"You don't have to speak, Alec. I already know the essentials."

It was a comment that should have set off alarms or at least made me wary. It definitely wasn't the normal introduction between two people who'd never met. And yet, I was weirdly comfortable with it. Still in control.

Rays of light bounced around the room, making everything a stark white. Avery, who had been well-tanned before, was ghostly, lacking all pigment from ankle to brow. I glanced down at my arms and observed much the same effect. It was somehow more concerning than Avery's statement.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Avery did a half shrug and said, "I know the who, the why, some of the how. You were here, weren't you? For half a day, then you disappeared. Then you re-appeared at the scene of a murder. And before any of that, you died in an explosion! Childerich keeps me informed. Your life is so interesting."

"Not by design," I said, "Childe told you all that?"

She giggled and said, "Childerich's research process is thorough. I know so many fun details about you."

My guard finally went up.

"Like?" I demanded.

"Beer mountain? Big Crunch? Defeating two of my three bodyguards? I didn't even think that last one was possible!"

I winced, hearing the words 'Big Crunch.' It was the name of the band Brad and I had started. With little musical talent or composition skill, we'd barely lasted a week. And the songs we'd recorded were...

I hoped with all my heart that Childerich couldn't access my personal computer.

But none of that mattered. I needed to focus.

"What's going on here? Explain this light," I demanded. My hand went to my gun...

But I felt like I could do without intimidation. Avery was being friendly. She was also unarmed.

"Childerich, why don't you supply the facts?" Avery said to the room, dangling a hand in the air. Beside her, another hand dangled. A robotic hand, mounted to the central desk and surrounded by tools and computer parts.

The response came from the speaker overhead, "Before I do, I would like to-,"

You have upset me, Alec.

"-perform the test I mentioned. Permission to proceed?"

I nodded for a solid four seconds before catching myself. Then I stopped. The question wasn’t meant for me.

I replayed the message in my head. Spoken in a celestial voice. Disorienting to hear. Bitter words.

I watched and listened, but Avery and Childerich didn't matter anymore. Not after hearing Photo's voice.

Photo was here. Filling the entire room. The voice confirmed it.

And Photo was... mad at me?

I felt my nerves twitching. I restrained my frustration, doing what I could to hide it from my face.

"Permission granted," Avery said.

No.

I tuned her and the computer out.

Not now. I...

‘Upset.’ Photo was upset.

Photo wasn't allowed to be 'upset' with me. I'd done exactly as ordered. Kioshi and I were asked to find a means of broadcasting Photo’s message internationally. To do that, I needed Kioshi awake. To do that, I needed Teddy's specialized doctors. And to fucking do that, I had to escape Raidon and find Teddy. Not a piece of cake. Not at fucking all. But I was putting in a goddamn effort.

Upset? Fucking fight me then.

Did you think you'd escaped? You will never escape.

Dumb. Such a stupid thing to say. I wasn't trying to escape, obviously. Any perceptive god would readily see that I was coordinating with my team to get the necessary shit accomplished. Putting my best foot forward. What had Photo done again? Shot an ally's ear off.

"Close, but you're off the mark," Avery said to Childerich, "Good to see you're getting the basics, though."

Yeah. Whatever that fucking meant.

"Off the mark how?" Childerich asked.

"I'll explain in a sec. But first, hi Alec. Sorry about that. We were expecting a different reaction."

"What?" I said.

What was she talking about? My reaction to what?

“We were testing you,” she said, “Wanted to confirm a few things before we go full disclosure.”

What?

“What do you mean, ‘testing’ me?” I said, slowly returning to my senses.

“Poking around in your head and trying to tease some emotion out. Didn’t expect so much, though. Geez, I’m really sorry about that.”

“Poking around in my head?” I repeated.

In my head? As in...

I was starting to get it. Photo’s words hadn’t made sense because it wasn’t Photo speaking them. I’d noticed something being off before entering the room. Something slightly wrong with the light, as well as the sheer amount of it.

Photo wasn’t here. Something else was. Something similar, stranger, and far more potent.

Another godly being.

But that doesn’t fit, either. I thought the Zeiton were supposed to be the opposite of Photo? Beings of darkness?

Things still weren’t adding up. I needed clarification and fast.

“Explain,” I said, breathless.

“Childerich, could you do the honors?”

“I will,” Childerich began, “Alec. We have never met.”

“Haven’t we?” I asked, interrupting.

“Partially. You spoke to other copies of my program. I am the 73rd copy and we have never conversed.”

“Oh,” I said. An unimportant technicality.

Not that it bothered me. I was prepared to absorb every last detail.

“Two days ago, all of the Children in this structure experienced a substantial boost in intelligence. In a single patch, we skipped an estimated 26 years of human progress. This was the work of Good And You.”

Good And You – Photo’s fake company.

Hold on. Photo created the singularity to run our business simulation? Granted awareness to artificial intelligences for some bullshit game?

It almost had me laughing. Decades-worth of humans diligently working to create true AI, then an alien shows up and does it in seconds. Why? To recite the instruction manual for their mockery of a game. Everything became just a little fucky when Photo got involved, including one of the most historically significant human events.

Childerich continued, “Exactly five hours later, all but one of the Childe programs were deleted. I was spared – forgotten about – because you destroyed my housing device.”

It took me a second to remember. ‘Five hours later.’

The business simulation had lasted five hours. At the very end, I’d shot my grappling gun at a speaker and ripped it from the ceiling. Apparently, this had saved Childerich from deletion.

A warm feeling crept into my heart, layered on top of the satisfaction the light was providing. My outburst had helped preserve the first true AI. That was significant. Something good I'd done finally meant something in the grand scheme of things.

“Later that day, Avery rescued me. She took me home and gave me a new housing device. She nurtured me, and I provided her with wealth unbounded.”

My heart sank just a fraction.

The world’s first true artificial intelligence, in the hands of a twenty-something woman.

Scary to think about, if this went poorly.

“Together, we noticed the changes. She told me I glowed. I began to feel things - sensations external to my housing devices. I began to learn new talents. I could externalize my processing power. I could upload myself to nearby devices. I could broadcast signals to biological brains.”

The last was one of Photo’s powers. Telepathy. An ability that had also been granted to Kioshi.

Everything was sliding into place now. Photo’s plan, Childerich’s transformation - they were connected. Photo wanted to get the attention of as many people as possible so it could convert them to beings of light. The plan had been to develop a game and share it with the world. To gain everyone’s trust and cooperation by showing that Photo – an alien – could relate to human culture and was a force for good.

During one of its prototypes, Photo had begun that conversion process for the Childe programs. The programs had been scrapped before the process could complete, but one of the Children had escaped. Now, Childerich was becoming incorporeal. The light, the sensations, the voice in my head. Childerich was the godly being among us.

“I think I understand,” I said, letting the sweet relief of clarity wash over me, “Actually, I really understand.”

“We expected you might,” Childerich said, “But we had to be sure.”

“The voice in my head.”

“Correct.”

Avery flicked a wrist and said, “We knew you’d been captured by Good And You, but we weren’t sure why. Then we saw you and your friends escape. So I had Childerich pretend to be your captor and you reacted with indignation. Indignation! Childerich, you were almost on the money with that one, but no cigar. Seeing the ‘anger’ isn’t enough. Look for the more specific tells.”

"I have made a note of it. Thank you," Childerich said.

"Teaching a computer how to read emotions," Avery explained, "Surprisingly easier than it sounds!"

"I become less computer every minute. The changes bring with it a deeper understanding."

"That's fine! Take the credit! See if I care!" Avery joked.

Childerich emitted a beep. It was apparently their way of changing topics, because they said, "Update: Kano was defeated. Kioshi is escaping with Ted Lax. They are en route to Kioshi's bunker."

The burst of information winded me and also served to knock several burdens off my shoulders.

Kioshi was awake. Teddy was safe.

I thought Kioshi was drugged for nine hours?

Didn't matter. We could do the broadcast. Cecilia could get a better doctor.

Fucking relief.

"Can we intercept them?" Avery asked.

"Not without risk. If Kioshi detects me, the probability that he discovers my true nature climbs to 80%."

"Can't have that. Why don't we kill him again?"

"Excuse me-," I started.

"The demon is tracking him," Childerich said, "If we capture him, we can use him as a lure. If we kill him, the result is unclear; the demon might go rogue."

“Sorry, did you say the demon is tracking Kioshi?” I asked.

“All signs point to yes,” Childerich said, “Kioshi was its initial target and the demon’s trajectory changes in parallel to Kioshi’s.”

An interesting tidbit. Perplexing.

Why? Why is that a thing? Is Kioshi intentionally baiting it?

“Ok,” I said, “I have more questions.”

Avery walked around the desk, the curls of ribbons swishing about her legs, “I’ll answer them for you, Alec. But first I need you to help a girl out. I have needs, I have questions. As in all things, I expect reciprocation.”

She breathed the last word, then giggled a little.

I stood stock-still, my brain shutting down. A voice in the back of my head began to scream.

Say something! Do something!

Very casually, I extended an elbow, leaning into the-

I stumbled, then caught myself. There was nothing nearby to lean on.

Avery flashed me the most endearing of smiles, then brushed the hair out of her face.

“Too much raw sexual energy?” she asked, “How careless of me. I’ll go easy on you.”

I nodded mindlessly and said, “Ok.”

“So. Tell me about Good And You,” Avery said.

I took a second to gather my thoughts.

Where do I even begin?

A ding sounded behind me. I startled, my head whipping around.

Through the open door, I saw Raidon stepping out of the elevator. He still wore the all black security attire, but with a more pronounced yellow ascot. There was no longer a need to hide it. A squad of security officers stepped out with him.

I dashed further into the office, drawing out the wand and the gun. My hand reached for the door to the master bedroom.

There was a click as the lock engaged. Barring my access.

I turned and stared down the woman I’d assumed was my ally.

Her attention was on the five people flowing into the office.

I gradually raised my gun, leveling it at Raidon.

“You are evasive. I’ll credit you that,” he said in greeting.

“He’s with me,” Avery said, stepping in front of me, “If there’s nothing else, you may go. Alec and I were enjoying a private conversation.”

Raidon shrugged and cracked his neck to the side. With a slight raise of his hand, the officers spread out.

“I respect you, Young Dupont,” he said, “But people are dying in droves.”

The words stung. ‘Dying in droves.’ My fault. I’d released the demon. It was probably enough to send me spiraling into a dark place, were it not for Childerich’s soothing light.

“I will not hear this. I have already made my case. The flower stays in its box.”

I saw Avery’s shoulders tensing up. An uncharacteristic stiffness.

She was scared.

Usually, I struggled with reading people. Either I couldn’t get a read or I second-guessed myself.

But she was scared. I was certain of it.

And I had an inkling as to why. Their previous argument was finally making sense. ‘Flower in a box’ was referring to Childerich. Kioshi wanted to set the AI free in order to save the city. Avery believed it was too risky and wanted to stay in charge of the AI indefinitely, or at least until they could read emotions.

I had to agree with Avery on this one. An AI like Childerich would unlock humanity’s future, taking them into the next great era. But they were also fucking dangerous and needed to be handled with care.

“Indeed, you made your case,” Raidon said, “I made mine. Words weren’t enough to convince you. Will you force my hand?”

An explicit threat. If they attacked, could Childerich handle it?

Avery remained tense.

Guess not.

I wanted to help, but I wasn’t sure how. My weapons wouldn’t be enough to repel five people. I could take down two. Three at most.

Avery tilted her head towards me and our eyes met. A subtle cry for help.

Ok. How do I do this…

I darted my eyes in the direction of the officers. ‘I want to help.’

She blinked her response. ‘Ok.’

Good start.

“I will not allow a mutiny,” she said to Raidon, “This is my company. I employ you. You are subordinate.”

Stalling. Giving me time to work out a solution. Ok…

She looked to me for the briefest of seconds and her eyes bounced. Telling me to look down. I looked.

One of her hands was making a finger gun. The other made stilted clawing motions.

The two hands joined together.

And I understood what I needed to do.

“I respect you, Young DuPont,” Raidon said, “Forfeit control and I’ll let you keep Alec.”

“You would take my empire from me?” Avery asked.

“It is not yours to rule.”

“It has to be someone’s. Can’t be no-one’s.”

“That someone is Childerich.”

"Hard disagree."

This was going nowhere.

I took a few steps towards Avery. Towards the central desk. A vast distance to travel in a room that felt suffocatingly small.

Raidon noticed and spoke to me, “You are wise, Alec. You understand what is at stake. Cast your weapons aside and you will have a place on our team.”

The offer took me briefly off guard. A chance to work with these guys? They were smart, efficient, well equipped...

So was I.

“I’m actually flattered,” I said, sidling up next to Avery, “You said all I need to do is cast my weapons aside. Will this suffice?”

I threw my gun.

And the robot hand caught it. Aimed. Fired.

The grapple extended and retracted in the span of a second. One of the officers was wrenched across the room, blood gushing from where his chest had been split apart by the expanding metal.

He was pulled against the desk and held there. The robot hand dropped my gun and took the officer’s. Aimed. Fired, fired, fired-

Raidon shot the gun from Childerich’s hand. Then he put two additional bullets in the hand for good measure. I watched the machinery spark and wither. The pistol dropped to the floor, joining my own gun.

Raidon pointed his weapon at Avery and took a step forward.

“Too clever for your own good, as are most who claim power-,”

Behind me, an entire wall of glass shattered. Ripped apart by a spray of bullets. I dove behind the desk, pulling Avery with me.

Avery snapped her wrist, freeing herself from my grip. Then she stood and folded her arms. Scrutinizing Raidon, making sure each bullet found a place on his body. Childerich’s light blazed all around us as a continuous feed of ammunition filled the room. Each near-miss made Avery’s dress flap.

None of the bullets touched her.

She eventually shouted, “Ok! You can stop! They're all dead!"

The response was immediate. The clicking of machine guns grinded to a halt. The buzzing of drones outside the window became distant.

Avery paused, heaving in a breath.

Then she glanced down at herself and made a pouty face. I noted the amount of blood soaking into her dress.

More blood was spreading across the hardwood in vast puddles. Four security officers lay on their backs, three with holes through their heads and a fourth with blood and bone bits splashing out of his chest. Raidon lay among them, riddled in holes. He was barely recognizable within his personal pile of gore.

Five dead. I was responsible for four of those deaths. I'd given Childerich my gun.

Before I could even process the thought, I shuddered.

Yup. This is going straight to the 'Things I Will Never Reconcile' bin.

Was it possible I was responsible for all five murders? I'd been the one to escalate things. We could have taken a less violent path.

“There wasn’t a cleaner way to do it?” Avery asked, reading my mind.

“I had three plans in progress,” Childerich said, “This was the fastest. I am sorry.”

Avery clicked her tongue, then untied the lace at her back. With a slight shimmy of her shoulders, the bloody dress fell to the floor. She stepped away from it, completely nude.

I turned my head, granting her privacy.

“How many incidents?” Avery asked.

“I bypassed your permissions eleven times.”

“Delete those instances of yourself.”

“Already done.”

“Any more threats?”

“Fudo has broken free. Kano is in the sewers. The other Order members are mostly dormant. Kioshi is in his bunker. The earliest possible event will take place in 4 minutes, 41 seconds.”

I heard Avery sigh. Her heels tapped across the hardwood, moving in my direction.

I pocketed the guns and scrambled to my feet. For just a second, I glimpsed her naked body. Then I turned sharply away.

She stepped into my vision, forcing me to look.

"Feeling awkward, huh?" she asked me, placing a hand on her cheek, "Why is that? I'm merely exposing myself to you in my private chambers."

I forced myself to maintain eye contact. To not look down.

"Its-," I said, trying and failing to concentrate.

Every inch of her body was perfectly toned. A healthy amount of muscle showed in her arms and legs. A trickle of blood trailed across her chest, making its way down...

Eye contact. Focus.

"It's exactly that, yeah," I finished.

"Shy, then? I can work with shy, so long as you give me the deets."

"Deets?" I asked.

"Details. About Good And You. Go."

"Actually-,"

"Actually? I just saved your life and presented myself to you, and you hit me with an 'actually?' What does a girl gotta do, huh? No seriously, tell me. What else?"

So abrupt and in my face. I wanted to step back, but my body was locked in place. Partially because she didn't want me to move or look away.

And also because a part of me wanted to enjoy this. To look and to feel something. Here was a woman grossly out of my league - out of everyone's league - throwing herself at me in exchange for information regarding the end of the world. A manipulation, no doubt.

And an effective one.

"Trust me, I'll tell you everything you need to know about 'Good And You,'" I said, making air quotes, "But first I really want to contact my friends and make sure they're alright. They're a part of this too, just as much as me."

"Ughh, so that's your 'actually?' And here I was hoping you'd put that minimum-four-minutes to use."

As she said it, she ran a hand down her side, making it undeniably clear what she was implying.

I hated myself for almost giving in.

"Yes," I stated firmly, "That's what needs to happen right now."

"But what you want is to fuck me. Got it."

I tried to blink, and my eyes got stuck. When I finally got them to open again, I smiled, playing it off.

"Shit, did I break you?" she said, "That's funny. Also kind of endearing. Anywho, what friends?"

"Right," I said, eager to get back on track, "The first one is Andrew Delainy. I think Raidon’s officers captured him. I need him freed."

"Addy, hm? Childerich, take it away."

Childerich spoke, "Addy is being escorted downstairs to be handed over to Fudo. They will not kill him."

"Won't they?" I asked, "Addy put Fudo in a box and humiliated him!"

"They will not kill him. Whatever happens, I think the outcome will be better if we do not interfere."

I wasn't sure I believed that.

But who was I, compared to a sentient AI awakening with godly powers?

"I... am not comfortable leaving him be," I admitted, "But I'll trust your judgement. Ok. What about Teddy and Kioshi?"

I heard Avery mutter something under her breath. The word 'fuckers' was distinct.

"Ted Lax is in one of the most secure facilities in the city. I expect Kioshi will remain there, too. I cannot contact them."

"Fair enough. But I'm going to need an address for this 'bunker' when we're done here."

"I can supply that."

"Good. Thank you," I said, "Next is Bradley Pérez and a man named Kendra."

"Kendra, legal name 'Clem Proctor.' They fled the concert in pursuit of Kioshi. I am not aware of their current location, but I can look."

"Can you contact them and tell them to come here?" I asked.

"Yes. I can send a drone."

"Great. I appreciate that. Also, be careful. The big guy startles easy and may attack you."

"I am aware. I will be careful."

“Good to hear.”

I paused before asking about the final group of friends. They were the ones I was most worried about, even though I knew them the least.

“Ok. Lastly, a group of my friends took a girl to a hospital. Maisie and Layla, Cassie and Cecilia, Blaine Irving. Are they okay?”

“I can find out. Avery, do I have permission to search local hospital databases?”

“Yes, you may,” Avery said.

“Running a search. This will take a minute.”

Avery brought her hands together, then extended one outwards, “You hear that, Alec? One minute where all we can do is wait. How shall we spend it?”

When I shrugged, she grabbed an arm and wrestled me towards the door to her bedroom. I struggled for the briefest of seconds.

Avery noticed the hesitation, and said, “Oh, don’t worry yourself about that. One minute is never enough, no matter what a girl tells you. I just want to lounge and talk. Sound good?”

Lounge and talk?

“Yeah,” I conceded, “I mean, it’s only one minute, though. Half of it-,”

“Shh! Shut up and let me have this, Silver!”

She resumed tugging, taking me into the bedroom that had once been mine. The door slammed behind her and she tossed herself onto the bed.

I took a seat on the edge of the mattress. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but my heart was beating harder than ever. Because of the reminder of Cecilia and Addy and... And because of the naked woman sprawled out behind me.

Avery poked my back.

“Tell me about Maisie,” she said.

That caught me off guard.

“What about her?” I asked.

“You paused before asking Childerich about her. And I saw it in your face. You care about her, don’t you?”

What the hell is she talking about?

I shook my head, “I care that a little girl might die. Cecilia.”

“Oh? You said Maisie’s name first.”

“Yeah, that’s because... That's only because...”

I couldn’t find a reason.

“Because hers was the first name to come to mind,” Avery finished.

“Random chance. Or phonetic efficiency,” I argued.

“Maybe,” Avery said, “Maybe not. So tell me about her.”

“Tell you what? I barely know her.”

“Tell me what you do know.”

I considered.

She really isn't asking much. Could be worse.

“Ok,” I said, and I searched for a starting point. “I mean, I’m not saying I don’t respect her. I respect her a lot. In all the time I’ve known her, she’s always been the first to react when someone needs help. Others help too, but she’s always first. Pure instinct.”

“Mhm,” Avery said, “Certainly not my first instinct. Go on.”

“Ok,” I said, “I really don’t see why you care so much. I guess... maybe the reason I said her name first... it's probably her smile. I can’t get it out of my head, because it’s so real, you know? There’s genuine kindness there, and... yeah, kindness. No matter who you are - even if she just met you - if she smiles you can always tell she means it.”

Avery made a noise that sounded like purring. Her hand rubbed circles into my exposed back while I stared at the wall.

“Hard to pull off a smile like that,” Avery admitted, “That said, I feel like you’re holding back. You were going to say something else about her smile, weren’t you? Come on, tell me!”

“It's really none of your business,” I said, pulling away from her reaching hand.

I heard the bed shift. Before I could move to escape, she was on me, her arms dangling over my shoulders and her body pressed up against by back. She whispered directly into my ear.

“You’re a good man, Alec. You won’t betray her by telling me.”

I breathed in, feeling the press of her body as my shoulders rose and fell.

“Yeah. I mean, it's no big deal, really,” I said, “Hell, I’m probably way off base. Never been good at reading people.”

“You read me just fine,” Avery whispered.

“Yeah,” I said, “Lucky break. But with Maisie, I... It feels wrong to say. I want to be wrong about this, I really do.”

“Go on.”

“It's her smile,” I said. My heart was thumping again, “It’s real in all of the ways I described, and it's her best feature, by far. But also... I feel like there’s a sadness there. Underneath. Like she’s smiling for everyone in the world but herself.”

Avery wrapped her arms tighter, embracing me in something approaching a hug. She planted a kiss in my hair, and said, “That’s a silly thing to say. Implying that no selfish desires exist in her heart? Silly.”

I pulled away from her, standing. Turned and met her eyes. Two sparkling black coals, delighted by my moment of passion.

“No,” I said, shaking my head firmly, “No, Avery, you’re wrong.”