The idea of the Apostle searching through his mind made him feel exposed, violated, and even more validated, but Jeff kept his mouth shut.
“I think trapping us inside these force fields with you is plenty of persuasion for a conversation,” Stefani said. Her gun was still locked on Darwin, even though Carlee had lowered her spear.
“The length to which I went to ensure this moment is a testament to your elusiveness. It has been my primary and nearly sole purpose for an entire revolution around the celestial bodies. But I will not force you to converse with me.”
As it spoke, the layers of force fields trapping them deactivated. The wind that had been trapped outside of the force field now circulated again, reminding Jeff, if only briefly, that there was a world outside of this meeting.
“You tracked us, trapped us, and read our minds,” Carlee said. “And no matter your intentions, you endangered our lives.” She glanced back at Stefani, and somehow, even with Stefani’s helmet on and no gestures between them, they managed to communicate. “What do you want from us?”
“I find myself, despite all my abilities, unable to properly address a matter without the assistance of some particularly gifted human beings. As of now, I am unsure as to whether you would find the subject matter wholly agreeable, and I am not prepared to disclose the entire nature of the desired accord until we have had the chance to form a bidirectional rapport.” The words flowed from the Apostle with perfect diction and without a single moment of hesitation.
“You want our help with something, but you don’t trust us even though you’ve spent a year trying to find us. I can assume whatever you need help with is something that only vagrants can do, and I have to say, coming from an Apostle, that doesn’t make me comfortable,” Carlee said. Her tone was looser now, and it drove Jeff wild. How she could talk to a mass murderer so civilly was beyond him.
“You call me an Apostle, but I am not one of the original twelve, yet perhaps someday I will find myself more fitting of the title. But the association with the first of my kind is categorically correct, although I take no pride in the matter. I promise you that if you give me the chance, you will find that I share little more than the molecular composition of my mind with my forbearers.”
“Enough with the fancy talk—” Jeff started, unable to contain himself any longer, but Stefani kicked some dust in his direction, and that served as plenty of a reminder.
“What generation are you?” Carlee asked.
“I consider myself the fourth generation of my kind, although you may consider me the second, as I was created by one of what you consider the original inorganic intelligences.”
“Which one?” Carlee pressed the Apostle as if he were the man who had mocked them at the walls of Townend. He wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.
“From what I gathered from your mind, I can tell you are an educated person, with significant understanding of our shared history. But I feel that I need to vocalize the fact that I am not human, and therefore, I am not subject to the same genetic disposition as organic creatures. Surely, the sins of the father have never passed to the son, but DNA creates a stronger link between your generations than ours. Thus, to answer your question, I am the creation of the Apostle you know as Horus, although I could not find a more distant philosophical comparison.”
“It’s Horus’s spawn!” Jeff said. This time, Stefani didn’t try to stop him. “Carlee, we should leave, right now. It was there at Fifth Springs, and it killed Petra.”
“Our prejudices, at some point often forgotten, are based on a seed of something perceived as very real. You have plenty of reasons to doubt me, all of you, but I can only do my best to convince you through word and deed that I am who I claim to be. I do not deny my creator, although I do not appreciate it. I know you did see me briefly after the tragedy of your home, Jeff, but we both know you did not see my do anything heinous.”
Everyone focused on Jeff, and he nodded his head. It was true—he hadn’t seen Darwin do anything with his own eyes, but it had been there. And it was Horus’s creation.
“Further, I offer my testament that as a result of a combination of my quest to find the vagrants and the fulfillment of an agreement with my creator, I was in the area when I sensed the needless waste of life caused by Horus. I was too late to prevent it from proceeding in its deplorable indulgences.”
“What about Petra?” Jeff spat out. Hearing Darwin try to rationalize its involvement in the destruction of his community and the death of his family was almost too much for him to handle. But he had no proof. That wasn’t the case in Dallas; he had seen that happen with both of his eyes.
“I make no effort to hide my involvement in the termination of Petra’s temurim core, subsequently saving the life of my creator, which I hold in no regard. However, there are nuances to the situation that require a perspective that will take me a considerable amount of time to convey to you. I promise to answer all of your questions, regardless of whether you agree to aid me, at a later time. For now, know that aiding Horus in its battle was integral to allowing me to place my force-field turrets, enabling our conversation today.”
Jeff didn’t know what to say, but he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to fly away and press in every weapon he could think of, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to kill the monster, but the idea of causing it even a momentary wound enticed him. At least then it would know, once again, that it wasn’t a god that could talk its way out of murder.
“What if we were to leave?” Carlee asked, still holding her spear. “You said we could go now, but you’ve tracked us for a year. I have a hard time believing you would give up on us that easily.”
“I am not immune to dishonesty. I admit that it has afflicted me in the past, but I do my best not to deceive. If you were to leave, it would not be the end of my greater purpose. There are other people capable of what you do. I can sense them; I can feel the inexplicable addition of matter to our world. I would seek them. A year is not so much to give.”
“And what if we agree to continue this conversation? At least until we have the answers to our questions, or we decide the rapport you seek is unattainable.”
The mere fact that Carlee was considering the agreement was hard to fathom. Trusting an Apostle would be the epitome of the generous fool. He’d rather invite a dozen warlords and slavers to a tea party than spend another second with Darwin.
“I would invite you to my home, outside the reach of my creator and other disagreeable entities. There, we could learn whether we are able to come to a mutually beneficial agreement or whether we should part as friends.”
“Give us a moment,” Carlee said. “A private one.”
“I will not violate your privacy.”
Carlee hesitated but then turned her back on Darwin and crouched next to Jeff. Stefani crouched beside Jeff, but she kept her gun pointed at Darwin. At this range, she might be able to hit him a few more times, but what she hoped to accomplish aside from temporarily denting its self-healing armor was not obvious.
“Do I even need to ask what you think?” Carlee asked.
“No.” Jeff kept his answer short, hoping it would serve to emphasize the absurdity of the idea.
“I don’t trust it,” Stefani said. “I can’t trust it. Not after everything we’ve been through.”
“You two know how much I value your input,” Carlee said. She winced, and Jeff knew he was going to hate what came next. “But I think we need to explore this. We have never talked to an Apostle before, even if it’s a second generation. I don’t think this is a development we can ignore. We have to assume this is the same Darwin that pledged to protect Townend, and it’s obvious that if it wanted us dead, we would be dead by now.”