free my hands. I fought to move. To resist. It was no use. I was spread open and locked down. I couldn't stop him.
CHAPTER TWO
The symbiote Rama Chandriss observed the struggling female. He noted with fascination the discordant patterns in her resistance. The obvious signs of physical surrender battled other aspects that fought to escape. The humans were a confused species. He had witnessed it often enough over the years with his own host. Using them as seeding hosts was a mercy. A dignified conclusion to the long turmoil of their aimless evolution. He wondered if they would show the proper gratitude for their chosen end. Any rational being would have readily understood and agreed to the role. The extinction of their species held little value compared to the rebirth of his own. He doubted they could see that truth. Humans were too far gone with the consuming passion for life. For survival and continuation, even when any rational entity would have ended it's pathetic struggle long ago. Rama was pleased he could do this service for mankind. “Alien entity, you do not have consent to exercise corporeal control of the consciousness that is Noah Sinclair. I insist you release him immediately.” The space station’s tiresome AI. Rama recalculated the odds of deactivating it and still succeeding with his plan. No. Not yet. He still required it to maintain the station while he was submerged in the host. It was possible to insert a shard of code in the station’s mainframe, but he couldn’t guarantee the code would function in the event of an unexpected emergency. The ignorant assemblage of rudimentary logic had that going for it. It had spent the last ten years dealing with the unexpected crises that inevitably plague a space station of such crude design. The yushan were changing that. They still had work to do before. “I repeat. Alien entity, you do…” Rama set the irritating pattern aside. It could do nothing to stop him. Neither could the female below him. She didn't have to like it. Even her acceptance was unnecessary. The condition in her brain weakened the connection between her physical and mental patterns. She was a perfect receptacle for the Seeding. He checked in on the matrix that attended her physical health. All of the healing patterns were in place. She would grow strong just as the shard grew strong inside her. It would someday emerge and cast the useless cocoon aside. He would no longer be alone. No longer face the agony of a solitary eternity. He regretted the physical joining that was required. He regretted more that he longed for it. He knew the longing originated from the relaxed hold on the host body. But it didn't make the experience any more palatable. GRREAARRRAAHHH. Lost in the eddies of his thoughts, Rama didn't notice the dog’s movement. He turned to observe, and it was too late. The dog slammed into his body, knocking him from the restoration pod and onto the floor. Before he could reconnect with the physical and scramble away, the beast landed on his chest and clamped its jaws around his neck. Rama registered the sensations of pain originating in the throat as sharp metal teeth sank into his flesh. The raw amplitude of the signal threatened to collapse his control. He didn't worry that any lasting damage would be done. He had optimized the body's response so that healing was accelerated many times over. Surface wounds were nothing that required additional focus. He grabbed the beast’s body and pushed away only to find the effort pulled harder at his throat. Made the surface wound bite deeper. If he shoved with all his might, his own effort would tear his throat out and end his host’s life. And end his own at the same time. He reflected on the thought matrix that decided the AI’s fate. Yes. He needed to deactivate this bothersome creature. Just as he was about to manipulate the pattern to initiate the task, the female appeared above him, standing by his feet.