Post-Human Trilogy Part 23

20.

WAKING UP wasn't easy. In fact, it was a painful sacrifice, requiring extraordinary will and determination.

"Craig! You have to get up!" the A.I. shouted urgently. "Aldous is in trouble!"

Craig squinted, his vision blurry as pain seared behind his eyes. The vision in front of him wobbled as though it were a television show tuning in from a weak and distant signal. Like an episode of The Twilight Zone, two half-man half-machine monsters were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. It was difficult for Craig to make out who was who in the tangled mess of flailing cybernetic limbs and sharp prosthetic claws in the darkness, only illuminated by the LED lighting on Paine's and Aldous's gear.

"Paine neutralized Aldous's MTF generator!" the A.I. warned. "If you don't help him, Paine will terminate him!"

Craig struggled to his knees, his head bobbing from side to side like a punch-drunk boxer trying to beat the count. As he blinked his eyes several times, the picture in front of him began to solidify, and it became clear that it was Aldous, not Paine who was on top, preparing to deliver a death blow.

"You murdered my wife!" Aldous screamed in a guttural fury. His fist was c.o.c.ked back and ready to strike, but Paine had managed to grasp Aldous's arm at the elbow and was struggling to keep the blow from crus.h.i.+ng his all-too-human skull.

It seemed as though it would be a forlorn effort on the part of Paine, his strength failing him in the face of the radiation poisoning and of Aldous's overpowering l.u.s.t for the ultimate revenge, but then superior technology began to trump the human advantages of will and determination. Though strong, Aldous's prosthetics were made from a binding material that was hardened with a resin. In contrast, Paine's prosthetics were carbon fiber, nearly impossible to fracture. As the two materials worked against each other, inevitably it was Aldous's forgeries that began to show their inferiority. What began as a loud snapping sound quickly became a buckling, and Aldous's right arm snapped at the bicep, enabling Paine to twist it, rendering the limb useless. Paine's teeth emerged, a smile forming that revealed his sharp canines. His hand began to spin in its drill action while still gripping Aldous's arm, causing the limb to snap off violently and throwing Aldous off of the Purist and onto his back. Paine pounced on him instantly, his left arm c.o.c.king back as he prepared to level the drill right into the center of Aldous's chest.

Craig stood on rubberized legs, cognizant of Aldous's impending demise, yet unable to command his body to respond. "No!" he choked out pathetically as he stepped forward on his unsteady legs and tumbled to the ground.

As he looked up to see the results of his failure, to his amazement, Daniella had leapt from the utter blackness into the fray, her scalpel still in hand, and expertly plunged the metal instrument into the back of Paine's neck between the C5 and C6 vertebrae. Paine instantly went limp, crumpling down on Aldous, who tucked his prosthetic legs under the heavy body before propelling the mortally wounded man off of him and several meters away.

Daniella immediately went to Aldous's aid, the prosthetic arm having been torn apart so violently that the prosthetic shoulder had wrenched gruesomely against the soft flesh of Aldous's torso. Craig observed in near disbelief, his head clearing slowly as a soft whisper floated through the darkness toward him. He turned to his left and regarded the source of the voice-the broken cyborg from whom a faint light emanated, the pillars of LED light s.h.i.+ning straight up into the darkness as Paine remained on his back.

"Doc," his voice called weakly.

Craig walked slowly to the fallen figure whose head was propped up sickeningly by the silver stiletto of the scalpel. It occurred to Craig that the scalpel was like a pillow in h.e.l.l.

"Be careful, Craig," the A.I. warned. "He has respirocytes, and his limbs are cybernetic. Even with his spinal cord severely damaged, he may be able to strike."

"He won't," Craig replied.

"Craig-"

"I know, I know. This time I'll be right."

"Doc," Paine spoke when he sensed Craig was near. "It's okay. This is a better death-a good death. Remember, Doc. You're a good man. Don't let this war consume you...like it consumed me. Remember."

Before Craig had time to absorb Paine's last words, Aldous had knocked Craig aside, driving the drill action of his one remaining hand into Paine's face, instantly liquefying his skull and sending a froth of blood in every direction. "Die, you son of a b.i.t.c.h!"

Something shot toward Craig and hit him in the left pectoral muscle before falling to the ground. He bent down to retrieve it and wiped copious amounts of blood from its surface. When the blood was removed from the ocular implant, it revealed Paine's golden iris, still staring forward as intently as ever. Craig's mental haze instantly vanished as he looked into the eye that seemed to bore into him, right into his soul.

21.

"Hurry," Craig said in a voice m.u.f.fled by the living gray ooze that dripped from his mouth, nose, ears and eyes. The ooze was a mucous that lubricated the exit of the nans that carried the A.I.'s mother program from Craig's body. The liquid seemed to form intelligent strings that grasped the open panel on the floor and quickly disappeared into the circuitry underneath. When the liquid stopped dripping from him, Craig sat up and blinked several times, wiping the remnants of the discharge from his face.

"Is it out?" Aldous asked, standing with Daniella, a meter in front of Craig.

"I think so. It's not talking to me anymore. I think that's a good sign."

"Indeed," the A.I. replied before appearing next to them in holographic form. "Now, this is an excellent holographic projection-much more convincing."

"That was fast," Craig noted, impressed.

"This mainframe, though enormously powerful, is relatively simple to navigate," the A.I. replied. "I am already in the operator's position."

"Enjoying your new home?" Craig asked.

"Quite," answered the A.I.

"What's the status of the Purists' armed forces and security?" Aldous asked.

"I am in control," the A.I. replied. "I've neutralized the super soldiers' onboard computer systems, along with all the computer systems on all their aircraft, s.h.i.+ps, weaponry, and so on. I'm already locked into their communications and surveillance systems and I am in control of every system in the globe that is linked to the Internet."

"Holy...so that means it's over, doesn't it?" Daniella asked, astonished.

"Not yet. There's one more loose end," Aldous answered before turning to the A.I. "Morgan. Isolate him."

"Done," the A.I. replied without skipping a beat. "He's currently alone in the new oval office in Columbia Bio-Dome. I've locked the security doors. From his steady heart rate, I can ascertain that he is unaware of what is transpiring."

"His heart rate?" Daniella reacted.

"The President is wearing a security apparatus that monitors his vitals at all times."

"Not very Luddite of him," Craig noted.

"He's a murderous hypocrite," Aldous replied. "I'm going to go have a little chat with him."

"Craig, would you like to accompany Aldous?" the A.I. asked.

"Me?" Craig replied, surprised by the invitation. "Paine ripped out my MTF. I'm...useless."

"Not necessarily," the A.I. replied. "Your MTF is still functional and, it is on Paine's body in the pocket of his jacket. If you wish, I can painlessly re-implant it for you. You'd be ready to fly in little less than ten minutes."

Aldous grinned at Craig. "What do you say? I've only got one arm. I could use the backup. Would you like to be a post-human again?"

It wasn't a difficult decision; after having had a taste of what it was like to have wings, having them clipped felt tragic. He nodded. "Yeah. Let's do it. I wouldn't mind having a little chat with the President myself."

22.

"His heart rate is elevated," the A.I. related to Aldous and Craig as they streaked toward the eastern seaboard of the former United States on a trajectory controlled by the A.I. "He's not yet panicked, however. He tried to exit the room and discovered the doors are locked and that the communication system is down, but he doesn't realize the extent of his predicament."

"Good," Aldous replied, remaining in his super soldier garb, his prosthetic arm still ripped in half. "Craig and I will take care of that momentarily."

"You are thirty seconds from reaching your destination," the A.I. noted.

Craig and Aldous streaked toward the illuminated dome together, guided automatically toward a colossal aircraft-receiving door that slid open for them at the A.I.'s command. They maneuvered through the heliport, down to a series of hallways and doorways at a speed that peeled Craig's eyelids back in disbelief-there was no way a human could maneuver through such tight confines at that speed. "Quite a ride," he said, his mouth dry.

"Don't worry. He won't drop you," Aldous replied, his trademark confidence as intact as ever.

As the duo emerged from the hangar structure into the wide open s.p.a.ce of the dome, the newly reconstructed White House emerged.

"I'm opening the armored security shutters on the windows," the A.I. informed. "Arrival in five seconds."

Craig took a deep breath as the window went from a small dot in the distance to filling up his entire field of vision before shattering apart with the force of their entry, the A.I. barely slowing their approach until the last moment.

Then, suddenly, the A.I. let them go. "You have arrived at your destination."

"No kidding," Craig replied as he and Aldous lowered themselves to the ground, their protective coc.o.o.ns casting a green glow that illuminated the entire room in a light that caused Morgan to squint as he knelt on the ground and s.h.i.+elded himself with his outstretched arms.

When they let down their protective fields, the A.I. turned the lights in the room back on, leaving the trio to share an eerie moment of silence. Morgan hesitantly stood to his feet, looking first at Aldous and then at Craig.

"I-I recognize you," he said. "You're the fellow with the A.I. inside him." Morgan's face suddenly fell as he made a realization. "Where's Colonel Paine?"

"Was the fellow," Craig replied, "and Paine's dead."

"Dear G.o.d," Morgan whispered. "What is this?"

"Progress," Aldous interjected.

Morgan peered at the strange figure for several moments, c.o.c.king his head to the side and stepping toward him, an expression of disbelief on his face. "Gibson? Is that you?"

Aldous smiled silently in return.

"Oh my G.o.d. What have you done to yourself?" Morgan asked as he stepped back in fear.

"Just trying out some of your Purist technology-walking a mile in a super soldier's shoes. Not to worry. It's all reversible."

"You're a lunatic," Morgan whispered as he shook his head and continued to step back.

"Oh look...the kettle is black," Aldous seethed through gritted teeth before pouncing on Morgan, using his remaining arm to grasp the mortal around the back of his neck. Morgan called out in pain as Aldous roughly hoisted him into the air and pointed his face in the direction of Craig. "Anything you'd like to say to the former President, Craig?"

Craig stared at the man for a moment in a state of near-bewilderment. He'd seen Morgan thousands of times on television screens and even gone into battle at his order, and yet he'd never met the man. Somehow, Morgan's power had always been invisible-G.o.dlike-gripping everything in Craig's life, yet it seemed as though he wasn't really there-as though he wasn't even human. Now, there he was, only two meters in front of Craig, helpless as a child-helpless as a human.

"Billions of people are dead because of the decisions you made," Craig said in a low voice.

"Billions are alive because of them too!" Morgan shot back. "Please, please don't trust this man!"

Craig's eyes narrowed as he listened to the desperate pleas of the world's former most powerful man.

"I know you think he's good. I know you think he's right, but he's not. He's the madman we've always feared. He's the reason we did all of this! We were trying to keep him and men like him from building the tools to destroy our species!"

"You're full of-"

"It's not about power for me!" Morgan shouted. "It's always been about the survival of our species! I've spent my life trying to protect us! Don't trust this man! Gibson will kill us all! His reckless pursuit of immortality and G.o.d-building will be the end of humanity! Please! Help me!"

A moment pa.s.sed.

"What do you say, Craig?" Aldous asked, his face deadly serious. "You alone have the power to stop me. Which world do you want? His or ours?"

Craig stood silent for a moment. Aldous was right. Craig had him at a disadvantage. He could neutralize his cybernetic prosthetics and summarily squash him like a bug. He could hand the world back to Morgan who could, in turn, utilize the A.I. to continue the world as it had been ever since the end of WWIII.

It wasn't really a choice at all.

Craig nodded before turning his back and stepping away.

Morgan's screams began almost immediately, followed soon after by the sound of Aldous's hand spinning drill-like once again. Craig shut his eyes as the sound of the drill motor began to groan, struggling to generate the torque needed to spin inside Morgan's body. The screams didn't last long.

Craig turned back and watched Aldous exact his revenge for the death of Samantha. The expression Aldous wore seemed more like a mask; the muscles contorted to extremes Craig wouldn't have imagined possible, to extremes that made the famous scientist appear deranged. As Aldous dropped Morgan's body and huffed and puffed in a desperate attempt to gain control of his breathing, Craig slipped Paine's ocular implant out of his pocket and regarded it one final time. He suddenly remembered words he'd once read somewhere: An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

"I've had enough of this," he said to the A.I. "Take me home."

"As you wish," the A.I. replied.

Epilogue 1 Sixty-Two Years Later...

Craig stood outside the giant doors at the A.I. Governing Council headquarters, marvelling at the vaulting ceilings and the pillars of light that streamed into the circular building. He'd never been to the headquarters before and felt out of place, like a country b.u.mpkin in the big city. It was a big step for him: He'd been out of the loop for a long, long time, convalescing, in a sense, in Texas with Daniella. He'd watched from the sidelines as the world changed dramatically, and now he was ready to join back in.

He indicated his arrival with his mind's eye, and the doors to Aldous Gibson's office opened automatically, allowing Craig a view inside of the spectacular, sprawling room. "Wow," he whispered as he crossed the chrome floor toward Aldous's desk.

The chief of the governing council was already coming out from behind the desk with a smile on his face and his hand-his biological one-outstretched in greeting. "It's been far too long, my friend."

"Yeah," Craig replied. "Last time I saw you, you looked a lot different."

Aldous laughed and shook his head. "Yes. That was something, wasn't it? It took days to grow my limbs back after that. The nans have come a long way since then. Please," Aldous said, pointing to the chair, "have a seat."

"Thanks," Craig replied as he lowered himself into the luxurious chair while he watched Aldous slide back into his spot behind his desk.

"We should've had this meeting long ago," Aldous noted.

Craig nodded. "Yeah. Well, it's taken me a long time to be ready to reenter the world."

"Yes. I saw you were in Texas. You married that doctor-"

"Daniella. Yes," Craig replied, smiling.