“That’s why you’re the only one who can sign the Do-Not-Resuscitate form, not your mom.”
Cameron chuckled, and it hurt worse than he ever imagined. He thought about getting up, but decided he liked the floor here way too much. “We should probably get out of here. Mom’s going to be worried.”
Roen raised his head off the floor. “Is Jacob dead?”
“Yeah, Dad. I killed him. Got Chiyva too.”
“Cool.” He heard a shuffling to the side and then a groan. “Argh. I think I broke my arm.” He heard more shuffling. “Damn it, I think I broke both arms. Cameron, you’re going to need to help your old man up.”
Epilogue
Timestamp: 3887
One thing that I do know, and this is irrefutable, the war will continue. The players will come and go. The names and faces will change, but there will always be a new host to take the place of fallen comrades. That’s how it has always been since the beginning, and how it always will be after we’re all dead and buried. This will continue until, as the Quasing like to say, we meet in the Eternal Sea.
All right, I think we’re done here. I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?
Enzo woke up in a stale white room. That buzzing. A fly? No, the harsh fluorescent light. A sharp white glow stung his eyes. He squeezed them shut, but the white still seeped through; he covered them with his hand and took several deep breaths. He felt some pain, a lot of discomfort, but mostly just numbness. They must have pumped a lot of drugs into him.
Everything was out of focus, from the sterile-colored walls, to the sound of chatter just outside the room, to his hazy memories. What happened? He thought he heard Zoras speak, but couldn’t quite make out the words. His Holy One’s voice sounded more like an itch on the back of his brain than a divine God channeling wisdom into his head.
Enzo closed his eyes, squeezed them tight. Slowly, the world came into focus as his senses collected themselves. The chatter outside the room coalesced into words he understood: Mandarin. The color of the walls, the distinct sterility of this particular facility, the feel of the sheets. This was the 301 Military Hospital; he was back at home in Beijing. He had cheated death, though to his shame, had not pulled victory from the jaws of defeat. It was his first, and Enzo swore, his last.
Zoras was saying something, and bit by bit, the words became clear. His Holy One was telling him to rest, not to move, to push the remote near his right hand to fetch the nurse and inject more painkillers into his bloodstream. He decided to forgo both for now until he had a better grip of his surroundings. He tried to sit up in bed, and had to stop as pain surged up his body, which changed his mind on the painkillers. He pushed the button and felt the immediate effect of the morphine coursing through his body.
Gritting his teeth, Enzo tried to sit up again. After all, he was not only an Adonis, he was the leader of the Council. He would not hold court lying in bed. He forced himself into a seated position. For the first time, he noticed the tubes sticking into his arm, his chest, his nose. He reached up to yank them out.
Leave them. Your injuries are many and severe.
“How long have I been gone? What happened?”
It has been three days since you were evacuated from the loyalty haven. Two Chinese destroyers were deployed to the Beaufort Sea and a commando team extracted all the survivors. Palos saved your life.
“His standing has been raised. I will see to it.”
Now there are other things you must attend to. The remnants of your Assembly are nearby.
“Amanda,” Enzo said, the words coming out in a slur. “Amanda. Attend me.”
His assistant popped her head in and gave a start. “Father,” she said, walking in and bowing. “We did not expect you to wake for another day or two.”
“Assemble.”
“But, Father.” She looked uneasy. “The doctors recommend rest.”
“Assemble!” he snapped.
In a few minutes, the remnants of his inner circle were gathered. The absent faces spelled out which of his brothers and sisters had fallen. Only a few of his younger siblings were here, and none of the ones he had grown up with at the Hatchery.
There were a few new faces too, not from the Assembly. What were they doing here? That girl – Mengsk’s daughter, no doubt trying to reclaim her position and ownership of her father’s wealth. Well, those funds would be needed now to rebuild Genjix operations. There was another boy next to her, Hatchery-trained by the looks of him, possibly a new vessel, given the casualties they had sustained recently. Well, he would need good people around him to recover from this mess.
He looked each person over. “We will have to grow a new Assembly. There is too much work, and I have too few I trust.” He looked over at Palos and acknowledged the grizzled vessel’s contribution to saving his life. “How are our operations in Russia?”
“Unstable, Father. The remnants of Vinnick’s operation have united and are allying themselves with the new vessels in the Federal Assembly. You left a vacuum in Russia before the situation stabilized, and they took advantage. Much of what you gained will need to be recaptured.”
“And the North American continent?”
“The IXTF is now in control of both the catalyst facility and the loyalty haven,” Amanda said, scanning her tablet. “Total casualties at the loyalty haven were eighty-seven percent. The catalyst facility…” she paused, “… fought to the last man. It was total attrition.”
“More importantly, what of the catalyst reaction rods?” he asked.
“Between the two facilities, a total of twenty tons of the catalyst reaction rods are now in Interpol’s hands.”
Twenty. Tons.
That was half of their global stock. It would take ten years before they could replenish that amount. Damn Vinnick for stealing the rods. This delay had proven so costly. The others on the Council would use this against him.
Not just the others. All the Holy Ones feel that this catastrophe could have been avoided.
“My standing is lowered. I understand. Still, time is meaningless. We can rebuild.”
There is something else. Ask Amanda to bring forth Weston.
Enzo complied, wondering who that was.
The young man at the back next to Alex came forth and fell to one knee. “Father,” he said reverently.
“Who is this boy, Zoras?”
Stand up and greet him.
“Why?”
Do as I command, vessel.
Not quite understanding the order, he pulled the tubes and needles out of his body – the ones going up his nose in particular hurt – and tried to get out of bed, except when he twisted his waist to swing his legs over the edge, they didn’t obey. Puzzled, he tried again. Nothing happened. Then he realized that he couldn’t feel his toes or feet. He poked his thigh with his fingers. There was no sensation.
“It can’t be,” he muttered, more perplexed than anything. “I don’t understand.”
It is as I feared; you are paralyzed.
Enzo looked down at the body that had failed him, and then up at the circle of people standing around the bed. It must be awkward for them to stand over him like this. Well, they had better get used to it, then. His recovery could take a long time.
“It seems my injuries are more serious than I thought,” he began. “I’ll need more staff to assist me during the physical therapy.”
No, Enzo.
“My Guardian?”
You have been a devout vessel, Enzo. However, your body betrays us. Your time is at an end. Weston is your replacement.
Enzo’s hands froze and his body stiffened as Zoras’s words sunk in. He was being replaced by a new Adonis Vessel, similarly to how he had once replaced Devin. How could that be possible? He was the leader of the Council, leader of all the Genjix. He was blessed above all others, his standing higher than any other to have ever walked on this planet. He was the one who was supposed to usher in Quasiform. This couldn’t be how it ended!