by Jacob Whaler
A large, black screen opens next to Mercer. A massive green blob, semitransparent, engulfs a blue planet.
“You don’t need to know the details. It’s enough to understand the ash from the Cloud now raining down on our planet will transform into a deadly acid that will dissolve all life on Earth. That is the bad news. The good news is that the material composing the domes under which you stand is impervious to this acid. You will be safe. The rest of the human race, and every other species outsides these walls, will perish.”
Mercer pauses, as if to let the full meaning of his words sink in.
Murmurs float through the crowd. With faces upturned to the holo image of Mercer, the talking grows in intensity until the people are shouting, fists raised in protest.
My family. I’ll never see them again, Alice thinks.
As Mercer stretches out his hands, the crowd grows quiet. Clasping fingers behind his back, he takes on the look of a university professor.
“You now see the privileged position each of you has inherited. Knowing it would only be possible to save a small sample of humanity, I have chosen you. Most of you leave behind family and friends in the outside world. They are now dead to you. Forget them.”
Low wails rise from the crowd.
A tidal wave of pain from thousands of minds crashes down on Luca. She struggles to keep the connection with Alice.
“The immediate danger will pass in a few days. The acid will degrade into a benign material. And then, my friends, we will inherit a new Earth. The old one will pass away. It will be up to us to rebuild.”
By now, Alice’s mind is filled with chaos and confusion.
If only I had known the truth. I would never have left my family.
“Cast away your sorrow. Think of the great opportunity entrusted to us! We will make the world better than it was. Your individual skills and the technology and culture I’ve selected will carry us forward. We need not start from zero. We will take all that is good from the old world to build the new. Like Noah’s Ark, I have preserved a large number of plant and animal specimens to quickly repopulate the earth. And I have stored enough food and clean water to maintain our existence for years to come.”
At what price?
“All I ask of you is your dedication and obedience to my vision, which will become your vision.”
Broad-shouldered men in black uniforms and battle armor march into the room, taking their positions along the wall.
“My security team will enforce order. It is my hope that they will have little to do. But let me be frank. This is not a democracy. I do not ask for your opinions or counsel. Whatever is done will be done in my way at my command. Any resistance on your part will end in quick and effective punishment. Do not forget that your survival depends on my goodwill. I have given you life. In return, your lives belong to me. It will be in your interest to keep me in good humor.”
Hands go to mouths. Eyes open wider.
“For my own reasons, I have remained in Manhattan to watch the end of our mighty and corrupt civilization. I look forward to new beginnings with each of you.”
The image of Mercer fades. The crowds wander into the halls, heading to their individual rooms. Luca senses the shock in their minds.
Alice is silent.
Little by little, as Luca watches, Alice bends her thoughts to devise a plan.
56
PARTING
Jedd stares up at Genesis corporate headquarters.
“Everyone ready?” he says.
Qaara nods. “I’m good.” A twentieth century machine gun hangs on a leather strap from her shoulder.
“You sure you know how to use that?” Jedd says.
“I learned from Moses.”
“My point exactly.”
“What about you?” Qaara points at the same type of gun strapped to Jedd’s back. “You any better?”
“Maybe. Got a lot of practice at point and shoot games on the Mesh.” Jedd scans the ground. “What I wouldn’t give for a pulse rifle. Something I could really use.”
“Wouldn’t work.” Ricky points up at the pink sky. “As long as we're in the Cloud, there’s too much heavy ionization going on. It kills the electronics.”
“How much longer before we emerge from the Cloud?”
“I’d guess another ten hours,” Qaara says. “By the way, what's the plan?”
“Does there have to be one?” Jedd scratches his head. “Can’t we just wing it?”
“Not against Mercer,” Qaara says. “Not if we want to have a chance at staying alive and taking him alive.”
“Ricky?” Jedd says. “Any ideas, other than just bursting through those doors, commando style, and working our way up the fire escape?"
“Isn’t that exactly what Mercer expects?” Ricky says.
Jedd shakes his head. “You really think he’s watching us?”
“We have to assume he is,” Qaara says. “If he’s even here. And we have to assume the building is crawling with guards. With weapons that function.”
“Then what are we even doing here?” Jedd turns to retreat. He snags Qaara’s hand and pulls her with him. “Let’s get as far away from here as we can. Find some hole deep underground and see if we can ride out this—”
Qaara pulls her hand back. “I refuse to let Mercer follow through with his plan. And I’m not running away.”
“And I’m not going to let you walk into a death trap. Look, Qaara, I appreciate your sense of injustice, but there’s nothing we can do about Mercer, especially if he's waiting for us.” Jedd reaches for Qaara’s machine gun.
She steps back, out of reach, and looks between Jedd and Ricky. “I can’t thank you both enough for all you’ve done for me. I never would have made it this far without you. Our time together has been—” She gazes at Jedd. “I know it was a waste of time for you, but for me, it was the best of my life. I’ve learned——”
“What could you have possibly learned from us? We’re nothing more than scum from the Fringe. But you—” Jedd stretches his arms, at a loss for words. "You’re already perfect.”
“No,” Qaara says, “I went along with the System, with the power of the System, for far too long. You’ve both taught me that I don’t need the System. There’s another way. My way.” She takes a step back and puts her hands on her machine gun. "You’ve been great . . . friends. Both of you.”
“Friends?” Jedd shakes his head. “Is that all?”
“It’s enough. More than I deserve.” Qaara draws the tip of the gun up even with her chest and points it in their direction, smiling, an apologetic look on her face. "You’re right. This isn’t your fight. Don’t follow me. There’s no need for you to die.”
A wave of tightness hits Jedd in the chest. “What do you mean?” He can hardly breathe.
“I’m the only one that can get close to him. He’d kill you both on sight but maybe not me.”
“But Qaara!” Jedd senses he’s on a runaway train with no brakes. “Mercer is expecting you! He’ll kill you before you can tell the world.”
Nodding, Qaara takes another step back. “It’s a long shot, one I have to try.”
“Even if you do stop him, what good will it do?” Jedd’s mind races to find an argument that will persuade Qaara. “The end of the world will still come.”
“It will make me feel much better, knowing I did my little bit to stand up for justice.” Qaara walks away, then turns back. “Tell the world, if you can. And don't follow me, guys. No hero stuff, please.”
Jedd and Ricky watch as Qaara jogs across the street and disappears through the unlocked front door of the first floor of Genesis Corporation.
“How did it work out this way?”
“Maybe she’s right,” Ricky says. “Maybe she's got a better chance at getting to Mercer without us.”
“You’re no help at all.” Jedd says. “No help at all."
57
MONSTER
Funny. I never actually walked into the building f
rom the street when I worked here. Always just crossed one of the sky bridges from my condo.
Qaara steps into the Genesis lobby. By now, Mercer might have guessed she’s coming for him. He’ll be waiting in his lair, waiting for her to spring the trap he has set, giving himself every advantage.
If Jedd were with her, he’d be killed the instant he showed his face. There wouldn’t even be a fight. A wasted sacrifice of the one man she might have come close to loving.
Not something Qaara can stomach.
But if she goes in alone, Mercer might take her alive. There’s a chance, a small one, that she can get close enough to Mercer to access his Mesh network—which he certainly has—to get the word out to the world, ending a small part of the madness.
A buzz in her pocket reminds her that she still has her jax. And then it hits her.
My jax just came on.
Of course. Mercer knew in advance how the Cloud would play out. Everything he needed to know was encoded on that little green jewel. He’s made extensive upgrades to the Genesis building in preparation, and now it’s probably the only one in the City that still has internal power and data access.
Thrusting a hand into her pocket, she pulls out the curved cylinder jax fashioned of titanium and glass and cradles it in her palm. It’s flashing green.
Without hesitation, she accesses her internal account where a copy of the data cube Mercer gave her is stored. With a flick of her thumb, she uploads it to her Mesh-site where it will automatically enter her feed for the world to see.
Still holding her breath, she waits for confirmation of the upload. And then her work will be done.
Illegal data operation. Export not authorized.
The jax glows red.
Mercer has thrown a seal around the building. Makes sense. It was too much to hope that it would be so easy. She’ll have to see Mercer in person after all.
As she takes a step forward, lights spark in the lobby.
On a hunch, she walks across the floor to the elevator, her shoes leaving dusty tracks on the black marble.
The elevator doors open, inviting her in.
He’s waiting.
For an instant, Qaara wavers. She casts a glance behind her to make sure Jedd and Ricky haven’t followed. Then she enters and punches the 250th floor. The closing doors remind her of shark teeth. The elevator shoots up.
He’ll expect me to be mad. And, I am.
Pulling the machine gun from her shoulder, she releases the safety, holds the barrel level with her waist, finger on the trigger. And waits, eyes on the numbers floating through the display.
Her weight drains away as the elevator slows down. And then it stops, gravity pulling on her feet. A tremble causes her to wonder if Mercer will throw the elevator into freefall.
The doors slide open into a well-lit waiting room.
Without looking to see if anyone is there, Qaara holds the trigger down on the machine gun and sprays the walls and floor with bullets. A twelfth century Chinese vase on a pedestal explodes into shards. Priceless glass panels shatter. Wood flooring from an ancient Japanese Shinto shrine is reduced to splinters.
And then silence.
“Is that you, Qaara?”
Mercer’s voice.
She turns in the direction of the sound and lets more bullets fly as she walks to the center of the room.
“You know it’s me. Show yourself, Mercer.”
“You are a very changed woman, Qaara. What happened out in the Zone? Too much sun?”
She sees a small speaker on the wall and destroys it. “It’s time to let the world know what’s happening. To give everyone a chance to survive.”
“But that is such a waste. We lose the element of surprise. A historic opportunity frittered away.”
Qaara flips around, looking for the source of the voice.
“I wanted you to be part of it all, Qaara.” The voice comes from multiple locations, bouncing off the walls. “You still can."
She yells and spins in a circle, spraying bullets in all directions until her gun falls silent.
“Out of ammo?”
A thick metal door on the other side of the lobby slowly swings open. Two men in black battle armor step out, each holding a machine gun not unlike Qaara’s. They walk briskly forward, weapons trained on her.
Mercer stands in the doorway behind them. “Nice to have you back.”
Swinging her gun like a club, she rushes to meet the men, connecting with one of them and kicking another, dropping both to the floor. The third man slips a green tube out of his sleeve, pivots and rams it into the base of her neck.
Qaara feels herself collapsing to the floor.
*****
She awakens in a room devoid of light. It feels like she is lying on a sofa. Her head throbs, but she is otherwise uninjured.
I was right. He doesn’t want to kill me.
“A bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Mercer’s voice comes from behind her. “You could have just walked into my office without the gun.”
“Why didn’t you kill me?”
“Because I’ve forgiven you.” Mercer moves to the other side. “Why did you come back?”
“To stop you.”
“Stop me from . . . what? Saving thousands of people that otherwise would die? Saving our culture and civilization so that we don’t waste all that’s been achieved? Saving a cross section of Earth life so that the last three billion years of evolution aren’t a total waste?”
“If you were interested in saving people, you would have told the world. There would have been months to prepare. Plans could have been made.”
“I’m not going to squander this opportunity.”
“You kept the knowledge to yourself. So you could be in total control.” Qaara sits up. “You’re a murderer of billions.”
The holo comes on in the middle of the room, showing the layout of the facility in Fukushima, Japan. Massive black domes form the outer rim of a wheel, not far from the ocean.
“I like to think of it as the Wheel of Life or something like that. Beautiful, don’t you think?”
“Looks like a bunch of big mud huts.” Qaara squints against the sudden light. “I don’t want anything to do with you or your sick plan.”
“You’d rather die?”
“I’d rather die with honor than live with disgrace.”
Mercer’s eyes narrow. “I’m only exercising my duty to perpetuate the human species.”
“Don’t make excuses. You’re protecting yourself at the expense of everyone else and setting yourself up as king. Dictator. Emperor."
“Come with me, Qaara.” Mercer stands directly in front of her. “I’ve made all the arrangements. The old civilization is dying. Along with all of its problems. The City is symbolic of that. Let the people of the Zone enjoy their conquest for a few more days. It doesn’t matter anymore. We have a chance to start over. We can leave it all behind.”
“I’d rather stay here and die with them.”
“Don’t you see, Qaara? All of this is a gift. The Cloud, the killer molecule, everything. It’s as if you and I have been chosen to lead the new world. It's what we were born to do.”
A strange noise, like the buzzing of a bumblebee, comes from outside.
Qaara slips her fingers into her pocket and finds the jax. Her fingers crawl quickly over its surface. She knows the settings by heart.
Wide area audio should do it.
No guarantees on whether it will work. Just a few more seconds for the algorithm to load. A short vibration tells her it’s ready. But how to get Mercer into position?
Make him move around.
Make him angry.
“I got access to your father’s files. Did I ever tell you that? He was right about you.” Qaara positions her finger over the end of her jax, ready to tap. "The words wasted potential and incurable narcissist came up a lot.”
Mercer laughs. “Why try to bait me? I’ve dealt with my father in the way that suited me. B
ut, now that you mention him, it does cause me to wonder what he would say if he could see me now.” Mercer walks in a wide arc around her, getting closer to the blacked-out windows.
All of them made of solid Graff.
“He would be sick at heart at the monster you’ve become.”
“Perhaps,” Mercer says. “But at least he wouldn’t think I'm a failure. He would be awed at what I’ve accomplished. At what I’m on the cusp of becoming.”
Qaara drops her hand with the jax down to her side, out of sight. “And what are you becoming?”
Cocking his head, Mercer’s lips start to curl into a smile. “A creator. No, the Creator. I’m taking that position away from the Cloud.”
“You think it’s intelligent?” Qaara can’t help asking the question.
“I know it is. I saw an image of it. It was reaching for the Earth. This is the second time the Cloud has come around. Maybe even the third. The last time, three billion years ago, it didn't find what it was looking for, at least that’s what the people alive at the time thought, so it wiped the slate clean. To give evolution another chance.”
“What do you think it’s looking for?”
“Hard to say. It might be looking for something specific. Highly evolved. Beyond the garden variety Fringe-type human. Perhaps even beyond you and me.”
Qaara settles back into the sofa. “And it’s not going to find it, right?”
“I seriously doubt it.” Mercer walks in a wider arc this time. “The Cloud is probably scanning Earth right now. Maybe that's the cause of the interference with our electronics.”
“A highly speculative conclusion. Or you know more than you’re letting on.” It clicks in Qaara’s mind. “The memory cube you gave me didn’t contain all your files, did it?”
“Hardly.” Mercer turns to face her. “I was saving the rest, the most interesting parts, for you. Once I determined you could be trusted."
“Have I failed the test?”
“So far.”
“You broke the encryption on the little chip your father found buried in the crust, didn’t you? Not just the DNA sequences but the entire chip. Am I right?”