“In that scenario, I project that I would, although if you have reservations, there are other vagrants out there. I can sense their unexplained changes. I can find another.”
“That’s not why I ask. I just need to know that there is a possibility that you could construct this weapon on your own. It must exist in some reality for me to bring it into this one.”
“I assure you that my factory is the finest in the world at specialty projects. Admittedly, it can’t compete with the leech-production capabilities of the more established inorganic intelligences.”
“And the shield, to protect from this bomb, I assume the same applies?”
“The bomb is a wonder of design. It took me years of experimentation and processing power to design. Paradoxically, the defense for the weapon is simple and eloquent.”
“So, that’s a yes?”
“I’ve already created the shield capabilities we will require. I have integrated it here with my current body. All you will need to worry about is the weapon, which will need to detonate as soon as it’s fully in our reality. There is a chance that Bud may be able to shield the temurim from the blast if we wait for more than a handful of seconds.”
The words hit him hard. He had anticipated pressing in the weapon and having time to press in the shield or flee the mine. Jeff took a deep breath and came to terms with the plan.
“Should I follow after you, then?” Jeff asked. The words came slowly, in no rush, but full of resolve. He would pay his debt and do what millions of innocents could not.
“The personal flight system you employed to follow me to my home will not be sufficient for the altitude or task. I, however, have designed a more fitting shell, made from the same nanohealing technology that I utilize. I think you’ll find it superior to your old system in every manner.”
Darwin’s projections changed to show a hologram of a white set of form-fitting armor. It had hundreds of tiny pieces that interconnected to form a full set that looked like a futuristic take on what a knight might have worn a thousand years ago. Underneath the plating, a silver garment glittered. It was stunning.
“Good thing we’ll match,” Jeff said. “Wouldn’t want anyone being confused about what side we are on.”
Darwin smiled, reminding him once again how irritated it made him when the robot mimicked humans. Instead of having to deal with that, he closed his eyes and quickly formed a picture of a reality where Darwin had brought the armor with him. It was an easy time line to find, but it took a long time for him to form a connection strong enough to press the complex armor over his body.
He wasn’t sure if it was his reality or glimpses of the one his mind had been connected with, but he opened his eyes just in time to see a small leech detach from Darwin’s back and go buzzing away from them. Jeff wanted to ask about it, but he didn’t want to ask questions about something he wasn’t confident had actually happened.
Instead, he looked down at his armor with admiration. It didn’t feel constraining like the flight armor he was used to. Instead, he felt like he had the full range of motion, and the suit supported him. In fact, it was so comfortable that he could hardly feel it. The display and controls were familiar and responsive.
“Do you find it suitable?” Darwin asked.
“It’ll do.” He didn’t want to give the Apostle the satisfaction of knowing how he really felt. The only thing he would have changed was the color. White had never been his favorite.
“I must say, it was fascinating to see you press. I’ve never experienced that personally on such a level. Truly, it is a miracle.”
“Don’t mention that to Stefani,” Jeff said. “Should we do this?”
“Yes. Although we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no eviclass="underline" for—” Darwin said, but Jeff wasn’t in the mood to sit through the rest of whatever it was he was quoting.
“Great, I’ll get us started.” He activated his armor and floated off the ground as the antigravity technology set in. Hundreds of tiny engines activated a moment later, pushing him into the air like a human rocket. He refused to think about anything or anyone but the mission in front of him as he broke the sound barrier.
Darwin caught up a moment later, and Jeff grabbed the back of the Apostle just as the first projectiles lit up his enhanced vision.
44 ROSES
“ONLY WORRY ABOUT THE PLASMA missiles and homing incinerators,” Darwin said. “I can handle the rest.”
“Oh, is that all!” Jeff shouted. There had been a brief moment of serenity in the upper atmosphere as the earth rested peacefully below them. Flying had always been magical to him, but nothing had prepared him to see the planet shrink beneath him to the point where he could see its blue oceans curve away beneath him.
But then it bloomed with a wave of red and orange energy. For a second, he hadn’t realized what was happening—until Darwin spun weightless in the air and plummeted straight down.
Now Darwin’s body shook as thousands of pinpoint-accurate balls of energy leaked from its armor, flying out to detonate incoming warheads or destabilize ten-foot-wide balls of energy that were streaming in their direction.
“Catch that one!” Darwin said. Jeff looked up just in time to see a warhead that looked like it was going to miss them by a few hundred feet shed its long-range guidance assets and pivot toward them.
He tried to close his eyes, but he couldn’t. The feed of information from his new armor streamed directly into his mind, allowing him to see the air burning on Darwin’s chest as it plummeted to the earth and the city-leveling arsenal coming at them from all directions.
“Jeff, we will fail to approach our goal if you don’t prevent that from contacting.”
He stood on the back of the Apostle, his suit magnetically holding him in place to the living meteor that was Darwin, and he stretched out his hands as the missile absorbed Darwin’s counterattacks and broke through its outer shield.
Carlee’s voice echoed in his head, telling him that catching bullets was not only possible but also not terribly difficult. The missile seemed to get stuck in the air as everything slowed down.
A widely different earth appeared below him, one where lights from an endless city covered the land and ocean. The Apostles had never been created, but somehow humans had created a utopia anyway. Billions of humans were gathered in the heart of the global civilization to celebrate the wedding of the emperor with the High Rani. It was the first occasion of its kind in a century, and the emperor had promised to make the heavens bleed with roses.
One of the rose missiles rested in front of him now. It broke apart peacefully, scattering a thousand flowers into the thin atmosphere. The backdrop of endless tiny explosions didn’t feel right in contrast, but he was falling faster than the flowers, and a voice was calling to him.
“The next one, Jeff!”
His mind snapped back to his reality just in time to track something that looked like a red-hot drill about to smash into Darwin’s stomach. Jeff let his mind slip back into the other reality, and the drill burst into ten thousand red roses. The petals caught against Darwin’s falling body burned as friction fought bitterly against their reentry.
The farther they fell, the stronger Jeff’s connection with the other reality became. He could see the celebrations in the ever-city, the dancing, the boxy clothing, and the endless variety of food paraded along the streets. It was a beautiful time line, one where he knew he had never existed.
He could hear the cheers of the people on the ground as they looked up to see a blood-red rain of roses. He could also see the nanobot swarms and gravity grenades popping into harmless bouquets of flowers by the hundreds. He existed in both places, could feel both places, like never before. His mind bridged the realities, providing a window into both as he shielded Darwin and himself from certain death.