The ubiquitous drones and war bots were assigned new roles and responsibility – overseeing the transition of the money-driven human society into the oft-promised post-scarcity one. The journey would be troublesome, Sid, Chris, and many others knew, as people would initially struggle to cope with their newfound freedom, the devaluation of money, property, and other material possessions that they had once cherished and held in high regard. They would get used to the idea, though. The focus would instead be on culture and society. In the meanwhile, the bots, AI warships, and fighters would act as a policing and peacekeeping service, favouring the carrot over the stick.
As all this went on, Ursula and Phoebe worked on training new AI systems which would ultimately replace the two of them. Neither had any desire to rule over this new world forever, and preferred to appoint a non-corruptible supreme AI governor to do so, instead. Both women faded gradually into the background over the course of the next two years, finally returning home to Spirit.
The new world was just as Chris had always envisioned, and he was happy with what had become of things. For the most part, anyway. His desolation after Athena’s death had diminished, but it was still there. Was this what it was like to lose a loved one? he wondered. Did the pain ever go away? His parents were alive and well, and he saw more of them now than ever before, but he couldn’t imagine losing one of them – or any of his other friends – not if he must feel again this anguish. Perhaps that was something that had at one time motivated the Upper Circle to create the Eternal Engine.
Perhaps in a way they had, originally, actually been driven by love.
~
Chris came to see Ursula one day. The young woman lived on her own on Ceradse, in a rustic little house by a lake, specially built for her by some bots. She was having trouble trusting people, a result of seeing into so many minds when she had invaded WEAPCO’s core systems. Aside from a drone and war bot for protection, and a cat and a dog for company, she mostly avoided interaction with other people.
“The mistrust will pass one day, I’m sure,” Ursula said, smiling a little sadly as she and Chris sat on her porch, looking out over the lake. It was early autumn and the evening a little chilly. They were drinking hot chocolate. “I’m still not ready to become a part of society, though. The thought of living in a city, with all those people ... A few more years, I think. But maybe not at all. It’s peaceful here. I like it.”
“I’m available any time you need to talk,” Chris told her.
“Thank you.”
Her anger had faded, but Chris wondered if the damage was permanent. All had suffered greatly at the hands of that corporation, but she had been willing to not only throw herself back into their world to take them down, but also to rebuild it. And in so doing she had seen into every nook and cranny, however dark, that had existed, of the human mind. An incredible sacrifice to have made for the benefit of everyone else. But Ursula was young. There was plenty of time for her to learn to trust again.
“How is Phoebe?” Chris asked.
“Happy with Sid,” Ursula said. “She apparently finds his geeky mannerisms quite charming. They’re both working at a school, now, and Phoebe’s said she would be content to teach children for the rest of her life. Humble, low key stuff, where no one would ask any questions about her past.” Ursula smiled again. “What about you? Have you told anyone about what happened?”
“No,” Chris said. “Like you, I don’t want anyone to see me as a hero, or a messiah, or a god, or anything like that. I just want to be known as Chris.”
“And what does Chris do with his days?”
“He’s returned to his old job of working in Leonardo’s Italian restaurant,” Chris said, grinning.
“Really?” Ursula looked quizzically at him.
“Sure,” Chris shrugged. “Why not? I was learning how to cook before I joined the Resistance. I figured I will keep on doing that for a time, until I find out what else to do with my life.”
“Yes,” Ursula said. “That’s the trouble. With so much to do, where do you start?” She nodded to the sun that was starting to set over the horizon, the sky there turning red. “I’ve decided I’m going to paint that tomorrow.”
“I never knew you could paint?” Chris said.
Now Ursula grinned. “I can’t. Plenty of time for me to learn, though.”
Chris chuckled and sipped at his hot chocolate.
“So why are you really here, Chris?” Ursula asked. “You came to see me, to check up on how I was. But there’s another reason, too, isn’t there?”
Chris smiled, though somewhat ruefully. “Have your powers extended to reading people’s minds now?”
“No. This is my basic intuition speaking. It’s Athena, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Chris said, putting his cup down on the porch step. “Just can’t stop thinking about her. I miss her.”
“We all do. I dare say that, although you spent the most amount of time with her, Phoebe and I might have known her just as well, if not better. We saw into her mind, heard her thoughts, felt her emotions, shared her dreams and her desires. She loved you, you know.”
“I know,” Chris said, his shoulders sagging. “That’s why she saved my life. She could have done anything with her final permitted instruction. She could have transmitted her consciousness to another one of WEAPCO’s ships around Mars, sent it back through the jumpgate to you, or ejected her mind core.”
“But instead she chose to put someone else’s needs before her own,” Ursula said. “That’s the true definition of love, Chris – caring deeply for someone else and expecting nothing in return. She willingly sacrificed her life for the sake of yours. There is no greater love. She was truly alive, Chris.”
Chris felt his shoulders shaking, tears beginning to gather in the corner of his eyes. He wiped them quickly away, in case Ursula should see. It was too late, however, and the woman reached out and rubbed him on the back.
“Don’t worry, Chris,” she said. “She will never be forgotten.”
“No,” Chris said. He sniffed, tried to smile, failed. “I came here today to ask you ... I mean, you shared a consciousness with her at one point, you shared your body with her. I came here to ask you, do you think there’s any part of her that’s still alive?”
Ursula smiled, and this time it reached her eyes, no sadness present. “Of course there is.”
Chris brightened. “Really?”
“Yes,” Ursula nodded.
“Where?”
Ursula leaned over and touched him on the chest, over his heart. “Here.”
It wasn’t what Chris had been expecting or wanted to hear, but it was true. He smiled wryly and then began weeping again, quite freely. Ursula waited patiently, a comforting hand on his back.
“Thank you,” he said.
“She will be with you as long as you live, Chris,” Ursula said. “You will carry her with you wherever you go.” She then rose, taking up both the empty cups. “I’m a little cold. I’m going to go inside, make dinner and watch a movie.”
Chris took that as a hint that Ursula wished to be left alone. He got up and kissed her goodbye, before starting back towards his hover.
~
The drone watched the young man from the porch of the house, seeing him stop to gaze out over the still lake. It then saw him pluck a smooth stone from the ground. He examined and tested its weight for a time, before aiming and hurling it across the surface of the water. The stone skipped a good seven times before it sank. The drone felt a sensation of warmth at the sight, almost as if it was smiling.
THE END
About the Author
Stephen J Sweeney was born in Brighton, UK, in 1977. PROJECT STARFIGHTER is his eighth full-length novel. He attended Worth School in West Sussex between the ages of ten and eighteen, after which he went on to study environmental biology at Oxford Brookes University. Somehow, he ended up working in IT in London (although he’s worse than useless if you ask him to help fix your
computer). You can find him online in various different places:
Twitter - @stephenjsweeney
Website - www.stephenjsweeney.com
Email: [email protected]
Project Starfighter Page 40