Only Human_The Themis Files

by Sylvain Neuvel

  —I do!

  —The moral of the story is…Jeff is a moron. A baby axolotl can’t fight a fish! You can’t expect babies to do the things adults do. You can’t expect anyone to do things they can’t do. If you ask me to lift five hundred pounds, I can’t. It doesn’t matter how much I want to, how much conviction I put into it. It’s just not something I can do. Maybe if I’d been training all my life, but not now, not tomorrow. The people on this planet knew nothing of real aliens before Themis was found, they had never seen one until the Ekt came to Earth. Now that I think of it, they still haven’t seen one. They’ve only seen those giant robots but never those inside them. They make first contact, and millions die. Then they learn they’re all a bit alien, some more than others. They weren’t prepared for this, for any of it. They can’t even comprehend what it means about who they are, their place in the universe. All they know is a bunch of people are dead, and their neighbor is more like those who killed them than they are. Fear is a pretty normal reaction if you ask me! The people on this planet are babies! Don’t ask them to act like grown-ups. Don’t push them in front of a carp.

  —You’re right.

  —I know I’m right! I wouldn’t say things if I thought they were wrong!

  —We’re a bunch of babies, a few billion of them, all scared to death. We’re going to kill ourselves if we’re left to our own devices. What we need is…

  —What do we need, Dr. Franklin?

  —We need…Jeff.

  —What? No! Jeff is a moron! I thought we covered that.

  —OK, maybe not Jeff, but you just said it, we’re all babies. There aren’t any adults around. We need grown-ups. We need adult supervision. There’s a reason we weren’t prepared. We didn’t ask for this. We haven’t done anything! Don’t take this the wrong way, but this isn’t our mess, it’s yours, the Ekt’s. The Ekt killed millions of us. They did. They scared us to death and left us running around chasing our tail because they didn’t want to interfere any more than they had to. But here’s the thing, they had to. It’s their fault! It’s all their fault. They came here three thousand years ago and fundamentally changed who we are. They screwed with the very fabric of life on this planet. They are responsible. It doesn’t matter that they want nothing to do with it, it’s their responsibility.

  —You break it, you buy it?

  —I was thinking more along the lines of “you make the mess, you clean it up,” but that will do too.

  —That is an interesting idea. I like you, Dr. Franklin. You’re interesting. I’m curious. How do you think the Ekt can clean this up?

  —I’m not sure. Perhaps they don’t need to do anything. Maybe just being here would be enough. I think part of the problem is that we’re still trying to convince ourselves there’s something we could do to stop them. We’re doing everything we can to maintain the illusion of control. Why do we lock people up? No one really thinks they’re a threat. We do it because we can. We’re doing something. If the Ekt showed us what they’re capable of, we’d realize how futile this is.

  We’ve also lost our identity. We were humans. Now we don’t know what we are. Those alien genes, it’s messy. If I have them, am I still me, or am I something else? We’re holding on to the idea that we’re different, unique. We can’t be anything like the Ekt, we were made in God’s image. Our DNA tells us that’s not true, but if we get rid of the people who remind us of that, if we hide the evidence, then we can still pretend. And so we find people who look exactly like us, who come from the same place, believe in the same God, and we make each other feel good by pretending everyone else can’t be trusted. I think we’ll always be insecure, petty little things, but at least if the Ekt were here, we’d feel some connection with the rest of our world. Our late friend once told me: “redefine alterity and you can erase boundaries.” I believe that’s true, only somewhere along the way we’ve made our own people the “other” and started hating ourselves.

  —Let me get this straight. Your solution to all of Earth’s problems is that you don’t have a solution, and you want someone else to fix it for you.

  —I know how it sounds. I wish I could think of another way. I desperately want to believe there is another way, that the human spirit will conquer, that science will save the day. But the problem is us. I don’t think we have what it takes to do this on our own. If there were—

  —No, no. Stop. I agree with you. It takes a lot of courage to admit your own limits. I admire that.

  —You admire the fact that I find myself useless, or that I think our entire species is incapable of taking care of itself?

  —A little bit of both. And you are not useless, you just came up with a solution. I personally think it’s a good one.

  —It’s not. They won’t come. For starters, we don’t even have a way to contact them.

  —Of course you do! The Ekt left a device for you to find. It was buried in the chamber you fell in when you were a kid before my ancestor replaced it with a big hand. You should know, we used it to bring you back to life! The Ekt left it here so you could talk to them when the time came.

  —It doesn’t matter. They still won’t come. When we left, things weren’t much better there than they are here. They have their own problems to deal with. What happened here on Earth is how their problems started in the first place. I’m fairly certain all they want is to put that entire episode behind them and never look back.

  —Then you’ll have to give them something they want more.

  PART FOUR

  CROSS THE RUBICON

  FILE NO. 2195

  MISSION LOG—VINCENT COUTURE AND SERGEANT ALEXANDER VASILIEV

  Location: Aboard Themis. North of Dandong, Liaoning Province, China

  —All right, Katherine, we’re two or three miles from Dandong. We’re going to unstrap and have lunch.

  [Lunch? It’s almost six where you are in China!]

  Well, it’s one o’clock for us. And it’s a sandwich. A sandwich isn’t dinner.

  [Sure. You can eat. Where are the Chinese?]

  They’re everywhere. We’re in China.

  [Ha. Ha.]

  They’re about a mile behind us, but they’re slow as hell. Why didn’t we just meet them at the border? We walked four miles with them, and it took us half a day. Do you know how mind-numbing this is? Our legs are forty times longer than theirs. We almost fell a couple times we have to walk so slow.

  [Poor baby. A million men walking in mud, and you have to walk slowly.]

  They’re on a highway. It’s in pretty good shape. We’re the ones walking in mud on the side of the road.

  [They wanted to make a grand entrance.]

  They’re going to be disappointed.

  [Why? No! I don’t want to have to call them again! I keep calling with bad news. They hate me.]

  It’s getting dark. We can barely see where we step. And there’s a residential area up ahead. There won’t be enough room for us to walk through.

  [You can walk on the road.]

  We can. But they won’t be able to after we destroy it. I don’t think they want us to walk on houses either. It doesn’t really matter anyway. There’s a city after that neighborhood. A big one.

  [Your point being?]

  Themis doesn’t do cities well.

  [What do you propose?]

  If they really want to cross here, we’re just gonna have to beam over and wait for them in the river.

  [You’ll be there for hours, alone. So much for that great entrance…]

  We can wait here for hours and beam over when they’re ready to cross into North Korea. I don’t care.

  [Fine. I guess I’ll have to talk to them after all. Have lunch, I’ll get back to you.]

  Good. Just give me a sec, Alex. I’ll help you get out of your straightjacket, and we can eat.

  —Thank you
. I’m starving.

  —All right, I’m coming. I suppose now would be a good time to tell you. If the North Koreans start firing before the Chinese march in, I’m bailing us out.

  —What?

  —Let me take your gloves off. They have to funnel a million men through a bridge. They’ll be slaughtered.

  —I’m pretty sure that’s why we’re here.

  —Even if we help, Alex. They’re fish in a barrel. They’ll push through. Maybe half of them will make it. I’m not going to be responsible for half a million dead. If we bail, they won’t dare cross that bridge.

  —The major will kill us.

  —Yeah, Katherine’ll be pissed.

  —I mean she’ll literally kill us. I’m not supposed to tell you, but these little canisters they installed on the ceiling, they’re VX gas.

  —I knew they weren’t something good.

  —She can release it remotely.

  —She won’t. I mean she’ll do it if she has to—I don’t think she’ll even hesitate—but she won’t do it for this. Not for the Chinese, not if North Korea fights back. The prize here is South Korea. If it all goes to hell before we even cross the border, it’s just not worth it to kill us.

  —I’m not sure I want to take that bet.

  —Hey, if Katherine’s right, the North Koreans will roll out the red carpet for us, and this whole conversation is moot.

  [Vincent, are you there?]

  Yes, Katherine. We just got out of the controls. We were about to eat.

  [Oops. You need to get back in. Lunch will have to wait.]

  What? Why?

  [There is a regiment of Ch’ŏnma-hos tanks lining up across the bridge in Sinuiju. The Chinese want you to get to the river now, make sure they’re happy to see you.]

  What if they’re not?

  [I think they will be. Now go. Chop. Chop.]

  —I’m hungry. I don’t want to die when I’m hungry.

  —We’re not going to die, Alex. We’re going to single-handedly start a global thermonuclear war, and we’ll be the only two idiots to survive. We’ll have plenty of time to eat our sandwich then. Get your arms in, I’ll do the rest. Front is closed. Did you put on weight?

  —More muscle.

  —Of course. Put your gloves on, Arnold. My turn now. Of all the places we could cross into Korea from, I can’t believe they chose this one. I love the sense of irony.

  —I don’t understand.

  —Do you know what the bridge between Dandong and Sinuiju is called?

  —Something Chinese?

  —It’s the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge.

  —Hey, what are friends for?

  —I’m all strapped in. Are you ready to get shot at?

  —Sure.

  —Katherine, our computer tells us we’re 6,420 meters from the river at 116 degrees. Can you confirm? I don’t want to overshoot the river if we’re not welcome.

  [Vincent, the nerds here are nodding.]

  All right. That should do it, give or take a step. Ready, Alex?

  —If you say so.

  —Friendship Bridge, here we come…

  —Oh my God!

  [What? Oh my God what?]

  —Relax, Katherine, it’s the bridge. It’s full of lights. It lights up the water underneath. It’s really pretty.

  [Damn, you guys. You almost gave me a heart attack. What about the tanks?]

  We can’t see anything with the city lights. It’s dark on the Korean side. They can see us, though.

  [Are they firing?]

  Do you think we’d mention the bridge being pretty but forget about the North Korean Army firing at us? I think we’re good. Either that, or they’re—

  —Oh my God!

  [What? Something pretty again?]

  —You could call it that. There’s a giant robot full of bright green light on the Korean side of the river.

  [Lapetus is there? In North Korea?]

  I’m afraid so. Should we leave?

  [Stand by.]

  Shit, it’s walking towards us.

  —What do they want?

  —I don’t know. I think it just waved at us.

 

  Fuck.

  —Is that—?

  —Yeah. It is.

  FILE NO. 2196

  MISSION LOG—WARRANT OFFICER EVA REYES AND LT. BARBARA BALL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, MECHA DIVISION

  Location: Aboard Lapetus. Seoul, South Korea

  —Can I call you Eva?

  —As opposed to what?

  —You’re a warrant officer in the Marine Corps. I can call you ma’am. I can call you chief if you like.

  —Eva’s fine.

  —Good. I’m Barbara.

  —Do they often switch pilots on you at the last minute?

  —Nope. Never happened before.

  —First time for everything, I guess.

  —Second time, actually. Both today. I usually ride with Captain Hough. To be honest, he’s much better than I am with the legs. I get the arms. Then they tell me I’ll ride with Benson, and now you. I don’t know what’s wrong with them today.

  —I know why Captain Hough isn’t here. He has a broken arm.

  —How do you know?

  —I broke it.

  —What?

  —He touched me.

  —Bodie grabbed you?

  —He put his arm around my shoulder. I asked him to remove it. He didn’t.

  —Haha! I’m sorry, that’s not funny at all. I can’t believe you broke Bodie’s arm! He must be so pissed. He’s been dying for a combat mission.

  —He’s a dick.

  —Eva, I think you and I are gonna get along fine. Do you know why they removed Benson?

  —I think they want me to prove myself?

  —Why? How? We’re just here to scare the Chinese away. They won’t cross into Korea with us standing there.

  —They might. Themis is with them.

  —Shit.

  —Shit is right. My father’s inside.

  —…

  —You can say it. The traitor, right?

  —No. I’m sure he has his reasons…Do they expect us to fight?

  —Either that, or they think my dad’ll back away.

  —That’s fucked up.

  —You can say that again.

  —Are you…OK with this?

  —It doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice.

  —I’m sorry. I mean that. I’m truly sorry. This is just sick.

  [Lapetus, this is Central, change of plan.]

  Roger, Central. Are you gonna tell us what the new plan is?

  [Themis is at the Yalu River, alone.]

  Where are the Chinese?

  [About eight hours away. Your job is to get Themis to leave before they get there.]

  And just how do you suggest we do that? Ask nicely?

  [We’re giving you some operational discretion on this one.]

  How much discretion? Are we clear to engage?

  [Affirmative.]

  …Roger that…Central, do we have the right crew for this?

  [Lapetus, you have your orders. Turn to 320 degrees, 7 minutes.]

  Are you up for this, Eva?

  —Do you think they’ll let me leave if I’m not?

  —Probably not.

  —Then let’s just get this over with.

  —Central, heading three, two, zero point seven. And change. Awaiting distance. Are we doing this in one jump?

  [Any part of North Korea you’d like to visit along the way?]

  Negative, Central. One jump it is. It just seems a little long if we’re to land in a river.

  [Your concerns are duly noted, Lapetus. Un
it size sixty-four. Distance three-five-three. In base-8, that’s a round one hundred for units, five-four-one for distance.]

  Roger, Central. One-zero-zero. Five-four-one. Ready for jump.

  [Lapetus, you are go for jump.]

  Punching it in now.

  …

  —Uh, Barbara? I don’t think we’re in the right spot.

  —I see that, Eva. Central, this is Lapetus. We’re about a quarter mile short of the river on the Korean side. We’re standing on some tanks. I repeat. We’re standing on tanks. More tanks all around. Looks like a whole regiment. I see foot soldiers to the east. It’s dark outside but it looks like a lot, five, ten thousand maybe.

  [Can you see Themis?]

  Affirmative. She’s in the river right in front of us. We’re walking towards them.

  —Hi, Dad!

  —Did you just wave at them?

  —Yep.

  [Lapetus. You should beam into the river, get away from those tanks.]

  Copy that, Central. Punchin—Hot damn! They’re firing at us!

  [Beam out of there, Lapetus. Get to the river.]

  Can’t do that with our shield working. They’re lighting us up like a Christmas tree!

  —Barbara, give me a weapon!

  —You got it, Eva.

  —How does that thing work? Last time I was inside one of these things, we had a sword, not a…ball of light.

  —Point and I’ll shoot.

  —They’re everywhere! Just shoot!

  —Incoming missile, port side! Brace for impact!

  —I’d be happier with a shield in my hand. Yokits! That hurt!

  —Shit. Two more SAM launchers to starboard. Are those tanks ever gonna stop?

  —Forget the tanks, let’s get rid of those missiles first. Fire!

  [Lapetus, we’re showing half a dozen MiGs heading your way. Repeat, six MiGs. ETA 1 minute.]

  —Copy, Central. You can stop with the good news. We’re as happ—AAARGH! FUCK! Where did that one come from?

  —Behind us, two more trucks with big rockets on top!

  —Screw this! Switching to a wide beam. We’ll just swing around and wipe them all out.

  —There are ten thousand men over there, Barbara. Do we have to kill them all?