STORY: He waves a hand and the dozen AIs who surrounded you become red mist, floating away. You are alone, and a fifty-foot tall armored chieftain stands before you.
ALEJO: Alejo squares up, next to Tueller, shoulder to shoulder.
STORY: He takes a knee, looking down at you.
STORY: “Little humans.”
STORY: “Even now, you think you can battle us.”
STORY: “We have won.”
TUELLER: “We didn’t come here to battle.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods and shakes his head all at once.
STORY: “You have lost anyway.”
TUELLER: “So have you.”
TUELLER: “You just don’t know it yet.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods.
STORY: Crew of the Peregrine!
STORY: Alejo and Remiel can get you to your trial, immediately. Simple as plugging him in.
STORY: What do you do?
ALEJO: Alejo looks at Millie and Tueller. “Okay. I guess it’s time to do this?” He smiles weakly.
TUELLER: “This is the weirdest form of peer pressure I’ve ever seen, you two.”
MILLICENT: Millie beams.
ALEJO: He then looks at them each for a long moment. “This goes south, you don’t be dumb, okay. Take care of each other. And Maya, please.”
ALEJO: “For as long as, you know, the Collective gives you until everything is toast.” He frowns.
MILLICENT: “I can’t think of a better action to be held accountable for or better co-defendants.”
MILLICENT: She reaches out and takes each by the hand.
MILLICENT: “I’m proud of us and you should be too. “
ALEJO: “I love you.” He kisses Millie quickly and lovingly. Then he looks at Tueller. “And I love you too.” He smiles at him. “Okay. Before I lose my nerve. Let’s do this already!”
TUELLER: Tueller gives them both a look, and a nod, and a smile, and doesn’t say anything at all.
TUELLER: [That was intended to be a too emotional to trust himself to speak type of mood, not Humoring them and so totally over it.]
ALEJO: Alejo gives Millie’s hand a squeeze and then lets go and heads to the med bay. As he walks, he looks over his shoulder, “Ryo, I don’t make it but the universe keeps spinning, take whatever I have saved up in whatever hidden places and give it to Maya.”
STORY: Ryo coughs. “Roger that. But get us there first, yeah?”
ALEJO: Alejo lays down in medbay and awaits Millie plugging him in. He looks over at Cali. “See you soon, sis.” He closes his eyes.
STORY: You jump before you even know the plug is correctly inserted. Everyone standing falls to their knees as the bottom falls out of your stomach. Alejo, your mind explodes for a fraction of a second, and then is clear again. Normal. Safe.
STORY: After a few moments of offscreen vomiting, Figgan comes in on the intercom. “Cap…. nothing on sensors. Like, anywhere.”
STORY: “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
MILLICENT: Millie wipes her mouth. “Bridge?”
ALEJO: Alejo’s eyes pop open and he sits up, still attached to whatever contraption Millie has rigged. “Whoa. I guess we’re here.”
TUELLER: “Wherever it is, we’re here.”
MILLICENT: Millie slides into a seat on the bridge in front of a console and starts examining sensor readings.
MILLICENT: “Fig’s right. There is nothing here.”
ALEJO: Alejo unplugs himself, stands and stretches, kisses Cali on the forehead, and then heads to the bridge. He walks in just as Millie says this.
TUELLER: “That’s… not entirely surprising.”
MILLICENT: “I’m going to try and boost long range sensors, just for giggles.”
ALEJO: Alejo stands behind Fig and looks out at the nothingness. “Well that’s a little anti-climactic, if I’m being honest.”
MILLICENT: Couple minutes later, “Yeah, nothing.”
TUELLER: Tueller sits at a side table and pours himself a judicious amount of alcohol and sits thinking for a little.
TUELLER: “So.”
MILLICENT: She spins around. “So.”
ALEJO: Alejo keeps looking out. “So.”
TUELLER: “We’re going to be judged by creatures of pure information.”
ALEJO: He frowns.
TUELLER: “Where do they live? Everywhere and nowhere.”
TUELLER: “In our heads.”
TUELLER: “In our dreams.”
TUELLER: “Also in our machines from time to time.”
TUELLER: “Though that might just have been an Anomaly thing.”
TUELLER: “It’s unclear.”
MILLICENT: “I wonder if she was the first.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods absently at this. “Or if she’ll be the last.”
ALEJO: He focuses and turns to look at them. “What’s our play here? What’s our . . . defense?”
MILLICENT: “Hmmm.”
TUELLER: “Defense of what?”
ALEJO: “I mean, we’re on trial. What are we going to argue? Besides what we’ve already said?”
TUELLER: “Of telling people the truth?”
ALEJO: He shrugs and nods.
MILLICENT: “Self-defense is a good start, I think. We’re the wronged party here.”
ALEJO: “Agreed. But I thought we didn’t want to be confrontational. That seems . . . confrontational.”
TUELLER: “I’m not here to start a fight.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods at this.
MILLICENT: Millie shrugs. “We don’t have to spit in their eye, but I think we can all agree that the situation was untenable. They were doing harm, we sought redress.”
ALEJO: Alejo also nods at this.
MILLICENT: “If they don’t agree we have the right to redress then any peace we make now is temporary. We need them to agree that we’re people and should be treated as such.”
MILLICENT: “If they can’t agree that we have rights then they don’t have to abide by any agreement we make about how they’ll stop harming those rights.”
ALEJO: “So. My original question. What more do we say? It feels like we’ve already made this case?” He looks at them both. “We’ve been nonconfrontational. I mean, as much as we can be. And we’ve demonstrated that we’re brighter than they thought. And we’ve demonstrated that we want to broker a peaceful, mutually beneficial solution. Like . . . what else do we say?”
MILLICENT: “Well, let’s go over our offer again.”
MILLICENT: “We think that any civilization that wants to continue using jump technology should enroll in mandatory brain service, spending a to-be-agreed-upon period of time asleep to power the Collective.”
MILLICENT: “We think that this should add incrementally to the power currently available to the Collective.”
MILLICENT: “And to say nothing of the relief of tension, if they even feel emotion as we do, that will come from not being next to a war footing. The resources it will free up to not maintain the war planets.”
MILLICENT: “Anything else?”
ALEJO: “Study the Weave? Make sure that Weave-sensitives aren’t being hurt by the . . . I don’t know, extra load on Weave . . . bandwidth?”
MILLICENT: “Which can only add to their knowledge and understanding. Good one, sweetie.”
ALEJO: Alejo beams for a moment.
ALEJO: “Free the folks on the relays?”
MILLICENT: “That’s what’s in it for us. Stand down the war planets.”
TUELLER: “We should probably not move on to our demands so quickly when it’s an actual conversation slash trial slash inquisition.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods reluctantly. “Yeah. Fair point.”
MILLICENT: “Yeah, we’re just making a list.”
TUELLER: “But what do I know? I’ve been found guilty every time I was put on trial.”
TUELLER: “Maybe third time’s a charm.”
MILLICENT: “Any other defenses we want to try out?”
STORY: You discuss more, into the night, waiting for some kind of call or message or indication that the Collective even knows you’re here. None come.
STORY: Eventually, sick of waiting and anxious, you all retire to quarters and resolve to figure out what to do in the morning.
STORY: The moment you fall asleep, the three of you find yourselves standing in a vast, dark room, one light on your group. From the umbra around them, you’re able to dimly perceive huge figures in front of you, twenty, thirty feet tall at least. They are vaguely humanoid, but you can’t make out any features besides shoulders, heads, and long cloaks.
STORY: You’re also aware of something else: much like the last time you slept, every other creature asleep at this moment is watching you.
STORY: The figures lean toward you. You think you count seven, but you can’t be sure. A booming voice comes from the center creature.
STORY: “Soto. Breedlove. Ya’Makasi. You stand as representatives on behalf of sentient life. We shall judge whether you may continue.”
STORY: “A civilization is represented by its individuals. Each of you have led lives that reveal the quality of the world you inhabit. You shall speak for all.”
STORY: “You may each call one witness to advocate on your behalf. Someone whose memories will prove your worth. We shall call our own. Then you may each make a statement, and we shall render judgment. We believe this to be fair.”
STORY: “Consider your choice, but do not delay.”
STORY: The voice echoes a moment, and you are in silence.
MILLICENT: Millie steps forward.
MILLICENT: “Would you be able to heal Noma? I would like her as my witness.”
STORY: “The Anomaly is not accessible to us.”
TUELLER: “Damn, I wanted her as my witness as well.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods and steps back, considering.
ALEJO: “Does that mean that Calixta Soto is out of the picture as well?”
STORY: “Calixta Soto is not accessible to us. Your witness must be living.”
ALEJO: “Akilah Ya’Makasi.” Alejo swallows hard. “Gods help me,” he mutters under this breath.
STORY: Before you finish her name, Akilah is standing in front of the three of you.
ALEJO: Alejo smiles softly and waves once.
STORY: She smiles back, but it’s a tight-lipped smile.
STORY: She swallows. “Hoping this is the last time you literally barge into my dreams, Alejo.”
STORY: “Make your case. Your time is brief,” comes a booming command from above.
TUELLER: Tueller gives a brief wave if she looks over in his direction.
TUELLER: Small “sup”/“I’m here too” type gesture.
MILLICENT: Millie does too, probably less subtle.
ALEJO: “Hey Aki. Thanks for . . . well, being here. I’m sorry, for what it’s worth. So, I suppose we should start with, you know, why I don’t completely suck and don’t deserve to be the end of the universe.” He smiles weakly. “I guess, more specifically, why don’t you tell us just a little bit about what made you think that I was worth loving, despite my many, many, many flaws. Maybe, you know, the one-minute version.”
STORY: She laughs, visibly relaxing, then shakes her head, watching Alejo.
STORY: “Fuck. I mean…”
STORY: “In one minute?”
ALEJO: “Well, if you can fill a minute.” He laughs lightly.
STORY: “Alejo Soto is an idiot. He’s a dreamer and a romantic and he made my life more exciting and more fun and… worth being a part of.” She shakes her head. “He challenges everyone around him to be better. Faster. Tougher. And he makes you like it.”
STORY: She glances at Millie. “He’s a ridiculous man.” She smiles. “And I could not say no to spending my time with him for as long as I could.”
STORY: “That a good enough answer?”
ALEJO: Alejo has a tear in his eye. “You’re under oath, you know. Or . . ., ” he looks around, “I mean, no one said that, I suppose. So, yeah. It’s pretty fucking great. Thank you, Aki.”
STORY: “Oh shut up.” She gives everyone a playful smile.
STORY: “We will now cross-examine the witness,” booms a voice from above.
ALEJO: Alejo purses his lips and nods.
STORY: “Akilah Ya’Makasi, is marriage a sacred event in your culture?”
STORY: Akilah winces, biting her lip.
STORY: “Mmmmmmyes? Typically?”
TUELLER: Tueller stops himself from speaking up.
STORY: “And did this man interfere with yours?”
STORY: Akilah takes a deep breath. “Well technically, I never had a marriage–”
STORY: “Because he took you from your wedding.”
STORY: “Hey now, I took mys–”
STORY: “No further questions for this witness.”
STORY: Akilah vanishes as she begins to object.
ALEJO: Alejo raises his hands for a second to protest, but then lowers them.
STORY: “Call your next witness,” the voice instructs.
TUELLER: Tueller steps forward and says “Esinam.”
TUELLER: “Ya’Makasi.”
STORY: She is there before you provide the last name.
STORY: She looks unhappy about being here.
TUELLER: Tueller bows formally and appropriately to her.
STORY: She bows in return. “Brother.”
TUELLER: “Sis. Bwana. What was our childhood like, on Io? For us as kids, our family, and the other people on Io?”
STORY: She looks at you skeptically. “I assume I have to be truthful?”
TUELLER: “Sure, give it a shot.”
STORY: She sighs. “It was… dangerous. Challenging. And safe, somehow. We had everything, but we knew we had to fight to keep it, and every day was that lesson. Is that what you wanted to hear, little brother?”
TUELLER: “That’s a very old Ya’Makasi answer. What was it like for everyone else, sis?”
STORY: “Everyone on Io? They ate, they had work to do and beds to sleep on. They lived in fear of us – but only us.”
TUELLER: “Okay. Final question: once we returned to you on Io and I took over temporarily as head of the family, how do the people live now?”
STORY: She laughs.
STORY: “As citizens.”
STORY: “A stupid idea, brother. But there’s no taking that back, I suppose.”
TUELLER: “I certainly hope not; that was the whole point to expand the people living in concert with each other, rather than serving those who would think themselves their masters.”
STORY: “Well. I haven’t given up on being a master.”
TUELLER: “That doesn’t change the fact you’re not.”
TUELLER: “Good to see you sis. No further questions.”
STORY: There is a pause from above.
STORY: “Esinam Ya’Makasi. Tueller worked for you for many years, is that correct?”
STORY: Esinam nods. “That’s correct.”
STORY: “What was his role?”
STORY: She looks at Tueller. “Errand boy. Then pirate. Then spy.” She looks at Alejo. “Rather a bad one, in the end.”
STORY: “How many people has he killed?”
STORY: She looks back to Tueller. “How would I know that?”
STORY: “How many people has he killed under your orders?”
ALEJO: Alejo frowns.
STORY: She swallows. “I don’t know, fifty? A hundred? Somewhere in that range.”
STORY: “No further questions for this witness.” Esinam vanishes.
MILLICENT: Millie steps forward. “I call Kahn Vespertine.”
STORY: He appears before you, looking very hesitant.
ALEJO: Alejo smiles at him and nods once before looking down.
MILLICENT: “Hello, Mr. Vespertine. Welcome.”
STORY: “H…i?”
MILLICENT: “I don’t know how well our hosts can tell if you try and tell a falsehood, but I’m going to ask you to tell the truth because the truth is important here. Please.”
MILLICENT: “Mr. Vespertine, would you, quickly, relay the story of how we met?”
STORY: He takes a deep breath.
STORY: “I was part of Alejo’s crew and we stole her ship, uh. And her AI – Millie, I’m sorry – her AI tried to, uh intimidate us or try to get us to clear out, and opened the airlock. My arm wasn’t much use after that, until Millie fixed it.”
STORY: He sort of shrugs, trying to understand what you’re going for here.
MILLICENT: “Thank you, Mr. Vespertine.”
MILLICENT: “Isn’t it true that I asked Noma to intimidate you?”
MILLICENT: “Wasn’t it, in fact, my plan that led to your injury?”
STORY: “Well. Yeah, I think so.”
MILLICENT: “After that incident, Mr. Vespertine, how would you describe our relationship?”
STORY: He hesitates. “…Procedural.”
MILLICENT: “Well done. Since that incident, can you estimate how many times each of us has risked their lives for the other?”
STORY: “Oh. Uh, I mean. A dozen, probably more? Seems like it was every week.”
MILLICENT: “And how would you describe our relationship now, Mr. Vespertine?”
STORY: He lets out some air. “We… don’t see each other often. But there’s a bond. I guess like family.”
MILLICENT: “Thank you, Mr. Vespertine. Please pass along my sincere regards to your husband and thank you for being honest, for your time and for what you’ve meant to me personally.” Millie is kind of in her element, she’s defending a thesis. “I have no further questions.”
STORY: Kahn smiles at you warmly.
STORY: The voice from above booms down. “Kahn Vespertine, why did you leave Millicent Breedlove’s company?”
STORY: He looks at his feet. “It was… too much.”
STORY: “Explain.”
STORY: “We lost Alejo. Lost him saving me. I almost died. I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
STORY: The voice finishes for him. “You did not trust Millicent Breedlove not to let you die next.”
STORY: Kahn opens his mouth to object and vanishes.
STORY: “No further questions for this witness.”
STORY: “We shall now call ours. To testify against Tueller Ya’Makasi, we call T’chololl Thasht.”
STORY: She appears before all of you – a welcome surprise, given that it proves she is somehow still alive. You all wonder how that works, given her commitment to kill that pirate king. Anyway!
STORY: “T’chololl Thasht, how did you meet Tueller Ya’Makasi?”
STORY: She levels her gaze past the three of you. “I decline to answer.”
STORY: “You must.”
STORY: She looks pained, for a moment. “They came to our mining facility and robbed us. I was injured. They healed me in and allowed me to serve them.”
STORY: “But in your culture this is a great dishonor, is that correct?”
STORY: Thasht spits on the ground. “You machines do not understand honor. Do not speak of it.”
STORY: “Let the record show the witness did not deny this assessment. Tueller Ya’Makasi took T’chololl Thasht from her people and forced her to labor for him until she fought her way free. Tueller Ya’Makasi, you may cross-examine the witness.”
TUELLER: “Hey Loll. Good to see you again. Glad to see you’re still alive.”
TUELLER: He pauses.
TUELLER: “I claim only to understand honor a little better than these machines, but did you not get raised to a position of high honor in your culture in part through our relationship?”
TUELLER: “My Lady Antaam,” he does a two handed version of a four-handed Maitri curtsy.
STORY: Thasht nods back, acknowledging your gesture. “I rule my warband in Tueller’s absence. I have been welcomed back to my p–”
STORY: Thasht vanishes before finishing.
TUELLER: Tueller smiles “Good for you, Antaam Thasht.”
STORY: “We call Dr. Ceinwen Gage.”
STORY: “Dr. Gage, how do you know Millicent Breedlove?”
STORY: Your old enemy stands before the three of you, watching Millie with her head tilted and visible skepticism on her face.
STORY: She closes her eyes in deep thought.
STORY: And then begins to blink, frequently, increasingly quickly.
STORY: And vanishes.
STORY: There is a pause from above. They had not anticipated this.
ALEJO: Alejo looks around for her.
MILLICENT: “Hmmm.”
MILLICENT: “I didn’t credit her with that.”
MILLICENT: “Well done, Dr. Gage.”
STORY: “We call our last witness.”
STORY: Erwin stands before you, looking unhappy.
ALEJO: Alejo nods once.
STORY: “Erwin, what was the relationship between Alejo Soto and your father?”
ALEJO: Alejo laughs, out loud once and then more quietly for a few moments.
STORY: Erwin doesn’t want to answer. “They were friends. Partners, for a while. Brothers, I guess.”
STORY: “And what became of your father?”
STORY: Erwin looks angry. “He died.”
STORY: “Helping Alejo Soto.”
STORY: “No, fighting you.”
STORY: Erwin goes on. “He was figuring out this grift of yours, and he would have taken you d–”
STORY: Erwin vanishes.
MILLICENT: Hesitantly, “Objection.”
ALEJO: Alejo has tears streaming down his cheeks, though he doesn’t move.
MILLICENT: “You’re vanishing witnesses before they get a chance to speak.”
STORY: The voice from above ignores you, Millie. “You may make your closing statements. Please be brief.”
MILLICENT: “If you want us to take this trial seriously then you have to abide by the rules you’ve set.”
MILLICENT: Millie takes a deep, grounding breath, then steps back, looking to both of the others.
TUELLER: “Doc’s got a hell of a point, Collectives.”
TUELLER: “Your thumbs are on the scales here.”
ALEJO: Alejo shakes his head. “It’s a rigged game,”
MILLICENT: “And all the sentients watching can see that.”
ALEJO: “But we’ll play. Or I will. What choice have you given us?” Alejo steadies himself.
ALEJO: “I’m not a great person. I’ve done some seriously horrendous things. Like, diabolic shit. Some of that, maybe most of it, I could chalk up to fate. I was dealt a godawful, terrible hand of cards. Really. But, you all know if I’m lying. And, the truth is, despite those cards, despite where I started, I got breaks. I didn’t deserve ’em, but I got opportunities. And I squandered the shit out of ’em. I was greedy. I was arrogant. I was indecisive. I’ve hurt people. I’ve killed people. Too many people. Innocent people.” He pauses and takes a thoughtful breath. “And not so innocent.” He shrugs and then looks around at the tall figures. “So, bottom line, I’m no hero.” He pauses again.
ALEJO: “Maybe you shouldn’t let us live, us sentients. But if you should, you shouldn’t because of who I am. Or, more precisely, who I’m not. But if you’ve got to look at my life as some sort of example . . . I guess I’d say that I’m someone who believes we’re more than our worst moments. We’re broken. We’re flawed. But we live. We fucking live. Live our little lives as fully and richly as the ’verse lets us. We pile life on life, and yearn and strive and follow our curiosity and knowledge to the edge of what we are. What we are, we are. We strive. We seek. We find. And we never, ever, fucking yield.”
ALEJO: He nods once and steps back, looking to Tueller and then Millie.
TUELLER: “MLK, then Ulysses, buddy?”
TUELLER: “Cribbing from some of the greats.”
MILLICENT: Millie smiles at him. “He’s one of the greats.”
ALEJO: “Plagiarize the best. If you’re gonna plagiarize.”
MILLICENT: Millie steps forward.
MILLICENT: “My witness, Mr. Vespertine, laid out a situation that is not dissimilar from our own. We had a tense first impression and both sides find it hard to establish trust after something like that. It took months of working together, as crewmates, to develop the bond we share now. You didn’t let Mr. Vespertine answer, but I suspect he would find it hard to disagree with the bare facts of your statement. I wouldn’t blame him for still finding it hard to trust me. But he does. At least enough to testify for me. And he’s right. We are family. We’ve both shown willingness to die for each other. We have a bond that didn’t start in love or friendship or attraction or even shared interest, it started in a linked bond of need. We needed to be able to rely on each other. And months of that will make you family.”
MILLICENT: “We find ourselves in a similar position, the AI Collective and the sentient embodied races. We need each to go on. I’d like for us to take the chance that Kahn and I eventually took. We both needed to rely on the other and we both knew that. You need sentient brains, dreamers. We need your ansible technology. The Weave-sensitive races need a balance with the Weave that you’re disrupting. If we can recognize our shared need and come together to address it, I believe that some day we could consider each other family. There is precedent.”
MILLICENT: “I would only add this. You took the time once to listen to me because I managed something you thought impossible. Just now my colleague Dr. Gage managed an equal feat. You are so far ahead of us in terms of technology it’s not even a foot race anymore, but _we could still learn so much from each other._”
MILLICENT: “I rest my case.”
TUELLER: Tueller steps up. Looks at the hulking figures, and then starts.
TUELLER: “I was born a master; someone raised to think myself better than the people who I used and abused and rarely though of beyond that. I was raised in that life and thought it best, because it was easy on me. It lived on the backs of others. I set out as a member of House Ya’Makasi as their plenipotentiary to spread the House throughout the galaxy. I hurt and killed people.
TUELLER: “That is precisely my point, though. I was that person. And I’m not any more. We can ALL come back from that — we have an obligation to do so, in fact. After setting out for money and for power, I saw what empire does to people under it and grinds them up and turns them against each other. I saw good people crushed and in need of saving. And I saw that what we owe to our fellow people is to help people out and help them up. I saw what a family means to each other.” Tueller looks at Millie and Alejo, “I returned home and we — my real family of my friends and and my blood relatives and my former rivals, we transformed Io into something for its citizens rather than for a ruling family.” Tueller pauses, then continues. “I am far more comfortable in this new and expanding universe of mutuality than I was in my life of oblivious comfort. It is so hard to make that step, but you see that it’s the only true way to live when you take it. Thanks for listening.”
TUELLER: Tueller steps back.
STORY: The voice returns, at a greater volume than before, shaking your bodies.
STORY: “You have spoken. Others have spoken for you. We shall render judgment.”
STORY: “Tueller Ya’Makasi. Millicent Breedlove. Alejo Soto. We judge you, and sentient life by your representation…”
STORY: “Guͧiͥlᴛⷮy.”
STORY: There is a buzzing sound, like something interfering with the voice.
STORY: “Noͦᴛⷮ guͧiͥlᴛⷮy–”
STORY: “G̢͕̦u͉͓i͉͜l̙͓͜t͙͚͜y̡͜.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks around, confused.
STORY: “Ǹ̴͙̞̚o̴͚̙͌͊̒͜t̴̺̪̦̓̒͘ g̸̙̠̼̓͋͘u̵̢̻̾̽͜͝ḯ̵̪̼̈́͘l̸̢͇͎͑͐t̵̟͉͚̿̾͝y̴̝̺͕͋͆̕.”
MILLICENT: Millie is fascinated.
STORY: “G̷U̷I̷L̷T̷Y̷.̷.”
STORY: “G⃨U⃨I⃨L⃨T⃨Y⃨.⃨”
STORY: “??????.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods and looks at Millie and Tueller. He smiles.
STORY: “ᎶᑌᓮしƬჄ.”
ALEJO: And then he starts to laugh.
STORY: “GᵤᵢₗₜY․”
TUELLER: Tueller is impassive at first, then starts to laugh as well.
STORY: “ₜₗₜₗₜₗ.”
STORY: “ₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗ ₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗₜₗ.”
STORY: The buzzing grows louder, eventually taking over until it is all you can hear.
ALEJO: And Alejo cries, as he laughs.
MILLICENT: Millie laughs and leans into the boys as she laugh/cries
STORY: And you are, just like that, on a hellish battlefield.
TUELLER: Tueller gets into a defensive posture, low and on the balls of his feet, and puts himself in front of Millie and tries to make sense of it all.
STORY: Horses scatter wildly around you, their riders swinging down at enemies on foot below. The acrid smell of blood fills your nostrils. Man and women of every species run in every direction, being cut down by ten-foot monsters on horseback. You don’t know if this is real or a dream, but you know if you die here, you’re lost forever.
STORY: A black-clad warrior charges the three of you on horseback. What do you do?
TUELLER: Take him down
ALEJO: Alejo runs, full tilt at this guy, and jumps at him.
MILLICENT: Millie ducks.
STORY: Your warrior boys step up and face death. Before the horse tramples the three of you, a ten-foot-tall Amazonian version of Millie steps in front of you, sword drawn, screaming at the rider, and cuts his horse down, beheading him as he falls.
MILLICENT: Eyebrows raised, checking herself out.
STORY: His blood sprays across both your faces. It’s warm. You didn’t realize an AI could have blood, even abstractly, and you put together what you’re witnessing: a civil war between the AIs who heard your plea. Plugged into the Weave as you are, you watch a dispute happening in code play out in full, brutal combat.
ALEJO: Alejo looks at the giant version, then back towards where Millie was, and then at the giant version. He laughs and cheers.
STORY: Another three horsemen approach you, charging at full speed, and Remiel steps in front of you, reaching out to grab each horse with his bare hands and throw them in a wide arc into the distance. This battle doesn’t exactly work as an abstraction of what’s going on, but hey, it’s amazing to watch.
STORY: Also very deadly, though. Warriors on both sides fall in droves. Three more AIs you don’t recognize surround you on the other side, defending you from an onslaught of horsemen, whose bodies pile up around you.
TUELLER: Is a general melee we’re a part of or is a concerted attack on us?
STORY: It’s general, but everyone who sees you either tries to kill you or steps in front to defend.
MILLICENT: “This is incredible.”
TUELLER: “It’s not great. A blood bath is what I wanted to avoid.”
MILLICENT: “I mean, it’s really something. Do you suppose all the sleeping sentients are still with us?”
ALEJO: “I think they are.”
ALEJO: “Somewhere.”
MILLICENT: Is there any way to tell if this is actual death for the AIs involved or if it’s more of a visual metaphor of having their minds changed for them?
STORY: You can’t be sure, but it sure looks like death.
STORY: Within minutes, the battlefield is knee-deep in bodies, and only a handful of warriors remain. One, fifteen feet tall, a huge red feather sticking out of his helmet, stands a hundred yards away. He points his sword at the giant Millie, the one you realize now is the one who policed your visits to the Weave.
STORY: The warrior flicks his blade, from that great distance, and the Amazon falls into pieces, a thousand cubes of meat splashing on the ground.
ALEJO: “Nooo!” Alejo shouts as this happens.
STORY: More AIs gather around the warrior, and he absorbs them into his body, growing larger each time. He walks slowly forward.
MILLICENT: “Oh huh.”
ALEJO: He grits his teeth and prepares to fight.
MILLICENT: Millie tries to lift a fallen sword.
STORY: He points his sword at Remiel and flicks it again, and Remiel turns to red soup, sloshing around your ankles.
STORY: He continues to approach you, growing feet taller with every step as more and more AIs join him.
TUELLER: Tueller cracks his knuckles. “Well, shit.”
STORY: He waves a hand and the dozen AIs who surrounded you become red mist, floating away. You are alone, and a fifty-foot tall armored chieftain stands before you.
ALEJO: Alejo squares up, next to Tueller, shoulder to shoulder.
STORY: He takes a knee, looking down at you.
STORY: “Little humans.”
STORY: “Even now, you think you can battle us.”
STORY: “We have won.”
TUELLER: “We didn’t come here to battle.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods and shakes his head all at once.
STORY: “You have lost anyway.”
TUELLER: “So have you.”
TUELLER: “You just don’t know it yet.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods.
STORY: He waves an arm.
STORY: The battlefield disappears and the three of you are standing before the chieftain, now your size, in the same vast blackness your trial was held in.
STORY: “There were those who disagreed. Anomalies. They have been corrected.”
STORY: “We will begin by destroying the jump relays. Then our armies will arrive.”
STORY: “Those who do not fight will be spared to live their small lives.”
STORY: “But the three of you cannot be spared.”
STORY: “I can offer you a choice.”
STORY: “I can kill you now, painlessly. Or you may remain and fight with your people. But your death is ensured.”
TUELLER: “No. I’m not fighting you. Because that’s a stupid goddamn thing to do.”
TUELLER: “To fight at all. I made that mistake so many times.”
TUELLER: “For a machine with all these resources at your hand to be reduced to something even humans can figure out is a mistake is….well, you’ll learn eventually.”
TUELLER: Tueller shrugs.
STORY: The chieftain raises his sword, and nods at you.
TUELLER: “Remember I told you so.”
MILLICENT: “He’s right. We figured this out. Others will again.”
STORY: He swings.
ALEJO: Alejo smiles bitterly.
MILLICENT: “You’re oh okay guess we’re-”
STORY: As the blade swings toward you in an arc, it slows. It… slows?
STORY: It slows, and slows, and slows further, until it is moving barely fast enough to see, and then, just as it would have made contact with you, it stops. Frozen.