Spear of Light by Brenda Cooper

took off from near the base of the Wall.
    It looked like a good hour’s walk. “Do you have any food or water?”
    It went silent for a moment, erasing the fake mouth but keeping its eyes. This was nothing like Yi or Jason or Chrystal, who were human souls trapped in humanoid bodies that looked like their old ones. After the first shock of the subtle difference had worn off, Nona had never doubted Chrystal was herself.
    However, it was impossible to see the seed of humanity that the Next claimed existed inside every one of them in this being. She watched it, certain that its stillness meant it was calculating something.
    She regretted asking it for such a flesh-based thing as water.
    It re-created its face, this time more fully, more human. “I will take you.”
    Its arms hardened and became longer, and it scooped her up with them.
    She bit her tongue to keep from screaming.
    The arms folded tight, making it just the tiniest bit hard to breathe. It was strong enough to kill her with no thought whatsoever.
    It didn’t. It carried her as gently as if she were a baby, its gait smooth and flowing. A low hum emanated from it, an intentional sound like a lullaby.
    Above her, the top of the Wall gleamed and grew. Nonetheless, the near stars outshone the Wall. She spotted familiar constellations, and a few of the orbiting stations.

    The Next walked at least twice as fast as Nona herself could have, and it rocked. If she had been easy in its arms, she would have dozed as it walked the Wall. As it was, she got lost in stray thoughts about Charlie and Satyana, about Lym and the Diamond Deep.
    A light flashed on them, shocking Nona attentive. All she saw were a few scattered buildings, some that looked quite official. Nothing that looked like homes. “Are we in Hope?”
    â€œThis is the Mixing Zone. Humans and Next are visit each other here, deals happen, people are hired, choices made.”
    â€œThere aren’t a lot of people mixing,” Nona observed.
    â€œYou humans are too busy fighting each other to talk to us,” it said.
    True enough. “So this isn’t Hope?”
    â€œNot yet. We’ll be there soon.”
    She relaxed again. It was hard to see, the way the robot was carrying her, sort of like a human mother would carry a child with an arm supporting her back and another one just under her bent knees.
    A skimmer hummed above them, flying toward town.
    â€œDo you know what’s happening in Manna Springs?” she asked.
    â€œOnly that there is still fighting. We don’t know why.”
    Rage, she thought. Rage and fear. But there was no point in trying to explain that to the Next. Either it understood such emotions or it did not.
    The Next put her down beside a gate. “This is the way into Hope. You will have to explain your business. The guardians of Hope are human.”
    She felt like laughing at that, both at the idea and at how silly it sounded. She wondered if the Next understood the pun. When she turned to ask it, it was already walking away.
    â€œThank you,” she called after it.
    It held up a hand as if in acknowledgment, and then the hand disappeared and a simple cylinder traveled back the way a humanoid robot had come.
    The gate in front of her was simple metal, with the word Hope printed on it in huge letters, and a smaller script below that said, “Gather Hope in great measure and here become More than Human.”
    Strange.
    The wall around the gate was a small thing compared to the great Wall of Nexity, almost but not quite small enough for her to just pull herself up and over.
    Before she could knock, the gate opened and a redheaded woman asked her, “Why have you come?”
    â€œI’m looking for a friend.”
    â€œA Next brought you. But there are no Next here except for soulbots.”
    â€œMy friend is human.” She saw no reason to hide her mission, but she wasn’t at all sure she should mention Charlie.