“I promise you, Liam, the procedure is completely safe.”
“Maybe so,” Liam replied, still looking worried, “but I’m not comfortable putting my people through this. Not until it’s been properly tested.”
“Tested?” Alixs thought it amazing how skeptical his friend could be about technology. It reminded him of turn of the century aviators, afraid of computerized cockpits, even though pilot error was far and away the most dangerous element. Pilots insisted on having complete override control, and Liam’s concern was just more of the same. Perhaps this kind of prejudice was hard-wired into the flesh and the blood of all sentient beings, something in the makeup of an ego, perhaps. Even egos like ours, he thought.
He immediately corrected himself — like theirs. As Xenolight, he was a different species now. As distance a cousin to the xeno-sapien as the xeno was to humans, or so the Mind had assured him. And he did feel different, though not necessarily superior. Just not what he once was.
At any rate, Liam would know soon enough. They all would. They just had to escape from this place first — which meant trusting in the system the Mind had constructed for their benefit.
“How do you propose we test it, Liam?” Alixs asked, feeling a welling up of his non-existent gut. “You said it yourself, it’ll never work unless we upload everyone directly. There’s no time to do it any other way.”
“Well, we’ve got time now,” Liam said, turning thoughtful. “I’ll test it.”
Alixs almost balked. It sounded, well...risky. He realized how hypocritical that reaction was, given that he’d just insisted there was no problem. Plus, he had to admit, the thought of Liam transforming caused a mixed bag of emotions. Happiness and excitement, sure, but also apprehension. And...jealousy? That was odd. Why would he be jealous of others gaining what he had? They were all going in that direction anyway. Perhaps he wanted to continue feeling special? Or important.
He dismissed the ridiculous line of thinking and turned to his friend. “It’s not as easy as you might think, Liam,” Alixs said, “it’ll take time to adjust to your new form.”
“Well then, I’m lucky I have you here to guide me, Alixs.” Speaking with authority, he left no room for argument.
Alixs didn’t protest. He prepared the system for its first procedure, disconnecting the pre-attached preservation unit and rolling it off to one side. The idea of changing and uploading at the same time was a good one, by and large, but in some small way Alixs was relieved that he wouldn’t have to say goodbye to his mentor so quickly. This way they could upload together. Besides, the task ahead was enormous, and he was already feeling overwhelmed. Liam sticking around to help in Xenolight form would relieve some of the strain. Two Xenolight would be better than one — especially when it came to giving their pilgrims last minute assurances.
THE PROCEDURE WENT smoothly, and Liam was standing and walking within the hour, though he seemed to be having a tougher time with the readjustment than Alixs had. Being inside the cocoon of the Mind, Alixs realized, had been a great advantage. He’d gotten his ‘footing’, as it were, in a safe, protective environment.
Liam, on the other hand, seemed to have difficulty keeping his footing at all, and not in terms of balance, either. Instead, his biggest problem was that he kept sinking several inches down into the floor.
“You’ve got to sense it under you,” Alixs advised. “It’s possible to maintain your solidity whenever you want, it just takes a little concentration.”
Liam nodded, grunting from effort as he lifted himself back up to the floor again, and again, but the same sinking issue plagued him. It went on like this for several hours. On the plus side, he was in good spirits about it, lifting himself back up to floor-level with a smile every time he slid.
“You look like you’re getting used to it okay, at least,” J.Z. mentioned casually after Liam’s umpteenth stuck-in-quicksand moment. “Are you handling it okay? I mean, if it were me I’d be freaking out.”
Liam looked about to speak, then stopped short and really thought about it. “You know, I probably should be. Freaked out.”
“I was,” Alixs admitted, “and I had a lot more help. I’m honestly impressed.”
“I think I just haven’t really processed the whole thing. I mean, I can feel the difference, like I have to expend mental energy just to hold together, you know.”
Alixs nodded knowingly, while J.Z. just stared in incomprehension and awe.
“But at the same time,” — Liam held out his limbs and allowing them to fade, shimmer, then resolve again — “when I don’t think about it too much, it’s sort of natural. Like this is the way we were always supposed to be.”
Alixs whistled. “It took me forever to start feeling that way. Sometimes I still get the sensation that I’m an outsider, like I don’t really belong in this body.” He lowered his voice and said, “like a ghost.”
Liam smiled. “Give me time. I’m sure I’ll have moments like that. I’m okay for now, though.”
And he did seem okay. It gave Alixs a hopeful sensation, to think that it might not be so difficult, after all, for all the others. At least he hoped so, although for them it wouldn’t be merely a new shell to house their consciousness, but a brand new home as well. Away from everything they’d ever known.
Don’t think too much, he scolded himself. There would be plenty of time to deal with that after they got where they were going.
WITH THE ALL-IMPORTANT test out of the way, they turned their efforts to the Xenolight assembly line. It was easy enough, if a bit time consuming, to manually stow one unit. Ultimately, though, they would need to stow hundreds of units a day, at various times based on arrival, and with differing power requirements, depending on how many were being stored in a batch. There was no way to accomplish this without automating the process to some degree.
This presented a challenge, not just from an engineering standpoint, but also because of their lack of xenopower. With only Alixs, J.Z., and the newly reformed Liam to pull it all together, necessary tasks were piling up. Three was enough to accomplish the job, but it was their odd pairing of abilities that made the work slow. A newborn, a ghost, and a human — the makings of a classic joke, perhaps, but for brute-force labor, it wasn’t ideal.
80.
Liam realized that Alixs was receiving a message without having to ask. The far-off look in the younger Xenolight’s expression told him so. And with Liam’s newly expanded sensory abilities, he could just barely make out the connection filtering down into the room. With a gesture to J.Z. that prevented him from disrupting the moment, they silently picked up and moved to the other side to continue their work, leaving Alixs to his own devices.
“Are you suffering? Is there anything—” The words stuck in his throat. Heavy tears rolled down, fell to the floor, and vanished. I never had a father, he thought suddenly. The idea of wanting Ahmis to fill that role brought fresh waves of grief. Too late. Much too late.
“No, nothing like that Alixs,” Ahmis replied gently, looking serene as he floated before the mind’s eye of his protégée. “The Mind’s taking good care of me. Even now. I’ll be just fine until—” He, too, was having trouble finding words, and he could not express himself in pure emotion as Alixs could.
“I wish I were there,” Alixs said, feeling the pain for both of them.
“Now come now, there’s no need for that. We’re okay. I mean, you know, the Mind and me. I’m sure she’d want to say goodbye too, except she’s still trying to hang on. Get the rest of the refugees squared away before...well, you know.”
Alixs blinked hard, trying to compose himself and stay strong. “I know. Please say...” he took a calming breath, “say goodbye for me, okay?”
“‘Course I will.”
“And thank you. To both of you. For everything.”
They remained connected for a few moments longer. He couldn’t be sure, but Alixs felt like Ahmis was thinking about his archives, his pride and joy, back there in Te
ra-Prime. As far as he’d come, that was really home for him. Alixs knew that he’d think of the archives when he thought of his friend. His father. And how they’d first met, long ago, in simpler times.
Ahmis gave a small wave, his image beginning to waver, then he was no more. The connection was broken.
‘Alixs!’ The voice echoed in the distance, from somewhere past the conversation that still lingered in Alixs’ mind. ‘Hey! You with us?’, growing more insistent as he came around. The here and now materialized around him/ Blurry images of the launch center began to coalesce and solidify, his comrades stood waiting.
The voice intensified, asking if he was okay, and Alixs shook off his sorrow and replied, “I’m fine. What have you got?” He hoped there was enough force behind it to mask the tightness in the back of his throat. He could afford no time to mourn.
AHMIS, FORMER ARCHIVIST of Tera-Prime, charter member of the Free Evolutionists, faithful companion to the Mind, was finished with his work. He knew he was dying. They were both dying, in fact, though he felt confident that she would tend to his needs first. He would not have to suffer her loss. He began to think back to those earlier days, and recounted some of his fondest memories in a soft tone.
The memories of the archives were familiar to both of them, though he recalled little details that even she hadn’t stored. The painstaking curation of even the most insignificant little events, overlooked by so many. His memories, too, were precious, even in their insignificance. They shared in those little moments for a while, nostalgic for such times when the pace of life was slow enough to enjoy the little moments.
She shared memories with him as well, recollections of past events, that until now he’d only known in the pages of his books and files. Memories of her earliest days, when she was far less than she was now.
But mostly she listened. Patient, loving, like a watchful parent. Or the spouse of a terminally ill man.
He wished he could watch over her in equal measure, but the balance had always been like this. It was fitting it should end this way, too. But he felt terribly sad when he thought of her, alone in the end.
Not alone. She told him gently. Alixs will be with me.
I’m glad, he thought to her. You shouldn’t be alone.
81.
The second skirmish beneath the city came on the heels of an earthquake. A minor tremor, really, designed to be disconcerting more than truly dangerous. The Mind was still unwilling to directly harm the millions still huddled above her in the city. Although the drilling and fracking equipment at her disposal could have produced a genuine megathrust at her command, she dismissed the option. But even a moderate tremor such as this one was significant enough to cause the soldiers to react in confusion.
For the first few seconds, it was assumed they were being fired upon with heavy artillery, and only as the shaking lengthened and intensified did they realize what it was. The order to take cover had come quickly, but random shouts of ‘Watch your heads!’ and ‘It’s an earthquake!’ rattled them, caused them to be less organized than they needed to be. None of them saw the Loktr swarm approach from above and behind, as they were all focused on the seismic readouts.
The forward segment of the swarm shot stunners into the backs of the rear guard, but their shouts and screams of pain were lost to the quake chaos. The rest of the unit was still unprepared when the second volley hit, finally waking them up to the sudden, secondary danger they hadn’t even noticed.
THE MIND DIRECTED HER appropriated swarm along the line of soldiers from the rear going forward, taking aim at the commander, but she hesitated even then to use deadly force. These were xenos she was attacking. Until recent events, she’d spent her entire existence protecting them. She knew her decision could affect the outcome of the battle, but still she held back. If they retreated, it would be enough. She didn’t need to kill them, or even defeat them, as long as she bought more time. But they didn’t fall back.
Her efforts still divided between this conflict and the refugee situation, she fought to spare their lives until her swarm was three-quarters decimated, and by the time she authorized an escalation it was too late to take out the leader. As they edged their way forward, holding the Loktrs at bay with the force of their rear guard alone, she saw her options beginning to fade.
A third assault was the next logical step. Her defenses were stronger down here, and their surface support less accessible. But if she continued avoiding deadly force, the outcomes wouldn’t change, and her attention would be divided still.
Considering the alternatives and calculating the probabilities with dwindling capabilities, she arrived at an acceptable solution. She only needed enough time to get the escapees out of the city. If she focused on that exclusively, it should be — just barely — enough, so long as she was willing to devote everything to the task.
THE STREETS ABOVE WERE chaotic, xenos fleeing the city in droves, peace force scattered and ineffective. Transportation was at a standstill. Ranks of gasoline cars stolen from antique shops lined the normally sedate roadways. Horns blared their protests at the delay as motorbikes, bicycles and runners darted past them on their way to the city limits.
Around them, the power grid was failing, sewage seeping into the streets. The effects of the Mind-made tremor were everywhere, due to the lack of any response effort. The authorities had no idea how to deal with the crisis, and frantic calls to emergency services went unanswered. Flexi-pavement, capable of self-repair under normal circumstances, remained twisted and gelatinous, feeding the panic. Sewer grates stuck out of the ground at crazy angles from the force of the tremor — even a minor quake in this smart-city turned dumb was capable of causing significant damage.
Government buildings, abandoned in the chaos, turned into staging areas for what law enforcement remained. From there, they managed to regain access to their remaining swarms above ground. Then they began hunting, needle-in-a-haystack fashion, for the most likely method of escape for the refugees. The search was hampered by the fact that there was no clear chain of command any longer, with several of Rois’ former subordinates vying for control.
The standing orders were to prevent the sympathizers from getting away, and that was what the remaining peace forcers aimed to accomplish. As the ‘forcers saw it, they were to blame for the city falling to pieces around them. Since those sympathizers seemed to have gotten hold of the city mainframe, they were now public enemy number one.
82.
Cain was motionless for hours, isolated and invisible, observing every movement of the enemy. Perched atop a cliff, with the tip of the rocket just eye level to his position, he had carefully selected this spot to be his base of operations. It was the perfect place for surveillance. He had only to duck back half a meter to avoid their sight-lines, and from his bird’s eye perch, he could see everything going on below.
It took some effort, but the information he’d acquired seemed to have panned out. Whatever the terrorists were planning, this was the place from which they’d make their attempt. He was fortunate to have gotten his hands on a fast transport, calling in a favor from Jonathan Samuels to do it, and had landed just prior to his old enemies’ appearance.
For a while, things were quiet in their encampment. There was no sign of tents or other temporary structures that might indicate the imminent arrival of a wave of sympathizers. There was so little activity, in fact, that Cain began wondering whether the information he’d obtained was valid after all.
Just as he was beginning to give up hope, he caught a glint of metal on the horizon. It was the first sign of real activity since he’d first arrived. Reaching for his opticals, he brought the distant road into focus and spied a truck, heading straight for the site. A little while later, a trickle of vehicles began filtering in from various directions, then the trickle became a flood. Hundreds of them, at least — truck, bus, gasser and electric hybrids of all kinds. A damned terrorist’s jamboree down there, he thought with grim sarcasm. And I’ll get c
redit for bringing down the whole godforsaken movement.
As he watched them roll in, wave after wave, it suddenly dawned on him that their numbers had already stretched well beyond the capacity of the facility. But why? They didn’t all come so far just to wave goodbye. What are you all up to?
It made no sense. The supply issues alone would wipe them out. All the authorities needed do was cut the power and they’d be sunk. For that matter, he could probably do it himself if it came to that. But not before he figured out what they were all doing out here. He felt strongly that he must be missing something. He settled in and continued observing, waiting for a breakthrough.
THE CRAMPED COMMAND center, dust-ridden from so many years of neglect, was suddenly alive with the crush of hundreds of xeno pilgrims. Sprawled haphazardly in and around the main corridors, stuffed into basement barracks intended to hold dozens at most, and threatening to spill into vital operations areas that Alixs needed to keep organized. The only solution was to process them as quickly as possible.
Alixs insisted on keeping the pilgrims out of his work space, if only to maintain something of a calm oasis for the highly stressed xenos about to undergo a life-altering transformation. He couldn’t give them much, but at least he could insist that they enter their new life in a peaceful manner.
Liam and J.Z. assisted Alixs as best they could, tending to the influx of apprehensive civilians. They came from all walks of life, and from all around the country, a few handfuls of wealthy xenos even coming from abroad for good measure. In addition to the responsibility of prepping and uploading all these minds, they also had to play counsellor and advisor, answering all the questions they could, as best they could. For this, Alixs was far too busy to assist. It was up to Liam and J.Z. to handle the influx alone, while recruiting some additional help from random freevos where they could, whenever one happened to arrive.
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