“We aren’t going to waste any resources on the fleshies, Officer Alvarez,” the sergeant said. “As long as we can keep people from panicking and indulging this cult, we should be fine.”
“What if they perform another attack?” Tera wanted to know. She was clearly asking questions beyond her pay-grade, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Then we will contain the mayhem and lock the attackers away,” the sergeant answered. “We’re not going to cry over a few slain humans.”
“But, sir —” she started.
“Alvarez, put it out of your mind,” Abenayo said. “If you know what’s good for you.”
“She’s right,” the sergeant said to Tera. “Besides, you two are going to have your hands too full with other work to worry about it. In fact, there’s an important job I want you both on today.” He turned to Abenayo. “It will be a good learning experience for her.”
Tera felt a little strange being spoken about as if she weren’t there.
Abenayo nodded. “What’s the job?”
“An eviction,” the sergeant replied. “It’ll take you to the ruins just outside of town. I need you to get moving soon, understand? And don’t forget to bring some gear — these ferals can be a little hard to remove.”
“Yes, sir,” Abenayo said, rising to her feet. She looked down at the rookie. “Come on.”
Tera pictured the man with the knife in his neck, seated across from her in the chair where the sergeant sat. Blinking, she was able to get the image out of her head. As if just woken from a trance, she rose slowly, then followed her partner.
Cattle
“Why?” Ethan asked the strange man. “Why would they want to lobotomize me?”
Gauge needed a moment to think of how to answer. “To understand that, you need to know the truth about the world out there. It’s kind of a long story.” He looked up at the tree limbs to make sure no one was hiding in them, just in case.
“Then talk fast,” Ethan said. He wasn’t sure if he should trust the strange man. Even if it was risky, though, he needed an explanation.
Gauge looked defeated as he took in a sharp breath. It was clear that Ethan wasn’t going to take him for his word.
“Humans, like yourself, are no longer in charge of the planet,” Gauge started. “They were defeated in a war against installed intelligences. These I.I.s, as they’re called, are digital copies of people’s brains. Things between humans and I.I.s have always been tense. Some people didn’t think of digital minds as real people and found the idea of legal equality appalling. On the other side — the side that won, mind you — some people think that humans are an outdated version of the species. They think that homo sapiens are evolutionarily inferior, and the future belongs to the I.I.s — homo aeternus.”
Ethan was trying to follow as best he could, but it was a lot of information to take in. He wasn’t sure if he even understood what Gauge meant by “digital copies of people’s brains”. He couldn’t even picture it.
“Why didn’t I hear about any of this?” Ethan asked, his brow wrinkled with confusion. “None of this matches what we were taught.”
“Of course not,” Gauge said. “The I.I.s that run the world are the ones keeping you here. They don’t want you to know the truth and cause a panic. They don’t want you to know that you’re cattle.”
“Cattle?” Ethan didn’t understand.
“They’re keeping you here until your body has grown enough,” Gauge started, “at which point they will destroy your brain and use your body for their own.”
The teenager’s jaw fell open with disgust, but his eyebrows were still cocked as though he couldn’t grasp the full picture.
“My body?” he said.
“That’s right,” Gauge replied. “They’ve been growing you since birth for that purpose. You’ll be what some people call a ‘meat puppet’. ”
“But why?”
“Because, for all their evolutionary superiority bullshit, the I.I.s in charge miss being alive, with flesh and blood,” Gauge explained. “They miss the feeling of a good meal or a decent fuck. In fact, empty human bodies like yours fetch a high price among the elite. They raised you to have well-toned muscles, trained reflexes, and flawless bone structure. You were chosen out of countless rejects.”
Ethan put his hands up to his temples and brushed his hair back. He felt like his head might explode just from trying to rein in everything Gauge had said. His head started to feel light and he wanted to sit down. He almost forgot they were in the forested valley of the Last Stand map. His crossbow had fallen out of his hand a while ago.
“When are they going to do this to me?” Ethan asked.
“What do you think your ‘graduation’ is?” replied Gauge.
Eviction Notice
Tera was hoping they would be given an autocar to fly out to the ruins, but they were forced to go on foot. There was an apparent shortage of vehicles and the Council didn’t think a trip just outside the walls was worth the hassle. Despite how close their destination was, it still took a couple of hours to close the distance on foot.
Faces turned toward them as they made their way out of the city’s southern gate. Travel in and out of Shell City wasn’t a common sight, so Tera was sure they were all wondering what mad purpose would drive two I.I. police officers out into the wastes. Abenayo paid them no second thought, marching past them with a scowl.
Once they were on the other side of the gate, there were almost no people. There were, of course, the few refugees in line to see if they could get in, but Tera knew the line wasn’t likely to get any shorter. Shell City wasn’t likely to admit refugees — and they weren’t likely to turn away.
Life out in the wastes was almost like a glimpse into the pre-international history of mankind. The nations
