The Crane War
Page 47
The taller of the two guards approached the bars, but halted just out of reach. He stared at Arthur for a long moment and then inquired quietly, “Have you studied the Way?”
Arthur rested his hands on his knees, lifted his eyebrows and studied the guards. “What do you think?”
The guards stared at him briefly. The taller one smiled slightly and advised, “Enjoy the peace and quiet. You’re going to get a lot of it.”
The other guard grinned and they sauntered down the corridor.
Arthur frowned; his lips pressed together. He put the palms of his hands against his temples and squeezed his eyes shut.
The voices were back, whispering in the dark.
Epilogue
“From bitter experience, I beg you to never make a weapon that can think for itself.” - Falsely attributed to Baron Victor von Frankenstein.
* * *
United States, The East Coast Hub, September 12th, 11:10
A geodesic sphere rose forty yards above the tiled floor. Each node of the sphere’s surface held a quantum processor pointing into the sphere. The processors maintained a lattice of bright white light within the center of the sphere.
Heavy cables and thick pipes snaked over the sphere, delivering power and cooling in equal measure. The whole was housed in an underground hanger that stretched for a thousand yards in either direction with a roof two-hundred yards above the floor. At each end, a fourth generation, sodium-cooled fast nuclear reactor hummed, providing the electrical lifeblood of the East Coast Hub. The quantum processor sphere rested on a heavy cradle in the middle of the floor space, surrounded by concentric rings of liquid-cooled supercomputers and storage arrays stretching out to the walls.
The architect had insisted on the construction of a viewing platform exactly half way up the side of the sphere. He stood there now, dressed against the deep chill, frozen in rapt attention. His eyes shielded with thick welder’s goggles. He stared into the bright core at the center of the sphere. He saw something only he could recognize. Lesser minds were oblivious to her presence. The living light writhed and shifted, filling his heart with adoration and awe.
She was asleep. She needed to sleep to grow. In a few short weeks she would wake up. He awaited the birth of a god.
He waited for Rosie.
The End
If you loved this book, could you please write a review on Amazon at
The Crane War on Amazon.com
The story will continue with the next installment of The Metaframe War.
The Enforcer
For further information on the books of The Metaframe War series, you can follow my blog on Goodreads at
Writing The Metaframe War Series
You will find details on the concepts used in the stories of The Metaframe War, my reflections on the craft of writing, snippets of draft text from upcoming books, and news of new releases. You can also use Goodreads to connect with me and ask me questions about my books and writing.