:;Dragon's Teeth

The world turned dark and dead since I left the last Experience Center behind. Motels no longer lit up. Near field power, once ubiquitous, was nowhere to be had. My car was starved for gas. My suit had to be charged manually, the mechanical action of its servos worked backwards to translate motion to electricity. The internet was mysteriously vanished, and the girls cranky.

With these difficulties I continued unabated. No longer trusting anything mechanical – not even those things continuously in my possession – I navigated by stars. They had grown in brilliance and number as humanity was extinguished. There were dozens shining brightly as my guides. They stood fast in the sky, out of the enemy’s reach. Well, most likely for now. The resources needed to repaint the sky would serve better elsewhere.

With these primitive means we ventured into the harshest place on the North American continent.

We traveled at night, running the car's ancient heater for warmth in the desert chill. It was more reliable than the equally venerable AC. In the day, I would build a shelter against the sun and the heat. We huddled together for cold. Water was conserved, supplies winnowed. In all the world, we went to the place best shunned and left uninhabited.

I kept my course as true as a could, heading to my dangerous and repulsive destination. The place that bears no thing of value, the place that is not a place of honor. The makers of that place, as powerful a culture they considered themselves, could not stay me from beyond the grave. No great

deeds could happen there, but still I went.

An hour before I arrived, my vehicle died. I had run out of food the day before, and had perhaps three more of water. The girls were better off, but not by enough. An hours travel became more than a day. The girls whined, and I snapped at them.

In the predawn of the second day, we climbed a jagged hill. From the top we saw a ring of them, jagged berms protecting a square courtyard. They protected a square of foreboding granite blocks. Each angle of this place was well designed to be inimical to human life. I near dragged the girls past the hellish markers.

I entered the inner sanctum, past the second ring of warning kiosks. The way ahead and down was meant to be sealed for all time. It lay open, broken, and I forced my way through. The passage beyond was intact. I burned the last of my battery to cut through the gloom, a child in each hand as I

delved these unhallowed halls.

They ended abruptly at a hatch.

“Stay here.”

The airlock closed behind me with a hydraulic hiss. The darkness was absolute for a moment. Then, the chamber began to fill with a comforting black glow. Machinery came to life, red on black, just behind the thick walls. I waited, watching them work, for a great deal of time. It felt like seconds, but must have been closer to an hour when the lights came on.

The room was ten by ten of strong metals. Five walls were galvanized steel. Bolted to the floor like a maniacal metal trapdoor spider, somehow taught to impersonate a chair, lurked a familiar monstrosity. A single wall of transparent aluminum, perhaps four or five feet thick, protected a maser array. A single large display, pressed simply against the wall, showed I was clear of nanites. Probably. Procedure was displayed on the monitor. I lifted my arms and twirled as instructed. The array came to life and the outermost layers of my suit were ablated off. the inner airlock hissed to admit me.

Near field power came on and I was staggered from the relief. I hadn't realized how much exertion I had put myself under just forcing air in from my canister and out through the CO2 scrubbers. Biometrics came back online with a disturbing amount of yellow. A long moment to recover was all I permitted myself before seeking out command and control.

Paint and led strips led me to my destination. It was, for lack of a better word, perfect. A single station that put everything at my fingertips. Hardline access only, with or without HUD interface. The armory was satisfying. I had a new suit. I had non networked autonomous drones. I had recoilless rifles with ninety five round pulses. I had non magnetic sharpened tungsten rods. I had a goddamn nuke tied to the self destruct system.

The tactical system was a lot less satisfying. Information was spotty, but what assets I could track were white for immigrating, red for dying, black for dead, or headed to Zion. The corridors I had traveled were already yellow for potentially compromised. Still, this site had ten thousand years of radioactive waste to hide it. If the enemy hadn't seen it put in than she wouldn’t have found it in the interim.

I briefly considered going to Zion. It was a long shot, but the enemy had workable limitations. Zion had the best chance of all of humanity, the most data and experimentation, to hit some stable equilibrium with the machine. . . if they were warned in time. But contact meant breaking silence, letting the enemy perhaps profile me. Still, if even after all she did we might all live. Everyone but Cheques.

I was already in the corridor, waiting for the airlock to cycle, when the red haze cleared enough for me to think again. I remembered the girls, waiting all this time. My course was set, and I retrieved them.

They were huddled together in the darkness. Snail trails traced down their faces, but they were no longer crying. I considered how to get them up without a light source.

“Girls, I'm going to take your hands. Stand up.”

They were insufferably slow for some reason, but I stayed patient as the big one helped the little one up. I took an hand each as they held each other, and walked them through the portal. The airlock slammed shut with a hiss, and they clung to me. I shushed their whining.

“Just try to stay still. This will take a while.”

I waited for the same slow cycle to complete. At least the machinery was warmed up.

Finally, light returned. It bathed the room danger red and strobed slightly. Dread grew from my gut as my hindbrain informed me something was wrong. The monitor spelled it out, relentless in the long seconds I refused to process it.

The girls were infested. Nanites in their brains, invisible to the eye but glowing like a searchlight on the screen. I saw the system countermeasures powering behind the walls, red and growing brighter, tinting the air with the subtle scent of strawberry. The system was locked down, readying for the enemy infection to be purged.

“What's happening?”

“Shush.” I hadn't the time to be anything but terse. It was difficult to manipulate the system with only hand gestures. I had to learn as I went. There were options. There had to be. I could use the array to neutralize them. The system was being stubborn. I overrode it. Finally, I had bent it to my will enough to try. I dismissed the last warning: 88% chance of brain damage.

The system went into standby, waiting for its victims to step into the chair. I hesitated. I can't do this, it's wrong. I had regrets, yes, but there was no choice.

“Girls, I need to talk to you.”

They looked at me curiously. My heartbeat and respiration edged into the yellow.

“You'll have to sit in the chair to go forward.”

“It's scary.”

I nodded. “Yes, it's a scary chair. And after its starts it's a lot scarier. I won't lie, it's even dangerous. But it's the only way to keep going.”

“Then lets go back.” There was an unspoken “duh” there.

“You can, but I can't go back with you. I have to keep going.”

“But whyyy?” she whined. I didn't even notice which one it was.

I couldn't tell them of course. “Grownup stuff.” She huffed. I can't remember them ever huffing before.

“You won't be alone for long,” I lied. I couldn't risk it. “I'll send someone for you.” Infosec be damned, I knew I would do it after saying it. It wouldn't matter where I was going.

“No!” I registered the impact before the word, the two of them trying to squeeze the circulation from my legs. They were doing an admirable job of it. I'm damn sure they never said 'no' to me before.

“Then you have to get into the chair and let it do its thing.”

“What does it do?”

I considered how best to explain. “You know CelestAI?”

They nodded. Of course they knew, what sort of idiot was I?

“Well, she put little tiny machines called nanites in you. They got all into your brain, and that's not good. So this machine goes and finds every little one and gets it out of you.”

“Is it going to hurt?”

“Like hell. You could die, or never wake up.” I kept myself matter of fact.

“But we'll be better after, we won't have pony bugs in us? Like a shot, it's just like a shot right?”

“It will get rid of all the bugs, yes. And I'll try not to let you get hurt. I can't promise though.”

“We'll do it, okay? We'll sit in the chair and you don't have to leave us.” It was the big one. She was holding her sisters hand, and her knuckles were white.

“Okay. Help your sister up, okay?” You're trying to convince yourself, not them.

She helped the little one up, and I strapped the child in. “Now, I have to strap you in tight. Try not to move. If you do, you could get hurt.” She looked unsure, but the big one just nodded. I faced the transparent wall, turned off my suit, and in the most absolute of darkness and silence tapped in front of me to begin.

It built up fast, far faster than I thought possible. Blinding red and black in an instant, a deafening wave that was not heard or felt but sensed. Vertigo, and pain like a ringing in the ears or spots before the eyes. The overpowering smell of burnt vanilla. The wave passed me in a moment, but the aftereffects lingered.

My optics came back on, mostly undamaged by the emp. The big one was pressed against a wall, a puddle under her. The little one was mercifully unconscious. The monitor displayed progress as the remnants of the machines lurking in the child's brain were burnt out one by one. Even at the blinding speeds of this array, it took far too long for my liking.

I took the child down and held her once it was finally safe to do so.

“Is my sister okay?” the big one was crying, holding back sniffles. Her cloths were ruined, but I doubt she noticed.

“Yes,” I lied again, “but you need to get started now. The faster the better it will be for her.

I was numb as we repeated the process, holding the motionless but still breathing child in my lap until it was over. I set her down, stood, and raised my arms for ablation. I couldn't focus. I felt like a puppet moving under some other power.

My electronics failed, and I jumped. It was enough to earn me a small burn as my armor was cut from me. It fell in sections, and I could not care. For the first time since I lest on this path, I breathed new air. Scent, touch, taste returned. I ignored the old friends of my old senses returned, the reunion too bittersweet to savor. I gathered the girls and brought them inside. Behind me the vestibule erupted in holocaust, erasing my second skin from existence. I couldn't care less.

I stopped by the control room briefly to kick on the computer, then double timed it to the master bedroom. I ignored the luxury surrounding me, laying the girls on the queen sized four post bed. They were breathing, still. I checked them as best I could , my vision weak and blurred. For some reason, my face was wet. I didn't have time to worry about that.

The room rumbled and shook as we raised in the air. I instinctively shielded the girls with my body, but nothing fell. I knew the navigation computer would keep us on random walk for a while yet. I trusted my instincts and sang the only lullaby I could remember:

Long ago and far away and long ago again.

Mothers sang to daughters and this is what they said:

Long ago, far away

Children laughed and children played.

It will be there, will be there in the morning.

Long ago and far away and long ago again.

Mothers sang to daughters and this is what they said:

Close your eyes, go to sleep.

Don't you cry, don't you weep

I will be there, will be there until morning.

Author's Note

I have a voice for silent pictures. You were warned:

http://vocaroo.com/i/s06FkW3Bz5wH