda-9994 jolted awake from his nightmare. A sickening warmth like that of blood lingered in his mouth, and the scream echoed in his head. He tried to console himself that it had not really happened, but even that was a lie. He had no idea how anyone could forgive him for the incident last year. If only it had been...

     "Everything okay?" It was his substitute caregiver, a poor young lad whose name Coda never bothered to learn, instead calling him Squirt. The mere sound of his voice made Coda groan.

     - Jolly. Where's Jim? –

     "He called in sick today," said Squirt.

     Nonsense, Coda thought, but said nothing. He lifted his head above the water and turned in a circle. When he spotted Amelia Sullman standing beside Squirt, he sank back below the surface.

     "Hold on, Coda!" Amy called. "You're about to be fed. Stay up here."

     - Fed what? –

     "Sea cow," she replied. "Out of curiosity, what's your favorite thing to eat?"

     - I can't taste anything but salt. Didn't you know that? –

     Amy chuckled. Squirt wheeled in a cart loaded with meat and blubber. Coda brightened a little. Admittedly, he was quite hungry. He opened his mouth wide. Squirt recoiled at the sight of his teeth. "Don't you dare bite me, Coda."

     Amy lifted a slab of meat and tossed it into the water. Coda caught it and swallowed it whole. Squirt followed suit. Per the whale's request, they had stopped putting food directly into his mouth, but he still loathed how much he depended on them for basic necessities. Food, water, drugs to keep him sane, his communication device, and so on. He knew he owed them everything, and he despised it.

     "Jim says he should be back tomorrow," said Amy. "Until then, consider this practice for Ouroboros. There won't be anyone there except you."

     Those last words chilled him. As he finished his meal, he pondered what that would be like. No Amy, but no Jim, either. Not unless they contacted him for information about the planet. And what if they were wrong? What if there was no life on the planet? Would he starve to death, alone and afraid in a dark and alien sea?

     Squirt left the deck, leaving Coda-9994 alone with Amy. She noticed his unease immediately. "What's wrong now?"

     - I'm afraid. What if I die on Ouroboros? –

     "Then you'll be remembered as our hero," she told him. "Also, remember that we have your genome preserved. You're immortal."

     - Being able to clone me doesn't make me immortal. It makes me disposable. Why bother keeping me alive if you can make another one? –

     "It's not like that, Coda," she insisted. "You don't understand."

     He growled a little and dipped beneath the water again. It was like that. He did understand. Their lies weighed his heart down along with all the metal on and inside his head. Even James Morris – good old Jim, his only true friend – was a filthy liar. And if he truly thought Coda's life and individuality meant anything to the ICA, he was dead wrong, and the whale pitied him for it.

     "We still have some time before we start work today," said Amy. "Want a story? I know you love them." She smiled sweetly in a way that made Coda's stomach turn. "Which one is your favorite?"

     - "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. And I thought you didn't like him reading to me. –

     "I thought I'd better try it," she said. "You have plenty of reasons not to like me. I thought I'd break some walls today." She fetched a book from the table, checked the computer screen for another message, and opened it up. Coda-9994 swam up to listen.