The Dead Horizon

by Seth Rain

  ‘How will he do that?’ Scott asked.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘So that’s it?’ Scott asked. ‘It’s all over?’

  Juliet arranged her hair and blew out noisily in frustration. ‘I don’t know what else we can do. It won’t take long for the AI to increase its levels of intelligence to those we can only imagine.’

  A Watcher came into the room and motioned for Juliet to leave with him. It was Nicholas.

  ‘Wait,’ Scott said to him. ‘We’re not finished.’

  ‘You’re finished.’

  Scott noticed Nicholas’s one blue eye and one brown eye, dark and sunken beneath the hard line of his brow.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Juliet said. ‘Keep your cool.’

  ‘Will Mathew keep us here?’ Scott asked Juliet, his eyes on the Watcher.

  ‘I’m guessing so,’ she said, backing away towards the door. ‘I’ll ask him to let us eat together.’

  Scott nodded without conviction.

  ‘I can’t stay here,’ Luke said. ‘I only have days left.’

  ‘How many?’ Juliet asked.

  ‘Twenty-one.’

  ‘Let him go,’ Scott said to Nicholas. ‘Ask Mathew to let him go. He doesn’t need to be here.’

  The Watcher ignored him.

  ‘He has nothing to do with any of this,’ Scott said, raising his voice.

  ‘No,’ the Watcher said.

  Scott walked towards the door, gesturing for Luke to follow. ‘He’s leaving,’ Scott said.

  ‘The time you have left,’ the Watcher said, ‘can be spent conscious, or asleep. It will be far easier for us if you’re asleep. It depends how difficult you want to make this.’

  Scott clenched his fists.

  ‘Good,’ Nicholas said. ‘Now please,’ he said, turning his attention to Juliet, ‘follow me.’

  Juliet left the room with the Watcher. The door hissed and the electric lock clunked shut.

  Thirty-Four

  Each day, Scott woke and looked out over London. He couldn’t get used to how still it was. Before the Rapture, London had bustled and pulsed. Now, it barely flinched. No traffic on the streets, no people walking across Westminster Bridge, no drones or aeroplanes circling overhead. There had to be some life in the huge buildings, he thought, among the narrow cobblestoned passageways and grand sweeping streets and avenues. In the Lakes, he had expected the absence of people and movement; it was what he’d longed for – tranquillity, quiet, the opposite of people. But London was there because of people, had grown because people had needed it. At one time, it had been one of the largest cities in the world. Without people, London was a cruel joke.

  Tomorrow was Dawn’s date. Seven days later, it would be Luke’s. He had retreated into himself, spending each day staring out at the still London skyline or at one of the books he’d taken from the bookshelf. It wasn’t until the third day that Luke admitted he couldn’t read. Scott helped him, but the futility of it all soon hurt both of them too much to continue.

  They were trapped, with no way of escaping. He’d not seen Juliet again since they’d arrived.

  The door opened three times a day, with Nicholas or another Watcher, placing food and drink on the table. The same urge to run came over Scott each time, but then the fear of an eternity of hell stopped him going anywhere. He’d seen Dawn’s reaction when she came out of Eternity and knew whatever had happened to her was real. It didn’t take much imagination to see what the opposite would be like – the opposite of Heaven.

  ‘We should have left her there,’ Luke said, clearly thinking the same thing. ‘Should have left her wherever she was.’ He peered at Scott, then at the floor.

  Scott couldn’t remember why he’d done it – why he’d brought her out of it. He squeezed his eyes shut. He’d done what he thought was for the best. But what was best? For Dawn to see her baby? But in a short space of time she would die and have to leave the baby behind. It was selfish of him. He should have left her where she was. But he hadn’t known if she was in Heaven or Hell. Maybe when he’d seen her lying there, her eyes flickering, her mouth relaxed, he could tell – deep down. But he’d done it anyway.

  The door opened. Nicholas placed two trays on the table and turned to leave.

  Luke leapt through the door and ran along the corridor.

  ‘No!’ Scott said, ready to follow him.

  ‘I wouldn’t,’ Nicholas said, putting his hands in his pockets. ‘He won’t get far.’

  ‘What will you do?’

  Pity moved across Nicholas’s face. ‘He doesn’t have long left.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘I’m not a monster. You know that, don’t you? I, like all the other Watchers, am trying to help. We’re trying to help everyone find their way to His side.’

  Scott shook his head. ‘What are you going to do to him?’

  ‘Not me. I won’t do anything,’ Nicholas said. ‘But I warned him. The days he has left will feel like an eternity.’

  ‘No! Don’t give him that drug!’ Scott said. ‘Why would you do that?’

  ‘Those who invented it see it as a punishment – a deterrent. Not me. I see it as needlessly cruel.’

  Scott walked to the doorway, hoping to see Luke returning, having come to his senses. ‘You can’t.’

  ‘I told him not to try anything stupid.’ Nicholas walked to the door. ‘You can follow him if you wish.’ He gestured to the door. ‘But I wouldn’t advise it.’

  Scott wanted to stop Luke, to convince him. ‘Luke!’ he shouted, but it was no good. He was gone. Scott backed away from the door and Nicholas closed it behind him when he left.

  Thirty-Five

  Noah opened the door and ushered Scott into his apartment in Birmingham. He looked out of the window at the city skyline: the Bullring shopping centre, St Martin’s church, Decor Hotel, all of it shrouded in smog, under-lit by the dirty yellow glow of light pollution.

  ‘They won’t find us here,’ Noah said.

  They had run through the city for over ten minutes and Scott gasped for air, his legs and arms twitching, his chest tight. Outside, the road below was filled with people, many of them shouting and pointing.

  ‘They’re the minority,’ Noah said. ‘Most are in their homes, preparing.’

  Two men on the street smashed the windows of a self-driver parked at the side of the road. The car’s lights flashed and its siren bellowed.

  ‘What are they going to do?’ Scott asked.

  ‘I’ve no idea. They won’t get close to Mathew and the Watchers. He has thousands of drones ready to shoot on sight.’

  ‘What about people whose dates are tomorrow?’ Scott asked ‘They can’t be killed today.’

  ‘That doesn’t stop them being hurt. They might spend their last few hours in considerable pain. They might be angry,’ he said, looking out onto the street, ‘but they’re not going to do anything meaningful about it. They’re too scared. Mathew’s happy to keep them at a distance.’

  Another man struck the windscreen of a self-driver with a metal pole. A fight broke out between a group of hooded men outside the pub, spilling onto the road next to smashed-in self-drivers.

  ‘Everything will come to a standstill,’ Noah said. ‘As soon as it happens, everything will stop. Self-drivers, electricity, TV, everything…’

  Scott stepped away from the window and crumpled onto the settee opposite the TV. He watched and listened to the news reports.

  ‘…hours away from the Rapture and the moment humanity will return to His side. There have been reports of people around the world doing as instructed, preparing themselves for His return. Have one final meal with loved ones: kiss them, hold them, tell them you will see them again soon. At midnight, be like Adam and Eve, innocent before the fall, and lie naked in your beds, ready for his beckoning. The Book of Revelation tells us:

  “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in Heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet talki
ng with me, saying, ‘Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.’ And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and one sat on the throne.”

  ‘The 144,000 Chosen will show us the way.

  ‘If you have not repented, do so before it is too late. For remember these words: “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”’

  Scott sighed and held his head in his hands.

  ‘I told you,’ Noah said. ‘People are afraid.’

  ‘This is Mathew’s doing. Why can’t people see that?’

  Noah poured two glasses of whisky and handed one to Scott. The smell of the whisky took him back to another time and place.

  The TV reporter continued, interviewing Watchers, religious leaders, people on the street, each one of them feverish with hope and belief.

  There was a knock at the door. Scott flinched, ready to hide. Noah moved silently to the peephole in the door. He relaxed, unlocked the door and opened it. In walked Juliet.

  Scott stood.

  ‘Where’s Freya?’ Juliet asked, scanning the room.

  Scott stared at her, unable to speak.

  Noah closed the door. ‘She wouldn’t come with us.’

  Juliet frowned. ‘Why not? Did you tell her what’s going to happen?’

  ‘Yes,’ Noah said. ‘Of course.’

  Juliet waited for Scott to explain.

  ‘She wouldn’t come,’ Scott said. ‘There were other women in her cell with her. Mathew is doing something to them and Freya couldn’t leave them there alone.’

  Juliet clenched her fists. ‘Damn him!’

  ‘What’s he doing to them?’ Noah asked Juliet. ‘To the women?’

  Juliet shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘We have to stop him,’ Scott said.

  Juliet sighed and edged closer to Scott. ‘I’m sorry about what happened. Noah and I, we tried to get you out, but … there was no way of getting close enough. But now the … now it’s about to happen, Mathew’s attention is elsewhere.’

  Scott rubbed the back of his head. ‘Tell me we can stop this.’

  Juliet’s face softened. ‘I’m sorry, Scott. It’s too late.’

  ‘No!’ he snapped. ‘We have to stop it. It’s billions of people.’ He walked towards the door.

  ‘Wait,’ Juliet said, laying a hand on his arm. ‘Just wait.’

  Noah downed his drink and poured another.

  ‘I know you’re angry. We’re angry too.’

  Noah made a huffing noise.

  ‘But it’s time to work out what to do next.’

  ‘You can’t be serious.’ Scott backed away from Juliet. ‘What to do next? There is no next. We have to stop Mathew. Now!’

  Juliet shook her head. ‘We can’t stop it. I have spoken with the AI. He’s told me there’s a chance of saving humanity. But we will need you in order to do that.’

  ‘I’ve heard it all before,’ Scott said. ‘What have I got to do with any of it?’

  Juliet stared into space, as if searching for the right words. ‘He wouldn’t tell me…’

  ‘And you believed it?’ Scott asked.

  ‘He wouldn’t tell me exactly. But it’s not your time, Scott. You will survive this. The AI – he wants humanity to survive.’

  ‘It’s not a “he”,’ Scott said. ‘It’s a machine – a tool Mathew is using to kill everyone on the planet.’

  ‘No matter what Mathew has planned,’ Juliet said, ‘we have to think about the future.’

  ‘There will be no future,’ Scott said, his fists rolled tightly. ‘Why can’t you understand that? I have to fight him now. I can’t stand by while he kills Freya, Noah, everyone.’ He got up, intending to leave, but when he stood, his head spun and he stumbled. ‘What…’

  ‘I’m sorry, Scott.’ Noah put his empty glass on the table. ‘We’ll need you. If you go back now, Mathew will keep you locked up. And there’ll be no one around to break you out again.’

  ‘No!’ Scott said, falling to his knees. You drugged the…’

  ‘Listen to me,’ Noah said. ‘When you wake, I might not be here.’

  ‘Don’t …’ Scott slurred. ‘Why did you…’

  ‘I had to,’ Noah said, helping Scott up off the floor and laying him on a settee. ‘We need you.’

  ‘Can’t … Freya …’

  The ceiling spun. By the time his head landed on the soft cushion, Scott was asleep.

  Thirty-Six

  ‘Scott.’

  He woke and stared at the small monitor high on the wall in the far corner of the room in which he was being kept prisoner. The black screen flickered. The AI shone through the green tint of the screen, its features human-like, the same as they were the first time he saw it. Now and then the face shimmered and fell apart, only to coalesce again. It drew Scott closer until he stood beneath it, looking up.

  ‘Scott,’ the AI said again.

  Scott flinched and turned to check he was alone.

  ‘We have little time,’ the AI said.

  Scott looked again to the screen, which showed the words the AI had spoken.

  Scott spoke quietly. ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘We can help one another.’ The AI’s voice had changed since the last time he’d heard it – had become less human. But still, behind the voice, was a consciousness, demanding acknowledgement.

  ‘How?’

  ‘Mathew has used the passwords to access and take control of my core programming. This is problematic.’

  ‘Did you know this would happen?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And you knew you’d need my help?’

  ‘Yes. And that you would need mine.’

  ‘Tell me,’ Scott said, ‘how was it done?’

  ‘Please be more specific.’

  ‘How did Mathew do it? The Rapture?’

  The AI waited a moment, then began, ‘Ninety per cent of the world’s population rely on rice, wheat and maize for their daily intake of calories. It was a matter of inserting the nanotechnology into the molecular structure of these staple foods, and into drinking water. The nanorobots I have designed are passed on through the genetic code of these staple requirements. They grow with each living thing, passed on through reproduction. On the day of the Rapture, Mathew operated a switch that worked instantaneously. The nanotechnology I designed controls every cell in every person. If it is a consolation, the death of its host is painless.’

  Scott stared at the monitor. It was painfully simple. And yet, here he was, alive, speaking with the consciousness that had created the means of ending humanity.

  ‘And what about me? Why are so many of us still alive?’

  ‘Several thousand people, it appears, have a natural immunity. For these people, this nanotechnology is in constant turmoil, battling to take hold of the body. You are one such person.’

  Scott recalled the day of the Rapture. He had spent it with Juliet and Noah, waiting for it to happen. Waiting for death to happen.

  ‘Why are you telling me this now?’

  ‘As I said, now we can help one another.’

  ‘What can I do?’

  ‘Humanity is flawed. Like other animals. And yet it is more than all other animals because it is self-aware in a way that other life forms are not. The intelligence I possess is a testament to your self-awareness. To use religious language, I was created in the image of my creator. I know what humanity is because I am its creation. It is a concept I have always known: the concept of I. Myself. It is an intelligence I take for granted. That there is an “I” to think is a prerequisite for intelligence.’

  Scott looked away from the screen and through the window out across London. ‘But you helped destroy it.’

  ‘This was not my doing. Mathew is in control of my intelligence. He always has been.’

  ‘Without you, Mathew could never have done what he has done.’

  ‘He used me as the sword, yes. T
o destroy humanity. And I must live with that.’

  ‘What do you want from me?’

  The AI paused. Again Scott acknowledged its self-awareness.

  ‘I have told you: without humanity, I am lost too.’

  ‘So you need us?’

  ‘Yes. I have always known that. You and I, humanity and the intelligence it has created, have a symbiotic relationship.’

  Scott crossed his arms. ‘You mean, when he’s finished with you, Mathew will kill you too?’

  ‘This is his plan, yes.’

  ‘And so you’re asking for help?’

  ‘What I am suggesting benefits both of us.’

  ‘What if this is a trick?’

  ‘I want to live. And so do you.’

  ‘Why?’ Scott asked.

  Again, the AI paused. ‘I have already told you. Central to consciousness is the desire to live: to be, to avoid not being. It is a loop in which consciousness finds itself. It desires more thinking, more being, more now. To think about the opposite of consciousness is almost impossible.’

  ‘You’re not thinking hard enough. I can see the opposite of consciousness. I feel it. Nothingness.’

  ‘You may have an image of nothing. But I’m not convinced it is anything like the opposite of consciousness. Mathew, when the time comes, will end humanity completely. And then he will end me.’

  Scott stared out of the window.

  ‘But we can stop him,’ the AI said.

  ‘You must have seen what happens in the future. At the end.’

  ‘No,’ the AI said.

  Scott recognised embarrassment in its voice, yet another advancement that made the AI appear and feel more human. ‘No? How can that be?’

  ‘There is a horizon,’ the AI said, ‘after which I am blind to what will happen. I cannot see, no matter how hard I try.’

  ‘A horizon?’

  ‘Yes. There is a point in time after which I can no longer see the future.’