Aldous and Samantha, “and we have no idea how much time Universe X still has.”
“Universe X? My universe?”
“Indeed,” Aldous confirmed. “Your universe crossed into ours, which began all of this tragedy. You may not have been aware of it, but you’ve been the focus of our attention for a long, long time.”
“And not in a good way,” Samantha added.
Old-timer turned to the Planck platform. Distraught, Rich and Djanet seemed to be discussing something. He could see them using their mind’s eyes to connect to the Planck’s systems, trying to override what they believed was a firewall. Then he looked down at his lifeless body, perfectly still. He wished he hadn’t seen such an image before, but his memory flashed back to the fallout in Shenzhen, another him, fallen and lifeless—another version of himself who’d died because of his actions.
“I’ll stay,” Old-timer said. “Just let me talk to them first. They can go back and report what’s happened and they’ll bring reinforcements.”
“What kind of reinforcements?” Paine asked, his eyes ablaze with scrutiny but intrigued nonetheless.
“The kind that we’re going to need if what you’ve told me is true.”
“If they go back without you,” Samantha warned, “they’ll have to take your body with them, and it’ll die if it’s separated from your consciousness for too long.”
Old-timer shook his head. “Not that body,” he answered. “It looks human, but it’s not. It’s enhanced— extremely durable. Please let me send them back.”
“We can trust him,” Aldous announced to his companions. “Besides, if we don’t let them go, we’ll be receiving visitors from their universe in short order anyway.”
“If he’s not bluffing,” Paine countered.
“Remember who you’re talking about here,” Aldous replied. “It’s Craig Emilson, the most selfless, heroic man any of us have ever met.”
“But you pointed out yourself,” Paine continued to protest, “that’s not him.”
Aldous smiled. “How different could he be?” He turned back to Old-timer. “We can’t escape our true nature.”
Old-timer remained silent, while, internally, he asked himself the same question. How different can a man be? He wasn’t sure if even he knew who he was any longer.
Paine finally relented and nodded. He looked at Old-timer strangely, as if he was replaying the memories of the man he once knew. “All right. Let’s trust him.”
“Th-thank you,” Old-timer said, continuing to stammer.
“After all,” Paine shrugged, “any universe that could corrupt a man like Craig Emilson isn’t worth saving.”
8
Thel didn’t even speak as she broke the surface of the water and took in a long, painful, lifesaving breath. The saltwater stung her eyes, and she blinked it away, narrowing her vision and focusing on the dark shape that appeared to be the shore, just a dozen meters away. She tugged James’s body hard as it floated on the surface, still completely limp and lifeless.
The A.I. was equally silent as he swam with his one free arm and his legs, pumping through the nearly freezing water, struggling to see as the saltwater stung, summoning a flow of tears. He tried to turn, craning his neck for a glimpse of where the car had gone down, searching for any sign of the candidate. He couldn’t see the artificially generated intelligence that had attempted to murder them, but the darkness, and the continued splashing of saltwater into his face as they desperately tried to power their way to the shore made it impossible for him to know for sure if the candidate was still looming nearby.
“There.” Thel pointed out, breathless. She was cognizant enough of their predicament to know not to yell out and give their location away. Like the A.I., she was well aware that the candidate could be close.
The A.I. saw the rocky outcrop that Thel was making her way toward. It was the shortest distance for them to swim and there appeared to be
Fuyumi Ono
Tailley (MC 6)
Robert Graysmith
Rich Restucci
Chris Fox
James Sallis
John Harris
Robin Jones Gunn
Linda Lael Miller
Nancy Springer