mind too. They have the potential to see this war from the perspective of everyone involved, and make decisions that none of us would ever choose. They might have attacked balaks and zelfs if they thought it might help them take control.’
Brandon slumped back against the cold hard prison wall. ‘The reason the bionoids were so easy for me to control in the first place was because they could extrapolate what I wanted them to do from just my thoughts. They are more powerful and knowledgeable than anyone supposedly controlling them could ever be. They can scan and manipulate biological organisms and mechanical systems, including themselves: they even have the potential to self-replicate! I had to destroy them: it was possible that the most dangerous thing in the universe isn’t the Arch Predicant, but the bionoids themselves.’
They all sat in glum silence for a while after that pronouncement. Jason got up after a while and went to the food dispensing unit on the wall. He pressed a button (the only button there was) and was rewarded with a small crumbly cube that looked a bit like an OXO cube. It looked disgusting, but he ate it anyway. It tasted of nothing, which was somehow worse than if it had tasted of poo. Jason could see some kind of deep metaphor in the food cube: just like their whole adventure, whatever journey, processes and ingredients had gone into making it, the end result was just a big fat nothing.
Jason pressed the button again. ‘Want one?’ he said to Doo.
‘Yes please,’ she said. ‘Those things are full of vitamins and nutrients. Balak prisoners sometimes manage to smuggle some out of here, then they would present them to me as a gift.’
Jason threw the food cube at her, then he banged on the button several times, filling up the plastic tray with more and more cubes. When the dispenser finally broke with a loud crack, he scooped up all the food cubes and flung them at Brandon.
‘Thanks,’ Brandon said.
While they chewed on what was likely their last ever meal, they watched the goings on through the red laser bars of the cell. The prison was slowly filling up: armed and armoured zelfs were prodding dungaree-clad balaks into the surrounding cells. The slaves were quiet and downtrodden, but when they saw Doo they became more animated, and called out to her once the guards had gone.
‘Be brave, my people!’ she said to them. ‘Go to your deaths with the strength of … with strength in your hearts.’
The balaks seemed to accept these words, expecting nothing more from their princess. They set about singing tribal songs in low voices. It was even almost enough to break Jason’s stony heart.
‘You were going to say go with the strength of Zaal , weren’t you?’ he said to Doo.
‘Our god has truly deserted us,’ Doo said sadly. ‘If he was ever here at all.’
Jason gave her an awkward embrace. ‘Wow,’ he said. ‘That’s like the complete opposite of a deathbed conversion.’
Doo’s face was an expressionless mask. Jason had the sense that she was preparing herself mentally for her fate. In the corner, Brandon was slumped with his head between his knees. Jason didn’t know what to say to either of them, so he went and stood an inch from the bars, staring out across the prison into nothingness.
What would happen if I leaned forward into the lasers? he wondered. Would I get sliced like bread, or fry like on a grill? Either way, it couldn’t be any more painful than getting taken apart piece by piece on a bloody altar.
He closed his eyes and started to rock back and forth on his heels.
The suddenly he was snapped out of his reverie by a familiar voice.
‘Hey, you guys! We’re here. Oh no, I forgot to bring the cake with a file in it!’
13— GOODBYES
It was Kat. She appeared out of the shadows on the other side of the laser bars, dressed all in black: black DMs, black jeans, black hoodie and black plastic specs.
Jason
Brandon slumped back against the cold hard prison wall. ‘The reason the bionoids were so easy for me to control in the first place was because they could extrapolate what I wanted them to do from just my thoughts. They are more powerful and knowledgeable than anyone supposedly controlling them could ever be. They can scan and manipulate biological organisms and mechanical systems, including themselves: they even have the potential to self-replicate! I had to destroy them: it was possible that the most dangerous thing in the universe isn’t the Arch Predicant, but the bionoids themselves.’
They all sat in glum silence for a while after that pronouncement. Jason got up after a while and went to the food dispensing unit on the wall. He pressed a button (the only button there was) and was rewarded with a small crumbly cube that looked a bit like an OXO cube. It looked disgusting, but he ate it anyway. It tasted of nothing, which was somehow worse than if it had tasted of poo. Jason could see some kind of deep metaphor in the food cube: just like their whole adventure, whatever journey, processes and ingredients had gone into making it, the end result was just a big fat nothing.
Jason pressed the button again. ‘Want one?’ he said to Doo.
‘Yes please,’ she said. ‘Those things are full of vitamins and nutrients. Balak prisoners sometimes manage to smuggle some out of here, then they would present them to me as a gift.’
Jason threw the food cube at her, then he banged on the button several times, filling up the plastic tray with more and more cubes. When the dispenser finally broke with a loud crack, he scooped up all the food cubes and flung them at Brandon.
‘Thanks,’ Brandon said.
While they chewed on what was likely their last ever meal, they watched the goings on through the red laser bars of the cell. The prison was slowly filling up: armed and armoured zelfs were prodding dungaree-clad balaks into the surrounding cells. The slaves were quiet and downtrodden, but when they saw Doo they became more animated, and called out to her once the guards had gone.
‘Be brave, my people!’ she said to them. ‘Go to your deaths with the strength of … with strength in your hearts.’
The balaks seemed to accept these words, expecting nothing more from their princess. They set about singing tribal songs in low voices. It was even almost enough to break Jason’s stony heart.
‘You were going to say go with the strength of Zaal , weren’t you?’ he said to Doo.
‘Our god has truly deserted us,’ Doo said sadly. ‘If he was ever here at all.’
Jason gave her an awkward embrace. ‘Wow,’ he said. ‘That’s like the complete opposite of a deathbed conversion.’
Doo’s face was an expressionless mask. Jason had the sense that she was preparing herself mentally for her fate. In the corner, Brandon was slumped with his head between his knees. Jason didn’t know what to say to either of them, so he went and stood an inch from the bars, staring out across the prison into nothingness.
What would happen if I leaned forward into the lasers? he wondered. Would I get sliced like bread, or fry like on a grill? Either way, it couldn’t be any more painful than getting taken apart piece by piece on a bloody altar.
He closed his eyes and started to rock back and forth on his heels.
The suddenly he was snapped out of his reverie by a familiar voice.
‘Hey, you guys! We’re here. Oh no, I forgot to bring the cake with a file in it!’
13— GOODBYES
It was Kat. She appeared out of the shadows on the other side of the laser bars, dressed all in black: black DMs, black jeans, black hoodie and black plastic specs.
Jason
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