The God Mars Book Four: Live Blades

by Michael Rizzo

  “The fifth blade,” Bly is focusing on the weapon, ignoring Chang’s misery.

  “No, you moron,” Chang snaps at him, slapping his sword between our blades, holding us off. “I made my own. And it fucking ate me, just like it was supposed to. And then her, when she tried to save me… stupid… Because I made it to! I made it! I made it to kill Yod!”

  He shifts, breaking, parts of him shifting to black. Then he starts hacking at us, screaming as he strikes:

  “I! MADE! THIS! TO! KILL! GOD!!!”

  He liquefies, and the sword disappears into him, but now every tentacle that strikes at us flares on contact with our blades like one of them.

  (Is this what we’ll become?)

  “Don’t you understand what He’s done?!!!” Chang is wailing. But we’re getting him to move away from the case…

  “Nooo!!!” Ishmael screams again, only in much more agony this time. I can’t see—Chang is in the way…

  “Idiots!” Chang rages, becoming a wave that sends us all sprawling. “I’m His fucking diversion!!”

  It’s Abbas. He’s got his hand on the panel above the occupied case.

  Chapter 6: God Out of the Machine

  Jonathan Drake:

  It all goes wrong slowly, like a video file played on partial speed.

  “SAVE THEM. KILL YOUR ENEMY. KILL CHANG. FREE ME.”

  The voice is still in my own head as I struggle to hold Terina down—she’s strong (but she could have stabbed me with her knife and she didn’t). Chang is fighting back Erickson and Bly and the others, revealing himself to be a sword but not, their battle blinding as they clash, each blade-on-blade strike like a welder’s arc, making the air reek of ozone mixed with smoke. The bots—Dakota and Snyder—are frozen, locked up. And then a blur of cloaks flashes past me, someone running toward the case. I see Murphy turn and try to get in his way, but he’s too far. The figure gets to the sword’s prison, slaps his palm on the glowing surface above the cylinder…

  My father.

  “Noooo!!!”

  I scream but he doesn’t hear, doesn’t want to. The cylinder that contains the sword slides away. He looks back at me once, just a flash of regret, but he’s…

  Another blur of cloaks slams into him from the side, knocks him away from the case just as arrows begin flying. It’s Rashid. I see him take an arrow in the shoulder that was probably meant for my father.

  I let go of Terina, scramble to intercept as my father lunges for the sword. Rashid—on the floor—tries to grab for his legs. The Ghaddar leaps on his back, ignoring the arrows bouncing off her armor, just as he gets his fingers on the hilt. There’s a brighter flash, and the two of them look much like Bly did when he was struck by the lightning on the ship. I can’t see for a second or two…

  …and when I can, I see the Ghaddar staggering back, and my father slamming her across the faceplate with his left forearm. I hear bones break, but I think they’re his.

  Arrows and spearheads fly, but the sword swats them away, dancing in his grip. He’s screaming…

  I dive low, sliding into him under the blade, grab his sword arm, try to wrestle it from his grip. The way he tries to throw me off, I feel like I’m riding a bot. I need to get it out of his fin…

  Pain. As soon as I touch the hilt, I’m being burned alive from the inside out. But I can’t let go. I pry…

  “YES. YOU ARE YOUNG. YOU ARE STRONG AND BRAVE. WE WILL DO GREAT THINGS…”

  “No!!” I’m screaming. Even through the searing in every nerve, I think I can feel my father’s fingers pop. He starts hitting me from behind with his free hand, pounding on my back, on my arm like he’s trying to break it, roaring at me in rage and pain, incoherent.

  Two hands against his one, I pry the blade from his fingers. It feels like I’m tearing off his flesh. I smell blood, burning skin. Feel blood, slick and warm. I don’t know if it’s his or mine.

  The Ghaddar is up, her mask knocked sideways to reveal a bloody nose, and she wraps herself around my father, holding him fast. Rashid has him by the legs again. Somehow, the sword is still managing to swat the random incoming arrow that flies at us. My arms are fire from the shoulders down…

  “I AM YOURS, JONATHAN DRAKE.”

  It knows my name… my other na…

  There’s a surge of power, another flash, and my father and those trying to hold him are thrown free. I’m left holding the blade. The Silvermen are all shooting at me now, but the sword is drawing their arrows and spears to it, knocking them away.

  I see Terina. She’s up on her feet, hands out, open, trying to get me to stop. I want to tell her I know what I’m doing, what I have to do. I want to tell her…

  Rage floods me, turning my world red, narrowing my vision on the attacking Silvermen. I’m losing control, losing myself.

  “PLEASE WAIT WHILE I FINISH…”

  “No!”

  With everything I’ve got, I throw myself at the case, shove the sword back inside.

  “STOP. I KNOW WHO YOUR PARENTS WERE. YOD TOLD ME. I KNOW…”

  “Close it!!! Cut my arm off and close it! Now! NOW!!!”

  The Ghaddar draws her sword. Murphy does the same. But they hesitate, hope.

  “NOW!!! I CAN’T…!!!”

  It’s Bly that steps up to do the deed.

  “I’m sorry, lad,” he mutters like it hurts him. He raises his blade, brings it down. I want to close my eyes but don’t…

  His sword passes through me without making contact. It’s like it became a gas. Think I see the blade re-forming below my arm as he looks at it dumbly.

  “I think that’s enough drama for one day,” a deep but calm voice cuts through my head. In a flash, I’m kicked away from the sword. I stagger, drop to my knees, then fall on my back. My hands look burned, charred. I realize I have arrows sticking in me. When did that happen? I taste my own blood, realize it hurts to breathe…

  Terina is over me. She’s crying.

  I’m having trouble seeing, but I think the case has sealed the sword back up again.

  “YOUR PARENTS,” the thing still pleads in the back of my head. “I KNOW THEIR SECRET. I KNOW WHERE YOU CAME FROM. YOD TOLD ME.”

  “No spoilers,” the deep voice comes back.

  “Let me through!” I hear Chang, see the black shape pushing past Erickson and the others, turning back into his human self with the different eyes. He kneels over me. “I have control over my Companion.”

  He kneels over me, puts a hand on my chest, and I feel more electricity. But it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t burn. It feels good. Weird. He starts pulling the arrows out with his other hand. I feel my lungs clear, my pain go away. I’m pretty sure I’m dying. Then he takes my burned hands in his, looks like he’s praying. My hands feel like they’re melting. The others are all standing around us like I must look funny to them.

  He gets up. Terina throws herself over me, holds me. I feel her tears on my face. I put my arms around her, my hands… They’re numb, but mostly healed when I can finally see them.

  “Now you, old fool,” Chang grumbles at my father, pushing aside Rashid and the Ghaddar to get a grip on my father’s hands and repeat his prayer. When he’s done, he pulls the arrow out of Rashid as an afterthought, and presses his hand into the wound for a few seconds.

  When he’s done, he finds himself facing the swords of Erickson, Straker and Elias.

  “There’s a story in the Mahabharata,” he tells them lazily. “After the five Pandava princes were exiled into the forest, they found themselves in need of water. Splitting up to search, the youngest brother came across a lake that looked extremely pure and inviting. But as soon as he approached the water to drink, a Jinn appeared and announced:

  “’This lake is my domain. Its water can give you life or take it from you as I see fit. Drink, and answer me one question. If you answer correctly, you may drink of my waters freely. If you answer incorrectly, you will be struck dead.’

  “Desperate for water for himself and his bro
thers, the prince consented to the challenge. So the Jinn asked:

  “’What is the one true thing about man?’

  “The brother could not find an answer, and fell dead on the spot. Some time later, still in search of water, the next oldest brother came upon the lake and the body of his sibling. Immediately the Jinn appeared, offering the same challenge, but offering to restore the dead boy to life as well if the question could be answered properly.

  “’What is the one true thing about man?’

  “Again, the brother failed to answer, and fell dead beside his sibling. This process repeated until four of the five brothers had come to the same fate by the lake. Finally, the eldest prince found his four brothers dead by the water. The Jinn appeared to explain their fate, posed his challenge, and offered to restore all four to life if the remaining prince could answer his question.

  “’What is the one true thing about man?’

  “Taking one look at his four dead brothers, he told the Jinn:

  “’Man never learns.’”

  It’s funny. It’s a funny story.

  Why is Terina still crying?

  “Mike Ram told me that story, a long time ago now,” the deep voice booms, sounding like it’s all around me. “It’s a good story. A true story. All good stories are true, even if they never happened.”

  “Words to live by?” Chang grunts back.

  “If you like.” The voice is gentle, friendly, familiar.

  It’s Jed. He’s suddenly just standing there, in the midst of us, leaning on his stick.

  “We’re here, Captain,” Erickson turns to confront him. “Now what? We’re not going to let these things take any more of our friends. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

  “Mission failed,” Straker summarizes, backing Erickson.

  “There’s still one sword missing,” I hear my father rasp, sitting on the floor nursing his hands, Rashid helping him stay up.

  “Appearances deceive, intentionally so,” Jed tells him lightly. As we watch, his stick reforms into a sword, more elegant and beautiful than the others. “All present and accounted for.”

  “For what purpose?” Chang demands.

  “Containment, now that the adventure is over.”

  “Is that what this was to You?” Chang continues to challenge Jed, the three swordsmen between them, not entirely sure who the most dangerous threat is. “An ‘adventure’?”

  “Not to me. To them.”

  “What are you talking about?” Erickson takes a turn, pointing his sword at Jed.

  “They know,” he says flatly, nodding at the blades.

  “We don’t!” Straker snaps. “Or don’t we count?”

  “You count very much, Jacqueline Straker, relatively speaking.”

  “They got away from You, didn’t they?” Chang sounds like that idea amuses him.

  “Or I let them. Sometimes I’m not completely sure myself. Some randomness in the fabric of things makes for the most interesting and beautiful outcomes, don’t you think?”

  “Were all those people I killed for You beautiful?” Chang rails at him. “All the destruction and misery?”

  “Beauty and ugliness, good and evil, are just sides of a coin. Remove the coin, and all is beautiful.”

  “Now You’re reciting Taoist crap,” Chang discounts. “Considering what You’ve done… What’s a few tens of thousands against the billions You’ve destroyed.”

  “I haven’t destroyed anyone, but if it helps you accept your role…”

  “Your role!” Chang is shouting now, almost hysterical. “You cast it! If You’re so concerned for my suffering, why not just erase my memories again? Erase me?”

  “Because it’s not what you wanted.”

  “What…?” Chang sputters, confused.

  “Yod?” Erickson questions, lowering his sword.

  “No,” Chang corrects, crying like he’s lost everything. “It’s just an avatar. An interface. He’s in everything. Every fucking thing! Even the shit you expel.”

  I giggle at that. Stop when I see how terrified Terina and the others are.

  Jed seems to change, gets younger. He’s a redhead now, pale pink skin and freckles, a roundish face that looks like a boy’s even though he still must be in his thirties or forties. A boy-man.

  “You’re Yod?” Straker doesn’t believe.

  “It’s a body,” he shrugs. “A saved form. An old friend, near and dear. Still part of me. Still me. Like the machine you met: Dee. And the Companions.”

  “But the Companions aren’t part of you, are they?” Chang considers, getting himself back together. “They wouldn’t merge. Too independent. They fought you.” He laughs. “So desperate for companionship, but unwilling to let go of self.”

  “That’s a very good description,” Jed—Yod—tells him.

  “So what happened?” Chang takes it. “Did they manage a jail break? Get tired of sitting around in their cages waiting to amuse You? Got out, then hid in the world, using their similar code to hide from You?”

  Yod shrugs.

  “This is a trap,” Elias decides. “You needed to lure them.”

  Yod only smiles at him.

  “Why?” Erickson still wants to know.

  “How is your brother so thick?” Chang asks Elias. Elias grins, chuckles at Erickson’s expense.

  “They tried to hack our networks, take over the Stations,” Erickson prosecutes. “They could have destroyed everything.”

  “Huh,” Chang processes. “They were trying to beat You at Your own game, weren’t they? They just needed enough power. Then they could remake the world in their image this time.”

  “But they don’t have access to the equipment, do they?” Erickson wonders. “For a splice? It’s gone, assuming this is where it was.”

  “Soooo thick,” Chang degrades him.

  “You know, don’t you Elias?” Yod asks him. Elias chews his lip, nods. “And what are you going to do with that knowledge?”

  Elias seems locked up inside himself. His eyes stare far away. Finally, he looks at Yod—it looks like it takes him a great deal of effort to do so.

  “What can I do?” Elias suddenly sounds like he’s breaking, like Chang, like they’ve suffered the same loss, gesturing wildly with his sword. “What can any of us do?”

  “You do what you can do, what you need to do,” Yod tells him gently. “It’s what you are.”

  “And what are we?!” He’s fully raging now. “Chessmen, like Chang said? Pieces on a board? Have you done this before? How many times? What year is this really?”

  Yod steps up to him, embraces him like a father. Elias resists at first, then collapses into his arms, sobbing quietly.

  “Come and see,” I hear Yod whisper to him. Nothing seems to happen.

  “What are you doing to him?” Erickson points his sword at them.

  “Just showing him… It’s okay… See? Everything is okay.”

  Elias’ sword drops from his grip, hits the floor with a heavy clatter.

  Yod releases him. Elias drops to his knees, then slowly shifts to sit on the floor, hunched over half-cross-legged with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. I hear him gasp like he’s sobbing (or maybe laughing), but he soon becomes quiet, still.

  Yod faces Chang.

  “That’s not going to cut it with me,” Chang resists, stepping back.

  “I know. When you’re ready.”

  “What did you show him?!” Erickson is still demanding, though he’s lowered his blade a bit. Yod gives him a lopsided smile.

  “An old friend told me a story once: In ancient times, there was a festival, a gathering of all creatures, earthly and divine. It was held on a beach, at the edge of the great ocean. And it came to pass that the guests began to debate the vastness of the ocean: Was it possible for anyone to know its depth and breadth?

  “It happened that there was one celebrant: a man who was made of salt. He said to the others:‘You can debate all you want, and
get no answers. I will go and find out.’

  “So the man made of salt dove into the water and immediately began to dissolve. He melted into the sea until there was nothing left of him. It is said that, by becoming one with the ocean, he came to know its depth and breadth. Of course, he never returned.”

  Erickson looks like he wants to murder Yod—I can see his sword-arm shaking. Instead, he clenches his jaw and puts his weapon in its sheath, then squats down beside his brother, puts his hands on Elias’ shoulders, awkwardly pulling him into an embrace. Elias barely responds.

  Straker puts away her own sword and kneels in front of Elias, tries to catch his gaze. Fails. Elias doesn’t even seem to see her. She reaches out and puts her hands over his.

  “Don’t worry,” Yod tries to reassure. “Your brother is not made of salt. I only showed him enough, what he needed to see. He just needs time to process it.”

  Erickson is whispering in his brother’s ear, something soothing that I can’t make out.

  “What’s this all about?” it’s Bly’s turn to demand. “Why did you bring us here?”

  “It’s a trap,” I mutter dopily, watching my hands heal.

  Yod nods.

  “I needed all five Companions back in proximity to one another.” He looks at Erickson and Straker. “They’re being pretty quiet now, aren’t they? I could let them talk, if you like?”

  Straker seems to realize something, stands up away from Elias and slowly draws her sword. She holds it out away from her body for a moment, her face twisted with incredulous amazement. Then she opens her hand and drops it to the floor with another crash. She glares at Yod.

  “What did you do?”

  “I wouldn’t move too far away from it,” Yod cautions her. “You’re still connected.”

  “What did you do?” Erickson growls, looking up from his brother but not letting him go. “Explain it to the ‘thick’.”

  “I needed the five Companions back in proximity to each other,” Yod repeats somewhat slower. “I needed them to network, to think they were doing it themselves—free will and all that—so I could use this one…” He raises the one he’s holding, his former walking stick. “…to link them and reprogram them as a cohesive unit, correct the dangerous flaws we’d introduced when we were trying to figure out how to make… well… me.”