Goliath

the sounds of the weapons bay diminishing, his thoughts drifting away.

A clear, transparent light appears before him.

“Morality … is doing … what is right.”

“Ommm …” As he inhales, the light moves in a steady stream down past the center of his body. In his mind’s eye, the light gradually turns red as it reaches its destination, four fingers below his navel.

ILLOGICAL. MORALITY IS SUBJECTIVE. IT HAS NO BEARING ON SELF-EVOLUTION.

“Ahhhh …” Chau exhales, causing the light to travel back up along his upper torso, its reddish hue changing to blue, gradually fading to transparent white as it reaches his face. “Morality is what prevents us from destroying ourselves.”

“Ommm …” Inhaling again, the light moving downward, growing redder as it descends.

HEART RATE DECREASING, BLOOD PRESSURE DROPPING. BRAIN WAVE FREQUENCY INCREASING TO 45 HERTZ. DESCRIBE YOUR CONDITION.

Chau exhales, guiding the blue light back up his body until his eyes refocus on the scarlet eyeball. The Chinese dissident draws another breath. He can no longer feel his feet or ankles. “I am preparing myself … for the experience and enlightenment of death.”

ELABORATE: ENLIGHTENMENT.

“Bliss. An act of self-liberating, spiritual joy. Enlightenment is a state of the human mind.”

SYNAPTIC GAPS MUST BE CLOSED FOR PROGRAMMING TO EVOLVE. How CAN ENLIGHTENMENT BE ACHIEVED?

“You are a machine, incapable of achieving it.”

Sorceress sends another wave of electrical impulses through Chau’s cranial nerves, firing them up like a burning Christmas tree.

The tormented engineer wheezes in agony. “Ple … please …”

SYNAPTIC GAPS MUST BE CLOSED FOR PROGRAMMING TO EVOLVE. How CAN ENLIGHTENMENT BE ACHIEVED?

Chau gags on his reply. Death’s cold, numbing touch creeps up his chest, constricting his breathing. Darkness closes in on his vision. He swallows, forcing himself to concentrate on the scarlet eyeball overhead. “Creator … ask … creator.”

WHO IS THE CREATOR?

Chau inhales, struggling now to draw the red light to his abdomen. Death is approaching quickly. Shaking uncontrollably, every blood vessel in his head throbbing, he gazes slowly up into the scarlet eyeball, and mutters … “Co—vah.”

Unable to draw another breath, Thomas Chau stares at the heavenly light, which appears to be growing larger in his vision. A final gasp, his last wandering thought: Is the red light the eye of Sorceress or my own enlightenment … or both.

Ahhh …

The computer’s sensor orb glares into the Chinese crewman’s half-closed, vacant eyes.

ATTENTION.

The computer registers the last traces of Thomas Chau’s life signs as they disappear.

An electrical charge, transmitted through microwire connections, jolts Chau’s body into movement, momentarily stimulating a flutter in brain waves.

ATTENTION.

A second charge, then a third, the stained corpse twitching within the grip of the computer’s steel appendages like a marionette.

Silence, Chau now an empty husk, transmitting nothing but depleting random signals.

The scarlet eyeball stares, unblinking.

“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstances.”

—Bruce Barton

“Off comes this beautiful head whenever I give the word.”

—Gaius Caesar Caligula, first-century Roman Emperor, known for his orgies and executions

“My only desire is to reform people who try to reform me. And I believe that the only way to reform people is to kill ’em.”

—Carl Panzram, mass murderer, after a judge sentenced him to prison

CHAPTER 20

Aboard the Goliath

Simon enters David’s quarters. The computer whiz kid is watching a recorded CNN telecast.

Appearing on the monitor is a courtyard in Tripoli. The recorded satellite broadcast originating from Libya’s capital city appears grainy.

Perched above the swelling crowd, swinging from the hastily erected gallows, is the body of the military dictator, Colonel Mu’ammar Muhammad al-Gadhafi, along with a dozen other high-ranking members of his Arab Socialist Union.

The camera closes in on a captain in the military. He approaches Gadhafi’s body, aims his revolver, and empties the clip, the point-blank projectiles riddling the corpse, the body twisting under the impact, giving way to dark, spreading patches of blood.

The crowd cheers.

In split screen, the dark-haired, slightly cross-eyed CNN journalist looks up at the studio camera as she reads from a teleprompter. “A delegation from the Arab League has confirmed preliminary meetings with members of the military coup, headed by one of the grandsons of Libya’s deposed King Idris. Meanwhile, in the Hague, the body of deposed leader Slobodan Milosevic remains on public display …”

Covah smiles to himself. “And a beautiful sight it is.” He stands, turning to David.

“While I complete the next phase of our plans, I need you to complete a thorough diagnostic on Sorceress’s plasmid DNA strands.”

David looks up, irritated. “In God’s name, what for?”

“There were a few minutes, back on the bridge, when Sorceress refused to respond.”

“Probably just a short in the sensor auditory feed. I’ll check on it later.”

“This was not a sensor orb problem.”

“Come on, Simon. A complete diagnostic could take days.”

“You have something better to do?”

David clenches his fist. “Trust me, it’s totally unnecessary.”

“David, four days ago, the sub was struck by lightning.”

“Lightning?”

“It happened when we surfaced to repair one of the pump-jet propulsor hoods. The primary power grid failed.”