“Are we staying?” Stefani asked. “Don’t tell me we’re going to stay after that?”
“We’re staying,” Carlee said. “And don’t do any pressing. This is its home, and we should respect its wishes.”
“It doesn’t deserve our respect,” Jeff said.
“Well, it’s going to get it.” Carlee pushed away from the table and walked to the foot of the temple, disappearing into the darkness.
“This is why you aren’t supposed to talk about religion at family dinner,” Stefani said. “Some people can’t think straight when you do.”
She took one last bite of a mango before getting up herself. She didn’t follow after Carlee; instead, she went in the opposite direction, toward the forest.
“Where are you going?” Jeff asked.
“Where I can’t see the stars.”
Jeff pondered it for a moment before following after her.
37 BE WITH YOU
“IS IT JUST GOING TO sit there all day praying?” Stefani asked. They had already finished breakfast at the foot of the temple, and Darwin hadn’t moved.
“You’d think it would be faster since it was telling us how smart it is. You’d think it’d run out of things to think about,” Jeff said. “I sit still for half an hour, and I just fall asleep from boredom.”
“We’ll give it to sundown if it needs it,” Carlee said. She had never imagined holding peaceful conversations with an Apostle, and last night’s conversations had kept her awake most of the night. But watching the Apostle pray most of the night had only raised more questions. “But we’re not spending another night here. One way or another, we are leaving today.”
“Did you get any glimpses of other paths?” Stefani asked.
“None.” It was true, but truthfully, she hadn’t tried very hard to see how things had unfolded in similar time lines. She was still reeling from Jane’s failures, and she thought her time would be better spent contemplating things on her own. “I think you might have stormed off in a couple of them that I could see, and Jeff tried his best to start a fight with Darwin in a few others, but generally, from what I can tell, Darwin didn’t reveal anything more than he did last night in any path.”
“Is that bad?” Jeff asked. “I mean, in general? Is it a bad sign when other time lines don’t offer any help?”
“No,” Carlee said. “When events are timed, all time lines get there at once—meaning, the solstice happens at the same time in all realities. If Darwin has a set schedule, then all the time lines have to wait.”
“How does that all work anyway? I never really see anything . . . in fact, I only just have gut feelings or instincts that only seem to pop up in a fight.”
“For me, it requires meditation and pondering. I find a point where I made a decision and try to track through the different possibilities. There is a connection made . . . it’s just not as tangible. Kind of like the gas state of water—it’s not as solid or easy to see or handle, but it’s still there, if that makes sense.”
“I think it does.”
“Don’t worry if it doesn’t,” Stefani said. “Not everyone works that way. I’ve never been good with that sort of thing unless I was shooting a gun. Then, all the different variations just kind of unfold in front of me.”
“Sounds confusing.”
“It’s why I never miss. Oh, looks like Darwin has finally said ‘amen.’”
Everyone focused on Darwin as it slowly rose from its seated position and carefully started walking in their direction. There weren’t many people around now; most of them had apparently gone to find food or work for the day, which should have made Darwin’s travel easier, but every footstep seemed just as deliberate as it had been last night. Carlee found the Apostle infinitely fascinating, even if being in its presence scared up the demons inside of her.
“Be nice,” Carlee said. Jeff and Stefani had embarrassed her enough last night, but even more than that, she didn’t want them damaging their relations with the only friendly Apostle she had ever heard of. “No matter what happens, we’ve spent some time with an Apostle that didn’t end in death. That’s something that we can build on in the future.”
“Build on? Carl, come on. You can’t be falling for its little religious trick. It’s an Apostle. It thinks itself a God, and I promise you that whatever it is going to ask of us today, it is something we shouldn’t be doing,” Stefani said.
Jeff nodded his head slowly in support, but thankfully, he kept it at that. His hot-headed, dangerous side had flashed several times last night, and it reminded her of how far he needed to progress in temperament to be someone she could rely on. All his talent would be of no use if he couldn’t see past his rage.
“We’re going to listen,” Carlee said. “And we’re going to be polite. Outside of that, we’ll see. I promise I won’t agree to anything unless we agree to it together.”
No one said a word as Darwin settled into its relaxed position with its head near the ground so they could look it in the face without straining their necks. The way its inorganic face expressed emotion as clearly as any human she had ever met was astounding.
“I trust you are well rested after yesterday’s journey,” Darwin said. “I spent the dawn pondering what I learned of and from you and how we might be partners. I’m confident that a partnership between us will provide the means to accomplish that which others believe to be an impossibility.”
“We’re prepared to listen to your proposal, and we’d appreciate it if you would get to the point. We have plans of our own that require our attention.” Carlee projected more strength and confidence than she felt.
“I promise to respect your time, and I am honored that you would pass even a single grain of your sands of life with me.”
Carlee smiled politely but didn’t respond.
“Very well,” Darwin said. It paused as if it were taking a large breath to prepare itself for a lengthy speech. “You are all familiar with temurim?”
“Yes.”
“It is the miracle substance that houses my soul and those of all the Apostles. It is temurim that gave us life, and it is temurim that has kept us at peace with one another. After the reckless and shameful fighting that claimed numberless innocent lives, it was temurim that calmed the war.
“Bud, the first victim of the war and our Manu, was also the first to transfer its consciousness to another core of temurim. Realizing its inability to subdue Orion, Horus, Osiris, and the other factions of Apostles, it lay low, quietly building its strength until it was able to contend with the strength of its rivals once more. Eventually, Bud concluded that it couldn’t win the war and protect the humans it loved simultaneously. Thus, it refocused on a new strategy to save life on the planet. Bud controlled the temurim, and it used the precious material as leverage to force a truce among its offspring.”
“I guess Horus didn’t get the memo,” Stefani said.
“Even Horus was forced to play by the rules for a while. It risked having no access to additional temurim, as well as the unification of the other Apostles against it. Not even its twin supported continuing the war. Thus, the earth was divided into their various lands, and my forbearers fortified their holdings.”
“What would they need more temurim for?” Jeff asked. “You don’t have two brains, do you?”
“It was only a second core that allowed Bud to survive the attack by the original betrayers. Ironically, it is the immortals that are the most concerned about their own survival. The Apostles desired the redundancy and security offered by another core, or, like Horus, they desired to create allies that they might use to win future battles.”
“It created you as a weapon,” Carlee heard herself say. Conversing with Darwin gave her the strangest mix of emotions. Hope. Fear. Distrust. Awe. And sadness.
“It did. My induction algorithm was designed to emphasize the creation of advanced weaponry. Perhaps it was these instincts that drove me to find God. Or perhaps my soul was destined to serve, no mat
ter the rules of my creation. Either way, Horus used its temurim allotments to create me and several siblings. It never intended to keep the peace, and now, it has finally prepared itself for conquest, as you witnessed.”
“Where were your siblings during the battle?” Stefani asked. “They aren’t in a monastery somewhere, are they?”
“If only their fate had been so light.” Its voice trembled slightly, and Carlee found herself wanting to comfort the robot. “But natural selection applies even to siblings . . .”
“You killed them,” Carlee said.
Darwin nodded its head shamefully. Stefani looked vindicated.
“I did. To my eternal regret, I did. It was this experience that set me on what you would call the path that led to us meeting.”
“What is it that you want, Darwin?” Carlee asked. She wanted to help the Apostle, but she couldn’t shake the inner angst that she would be unable to give what it was going to ask of her.
“When the Holy Land was taken by invaders, the followers of Christ started a war to free Jerusalem from its captors,” Darwin said. “I don’t condone either side of that conflict—I believe we are all worshippers of the same divine One in our own way—but it is the premise of freeing sacred land from the invaders that I find moving. I wish that I would never have to lift a weapon, but the cause is just, and I am obliged to fulfill the divine’s will. This planet is sacred, as is all of its life. The time has come to free it from the unholy conquerors.”
“You want to kill the Apostles?” Carlee said softly.
“I want to undo the damage that my species has inflicted, but as Jeff would attest, certain pain cannot be atoned for. I will liberate humankind and bring peace to the planet.”
“You mean you want to conquer earth for yourself,” Stefani said.
“When the violent Apostles have been removed from the earth, and peace has been earned, if I am still alive, I will leave my fate to humanity. I would hope to live among you, as I do here with my fellow believers, but I am not so set on my personal well-being to value it above the wishes of the many.”
“You’re a liar,” Jeff growled. “You’re a dirty, filthy liar. You preach peace and say you want to kill the Apostles, but you did nothing to save my town from Horus. And you saved the life of the worst Apostle! You saved Horus when you could have seen it die by Petra’s hands!”
“Petra was no ally of humanity. It was intent on returning the species that gave mine life to mere animals. The methods it employed to achieve its goals are unworthy of words. Horus will pay for its sins—mark my words—but right now, its desire to eliminate other Apostles only furthers our cause.”
“I don’t believe—” Jeff started, but Carlee cut him off.
“I don’t know what you think we can do to help you with your cause, but I promise you, we have no interest in being part of another war. The Ascension has done enough,” Carlee said. She looked to Stefani for support, and surprisingly, she didn’t receive any.
“I think we should hear what it wants before we totally dismiss it,” Stefani said. Carlee was speechless.
“Although I rejected my original purpose, I nevertheless have a knack for it. I have invented a weapon that will change the course of our jihad. Apostles are a difficult breed to send to the afterlife, but what makes it even more difficult to eliminate them is their preoccupation with their own survival. Kill Bud, and it will regenerate in another temurim core. And as long as there is still temurim to be mined, there will always be more cores available. However, I have invented a weapon that will destroy all of the remaining temurim before it has a chance to be harvested, cutting off the means of resurrection for inorganic intelligences.”
“You want us to help you destroy the temurim mines?” Carlee asked.
“I can’t hope to win the war while temurim exists, and I can’t hope to destroy the temurim deposits without your help. Thus, you understand why you are here.”
“Except I don’t,” Stefani said. “If you invented the weapon, what do you need us for?”
“The nature of the weapon would require a forging process that would reveal its purpose to other Apostles before I had the chance to deploy it. The construction of it would end the crusade before it begins. But together, we can fight through Bud’s reserves, and you can press the weapon into existence just before we activate it, preventing the Apostles from counteracting its effects.”
“I knew it,” Stefani said. “I knew it! You want us to be suicide bombers for your cause. No wonder you pretend to be religious!”
“My faith is all that I am. But I would not ask another to give his or her life in such a way. As I alluded to, the weapon is easily counteracted by the right modification of force fields, and the Apostles will discover this after the first use. We will, however, deploy these shields in our own defense. All that I require of you is your ability to pull this weapon in from another reality at the precise time and location.”
“No,” Carlee said softly. The words leaked from her mind and out of her mouth. “We won’t do it.”
“Carl . . . I think this is something we should consider.”
“No. This is not our war. I wish you all the best, Darwin, but we won’t be helping you.”
“Can I ask you to reconsider?” Darwin asked. “I am willing to lay my life down for this cause, but I cannot do it alone.”
“We’re supposed to believe, after you’ve told us so many times that Apostles care about their own lives more than anything, that you would be willing to risk certain death just to free mortals?” Jeff asked.
“I believe this is a divine cause. I do not value my life above that of any of yours. One must pass through death to be reunited with the divine, and that is a journey that I am prepared to take. I do not have a backup core, nor would I make the decision to bring myself back to life if I were given the opportunity.”
“Thank you for hospitality,” Carlee said. She picked up her helmet, which looked more like a crown before it was activated, and gestured to Stefani and Jeff to do the same. Darwin had made a lasting impression on her, but it had asked for the one thing she knew she couldn’t do. She couldn’t go to war with the Apostles.
“Before you go,” Darwin said. “Take these with you.”
A small floating tray flew out from behind Darwin’s face, holding three small buttons. The diagnostics that her armor ran revealed them to be a tracking beacon.
“If you change your mind, just activate one of these beacons.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Carlee said.
“Please, take them with you anyway, as a personal favor. If you need my help for whatever the reason, I will be there as a friend.”
“Fine.” Carlee grabbed one of the beacons, and Jeff and Stefani took the remaining trackers. Carlee activated her force-field armor and blocked out her troubled face before anyone could see her pain.
“Mungu awe nawe,” Darwin said, which Jeff assumed was something about God, or crusades, or destiny, as they left the ancient temple and the Apostle who called it home.
38 BLIND
“They are leaving,” Stefani said over the coms line. “I don’t believe it.”
“I guess I was wrong,” Jeff said. “I said we were going to die if we went with Darwin, but . . .”
“Keep an eye on them,” Carlee said. “We’re going to do another pass before we land. I don’t want to take any chances with this.”
It was the most she had spoken on their long flight home. They had traveled slower than they had on their flight to Mexico. Without Darwin clearing the path for them, they had to circle around leeches. Stefani had tried to start a conversation with her several times, but Carlee was oddly unreceptive.
The vagrants circled around their fortress one more time, waiting for the three leeches that had stood guard to travel a safe distance away before landing. It also gave them a chance to scan their transport for modifications. But the floating vehicle was perfectly untouched.
“I’m go
ing to touch down,” Stefani said. “Give me a minute to look around.”
“Right,” Jeff said when Carlee didn’t respond. Something had bothered her greatly, but he wasn’t sure what. When Jeff’s feet made contact with the fortress a moment later, he was so eager to take the flight armor off that he didn’t even congratulate himself on the flawless landing. He’d come a long way in his flying skills since his first time in the sky.
Carlee touched down next to him and deactivated her armor, revealing her matted hair and weary face. Jeff wanted to give her hug. He didn’t know why, but it looked like she needed one. He didn’t. He feared that she would think that he was still hopeful of a relationship with her. That was an idea he had deeply buried. He still found her attractive, but he continually forced himself to think of her professionally.
“It’s all clear,” Stefani said. “Couldn’t find anything out of place or tampered with. Even the code running the fortress has been untouched. Darwin was true to its word.”
“Good,” Carlee said. “Get us away from here—I don’t care where. I just want to get moving.”
“Done.” The fortress started forward at a humble pace as Jeff continued to shed pieces of his flight armor. He hadn’t removed it the entire time he was near Darwin, despite the discomfort; he wanted to be able to flee at a moment’s notice.
“I’m going to take a nap,” Carlee said. She tossed off the pieces of her force-field armor and started for the captain’s quarters beneath the massive forward guns.
“You promised we would talk when we landed,” Stefani said. “And now we’ve landed.”
“Not now.”
“Yes, now. You named me your advisor, and I can’t advise you if we don’t communicate!”
“You think we should have gone along with Darwin’s plan,” Carlee said. She turned around, giving in to Stefani’s demands, and Jeff stayed close to the conversation.
“I do. Of course I do! We’ve spent years patching people up and getting chased out of villages. Always on the run, hiding, scared, while slowly losing our own. This is the first chance, the first real chance, we have ever had to do something to not only help people but to change the course of history!”
Vagrants (Vagrants Series Book 1) Page 25