Fighting Back

Chapter 3

Kryten’s words took few moments for Lister to sunk in; Rimmer’s worst memories. Reliving. Now. Holly smeg!

“Ok, Kryten, prepare the VR machine, we need to…”

The robot interrupted him before he could finish the sentence. “I’m sorry, sir but this just isn’t possible.”

“Why not? Worked for you, didn’t it?”

“Well, Mister Lister,” he begun his explanations “Indeed it worked but that’s because my brain was connected directly to the main computer. Mister Rimmer is at the moment completely shut down, you might say locked inside his light bee, therefore I have no access to his mind. I’m afraid that the only thing we can do is do deal with the fact that in just few hour Mister Rimmer will case to exist. Permanently.”

Lister inhaled sharply, then shook his head slowly. “I don’t believe it, Kryten, there have to be a way. No scientist would create a virus and didn’t invent a vaccine. I just don’t believe it.”

“I’m sorry, sir, I’ve checked, there’s no cure.”

“What about the other viruses, couldn’t you convert one of those vaccines into the one that could help him.” The panic begun to build in. They had been in all sorts of different troubles but there always were a way out, by their own invention or by accident, ‘not possible’ disappeared from their vocabulary ages ago, why had it have to return in such circumstances?

“I could try, sir but you have to remember we have just few hours and it could take days.”

Lister snorted unpleasantly, he didn’t feel like being polite anymore “That’s what you said before.”

Kryten looked away, ashamed, his guilt chip slightly overheating “Yes, I did” he admitted grudgingly “but this time I’m sure. You can’t forget that this virus is much more dangerous than those similar and that people smarter than me tried and failed.”

“I don’t get it.” Cat, deciding that there was no chance for any more beauty sleep that night, settled on hearing some explanations. “Why is reviving the memories worse than having your worst nightmares dancing salsa under your skull?”

“That’s because despite being attacked by the virus, the brain still can tell what is real and what is not. While having to face your worst fear materializing in front of you can be tough, the subconscious realizes that’s it’s just an illusion, that this can’t be happening and that’s what helps the infected person to remain sane. The memories, however, are completely different matter.” Kryten stopped his speech and pointed at the lifeless hologram “Mister Rimmer’s subconscious had lost the battle with the virus because it can’t tell the difference. The memories are the record of things that happened, that at some point of our lives were real. Human’s psyche can deal with even the most traumatizing experience but when it’s forced to suddenly face the worst memories, one after another and in such a short time, it simply crashes. That’s why most of the victims had died, their minds were like eggs thrown onto the hot frying pan.”

Lister swear under his breath, then turned around and leaned heavily against the medibed, resigned. He just couldn’t believe in what was happening. After years of being locked in that overgrown sardine can known as Red Dwarf he thought that had learned to deal with the fact, that one day luck that helped them through all their adventures might just pack it’s bags, give them a finger salute and take extended vacations but the feeling of utter helplessness that was biting his ass at the moment proved him wrong. He might have considered it, he might have even prepared himself somehow but now, facing something he believed was the end for one of them, he discovered how fragile he really was. Rimmer would die, this time effectively and forever, just like the most of the viruses victims and he couldn’t…

A gigantic, mental light bulb switched on above his head. He whirled around rapidly and fixed Kryten with, what he assumed, was his best ‘I got you!’ look.

“Wait a minute! You said ‘most’? ‘Most’ means that there were survivors!”

“I said so, sir?” Kryten shifted uncomfortably and looked at his hands “No sir, you must have misheard” he stuttered “I meant ‘all’ the victims, of course.”

“No way, buddy, I heard that too.” Lister didn’t expect for Cat to back him up, he didn’t even believe that he was listening to their conversation at all but it seemed that he had misjudged his companion. He grinned at Cat, a silent way of saying ‘thank you’, even if he knew very well, that he could kick the truth out of Kryten any time he wanted. In return, his feline companion gave him an indifferent look “Repeat that to someone and I deny.” he stated simply, although the corners oh his mouth twitched nervously. They were 3 millions years from Earth, the only life forms they ever met tried to either kill them or eat them (sometimes both) but leave it to Cat to worry about his image at the moment like that.

“But *sir*, it’s very dangerous!”

Lister said nothing.

“There’s no vaccine, you’d have to… You could die!”

Still nothing.

“The odds are like seventy three to one!”

Silence.

“It’s an utter, total and absolute foolishness, I can’t let you do that! The Space Corps Directive…”

“Kryten!” Lister took as much of it as he could, omission was one thing but shameless dishonesty when minutes mattered was a completely different pair of shoes “I understand you try to protect me and I appreciate that but we do not have the time for playing mother hen. Please” he stressed “*please*, tell me how can I save Rimmer’s life. Don’t let me sit here and watch him dying because you know very well I can’t.”

The robot knew he was loosing the battle but he also knew he had a one last shot “He wouldn’t do that for you.” He muttered angrily.

“No and that’s what makes us different.” Lister’s voice was calm again. There was no point of getting mad at Kryten, he knew that the robot wasn’t doing it because he hated Rimmer but because he was protecting him from… whatever madness was there to protect him from.

Kryten composed himself and straightened his back “There were some researches made…” he begun silently “One of the scientist’s wives got accidentally infected with the virus, so he had decided to plug into her mind to fight the memories with her.”

“And?”

“Well, sir, he didn’t make it. His mind died with her, while his body had transformed into a salivating potted plant.”

Lister sniffled “Oh… but there were some results, right? Some survivors?”

“Well, yes, sir. After this incident professor Franco, the one that had invented the virus, decided that this might be the solution. He’d found one hundred and sixty-four volunteers that agreed to have the virus injected and additional one hindered and sixty- four that were supposed to act as the, so called, lifeline.”

Cat’s eyes widened “Wait a minute, buddy! Are you trying to tell me that there were morons that actually agreed to have *it* done to them?”

Kryten appeared unaffected by the question, apparently he decided that he had already shown too much emotions as for a one discussion “Some people will do everything for the right amount of money, sir.” He stated simply.

“So, how many of these smegheads got lucky?”

“Isn’t it simple Cat?” it was Lister’s turn to answer “Seventy three to one, if we count those who were ‘lifelines’, we come up with four people out of two hundred and…” he wiggled his nose “something.”

“Nearly three hundreds sir.” Offered Kryten helpfully.

Lister shrugged, these numbers meant nothing to him. None of these people fought the Curry monster and lived to brag about it “Whatever. Prepare the equipment Kryten, I’m going in.”

Kryten didn’t protest anymore, although Lister was aware that he would like to. He had chosen his way, a path he didn’t want to be at but he had no choice, as letting Rimmer die was absolutely no option for him. Cat knew that and that’s why he helped him- it just shortened the distance Lister had to travel between ‘thinking about it’ and ‘doing it’. Kryten knew that and that’s why he lied.

Defeated, the robot, begun punching some buttons at the main consol, frowning as he watched the results, then reached under the bed and retrieved the instruments he put there for cases like that (although, ‘like that’ wasn’t the right term, he had never suspected he’d use them one day to send Lister to nearly certain death). He picked up a syringe, similar to that one that a long time ago had been used to perform a bodyswap on Lister and showed it to him. “Now, sir, the method is simple. I shall transfer your mind inside Mister Rimmer’s light bee. Remember, that once inside there, there will be no other way out, than helping Mister Rimmer dealing with his worst memories. Actually…”
Lister’s hands were sweating and he had to grab the edges of the chair he was sitting at to prevent them from shaking but he urged Kryten to continue. “Actually what? What is it?”

“Well, sir, not the worst memories. *The* worst memory. I’ve checked the scans and it appears that Mister Rimmer had entered the terminal stage of the infection.” Kryten twitched, he wanted to beg Lister to stop but he didn’t, they reached the point of no return and even he had to admit it.

“Go on with it.” Lister looked at unusually silent Cat. His companion just gave him a ‘you know what you’re doing buddy’ look (or perhaps that’s what Lister wanted to see) and wished his good luck.

As Lister felt a sharp pain of the needle breaking his skin, thousands of questions surfaced. How was he suppose to convince Rimmer, what should he do? Would he be able to interact with the surroundings? Would he have to convince ‘their’ Rimmer or Rimmer from the memory? Before he opened his mouth to anything a black void opened around him and swallowed him whole.

Tbc…