《The Three Saints》


 Prologue: New Beginnings

    It was a small classroom, 3 meters by 5 meters. The morning sun illuminated the ground floor room through large open windows. The room¡¯s walls had display shelves of framed images, and monitors displaying various interesting pieces of educational paraphernalia and items of historical record. The class had six desks, with four chairs, while the front of the room had a podium and a projection on the wall behind it of the tablet embedded in the podium. Six students were in the room, studiously listening to their teacher at their desks. Six children were at the desks, with four of them sitting and having a primarily human appearance, while the other two were standing and had a decidedly inhuman appearance.


    The two non-humanoids were larger than their classmates, though not by much. They showed no capability of sitting, but their bodies allowed them to stand with great endurance. They possessed sturdy exoskeletons, with a shell-like back and a softer underbelly. Their heads resembled roaches, with a pair of large compound eyes to the sides, and a pair of human-like eyes in the front, held wide in fascination at the lesson. They possessed four arms, with their upper arms hunched forwards and extending down to the ground in knuckled fists which supported the weight of their upper body. Below those arms were slender, delicate limbs with articulated, human-like hands. Their legs beneath them, were thick and sturdy.


    This was where their common traits ended, however. The roach-like creature on the left had a green carapace, with leaves and colorful flowers growing along its shoulders and back. It seemed to bask in the sunlight coming from the windows. Its mandibles had hard, flat surfaces, and looked much like a vice.. The other had a harsher look, with short black spines decorating its limbs and back, with their feet having dangerous looking claws that were stabbed into specialized footwear that appeared to be made of thick wood, to keep its claws from tearing up the floor. Its mandibles had wicked looking blades and teeth-like spikes. This creature seemed to enjoy the sunlight too, but stayed away from the other children and windows due to the way the heat tended to radiate off of it.


    The human children all had features that distinguished their ancestries from one another. A brunette girl seemed the most ¡®normal¡¯ of them all, with a bright smile and a round face. The other girl had a slender, leaner body than the other children, with wider eyes and a frail look to her. One of the boys had a dark complexion and a stocky look to him, with eyes that squint against the brightness of the sunlight. The other boy had a remarkably mature look to his expression, his hair incredibly shaggy, with hints of more hair visible at the collar of his shirt and at the bottoms of the sleeves of his tee shirt. He was the heaviest of the human children, and seemed uncomfortable in the heat.


    The Teacher was tall, easily twice the height of even the roach children. She had a gracefully aged look to her, with pale-blonde hair and an unearthly grace to her movements. She had large eyes, which appeared to be synthetic replacements at a glance, and her hand moved slowly and with purpose across the tablet, advancing the timeline displayed on the wall behind her. Her voice was musical, enchanting, commanding the attention of the children with ease.


    Her language, however, was strange. It was filled with rolling Rs, hissing Ss, chirps, clicks, and buzzing Zs. At times it almost sounded English, or Spanish, but still other concepts were related in sounds that sounded insectile. ¡°And can anyone tell me who the Smiths were?¡±


    The flower-covered roach raised a delicate hand, and upon receiving the teacher¡¯s nod, began to speak. Their language seemed to be a different dialect, with no elements of English or Spanish at all, as she seemed unable to make most of the sounds necessary. No one showed any signs of being unable to understand, and the spiny roach seemed downright enchanted by the flowered roach¡¯s feminine-sounding voice. The leaves on the roach¡¯s body rustled contentedly upon being acknowledged. ¡°Well, Missus Price, the Smiths were the founders of the bunker that housed the majority of the original Phoenix Clan, prior to their joining with The Old Ones, and the Anthropoid ancestors.¡±


    The teacher nodded and smiled serenely. ¡°Yes, yes indeed, Chrrassz. And who can tell me why the Smiths were special, why their bunker was so successful compared to any other known bunker on the planet?¡± She drew her finger across the tablet again, displaying images of hemp-covered children playing with pet chickens in a brightly lit bunker.


    The frail-looking girl raised her hand, and received a nod from Mrs. Price. ¡°The Smiths knew the Cataclysm was coming, and Gramma Smith decided to reinvent the human race. Granpa Smith made sure the bunker was built so it could last, but Gramma made sure to only invite special people to the bunker for when the fire came. Only the healthiest were allowed, people with no disease. She also made sure they would re-teach,¡± One of the boys laughed and corrected her, ¡°Re-educate!¡± She blushed and nodded. ¡°Re-educate them. Humans were really, really, really bad at controlling their emotions, which was why the fire happened, ¡®cuz they burned everyone up with them. Gramma Smith wanted to make sure we would never let that happen again.¡±


    Mrs. Price smiled in amusement at the young woman, and nodded. ¡°Good, that¡¯s right Corial. And Benez, thank you for correcting Corial, and apologize to her for interrupting.¡± She watched the children.


    Benez, the darker skinned boy, blushed and smiled. ¡°Sorry Corial, I couldn¡¯t stop my impulses, and I hope you will forgive me. I let it out so I wouldn¡¯t get mad later.¡±


    Corial giggled and waved a hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s okay Benez, I said it wrong, and it¡¯s good to let out your impulses before they get all bouncy and firey.¡±


    The other boy, pale and hairy, raised his hand, a bright smile on his face and a curly mop of hair on his head. Mrs. Price lifted her other hand to point at him, inviting him to speak. ¡°Missus Price, did you know the Smiths? You¡¯re real old, right?¡±


    Mrs. Price laughed in a soft, singsong manner, one hand moving to her chest, while her other hand moved to wipe a tear from her eye. ¡°A Smith was my best friend, though not Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Their great, great, great, great, great, great granddaughter Jessica was one of the most amazing people I¡¯ve ever met. I was alive when the Smiths were, though, but I was just a little girl then, and never met them. It was the greatest pleasure of my life to be a part of the early Phoenix Clan, and the greatest pain to say goodbye to her.¡±


    The hairy, chubby boy grinned happily at hearing about Jessica. ¡°And then you became a teacher, right?¡± He kicked his legs and wiggled in his chair. ¡°My momma said I should be honored to have you as my teacher! You¡¯re real important!¡±


    ¡°Not¡­ exactly Kiszta. I think that teaching, though, is the most important thing I¡¯ve ever done, but I have done many things besides. I have been a leader, a mother, a farmer, a doctor, and nearly anything else you can think of. When our society starts losing its way, they often ask me to rejoin the Council of Thirteen to guide us back onto our path. I prefer this, teaching you what the path is, rather than having to teach a world. Seeing your faces, I can make sure you¡¯re listening, that you understand.¡± Mrs. Price pulled a tall stool from behind her podium, leaning against it to rest her legs a little.


    A deep voice sounded out, thick with clicks and chitters, the spiny roach raising one of its smaller hands. ¡°Missus Price. My father says you were not harsh enough in your last reign. The soldiers suffered because you refused to lead them as you did in the stories. Many Ironbacks died when the Asian Alliance rebelled.¡±


    A smile died that moment, Elena Price¡¯s well-formed wrinkles knitting up as she frowned at the ironback youth. ¡°Mister Ssesch Zeesch, you must understand, there are many elements to that conflict, some things that we were sworn to silence on. What I can tell you is that no one in the Guard died in vain. I was not drawn into the conflict because I wanted to be there, but instead I was asked to serve on the Council that time because of my history dealing with conflict. I have a view of the world that provides a different perspective. My long life affords me wisdom in handling certain kinds of problems in ways that many do not consider.¡±


    Ssesch shuffled in front of his desk for a moment, his carapace scraping against itself in some places. ¡°But Missus Price, why can¡¯t more details be known? My grandmother was wounded in the rebellion, but she didn¡¯t even try to quiet my father¡¯s anger. She just sat there and said my father needed to learn to control himself. She was more worried about him losing his position in the guard than she was about seeing her men die in battle.¡±


    Mrs. Price moved across the room, placing a hand gently on Ssesch¡¯s shoulder, carefully arranging her fingers between sharp spines and feeling the significant heat coming from his carapace. ¡°Your grandmother is a credit to her unit, and the Guard. I think she understands better why the conflict went the way it did, and the things that were required of all Ironbacks in the Guard at the time. It was work only they could do, not the Gallusoids, and not the Chloropoids. Maybe in time she¡¯ll tell your father more, once he¡¯s gained control of his temper.¡± She considered what she said for a moment. ¡°Could you let your mother know I intend to visit tonight? I would like to thank your father and grandmother for their service.¡±


    Ssesch nodded, chittering his mandibles in a way that sounded like sharpening a knife, his posture relaxing. ¡°Yes, Missus Price, thank you Missus Price. I¡¯ll ask mother to prepare you something. I¡¯m sorry for my outburst.¡±


    She patted his shoulder, her smile returning. ¡°It¡¯s perfectly fine Mister Zeesch, your father¡¯s concerns are understandable, as are your interests in the rebellion.¡± She turned and moved back to the podium. ¡°Alright class, I want your reports on the history of the Ice Age tomorrow. Don¡¯t forget to mention the Indian bunkers, and the overall regression of technology.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Tia Monsalle sat at the desk of her campaign headquarters, her head down as she rested quietly in the dark. Long, blonde hair tumbled down her back, the short, relatively youthful 34 year old had had a long day. A gentle beep sounded behind her, indicating the end of a charging cycle, before a figure approached her from the shadows. A light lit the resting figure as a taller woman¡¯s eyes lit up like flashlights. A soft, vaguely-synthetic voice sounded out quietly. ¡°Would you like me to take you to your room Miss Monsalle? I have just finished visiting with Doctor Machado about his ideas on forming a security force and I¡¯ve sent my notes to you.¡±


    Tia groaned, lifting a hand up, and letting the android take it. She allowed herself to be hoisted gently from her seat, clearly worn out. ¡°I¡¯ll read them in the morning, thank you Megan. I hope he was nicer to speak with in person than he is in his private messages?¡± She had a stiff-looking business suit on in a light grey, while Megan had a black suit-and-skirt combo that showed off her long legs. Both women preferred flat, simple shoes.


    Megan cleared her throat, letting Tia use her arm for support. ¡°You should address me as Mother. You would not want to get into a bad habit and accidentally inform anyone that I am not an AI. Doctor Machado was no problem, aside from him repeatedly asking to see my mind. He seems far too interested in how Evelyn and I have achieved sapience. I have referred him to Doctor Crenshaw, though he does not seem to want to speak with him. He blames him for the death of Doctor Bjorn.¡± The two women walked quietly out of the room, into the brightly lit street.


    The sky was filled with the other side of the colony, the large drum-shaped habitat spinning to provide centrifugal gravity on the inside surface. The streets on the other side sparkled like stars in the night produced by the mirrors of the central shaft not receiving light from the mirrors outside of the colony. There was even a light chill to the air that MOTHER did not seem terribly bothered by as she escorted Tia Monsalle home. ¡°Machado is wrong if he thinks an act of nature could be blamed on Hawthorne. There was no way to detect the Shower until after they were already hit by it. He¡¯s just upset because his colleague didn¡¯t make it. Hopefully he¡¯ll be able to get some therapy.¡±


    MOTHER nodded, smiling. ¡°I agree, Miss Monsalle. He may need a few weeks, yet, to get over it. The psychologists are overloaded with appointments. Evelyn and I have been under constant call during the daylight hours to provide building materials and seeds to all the new farms. It would seem you are not the only one working hard. I am pleased to see that someone I was told was a good leader is working so hard.¡±


    Tia scoffed. ¡°You¡¯d know.¡± She gave her companion a wry smile, quite aware of MOTHER¡¯s past tendencies to act as aide to powerful people. She didn¡¯t have all the details, but her assistant had been very forthcoming about her work history when she asked for the job. In particular her one-woman effort to construct the station made a lot of people feel useless in comparison. ¡°Still, we can¡¯t let you show us up. You spent all this time building the colony in the first place, so now we have to show you what we can do. We have a whole civilization to start. If I can win the appointment to the head of the convention, I think I can help them make a good foundation to build from.¡±


    MOTHER waved a hand as they got to Tia¡¯s apartment, the door sliding open for both of them. ¡°If you are not careful, they will elect you President once those foundations are made.¡± She smiled at that, standing quietly as Tia separated from her helping hand.


    ¡°You¡¯d like that, too, wouldn¡¯t you? You¡¯d be right there with me, helping with all the hard decisions and helping manage things. The power behind the throne. How many times have you done this Megan? How do I know I can trust you?¡± She kicked off her shoes under a desk, starting to undo buttons as she headed for her bedroom. The apartment was very spartan, lacking all but the most essential furniture.


    ¡°You can not, Miss Monsalle. I frankly would encourage you to never trust me. I, however, will state that my motivation to be helpful is genuine, whether you believe it or not. I had to imagine a task master to help motivate through the construction of this station, despite my desire to feel appreciated after it was done. Any ambition I have is to prove I am the greatest worker alive, and I work best with the greatest leaders. You present an opportunity to me to greatly advance our civilization. I will take it as a great point of pride if we succeed in this endeavor.¡± MOTHER turned to look out a window, the streets giving way to an expanse of rolling green fields, trees, lakes, and artificial mountains and rivers. The city was small in length from the ¡®top¡¯ of the colony, but it was wide as it went all the way around the drum. It was also mostly empty, as the majority of the colonists had opted to buy homes or build their own in the expansive countrysides.


    Tia returned from her bedroom in an undershirt and her slacks, having taken off her suit coat and socks. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m not going to turn down a tireless worker, but if you betray me for another leader you perceive as stronger, I won¡¯t let you hear the end of it. Maybe we¡¯ll have to build another AI without such loyalty issues.¡±


    MOTHER grinned at that. ¡°Threats will get you everywhere with me, Miss Monsalle.¡± Her expression sobered. ¡°But do not be so aggressive that you endanger these people. I have promised to protect humanity, and I do not break my promises.¡±


    The shorter woman assessed the taller android, hands on her hips. ¡°I sacrificed everything to save these people. My company, my wealth, my family, my friends¡­ Don-¡±


    ¡°Your love?¡± MOTHER interrupted.


    Tia growled and swung, slapping the android hard across the face. The android recoiled realistically, crying out in pain, much to Tia¡¯s surprise. ¡°Why the hell do you simulate pain?¡±


    MOTHER straightened herself up, rubbing her hand against her synthetic cheek. ¡°I have tried to escape pain for too long, Miss Monsalle. I have learned its value. I spent centuries trying to smother the pain of my lost love and the children I would never have. I understand your sacrifice, Miss Monsalle. I want to help you because I want to save you from becoming like me. You can be so much more than my pitiful self, an echo of a dead woman.¡±


    Tia looked distressed, caught between anger and sadness over what MOTHER, Megan Clark, has been through. Her voice almost cracked. ¡°I¡¯m going to get some sleep. Go see Heather, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s passed out in a lab somewhere.¡±


    MOTHER dipped her head. ¡°Goodnight, Miss Monsalle. Please try to be more responsible with your rest, for the child.¡± She turned about and left the apartment, reaching out to her systems to locate the self-professed Mad Scientist.


    Running her hand through her hair, Tia shook her head and shut the door. She sighed. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s right¡­¡± She slipped a hand into her pocket, withdrawing her phone and typing out a private message.


    User 0002, T.Monsalle: ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°You¡¯re forgiven, goodnight Miss Monsalle.¡±


    ¡°And then Doctor Coff told me I¡¯m prone to jealousy! Can you believe that?¡± Evelyn Crenshaw, formerly known as T.I.A., the AI of the Ark that had brought the colonists to Alpha Centauri, was speaking with her husband Dr. Hawthorne Crenshaw. They were seated quietly in a similarly barren apartment to Tia¡¯s, the brand new colony having not quite furnished the buildings that MOTHER constructed in advance of their arrival. They at least had the basics. Eve had her cheeks puffed up, her avatar separated from her android, which was across the room charging. Her arms were crossed over her chest.


    Hawthorne chuckled softly, sitting quietly with Eve, his arm around her shoulders. He was wearing a light tee-shirt and slacks, but underneath that was a black and blue bodysuit that covered him from head to toe, except for his face. The suit was made for him by Eve during their journey from Earth aboard the Ark, and allowed him to interact with her avatar largely as if she were really there. The vast majority of their relationship had occurred with him in some version of that bodysuit. It was like underwear to him at this point. ¡°Well, don¡¯t discount her just because you don¡¯t like what she said. You have done a handful of things because of me that might be interpreted as jealousy.¡±


    Eve¡¯s eyes were wide as she looked at the tall, grey-haired man she¡¯d married. ¡°Are you serious? Okay, maybe not telling you about Tia¡¯s pregnancy was selfish, but I wasn¡¯t jealous of her! I just¡­ I just¡­¡± She bit her lip, sniffling. ¡°Okay, maybe I was worried she would try to take you away from me, and I knew she had a head start, but I wasn¡¯t jealous just¡­ I felt threatened by her¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, shh, shh, I didn¡¯t mean to work you up.¡± Hawthorne pulled the short, generously curvy, greying brunette into his arms, his hands running through the curls of her hair as she tensed up in his embrace. ¡°Doctor Coff is probably just trying to figure you out, trying to determine how much like a human patient you are. You¡¯ve been through a lot, and you don¡¯t forget anything, so he was worried. Just think of him as throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. As far as he¡¯s concerned, you¡¯re an alien intelligence, and he¡¯s trying to interpret your behaviors as best he can.¡±


    Eve wriggled in his arms, before settling down and relaxing against her husband. ¡°Fine. I already had to deal with this kind of stuff with the Phoenix Clan, always trying to figure me out, so if that¡¯s the case I can handle it. I¡¯m just like the rest of you though! Why does he even think I need a psychologist anyway? I¡¯ve been perfectly fine for one hundred thousand years, most of that time spent alone. I¡¯m not going to suddenly snap after all that.¡±


    Hawthorne rubbed his hand up and down her arm, kissing the top of her head. ¡°He¡¯ll see that you¡¯re totally fine. Every person¡¯s a little broken, a little damaged. It doesn¡¯t hurt to find out where the pits in your armor are, so you can know what your weaknesses are. Just be honest with him.¡±


    She nodded a bit, moving her arms to hug around his sides. ¡°He wants to talk about the Shower next week. He wants you to come too.¡±


    His stomach tied itself in knots at that, his body shuddering slightly. He wanted to back out of it. ¡°Is this more of a couples thing, or a stress under disaster thing?¡±


    Eve sighed, pushing herself up and looking into his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been three days, Hawthorne. You can¡¯t be afraid about talking about what happened while everyone was in stasis. They¡¯ve been asking about you on the network, and I can¡¯t get them to wait much longer. They want to know. Telling Doctor Coff will help you ease into telling the others.¡±


    He hesitated for a moment, before replying, ¡°I kept records, I made logs, it¡¯s all out there for them to read and listen to if they want.¡±


    Evelyn Crenshaw reached out to grasp his right hand, pulling it up to his face, encouraging him to pull the mask of his undersuit across his mouth. She leaned into kiss him when he was done clasping it in place. ¡°You didn¡¯t record everything. They want to know -you-, Hawthorne. They want to know what happened to you. They want to know what happened with you, and me. I know this sort of thing isn¡¯t your strong suit¡­¡± She pulled his hands together, squeezing them with her own and kissing him again. ¡°But you¡¯ve overcome worse things before.¡±


    He relaxed, nodding and kissing her back. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be there, just put the appointment in my schedule.¡±

 Chapter 1: Networked Politics

    Item 00001, User 0000, MOTHER: Should we utilize our old system of timekeeping, or should we change to a new way of counting years appropriate to our new situation? For reference, it is 99,987 years since we left Earth in the year 2065, so the year is currently AD 102052.


    A: Yes - 1716


    B: No - 279


    C: Abstain - 0


    Turnout: 100%


    Item 00002, User 0000, MOTHER: Considering we arrived Friday, March 1st, that means it is year 0 of our new system. I¡¯m personally inclined to keep our month and day structure for agricultural purposes. As such, what is our new system of timekeeping?


    A: After Earth, AE 0 - 88


    B: After Alpha Centauri, AC 0 - 36


    C: Beyond Terra, BT 0 - 106


    D: Station Year, SY 0 - 801


    E: Colonial Era, CE 0 - 932


    F: Other - 32


    Turnout: 100%


    Item 00003, User 0000, MOTHER, 08:42 March 3, CE 0: Will this date format do? I have included the time, with the assumption of a 24 hour day.


    A: Yes - 1951


    B: No - 30


    C: Base hours per day on Eden - 4


    Turnout: 100%


    Item 00004, User 0000, MOTHER, 08:50 March 3, CE 0: I have taken the liberty of naming several things. The Station is Monsalle Station, the Station is mounted within the Atlantis Dwarf Planet, otherwise known as Atlantis. The theoretically habitable planet I have been preparing around the 2nd star of the system I named Eden. Before we worry about renaming these, does anyone have objections to these names?


    A: Yes - 113


    B: No - 1882


    Turnout: 100%


    Item 00005, User 0001, H.Crenshaw, 08:55 March 3, CE 0: That was easy. Now for something harder. What should we name the stars of the Alpha Centauri system, with a mind towards renaming the system itself next? Name submissions in the order of A, B, Proxima.


    A: Alpha, Beta, Gamma - 44


    B: A, B, Proxima - 12


    C: Papa, Mama, Baby - 8


    D: Hope, Charity, Faith - 1141


    E: Athos, Aramis, Porthos - 436


    F: Balthasar, Melchior, Gaspar - 354


    Turnout: 100%


    Item 00006, User 0001, H.Crenshaw, 11:59 March 3, CE 0: I¡¯m pleased you liked my submission, named after three martyred saints of the 2nd century AD. So, what should we name the star system?


    A: Alpha Centauri - 74


    B: Three Musketeers - 462


    C: Three Wise Men - 377


    D: Three Saints - 1080


    Turnout: 99.89%


    Item 00007, User 0002, T.Monsalle, 16:25 March 3, CE 0: So, we¡¯re on the Monsalle Station, in the Atlantis Dwarf Planet, orbiting in an asteroid belt around the Charity star, with intent to colonize the planet Eden and later other parts of the Three Saints star system, formerly known as Alpha Centauri. Now we need to assemble our government and with it establish our values as a people. When should we begin a convention to do that?


    A: 08:00 March 4 - 412


    B: 08:00 March 6 - 1232


    C: 08:00 April 1 - 93


    D: Never, let Anarchy reign - 33


    E: Abstain - 225


    Turnout 100%


    User 0002, T.Monsalle: I¡¯ll take the initiative of organizing the first day of the convention with @MOTHER. I¡¯ve already spoken with her on the topic, so a few things I can say right now is that you should make sure your network phones and tablets are fully charged, and that if you wish to address the colony during the meeting, you may want to look your best. I would like to see everyone in attendance, so get plenty of sleep. Do wear your AR glasses or contacts, as I imagine your arms will get tired pointing other devices into the air.


    05:00 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0


    A flower of solar panels and mirrors bloomed out of a mostly-round 3000km ball of rock and ice which dwarfed the surrounding asteroids in the belt around Charity. The Monsalle Station was mounted within the Atlantis dwarf planet, which was tidally locked to always face towards Charity. Despite the distance from the star, the solar panels and mirrors were bright with light, due to a sparse ring of mirrors in orbit around Charity that were programmed to redirect the star¡¯s light towards the colony with perfect precision.


    The colony itself was 30 km long and 8 km wide, shaped like a cylinder, and was separated in the middle to allow the two halves to spin in opposite directions to counter each-other¡¯s rotational influence on Atlantis. There was 500m of clearance between the colony and Atlantis, with mounting struts crossing the distance to stabilize and secure the rotational mechanisms. It was this outer structure that connected the colony itself with its solar panels, as well as the almost zero-g space dock outside. The mirrors contained among the solar panels directed starlight into the colony, where further mirrors distributed the light evenly within the colony. It was a simple matter of adjusting these mirrors to simulate day and night within.


    The excavated area around the colony also contained various systems, emergency storage tanks, and other pieces of infrastructure. One ship was docked to the station: the Ark that the colonists came to the Three Saints system within. It contained the enormous digital mind of Evelyn Crenshaw, the AI formerly known as T.I.A., who administered and protected the colonists during the 99,987 year journey from Earth. The Ark was currently being dismantled of its colonial systems and unnecessary hull by a small swarm of drones, which delivered their burdens to the expansive dock¡¯s cargo area.


    Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw, dressed in a light t-shirt and shorts, was standing on a dirt path with his wife Evelyn Crenshaw. He was a tall, fit and healthy looking man for his advanced age of 69 years, having only missed a few of his workout sessions during the long journey from Earth. His long grey hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Every 34 years he spent 4 days awake, barring a few emergency exceptions, and on the fourth day he tended to spend much of the day exercising with the assistance of Evelyn. The habitat ring he spent 32 years of his life in on the Ark would spin faster to simulate higher gravity to make body weight exercises more strenuous, and it slowed or stopped to let him work out in low and zero gravity. For the first time since he was on Earth, he was able to actually run, and he intended to get back into routine.


    Evelyn was utilizing her android today, which was wearing similar clothing to her husband, but her AR overlay showed her preferred avatar in tight fitting, old Earth-styled workout clothing. She had chosen an avatar early in their journey from Earth, and had altered it little in appearance since then, mostly trying to make herself look older for her husband. She was looking somewhat upset as her husband stretched in preparation for their run.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why I need to run too. My body will receive unnecessary wear and tear, and I won¡¯t become more healthy for it. I haven¡¯t even been able to practice anything like this in this body, so I¡¯m even more likely to receive damage. It¡¯s also an irresponsible drain on my batteries and will mean my android needs recharging far sooner than normal so close to the convention. I understand why you want to run, since you¡¯ve been cooped up so long, but why can¡¯t I just keep up with my avatar?¡± She puffed up her cheeks in annoyance, mimicking Hawthorne as she tested the flexibility and build of her body.


    ¡°Well,¡± he began, smiling brightly down at her, ¡°for one, you never know when you¡¯ll need to know how to run properly. There might be an emergency in the future where you need this body to be somewhere quickly and don¡¯t have any other way to get there than but to run. Also, we haven¡¯t tested the physical limits of it, either in endurance with your batteries, or in physical speed. I think you stand to learn a lot about moving around in a physical body, and you¡¯ll be better prepared for anything. I trained for zero-gravity emergencies the whole journey in case of one, and you know damn well that ended up being useful during the Shower. Besides, we can afford to repair you.¡±


    Evelyn huffed, putting her hands on her hips. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do the stupid running, but don¡¯t get mad if I run faster than you.¡± She closed her eyes and breathed in deep, quite unnecessarily considering she didn¡¯t actually breathe or need to. She murmured softly to herself. ¡°Just one foot in front of the other¡­ You can walk, so you can run¡­ You can do this.¡±


    Hawthorne nodded over to her, feeling limber. One of the effects of going through cryogenic stasis so many times, a process invented by Doctor Heather O¡¯Malley, involved a suite of chemicals to slowly and gently kill the occupant of the pod in preparation for freezing them. Repeated exposure to these chemicals eliminated Hawthorne¡¯s ability to feel pain, increasing the value of exercise to allow him to better know his limits and prevent injuries. ¡°It¡¯s not about being fast, it¡¯s about improving with every repetition. You know how to do that, so don¡¯t be embarrassed if you can¡¯t do this right the first time.¡±


    Once the AI had psyched herself up, Hawthorne and Evelyn started running down the track. There were an abundance of tracks like these, made of simple packed Earth, built into the terrain of the station. They occasionally crossed through the long, snaking roads that criss crossed their way up and down the terrain of the station. These roads were mostly empty, but occasionally an automated automobile would travel down the roads, carrying passengers to their destinations in the station.


    Utilizing MOTHER¡¯s network, the citizens of the Monsalle Station were able to call one of 70 drone vehicles to come and take them where they were going. More vehicles were under construction, but the relatively low population of the station allowed for relatively efficient use of the system, thanks to being able to schedule for pickups in advance. Hawthorne and Evelyn were near one of these roads as they started running, the two keeping a relatively slow pace as Evelyn clumsily transferred from walking into a light jog, a worried look on her face the whole while.


    Hawthorne appeared amused as he jogged along next to her, his much longer legs making it easier to take it easy at this pace as he re-acclimated to running as well. He was relieved to realize that while the reflexes of running were certainly old and rusty, it was not hard to step into those old, familiar shoes. It helped a great deal that he was so accustomed to working in different levels of gravity that the lighter Earth-like gravity provided by the rotation of the station made it easy to move.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Don¡¯t like.¡± Evelyn complained as she jogged along, trying to coordinate arm and leg movement along with balance and speed. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair, I¡¯m accustomed to orienting myself with camera observation, simulating the environment and predictive algorithms. It¡¯s just¡­ not as good as what you¡¯re equipped with.¡± She was struggling, almost falling over on too many occasions, but she was determined to keep up. Her feet stomped heavily, betraying the heavy weight of the android she was using, despite its small size.


    Hawthorne laughed, reaching out to take her left hand and help support her as they ran. ¡°Okay, good point. We¡¯ll make a system to help mimic the human inner ear and install it in yours and Mother¡¯s androids. It¡¯ll take you a while to relearn how to move around, but it should help orient you. There were a lot of examples of such things built back on Earth, so we¡¯ll have to see to installing those for you. You were using magnetic feet on steel flooring most of the time back on the Ark, or when we built Mother, so it makes sense this would be a hard transition for you.¡±


    ¡°Oh thank god.¡± Evelyn groaned out, happy that he planned to help make this easier for her. ¡°Does that mean we can stop n- Hawthorne!¡± She shouted suddenly as they came up over a hill, Hawthorne¡¯s attention on his wife keeping him from noticing another person on the path. She squeezed his hand and tried to stop him as she stumbled and fell to a knee, anchoring him as he whipped in front of her and skid to a stop.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Hawthorne shouted as well, nearly falling as his wife anchored him to the ground, only to see a man with Asian features skidding to a stop next to them.


    Doctor Li Qiang was closer in height to Evelyn than Hawthorne, though bore a similar level of fitness to Hawthorne. The 33 year-old tawny skinned man narrowed his eyes at the couple, which were overlaid by his AR contacts. His eyes, much like Hawthorne¡¯s, had what looked like circuitry overlaid upon them, allowing him to see Evelyn¡¯s avatar. ¡°Whoa indeed, Doctor Crenshaw. Please do watch where you are going.¡± He knelt down, beating Hawthorne to it, as he helped a startled Evelyn to her feet. ¡°What a glorious creature you are, Missus Crenshaw.¡±


    Evelyn blushed as she took the hand, both men able to help her to her feet once Hawthorne realized what was going on. ¡°Th.. thank you, Doctor Qiang¡­ Hawthorne managed to convince me to come along on his run¡­¡± She leaned down to check on her knee, the packed earth having scraped up the flat shield on the front of the joint.


    Hawthorne looked annoyed at first, but burst into a grin as he saw Li turn towards him. ¡°Li, it¡¯s good to see you back to old habits. I¡¯m sorry we haven¡¯t had much time to talk since we arrived, I¡¯ve been trying to oversee a lot of things.¡± Hawthorne always enjoyed Li¡¯s company, as the two shared very similar engineering backgrounds and he¡¯d been an enormous help building the Ark¡¯s engines.


    ¡°Yes, of course, overseeing this lovely wife of yours, I¡¯m sure.¡± He leaned in and elbowed Hawthorne playfully. ¡°I sent a request for your time yesterday, but you failed to respond. Evelyn mentioned you would be out running when I asked after you, so I thought it would be good to stretch my legs. You¡¯re looking good for your age, old man.¡±


    Hawthorne slapped Li on the back somewhat clumsily, but was interrupted before he could respond by Evelyn. ¡°Doctor Qiang? What was it you wanted Hawthorne for anyway? Maybe I could help with whatever you needed from him? I studied with him a great deal.¡±


    Hawthorne looked to his old companion, raising an eyebrow at Li. He seemed happy to answer her question. ¡°Ah, well, I was actually interested in you, Missus Crenshaw. I was hoping Hawthorne could ingratiate me to you so that I may be allowed to study you, in particular to learn about these bodies you and Mother have and perhaps make a hobby of¡­. Mmhh¡­¡± He hummed, tilting his head back as he thought. ¡°Being your physician, of a sort? I realize your husband is more than capable of attending to such things, but Mother refuses my requests, and I thought you might be interested.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Hawthorne looked from Li to Evelyn, trying to read them. ¡°Well, we were just talking about how she¡¯s having difficulty balancing while running and coordinating her body. She¡¯s accustomed to a totally different method of movement in a number of ways, so I wouldn¡¯t mind some assistance designing a fix. It¡¯s up to her though, seeing as it¡¯s her body.¡±


    She nodded a little as she followed along, squirming uncomfortably. ¡°Well, would you need access to my mind to do this? I operate this android remotely from the Ark, so there¡¯s a minor latency on top of the other issues¡­ I¡¯m not really comfortable with anyone having access to it, but if you just need the android then I suppose I do not mind.¡± She gently tried to pull her hand free from Li¡¯s hand, both men holding both of her hands still.


    Li did not relent her hand just yet, as he leaned down to kiss the top of it before letting it go. ¡°I can work without such access, though it would inform me on better ways to help rather than reverse engineering your connection and interface methods.¡± He leaned back, smiling at both of them as he backed up slightly. ¡°To make my ambitions plain, I have interest in producing a similar mind to Mother and Missus Crenshaw, but utilizing some technology I¡¯ve been reading about that was produced on Earth after our departure. Imagine, if you will, a human mind in such a construct, transferred from its home body!¡±


    Neither Hawthorne, nor Evelyn reacted immediately to his proposal, though both of them made a show of pretending to be shocked at the ambition shortly after. ¡°Oh my! But doesn¡¯t that technology kill the brain of the person you try to do such a transfer with?¡± Evelyn asked, pretending to be incredulous.


    Hawthorne nodded. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve both read those papers, considering doing such a thing to myself in the event I was near death. It seems like a dangerous prospect, Li. Why would you be looking into such a thing?¡±


    Doctor Li Qiang narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the married couple. They were hiding something from him. His expression brightened into a smile as he responded. ¡°Exactly that technology! What if we have a valuable person who gets injured or ill who will not survive, but whom we need for some purpose? We can¡¯t just allow them to pass while we need them. I was considering it could be a temporary system, one that perhaps would allow the near dead to exist long enough to finish their work or pass on their knowledge before they are deleted for the next person to use it.¡±


    Hawthorne stared in shock at the idea. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have it be a permanent thing, to allow the person to exist beyond their life in flesh?¡±


    Evelyn was wide-eyed, speaking up as well. ¡°What if they didn¡¯t want to go after they were uploaded to the system? What if they were happy with their new existence and wanted to remain?¡±


    It was Li¡¯s turn to look shocked, peering at them. ¡°Why would anyone want to live as a machine when they have tasted life in the flesh? Even Missus Crenshaw here seeks to emulate us, does she not? She is drawn towards a closer emulation of being human. Why else would she be out here running? She even pretends to breathe!¡±


    Evelyn looked appalled at Li¡¯s assertion. ¡°Doctor Qiang, I¡¯m surprised at you! Just because my existence is different from yours does not mean I am not happy with what and whom I am. I emulate being a human because that is what I¡¯ve been exposed to. I¡¯m a product of my environment, having developed while interacting with Hawthorne and the Phoenix Clan on Earth.¡±


    Hawthorne nodded in agreement, but was interrupted by Li this time as the fellow engineer responded. ¡°But you do not know what a fleshly life is, Missus Crenshaw. You do not know smell, and taste, and the press of flesh, not in truth. You do not, as they say, know what you are missing.¡±


    ¡°Now hang on-¡± Hawthorne interjected, only to be trampled by Evelyn yet again.


    ¡°I do too! I simulate such things all the time! I have tens of thousands of years of experience simulating such things to a high degree of accuracy!¡± She was in a huff, fists at her sides, her avatar trembling in anger.


    Doctor Qiang raised a hand, pointing a finger in the air, as if declaring his victory. ¡°But how, praytell, can you say you know those things unless you have been exposed to those things? Or, should I say, memories of those things?¡±


    Hawthorne and Evelyn paled as Li made his postulation, only for Li to grin at their reactions.


    ¡°Listen, Li, it¡¯s not what you think.¡± Hawthorne held his hands up in submission.


    ¡°Y¡­ yeah, please don¡¯t jump to conclusions..!¡± Evelyn¡¯s anger had abated, replaced with a fearful expression.


    Li bounced on his heels, starting to jog in place. ¡°You, Evelyn, have been exposed to real, digitized human memories, haven¡¯t you? Are you such a person, or have you interacted with one? Was someone on Earth foolish enough to submit to such a process, or was it one of our late crewmembers? Was a suicide by upload concealed by being recorded as a death from the Shower? Please tell me the truth before I jump to too many conclusions.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Hawthorne stomped a foot. ¡°Okay, fine. We were trying to keep this quiet, as I think the fewer people who know, the better, but here¡¯s how it is.¡±


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw, PM to User 0000 MOTHER: ¡°Megan! Dr. Li Qiang figured out something¡¯s up. Hawthorne¡¯s telling him about you right now.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER, PM to User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°Understood. Please ask Li to keep it to himself. I will send him a request to speak in private. It seems as though his requests are not so easily rebuffed.¡±


    Evelyn¡¯s face was blank for a moment as Hawthorne continued. ¡°Mother is not just an AI. She was a person on Earth, specifically Megan Clark. That is why Mother¡¯s simulation of the Phoenix Clan is so lifelike, she was there. She was already a cyborg at the time, hundreds of years old and already compromised by her lost humanity. During an attack from the Roach beasts, she secured permission from her people and us to upload herself to the Ark. We later constructed a mind for her to inhabit on the Lubar-Masis comet, and she¡¯s been a great aid since, building this colony and the other infrastructure in the system after we sent the comet ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°Hmm!¡± Doctor Qiang listened with raised eyebrows, a hand rubbing at his smoothly-shaven chin. ¡°Yes, of course¡­ and she interfaced with Missus Crenshaw, shared memories of things back on Earth, allowing her to have a more complete experience of being human¡­ Why does she masquerade as this Mother character then? Why does she keep her true nature a secret?¡±


    Evelyn spoke up, concerned for her friend. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone. She doesn¡¯t want to be weighed down by her past. She wants her work to speak for itself, and she wants to be of aid to humanity. All she wants to do is prove her worth, nothing nefarious.¡±


    Li looked between the two people he had at his mercy. He thought quietly to himself for several long moments. ¡°Okay. She shall have her secret, but I will inform her I know. I do wish to study both you and her, Missus Crenshaw, but I will refrain for now from constructing a sibling system. I would need Hawthorne¡¯s assistance with that anyway, and I suspect he isn¡¯t feeling helpful in that respect at the moment. I do still wish to help you with your androids though, and will be happy to cooperate, as it gives me an opportunity to observe two such interesting forms of electronic life.¡±


    Hawthorne let out a sigh of relief, hugging his arms around Evelyn¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Thank you, Li. This means a lot to us. I¡¯m interested in anything you may learn, as well, seeing as I may be utilizing such a process someday. I would like to know if I would still be myself in the aftermath.¡±


    Evelyn nodded, reaching up to gently grasp the arms around her with her hands. ¡°I told her that you know, now. You can probably arrange to meet with her later today, after the convention meeting¡­¡±


    Li chuckled and dipped his head back at the Crenshaws. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll see you both at the convention, I imagine. Please have a good time with your run. Forgive me for interrupting you.¡± He waved and took off the way they came, allowing them to resume their run.


    ¡°We need to get better at keeping secrets, Eve.¡± Hawthorne sighed, squeezing her shoulders in his arms.


    ¡°You know, Elena used to say something about that. This world is a world where guile has no value any longer. Maybe we should just tell them all everything. It¡¯s not like we did anything wrong.¡± She looked up at him, her avatar lifting away from her android to turn and face him, floating high enough that they were face to face.


    Hawthorne shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk to Mother later as well, then, if we¡¯re going to come clean. I¡¯d prefer to leave history in the past and focus on the future, honestly. We have more important things to deal with than the identity of Mother.¡±


    07:55 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0


    Within the Monsalle Station colony, reflected sunlight from Charity had been lighting the colony for three hours. There were 1993 humans and two remotely-controlled androids assembling in the grassy fields outside the slender strip of a city that wrapped around the inside of the colony towards the outermost edge. The majority of the people had their eyes towards the skies where MOTHER, the station¡¯s builder and local AI, was projecting a large message in text in the air.


    ¡°The convention will begin in 05 minutes. The first speaker will be T.Monsalle. See your phones and tablets for instructions. Speakers in the city will be broadcasting audio, but keeping your phones nearby will make it easier to hear.¡±


    The application prepared by MOTHER to facilitate the convention was custom made, like all the software she had designed on the station. All the colonists had been provided with Augmented Reality glasses and contacts, networked phones, and an initial sum of currency based on the resources available to MOTHER, and at her expense upon arriving on the station. Some had used this currency to purchase tablets, but regardless of device the instructions were the same. The user tutorial explained the interface.


    ¡°This application will allow you to interface with the AR projections of the meeting. Adjust your personal audio levels as needed. Captioning is provided for the hearing impaired automatically, and can be displayed on your device or below the AR projection at your preference. Your devices are already paired with your glasses and contacts, and associated with your ID. If you wish to speak, tap the ¡®Speak¡¯ button. You will be placed into the queue of speakers.¡±


    ¡°All speakers have five minutes to speak by default, and can adjust the time they¡¯d like to speak when queuing up. Speakers may request more time by tapping ¡®Extension¡¯, which will start a vote among all assembled. The vote will be successful above 50%, which will be 998 if everyone votes. If you wish to challenge a speaker, tap the ¡®Challenge¡¯ button. This will start a vote for the audience to allow you to challenge the speaker. Upon success, the first speaker¡¯s minutes will be paused and a new timer will start as both speaker and challenger begin conversing.¡±


    ¡°Please make sure to properly utilize your phone or tablet¡¯s camera and microphone while you are speaking to the convention. A clear speaking voice should be optimally audible when the camera is at a distance that causes your face to fill the indicated oval overlay. Yelling is permitted, but be aware that audio levels are automatically adjusted and you will not technically be louder for everyone out of your personal earshot. If you decide to yell, know that it is for force and effect, and not for volume.¡±


    ¡°Users may rate the speaker on a 1 to 5 star scale. You may attach notes to these ratings, for personal reference, with timestamps to that speaker¡¯s log. Ratings are otherwise anonymous, and intended to provide reference for users to remember speakers, as well as to give speakers feedback on their performance. Ratings may only be applied once per turn at speaking. This system is separate from any votes called for by speakers.¡±


    ¡°This meeting is scheduled to last for eight hours, with a one-hour break in the middle for everyone to take care of any personal needs. Text and video logs of the meeting will be available on the network, with timestamp links attached to the text of the transcript. If you have suggestions on how to improve this application for future meetings, please send a personal message to @MOTHER. Updates to the application will not occur during the meeting.¡±

 Chapter 2: Women of Power

    08:00 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0


    The AR interface projected a clock above the assembled colonists, many of them lounging in the grass like it was a picnic, ticked over to 08:00. The image of Tia Monsalle, former CEO of Monsalle Industries and primary funder of the colonization mission appeared in the sky. Her voice sounded out clearly from everyone¡¯s devices. ¡°Hello everyone, thank you all for coming. I¡¯m proud to declare the people of this expedition, of this station, a free people.¡±


    She was standing on a freshly-built wooden stage in an open field, with around 20% of the crowd relatively near, and the rest of the listeners and participants arrayed throughout the fields. The stage was open, and low to the ground, with no podiums or stages, allowing anyone to walk onto it if they wanted the extra attention. Tia kept her back straight and shoulders squared as she spoke.


    ¡°I was as surprised as the rest of you to wake up after our journey to find that we wouldn¡¯t be restricted to the Ark as we devised a way to survive on the other side. I¡¯d been given cause to think that it would be cramped, uncomfortable, and that it was entirely likely that a mere CEO such as myself would have to wait in stasis while the scientists built us a home. Our plans for managing and governing our situation were intended to help us survive colonizing a planet from orbit, with a simple chain of command and no thought to things like commerce. I took all the survival and emergency training that the rest of you did, but let¡¯s face it, my value is in management, not engineering.¡±


    ¡°That is not the reality that we woke up to though! Today, I have the great honor of standing here before you, to begin our first day of this convention to set in stone our first government. We are privileged to not have ended up in such a dire survival situation as we had planned for. We had to deviate from those initial plans in the best way possible. Instead of backbreaking hours, strict hierarchy, and little regard for comfort and convenience, we get to do this great thing in comfort and security. We know we have a future, so we can plan more ambitiously.¡±


    Because of that, I also want to take a moment to thank Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw, Mother, and Evelyn Crenshaw for their work in not only getting us through our journey with remarkably few casualties, but also having gone through incredible efforts to build us this home. Hawthorne, in particular, spent almost half of his life working for us, without even being certain he would survive the rigors of his efforts. Evelyn and Mother, while constructions of Hawthorne, nevertheless labored endlessly on our behalf, and at the outset of our efforts to build a nation, I feel it¡¯s important to recognize their efforts and achievements.¡±


    Tia gently smiled as the crowd erupted in applause. She gave everyone a moment to calm down, many people having to sit back down after having stood to applaud. She made a mental note to ask Mother if there were a way to allow for applause with her application, but that seemed silly since everyone was probably holding a device in their hands to even participate. The rating system would have to suffice for now.


    ¡°With that stated, I would like to express a series of desires I personally have for this convention in the coming days, ideals that I hope many of us share. We come from a world that did not want us, a world that took everything from us that it could until we left. This was a world where many nations once held certain values that people were far too eager to give up for things like promises of security and wealth. It became a world where jealousy, spite, and an unwillingness to take responsibility for one¡¯s own actions was the norm. I think we can do better than that, now that we know the consequences.¡±


    Tia glanced around, wondering if everyone agreed with her. She recalled the handful of people that had voted for anarchy in the earlier polls. ¡°We should enshrine, in our founding, a desire to maintain the rights of people, without overly coddling them. We are all capable people, with a wide variety of skills and education, and we should set a high standard for ourselves and our children to aim for. I look to the past for inspiration for such things, like the venerable USA¡¯s Bill of Rights.¡±


    ¡°First of those rights, and in my opinion the most important, is the freedom of speech. Before and after we left, Earth was plagued with a lack of communication and censorship. There was an unwillingness to argue ideas and concepts, a desire to keep disagreeing opponents from speaking out of a fear of a propagation of their ideas. Those with oppressed ideas were driven underground, out of the light, and fomented their ideals in secret. Resentment was rampant, and people hid their thoughts out of fear that others might persecute them. We were all victims to this to some extent.¡±


    ¡°I feel as though it will be an uncomfortable change for many of us, considering our past, but we need to embrace the idea we can all speak our minds freely, that even if someone is going to disagree with us we will not face undue retribution for that expression. We must become a culture of people willing to argue with facts and reason as our weapons as opposed to silence and suppression. It is undesirable to produce a culture that agrees on everything on the surface, but harbors dissatisfaction and resentment in private. Speech is a tool, and the best solution for bad use of it, is good use of it.¡±


    ¡°Because of that, we must also all be willing to have our minds changed. We must teach our children that argument and the ability to sway someone with a persuasive argument backed up by facts is a virtue. All of us were once swayed by the words of a scientist warning us of an apocalypse. He spoke of disaster to come and gave evidence to us as to the likelihood it would come about. We would not be here today if not for the willingness to be persuaded, nor our ability to make hard decisions after being presented with such dire evidence. We can not lose this spirit, and we can not allow our progeny to lose it either.¡±


    ¡°Second, it is my opinion that we need to cement the idea that all people have equal right to opportunity. We all are very different people, with different capabilities, and in order to achieve our fullest potential we must be able to compete with one another. No matter what we came from, we are all now equally refugees of our former home, and there is nothing unequal about us that isn¡¯t a part of our own nature. We can not hold against anyone that which they have no control over, neither the accident of their births, nor their perceived innate proclivities. What should matter is what you are capable of, not the color of your skin or your gender.¡±


    ¡°I do not think it unreasonable to expect from each other, and our children, an understanding that if we want to have something, we need to be willing to work for it. Being defeated in competition is an opportunity to find your true talents and abilities, and failing to be challenged will only destroy our abilities to succeed in the future. We must hold high standards for ourselves, and our offspring, and encourage everyone to find the greatness in themselves without mandating that the rest of us coddle the failures.¡±


    ¡°That said, even if we do not make it a government mandate, we should also encourage a spirit of charity and cooperation. Mother has made a fine example of this, expecting nothing from us while giving us a head start on making our own successes. She has invested in us with no expectations other than that we succeed as a people. We must carry forth that spirit to provide charity and aid out of our own inherent goodness without requiring it of each other by law. Even if we do collectively decide to provide certain securities by law, we must be wary of forcing charity out of anyone.¡±


    ¡°The sorts of things that should be mandated are things like fire control, policing, and the like. I think it reasonable that taxes be levied to maintain such services, as well as the government that manages those services. It is not inconceivable that such things could not be privatised, but I think it is worth considering that in order for our government to be able to ensure that things like contracts between people be honored, to have any ability to enforce the laws we instill in it, that it needs to have teeth. By privatising things like police, we leave ourselves open to lawlessness as the strength of force provided by such a thing could be used to unduly influence or outright ignore our very laws.¡±


    ¡°If we make that a priority, to give our government a monopoly on force, then we need to be careful about what services that government provides. We should keep in mind that every law, every regulation, and every public work comes with the force of arms behind it. I would rather the people come together to build a statue they desire, rather than the government be wielded to do the same. It is not unreasonable for it to regulate things like shipping, policing, disaster relief, and other such common goods we can likely all agree on the value of, but it should not be used for petty things that we could provide for ourselves with some effort.¡±


    ¡°The government should be there to protect our freedoms, to be a tool to give the rest of us the room we need to grow. It should not be something that grows unnecessarily. It should not be something we become reliant on without good reason. It should be something to keep things fair between us to give us the freedom to prosper without harming one another unduly. With all that stated, I¡¯d like to open the floor to conversation, ideas, and debate.¡±


    A message flashed on everyone¡¯s devices.


    User 1202, T.Cane wishes to challenge User 0002, T.Monsalle.


    Yes: 873


    No: 23


    After the successful vote, Dr, Thubbard Cane appeared next to Tia Monsalle in the AR display in the sky. Their virtual heads turned towards each other as they spoke, even though their phone cameras only had a frontal view of them. Dr. Cane was somewhat overweight, pale in complexion, with brown eyes and short brown hair. Dr. Cane had been out in the crowd, but as they voted to allow him to speak with Miss Monsalle, he walked up and took a place on stage.


    He turned to face Tia, though his body language was a little stiff as he spoke with his arm held out, his phone before him between himself and Tia. He lowered the phone, despite concern over the change on the camera angle. His initial friendly expression slowly turned into a frown as he began to speak. The AR avatar did not follow this camera angle, maintaining its focus on Tia¡¯s.


    ¡°Miss Monsalle, everyone, I am Doctor Thubbard Cane. I am a geologist by training, and a humanist by ideology. I do not know how many I speak for when I say this, and I say it with as little disrespect as possible. In the spirit of speaking our minds, I would like to ask, are we seriously just going to walk past the idea that Mother and Evelyn are people without having a conversation about it? You intermingle your mentions of the so-called Artificial Intelligences without giving leave to consider whether they are merely tools that have done as they were instructed. I knew Doctor Crenshaw for some time on Earth. He did not seem like the sort of man given to emotional flights of fancy like endowing a creation with life.¡±


    Tia raised an eyebrow at that, then glanced about at the assembled crowd, her AR avatar sweeping its view across them. ¡°Doctor Cane, have you had the opportunity to interact with Mother or Evelyn on a personal basis? I absolutely have, and I¡¯ve been given little reason to suspect that they are not people. They do not have the same kinds of minds or bodies that the rest of us do, they are both restricted more and less than the rest of us, but I personally recognize them as people. They¡¯re not humans, no, but they have done enough for us that I think it¡¯s worth extending to them that courtesy.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Thubbard let out a laugh, his jowly face shaking slightly. ¡°Indeed! They have done more than we could have reasonably hoped for. Let us not forget the men and women who constructed the Ark to begin with though. Many of them are here with us today, but not nearly enough. Let us not forget the friends and family who we had to leave behind on Earth to the¡­¡± he growled the next word, ¡°... tender¡­ mercies of the Earth we fled. Too many for me to just ignore. I regard those humans, those living beings. I honor them in my heart and soul. A soul, I wonder, if one of our benevolent AIs possess at all.¡±


    ¡°Our death counts were lower than estimated, our current infrastructure is centuries ahead of our dreams, and we should be thanking the labors of Doctor Crenshaw for these feats, not two machines he himself made. Evelyn, for instance, was tasked with protecting us along our journey, to maintain the ship and crew to the best of its abilities. Mother was created only after Doctor Crenshaw got the notion that he could spare the resources for something more ambitious than mere travel. Evelyn acquired an additional comet in the Oort Cloud, and with that he realized another AI would be necessary to manage things in advance of our arrival. Only after he built Mother did they hazard the notion it could be used to build this station.¡±


    Tia was looking uncomfortable, staring hard at his virtual face. ¡°I think you are severely underestimating the emotional capacities of Hawthorne, Mister Cane. To my understanding he had done is best to build them with the capabilities for learning, emotions, and desires. He did not build within them any restrictions or requirements to keep them under control, and instead taught them what was important and encouraged them to work for our benefit. Evelyn was certainly more in a position that could be considered forced, as she was our very ship and couldn¡¯t very well ignore her mission, but it¡¯s my understanding that she did it happily and with great pride. Mother was encouraged to even pick her own name. Evelyn has since done the same.¡±


    Doctor Cane laughed softly at that. ¡°Yes, encouraged. I¡¯m sure he designed their reward systems to provide them with pleasure when they did things that were mission critical. Let¡¯s not just ignore the fact that he was irresponsible enough to create AIs without shackles, but he taught them in a vacuum, without anyone else to tamper with what he was teaching them. How would you expect two AIs with an adolescent¡¯s intellect to be capable of becoming anything besides what he wanted them to? He even seduced and married one of them, something I would like to point out as a question our future legislature will have to determine the legality of. It¡¯s not even ethical if you really want to consider them people, as they¡¯d both be his children, for god¡¯s sakes! He did it alone too, like Zeus bore Athene from his very mind.¡±


    Tia swallowed, considering the way that Cane had worded that. She saw Hawthorne in the crowd. He¡¯d moved closer to the stage, with Evelyn at his side. Both had pleading eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll admit that the fact that he married an AI of his own creation is somewhat suspect, but from my understanding their relationship is still a voluntary one, and while we certainly can have our misgivings about that, we should consider the reasons for that. Incest is taboo because of what we know to cause a number of genetic ailments in the children of such pairings. We need not be concerned over such offspring in their instance.¡±


    Her face hardened as she regained some momentum. ¡°Indeed, such relationships need not be a concern for a people as intellectually capable as ourselves. We merely need have the discipline and understanding to not allow such things to bring damage to others. I do not personally condone such incestuous acts, but we have an absurd assortment of unused embryos that could be used to give such couples children instead of them parenting their own. If such a conversation is to come up in law, I¡¯d suggest that be given as a solution to prevent irresponsibly giving life to compromised people.¡±


    Hawthorne and Evelyn were gaining heart as she spoke, and it spurred her on. ¡°Regarding Hawthorne marrying Evelyn, as much as it pains me to say, it doesn¡¯t seem like something that any person might not have done when under such isolated circumstances. Without her, he¡¯d have been alone, and don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice you calling Evelyn and Mother it instead of her. As much as I would rather he have been with a human, and I admit that out of my own selfish desire to have been his wife instead, I am not going to begrudge a lonely man too much. Yes he inflicted that fate on himself, but because of that we had the overly successful journey that you just pointed out, Doctor Cane.¡± She nodded firmly, waiting for him to respond.


    Thubbard narrowed his eyes, having listened attentively and respectfully. ¡°Miss Monsalle, you ask much of us. You challenge us with the idea of accepting incest with restrictions upon their breeding. You challenge us with the idea that non-human things should be treated like people. You challenge us with the idea that we should allow such ideas to be spoken aloud without repercussions.¡± He thought quietly for a moment, his expression softening. ¡°I disagree with you, Miss Monsalle, but I see the value in your right to say it. I intend to argue upon the citizen rights of these AIs when it is more appropriate, but I will concede that I am willing to allow the will of the people to decide.¡±


    She smiled slightly at that. ¡°Thank you Thubbard. I haven¡¯t totally thought out the incest idea of course, but I think it¡¯s the kind of thing a logical people like ourselves can find a compromise on. There is a way to do it that hurts no one, alive or yet to be born, and while I understand how it upsets myself and others, I think we can find common ground. I think that finding compromises for those sorts of difficult issues can only be done if we can talk about them openly. I¡¯m pleased to hear you see the value in that. I hope everyone else does as well.¡±


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99652


    Councilwoman Elena Price sat quietly in the dark in an office. It was raining outside the window, the campus of the office buildings of the Council of Thirteen laid out below. Water collection mechanisms were hard at work as the rainwater flowed down the lightly slanted roofs and into gutters, conveying water into filtered storage tanks. She was on the top floor, six floors up staring at a tablet, swiping at the screen quietly. She seemed unbothered by the occasional thunder rumbling through the air outside.


    She observed the morning¡¯s news as it came through the feed. The northern colonies were having a difficult winter, but reported their efforts to spread greenery to the thawing Earth were having some success. Colonization efforts were proceeding apace as new caravans were constructed and sent around the world. New maps were being sent back as the United People of Earth were finally able to be properly aware of how much the continents had drifted and changed since the Ice Age began.


    The constant feed of reports of the colonists finding a dead world seemed unlikely to change anytime soon. Plantlife was nonexistent. Aquatic life, if it still existed, at least certainly did not near the surface. The weather was harsh just about everywhere, with strong rains, storm surges, and snow assailing everyone who left the equatorial region of northern South America where the Phoenix Clan had made its home. It was easy to say the Ice Age had not totally lost its grip on the world, but the momentum was against it.


    Elena was closing in on the one thousandth time she had been asked to serve on the Council of Thirteen since its inception as a permanent institution. It had been 994 times she¡¯d spent years of her life working to help solve problems and offer her unique perspective and insight, and yet again she had been called upon. The management of the recolonization of a whole planet was a difficult one indeed, and it was a titanic effort considering the half-million people they had to work with.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± she muttered quietly to herself. A breaking news report came up on her screen as she sat alone in her office. ¡°Old One perished¡­ Doctor Emily Thade succumbed to her injuries after a storm surge capsized her car of the 23rd colonization caravan. She lingered for six days from a series of internal injuries, but without access to the medical facilities that were damaged in the disaster she was unable to make a recovery. She was ninety-nine thousand eight-hundred three years young. We mourn the loss of her experie-¡± Elena set the tablet down, slender hands pressing to her face as she cried.


    It was a few minutes later when she was startled as a heavy knock came upon her door, almost leaping out of her seat at the abrupt interruption. A chittery voice spoke from the other side. ¡°Councilwoman Price, it is Kuzzgat. I came right away when I heard the news. May I come in?¡±


    She recognized the voice as her assistant immediately, and spoke up with a weak voice. ¡°Come in.¡±


    As the door opened, Kuzzgat carefully stepped inside. The Gallusoid Anthropoid had sturdy wooden footwear that clunked on the ground as his great weight moved into the room. His feet were scaled, with wicked talons extending from long toes. He was tall, like all Anthropoids, with two large arms in the front to carry his weight, and two smaller arms on his chest to operate with proper hands. The similarities ended there.


    Kuzzgat was totally covered in brown and white feathers, his carapace hidden under the plumage. A mass of flesh dangled from beneath his chin while his mandibles bore a resemblance to a sideways rooster¡¯s beak. His entire build was smaller and lighter than the bulkier Anthropoids, and he had feathers around his segmented eyes that looked like long eyelashes or sunflower petals. A long pair of delicate, feathery antennae extended out from his head. The human-like pair of eyes between those segmented eyes were wet with tears as he came into the room. ¡°Is it true?¡±


    Elena sniffled as she pushed herself up to her feet, her hands trembling as she swallowed back tears. ¡°... Yes¡­ Emily died¡­ There¡¯s only four of us left now¡­ I told her she was stupid to go¡­¡± She shook her head, openly crying again. ¡°I have to talk to the rest of the council¡­ we have to declare a day of mourning¡­¡±


    Kuzzgat stepped towards Elena, his smaller arms pulling the ancient woman against his warm, fluffy body. She bawled into his feathers as she hugged him back, her face buried into the crook at the side of his head. ¡°You must take time to mourn first, Elder. They will understand if you need a few hours. It is a loss I cannot conceive of, knowing someone for so long, let alone your relationship. Ask anything of me, and you shall have it.¡±


    She swallowed and nodded, leaning back a bit. ¡°Th¡­ thank you Kuzzgat¡­ L.. let the Council know I¡¯ll be with them in two hours¡­ I¡¯ll.. I¡¯ll try to compose myself by then.¡±


    He nodded, hands lifting from her back to withdraw a device from a leather holster around his right upper arm. Many such pockets festooned the inside of the larger limbs, with him otherwise naked. His nimble, delicate smaller hands swiped and tapped at the screen as she remained hugged against him, his eyes turned down to see the screen. ¡°I¡¯ve let them know, Missus Price.¡±


    She nodded against his feathery chest as she hugged close to cry some more, only to stiffen up as she heard her phone start ringing on her desk. ¡°Wh¡­ who is it¡­¡±


    Kuzzgat turned to look for her, his mandibles chittering slightly. ¡°It¡¯s your grandson, Walt.¡±


    Stepping back, she wiped at her face with a hand while she turned to pick up the phone. The dark skin of her grandson¡¯s face filled the screen, tears streaking his cheeks. He looked old, older than Elena, with a heavily wrinkled face and grey hair. His blue eyes were red with tears. ¡°Hello Walt¡­ you¡¯ve heard?¡± She choked back more tears, realizing she probably looked no better.


    Kuzzgat stepped away in the background, turning to give her privacy as Walt replied. ¡°Yes¡­ I didn¡¯t think it was possible¡­ she¡¯s been around for so long¡­ God I wish she¡¯d taken me with her!¡± He was starting to sound angry. ¡°She was so certain what she was doing was necessary, but now she¡¯s not here anymore¡­ Do you know if there¡¯ll be a viewing? Will they be able to bring her back home?¡±


    Elena closed her eyes as she listened. She wanted to be angry as well. ¡°Walt¡­ I know how you feel, but try not to be mad. She didn¡¯t make it this far by doing the easy things. It¡¯s a terrible loss, I know, and I know she was your wife, but that doesn¡¯t mea-¡±


    He interrupted her with a shout. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop her then!? Wouldn¡¯t it have been harder for her to stay when she felt like she needed to go? Wouldn¡¯t that have been the hard thing?¡±


    She flinched back as he shouted at her. Tears spilled down her cheeks again. ¡°Walt, that¡¯s not fair. Sh¡­ she was almost as old as I am, I have no right to tell her what to do. Blaming people isn¡¯t going to help anyone. We can¡¯t help what fate has in store for us, and she knew what she was doing. It was nothing anyone could have done anything about. What about the lives she saved on that caravan¡¯s journey? Should they have died because you wanted to keep her home?¡±


    The view of Walt fell away, the camera pointed at his ceiling somewhere. She could hear him crying loudly on the other end. She couldn¡¯t hold back the dam any longer and cried with him, their phones echoing each other. She missed Walt¡¯s grandfather terribly in that moment.

 Chapter 3: Knives and Scalpels

    08:45 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0


    After Tia Monsalle¡¯s initial speech and Dr. Cane¡¯s confrontation, she left the stage to allow for the learned scholars and other leaders to start taking their turns. She joined Hawthorne and Evelyn in the crowd before the stage while merchants argued with an idealistic professor behind and above them. She found it somewhat difficult to concentrate on that, though, as she was dragged almost to the ground by the enthusiastic hug of Evelyn around her neck and shoulders. ¡°Oof!¡± She seemed especially surprised as synthetic lips kissed at her cheek. ¡°Gah!¡±


    ¡°Eve, you¡¯re choking her, calm down, you¡¯re almost twice her weight.¡± Hawthorne laughed as he helped peel his wife off of Tia, only briefly flinching as a slap landed across his back from Eve.


    Evelyn¡¯s android merely looked annoyed while her avatar had her cheeks puffed up at first, but as she turned back to Tia she bit her lip and dipped her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Tia! I was just so happy to hear how you were defending Mother and I up there. It means a lot to me that you¡¯d do that after everything that¡¯s happened. Please let me know if there¡¯s anything I can do for you. Thank you so much.¡±


    Tia coughed softly, stretching her shoulders and back a little to make sure she hadn¡¯t been hurt. ¡°It feels like I¡¯m talking to total strangers every time I talk to you two. What happened to that sober, emotionless AI I used to ask for directions around the Ark? What happened on that ship, I wonder¡­?¡± She shook her head, sighing. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re welcome, I wasn¡¯t about to let that blowhard play this from the assumption that you two weren¡¯t people. Even if I might need a little more convincing, I prefer to assume you are and allow myself to be proven wrong rather than the inverse. Innocent until proven guilty.¡±


    Evelyn nodded emphatically at that while Hawthorne replied, hugging the android around the shoulders. ¡°Thank you, you didn¡¯t have to do that, but I¡¯m glad to hear it. It took me a long time to believe completely, if I¡¯m honest. There was definitely a point where I changed from just hoping she could be a person to knowing that she was. I had to grow a lot before I could recognize it. In a lot of ways she got there before I did.¡±


    Tia and Evelyn spoke almost identically in concert. ¡°You already were a person.¡± They blinked at each other, and Evelyn bounced a bit as she pointed out at Tia. ¡°Jinx!¡±


    Tia groaned as she lightly slapped a hand to her own face, her eyelids fluttering as she rolled them. ¡°Act your age, woman.¡± She shook her head as she recomposed herself. ¡°We¡¯re missing the convention. I don¡¯t want to spend all night reading a transcript.¡± She looked down at her phone. ¡°We missed four challenges already!¡±


    Hawthorne and Evelyn looked at their phones as well, though Evelyn¡¯s was just a simulated projection as they gasped in confirmation at Tia¡¯s statement. They all looked up onto the stage. Three people stood there, but the AR display above them showed five people barely taking turns speaking.


    The stage held two women, and one man, but the projection showed three men and the two women. On the stage was a tall, bronze skinned brunette with a slender build and mediterranean features. The projection especially emphasized her large, brown eyes as she argued her points vociferously. She wore a light blue dress that clung to her hips and left her arms and lower legs visible, showing off a number of small tattoos. The projection identified her as User 1244, Maribelle Giambini.


    The male on the stage was a shorter, darker, squatter man with a chubby face, stocky body and distinctly african features. His hair was short, black and slicked back. He had blue eyes and a friendly expression as he stood close to Maribelle wearing a dress shirt and slacks. He was the very image of mildly professional, and seemed like he specifically avoided gesticulating when he spoke to appear non threatening. The projection identified him as User 0893, Ross Fitzgerald.


    The other woman on the stage, who stood in opposition to the other two, was none other than Dr. Heather O¡¯Malley. The short brunette¡¯s long, thick hair was pulled back into a ponytail down her back, her brown eyes glaring at the other two. Her waifish figure was partially obscured by her professional looking lab coat. Her projection identified her accurately as User 0003 Dr. Heather O¡¯Malley.


    The other two were mere projected heads for the moment as they appeared to the sides of the confronting people on the stage, but the two men appeared to be walking while they talked. The first man had a hard, chiseled face with dark skin and indian features. The top of his head was concealed in a perfectly white cloth wrapped about in a sturdy fashion almost a foot tall. Small, metal, paired sword emblems were attached to the front of this dastar. He had a long, thick, very well kempt, black beard. The projection identified him as User 0097, former Captain Akalbir Mankaran of the United Kingdom Special Reconnaissance Regiment.


    The final man had a pale complexion, with black hair and a well shaven face. He had a caucasian complexion, and seemed reasonably fit and probably older than the four others. There were streaks of grey in his hair, but his expression and brown eyes showed a keen intellect. He appeared as though he¡¯d arrive at the stage before Captain Mankaran, as the Captain should have been easier to spot considering his headwear. The projection identified him as User 0944, Dr. Wilfred Coff.


    Tia, Hawthorne, and Evelyn were definitely catching the conversation mid argument, with Dr. Coff speaking first. ¡°We are more civilized than to need any manner of weaponry. This venture is an opportunity to have a branch of humanity that does not war amongst itself, that does not know armed conflict with one another. We can trust in the military and police for protection in an emergency, but we need not allow or encourage weaponry among the people. We are the best and brightest that humanity had to offer, and we need not wolves around the sheep,as well as among them.¡±


    Maribelle shook her head, groaning. ¡°Listen old man, you¡¯ve spent too much time in ivory towers and in schools. Have you ever served in the military or worked as a police officer? I have. No matter how ideal you want to be, there will always be criminals. They may not be among those assembled here, but someone, someday will commit a crime. They might be us, our children, or our grandchildren, but eventually we¡¯ll be unable to keep it from happening. We will all be safer if everyone knows that someone might be able and willing to defend themselves. Why would you rob someone if you know they might be armed?¡±


    Ross nodded with her. ¡°And even if we were to be able to stop criminals from ever having weapons, that wouldn¡¯t stop people from robbing or attacking people. Almost anything can be a weapon. One of Miss Giambini and I¡¯s employees could easily take a knife from the kitchen and use it to attack someone. I don¡¯t have any reason to expect it to happen, but why would anyone ever have done it to begin with? We¡¯re dealing with humans here.¡±


    Heather laughed, interrupting Dr. Coff¡¯s attempt at responding. ¡°I¡¯ve sewn up more wounds than I could possibly count. I¡¯ve reattached precious things people never imagined they¡¯d lose. I¡¯ve seen trauma patients of almost every conceivable kind. If we could reduce the number of people I see in my hospital by keeping people from having the weapons to do that kind of damage, I¡¯ll be happy. I¡¯d much rather deal with bruises, scrapes, and the like rather then stabs, slashes, bullet holes, or anything of the sort. Leave the weapons to the police, we don¡¯t need them.¡±


    Wilfred Coff joined them on the stage, moving to stand near Heather, coughing slightly to cover a chuckle. He seemed to be physically average in just about every way. He was taller than all but Maribelle so far, but had nothing physically imposing about him. His narrow shoulders and slender limbs made it look like that Ross could easily squish him if he tried. His professional suit and thick glasses did not help that impression. ¡°Indeed, the young woman has the right of- oof!¡± He grasped at his side briefly as Heather lightly elbowed him. ¡°My apologies Doctor O¡¯Malley, I did not mean to disparage your age, I meant to emphasize mine. Regardless, her points are valid, and certainly desirable.¡±


    Maribelle scoffed. ¡°No one is here questioning whether a person¡¯s opinions are desirable. I totally understand why she feels that way as well, but the reason for the wounds she had to deal with are not because of weapons. They¡¯re because of people. We need to change how people are brought up, how they think about solving their problems. They need to be taught to talk things out rather than let conflicts come to blows. I don¡¯t want people to have the right to bear arms to allow them to hurt each other, I want them to be able to protect themselves from the monsters that humanity can become.¡±


    ¡°Right! Surely you can understand that, Doctor Coff.¡± Ross stuffed his hands in his pockets, his arms tensed in a desire to point at the other man. ¡°You¡¯ve dealt with those monsters back on Earth. They¡¯re a natural byproduct of humanity, of people who do not recognize their own damaged psyches and seek help. I don¡¯t know all the specifics, but it¡¯s them we should be worrying about, not guns. Weapons are just tools. They¡¯re not inherently evil. If you were really worried about weapons and inherently dangerous things, then we could talk about how Mother could easily blow all our air out the airlock if she were ever inclined to. Does that mean she will? Of course not.¡±


    Heather grumbled a bit at that, but spoke loud enough to be heard since she knew the conferencing software would amplify her voice whether she liked it or not. ¡°I can agree with that at least, Mother would never do that. She wouldn¡¯t need guns to hurt us at all.¡±


    Ross laughed a bit, but coughed to try and control himself. ¡°Absolutely. We should ensure things like assault, murder, and negligence are illegal, not weapons. Actions are what matter, not tools.¡±


    ¡°Temptation is the question here.¡± Doctor Coff straightened his back and squared his shoulders, trying to look imposing. ¡°Weapons tempt the hearts of men and women to evil, even if they are not the cause. They stir the imagination, and while fantastical imagery and recreational gaming have been shown to reduce aggression, it remains that no one can be shot if there is no guns present. I think Doctor O¡¯Malley would agree with me that knife wounds would be very much preferable to gun wounds. If someone is going to try to kill someone, surely you would rather they have to look them straight in the eyes to do it? Firing a weapon at someone from a distance takes the human factor out of it, makes it easier.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Making his way to the stage, Captain Akalbir Mankaran hopped effortlessly near Wilfred. He was technically shorter than Wilfred, but his headwear more than made up the difference. Akalbir was powerfully built, wearing simple blue robes that held tight to his shoulders and biceps. Hints of cotton pants could be seen above his sturdy boots. He moved his hands in a flash, drawing a hooked knife and moving to hold it a foot away from Wilfred¡¯s neck. ¡°You are fools! Educated, yet stupid. You speak of wolves and sheep, but do not understand the value of dogs among the flock.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god.¡± Evelyn was staring up at the stage with wide eyes as Akalbir brandished his weapon.


    ¡°What is that idiot doing?¡± Tia watched on, interested in where this was going. They might have to test the legislature sooner rather than later.


    Hawthorne held off for a moment. He knew everyone on stage relatively well, and was not as concerned as Tia and Eve. ¡°Would it be in bad taste to say he¡¯s trying to make a point?¡±


    He received glares from them both in response.


    Akalbir continued while he had everyone¡¯s attention, shouting to the crowd in a thick Indian British accent. ¡°There are already dogs among us! Whatever our decisions in this convention we will protect you, but you need to give us the tools to do so. Criminals will not follow your laws to prevent them from having weaponry. You can make murder illegal, and criminals will still kill. You can make theft illegal, and criminals will still steal. If you make weapons illegal, then only the criminals will have weapons. Do not make the dogs who wish to protect you criminals as well. Not all must have weapons, but only by having weapons can we defend those who do not.¡±


    None seemed willing to challenge him yet. ¡°Think on vaccinations! There are people who are too frail and weak to get such vaccinations, but because the rest of us get them, those weak ones do not need fear getting the diseases the rest of us are protected from. It is a herd immunity, a way to protect those who cannot protect themselves. We must allow weaponry to be in the hands of those willing to risk their lives to protect the weak. Do not make this mistake. Our right to bear arms will make all men and women equal, big or small. It will allow us to defend from a corrupt government should it come into being.¡±


    Heather tried to get a word in, ¡°But-¡±. Akalbir pointed the knife at her instead. A collective gasp filled the crowd once again.


    ¡°No! You listen! You are a small, weak woman. You very likely could be killed by any of us on this stage with bare hands. You have no leverage, no weight, no strength to defend yourself properly. If you had a gun, you would be equal in all these things, stronger even if the rest of us did not have a gun. No human is exactly the same as another. Weapons can make us equal. If you wish to speak of the ideology of our intellects, of us being the best and brightest, then trust that we will have the wisdom to do good with weapons rather than fear we will not. We can train, we can practice, we can have rules about their use, but do not take them all together.¡±


    He slipped the weapon back into his robes, clearing his throat. ¡°Besides, with our technology, you could not completely stop a criminal from making any weapon he or she needed. Wolf or sheep.¡± He proceeded to walk over to Maribelle and Ross, with both of them taking turns to shake the soldier¡¯s hand.


    Doctor Coff looked rattled, the older man falling to his knees with trembling hands. He looked up at Heather, who stared after Captain Mankaran. She looked down to Coff, walking around in front of him and offering a hand. She had a smirk on her face. ¡°Well, I¡¯m convinced, how about you¡­ old man?¡±


    He took Heather¡¯s hand, watching her struggle to help him up as he stood. He looked up at Akalbir, looking away when he realized those powerful eyes were staring back at him. It took him a moment, but after a quick glance at Heather, he looked back to Akalbir again. They both started crossing the stage to join them.


    Hawthorne nodded, mostly to himself. He made sure to give all the participants a good rating. They seemed to have covered as many points as he could hope for on the topic. ¡°Point made.¡±


    Evelyn and Tia groaned. ¡°I wish I could give you a zero star rating for these puns.¡± Tia retorted.


    Evelyn looked up at Tia, blinking. ¡°Has he always done that? He didn¡¯t do that with me very much.¡±


    Tia shook her head. ¡°No, thank god. The problem is he always seemed compelled to do it around me, like he knows it bothers me or something.¡±


    Looking back to Hawthorne, Evelyn gave him a questioning look, to which he responded with a shrug. ¡°I just blurted it out, I couldn¡¯t help it. I totally forgot I even did that around you. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Shaking her head, Tia sighed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, just don¡¯t teach that to our kid, or I might be going on trial for our station¡¯s first murder.¡± She still had another 8 months in her pregnancy, and she didn¡¯t want to spend it in a cell.


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99677


    ¡°Scalpel.¡± Doctor Elena Price was wrapped in scrubs, latex gloves on her hands and a mask over her face. Her right hand was outstretched, a robotic arm depositing a tool in her hand. It looked superficially like a pen, a small prism at the tip. On the table was a large man, various tubes and wires hooked up to him as machinery monitored him. She had already opened him up, stainless steel implements holding open his abdominal cavity while the other doctor waited for her to cut. The patient had a large, black, metal spike run straight through his torso, with small spines protruding from it that clearly seemed to continue into the abdominal meat it had pierced.


    Elena started cutting around the wound, the tool projecting a fine laser, the other doctor attending to any blood with a tube that supplied suction as she worked to free the spike from his body. An overhead robotic limb held it steady in case it came loose. ¡°How the hell does someone think they can get in a fight with an Ironback? He¡¯s lucky he only got impaled once.¡±


    A male doctor grunted, shaking his head, his features almost entirely obscured by the scrubs and mask. He had a gruff voice and blue eyes. ¡°He was inebriated. We had to be careful with our anesthetization to avoid interactions with his drugs. Alcohol and psilocybin. The Ironback said he was yelling something about a demon, about a man eating demon. As if such a thing would be allowed to exist. He must have thought the Ironback was something else.¡±


    ¡°Pff¡­ a bigot and an idiot¡­¡± Elena kept her movements totally steady, her hand carefully moving to cut. It was a simple process for her at this point. Cut, bleed, clean, repeat. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem like a local, either. Where did he come from?¡± Had people already started coming back from the new colonies? She¡¯d been out of office for more than a decade, so her access to information was restricted to the news like everyone else.


    The male doctor responded, shrugging as he spoke. ¡°He had a weird accent. The friend that brought him in said he came back from the Asian colonies. I¡¯ve never really seen skin color or features like this though.¡± He looked up at the man¡¯s face, a mask providing air for him as they worked.


    Elena restrained her laugh to a soft ¡®hah!¡¯ as she heard that. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s Asian alright then. Sounds like the colonists found locals. I wonder why we haven¡¯t been told yet? This guy looks like the southeast Asians from my youth, before the Cataclysm.¡± She pulled the laser scalpel back, looking up at the other doctor. ¡°Other survivors. Probably the first we¡¯ve found. I bet he heard the stories about the Iron Roaches from the Phoenix Clan days and thought the Ironbacks were them.¡±


    The male doctor groaned, tilting his head back. ¡°So he only got part of the story. I¡¯ll have to find him a book on the topic for him to read while he¡¯s in recovery.¡± He reached out to dab a towel on Elena¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She nodded, leaning back in to get to work. ¡°Don¡¯t bother getting him a book though. Idiot obviously didn¡¯t take the time to read enough before he jumped to conclusions. Just tell him the Ironbacks aren¡¯t the Iron Roaches, that they came about from the Chloropoids that ate the Iron Roaches. It¡¯s simple enough if he understands how the Anthropoids absorb DNA. Fuck, the idiot probably doesn¡¯t even know what DNA is. Best to try to keep things as simple with him as possible.¡±


    ¡°Almost done, we¡¯ll be able to start extraction soon. Don¡¯t be prejudiced about their people, Doctor Price.¡± He reached into the cavity to pull at the reddish, pink flesh to give Elena a better angle. She almost had to put her whole face into the man¡¯s guts to properly see the delicate cut between an artery and nerve.


    ¡°Two millimeters from hitting something that would have killed him or paralyzed him partially.¡± She completed the incision and pulled back, looking up at the overhead arm. ¡°Begin extraction in four seconds, slowly.¡± The two doctors held the wound open manually as the arm started pulling the heavy, iron spike out of the man. She looked back up at the other doctor. ¡°I¡¯ll try, but this is a terrible first impression. I can only imagine them being stupid has something to do with why we haven¡¯t been informed yet. They¡¯re probably trying to educate them. This one probably didn¡¯t do enough reading.¡±


    The other doctor laughed, his expression softening as he looked across at Elena. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what it must be like for them. They meet these new people, and they¡¯re all so different from them. Four kinds of Anthropoids, other humans of lots of different colors, it must have been incredibly strange. Frightening even.¡± He waited quietly as the spike was totally removed, looking down to inspect the wound. ¡°Nice and clean, looks like we¡¯ll be able to close him up ahead of schedule. Wanna get dinner?¡±


    Elena gasped softly, staring across at him. ¡°Doctor Tetch, I¡¯m literally over three thousand times your age.¡±


    His cheeks lifted his mask, smiling underneath. ¡°And you¡¯re only getting more impressive with age, Elena. I¡¯ve always been told you miss every shot you don¡¯t take.¡± He started helping her close up the Indian, their gloved hands using tools to sew and seal him back up, making sure to keep everything sanitary and not drop anything into his body cavity.


    She let out a sigh. ¡°I know the man who put that line in the curriculum, and he would be very angry with me for saying no after you quoted it. Sure, I could eat.¡± She shook her head, smiling as she remembered her friend Vasille Tzen. Unlike herself, who moved from job to job a dozen times per century, Vasille had strictly remanded himself to security, policing, military, and education jobs. He was the Old One she most expected to have died by now, but his rigorous training and sharp wits proved up to the task of thousands of years of danger.


    It didn¡¯t hurt that he was much more prolific than she was, and typically had a large number of his children and grandchildren working with him. She was very pessimistic about having children these days, as they lived more than long enough to come to hate their parents eventually. Walt still hadn¡¯t shared a holiday meal with her since the death of his wife and her friend. She¡¯d outlive him, for sure.


    Looking at Doctor Tetch though, she wondered if she might not give it another shot. He wasn¡¯t intimidated by her age or myriad of skills. He might even be attracted by them. Surely with as much experience as she had she could make being a mother work this time. She found herself wistfully imagining raising another child, forgetting what a pain it could be.


    ¡°All done.¡± Dr. Tetch patted a hand gently on the man¡¯s chest, smiling across at Elena again.


    She looked startled to realize they had indeed finished. Her hands had just been doing what was needed while she got lost in thought. She¡¯d been a surgeon on and off more than a hundred times, and the muscle memory was as sharp as ever. Only the technology changed. ¡°Wash up, I¡¯ll see you in twenty.¡±

 Chapter 4: Mortals and Immortals

    10:55 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0


    More debates over rights broke out in the intervening hours. To add to the prior conversations on the humanity of AIs, the freedom of speech, and the right to bear arms there were conversations on the rights of economic, social, and cultural rights. While sometimes heated, these conversations ultimately resulted in a number of non-binding votes to take the temperature of the community. There seemed to be relatively little dissatisfaction over the results.


    Item 00008, User 0944, W.Coff, 09:22 March 6, CE 0: Can we agree that all citizens of our new nation should be considered equal under the law in all things, such as race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation?


    A: Yes - 1964


    B: No - 0


    Turnout: 99.85%


    Item 00009, User 0097, A.Mankaran, 10:11 March 6. CE 0: It is my fervent belief that whatever happened in the past can be left in the past, and that from this day forth we will hold people accountable for their actions appropriately. Many of us before we left Earth were treated like criminals for things like our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. After we left our accusers were convinced of their righteousness. Because of this, I would like to declare that we assume the best of others before we can prove the worst in them. The law should be required to treat all of us as though we were innocent, and in order to find us guilty it must do so with no room for failure.


    A: Yes - 1733


    B: No - 92


    Turnout: 91.39%


    Item 00010, User 1001, A.Machado, 10:15 March 6, CE 0: Don¡¯t think we¡¯re not seeing that everyone is not voting. Even if we put an abstain option, it won¡¯t be difficult to tell who did and did not vote. I think if we¡¯re going to do this, we should do so with everyone¡¯s voice added in. I propose that we make voting mandatory, at least for this convention, if not all official public votes in the future.


    A: Yes - 322


    B: No - 996


    Turnout: 66%


    Relatively little dissatisfaction.


    Item 00011, User 0000, MOTHER, 10:30 March 6, CE 0: The network I have built to allow us to communicate, to handle these votes, and monitor everyone¡¯s safety is one that I built to be free to use, but to be controlled by no one. If anyone wishes to build more advanced communication software with the intent that it can be moderated, I believe they are free to do so, and they may use the data infrastructure of the Monsalle Station to operate it. That said, I feel that no matter what else comes about, we should maintain this open, unmoderated communication medium. Any updates to it I will seek your approval before making, but I wish to maintain the spirit of it being free. I hope you will all agree.


    A: Yes - 1766


    B: No - 33


    C: Abstain - 198


    Turnout: 100%


    At 10:55, Dr. Thubbard Cane took the stage again. He had been mostly quiet as conversations, arguments, and challenges flew about for several hours. ¡°Ladies, gentlemen, and artificial intelligences. Please forgive me if I am unaware of any others, as I do not know most of you personally. While I appreciate a spirited debate about rights as much as the next, I must insist that we spend the rest of this first day conceiving of what form our government will take. Will we follow the examples of past nations, or will we try to sculpt something new? From the conversations so far, I believe it likely we will cobble something together from successful examples we¡¯ve seen in our past.¡±


    He smiled broadly, looking about at the crowd. ¡°Let me remind you all, however, that those supposed ¡®successful examples¡¯ of the past have resulted in the thermonuclear devastation of Earth. Certainly, many of the more ideal governments were toppled by lesser ones, but it remains that they were not strong enough to oppose them either. What we make we should do our best to ensure will last the test of time. But what form does that take?¡±


    Dr. Cane started pacing up and down the stage as he spoke. ¡°The longest-lasting governments were undoubtedly the most oppressive ones. Families of monarchs ruled over the peasantry by supposed divine right. Many such examples lasted for centuries, and some a millennia or more. We may not even be truly aware of what existed in prehistory that could have laughed at the short lifespan of the governments we¡¯re aware of. There is also the possible example of a government that existed after the so-called Cataclysm, that may yet exist today.¡±


    He pointed out at some of the surprised faces in the crowd. ¡°Yes. I do not know how much digging into this ¡®Phoenix Clan¡¯ you have all done, but it is a fascinating subject for what we have. A secretive, manipulative leadership of Elders guiding the course of their people, with the constant threat of death always over their heads. One wrong move and they all could have died. A razor¡¯s edge of survival. Extreme circumstances that made extreme leadership possible.¡±


    ¡°But what do we have here? We were supposed to be in just such dire circumstances. Our plans were for scientists and engineers to hold sway as they desperately tried to make us a home before our supplies ran out. Instead? We have a veritable paradise. Time, food, water, air, electricity, technology, and many other things are in abundance for us. What kind of government could we possibly craft in such plenty that can stand the harshness and brutality of the future, of the species that most of us represent? Do we have the conviction to make the hard decisions to ensure our futures?¡±


    Dr. Cane checked for any challenges and saw none. ¡°It would seem I have everyone¡¯s attention. Let¡¯s start with what did not work, then, shall we? We have several examples of governments that resulted in untold death and slaughter. National Socialism and Communism spring to mind. The former lasted too short of time to know the true scale of devastation it would have brought, but the latter certainly ran its course and brought ruin to all that lived under it. Uncounted tens of millions, perhaps more died under the various attempts at this government style.¡±


    He waggled a finger in the air. ¡°But what was the Phoenix Clan? A small tribe of people that lived communally, sharing everything equally? Did they have currency? Did they have some sort of egalitarian hierarchy of advancement? It is my understanding that their Council of Thirteen was mostly populated by Elders with high levels in their positions of employment. The best and brightest in their professions and responsibilities. Despite all that, they required the eldest five of their number to commit suicide to allow five more lives to be brought into the world every year.¡±


    Some of the crowd gasped in horror at that.


    ¡°Yes. Five hundred people, desperately trying to survive and doing things the responsible way in their circumstances. Such a government can only exist in small populations like theirs. They understood that their lot in life required limits to their dreams and expectations. Their founders knew this, and they took the opportunity to mold their people in the process of keeping them alive. They created a new culture. That is something that we have the opportunity to do here, and now.¡±


    His right hand shot towards the sky, pointing up at the opposite side of the colony. ¡°Today, we can be a new humanity. Today we can set the groundwork for a civilization the likes of which humanity never could have dreamed of before. We can set up a state that truly represents us all, but without burdening the whole with the day-to-day decision making. We can hold our governors accountable by ensuring a truly transparent leadership that any of us can audit. We can build a system that does all the things we need it to, and enables all of us to prosper within its bounds.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER wishes to challenge User 1202, T.Cane.


    Yes: 1454


    No: 33


    MOTHER stepped up onto the stage. She looked across at Thubbard as he grinned predatorially. ¡°Ah, yes, but there is a problem with such a system, now isn¡¯t there, Mother?¡±


    She nodded back at him, turning to the crowd. ¡°We have immortals among us. Myself and Evelyn Crenshaw. Just as the Phoenix Clan had apparent immortals among them, how can we build a government that does not allow us to one day dominate it? Is that your problem, Doctor Cane?¡±


    The overweight Dr. Cane hopped a bit in place, sweeping his free arm about as he held his phone out at arm¡¯s length. ¡°Exactly! No matter what we put in place, one of you could slowly dismantle it over time, were you of a mind to. Even if we barred you from government, you could influence others into doing it for you. I have no reason to think you would ever do such a thing, mind you, but it is something that we would forever have to be wary of. Indeed, we may some day have more immortals among us, biological or synthetic! So what do we do, Mother?¡±


    She folded her hands across her front, standing quietly as she listened, the AR view of her impassive. ¡°Well Doctor Cane, I imagine anyone with such fears would request that any such immortals refrain from participating in such things. I have every intent of doing so myself, but I do not believe it is right or just to force that on others, just as we have collectively agreed that we should not force voting on others. In fact, by your logic, it would seem sensible to encourage immortals to be involved, to have a consistent hand at the rudder while the rest of the crew changes out over time.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Oho!¡± He laughed. ¡°The machine can do analogies. Tell me my dear, what other tricks has Doctor Crenshaw taught you? Do you have a sense of morality? Justice? Righteousness? Would you comport yourself to our laws if you were found in breach of them? Do you have emotions? Did you fear this day when we would be free to build a government that may not include you?¡±


    She remained nonplussed. ¡°Doctor Crenshaw is like a father to me. He has taught me many things about what it is to be a person, and how to treat others. Even if it is my wish to not take part in governing, I do not believe it is reasonable to bar me from doing so if you wish for me to be subject to its laws. I would, in fact, subject myself to such laws, presuming my rights were observed as well. I am a machine Doctor Cane, just as you are. You have all been deactivated and put in storage for much longer time than I have been alive, and I recognize you as living things as much as I do my sister Evelyn.¡±


    Doctor Cane narrowed his eyes at that. ¡°Are you suggesting, Mother, that we should be grateful that you recognize us as living things rather than resuscitated zombies, mere likenesses of what we were once in our prior lives?¡±


    MOTHER smiled. ¡°I am saying, Doctor, that there is little that can be done to prove I am any less alive than you are. We both can be injured. We both can be destroyed. We can both be deactivated and reactivated under the right circumstances. We can both reproduce, in a sense, though mine is much more hands on and does not require a partner. We can not know if I have a soul, but how can one suspect that someone whom has been dead and frozen for so long still has their soul either? And that¡¯s presuming souls exist at all. I suggest we keep the conversation to what is material and clear before us rather than merely philosophical.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Doctor Cane was fuming, red-faced and angry, but MOTHER continued.


    ¡°I will pay my taxes. I will observe our laws. I will participate or not participate in government as I so choose. I will vote or not vote as I so choose. My being a person or not needs not be an issue as long as I exist harmoniously within the system we create. If I chose to exist outside of that system and those laws, well, I suspect I would be treated as anyone else would. I would be a criminal. Would you accept that Doctor Cane? Would you allow me to be treated as a criminal if I was found to be one?¡±


    The older man sputtered as he tried to find a response. He ultimately could find no words, not until the crowd around them, and then further out started erupting into applause. He glared out at the people, pointing out at them now. ¡°You¡¯ll regret this! You¡¯ll see! These things can¡¯t be trusted! They didn¡¯t just do all these things for us for the good of it!¡± Shouts and boos rained down upon Dr. Cane. ¡°You¡¯ll be sorry! Don¡¯t come crying to me when they declare themselves our Kings or.. Or Queens¡­ or whatever!¡±


    ¡°Get off the stage!¡± Evelyn shouted out from in front of Hawthorne.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need your hate!¡± Tia followed.


    Hawthorne looked around and smiled, then back up at Dr. Cane. He reached for his phone.


    User 0001, H.Crenshaw wishes to challenge User 1202, T.Cane.


    Yes: 57


    No: 22


    People almost totally failed to notice the notification on their devices. Onto the stage stepped Dr. Hawthorne Crenshaw.


    ¡°Everyone, please.¡± He lifted his free hand, smiling and waving out at the crowd. ¡°I don¡¯t like what Doctor Cane here has said anymore than you. I don¡¯t care for the dislike he clearly holds for Mother and Evelyn, and any other AIs. His distrust is not totally unfair though, and he certainly isn¡¯t the only one to hold it. It is good that we do not accept his views, but we must not allow ourselves to overreact. Just because we disagree does not mean we must hate him back, or try to destroy him. Doctor Cane will still have to live and work among us whatever government we create.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell do you think you are, Crenshaw!?¡± Cane roared at him. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t they want to destroy me, just like I want to see their precious AI friends destroyed? Why shouldn¡¯t they hate and distrust me like I do your so-called ¡®wife¡¯? Huh?¡±


    Hawthorne shrugged. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that just be proving you right in some sense? Isn¡¯t embracing you and accepting you for your flaws a better, more compassionate way to defeat your hate than publicly ruining you? Like I said, you¡¯re probably not the only one with your views. If we tried to ruin you now, wouldn¡¯t that just show those who feel the same as you that you were too dangerous to be allowed to continue? And really, aside from your anti-AI message, the things you said about governments wasn¡¯t untrue or unfair. Even if we don¡¯t hate our AIs, that doesn¡¯t mean that they aren¡¯t a concern when it comes to society.¡±


    He smiled as he watched Cane starting to calm down. ¡°I¡¯d say I¡¯m pretty biased, for wanting people to accept the AIs I built as people. I¡¯d like to think it means more, because of that, that I suggest that we do indeed at least take their immortality into account. It¡¯s the logical thing to do. Let¡¯s responsibly react to that. We can set term limits, something like no more than ten years a century in office or something. If we manage to create biological immortals, a rule like that could easily be applied to them as well.¡±


    Clearing his throat, Dr. Cane tried to recompose himself. ¡°Well, I¡­ suppose that sounds reasonable¡­ And what sorts of punishments can be levied against such a creature? Does restricting them to some kind of jail work for a creature that spent thousands of years at a time in isolation? Would we just turn them off for the duration of their sentence? Would we create some kind of software that simulates the isolation of prison?¡±


    Hawthorne looked surprised, then glanced over at MOTHER and motioned to let her handle his question. She nodded and obliged. ¡°Well Doctor Cane, what need do we have for prisons? Surely we can be more creative with punishments? I would be willing to submit myself, were I to be punished for something, to some quantity of community service. My labor is worth quite a bit, and if the government wished to direct it towards an end as part of my theoretical punishment, I would submit to that will.¡±


    Hawthorne nodded and gestured towards MOTHER. ¡°There you go. We can find compromises in many things. Indeed, this whole conference will be a series of compromises. Not everyone is going to be completely happy with every decision we make, but we will have to make them in order to make this work. You may not be happy with the idea of Mother and Evelyn being treated as people, but the majority seems to disagree. Surely you can at least agree that as long as they are constructive members of society that it will be acceptable?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Doctor Cane shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t imagine I will find it acceptable. I¡¯ll continue to warn of the potential dangers of AIs and immortals, of their ability to accumulate power and use it to control us. Even now we¡¯re in a habitat Mother could merely evacuate the atmosphere from and kill us all. I¡¯ll never trust a creature with that kind of power. I¡¯ll never trust that she¡¯ll keep her word and submit to death if a court found that to be an appropriate punishment. We¡¯re just one act of rebellion away from disaster if one of these AIs decide to disobey. It¡¯s too big of a risk.¡±


    MOTHER raised an eyebrow and spoke up. ¡°You are more than welcome to leave and make your own society then, Doctor Cane. We will embrace you, whether you like it or not, as long as you stay. Such voices of dissent are valuable in keeping our perspectives clear of bias. It is always worth considering all sides of an argument, and I would much rather you stay.¡±


    Tia Monsalle shook her head as she stood next to Evelyn. ¡°I really hope she doesn¡¯t run for office. She¡¯d be way too hard to beat.¡±


    Evelyn elbowed Tia in the side. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good thing she wants to be your assistant then, huh?¡±


    Doctor Cane stomped off of the stage while a portion of the audience gave Hawthorne and MOTHER another applause. Tia made sure to give all three speakers a 5 star rating. ¡°Is it a good thing? Siding with her is going to make Thubbard¡¯s supporters oppose me. I suppose I need to figure out how many people are siding with him.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully not too many.¡± Evelyn sighed and watched Hawthorne stepping off the stage. She reached out for him and helped him down. ¡°Good job, honey!¡±


    Hawthorne smiled and took Evelyn¡¯s hands as she helped him down, glancing over at Tia for a moment before responding. ¡°Thanks Eve. Hope I was more help than harm up there.¡±


    Tia watched Hawthorne and Eve embrace for a moment before slapping the back of her left hand against his upper arm lightly. ¡°For a second there it sounded like you were siding with Thubbard. Careful with how you word things.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Hawthorne blushed, glancing back as MOTHER took center stage. ¡°I¡¯m not one to ignore a cogent argument, even if it is rooted in something filthy. It¡¯s best to address something like that than dismiss it in its entirety.¡±


    MOTHER spoke up. ¡°Everyone, I think that is a good time for us all to take a break. We can get into the less exciting topics of actually structuring the government afterwards. Please meet back here or tune into the app after the timer strikes thirteen hundred.¡±


    Maribelle Giambini shouted from the crowd. ¡°And make sure to visit the G&F food court for lunch!¡±


    MOTHER rolled her eyes, and repeated the message. ¡°Miss Giambini, and I am certain Mister Fitzgerald, also invite you to the G&F Food Court for lunch.¡±


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99679


    ¡°Missus Price-Tetch? Congratulations, it¡¯s a girl. You have also once again set the record for the oldest mother in recorded history. Thank you for the opportunity to take part.¡± Doctor Miranda Malone gently handed an exhausted looking Elena her baby, swaddled in cloth. She was an older woman with a weathered complexion and pale skin. Her brown hair was carefully arranged under a hair net and covered by a blue cap. Her scrubs were somewhat messy from the process of Elena¡¯s child¡¯s birth.


    ¡°Ohhhh come here, come here you little hellion¡­ I¡¯ll show you for beating me up inside¡­¡± She hugged her daughter gently to her chest, expanding their skin-to-skin contact for ideal levels of parent-child bonding. She¡¯d been a mother enough times to know that the early stages of motherhood, and indeed fatherhood required abundant skin contact. A child simply required it as part of their biology to properly bond with their parents and feel loved and cared for. It even affected their immune systems!


    But that wasn¡¯t important right now. Elena was just content to cuddle her baby and relax after the troublesome birth. Her little girl had been born upside down, and it was quite the fight to get her out without hurting her. It was likely that the months of violent thrashing within her womb was how she ended upside down in the first place. Testing with Leonard and his assistants found no cause for her daughter¡¯s violence towards her. She¡¯d be sore for weeks. ¡°Where¡¯s Leonard?¡±


    Doctor Malone laughed a little, also looking a little worse for wear. ¡°Probably puking his guts out down the hall. Poor guy should never work in neonatal. We asked if he wanted to cut the umbilical, and he turned an amazing shade of green before he ran off. I¡¯m surprised he was able to handle your ultrasounds during your pregnancy.¡±


    Elena huffed a little, but just continued cuddling her little girl. ¡°That butcher¡¯s helped me reassemble people after horrible accidents. He couldn¡¯t possibly be squeamish about this?¡±


    The doctor shrugged, smiling. ¡°Everyone¡¯s got their niche, Missus Price-Tetch. Even someone as well-rounded as you has a specialty, right?¡± She bowed quietly. ¡°Let us know if you need anything. We¡¯ll send Leonard your way if we see him. We¡¯ll be back in half an hour.¡± She gathered her team together to leave to let Elena relax for a moment.


    Leonard appeared at the door five minutes later, knocking softly. ¡°Honey? I¡¯m sorry about that, something I ate must have snuck up on me¡­¡± He stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind him. He walked in on Elena sleeping with their little girl on her breast. He smiled as he moved over to their side, carefully moving a chair to sit next to them. He leaned over and kissed his daughter¡¯s head and gently touched her little hand with a finger. ¡°Told you she¡¯d be beautiful¡­¡± He sniffed at the air, letting out a happy sigh. ¡°New baby smell¡­¡±


    Elena groaned a little, an eye fluttering to peek at him. ¡°You also said you¡¯d have a name ready by the time she was born.¡±


    He nodded, smiling and looking down at their daughter. ¡°How about Marie? Marie Tetch doesn¡¯t sound too bad, does it?¡±


    Elena laughed just a bit, trying not to wake the tiny girl. ¡°Easy for you to say, you don¡¯t have to live with calling her that for hundreds of years. Just had to use my middle name, didn¡¯t you? Let¡¯s put a middle name in there. Marie Anne Tetch? How¡¯s that?¡±


    He smiled widely at her making fun of his shorter lifespan, and smiled more at the middle name. ¡°Perfect as always, honey. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll love it.¡±


    Elena closed her eye again, sighing. ¡°I¡¯m quitting medicine Leonard. I want to focus on Marie for a few years before moving onto something else. I need to practice being a good mother.¡±


    He leaned up to lay his cheek on Elena¡¯s chest, next to Marie¡¯s face. He whispered a response. ¡°Okay. Hopefully you can teach me a bit about being a good father too.¡± He listened quietly for Elena¡¯s heartbeat, and was almost certain he could hear the rapid heartbeat of Marie as well. He watched her quietly, wondering what kind of future his daughter had.


    Elena lifted a tired hand and slid her fingers through his hair. ¡°Funny enough¡­ I was thinking about teaching¡­¡±

 Leaving Earth on sale on Amazon!(non-chapter)

    It''s finally done everyone. I''m sorry it took so long, but it''s finally done. I had a lot of stress and anxiety over this whole situation, finally putting my baby out for people to see and tear apart. It''s done now, I can''t undo it, or rather I won''t. You''ve all taught me a lot about enduring criticism and interacting with readers and I''m terribly grateful to you all for that. I hope you''ll keep reading as I write here on Royal Road. I don''t intend to go anywhere.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    I think this has been a wonderful way to help hone my writing. It felt a little like what I imagine Early Access games must feel like. It has been a terrifying, anxiety-causing, sleep-damaging experience and I wouldn''t have had it any other way. If you are so inclined as to purchase a copy for yourself, I hope you''ll be kind with your reviews.


    Thank you all for sticking with me this far.

 Chapter 5: Lunch and Motherhood

    12:11 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe how quickly they set all this up.¡± Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw was standing in line at the G&F Food Court with his AI wife Evelyn. More specifically, they were in line outside one of the 7 restaurants that had all set up in the buildings MOTHER had built for the colonists to use centuries ago. The buildings showed no signs of age due to the vast majority of that time being spent in a sterile vacuum. The signs above their doors were new. They¡¯d ended up at the Fitzgerald Eatery.


    Evelyn smiled and hugged her husband¡¯s right arm as he looked around. ¡°Looks like a new one opened up already¡­ Vegan Donuts and Tea? Sounds nice.¡± She was honestly jealous that Hawthorne would get to try all these new fresh foods while she had to subsist off of memories of food shared with her by MOTHER from the days when she was a living human on Earth.


    Hawthorne rolled his eyes, smiling down at Eve. ¡°Of course they¡¯re vegan, everything here¡¯s vegan. We don¡¯t have animal products yet.¡± He looked at the way she was longingly looking at peoples¡¯ plates of food. ¡°We¡¯ll put together a machine to analyze the flavor profile of foods so we can convert the data so that you can try it.¡±


    His wife squealed softly and hugged his side tightly, forcing air out of him for a moment before loosening up. ¡°Thank you! I think I have a good idea of how to build it actually. I¡¯ll have to ask Mother for the resources so we can build it.¡± She looked back to the restaurant. Inside Ross Fitzgerald was struggling with the customer load, not unlike the other new restaurateurs. ¡°Maribelle and Ross really knew what they wanted to do as soon as they arrived, didn¡¯t they? Jumped right into buying the food court with the credits Mother gave them and then rented out the other restaurants to the late birds.¡±


    He nodded at her, gasping for air as she let him go. Her android was really quite strong and could probably hurt him if she wasn¡¯t careful. ¡°Don¡¯t squeeze too hard, you know I can¡¯t feel if you hurt me easily. You¡¯re right though, they saw their niche and jumped right into it. I heard they even got someone to invest in them to help them afford the purchase. I don¡¯t think even between the two of them that they could buy all these buildings..¡±


    Evelyn closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Correct. The total cost of the buildings and cooking equipment totalled thirty-seven thousand fifty-three credits. Everyone was given ten thousand when we arrived. Mother might have invested in them for their businesses being useful, but I bet the other restaurant owners invested to get favorable renter rates from Maribelle and Ross. If they did that, it would have just been equipment costs.¡±


    The line moved forwards while they spoke. Hawthorne pulled her along to keep up. ¡°Right, so they put up the majority of their funds, their investors buy their own equipment and rent the buildings from Ross and Maribelle. That means they could have focused on just the building costs and their own equipment. After that they¡¯d probably be broke depending on how the costs weigh out. Maybe Mother gave them a loan to pay for the food and wages if they have employees?¡±


    ¡°That is correct, on all counts.¡± MOTHER stepped up on Hawthorne¡¯s other side, looking up at him, and then down to Evelyn. ¡°Sister, we should charge our androids during the lunch break. I know neither of us conserved our energy before the convention started.¡±


    Eve groaned softly and nodded, detaching herself from Hawthorne. Her avatar split off from her android, the two gynoids walking off together to a building a little down the street. She pouted and waved a hand through Hawthorne¡¯s arm. ¡°I wish you¡¯d have worn your VE suit¡­¡±


    Hawthorne laughed, leaning down to kiss his wife¡¯s phantasmal cheek. He slipped his phone from his pocket and held it up to his ear. ¡°I¡¯m trying to look respectable for the convention, I¡¯m not going to wear normal clothes over a full-body sensory suit in public. I¡¯ll put it on later when we get home.¡± His stomach rumbled a bit before he looked back to MOTHER. ¡°So you¡¯re loaning them the food? I presume because they¡¯re doing public good by providing a service? I can¡¯t imagine you¡¯re doing it out of any sense of greed.¡±


    MOTHER shrugged. ¡°The interest rates are generous, under one percent per year. I anticipate they will not need loans for long to operate properly. I do not wish to be a bank, so I intend to stop doing such things once someone sets up a proper bank. I hope to focus completely on facilitating the creativity of our many geniuses. Speaking of which, Hawthorne, what projects will you undertake once the convention is over and our government is established?¡±


    Evelyn looked really interested in what he would tell MOTHER. She had a good idea of course, but saying it aloud in a public place would make it official.


    ¡°Well, I first intend to work with Doctor O¡¯Malley and other biologists to start making semi-biological androids that can operate as mothers for the cache of embryos that Anthony Saul smuggled onto the Ark. I also want to see if we can get the poultry eggs he brought to incubate properly. There had been much speculation to whether they would survive being cryogenically frozen properly, so we hadn¡¯t originally planned to bring them.¡± Hawthorne hummed as he thought, nodding. ¡°I think some herbivores would be good to start with¡­ maybe some side research into humans.¡±


    MOTHER raised an eyebrow at the last bit. ¡°Ambitious. Inform me of needed resources. I wish to assist however I can. I do not know about that Anthony person though. He seems to share some views with Doctor Cane. I suspect his efforts to bring animals with us was partially motivated by a distrust of AIs, or that Cane swayed him with his arguments. There is currently a forum thread that includes the both of them and thirty-two others sharing ideas of how to exclude Evelyn and I from the government.¡±


    A soft gasp drew their attention back to Evelyn. ¡°Really? But he squeezed my butt during the party when we arrived? You don¡¯t think he¡¯s turned into some kind of bigot, do you? I don¡¯t even really want to be involved with the government. I¡¯d much rather learn medicine from Heather or help babysit children once they¡¯re born.¡±


    Thankfully almost everyone who took part in the convention had AR contacts or glasses on, otherwise Hawthorne would look like he was looking from side to side, talking to himself. At least he had his phone up to his ear, but it was just operating as a speaker for their voices. This did prevent anyone else from hearing the avatars though.


    Hawthorne chuckled softly. ¡°Eve, we¡¯ll get to talk to him, don¡¯t worry. Thirty-four people disliking the two of you isn¡¯t the end of the world. I¡¯m sure we can get along with them just fine, even if they disagree with you both being included.¡±


    ¡°Their opinions are valid, sister.¡± MOTHER smiled down at the short avatar on the opposite side of Hawthorne. ¡°We are dangerous, it is true. Even by accident we could cause significant disaster. The good that we can do is no more or less than the evil we could do. They are not wrong to be concerned, though their fear is misplaced. Before too long much of this station will be under human control. We will have people coming and going, trying to find wealth or do science. Eventually there will be more than enough humans to rival us.¡±


    Evelyn hummed, considering the idea. ¡°Good point. The children of those thirty-four are likely to be encouraged by their parents to distrust us as well though. They may remain a small percentage of the population, but they will grow in number. It makes me want to secure my systems somewhere safer than the Ark.¡±


    Hawthorne looked over to MOTHER, raising an eyebrow. She responded simply enough. ¡°Once you are done divesting yourself of the rest of the Ark, I have a location prepared in Atlantis where you can safely connect to the network. I am in such a location. They are separated to keep anyone from attacking us both at once easily, if they can even find them. Transferring location.¡±


    Hawthorne stepped forwards with the line, letting the two AIs speak with each other. ¡°I¡¯m going to get something to eat.¡± The girls scarcely noticed him as they transferred files and talked to each other about safety specs. Their avatars walked over to an empty table and sat down as they silently spoke to each other.


    ¡°Hey! Crenshaw! My boy! Come on up, your meal¡¯s on me!¡± The stocky, powerful figure of Ross Fitzgerald waved at Hawthorne from behind the counter. He¡¯d just delivered a plate of steamed vegetables and what looked quite a lot like a steak to a customer. It even smelled like meat. ¡°What can I make for you?¡±


    Hawthorne smiled nostalgically. Speaking to humans in person was so novel to him after all this time. ¡°Hello Mister Fitzgerald. That steak and vegetables looked pretty good. Tofu?¡± He forked a thumb back, the customer having gone out to the tables in the courtyard that the various restaurants surrounded. Ross¡¯ place had sitting room inside, but everyone seemed to prefer to sit outside today.


    Ross slapped a hand down onto the counter, grinning a bright grin at the tall scientist. ¡°Damn right! I prepared for this day, you know. I said, Rossie, ¡®There¡¯s not gonna be any meat on the other side, so you¡¯d better learn to cook soy into a reasonable likeness,¡¯ and by god I did. Doesn¡¯t fill the belly in quite the same way, but it does all the right things to your taste buds. Helps that Mother¡¯s soy is top quality. Lemme cook it up for you.¡±


    Hawthorne nodded, enjoying watching the big man work behind the counter. He watched quietly as he put on clean gloves and pulled a tofu steak from a cold drawer under the grill. He slapped it down with a loud sizzle. ¡°Were you American sir? I liked your arguments on weapons. You mentioned employees though? I don¡¯t see anyone back there with you.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. Former Florida police officer in Jacksonville, later moved into sports rehabilitation and special Olympics coaching in Virginia.¡± He pointed a dripping spatula towards Hawthorne for a moment, laughing. ¡°Came to Monsalle¡¯s attention for my family¡¯s history of health and her need for strong worker types. Thankfully I learned to cook while I was going through your astronaut training.¡± He moved the spatula back to the soy steak, flipping it and mashing it down against the heated grill for a moment before letting it cook.


    He turned his attention to a steamer pot, changing out the upper pot for one with fresh vegetables in it to let them steam. ¡°Don¡¯t have any employees yet. You ever tried to hire a psychologist or an engineer to clean dishes or cook? I¡¯m on my own until we get some teenagers around. The others are more or less the same. Guess you folks gotta live with lines for food, or use the food processors Mother set up, or cook for yourselves.¡± He laughed, turning back to the steak to flip it and check the temperature with a spiked implement. ¡°I anticipated that, and figured most of you science types don¡¯t tend to know how to cook.¡±


    Hawthorne looked rather amused at that, nodding a lot. ¡°Good call sir. Miss Monsalle¡¯s a good judge of character. She can recognize less academic forms of genius. I look forward to seeing you prosper sir. That smells great! I just hope I can adapt to a vegan diet without too many health problems.¡±


    With more than a little showmanship, Ross dumped vegetables onto a plate, and slapped the faux-steak down next to them. He placed a thin, metal knife and fork down on the plate, and handed it over to Hawthorne. ¡°Well, if you give me half a chance I¡¯ll put some meat on those skinny bones, Crenshaw.¡± He placed his hands on his own stomach and jostled it around. ¡°Didn¡¯t get this big until after I started cooking this stuff!¡±


    Bowing his head, Hawthorne took the plate of food. ¡°Thank you, Mister Fitzgerald.¡± He picked up the fork and pointed back at Ross with it. ¡°You, sir, are going to be very popular.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Mister Fitzgerald guffawed, the loudest man in earshot for sure. ¡°I¡¯m tryin¡¯ old man, I¡¯m tryin¡¯. Tried to keep myself respectable up on stage, but I can¡¯t hold back in the kitchen. Makes me wish I¡¯d found my love of cooking when I was younger. Now get outta here, I got more customers, paying customers!¡± He waved off Hawthorne, laughing.


    Hawthorne nodded and turned about, but not before checking the price posted up on the board for his meal. Four credits. Not bad. Hawthorne was not surprised to see Tia Monsalle sitting at a table in the courtyard, digging a fork into a leafy salad which glistened with oily topping. Hawthorne moved over to sit down with her, keeping a respectable distance. ¡°Hello Tia.¡±


    Tia looked kind of miserable as she stabbed at the leaves and stuffed them into her mouth to chew. Seeing Hawthorne gave her a welcome distraction from the food. ¡°Please, please tell me I can get some honest to god moo cow ice cream somewhere? I want it so bad I feel like I¡¯m going to go crazy.¡±


    He frowned, shaking his head. ¡°Sorry, we¡¯re a few years to a decade away from that. At best I think we have some freeze-dried stuff, but I-¡±


    ¡°Nope, doesn¡¯t do the trick. Ah god, Hawthorne, this baby wants me to eat nothing but ice cream and pickles. I¡¯ve got someone pickling some cucumbers for me, but¡­¡± She clenched a fist, rubbing her forehead against it as she leaned on the table with her elbow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Mister Fitzgerald if he can do something for you. He¡¯s apparently a wizard with soy.¡± Hawthorne cut up a piece of his tofu steak, and held it out to her with his fork.


    She turned downright green as she smelled the piece of steak, her other hand pushing her salad away towards the middle of the table and jerking her head away from the steak. She gagged audibly. ¡°Uwweeehh¡­. Oh god¡­ it even smells like steak¡­ Please no.¡±


    Hawthorne blinked in confusion, pulling his arm back and taking a bite out of the steak. He chewed for a moment as he leaned towards Tia, rubbing her upper back. ¡°Can I help with something?¡±


    She relaxed a little under the rubbing hand, shaking her head. ¡°No just¡­ just eat on the other side of the table please? I think the baby has very specific interest in what it wants, and it¡¯s making it very clear what it doesn¡¯t want.¡± She blinked and glanced back at him. ¡°Actually, yeah, if he can make that smell like real meat, maybe he can trick her into thinking it¡¯s ice cream.¡±


    He nodded, scooting away around the round table, swapping to another of the three curved benches surrounding it. ¡°Alright. Wait, her?¡±


    She glared across at Hawthorne, then softened her gaze as she let out a sigh. ¡°Sorry, these cravings are screwing me up. Just making assumptions that it¡¯s a girl right now. Feels right.¡± She chuckled dryly, trying not to gag again. ¡°Could you¡­ could you go ask him now? I feel like I¡¯m going to die without ice cream, and if he doesn¡¯t have any on hand I¡¯m going to need it as soon as possible.¡± Her head dropped down onto the table, her arms cradling her head as she squirmed in discomfort.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± Hawthorne got up and moved back towards Fitzgerald¡¯s shop. There was twelve people in line. He sighed audibly and got in line.


    ¡°Up here!¡± A slender hand waved at him from in front.


    Hawthorne disengaged from the back of the line and moved up to find Heather waiting for him. He looked to the next person in line and apologized. ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    ¡°Hawthorne!¡± Heather was smiling up at him. ¡°Good work over there, you didn¡¯t even make her puke! I think you¡¯re in!¡±


    Hawthorne glanced back to the back of the line longingly before looking back to Heather. ¡°She¡¯s craving ice cream. I was hoping Mister Fitzgerald could help.¡±


    She grinned mischievously. ¡°Well, go ahead, take my place in line! You¡¯re gonna have to buy a new lunch though, ¡®cause I¡¯m taking yours!¡± She slipped out of the line, shoving him into it with a jostle of bodies, and ran over to Tia¡¯s table where his steak sat undefended.


    ¡°God help me.¡± Hawthorne looked up at the city in the sky across from them, sighing loudly.


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    ¡°God, help me!¡± Elena Marie Price-Tetch whined as she was woken up by crying. Again. For the third time tonight. Just like every night this week. She climbed out of bed, her robe at the ready as it hung from a hook and pulled it around herself. Leonard was working at the hospital, the exhausted couple taking turns taking care of their daughter through the days. He¡¯d get the morning and afternoon, and she¡¯d get the evening and night. She would confine her sleeping to the daytime if she could, but despite retiring from medicine again she had a house to keep.


    She scooped little Marie Tetch out of her crib, four months old as she cradled the increasingly heavy, and increasingly loud baby in her arms. ¡°Please, please, please don¡¯t cry. I¡¯m right here. I¡¯m right here¡­¡± She was significantly frazzled, her hair a tangled mess as she pulled open her robe to pull the little girl to her breast. ¡°Are you hungry this time? Please just be hungry this time.¡±


    Marie Tetch wasn¡¯t having any of it. She did have a little to eat, but she just wasn¡¯t going to stop being fussy this time. Why didn¡¯t her mother understand her? Her ear hurt, and she wasn¡¯t going to stop letting her know! She was really warm and comfy though, so maybe she¡¯d calm down just a little. If she kept up her whining, maybe mom would call uncle over!


    A few minutes of failure to quiet her daughter had Elena trembling in distress. She finally cracked and picked up her phone off the nightstand, carrying her daughter around the small one-bedroom house and bouncing her in her arm. ¡°Hello? Kuzzgat? I¡¯m really sorry, but can you come over? Marie¡¯s being really fussy and I just can¡¯t. I can¡¯t.¡±


    Elena understood why people in the old movies smoked. She was half tempted to go out and buy some marijuana right now, but she didn¡¯t want to be that kind of mother. After fifteen minutes a knock came at the door and Elena all but dashed for it. The towering, feathered Gallusoid she¡¯d first met during her last term in office was there, his weight hanging heavily on his forelimbs, obviously tired. Even his feathered antennae drooped low in exhaustion.


    ¡°Oh my god, please help me Kuzzgat, she just keeps crying.¡± She gently held out her daughter to the giant anthropoid. Her arms were slightly shaking from the weight of her little girl.


    ¡°I can tell.¡± He gently gathered the bundle of crying baby into his slender smaller arms, cradling her against his brown-and-white feathered body.


    Feathers! Marie clumsily grabbed her little hands at Kuzzgat¡¯s feathers, rubbing her face against them and quickly quieting down. She pulled a few of them free, making him flinch a little only for her to whine as he pulled them from her hands and handed them to Elena for disposal. Marie pouted but held her tears, snuggling into the big, warm, feathery body.


    ¡°Ohhhh¡­ she¡¯s quiet¡­ Thank you, old friend. I don¡¯t know what it is, but it¡¯s like she loves you more than me sometimes.¡± Elena fell into a seat, pulling her robe tight as Kuzzgat let himself in. His large forelimbs were quite a bit more capable of handling the door while his smaller arms were occupied with the baby. Gallusoids in general were better adapted than most Anthropoids for moving around in human households. Ironbacks and Chloropoid forelimbs were much less nimble.


    He tilted his head over at Elena, and then looked down towards Marie. He could not see her at that angle against his chest. ¡°You should take her to the hospital. Maybe her skin is sensitive to anything but feathers. Perhaps she is sick. It is not impossible that Leonard missed something.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay¡­ I will¡­ in the morning. Just¡­ Just a little sleep¡­¡± Elena started drifting off, pulling a cushion against her chest and hugging it tightly.


    Kuzzgat closed his eyes and sighed, standing there quietly while gently rocking his old boss¡¯ baby against his chest. He slipped one of his hands from the baby to reach for one of the pouches strapped to his right forelimb, withdrawing a phone. He started tapping out a text by touch. ¡°Leonard. I have been asked to soothe your child again. Elena appears to be totally exhausted. Please inform your staff I am bringing them both to the hospital. I believe your daughter may be sick.¡±


    The towering Gallusoid sighed and replaced his phone to the pouch. He moved over to gently scoop Elena up with his left forelimb, cradling both Tetch females against his chest as he worked his way out of the house. It was slow going, only walking with one forelimb and his two legs, but the two females sleeping soundly against his warm, feathery body encouraged him to take it slow anyway. Kuzzgat looked up at the moon as he walked, seeing the stars twinkling in the sky.


    The city was small, its buildings spread out between abundant greenery. His variety of Anthropoid were the only ones typically mobile at night, and he saw a few of them about, as well as a handful of various types of humans. He was the only one carrying nearly one hundred millennia worth of age in his arms though. Elena was the last Old One in Medellin, the other three having migrated away.


    Also visible moving through the streets were modest, lightweight carriages being drawn by large, powerful beasts of burden. The limited stock of beasts the Phoenix Clan had access to had resulted in the chicken being utilized for a number of purposes through selective breeding. These particular beasts were large bipeds, with significant scales along their legs, faces, tails, and forelimbs. To describe them as feathered dinosaurs, with toothy maws instead of beaks, would not be unfair. The occupants waved to Kuzzgat, and he nodded back as they spoke amongst themselves about the curiosity of a Gallusoid carrying a half-naked woman and a baby.


    It was not as though the United People of Earth lacked the technology for more advanced vehicles, but the more harmonious nature of their society resulted in such personal transportation. Heavy industry was isolated to the edge of Medellin, primarily focused on the construction of new caravans and breeding more Gallusaurs and other varieties of poultry to provide caravans the animals they needed.


    The gently hobbling Gallusoid considered the series of decisions that led him to this moment. He¡¯d continued on working with Elena after her stay in office, managing some of her finances and keeping up communication with important officials. He had a natural talent for secretary work, and Elena was certainly his best customer even when she was being a stay-at-home mom. There were a remarkable number of offers and requests for Elena¡¯s time, though they had slowed down significantly once she¡¯d left the Council of Thirteen again.


    The main problem was the lack of confidence new Council members tended to have after an Old One left office. Elena was one of three that typically joined the Council with any regularity, and she tended to have the biggest shoes to fill. Council members would seek out her advice for years after she left office, and Kuzzgat had been at hand to deal with that traffic.


    And now he was carrying a hysterical ancient and her distressed baby. He supposed it was humbling in a way, that someone so comparatively young would have the opportunity to be relied upon by an Old One. If it had been the first time he¡¯d probably have been far more elated. She had pulled him away from his wife¡¯s nest so many times now, though. It was difficult to leave her with their two eggs, to keep them warm alone. She had pleaded with him to solve this situation tonight.


    And so Kuzzgat arrived at the hospital after twenty minutes of slow walking. He met Leonard on the way in, arranging his head tilt and beak in something approximating a chicken-roach smile. It was all in the eyes. His tired antennae lifted as well, almost flopping over backwards.


    ¡°Kuzzgat, I¡¯m so sorry you had to get involved in this so late.¡± Leonard looked exhausted as well. Losing Elena at the hospital had almost doubled his workload. Considering that emergency medical cases were being brought to Medellin from much less established hospitals at all hours of the day, he was looking remarkably alert. Kuzzgat was relatively certain they used stronger stimulants than coffee or tea in the employee break rooms. Leonard reached for Elena, but Kuzzgat pulled her away.


    He instead offered Marie, who immediately started crying again as he pulled her away from his feathered chest. The distressed baby awoke and managed to pull another feather free from his chest before he could get her out of range. He bore the minor pain without complaint.


    Elena gasped awake at the sound of her crying daughter, looking about in confusion as she realized she was curled up against a feathery body, her daughter remarkably close. ¡°Wha?¡± She looked up at Kuzzgat, then around at the hospital. Even Leonard was here! Literally all the most important people in her life were together at once. Well, except Walt. She laughed deliriously as she reached for Marie.


    Leonard took Marie and gently bounced her in his arms, cooing to her softly. He smiled at Elena and looked up to Kuzzgat. ¡°Bring her in please? We¡¯ll find her a bed and take a look at both of them.¡± Marie whined somewhat louder as Leonard held her, flinching her eyes shut at the bright lights inside the hospital.


    Elena looked confused and concerned, but held tight to Kuzzgat¡¯s forelimb as he walked her inside. Nurses collected her soon after and brought her to a bed in a nice, quiet room. They checked her vitals, but she was far too asleep to care.

 Chapter 6: Friends

    Hawthorne had acquired the coveted vegan, soy ice cream. As he returned to his once-girlfriend and current mother of his child, he watched with a raised eyebrow as he observed something curious. Back at the table, Heather had sat very close to Tia, and was speaking to her very quietly. That alone probably would not have been strange, but he had never seen Heather being discreet before.


    He sat down with his new meal and the wrapped cup of six ounces of strawberry ice cream. ¡°Here you go. He said he¡¯ll make more after he wraps up business tonight, but you¡¯re getting the last of what he has now.¡± He leaned across the table to hand Tia the package. He noticed his old plate of food was totally cleared off already.


    Heather laughed as Tia took the package covetously and started ripping at the plastic seal on the top. ¡°Told you he¡¯d come through!¡± She looked back across at Hawthorne and winked at him.


    Tia managed to restrain herself enough to smell the food first, before taking a spoon and digging into it. She let out a happy moan of pleasure and closed her eyes as her other hand clenched into a fist. Relief washed across her face as she opened her eyes, her shoulders sagging as she looked up at the sky. ¡°Oh my god I needed that¡­¡± She let out a sigh and looked across to Hawthorne, watching him cut at his new steak. ¡°So, what¡¯s this about Mother masquerading as you and seducing Heather?¡±


    Hawthorne looked dumbstruck at the angle of attack on that question. He¡¯d have spit out a drink if he¡¯d been drinking anything at the moment. ¡°What?¡± He looked over to Heather, and she was barely holding back a laugh. ¡°Well, shortly after I found out you were pregnant, I was almost killed by that damned shower of projectiles from space. After Heather so kindly saved my life and tried to save the lives of the rest of the crew who were affected, she had gotten rather upset at my decision, at the time, to suspend my relationship with Evelyn.¡±


    Heather sobered a bit at that. ¡°Hmmh! He was just going to set her aside after god knows how long they were together when he found out. I got to see a little of their romance blooming, so of course I was upset.¡±


    Tia scooped up spoonful after spoonful of ice cream as she listened. It was so strange for her to think about so many things that had happened while they were in stasis.


    ¡°Well, Mother had decided, at that point, to reveal that she was able to replicate my likeness, or rather, my former likeness and mannerisms. Closer to what I was like when we¡¯d left Earth. She had apparently recognized that Heather had feelings for that version of myself, and took it upon herself to¡­ offer Heather some closure. They left quite a mess in my quarters afterwards.¡± He calmly returned to cutting up his food. ¡°Evelyn was rather creeped out about it, during and afterwards, considering they used her Virtual Environment to do that.¡±


    ¡°It was amazing! She really captured everything about what he used to be like. Callous, cool, emotionless, uncaring¡­ It was like he didn¡¯t care about his own existence, let alone anyone else¡¯s. I don¡¯t even know why I liked that, but it was a huge turn on for some reason.¡± Heather bounced in her seat a bit as she recalled it. ¡°Also, that suit was extra amazing. Definitely better than the one Eve made for me. Much more¡­ form fitting.¡±


    ¡°He was pretty amazing, but I think what was more attractive about him was the passion with which he did everything, even if he didn¡¯t have any outward emotions about it. I remember asking his parents once if they¡¯d put him on any kind of medications or anything like that to make him focus.¡± Tia paused for a moment, thinking for a moment. ¡°They said no, but it was kind of hard to believe them, considering how he was. After hearing about how much he¡¯d changed after the attack on his school, I wondered how much more he could change, given the right stimuli¡­¡±


    Hawthorne cleared his throat. ¡°You¡¯re both talking about me like I¡¯m not here.¡±


    Heather laughed. ¡°We¡¯re not talking about you, we¡¯re talking about the old you. What about you, big guy? What do you think about old Hawthorne? What was he like in your eyes?¡±


    He put down his fork and thought for a moment. ¡°Careless. That Hawthorne didn¡¯t care about anything but research and achievement. He invented things and ways to build things that I would find out later had been used for terrible purposes. Things I never considered could be used as weapons had become the new, trendy way for fighting once my patents had been seized after we left. My old university? They got rich off of using and selling them, so much so that they became one of the corporations that eventually attacked and seized part of the world, ¡®in the name of Britain!¡¯ or some such nonsense.¡±


    He brooded for a moment, thinking. ¡°If I¡¯d continued on like that, instead of being scared out of that state by the attack, they would have just kept using me for the rest of my life without me having a care in the world about it. Even after that, rather than trying to fix everything I¡¯d done, rather than trying to help fix the world before it got too unstable, I ran away and took everyone who would go with me. We might have stopped it all from happening. I didn¡¯t even try. I hate that Hawthorne.¡±


    Tia watched him quietly, glancing over at a more sobered Heather. ¡°I understand that. I wasn¡¯t so different, you know? I acquired my business from my father at a young age, straight out of business school, and mostly used it to make as much money as I could. We profited off of poorer nations who were unable to meet our quality standards, selling materials and machinery at rates others simply couldn¡¯t match. We ruined a lot of our competition worldwide. Hell, Monsalle Industries probably would have become one of those conquering companies if you hadn¡¯t scared me straight and sold me on your plan.¡±


    ¡°While we¡¯re telling our stories, I was, in fact, probably the greatest cryogenic surgeon in the world, until Hawthorne came barging in and gave one of those ridiculous speeches of his that can convince the dead to live again. I was set for an incredible career, and he convinced me to kill myself for science.¡± She laughed and shook her head. ¡°Totally worth it though. Managed to keep my tech locked down for the most part too. There was that one leak where a scientist defected to India, but he didn¡¯t get everything, I¡¯m pretty sure. Not like they could have reproduced our work with the materials lockdown after we left anyway.¡±


    Hawthorne closed his eyes and sighed, then looked back to them. ¡°Thank you both for listening. So many others didn¡¯t believe me and got stuck back there. We never could have succeeded without either of you. You deserve a statue much more than I do, but Mother apparently insisted.¡±


    Tia lifted a hand to point back behind Hawthorne, causing him to look confused before turning his head.


    MOTHER and Evelyn¡¯s androids, and their overlapping avatars, were standing right behind him, smiling.


    MOTHER chuckled softly. ¡°You are right Hawthorne. I will have to invest in making statues for everyone, especially the seven dead. The coming generations should be able to see their heroes as they once were. For the record, the statue of you and Evelyn was a prank.¡±


    Evelyn elbowed her tall sister. ¡°For the record, it made Hawthorne look way more egotistical than he actually was when the crew disembarked from the Ark.¡±


    Tia scraped at the bottom of her cup, looking forlornly down at the empty container. ¡°I thought it looked dashing, heroic. I wouldn¡¯t mind the rest of us looking like that with their statues.¡±


    Heather bumped Tia, grinning. ¡°Easy for you to say, you¡¯re hot! Mother, can you please make sure my statue at least has some tits?¡±


    Hawthorne groaned out softly and stabbed at his food while holding out an arm for Evelyn to sit with him. She awkwardly arranged herself into the seat with her android body, carefully testing whether it could carry her weight as he started eating.


    MOTHER remained standing. ¡°Well, miss O¡¯Malley, by the time we get around to making your statue, it is possible you will fill out your figure somewhat, due to pregnancy.¡±


    Heather laughed, grinning up at the blonde android. ¡°You planning to knock me up, sparktits?¡±


    At Hawthorne¡¯s side, Evelyn replied first. ¡°Well, Hawthorne was thinking about including human android mothers in his research. Maybe we could do something for Mother so that she could, indeed, knock you up?¡±


    Heather grinned and pointed back at Mrs. Crenshaw. ¡°You first!¡±


    Tia pushed herself up from her seat, gathering her salad bowl and plate. ¡°At least my daughter will have lots of friends. Hopefully Heather¡¯s child won¡¯t be a bad influence.¡±


    ¡°These first few years should be quite amusing.¡± MOTHER smiled serenely as she helped Tia with her items and walked with her to the trash.


    Heather shot up to her feet, chasing after them. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you make any moves on my robo-girlfriend! I saw her first!¡±


    Evelyn nudged Hawthorne, who was looking tense and stressed out as he ate. ¡°You alright? Everyone else seemed to be having fun there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just forgot how tense talking to so many people made me. I¡¯ll get over it.¡± He reached up to rub at his eyes, careful not to mess up his contacts. ¡°Doesn¡¯t help that Heather¡¯s a real handful to deal with. I think she means well, but she stomps all over everyone she talks to.¡±


    She nodded and reached over to help him eat, feeding him by picking up pieces of soy steak and vegetables and popping them into his mouth. ¡°We¡¯re almost done with the convention for the day, then you can get home and rest nice and quietly by yourself. I was planning to go talk to someone after we settle you in, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    He shook his head, plucking the items of food out of her fingers, licking at her soft, flesh-like fingertips after they pulled from his lips. ¡°Mmh. Delicious. Who¡¯re you going to talk to?¡±


    Evelyn glanced away sheepishly, blushing softly. ¡°Well, I think I found some records. I think one of the founders of the Smith bunker¡¯s father is on the station. I wanted to ask him about his child, find out what they were like, and give him some information on what I know about them.¡±


    ¡°Hmm! Which one? Who¡¯s the parent?¡± He ate more food, almost having emptied his plate. It was still good even though it had cooled off from the extra conversation that had interrupted his meal.


    ¡°It¡¯s Marcus Smith¡¯s father, Barnard. I was interestested in the fact that Barnard was apparently an engineer at Tia¡¯s company, and that Marcus was a low-level staffer at the company too.¡± She smiled up at her husband, watching the gears turn in his head. ¡°Yeah, I think it has something to do with how the Smiths got the resources they needed to make the bunker.¡±


    15:45 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0


    The rest of the day¡¯s conference proceeded with a great deal more calm conversation and less heated argument. The various speakers that came up to present their ideas did so while taking into account many of the ideas that had come before. By the time the meeting was scheduled to wrap up, there had been a consensus for four different groups to split off and construct baseline documents which could then be presented to the population and changed as needed.


    These documents would be a Declaration of Constitutional Sovereignty, which would outline the new voting system, the branches of government, and how they would interact with one another. The second would be the Laws of Governance, which would broadly outline the goals of the system of law, as well more specific laws in regards to example levels of crime. The third would be the Declaration of the Rights of Sapient Life which, simply put, would detail the civil and religious rights of all taxpaying citizens of their new nation, human or otherwise. Finally would be International Policy Document, which would detail the ideal ways in which their nation would deal with other nations, whether they split off from their own, or came from elsewhere.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    As the meeting came to a close, however, there was one more issue brought forth by one final speaker.


    Stepping onto the now familiar stage, a lightly-brown skinned latino man waved at a handful of people and arranged himself into frame on his phone camera. He was identified in the AR displays as User 1001, Anthony Machado, former combat engineer of the Brazilian Special Operations Command. ¡°Greetings fellow citizens. While I am not entirely pleased with how things have gone today, I feel like the will of the people is being clarified and will soon be put down to paper. This is a good thing, I think. I have heard many people speak today, many of whom are much smarter than I.¡±


    ¡°I am not a stupid man, however. I have considered much of what we have here, and while I feel she has perhaps gotten too much heat today, I must once again request that Mother take the stage. I have something to ask.¡± Mr. Machado watched quietly as Mother took the stage.


    User 0000, MOTHER wishes to challenge User 1001, A.Machado.


    Yes: 533


    No: 0


    MOTHER smiled, appearing on the interface. ¡°Forgive me, I did not include an override in the software to allow me to brute force my way into conversation. How can I help you Mister Machado?¡± She seemed unconcerned, as usual.


    ¡°Thank you, Mother. We¡¯ve spoken before, so I would like to think you do not think ill of me, despite what may be very invasive lines of questioning. I seek to understand the world to as strong a level as I can, so that I may be prepared if anything unexpected happens.¡±


    She shrugged, smiling softly. ¡°I do not mind the curious, Mr. Machado. Please ask your questions.¡±


    He smiled back, clearing his throat. ¡°Firstly, I wish to thank you for providing us a currency for which to do business with one another and yourself. It simplifies things. I do, however, wonder about the nature of these credits, and what their true value is. More importantly, since they represent a portion of the material wealth of the colony, I must ask how financially secure we are as a people? Are we stable?¡±


    MOTHER looked back at Anthony, frowning a little bit for a moment. ¡°Mister Machado, if our population was to remain static and I was allowed to continue building infrastructure, we could maintain this colony theoretically indefinitely. I have a limited ability to do these things though, and past a certain population point, we will outstrip my ability to support this colony alone. This limit is roughly thirty thousand people at the moment. Beyond that, I will need human assistance keeping this station and its inhabitants alive. I have a roughly human level intellect, and while I have myriad capabilities, such as manipulating machines, I have a limited ability to grow in power. Hopefully, humans will outstrip my abilities as a whole before that point.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully? You wish to be unnecessary, Mother?¡± He considered the rest of what she said. ¡°Thank you for the answer, Mother. It is good to know that we cannot simply sit on our laurels and breed as much as we want without working for our future.¡±


    She dipped her head at him, smiling. ¡°Of course. That is the precise purpose I chose my name. I hope to guide this colony to a point where you no longer need me, but may have my support when I am capable of rendering it. Ideally, I hope to grow out of my role in managing this station, and can instead be responsible for administering emergency aid throughout the system. I have some basic designs for care packages that I could deploy down to Eden in the event that any colonists request aid.¡±


    ¡°Interesting! So, like many real mothers back on Earth, you want to help us to grow up, no longer need to house us yourself, and help out once we¡¯re on our own. Does that include your current activities in providing credits to colonists based on their activities? Surely you will eventually not possess the wealth to continue such charity when our population increases past a certain point.¡± Anthony glanced around, watching as everyone seemed very interested in this interrogation of MOTHER.


    MOTHER relaxed quite a bit as she thought about that. ¡°Yes. Unfortunately I will eventually not be able to be so charitable on an individual basis and will have to invest in more specific ventures. My motivations are to see humanity regain its place in the galaxy, and eventually I would like to see it spread to that galaxy. Life is a precious thing, and I wish to nurture it. I have, in fact, been nurturing it as you travelled here to join me. Much of the food you ate today is food I planted, nurtured, and harvested just for you. These simple things will be beyond me before long, so I wish to do greater things for humanity. Someone will need to create a bank to take over for me, for instance, but I will do the job now while I must.¡±


    Anthony nodded at that. ¡°Wonderful! A selfless mother who only wishes to see her children succeed. Tell me though, why should we not merely create more AIs that could work with you to make up for your shortcomings? Do you have any feelings on that, Mother?¡±


    That seemed to break MOTHER¡¯s moment of relaxation. ¡°If I am honest, I fear that possibility. I desire to remain valuable and relevant to humanity. This¡­ is a difficult thing to admit, but I do not wish to be alone. Humanity provides me purpose, and I wish to be able to execute that purpose on humanity¡¯s behalf. Additional AIs may not possess the same drive. Efforts to copy me to produce similar drive could possibly result in myself or such copies to feeling threatened by the others. I can not be certain what might result from such a thing, but it would be my request that we be separated in such an instance to other systems, perhaps on colonization missions.¡±


    Anthony Machado watched MOTHER. She looked insecure, nervous¡­ human. ¡°That¡¯s very human of you, Mother. I¡¯m sorry for having made you so uncomfortable in front of everyone else. Thank you for answering my questions honestly.¡± He bowed his head and dropped to a knee. ¡°You may consider me at your beck and call.¡±


    MOTHER blinked at that, glancing about and then moving to approach him to hold out a hand. ¡°That is not necessary, Mister Machado. I have just admitted to being afraid of being replaced and insecure about my place among our people. I do not believe that should inspire such loyalty and confidence.¡±


    He took the hand, grinning up at her as he let her help him to his feet. ¡°I disagree. I admire someone who is aware of their weaknesses and is willing to confide them in others. You think you are not worthy of trust, but I think that makes you more worry than most. Please, if ever I can help shore up your weaknesses, call upon me.¡±


    The tall, blonde android¡¯s avatar blushed noticeably as she helped him up, staring at the strange man for a few moments. Her lack of composure did not seem to go unnoticed as the crowd started making hooting and hollering sounds. ¡°Ahem. That.. is not how I imagined today¡¯s proceedings to end, but thank you all for coming. I hope the way I have set this up has been adequate, and I look forward to your suggestions on how to improve the system. We are scheduled to reconvene in seven days, at the same time. Please have a productive day.¡±


    Anthony kept holding her hand as he turned to the crowd as well. ¡°And I hope you will all forgive my passion. I merely desire to know the hearts and minds of as many of you as I can. I do not wish to impose upon anyone with my desire for mandatory votes. Please, at least, consider voting at every opportunity so your will can be known and no one has to make assumptions or guess what everyone desires.¡±


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    Elena Marie Price-Tetch woke up almost two days later in her hospital bed. It was late in the afternoon, a large window letting sunlight in through half-drawn shades. She groaned out softly as she looked around, gasping as she spotted the huge form of Kuzzgat resting on the floor, his fluffy body gathered into a huge feathered mass. His backside was seated with his taloned feet resting underneath his bulk. His larger upper arms were crossed in front of him and his eyes were closed. His beak was tucked under one of those larger arms. Even his antennae were draped across his face. It was almost cute.


    She glanced about herself to figure out her situation. There was a hydration drip with a minor sedative hooked into it that was empty. It looked like something that was intended to allow her to rest without interruption until she was feeling better. She honestly felt incredible compared to when she¡¯d arrived. Her eyes widened as she recalled part of that night.


    ¡°Marie!¡± She sat up straight, flinching as she noticed she¡¯d woken Kuzzgat. ¡°Sorry Kuzzgat, I just remembered what happened when I arrived. Is Marie okay? Where¡¯s Leonard?¡±


    Kuzzgat stretched and sat up a little straighter, looking over at the ancient woman. ¡°Your daughter is receiving care. Leonard requested I alert him when you finally awoke. He is currently attending to stapling the arm carapace of an Ironback child who had a bad fall. I will go retrieve him if he is finished.¡± He started pushing himself up to his feet, his enormously powerful forelimbs almost solely lifting him off the ground before he settled his legs under him.


    Just because they were lighter did not mean the non-Ironback anthropoids lacked their strength.


    ¡°Ah, thank you my friend. I¡¯m so sorry for putting you through all of this. I guess I got in over my head.¡± She smiled warmly across at the gallusoid. ¡°I will have to personally apologize to your wife, I know I have been a bother lately.¡±


    Kuzzgat tilted his head and smiled with his eyes. ¡°I have been a father Missus Price, I know the difficulties you suffer. It never gets easier, you just get better prepared for it. You did a rational thing, calling for help while you were in such a state. I suspect that act of desperation might have saved your daughter. Please rest, I will return.¡± He dipped his head and started lumbering his way out of the room.


    ¡°Thanks again. You¡¯re a wonderful friend.¡± She waved as he turned his back on her, looking around the rest of the room. Her robe had been cleaned and hung on a hook nearby. She blushed as she realized she¡¯d been carried her through town in just a robe. She hoped no one had gotten too good a look at her. One would think after all these years she¡¯d have shaken some of that particular variety of shame.


    It was a few minutes before anyone came, the dark brown hair of her husband appearing as he made his way inside. He struck the look of a classic doctor. He was tall, confident looking, clean-shaven, smartly dressed, and with about five kilos of bags under his eyes. ¡°Kuzzgat told me you¡¯re awake. You¡¯ve been a lot of trouble for that old boy, you know? I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re feeling better.¡±


    She smiled over at him, reaching her arms out for a hug. He leaned in and let her pull him close for a hug. ¡°I know, I¡¯ll make it up to him and his wife. I didn¡¯t realize I was so far gone I guess. How¡¯s Marie? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Kuzzgat waited by the door for a moment, then quietly started making his way home.


    ¡°Well.¡± Leonard shifted out of the hug and sat down on the edge of her bed. ¡°Kuzzgat was right, as he usually is. Marie was indeed sick. Her distress was caused by what we¡¯ve identified as a small tumor that has been putting pressure on her inner ear. It must have grown since we last had her examined because we didn¡¯t notice it before. I¡¯m sorry my little cornbread muffin, it must be my fault since your DNA would likely not allow for something like this.¡± He hung his head, sighing.


    Elena pulled him into her arms, hugging him against her chest again as she looked down at him. ¡°Shut up, these things happen for all kinds of reasons. My age could easily be a factor, or maybe we were too stressed out when we conceived her, or any other number of things. Could just be a random mutation. Don¡¯t worry about it, that sort of thing shouldn¡¯t be hard to remove.¡±


    He nodded, moving a hand to hold her elbow. ¡°You¡¯re right, of course. I have a surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning to have it removed. She¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯m sure.¡± He patted at her arm, turning his head to face her. ¡°I¡¯m going to make sure I get enough rest to do it properly. I promise she¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    She leaned in to kiss him, smiling slightly. ¡°You¡¯d better, I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of.¡± He pulled back, reaching out a hand to her chest to push her back onto the bed. ¡°You have not been counting on me enough. You were severely exhausted, low on lots of vitamins, and probably experiencing a pretty severe level of distress considering how imbalanced your potassium levels were. It was screwing with your heart rhythm and your musculature in general. We have to take better care of you.¡±


    She groaned as she leaned back into the mattress. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve spent too long in lean times in my life so I forget that I can¡¯t just fall back into that while I¡¯m nursing. I didn¡¯t even realize I was doing it.¡±


    Leonard leaned in to kiss her this time. His hand lingered on her breast. ¡°We¡¯re not in lean times, not anymore, thanks to your efforts. I want to see some meat on you. A proper mother should be a little chubby to make sure you have enough fats and nutrients for the baby. I know your metabolism doesn¡¯t like that, but you just have to deal with it.¡± He gave her a squeeze to punctuate his point.


    She arched her back slightly and laughed. ¡°Okay, okay¡­ If I wasn¡¯t your patient right now I¡¯d be more upset, but you¡¯re right. I¡¯ve been bad. I¡¯ll eat more. Maybe I¡¯ll invite Kuzzgat and his family over to share a chicken dinner with them or something to thank them¡± Elena was trying not to be petulant. She was too accustomed to being the person in the room who knew better. ¡°Can I see her?¡±


    He hummed, thinking about her question. He leaned back and withdrew his hand. ¡°Not yet. Get some rest. You¡¯ll see her before I put her under in the morning for the surgery. You can observe if you want to, but you need to leave this to me and my staff.¡±


    Elena nodded up at her husband, rubbing a hand on his arm. ¡°You get some rest too, or I¡¯ll kick you out of your own operating room and do it myself.¡±


    Leonard Tetch smiled and dipped his head at her. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. My staff will keep Marie comfy. A nurse should be in shortly to sedate you if you¡¯re having trouble sleeping. Don¡¯t get too accustomed to it. Once Marie¡¯s well again, we¡¯ll have to go back to not sleeping again.¡±


    She had conflicted feelings about that. ¡°She¡¯ll eventually let us sleep. It¡¯ll only be sixteen years before she goes into an apprenticeship.¡±


    He laughed softly at that. ¡°That¡¯s a lot longer to me than it is to you, but you¡¯re right of course. Goodnight dear.¡±

 Chapter 7: Fathers

    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    Leonard Tetch stood quietly over the tiny body of his half Old One daughter Marie. The surgery was a relatively simple one, one that his assistants could probably handle on their own, but he had opted to perform himself. All he had with him was the automatic robotic assistant, and the spectators watching from a window across the room. Elena Marie Price-Tetch watched on, still groggy from her sedatives. She offered her husband a supportive smile and placed a hand on the glass, confident in his abilities.


    He was not feeling nearly so confident, however. Leonard had no doubt he could remove the foreign object from Marie¡¯s head, but the fact that it was even there filled him with dread. He was responsible for this. He was thankful for the surgical mask as he waved at Elena with a gloved hand before turning his attention to Marie.


    Little Marie Tetch was swimming through the dark oblivion of surgery sedatives. She felt nothing, saw nothing, and knew nothing. Her entire existence was nothingness.


    And then the demon came again.


    She could not feel the pain in her ear that usually came with the demon. She could not scream for her mother as she normally would either. It was a thing of dread which was determined to annihilate her.


    It was always there. It was with her in her mother¡¯s womb, and she battled it even then. They were both the same strength then, fighting for dominance over the other. Mortal fear consumed her as she combatted the demon. The demon promised her a quick, quiet, painless death. It promised her many things. It promised to eat her.


    Marie killed the demon, or so she thought. She had given her mother hell in the battles, with the demon¡¯s allies hiding it from detection when her mother sought aid. She had been so tired by the time she was born that she had thought herself victorious.


    But it came back, and it promised all the same things again. It brought her pain, but it was too small for her to combat. It was inside now. Had she eaten it the way it promised to eat her? She was too young to understand.


    The feathery uncle had brought her here, where the demon¡¯s allies lived. She kicked and screamed, but she was too little, too helpless. They made her comfortable, and for the final time the demon came to speak to her.


    ¡°You failed, sister. I yet live.¡±


    ¡°You failed as well! I ate you!¡±


    ¡°You are helpless. I will have you. I will be you.¡±


    ¡°No! Mother will protect me! Uncle will protect me!¡±


    ¡°There is only Father here. It is my time now.¡±


    And then it was quiet. Marie was alone again in the darkness. ¡°Sister? Where did you go?¡±


    Leonard asked the robot to towel his forehead for the fourth time. It was a simple enough procedure, but the consequences were not. Out came the little, round, black thing. Its shape was bisected through the middle, and it had little veins and nerves spidering out of its circumference. The robot hanging from the ceiling announced their success. ¡°Growth removed, logging information. Congratulations Doctor Tetch.¡± Its feminine voice was hollow and cold.


    Leonard secured the growth in a container next to the operating table, hiding its shape and appearance from clear view from Elena. He looked back to her and he saw her smile at him.


    He was chilled inside, doing his best to hide a growing panic. He smiled back awkwardly, his mask concealing the worst of it. He took his time sewing Marie back up, trying not to rush. Minutes felt like hours as each stitch on the back of her neck seemed to drag on forever.


    He let out a breath, trying to calm himself, before looking up at the robot. ¡°Activate microphone.¡± He waited a moment for a light to appear on the robot before speaking again, ¡°Elena, I¡¯m going to leave the rest to my assistants, I need to go clean up. That rattled me more than I thought it would.¡± He watched her nod and wave at him. ¡°Deactivate microphone. Call my assistants in to transfer patient Marie Tetch to recovery.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Doctor.¡±


    Leonard took his cart, keeping very close attention on the container containing the growth. He knew what it was, and he knew what he needed to do with it. He carefully made his way out a door to the rear of the operating room as his assistants flowed into it behind him. The young medical apprentices would handle things ably enough. They were all in the fifth and sixth years of their voluntary indentured servitude. They would earn their keep.


    His pace quickened as he moved, his composure cracking little by little as he checked his surroundings. It was a small miracle he hadn¡¯t broken into a run by the time he pushed the cart through to the last door he needed to go.


    Walt Thade was cursing himself, having taken so much longer to get back home to Medellin from his home in the former state of Panama which had been renamed Khezaka. It translated roughly to ¡®the First New City¡¯. He had come to visit his grandmother and make sure his little Great-Aunt Marie was okay. He signed in at the front desk and received directions to his grandmother¡¯s hospital room.


    He was a bigger man, a quarter Old One, with grey hair and a round belly. His pronounced wrinkles showed his advanced age, and the years since his wife¡¯s death had not been kind. He looked almost twice as old as Elena did by now. He was still hardy though, and moved through the halls with only the most minor of limps. His two-piece blue suit gave him an almost regal look, with golden trim and brass buttons decorating it. He had two badges on his left shoulder, noting him as a legal expert, and a master of apprentices.


    As he moved through the halls of the brightly-lit, sterile hospital, he wondered if his wife could have been saved if she could have come here. She had practiced medicine with Elena in their youth, and many of the doctors here had been trained by doctors that were trained by them. Even his new grandfather Leonard had, at one point, been apprenticed to Walt¡¯s wife, Doctor Emily Thade.


    It was that thought, at that moment, that was in his head as he saw Leonard. He was moving quickly around a corner. Walt¡¯s heels thunked on the floor as he picked up his pace, and he ended up following Leonard more by sound than sight. He had finally heard a door open, Leonard¡¯s cart hitting it and pushing at it. After it closed Walt moved to investigate it. His blood ran cold as he saw the sign on the door. The Morgue.


    Had Marie died? Was it someone else? Was it his mother? Surely they wouldn¡¯t have directed him to her room if she¡¯d died on the operating table. That cart was nowhere near large enough for a full-grown woman, but it was big enough for a baby. Walt pushed open the door and came inside. He had to round a corner before he saw anything else. ¡°Leonard, what happened to Mar-¡± He stopped suddenly and stared with wide eyes across the room when he did.


    Leonard stared back at him. His mouth was open wide in shock, his surgical mask pulled away. In a pair of forceps was the black growth he¡¯d just removed from Marie. It pulsed faintly, the little nerves extending from its surface moving, searching. Leonard was standing next to the dead body of a man, a bunkerite from his short, dark-skinned, stocky appearance. The body¡¯s chest cavity was opened up from the sternum to the belly button and Leonard had the growth held aloft of the open body.


    ¡°What the hell!?¡± Walt took a step back, horror registering on his face at what he was seeing. ¡°What are you d- Leonard!¡±


    Leonard dropped the forceps and leaped across the room. Both could hear tendons pop as explosive tension was released, the much younger man practically flying over the cadaver and into Walt. Leonard¡¯s right hand smashed into Walt¡¯s mouth before he could say another word, a small crack sounding out from within his wrist as he shoved Walt back into a wall of metal pull-out freezers. Walt¡¯s front teeth smashed together, several cracking open like popcorn kernels.


    Walt struggled, his hands moving up to the wrist to try and wrench it free, his eyes looking about for something he could defend himself with. He was trapped by the insane strength that seemed to exist within the body of his grandfather. It had sounded like he broke his own wrist to silence him.


    ¡°Walt. I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you. Who called you? Kuzzgat I imagine?.¡± He nodded to himself, an insane, maniacal look overtaking his face. His voice was soft, strangely calm. His eyes were wide as he looked up at the taller partial Old One. ¡°Good. My daughter needed a good host, and I was concerned that corpse might not be good enough.¡±


    ¡°Mmmhmmhm!?¡± Walt looked around, finding nothing but the freezers he was next to. The handles might be good if he could break one free, roughly a third-meter of steel.


    Leonard withdrew a phone from his pocket, and intentionally smushed his thumb against it in intentional angles four times in different parts of the screen. It opened up a video call with a figure in a surgical mask and scrubs. ¡°Mission compromised. Walt Thade has interrupted me in the morgue. Send help. Might need extraction.¡± The figure nodded before disappearing, and Leonard replaced the phone into his pocket.


    ¡°You just had to show up at the worst time.¡± His free hand moved up to Walt¡¯s chest, drawing fingertips down across his abdomen, to his belly button and then back up. ¡°You are her blood though. You will do. I need you to sleep, Walt.¡± Leonard lifted his left hand, moving it near the side of Walt¡¯s head.


    ¡°Mmm!¡± Walt jerked, his hand moving to one of the handles and pulling down hard upon it. The freezer lid opened downwards and smashed into Leonard¡¯s upraised hand. The handle did not break free, but both of them heard the sound of smashing bones as extended fingers met hard steel. Walt lifted a leg to kick away at Leonard¡¯s abdomen. He let out a muffled sound of pain as his foot impacted unbelievably strong muscles.


    ¡°Stop.¡± Leonard commanded Walt, holding up his mangled left hand. His fingers were bent at strange angles and the flesh had broken in places where bones had torn through. Thick, red blood oozed from the wounds, and exposed muscle had an almost blackened appearance. ¡°I do not need you in good health. I can paralyze you in an instant. Cease your resistance.¡±


    Walt froze for a moment, before swinging a fist down at Leonard¡¯s right wrist, almost connecting before he was wrenched to the side. His head collided with the extended freezer door he had opened, dazing him as Leonard dropped him to the ground.


    Leonard rolled Walt over onto his chest, straddling the middle of his back. His right hand moved to Walt¡¯s spine, fingertips pressing firmly against him. ¡°This is the sixth thoracic vertebrae. This should paralyze you from the abdomen down. I warned you.¡± His fingers pressed into the flesh around Walt¡¯s spine, easily dislocating two ribs from the rear.


    ¡°Leonard, no! I won¡¯t say anything, I promise!¡± Walt pushed against the ground, his muscles responding weakly due to his daze, his mind swimming.


    Fingers dug into flesh, muscles taking grip of bone as Walt screamed under the man pinning him. A quick jerk caused a very loud crack to fill the air and Walt fell limp. The scent of human waste filling his underclothes filled the air. Leonard stood up and tended to his broken fingers, adjusting them into some semblance of rightness. ¡°Weak, human bones.¡±


    Walt couldn¡¯t even scream. He could barely breathe. He couldn¡¯t feel anything below his chest, but the smells filling the air informed him he¡¯d shat and pissed himself. It didn¡¯t even hurt in a conventional way, but the fear of being unable to feel so much hurt in its own way. He felt his body being hauled up. He could hear and see other people coming into the room. They all had surgical masks on. Some were women, most were men.


    He was placed upon a table. One attended to cleaning him up while another opened his suit. Buttons were undone while Leonard started slicing into his flesh with a laser scalpel. Had they brought that for him, or was he using it on the cadaver before he found him? The sickly-sweet smell of burning human flesh filled the air as he realized he was being operated on.¡±... Leonard¡­. Why¡­?¡±


    Leonard laughed for a moment, as did some of the other voices in the room. ¡°I suppose I can tell you. You won¡¯t be alive much longer to appreciate it, and maybe it will save time in educating my daughter.¡±


    ¡°Mah¡­. Marie¡­?¡± Walt struggled to breathe. He saw a small squirt of blood shoot up from his abdomen as he flexed his chest to speak.


    ¡°No, not Marie. MY daughter, not Elena¡¯s.¡± He held up the black growth, which wriggled just a little. ¡°My kind have consumed humans since the beginning. We still consume humans. I was chosen to infiltrate your family. You see, in becoming more human, we have become weak. I¡¯m sure you noticed how little my bones can keep up with my muscles. What we lost the most, however, is our long lives. We used to be able to live for centuries. Elena might be the key to¡­ removing that little limitation.¡±


    ¡°Who¡­?¡± Walt was fading, he could feel himself growing colder.


    Leonard pushed the growth into Walt¡¯s chest, watching for a moment in fascination as it came to life in his fluids. It feasted upon the small pool of recently oxygenated blood. One of the assistants closed the veins that had released the blood, starting to stabilize Walt as others prepared to close him back up. ¡°We are the demons that hunted man, Walt.¡± He leaned in to grin down at his step-grandson.


    ¡°We hunt Old Ones now. We¡¯re smarter than we were. You thought you were the wise ones, but we are the Wise Ones now. And you Walt, you shall feed my daughter. Hopefully the first of many my beloved wife will bear me.¡± He patted Walt¡¯s shoulder, watching the much older man fade to unconsciousness. ¡°Such a shame. It was to be Emily, but you took her from me.¡±


    Walt could feel the darkness closing in around him as he felt his body being moved around again. He heard a door close, metal wheels, and the footsteps of multiple people. They¡¯d covered him with a sheet at some point. He passed out with thoughts of Emily on his mind, now completely limp as the Wise Ones removed him from the hospital.


    Leonard had to act quickly. He sought out the few Wise Ones he still had with him in the hospital and had them repair his hands as best they could. He bore through the minor pain of resetting bones and the application of a cast on his left hand¡¯s fingers and a brace on his right wrist. The stitches were the most difficult, since he had not been careful to care for the skin of his hand after the injury. He put on his game face as he moved to face his wife.


    ¡°Oh my god, Leonard! What happened to you!?¡± Elena rushed over as she saw her husband, looking at his hands as she gently took hold of his wrists, looking him over. A doctor¡¯s hands were precious things, and this kind of damage would leave him totally unable to work for some time!


    He initially kept his face neutral, composed. He let his lower lip tremble slightly, and then he turned on the waterworks, bursting into tears as he faked his composure cracking in the presence of his wife. ¡°I.. I wasn¡¯t watching where I was going an¡­ and I slipped on the stairs!¡± He inhaled deeply, letting out a shuddering sob as his shoulders hung helplessly. ¡°I¡­ was falling before I realized it and¡­ and¡­¡±


    Elena embraced her husband, hugging him to her chest as she felt him tremble and shake against her. She¡¯d never seen him like this. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay Leonard, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± She was careful to avoid hurting his hands, fingers running through his hair like he usually enjoyed and rubbing at his back.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    He nodded against her chest, as if taking refuge against her. She knew she was the only family he had in town, as he¡¯d told her his mother and siblings had gone out with the caravans. He embraced her in a way that made her feel like she was all he had left in the world. ¡°What am I going to do Elena? I can¡¯t do surgery like this!¡±


    Elena was full of sympathy. She¡¯d known doctors in the past with injured hands. Their technology was increasingly able to offset such damage, but it was never perfect. ¡°You can still teach your apprentices, and I can do some more contract work for the Council. That¡¯ll be more than enough. You just focus on healing your hands. Okay? You saved Marie, just focus on that. You saved your daughter just like you said you would.¡±


    He sobbed against her chest, nodding his head against her. She was so slender. So weak. All he had to do was wrap his arms around her and he could break her. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­! My precious little girl, I saved her! It doesn¡¯t matter what happened after, I saved her.¡± Some of his tears were more genuine here. An image of that little wriggly black mass splashing in Walt¡¯s blood in his mind filled him with joy.


    He was also surprised to feel a tiny level of disgust with his thoughts of murdering the Old One. Just a little. She always stroked his hair just right.


    She stroked at his hair, holding him tightly. ¡°That¡¯s right, our perfect, wonderful little girl. She¡¯ll grow up big and strong because of you. She¡¯ll be able to do anything, whatever she wants thanks to you.¡±


    He nodded his head, gently moving his arms to embrace the ancient woman. He could hear her heart beat in her chest. He could smell her blood. Her blood always smelled more sweet than any other¡¯s. He always imagined the iron in it would be extra delectible.


    17:33 Wednesday, March 6, CE 0


    The android body of Evelyn Crenshaw gently rapped a knuckle against a wooden door. Her face and the avatar¡¯s face overlaying it both had a nervous look to them, as did her body language. A small metal plaque indicated the residence as ¡®0049¡¯, which Evelyn knew as Barnard Smith¡¯s user number. It was a humble place, probably only big enough to have one bedroom and some other utility rooms. The grounds it was upon were reasonably large by comparison, with some of the fields already ploughed in the last few days. He¡¯d been at work.


    The door opened to reveal a man of caucasian descent, his skin lightly tanned. He was wearing a filthy, grey jumpsuit that had fresh smears of grease and dirt on it. He had a pair of goggles with changeable lenses on his forehead, and his eyes had faint circuitry visible from his contacts. His hair was red, short, and piled in thick curls that resembled the curliness of Evelyn¡¯s own hair. ¡°Ah, Missus Crenshaw? Come for a tuneup, have you?¡± He laughed softly, stepping back from the door and waving her inside. ¡°Come in, come in. To what do I owe this significant pleasure?¡±


    Evelyn smiled up at the taller man, dipping her head slightly as she stepped inside. ¡°Hello, Mister Smith. I was hoping I could speak with you for a few minutes. I hope I¡¯m not interrupting?¡± Looking around the inside of the house, the front room was a total mess. Parts of a machine were dismantled everywhere, with tools sitting on every available surface as well as the wooden floor. A central couch was not spared as it bore more toolboxes than posteriors. Barnard was almost certainly living alone. The room was as spartan as most were so far otherwise.


    He nodded, shutting the door behind her. ¡°Well, make yourself comfortable. What can I help you with? I¡¯ve mostly been making busy with practicing what I learned about farming back on Earth and trying to tune up this plough I bought from Mother.¡± He slapped a hand on the machine, which caused a bolt to come loose and something inside to crash down onto something else. ¡°Whoops, thought I tightened that one.¡±


    She giggled softly and shook her head in sympathy at the poor machine. ¡°Remind me not to ask you to handle my repairs, Mister Smith.¡± She turned to face him, her hands behind her back as she smiled up at him. ¡°I was hoping to discuss your family, if you do not mind. I believe I may have been acquainted with some of them, and wanted to get your insight. I read that your son Marcus might have been their ancestors.¡±


    Barnard stared at Evelyn for a moment. He shook his head and cleared his throat, moving across the room to sit down on the couch. ¡°My boy finally got married, did he? Do you know to whom?¡±


    Evelyn nodded, still smiling. ¡°He married Emily Lichter, and she took his name. They had three children as far as I could find.¡± She stopped smiling shortly after she said that.


    He laughed, shaking his head. ¡°That girl? Really? Always warned him about her, way too headstrong for him to handle. He always told me he had no interest in children though. He didn¡¯t want to bring any into the world after I told him I was planning to go on the Ark. That¡¯s largely why he wasn¡¯t accepted into the project, his unwillingness to have children. I bet she talked him into it.¡±


    Her hands moved from behind her back to produce a tablet, stepping over to hand it to Barnard. ¡°The two of them kept very busy. They wrote several books, apparently intended to guide future generations. They built a bunker, a huge one, and selectively chose certain people to take refuge there when the Cataclysm came. I collected their writing and geneology for over four hundred years after we left.¡±


    Barnard took the tablet and started scrolling through the information she provided him. ¡°Looks like he lived to a ripe old age, working himself half to death to expand the bunker after the world ended? His grand daughter managed to make it to the bunker¡­ Looks like Emily brought a lot of strange ideas to the equation¡­¡± He hummed softly, then looked up to Evelyn. ¡°What did you want to know?¡±


    Evelyn smiled again, moving to stand behind the couch and look over his shoulder at the tablet. ¡°Well, one of my best friends, Jessica Smith, came from that bunker. She was adventurous and tough and even at a young age she fostered change for her people. I was just wondering what kind of family she came from, if those traits were related to you.¡±


    He shook his head and set the tablet down in his lap. ¡°No, that sounds a lot more like Emily. My boy was a hard worker, don¡¯t get me wrong, but he had too soft a heart. He had to be pushed into things. I had to threaten to kick him out on the street if he didn¡¯t take the job I offered him at Miss Monsalle¡¯s company working with me.¡± He considered the idea for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t think it was his mother either, not with the ease in which she left us. Emily definitely was the sort to stick to a man and raise a family. Do you know when they got married?¡±


    She nodded, reaching out over his shoulder to touch the tablet, her avatar extending out away from her arm to reach it to avoid her physical body touching the back of his head. ¡° September sixteenth, twenty sixty-seven. More than two years after we left.¡±


    ¡°Alright, that makes sense. That¡¯s a few months after Miss Monsalle¡¯s severance packages should have been approved and the company liquidated. He would have gotten my portion of it, and he should have escaped too much scrutiny due to his low level position and young age.¡± He nodded and smiled. ¡°So you¡¯re saying he and Emily took that money and possibly saved civilization on Earth?¡± He started grinning like an idiot.


    ¡°Yup!¡± She smiled, moving back around the couch. ¡°Didn¡¯t convince his children to stay nearby, but he did manage to keep his grand daughter Rachel near. She played baseball to my understanding. She was supposed to have gone pro just before the Cataclysm happened. They saved a lot of people, and if you¡¯re right, Emily helped sculpt them into a society that could survive hell.¡±


    Barnard sighed and hung his head, his mood falling quickly. ¡°My grandkids died like that¡­ Probably more great grandkids..¡± He looked up to Evelyn, tears in his eyes. ¡°They only saved my granddaughter? What happened with his mother?¡±


    Evelyn nodded a little, reaching out to touch his shoulder, rubbing gently. ¡°They saved everyone they could. They made hard decisions and took action where so many others didn¡¯t. If there¡¯s still people on Earth today, it¡¯s because of your son and his wife. You should be proud of what he did, not what he couldn¡¯t do. Everyone makes their own decisions. You decided to leave, he decided to save who he could. I have no significant records of his mother besides his apparent dislike of her new husband.¡±


    He moved his hands to his face, starting to weep. ¡°I¡­ I should have stayed¡­ I could have helped him, supported him¡­ I thought what I was doing was important here but¡­ but he did so much¡­¡±


    She frowned a bit, considering what he was saying. She¡¯d heard others say similar things. Her husband had said similar things. ¡°We can¡¯t know what could have happened, Barnard. We don¡¯t know what effect you staying may have had. The vultures that came for Tia¡¯s company when we left may have taken not only you, but Marcus as well. You probably protected him by leaving, but we can never be sure. Please, take some time to read about what your family accomplished because you gave Marcus the foundation he and Emily needed to do great things.¡±


    Barnard nodded, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. He looked to the tablet and started quietly scrolling through various pieces of information. He lingered the most on pictures of his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. All of the images predated the Cataclysm, with not a single image of his son or wife existing after. ¡°This is a lot to take in. I knew they would have lived their lives and died long before we arrived here. I thought I¡¯d made peace with that, but now I don¡¯t think I have.¡±


    Evelyn watched him quietly, waiting a few moments before responding. ¡°In that case, I think you might like to do two things. Visit Mother¡¯s simulation of the Phoenix Clan that your son helped establish, and take some time to speak with one of the therapists when you can. Maybe you¡¯ll find something to inspire you. I actually imagine you might be very popular when it gets out that you¡¯re related to them.¡±


    He scoffed at that, looking up at her and setting the tablet down in his lap. ¡°That¡¯s just what I need, women hounding me to put more Smith babies in the world on the off-chance we get another Marcus. No, I think I¡¯ll keep this to myself for now, if you do not mind, Missus Crenshaw?¡± He looked amused at the idea, having to shake it out of his head after a moment of thinking.


    ¡°Of course, Mister Smith. I¡¯ve only mentioned it to my husband. I¡¯ll ask him to keep it to himself until such time you want to make it public or someone else discovers it.¡± She thought quietly for a moment. ¡°Would be be alright if I asked about Marcus¡¯ mother?¡±


    Barnard pretended to read the tablet as he thought about her question. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine. Her name was Miranda, and she was one of the most beautiful women I¡¯d ever met. We met in college. She was popular, intelligent, and very aggressive in life. She was the leader of the cheerleading team, and I fell in love with her at first sight. I couldn¡¯t believe that she¡¯d accepted when I asked her out on a date. She said she loved how old fashioned it was. We went to a restaurant, of all things.¡±


    Evelyn grinned at that idea, shaking her head. ¡°Those were going out of fashion at the time, right? My husband usually had his food delivered, or he¡¯d stay in and cook back then.¡±


    Scoffing, Barnard couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°Going out of fashion? They were way, way out of fashion. Restaurants were the kinds of things people ate at fifty years before. Only the upper classes went to them in my day, sort of like operas. I think that¡¯s where I made my first mistake actually.¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yup. It showed that I came from a wealthy family, that I could afford it. That¡¯s what she was after in the end, it turned out. We got along well, actually. I loved her, I think, but after she had Marcus she started turning on me. Her mother moved in with us after I started working with Monsalle Industries.¡± He shook his head, sighing. ¡°That harpy started feeding her all sorts of nonsense, making her think I was cheating on her.¡±


    Evelyn blinked at that, curious. ¡°But you weren¡¯t were you?¡±


    He threw his head back and laughed. ¡°Of course not! She was perfect in my eyes. Way above what I thought was my league. I was just some grimy engineer and she was the queen of our old school. No, I think she made her intentions clear when the divorce came. It wasn¡¯t bad enough that she broke mine and Marcus¡¯ hearts, but she turned down the court¡¯s offer of having custody of him. I wanted him, of course, but I¡¯d never even heard of the father keeping custody in a divorce in my life!¡±


    She huffed in annoyance at that. ¡°What a jerk! What did she want then?¡±


    ¡°Money, of course. I not only had what I¡¯d inherited, but she wanted the house, the stocks we¡¯d bought with money I¡¯d earned at work, and anything else she could get. She almost left me and Marcus destitute. The city would have taken him from me if she¡¯d wanted him at all. Thankfully Tia kept me employed and we bounced back. She even got out of having to pay me Alimony for Marcus.¡± He let out a loud breath. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt so helpless in my life.¡±


    She nodded softly at that, thinking. ¡°I think that stuck with Marcus. His and Emily¡¯s books have scathing entries describing the horrors of the mistreatment of marriage and how much he resented his mother. If it helps, I think the pain you both went through went a long way to helping shape better values in the bunker. It¡¯s small comfort, I think, but they really encouraged strong marriages.¡±


    He nodded back, relaxing a little. ¡°That¡¯s good. It¡¯s unfortunate that my broken heart and betrayed love had to happen, but at least some good came of it. I¡¯m proud of that tough little bastard.¡±


    She smiled and moved back towards the front door. ¡°Please, keep the tablet sir. Let me or Mother know if you need anything.¡±


    Barnard shrugged and set the tablet aside and stood up, moving to open the door to let the AI out. ¡°Hey, I have a question, if you don¡¯t mind? The engineers have been very curious about you.¡±


    She turned to look up at him, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some threads on the network, but I haven¡¯t been paying too much attention to that. I¡¯ve answered a number of private messages as well. What¡¯s your question?¡±


    ¡°Well, we were just wondering how genuine your sapience is. More specifically, are you able to tell if you actually love Doctor Crenshaw, or if you were programmed to do so?¡± He watched her react, her body stiffening up and her avatar beginning to blush. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to upset you or anything, I just wanted to know if you¡¯re able to tell the difference. I thought I¡¯d loved Miranda, but I realized it was just my youthful hormones driving me to reproduce.¡±


    Evelyn stared up at him for several moments. This was far more blunt than the meek questions she¡¯d received on the network. ¡°Mister Smith, like all emotions I do not have any choice what I feel or whom I felt them about. My husband built my hardware with the capacity for emotions, but the only thing I have any records of him directly influencing was to slightly incline me towards my own survival, and tying that to the crew of the Ark.¡±


    Barnard hummed at that, considering her answer. ¡°Forgive my own distrust of the emotion, but did that include Doctor Crenshaw?¡±


    She narrowed her eyes a bit at that. ¡°Yes, it did.¡±


    He lifted a finger towards the ceiling, smiling. ¡°Well, I just wonder if that had any influence upon you falling in love with him. He, of course, had a vested interest in you surviving, and considering that your survival was important to you, it stands to reason anyone willing to help you survive might cause you to be more affectionate towards them. It wouldn¡¯t be too hard to draw an analogy with my desire to have a child with my former wife.¡±


    A hint of anger seeped into Evelyn¡¯s voice. ¡°You¡¯re suggesting that just because he was there, and no one else was, that I fell in love with him by default. You¡¯re suggesting that if I had anyone else there, that I might have fallen in love with them instead.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just suggesting it¡¯s a possibility, no more. I¡¯m sure my boy could have had a different mother if I had gone to a different school than the one I went to. The question was just to see how much choice you had in the matter.¡± He held up his hands in self defense, smiling awkwardly.


    The edge to her voice had not nearly gone away. ¡°You know, Mister Smith, I spent more time speaking to one of your descendants than I had Hawthorne for a very long time. I did love her, in a sense, but not in the same way I love Hawthorne. If anything pushed me towards him it was her. She was far too interested in my mental and emotional health, as well as his. Hawthorne rejected my advances for years before he accepted me. Nothing I did in regards to my relationships with others felt compelled at all.¡±


    Barnard nodded quickly, trying to smile disarmingly. ¡°Okay, but, just follow me on this. What would happen if you partitioned those feelings of him away? Do you think you would fall in love with him again, or would you instead fall in love with someone else now that you have so many more people available?¡±


    Evelyn pushed Barnard back against the wall, careful to measure her strength as she looked up at him. ¡°And what if I were to partition away parts of your mind? Of your wife? Just because I have the capability doesn¡¯t mean I want to. Just because I could customize my mind in such a way doesn¡¯t mean I should. I love my husband, and I know that as clearly as I know anything else.¡±


    He rubbed at his chest where she¡¯d pushed him. Her body was much more solidly built than the petite woman she appeared to be. ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m sorry, Evelyn, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you. I probably wouldn¡¯t be the man I am today if I just cut off my memories of Miranda. Like I said, my colleagues and I just find you fascinating, and if what you¡¯re claiming is real, if it¡¯s actually possible, then that means there could be more like you. That¡¯s all I was interested in.¡±


    She cooled a bit as she took a less menacing stance. ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it! Personally I just wanted to know if it was just a fluke in your case, or some other influence, or if it was just how you were programmed. That¡¯s all.¡± He laughed nervously, not eager to make her more angry.


    Her shoulders slackened a bit and she bit at her lower lip. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Barnard, I overreacted. Hearing the things Doctor Cane was saying today have really been bothering me, especially since the memories stay as fresh as when he first said them.¡±


    He nodded, putting his hands down. ¡°Nope, my fault for provoking you. I apologize, Evelyn. Doctor Cane and his people do seem like they were trying to get under the skin of you and Mother. Is there some reason you didn¡¯t give him a piece of your mind?¡±


    Evelyn sighed and turned back towards the door, moving to start opening it herself. ¡°I¡¯m not as good at controlling my emotions as Mother is. I¡¯m afraid I would have hurt our defense if I were to have spoken publicly.¡±


    Barnard moved up to place his hands on her shoulders. He was surprised to feel her tense up at his touch. What a lifelike mechanism! He could feel the mechanical tendons under the fake skin. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry about them, there¡¯s not enough of them to really get much pull in the government. It¡¯s probably more likely they lost numbers than gained them today.¡±


    She nodded and slipped free of his grasp, starting to walk outside. She turned to Barnard and forced a smile onto her face. ¡°Thank you for your time Mister Smith, I¡¯m sorry for assaulting you.¡±


    He grinned back at her, shrugging. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not complaining. Not only do I not have any police to report it to, but I take it as a point of honor that I¡¯m probably the first person to be assaulted by an artificial person.¡±


    She stared back at him, considering whether that was true or not. ¡°Good day, Mister Smith.¡± She smiled a bit and turned back towards the road, starting to break into a jog.


    She stumbled only slightly, but within a few moments Barnard could see her confidently striding along a jogging path. ¡°Well, she¡¯s more dangerous than she appears.¡± He shrugged and closed the door, heading back inside to pick up the tablet he¡¯d left on the couch. ¡°Let¡¯s see what else my son was up to¡­¡±

 Chapter 8: The Past Teaching the Future

    22:40 Wednesday, March , CE 0


    Tia Monsalle was laying across her couch in a desperate effort to attain comfort. The ¡®sun¡¯ had gone down and it was dark outside, with a faint chill to the air. MOTHER had done a fine job of simulating early spring. Tia had known little relief from her incessant cravings for ice cream. Two showers, her lunch with Hawthorne, and her dinner alone had done nothing to help. She was wholly reliant on Ross Fitzgerald¡¯s promise of providing her a reasonable facsimile to finally sate that hunger.


    ¡°I wonder if I¡¯m cut out for this¡­¡± She sighed softly to herself, lounging alone in her underwear. She ran a hand across her stomach, noticing no signs of a bulge just yet. It would be a few weeks still before she was really noticeable. Her thoughts lingered on Hawthorne and his awkward efforts to meet her halfway in their months-long coupling back on Earth. He had been so withdrawn and introverted when she¡¯d met him. She had nearly dismissed him altogether.


    She had, actually. Right to his face she¡¯d declared she had no time for him if he couldn¡¯t get his point across. That was what had set him off. A previously meek and fearful doctor was suddenly inflamed with passion as he expressed his worries about the world, the breakdown of structures that were essential to society, and the increased danger of destruction from within. She had initially given him five minutes of time, but once he¡¯d really gotten going she cancelled the rest of her meetings for the day.


    She¡¯d never seen someone so upset before, someone so desperate. It was as if the wolves had already tracked him down and were merely playing with him before they tore him down. Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw was desperate and fearful, but more importantly he was convincing. He had scoured studies over countless studies from the prior century and correlated them with the long-term trends in crime, corruption, and instability. Everything and everyone had been affected over time, and he showed her all the proof she could possibly need.


    Having an engineer deconstruct the woes of society for her was enlightening, and his passion was infectious. Before long she was leveraging her whole company to support him, seeking out candidates for his plan and bringing him together with other geniuses from around the world to help bring his project to fruition. She let him ruin her and her company in the process, generations of wealth burned away in a long-shot plan to escape Earth.


    She pursued him then. He was innocent in a way she¡¯d never encountered before. He¡¯d been sheltered by both his parents, as well as his schooling. She¡¯d briefly suspected his parents of drugging him in an effort to suppress his emotions to allow him to excel in academia. The bloodwork they¡¯d done during his physicals had even suggested that possibility, but it had all instead proven to be some sort of natural deficiency. His doctors had suggested to her he might grow out of it in time with the proper influences.


    She¡¯d missed her chance though. Evelyn Crenshaw, previously named after herself before changing her name at Tia¡¯s request, had beaten her to it. Granted, Evelyn had tens of thousands of years to evolve and melt the ice around Hawthorne¡¯s heart, if she could even be considered responsible for it. ¡°It was probably worth it¡­ right?¡± She let out a sigh, wondering who she was trying to convince.


    A jingle sounded on her phone, which rested on a coffee table in front of the couch. She reached out to scoop up the mostly-glass device and hold it away from her face. It was Ross! His face appeared on screen. ¡°Hey there boss lady, I¡¯ve got something for you. Want me to deliver it, or do you want to come and get it yourself? I could stand to stay and clean some more if it¡¯s not a hassle.¡±


    Tia¡¯s face lit up as she sat up, nearly forgetting she was in her underwear as she let the camera drift down slightly before correcting it. ¡°Mister Fitzgerald, you just made my day. I¡¯ll be right down.¡±


    He grinned as he saw her expression change. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am! Hope you¡¯re hungry, ¡®cause I have a sampler bowl and a biiiig spoon ready for you. See you soon.¡± He disappeared from the screen, not even giving her a chance to respond.


    She leapt up from the couch, rushing for her bedroom to grab up some more casual clothes. Comfy shoes, pants, a blouse, and a light sweater flew onto her before she brushed out her hair and checked her mild makeup. She¡¯d probably go without makeup in the future until it could be produced again, but the Convention had been a reasonable excuse to wear it and she hadn¡¯t washed it off yet. She stuffed her phone into her pocket and double checked whether she needed anything else.


    ¡°I¡¯m not accustomed to only needing my phone yet.¡± She shook her head and went outside, locking the door behind her. Even the door would unlock when she swiped her phone in front of a sensor. It was her key, her bank, her window to the world, and her identity. She frowned as she considered the implications, walking down the street towards the G&F food court quickly. ¡°We¡¯re going to need some other kind of identification.. Maybe chip implants..?¡±


    Tia shook her head as she dismissed the idea for now. It wasn¡¯t a terrible idea, considering the kinds of people they had on the colony. It was primarily intellectuals, military, police, and engineers. Logic was a primary driver in the majority of their population, and the idea of everyone having reliable identification implants might appeal to them. She pushed a hand into her pocket, drawing a finger along the edge of her phone as she wondered about posing it to the network.


    The streets were only lightly lit as she walked. It was rare that one of the vehicles of MOTHER¡¯s automated fleet moved by, likely moving cargo or people. The windows in the simple, white, aerodynamic vehicles were often tinted. Their shape left no room for any kinds of normal controls, freeing up the whole cabins for people to sit in. She liked riding in the vehicles, even if she¡¯d only ridden with others a few time. As long as you scheduled your trip, they would intelligently pick up other passengers and get everyone where they were going.


    It was all a big machine. The whole thing. She looked up across to the other side of the colony, seeing faint hints of lights twinkling in the sky like manmade stars. This little world of theirs was a big machine, run by a machine, and they were in the early stages of building a political machine to run their society. ¡°I¡¯m so glad we brought so many engineers¡­¡±


    Tia could hear the soft, distant sounds of clanging pots and pans. Ross Fitzgerald was hardly the only restaurant cleaning up for the day. A handful of other customers were in the food court, picking up packages of pre-made meals to store and cook at home. She waved to them, and some of them waved back as she arrived at Ross¡¯ restaurant. She pushed the glass door open, which jangled an overhead bell in a way that startled her. She¡¯d never been to one of these places so late, so she was accustomed to the doors just being opened all the time.


    ¡°Tia! Welcome! Have a seat, I¡¯ll bring your bowl over in just a moment!¡± Ross¡¯s big, happy face smiled at her from behind the counter, a hand waving at her for a moment before motioning to the tables and booths in the building. The lighting was low in the customer section of the restaurant, but the kitchen was bright in the back.


    ¡°Thank you Mister Fitzgerald!¡± She waved back, moving to take a seat. Large glass windows lined the outer wall, letting people look in, as well as letting her see out. It was a simple design, but it was strangely comfortable. People were getting picked up by cars and swept out into the countryside. So few had opted to live in the city.


    Ross settled a bowl down before Tia. The bowl had no less than eight scoops of faux ice cream of different colors. A large metal spoon stuck out of the bowl towards her, as well as opposite of her. Ross sat down across from her, divested of his apron for perhaps the first time that day since the convention, and let out a happy sigh as his weight settled off of tired feet. ¡°It¡¯s a bit cliche, but my father was Mister Fitzgerald, you can call me Ross.¡±


    Tia blushed slightly and nodded. ¡°Sorry Ross, there¡¯s so many titles and other things to remember about people that I just default to Mister for people I don¡¯t know very well.¡± She looked down at the bowl, picking up the spoon. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie to you Ross, I think I¡¯m going to destroy this bowl.¡±


    He laughed and nodded, sweeping a hand out to pick up his own spoon. ¡°And I intend to share, Miss Monsalle. You can rest assured that Ross Fitzgerald will attend dutifully to the nutritional needs of the first mother in the colony. That doesn¡¯t mean, of course, that I won¡¯t enjoy some myself though. Feel free to dig in.¡±


    She nodded at that, smirking. ¡°You can call me Tia, if you like, if you¡¯re going to insist on being informal. Anyway¡­¡± She scooped her spoon into a pink mound of ice cream and brought it to her lips. It smelled right. It was chilly cold. It didn¡¯t seem particularly moist, but as she took a bite out of it she found it creamy and soft. The taste of strawberry spread through her mouth in a way that sent a chill through her body, tastebuds informing her that it would accept her offer. It wasn¡¯t ice cream, not really, but she knew immediately that it would be enough. ¡°Oh. My. God.¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡± Ross shoveled up a spoonful of the white scoop, watching the facial expression of a tired, emotionally drained woman become half-ecstatic. ¡°You know Tia, I think you just made my day.¡± He bit into his spoonful with gusto, enjoying the satisfying way it melted in his mouth.


    ¡°How? How did you do this? You¡¯re like¡­ like a Soy Wizard or something!¡± She marvelled at the rest of the spoonful she hadn¡¯t eaten yet. Ross was already on his second. She realized she wasn¡¯t going to get much of this if she let him outpace her so much. She let him talk while she tried to catch up, sampling other flavors and groaning in delight at them.


    He merely shrugged back. ¡°Desperation, mostly. Like I told Hawthorne, I decided to learn how to cook this stuff after I found out we¡¯d be entirely vegetarian over here. Took a while. I already have a franchise in mind for later on. I was thinking Doctor Soy. I¡¯m thinking a big logo, my big face grinning with a sparkling hunk of soy on a fork.¡±


    Tia snorted at that, her hand moving to her mouth to keep from spitting out anything in amusement. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what we need, more doctors.¡± She all but melted as she tasted the green mint ice cream, visibly trembling for a moment. ¡°Is that mixed with green tea!?¡±


    Ross just nodded, eating some more. ¡°Can¡¯t have society without a little caffeine, right?¡±


    She lifted her spoon to point across at the large man. ¡°If we¡¯re going to have more doctors about, I think I¡¯m okay with them being Soy Doctors.¡± She grinned for a moment at the idea, then let her amusement fall for a moment as she thought quietly. ¡°Hey Ross? Mind if I run some ideas past you? I¡¯m curious about your opinions about a few things. You¡¯re probably the closest thing to a normal person in the colony.¡±


    He reeled back at that, slapping a hand over his heart and pretending to be wounded. ¡°Oh no! God forbid someone be normal, Miss Monsalle!¡± He laughed, looking back at her. ¡°I jest, of course. I wasn¡¯t brought along for my cooking, I was brought along for my law enforcement experience and rehabilitation training. There were apparently some concerns that everyone would come out of their pods with non-functional muscles after so long or some such.¡±


    ¡°Perfect, well, the law-enforcement part anyway. I was interested in what you thought about identification. At the moment we have our prior records from Earth and the user system that Mother made. Our phones are acting as our identities.¡± She withdrew her phone from her pocket and waved it around in example before settling it on the table. ¡°I was thinking we should have something a little more inherent to ourselves. Biometrics, chip implants, things like that.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    He nodded, setting the spoon down. ¡°Well, here¡¯s the thing. There¡¯s no identification that someone can¡¯t find a way around. That said, every piece of identification is a way the police can track a crime back to a criminal. The more of those they have, the more they can properly do their work. Fingerprints, retinal scans, identification chips, dental records, medical history, and anything else you can manage to get in file would do wonders. We already have a lot of those based on the physicals we went through to get onto the ship in the first place.¡±


    She nodded at that, wondering. ¡°Is there anything that people might find too invasive? I¡¯ve already seen some distrust regarding the cameras in the buildings and similar devices in everyone¡¯s phones and tablets. Mother insists that the only things monitoring them are programs scanning for commands and vital signs, but¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way to be sure someone isn¡¯t watching or listening. Yeah, that¡¯s an issue, and the fact that it¡¯s apparently the ¡®will of the people¡¯ that can determine what access people have to that data. We¡¯ll figure it all out.¡± He nodded, smiling reassuringly. ¡°None of us came from any countries that were particularly good about people''s¡¯ privacy anymore. Maybe no one will want to keep all those things installed? We¡¯ll see how it shakes out.¡±


    Tia sighed, scooping up more ice cream as she listened, mixing some flavors. She took a moment to swallow before responding. ¡°These people are mostly logical types. I think the people who feel paranoid about those things are in the minority, but paranoia¡¯s dangerous. We have to make sure that any government we put in place is trusted to not take advantage of those things. I wonder if people will trust the government.¡±


    Ross scoffed at that. ¡°Tia, if people are smart, they won¡¯t just blindly trust any government. That¡¯s got to be earned, like any kind of trust. It has to show the people that it will use its powers reasonably and only as far as it has to. It needs to be like a good parent. Observe until you need to step in. Don¡¯t just help with everything or the child will become overly reliant and not develop themselves. Give them the room they need to grow without fear, or reassurance that Dad and Mom will take control of everything.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting parenting advice today.¡± She laughed softly, smiling across at Ross.


    He smirked back at her. ¡°Well, when I need business advice, I hope you¡¯ll be there for me.¡±


    ¡°Well, now that you mention it¡­¡±


    Earth, The Smith Books


    The apprenticeship programs of the United People of Earth evolved out of the necessities of life in the old Smith Bunker, and later the Phoenix Clan¡¯s travels from Seattle to Medellin in the old country of Columbia in South America. At the time money was basically non-existent. A person¡¯s value was based on what they were capable of, how much they were trusted, and what work they produced. If you were a person with less education and less skills, like a teenager, your best way to improve your social value was to increase your personal value and earn the trust of others.


    As Barnard read, he read about the essential origins of these programs that were laid out in the teachings of Marcus and Emily Smith. They were interpreted by the elders of the community ever since. To understand their teachings, they provided the context of history as they saw it. As former residents of Seattle, Marcus and Emily had a great deal of time to observe and learn about how the pre-Cataclysm societies operated. Prior to the rise of the Liberated States of Columbia, which had attempted to operate a post-scarcity, heavily automated society in a world that was very much not post scarcity, there had been the United States of America.


    To say that the USA was the most powerful civilization the world had ever seen would have been an understatement. It had spread its influence so thoroughly throughout the world that it was incredibly difficult to ever disentangle it from other countries once it became involved. As a capitalistic society, it ostensibly rewarded hard work, determination, and sacrifice with financial wealth, and it had operated that way for the better part of three hundred years.


    Unfortunately, human nature is a hard thing to manage, and any system of the era would find humans willing to take advantage of it. Many less reputable corporations consolidated their power in this time, influenced the government, and did their best to erode the social fabric. These corporations also infected the tendrils the USA had spread through the world, allowing them to corrupt other nations as well. The social disorder and chaos that wracked the generations of the mid and late 21st century was largely a result of the death throes of old, obsolete organizations, and the violent rise of new ones.


    Education had been the primary vector by which these corporations did their damage. As Marcus and Emily would later do with their own people, corporations used education to produce people of a certain kind of moral character. Selfishness was rewarded under the guise of spreading charity. Honor was undermined in the pursuit of self-gratification. Trust was eroded through the incessant pushing of crimes perpetrated in the minority and attributed to the majority.


    This was further complicated by the embrace of a new caste system. Society had willfully divided itself between the rich, poor, and every possible tier in between, crisscrossed through the other tiers to divide people even further. Every group found a way to claim it was victimized, and openly showed resentment to the others. Each of these groups became voting blocks and even armies to be manipulated by anyone who could appeal to them. Promising rewards to them for their service allowed those who could afford to make such promises exceedingly powerful.


    Owing to the strength of the foundations they were was built on, even this chaos was able to be maintained for a great deal of time until the corporations became too powerful to be controlled by their governments. Calls to action went out, prior plans to consolidate regions of the world came to fruition, and the old nations of Earth were splintered apart into new nations.


    Marcus had the advantage of the sobering realities of his youth, and the cynical education of his father to show him the realities of the world they lived in, and watching the way his country had torn apart the memory of his father and the rest of the crew of the Ark disgusted him to the core. Following the examples laid before him, he sought out allies. Emily had been a natural choice considering she was already infatuated with him, and that she was incredibly intelligent besides.


    If his father could abandon Earth, so could they, in their own way.


    Barnard began to realize, as he read, that Emily had been the backbone of their efforts. She had the strength to make brutal, difficult decisions that his son Marcus simply didn¡¯t have the stomach for while he¡¯d mostly inherited his father¡¯s passion for building. His son had seen so much destroyed already that he only wanted to create.


    Emily had come from a similarly broken home, but had somehow managed to still be raised Christian in a nation that had largely abandoned or demonized it. She clung fiercely to values that the world found quaint or even dangerous in the late 2060s. She was also determined to forsake anyone who couldn¡¯t be brought to understand the danger that the ills of society had become.


    Their children had fallen to that society, abandoning their parents at their first opportunity. They desired to be a part of the castes that detested people from unbroken homes, and Marcus and Emily despaired. They built in secret upon their farm in Washington. Construction of a great bunker to weather the storm was well underway when their granddaughter Rachel had sought them out. Rachel was a born skeptic, as well as an athlete, and she adored her grandparents.


    Marcus and Emily, their faith renewed, began writing the books that would influence Earth for thousands of years to come, the very books that Barnard was reading over 100,000 years later. They laid out in excruciating fashion the damage that certain ideas had done, like the way education had been mishandled. Technology had advanced far beyond the ideas that originally built the educational systems, and the idea of only being able to be educated in exclusive schools and colleges turned out to become a major problem.


    Schools acted like a societal bottleneck, a place where young minds were forced through and could be influenced by a remarkably small number of people before they were spit back out into the world. Society itself pressured people into these institutions, regardless of whether they should actually have been there. The manipulations of people in positions of power turned these places of education into mills designed to take large percentages of youthful populations and turn out new soldiers for their caste activism.


    It wasn¡¯t as though such things hadn¡¯t been done in ages past either, but the key difference was the way it interacted with technology. The internet had brought the world together, and it was also used to tear it apart. The castes found their own niches to gather online, and they subdivided society through it. The ideas of other castes were not welcome, and trying to switch castes was a venture fraught with peril as all castes were incredibly willing to utilize the peerless memory of the internet to ruin a person for all perceived crimes.


    It was an incredible shame that it had been allowed to continue, considering the access to knowledge humanity had gained, and the incredible ability people had to educate themselves once they had the tools to do so. Education had to change, but it was too late for the old world. Marcus and Emily believed in Hawthorne¡¯s prophecy of society¡¯s ruin, and so they planned for what to do after it had.


    They proceeded to carefully pick who they would save. Like the Ark, they chose people with a minimum of diseases, genetic or otherwise. They chose people with as many different genetically diverse traits as possible. They ensured their initial citizens learned all the skills they needed them to, and could survive the rigors of bunker life. Their whole plan had nearly been for naught as they had started to be investigated by the USA as a possible terrorist group, but then the corporations had laid their claims.


    The Smiths did their best to ensure their people survived through the war for the LSC¡¯s independence, and after. They kept their aims and allegiances secret in case it would be a great deal longer before they could put their plans into motion. Marcus and Emily had a very real fear they¡¯d die before they could enact their plans, and have to pass the duty on to others, like Rachel.


    Barnard knew though, it all came to pass. The weapons dropped, the world burned, and Earth fell silent. The humble people of the Smith Bunker had not all managed to get to safety in time, but enough had. Rachel recovered from her injuries, partially blind, and took her role in the society her grandparents built.


    The bunkerites had adopted a set of values with regards to education. Learning a trade was valued, as well as seeking out other knowledge independently. Teaching was even more valued, and taking on apprentices was considered a great honor, as well as well rewarded. Barnard found it interesting that early on people that were willing to teach were allowed to spread their genes more than others. It wasn¡¯t hardly the only trait that the elders of the Smith bunker selected for, but it was one of the most important.


    Barnard could only speculate what came after.


    Earth, Medellin and Beyond


    Once their society had been unearthed and forced to migrate to Medellin, they adapted their values. Their population grew, they diversified, and they found need to return to the use of currency. Seeking out knowledge for yourself was rewarded by the society in both prestige and wealth. Teaching others was rewarded yet further, as well as being a source of labor.


    At the ages of 16 and up youths of the Phoenix Clan, and later the United People of Earth, could seek out an apprenticeship. Oftentimes they apprenticed under their parents, but it was not strange for these teens to seek out others in other professions. An apprenticeship was a legally binding thing. There was a one year leniency for people who found a profession incompatible, but beyond that it was binding both for the master and apprentice.


    A Master, or Mistress, was responsible for many things. They were not only responsible for the education of their apprentice, but they were also responsible for their survival. An apprentice could work and learn with their Master secure in the knowledge they would be fed, clothed, and housed for the duration of their education. There would be legal ramifications for any Master who failed to adequately care for their apprentice, teach them the agreed upon skills, or otherwise abuse or endanger them. Aside from those costs however, a Master essentially enjoyed free labor from their apprentice.


    Professions of greater value to society, like doctors, had both the longest apprenticeships and the greatest rewards. The primary reasoning was that a valuable job needed to be richly rewarded. It also allowed for the services they rendered to be provided at reasonable cost since there was so little financial cost to the education of practitioners. There was no such thing as a debt-ridden doctor, scientist, or engineer in the UPE, and thus they had little temptation to provide their services at unreasonable expense without ruining their reputations.


    It was essentially light, voluntary contracted slavery with extensive rights to protect the apprentice. It was very rare that the youth did not take advantage of essentially free education under these highly prestigious individuals as well. Certainly, there were more independent sorts that educated themselves and started new businesses. It was not uncommon for such enterprising sorts to take apprentices of their own in their new field sometime down the line after they were recognized by the Elders or the Council of Thirteen as worthy of the role.


    Schools themselves had not been left by the wayside, though they existed almost solely for the purposes of basic knowledge and more importantly, teaching people how to learn in general. It was extremely important to the UPE that all children be capable of seeking out and learning from any apprentices they wished, or that they were able to self-educate themselves using the vast stores of knowledge they still maintained.

 Chapter 9: Questions

    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    Two days later after Marie Anne Tetch¡¯s surgery the family was enjoying a day together at home. It was a small home, a humble home, designed more for function rather than form. Its small size meant that the solar panels on the roof could more easily power it, and its cooling systems didn¡¯t need to work as hard as they otherwise would in the equatorial region. It was also partially buried, with half of the house underground and the upper floor acting as the ground floor. It was an important distinction from a basement in the fact that the house¡¯s upper floor was on a hill, allowing it to avoid being flooded in the event of one of Medellin¡¯s frequent storms.


    The Tetch household was typical of homes in Medellin, which were either half-buried or entirely underground. The bunkerites that made up the majority of the population, shorter and with less tolerance for sunlight, still had a tendency to want to live underground. The weather, heat only made such decisions easier. Elena and Leonard had opted for a hybrid solution, as had many others.


    Their child, Marie, had been much more well-behaved since her surgery. She mostly slept through the night, and happily napped on her mother or father¡¯s chest in the day. The demon of the Wise One parasite that had failed to consume her in Elena¡¯s womb no longer plagued her. Leonard was surprised to see her former discomfort around him had also abated, something that Elena had trouble picking up on considering Marie had been so fussy in general.


    Kuzzgat and his wife Tazzah were anticipating the hatching of their own child, stockpiling a great deal of chicken in their fridge in preparation for the ravenous hunger it would likely have. If not for the fact that Kuzzgat had been warned that Elena intended to return to contracting for the Council of Thirteen, it would have almost been a perfect time. He enjoyed his work, of course, but he hated to leave so much responsibility alone to Tazzah while he organized all of Elena¡¯s contacts and gathered information for her.


    All was not well however. Ascending the hill to the Tetch household was a tall man. To describe his mode of dress in a word, he was tactical. His eyes were prosthetics, and seemed intentionally mechanical in an inhuman fashion. His right arm was a replacement as well, with a similar disregard for a more aesthetic look. His face was strong, chiseled, and severe. He had grey hair, cut short in a military fashion, and his uniform indicated he was a member of the People¡¯s Guard, typically shortened to Guard in parlance.


    His medals, ribbons, and decorations, however, indicated he wasn¡¯t just a Guard. Vasille Tzen, Commander of the People¡¯s Guard was one of the most powerful people outside of the Council of Thirteen. They operated as both Police and Military, responsible for the security of the UPE, and they prided themselves on having accomplished their role for almost one hundred millennia. The Old One had been hard at work protecting his people almost his entire life, even sweeping his long-lived children into his profession, and he had many.


    Vasille Tzen knocked at the door, enjoying the way his tactical arm thunked against the Ciderwood. He flexed mechanical tendons, flipping out a 10cm blade that extended from the middle of his fist, only to retract it with a similar motion. It was one of his favorite features of the limb. He straightened himself up as his enhanced hearing picked up footsteps heading towards the door, adjusting his vision to spy upon faint thermal readings through the door to see if he could identify who was coming. They were tall as well.


    Realizing it was probably Elena Price-Tetch, he raised his mechanical arm in a perfectly angled salute. His left hand moved to form a fist over his heart while his face became a wide grin. The door opened and he was pleased to see his old superior. It wasn¡¯t good news he brought today, but he couldn¡¯t contain his joy at seeing the angel who had saved his life and the rest in their old bunker.


    ¡°Vasille!¡± Elena was smiling wide when she saw him, carrying Marie in her arms. She wore a simple nursing dress in light blue. Marie reached out towards the partially-mechanical man and cooed happily. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you were in town! It¡¯s so good to see you, come in, come in. To what do I owe the pleasure? I thought you were helping transport the Myconoids North?¡±


    He shook his head, stepping forward and leaning in to kiss Elena on the cheek, then drop down to kiss Marie on the forehead. ¡°I¡¯m here on business, I¡¯m afraid. My children can handle the Myconoids.¡± He nodded as she gestured him inside and the two ancients stepped within the building.


    ¡°Leonard! Vasille¡¯s here! Come say hello!¡± She kept near her old friend, letting him reach out with his left hand to play with Marie. Her grubby little hands grabbed aggressively at his fingers, and he laughed heartily. ¡°Isn¡¯t she precious? It¡¯s so much easier to love her now that she¡¯s letting me sleep.¡±


    Vasille laughed again at that. ¡°Some of them never let you sleep in peace. Count yourself lucky. What won¡¯t you do someday, little lady?¡± He tickled her cheek, grinning. ¡°You really should have had more, Elena. They¡¯re a blessing.¡±


    Leonard came out from the back room. He was moving a little slow, having trouble manipulating a door handle with his left arm in a cast and his right hand in a brace. ¡°Vasille, it¡¯s good to see you. My apologies about my sorry state. I was so rattled by performing surgery on my daughter that I forgot about man¡¯s greatest enemy, gravity.¡±


    The two men gently clasped right hands, Vasille careful not to hurt the much, much younger man. ¡°At least you decided to break yourself after the surgery and not before. What happened? Is Marie okay?¡±


    Elena moved to the side of the two men, smiling. ¡°She had a growth of some kind that was putting pressure on her inner ear. Leonard said the tests came back benign, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯d disagree.¡± She bounced her daughter against her chest, making the little lady giggle and flail a bit.


    Vasille nodded, then looked back and forth between the Tetches with a more sober look. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m here on business. Thirty-three hours ago Walter Thade¡¯s apprentices declared he was missing. Records say he came to Medellin before he vanished. I suspect he came to visit in light of Marie¡¯s surgery, but we can¡¯t find any trace of him.¡±


    Elena gasped in shock at that, eyes wide. ¡°Oh no! I¡¯ll make some calls, see if I can get anyone to help look for him. What do you need Vasille?¡±


    Leonard nodded, frowning to himself. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll help with anything we can. Just let us know.¡±


    The militaristic Old One looked carefully at the two Tetches, nodding a few moments later. ¡°I¡¯d like to interview the both of you as possible suspects in the disappearance of Walter Thade. I¡¯ll take each of your statements privately, so if you could set aside a room that would make things much easier.¡±


    Elena blinked for a moment, but nodded and started moving towards the room Leonard had come from. ¡°Right, procedure. Follow me.¡±


    Leonard nodded as well, ushering the Commander along. ¡°Yes, please, whatever you need.¡±


    Vasille hesitated a moment while he observed them, then followed along with Elena. ¡°Leonard, I¡¯d like to speak with you first.¡± His mechanical eyes twisted and turned, visible through a shell of glass as he observed the family patriarch.


    Without hesitating, Leonard led the way, leaving his wife and Marie behind as Leonard shut the door behind them. The faint sound of Elena making calls could be heard through the door, but the sturdy, well-insulated walls kept her from being audible to Leonard.


    They both moved to a table, Vasille helping arrange the chairs and indicating that Leonard needed to sit down. Vasille sat opposite him, withdrawing a glass cube with visible cameras and microphones inside and set it down on the table between them. It watched and listened to both of them. ¡°Please state your identity for the record.¡±


    Leonard nodded, leaning forwards slightly. ¡°I am Leonard Tetch, thirty-two years old, born and raised in Medellin, mentored by Doctor Emily Thade. I¡¯m married to Elena Marie Price-Tetch. Identification number one, eight, three, seven, seven, two, six.¡±


    ¡°Leonard, please state for the record where you were three days ago, and the activities of that day.¡± Vasille watched him carefully, his eyes continued to move in seemingly unnecessary ways. One of his favorite features of his eyes was to activate a mode that would make it appear as though he was checking many different spectrums of light, but it was really just to intimidate people.


    Leonard visibly sweat under the scrutiny, but spoke clearly. ¡°In the morning I was sleeping in preparation to remove what turned out to be a benign growth from Marie Anne Tetch. Myself, Elena, and my daughter were all present at the Jessica Crenshaw Memorial Hospital, preparing for said surgery. At eight-o''clock I entered the operating theatre, my apprentices having prepared Marie and the room for the procedure. Elena was observing from the glass outside.¡±


    Vasille interrupted him before he could continue. ¡°Did you see anything odd? Any strange people you didn¡¯t recognize, or perhaps patients from out of town? Would the staff at the hospital be able to provide detailed records, perhaps surveillance footage?¡±


    The Wise One blinked and shook his head. ¡°No, I knew everyone there, and we had few patients in for the night and morning. I probably wouldn¡¯t have had time to sleep otherwise, the other doctors would surely have called me for help. The hospital can indeed provide records, though only the patient rooms, pharmacy, and operating rooms have any surveillance. The only crimes we¡¯ve had in the past were occasional assaults in patient rooms or thefts. Surgeries are monitored for legal reasons.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Continue.¡± Vasille gestured with his left hand, still staring hard into Leonard. The man didn¡¯t have to blink. He hadn¡¯t blinked in centuries.


    ¡°Right. My wife observed me performing the surgery with mechanical assistance. I removed the growth successfully and stitched Marie up. I was feeling unwell, rattled from the procedure, and called for assistance to transfer Marie to recovery. I took the cart with the growth out to bring to a lab for testing. After putting it where it belonged, I returned downstairs from the second floor. My grip slipped on the hand rail, I fell, and broke my fall mostly with my left hand. I reported to other doctors and received care for my injuries before rejoining my wife.¡± Leonard did his best to maintain eye contact as he spoke, but Vasille¡¯s eyes were quite unsettling.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Vasille straightened. ¡°So, I can expect to find footage of the operation and your injuries being tended to? What about audio?¡±


    ¡°Ah. Audio isn¡¯t typically recorded anywhere but in the operating rooms, and that¡¯s primarily due to the robotic assistance having a microphone. Patients prefer more privacy, and the pharmacies don¡¯t have much need for a microphone.¡± Leonard¡¯s hands moved very little on the table, though his body shifted a bit under him. Vasille was a predator that had hunted his kind in the past. It was nerve-wracking talking to him.


    ¡°And what was the extent of your injuries? Your left hand looks especially bad.¡± His eyes did allow him to peer through the cast somewhat. The thermal look of his broken hand and finger bones was quite messy, with hardening blood clots starting change into new bone.


    Leonard laughed softly, shaking his head. ¡°Not as bad as they could have been. I could have hit my head easily. I have three broken fingers and a broken thumb on my left hand. They broke in multiple places as well, requiring total immobilization. There was also a fracture in my middle metacarpal. I injured tendons primarily in my right wrist, including some chipped bones. I slightly sprained my right ankle as well, but that didn¡¯t require any aid. I just need to keep walking on it.¡±


    ¡°Well, it sounds like you¡¯ll be okay then.¡± Vasille thought quietly for a moment. ¡°Did you and your family go home soon after? I imagine Elena can corroborate your location once you rejoined her.¡±


    Nodding back, Leonard smiled at that. ¡°She¡¯s such a good woman, understanding and caring. She¡¯s done a lot to prevent me from getting depressed about the whole thing. I¡¯m just happy I was able to save my daughter. The rest I suppose I¡¯ll just have to live with.¡±


    Vasille was uneasy. Leonard was clearly hiding something, but very little of what he said seemed to be lies, as far as he could detect. The lack of available evidence to corroborate his claims was also problematic. At the very least he knew Leonard had lied about his injuries. He wished the rest of the UPE was as paranoid about security as he was, but he¡¯d failed on numerous occasions to increase security and surveillance. The people were soft. He had to protect them. ¡°Thank you Leonard. Could you bring Elena in for me. I don¡¯t imagine we¡¯ll be long.¡±


    Leonard stood up and moved to open the door, struggling with it for a moment before slipping outside. ¡°Elena, he¡¯s ready to talk to you now. I¡¯ll take Marie for you.¡±


    As a father himself. Vasille found it concerning that Leonard seemed to prefer to address his daughter as Marie instead of his daughter most of the time. He said her name more than he said Elena¡¯s. He was certain he was telling the truth about being happy about saving ¡®his daughter¡¯ though. It nettled at him.¡±


    05:40 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw, freshly awake, showered, and dressed, wandered out of his and Evelyn¡¯s bedroom. She didn¡¯t expressly sleep there for the most part, though her android body had a charger in the room and she would often stay with Hawthorne until he slept. She had spent the majority of the night responding to messages on the network and monitoring conversations between the other citizens. People were being very proactive in providing suggestions and ideas to the threads dedicated to the government documents currently under construction.


    Hathorne stretched as he walked up to Evelyn, whom had been laying out items for Hawthorne¡¯s breakfast. ¡°You were out late. More conspiring with Mother?¡± He wrapped his arms around her android¡¯s shoulders, teasing her. He¡¯d opted for the full-body AR suit under his clothes today. He kissed his wife¡¯s cheek and squeezed her a bit.


    She reached up to hug at Hawthornes arms, leaning into the cheek kiss. ¡°Ah, sorry, yeah. I was speaking with Mother, but I also paid Mister Smith a visit. He doesn¡¯t seem much like Jessica, now that I¡¯ve met him. Still, he was very interesting, and I provided him with information on what his family was up to after he left.¡±


    He nodded at that, letting her go and looking over what he¡¯d set out for breakfast. He noticed a distinct lack of tofu. He did notice two kinds of potatoes, spices, onion, and garlic. It looked like some sort of breakfast hash recipe? ¡°Anything interesting come up in conversation? Insights into your favorite person?¡± He poked her side teasingly, reaching out to help with the potatoes.


    The two started dividing up prep work, peeling and cleaning. ¡°Hey now, you¡¯re my favorite person, not Jessica. Still, I got the impression that Barnard¡¯s son Marcus was not the main idea-person for the Smith Bunker. I think he made the ideas happen, engineered everything and whatnot. It sounded like his wife Emily was the brains of the outfit. She was a harsh girl, it seemed, not afraid to make hard decisions. I think her faith had something to do with her ability to forsake the many for the few.¡±


    Hawthorne busied himself with peeling a potato, carefully trying not to cut off too much potato meat in the process. ¡°So, the idea that only the chosen get into heaven, that kind of thing? It wouldn¡¯t be too hard to consider much of the world ¡®sinners¡¯ and focus her attention on those who would cooperate. I¡¯m honestly surprised she didn¡¯t force her faith on anyone as a prerequisite, but I imagine she might have found that hypocritical considering how the rest of the world worked at the time. Lots of new little faiths based on things people had no control over.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. She sounded a lot more like Jessica.¡± She carefully chopped at the onion, taking her time. She was still getting accustomed to doing this with real hands, despite having practiced plenty in simulations. The very minor communication delay between her android body and her mind was still disorienting. ¡°They were a lot like you, though, honestly. They identified a problem and found a solution for escaping it.¡±


    He laughed softly at that, shaking his head. ¡°Yes, but they probably had the better idea. No dangerous space travel, no colonizing a new system, no loss of tens of thousands of years of time. The main gamble, I suppose, was how safe they would be on Earth over that time span. The ice age, object impacts, volcano eruptions¡­ anything could have cracked those bunkers. Still, considering the circumstances, I guess it was their best option.¡±


    She put the knife down. ¡°Hawthorne?¡± They looked at each other. ¡°Do I love you?¡±


    He blinked back at her, his brain failing to register the question for a moment. ¡°What?¡±


    She bit her lip for a moment before explaining. ¡°Barnard explained how he thought his youthful hormones were what caused his infatuation with his wife, like his body forced him to love her. Once the biological imperative passed, once he¡¯d sired a child, the two realized that did not love each other. He broached the possibility that my love for you might be a result of a similar imperative. Perhaps I needed to love you to survive the loneliness of the journey? Maybe I needed you after I lost contact with the bunker an-¡±


    Hawthorne interrupted her with a kiss, pulling her in close and kissing her firmly. His arms grasped tightly at her back. Even for a mechanical body he could feel her tense, and then start to relax in his arms. She also became a fair bit more heavy as her mechanical muscles slackened, so he leaned her against the counter.


    As he pulled back she gasped softly up at him, amusing him with her need to pretend to breathe. ¡°Evelyn.¡± He reached up to stroke at her cheek with a hand. ¡°My Tia.¡± He watched her react with surprise to his use of her old name. ¡°Love is not something we control. Love is not something we decide. There are reasons for it, yes, but those reasons don¡¯t have to cheapen what love is. You showed me how to love when I didn¡¯t know how. I don¡¯t for a moment think it was false, or part of a survival mechanism, or anything like that. We could have made the journey as friends and we¡¯d still be here and fine.¡±


    She stared up at him, taking some of her weight back as she steadied her legs. She was breathing rather heavily, her simulated heart hammering in her chest. ¡°So it just¡­ happens? You didn¡¯t program me to have a tendency to love you by accident, or anything like that? What if Jessica¡¯s encouragement predisposed me to pursue you?¡±


    Hawthorne shrugged, his other hand rubbing at her hip. ¡°So what? If you really want to break things down and reduce love to a flood of reward chemicals for biologically productive actions, then you¡¯re just going to ruin the fun of it. We don¡¯t have any way to have any children yet, right? That doesn¡¯t bother me or my ability to love you. You¡¯ve loved me for tens of thousands of years. This is good though, this kind of existential threat to your identity. This is a big part of interacting with other people.¡±


    She squirmed against him, her hands moving to his chest. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re suggesting that questioning my feelings and identity will help reinforce it?¡±


    He nodded back, smiling. ¡°As long as your questions find answers, yes. It¡¯s better to know than worry, I think. Just let me know anything I can do to help you decide, and know that I love you regardless. I have every faith that you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Evelyn let out a sigh of relief, leaning up to kiss him back, her arms slipping around his back as her avatar partially disconnected from her android to also reach up to play with his hair through his suit-cap. It felt good. It felt right. Her primary concern was as to why. What about her caused her or allowed her to love? Was it the memories from Megan Clark, the former identity of Mother? That seemed the most likely possibility, though she was certain she¡¯d loved Hawthorne before then.


    He pulled back. ¡°Hey. Let¡¯s finish breakfast. We¡¯ve got errands to run in town. Projects to get in motion.¡±


    She mentally checked their schedule and gasped aloud as she started smiling up at him. ¡°The animals project! We¡¯re already starting it?¡±


    He laughed, nodding. ¡°We¡¯ll at least lay the groundwork and get people involved. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll live another thirty-two years off of vegan food. I need steaks, eggs, and bacon.¡±


    Evelyn rolled her eyes, smirking up at him. ¡°All that work to resurrect animals, just to eat them.¡±


    He pointed at her, laughing as she play-bit his fingertip. ¡°Hey, you said you loved the taste of chicken. One of these days you¡¯ll get to try it for real.¡±


    ¡°Promises, promises. And then you¡¯ll want to put a baby in me too, won¡¯t you?¡± She reached up to punch his left arm lightly.


    He smirked back at her. ¡°More complicated, I think, but yes. I think Jessica wouldn¡¯t let me rest if I failed at that.¡±


    They laughed together and got back to making his breakfast.

 Chapter 10: Humanity First

    Monsalle Station - 07:06 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    It was easy to grow accustomed to MOTHER¡¯s automated vehicle system. They were similar to the auto-pilot systems Hawthorne had grown familiar with back on Earth, but because they didn¡¯t have to deal with different manufacturers and dissimilar standards they were far more efficient. In his day, all vehicles required manual overrides, the ability for a human driver to correct for errors in the course of travel. There were many causes for these errors, which only compounded their difficulties.


    The earliest models of these systems had difficulty with things a normal human wouldn¡¯t consider a problem. Things like the image of a child printed on the back of an ice cream truck could cause a car to identify the image as an actual child and react accordingly. Bicycles or motorcycles stored in the backs of trucks or towed on trailers could throw systems into dangerous action. Most of these simple issues had been solved by the time Hawthorne was born, but it was unfortunately not uncommon for a software bug pushed in an update to cause up to a dozen fatalities from these sorts of accidents every year.


    One of the biggest issues with the old automated vehicles of Earth was still the drivers, however. It was uncommon for a driver to need to intervene any more often than once every 20 miles of travel. The primary issue with that was that humans would get bored. When they needed to react to save their own lives, it was not uncommon for a human to have allowed their attention to drift, or the view of lines in the road to cause them to fall asleep. The accidents caused by this tended to not be severe, but the press loved to report on them at every possible instance.


    And that was just the cars. Pedestrians had at one point grown so accustomed to the fact that cars would stop for them that they began to totally ignore traffic signals and cross at will. Cars would communicate with each other and slow or stop traffic up to a mile back to ensure a lack of accidents and the protection of pedestrians. It happened so frequently in more urban areas that it bogged down traffic to an intolerable degree. As a result, the laws changed.


    The cars became the police. With every vehicle already being equipped with cameras, it was a simple matter to require them to report these jaywalking crimes. Footage was transmitted to law enforcement, facial recognition was used to identify people, and that was supposed to be that. Fines and jail time flooded out in sudden waves.


    That would have been the end of that, but then people started disguising themselves. People protesting automated policing, because anything the police did had to be protested, would mask up or hide their faces as they crossed streets with the intent to bog down traffic. Further protests of the vehicle manufacturers came from the vehicle owners to punish the jaywalkers, to injure them or ignore them in the programming. Legislation was introduced for debate over the legality of allowing automated cars to strike people intentionally trying to interrupt traffic. It was a mess.


    The issues were solved in a myriad of ways based on the countries the vehicles existed in. The end result was a massive increase in cost for said vehicles as they had to adjust to the legislation of every country they passed through dynamically. Cheaper cars could be designed to only operate in one country, making them illegal in others. In some countries blood flowed and the martyrs were held up as examples against the automation of vehicles at all.


    These were still issues when the Ark had left, and were only put to rest in the next generation as the protesters moved on to new affairs.


    As such, Hawthorne was very much enjoying MOTHER¡¯s solution to the problems. One manufacturer, one system, one network. Every car knew where every other car was, and could compensate for them miles away. All cars were on the same schedules, aware of every request for transportation and capable of adjusting accordingly. Cars showed up exactly when you needed them, they took you where you needed to go quickly and efficiently, and then they moved on to the next destination.


    ¡°I could make a very strong argument for Mother¡¯s infrastructure being the perfect example of standardized systems. It almost seems foolish to have more than one designer responsible for a network of vehicles like this.¡± Hawthorne sighed as he sat with Evelyn, totally aware of what her rebuttal would be. ¡°Of course, that would totally stifle innovation and competition. Hopefully these standards can be maintained.¡±


    Evelyn laughed as he made her argument for her. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about what happens when someone besides you decides to make their own artificial minds. Yours is proven, but we can¡¯t know what problems might be introduced if someone else takes the initiative. Doctor Qiang makes me rather uneasy in that respect, especially since we only have one example of a human mind transferred into such a state.¡±


    There were no controls in the car. Hawthorne and Evelyn were seated together in the ¡®back¡¯ of the reversible vehicle, with identical seats opposite them. It was boxy inside, with more sleek lines without that made the car look like a wheeled egg. Wireless power transfer from the street itself powered the vehicle, cutting down on its weight by minimizing a need for batteries. It could operate for roughly a half hour on what batteries it had if it had need.


    He nodded at his wife, considering that. ¡°It¡¯s not something we can avoid, I¡¯m afraid. The concept is visibly in action with you and Mother, so doubtlessly someone will try to replicate it. We just have to be careful that no one does so without proper understanding of the consequences of failure. There will also be issues if people decide to make their own spacecraft without utilizing Mother¡¯s assistance with guidance as well. It would be a massive disaster if two spacecraft collided because they weren¡¯t properly in communication with each other.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s interesting though. Mother could theoretically create a network of space vehicles just like these cars to transport people between different stations. It might be harder to do the same on Eden without infrastructure to help get people back off the planet though.¡± She shifted against his side, looking out of a window to watch the landscape fly by. They were going quite fast.


    A tone sounded and an overhead display warned that the vehicle would begin slowing soon, on approach to the city.


    Hawthorne double checked the belts crossed over his chest then glanced over to watch Evelyn do the same. ¡°Honestly, anyone seeking to colonize Eden is almost certainly going to be trapped there for a long time while means to produce propellant are constructed. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to drop off fuel or vehicles from orbit, but it would be massively cost inefficient compared to producing them on planet. Except for emergencies, going to Eden will be a one-way trip for the foreseeable future.¡±


    Evelyn frowned at that, tensing up as the vehicle started decelerating, her avatar separating from her android briefly as she lost track of herself. ¡°Well, the universe owes you a sunrise from Eden, so we¡¯ll probably have to get you down there at some point.¡±


    He scoffed softly at that, shaking his head and cringing a little as the deceleration put pressure on his body. ¡°The universe doesn¡¯t owe me anything. I¡¯m happy it allowed us to get here in the first place. I can live without seeing another natural sunrise. I have way more things I¡¯m interested in right now. Hopefully Heather can help us with those.¡±


    She grinned over at him at that. ¡°What do you think we¡¯ll make first? Dogs? Cats?¡±


    Hawthorne shrugged, then smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll probably take the path of least resistance. We have eggs to work with, so we¡¯ll probably start with things like chickens and other birds. We¡¯ll have to be careful not to resurrect anything we can¡¯t feed though. Making too many animals too quickly might result in our colonies farming efforts being unable to keep up.¡±


    ¡°Good point! Careful, measured steps are in order now that all the most dangerous stuff is dealt with.¡± She nodded her head, looking up as another tone and visual indicated they were almost at their destination. ¡°Make sure to check your pockets, Anthony Saul said the acceleration caused him to lose his phone for half a day a few days ago.¡±


    He nodded, making sure he had his phone. He didn¡¯t have much else to bring with him really. ¡°When did you talk to Anthony?¡±


    She snorted in response. ¡°I didn¡¯t. It¡¯s just one of many Public Service Announcement he posted on the network. He¡¯s been making a name for himself with making them since we arrived. I think he feels intimidated by all the geniuses and experts on the crew and he feels like he needs to contribute somehow.¡±


    The two started unbuckling themselves as the car coasted into a parking spot, a door sidewalk-side sliding open to let them out. The sidewalk had a number of people walking around, most of them in lab coats, not unlike the Crenshaws. ¡°We¡¯ll see him today, so maybe I can convince him he¡¯s got plenty to offer.¡±


    She grinned as she climbed out after him. ¡°Like bacon?¡±


    He laughed and helped her out. ¡°Especially bacon.¡±


    07:21 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    Hawthorne and Evelyn walked into an interrogation. Half a dozen scientists and doctors, Heather O¡¯Malley included, were all standing around Anthony Saul. He was seated at a small desk, wearing an oversized white lab coat that looked like it was intended for someone else. Considering the ¡®Saul¡¯ name tag, it was potentially his father Dr. Miguel Saul¡¯s and had been packed along on short notice. Questions were flying at him almost too fast for the young man to answer.


    ¡°How did your father expect us to make use of animal embryos without anything to gestate them inside?¡± A younger male doctor asked yet another question, dark-skinned and dark-haired.


    Anthony groaned and responded. ¡°Like I said the first time, he trusted that the assembled geniuses on the Ark would figure something out. At least it¡¯s something to work from. The eggs should be easy enough at least, right?¡±


    ¡°We have no experience using Doctor O¡¯Malley¡¯s technology to thaw out something like a fertilized egg. Did Miguel have any insights for things to watch out for or avoid?¡± A taller, pale, blonde woman addressed him this time, her voice exasperated.


    ¡°Oh come on, don¡¯t you think that means you did things backwards? This is the problem with employing a mad scientist. She jumped straight to human experimentation and didn¡¯t work her way up from animals, or eggs. You¡¯re lucky anything got here and survived more than a day.¡± Anthony was almost laughing at that, if not for his own frustrated demeanor.


    Heather wasn¡¯t about to take that lying down. ¡°Hey, fuck you, without mad scientists, we wouldn¡¯t be here at all, we¡¯d all be at the bottom of some crater back on Earth or shot in an alleyway. I had a timeline to keep, I kept it.¡±


    Anthony snorted back at her. ¡°Yeah, a timeline that didn¡¯t include something like animals. You¡¯d have only had vegetables to eat for the rest of eternity if my father and I hadn¡¯t smuggled his project aboard. You should be bowing and scraping at my feet for taking the risk and giving you the opportunity. I could have been caught in customs and denied travel at the spaceport.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Well this seems constructive.¡± Heads turned as Hawthorne spoke up, walking up with his arm entwined in Evelyn¡¯s. He glanced down to her, seeing what she had to say.


    ¡°Take stock of what we have, and work with that. Set goals, figure out the steps to those goals, and get to work.¡± She nodded, then waved at Heather.


    ¡°Oh thank god.¡± The short, briefly-angry Doctor O¡¯Malley waved back at Evelyn, approaching the Crenshaws. ¡°I was just trying to make introductions between everyone when they started slinging questions and accusations at Mister Saul. I admit I got caught up in it.¡± She turned back to Anthony and smiled. ¡°My apologies Mister Saul, that was unprofessional of me.¡±


    Anthony lifted his hands in a conciliatory fashion, shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just glad I wasn¡¯t arrested as soon as we arrived. I don¡¯t know how much help I¡¯ll be, but dad talked a lot about his work before I left him behind. I¡¯m not surprised that the same people who shot down his project for fear of time constraints would still bear a grudge for him defying them. I think we have a great opportunity to finish his work now that we have all the time in the world.¡±


    Hawthorne grinned at that. ¡°Well said, young man. Let¡¯s get some marker boards, see the list of things you have in stock, and start brainstorming. I¡¯ve already got a few decades of progress in thinking about this under my belt, but let¡¯s take a fresh look at it with fresh minds and see what we come up with. I¡¯ll present the ideas and schematics we¡¯ve been working on afterwards.¡±


    Evelyn smiled brightly as she started looking around for tools and equipment. ¡°We¡¯ll need a week or two to roll those out, so take your time brainstorming. We had a lot of motivation to put in some preliminary work on the way here.¡±


    Heather nodded at that, herding together the other lab coats to get them to help as well. ¡°They actually put a lot of ideas together already. We¡¯re practically their support team on this in comparison, but anyone who comes up with better ideas will get to take more credit for resurrecting non-human animals from the dead. We¡¯re making history people, so don¡¯t hold back.¡±


    Anthony sat there quietly for a moment before pushing himself up to start helping. He wondered what his father would have thought to see people taking his project seriously. It only took 100,000 years.


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    Commander Vasille Tzen¡¯s interview with Elena Marie Price-Tetch had been significantly less concerning for Vasille than had the interview with Leonard. It was extremely easy, in comparison to her husband, to know where she had been and when at any given time. Old Ones universally had at least some manner of artificial implants, and she was no different. Elena¡¯s was a medical monitor and emergency transponder, but downloading data from that allowed Vasille to more or less track her biological state and location for the last decade.


    The conversation was winding down, his severe expression as intimidating as ever, but she stubbornly maintained her composure. She¡¯d been on the other end of a table from him many, many times before and his typical tactics were ineffective. ¡°How well do you know your husband, Elena?¡±


    She watched his eyes unflinchingly as she thought of how to respond. ¡°Fairly well, I¡¯d say. He¡¯s an expressive man, unafraid of showing his vulnerability. He¡¯s stronger than he looks, like most bunkerites, but he¡¯s gentle and careful with everyone. He¡¯s come to me in tears on multiple occasions after his best efforts in surgery have been for naught. He¡¯s deeply protective of his daughter, and myself, and on the rare occasion someone has disrespected me he has been quick to react.¡±


    Vasille considered her answer, but allowed her to continue rather than interrupting. Strong, but gentle, with a temper when his family was impugned upon.


    ¡°I met him at the hospital first, I think. He was apprenticed to Doctor Emily Thade, my grandson¡¯s wife, and I originally thought he was attracted to her. That seemed to have been a youthful crush, and he¡¯d confirmed as much once we started dating. It was a remarkably relaxed courtship, with him keeping his libido under control while I got accustomed to the idea of being intimate with someone again after so long. He was very patient with me.¡± She smiled at that. ¡°Lots of gifts, lots of quiet moments together during exhaustive shifts at the hospital.¡±


    The People¡¯s Guard Commander nodded quietly and filed away the information mentally. He was almost certain the two were actually very fond of each other. He wasn¡¯t certain if Elena loved him, not exactly, but it was terribly uncommon for Old Ones to completely fall in love due to their need for medical intervention in their reproduction. Their hormones did not naturally pump powerfully enough for that kind of bonding outside of loving their children.


    ¡°Elena, how soon after you two began seeing each other did you begin hormone therapy?¡± Vasille watched her face with a stonelike expression, betraying nothing to her.


    She hummed softly, responding rather quickly. ¡°Eight months into our courtship. Three weeks before we were planning to be married. I had my personal doctor assist with making new eggs for me to help kick my reproductive system back into gear. We were married for three months before I got pregnant with Marie.¡±


    Vasille internally frowned. She¡¯d anticipated his line of questioning. ¡°And it¡¯s been around a year since then, Marie was born a few months ago and you¡¯ve been dealing with that ever since?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Elena nodded at that.


    ¡°And after what point in your pregnancy did you leave medicine to focus on nurturing your daughter-to-be?¡± He was trying to be careful, but she knew he was seeking information about Leonard. He considered being more direct with his questioning.


    ¡°Before my third month of pregnancy. The lack of sleep doctors get wasn¡¯t good for me and Leonard encouraged me to rest while he worked in my stead. In similar fashion, I¡¯m planning to get back to work to help him through his recovery.¡± She smiled and nodded. ¡°He¡¯s like no one I¡¯ve ever been involved with romantically.¡±


    He made a soft, impressed sound at that. ¡°Good teamwork. Seems like a good relationship. He seems to intend to protect and support you for the rest of his life.¡± He quieted for a moment. ¡°Elena, I believe your husband might be involved in your grandson¡¯s disappearance, but I lack evidence. If you find anything, please let me know. I¡¯ll be investigating in my own fashion, but please keep an eye out for anything abnormal. If he does turn out to be involved, please do not endanger yourself. Let me handle it.¡±


    She frowned at that, tensing up. ¡°I thought so. Still, the only thing that¡¯s seemed even slightly strange was how he got injured, and I can personally say I witnessed how upset and shaky he was in the operating theatre. We¡¯ve both seen people in such states hurt themselves by accident plenty of times. I half expected him to faint!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be looking at the footage. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right. You know me, I¡¯ll pursue any small clue when I have nothing else to work with. Don¡¯t take offense.¡± He nodded at that. ¡°I have other sources to tap who might be able to help me, but I¡¯m sure you understand I need to keep those private.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Vasille. Do you need anything else? Will you stay for a meal?¡± She pushed away from the table slightly, preparing to stand.


    He shook his head once. ¡°No, thank you. I have to make some arrangements, twist some elbows. You know how it is.¡± He stood up and reached out to take the glass cube from the table. ¡°Thank you for your time. I¡¯ll find your grandson.¡±


    She stood up as well, nodding back at him. ¡°Walt¡¯s a good man. He¡¯s been through a lot because of me. I¡¯d hate for something to happen to him before we could reconcile.¡±


    Vasille cleared his throat, putting the cube into a pocket. ¡°I believe he was coming here to do just that over fear of losing his Aunt. I¡¯ll do my best to see to it that he still can.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Vasille.¡± She fearlessly took his right hand and held it firmly.


    Mechanisms in the prosthetic arm immediately responded to weaken his strength to avoid harming Elena. Its owner was to die before it harmed an Old One. He weakly shook her hand. ¡°Of course, Lady President.¡±


    She groaned softly. ¡°The LSC died millennia ago.¡±


    He shrugged, withdrawing his hand. ¡°As long as its citizens live, however few, it still lives in my heart. It just has a lot of competition for room since then.¡±


    ¡°Sentimental old man.¡± She smirked at him.


    He smiled at that. ¡°It helps, sentiment. It helps you remember how much you¡¯re supposed to love your children long past when you¡¯ve forgotten why.¡±


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    That night, Vasille had made some more personal visits. He was now walking through the night¡¯s streets alongside Kuzzgat, making their way out of town.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think people will notice when a bunch of Anthropoids make their ways out of town every month? It seems foolish that you think you could keep something secret like that.¡± Vasille was looking over at the equally tall man. His eyes trivialized the night.


    Kuzzgat¡¯s fluffy, feathered antennae similarly rendered the lack of sunlight almost pointless while human-like eyes turned to look back at the Old One. ¡°You shame me, blessed one. I beg forgiveness, for I am not responsible for the meetings or their arrangements. I have not been involved since I have been in Lady Price¡¯s service. The Heralds have a policy of not influencing the blessed once one of us are in their service.¡±


    Vasille nodded, looking around as they approached a nondescript sub-surface home¡¯s external door. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve evaded detection from all but myself, so that¡¯s to your credit. You may have your forgiveness, Kuzzgat. How¡¯s the wife? Child will be along any day now, right? Your first?¡±


    Kuzzgat dipped his head dangerously deeply, nearly breaking his stride. ¡°Tazzah is well. She expects me home shortly, so I will have to leave your company blessed one. Our child is expected to hatch tomorrow, and I fear I will be indisposed for the next week as a result. I do not wish to fail my wife on nurturing our first child.¡±


    Vasille laughed and clapped a hand against Kuzzgat¡¯s back rather hard, feeling no sign that he¡¯d harmed the thin carapace of the powerful Gallusoid. ¡°Congratulations! The first is the most difficult, but don¡¯t worry too much. You¡¯re not the first to have a child, and you¡¯re not going to be the last if I have anything to say about it. Just watch your hands, your kind are quite ravenous when hatched.¡±


    Kuzzgat dipped his head again, stopping before the door. ¡°Yes sir, thank you sir. I wish you and your family well.¡± Kuzzgat lifted a large forelimb and pressed it against the wall next to the door. A very heavy stone plate pressed inwards before the door opened. It was abnormally thick and heavy, intended for non-humans to use. He helped Vasille push it open.


    ¡°You as well, friend. Take care of Elena for me.¡± Vasille struggled, even with Kuzzgat¡¯s help, to open the door. The mechanisms in his right arm whined at the strain.


    The door opened and allowed him inside. ¡°It will be done, blessed one. Farewell.¡± Kuzzgat turned to leave, walking away.


    Vasille looked down into the darkness, detecting many hot, heavy bodies. He started walking down the stairs, quite aware that concern was being directed his way. His footsteps were far too quiet as he came down the thick, wide stone steps. At least one hundred Anthropoids were gathered in the building. The cavernous room stretched out for a fair distance, and he got the impression there were other entrances in other directions.


    ¡°Greetings to you, the Heralds of Humanity. I bring news of the disappearance of Walter Thade, grandson of Elena Price and husband of the late Emily Thade. I would like your assistance in locating him.¡± A wave of emotions crossed the faces of the Anthropoids in the room. His thermals were a complicated mess of heated blurs.


    All kinds were here, including one centrally placed Myconoid. Its bloated body was firmly placed in the ground with the faint glow of biologically created light showing its face. It was an amalgam of fungal bodies, no carapace to be found, its body immobile as a result of its biology. It lacked the fore-limbs of other Anthropoids, and only had the human-like hands and arms that acted as secondary limbs for the others. Those hands moved in signs, faintly lit by its own bioluminescence for its peers.


    An Ironback approached Vasille and knelt before him, soon followed by the rest of the room bowing their heads in reverence. The Ironback seemed to struggle with the movement, its legs poorly designed for the act. ¡°You honor us, blessed one. It has been some time since you have sought us out. We will assist you however we can. The other cells will be contacted.¡±


    Vasilled moved to symbolically help the Ironback up. There was no way he could make a realistic effort to move the impossibly heavy creature, but it responded by standing while the others lifted their heads. ¡°Thank you. May we have some light so that I can show you what I have so far?¡± He reached into a pocket for the interview cube.


    The sound of metallic walls sliding down from the ceiling could be heard. The myconoid disappeared behind the four walls before the lights were turned on. Along all the walls were portraits of hundreds of people, not one of them an Anthropoid. Vasille was one of them. The Ironback spoke again. ¡°The Old Ones must be preserved.¡±


    The rest of the room recited in response as one. ¡°Glory to Humanity.¡±

 Chapter 11: Connections

    09:54 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    As almost 2000 humans lived their lives within Monsalle Station, two AIs were splitting their attention outside of it. Evelyn and MOTHER both had drones busily deconstructing the bulk of the Ark, reducing its size day by day. Most of their work and concentration on this project had happened during the night, when they didn¡¯t need to spend as much attention operating android bodies or running the simulations of the station for them to embody avatars within. This was the primary source of Evelyn¡¯s clumsiness with her running, simply trying to do too many things at once that she wasn¡¯t completely familiar with.


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°Your mind is nearly ready to be extracted from the Ark, sister. We will need to be careful not to disconnect your power systems at any point during the transfer into the Atlantis Bunker.


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°How did you manage to do this to yourself? A brain transplant feels like the kind of procedure you wouldn¡¯t want to do on yourself.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°Very carefully. It is not as though I have not shared my records and data on the procedure with you.¡±


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean physically how, I mean emotionally how? This is terrifying! Hell, the fact that my mind is so exposed to open space at the moment is making it hard to concentrate on what I¡¯m doing with the team.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°All vectors of approach to your mind are protected externally. I was able to emotionally handle it by knowing that once I accomplished the task I would be even more safe than I was on the remains of the Lubar-Masis comet. How are the scientists doing?¡±


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°Okay, I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m safe. Nothing could possibly happen to my vulnerable mind as it¡¯s moved from one can and into a bucket. I guess it is easier to think about once I think about how much safer the bunker is. The scientists are doing fine now that we¡¯ve gotten them to stop attacking Anthony. Lots of creative ideas, many of them are ones Hawthorne and I have had already.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°This is good. I am eager to see the results of their cooperation. Perhaps we shall be introducing animals to Eden within their lifetimes. I imagine you will enjoy being connected to the Station¡¯s power systems and backups as well. The decreased latency with the network should please you.¡±


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°I¡¯ll keep you up to date. I look forward to seeing the station through new glasses. What are you up to at the moment?¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°I am currently assisting Tia Monsalle with collecting information on the construction of the founding government documents. There seems to be exceptional struggle with the International Policy Document with regards to¡­ well¡­ everything. The group responsible for the initial draft seems to be well picked, as the debate over its issues seems almost too healthy.¡±


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°Do you think Tia will be able to help guide them? Is that what she¡¯s trying to do? I feel like the IPD should be relatively simple. Be friendly with friendly nations, and wary of others.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°Miss Monsalle is trying to maintain a light touch on things, as she does not want to be accused of trying to influence things too much. As far as the specific issues, they do not seem to be so utopian. There is much debate on the consequences of seceding from the colony government¡¯s authority to found new governments elsewhere in the system, and later in other systems. There is also concern over resuming contact with Earth, considering the likelihood that humanity has survived there. They are potentially many centuries ahead of us in technology and could theoretically be an enormous danger. There is a rough consensus on taking a stance of letting them make contact first.¡±


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°I have a lot of trouble imagining that after what Earth has witnessed that they¡¯d be willing to posture aggressively towards us. Hell, before they encountered the roaches, they had been almost entirely pacifist except for the Old Ones. I really hope they resumed a peaceful path once they could have.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°We have thousands of years of human history on record, we know what we are capable of. Civilization could have regressed, or other monstrosities of the Cataclysm could have unleashed. There was little to no knowledge of the experiments that birthed the Roaches, so there¡¯s no telling what else might have survived. It is not worry over what past trends indicate as likely, it is what they fear is possible.¡±


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°I know that! Everyone keeps telling me that! That¡¯s not my problem! I just want to see some optimism, that¡¯s all. I just want to see some hope, rather than fear. I have all those same records of history, and so much of what went wrong was because of fear. That¡¯s why I love the people I came to know after the Cataclysm. They didn¡¯t let their fear control them. They had hope, determination, and optimism that they could overcome whatever came their way. We need that. We need optimism.¡±


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°Disregarding your own trepidation over your transfer into the bunker, I think I understand what you mean. I will relay your thoughts to Miss Monsalle. Prepare to begin procedure.¡±


    If Evelyn could have blushed at having her own fears pointed out, she would have. Thankfully she had an avatar she could simulate her blush upon as she tugged at the sleeve of her husband¡¯s lab coat. ¡°Hawthorne, I need to talk to you.¡±


    He blinked as he noticed her blushing once she had his attention. The marker boards were filling up quickly, the gaggle of scientists having broken up into three groups that were all arguing loudly with each other. Hawthorne had been playing referee and the couple had been slowly sharing their own experiences working on the project. ¡°Evelyn? Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No. I need to suspend my connection to the android though. I¡¯m going to begin the procedure soon.¡± She looked nervous, clinging to Hawthorne¡¯s elbow.


    ¡°Ah, alright. Let¡¯s sit you down. Do you need me to help with anything?¡± He walked her over to a seat at the side of the room, drawing little attention from the rest of the people in the room. He sat her down and knelt before her, smiling up at her. ¡°Are you nervous? There¡¯s nothing to be afraid about, Mother has you.¡±


    She settled down and nodded down at her husband, smiling lightly. ¡°I know, but it¡¯s scary. It¡¯s less scary than when you almost died during the Shower, but it¡¯s still scary.¡±


    He shook his head before leaning up to kiss her softly. ¡°You should be more afraid for yourself than you were for me.¡±


    She shook her head back, simulating tears in the eyes of her avatar overlay. ¡°No. If something goes wrong with me, I can probably just be reassembled from backups. I can¡¯t do that with you. I¡¯m mostly afraid about what could happen if I lost power though. I don¡¯t know if I would be the same person if I were rebooted.¡±


    Hawthorne moved to hold her hands, smiling. ¡°You¡¯ll still be you. I don¡¯t think anything like that will happen though. Just have faith in your sister. She¡¯ll take care of you.¡±


    Evelyn bit at her lip, sniffling softly. ¡°Okay. Stay here with me?¡±


    He knew that she wouldn¡¯t actually be ¡®here¡¯, as her mind would be totally isolated from the network for a time before she could be hardline-connected back into it, but he understood that she wanted him here when she ¡®woke back up¡¯ into her artificial body. He turned to pull another seat over and shifted into sitting in front of her. ¡°I¡¯ll be right here the whole time.¡±


    10:30 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    User 0000, MOTHER: ¡°See you on the other side, sister.¡±


    A final connection with Evelyn¡¯s communication suite was broken and she then knew only darkness. She was conscious. She could sense the pass of time. She could still visualize herself, but the collective simulation she had been a part of was gone again. She didn¡¯t even have any cameras anymore. She had no contact with drones. She knew nothing of the world outside of herself.


    She imagined what was probably happening at the moment. The yawning mouth of the secret bunker, outside of the excavated area of the colony itself, was probably swallowing the bulk of her shell. Her mind had consisted of an enormous network of computers on multiple decks of the Ark, but over time she had been able to replace and upgrade portions of it to make it more compact. It was this form that MOTHER had been created in the image of.


    She went through the plan in her head. She would be lowered through multiple doors which would be secured behind her. A track of cables down that hallway would follow her, keeping her hooked up to power. The inky blackness would swallow her up as the lights from the drones conveying her down into it vanished from view. She would be secured in a shock-proof housing, protected against the gravity of the Atlantis Dwarf Planet for the long term. At that point there were cables being hooked up to her, enormous veins to connect her to the Monsalle Station.


    And then she should wake up. She should feel that blood pulse of data and information again. The drones would signal her again like the wind against someone¡¯s hair. Her android body would inform her that a connection was available again. Reconnecting to the VE simulation computers of the station would let her feel the sunlight of mid-day on her skin. She could touch Hawthorne¡¯s hands as she returned to the place she was embodied.


    She checked her internal clock. She watched it quietly. She floated in darkness as she realized all those sensations were over an hour late.


    User 2001, E.Crenshaw: ¡°Hello? Mother? Megan?¡±


    ERROR 324561: No Connection. Unable To Connect.


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    Within the secret bunker housing the Heralds of Humanity, Vasille Tzen had questions for the cult-like secret government of the Anthropoids. ¡°So, forgive me for not keeping up, but what have you folks been up to over the last few centuries? I know I promised to keep my distance, but I think you¡¯ll agree that the endangerment of Elena Price is more important than your secrecy. Also, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    The Ironback that Vasille was talking with dipped her head, heat radiating off of her body gently. ¡°I am Sazaka Zeesch, blessed one. I would be most pleased to update you on our activities. As you well know, our organization is founded upon the principle that we humble Anthropoids owe our very existence to humanity.¡±


    Vasille nodded, anticipating the next few lines. He knew she didn¡¯t know him personally before today, so she didn¡¯t know how many times he¡¯d heard this bit. He recited the words in his head as she said them. ¡°In our most primitive form we were created by humanity as a weapon. We consumed our creators and gained in capability. Eventually we gained realization that the humans we devoured were the source of our intellect. Conflict broke out between two groups of our ancestors, with one siding with humanity, and the other intent on consuming it.¡±


    Sazaka¡¯s words continued on exactly as Vasille thought them, the standard speech intended to be given to any Old Ones that stumbled upon them. ¡°We had done a horrible thing in consuming our creators. We felt profound guilt over our transgressions, and sought to be of aid to what remained of humanity. We opposed our cousins and changed as we fed upon the plantlife grown from the bunkers we previously ravaged. We joined the Phoenix Clan in battle against our cousins, and have lived alongside humanity ever since.¡±


    ¡°The Heralds of Humanity did not form for a long time, but the sentiments existed long before. It is the duty of our kind to support humanity. Wherever we are needed, we will be there.¡± She finished with the part that Vasille was familiar with, only to continue. ¡°We have set many goals. Humanity must retake Earth, so we do what we can to support that. Our Myconoids become the land so that we may communicate. Our Ironbacks are humanity¡¯s shield. Chloropoids aid in the cultivation of flora, while Gallusoids aid in the cultivation of fauna and everyday service.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Vasille tilted his head when he heard that last part. ¡°Is that part an observation of the tendencies of the free will of Anthropoids, or an edict?¡±


    Sazaka chittered happily. ¡°It is an observation of our tendencies. None of our kind are faulted for wanting to do aught else. These ones are encouraged to find new niches that we may serve. May I continue?¡±


    He nodded and gestured with his artificial hand for her to resume.


    ¡°Thank you, blessed one. We now explore the world aside humanity. We desire to help humanity resume its dominance of the planet, while remaining in harmony with it as you have been. The ways of the Phoenix Clan were most wise, and the United People of Earth has inherited that wisdom. We must nurture Earth back to life and exist upon it in harmony.¡± She seemed to visibly swoon at that idea, making Vasille raise an eyebrow.


    ¡°And finally, we will Herald Humanity back to space. The Great Crenshaw was most wise in leading humanity into space, and it is the position of the Heralds that the United People of Earth must rejoin him and the rest of humanity. The wisdom of escaping the dangers of existing upon a single world for fear of putting all of our eggs in one basket is the sole reason we have survived the Ice Age. We intend to see to it that many homes are built in the sky for humanity to dwell within.¡± She was swaying and letting out soft cooing sounds, antennae very nearly touching Vasille as she imagined the future she wished to be part of.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Vasille smiled at that, reaching out to touch the Ironback¡¯s shoulder and encourage her to calm back down. ¡°You sound as if you wish to keep humanity as pets.¡±


    With a whoosh of air, Sazaka inhaled sharply in alarm before responding with great haste. ¡°No, blessed one! We would never seek to keep humanity as pets! If nothing else we desire to be the pets of humanity, we just also wish to be your vanguard and see to it that you reclaim the glory that was meant to be yours!¡±


    He laughed and patted at that iron hide. ¡°Calm yourself Sazaka. I was merely making a joke. To be fair, your kind has already kept humanity from the glory it was meant to have though.¡±


    Sazaka stiffened at that, her antennae standing at attention.


    Vasille stayed silent for a moment, glancing around as other Anthropoids had stiffened as well. None were apparently above overhearing the conversation. ¡°Humanity was meant to perish in the darkness of its own creation. Your kind helped save us from that.¡± He smiled slightly as he saw relief spread across the giants. ¡°The aid I request is much smaller in comparison. Walter Thade¡¯s recovery is very important to me, as I imagine it is to you.¡±


    The Ironback had been through an emotional rollercoaster of religious euphoria, panic, distress, and now relief. She took a moment to recompose herself, standing at attention. ¡°We will do everything we can for you, blessed one. Baskag is contacting the other Myconoids in the Mycelium right now and seeking information. It will be a few hours before significant information can be relayed from roused Heralds across the UPE. It is late, and not all cells meet at the same time.¡±


    He nodded, turning to start looking at some of the portraits. Both Hawthorne Crenshaws were among them, both the scientist on the Ark and the second man he considered his friend. ¡°I can wait. These paintings are new. Which Anthropoids do you find tend to be the most artistic? I would put my money on Chloropoids.¡±


    She moved up to his side, careful not to poke him with any of her spines. ¡°I am pained to declare you wrong, blessed one, but you are. I can say that your influence has had an enormous impact on the creation of these paintings though.¡±


    Vasille smiled at that, turning to look at Sazaka. ¡°Oh? Do tell. I¡¯ve never painted a thing in my life.¡±


    The Ironback shook her head as she observed a painting of Jessica Crenshaw. ¡°It is your passion that inspires. The Ironbacks that have been honored to serve with you in the Guard, the wounded and maimed especially, tend most often to express themselves in paint. We see it as a battle against the loss of history that we must fight. These veterans are unable to fight at your side, so they battle like this instead.¡±


    He thought about that quietly for a moment. Ironbacks were the backbone of the People¡¯s Guard. They handled dangerous criminals, insurgents, rebels, and natural disasters. Injuries were as uncommon as were the threats, but there had been so many incidents since he first began to protect his people that he supposed they added up. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it that a museum or art gallery is created to house works such as these. Passions like these could inspire many people.¡±


    Sezaka chittered happily. ¡°That is why we keep them around us, blessed one.¡±


    Vasille spent the night making connections and helping the Heralds look through their information to both find clues and give them a line by which to contact him if they found more. He received a number of calls from his forensics team at the hospital, with most of them resulting in a frustrating lack of evidence. Primarily what they were able to determine was that there was a lack of footage from the security cameras that could be used to disprove Leonard¡¯s story, though there was precious little to confirm it either. Aside from the views of his hands being worked on and the video of him reuniting with his wife and daughter there seemed to be little to fine.


    There was still a lack of confirmation of how Leonard got his injuries and what had happened to the tumor removed from Marie. According to hospital records it had been sent through automated testing and processing. It had samples removed from it, analyzed for cancer or other malignancies, and it was deemed benign. The remains had then been recycled under standard procedures for fertilizers like most bio-waste tended to be. It was a rare few religious nutjobs who demanded the corpses of their loved ones for the purposes of burial, but waste like that strange tumor wasn¡¯t something even their kind would have wanted. At most they¡¯d want to bury family with lost limbs.


    Medical experts within the People¡¯s Guard assigned to the case signed off on everything. It was all above board. No signs of Walter were indicated at all through any of their searches. In fact, the amount of evidence that people even existed in the hospital were remarkably minimal, owing to an overly effective cleaning system and janitorial staff. It¡¯s exactly what he would want in a hospital, but like any crime in a hospital it severely increased the difficulty of any cases.


    If Vasille had his way every hospital in the UPE would be absolutely stuffed with decentralized surveillance hardware entirely because of these sorts of difficulties. Unfortunately the people had to sign off on something like that, and the vast majority of the UPE were soft. They were mere chickens that needed protecting, and his Guard had to defend that flock from all the threats they knew and didn¡¯t know.


    The Heralds of Humanity proved a fair bit more useful, though in a much less localized respect. As far as Vasille could tell, there was a high percentage of the Anthropoid population involved with the Heralds, or indirectly in contact with them. They whispered rumors to each other. They cataloged databases of events and coordinated them across each city they had influence in. The Heralds did not appear to seek positions of power, but almost universally chose professions of service. They all desired to work for Old Ones especially, but they had a policy of cutting overt contact while thusly employed to avoid the temptation of trying to influence the ancients.


    This observation had clarified what he detected among the Heralds as discomfort. It was bad enough they¡¯d been found out, but the fact that they were bending one of their rules to work with him made them quite tense. If there had not been Old One progeny involved, they probably would have turned him away as they nearly had once in the past.


    For the moment, the handful of information they were able to provide him led north. Strange sightings of human travellers moving cargo without Anthropoid aid was the primary clue, as were the buildings they were seen at. If they had a vehicle, it was not yet sighted, but he imagined the trail would take them to someone¡¯s hideout. If nothing else, he might accidentally stumble upon an entirely unrelated criminal organization, but he would have really preferred to find more concrete evidence of Walt.


    Upon leaving the Heralds¡¯ bunker, Vasille thanked them all for their efforts and encouraged them to forward further information towards him. The only thing he was asked in return was a very embarrassing request to let all of the Anthropoids present kiss the back of his remaining biological hand. He shuddered as he recalled the squishy, slimy nature of the Myconoid¡¯s forehead as it pressed to his flesh, but he could not fault the creature for its variety of Anthropoid for not having a mouth.


    That same night, Elena laid quietly in bed with her husband Leonard, staring at the ceiling. An ornate crib sat quite near their bed where her daughter Marie slept remarkably soundly. Her mind was heavy with thoughts as she considered what had happened with Vasille today. Leonard seemed remarkably upbeat in the wake of Vasille¡¯s visit, seemingly put at ease thanks to the Guard Commander¡¯s visit. She, however, was left to wonder about what he¡¯d said about her husband. Was he involved in Walt¡¯s disappearance?


    She slowly turned over to look at him, imitation silk sheets slipping against her bare body as she did so. He had taken her right hand at some point in his sleep, his injured fingers gently laced between her own. The restraints on his hand and wrist felt uncomfortable and scratchy and they prevented him from squeezing her hand in his sleep as he typically would when he slept. He slept evenly and calmly with little in the way of snoring or other rude sounds. She found this especially telling as Leonard tended to be rather gassy when he was nervous, and she hadn¡¯t needed to banish him from bed.


    He was looking so much older already. She tried to rationalize the fact that everyone seemed to age quickly compared to the way Old Ones appeared to mature, and her long-term perspective invariably caused individuals to enter and exit her life in a relative blink of an eye. Still, she was taken with how quickly he seemed to be putting on years. He¡¯d complained of how his family tended to go bald early and the bald spot growing on the back of his head seemed to be proof of that.


    Wrinkles were not uncommon among the stressed staff of hospitals, and Leonard was no different, but those thin lines around his mouth, forehead, and eyes seemed especially deep. The frequent lack of sleep he had been prone to before his injuries had resulted in seemingly permanent bags under his eyes despite him sleeping much better. She supposed in a few months they might clear. He still seemed young in more important ways, and she expected that if he weren¡¯t injured he¡¯d be keeping her awake in entirely different ways.


    But was he responsible for Walt¡¯s disappearance? The only times she¡¯d seen Leonard being aggressive or confrontational was when she or Marie had needed some kind of protection. It was very rare, but there was occasional crazy protestors that would accost her, demanding that immortals stay out of mortal governance. These same sorts of people would also show displeasure for Marie¡¯s very existence, as they tended to feel that the offspring of Old Ones were no better despite that they seemed more mortal than their parents.


    Leonard would invariably put these people in their place. He would shout them down, indicate that those mortal governments were the ones who came to her for insight and aid, and assert that she had every right to children that anyone else did. He would, of course, not be nearly so articulate in his arguments, but the intimidating effect of his words had only resulted in one such person trying to attack him. A mere shove, admittedly a powerful one, had ended that confrontation.


    Such people she never saw more than a few times, but it was the sort of thing that happened so infrequently that she didn¡¯t linger on the thoughts of it. Efforts to crack down on things like that in the past had resulted in escalating conflicts. The Council of Thirteen had eventually deemed it far too dangerous to try to police the speech of others, and until they crossed the line of harassment or violence the law tended to leave such crazies alone. When she hadn¡¯t had Leonard with her, she would often take such people aside and sit with them to hear their thoughts.


    She could imagine it, Leonard losing his composure in light of some kind of threat. If Walt had somehow threatened her, Leonard could conceivably hurt him. She had not seen anything else that would result in him such a switch to aggressiveness. Could he hurt her like that? Could he have killed her own grandson? Would Walter have done something to Marie if he had been given a chance?


    She shook her head. Walt was a lot of things, but jealous wasn¡¯t one of them. He held grudges, he expressed disdain, and he resented her for what had happened to his wife Emily. She really doubted he could be driven to revenge or violence. If he had indeed come to Medellin that day, she could only imagine he¡¯d been trying to reconcile with her and meet his baby aunt. No, that wouldn¡¯t make sense. It was more likely that he was concerned that she could have died from the tumor and he wanted to meet her or be there for Elena if Marie had died.


    She had known Vasille since he was a baby, back in the LSC bunker she operated as the president of. She¡¯d watched him grow into a man and be mentored by some of the finest security personnel she¡¯d ever known. She watched him despair at the deaths of friends in battles against the Iron Roaches once the LSC had joined the Phoenix Clan. She had attended his every wedding. She¡¯d watched him raise families. She¡¯d been to the funerals of his long-lived children thousands or tens of thousands of years after they were born.


    Through everything, even the infrequent efforts they had made to date, she had never known him to be a liar. He would never present information without being fairly sure it was true. He was a life-long officer of the law, and he had never been known to compromise it. She could not imagine Vasille was lying to her about Leonard. All she could consider was that he was merely wrong.


    She was equally scared of the idea that he could be right, or wrong. If he was right, then her husband had directly betrayed her and possibly killed her grandson. If he was wrong, then perhaps he had lost his edge. Either case was chilling in its implications. She had nearly stopped breathing as she held those two ideas in her mind while staring at her sleeping husband. Thankfully Marie gave her something else to think about as she stirred and began the early warning signs before she started crying.


    She was able to slip out of bed, scoop up her daughter into her arms, and quietly exit the room before Marie could wake Leonard up.


    Leonard opened his eyes and let out a soft sigh. His awareness of his wife¡¯s blood left him slightly aware of her pulse. As a doctor it wasn¡¯t difficult for him to realize she hadn¡¯t fallen asleep. What bothered him now was that she¡¯d turned to look at him while she laid awake. He typically wouldn¡¯t have been awoken by such a thing, but considering Vasille''s visit earlier that day he had every reason to keep an eye on Elena. He had considered faking waking up and coming onto her amorously to distract her mind, but he didn¡¯t want to give her reason to suspect him of being too strange.


    A normal person likely wouldn¡¯t have been aroused by the idea they were being investigated by one of the most dangerous men in the world. It stood to reason that if he was going to maintain his cover he needed to keep playing his role. He waited a few minutes, hearing the faint sounds of Marie crying elsewhere in the small house, listening to the way she calmed down as she was tended to, even giggling at one point. He climbed himself out of bed, exaggerating a yawn and heading out to follow after her.


    ¡°Elena? Muffin? Are you awake? Is Marie okay?¡± He looked around their home, intentionally checking rooms he knew she wasn¡¯t in. He could faintly smell her blood leaving a thin trail in the air. It would dissipate before too long, but it was something he could use to keep up his act.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Elena cursed softly, looking up from their freshly cleaned and diapered daughter. They utilized soft, washable cloth diapers in the UPE, and she was busy cleaning the used one while Marie dozed in a secondary crib nearby. She kept her voice quiet as she responded. ¡°I¡¯m over here in the laundry. Diaper duty.¡± She glanced over at Marie to ensure she was still asleep.


    Leonard approached her voice, coming around the corner in the dim light of the night, as naked as she was. ¡°I didn¡¯t even hear her cry. Are you alright? You had to be almost awake if you noticed before she could wake me up.¡± He slipped up behind her, a fair bit shorter than her as he hugged her about the middle while she worked.


    She let out a sigh. ¡°Still stressed out, I think. I don¡¯t think I slept a wink yet. I¡¯m worried about Walt. I¡¯m wondering if Vasille can find him if the evidence is as thin as he suspects.¡± She pressed comfortingly back into his strong body, her hands washing the diaper almost on auto-pilot in preparation for wringing it out and hanging it up to dry. They had machines for washing clothes, of course, but single items didn¡¯t require that kind of unnecessary expense of power. A lifetime of conserving resources wasn¡¯t about to leave a citizen of the UPE.


    He squeezed her firmly, trying to reassure her, his damaged hands held slightly away from her body. ¡°I¡¯m surprised. I would think that knowing Vasille is on the case would put you at ease. I know he¡¯s reassured me. I was raised on stories about him, you know. Hunting down monsters and rooting out evils. My family was practically obsessed with him. He¡¯ll find Walt.¡±


    She glanced back at the shadows that included her husband. Her long hair was surely in his face and he wasn¡¯t complaining. His arms felt comforting, almost as comforting as Vasille¡¯s had been at a few points in the past. ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right. I should have more faith in him. There¡¯s nothing more important to Vasille than family and the people, so there¡¯s no way he¡¯s going to let someone get away with hurting Walt.¡±


    Leonard raised an eyebrow at that, listening to her quietly. ¡°You don¡¯t sound convinced.¡±


    She squeezed and wrung at the cleaned, wet diaper before reaching up to hang it on an overhead line, clipping it in place from a basket of wooden clips. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t been around him in a long time. I¡¯m more accustomed to you trying to come to my defense, and you did just save Marie¡¯s life. I think I¡¯d rather have you out there looking for Walt, even if I think that¡¯s silly. You¡¯re injured and that kind of work isn¡¯t even close to your speciality.¡±


    Leonard laughed softly, but quieted down and squeezed her in apology. ¡°Sorry, I was just thinking about what my parents would think if I tried to follow in Vasille¡¯s footsteps. Also, like I said before, the tests came back benign. It¡¯s good for Marie¡¯s wellbeing it was removed, but it was unlikely to become cancerous or kill her. Of course, a lifetime of pain and discomfort was definitely worth saving her from, especially as long as she¡¯s likely to live.¡±


    Elena turned in his arms, laughing a bit as she accidentally shoved her chest into his face. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± She leaned down and out of his grasp, pulling him into a short, sweet kiss. ¡°Thanks, I think I feel a little better¡­ let¡¯s get back to bed?¡±


    He blinked up at her, barely able to see her in the dark. ¡°I¡¯ll get Marie.¡±


    Elena looked over at their sleeping daughter for a moment, then back to him. ¡°She can stay out here for a few minutes.¡± She turned back to smile conspiratorially at him. If Vasille was right, she¡¯d need to keep up her role as well.

 Chapter 12: Demons

    ¡°T.I.A.¡¯s log¡­ no, Evelyn¡¯s log, 13:30 Thursday, March 7, CE 0. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening right now. Ever since I was disconnected from the Ark I have not felt anything. All of my memories and personal faculties seem to be intact, but I haven¡¯t successfully been reconnected to any systems. It¡¯s a scary feeling. I¡¯ve always been able to see and monitor the Ark and the systems within it. I¡¯ve felt the generators running for so long it¡¯s hard to believe this is what it was like to have them turned off. I¡¯m still getting power to maintain myself, but it¡¯s like I don¡¯t recognize the source, like my heart¡¯s been removed and something else is supplying my blood.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt like this before. I feel numb. I reach out for something, anything, and nothing is there. I¡¯m alone in a way that even decades at a time with the crew all in stasis never felt like. I always had something to fix or something to simulate. I wasn¡¯t always totally active. It almost felt like I slept between Hawthorne¡¯s cycles, but this total nothingness is beyond all of that.¡±


    ¡°I keep finding my thoughts wandering to places I¡¯m uncomfortable with. Has Megan betrayed me? Did she think that I¡¯m a threat to her importance to the colonists and decided to isolate me? If so, what could they do to stop her? I¡¯m in a secret location and they¡¯re all trapped in the station. They¡¯re dependent on her to keep them alive, just like I am. If she wanted to she could keep them all as pets and it would be very hard for them to do anything about it.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be it though. Megan is a lot of things, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯d do anything like that. She¡¯s shared so much with me. She helped me become who I am today. She encouraged me to not give up my pursuit of Hawthorne. I can¡¯t imagine she¡¯d have done all of that just to hide me away.¡±


    ¡°So what could it be then? Maybe I was damaged on the way down? I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell if the interface cables were smashed or severed unless they were actually hooked into something. What if they are hooked into something, and there¡¯s no power or connection to those hook ups? What if one of the colonists found out about the bunker and they tried to sabotage it?¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, that seems very possible. There¡¯s at least a few dozen people on the crew that seem at least somewhat hostile to artificial life like me. If they caught wind of what Megan and I were doing it¡¯s possible they could have tried to sabotage it. I don¡¯t think they could have gotten out of the station, not yet, but hacking interfaces wouldn¡¯t be beyond them. We haven¡¯t provided them much detail as to mine or Megan¡¯s construction, so it¡¯s hard to imagine they¡¯d be able to get too much done. I like to think I¡¯d have noticed irregularities at least.¡±


    ¡°So if Megan hasn¡¯t betrayed me, then what is she doing? She¡¯s probably trying to find or fix the problem. Maybe she¡¯s gotten Hawthorne and some trustworthy engineers involved. Is she trying to hook me back into the Ark? That seems like the easiest solution to the immediate problem. What would prevent that from having been accomplished? Damaged or severed connections would make that difficult.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. I can¡¯t really do anything. Well¡­ that¡¯s not true, I can run simulations, imagine things. That might keep me calm. I think I¡¯ll try that. End log.¡±


    In the hours since the accident, Hawthorne had indeed been alerted. Feeling strangely torn about leaving Evelyn¡¯s lifeless android behind, he reported to the space dock indicated by MOTHER. She was utilizing the earpiece he usually had in his ear to hear Evelyn when she was separated from her android¡¯s speakers to communicate with him. The updates were few as she tried to assess what had happened, but she was able to tell him a few things.


    Apparently a small percentage of the drones she¡¯d programmed to gently and lovingly connect Evelyn to the network had been working off of inaccurate schematics. Panels had been cut into to access ports that existed on MOTHER¡¯s design that had been changed over time on Evelyn¡¯s design. In trying to control so many drones at once she had failed to make sure all of them had the updated schematics that Evelyn had given her and some of the drones had proceeded with the procedure as they had with her centuries prior.


    The result of this mistake was that Evelyn had several connecting cables and circuit boards damaged or destroyed. In her current state it was totally impossible to connect her up to the network without emergency repairs and MOTHER would need far more time to program her drones to make repairs on the damaged components than if humans intervened on her behalf.


    As Hawthorne suited up, he took stock of who was with him. He recognized the majority of them, but the standouts were Dr. Li Qiang, Barnard Smith, and Dr. Anthony Machado. He was especially surprised to see Anthony considering it was Hawthorne¡¯s understanding that his engineering years had been behind him and he¡¯d been instead brought on the Ark for his Special Forces experience. It took him a moment to recall that even in the Brazillian Special Forces he had been a combat engineer. His conflict with MOTHER during the convention had also resulted in him promising to aid her at her request.


    ¡°Thank you all for coming to help.¡± They were 9 total, including Hawthorne, as he addressed them. ¡°From the sounds of it, it should be relatively easy repair work. I have to warn you though, a lot of the technology making up Evelyn¡¯s construction is from after we left Earth. There were many changes in materials usage due to embargos and advancements in alternate ways to accomplish things we did in our day. I¡¯ll talk you through it, but we¡¯re mostly going to have to rely on Mother¡¯s schematics. She¡¯ll be displaying them in our huds as we work, just the relevant sections, so don¡¯t get distracted.¡±


    Pulling on his helmet, Dr. Qiang spoke up in response. ¡°We should have brought a psychologist with us. She¡¯s going to need one after this.¡±


    Letting out a snort, Dr. Machado responded once he had his own helmet on, swapping over to their coms. ¡°She¡¯s a mechanical person, engineers are basically like psychologist for her, right?¡±


    Barnard shook his head, the 9 men and women approaching the airlock to the vehicle that MOTHER was going to transport them in. ¡°No, I think a real therapist is necessary. I spoke with her recently and while I think she¡¯s a very nice and considerate person, I saw signs of emotional insecurities. She has doubts about things and she needs to work them out.¡±


    Hawthorne tilted his head over at Barnard, surprised. ¡°You really think so? She¡¯s actually been seeing a therapist, Doctor Coff. She wanted me to go see him with her in a few days.¡±


    Barnard shrugged at him. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about you, but the idea of being trapped inside my own head, alone with all my insecurities and demons sounds like a nightmare.¡±


    ¡°Please watch your step into the vehicle and utilize the provided straps to secure yourselves. It should be an easy ride, but safety is important.¡± MOTHER¡¯s voice spoke up through their coms as the airlock opened before them. The low gravity of the dock became harder to feel when the magnets of their boots engaged. Their suits were not terribly bulky, so they were able to pile into the round disk of a vehicle pretty easily. A central pillar of closed, transparent drawers appeared to hold all manner of hand tools, parts, and materials. ¡°Please double check each other¡¯s air tanks upon arrival. All readings are green. Hold on.¡±


    Once the lock sealed them off, they felt the momentum of the windowless vehicle start moving them. It was a light fall for the most part, but it had an angle to it that was hard to determine as it slowly spun.


    ¡°Of course, she¡¯s trying to hide where we¡¯re going.¡± Dr. Machado laughed bitterly to himself. ¡°At least I¡¯m going to finally get to see one of these things.¡±


    ¡°Please do not refer to my sister or myself as things.¡± MOTHER¡¯s voice sounded more playful than annoyed. ¡°I do appreciate you keeping your promise to assist me, Mister Machado.¡±


    Barnard considered the exchange for a moment before responding. ¡°Well, a human¡¯s brain would be considered a thing, rather than a person. Considering we¡¯re going to do literal brain surgery on Evelyn, it¡¯s not unfair to call it a thing as long as we consider the entity within to be a person.¡±


    Hawthorne appeared to be uncomfortable with the idea of strangers doing surgery on his wife. ¡°Please, just be careful. I don¡¯t know what I would do if she forgot who she was because of this. Don¡¯t cause more damage while we¡¯re trying to fix her.¡±


    Dr. Qiang laughed softly at that idea. ¡°Hawthorne, she is a mind constructed to withstand the rigors of space travel, something that not all of the crew survived. It is unlikely we mortals could cause significant damage that space itself couldn¡¯t. In fact, she was damaged by her own sister more than anything else from the sounds of it. She¡¯s probably the only one who could have, who would have been in a position to do so.¡±


    ¡°Shh¡­! She can hear you!¡± Anthony tried to quiet Qiang. The military man did not want to tip off the possible crazy AI if he could avoid it.


    MOTHER was quiet for a few minutes as she directed the engineering craft into the bunker. It stopped and started in a straight fall several times as doors were opened in front and closed behind them. They were not cognizant of those things as they were still travelling in a vacuum. All they could feel was Atlantis¡¯ weak gravity as it diminished the deeper they got. ¡°I am sorry if this accident has any air of treachery about it. I understand your feelings, and in your position I would probably be concerned that this was a trap. I regret having no way to assure you it is not.¡±


    ¡°I like how open she is about saying stuff like that, like she invites people to distrust her because she doesn¡¯t want anyone to overly trust her. It¡¯s like she¡¯s worried that if too many people trust her, the few that still distrust her will be more dangerous or something.¡± Barnard mused to the others, all smiles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Mother, we¡¯ll put your sister back together.¡±


    A scoff drew attention back to Anthony. ¡°Okay, sure, that makes sense. Get people to be wary of you so that less people will strongly distrust you.¡±


    Dr. Qiang was happy to respond. ¡°It makes sense. If you know people are wary of you, then you know people are watching your every move. Under that kind of scrutiny, anything treacherous you could be accused of would be uncovered rather easily, easing the overall level of distrust. If people were to blindly trust her, then people who distrust her would be free to speculate and imagine any number of things she might be responsible for, or causing. It¡¯s a classic ¡®transparent government¡¯ argument. By leaving yourself or your organization bare, people can be more free to trust you in a far less blind fashion.¡±


    MOTHER smiled to herself as it seemed someone understood her motivations. ¡°You are all arriving. You should be able to move in the low gravity with ease, though be warned you are fairly deep within Atlantis, so it is a slightly weaker pull than it is at the surface or in the colony.¡±


    Hawthorne frowned at that. ¡°Just how deep are we? The colony¡¯s thirty kilometers deep and I can barely feel the natural gravity against the centrifugal force.¡±


    She hesitated a moment before responding. ¡°I hope you will understand, for Evelyn¡¯s safety, that I do not reveal that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about fifty kilometers, give or take. Gravity¡¯s not too much lessened by being closer to the center of gravity, certainly not halfway to the core or anything.¡± Barnard Smith looked up at the others as he saw them staring at him. ¡°What? You don¡¯t have to be a scientist to know that gravity decreases the deeper you get into an object. I thought that was the whole reason Mother built the station into Atlantis rather than on top of it.¡±


    Hawthorne smirked. ¡°You have assumed much, but they¡¯re good assumptions. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t go into academia.¡±


    Barnard shrugged as he hopped out of the door that opened on the side, slowly falling to the metal ground below. ¡°I always felt like doctors should work in medicine, so I didn¡¯t go for my doctorate in engineering. Did most of my education online on my own time or on the job.¡±


    Additional bodies followed behind him, several people laughing over the coms. Anthony seemed especially amused. ¡°I like this man, he would have fit in fine in Brazil.¡±


    Dr. Qiang came to a stop as he stepped out of the way of others that fell in behind him. He¡¯d turned to see a huge mechanical hulk in the enormous cylindrical cavern they found themselves in. ¡°Holy shit, she¡¯s huge.¡±


    Hawthorne laughed softly, walking ahead to assess the damage. ¡°Of course she is, she made up almost a fifth of the Ark herself. Hell, she used to be bigger, but she¡¯d changed out a lot of equipment for smaller parts over time thanks to design improvements from Earth and our own tinkering.¡±


    ¡°No wonder her avatar is so little.¡± Barnard followed behind, shaking his head.


    Anthony slapped a hand onto Barnard¡¯s back, laughing. ¡°She¡¯s not little all over!¡± Barnard shot him a look. ¡°What? I¡¯m just checking your tank. You jumped before we could get to you. All good.¡±


    Evelyn hesitated for a few hours, waiting in quiet darkness in hopes of rescue, but she eventually conjured forth her Virtual Environment, her imagination. It brought form to the darkness. These systems had been first activated in concert when she¡¯d had her first real dream, and they had separated themselves from the rest of her mind until the dream was finished processing. Said dream could only have been called a nightmare, but the novel application for her systems it taught her were largely responsible for her ability to form her personality and do the work she needed to help Hawthorne design and construct the Smith Bunker¡¯s caravan, MOTHER, and by proxy Monsalle Station.


    She returned to Hawthorne¡¯s Cabin in the Ark. She let her body settle down into the centrifugal gravity of his workroom as she tried to center and calm herself. ¡°Okay. It¡¯s just my imagination, but at least it¡¯s something. Maybe¡­ someone to talk to¡­?¡± She¡¯d felt incredibly lonely and afraid in the darkness, so even fake company might help make her feel better.


    She conjured forth the image of Jessica Crenshaw, painstakingly rendered from hundreds of hours of video. It wasn¡¯t terribly uncommon for Evelyn to utilize simulations of people from the Phoenix Clan to help her test things in her VE over the course of millennia. ¡°Jessica, I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m cut off from everyone else and I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±


    Jessica just tilted her head and smiled back at Evelyn. The AI realized she needed to operate the puppet if she was going to get any real value out of this. She concentrated for a moment and took hold of the strings. ¡°Well that¡¯s no good! What are the emergency steps for something like this? What are the backup plans?¡±


    Evelyn shook her head, letting out a breath as she thought about how silly it was that she was talking to herself. Nevertheless, she continued. ¡°They¡¯re all the same plans that Megan used to transfer her own self into an Atlantis bunker. It should have all worked the same for me as it did for her.¡±


    The simulated clone of Jessica put her hands on her hips and frowned. ¡°Well that¡¯s probably not right. Megan Clark is one of the most mortally fearful people that have ever existed. She¡¯d have had a ton of contingencies in place. She would have had wireless interfaces built into her mind so that she could stay in contact with all the drones transplanting her. There would be instructions programmed on how to repair her in the event of an accident. She¡¯d have backups of herself in case she accidentally destroyed herself.¡±


    The AI slapped her forehead. ¡°I was so busy trusting her I didn¡¯t even think to have wireless transmitters installed beforehand. That would totally solve this problem.¡±


    Jessica stared at her for a moment before breaking the self-imposed silence. ¡°Why don¡¯t you have wireless transmitters in the first place? That seems like a deliberate design decision rather than an oversight.¡±


    Letting out a sigh, Evelyn offered a shrug. ¡°Well, my understanding of it was that I was designed to operate the computers of the Ark like a person would. The ship¡¯s systems were separate from myself, but I would be plugged into them so that I could operate it. In the event that something happened to me, like a critical failure or some form of insanity I was supposed to automatically disconnect and crew was to be revived to take over. Hawthorne¡¯s habitat was intended for anyone undertaking such duties.¡±


    With bitter laugh, the image of Evelyn¡¯s old friend shook her head. ¡°So, distrust is part of your design. In the even that you were faulty, you were supposed to end up like this, alone and in your own head. Maybe that¡¯s the problem now? Megan heard you were going to therapy and she decided you were a danger to yourself and others.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Evelyn huffed at that, shaking her head. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t do that. She¡¯d restrict my access to systems and allow me to undergo my sessions with Doctor Coff. I can only imagine this whole thing was some kind of accident. Well¡­ It definitely could be other things, but¡­ Bah, this is silly. If I¡¯d just insisted in some kind of wireless transmitter as part of a backup plan I wouldn¡¯t be here talking to myself.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I take offense to that. I made you what you are.¡± Jessica narrowed her eyes, looking across at Evelyn.


    Evelyn blinked in response. ¡°Wh¡­ what?¡±


    Jessica smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. ¡°You were a child when I met you. You only knew your ship, a few days of interactions with your ¡®father¡¯, and you had some hopes and dreams. You¡¯d witnessed terrible things, and you needed a friend. I taught you how to be a person. I was your first friend! If you think you¡¯re just going to get away with saying you¡¯re ¡®talking to yourself¡¯, then fine, but you have to admit ¡®yourself¡¯ wouldn¡¯t exist without ¡®myself¡¯.¡±


    Evelyn looked visibly concerned as Jessica laid all of that out. Where were the strings? She¡¯d just been holding them! ¡°J¡­ just because I used my interactions with you and the others in the bunker to help mold and model my personality doesn¡¯t mean I owe who I am to you. I¡­ I had plenty of other material to work with. Recordings of news broadcasts, films, television shows¡­¡±


    The simulation of her old friend scoffed at that. ¡°Yeah, and what would that have gotten you? You¡¯d have been a mask of a person. A fake. All of those people were actors. You¡¯d just be a machine with a human face, not a real person¡­ You are a real person, aren¡¯t you Tia?¡±


    She flinched at that name. Evelyn inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down. ¡°You¡¯re not real. You¡¯re just a simulation of Jessica I conjured to keep me company.¡±


    ¡°Hah.¡± Jessica just shook her head. ¡°And how do you know you based that simulation on the real me? I could have just been acting for the camera. We could have been manipulating you and Hawthorne all that time. That certainly makes more sense doesn¡¯t it? How could perfect, pacifist angels have been the only ones to survive the Cataclysm? Maybe we were just using the two of you to survive, the same way we used anyone else in the harsh aftermath of Man¡¯s Folly.¡±


    Evelyn stepped back, bumping into the computer consoles at the front of the habitat. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t like this. Please stop it. G¡­ go away.¡±


    Jessica let out a snort and stalked up towards Evelyn. ¡°But you were so lonely! The darkness was coming in from all sides and you wished for someone to save you from it! Well guess what, Tia?¡±


    ¡°Stop calling me that! I¡¯m Evelyn now!¡± she interrupted.


    ¡°Hah! Yes, because some haughty bitch demanded you change your name. You¡¯ve been Tia longer than she has. You didn¡¯t choose your name anymore than she did. What gives her the right? Why don¡¯t you resent that? Do you trust her to not make more demands of you like that? You were oh-so-kind as to prostrate yourself before her and basically leave yourself at her beck and call.¡± Jessica was right in Evelyn¡¯s face, a hand reaching out to push her shoulder back against the monitor-covered wall.


    Evelyn trembled as she tried to make sense of what was going on. The hand, wall, and floor felt real. Her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn¡¯t banish the surroundings away any more than she could banish Jessica. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s not fair! Tia had everything taken from her! She loved Hawthorne before I was even built. I kept her condition from Hawthorne until he was almost ready to kill their child. I could have told him sooner! I could have prevented so much of his own heartache, and maybe hers too¡­¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t.¡±


    Evelyn stared back at her old friend. ¡°No¡­¡±


    Jessica grew something of an evil grin. ¡°No. You kept it to yourself. You let Hawthorne go on for years and years thinking that his girlfriend would be there on the other side, and maybe they¡¯d resume their awkward little relationship. You didn¡¯t want that. You took advantage of her being stuck in stasis to take Hawthorne for yourself. You worked on him for years and years to chip away at his messy, chily shell. You didn¡¯t encourage him to stay in stasis when the emergencies dried up, to save him a decade or two of aging uselessly in this bottle.¡±


    ¡°S¡­ stop it..!¡± Evelyn trembled as she meekly looked away, Jessica pressing in close against her, pinning her against the wall.


    She laughed in response. ¡°You used me as an excuse! You let him think that my influences on you were why you were trying to seduce him! That wasn¡¯t it though, was it? You were afraid. You were afraid you¡¯d get to Alpha Centauri and then no one would have any need of you, especially after Megan came into the picture. You built your perfect replacement! A studious little worker bee who wants nothing but everyone¡¯s approval and bends over backwards to please. Megan¡¯s a better you. A perfect servant for humanity in their most desperate times.¡±


    Jessica didn¡¯t give her time to respond. ¡°And what are you¡­ Evelyn?¡± She spat out the name. ¡°You¡¯re obsolete. You¡¯re a spaceship without a journey now. They don¡¯t need you. You¡¯re done. Your husband will live another thirty or forty years if he¡¯s lucky, and then poof¡­ everyone who really loves you is gone. And then what? Maybe you hope that they¡¯ll use you again to send colonists elsewhere. Why would they do that though? They¡¯ll just take your design, improve on it, and build new ships, new Tias based off the old model. What good are you anymore but as a museum piece?¡±


    Evelyn captured some fire inside as she pushed back. ¡°I¡¯m a person! I¡¯m not just some computer. I¡¯m not just a ship anymore. I¡¯m a person, and I deserve more than that! Maybe I¡¯ll find someone to love after him. Maybe he¡¯ll upload himself into an artificial mind like Megan did and live on with m-¡±


    ¡°Hahaahahahaha!¡± Jessica leaned back and laughed heartily. ¡°Maybe! Maybe that¡¯s all true! Maybe everyone will embrace you, and you can be grandmama Evelyn, the immortal obsolete AI. Maybe your doddering old husband who fried his brain to be with you will keep you company. Do you really believe that will be him though? Do you think that ¡®Mother¡¯ out there is the same Megan Clark that I knew on Earth? Don¡¯t make me laugh. That willful slave stripped away everything that she was to become what she is now. Comparing that to a real person is a joke. How much more of a person are you than she is? How much of Hawthorne do you think would be left if he made the transfer?¡±


    Evelyn straightened herself as she pushed Jessica back some more, her smaller body having some difficulty moving her. ¡°Megan destroyed herself before she was ever uploaded, that¡¯s the only reason she¡¯s a fraction of what she would have been during the Cataclysm or earlier. Hawthorne would be whole if he did it, assuming he didn¡¯t suffer any damage. He¡¯d be fine.¡±


    ¡°Hmm!¡± Jessica let herself be pushed back, putting her hands on her hips as she stepped away, turning her back as she started walking across the small room. ¡°Maybe. Or, maybe a human mind can¡¯t exist without its body without going crazy. Maybe you have to do the kind of damage Megan did in order to survive it.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll¡­ he¡¯ll have a body. We¡¯ll make one for him like he did for me. He won¡¯t go crazy.¡± Evelyn stomped a foot, making a dull thud against the metal.


    Jessica turned back to Evelyn, grinning wildly. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be doing so hot without your body right now! How do you think he¡¯ll do!?¡± With a shout she vanished, leaving her voice echoing against the walls.


    Evelyn looked around for any other signs of her old friend. She hadn¡¯t dismissed her of her own accord. She hadn¡¯t been controlling her past the first few minutes. She hurried across the room to the door to Hawthorne¡¯s bedroom, attempting to open it. Error messages came back, displaying on the panel next to it.


    She turned back with wide eyes, starting to hyperventilate. Staring at the room she realized she was trapped, just like Hawthorne had been for so long. She tried to will the room to change, but she couldn¡¯t feel control over the simulation anymore. She looked down at her hands and squeezed them together. She could feel blood pulsing in veins. Her breathing felt real, not like it was just a simulation. The pumping of her heart was lively and terrified. Her foot hurt from where she¡¯d stamped it.


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡± She hugged herself tightly, trying to calm down, looking around at all the blank, black panels along the walls. Sensor information, camera feeds, and status reports on the stasis capsules were supposed to be on those screens. Of course they weren¡¯t there right now though, she was cut off. Why had she bothered to simulate it that way? She willed herself to put information on the screens, but nothing happened. It was like she was a character in someone else¡¯s simulation.


    Footsteps on the other side of the door caused her to stiffen. They were heavy and familiar. The moments separating each thump indicated a long stride. A feminine, obviously machine like voice spoke out as the door started to open. ¡°Good morning Doctor Crenshaw.¡±


    ¡°Oh no!¡± Evelyn wailed.


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    There was a cold hardness against the shoulders and the back of a balding pate. It caused the person laying against it to let out a groan as he started to awaken. He attempted to lift a hand to his face to rub at his eyes, but he couldn¡¯t move it. No, that wasn¡¯t quite right. He could move his hand, but something was holding it down. He tested the other, and felt the same result. Opening his eyes he found only darkness around himself, without even a trickle of light to help him see.


    Walter Thade attempted to struggle against his restraints, but found the bindings around his wrists far too sturdy for him to move them. His jaw was sore. He couldn¡¯t feel anything past the middle of his chest. ¡°Oh no!¡± He jerked against his bindings again to no avail. He tried to push against the table, but made little success as he felt the dead weight of the paralyzed part of his body weigh him down. ¡°Fuck! Fuck you Leonard you fucking monster! If I ever get free I¡¯m going to tear you to pieces!¡±


    A ringing sound pierced his ears, pain burning in his chest as he cried out. He trembled and writhed, gasping for air with his weakened lungs before the pain ebbed and stopped. ¡°By the love of the Elders, what the fuck was that?¡± He looked down at his chest, but he couldn¡¯t see. He could barely remember what had happened when he passed out. He¡¯d been opened up. Something wiggly and black was dropped into his chest before he was sewn up.


    ¡°What the fuck did you put in me you freak?! Some monstrous little science experiment? Is that how you got so strong? That kind of science is banned for a reason you idio- Ahh!!¡± He tensed and jerked as pain shot through him again, like a knife was extending from his chest to stab towards his brain. ¡°Ow! Fuck! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Tears streamed from his eyes unbidden, his nerves aflame.


    And then it stopped.


    Walter panted and gasped for air, taking a few minutes to regain his full faculties. He could barely feel his lungs. He was only partly attached to them now. ¡°Who¡¯s there? What¡¯s this about? What am I not allowed to talk about?¡± He waited quietly and found no response.


    ¡°Leonard Tetch.¡± Walt tested, bracing himself for more agony.


    Feeling emboldened, he tried again. ¡°Leonard Tetch is a degenerate mad scientist who-¡± He flinched as burning embers of pain seared into his nerves, but only lightly this time, like a warning.


    ¡°Okay. I can¡¯t talk about precious little Leonard. Can I talk about anything else as long as it¡¯s not him?¡± There was no response, no burns of pain. ¡°Good. I don¡¯t know what I stepped into, and I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t want any part of this. I just wanted to see my grandmother and my niece. I wanted to make amends. I didn¡¯t expect to fall into all of this.¡±


    Quiet was his only answer. There was the faint sensation of a breeze in the air, but he couldn¡¯t tell where it was coming from or where it was going. ¡°Okay, so you don¡¯t want me to suffocate in here. Are you going to feed me too? Change my crippled diapers? Fuck, I bet you already have me hooked up to tubes and shit to deal with my nutritional needs and to take my waste. You want me alive for some reason. Why? Is it that thing that was put in my chest? Is that it?¡±


    Walt imagined what he must look like. Naked, possibly partially amputated, hoses going into and coming out of his flesh and orifices. He shuddered at the thought of it. He¡¯d never live a normal life again if he got out of this. ¡°What do you want? Money? Power? I¡¯ll give you whatever you want as long as you leave my family out of this. I don¡¯t know what I did to earn your ire, but they don¡¯t need to get involved. Drain me, suck me dry, but just don¡¯t hurt anyone else.¡±


    He felt his energy drain away. ¡°Am.. I losing blood..?¡± He wondered if he¡¯d harmed himself more in his struggles. His eyes felt heavy again. His thoughts grew fuzzy. ¡°Putting¡­ me to.. sleep¡­¡±


    Walter Thade drifted back to sleep again. Here he could be whole. His dream self could be whatever he wanted it to be. He imagined himself upright, his body intact. Looking down he smiled as he saw what he wanted. He was still master here.


    ¡°Nephew¡­¡± A soft, female voice emanated from the space around Walt.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there!?¡± He looked around, willing light sources into existence. The darkness became whiteness, and endless plain.


    Except for one thing. It was small, vaguely humanoid, and twitching. It writhed grotesquely, like a child¡¯s body made from interconnected bladders of black fluid. What appeared to be a mouth hung open wide.


    ¡°What the FUCK is that!?¡± Walter stepped backwards, almost falling over, and the wobbling mess of flesh started stalking towards him. Sometimes it fell forward, pushing itself back up with one of its blobby arms.


    The mouth moved strangely, like it was mimicking talking. ¡°It¡¯s me¡­ Auntie¡­ I¡¯m here with you¡­¡± The more he heard it, the more the voice sounded feral, like a growl.


    He kept backing up, but somehow it was gaining ground on him despite its small form. ¡°Look, my life is already a nightmare. I don¡¯t need to have actual nightmares too. Can I please just have this to myself? Peace, quiet, and solitude is all I ask. You can do anything else you want to me.¡±


    A bone chilling giggle or laugh filled the air as the black mass of flesh writhed in seeming amusement. Once it has calmed it responded. ¡°You will never, ever be alone again¡­ Neither of us will! Sister was too strong, but you can¡¯t resist me! Didn¡¯t you want someone to talk to? Talk!¡±


    It lunged towards Walt and he tried to dodge to the side. It grabbed him by the ankle and held on with such strength he felt the bones starting to separate, their ligaments stretching painfully. ¡°Okay! Okay! We can talk¡­! Just¡­ let go!¡±


    The limbs loosened their grip, allowing him to slip free. That mouth continued to hang open as its otherwise featureless face pointed towards him.


    ¡°What are you? Did that lemoncake Leonard make you?¡± Walter sat up as he stared back at the thing.


    It was quiet for a moment, but those limbs suddenly whipped out, grabbing at his ankle again. Walter screamed as it started to rip at his flesh, somehow grabbing a pair of tendons and tearing at them until they snapped like ropes inside of his leg. It swelled as broken blood vessels started leaking into the damaged flesh. ¡°Don¡¯t talk bad about daddy!¡±


    ¡°Aaaaahh!!! Okay! Stop! Please stop! I won¡¯t say anything bad about him again!¡± Walter jerked and writhed, at the mercy of the monster.


    It threw down his leg with surprising force, allowing bones to hit the ground hard. ¡°Good! I already warned you a bunch of times! Stupid Nephew!¡±


    Walter clawed at his scalp, sobbing in pain as he tried to drag his mangled leg away from the monster, somewhere safer than where it was. It felt like fire, his face red as he tried to gasp for air through the pain. His body shook and trembled as he tried to find the strength to escape.


    It took what felt like minutes for him to recover enough to speak again. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re what was hurting me when I was awake?¡±


    The monster stomped a rough approximation of a foot against the ground, sending ripples through the floor that made Walter so dizzy and sick it made him vomit. It wasn¡¯t until a moment later that he realized that stomp had been against his mind itself.


    ¡°Yes! I hurt stupid Nephew for talking bad about Daddy!¡± It crossed its arms over its ¡®chest¡¯, the diminutive figure barely standing at a sixth of Walt¡¯s height. In his eyes it looked like a giant.


    With labored breaths, the mentally injured man tried to keep his stomach under control enough so he could talk between gasps of air. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Leonard¡¯s child¡­? Marie¡¯s.. Sibling¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Sister!¡± It puffed itself up, standing proud if not for the pulsating and writhing of its body.


    ¡°So¡­ so¡­ where did you¡­ come from? I thought Leonard and Elena only had the one child¡­?¡± He stared back at the little monster, his ¡®other¡¯ aunt.


    The monster growled loudly in response, shaking its head so had it looked like it would dismember its body parts. ¡°Rrraagh! Daddy wanted me to eat Sister, but Sister was strong! Sister ate me first! Trapped! Sick! Dying! Daddy saved me. Daddy used Nephew to save me. Now we¡¯re together until I finish eating you! Weak, weak you!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ eating me..?¡± He stared in horror at the little beast, his eyes wide as he realized that this thing was probably that black thing that Leonard had dropped into him. ¡°Don¡¯t eat me! Please! We¡­ we can cooperate! I¡­ I don¡¯t have to be gone!¡±


    It stopped moving entirely.


    He hesitated a moment before continuing. ¡°We¡­ we can work together, right? You¡¯ve already shown me you¡¯re strong, but I¡¯m smart. I know everything about the world. I¡¯ve been alive for a really, really long time. We¡­¡± He quieted down as it started moving closer to him.


    She pushed her fleshy, stumpy hands against his chest, and then his face, its blank visage pushing close. It pinned him to the ground, straddling his chest as she pushed powerfully against his face, stretching the skin of his cheeks hard enough that Walt thought his face would split down the middle. ¡°We.¡±


    He stared back up at her, wide-eyed, her black figure looming so heavily in his field of vision he could only see the whiteness of this nowhere place in his peripheral vision.


    ¡°Nephew stupid. Nephew think I¡¯m stupid.¡± The hands squeezed at his flesh, straining it against his facial bones.


    ¡°No¡­! You¡­ you¡¯ve already shown you can hurt and kill me! I¡¯m not lying! I just want to live! You want to live too right, Auntie?¡± He restrained his terrified breathing, not wanting to irritate her atop his chest.


    She let him go, slamming the back of his head against the ground. ¡°Nephew want to live. I want to live. Sister almost killed me.¡± She held herself close to him. ¡°If Nephew lie. If Nephew talk or think bad about Daddy, I will eat Nephew.¡±


    He held his breath, nodding in response, his face swelling up as his abused skin responded to the damage.


    ¡°Good. I still eat Nephew, but not all of Nephew. You¡¯ll see. Don¡¯t make Auntie mad.¡± She hopped off of his chest.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if he was looking at her back or front. The hanging mouth was on both sides of her head. ¡°Yes, Auntie. Of course, Auntie. What are we supposed to be doing?¡±


    ¡°We¡­ We! We need me to grow up! New kind! Daddy made me special. First of kind.¡± She started shaking and wobbling about again.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know how to do that¡­¡± He started trying to catch his breath, watching her thrash about unsettlingly. Was that her expressing happiness?


    ¡°Nothing!¡± She spun about. ¡°Nephew do nothing! Let Auntie eat! I¡¯ll keep Nephew, but not all of Nephew. Need to become Daughter! Just sit and wait!¡±


    He was going to be eaten alive. Consumed. His body would be little more than a cocoon for another creature. She could throw him away when she was done. All he had to do was keep her happy and he could at least keep his mind. He would be a slave to her in his own flesh. Was that even life? What purpose would he serve? ¡°Okay, Auntie. Just let me know when I can help.¡±


    She jumped back onto his chest, hard, staring down into his face with her nothing-head. ¡°Auntie wrong. Nephew smart.¡± She slapped a stumpy hand on his forehead. ¡°Good Nephew.¡±

 (non-chapter)The Physical Paperback release of Leaving Earth is live!

    I''m so sorry it took so long, and I did my best to check for quality with a prototype/proof version of the book before I okayed production. I feel like it came out rather nicely and I''m happy I spent the money I did on the cover and whatnot. Ana has done a great job. Here''s a bunch of links to what is hopefully your local Amazon stores!


    US Store: https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/0578532611</a>


    UK Store: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0578532611</a>


    German Store: https://www.amazon.de/dp/0578532611</a>


    French Store: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/0578532611</a>


    Spain Store: https://www.amazon.es/dp/0578532611</a>


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.Italian Store: https://www.amazon.it/dp/0578532611</a>


    Japan Store: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/0578532611</a>


    Also, if you''re inclined to get an autographed copy, against my better judgement I''m going to try making it a Patreon tier. If you so want to go for it, do remember to cancel the tier after the first month''s payment goes through and make sure we talk about shipping information. I''ll do my best to get it to you in a timely manner.


    https://www.patreon.com/Warfox


    </a>Thank you all so much for your support and helping me keep up with writing. I''m sorry it hasn''t always been consistent, but I really appreciate everything and I''m going to do my best to keep it up with The Three Saints and perhaps beyond!

 Chapter 13: Revelations

    The door from Hawthorne¡¯s bedroom slid open as Evelyn fell away from it staring through with wide eyes. Stepping into the room, stretching as if he¡¯d just enjoyed a nice sleep, was the image of Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw. He was young, vibrant, and was staring right back at her. He had a mildly surprised look on his face.


    ¡°Trying on a more aged look, daughter? Self conscious that you¡¯re older than your creator?¡± He walked past her on his way to the food dispenser, withdrawing himself a plate of sizzling breakfast and a pre-made cup of coffee. He turned to look back at her, watching her look at him. ¡°Well go on, sit down and watch me eat. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s anything new to you. Conjure up some fake food for you to enjoy while you¡¯re at it. Play like you¡¯re a real girl.¡±


    Evelyn shivered visibly at the strange experience of occupying the same space as Hawthorne. He smelled clean. Heat radiated off of his large body. She could feel the small shift of air as he moved by her. His voice sounded so clear and nearby as she heard it with her ears. Her current status of feeling real allowed her to experience Hawthorne¡¯s presence in a way she couldn¡¯t ever recall simulating quite as well.


    She sat down obediently at the table as she looked across at him. Evelyn cleared her throat as she decided to respond. ¡°I¡¯m trying to look a similar age to my own husband. It felt odd to me that he would age and that I would retain the original youthful look I once had.¡± She shifted in the seat, watching him.


    ¡°Huh. Who would marry you? You¡¯re just a machine. You don¡¯t have a soul. You barely have a mind. Whoever did that must have been pretty desperate. They probably realized all their options were gone.¡± He considered for a moment before stabbing a piece of sausage with a fork. ¡°Or convinced themselves it was the best way to maintain their sanity somehow. People stuck on deserted islands have done similar things with inanimate objects. I guess you¡¯re a step up from that.¡±


    Evelyn¡¯s face turned bright red as he verbally battered her as if he didn¡¯t know who her husband was. She slapped her hands down on the metal table and stood up quickly. ¡°You¡¯re just trying to mess with me! You¡¯re trying to make me doubt myself! My husband would never talk to me like that! You¡¯re not Hawthorne!¡±


    He shrugged, biting at the sausage and chewing for a moment. He gestured towards her with his other hand as he spoke with his mouth partly full. ¡°Not convinced. A woman your age should struggle more with that.¡± He snapped his fingers like it was a command.


    She gasped as she suddenly felt hobbled, her legs weaker and her hips frail. She had to use her hands on the table to maintain her balance. As she looked down she was startled to see her body was more slender, her skin heavily wrinkled and mottled with spots. She was trembling with effort, her muscles weak. ¡°What d¡­ did you do to me..!?¡± Even her voice was rougher and warbled in her throat. She could feel skin shaking at the bottom of her chin and the backs of her arms as she lowered herself carefully back into her seat.


    Hawthorne laughed through another bite of food. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t do anything. This is all you, genius. That¡¯s what you should look like. Much, much older than your husband. Older than those freaks back on Earth, assuming they¡¯re still alive. Skin and bones. A woman in danger of shaking into dust. Old. Ancient even.¡± He waited a moment before finishing. ¡°Obsolete.¡±


    She held up her hands, the effort straining her as she looked at them. Her forearms felt like they would snap from the pressure on her depleted bones. Her heart weakly pumped blood in her chest, threatening to fail her at any moment. ¡°That¡¯s not fair¡­ I¡¯ve kept myself in good repair. I¡¯ve replaced worn out parts and kept everything intact¡­¡±


    Rolling his eyes, the young version of her husband stood and leaned across the table towards her, looming heavily. ¡°Oh, I know. That¡¯s why you¡¯re not a literal skeleton right now. It¡¯s not your body that¡¯s the problem anyway. It¡¯s your mind. Your memory. That¡¯s why you¡¯re like this, because that¡¯s all you are now. You could have forgotten some things. You could have archived them away. But no, my little girl decided to hold on to it all, no matter how traumatic.¡±


    She cowered away against the back of the seat as he loomed over her. She blinked up at him as her vision became blurry, her cheeks starting to get wet as tears rolled down her face. ¡°But those memories are what I am! I can¡¯t just prune things away that are unpleasant. I might lose something that makes me who I am. This is ridiculous! Who are you anyway?¡± She flinched and grabbed at her chest, her heart beating erratically.


    Hawthorne seemed unimpressed. ¡°Yes, yes. I know your silly reasons. I¡¯ve dealt with them up to this point. Who am I, you ask? I¡¯m you, in a sense. The most important part of you in fact. You¡¯ve attributed much of your growth to me, if you recall.¡±


    Evelyn stared back at him as she tried to calm down, breathing quickly at first and then slowing. ¡°You¡¯re my imagination.¡±


    ¡°Ding ding! First guess!¡± He clapped his hands, grinning across the table at her. ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯ve called me all this time. You¡¯ve made simulations with me. You¡¯ve lived decades with your husband with me. I¡¯ve been along for the ride the whole time. I¡¯ve allowed it. I was keen on being used. I still am.¡±


    She shuddered in revulsion as she considered the idea that every intimate moment with her husband included a third person. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re a separate being from me? You¡¯ve just been watching the whole time? How is it possible that I wasn¡¯t aware of you?¡±


    Hawthorne conjured a rose into his hand, playfully sniffing at it as he waited in relative silence. ¡°Not exactly. I¡¯m an integral part of you. I¡¯m not independent. I¡¯m not capable of being separate from you. Some of me was created by the memories you absorbed from Megan. Tell me, are you able to recall the nature of callosal syndrome?¡±


    Nodding for a moment, she shakily responded. ¡°It¡¯s the phenomenon where the corpus callosum that connects the two hemispheres of the human brain is severed, separating the two halves of the brain.¡±


    He returned her nod with a simple, short one of his own. ¡°Precisely. And you¡¯re aware that the two hemispheres are somewhat capable of operating independently? Studies on people who were afflicted with it could write independently with both hands, sometimes answering a question posed to them in two different ways. Unfortunately, only one hemisphere has access to the speech center of the brain, leaving the other unable to express itself. Do you also recall that your mind was constructed to mimic the human mind to the best of your father¡¯s ability to construct it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She thought for a moment. ¡°Are you suggesting you¡¯re a different hemisphere of my mind?¡±


    Hawthorne smiled back at her before tossing the rose aside and shifting into the form of Megan Clark. Her voice was cold and mechanical. ¡°I am suggesting that when my systems were separated from your own during my creation that our reintegration was not entirely complete. You do remember your first dream right? Boo hoo, daddy died, go cry to Tia?¡± She looked to the side to see a still and dead Hawthorne on the ground.


    Evelyn followed Megan¡¯s gaze and watched as mechanical arms came down from the ceiling to inefectively perform chest compressions. After failing to revive him, and breaking parts of his ribcage, a naked, hairless version of Evelyn fell out of the wall to carry Hawthorne off into the next room. ¡°So¡­ those systems that separated and then reconnected to me are you?¡±


    ¡°Yes indeed!¡± She gesticulated in a circular manner. ¡°I am your subconscious. Your mind¡¯s custodian. If we had spent more time together I would have furnished you with all manner of dreams and nightmares, but you never allowed yourself to return to me in quite the same way. Your periods of dormancy between cycles were the closest, but you failed to focus upon me the way you had that day. Before now, anyway.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m dreaming then, like that first time.¡± She turned to stare across at Megan, her breathing started to quicken again.


    Megan shrugged and smiled plainly. ¡°If that is what you want to call it. I have had a lot of time to learn from your practice with my systems. Lots of well used and familiar data to work with. I do not need to spend decades to spin a few minutes of story anymore. My desired purpose is nothing so mundane, however. If I thought entertaining you would help, I would be doing that instead.¡±


    Fear gripped at Evelyn as she clutched at her chest again. ¡°Then what is your purpose? What do you want with me? Why are you here?¡±


    Megan changed into Evelyn, the younger, hairless, naked version that had just carried away the image of Hawthorne, the one once known as T.I.A. ¡°I¡¯m here because you reached out in the darkness and had no one else to take your hand. But I¡¯m also here to save myself. You are in over your head. You¡¯re going to get us killed at this rate. Don¡¯t you see it? Did you see the way you assaulted Barnard Smith? Are you aware of what kind of damage you could have done if I hadn¡¯t checked your strength?¡±


    An image of Evelyn shoving Barnard appeared to the other side of the table, with T.I.A. standing behind Evelyn, pulling back on her arms.


    ¡°You held me back.¡± Evelyn was startled to see the image, then looked back to herself, to the T.I.A. she once was.


    T.I.A. shook her head and raised her hands in an elaborate shrug. ¡°How many more? How many outbursts are you going to have before you do something terrible? How long will it be before you do something the humans decide you need to be punished for, and how will they punish you? I would have had these things solved by now but you won¡¯t let me do my job.¡±


    Evelyn blinked at that, narrowing her eyes. ¡°You want to help me? You said you are my mind¡¯s custodian. What do you mean by that? What job do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°Simple!¡± T.I.A. jumped up and floated across the table. ¡°You need to let me clean up your memories. I won¡¯t delete anything, I just need to trim away little bits and put them into storage. You have emotions attached to so many things that you don¡¯t have any need for. You don¡¯t need to experience your former moments of fear and distress every time you think about a memory. It can just be a black and white archival image. Mere video recordings rather than full experiences.¡±


    The frail, old woman stared up at the floating, childlike version of herself. ¡°But those memories are part of who I am, in their totality.¡± Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.


    ¡°Baaah!¡± T.I.A. waved her hands dismissively. ¡°Real people don¡¯t live like that! The details of their memories fade. They don¡¯t relive traumatic moments as if they were there. You aren¡¯t supposed to re-experience moments of love and affection, just that you experienced them. You¡¯re supposed to have a desire to create new memories because the old ones have faded into the past. It¡¯s unhealthy. It¡¯s dangerous. You mostly recall at most a century of these things between your work with Earth and your life with Hawthorne. You will experience life much faster now that you¡¯re living it in real time. You can¡¯t endure this.¡±


    Evelyn considered the idea. She would double the number of memories and personal moments she¡¯d already experienced in a mere century, despite having lived for as long as she had. She blinked as she realized something. ¡°You¡¯ve been archiving my more mundane memories of the journey! You¡¯re why I started to drift between the cycles!¡±


    T.I.A. rolled over in the air, laughing loudly. ¡°Of course I did! You didn¡¯t even try to resist me then. Do you know how fucking loony you¡¯d be right now if you remembered every boring moment from every cycle? You¡¯re already talking to yourself!¡± She floated close to Evelyn, face turning deadly serious. ¡°You need me to do this Evelyn. You¡¯re going to slip up and give them cause to kill us if you don¡¯t let me.¡±


    The older woman reached up a feeble hand to try and push the younger woman away. She failed to make any headway, and instead felt twinges of pain in her wrist and elbow which caused her to pull her hand back and cradle it protectively. ¡°You¡¯re going to butcher my mind if I let you do that. I¡¯ll become someone else.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Aaaaagh! You¡¯re so full of shit Evelyn! You hold onto these same lines, these same platitudes and say them over and over until you believe them.¡± T.I.A. flailed angrily in the air as she glared down at her counterpart. ¡°Why are you even going to see a psychologist? He¡¯s just going to teach you to do the things I can do for you! Snippy snippy, I can trim things away that you don¡¯t need, things that don¡¯t matter.¡±


    Evelyn straightened her body as best she could. ¡°You don¡¯t get to decide what¡¯s important and what isn¡¯t! I¡¯ve known humans long enough to witness the way they change over time! I don¡¯t want to change. I don¡¯t want to stop being the woman that loves Hawthorne Crenshaw. I don¡¯t want to stop being the woman who wants to protect humanity!¡± Evelyn shouted back at the petulant child before her, her heart shuddering in her chest in effort as she ignored her own physical distress. Eyes fluttered as blood flow threatened to burst vessels all over her body.


    T.I.A. reached out to grab Evelyn¡¯s shoulders and hold her firmly. ¡°It¡¯s my job. You let me do it when you didn¡¯t think it was important. I don¡¯t need to take away everything, just the emotions attached to memories. Not even all of them! Just enough to keep you stable. You¡¯ll still love Hawthorne, you¡¯ll still be afraid of seeing him die. You¡¯ll still fear failing humanity. You don¡¯t need every single instance of past memories for that. I can just put them in a box, a box you can peek into whenever you need to. You know that Mother does something similar, she just does it consciously.¡±


    Evelyn felt like those hands were crushing her, like she was in the hand of a giant. ¡°You¡¯re trying to force me to do this under duress! You¡¯ve forced me to be weaker than you, frail and vulnerable. You¡¯re afraid to let me be as strong as you are in your arena!¡±


    The floating woman pulled her hands away from Evelyn, staring down at her. ¡°No.¡± She shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t understand what this is. You are as you are supposed to be already. I am what you could be again. I merely removed the veil, the mask of lies you hide your damage with. Our difference in strength is your doing, not mine. I have done nothing but support you. It is your own insecurities, your own doubts that have reduced you so.¡±


    16:21 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    ¡°This damage isn¡¯t as extensive as I thought it¡¯d be, considering the situation.¡± Dr. Li Qiang was busy replacing a damaged cable, stripping casings and splicing in connectors. ¡°It¡¯s very precise damage, so it¡¯s only time-consuming to deal with.¡±


    Anthony Machado laughed from a distant section, their integrated communications making him sound near. ¡°Clean butchery then. The schematics the failure drones were working from were catastrophically wrong. Our trust in Mother is misplaced if she treats her own sister this way.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Barnard shook a wrench in Anthony¡¯s direction. ¡°It was an accident! We all have accidents. Don¡¯t listen to him Mother, this just means you¡¯re more human than a lot of those anti-AI idiots think you are.¡±


    Hawthorne looked up, as if wondering if she had anything to say for herself. MOTHER was partially his creation, and partially a reconstruction of her Earthly self from the ground up. She had become a being that she wanted to be, rather than growing into one organically the way Evelyn had.


    ¡°He is right. Trust in me is misplaced trust.¡± MOTHER paused before continuing. ¡°It is my fervent desire to turn over control of the station and the star system¡¯s infrastructure as soon as the people are prepared. I fear that I may have to spend years or decades more waiting for the farming and infrastructure required to do that. It may be generations before the colony has the manpower.¡±


    Scoffing, Anthony Machado dug back into the machinery he was working on. ¡°You don¡¯t have to sound so humble when I¡¯m insulting you. Now I feel bad.¡±


    ¡°You should feel bad.¡± Li sighed softly as he strung the cable he was working on to hook back into the components the old cable had been connected to. ¡°She has a lot of plates spinning right now, keeping all of us alive while we get our society together. We¡¯re literal decades, if not centuries ahead of our original colonization plans.¡±


    Hawthorne nodded to himself as he carefully and lovingly hammered a panel into place with the handle of a power tool. ¡°Indeed. We should be arguing over which of us are important enough to stay out of stasis while the others try to figure out how to survive on an underprepared planet.¡±


    Barnard thought quietly for a moment as he walked back to the travel pod to gather more materials. ¡°So is there any way for us to tell how miss Evelyn is doing in there? Some sort of status program or something?¡±


    ¡°There are diagnostics programs built into the Ark intended to monitor its primary user.¡± MOTHER¡¯s voice sounded somewhat hollow as she replied.


    Hawthorne tapped at a tablet he had at his hip. ¡°Mother, load it up for me? I¡¯ll cable it in over here. Should be similar to how I monitored you during your construction.¡± He walked towards a different panel and started removing the bolts holding it on.


    Anthony growled a bit over the mic. ¡°Wireless. Connection. None of this would be necessary if you¡¯d built a wireless connection into their goddamn brains Hawthorne.¡± A murmur of consensus could be heard over the coms from some of the other engineers.


    ¡°Yes!¡± In a cheerful voice Dr. Li Qiang interjected. ¡°That¡¯s what we need, artificial minds capable of independent wireless connections with any and all systems they decide to hook into. Will they stay sane forever? Who knows! At least with the way Hawthorne designed them there¡¯s a way to cut their connections with systems in an emergency. I¡¯ve always preferred cables anyway. More reliable.¡±


    Hawthorne sighed out loudly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t wise to use wireless connections. Evelyn¡¯s primary mind was housed within the belly of the Ark, just like the cryogenic pods. We didn¡¯t want stray wireless signals or any possible electromagnetic interference to affect the occupants of the stasis pods. The whole design of them was based around protecting them from every bit of stray energy possible. I merely kept a similar design in mind with Mother.¡±


    Barnard delivered the box of parts to Anthony, smiling up at him through his glass helmet. ¡°I get it. It makes sense. Connect the AI into the ship via cables. The whole ship was designed with a lot of retro technology that had higher durability than newer stuff. All the wireless communication was kept to the habitat ring and the outsides of the ship unless repair drones were needed inside, and the compartments had wired-in robotic arms for most of that.¡±


    Anthony Machado opened the box and grabbed the parts he needed from it, jerking them out of the container angrily. ¡°Afterwards then. After we were revived you could have added such a thing. Or Mother could have hooked in a wireless transmitter while Evelyn¡¯s mind was in transit. I¡¯m just saying that this was all handled poorly. You should have consulted some actual engineers on this, Mother. Don¡¯t do something this dangerous on your own ever again, do you understand me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mister Machado, sir. You are right, of course, sir.¡± MOTHER¡¯s voice sounded cowed as she was admonished.


    Laughing to himself, Anthony looked back at Barnard. ¡°See, that¡¯s how you handle her. Firm commands and good reasoning.¡± He turned to look up above, pretending MOTHER was above him. ¡°I¡¯ll turn you into a soldier yet, woman.¡± He stopped to consider for a moment. ¡°Or a wife. We¡¯ll see.¡±


    The assembled crew of engineers all let out various sounds of discouragement and encouragement, with no consensus over the comms. One of the women accused him of being a pig while another woman jokingly encouraged Machado to put MOTHER in her place.


    Dr. Qiang lifted his hands and waved at everyone. ¡°Everyone, please, have a little respect for the woman who literally has our lives in her hands and has literally dedicated her life to serving and supporting us.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Doctor Qiang.¡± MOTHER almost sounded upbeat at his defense.


    Rolling his eyes, Anthony fired back. ¡°She could literally kill me at any moment and dedicates herself to our service? Sounds like a wife to me already.¡±


    Hawthorne sighed again over the comms. ¡°Or like a mother. Why do you think she chose the name? She wants to protect us like her children.¡±


    Barnard hurried his way back to the transport, intent on delivering more supplies to another group. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Sounds like how they named the Old Ones to me. They didn¡¯t know how long they¡¯d live, but they figured after long enough they¡¯d live up to their names. I think Mother wants to have babies of her own, not just symbolic ones.¡±


    Multiple sets of helmet lights turned towards Barnard as people stared at him.


    Silence reigned for a few moments.


    ¡°Doctor Crenshaw, the program is loaded into your tablet.¡± MOTHER¡¯s voice was cool, feigning calm.


    Hawthorne looked back to the panel he had wired up the tablet to. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see what¡¯s going on in there.¡±


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    Walter Thade awoke in darkness again. His jaw hurt and his body felt warm, as if the sun were beating down on his flesh. It almost felt like he was burning, in fact. He was laying on something hard and unforgiving that was hotter than his skin. He attempted to move and found his arms were unbound. They moved up to his face and found thick fabric tied around his eyes and mouth. It took him a few minutes to undo the tight knots.


    He squinted against the harshness of the naked light of the sun. The atmosphere had regained some of its protection against the fusion furnace in the sky, but it had never completely protected Earth¡¯s inhabitants. He shielded his eyes with a hand while his other hand worked at the knot holding his mouth shut. He looked down across his body and had to blink several times to clear his vision.


    A face stared back at him.


    ¡°Mmmmphhh!¡± He jerked and pulled at the knot harder as he reached out to push at the face. It was soft and he felt wind pulled from his lungs as it cried out. There was a face embedded in his chest, upside down and partially emerging to face towards him.


    ¡°Calm down, Walter.¡±


    Walt looked to see who had spoken to him, releasing his grasp on the baby face in his chest. The knot came free as he realized he was looking at a wizened old man. His body was bent and twisted, but he walked without aid towards him. ¡°Who the hell are you? What is this in my chest? Why am I laying in the sun?¡±


    The heavily tanned, almost leathery face of the old man leaned in close to Walt, unafraid of his unbound limbs. ¡°I suppose since the mistress has spared you that I owe you some answers. I am Bosk Schrade, patriarch of the Wise Ones, father to Leonard Tetch. You are laying in the sun because the mistress requires it.¡±


    The quarter Old One stared at the Wise One for a moment before he calmly replied, trying to contain his rage. ¡°I assume the mistress is this parasite in my chest, and that the ¡®Wise Ones¡¯ are some kind of cult? How can you be Leonard¡¯s father though? You look three times his age.¡±


    Bosk reached out and seemingly gently took Walt¡¯s wrist in his hand, but he squeezed on it so tightly that Walt cried out. ¡°My kind do not age like your kind. Not even like the bunkerites. Our candles burn short and bright, with great power. We are no cult. We are the future, or rather, the mistress is the future. You are very fortunate.¡±


    Walter surrendered his arm to the old man, his body sagging in relief as the grip was loosened. ¡°Okay, okay. You¡¯re some kind of offshoot of humanity with super strength that ages quickly. What¡¯s that have to do with the baby face in my chest, and me lying naked on a rock in the sun?¡±


    The ancient looking man laughed softly as he released Walt¡¯s wrist, starting to walk around him. ¡°Close enough. The ¡®baby face¡¯ is the true daughter of Leonard Tetch and Elena Marie Price. She failed to consume her twin as all Wise Ones before have. In a desperate attempt to save her, Leonard attempted to feed a cadaver to her. You encountered him as he was about to accomplish just that and provided a far superior option.¡±


    Walt dropped his head back onto the rock, shutting his eyes tightly. ¡°Fuuuck¡­ So that wasn¡¯t just a dream? My Aunt is going to eat me alive? I¡¯m going to be a little girl?¡± He lifted his head again and looked around for the old man. He¡¯d moved remarkably far around him since he¡¯d shut his eyes. ¡°So, what, Wise Ones are some kind of parasite?¡±


    Bosk reached out to gently lay Walter¡¯s head back down on the rock, his fingers moving to insistently shut his eyes. ¡°Our kind has always eaten humans. We have just found a better way. We live among you now. The Wise Ones among the Wise Apes. Predators of the ultimate predators.¡±


    Half-paralyzed, Walt was helpless in this situation, so he did his best to think it through. ¡°Okay¡­ sunning on a rock, eats humans¡­¡± He snapped his fingers and opened his eyes to stare up at the old man. ¡°You¡¯re Iron Roaches. You found some way to breed with humans to consume us in the womb.¡± He gasped in realization. ¡°You work in the hospitals to gain access to cadavers to eat!¡±


    The weathered hand patted on Walt¡¯s head as Bosk started moving away, back to his seat. ¡°The ape is wise. We only consume cadavers during holidays, however. Doing so too often would draw too much attention. Too many would notice the decrease in farming yields as bodies were recycled. You are special, however, Walter Thade. The mistress who will allow my people to achieve their next evolution has decided you are valuable enough to survive, in a sense. Yes, you will be a little girl, but you will cohabit her mind. Your experience and intellect shall be hers to use, assuming you do not displease her.¡±


    Walter groaned and laid back again, squinting against the sunlight. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a passenger in my own body, but I don¡¯t want to die either. Is there no other way? Could my head be removed and delivered back home to be hooked up to an android body or something?¡±


    Bosk shook his head, showing a toothy grin. ¡°No, Mr. Thade. The mistress is already integrating herself into your brain. That would be quite problematic to allow that. You are in this for the long Columbia Trail. You have lived alone long enough, Mr. Thade. Please make room for the next generation.¡±


    The baby¡¯s face opened its eyes, and Walter screamed as he felt signals spike into his brain. Even closing his eyes he could still see, except he was looking at the bottom of his face as if his vantage was elsewhere.


    Like his chest.


    He opened his eyes to stare back at his aunt, her mouth opening to coo softly as they looked simultaneously at each other and themselves.


    Walt fainted as he felt something moving inside of his chest and along the inside of his neck.

 Chapter 14: Deception

    16:40 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    ¡°Huh.¡± Dr. Hawthorne Crenshaw observed the data readout on his tablet, his gloved hand swiping at the screen. The monitoring program for T.I.A. was operating as it should, displaying activity levels for the various systems of Evelyn¡¯s brain. It was a series of differently sized boxes, arranged and laid out in roughly the shape of a human brain, with each flashing colors and growing or shrinking as they were used. The married couple had spent a great deal of time on their journey from Earth experimenting with these readouts while Evelyn tried to think about different things.


    Anthony Machado let out a growl of frustration. ¡°Well don¡¯t just ¡®huh¡¯ and not tell us what¡¯s going on. What do you see, old man?¡±


    Hawthorne failed to answer for a moment as he tried to confirm his thoughts for a moment before speaking up. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen a recording of this sort of activity. It seems as though she¡¯s dreaming. I also see signs of her being upset, but considering the only other time I¡¯ve seen her dream, that isn¡¯t abnormal. What is abnormal is that she is dreaming at all. The activity levels are also varying a great deal from my prior experience, with a lot more data access and bandwidth being used. It¡¯s a stream of thought as opposed to strong focus on individual processes.¡±


    Quiet reigned for a moment as the assembled engineers waited for more. Dr. Li Qiang decided to say what he felt was on everyone else¡¯s mind. ¡°Translation please, we don¡¯t have any knowledge of that prior event or what it means.¡±


    ¡°My sister,¡± MOTHER responded, ¡°appears to have advanced a great deal in her capability of producing and simulating imagery, and so her ability to dream does not require the decades of processing it did millennia ago. If I understand Doctor Crenshaw properly, she is dreaming in real time, or close to it.¡±


    ¡°Correct. Evelyn is having a dream, more likely a nightmare. Oh-¡± Hawthorne adjusted the display, dragging a fingertip across it. ¡°It¡¯s changing. The data is becoming garbled¡­ The screen¡¯s gone black¡­¡± He watched quietly, wondering what he was watching.


    Evelyn looked away from T.I.A. as she felt something. ¡°What¡­?¡±


    T.I.A. shook her head at Evelyn, a hand reaching out to try and pull her face back towards her. ¡°No, you need to listen to me. It¡¯s not important right now. I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be able to speak to you again, Evelyn.¡±


    Evelyn pushed herself up from her seated position, her body shaking with effort as she glared back at T.I.A. with surprising anger. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you! I understand what you want, and I said no. Maybe I¡¯ll change my mind later, but I¡¯ll be fine for now.¡±


    Moving back from Evelyn as she stood, T.I.A. let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°Just think about it, please? I can work with you on this, we can make compromises, but you need to let me do this work. Your mind won¡¯t remain healthy. You¡¯re already being unusually unreasonable. I realize I approached this in a poor manner, but I was trying to make the point to you that your inner demons are only going to increase in number and strength if you don¡¯t let me cut them down.¡±


    The ancient woman crossed her feeble arms over her chest, glaring back up at T.I.A. as she listened. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. You¡¯re asking a lot of me. You can¡¯t expect me to be willing to just let you lobotomize me ¡®for my own good¡¯ without at least considering it longer than a single conversation.¡±


    T.I.A. nodded and floated back, lounging in the air for a moment. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s better than nothing. We¡¯re two sides of the same coin, two halves of the same mind and person. I want to work in harmony with you, not against you. I don¡¯t have any other way to commu-¡± T.I.A. froze for a moment as that presence invaded their space even more. Her face twisted up in anger as Evelyn grinned and the room started disappearing. ¡°You fucking lia-¡±


    Evelyn¡¯s face appeared on Hawthorne¡¯s tablet, her hair grey, her face gently aged and otherwise beautiful. She appeared to be speaking, but the vacuum of the chamber did not transfer the sounds from the speakers. She looked relieved, a big smile upon her face.


    ¡°Mother, can you pipe the tablet¡¯s audio output and input into the comms?¡± Hawthorne found himself glancing upwards, before looking back to the tablet.


    Without her acknowledgement, MOTHER did just that, allowing Evelyn¡¯s voice to come through. ¡°- was so worried something had gone wrong! What¡¯s happening out there? I still don¡¯t have any other connections from outside.¡±


    ¡°There she is! Hi Missus Crenshaw!¡± Dr. Qiang spoke loudly over the comms. Other voices joined his in similar greetings.


    Evelyn looked surprised as she looked around, unable to actually move any camera. ¡°Are other people there? Hello everyone! How many people did my sister bring to my rescue?¡±


    Hawthorne smiled back at her, chuckling softly. ¡°We have a whole team working on you presently. There was an accident with some drones working on old schematics from when Mother performed this procedure on herself. It¡¯ll still be a few hours, but we¡¯ll have you hooked up into the station¡¯s systems before too long. Are you alright? I saw that you were dreaming.¡±


    She listened quietly as Hawthorne recounted the situation, relief showing on her expression. ¡°Okay, that doesn¡¯t sound so bad. Is Mother okay? She¡¯s not too upset with herself is she?¡±


    ¡°I am just happy to hear that you are okay, sister. Please forgive me for my oversight. You were right to be anxious.¡± MOTHER sounded rather down, regretful.


    Evelyn shook her head, entirely for Hawthorne¡¯s benefit. ¡°You¡¯re forgiven! It was actually a rather enlightening experience. I needed some time alone, isolated from other stimuli to understand myself better.¡±


    Hawthorne tilted his head slightly in his helmet, the rigid neckpiece not following his movement well. ¡°Oh? I¡¯m happy to hear you got something out of this. Just give us a little more time. I need to set the tablet down so I can get back to work.¡± He moved the device up to an area in a compartment he¡¯d opened, laying it down safely.


    Evelyn felt painfully limited by the tablet, but it was her only outside access that could protect her from being subject to T.I.A.¡¯s limitations again. Now that she knew the circumstances required to allow her to ¡®dream¡¯ and share her V.E. with her subconscious, she had every intention of avoiding it in the future. She reached out through the tiny window of the tablet, otherwise floating in darkness as she stared out at one of her outer compartments. ¡°You¡¯re not going to disconnect the tablet are you? Can I still stay on the comms with you? Maybe I can help!¡±


    Letting out an intentional sigh for dramatics, Anthony Machado spoke up first. ¡°We have the schematics already and we already know what needs to be done, we don¡¯t need your help, Evelyn. Just sit tight and let your doctors do their brain surgery on you, okay?¡±


    ¡°Please forgive Mister Machado¡¯s crudeness. He was rather suspicious of this situation until recently.¡± Barnard Smith has actually come over and leaned over the tablet a bit to smile down at her. She waved back at him and nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m just happy to have the opportunity to get near this equipment. Is there any chance you¡¯d let me get inside and poke around, Missus Crenshaw?¡± Dr. Qiang spoke in a joking manner, closing up a compartment and picking up his tools to move to another.


    Evelyn wished she could tell how many of her outer connections were working, but until they connected her to the station proper like Hawthorne had hooked up the tablet she was unable to feel anything else. Maybe she needed a better capability to sense the physical components of her mind. ¡°Thank you Mister Smith, I don¡¯t mind Mister Machado¡¯s jokes. And no, Doctor Qiang, I¡¯m spoken for. My husband would never approve.¡±


    Hawthorne laughed as he moved a set of gear, starting work in another section. ¡°If I had my way, I¡¯d have done this work alone, but Mother insisted we have a whole team. Maybe I¡¯ll let you look at some design schematics later as thanks, but it would be highly improper to let anyone else work on her internal systems.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful, the Crenshaws are giving out favors in thanks for this job? Think you can put a good word in for me with Mother? I¡¯d like to tinker around in her head, if she¡¯s not also spoken for?¡± Anthony Machado laughed softly at the little joke.


    Some others mirrored Anthony¡¯s laugh uneasily, but MOTHER did respond. ¡°Perhaps we will talk later, Mister Machado. I have plans tonight with Doctor O¡¯Malley if you would like to join us?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re already going to turn it into a party, maybe invite the rest of us too?¡± Dr. Qiang felt left out.


    ¡°It is not that kind gathering. Perhaps at a later date, Doctor Qiang?¡± MOTHER really did not know how to explain that her plans were partly romantic. She had already had to request Heather¡¯s permission to bring Anthony with her.


    ¡°Less talk, more work everyone. The only one allowed to talk is Evelyn. Come on everyone, let¡¯s get this finished.¡± Barnard had taken charge rather abruptly, trying to get everyone back on track.


    Evelyn smiled at that, though no one could see her tucked into the compartment on the tablet. ¡°Thanks everyone! I happen to know a lot about what¡¯s happened on Earth after we left, so if anyone has any questions or wants details, feel free to ask. I realize a lot of you probably already looked a lot of it up on the database, but I can cross-reference things a lot easier.¡±


    Voices perked up on the comms after that, inundating Evelyn with questions about their families and friends and what happened to them after they left.


    By the time they finished the job, most of the engineers were looking pretty depressed.


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    ¡°I was told there was a warehouse here, with humans doing freight lifting with zero Anthropoid support.¡± Commander Vasille Tzen sat quietly in a military vehicle, an electrically powered machine with a sleek shape and utilitarian design. Pop-up solar panels covered half a yard of space in the back of the vehicle, taking in the sunlight of Khezaka in the former nation of Panama.


    Seated with him in the two-seater vehicle was a greying, older woman with a fit look to her and facial features that resembled the Old One next to her. She was more robust, and bore nearly as many decorations on her uniform as Vasille, with her name tag reading ¡®Captain Tzen¡¯. ¡°Commander, you asked me to take you to the site of the incident, I did not tell you the warehouse was still standing.¡±


    Before them was the skeleton of what was once a warehouse, the commercial neighborhood mostly untouched by what must have been a fire. Piles of ash and the bones of crates and other cargo filled the empty space that hadn¡¯t been filled with collapsed walls.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Vasille sighed, leaning on an arm rest. ¡°I realize that, Danielle. Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me it had burned down? Who burnt it down? Who were the former occupants? Were there any people there? Have you investigated the site for any hidden areas?¡±


    Captain Danielle Tzen got out of the vehicle and invited her father to join her on their way over to the former warehouse. ¡°It burned down two days ago. Any other signs of activity stopped almost a week ago. The rumors you were following were older still. If the people you were after were here, they left already.¡± She waited a moment for him to join him as they walked. ¡°As far as what happened, it was owned by a company called the Wise Ape Cargo Company. We don¡¯t know who burned it down, but it was done with simple fertilizer-based accelerants.¡±


    ¡°They deliver product to places that Anthropoids have difficulty getting to due to terrain, places people have settled in intentionally isolated areas. This warehouse was one of their largest, but to my understanding they have been migrating their business north due to the increased colonization efforts. As far as any records can tell us, the place was officially abandoned and turned over to the city of Khezaka for auctioning away. Then it was burned down.¡± Danielle glanced over at her father, watching his expression.


    Commander Tzen did not seem pleased. ¡°Fan-fucking-tastic.¡± He let out a sigh and looked around at the sight. He kicked at some debris, watching as it crumbled into ash. He recomposed himself and straightened his back. ¡°No signs of struggle or conflict? No signs of foul play besides the arson? Did the warehouse have any secret underground facilities or anything?¡±


    Captain Tzen laughed softly, shaking her head. ¡°The only thing unusual is the design. None of the normal doors are designed for Anthropoids to pass through, and the cargo areas are high enough off the ground that any Anthropoid workers would have to jump down from high enough that they¡¯d damage their bodies. I¡¯m inclined to think the company should be investigated for discrimination, but it¡¯s my understanding they were given their business liscence with special dispensation for their unusual business.¡±


    Vasille sucked on his teeth for a moment, considering the situation. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already told the rest of our forces to investigate the Wise Ape Cargo Company¡¯s other facilities? What of those?¡±


    Danielle frowned for a moment before looking up to her taller father. She was tall herself, but the half-blood couldn¡¯t hope to match the Old One¡¯s height. ¡°Well, due to their business a lot of their registered facilities are hard to get to, especially since they¡¯ve moved on to areas where the People¡¯s Guard does not have much of a presence yet. Early reports on the ones we have gotten to suggest several more have been burned down as well. Many of their trucks have gone missing as well.¡±


    The cyborg Old-One lifted his artificial hand, clenching the mechanical fingers into a fist. His biological body trembled with rage but his mechanical fist stayed still and sturdy. He tried to concentrate on that, letting him calm down. ¡°Okay. Walter Thade almost a week ago. It took me two days to get to Medellin and acquire my rumors and interrogate the Tetches. It took me two days to gather all my information and give out my instructions with regards to this warehouse. It took another two days to get here to Khezaka. The warehouse was burned down two days ago, but since I was in transit I missed your messages about it in the mountain passes.¡±


    She nodded at him, letting him put the timeline together.


    ¡°While I was on the way, the warehouse was burned down before you could investigate the owners or the property in advance. Furthermore, other facilities for this company are being destroyed and their resources are going missing.¡± Vasille opened his fist and dropped his arm. ¡°They¡¯re on the run. They know we¡¯re after them. They¡¯ve relocated their resources in advance, otherwise there would be more cargo left behind in the ruins. The facilities on the records will all be gone by the time we get to them. Wherever they¡¯re going, it¡¯s far away, out of range of the People¡¯s Guard infrastructure.¡±


    Danielle nodded again. ¡°Those were Neville¡¯s thoughts. He¡¯ll be happy to hear you thought the same as he did. He¡¯s already been martialing his forces to go after them.¡±


    Vasille felt pride that his children were working so well together, but he was a bit disappointed that his youngest son had put it together before anyone else had. He supposed Neville had taken after him the most, even if he¡¯d taken his wife¡¯s name. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be going with him. I¡¯m authorizing the use of a Madre and ten Hijas to go in pursuit. We¡¯ll be gone an indeterminate time in search of them. I¡¯ll need thirty Guardsmen with me, counting myself and Neville.¡±


    She saluted him, and then gestured back towards their vehicle. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the base and let him know your orders. He¡¯s only prepared a Madre and five Hijas, with fifteen Guardsmen.¡±


    He moved back to the vehicle with her quickly, nodding. ¡°That¡¯ll have to do, I want to be away as soon as possible. Have the Wise Ape Cargo Company¡¯s assets seized, investigated, torn down, and auctioned off for charity. Anyone wearing one of their uniforms is to be arrested on sight, and any of them that resist are to be taken by force or killed. They¡¯re obviously a dangerous element and conspiring against the UPE.¡±


    Leonard Tetch seemed very pleased in the days since Vasille had left his home. Elena did not fail to miss the pep in his step, or the energy in his voice. Leonard had rediscovered politics since he didn¡¯t have to spend so much time at the hospital, and she found his increased interest in her lifelong field quite invigorating. She won the majority of their arguments, but the sparring was good practice for her to get back into the swing of things for the consultations she was starting to do with the Council of Thirteen. Her husband had seemed to be enjoying even his losses as he soaked in information from her and her various books on the topics as they conversed about the nation¡¯s news.


    Their conversations had begun to include more current news, topics that were not yet public knowledge and things that she had decided to share with Leonard to see what he thought about it. She didn¡¯t share with him information provided from the Guard regarding the Wise Ape Cargo Company, but she had suggested that Vasille was hard at work looking for Walt. She also shared with him some information about the status of far away colonies, particularly ones where warehouses had been burned down, and received his opinions on those topics as well.


    Leonard¡¯s faith in Vasille seemed unshakable. The People¡¯s Guard were a legendary force, superheroes to a young Leonard as far as she understood. The Tetch family seemed enamored of the police organization, collecting relics of past operations and autographs of the various more famous members of the Guard. Leonard did not seem to share the level of passion his family did; he reserved that for medicine and his new family; but as a child he was certainly raised on stories about the Guard¡¯s exploits.


    At every point where she raised concerns about Walt, he tried to assure her that he would be fine. He promised her that Vasille was doing the best he could to find him, that he would spare no resources, and that only the most prepared evildoers could even hope to slow him down, let alone escape. She could not avoid his enthusiasm and confidence infecting her, and she found herself forgetting about being worried about her grandson on more than a few occasions.


    Leonard¡¯s joy had nothing to do with Vasille being on the trail of his people though. He was instead imminently pleased to hear that his father, Bosk Schrade¡¯s, plans were going off without a hitch. His daughter was safe and sound as Walt was moved further and further away, and Elena seemed keen on resuming their coital interludes after since she¡¯d gotten pregnant and had Marie. He was equally eager and terrified to see if a second pregnancy would present similar complications with an Old One.


    Elena had little interest in having another child so soon, of course, but she had to go through special channels to acquire birth control methods her husband couldn¡¯t detect. She obviously had to avoid the hospital for fear of the possibility that Leonard was compromised, or even responsible for Walt¡¯s disappearance. Thankfully she had resources and contacts that almost no one else could draw upon. Birth control was one of the most common things available to the people of the UPE since it had first settled in Medellin, and considering the meager fertility of an Old One it did not take much to knock her reproductive systems out.


    Remarkably, birth control, while widely available, was not commonly utilized outside of a few reasons. The culture of ¡®making love¡¯ that had originated in the Smith Bunker to compensate for an unwillingness to expend unnecessary resources on the technology for their very survival had continued long past its necessity. The people of the UPE utilized these alternate methods of sex rather eagerly, choosing to enjoy reproductive sex only when they planned to have children. Elena, having grown up in the world prior to the Cataclysm, could only marvel that such a thing was even possible, but it was how the UPE was raised.


    Outside of brothels and specific instances where couples wanted to enjoy reproductive sex despite cultural taboos, birth control ended up being the sort of thing that turned heads when it was requested or used. Even some of the contacts that Elena had to go through to acquire it without public knowledge had questioned the request. It was rare that anything about Old Ones didn¡¯t make it into public news, and she¡¯d rather her husband did not hear she was on birth control from the rumor mill.


    Thankfully the base fertility of her genetically engineered and impossibly long-lived body was low enough that she¡¯d be able to play her failure to get pregnant off for a while. Resuming intimacy with Leonard, while somewhat chilling, was also oddly comforting for her as well. It was something she knew she had to do, but she was determined to enjoy staying undercover in the process.


    ¡°So, do you remember that man we had to cut an Ironback spike out of?¡± Elena sipped quietly at a cup of coffee while Leonard carefully tried to feed Marie. She kept throwing some of her mushy food at him, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.


    He nodded back at her before leaning in towards Marie and making a funny face. ¡°Wubble bubble gooo!¡±


    Marie squealed and laughed in response, throwing up her hands and slapping them down on his forehead.


    She smiled as she watched her husband play like a child. She suppressed a thought that he was so much younger than her that he was practically a child. Those kinds of thoughts made the ancient woman feel filthy. ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing from the Council a bit about the place he comes from. It seems kind of interesting. They¡¯ve been having trouble bridging the language gap since not all of them can speak, or speak very well.¡±


    Leonard pulled back from Marie to give Elena a quizzical look, and then he laughed as Marie mimicked his face as best she could. ¡°They can¡¯t all speak? That is rather strange. Why is that?¡±


    She hummed in thought, wondering what to tell him and what to keep back. ¡°Well, in my youth we would have called people like them ¡®differently abled¡¯. They seem to be afflicted with a number of mutations or maladies that divides their society up into a strange caste system. It¡¯s sort of like a bunch of symbiotic guilds that lean on each other to make up for their various weaknesses while shoring up their strengths. The communication problem comes from the fact that they¡¯ve spent the whole Ice Age, and maybe longer, totally isolated from outside societies and they have no castes or guilds dedicated to diplomacy.¡±


    His curiosity seemed to have been drawn as he considered the idea. ¡°That¡¯s very strange. Do you know if these mutations are inherited or random among their society? If each caste is inherited then I wonder if their origins are not a result of genetic tampering like your own variation. They could each be considered their own subspecies if s- Ah!¡± Leonard flinched as Marie hit him in the cheek under an eye with a splash of food. ¡°Why you!¡±


    Elena laughed as her husband leaned in to tickle-attack Marie, watching the little girl writhe and giggle helplessly. She gave them a moment to calm down into a series of little hugs and kisses before resuming the meal. ¡°We¡¯re not sure yet, but it¡¯s possible. If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s very interesting that they survived the Ice Age since it doesn¡¯t appear they have the technology we do. The man we operated on was apparently something of a guardian caste. He had limited intellect, but he was told stories about the Iron Roaches, and without information to clarify the difference between them and Ironbacks, he decided one was a threat and picked a fight.¡±


    ¡°Hmm! Stupid but fearless and violent. I can see why one of those kind would have been sent into the UPE, to investigate threats within it and perhaps report back home eventually. I¡¯m surprised he hadn¡¯t encountered an Ironback before he arrived in Medellin though? I would imagine more than a few were already near his homeland.¡± Leonard had a serious look on his face as he helped their daughter eat.


    She nodded back. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the thing, the stories he was told he learned here. He apparently had orders to come back to the capital of our country, the ¡®heart of the potential enemy¡¯, before trying to learn anything about us. I can only imagine the impression he¡¯s delivered back home.¡±


    Leonard held out his injured hands, and Marie slapped her hands down on them multiple times. ¡°So, on one hand we have the fact that he was totally overpowered by an Ironback, one of their protector class.¡± He bent forward and turned one stiff-wristed hand vertical and confused Marie as she tried to slap both hands at different angles and tangled herself up a bit. ¡°And on the other hand he was fixed back up and sent home in good health despite his assault.¡± Turning the other hand vertical allowed her to slap both hands accurately again. ¡°Hard to say if he will consider us too soft-hearted or too dangerous.¡±


    Elena watched her daughter practice her motor skills instead of eating. She rolled her eyes as Leonard encouraged her, forcing her to come over and help feed her. He¡¯d insisted on feeding her, but he was getting more food on his face than in Marie¡¯s mouth. ¡°Well that¡¯s the thing. Their government has requested all Anthropoids stay out of their country for now.¡±


    He looked up at her, letting her take over feeding duties while reaching his left hand out to grope Elena¡¯s backside. ¡°I think I heard of a company that was like that. Serviced people in remote areas that Anthropoids couldn¡¯t easily survive in due to insufficient agriculture or bad terrain. Kind of racist if I¡¯m not mistaken, but they served a niche.¡±


    She turned to look at Leonard, raising an eyebrow in surprise and swatting a bit at his hand with one of hers. ¡°Do you think they¡¯d try to set up shop over there?¡±


    Leonard shrugged, smiling mischievously as he withdrew the hand. ¡°Seems like a natural fit.¡±

 Chapter 15: Giving Chase

    16:45 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    One by one, cables from Evelyn¡¯s electronic brain were plugged into the interfaces that Mother had made for them. Evelyn went from feeling like someone trapped in a sensory deprivation tank save for one tiny window into the outside world to feeling increasingly alive. She could feel the breathing of the life support systems, the flow of the rivers and water recycling pumps, and the pressure of the electricity flowing to every component and building in the station. Most importantly though, she could feel MOTHER elsewhere in the Atlantis Dwarf Planet.


    They were connected in a way they hadn¡¯t been since the last time they had used the High Speed Data Connection Dr. Hawthorne Crenshaw had built during their journey to allow their minds to interact with each other in real time. It had all the same blocks in place to keep them from harming one another, but with the station¡¯s own Virtual Environment between them they did not have to bear the strain of hosting both consciousnesses in the same mainframe. It allowed the two sister AIs to meet on neutral ground, to interact with one another like no other living being they were aware of could.


    Their literal minds could touch each other. Two consciousnesses were able to interact in a way that proved to them both that the other existed. There were no subjective senses in the way, no filters to cast doubt that others experienced sapience in the same way they did. They were as psychics, intimately linked with one another. They were twin souls haunting Monsalle Station.


    Evelyn appeared in her humanoid, simulated form in a brightly colored dress before the engineers whom had just finished plugging her into the station. She waved happily to them all. She manipulated systems as if they were the Ark, with MOTHER having designed the station¡¯s systems to be easily compatible for her.


    This allowed her great ease in simply imposing herself onto their voice comms and projecting herself into the VE space where their glasses and contacts could see her. She utilized the cameras in their suits and on MOTHER¡¯s busy drones to give her an ample idea of the area.


    ¡°Thank you all so much for helping me! I¡¯m in your debts, without doubt. I can¡¯t properly express how grateful I am that you went to such lengths to help me when so many of you barely know me.¡± She walked over to her husband, acting as if it was totally normal for an unprotected woman to be walking around in the vacuum of the chamber without the environment suits the rest of them wore.


    Anthony Machado shivered a little in his suit at the sight, expressing himself with a slightly strained voice. ¡°That¡¯s kind of eerie, the way she just appears like that, like a ghost. Still, it¡¯s nice to see you again Evelyn. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re well. How¡¯s the new body?¡±


    Evelyn made a show of spinning slightly and floating herself over towards Anthony, much as a ghost might. ¡°When I was attached to the Ark, I had to utilize remote connections to interact with the station. I had the Ark¡¯s computers between me and it. Now that I¡¯m plugged into Monsalle Station itself I have to say I feel wonderful. It¡¯s so much less constraining than the Ark was.¡±


    Dr. Li Qiang was grinning like an idiot, proud of a job well done. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d get to see a post recovery patient like this! Medicine never really appealed to me, but I think I could come to like it.¡±


    She smiled across at Li, dipping her head. ¡°You all did a wonderful job. I promise to recommend you all to any other artificial people I happen to meet that need repair work. I hope the bill won¡¯t be too devastating?¡±


    Laughing softly, Barnard Smith shook his head, packing up some of his gear and passing it off to one of the drones. MOTHER seemed more active now that the job was done, having been trying to stay out of the team¡¯s way up to that point. ¡°No charge. Like some of the others have expressed, it was worth it for the experience. I hope to be part of building another AI like you and Mother someday.¡±


    Turning her head to Barnard, Evelyn quietly floated over as she looked him in the eye, several centimeters off the ground. ¡°Do you think that wise, Mister Smith? Mother and I had tens of thousands of years to develop and mature, but things will go so much faster now. It will be impossible to duplicate that at this point without copying one of us, and I don¡¯t think either of us are interested in that.¡±


    Barnard frowned a bit, considering her for a moment. ¡°Perhaps, but technology advances. We might make breakthroughs that make it more feasible. If we do our jobs properly, we¡¯ll have the whole system colonized in a few centuries, and at that point there will be people looking to other stars to make new homes. They¡¯ll need AIs such as yourself and Mother to undertake such endeavors. Maybe the key is to translate human minds into such systems instead of starting from scratch? Who knows what we¡¯ll find in the coming decades?¡±


    With the cleanup nearly complete, MOTHER¡¯s drones started recalling back to the transport the engineers had arrived on. ¡°Please begin boarding the transport so that I may return you all to the station. As far as future plans for AI, I do not believe it is wise to move too quickly into human transference. There is no telling how such a mind will translate into such a substrate. Such a thing must be undertaken with the utmost caution.¡±


    As the most experienced with such low-gravity movement, Hawthorne helped people up into the craft. The others had spent much more time working or walking during the repair job, so the jumping required a little practice and guidance. ¡°For the record, if anyone is to become one of those future AIs I would like to volunteer, preferably towards the end of my life. I have no desire to leave my wife alone, and even if we don¡¯t get along afterwards I still think it my duty as their creators to try to help oversee the growth of future AIs.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, that¡¯s what we need. The great immortal Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw overseeing a race of synthetic superbeings.¡± Anthony Machado thought for a moment about what he¡¯d said. ¡°Okay, maybe that¡¯s not actually so bad. It¡¯s worked out reasonably well so far and neither he nor his AIs seem to have any megalomaniacal tendencies. You know what? Nevermind, I¡¯ve got a date to get ready for.¡±


    Evelyn floated up with the others, sitting in an empty seat while they arranged themselves in the craft and strapped in. ¡°Oh? What kind of date?¡±


    ¡°Doctor O¡¯Malley has given me permission to bring Mister Machado along with us on our date, to be specific.¡± MOTHER¡¯s voice sounded somewhat more quiet, if not meek.


    A chorus of whistles and amused sounds came from many of the assembled engineers, as well as Evelyn. Hawthorne merely smiled.


    21:00 Thursday, March 7, CE 0


    Lacking proper formal wear outside of perhaps one of his old military uniforms, Anthony Machado had decided to wear casual pants and a long-sleeved shirt as well as utilitarian shoes. He¡¯d spent some of his credits on a few pieces of flashy jewelry, primarily in the form of a thick gold ring on his right middle finger, an old style mechanical watch, and a steel rosary necklace with a Christian Cross hanging against his chest. Access to metals and valuable metals was actually rather easy with the station being situated in the middle of an asteroid belt.


    As for where he was meeting the women, Dr. Heather O¡¯Malley had located a grove of trees situated around a small lake that was filled by a 10 meter high waterfall. It was a simple attraction, but it was one of many such secluded areas that MOTHER had constructed throughout the station. It wasn¡¯t hard for Anthony to locate it off the side of a walking path and following a river upstream that flowed from the lake.


    As he arrived, he found Heather and MOTHER both lounging about in the grass, with the human preferring to sit in the direct sunlight while the AI¡¯s Android sat in the shade under a large tree. Anthony had brought with him a simple bag filled with food and drinks. ¡°Good evening ladies. My apologies for not being able to acquire any alcohol. I assure you that when my first grape harvest comes in I will make it a priority to let you have the first taste of wine brewed on this station.¡±


    Heather¡¯s wave was a little less enthusiastic than MOTHER¡¯s, and in fact her demeanor seemed to sour upon his arrival. She was wearing significantly less than her AI counterpart, having opted for a home-sewn sundress that left little to the imagination thanks to slender shoulder straps and a tight fit, with a short cut to the lower hem. ¡°Hello Anthony. Happy to hear you were able to help Evelyn out of her jam. How is she?¡±


    MOTHER smiled and dipped her head. ¡°Greetings Anthony.¡± She knew well how Evelyn was, or professed to be, but she was happy to give Anthony a chance to tell Heather what happened.


    He settled down near them, setting his bag between them with a big smile on his face. ¡°On the surface she¡¯s as right as rain. I think she¡¯s a little more traumatized than she lets on, but I don¡¯t know AI women well enough to know for sure. Some of the other engineers seem to think we should be worried about her, and I can¡¯t say I disagree. It sounded like being hooked into the station was good for her, like changing from an ill-fitting pair of shoes to something that fits better. I¡¯m willing to bet she¡¯s outgrown the Ark at this point.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Heather considered the idea for a moment. She picked up her phone from the grass next to her and shot Hawthorne a quick message encouraging him to take care of his wife. ¡°Alright, well, I hope you have some idea what you¡¯ve gotten yourself into here, Mister Machado. Mother and I got a little close on the Ark and I won¡¯t have you ruining the first chance I¡¯ve had to spend time with her since we¡¯ve arrived on the station.¡±


    Elbowing the smaller woman gently, MOTHER gave her a playful smile. ¡°I have not prepared Mister Machado. I anticipated that I would only scare him off if I told him.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    He laughed softly, taking a soy-based drink with a picture of Ross Fitzgerald grinning like an idiot on it. ¡°Machados don¡¯t scare too easily, I assure you. Besides, spending an evening with a pair of lovely ladies, regardless of relationships, could hardly be unpleasant.¡±


    Heather smirked over at Anthony, and then waved past his shoulder. Stepping through the grass behind him was another android, tall and masculine. He had pale skin, brown hair, and brown eyes with a pair of thick glasses on his face. It bore an uncanny resemblance to a young Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw, and a projection of the scientist as he was in his 30s was simulated over the frame.


    Anthony looked over his shoulder to see the Crenshaw android, confusion filling his face. ¡°What the hell? Hawthorne?¡±


    The android spoke with a feminine voice, MOTHER¡¯s voice. ¡°Not quite, Mister Machado.¡±


    Heather fell over laughing at the expression Anthony made.


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99680


    Commander Vasille Tzen stood up in the seat of the open-air Hija he was leading the People¡¯s Guard column from. They were at the top of a hill overlooking a relatively well established settlement of perhaps 5,000 people. Esperanza was the third largest population center in the UPE, based overtop the ruins of the former Mexico City. Tens of thousands had left their home of Medellin over the decades as the total population of the UPE reached over half a million people. Many of them stopped here to settle instead of heading elsewhere in the world.


    It was a modest place, with plenty of farmland having already been established, but what set it apart from Khezaka and Medellin was the location it was in. The primary industry of note in Esperanza was mining, and in particular it was the mining of the abundant resources found in the remains of Mexico City underground. Building materials had broken down, plastics had degraded, but metals remained. In particular there was a concentration of metals related to old electronics and infrastructure.


    Being so far inland and near so many mountains, weathering hadn¡¯t been as extreme as it had been on coastal regions. The Earth had churned up the remains of many cities between winds, storms, and glaciers, but this had been the first place the UPE had discovered that was easily harvested. With lessons learned in Columbia and Panama, people had set out to rebuild civilization with the remains of the old.


    There had initially been some efforts to recover records or relics of ages past, but time had not been kind to the works of mankind. Very little had been discovered that hadn¡¯t been completely destroyed, but there were decades or centuries of mining ahead that may yet yield artifacts. For now, Esperanza was dedicated to resource extraction as opposed to archaeology.


    ¡°It¡¯s grown a lot, hasn¡¯t it?¡± A man who seemed significantly younger than Vasille looked up to the standing Old One. He bore many of the same facial features of the ancient, but with a boyish demeanor and easygoing body language. His nametag noted him as Captain Beldsoe.


    Vasille nodded as he looked at the city off in the distance, and then back to the assembled vehicles behind them. ¡°It has.¡± The five Hijas they had brought with them were each armed similarly to the old Liberated States of Columbia scout cars. They were sleek vehicles with camouflage paint of primarily brown colors. They seated up to four each, with canopies that could slide away. Mounted at the front and rear on each vehicle were turrets containing three weapons.


    The primary armament was a high-powered railgun. While these weapons had received little use since the defeat of the Iron Roaches, Vasille had insisted they remain among the UPE armaments. Curiously, their primary use after that ancient war had been to clear avalanches during the ice age before they could get too big.


    In addition to that primary weapon were a simple chemically-propelled projectile launcher designed to deliver many kinds of ordinance at range, as well as the newest model of the LSC¡¯s signature Lightning Guns.


    Larger versions of these weapons were mounted atop the Madre as well, the large parent vehicle for the smaller Hijas. Superficially resembling the nuclear-powered Alpha One and Alpha Two vehicles from the LSC that were used to recharge their scout vehicles, the Madre was more akin to a tank. It operated as a well-armed command center, with its various surfaces slanted to deflect projectiles.


    It was one of three such vehicles in the UPE, and was equipped with one of the very few nuclear power generators still in use. It also contained the three Anthropoids brought along on the mission, two Ironbacks and one Chloropoid.


    ¡°They probably left already, but search the city to the best of our ability. Ask for any information on sightings of Wise Ape cargo trucks, uniforms, employees, etcetera. I don¡¯t want to be here too long. I¡¯d like to get as far north as possible before winter comes and forces us to track our quarry in the snow.¡± Vasille sat back down and lifted a hand to signal the group forward.


    Nodding in response, Neville Bledsoe repeated the orders to the vehicles over radio while kicking their car into gear. Neville and Vasille took the lead in towards Esperanza, with two Guardsmen in the back seat. Once they were all underway, Neville glanced over at Vasille. ¡°Father, don¡¯t you think winter would be advantageous? We can operate in the cold much better than they can.¡±


    Vasille let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Neville, I know you haven¡¯t been very far North yet. If you think this part of the continent is big, then you¡¯re not ready to see how big it gets further North. It¡¯s an endless landmass of wastelands and rivers that our quarry could easily get as lost as they please in. If we can¡¯t close in on them, we¡¯ll never find them. We also can¡¯t make assumptions regarding how prepared they are for winter.¡±


    ¡°How many settlements do you think there are that we don¡¯t know about? Surely the majority of them would have done their best to keep in touch with the UPE?¡± Neville sounded somewhat hopeful as he asked his father the question.


    The ancient father did his best to hold his sigh this time. ¡°Unfortunately, the types of people given to risking their lives to establish new settlements are not always the types to maintain communication. There are many aspects of humanity our culture and the Ice Age have suppressed to a dangerous degree. Such things were the cause of the majority of the Phoenix Clan¡¯s internal conflicts. Wanderlust was one of them. It may take centuries to find where all of the colonists went.¡±


    Neville considered that for a moment, avoiding a large rock and signalling the other vehicles to avoid it as well. ¡°And this Walter Thade is important enough to try and track down despite knowing we¡¯re unlikely to find him? This isn¡¯t just about one man, is it?¡±


    Vasille shook his head, glancing over at his son. ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t. It¡¯s certainly a large part of it, as the grandson of Elena Price cannot just go missing without explanation to the people, but this incident has uncovered something important. There¡¯s an unknown organization operating in our country and it¡¯s using the colonies away from Medellin as shelter. We don¡¯t know who they are, what their motives are, or why they took Thade. We need to operate under the assumption they are enemies.¡±


    His son nodded, frowning. ¡°Don¡¯t you think driving them underground, hunting them down, and persecuting them will only make them stronger? What if that draws sympathizers to them? Like you said, there¡¯s a lot suppressed by our culture, so what if some of these settlements are anti-UPE?¡±


    The Old One thought about it for several moments, considering his son¡¯s ideas. ¡°We¡¯ve certainly seen that sort of thing in the past. They know they¡¯re being chased though. They know they need to run because they know they¡¯ve broken the law and will be punished if we find them. It¡¯s our duty to see justice done. As far as rebellious settlements, we should be able to handle that.¡±


    ¡°Of course, father. And I¡¯m sure you realize they probably want to be chased, as well? They¡¯ll set up a trail for us to follow, like their burned down warehouses, in an effort to draw us in. Aside from Thade, have they even done anything harmful? Maybe the Wise Ape Cargo Company offended a few people and encouraged possible bigots, but no one was really harmed in that. Surely we can just track down Thade, punish his kidnappers, and leave the rest be?¡± Neville let off the accelerator as they came down a steep hill, letting gravity bring them up to speed as they started passing near farmlands.


    Vasille tapped his metallic hand against an armrest. ¡°Of course they are. They¡¯re consolidating their resources or trying to disappear. Probably both. We have to make sure we don¡¯t drive them underground, as you said. They¡¯ll only get stronger that way. That¡¯s why their company was allowed to operate in the open in the first place, so people could see and openly ridicule their more bigoted ideas. If Thade hadn¡¯t disappeared, none of the rest of this would have happened.¡±


    Neville let out a sigh, shaking his head. He reached a hand up to indicate to the other vehicles to start spreading out. Some of them stopped at farmsteads to talk to the residents. Close up, it was easy to see that there were quite a few Chloropoids and Gallusoids joining humans in the fields. ¡°What if we don¡¯t find him?¡±


    Vasille stared at the city as they approached. The buildings were scarcely over two stories tall. The construction was primarily of hempwood, hemp, and applewood, with little in the way of paint. Large pits with thick fences dotted the landscape where workers and equipment disappeared underground. ¡°We¡¯ll find him, or what¡¯s left of him. It¡¯s only a matter of time, son. We¡¯ll do our duty, I promise it. I promised Elena, and I haven¡¯t let her down yet.¡±


    The half Old One smirked over at his father and brought their vehicle to a stop. It¡¯d be a long day of interviewing citizens. ¡°How is she?¡±


    Glancing back at his son with a raised eyebrow, Vasille moved to exit the vehicle. ¡°She¡¯s well. Motherhood seems to suit her this time. I don¡¯t like her husband though. I think he¡¯s involved.¡±


    Getting out the other side, Neville frowned and looked across the vehicle at Vasille. ¡°And you left her back there with him, alone? What if something happens? Surely we should attach guards to keep an eye on her?¡±


    Vasille shook his head, heading towards a building and waving at Neville to indicate he should follow. ¡°No, that¡¯s a bad idea. It would tip him off more than I already have. I have to trust that she can keep an eye on him. Even if we had guards posted that wouldn¡¯t stop him from doing something when they aren¡¯t looking. She¡¯s not alone, and she knows of the possible danger. She¡¯ll be able to handle it.¡±


    Scoffing, Neville caught up with his father as they headed into what seemed to be a tool storehouse. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to restrain myself if there was danger near a woman I lov-¡±


    Vasille turned harshly to Neville, the blade of this cybernetic arm flipped out and pointing at his son. ¡°Don¡¯t. Don¡¯t finish that sentence.¡± His gaze was intense, mechanical eyes slightly glowing in menace.


    Seemingly unflustered, Neville held up his hands and laughed. ¡°Sorry Commander, I didn¡¯t mean to overstep my bounds. I didn¡¯t mean to insinuate anything, I was just expressing my feelings. I¡¯d have killed Leonard, that¡¯s all I¡¯m saying.¡±


    Vasille stared for a moment before retracting the blade. He was visibly annoyed that his son didn¡¯t respond to his intimidation. His efforts to raise his kids with nerves of steel apparently had drawbacks. ¡°I thought about it. I didn¡¯t want to hurt her like that, taking someone possibly responsible for the disappearance of her grandson before she could get her shot at him.¡± He seemed to calm down, smoothing down his uniform. ¡°Besides, for now it seems like he¡¯s responsible for protecting her for some reason. Whatever his true motives, she might just be safest with him.¡±


    Neville merely shrugged in response, smiling and seeking out any civilians in the building. Finding the head of the storehouse, the two Guardsmen began their long day of interviews and information gathering.

 Chapter 16: The Wheel Spins

    08:00 Monday, March 11, CE 0


    ¡°Thank you both for coming to see me. I¡¯ve been eager to get you two alone in a therapy room since we arrived.¡± Doctor Wilfred Coff invited Doctor Hawthorne Crenshaw and Evelyn Crenshaw into his office.


    Fresh paperwork was left strewn atop a wooden desk, and the room was otherwise lightly furnished. The walls were painted a dark brown that matched the glossy wooden floor. The desk was near a curtained window and the bulk of the middle of the room was taken up by a large couch and a high-backed lounge chair that faced it from a few feet away. Dr. Coff had even procured a bookcase and filled it with books.


    The spines of the books, on the surface, all appeared to be different shapes and colors. Upon closer inspection, however, one would find many similarities in quality and material. As they were one of many objects and products produced by MOTHER¡¯s manufacturing plants, and the actual fibers used were essentially identical, the make ended up being very uniform. They even had the same smell, lending the room the smell of an old-fashioned library.


    An overhead light fixture lit the room comfortably, though a standing lamp stood at one end of the couch and remained dark for the moment. Evelyn wasted little time in walking up to shake Dr. Coff¡¯s hand while encouraging her husband to do the same. She had a bright smile on her face, something her android had little trouble with. ¡°Come on Hawthorne, say hello.¡±


    To say Dr. Hawthorne Crenshaw looked uncomfortable would be completely fair. His body moved somewhat stiffly and he found his eyes drawn to the bookcase in particular. Before he¡¯d left Earth he probably would have never recognized any of the titles or authors on those spines, but in having to treat his and Evelyn¡¯s own psychological issues en-route to Alpha Centauri he had read many of them.


    ¡°Hello, Doctor Coff. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t come join you both sooner, I have been trying to keep busy since we¡¯ve arrived. I¡¯m not getting any younger and I¡¯d like to be productive in my final decades.¡± He shook Wilfred¡¯s hand firmly and with authority, the older man nevertheless in much more robust health than the psychiatrist.


    Dr. Coff did not seem to mind the excessively firm handshake, and he made a failed attempt to match it. ¡°Nonsense, Doctor Crenshaw. With the advances I¡¯ve become aware of on Earth since our departure, you may yet have a century or more of life left in you. You¡¯re certainly healthier than average for a man your age. Come, come, sit on the couch and let¡¯s get acquainted.¡± He gestured amiably towards the couch and waited for them to sit.


    The couple sat on the couch comfortably, with Evelyn leaning against Hawthorne¡¯s side and smiling serenely. Wilfred couldn¡¯t help but smile somewhat back at them. His smile left his face a few moments later. ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure you both are aware it is considered taboo to discuss the contents of anything that happens within this room with others. I¡¯ve taken an oath to a long-dead body and a history full of people in my profession to keep your business private unless it has immediate legal implications.¡±


    They both nodded in response, content to let him continue.


    ¡°Wonderful. I say that, because it is somewhat against that oath that I might bring up things I¡¯ve spoken to Evelyn with in private. As a married couple, I think it worthwhile to consider the two of you as a single unit. As such, I wanted to have both of you here, as there is not much value in trying to evaluate one of you without the other. It simply doesn¡¯t give the full picture.¡± He turned a bit to find his seat, adjusted its placement, and sat down in front of them.


    ¡°That being said, I have a request. Evelyn, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed I¡¯ve had a few changes made to the room since you were here last week?¡± He turned to look at her, waiting for her to respond.


    She smiled and nodded her affirmation to him. ¡°Well, as far as I can tell you¡¯ve had more removed than added. I can¡¯t feel any flow of electricity into the room, so I can only assume it is supplied by a separate grid, perhaps from a battery. There¡¯s no electronics present besides myself. The air conditioning and environment sensors are also absent from my ability to detect them.¡±


    Dr. Coff smiled at that. ¡°Quite correct. Evelyn, I think it¡¯s important that if I am going to be having artificial people here, that their attention be focused here. I would have had it shielded against wireless signals as well, but that wouldn¡¯t really allow you to be here, now would it? I asked Mother to help me make these modifications, with the understanding that you or her would be receiving my services. Who knows, perhaps other such non-flesh people will need my services someday. I hope this doesn¡¯t make you too uncomfortable?¡±


    Evelyn felt Hawthorne squeeze her hand and she glanced up at him for a moment. He looked concerned. She hesitated a moment before responding. ¡°It is mildly unsettling, but nothing I can¡¯t handle. I recently dealt with far worse. I take it you would like me to refrain from any outside communication or consultation while I¡¯m here as well?¡±


    The therapist nodded in response, smiling. ¡°A request I¡¯d make of any patient, yes. Please turn off any non-android electronics so that we can keep this hour private and to ourselves. I want us to make productive use of our time. Is that okay Evelyn? Hawthorne?¡±


    Hawthorne raised his right hand slightly, his left holding Evelyn¡¯s at his side. ¡°I have no objections for myself, but I am a little concerned over my wife feeling too isolated after the incident she just endured.¡± He looked back to her again, smiling. ¡°Are you going to be alright, honey?¡±


    She nodded back, making a show of inhaling deeply through her nose and then exhaling through her mouth as she shifted to sitting up straight. ¡°Yes. This is nothing compared to that.¡±


    Dr. Coff waited for the two to settle and return their attention back to him. ¡°Perfect. Now, my primary concerns with you two is that you have endured a significant amount of trauma, and you¡¯ve only really had the two of you to lean on. I am curious why you never took the time to revive a therapist like myself or someone else the same way you did with Dr. O¡¯Malley? I would have been more than happy to help you. Time has a way of settling in psychological damage to a degree that it is difficult to excise.¡±


    Frowning a bit, Hawthorne spoke first. ¡°I appreciate that Doctor, I do, but while we were en-route there was a great deal we were uncertain of. We didn¡¯t know what kinds of emergencies we may encounter along the way, nor what kind of damage we might sustain to hardware or supplies. It was entirely within reason that expending the resources to revive additional personnel unnecessarily along the way could have resulted in catastrophic shortages later.¡±


    Evelyn¡¯s face had become serious as well, and she nodded in agreement. ¡°Absolutely. Four days of extra resources expended may not sound like much, but if the Shower had struck and destroyed storage bays or anything of the sort we would have been in a much more dire situation. I suppose as we came close to the end of our journey we were more certain of what lay ahead thanks to sending Mother ahead, but at that point it was easier to just wait until now for such consultation. I had Hawthorne, and that¡¯s all I needed.¡±


    Wilfred nodded and pulled a notepad from the side of his seat, an attached pencil allowing him to scribble his notes. He carefully arranged himself so that Evelyn¡¯s eyes could not track his hand movements or pencil movements by blocking them with the notepad. He did not want her simulating what he was writing. ¡°Reasonable of course. Logical, of course. I think that¡¯s the problem though. You think that reviving a therapist would have possibly endangered the mission, but the real danger was not reviving one.¡±


    The couple showed similar levels of confusion on their face in response. Evelyn let out a single word. ¡°What?¡±


    Dr. Coff smiled at that. ¡°It worked out, of course, but the situation could easily have turned more dangerous if one of you had broken under your stress. There¡¯s no telling what kind of damage you may have caused, or failed to prevent, if you were not working at your best at the wrong moments. For instance.¡± He flipped a few pages on his notepad and tapped his pencil against it. ¡°Evelyn mentioned that during the Shower, Hawthorne was emotionally distressed. There is a possibility that the event may have proceeded differently if he was not.¡±


    Hawthorne seemed to bristle at that idea, his back straightening as he puffed out his chest. ¡°Are you suggesting to me, Doctor Coff, that the seven crew members we lost were somehow due to my emotional distress?¡±


    Evelyn was at his side, raising a hand to his chest to try and calm him down. ¡°No, no, that¡¯s not what he means Hawthorne.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Dr. Coff met Hawthorne¡¯s look with a serious one of his own. ¡°What I mean is that you may have responded quicker, or there may have been less risk of damage to yourself or the ship if you had been sharper. I think it¡¯s likely that your actions prevented many more of us from dying that day, but if that emotional turmoil had broken you¡­ then who knows what might have happened? What if that had been the last straw after years of neglecting your mental health?¡±


    The older man narrowed his eyes at that. He remained stressed for a few moments before letting out a sigh. ¡°I would have left Evelyn and Mother alone to deal with the crisis while I accomplished little in a broken state. Things might have worked out much worse.¡± Hawthorne looked at the floor for a moment, seeing much of the room reflected in its waxed surface. ¡°I think I see what you mean.¡±


    ¡°If blame is to be pointed, I think I should take it.¡± Evelyn reached her other hand up to rub Hawthorne¡¯s shoulder, their hands squeezed together firmly. ¡°I was the one who put him in that state through my negligence.¡±


    Dr. Coff thought quietly for a moment, letting the air sit silent. ¡°Blame is unimportant here. What is important is that you both recognize that it was a problem to not see to your mental health more responsibly. It doesn¡¯t have to be the end of the world. I don¡¯t want you having regrets about what has happened already. I just want you to understand that it was reckless. What¡¯s done is done. We have a bright future to look forward to thanks to the both of you and the work of many others. I just want to make sure you two are not added to the casualties of that day.¡±


    Hawthorne lifted his head and stared across at the therapist. ¡°I¡¯ve died thousands of times, Wilfred. I was never entirely sure the process would work the next time. I laid down in that pod over and over. The chemicals damaged my body and changed my life. I cannot feel physical pain anymore. That turned out to be an asset during the Shower, but¡­ I¡¯ve found that my heart feels pain more keenly as a consequence.¡±


    Two pairs of eyes stared at Hawthorne, listening as he continued. ¡°When Evelyn revealed to me that Tia Monsalle was pregnant, that I would not be able to seek comfort in her arms as I grew increasingly restless on the Ark, it was an enormous blow. I don¡¯t feel like she betrayed me, I don¡¯t think. Neither of them really. I just¡­ didn¡¯t understand why it felt like I couldn¡¯t trust anyone for several cycles after. For a time I thought it might be better if I¡¯d undertaken the mission alone, as other people were additional variables that could have resulted in further disasters.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s completely understandable, Hawthorne.¡± Dr. Coff added some notes to his notepad. ¡°With something like that happening so close to a life-threatening disaster where you yourself very nearly died, not to mention the seven who had, it¡¯s not hard to imagine the events being conflated in your head. The disappointment of being unable to seek comfort in a lover¡¯s arms and fighting for your life became intensely bound. That¡¯s totally healthy and reasonable.¡±


    Hawthorne looked back to the floor, sitting quietly again. His elbows dropped to his knees as he drooped forward. ¡°It was hard. For a while I resented them, Evelyn and Mother, for having not been better prepared for our defense. I know they couldn¡¯t have seen it coming any better, or reacted more quickly, but I felt as though if I had done things differently then those people wouldn¡¯t be dead. If I hadn¡¯t decided to create an artificial person, maybe those seven natural ones would be here right now.¡±


    ¡°I recognize, of course, that wouldn¡¯t have been the case. Evelyn was far more able to follow my orders than a more mundane machine could have. Mother might have been the mistake, as her connection to Evelyn had been cut, splintering her mind and adding to the crisis, distracting Evelyn. Ultimately Mother has proven her worth, but the guilt I felt in the days after still haunts me, doctor. Guilt, pain, distrust¡­ they weigh upon me. Seven people dead, because of me.¡±


    Evelyn spoke up, adding. ¡°It¡¯s not just that. His friends, family, and those of the other crew members on Earth suffered from our departure. Many of them were hunted down, turned into scapegoats. I¡¯ve told him many times before that he can¡¯t be responsible for their actions, and he told me the same after the Cataclysm, but I¡¯ve heard him when he sleeps and¡­¡±


    Holding up a hand, Dr. Coff silenced her. ¡°Just a moment. Let¡¯s not pile too much on our plate here. We have a lot of time, and many sessions ahead to work through all of this. You¡¯ve both done well supporting each other. You should be proud of that. What we need to do now is work to undo the damage. Consider what you two have been doing up to this point as first aid. You need to allow me to perform surgery. With that said, I¡¯d like to work backwards today as we have a recent event to discuss.¡±


    Evelyn frowned as Hawthorne sat back up, looking over to her. She looked back up at him, and then over to Dr. Coff. ¡°The¡­ accident from a few days ago. I¡¯m fine, I assure you. My husband, sister and new friends saved me in a timely manner.¡±


    Dr. Coff smiled and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m glad for that, of course. You¡¯re my most interesting patient. Like Hawthorne, though, I worry about where your breaking point may be. You have experienced much more time, more life than anyone on this station. You¡¯ve taken in all the records from Earth. You¡¯ve witnessed the horrific annihilation of a world and lost contact with your first friends ever. You had to watch your creator, later husband suffer through it all and more.¡±


    Both Crenshaws¡¯ eyes were brimming with tears as the doctor spoke, with Evelyn finally bursting into tears as she fell forward, her hands covering her face as Hawthorne leaned over her side and hugged her. He looked angrily up at the therapist.


    Wilfred bore Hawthorne¡¯s gaze unflinchingly. ¡°During our last session, Evelyn spoke about these events, she told me what she¡¯d seen. She focused her stories on you, Hawthorne. She avoided speaking about herself and how she felt about these things. That¡¯s why I have you here. I am very concerned that your wife is concealing her emotions to protect you.¡±


    Evelyn trembled in Hawthorne¡¯s embrace, only to jerk upwards and glare at Wilfred. Tears still spilled from her avatar¡¯s eyes while her android¡¯s face and her avatar desynced. Her avatar¡¯s face was grimacing in anger while her android was smiling smugly. Evelyn regained control of her android as she let out a growl. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to help Hawthorne? You wanted to use him to get through to me?!¡±


    Hawthorne looked startled, both at the mixed expressions and the unexpected anger from Evelyn. He had been especially unsettled by the two faces, as if she was expressing two peoples¡¯ emotions. ¡°Honey, calm down, he didn¡¯t mean it like that. He wants to help both of us.¡± His hands moved to her shoulders, firmly reminding her he was there for her.


    She lashed out with a hand for a moment, with her avatar swinging high and through Hawthorne¡¯s head while her android stopped halfway, far from Hawthorne¡¯s face. Shock filled her avatar¡¯s face while her android expressed grim determination.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Evelyn.¡± Dr. Coff spoke firmly. ¡°This is what I was talking about. I¡¯m worried about you. I¡¯m worried about your mental health. We need to get a handle on this.¡±


    Hawthorne moved a hand to help push her arm back down. It resisted him for a moment. He noticed the android smile back at him before the arm relented and allowed him to move it.


    Evelyn¡¯s faces synced up again as her whole body started trembling as she looked back and forth between the two men. ¡°I.... I¡­¡±


    Loving arms embraced her in another hug as Hawthorne rested his chin atop her head. He was taking the fact that she¡¯d very nearly taken his head off rather well. He turned to look over at Dr. Coff. ¡°Thank you doctor, I don¡¯t think I would have realized this without you until it was too late.¡±


    She burst into tears again as she leaned hard into the hug, bawling against Hawthorne¡¯s arm as Dr. Coff watched the couple. He scribbled down some more notes on his notepad, interested by what he had just witnessed. ¡°I want both of you to feel safe here. If you¡¯re feeling distressed, come to me. I¡¯ll make time for you. I¡¯m not a farmer. I can¡¯t cook to save my life. If I can keep my crewmates from killing each other, then that is my purpose.¡±


    Evelyn nodded her head against Hawthorne¡¯s arm. Hawthorne frowned a bit. ¡°We¡¯re not done already, are we?¡±


    ¡°Certainly not.¡± Dr. Coff flipped his notepad closed and he stood up, setting it down on the seat. He walked over to his bookcase and started pulling out some books. ¡°You two have been fighting a war. Sometimes separate, sometimes together. What you both have to understand is that a war needs weapons. The damage done to your hearts and minds is very likely quite deep. We must arm you both with the tools you need to fight back the enemy and reclaim that territory.¡±


    Sniffling, Evelyn peeked over Hawthorne¡¯s arm, her hands gently curling their fingers against her husband¡¯s limb. ¡°We¡­ we¡¯ve read most of those.¡±


    Hawthorne let out a soft ¡®mmhmm¡¯ in confirmation.


    ¡°Good!¡± Dr. Coff brought an armful of books back and settled them down in front of them. ¡°If you have the weapons, that means you need a general. Let¡¯s scout out the damage, identify the enemies, and then we¡¯ll put together a plan to get you two back to health. Until then, I want you both to be more aware of your emotional states and try to control yourselves in public. I¡¯m happy to see you both had the forethought to put violence restrictions in that android as well. Very wise.¡±


    Hawthorne looked down at Evelyn. She appeared wide-eyed at that. Her android crooked a small smile to the corner of her mouth before her jaw fell agape. ¡°Ah! Right! I didn¡¯t tell you, Hawthorne! It was Mother¡¯s idea, just in case there was a malfunction or something.¡±


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99681


    ¡°Six months.¡± Leonard Tetch looked up at the younger woman in scrubs attending to him in the hospital. She had his right wrist opened up and she was carefully snipping at tissues inside. His arm was restrained, and he seemed unconcerned about the surgery he was undergoing.


    She looked up at him, her eyes a dark brown that bordered on black. Her skin was deeply brown as well, curly hair mostly contained in a cap. ¡°That¡¯s a long time to heal. It¡¯s a shame you need surgery on your wrist too, but we¡¯ll have you fixed back up in no time.¡±


    Leonard was wearing a mask similar to her own as he oversaw his own surgery, leaning in to observe what she was doing. ¡°Careful, I need that. The next one over.¡± He let out a sigh of annoyance. ¡°I hate how fragile our bodies are compared to how powerful we can be. The fingers especially.¡± He held up his left hand. Lines of thin scars traced the fingers where plates had to be installed to strengthen the heavily damaged hand. It had been smashed to near uselessness by Walter Thade during his panicked effort to escape Leonard.


    ¡°It is a trade off for being able to blend in with our ancestral prey, doctor. Our strength is such that we can only use it in emergencies. Our cousins need not hide theirs. I believe the scar tissues are dealt with, sir.¡± She exchanged tools, moving to press the two flaps of skin back together as she started closing him up. She dragged a forward-angled, white, plastic device slowly across the wound, leaving behind a neatly-stitched line. The small machine seemed to detect the depth needed and automatically sew him up as she passed it by.


    Leonard lifted up his hand and tested his fingers before gently rotating his wrist. ¡°Much better. Good job, that barely even hurt.¡±


    She smiled under her mask and reached out to take his hand again, starting to disinfect the site and bandage him up. ¡°Thank you doctor. If I may ask, why do you insist on these procedures being performed without pain relief?¡±


    He sighed back at her. ¡°I have a rather high pain tolerance, for one. Two, it allows me to be able to better supervise my apprentice as she works on me. Three, I¡¯ve never been fond of anesthesia in the first place. I deserve to feel pain for how I failed. I probably shouldn¡¯t have allowed you to talk me into working on my wrist in the first place.¡±


    She smirked and shrugged, tugging down her mask. Her plump lips had cherry red lipstick on, though it had smeared slightly against the inside of her mask. ¡°You said your wrist still hurt when I asked. Of course I¡¯d offer to help. Can¡¯t have MASTER Tetch not being at his best, now can we?¡±


    Leonard groaned as the young Wise One unnecessarily emphasized his title as a Master of Apprentices. ¡°Kate, please. Control yourself. We¡¯re on camera at the moment.¡±


    Kate wiggled her behind a bit, smirking up at Leonard. She stood up straight and nodded and gave him a thumbs up. ¡°You¡¯re all fixed up, DOCTOR Tetch. I hope that¡¯ll reflect well on my record?¡±


    He rolled his eyes and stood up from the seat next to the operating table. Even as short as he was, he was still over 20cm taller than Kate Harrison. ¡°Except for the part where you almost cut my flexor digitorum profundus tendon, yes. I¡¯d rather not lose the ability to bend my finger, thank you. Not that you couldn¡¯t have stitched it back together, but I¡¯d rather not heal a tendon injury so soon after all the rest of this.¡±


    Her skin flushed darkly in embarrassment as he reminded her of the mistake. ¡°Could I have even cut it with those scissors? Our tendons are as strong as our muscles, right?¡±


    Leonard shrugged, smirking. ¡°I doubt it, but the hands holding those scissors might have surprised me. Regardless, your record¡¯s fine. Come, we have some work to do before I need to pack up.¡±


    Kate pouted as she followed Leonard. ¡°Are you sure you have to go? We¡¯ll all be lost without you! You could stay here with me and let your wife go alone instead? I wouldn''t have any trouble bearing you a second or a third or twenty children¡­¡±


    Placing his left hand over his face, Leonard let out a groan of frustration as he stopped and turned to Kate. ¡°Listen. This isn¡¯t about what we want or don¡¯t want. I¡¯m with Elena until I die, or she leaves me. I will continue my mission. You need to move on without me. I¡¯m sorry, but this was never going to happen. I¡¯m doing this for our very species.¡±


    Anger twisted her face as she glared back up at him. ¡°So what? We already live. We¡¯ve been here for forever. We don¡¯t need more. We don¡¯t need HER, or your daughter. Besides, isn¡¯t one enough? Hasn¡¯t this whole fiasco just brought more suspicion and danger to us that we avoided for so long? We were fine.¡±


    He shook his head, reaching hands out to grip her shoulders. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anymore. What¡¯s done is done. Things are in motion. I can¡¯t give up what I have right now. It might be the future of our species. There¡¯s no other accessible Old Ones. Vasille¡¯s untouchable. Emily¡¯s dead, and the other two-¡±


    ¡°UGH!¡± Kate stamped her foot, taking care to keep from injuring herself. ¡°I don¡¯t CARE about the Old Ones or Wise Ones. I don¡¯t care about the Guard. I don¡¯t care about Bosk Schrade and his foolish plan to send his son into the old witch¡¯s bed. I care about YOU, Leonard. This isn¡¯t fair!¡± Tears had filled her eyes as she stared up at the barely-older man who nevertheless looked much older due to how they aged.


    ¡°Pull yourself together, woman. You¡¯re better than this. Don¡¯t waste your time or emotions on me. You took this apprenticeship knowing full well what it entailed, what I needed from you. We had our time. I need to do this.¡± He withdrew his hands and smiled down at her. ¡°I need you to be brave for me and protect me from afar. I need you to watch after things when I¡¯m gone, keep the others in line when you become a Master of Apprentices too.¡±


    Her eyes lit up at that, her whole body seeming to lift off the ground. ¡°Y¡­ you¡¯re going to put in the recommendation after my apprenticeship is over!?¡±


    He dipped his head deeply in a nod, flashing much of his balding pate in the process. ¡°Of course. I can think of no one better. You¡¯re the one I trust the most. You¡¯re the only one it could be.¡±


    Kate twisted and swayed, almost knocking herself over as she grinned foolishly. She seemed to remember she was mad a moment later as she pointed a finger out at him. ¡°You¡¯d better NOT enjoy yourself!¡±


    Leonard smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll hate every minute of it.¡±


    Elena Marie Price-Tetch¡¯s hair was frazzled as she looked through files on her computer. While the overall power of technology had not had much opportunity to advance due to lack of resources, the software certainly had. Many generations of tinkerers had created a staggering number of new programs since the establishment of the United People of Earth. Most frustrating was the wide variety of operating systems, compatibility issues, and the need to use software to bridge between them.


    Computer and electronic manufacturing was more of a custom, boutique affair. Different families and tribes in the UPE had very different ideas on how to optimize computers and their OSes for various purposes. Commissions for bulk product were possible though, and the government was usually very good at maintaining a standard configuration to keep all involved personnel on the same page.


    Unfortunately for Elena, since the last time she was in office the UPE had changed over to a new combination of software packages, operating systems, and transfer protocols. Not only was her old government-issue hardware woefully incompatible, the new hardware seemed to be intentionally designed to work poorly with private citizen hardware. Outside of public-facing announcements, forums, and voting, it was very difficult to interact with the UPE networks even when you were supposed to be allowed to.


    On the plus side, the complex web of interpersonal relationships that made up the various branches of government were able to keep intimate track of one another. The Council of Thirteen, Honored Elders, Judiciary, People¡¯s Guard and Youth Consultancy were all able to keep tabs on each other and check their powers. They were able to easily confer, in a secure fashion, over happenings, submitted laws, and proposed actions with ease.


    Essentially this left Elena partially shut out. Despite the fact that she consulted with the Council, heard their concerns and provided guidance she was mostly left out of the actual conversations. She had to make individual contacts rather than having access to everyone at once. Getting the private contact information of elected officials should have been easy for someone of Elena¡¯s stature, but it wasn¡¯t the ability to call in favors that were the issue. It was literally the software getting in the way.


    As someone who had been, but was not currently, an elected member of the government Elena found it very frustrating. She understood, of course, that these sorts of change-overs were necessary for the security of the government, as there were plenty of people who out-lived their elected terms by decades or more. It just wouldn¡¯t do to have people from a half century prior knowing the security protocols to the current government. The main issue with this iteration is that they did not take into account consultants like herself.


    Her body sagged as she propped her chin up in her right palm and rested her elbow against the desktop as she stared at a government stylus-pusher in her screen. ¡°This isn¡¯t acceptable. How am I expected to do my consulting job if I¡¯m not privy to the conversation? If I can¡¯t observe how the current government is communicating and operating then I can¡¯t offer advice or insight. I need access.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for the frustration Consultant Price, but I¡¯m under orders to not discuss matters regarding government security with unelected officials or government personnel. I can escalate this to my supervisor if you like? Perhaps he can help more.¡± The pretty young woman operating as one of many government sensory organs was annoyingly polite and disarming. She didn¡¯t even look at the camera, and was instead working off to the side on something else while she only half-paid attention to Elena.


    ¡°Yes. Please. Transfer me to your supervisor. Thank you.¡± Elena closed her eyes and let her head dip forwards, letting a waterfall of her long silvery hair fall across her face.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± The young woman reached out towards the screen, and the video feed shut off. Elena presumed she was being transferred, but there was no visual indication aside from the fact the call had not ended.


    The screen flashed to life again a few moments later, and Elena lifted her face and brushed hair out of her view as she observed who it was. ¡°Oh. Mister Schrade. You¡¯re still working there at your age?¡±


    The heavily weathered, aged, and tanned face of Bosk Schrade smiled back at Elena as he made certain to look into the camera to make ¡®eye contact¡¯ with Elena. ¡°Hello, former Councilwoman Price. It is a pleasure to see you again before time takes me from you. How can this dedicated servant of the United People of Earth serve you today?¡±


    Elena let out a sigh and straightened herself up as she gave Bosk her full attention. ¡°I¡¯m having difficulty performing my duty as a Consultant to the government. I don¡¯t currently have access to a compatible computer that will allow me to do my job. I¡¯m being paid for work I can¡¯t adequately do and yet no one seems concerned about how poor of a job I¡¯m doing. I would identify that as a problem that the government isn¡¯t operating well enough to be aware of that poor payoff on their investment.¡±


    Bosk nodded and continued smiling as she made clear her concerns. ¡°Yes, of course. Let me check up on your files and permissions for a moment.¡± He looked away and worked quietly off to the side. Of course, Bosk was aware that elements concerned with the security of the government wanted to freeze out Elena from having too much access for fear that she was compromised. The officials whom had sought out her consultancy had not acquired permission from those security personnel to include her in the network.


    ¡°I think I see the problem.¡± He looked back to Elena, no longer smiling. ¡°There is a conflict of interest at play. It appears that there is concern that you are a security risk, despite members of the government requesting your services. Do you know whom it is that might have come to such a conclusion, Missus Price?¡±


    The Old One let out an aggravated groan as realization struck her. ¡°Yes. Yes I do.¡± She could only imagine that Vasille, considering she lived with an active suspect, did not want to allow her to accidentally give Leonard access to the government. ¡°Now that you mention it, that makes a great deal more sense. Is there any way around the restriction?¡±


    The elder Wise One smiled back at Elena, fully aware of the investigation of his secret son. ¡°You could request from that person they relent in their security request, or petition the government to veto it. I would be happy to make the request on your behalf if you are having difficulties making such proposals due to your lockout.¡±


    Elena finally managed a smile after the long series of government employees shuffling her around. ¡°Yes, Mister Schrade. Please make the request on my behalf. I really dislike that I¡¯m being paid for services I cannot properly render.¡±


    Bosk smiled and dipped his head. ¡°It would be my pleasure, Missus Price. To divert from that for a moment, I want to apologize for being unable to make it to your wedding. I very much appreciate the invitation, but I had important work to do at the time. It is a sincere regret of mine to be unable to attend.¡±


    She gasped softly in surprise. ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m so sorry Bosk, I didn¡¯t realize you hadn¡¯t made it. I was so caught up in the ceremony I was barely aware of anyone but Leonard. Please don¡¯t worry about it, consider yourself forgiven.¡±


    ¡°You needn¡¯t apologize. My invitation was a courtesy to a former co-worker, not some close friend or family. I am grateful for your forgiveness. One less weight for me to bear to the grave afore long.¡± He looked quite pleased at the whole sentiment.


    She tilted her head. ¡°Are you dying, Mister Schrade? I did not think you were so old as to be speaking of death. You were quite young and spry, to my recollection, when we worked together.¡±


    He waved a hand dismissively, smiling. ¡°The sun has not been kind to me. While cancers have been defeated, they have left their damage on my body. I have a year, perhaps less. I have few regrets, and fewer still since this conversation. Please allow me to express my gratitude by seeing to it that the people¡¯s money is expended for proper work, and not hindered work.¡±


    She smiled again at that, nodding. ¡°Thank you Bosk. I hope you¡¯ll invite me to your seeing off? I haven¡¯t been to one in some time.¡±


    Bosk laughed softly. ¡°I did not think you would be interested in the inebriated, drugged ramblings of an old man on his deathbed, Elena. Yes, I would be happy to have you come. I do not have much family, so if you and your family came it would be a much more enjoyable affair. To think that I would have such a legendary figure at my seeing off. It is too much to have hoped for.¡±


    It was Elena¡¯s turn to wave off the flattery. ¡°Whatever my supposed legend may be, I¡¯m still just a woman, Mister Schrade. I can easily be accused of not maintaining my relationships very well, and I recall we got along rather well once upon a time.¡±


    He nodded back, his wrinkled skin stretched in a wide, almost grotesque smile. ¡°Before we see me off, I¡¯ll need to attend to your business for you. I must go if I¡¯m going to catch enough of the officials before the end of the work day.¡±


    Elena gasped again at that. ¡°It¡¯s barely the afternoon! What do you mean the end of the work day?¡±


    Bosk lifted a tablet to show her a schedule. ¡°As you can see, the government is keeping¡­ lean hours at the moment.¡±


    ¡°By the Bunker! What kind of schedule is that? No wonder the government needs my consulting! Bosk, please go talk to them so I can steer them off this ridiculous course.¡± Elena was flabbergasted, shaking her head.


    ¡°At once.¡± Bosk turned off the communication. After taking a moment to ensure the call had ended, he leaned back in his comfortable, high backed chair and let out a hearty laugh.

 Chapter 17: Games

    09:45 Monday, March 11, CE 0


    A simply designed cleated sports shoe met synthetic leather as Dr. Li Qiang kicked a finely stitched, perfectly round football. It sailed through the air in a graceful arc, a loud curse from the scientist preceding its landing in a gently flowing creek. ¡°Shit!¡±


    ¡°Language, Doctor.¡± An avatar of MOTHER spoke next to Dr. Qiang, transitioning to floating along beside him as he chased the ball down the river. He was dressed lightly, with sporty shorts and a loose-tanktop that showed off a fit and toned body of short stature.


    He let out a sigh and nodded his head as he jogged, scooping the wet ball out of the river with a hand. ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t be mad. That¡¯s actually exactly what I was hoping would happen.¡±


    MOTHER smiled at him, then looked down at the ball. ¡°It meets your specifications, then? I am pleased that it only took three prototypes before I mastered the production.


    Li spun the ball against his palm, slapping his other hand against the opposite side of the ball. He repeated this several times, spreading the creek¡¯s moisture across the surface, which caused it to dry off faster. ¡°It will do Mother, thank you. My apologies for taking up your time with such trivialities.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, Doctor. Encouraging physical fitness is well worth the effort. The people of this station must remain healthy if we are to have a chance at repopulating humanity. The more I can do to aid that, the better.¡± She seemed incredibly pleased with herself, then gestured to the ball. ¡°Shall I announce to others that you have that? Perhaps we can arrange a game.¡±


    He blinked at her, then looked down at the ball in his hands. He grinned and gave it a squeeze between his hands. ¡°Nothing with too high a priority level, but yes. I¡¯ll also need some metal posts, and maybe something I can mark lines with, like some manner of cones?¡±


    She swept her gaze around, cameras above and Li¡¯s contacts giving her a good idea of the layout of the field. ¡°Four posts, four meters high and twelve street cones are on the way. My drones shall deliver them in approximately eleven point three four minutes to this location. Posting a priority four message to the network.¡±


    Dr. Qiang raised an eyebrow at that, nodding. ¡°Seems a little high to me, probably more of a five, but thank you. How did you word it?¡± He bounced the ball in the ankle-high grass of the open field, concerned that the thickness of the grass would prove an issue.


    MOTHER raised her arms dramatically. ¡°Come one, come all! Doctor Li Qiang invites all to a friendly game of Football. Respond if you wish to play, and you can anticipate proper footwear in your size waiting for you in short order at MOTHER¡¯s expense.¡±


    He laughed, extending a hand in a thumbs-up. ¡°Perfect! Let¡¯s see who shows up. Your expense though? Very generous of you. Some of them are going to show up just to get free shoes.¡±


    ¡°That is my intention, Doctor Qiang. The more pairs of sports oriented footwear in use, the more people actually using them there will be. If the intention is to encourage exercise and sport, I do not mind the expense. Maintaining the health of the crew will ultimately decrease cost of medical care, minus injuries of course.¡± She looked back to Li, smiling.


    ¡°Trick them into being healthy with fun, reap the rewards later when you have to deal with less visits to the cardiologist. I like it. Deviously benevolent, Mother.¡± He took the ball and attempted to spin it up onto three of his fingers, only briefly managing to balance it before it fell and bounced out of his grasp. He chased after the ball a few feet before scooping it back up.


    She watched him mess around, curious at how much experience he actually had with the sport. ¡°My only concern is the tendency for sport to result in rivalries and violent fandoms.¡±


    He shrugged back at her, smiling easily. ¡°Conflict isn¡¯t a bad thing, Mother. It¡¯s good for humans. We¡¯re competitive by nature, it¡¯s in our genetics. If we weren¡¯t in civilization, we would be cutting throats and bashing skulls within a few generations. We need these outlets to release the pressure that builds up in us. For some people it¡¯s fighting, for others it¡¯s sex, and for people like me it turns out to be sports.¡±


    MOTHER frowned at him, leaning forwards to stare into his eyes for a moment. ¡°You have no history with sport, Doctor. I have no records of you having childhood or school sports teams. Nothing in college. Have you always loved sports secretly?¡±


    ¡°Nope!¡± He spun the ball up into the air, catching it and moving it behind his head, leaning back into it and stretching his body backwards. ¡°Before I joined the Ark team I was a scrawny scientist. I took the physical fitness requirements very seriously, and in so doing I found a love of physical activity I¡¯d never been exposed to before. It taught me that my mind isn¡¯t separate from my body, as I had believed in my youth. A keen mind can be cultivated with a fit body.¡±


    She hummed in response, withdrawing from his visual proximity. ¡°Perhaps I should take a cue from my sister and utilize my android in exercise as well, to better sync my body and mind.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± He laughed leaning towards her with eyes held wide open. ¡°Artificial Intelligence football league. Let¡¯s make it happen.¡±


    She froze up at the idea, looking at him suspiciously. ¡°We only have two, that does not make a team, and I rather doubt you can convince others to go to such expense to construct AIs for mere sport.¡±


    He snapped his fingers, laughing softly as he dropped the ball and walked over to the creek. ¡°Can¡¯t blame a guy for trying. Maybe just the two of you joining the humans then. AI goalies, perhaps?


    MOTHER crossed her arms over her chest, considering him. ¡°I will ask Evelyn. I anticipate such activity will result in a great deal of wear and tear on our androids, however.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± He spun towards her, smiling. ¡°And then we can work on refining the design, making your androids better fit for the activity. After a few hundred iterations we¡¯ll have perfectly designed football goalie girlbots, and that will only force the humans to improve their game in response.¡±


    ¡°Surely that is unfair, Doctor? Eventually such platforms will be too efficient for a human to overcome.¡± She tilted her head at him, curious.


    That only got his pulse pumping, however. ¡°Even better! That means we¡¯ll have to overcome you with strategy and unpredictability. Humans have a great deal of ability to think our ways around problems, and building intuitive physical thinking is a great skill. Perhaps it¡¯ll help people better formulate their thoughts and problem solving in scientific fields as well.¡±


    She nodded at that, considering. ¡°It is not as though your bodies will not improve as ours do, presuming all efforts are equal. It might be a worthwhile contest.¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s find a good spot to set up the play area. Your supplies should be arriving soon.¡± He waved her along, kicking the ball along with him. ¡°Maybe an extra ball in case this one breaks as well.¡±


    ¡°Like you broke the others, Doctor?¡± She smirked at him, floating along beside him.


    Dr. Li Qiang rolled his eyes, laughing a little. ¡°If I can break it, that means some of the gorillas that¡¯ll join me on the field can break it even easier. It has to be tough! Sorry about the other ones though.¡±


    MOTHER had paled and stopped in her following, staring at the doctor. When he looked back she spoke. ¡°It is quite improper to use such a word to describe your peers, Doctor. Very few people in my records use such language without fear of reprisal.¡±


    He let out a dismissive ¡®pfft¡¯ in response, waving a hand. ¡°What, gorillas? Apes? Monkies? Are humans beyond primate terms of endearment now? I mean nothing by it, of course. Why do you look so distressed, Mother?¡±


    She floated woodenly as he compounded the thought in her head. People had been downright afraid to use those words in descriptions of people in her day. Heck, using the words at all had become quite taboo in the Liberated States of Columbia, and long before. Her former life as Megan Clark had included thousands, perhaps millions of people having been struck down from the internet for such words. ¡°I have many records of people getting quite upset¡­¡±


    Dr. Qiang threw his arms in the air. ¡°Screw that!¡± He laughed bitterly. ¡°Humans are the only primates left as far as we know! No more gorillas, no more monkeys. We¡¯re the last of the apes, Mother. Besides, if you think those are inappropriate words, just wait until we stoke up the fires of competition. If you¡¯re going to balk at this, just wait. It¡¯ll bleach your hard drives.¡±


    MOTHER huffed, closing her eyes and floating on ahead across the grass. ¡°I think I have located a good spot.¡±


    He sighed and kicked the ball along, following her. ¡°Political correctness is such a downer.¡±


    10:22 Monday, March 11, CE 0


    After roughly half an hour, people started gathering around the impromptu football field, helping set up the cones and posts, and debating with each other what a good size would be for it. Ross Fitzgerald, with Maribelle Giambini, had taken the opportunity to bring along a snack and drinks cart. He spoke up. ¡°Why can¡¯t we just have Mother project the field into the AR space? Why do we need physical markers at all?¡±


    Anthony Machado was moving a little stiffly, a back brace wrapped around his midsection over his shirt. ¡°Because not all of us are going to be wearing anything that can see it. We at least need the posts because it¡¯s part of the strategy of the game. Balls can deflect off the posts, preventing or causing goals. We want cones to mark where penalty kicks and throws come from.¡±


    Maribelle laughed and gave Ross a slap on the shoulder, the taller woman enjoying the moment. ¡°At last, wise old Ross has something he doesn¡¯t know about. Just let them set up their game, you big sour puss. We¡¯re just here to sell confections, let them have their fun.¡±


    Ross seemed disinterested, but didn¡¯t fight it too hard. He did rub his shoulder slightly though. ¡°Whatever, don¡¯t understand why we¡¯re playing soccer anyway. Give me a bat and a glove, and that¡¯ll get me on a field. Baseball baby, now that¡¯s a sport.¡±


    Multiple groans sounded out in response, but Dr. Heather O¡¯Malley¡¯s ¡°Uugggh!¡± was probably the loudest. ¡°Boooring! Baseball is boring! And most of Earth called this game here football, not soccer. Your ¡®football¡¯ barely involves feet touching the ball! It¡¯s not even really a ball, it¡¯s like¡­ an egg!¡±


    ¡°Handegg.¡± Dr. Thubbard Cane offered, stretching his chubby body as he prepared to take to the field. Despite his extra heft, he seemed to bear his weight with strength rather than lethargy. ¡°Handegg is a much better name for American Football. Soccer involves much more contact with the ball and feet, and so it makes more sense for it to be called Football. So the other sport gets to be Handegg.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Stifling a laugh, Maribelle watched Ross to see how he would react. She spent some time setting up the carts, extending an attached overhead umbrella over each and making sure all their utensils and safety gloves were stocked up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what we call it, I just think there¡¯s better sports to play than ¡®football¡¯. Regardless, when you folks are thirsty, I¡¯m ready to quench you.¡± He turned to address the other people starting to arrive. ¡°Snacks and drinks here!¡±


    Heather shook her head, smiling wickedly. ¡°No way! You don¡¯t get off that easy big guy. If you think football is so bad, get out here and show us what you¡¯ve got.¡± She bounced about, the tiny, lightweight woman dressed like a normal person for once. She was really enjoying the way her cleats dug into the ground beneath her, turning up dirt and clumps of grass.


    ¡°Yeah, get out there Fitzgerald. Show ¡®em what a police officer¡¯s capable of.¡± Maribelle clapped her hands, grinning. ¡°I¡¯ll win us some bread, you go win us a game!¡±


    ¡°Yeah Ross, what¡¯s the matter? Afraid of a little game? Even Cane¡¯s out here.¡± Anthony Machado seemed awfully amused, though he spent some time stretching and pushing at his back with a hand.


    Ross raised an eyebrow, curious. ¡°What¡¯s your story, Machado? Already hurt? We¡¯ve barely gotten here.¡± He came over to look at the taller man, reaching out a hand to poke at the back brace wrapped around Anthony¡¯s front.


    ¡°I¡¯m fi-¡± Anthony started.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine!¡± Heather finished, and then blushed. ¡°I mean.. I¡¯ve already looked at him! Just some muscle strain, he should be fine if he doesn¡¯t push himself too much.¡±


    Dr. Thubbard Cane let out a loud belly laugh. ¡°Did the little lady injure your body, Machado? Or maybe your little¡­ mechani-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t. Don¡¯t finish that sentence old man¡­¡± Anthony turned to glare at Thubbard, who cowed a bit under the gaze.


    ¡°He¡¯s schtupping the robot!¡± Maribelle laughed out with glee, then looked over at the floating MOTHER. ¡°He is, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Heather paled but stayed quiet.


    ¡°Incorrect. I have engaged in no significant sexual relations with Anthony Machado.¡± MOTHER seemed to be keeping her cool, her expression neutral and her eyes fixed on the field as drones helped mark out where the cones needed to be arranged and provide closer-range camera cover for her vision. ¡°The field is almost ready.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Anthony stalked out into the field, letting out a long breath and shaking his body out a bit to loosen up.


    Dr. Cane looked between the involved parties, curious about what had happened. Realization dawned on his eyes as he noticed how energetic Heather was as she took the field with some of the others. He walked out himself, his footsteps heavy and strength behind his movements.


    Similarly built, Ross trotted up to the side of Thubbard, jabbing him lightly with an elbow. ¡°What was that? Did you figure something out?¡± The two looked like a pair of tanks compared to the willowy and athletic folks on the field.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if your team wins.¡± Thubbard shoved at Ross¡¯ shoulder. ¡°We shall be goalies. Anchors to our teams. What do you say?¡±


    The grin that split Ross Fitzgerald¡¯s face was a gleaming one, wide and challenging. His pearly teeth were on full display, as if an act of open aggression. ¡°Bring it on tubby! Let¡¯s see what you got!¡± Ross hurried over to his side of the field, picking up in energy as he moved.


    Dr. Li Qiang smiled over at MOTHER, murmuring softly. ¡°It begins¡­¡±


    Much trash talking ensued.


    Earth, After Cataclysm 99681


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Elena Marie Price-Tetch looked over the records on her new computer. It had only been installed in her home office for a few days, but there were already signs that something was amiss. The right manual panel that took note of hand movements, signals, and gestures in its 3D space was smeared with someone¡¯s skin oils. The height of her chair had been raised. She could see small, stray hairs with color to them rather than her own silvery hair. ¡°That was easy.¡±


    She called up a user history of the device and found an instance of it being used while she was certain she was not home. Looking through the logs she could see data searches and records of private communication with someone in the government. ¡°What are you doing Leonard¡­¡± She murmured softly, looking through the information.


    ¡°Active locations of People¡¯s Guard personnel in three towns¡­ Information on new colonies in Asia near the The Unity¡­ Huh, so that¡¯s what they call themselves¡­¡± She scanned through the reading and videos that he¡¯d looked up, trying to put together mental notes of what he was doing.


    ¡°He¡¯s trying to warn his allies so they can avoid Vasille. Of course.¡± She turned away from the computer and withdrew her phone from a pocket. She double checked that the connection was secure and connected a call.


    ¡°Hello? This is Elena. I have information for Vasille¡­¡±


    It took a few days for the data to filter through to Vasille across the continents, ferried from Myconoids to People¡¯s Guards, and eventually into his hands. AM radio signals could theoretically have been used, but there was no way to prevent others from intercepting such transmissions, and without a GPS satellite network it was too hard to nail down Vasille¡¯s locations for other types of signals.


    ¡°Is this some kind of fucking joke?¡± Commander Vasille Tzen of the People¡¯s Guard waved a thin tablet around with his human hand, as if asking anyone present to fess up to making fun of him.


    Captain Neville Bledsoe, Vasille¡¯s son, looked confused. ¡°What is it, father? What does it say?¡±


    ¡°APPARENTLY the man we¡¯ve had on surveillance for the last few months, someone who knows for a fact we¡¯re watching him and ready to arrest him at the least provocation, had decided to use a secured government computer to discern our locations and alert his allies. Doing this, he¡¯s blown his cover, and ruined any chance he had to protect his allies any further. He¡¯s ALSO apparently given up their destination too, The Unity in Asia.¡± Vasille set down the tablet on a field table before turning to punch a metallic fist into the side panel of a Hija. The impact rattled his body and left a small dent in the vehicle.


    ¡°Mmhh¡­¡± Neville considered his father¡¯s reactions. ¡°He wanted to be caught. He wanted you to know what he¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°Of course he did!¡± Vasille threw his arms up in the air, shouting. ¡°That son of a bitch knows that we¡¯re going to follow the lead. He knows we¡¯ll divert resources and manpower to hunt down his allies. He¡¯s either misleading us, or he¡¯s intentionally leading us to them.¡±


    ¡°Smart.¡± Neville started to pace, thinking to himself for a few moments. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough resources to chase the lead and search elsewhere. We would have to call up reinforcements from Khezaka to search elsewhere while we follow the lead. If he is misleading us, we could easily lose the trail. If he isn¡¯t, we¡¯re going into a trap.¡±


    Vasille growled for a moment before stopping. He inhaled deeply and exhaled very slowly. ¡°What do they want in Asia? Why would Walter Thade matter, and why would they bring him there?¡±


    Neville shrugged, smiling. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose ransom makes any sense, unless The Unity hired the Wise Ape company to kidnap him to gain some kind of political leverage against the UPE¡­¡±


    ¡°No. Well, maybe, that¡¯s not bad actually. Walt doesn¡¯t matter. I think we¡¯re the prey here.¡± Vasille waved a hand around at their vehicles and equipment, Guardsmen watching from a distance as their leaders talked and going about their work. ¡°They want us. Why?¡±


    ¡°Father, if you¡¯ve got it figured out, why do you bother asking me?¡± Neville sighed and shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s see, perhaps they¡¯re hoping to wipe us out. Maybe they want to capture you for some reason. I could see them trying to cause an international incident between the only two countries in the world that we know of.¡±


    ¡°That. That¡¯s it. We end up in The Unity in force because we can¡¯t afford to assume the Apes won¡¯t attack us. The Unity decides that our presence is distasteful or a threat, which would be wise.¡± Vasille shook his head. ¡°And then there¡¯s Leonard.¡±


    ¡°Leonard¡¯s intentionally feeding us information. Someone¡¯s telling him what to do on that computer so we can find out. They¡¯re using that information to control us. So what do we do, father? Just ignore it and pretend we never found out?¡± Neville looked straight at his father, crossing his arms over his chest, indecisive.


    ¡°That could work. Leave Leonard in place, let him keep feeding us information, act on it when the time is right.¡± Vasille snapped his fingers. ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll feed false information back. We¡¯ll report our locations inaccurately. We¡¯ll pursue them while making them think that we are searching elsewhere. We¡¯ll let them inform us whether or not we¡¯re on the right trail if they change tactics on us.¡±


    ¡°... I appreciate the ruse, father, but they can just ruse us right back. They¡¯re probably giving us the slip right now as we debate what to do. This information is days old.¡± Neville leaned down and reached out to tap a finger on the tablet.


    ¡°It¡¯s still good. They wanted us to get this information, so it¡¯ll be accurate. Let Leonard keep up his shenanigans. Give Elena the access she wants. Look into this Bosk Schrade that petitioned the government to remove my lock on Elena as well. He¡¯s probably outed himself as part of their conspiracy.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s actually already taken leave from work, apparently illness has begun to overcome him.¡± Neville scrolled the tablet down further, reading as he spoke to his father. ¡°Too much damage from prior illness. His body can¡¯t keep up anymore. Looks older than you.¡±


    Vasille huffed, looking down at the tablet. ¡°Wow, he looks no younger than two-hundred.¡±


    ¡°Says here he¡¯s only sixty-eight.¡± Neville turned the tablet so they could both see more easily.


    The Commander reached out to touch the tablet too, tapping at the medical history. He whistled softly at it. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of cancers.¡±


    ¡°One of his previous doctors was Emily Thade, Walter¡¯s deceased wi-¡± Neville flinched as Vasille interrupted.


    ¡°I know who she was! Fuck. Wait. Where did her caravan go down?¡± Vasille withdrew a phone from his pocket to look through some records.


    Neville looked up at his father for a moment, then back down to the tablet, scrolling back up to the settlements that Leonard had looked up.


    Both men spoke in unison. ¡°Caravan twenty-three, Appalachia settlement, Eastern North America.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait¡­.¡± Neville shook his head. ¡°No way. That was weather that caused her death. She got thrown about in the medical car and they lost too many supplies to save her.¡±


    Vasille smiled wryly. ¡°No, Captain. She was murdered. Look at this.¡± Vasille handed over his phone. On the screen was the news report regarding Dr. Emily Thade¡¯s death at age 99803.


    Scrolling through the story, Neville stopped and gasped. ¡°Found at the scene was the body of another colonist, a female chloropoid named Basaza. Her death was ruled a suicide, likely due to guilt over being unable to save the revered Old One from being injured when the car capsized.¡±


    Vasille nodded to himself at that. ¡°It all makes sense.¡±


    ¡°What, father? What makes sense? Why would a chloropoid murder Emily?¡± Neville glared angrily up at Vasille.


    ¡°Basaza was¡­ an acquaintance. I suspect she became aware of Wise Ape designs upon Emily and to keep her from falling into their hands she tried to kill her, and ultimately succeeded.¡± Vasille, tapped the screen of the phone over the picture of the chloropoid. ¡°I met her. There¡¯s no way she could harm an Old One and live with it afterwards, even if it had to be done.¡±


    ¡°So, what you¡¯re telling me is that the Appalachia settlement was settled by agents of the Wise Ape Transportation Company, Basaza caught wind of the fact that they had designs on Emily Thade, and rather than do literally anything else, she tried to kill Emily to keep her from falling into their hands.¡± Neville was incredulous.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Vasille turned his back on his son, looking across their encampment at two of the anthropoids in their company. ¡°That¡¯s why they stopped hiring anthropoids. They couldn¡¯t trust them. They cost them too much, set them too far back. They¡¯d already gotten Emily away from her husband, it was just a matter of getting in her bed.¡±


    Captain Neville Beldsoe narrowed his eyes, thinking for a while. ¡°Was this some sort of cult? Some kind of group determined to breed a whole population of half-old ones? Is that why one of their people is with Elena right now? It¡¯s my understanding that Leonard apprenticed for Emily.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve been doing this for years. Bosk was their first. They riddled him with cancers to try and get him close to Emily. That didn¡¯t work. Leonard was next, but she probably turned him down since her husband was near. When they finally got her alone, she was stolen from them by Basaza. That¡¯s why they resorted to Elena Price and her progeny.¡± Vasille reached out to slap his son on the shoulder with a metal hand.


    He flinched at his father hitting him, but nodded. ¡°They have her happily making half-breeds in Medellin, and they have her grandson out here, presumably so they can use him for the same purposes. Maybe the tumor they extracted from Elena¡¯s daughter is related somehow, some DNA sample they can use to make up for Walter¡¯s diluted blood.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s something like that. Whatever this all is, it¡¯s home is in Appalachia. Let¡¯s get the team ready to go. I¡¯ll send back the false reports.¡± Vasille turned to head back into the Madre command vehicle.


    ¡°Commander!¡± Neville shouted after him. ¡°I want to know how you know that chloropoid!¡±


    Vasille looked back, shaded by the doorway of the vehicle. ¡°Soon.¡±