The Rebirths of Tao

by Wesley Chu

  “Not very helpful right now, Tao.”

  Alex, who was wearing a beanie to hide her now-very-publicized blonde hair, stood up from their hiding spot. “We’re not going to figure anything out hiding behind this garbage can. Go buy bus tickets. I’ll meet you at the south end of the parking lot. We can hide in the crowd.”

  That sounded as good a plan as any. They weren’t going to get any closer to Jill by staying here. He couldn’t wait any longer, anyway. The bus was leaving in twenty minutes. If they wanted to be on it, he had to go now. He pulled his cap down on his head and shouldered his pack.

  Get a contingency plan in place first.

  Cameron pointed to an alley down the street. “If things go wrong, rendezvous there.”

  She nodded, and they split up. She circled around the back while Cameron braved the bus station. They had just enough to buy one-way tickets, though not enough for lunch. Cameron cursed those two video games. Food would have been nice. Or another set of clothing, or even a couple of bottles of water. One of the damn games wasn’t even any good either.

  I will not say I told you so.

  “About spending the money or buying that game?”

  Both. I mean, you already had the previous version of that game. Is it that much different?

  “It had new decals to download.”

  You, somehow, have the greatest potential of all my hosts, and are one of the dumbest, at the same time.

  “Gee, thanks for the confidence booster.”

  On the contrary, it is brave stupid people who change the world. The smart ones are usually too smart to even try.

  Cameron made it three quarters of the way across the lot when he was accosted by Officer Underwood. Cameron groaned, partially because he had naively hoped that it might actually be that easy to get away, but mostly because he knew Underwood. The man lived a couple of farms down from the Tans and had once sheltered him when he got caught in a rainstorm biking home. Underwood even fed him dinner while they waited for his dad to pick him up.

  Sometimes, we have to do unpleasant things. Be ready.

  “Hello, Cameron,” Underwood said, extending his hand out.

  Crap. Underwood was shaking his hand. What did his dad say about men shaking hands? Something about how it’s wrong to fight someone who shakes your hand, or some sort of man-code that has to be followed. He couldn’t quite remember. Roen often spouted wisdoms that Cameron found wisest to ignore. For some reason, this one came back to him as he shook the policeman’s hand.

  “Hi, Mr Underwood,” he said.

  “Listen, son,” Underwood said. “A lot of kids got hurt yesterday. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to come with me to the station to explain a few things. Also, I need to ask you if you know what happened to your family’s house.”

  “What happened to my house?” Cameron asked, stunned.

  Underwood looked concerned, which just made Cameron feel even guiltier. “You don’t know? The house is gone. Bulldozed over. Yours and three others in your area. Everyone’s baffled by how it could have happened.”

  Genjix cleaning team. You need to get out of here. Now!

  Cameron stood frozen while the words sunk in. Everything was gone. For some reason, he had assumed that once he found Mom, everything would go back to normal. Now, he realized there was no going back. The Genjix had come and wiped away his entire life in a matter of days. He slowly backed away.

  “Come on, son,” Underwood said, putting a hand on his elbow. He tugged, but Cameron wouldn’t move, the shock numbing his entire body. Underwood tugged again. This time, Cameron tried to snatch his arm out of his grasp. The police officer reached into his side pouch for his handcuffs.

  Cameron. Snap out of it. Remember, your parents are still alive. Everything else is just stuff. You need to get moving if you want to see your mother again. I cannot move you on my own. Your mind is not opened to me. Get moving!

  “I’m… I’m sorry, Mr Underwood,” Cameron said as the officer tried to cuff his wrist. He twisted away until he had reversed Underwood’s grip on his elbow. Cameron snatched the handcuffs from Underwood and cuffed the officer’s left wrist. Then he yanked down on the chain until the older man bent over. Then Cameron cuffed the officer’s right ankle with the other end of the handcuff. Underwood hopped comically, twisted around like a pretzel, his right arm waving wildly around for balance. He considered taking Underwood’s handgun. After all, they only had the assault rifle and the pistol. They could use another. The rifle was too unwieldy.

  Leave it. No one knows you are armed at the moment. If you take Underwood’s firearm, then they will list you as armed and dangerous. Leave the scene now. Head in the opposite direction and then circle around.

  In one smooth motion, Cameron unhooked the deputy’s belt and tossed it to the side. “I’m sorry,” he said again and fled the scene. He sprinted north, knocking people over as he crossed the used car dealership’s lot, around the back of the pizzeria, and then turned left down California Street. He ran halfway down the block before jumping over a wooden fence.

  Cameron wasn’t sure if anyone was in pursuit, but he didn’t look back to find out. Now, as he hopped fences, benches, and hurdled over picnic tables, he was grateful for all the free-running practices his mom had put him through. He was putting them to good use crossing yard after yard until he reached the alley he had told Alex to hide in. Cameron spun around the deserted street, looking between garages as he continued jogging.

  “Alex,” he called in a whisper, “it’s me.”

  She jumped out from behind a car inside a garage, pistol in hand, just as he passed. She looked to both sides and then pulled him toward her. Their bodies bumped together in the narrow pathway between the car and the wall. He felt his heart beat faster as she slipped her arm around his waist and pushed him into the car.

  They lay down across the two front seats of an old Mustang. Cameron had his back toward the backrest while Alex lay with hers toward the steering wheel. The stick shift stuck up between them. She had to grab onto his arm in order to not fall off the leather seats.

  A few seconds later, they heard the chirp of sirens as a police car drove through the alley. The low rumble of a car passed by, the tires crackled on the rough uneven road. All he could hear was his heart slamming against his chest as he pulled Alex closer. He felt her breath next to his. She turned her head to look up, and strands of her hair whipped against his face gently.

  To be honest, after a humid day of hiding out in the alleys, she didn’t smell that great. Heck, neither did he, for that matter. Coupled with the musty old scent from the leather chairs and their sweat in such a close space, it was actually pretty rank, but to Cameron that very moment, it was the most intoxicating feeling in the world.

  Good grief.

  She looked back at him, and Cameron could have sworn for a brief moment, their lips brushed against each other. He inhaled again. Then she lifted her head up past the back of the seat and stared out the back.

  “I think they’re gone,” she said, sitting up.

  Cameron followed suit, kicking himself a little for not being brave enough to actually just stick his lips out and complete the motion. Funny how he had experienced firefights, but couldn’t work up the courage to kiss a girl.

  “I’ve been working on this car,” she said, pointing at the wires sticking out from below the steering wheel. “I haven’t had a lot of practice with this.”

  “Let me,” he said. “Trade me places.”

  He hopped into the driver’s side as she moved across the seats. Again, their bodies brushed against each other. Her closeness distracted him as he began to work on jump starting the car.

  Can I tell you that puberty is my most hated stage in humans?

  “I thought dying was.”

  Sometimes, it is a relief.

  “Come on, what would you do without me?”

  Maybe have a host who does not blow a fuse every time a female gets within his air
space?

  “I don’t know, Tao. I think I’m in –”

  I swear by the Eternal Sea, if you say “love,” I will sleepwalk you off a cliff. Now focus on hot-wiring that car. You are all thumbs right now.

  While he worked, another squad car drove by. Cameron was already lying on his side, but Alex had to lie on top of him again to avoid being seen. Again, he felt his heart thud in his chest as her hair draped over him.

  “The humans will never stop hunting us,” she said, raising her head again once the noise had passed. “Why do the Prophus still work so hard to protect them?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do. Because the Quasing are the aliens on this planet. The least we all can do is try to live together in peace. Besides, if the Genjix succeed in Quasiform, it will lead to the extinction of humanity.” Cameron talked through Tao’s words, though he found himself having trouble understanding that logic sometimes as well.

  No matter what, you are a human first, a host second.

  “But I will never be just human again. I will be a host until I die.”

  Say that to your father.

  “What if there’s a way to live as a vessel,” she said suddenly. Urgently even. “We have loyalty havens all over the world. The closest one is not too far, by Great Slave Lake. You can come with me. My father is very important. I’m sure he can arrange for all of us to survive there during the Great Quasiforming.”

  “Quasiform isn’t going to happen,” Cameron said. “The Prophus won’t let it.”

  Alex shook her head. “You don’t understand. It will happen no matter what the Prophus or the humans do. Once the Genjix finish all the catalyst facilities, it will happen. This is the last step. No one can stop them. The least you can do is survive. With me.”

  It was tempting. Cameron could think of many worse ways to experience the end of the world than with Alex, but if they could actually survive it…

  I cannot believe you are even entertaining this.

  “I’m just thinking out loud, Tao!”

  Thinking of turning your back on billions of people just because you are crushing on a girl.

  “All right, thought police. Sheesh. Sorry for thinking.”

  The car rumbled to life. Alex squealed in delight and clapped her hands. Cameron wore a wide grin as he smacked the steering wheel, as proud as if he had just slayed a dragon. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure he could hotwire the car; he had only done it twice before. He fiddled with the manual shift and put his seatbelt on. It was a good thing Roen had taught him how to drive a car in their open field when he was eight years old.

  Alex threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his mouth. “About what we talked about. Just think it over, all right?”

  Cameron froze and suppressed the urge to dance.

  No. No we are not thinking it over.

  He nodded. “Sure thing. Come on, buckle up. Let’s go see our parents.”

  He pulled the Mustang out of the garage into the alley and headed south toward the main street.

  It should be a few hours to Fort Bragg. I want you to drive slow and not attract attention.

  “Come on, let’s go fast!” Alex said, putting her legs up on the dashboard of their stolen car.

  Cameron punched the accelerator.

  31

  Date Night

  Timestamp: 3201

  I, at one point, thought we had escaped the Prophus’s clutches, that we were finally free. If it had just been me, I’m sure no one would have cared, especially now that I’m not even a host anymore. However, I was naive; my family had two Quasing of high value. Jill was asked by the Keeper personally to lead a high-traffic cell in the growing Underground Railroad. My wife, always the responsible one in the family, accepted.

  We moved to the Pacific Northwest and started over once more. We asked my in-laws to care for Cameron while we built the entire operation from scratch. It wasn’t the best time and place to raise a teenager. I swore this would be the last time we’d be separated as a family.

  * * *

  “Nothing is impossible, Roen Tan,” the Keeper scoffed. She used his full name. For some reason, both the Keeper and Tao, and sometimes Jill, now that he thought about it, felt that using his full name would get their point across to him more effectively, as if somehow the facts of the situation changed when attaching a surname.

  Roen rubbed his temples as he leaned back in the chair and put his feet up on the table. “Keeper, I’ve been to this place four times in the past two days, examining it from every angle. Security is as tight in the middle of the night as it is in broad daylight. I’m telling you; it can’t be done. This attack is suicide.”

  “I never had you pegged for a quitter, Mr Tan. You might be many things, but I had always considered you brave, if impulsive and stupid.”

  Adding mister, or calling him stupid, for that matter, wasn’t going to change the facts, either. “Well, if my impulsive and stupid ass thinks attacking this facility is too risky, then think about how bad it must actually be.”

  The Keeper shook her head. “There are no other viable alternative objectives, Roen. This is it.”

  “And I’m telling you this isn’t a viable objective, either. We’ll have to find another catalyst facility to attack.”

  “You think we haven’t tried?”

  That threw Roen for a loop, given he hadn’t been up to date with Prophus operations the past three years. It wasn’t like there was a Prophus newsletter that got published every month. “We’ve tried already? Which ones?”

  “The first four catalyst facilities we discovered, we attacked. All unmitigated disasters.”

  “And this one will be, too,” Roen emphasized, slamming his fist on the table. “Look, we might not have seen eye to eye on a lot of things. You know, with our history and all.”

  “Are you referring to getting my nephew killed? Please. Go on.”

  Roen sighed. “Meredith, let’s not do this again.”

  “Address me as Keeper. I believe I have earned the title.”

  “Why? Jill calls you Meredith all the time.”

  “That’s different; I like Jill. Bottom line, this is the only catalyst facility that we’ve found that isn’t in a region under Genjix control. We believe there should be another five or so in this hemisphere, but this is the first we’ve found, so it’s our only viable target. We will not get another chance. We’re going to hit it with everything we have. You say it’s impossible, fine. Make the impossible possible then. Are we clear?”

  Roen rubbed his face with his hands. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good, then if there’s nothing else.” The screen went dark.

  His burner phone began to vibrate violently on the table, squirming its way off. On the old-school digital display were the numbers 911. The text was from Marco, who was supposed to be on a date with Kallis right now at the local steak house. What could the emergency be? Was he discovered? Roen sprinted out of his motel room, jumped into the station wagon and sent his response, giving his ETA and asking for a sit-rep.

  The reply from Marco was, “Need extraction ASAP!!!!!!!!!”

  “Guess Mr Charming Pants isn’t so charming after all,” said Roen, thinking the use of a 911 text on a bad date was a serious abuse of protocol on the Brit’s part. He felt smug for a whole five minutes until he pulled up to the restaurant. Parked in the center of the parking lot was a Penetra van.

  Roen cursed and reached for the pistol in the glove compartment. If Marco had been found out, he was willing to bet security on Prie would triple overnight. This could compromise their entire operation. That was assuming Roen could even bust Marco out right now.

  Roen stuck his pistol on the inside of his jacket and tried to act casual as he walked into the steak house. Either he was walking into the middle of a fight, or they had already captured Marco. In either case, the element of surprise would be key. He crept forward hunched over, his right hand inside his jacket as he opened the door an
d peered around the corner.

  He was met by a bald, rotund older man with barbecue sauce on his shirt. The guy was looking at Roen as if he had gone a little mental. Behind him, his wife and three kids leaned over and joined in on the staring. Roen abruptly stood up and got out of the way. The mother put her arms around her kids and ushered them out. On the way out, Roen heard the dad mutter something about meth and scrambled eggs.

  Roen craned his head to the right and saw what looked like a typical restaurant on a Thursday night. The tables were about half occupied, and Vivaldi was piping through the music system. Roen chuckled. Tao hated that guy with a passion. Well, more like Tao hated the entire Baroque period.

  He clicked his pistol’s safety back on as he wandered across the dining area. To his left, at a large ten-person round table, he noticed a group of people who looked distinctively military. Then he noticed the backpacks resembling Ghostbusters proton packs on the floor next to their chairs: portable Penetra scanners. No wonder Marco was spooked. All one of these guys had to do was turn a pack on, and he was a goner.

  Roen scanned each table. Finally, he noticed Marco sitting in the far right corner, leaning intimately close to Kallis. He didn’t look like he was in trouble. In fact, he looked like he was having a pretty damn good time. Roen assumed a friendly face and walked toward them.

  “Ralphy,” Marco said, acting surprised and a little overly friendly. “What a surprise to see you here. What can I do for you, man?”

  Kallis, wearing a more casual shirt and pants, brightened in surprise. She looked genuinely pleased to see him. “Hey, can’t I get your business partner to myself for one night?”

  Roen coughed. “Um, sorry to interrupt your date, uh, Cornelius, but we have a little situation that requires your attention.”

  “Oh?” Marco said, making a show of concern. He looked over at Kallis. “Excuse me, my dear.”

  He stood up and walked with Roen off to the side. “Act concerned, like something is urgent,” Marco said.

  “I am concerned,” Roen snapped. “You nine-one-one’d me.”