Carlee followed after the leech, and the door slid shut behind her without a sound. They passed dozens of strange leeches and gigantic machines capable of producing more. She couldn’t help but notice that a pile of the force-field generator spikes that Darwin had used to trap them rested in one corner. But the factory, by and large, was shut down.
The leech led her deeper into the mountain and then stopped in front of something she had not expected to see. Before she could react, the leech shined a message into her head once more: “If you have come this far, then you have honored me in a way in which I can never repay. We weren’t close in life, but I still considered us friends during our brief time together.
“Mountains are considered sacred in dozens of religions, housing their gods in great cities or burning bushes. Even those who did not believe in the divine found peace and respite here. And so, you have found where I rest. I met my end while trying to achieve a better world, and now my burden falls to you. The path in front of you is a perilous one. The Apostles earned the control of the earth that they now enjoy, and upsetting their power structure will be strenuous. I ask that you let me rest, to allow me to spend eternity with my true creator.
“I have set you on a path that I know you did not choose, and I won’t force you to go it alone, although I ask it. The body that rests before you is identical to the one I lost in the fight. I have copied the key aspects of my memories here, as well as my origination algorithms, all of which have been unlocked by the molecular key you reassembled to open the door.
“Forgive me for the trespass; the steps were to ensure that you, and you alone, would have the pieces required. All that is missing now is a temurim core. If the need is great, the power to resurrect me rests in your hands, Carlee, leader of the vagrants and fellow believer. Mungu awe nawe.”
Darwin’s voice went silent as the leech finished replaying his final message. Carlee looked down to where Darwin’s shining body rested. The head of the body was parted, revealing the location where a temurim core would reside.
The demolition of the temurim mine had changed the world far more than Horus’s attack on a fellow Apostle ever had. Humanity had been unmistakably involved, and she didn’t believe that was something the Apostles would excuse.
She had spent her life believing that the war was over and that fighting the Apostles was certain death. But the war wasn’t over; deep inside, she had always known the truth. The war was just beginning. And she wasn’t going to face it alone.
Carlee closed her eyes and found her husband in another time line. From there, she moved about in his reality until she found a temurim core.
The End