Craig placed a hand on his forehead and shook his head. “Why would Aldous possibly have wanted to see that?”
“It’s one of history’s most important events,” the A.I. replied before adding, somewhat uncertainly, “amongst other possible, more personal reasons.”
“Other reasons? What are you talking about?”
“As I’ve said, Craig, since I have not yet passed the Turing test, my understanding of human psychology is purely objective. Please keep that in mind when listening to my theory.”
“Noted,” Craig replied impatiently. “Go ahead.”
“Have you noticed any similarities between the three worlds we’ve visited so far?”
“Yeah,” Craig nodded. “I’ve noticed a whole lot of people on the verge of dying in each one.”
“But beyond that,” the A.I. responded, “have you noticed a certain pattern in the events?”
“Just cut the bull. What are you driving at?”
“In my opinion, Aldous chose these events because they have a particular fascination for him. Both the
“But the Chinese didn’t have an empire. They’d been isolated.”
“True, but empire was their goal. Indeed, their A.I. was that civilization’s crowning achievement—before it was destroyed.”
“So you’re saying Aldous has a fascination with tragedy?”
“I think a man who has spent his entire life trying to cure death and give birth to strong artificial intelligence could certainly be accused of a degree of hubris, wouldn’t you agree?” the A.I. asked rhetorically. “I think Aldous is drawn to these events because they are examples of magnificent technological achievement—yet they are also the embodiments of the myth of Icarus—humanity reaching too far, going too close to the sun and, therefore, drawing too close to the gods in a sense. Surely you can see why this story might apply to Aldous. He must subconsciously fear that he, too, will face Icarus’s fate.”
Craig nodded impatiently. “Okay, so Aldous is a freak. I knew that already. Luckily, while you were giving your psychoanalysis, I was coming up with a plan.”
“Oh?”
“My plan is to go to the next universe, save my SOLO team, destroy the Chinese A.I., and then bring a couple of them back with us to Universe 1.”
“Members of your SOLO team?” the A.I. reacted, surprised.
“Yes. They’re heavily armed. It would give us a fighting chance once we get back home.”
“May I remind you, Craig, that the SOLO worked
“After we save their butts and help them destroy the Chinese A.I., I’m sure they’ll be happy to return the favor. I’ll just need to explain a few things.”
The A.I.’s expression was one of dubiousness.
“Trust me. I know these guys,” Craig said reassuringly.
“That sounds familiar.”
“Ha! An attempt at sarcasm. And you said you never kid.”
Craig stepped onto the Planck platform, careful not to step on either Paine or Degrechie in the process. He clapped his hands together once again and exhaled excitedly, shaking out his arms and rolling his neck as he prepared for yet another universe jump. “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s do this, Hoss.”
“As you wish,” the A.I. replied before activating the platform once again.
7
Craig had forgotten how hellish the terrain of Shenzhen was on the lip of the impact crater. The fallout had not yet receded, and the sun was blocked by the dust cloud that enveloped them.
“I’m keeping the platform’s magnetic field active to protect the Purists from the radiation,” the A.I. said.
“I guess I’ll have to activate my field as well once I step off the platform.”
“Actually, that won’t be necessary. Your nans are capable of repairing any physical damage that the radiation may cause.”
“Nice,” Craig replied, impressed. “What time is it? How long do we have?” Craig asked.
“I would need to see the position of the sun—”
“Done,” Craig replied immediately as he ignited his cocoon and flew straight up through the dust cloud. In seconds, they emerged and entered the sunshine.
“We’ve arrived after your SOLO jump began,” the A.I. informed Craig. “They’ll be here in two minutes and four seconds.”
“The Chinese A.I. hacked our HUDs and threw us all off course. We were supposed to open just above the crater—”
“Yes, it is all contained in the historical record,” the A.I. interrupted.
“We have to catch them. Can we do that with the magnetic field?”
“I’m afraid not,” the A.I. replied. “In the future, the technology will have more capability, but as of yet, the protective cocoon and the flat wall we used to push the
“Can we use the flat surface—”
“Like a giant trampoline? I’m sorry, Craig, the technology does not, as of yet, have that capability.”
“So what do I do?”
“You’ll have to find a way to make them open their parachutes earlier.”
“Heh,” Craig scoffed as he blasted upward, streaking to meet his SOLO team and his double, “thanks for the help.”
A second later, Craig’s HUD suddenly went blank, before briefly turning back on and then going blank once again.
“Uh, my HUD just went down,” Weddell stated in controlled alarm.
“Mine too,” Craig replied.
“We’re all down,” Wilson quickly realized. “We’re gonna have to open high and do it manually!”
Then, just as suddenly as they had flashed off, the HUDs came back online.
“I’m back up!” Craig shouted.
“Is everyone back up?” Wilson shouted.
Each member of the team confirmed.
“Okay! Then we stick to the original plan. Adjust to thirty-five degrees!”
Craig watched the time to opening tick down on his HUD. They were now only a minute away from their computer-controlled low opening. Their speed was slowing, but something didn’t feel right.
“Commander, have the onboard SOLO systems ever glitched like this before?” Craig asked.
“No. This is a first,” Wilson replied.
“Then I recommend we do a high manual—”
“Cut the chatter, Doc!” Wilson shouted. “Concentrate!”
The yellow dust covering the ground was closing in below them, its surface gleaming in the sunlight as it crawled like a yellow, living fog.
Then, suddenly, something else became visible. A green light, growing larger by the second, was coming
