Waking Gods

by Sylvain Neuvel

  —Give it another year. Today, we’re entertaining. People identify. Makes them feel better about their lives. The press is saying nice things about us because that’s what people wanna hear. But you eat the same ice-cream flavor every day, after a while … At some point, saying nice things about the EDC won’t sell as many papers.

  —People hardly buy newspapers anymore.

  —We’re old. Aren’t we? Well, a few weeks, six months, a year from now, singing our praises won’t sell whatever the hell they sell these days. Then, trust me, they’ll try saying bad things. They’ll question our research, whether we could do anything against a large enemy force. Funny thing is, they’ll be right. It’s not that we aren’t trying, but we haven’t squeezed any new technology out of that thing in ten years. You think we’d have at least a faster toaster, better car brakes, softer toilet paper, but nope. Not a goddamn thing. And don’t get me started on how we’d fare against more than one of those robots.

  —I hate having to point out the obvious, but we won. We prevailed. Themis fought the alien robot in hand-to-hand combat and she was victorious.

  —You call that combat? They dug a hole!

  —They immobilized the enemy.

  —They dug a hole! What were the odds that their shield could knock out that energy field? They were just lucky. Our guys were in way over their heads. Not their fault, we should never have sent them. That was like a schoolyard fight. They were getting pounded by a bigger kid and they panicked. I’m happy it worked, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about our chances. The Resnik girl is just insane, if you ask me.

  —Some would say she has instinct.

  —That’s one way to put it.

  —It is not the first time her impulsive nature has paid dividends. There are very few people whose careful planning I trust more than her improvisation.

  —Maybe. But it doesn’t matter. She can’t bury more than one of these robots. If they send more …

  —What do you think we can do to prepare?

  —I’ve asked myself that question so many times. If the stakes weren’t so high, I’d find this funny. On paper, I run a military organization, but the one thing we all agree on is that there is no military response to a large alien force. You saw what it did to three armored regiments. Hell, it even took out the city that was around the three armored regiments. Buildings, cars, people, cats, dogs. Didn’t even spare the cockroaches.

  —Themis can also do that.

  —Well, maybe we can give them a hand and wipe out a few cities ourselves. What she can’t do is hurt these things if they don’t stand still. She hit that robot dead on with her weapon. Might as well have thrown insults at it.

  —She did give him the finger.

  —Too bad the helicopters were gone. That would have made a great picture.

  —Or a statue.

  —Ha! You made a joke! They could have used that for the memorial. Did you see the monument they made? The alien robot kneeling before Themis? Looks like she’s knighting him. Better than Hercules and Diomedes, I guess … Oh, you don’t know that one. Look it up.

  —You have not answered my question.

  —My point is this: There’s nothing we can do. Not with what we have. Our only hope, if they ever come back, is that my kids will have found something useful by then. I hate to say it, ’cause she’s completely crazy, but it’s all about Rose now.

  —It is all about Rose, is it not?

  —Yes. That’s why I said it.

  —She fell on the hand when she was a child. She somehow ended up in charge of studying it. Now we are waiting for a war that we cannot win, and our best hope for survival lies with her.

  —Like you said, you’re really good at stating the obvious, but is there a point to all this?

  —Of course. Did you ever wonder why they chose to bring her back?

  FILE NO. 1526

  SESSION NOTES—PATIENT EVA REYES

  Dr. Benicio Muñoz Rivera, psychiatrist, San Juan, Puerto Rico

  —Tell me about the nightmares, Eva.

  —I don’t wanna talk about that. You said we could play some games.

  —We just did, Eva, and now we need to talk.

  —Those weren’t fun. I wanna play real games.

  —Your mother is worried about you, Eva.

  —I’m fine! She doesn’t need to worry.

  —Can you tell me what happened yesterday?

  —Nothing happened. I was taking a bath!

  —Your mother was very scared. Tell me what happened.

  —I … I saw something. I wanted to know what it felt like … not being able to breathe. I didn’t know my mother was in the room. I was just curious. I wasn’t trying to—

  —She says you spend all your time alone, that you don’t talk to your friends anymore.

  —I don’t have any friends. They think I’m crazy.

  —No one thinks that, Eva.

  —YES THEY DO!

  —Eva—

  —You don’t know what you’re talking about! I’m not imagining it, they say it all the time! They all think I’m crazy. My mother thinks that too. That’s why I’m here.

  —It’s perfectly normal for a girl your age to have some bad thoughts, Eva. I don’t think they’re magically going to go away either. But there are tools you can use to take control of those thoughts. That’s why I’m here, to give you those tools. I want you to stop being afraid of what’s in your head.

  —How could I not be afraid? I saw them die, all of them.

  —Who died, Eva?

  —Those people in London. I saw them dead.

  —What did you see?

  —They were all dead!

  —I meant precisely. Can you describe the images?

  —There were thousands of them, everywhere. They were just lying there, on the sidewalk, inside their cars.

  —Like they fell asleep?

  —All at the same time.

  —You saw the bodies?

  —Yes!

  —But there weren’t any bodies in London after last year’s attack, Eva. You saw that! It was on television. There was nothing left.

  —Yeah, but they’re dead, aren’t they?

  —You just had a nightmare, about a bad thing that happened. It’s natural for you to put the two together, but you just said yourself, what you saw isn’t what happened.

  —They’re not nightmares! I’m not … Whatever. I know you don’t believe me. Can I go now?

  —Not yet.

  —Then can we talk about something else?

  —What else did you see?

  —I don’t wanna do this anymore.

  —Eva, tell me. What else did you see?

  —I saw a metal … I saw a robot falling into the clouds.

  —You mentioned that vision before. How can anything fall into the sky? Was it falling upwards? From an airplane?

  —I don’t know. Not from a plane, no.

  —Then from where, Eva?

  —I don’t know! I’m just telling you what I saw. Can I go?

  —That’s OK. I just want you to … consider the possibility that what you’re seeing isn’t real? Will you do that for me?

  —Sure.

  —You have a very vivid imagination, Eva, and that’s a good thing, a very good thing. You should find ways to take advantage of it. Do you like to draw?

  —Yes.

  —Maybe you can draw the things you see. Put them on your wall. I think it might help.

  —Help with what?

  —It might help you realize it’s all in your head, give you some control over your thoughts. Then you might not be so afraid of them anymore.

  —I’m not always afraid of them.

  —That’s good! Can you think of what’s different when you’re n
ot?

  —What do you mean?

  —I’d like to know why you’re not afraid of some of the things you see.

  —They’re not all bad things. Sometimes I see good things happening.

  —Like what?

  —I saw my dad buying a new car. He was happy.

  —Did your dad buy a new car?

  —No. He’s saving for it.

  —So not everything you see happens, does it?

  —I don’t know! But it feels real when I see it.

  —Of course it does. Dreams can seem very real.

  —They’re not dreams! I see these things when I’m awake. I see them all the time! I know what dreams are. I also know when I’m imagining things. This isn’t the same! I know you don’t think I’m telling the truth, but I am. It’s different.

  —Eva, I never said you weren’t telling the truth. I never thought that for a moment. I know you think what you’re seeing is real. I just want you to make room for the possibility that it’s not.

  —It’s four o’clock. My mom’ll be waiting downstairs.

  —Yes. You can go, Eva. Think about what I said. Next time it happens, try telling yourself it’s not real. Say it out loud if you need to. And start drawing what you see. You can bring your drawings with you next time. I’d like to see them. If that doesn’t work, we’ll try something else. There is a special kind of medication that might make the bad thoughts go away.

  —I don’t want medication.

  —It’s just a thought, Eva. Your parents and I, we … we just want you to be happy.

  FILE NO. 1528

  INTERVIEW WITH DR. ROSE FRANKLIN, HEAD OF SCIENCE DIVISION, EARTH DEFENSE CORPS

  Location: EDC Headquarters, New York, NY

  —Put the gun down, Dr. Franklin.

  —Get out!

  —Dr. Franklin …

  —Please! I just wanna be alone! I’m not hurting anyone.

  —You are pointing a 9mm handgun at your right temple. I do not wish to draw unfounded conclusions, but I do fear for your safety at the moment. I also know the reason you are distraught and realize I might have been a contributing factor to your current state of mind.

  —It wasn’t pointed at my head until your guard walked in. And you didn’t do anything. Now go! Both of you!

  —Dr. Franklin, put the gun down so this gentleman here can leave us alone. I would very much like to talk to you.

  [Put the gun down, ma’am!]

  Young man, there is no immediate danger here. You can holster your weapon.

  [I can’t do that, sir.]

  Your name and rank, please.

  [Petty Officer Franklin, sir.]

  Franklin? Are you two related?

  [No, sir.]

  If you are not related to her, Petty Officer Franklin, she will not mind when I have you locked up for the remainder of your short life. You probably know very little about me, but you can trust that, if I apply myself, I can make your existence so excruciatingly painful that you will beg for it to end. And I give you my word: If any harm comes to Dr. Franklin, self-inflicted or not, while you are pointing your weapon at her, I will apply myself thoroughly … Good. Now leave us.

  [Sir … ]

  Close the door behind you … Dr. Franklin, please accept my apology for the lack of sensibility demonstrated by your namesake. The elite unfortunately do not get assigned to night-shift security. More than anything, please forgive me if our previous discussion prompted this moment of despair.

  —It’s not despair. I just want to put an end to this charade. I shouldn’t be here. Rose Franklin is dead!

  —That is not what I said. Please give me the gun. We both know you will not end your life today. It is almost 5:00 A.M., so I assume you have been staring at the weapon for hours. I do not doubt your conviction, but your resolve will not magically increase after breakfast.

  —It’s harder than I thought.

  —The will to live is very hard to suppress. It shames me to say it is a subject I am well versed in. Besides, we really need your help.

  —You don’t need me. You really don’t. I haven’t done anything useful since I … since I came back.

  —That is not true. No one understands Themis better than you do.

  —She’s not supposed to be here either, you know that? I was wrong. We weren’t meant to find her. She’s supposed to be buried, hidden. I’m supposed to be dead. You should dismantle Themis, throw her back to the bottom of the ocean. Forget about her and forget about me.

  —It is a little late for that.

  —I just want it to stop. You don’t know what it’s like to be … It doesn’t matter. Can you please leave?

  —It matters to me. If you will not give me the gun, at least put it down … There … What I told you yesterday was meant to reassure you. It is fairly obvious now that what I said did not have the intended result.

  —You just told me the truth. I’m not me! I’m a copy!

  —I said nothing of the sort.

  —You said they remade me out of thin air!

  —They re-created you based on data they had obtained before your death.

  —I’m a copy!

  —I tried to relay to you information that was given to me by one of the people involved. I can see now that my rendition was less than perfect. It sounded much better in my head. The central point, which seems to have been lost in translation, was that who you are, your essence, was fully preserved in the process. I—

  —It doesn’t matter! I’m not—

  —I was not finished. I have made a terrible mistake in thinking I could convincingly explain things that I barely understand myself. I have done so out of distrust, in a gratuitous attempt to control information that you were clearly entitled to. I was wrong and I am sorry. The person who gave me that information—

  —Is he one of the people that … made me?

  —I believe he is. He offered to meet you and tell you exactly what was done to you. I refused. Before you do anything that cannot be undone, let me contact him and arrange that meeting. Your scientific knowledge is infinitely greater than mine and you should be able to understand a great deal more than I did. I suspect he had to vulgarize things a lot for my benefit.

  — …

  —Will you listen to what he has to say?

  — …

  —Good. I am relieved to see that your curiosity is still greater than your despair. Now, will you give me the gun?

  —What if it doesn’t work? What if I don’t like what he has to say?

  —Then I will try something else.

  —You can’t babysit me forever.

  —Probably not. But I can order other people to do so. If you want me to say I will give you back your gun and close the door behind me on the way out, I will not. I will do everything I can to stop you from ending your life, in part because I care about you, but mostly for purely selfish and practical reasons. That being said, you are a very intelligent and resourceful woman, and if you are fully motivated, I will probably fail. Then I will try something else.

  —What do you mean?

  —You were brought back from the dead once. There is no reason to believe it cannot be done again, and again.

  —I … You’d do that to me?

  —I would do anything I feel is necessary to protect us. I would very much like to avoid having to tell you about “the needs of the many,” but this is one of those moments. Most experts, including yourself if I am not mistaken, believe in the impending return of our alien visitors. Even you should concede that your current despondency is inconsequential in comparison. If Ms. Resnik were contemplating jumping into the abyss, I trust you would do everything in your power to stop her.

  —Probably. But her role in all this is obvious. I just don’t think I can be useful to you anymore.r />
  —Time will tell. May I change the subject for a moment?

  —What do you wanna talk about?

  —I would like you to tell me what you have learned about the beings that were inside the alien robot.

  —Why? There’s nothing new to tell.

  —Humor me.

  —You know all this. You read the reports. We talked about this!

  —Are they similar to us?

  —Where are you going with this? You know what they look like. You’ve seen them! They’re humanoid. Type V, dark olive skin, knees reversed like the robot. And it’s really their knees, they’re not digitigrade like we suspected. They have an extra joint in their legs. No eyebrows. Everything else looks human, inside and out.

  —How close are they to us from a genetic standpoint? I know that we share 98 percent of our DNA with chimpanzees. Can you tell me how much of it we share with the aliens?

  —You’ve read the report. What more do you need!

  —I want you to tell me.

  —You should have stuck with Alyssa. She’s the expert in all this.

  —I wish I could talk to Alyssa about a great many things. But as she is unavailable at the moment, I would like you to tell me what you understand.

  —Well, the first part of what you said isn’t exactly true. How similar our DNA is to a chimp depends a lot on what you compare. It’s really not that close if you look at everything. The short answer for the aliens we found is 0 percent since they don’t have DNA.

  —I find it difficult to believe that they could be so different from us.

  —They’re not. They’re made pretty much the same way. It’s just not … Do you know what DNA is?

  —Deoxyribonucleic acid. My understanding is that it contains genetic instructions for life as we know it. I realize this is a simplistic answer.

  —That’s the gist of it. It’s information storage. It’s a complex molecule that can store an incredible amount of information. And it’s stable. The really cool part is that it can replicate itself. That’s basically all you need to create life. The ability to hold information for a certain amount of time and to pass it on. And you got the name right. I was asking whether you knew what it’s made of.