Post-Human Trilogy

“Something has gone wrong,” Thel worried as she placed her hand on James’s forehead. “He said it would be instantaneous. He’s been out for almost five minutes.”

Djanet tried to be reassuring, though it was a role in which she didn’t feel comfortable. “He’s still alive. There’s been no change.”

Old-timer tried to be more comforting. “He’s okay, Thel. I’m sure it was a more complicated process than he made it sound, but he knows time is a factor. He’ll be…” Old-timer wasn’t able to finish his sentence.

“I’m back,” James said, completely awake and jolting upward off of the table. “There’s been a major complication that I’ll explain on the way, but we have to get out of here right now. Have all of you been in contact with your families?”

“Yes, they’re preparing,” Old-timer confirmed. “We’ll rendezvous with them once we’ve got the Purists off the planet.”

“Perfect. Okay,” James said as he grabbed his helmet and efficiently strode out of the room with purpose. Thel, Djanet and Old-timer followed close behind. “Then our next stop is Buenos Aires. I’ve already set the evacuation plan in motion.”

“What’s the plan?” Old-timer asked as the group made their way out of the Council headquarters. The streets were eerily quiet, as almost everyone had left the downtown core of the city already, heeding the evacuation orders and heading home to prepare with their families.

“Empty streets. We’ve seen this before,” Thel observed.

James shook off the eeriness of the quiet, abandoned streets and addressed Old-timer’s question. “I’ve already begun amassing nans in the Purist territory. They will excavate a hangar and begin building a ship and a launch mechanism.”

“Holy…Commander, are you talking about building a spaceship big enough to carry 10,000 people?” Djanet asked, astounded by the enormity of the proposition.

“It’s the best alternative,” James replied as he put on his helmet. The team ignited their magnetic cocoons and began flying in formation toward South America while transferring their communication to their mind’s eyes.

“A titanium spacecraft will keep them safe, and there are centuries of designs that can be amalgamated into something that will work. Our job is to facilitate the evacuation and pilot the ship off of the planet. We can rendezvous with our families once we’re certain that the Purists can take care of themselves.”

“You said there was a major complication though,” Old-timer pointed out. “What is it?”

James opened his mouth to answer but was stopped by the voice of the A.I., whispering in his ear. “I wouldn’t tell them if I were you.”

James paused for a moment, stunned by the voice in his head and the secret that it was proposing James keep.

“James?” Thel asked as she noticed James’s unusual verbal stumble.

“What were you going to tell them, James?” asked the A.I. “That the evil A.I. is still alive and inside your head? But don’t worry, you have it all under control? Do you think they’ll believe you? Do you think they’ll follow your lead then?”

“Are you okay, Commander?” Djanet asked.

“I’m fine,” James replied. “I’m just getting used to the connection again. The complication is just a technical thing. I’m working my way through it. We’ll be fine.”

There was silence for a moment as the others absorbed the strange response and the quartet reached the stratosphere. James fixed his eyes on the blackness of space and the thing—the implacable enemy—that was coming.

“Good work, Keats,” the A.I. said, satisfaction in his voice. “You and I make a fine team. A fine team.”

12

Meanwhile, inside the mainframe, James stood in the operator’s position, tens of thousands of beams of golden light hitting him at every moment.

“You’re spending far too much time worrying about the Purists,” the A.I. observed as he strolled leisurely in a perimeter around James. Although he was not in control, he was enjoying watching James in a hopeless predicament, relishing his position as an unwanted, yet indispensable advisor. “Sooner or later, you are going to have to place your attention where it truly belongs.”

“You’re talking about the alien A.I.,” James said.

“I am indeed.”

“Tell me what you know about it,” said James.

“I know only as much as you do,” the A.I. replied.

“Bull.”

“I was hiding in your subconscious for the past year and a half, James. I know only as much as you do,” the A.I. reiterated.

“You may only have learned of the alien’s impending visit when I learned of it, but you’re the one who it is coming for. You must have sent out a message.”

The A.I. smiled. “I did—just as your own species had. I simply used much more advanced technology. I called into the darkness and, alas, a voice has called back.”

“Look into the abyss long enough, eventually it looks back into you,” James observed.

“So now the question is: what are you going to do about it, James? You removed me from my throne and now ‘heavy is the head upon which the crown sits,’ as they say.”

“I’m not going to wait for the alien to arrive,” James said, revealing his plans. “I’m replicating a massive fighting force of nans, and I’m going to see if I can drive it right into the heart of the alien machines.”

“You’re going to launch a preemptive attack and kill them,” the A.I. replied, summarizing the plan.

“Destroy. I am not killing anything.”

“You’re not?” the A.I. laughed. “Really? Are they not living? Didn’t you just accuse Chief Gibson of having a narrow view of what constitutes life not one hour ago?”

James suddenly stopped. “Were those my words…or yours?” James demanded.

“Oh, this is rich! You don’t even know whether or not to trust your own thoughts anymore! I do so love watching you unravel!”

“Were those my words or yours?” James demanded again.

The A.I. simply laughed. “What are you going to do? Delete me? You can’t. I’m part of you now. You’d have better luck removing a brain tumor from your head with a butter knife.”

James was boxed in, and he knew it. The devil had infected his mind and there was no way to remove him. His only option was to push forward.

“I’ll kill them if I have to. I have no choice.”

“Oh, James, you will find that there is always a choice, and I do believe in the next few hours, you’ll be forced to make a great deal more of them than you would like.”

13

James, Thel, Old-timer, and Djanet touched down in Purist territory and were immediately greeted by Alejandra and Lieutenant Patrick. “It is good to see you, my friends,” Alejandra announced as she embraced the post-humans one at a time. She embraced Old-timer last and met his eye for only a short, knowing moment. Old- timer was trying hard to bury his feelings, but he knew the harder he tried, the more apparent they would