by Beers,David
"Okay," Nome said. "I'll take you to him."
* * *
Grace floated at Jerry's side, moving slowly across the sand just as they had done after leaving the bunker. Nome led them alone and people stared at the odd duo--none of them could see Grace.
"Where are we going?" she whispered.
"I don't know. He said he wanted to show me his plan and I told him to send for you. Here we are."
"He ask you about your heart?"
Jerry nodded.
"You tell him it’s rusted to hell and we need to leave?"
Jerry stumbled, falling to a knee with one hand out in front of him, catching himself before hitting the hot sand face first.
"Hold on!" Grace shouted to Nome. The man turned around, saw Jerry on the ground, but didn't move. "Do you need help?" she whispered, not wanting anyone to hear her ask the question.
"I told him that I'm as healthy as a horse and strong as an ox," Jerry said, answering her previous question. His hand was three knuckles deep into the sand. He laughed as he pushed himself to his feet. "Come on," he said, taking the next step forward.
"I don't know how Caesar put up with you," Grace said.
"He shouldn't have had to. I should have killed him."
'Betrayed and Unforgiving' should be written on his tombstone, Grace thought.
And what about you? Have you forgiven him?
Grace didn't know. She hadn't stopped loving him, though. She never would, regardless what he did.
"Here we are," Nome said, stopping in front of another small tent. "Come on in." He pushed inward and Grace slipped through the space between he and Jerry. Her optics adjusted to the darker atmosphere quickly and she saw a small boy sitting on a mat. He had shaggy hair and a deep tan. The boy was thin and when he looked up at Nome, she saw his eyes were fully white, without pupil or iris.
"This is Julius," Nome said. "Julius, this is Jerry."
Grace was momentarily stunned.
Julius.
Julius Caesar.
"Hi, Jerry," the boy said. He looked to be around ten years old, maybe a bit older. "Who else is here?"
"Jerry's friend, Grace. She's a computer program."
"Hi, Grace," the boy said.
His sureness that someone else was in the room--someone unseen--shocked Grace further.
A group of blocks rested on the floor between his legs. Wooden things carved in this desert, though obviously done with a lot of care and attention to detail.
"Would you mind showing them what you're doing?"
"Sure!" The boy smiled at the thought of sharing his toys. He looked back down at the blocks, but didn't move his hands. Instead, he only stared at them.
They rose into the air, each of them turning slowly in a different direction.
"What's happening?" Jerry said.
"Why don't you tell them?" Nome responded before Grace could say anything.
"I'm turning the blocks in the air," the boy said.
"He's not touching them," Grace whispered so quietly and closely it was almost as if she hadn't spoken at all.
"Yes, I am," Julius said. "I'm touching them with my mind."
Grace watched with disbelief as the blocks changed from their wooden structure to fully three dimensional, digital blocks--ones and zeros running across them at a rapid pace.
"What is that ...?" Grace asked before she realized she was speaking.
"Julius has talents,” Nome said, “that I don't think many other people have. You can't see it, but what Julius did is create a simultaneously elemental and digital based structure, and then manipulated them with his brain."
Julius laughed. "No way. I'm just playing around!"
Chapter 42
He was back and not inside the machine again.
Michele knew what Caesar wanted--what she didn't know was whether she would let him do it.
"Hey," he said, not pausing at the doorway this time, but walking straight to where she sat.
Michele closed her book and placed it on her lap. "Hey."
"Mind if I grab a chair?"
She shrugged her shoulders and watched as he pulled one to her.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Just a riveting time here in Camp Prisoner. Right now I'm reading someone named Charles Dickens, and let me tell you, a book written thousands of years ago really knows how to keep my attention."
"Well, Michele," he said, "you know you can leave here."
"I'm sure," she said and looked away. "I just need to go against the only thing that’s helped me in here, huh?"
"If it wanted you out of here and could get you out, it would do it. Instead, it's telling you not to talk to the only person trying to actually help you leave."
"You're not a person," Michele said.
"Maybe not."
He wasn't speaking with the same gravity he had before. He seemed happier and more upbeat, though she couldn't understand why.
"What's different about you today?" Michele asked.
"Well, to be honest, I think that you're going to go home soon, because I think you're going to let me try and talk to that voice. I'm happy for you."
Michele felt her eyes grow wet, which then made her face flush from embarrassment. She wouldn't cry in front of this man, no matter what he said. He could promise to give her father back and she would NOT cry. She reached up and wiped at her eyes, quickly removing any semblance of tears.
"You're not going to let me go. Not now. Not ever. So shut up talking to me about it."
"Are you saying that because you honestly don't believe me, or because you want me to convince you?"
She wanted to be convinced. She wanted to leave here and find her mother. She wanted to be around anyone that loved her rather than this cold, sparsely decorated room.
Caesar leaned forward in his chair, his joviality gone, replaced with a sincerity beaming from his entire body. "I promise you, if you let me speak to it just once, I'll let you go. You can walk out of here today."
"You swear?" Michele said. A fierce anger rolled through her body, a need for him to understand that if he didn't come through on his end--if he left her here--she would find a way to hurt him.
How do you hurt something that can't die? Michele thought, but she threw the question out like used tissue. She had no other choice but to do what he asked. Not if she wanted to ever see another living person again.
"What happened to the others?" she asked. "The people in that van with me when I first got picked up."
"They're still here, though not like you are."
"What do you mean?"
"You've been given special accommodations. They haven't."
"Why am I special?" Michele said, knowing she wasn't. "I'm special because you took interest in me. That's it."
"Yes," Caesar said, nodding. "Luck favors some and shuns others."
"Is that what you are? Good luck?"
"For you," he said. "For others, I'm very bad luck."
"And what about for the voice in my head, what type of luck are you for it?"
"That's for it to decide, Michele."
* * *
The wires latched gently onto the girl. Caesar made sure nothing would hurt her during this process. He sat next to Michele as the wires attached, thin pieces of fiber that had tiny strings at the end. The strings touched down on her skin, creating a circle around the wire's point.
"Are you okay?" Caesar said.
She nodded, fighting back tears. He wasn't hooked into her yet, but he still understood the tears. She didn't want to be doing this, any of it--not just allowing him to enter her mind, but the whole damned thing.
For her, this would end soon. He didn't know what kind of life she would have after, or for how long, but she wouldn't be here anymore. Caesar doubted he could save her as he had others in the past. Whatever lived inside her was far too dangerous for any sentimental value he might hold.
"Okay," he said. "You're going to fall asleep now and when you wak
e up, you'll be home."
She looked at him, fighting as hard as she could to keep the tears in her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of this strange conqueror from legends, and Caesar respected her for it.
"You're evil," she said. "I remember what they said about you in school. You could have changed the world, and instead you gave it all away."
She closed her eyes and Caesar felt the electrical pulses move through her skin and into her body, slowly putting her brain to sleep. Once she was under, he stood and walked out of the room.
To do this, he'd have to discard his old body.
* * *
Caesar found Michele's mind to be an amazing place.
He wondered if his had been like this at fifteen?
What about Cato's?
He could spend time in here, searching around, understanding what drove Michele--he could probably find the aftermath of her father's murder. But, to do that would be a sort of betrayal, and while he couldn't save this girl, he felt some kinship with her.
More, he was here for a purpose.
Caesar moved through the girl's mind, spreading to all parts of it. He wanted whatever was contacting her to recognize him. He hoped recognition would prompt the voice to return and say something to him even though it told Michele not to.
He didn't need to wait long.
As soon as he finished flowing through, it came.
Have you hurt her?
No. I'm not going to ... What are you?
Caesar felt the otherness of the thing. Michele said it sounded like her, but he didn't think so. The thing Caesar spoke with resembled nothing of the girl.
I'm the opposite of you, Caesar.
How do you know I'm Caesar?
I know enough.
Caesar said nothing, only thought about the words. Confidence. Perhaps even arrogance.
What are you going to do with her?
Why does her outcome matter to you? Once, a long time ago, those things mattered to Caesar, too--but not now, with the number of humans alive and everything that needed to be done. A single person was inconsequential.
She's my sister. I love her.
Michele has no sisters.
And that's why you're going to fail.
Why?
Because you know nothing. You're time has passed; ours is coming.
Caesar waited but the voice didn't continue. It didn't leave, though--he could still feel it here.
Are you the abnormality?
No. The abnormality is you, Caesar. A traitor to your kind. A human that turned into some digital creation, morphed into a three headed monster with two other beings that will never understand humanity.
You know nothing about me, nothing outside of stories written in books.
What have I said that isn't true?
I'm going to let Michele go home. What are you going to do with her?
Funny that you say you'll let her go home, when I'm going to bring her home.
And where's that?
You'll know very soon, Caesar.
What do you want?
For you and everything you stand with to end.
Chapter 43
"It's time," Charlie said.
"How do you know?" Tom asked.
"She told me."
"Just now?"
Charlie nodded. He stood on his porch, Tom to his left. The sun was heading to rest in the distance, and soon the moon would wake.
"How's it going to happen? No one is centralized. We have fragments across the world."
Charlie smiled. "I don't think She needs a conference center to do it."
"Well what do we tell everyone here?"
"I don't think it's our job to tell them anything. I think She will speak for Herself."
* * *
Tom descended the steps to the basement, thinking Charlie should have had an elevator put in before they started this. The stairs were too many because the depth was so great. Of course the construction was done purposefully, the entire place lined with explosives that would simultaneously seal off the basement and create a belief that the entire structure had gone down. A lot of digging and excavating would need to occur before anyone realized the deception.
But still, the damn steps were too many.
Tom knew Charlie said Lexi would prepare everyone, but he still wanted to let those under his charge know what was coming. Lexi could be ... shocking, even if it wasn't your first time seeing Her.
He finally made it to the bottom, already dreading the climb back up.
Focus on what's coming. Something you've been waiting for your whole life. A few steps is a small price to pay.
Scolding finished, he opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and stepped into what everyone referred to as the basement, but was actually a separate house.
"Hey!" he shouted.
Andy stuck his head out from the kitchen. "Yeah?"
"I need everyone in here."
"Daniel, too?"
"Yeah, him too."
"Tom," Andy said, stepping into the living room. "That guy is, um ... well ...."
"I know, believe me. Please just get everyone in here, it's important."
Andy nodded and went down the hallway to his right. Tom heard doors opening and closing, then he heard Bennett bitching about something or other. Andy's family came out first, Skelly leading the way. Eventually, Andy and Bennett arrived.
Bennett looked like he'd just been caught masturbating, absolutely no shame, though, just anger at the interruption.
"What's going on?" Bennett said. "What's the rush?"
"Everyone take a seat, please."
"I'll stand," the bastard said back.
"Fine." Tom waited for everyone else to sit down, Bennett remaining at the living room's entrance with arms crossed over his chest.
"I know this has been tough, but everything Charlie and I have talked about is near. Lexi has decided it's time to reveal Herself to everyone--not just those we've contacted, but everyone like us in the world. Eric and Heather, you won't be able to see any of this, but She will reveal Herself to you soon as well. I just wanted to come down and tell you this before it happens, as I don't want you being shocked or frightened when it does."
"What can we expect?" Skelly said.
"I really don't know. Lexi does as She wants and this could be done countless ways. I do think that we'll all be transferred somewhere else. Not physically, but mentally. Eric and Heather, it's important you understand that, because Skelly and Andy might look like they're in trouble. They won't talk. They won't move. They'll only breathe and lay wherever they are, but I promise you they’re fine."
"I don't want to go into any coma," Bennett said. "Tell Her I don't want to do this. She can just skip me."
Tom smiled, unable to help it. "Daniel, that's not how this works. She doesn't listen to us, nor should She. Me telling Her to leave you out would have the same result as telling a river not to flow."
"Then build a dam. I don't care how you do it, just make it happen."
Tom shook his head and looked back at the family in front of him. "Do you have any other questions?"
"They'll be okay?" Heather said. "They're going to wake up and be fine?"
"Yes. I promise. Lexi wouldn't hurt any of us. Ever."
* * *
Fear reached deep into Julius and squeezed his heart.
His eyes opened but he only saw darkness around him. Darkness was his home, because his strange looking eyes had no sight.
He knew he was alone, just like every night, but he wasn't supposed to feel this fear anymore. It had gone away years ago, thanks to Nome.
But it was back now, and stronger than before.
He stood up inside his tent but didn't move for a few seconds. The fear was growing greater and he knew intuitively that he couldn't hold it back. Not this time.
Should he wake up Nome?
Tears struck the boy's eyes like fiery pinpricks. He didn't want to wake up Nome, not abo
ut this, about something they should have already beat, and yet if he didn't, he'd have to talk to it. Nome didn't want him doing that. More than anything, Nome didn't want that.
He stepped through his tent's flap and out into the cool night air. Julius knew the city's layout, and could walk from his tent to Nome's without problem. He started moving, picking up speed as he went--in step with the growing fear--until finally he was nearly sprinting--something he rarely did.
He didn't stop when he reached Nome's tent, didn't pause to announce himself either. He barreled through, stepping into the camp's largest home.
"Nome! Nome! It's back!"
* * *
Caesar remained inside Michele’s mind, though the voice had left.
He wasn't searching through the girl, but thinking about what he just heard.
For you and everything you stand with to end.
Spoken with as much contempt as Jerry had ever mustered. Who was it? What was it? He only gathered a few things from the palaver, the most important two being it certainly thought itself powerful, and that it wasn't a friend.
There has to be more that we can do, he thought. Something else to help us decipher the DNA structure.
All of his intelligence and endless computational power brought nothing to him, though. The time for him to leave Michele's mind had almost come. He didn't want to let the girl go home now; he wanted to study her more and knew that if he brought the question to Grim and Gay they would certainly say to keep her--he would be a lunatic to let her go after what just happened.
But, he promised Michele, which meant he didn't need to sit here contemplating what to do. He needed to act before his thoughts made him decide to keep her under observation.
Caesar felt the wires still attached and started flowing back toward them. His mind leaving and Michele's returning, though asleep.
And then his outward flow stopped.
Not from Caesar's will, though. He tried to move again, commanding his intelligence to move toward the wires where he could get to safety, because something else inside her now controlled him.
The voice.
He struggled to move again, raging against the restraints holding him, but he didn't move at all.