Waking Gods

by Sylvain Neuvel

  General, I’m getting off here.

  [Very well. Rescue team is standing by. Holler if you need anything.]

  Thank you. Wish me luck.

  [Luck is believing you’re lucky. Go get ’em.]

  I believe. I believe. So … I’m out of the vehicle. The robot is standing right in front of me. It is facing me but I don’t know if they’ve seen me or not. I must look like an ant from where they’re sitting. I’m getting the bacteria out of the vehicle. One … The containers are … really … heavy. I’ll have to carry them one at the time with the … dolly. Two … The pump and the hose are in my backpack. I also … brought … a small Army shovel. And that’s three.

  I’m making my way towards the robot. I’ll turn on my projector in a second. I don’t know how they’ll react but I have to make sure they see me. They have to know that I’m responsible for whatever is happening to them, if anything happens. Shit. The robot’s feet are on East Drive. Part of the right foot is on the grass, but only for five or six feet. The rest is on asphalt. So much for my shovel. I hope there’s enough of a gap in the shield above ground for me to …

  What the … ? Themis just appeared a hundred feet behind the alien robot.

  {Rose! Are you there? It won’t work! You need to turn around!}

  Vincent! What are you doing here?!

  {Eva saw it. It won’t work! Get out of the way!}

  Get out of here, Vincent! They’ll kill you!

  {I said it first, Rose. Go! Run!}

  The robot is turning away from me. I don’t know what to do … They’re firing! I’m heading back to the vehicle.

  [Dr. Franklin. You need to get out of there!]

  Yes, General! That’s what I’m trying to do! I can’t … run with this.… I can’t hold the dolly. Shit … I lost the container. It fell off and it’s rolling away.… Got it … I’m bringing … it … back—

  {Rose! We’re gonna try to knock his shield off for you with an energy burst, like we did in Denver. Do you understand?}

  Wh … I need more time!

  {No can do. Get as far away from us as you can. }

  Shit! Shit! … I’m leaving the container behind. I’m almost there. OK, I am back in the vehicle. Where did I … ? In the ignition. I’m turning around … Heading back south the way I came. I’m driving by the baseball fields now. I need to put at least half a mile between me and Themis before she discharges … Jesus Christ! Someone fired at the road ahead of me. A good chunk of it just … disappeared. I almost drove straight into it. I just crossed 97th, still heading south on East Drive.

  {Rose! Ready or not!}

  No! Not yet! Arrrghh!

  …

  God, that hurts. Everything went … white. I … I hit a car. The air bag … I … I think it broke my nose. My Jeep’s dead. I’m trying to get out of here. If I can just reach the handle … Yesss! I’m out. Wow. The road behind me is … gone. The pulse missed me by about a hundred feet. I can’t see Themis. Just the other robot pounding at the ground on the edge of the crater. It must be them.

  General, tell them to teleport out of here. You have to get them out! General? General, can you hear me? Anyone? I have to get back. I hit an abandoned pickup truck. Let’s see if the keys are in it. Yes! I’ll just grab one of the containers … Put it … in the back …

  Vincent, can you hear me! I’m coming!

  I need to get their attention. I’m heading inside the crater. High beam, low beam. Fog lights! Yes! I hope they can hear the horn. The robot is standing above Themis. She’s not moving. I see some light in the alien robot’s left hand. Some sort of disc. I think it’s about to do what it did in London the first time. Faster! Here! I’m here! Come on! Come on! Look at me! There you go! That’s it! Turn around!

  It’s looking right at me. I’m getting out of the truck. I’m roughly two hundred feet away. I’m taking the container out of the back. Getting the hose out of my backpack and … plugging it in. I think that’s how it goes. Now all I need is to … drag … this … thing … two hundred feet … in the dirt. The robot is just staring at me. I think … Yes, the light on him is getting brighter. It’s … it’s releasing gas. I can’t see where it’s coming from. It’s as if it’s forming around it. It doesn’t seem to be coming out of anything. The gas will reach me in about five seconds. I hope it’s the same thing it sent out before. We’ll know soon enough … That’s it. I’m completely surrounded. I can’t see. I can’t see my own feet.

  That container’s so heavy … I’ll just … stop … sit for a minute … I can taste the blood running into my mouth. That iron taste … We’re … We’re all made of the same thing.

  The gas is dissipating. I can see the sky again. I can see the light of the robot seeping through. I can see my feet. Soon they will see me too. Time to get up.

  I’m about halfway there. It’s really … heavy. I … I wonder what they’re thinking. They’re probably wondering who this crazy woman is, dragging a beer keg in the dirt. At least, now they know I’m … not like them. There’s only a bit of gas left on the ground, like dry ice onstage at a rock concert. My feet are dragging through it, creating small currents in the mist. It’s really pretty … The keg doesn’t feel as heavy anymore. It must be the adrenaline. Those feet are gigantic when you’re standing next to them. I’m there. I can … I can touch it. The shield is gone. It’s … It’s cold. Even where there’s light, it’s cold.

  I’m ready. Holding the hose. I’m pumping … It’s working. I can reach … maybe fifteen feet high. I can cover the whole foot, the ankle. I feel like a dog urinating on a lamppost. I’m afraid they’ll just kick me away. This side is pretty well covered. I’m dragging the container to the other side. The robot’s feet are fairly close to one another. If I stand here, I can probably … Bad idea. I have to get closer. I’m running out of solution already. That’s it. I’m all out. I’ll just give it a minute or two.

  Slowly stepping away. I’m walking backwards the way I came so they can see me. So far nothing. It might not be enough. That container looked big until I was standing inches away from the alien robot. It’s like painting a building. I should have brought the other container. I can always go back to get it if this doesn’t work.

  I’m beginning to doubt this entire plan. If they were looking for us to make a statement, my spreading green goo all over their feet seems a little … understated. I don’t even know if that’s what they’re looking for. I don’t know if they’re looking for anything. This might be a complete waste … Wait … Wait …

  It’s hard to see in daylight, but I think the light in the right foot is beginning to flicker. Maybe I’m just imagining things. No … The light went off for half a second or so. Again … Again … The lights went off on the entire foot now. I wonder it that’ll be enough to … Now the lower leg is dark. The left foot is flickering. I barely sprayed anything on that one. I think they’ve lost power on the entire right … I …

  I barely got out of the way. The lower leg just fell off. It’s now standing on one leg, and that one is losing power as well. I think it’s about to fall on its—I don’t even know how to call these—the upper knee. I have nowhere to run but straight ahead. There are trees everywhere. I’m running as fast as I can, but I’m not sure I can outrun a twenty-story building. I can hear it crumbling down behind me.

  The bacteria must have thrown off the molecular structure on the entire robot! It’s coming down. I can see its shadow stretching in front of me. I don’t think I’ll … AAAAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!!!

  Something caught my leg. A rock, maybe. I don’t think it’s a piece of the robot. I can see its head to my left. I think it was a large rock. My knee … My leg is … I can see the bone sticking out. I think I’m gonna faint. Take a deep breath, Rose. The worst is over. I made it. I don’t know if that’s what they were looking for, but it worked. That robot is done for. My leg … Can anyone
hear me? Vincent? Vincent, can you hear me? General? I need help. I need a doctor. Hello? Is anyone list … ? OH GOD!

  One. Two. Three. Four.… Five. Six, seven, eight. They’re … I think they’re all here now. The alien robots, they … they just appeared, all of them. AAAHHH! One more … It just materialized, maybe one hundred feet in front of me. I can’t move … I can’t run away … Can anyone help me?

  It’s … It’s magnificent … They’re just looking at me, all of them. It’s like … Times Square, the first time you see it. It’s like an army of gods, each with its own color. It must mean something to them. The one closest to me is orange. It’s Hyperion. What’s it doing? It’s crouching. It’s putting its hand down on the ground, maybe thirty feet to my right. His head … His head is coming down over me. God help me. It’s … It’s right above me. I can almost touch it …

  I’m … I’m so sorry. Please forgive me …

  Where did it go? It was staring at me, then it vanished. Another one … They’re all disappearing, one at a time.

  I’m alone … It’s over.

  EPILOGUE

  FILE NO. 1641

  PARTY LOG—EVA REYES

  Location: Inside Themis, EDC Headquarters, New York, NY

  —This is Eva Reyes. We’re on board Themis, celebrating. I’m with my dad, Dr. Franklin, and General Govender. I … I don’t know what I’m supposed to say! Hey Vincent?

  [Yes, Eva?]

  Why do I have to wear the headset?

  [Because we’re recording this. Rose likes to record everything.]

  I know that, but why me? Why can’t any of you wear it?

  [Let’s see. I have a broken shoulder and a bent-up leg. Rose has a broken tibia.]

  It’s a headset. It goes on your head.

  [You can move around more than we can. Stop complaining, will you?]

  The General could wear it.

  [The General is slightly inebriated.]

  {I heard that, Couture!}

  [Sorry, sir. I meant to say you’re drunk as a skunk.]

  {It’s that damn champagne. Why can’t I get a real drink? And why is it so dark in here? I can barely see my glass!}

  That’s the other thing I wanted to ask about. Why am I the only one drinking juice?

  [So you can do the recording. Oh, that and you’re ten.]

  Come on, Vincent! I just kicked some giant robot’s ass. I just want one glass of champagne.

  [Technically, Rose kicked his ass—]

 

  Thank you, Dr. Franklin.

 

  I’m not sure I—

 

  Ok, then, Rose. How does it feel?

 

  No, I meant you were right. Your plan worked.

 

  {Show the aliens we could be just as tough without them messing with our DNA, by shooting some green goo full of bacteria out of a keg—}

  What are you saying, General?

  {I’m saying … What was I saying?}

 

  Is that right, General?

  {Not a chance in hell.}

  Haha! What about you, Vincent? Did you think it would work?

  [Me? I—]

 

  [No, Rose! I understood the logic behind it. I just wasn’t sure that, even if the bacteria worked, the aliens were gonna get the right message.]

 

  How can you say that, Dr. Franklin? They left, didn’t they?

 

  Why else would they have left?

  {Because Dr. Franklin sprayed them with some goddamn goo!}

  [General, maybe you should try some of Eva’s juice.]

  It’s apple juice.

  {Shut up, Couture! That’s an order!}

  Seriously, Rose. Why else would they leave?

 

  Vincent?

  [I don’t know! I think, maybe, they could have been scared by the bacteria. What if all their robots, their ships, maybe their homes, are made using the same technology. Imagine for a second what would happen if some of that bacteria made it to their world.]

  …

  What was that?

  [I can’t remember what I was saying. Did the light just get brighter?]

  Maybe.

  [I think Themis just powered up.]

 

  Can she do that?

  {I don’t know! I’ve never been in this damn robot of yours.}

  Vincent?

  [The console is lit up. Eva, get up there and put your helmet on.]

  Sure. But we’re in a garage! What do you expect me to see?

  [I don’t know, Eva. It’s just a hunch.]

  I’m putting it on. I … I don’t think—

  [What is it, Eva?]

 

  {Goddammit, kid! What do you see?}

  Guys? I don’t think we’re on Earth anymore …

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  One of the things you learn as a debut author is that you’re basically one book behind in your acknowledgments. You write them a good year (a year and a half in the case of Sleeping Giants) before your book goes on sale and you don’t yet realize that about thirty thousand people will work on it before it hits the shelves.

  So, for this book and the last. Thank you, Seth. You’re a superhero. Theo keeps asking me for pictures of you. Thank you, Will Roberts and Rebecca Gardner for getting my books translated in more languages than Themis has body parts, and for challenging me to expand my whisky collection. Seventeen languages as I’m writing this. That’s crazy! Thank you, Mark Tavani for believing in this book. To my new, awesome, alien-butt-kicking editor, Mike Braff: you are the best. So glad to be working with you on this, and I hope we get to pilot many more giant robot adventures together. So many people to thank at Del Rey: Keith, David, Tricia: you are as amazing as you are tireless. To Emily, Ashley, Erika, Alexandra: Wow! Thank you for the best promotion any author could ever dream of. Oh! Erich! I wrote Star Wars canon because of you. Star Wars! Canon! Thank you! I know I’m forgetting a million people who worked on this: copy editors, graphic designers, etc. Even if your name is not on this page, believe me when I say, I’m grateful.

  Thank you, Sheila at Random House Canada for all the work on our side of the border (and for sending me to Space). Thank you, Emad, Huw, and everyone at Michael Joseph for your amazing work in the UK. I hope you don’t live in one of the neighborhoods I obliterated. To all the voice actors on the audiobook: Andy Secombe, Charlie Anson, Christopher Ragland, Eric Meyers, Laurel Lefkow, Liza Ross, William Hope, Adna Sablylich, Katharine Mangold. Bravo! I don’t know the names of everyone who worked behind the scene on the audio but you created something special.

  Thank you to all the reviewers, journalists, and book bloggers who featured Sleeping Giants and helped promote this book. Booksellers! I love you all! I was looking for a good metaphor, but I don’t need one. You sell books! How cool is that? I owe you a debt of gratitude, and a beer.

  To the people close to me: friends and family who have given me their love and support, group hug.

  And you! Yes, you! I’ve been blessed with the most amazing readers from the start. All of this would
be meaningless without you. There’s really no way to express how grateful I am for your interest, your time, your emails, your tweets, your letters. This has been one big crazy trip for me, and I’m so glad you came along for the ride.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  SYLVAIN NEUVEL dropped out of high school at age fifteen. Along the way, he has been a journalist, worked in soil decontamination, sold ice cream in California, and peddled furniture across Canada. He received a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Chicago. He taught linguistics in India and worked as a software engineer in Montreal. He is also a certified translator, though he wishes he were an astronaut. He likes to tinker, dabbles in robotics, and is somewhat obsessed with Halloween. He absolutely loves toys; his girlfriend would have him believe that he has too many, so he writes about aliens and giant robots as a blatant excuse to build action figures (for his son, of course).

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