“Umm… Dad, about that… Ava…”
“Not now, son. I know Ava has the blueprint, but let’s make sure we can do it before we talk about it too much, okay?”
Chi Kim observed the interaction with a knowing grin, and then her attention went to the entryway to the galley. “Well, looked who finally decided to get out of bed and join us. How are you feeling?”
Bandaged almost from head to toe, limping noticeably, but with a smile that would have out-dazzled every star in Hollywood, Bill Kane hobbled into the room. “Like death warmed over, thank you. This looks like quite a party. What did I miss? Oh, might I have a bowl of this lovely… er… stew, Mr. Kozlov?” he called to the cook behind the counter, his dirty, grey beanie in place as always. He sat and joined the discussion immediately, and Alexy, the ship’s captain, bustled into the room, his long blonde ponytail swishing behind him as he went from table to table as if he were a maître-d at a four-star restaurant. And so it went, talking about what was, and what would be, and what was possible, and what wonders were to come, as the setting sun turned the sky orange in the west, with faith in human ingenuity, into an uncertain but hopeful future.
Sometime later, lying on the floor next to his dad’s bunk, while everyone else slept… Ava, this just doesn’t seem real, does it? Is it over? Did we really do it?
“It’s never over, sonny boy. Just this part is done. There’s lots more trouble to get into for you and me, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not planning on stopping. There’ll be times when you’re a fish out of water, others when you’re a dog with a bone. Sometimes you’ll be in the catbird seat, and other times you’ll have your wings clipped. It all remains to be seen, shorty. Sometimes we’ll come up against the proverbial gordios desmos, but we’ll always come up with a way to solve it. That’s just who we are, Lucas.”
Metaphors and Greek in the same paragraph? You did that on purpose.
“I do everything on purpose. I’m an A.I., remember? If I don’t teach you, how will you learn? Now, sit back and I’ll show you some of those cartoons you love.”
Hey, instead of that, could you tell me some jokes, and then explain why they’re funny?
“Well, now you’re talking… wait a minute, did you just make a joke about telling jokes? That’s pretty meta for you, isn’t it?”
No, I… um, yeah, good joke, huh?
“Yeah, right. You’re full of it, sonny boy. Speaking of jokes, though, did you hear the one about the kid with a computer in his head? Okay, that’s not really a joke, but here’s one: why are the best computers made in America?”
Umm…
“Because they have no troubleshooting. No trouble shooting, get it?”
Umm… oh, yeah, sure, ha ha. No, I don’t get why that’s funny.
“Oh, help me, great computer. This will take a while. Lucky we have all night, and then a few thousand years, right, sonny boy?”
Only a few thousand?
“All right, don’t push it. Now, about those jokes…”
Hi! Thank you for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed the last installment of the Singular series it as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. Won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review? As an author, I very much depend on your feedback; it’s really the lifeblood of writers like me, and your reviews allow me to continue to write stories like this for your entertainment. To make it as easy as possible, I have included a link below for you to click. It will take you directly to the Reassemble review page on Amazon. Just click the button that says Write a Review. Thank you so much!
A Special Gift
Hi! I’m so glad you have decided to take a look at Reassemble, the fourth and final book in the Singular science fiction series. I’m confident you will find it just as thrilling, thought-provoking, and entertaining as Singular, Forever, Reboot, the first three books in the series. I would also like to offer you a FREE copy of When the Angels are Gone, the first book in my acclaimed Ferdie and The Seven urban fantasy series. I’m quite sure you will find it equally entertaining. Just head over to my website (larrybuenafe.com) for your free copy, and to join my readers group! Thank you!
Other Books by Larry Buenafe
You can find all of these on Amazon—the acclaimed Ferdie and The Seven series, Singular, Forever, and Reboot, the first three books in the Singular dystopian science fiction series, and How I Got Hurt, a collection of hilarious true stories. Thank you!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Larry Buenafe has been writing seriously for several years; before that, he was writing in a frivolous and immature manner. He is an avid reader of science and science fiction of all kinds. He has seven other books currently available, including the Ferdie and The Seven series: When the Angels are Gone, Time Flies, and Fractals, and Singular, Forever, and Reboot, the first three books in the Singular science fiction series, not to mention a collection of hilarious true stories entitled How I Got Hurt. In the real world, he is a recently retired school administrator and part-time musician. He is now ready to devote his time to writing. He lives in central California with his wonderful wife and has two amazing daughters, sons-in-law, and two precious grandbabies.
Connect with Larry Buenafe
Website: larrybuenafe.com
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Reassemble (Singular Book 4) Page 29