we do here will not matter. At the final moment, take the data I give you and run. And you must run hard. They must know. Do you understand?”
I nod in the darkness, press my shoulder against the rock wall. Rest my knee against a coolant pipe that throbs with icy water pumped in from the Bering Sea. The aisle chatters with Maxim’s blue LEDs like little windows in skyscrapers. It is a familiar sight. It steadies my legs now, instead of turning them to rubber.
The light from the elevator anteroom is distant. A speck.
Clang
.
Our guest has arrived. I hear the steel doors rolling up. The dot of white light in the anteroom darkens briefly as something moves across it. I catch myself holding my breath, then I force it out slow through my nose.
The pipe is cold and hard against the side of my leg. I lean against it harder until I feel a blurry ache of flesh on icy metal. Pain cleanses the palate of the world.
It will choose to come in the form of a long black steed with golden eyes
.
The boy was right. Down the long aisle, I see a machine rear up on its hind legs. It is not facing me. Smaller forelimbs uncurl from under its head. It uses them to peck on Maxim’s keyboard. Then, serrated claws unfold from its belly. The claws easily pry open the port box mounted under the screen. Smaller manipulators disappear into the box.
The giant armored insect goes very still.
Almost imperceptibly, the air in the stacks changes. The rhythm of the blinking lights, the whir of the fans—all of it seems to be a little bit off. The enemy is stepping into Maxim’s mind now. The moment I’ve been dreading has almost come.
Maxim’s ghost form appears next to me. My eyelashes must be wet, because his body sparkles in a greenish blur. I blink the moisture away. Maxim remains completely silent. He is dressed differently now. No more torn coveralls. He is freshly shaved, and smiling just a little. Wearing a shabby gray suit with a white flower in the pocket. A white silk tie. These are his wedding clothes. He has chosen to die in them.
With a rough hand, Maxim salutes me. Executioner’s ax balanced on my shoulder, I salute him back.
“I can taste him,” Maxim whispers, even as his face slips into fractal chaos. “He is … wrong.”
The infiltrator has partially completed its mission. A layer of light lifts off of Maxim’s skin and I am seeing him double. As the stacks are invaded, he is losing himself. For a split second, his face seems to shatter into pieces. A horrifying, bleeding patchwork of flesh appears. Then it flashes back to Maxim, his eyes closed. Whispering the Lord’s Prayer to himself.
While the enemy is transferring, it is vulnerable. For just this moment, we have a chance. Maxim opens his eyes, points mutely at a hard drive embedded in the stack. I reach in and snatch the palm-sized drive from the rack. Jam it into the pocket of my coveralls. Maxim is fading in and out, his light scrambling and jerking.
“Now, brother,” he whispers.
I take firm hold of the ax.
“This will sever your cooling circuits. You will overheat and your hardware will fail. You will die, Maxim. Do you understand?” Maxim nods, shoulders back. His eyes are open. “For those we lost,” I say, swinging.
“Who—” shouts a voice over the speaker. It is a fearful voice, both a whisper and a roar, and I think I hear the growl of lions and the screeching of hawks under its surface.
The impact dislodges the main coolant pipe. Another two swingsand the floor is running with dark cold water. The icy liquid speckles my face and hands. The starfield of blue lights begins to blink yellow as the heat instantly builds. I grip the ax with moist fingers and trot toward the light of the anteroom.
Maxim is gone.
“No!” shrieks that voice over the speakers. “Repair the pipe and I will make you a king. An emperor over all humankind. I promise, I promise, I promise.”
This thing that killed Maxim must be dealt with. This
liar
. That
I nod in the darkness, press my shoulder against the rock wall. Rest my knee against a coolant pipe that throbs with icy water pumped in from the Bering Sea. The aisle chatters with Maxim’s blue LEDs like little windows in skyscrapers. It is a familiar sight. It steadies my legs now, instead of turning them to rubber.
The light from the elevator anteroom is distant. A speck.
Clang
.
Our guest has arrived. I hear the steel doors rolling up. The dot of white light in the anteroom darkens briefly as something moves across it. I catch myself holding my breath, then I force it out slow through my nose.
The pipe is cold and hard against the side of my leg. I lean against it harder until I feel a blurry ache of flesh on icy metal. Pain cleanses the palate of the world.
It will choose to come in the form of a long black steed with golden eyes
.
The boy was right. Down the long aisle, I see a machine rear up on its hind legs. It is not facing me. Smaller forelimbs uncurl from under its head. It uses them to peck on Maxim’s keyboard. Then, serrated claws unfold from its belly. The claws easily pry open the port box mounted under the screen. Smaller manipulators disappear into the box.
The giant armored insect goes very still.
Almost imperceptibly, the air in the stacks changes. The rhythm of the blinking lights, the whir of the fans—all of it seems to be a little bit off. The enemy is stepping into Maxim’s mind now. The moment I’ve been dreading has almost come.
Maxim’s ghost form appears next to me. My eyelashes must be wet, because his body sparkles in a greenish blur. I blink the moisture away. Maxim remains completely silent. He is dressed differently now. No more torn coveralls. He is freshly shaved, and smiling just a little. Wearing a shabby gray suit with a white flower in the pocket. A white silk tie. These are his wedding clothes. He has chosen to die in them.
With a rough hand, Maxim salutes me. Executioner’s ax balanced on my shoulder, I salute him back.
“I can taste him,” Maxim whispers, even as his face slips into fractal chaos. “He is … wrong.”
The infiltrator has partially completed its mission. A layer of light lifts off of Maxim’s skin and I am seeing him double. As the stacks are invaded, he is losing himself. For a split second, his face seems to shatter into pieces. A horrifying, bleeding patchwork of flesh appears. Then it flashes back to Maxim, his eyes closed. Whispering the Lord’s Prayer to himself.
While the enemy is transferring, it is vulnerable. For just this moment, we have a chance. Maxim opens his eyes, points mutely at a hard drive embedded in the stack. I reach in and snatch the palm-sized drive from the rack. Jam it into the pocket of my coveralls. Maxim is fading in and out, his light scrambling and jerking.
“Now, brother,” he whispers.
I take firm hold of the ax.
“This will sever your cooling circuits. You will overheat and your hardware will fail. You will die, Maxim. Do you understand?” Maxim nods, shoulders back. His eyes are open. “For those we lost,” I say, swinging.
“Who—” shouts a voice over the speaker. It is a fearful voice, both a whisper and a roar, and I think I hear the growl of lions and the screeching of hawks under its surface.
The impact dislodges the main coolant pipe. Another two swingsand the floor is running with dark cold water. The icy liquid speckles my face and hands. The starfield of blue lights begins to blink yellow as the heat instantly builds. I grip the ax with moist fingers and trot toward the light of the anteroom.
Maxim is gone.
“No!” shrieks that voice over the speakers. “Repair the pipe and I will make you a king. An emperor over all humankind. I promise, I promise, I promise.”
This thing that killed Maxim must be dealt with. This
liar
. That
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