“Dol. They’re not going to give up. They need you. It needs you. All of you.” He looks at the four of us. “You might as well go peacefully. You can’t outrun them, and you can’t outlive this. Be reasonable for once.”
“Reasonable? What are you talking about?” My head is reeling; none of this is what I was expecting to hear. Then I catch a glimpse of Bibi pacing behind Fortis, and I’m certain Fortis once again knows more than he’s saying.
He looks pained.
“This,” he says. “There had to be some part of you that knew. You had to have suspected.”
“Suspected what?” Tima’s face is pale. I don’t dare look at the boys.
“Me. This. What did you think, when I disappeared from the campsite? And returned completely unharmed? Fit as a fiddle an’ without a probe shoved up my—” Fortis shakes his head.
“You mean they were tracking you, this whole time?” Tima looks stricken.
“No, you little idiot. I was trackin’ you, this whole time. It’s what they pay me for, how I’ve outlived The Day, all these years.”
“Because—” I can’t say the words.
“Because I promised them they could have you. Because you’ve been theirs from the start. Because I only knew how to build you the way they wanted me to.”
I turn to face Fortis. “I don’t believe you. You wouldn’t do it. Not to us.”
“How did you think I got away from the Lords in the desert? Or for that matter, why do you think they came for me in the first place?”
“Fortis!” My stomach drops.
“My name is Paulo Fortissimo. I made first contact. It was my lab. The Lords, bastards though they may be, are here at my invitation.” He shrugs. “Not so much invitation as recommendation. You were engineered for this purpose, all along. Their purpose. It was the one thing they didn’t have.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Human emotions are unique in the universe. Emotions, and the power they generate. Drives that cause you to fight with a strength and an energy that go far beyond the survival instinct. You four, with your powers.” He shakes his head. “Emotions incarnate. The Lords have never encountered anything like it.” He looks at me meaningfully. “Like you. You understand now? They’re why you exist. The Lords. They’re why you’re here. They think you will help them not just survive but dominate the whole of the existing universe.”
“But—the fail-safe. That’s what we are,” I say, remembering the Embassy archive. “That’s all we are.”
“Not exactly. That was just the easiest way to get you to come along for the ride.”
“Then what are we?” I want an explanation. I want answers. I want Fortis to look me in the eye and confess.
And then I want to kill him.
“You heard what it said.” Fortis looks away, shrugging.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t hear anything that explained what we are or how we came to be like this.”
“I made you, sure enough. Me an’ Bibi an’ Ela an’ Yang. They didn’t know where I got the specifications—they only knew we were engineering the four of you for a militarized unit. One that the four of us started an’ only I finished. I let them think our work had failed. It was the only way.”
“The Humanity Project,” I venture.
“That’s the one.”
I slap him in the face. It’s all I can do not to rip him to pieces with my bare hands.
“How could you?”
“How could I? I’m a Merk, darlin’. You’ve always known that. What did you think I was here to do? You didn’t think I was really here to save the world, did you?”
Ro is incredulous. “Why bother, then? What was that back at the Hole? Why take out one of their Icons?”
Steady, Ro.
Not now.
Don’t do anything stupid.
“You had to believe me. All of you. I had to sell it. Not just to you, but to the Embassies. The GAP himself.”
Lucas raises his voice. “Then who is Ela?”
“Ela was her nickname.”
Lucas nods. “Let me guess. It stood for her initials.” A shadow flickers across his face.
“That’s right.” Fortis nods. “L.A.”
“L.A. Leta Amare. Ela was my mother. She did this. With you and Bibi and Yang.”
“You each needed a biosource.”
“A what?”
“A Physical Human. A genetic source.”
“You mean, a parent.”
Fortis nods.
“And Leta was my biological mother?”
“That’s right.”
Lucas looks relieved, in spite of her—in spite of everything.
“What about the rest of us?” Tima asks, suddenly.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
No, I think. None of this is obvious.
“Dr. Yang?”
Fortis nods. Tima’s face falls, but I see her thinking through it, the details, the mannerisms.
Ro looks at him. “And me?”
Bibi sighs. “And now you see why I have so much trouble with the Middle Path.” He’s right. Hurling stones in his backyard makes a lot more sense, when you think about him as Ro’s father.
The color drains out of Ro’s face as he considers the possibility.
Which means only one thing.
“You? The greatest traitor the Earth has ever known, and you’re my biological father?” I can barely force myself to think the words, let alone say them.
Fortis smiles. “You think it was an accident, my findin’ you on the Tracks that day? Been keepin’ an eye on you for years, love.”
I want to gouge his eyes out with my fingernails.
Soon, I think.
Soon.
GENERAL EMBASSY DISPATCH: EASTASIA SUBSTATION
MARKED URGENT
MARKED EYES ONLY
Internal Investigative Subcommittee IIS211B
RE: The Incident at SEA Colonies
Note: Contact Jasmine3k, Virt. Hybrid Human 39261.SEA, Laboratory Assistant to Dr. E. Yang, for future commentary, as necessary.
FORTIS
Transcript - ComLog 03.20.2070
FORTIS::NULL
//comlog begin;
sendline: I have a plan that I think will get you where you want to go. And, I assume, will get me what I want in return. Before I offer it up, do we have a deal?;
return: Upon repeated reflection, I agree your help would be important, perhaps critical to my success. I can accommodate your request for a safe haven without compromising my primary mission.;
sendline: Smashing. I’ll ask for particulars later, but this is fantastic news. As for my ideas, I have considered what I know about human nature, the behaviors of individuals and how they respond as groups, and the sad, violent history of our people. And I have a better understanding of the tools you have. I don’t think you have enough to subdue (i.e., eliminate) the entire population as you have planned.;
return: Yes.;
//comlog ctd;
35
ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS
There is more, of course. More to be said. More truths to be demanded. Probably more lies to be told.
Other things, too.
But the Lord Child is impatient. Human drama is not so impressive, I imagine. Not when you’ve already executed billions of humans.
“Come, Doloria. We will begin with you. We will return for the others. There is much work to be done with each of you.”
“I’m not going with you.” It’s my decision, and I fold my arms.
They can come for me.
They can do what they will.
I’m not going with the creatures who killed my family.
I’m not letting my friends be led to their deaths because of me, either.
“You don’t have a choice,” Null says. “The bargain has been made. You belong to us. You always have. We created you.”
“I’m not a shard you can come for. I’m not part of your death machine.
”
“But you are. And you have no choice. You are part of us. You belong with us.” Null looks at me, expressionless, and I wonder how long it will be before that facade cracks.
At this rate, not long.
I can feel the frustration climbing the stairs between us.
Ro steps in front of me again. “Yes, she does have a choice. And she’s made it. She’s not going with you.”
“That’s not a matter for you to decide, Furo Costas.” Null blinks, impassive. Talking to it is like talking to Doc.
Ro isn’t buying it. “You know, now that I think about it, it is.”
“Why is that?” Null asks.
“Because she’s not going. Because I say so.” Ro takes another step down toward the ship. “And because I’ll go in her place.”
Null looks up, interested. I can feel the spike in the energy between us.
“That, Furo Costas, is a different proposition entirely. Let us think.”
I grab Ro’s hand from behind. “Ro, stop it. You can’t do that.”
He pulls his hand away from mine. “I can. In fact, I am.”
I’m starting to panic. “Don’t. Don’t do this. Stay with us. Stay with me. We’ll make our stand. We’ll go out together. We’ll go out fighting, just like you always wanted.”
He smiles at me, sadly. “That was never what I wanted, Dol. You were all I wanted.”
My heart is racing. “Stop. You can’t.”
He steps up, closer to me now. “You were all I wanted, and you have to let me do this. I don’t want to be here anymore. Not like this. You don’t need me down here. You can take care of yourself.” Ro nods to Lucas. “And Buttons. You’ve been taking care of him since the day we found him, all washed up on the beach.”
I can’t stop the tears from coming. “I don’t want you to do this.”
He wipes a tear from my cheek. “It’s not up to you. I’m a fighter, remember? This is what I do. Find something worth fighting for, and then fight.”
I shake my head. “You’re crazy.”
“I’m not. I’m smart. You’re it, Dol. You’re worth fighting for. Let me fight.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Tima says from behind me.
Lucas clears his throat. “She’s right. None of us wants you to do this.”
Ro smiles. “I don’t have to do anything. But once I’m doing it, you know you can’t stop me.”
Ro pulls me close, leaning in toward me. I see his lips, just for a moment, and I remember.
They’d be soft.
Softer than his ears.
They’d taste like pomegranate seeds.
Then Ro kisses me, hard and fast, and pulls back from me the moment I give in to him.
That’s always how it is for us.
“Promise you’ll come back,” I say. It’s all I can think—all I can bear.
“Will that make this easier?” He grins.
I nod.
“Then I promise.” He strokes the side of my face.
“You have to mean it,” I insist, stubbornly.
“I do. I’ll behave. And I’ll come back for you. I promise.”
I pull him close, burying my face in his chest as I have so many times before.
He pulls my face up to his and turns it, gently kissing my cheek.
Then he whispers into my ear.
I hear the words and I know they mean goodbye. “Love you, Dol-face.”
“I know, Doofus.” I can’t look at him. It’s too horrible, too unbearably sad.
Then he grabs Tima and kisses her on the mouth. She looks surprised, and he laughs.
Fortis holds out his hand and Ro just nods at him.
“Take care, Buttons,” Ro says to Lucas. “Or I’ll come down here and thump you myself.”
Then he’s down the stairs, two at a time, only stopping when he reaches the ship.
I hold my breath.
We all do.
Even Fortis can’t bring himself to look away.
Ro nods at the Lord Child—Null, the monster—and ducks his head beneath the top of the rectangle of light.
I see him, a dark outline inside the bright doorway, lifting his hand in a wave to us.
And then he’s gone.
We watch, together, as the bright patch of light disappears.
We watch as the jungle floor around the ship begins to rumble, as the winds begin to whip in all directions.
We watch as the ship rises, pushing upward toward the other four, finding its place in the pentagon.
And then we watch, in disbelief, as the whole thing erupts into a ball of flame.
Ro. No—
I don’t know if I’m thinking his name or screaming it.
All I know is, I remember the words in my head as clearly as if he were saying them in my ear. “They come for me, you have my permission to shoot. I’m not hitching a ride with a No Face.”
That’s what Ro said, and now he’s gone.
Now Ro is dust in the sky.
Now Ro is nothing.
Nothing, like Null.
That’s all I remember.
That, and Tima screaming, and the ships streaking across the sky.
That, and Fortis fleeing.
That, and Bibi trying to hold me up.
That, and Lucas carrying me down the steps.
That, and blacking out.
GENERAL EMBASSY DISPATCH: EASTASIA SUBSTATION
MARKED URGENT
MARKED EYES ONLY
Internal Investigative Subcommittee IIS211B
RE: The Incident at SEA Colonies
Note: Contact Jasmine3k, Virt. Hybrid Human 39261.SEA, Laboratory Assistant to Dr. E. Yang, for future commentary, as necessary.
FORTIS
Transcript - ComLog 03.20.2070 ctd.
FORTIS::NULL
//comlog begin;
sendline: I would recommend strategic placement of your assets, combined with a local puppet government, giving people the illusion of a future. Then using the population to advance and achieve your objective.;
return: I see the parallels in your history.;
sendline: If you choose the right people, and the right targets, I believe you can build up your equipment in such a way that by the time the people know what is happening, it will be too late. You will have an overwhelming force at your disposal.;
return: Historical precedent. Logical. Interesting.;
//comlog end;
EPILOGUE
Not everything that comes from the sky is an angel.
It’s true.
And not everything that lives on the Earth is a human.
Also true.
I’ve learned that now. I’ve learned it the hard way, and I wish to the Blessed Lady that I hadn’t.
They say everything changed on The Day, but that’s not the way I see it. Not anymore.
Some things remained the same—or at least, I thought they did.
Humans were still humans, even if their hearts had stopped beating. Some of them.
Cities were still cities, even if they were Silent. Some of them.
Fundamentally, the universe was still a reliable place, made of goods and bads, Sympas and Grass, humans and Lords.
Until today.
Today was the day I learned the battle doesn’t just lie in the Embassies, or the sky, or even the universe.
The battle lies in this Lord Child. This girl who is not a girl, this boy who is not a boy. This everything called Sparrow and this nothing called Null.
And the battle lies in Fortis. My father. Who lies quite a bit, as well.
Worst of all, the battle is in me.
Chumash Rancheros Spaniards Californians Americans Grass The Lords The Hole Me.
I’m Doloria Maria de la Cruz, and this is my story. The story of me, and the story of my people.
But what am I?
I’m not hope. I’m not the thing with feathers. Not anymore. I’ve changed. I am change.
And I’m not b
est friend to Furo Costas. Not anymore. He’s dead, as dead as the Lord who took him.
I should know. My heart died with him.
Which also means I’m not girlfriend to Lucas Amare. Not anymore. I’m too broken for that.
And I’m not my parents’ daughter. Not anymore. They were lies, props, the figment of someone else’s imagination.
I’m not even Sparrow’s sister. Not anymore. She was only real in my dreams, only as human as I made her.
And what do I know about humans?
Only this:
My name is Doloria Maria de la Cruz, and I’m not just the end of childhood.
I’m the end of humanity.
And if you come from the skies—
I’m coming for you.
GENERAL EMBASSY DISPATCH: EASTASIA SUBSTATION
MARKED URGENT
MARKED EYES ONLY
Internal Investigative Subcommittee IIS211B
RE: The Incident at SEA Colonies
Note: Contact Jasmine3k, Virt. Hybrid Human 39261.SEA, Laboratory Assistant to Dr. E. Yang, for future commentary, as necessary.
FORTIS
Transcript: Comlog {date scrubbed}
FORTIS::NULL
//comlog begin;
sendline: NULL. Based on the information you provided, the number of devices, I have some suggestions for you.;
return: Please continue.;
sendline: You have 13 devices—I will upload suggestions for the ideal targets. These are not purely population driven. I considered also capacity for production, manufacturing, etc.;
sendline: I also recommend establishing a temporary system for maintaining order during your preparation.;
sendline: If you can subdue the population, you can also use existing resources more effectively to prepare, also reducing the risk of catastrophic failure.;
sendline: I believe this is the most efficient way to accomplish your mission.;
delayed response;
sendline: Hello?;
return: And in exchange?;
delayed response;
sendline: I want my own colony.;
sendline: I need something.;
Idols Page 24
