No!
The AI remained stationary until the fine detail of her expressionless face resolved.
Alexis took Bethany Anne’s hand as she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears threatening to fall. “It’s okay, Mom,” she whispered. “Look.”
Bethany Anne opened her eyes to prove to her children that she could.
The first thing she saw was Michael staring openmouthed at the projection.
The avatar inside the tube was glowing red. Not just red, she realized. Red and gold?
The AI stepped down from the tray and looked down at herself, her voice brought back from the grave. “How very…generic. This won’t do at all.”
Bethany Anne narrowed her eyes as the girls broke into squeals. “You’re looking pretty good for a dead person.”
Izanami grinned and dissolved into golden sparkles, coming back a split second later wearing her own white armor, her hair back at its usual hip length. “I am now. That’s much more me.” She turned a circle and lifted her hands. “Don’t you think?”
“Perfect,” Bethany Anne agreed. She leaned around Gabriel to look at Jean. “You?”
Jean chuckled. “Me. Happy Birthdays for a few decades my Queen. Now, I’ve got to get back to work.”
Alexis and Gabriel had Izanami turning this way and that while they complimented the improvements to her avatar’s range of movement.
Bethany Anne caught Michael gazing at her with a mixture of satisfaction and relief. Did you know about this?
I did not, he replied. Although I am relieved your burden has been lifted. Perhaps now you will think of this as home.
Michael moved away to explore the bridge as Izanami extracted herself from the children.
Bethany Anne couldn’t hold back her grin. “Jean really pulled a miracle out of her ass. You were gone, dammit. There was no bringing you back.”
Izanami flashed her sharp smile. “Nobody told Jean that. ADAM tells me you took millions of Ooken lives in revenge for my death. I will have to make sure I repay that by killing twice as many in your name when we return to war.”
Bethany Anne let the tears go. “Izanami, you can kill as many damn Ooken as you want. Have you seen your ship yet?”
“Of course.” Izanami winked. “But have you seen my guns?”
Finis
Until we meet again
in RETURN TO WAR…
Witch Of The Federation
Have you read Michael Anderle’s latest creation, WITCH OF THE FEDERATION? It’s available now at Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.
The future has amazing technology. Our alien allies have magic. Together, we are building a training system to teach the best of humanity to go to the stars.
But the training is monumentally expensive.
Stephanie Morgana is a genius, she just doesn't know it.
The Artificial Intelligence which runs the Virtual World is charged with testing Stephanie, a task it has never performed before.
The Earth and their allies, may never be the same again.
Will Stephanie pass the test and be moved to the advanced preparatory schools, or will the system miss her? Will the AI be able to judge a human's potential in an area where it has no existing test data to compare?
Available at Amazon
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
May 16, 2019
THANK YOU for not only reading this story but these Author Notes as well.
(I think I’ve been good with always opening with “thank you.” If not, I need to edit the other Author Notes!)
RANDOM (sometimes) THOUGHTS?
I’m sitting in my (near) Los Angeles hotel room, the beginning of the 2019 SFWA Nebulas conference going on down below. (The Nebula is an award for Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories, and is given out this Saturday night.) I am finishing up these Author Notes before this book goes up on Amazon tonight, hoping we publish by the early morning.
It is three years and six months since I released the very first Kurtherian book, and now we are releasing the twenty-sixth book with Bethany Anne in the main Kurtherian timeline.
The stories are a bit different now.
As I edited this book, it struck me how all these characters have grown through the years, sometimes entering into the stories in odd ways (Sabine made me think of this) and wondering where everyone might be that we didn’t shoehorn into this story.
(If you have missed Nickie Grimes in Deuces Wild, take a moment to read that storyline. It’s a little harder because we attack a problem with families and misunderstandings. Then, you add the Grimes gene into the mix, and a whole backbone of “I don’t give a shit,” and you get Nickie.)
The universe and character list are too large to not give other characters a little bit of book time. Fans want to know what happened to XYZ characters, but then we have a couple of concerns from not giving Bethany Anne enough time because we spoke about others.
It is challenging, to say the least.
We are trying to figure out how to split the characters into their own storylines and perhaps do something else, maybe another book, with their stories. I don’t know if we will be able to figure out a solution, but know that we ARE looking into it.
Well, that and we have finally been able to set up everything to move the plot forward. To get out of the children phase and get a space-sized ass-kicking moving forward with all these characters and one in particular.
THANK YOU for supporting Bethany Anne. She will forever be the special one in my heart out of all of the characters I’ve created.
She is the Queen Bitch, and I love her for that.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
One of the most interesting (at least to me) aspects of my life is the ability to work from anywhere and at any time. In the future, I hope to re-read my own Author Notes and remember my life as a diary entry.
Woodland Hills Marriott, Woodland Hills, California, USA
It’s a party!
Well, not really yet.
I understand that the Nebulas was just a one-night “thing” started a bit over fifty years ago as an excuse to get together and have a party with other authors.
Flash forward to today, and it is a conference that starts on Thursday and goes through Saturday, and the Nebula dinner (do dress nicely) will be held Saturday night. I was up past midnight out drinking (I really had a real honest-to-god alcoholic drink where I usually just have a Coke). For those curious, I like Drambuie neat. Usually, just one to sip.
I was with Ronnie Virdie (Author), Yudhanjaya Wijeratne (Author) and Dan Wood (Draft2Digital). Craig Martelle (Author) and Judith Anderle (CMO LMBPN Publishing and my wife) had already gone back to the hotel after dinner. We talked about books, the art of story, arguing about shit I doubt I remember much about (no, I wasn’t drunk, but late night discussions don’t stick around in my long-term memory very well.)
(Editor’s Note: I will remember that for when you agree to something in one of our midnight convos, Anderle)
We will be here through Sunday for any meetings with those still hanging close and leave on Monday morning for the five-hour car trip back to the Cave in the Sky™ in Las Vegas.
One week in Vegas, then we hit the skies towards New York and Book Expo America and APAC (Audio).
Where I’m sure I will be lousy in the mornings as well, Mr. Campbell (he reviews these notes before publishing so Zen Master Walking™ will know I’m talking about him).
But at least this time YOU will have probably been out late with us and your mornings will suck as well.
(Zen Master Walking™ Note: My mornings never suck. It’s a gift.)
Damn, I need a nap…
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Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Books By Michael Anderle
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