by AJ Vega
Chapter 44: Fate’s Currents
“The singularity was inevitable and we knew that Project Majesty would usher it in. We knew it and I knew it. Despite what people said about us, we did take precautions. By replicating the synaptic design of the human mind, we hoped it would have intrinsic understanding of human morality. I mean, how could a being that had what was left of my lovely wife turn out like that? I really thought by making her think like a human in this way, she would love us too much to ever hurt us. Obviously, I was wrong.”
Leaked excerpt from note left by Lewis Edwards I, co-founder of Omega Research Corporation, prior to his suicide on December 7, 2131 (anniversary of Majesty’s birth)
Laina sat in the boat, cradling baby Melody. The sun on her face, the salty breeze filling her nostrils—it made her feel alive. She stared out at the horizon: blue sky, clear ocean, birds overhead; it was better than any painting she ever owned.
Laina was on board a sailboat—the Sea Wolf Jr. It had been over a month since they had escaped the destruction of the original Sea Wolf. Fortunately, the worlds did honor the deal in the end. They received amnesty by all but the Space Habit Coalition, which was fine with her. She was staying terrestrial for a while.
With the nice monetary reward they received, the surviving crew would be able to live a good life for a while—probably better than most of them deserved. But… whatever, that life was behind them now.
Nobody knew what happened to the moon—it simply disappeared. Some of the scientists theorized that the A.I. were killed, causing the moon to disintegrate. They believed that the moon was made of a cluster of nanobots morphed to look like a moon. The large amount of inert nanobots they later scooped up reinforced the theory.
The military brass, on the other hand, was concerned that the enemy got away and would come back one day to exact its revenge—but whatever. It was not her problem anymore; it was not their problem anymore.
Xanthus turned out to be a better friend than she expected: he and the Confed covered up the A.I. offspring’s existence—Melody would remain their secret.
She rubbed Melody’s cheek with her finger; the sunlight glistened on her green eyes as she cooed. The unnatural glow of her eyes disappeared days after she was born, which was a fortunate thing if they were going to pass her off as a normal human baby.
Laina looked out at the far end of the boat. Julius stood at the edge, silently overlooking the ocean.
Physically, he was doing much better now—even his hair was growing back. It was a scary time at first; he almost did not make it. But Lankey was right: he was the strongest man they had ever known, and he wanted to live.
However, emotionally, he was still in pain at the loss of his brother. Despite the best medical treatment Xanthus could provide, Daryl died a week after the battle.
Laina walked over to him, with Melody in her arms. He continued to stare out at the ocean.
“What’s wrong, honey?” she asked him.
“Quit calling me that,” he said.
“Fine,” Laina said with a grin. “What’s wrong, sweetie-pie?”
Julius growled.
“Thinking about, Daryl?” she asked.
He stayed quiet, which meant yes. It took some time for Laina to get over the guilt associated with Daryl—she sometimes felt responsible for it.
Julius turned to her.
“I did it again, Laina,” he said finally. “I risked it all to save Daryl… and I failed.”
Laina’s heart sank, there was such sadness in his eyes.
“I risked everything to save him a century ago… on that moon. He ended up saving me instead. He was the real hero who saved humanity. Daryl shut her down… he lead the platoon of HAMRs and killed Majesty. All I was worried about was getting him off that moon…”
Julius turned to look back at the ocean.
“And this time around,” he continued. “Daryl saved humanity again. Not by his actions though… but by the actions of his older brother, who went to rescue Chorus so that she could use her magic to save him.”
Laina waited for him to continue, but he stopped and just stared on at the ocean instead.
“You didn’t just do this for him,” she said. “You protected Chorus, you brokered a deal for the crew… and you saved us!”
At that moment, Melody made a cooing sound. Julius turned to look at the baby, he gave a slight grin—Melody was the only thing that could break through that impenetrable hull of his. He then looked up at Laina, putting his hand up to her face.
“I’m fine, Laina,” he said, stroking her hair.
“You better be,” she said, lifting Melody up slightly. “Because you still have to protect us.”
Julius nodded and motioned around the deck.
“I’ll always protect my crew,” he said with a grin.
Laina caught an odor and looked down at Melody.
“Uh-oh,” Laina said. “I think she needs to be changed.”
Julius leaned over and gave Laina a kiss. As he pulled away, she saw the glint of sunlight peek through the clouds behind them—piercing the blanket of dark clouds.
Laina began to walk under deck, then looked one more time at Julius as he stood overlooking the ocean. She knew that no matter what ship they were on, her captain really would always protect them.
