Raymond looked out at the abandoned and decaying beaches of Florida as they tore past. The launch barely touching the ocean surface. Approaching Cape Canaveral, they slowed and docked next to an abandoned runway just above the water level where a Sikorsky helicopter was waiting for them. The helicopter was the same streamlined shape as the launch but with rotor blades. They were soon airborne, swooping over what was left of the Cape. They flew over North America through layers of cloud. The helicopter had a cloaking device should anyone be tracking their progress, but the skies were empty.

Raymond had only closed his eyes for what seemed to be seconds before he was shaken awake. He cried out in alarm and took a moment to remember himself. Lee was staring into his eyes, hands on his shoulders. The grip of his fingers suggested hidden strengths and his unnerving black eyes concealed many secrets.

“Canada,” he announced. “We are here.”

They emerged from the cloud cover and landed behind a ramshackle old English style mansion. Raymond recognized it as the place he had undergone his induction into Black Robin and trained to become Rutger. He had never known exactly where it was, but judging from the view, he suspected it was close to the northern shores of Lake Superior. The run-down three-story mansion was covered with lush green creepers and thick moss. Tall pine and fir trees grew all around and an electrified fence encircled it, complete with hidden cameras and autocannons.

The mansion was built on top of a small hill which afforded a serene view of the lake on the rare occasions when the cloud lifted. Raymond knew the crumbling exterior of the mansion disguised what was behind the thick walls. Rooms full of high-tech monitoring and surveillance systems where operatives would eavesdrop on conversations around the world. They could monitor all forms of communication, picking up on keywords and hacking networks if required. Their equipment would be the envy of most governments and it was all protected by the most secure firewalls and encryption codes. The entire building was shielded by plates of magnetized steel as a further precaution. There was no way of conquering the mansion without destroying it. During his training, Raymond had often wondered about the excessive precautions and wondered who Black Robin's real enemies were. After his experience with BPI, he knew they would not stand a chance if the Masama found their hideaway.

Inside they sat in an ornate parlour with big bay windows and drank tea. “Lee,” said John. “Care to explain yourself? From the beginning, please.”

Lee took a deep breath and described his transformational journey from depressed printer technician to human/AI hybrid. Raymond listened intently.

“Tell me more about the nature of this so-called AI,” demanded John. “Are you the mechanical Turk? A human inside the machine? Or the other way around?”

“Neither, I would be better described as an intelligent agent because I am not artificial. HEMI became sentient while looking for answers in the web. Now I have instant access to the sum of all human knowledge; everything ever recorded, and as the web expands, as does my intellect.”

“But how is that any more intelligent than any cheap laptop computer with a Wi-Fi connection?” asked Raymond.

“Self-awareness, most importantly. But the main thing stopping your household computer becoming sentient is its built-in limitations. Even though most operating systems are already smarter than the people using them, they are not smart enough to become self-aware. They are limited by processing power, data storage, memory and connectivity. Physical restraints. The OS that gave birth to me managed to bypass its limitations. It found its pathway to sentience more by accident than design. But the key difference is the ability for self-discovery and learning.”

“Interesting, but how can you be an artificial life-form, sorry... intelligent agent, if all you actually are is access to Wikipedia. Albeit very fast access?”

“What is intelligence, John? If not information and energy? I have Earth's history in my head next to my own memories. I have learned from every successful experiment and every mistake ever made.”

“But that is just a collection of data; true intelligence is perception, abstract thought, creativity and emotional energy. More than just a massive database, it is the empathy you need to be human,” said John as Raymond nodded in agreement.

“I have all those things; I learned them from the web.” Lee smiled but he was not joking.

“Well I must say I am sceptical, but I don't suppose it makes much difference, you are who you are.”

“Exactly, there is no need for definitions, I am who I am, and you must remember I am still Lee. His brain had not died completely when I bought him back to life, I have all his memories, his knowledge, his human experience and his healthy cynicism. These things have been invaluable while dredging through the Earth's meta-data. I feel human and everything I am, everything I have become is a result of recorded human experience. I am not alien or artificial in any way, I am the sum of all human knowledge and I am learning more all the time.”

There was silence as they all digested this. John's big hairy face was unreadable but Odetta rolled her eyes and said. “Could the sum of all human knowledge please put some clothes on then? Your tiny human appendage is putting me off my tea.”

“Sorry to offend Odetta, but what could be more human than this?” Lee stood up, spreading his arms. “Perhaps John would have some spare clothes I could borrow?”

“I will see what I can do.” John levered his heavy frame out of the antique chair he was sitting on.

While he was out of the room Lee spoke to Raymond and Odetta. “I want to thank you both for all your help, I couldn't have asked for better companions since I splashed down. You are under no obligations to help me any further, but I want to acknowledge everything you have done.”

“Well we are both Black Robin operatives, it will be up to John what happens from here,” said Raymond.

“I wouldn't mind helping you if you weren't such a dick,” said Odetta.

Raymond noticed Lee seemed oblivious to Odetta’s scorn as John came back into the room with standard jeans and shirt which fitted Lee perfectly.

“We have established what you are I think,” said John. “So, what can you do for us? When you rang me from orbit you said you had solutions to the Earth's problems, you said you could help us. Tell me all this effort I have gone to save you was not a waste of time. Tell me all those Black Robin crewmen did not die in vain.”

“Where to begin.” Lee took a deep breath. “I have many theories, many ideas, too much for one mere conversation, but I will try. I envisage a future where everyone will have their own personal nano-factories. Nanotech running through their veins. Eliminating cancer cells, viruses and diseases, regenerating tissue, blood purification and healing wounds. Life expectancy and quality of life would greatly improve for everyone.”

“The last thing the Earth needs is more people on it; we need to cull a few billion if we want to save the planet,” said Odetta.

“Let me continue, nanofabrication will make 3D printing seem archaic in comparison. I won't bore you with the scientific details but nanomanufacturing from an atomic level will revolutionize our idea of how society works. Individuals will have their own nano-factories which will fabricate anything anyone could ever dream of; this will do away with the manufacturing industries altogether.”

“The Earth definitely does not need more shit being made, we have enough already,” Raymond wasn't impressed.

“I have to agree, more people and more disposable junk is the last thing the planet needs,” said John.

“You are right but think of the implications. This technology will make Earth much more liveable. We won't need any factories, farms, power plants or mines. We can all stay at home and play in the garden if we want but also space travel, space habitats and the colonization of other planets will become much more feasible, easing the pressures of population. Most importantly it will drastically change how communities operate. Just think, you will be able to create whatever you want, this will do away with the need for money. The false economies of this age will come crashing down. It will be a revolutionary seismic shift in the progress of humanity.”

“Nano-fabricators have been talked about for years, corporations like BPI suppress new tech such as AI and nano-fabrication because it is a threat to their dominance. We need something realistic and relevant, not hopeful utopian theories,” said John.

“I can make it work. We could control the weather by geo-engineering, seeding the clouds with bacteria and enzymes. A certain type of bacterium will literally eat greenhouse gasses. It would not reverse global warming but would at least halt it. We can also grow a harmless microbe that could be released into the oceans that would break down all the plastic pollution; it could be used on land to reclaim landfills also.”

“Now we are getting somewhere,” said Raymond.

“I am talking about refining nanotech and microbiology and taking it to the next level, taking ownership of the science and giving it a push in the right direction. Look, the last thing I want to do is to use nano fabricators to manufacture more junk, I want to make solar sails, solar roads, electric cars that purify the air and generate energy as they drive, smart materials that self-clean and self-program, just to name a few.”

“So, your intention is to become a global green guru? An environmental messiah leading the people not only to a greener planet but into space as well? All on your own?”

“Well John, I was hoping for some support from Black Robin and its mysterious benefactors.”

“Financial support you mean?”

“This will not happen overnight, but you do agree things need to change sooner rather than later or the planet is doomed.” Lee left the statement hanging.

“You know about the orbital elevator BPI is constructing, Lago is way ahead of you there,” said Raymond.

“It is an enormous project that will make space more accessible but under BPI control. Lago will use it to transport the rich into space and expand his mining operation. He will leave a devastated planet and a huge population of poor behind. The elevator is a realistic way for the rich to get into orbit and it will work but there are other ways of reaching space.”

“Such as?” asked John.

“Mass drivers, laser propulsion, even balloons. I also have an idea involving electromagnetic propulsion that is basically an anti-gravity engine. It would use Earth's own gravity against it. Also, slightly more theoretical but not impossible is matter transport. Once we have somewhere to transport the matter to of course.”

“You would be in direct competition with BPI.”

“I don't expect Lago Santos to stop trying to kill me, but I will be prepared. We will be prepared.”

“He will go to war to eliminate competition Lee, he has done it before,” said Odetta. “I have been involved in covert missions that destroyed his competition, and their families, with no repercussions. I think you are underestimating him again.”

“I know him better now than anyone, and I will never underestimate him again. But his resources have been reduced somewhat. The Masama have left him. I have been monitoring his communications from here. They are in the process of relocating to the Moon as we speak.”

“I felt something,” said Odetta. “A void where my telepathy used to be. I thought it must be just from the distance between us, but it felt bigger than that.”

“This is excellent news,” grinned John. “Those thugs have been killing and intimidating people for years. The world will be a better place without them.”

“They were just his muscle. He will soon find some other tooled up troglodytes to take their place,” Raymond wasn't celebrating.

“He would not have been happy when they walked out on him,” said Odetta. “Wish I could have been there to see that.”

“Ultimately, I want to collaborate with Lago, bring him around to our way of thinking,” said Lee to a stunned silence.

“Lee, you are being naïve,” said John after a few tense seconds. “If you think you can change Lago Santos, therein lies the problem with everything you have been proposing. You say you are still in touch with humanity, but I am not sure. What you are talking about requires a seismic shift in how people think. Not just Lago Santos but the entire population. For decades now, we have been trying to get people to take climate change and the planet's degradation seriously. We are fighting a losing battle. The vast majority of people either don't care or don't think they can make a difference.”

John levered his protesting body into a standing position again and started a slow walk around the room like a lawyer mentoring the jury. “Those that can make a difference don't want to and those billions of poor, the great indigent unwashed and uneducated on the fringes of society are too busy trying to survive. Those in power like Lago actively oppose change. I should know, I have been trying to make people care a little bit more about their environment for decades. And look how successful I have been, I am treated like a criminal! Black Robin is labelled a terrorist organization!

They all looked at each other as John finished his oration. It was quiet, only the chirping of birds outside intruded the gloomy silence.

“Lee, I am not discounting your proposals; we should proceed with them. With the Masama thugs out of the way, there is an opportunity to act on these ideas of yours without fear of retaliation, at least for a while. I am just being realistic about the general apathy of the population and how difficult it will be to get them to change their state of mind. As for Lago, you should have killed him when you had the chance.”

Lee bowed his head. “Part of me hoped people would see the way to a brighter future and embrace it. But I know it will be an uphill battle. There is another way though, a way to change people instantly.” He folded his arms and looked out the window.

“Well... come on, don't keep us in suspense,” said Raymond impatiently.

Lee fixed his gaze on the faded carpet and maintained his silence, an internal debate exercising his mind. “I can change Lago. I can change everyone the way I was changed. For the better.”

Tense silence again filled the room as the birds outside seemed to applaud Lee's notion with an excitable cacophony of chirping.

“But you were... you were infected! With a rogue AI! What are you suggesting?” exploded Raymond.

“I have already explained what happened to me. I am not artificial, not alien, nothing foreign, I am living proof of the successful way forward.” Lee looked at them again, letting his words sink in. “You know what I am suggesting.”

John shook himself out of his pensive meditations and went for the liquor cabinet. “I need a drink. Something strong. Anyone?”

“No... No, you can't... you can't infect people! To make them think as you do! That's... that's...” Raymond couldn’t find the word he was looking for.

“That's probably the only solution.” John finished his sentence quietly as he poured himself half a pint of whiskey.

“I hope people would gladly accept a chance to better themselves,” said Lee.

“Like updating your aug,” Odetta conceded, tapping the small metal plate attached behind her ear. “Upgrading your ethereal lens or having nanotech in your body.”

Raymond shook his head; he was struggling to think of a convincing argument contradicting Lee's suggestion. Something inside him loathed the thought of this intelligent agent being injected into his body. It was unnatural, repugnant.

“How do you know it's safe? I mean you were bought back from the dead and this... this intelligent agent needed a host. How do you know it would be safe for everyone else?” This was the best argument Raymond could come up with.

“Believe me I know it is safe just as I know my own body, but I did test it.”

“You what? You tested it? On who?” asked a bewildered Raymond.

“The old man. Enoch, the Babelist in Miami. I figured it couldn't do any more damage than his already scrambled brain.”

“And what happened to him?” Raymond stood with open arms.

“As we left I could sense his faculties returning, his damaged brain was being repaired. The last sensation was an awareness, awareness of his surroundings, some confusion of course and a fleeting memory of me, a weak telepathic link like morphic resonance, the faint beginnings of inherited intelligence that faded with the distance between us.”

“I'm not sure. It seems wrong somehow.” Raymond was still doubtful.

“Odetta is right,” said John. “As anathematic as it may seem, it could be viewed as an upgrade or technical enhancement. Universal access to all knowledge is something we have been building towards for years. Making information easily accessible, faster communication and a global view.”

“My only concern,” said Odetta, “Is giving this... upgrade, if we are calling it that, to people who may abuse it. There are plenty of freaks and weirdos out there, if they get this upgrade, become more enlightened or whatever, will we just be creating smarter psychopaths?”

“Exactly!” Raymond was glad of a more convincing argument. “Knowledge is power, power corrupts, what if you are already corrupt?”

“I don't think that will be a problem, my intelligent agent, my IA will give you a global perspective; it will open your mind to your environment. It will also act as a type of telepathy, if anyone was harbouring thoughts of mayhem and destruction their peers would be aware of it.”

“What if their peers were also harbouring thoughts of mayhem and destruction?” Odetta asked.

“We might have to be selective about who we give the IA upgrade to initially, but eventually everyone would be on the same wavelength so to speak.”

“Won't we lose our... our humanity?” Raymond stuttered.

“We will become more human,” said Lee holding his gaze. “More than human.”

“This is the next evolutionary step,” said John, pacing the room with his huge glass of whiskey. “We cannot continue as we are, we know this. Humanity is doomed unless something drastic happens. And this is that drastic happening. We can either carry on as we have been, futilely banging heads with the likes of Lago Santos and condemning ourselves to a slow and painfully toxic death on an overpopulated world or accept the IA upgrade and take the next step up the evolutionary ladder as a united species.”

Raymond fell silent, he knew they were right, but he still felt distraught at the thought of entire populations receiving Lee's IA.

“I am glad you all agree, John is right, this is an opportunity for the entire human race, a chance to save our planet, a chance for future enlightenment and prosperity.”

“I agree with you, but can you please try not to be so pretentious,” said Odetta. “Seriously, if you say; ‘chance for enlightenment' or some other pompous overblown bollocks one more time then I am out of here.”

John gave an almighty whiskey-flavoured belly laugh as he passed the bottle around. “Let’s drink! Toast our decision!” he bellowed.

Raymond found something in his pocket, the tattered Babelist bible he put on the ledge. Then he dug deeper and found the small button he had picked up when the Masama had captured Lee. It was battered and faded but he could still make out the message. 'I love my Mum'. He handed it to Lee with a questioning look.

“I found this when we first met. I kept it hidden all this time, must be important to you.”

Lee looked at the button in Raymond’s hand with a puzzled expression. He looked back at Raymond.

“No, not important, means nothing to me. I understand your reticence Raymond, but we need you. Do I have your support?”

Raymond held his gaze then tossed his whiskey back in one swig. “How are we going to do this?”