by Beers,David
"All of it."
"I guess it doesn't matter. You're the first person to even knock. Come in."
* * *
Michele Owen looked at the bed with an odd interest.
She was already asleep, so why did she need a bed? Somewhere, she lay resting in a deep, comfortless sleep; when she woke all of this would fade as dreams do.
Machines surrounded her, awful things that she'd neither seen before nor imagined possible. Tall chunks of metal moved around her, grabbing her roughly and forcing her wherever they wanted her to go. She didn't scream or make any other noise. Why would she? She'd wake up soon.
Michele had never seen anything like the bed in front of her, though what else could it be? It lay horizontally and actually looked somewhat pleasant. A curved piece of glass, it hung in the air with nothing to suspend it. The curvature seemed to model a person's body when lying down, with a slight arch for their back.
Three glass tubes protruded from both of the bed’s sides. Except glass didn't move, not that Michele could remember. These tubes waved gently in the air like ribbons, though no wind blew them.
The machine behind her stepped up closer, a massive thing that seemed to have no eyes, no mouth, no face at all. The only thing about it resembling a human was its arms. No legs as it floated in the air; Michele didn't know how that was possible, though strange things happened in dreams. The robot stretched one of its gigantic arms up and a single finger extended, obviously telling her where to go.
Michele looked at the digit, still confused as to why she needed to lay down. Slowly her eyes returned to the bed.
The machine threw her forward, and Michele flew across the room, certain she would smash into the bed.
The glass tubes reached for her, frantically, like sea life trying desperately to catch floating organisms for food. They grabbed her, four tubes taking each of her limbs and the other two holding her sides.
Michele's momentary panic at being thrown exploded to outright terror.
Because the dream felt so real.
So, so real.
The tubes pulled her to the bed, but it wasn't pleasant like it had seemed moments before--the thing was hard and the tubes held her tight against it, almost to the point of pain.
Or so Michele thought.
Pain came next, though, as needles shot out from the glass and erupted into Michele's back.
Finally, Michele made noise. She screamed and the sounds echoed off the walls and machines alike.
18
Private Conversations
What doesn't?
Are you serious? You still haven't looked?
I kid, I kid. Yes, I've looked, and Caesar is right. It makes no sense.
Sometimes I wish I could just delete you ... We're no further along. Not a single specimen has shown anything usable.
The abnormality doesn't exist according to these results, though when grouped with an entire population it leaves the host, joining the population's data. We need to test someone again, one of the abnormalities that was tested first with a group, then alone, and now again with a group. We need to know if it's really there or not.
Why don't we just kill everyone, then we don't have to worry about it at all?
Great idea. We'll eliminate the entire race and never know what this thing is.
It's better than trying to compete with something we don't understand, isn't it?
Is that what we're doing now, we're in competition? Our purpose has nothing to do with competing, either with humans or some derivative.
I'll set up the next test. Let's talk when it's over. Perhaps the aberration was something in our systems, not in the people. The next test should show us.
Your humanity is showing, Caesar. There are no aberrations in our systems.
Chapter 19
Skelly didn't go to school and Andy didn't go to work. Both of them sat alone in their apartment. Waiting.
"What if Mom and Dad get back and he still hasn't come?" Skelly said.
"I don't know. I guess I'll think of something at that point. I mean, if these guys are as sophisticated as they seem, they should see when we're free--I shouldn't even have to set this up for them."
"If we actually, you know, live through this, you might have a career in party planning or something."
"Shut up," Andy said and flipped the hologram to a different program.
Her brother had driven past the school and now the only responsibility either of them had was to wait. Skelly felt somewhat excited about it, though all she could see from Andy was stark fear. Different than the fear he showed on the bus ride to their Scan, though she didn't know exactly how this was different.
He wasn't talking much, only answering her questions as she asked them.
Skelly wanted him talking because she didn't like seeing him so ... worried. Yet, his eyes kept going back to the hologram, doing anything to keep his mind off what they were actually doing.
Andy brought home some kind of gift certificate--Skelly thought for a spa--and told their parents to take the day to themselves. Both had stopped going to work a day ago, as both their companies had shut down.
Which left Skelly and Andy sitting in their living room, watching programs they'd never seen before--as both were usually busy at this time of day.
"So who do you think she is?" Skelly asked, again trying to pull her brother from his thoughts.
"I don't know. I don't know what’s going on."
"Well, just take a guess. You think it's an alien? That would be cool, huh? Like an alien came down to save us?"
"Will you please shut up, Skelly? I can't think with you yapping. I know what you're trying to do, but I don't need you to do it; I need to think."
"What is there to think about? We've made our decision and we can't plan anything else because we don't know what's coming."
"Just hush, damn it."
And then, as if someone outside had been listening to their entire conversation, a knock echoed through the door.
Both Skelly and Andy turned around and looked toward the sound.
"Is it ...," Skelly asked.
"Stay here," he said, getting up and walking down the short hallway to the door. He put his head to the peephole, then turned around and looked at Skelly. "No one's there."
Another knock. Louder and stronger.
Andy looked again, shaking his head in disbelief. "There's no one outside."
The same knock again--even harder.
"Open the door, Andy," Skelly said from behind.
"No. What the hell is happening?"
"Aaaanndddyyyy," a voice sung from the other side of the door. "It's ttiiimmmeee toooo gooooo!"
He stepped back, staring at the door as if it were a shark's mouth, with hundreds of glistening teeth all snapping at him.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
"Get the fuck out of here!" Andy shouted.
Skelly heard the door's electronic latch move.
Andy moved further back. "Go to your room, Skelly."
"No," she said.
"NOW!"
He didn't look at her, though, and both heard the lock click open.
"Skelly?" Andy asked, checking to see if she'd listened. She didn't answer.
The door slid open, and as it did a white light emerged, blocking out everything else: her brother, the hallway, the room. Everything.
* * *
Skelly opened her eyes again and saw a burlap sack. She blinked a few times, then turned her head left and right. Only burlap though, and she realized why--the sack was over her head.
"Hello?" she asked as her mind revved into gear.
Someone moaned to her left. Skelly leaned over, feeling a body next to her.
"Hello? Who's here?"
"Skelly?" The voice was slurred but she knew who spoke.
"Andy? Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he said and she could hear his burlap sack rustling as he shook his head side to side. "Yeah, I think. Are you?"
"I feel okay. What's happening?"
"My dears!" Mack shouted, Skelly easily recognizing his voice.
"You're both awake and I'm so happy you made it! I'm very sorry about the entrance to your apartment, there are certain things that we must do before we bring anyone to see Her. The white light, well--I'll explain it to you a little later if you're interested. Now, are you ready to have those itchy bags removed?"
"Fuck you," Andy said.
"Oh my Genesis, I love this guy! Come on, come on--take them off!"
Skelly felt the bag lifting from her face suddenly, the room before her slowly coming into focus. She blinked a few times, taking it all in.
"You people really love white, don't you?" she said in near awe. "Is this real? Or another program?"
"It's a hybrid. You’re standing in a digital room, but it exists here, on Earth." The voice came from behind Skelly, but she didn't turn around to see the man--she identified him as she had her brother and Mack. Charlie Murray.
"How?" she said, her eyes searching a room that appeared endless. She appeared to be standing in completely empty space, except instead of the universe's blackness, this contained glorious, glowing white. Just like the light she saw when her front door opened, except now it didn't block out those next to her. Skelly glanced to Andy, but his eyes were just as spellbound as hers.
"She likes beauty," Charlie said.
A few seconds passed and Charlie walked in front of them. Skelly finally focused on something other than the white light, seeing the same stunning man from a few days ago.
"Welcome," Charlie said. "We're glad you're here. Really, really glad. Like Mack said, our ways can be a little jarring at first, but it's only for both our protection and yours. I know Tom said he'd speak about the white light later, but if it's okay with you, Tom, I'd like to explain it now--just so it's all out in the open."
"By all means, sir," Tom said, slightly to Charlie's right, a broad smile on his face. Skelly glanced to him, quickly noting that this wasn't the meek teacher from the classroom--physically yes, but the personality didn't match.
"The white light you saw is something She developed. It allows us to basically knock you out but with no ill effects--no headaches, no body aches, when you wake up everything is as it should be. You even remember the light. Honesty is what we're looking for here, and if we created something that destroyed even a second of your memory, we would have failed." He looked from both Skelly to Andy, his eyes showing that same warmth and empathy.
"Why are we here?" Andy said.
"Where is here?" Skelly followed up.
Murray smiled. "This is one of Her portals. It's how we visit Her."
"Who is she?" Skelly asked
"She is ...." Murray looked to Tom. "How do you describe her?"
Tom's smiled dropped and he looked at both of them seriously. "She's important."
"I think that's about as accurate a description as I've heard," Charlie said. "And She wants to see you both. She's probably more excited than we are. However, there are rules for what happens next, and if you're not okay with them, then we can get you two back home and life goes on as long as it did before."
"What are the rules?" Andy said.
"You cannot meet Her here, in reality. You can only see Her by entering one of our programs, much like the one you saw in the first room."
"Isn't that reality, though? I mean it's a program that you've built, somehow, into our world? We weren't jacked into anything when it happened."
Charlie smiled, looked to Mack and nodded, then came back to Skelly. "You're so quick. I can see why She's impressed. Yes and no; it is reality and it's not. Have you heard the theory of multiple universes, all of them layering on top of each other like sheets on a bed? What she has built is more like that. When you enter the program, you're entering another universe. The Genesis can't track you when you enter; it's like you don't exist."
"None of this is possible," Andy said.
"And yet, here we are," Mack said.
"Just a few more moments with the rules and then we can get you two inside. It's very important when you're with Her that neither of you try anything aggressive, and I'm primarily looking at you here, Andy. We know you'll die to protect your sister, but you need to understand two things: no one wants to hurt Skelly, and if you show a hint of aggression, you'll die--swiftly." Charlie met each of their eyes for a few seconds. "That's it. Nothing else. When you meet Her, you'll get another choice, whether you want to keep going or whether you've had enough. How does all that sound?"
He spoke like a tour guide, as if announcing what time lunch would be served.
Skelly didn't look to Andy. "Let's meet her already."
* * *
A door opened on the other side of the glowing white room. Skelly and Andy walked across together, Skelly grabbing her brother's hand.
They could see nothing on the other side of the door, just complete darkness. Skelly looked back to Charlie and Mack.
"You serious? Theatrics is a big deal in this group, isn't it?" she asked.
Andy smiled, but despite the joke, they both gripped the hell out of each other's hand.
They stepped forward and immediately the blackness ended, replaced by--
"Oh my...," Andy said.
They stood on the moon. Skelly quickly looked over her shoulder and saw only space's emptiness. She looked down at her feet and saw the same blue color lighting up the moon dust beneath them--she saw no ones and zeroes this time, though.
"Hello," a voice said. "I'm Lexi."
Andy swirled around quickly, looking for the voice's source, his feet doing a pink tapdance as he did.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"Here," she said, and she was.
"Andy," Skelly whispered, finally seeing the woman standing twenty feet in front of them.
Her hair was a deep purple and her skin an almost porcelain white, yet not an unhealthy color. In fact, her skin almost radiated like the room they just left. The woman was thin, looking like a dancer of some great magnitude. Skelly had thought Charlie Murray was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen, but when she laid eyes on 'Lexi', all others fell away.
She wore a long dress, a lighter shade of purple than her hair, that fell down to just above her feet, which were bare.
Skelly didn't look to her brother. She couldn't pull herself away.
The woman walked forward, and as she moved, the ground around her lit up with the same purple as her hair.
"How are you both?" she said. Lexi stopped a few feet from them, but neither spoke. Skelly didn't know if Andy could, only that she searched for words but found none.
"It's okay," Lexi said. "Everything's okay."
"What are you?" Andy finally asked. "You're not human. You're a program, like The Genesis?"
Lexi smiled, brilliant white teeth lined perfectly inside her mouth. "No, Andy. I'm human, like both of you."
"No one is as pretty as you," Skelly said.
"Thank you, though this isn't my actual body--just a digital representation; my actual body is on Earth."
"And where is this?" Andy said.
"This?" She looked around into the star dotted sky. "This is just a program to simulate the moon, much like the space from a few days ago was made to simulate a room. Here," she paused, drawing a toe through the moon's sand, "the coding is hidden." She looked back up at them. "Thank you for coming. I know the strength it took to do this."
"Why are we here?" Skelly was trying to fight the distortion Lexi’s beauty created.
"We are sisters, Skelly. And Andy is my brother just as he is yours. Genetically, we're more similar than you are to your actual parents. That's what The Genesis will understand soon, if It hasn't already. I'm trying to bring all of my family together, to remove them from the danger that's coming."
"You're not making any sense." Andy knelt down and put his hand in the sand, picking some up and watching it turn pink. He let it fall back down and stared while th
e pink evaporated from each grain. He looked back up. "We're in danger, that's true, but as to us being genetically similar? How?"
Skelly, still listening, followed Andy's lead and knelt to pick up her own handful of sand. It ignited with the blue she gave off in this world, making it glow. Skelly stood, reared her hand back, and flung the sand to her right. The glowing blue died as it flew through the air.
"The Genesis made a mistake five hundred years ago, one that It didn't understand. I've tried to understand that mistake, and though I'll never be one hundred percent sure, I believe the same underlying belief you espoused caused it: certain things are impossible. The Genesis believes it, and thus never laid out all possibilities. If something was impossible, then why consider it? Many of these things were possible, though, and one actually hit. That's all it took to exploit The Genesis's mistake, just one hit."
Lexi stepped a few feet closer, standing in front of Andy. She raised her arms and put her hands on his shoulders. Skelly didn't know she could feel jealous of her brother, but a surge ran through her at the sight of the woman touching him.
Lexi looked to Skelly and the jealousy withered. Lexi moved over and instead of sizing Skelly up like Andy, she brought her in for a hug. Skelly didn't know what to do; even so, she found her hands moving up to embrace the stranger.
Lexi pulled away and took a step back.
"The Genesis never understood that the virus they created to change us, would continue evolving as it replicated. It didn't just morph our DNA: the virus changed itself. In certain cases, it actually replicated with human DNA and created new strands."
Skelly's mouth opened as a glimmer of understanding appeared.
"We are, all of us, descendants of both our human ancestors and The Genesis."
20
The Death of Caesar Wells
Saying I'm lost would be an understatement.
I spoke with Mrs. Owen, the best I could at least. The conversation consisted of a lot of tears, a lot of screaming, and sometimes we got down to the subject I wanted to know about. Her daughter. Why they took her. The Genesis used to repossess people not fitting specifications; the ones taken were outliers--geniuses or handicapped in some way or other.