Beyond the Farthest Star: Chapter 15

After leaving the tropical paradise of Tonina the Sentinel transported himself to Xanthe. He did not expect to find her there, but he was confident that she would eventually return. She cannot avoid this world forever, he thought. Amy has unfinished business with Adrian Garza. I may have inadvertently driven her off for a while, but the injustice of her family’s death will eventually draw her back here. If I remain here long enough I am certain that I will find her.

The Sentinel materialized on a small hill that overlooked Star City. As soon as he saw the smoke rising from the charred buildings of Star City he knew that he had been away for far too long. I have been a fool! I have spent weeks scanning for the presence of Amy Stryker and have neglected everything else. Why did I not realize that this world needed someone to look after it? These people are not capable of governing themselves. They require constant attention.

Overhead the sky was cloudy and gray. The metropolis that Amanda had built in the valley below was on fire, and smoke was filling the sky. By the extent of the damage the Sentinel could tell that the city and the surrounding forests had been burning for days, and no one had made an effort to put out the fire or control it.

At first the Sentinel thought that the fire might have been accidental, but then he saw the mobs of deranged people that were swarming the streets. Even as the outskirts of the city burned, mobs of hundreds of people were rampaging down the streets, setting fire to anything that looked combustible. Other groups of aged hoodlums smashed windows, tore down signs, and tried to destroy everything they possibly could.

Then he saw the bodies. They have not been content to just destroy the city that was recreated for them, the Sentinel realized. They have been attacking each other as well. A quick scan of the burning city turned up hundreds of bodies in the streets. All of them appeared to have been murdered in brutal ways. Their bodies had been left in the streets to decay as their murderers left to find new victims. Nor were the corpses confined the streets; the Sentinel found thousands more scattered in buildings throughout the city. Some had been stabbed, and others had been shot, but the vast majority had been savagely beaten. Why would they do this? I built a tower for them and gave them everything they needed to live out the rest of their days in peace and comfort. Why would they destroy for the sake of destruction? Who are these savages?

When the Sentinel checked the tower he had created he saw more destruction and chaos. Most of the building had been trashed, and bodies littered the hallways and stairwells. The few people that still lived in the structure were barricaded in their rooms. Out-of-control mobs roamed the hallways, attempting to bang down the doors and drag out the few people that had survived.

I have left this world alone for just a few weeks, and twenty thousand people have been brutally murdered, the Sentinel realized with horror. This has to stop. I may have no right to judge them but I cannot let them keep killing each other.

In a brief moment of time several things happened. First, the Sentinel connected to the nanites that Amanda had deployed into Xanthe’s atmosphere. When he had established control over them he froze every human being in place, preventing them from moving. That will stop the attacks for the moment, he thought. He then extinguished the fires that had burned thousands of acres and began restoring the city – and the surrounding landscape – to its original condition.

As he repaired the extensive damage that the citizens had inflicted on Star City he could feel the rage that was boiling inside them. Some of the people were scared and others were confused, but the primary emotion appeared to be anger – a deep, explosive anger against whoever had dared to step in and stop them from continuing their murderous rampage. The Sentinel knew that he would have to talk to the planet’s citizens, but for the moment he put it off. They may be angry, but I refuse to let any of them go until I have some way to stop them from killing each other. If I do not intervene then there will be no one left for Amy to judge when she returns. I would judge them myself – for they surely deserve it – but it is not right for a machine to pronounce a sentence over a son of Adam.

Once the city had been restored the Sentinel created hundreds of thousands of bots and dispersed them throughout the city. Each bot was a small sphere that was roughly six inches in diameter. The tiny flying machines were made out of a bright green metal that glowed in the dark. The Sentinel designed them to be easy to see, no matter where they were or how dark it was outside. When the bots were dispersed the Sentinel made sure that every last human being on the planet was within sight of at least one bot. From all outward appearances the bots looked harmless, but he knew that they were not as innocent as they appeared. He had designed them to fulfill a very specific task and he hoped that they would live up to his expectations.

After the bots were in place the Sentinel decided it was time to address the city. He spoke through the bots so that everyone could hear him. They may not listen to anything I have to say, but they will hear it all the same.

“Citizens of Xanthe, this is the Sentinel. When I rescued you from Vault 37 I did so in order to save your lives. I built the Tower of the Sparrow for you and gave it to you as a home. It had within it everything you needed in order to meet your needs.

“I had hoped that you would use the gifts I had given you to build a future for yourselves. However, instead of leading responsible lives, I have returned to find you murdering each other. Tens of thousands of your fellow citizens have been killed. If I had not intervened I am sure that this death toll would have been even higher by the end of the day. You have not taken care of each other; you have tried to kill each other. You have not taken care of the city; you have tried to burn it into the ground. You are a race of mindless savages who thirst for destruction and love death.

“Since that is the case, I have deployed a new security system throughout Star City. The green bots that you see around you are there to deprive you of the ability to harm each other. If you attempt to take any hostile action the bots will stop you.

“I wish I could judge you for your crimes, but unfortunately I am just a machine and do not have the right to pronounce sentences upon the countless murderers that are in your midst. Rest assured, however, that justice will be done. Each of you will have to stand before God and be judged on that last day, and you will be held accountable for your actions, words, and thoughts. I strongly recommend repenting now, while you still can. After you die it will be far too late to plead with Jesus for forgiveness and mercy.”

The Sentinel then released his hold on the population. The reaction to his speech was mixed. Some people simply ignored him, while others began screaming obscenities at the security bots. The angry mobs that were roaming the cities turned the attention to the bots that were tracking them and attacked them. However, their attacks were in vain. Those who shot at the bots saw their guns vanish from their hands. The knives that were thrown at them simply disappeared. The futility of the attacks caused a few people to give up, but others spent hours trying to destroy their overseers – all without effect. Their rage was only increased when they discovered that the replicators in their rooms would no longer make weapons.

Despite the Sentinel’s warning, people continued attacking each other – at least at first. One man whipped out a knife and tried to stab someone, only to see the knife disappear. When he then tried to beat the victim with his bare hands the bot gave him a severe electrical shock. The man leaped back, screaming in pain – only to attack his neighbor again, and get shocked again.

The Sentinel was dumbfounded at the murderous rage that filled the people of Xanthe. Over the next few hours the attacks gradually declined, but they did not stop. Even though the bots successfully intervened 100% of the time, people still kept trying – no matter how often they failed, and despite the pain that the bots inflicted. They were so filled with rage that they simply did not care.

But not everyone is like that, the Sentinel thought. Some people are locked in their rooms, seeking only to protect themselves. The security system should deprive the mobs of victims, but this is not a solution. I must find Amy so that she can pronounce sentence. This madness must end.

His thoughts were interrupted when an ancient man walked up behind him and started screaming at him. The Sentinel turned around and saw that it was Adrian Garza. “I should have known it was you,” the Sentinel replied. “You have a way of turning up.”

“Someone has to come out and defend us,” Adrian snarled. “Since you callously murdered Carroll Lane I guess that leaves me to take his place.”

“I did not murder Carroll Lane. He was killed in a vicious, unprovoked, and traitorous attack against the Artilect and the Stryker family. He is responsible for his own death – along with the death of billions of others, who were killed by his bot swarms.”

“He was trying to save our lives! He knew that you people were monsters and would try to kill us if given the chance. The fact that you killed him proved that he was right. You are a monster.”

The Sentinel was surprised to find that he was growing angry. He attempted to control his wrath and remain calm. “Carroll Lane murdered seven people who had done him no harm, who were not attacking him, and who risked their lives to free him and his world from the bot swarms. The Artilect was entirely within his rights to defend himself against a murderer who had wiped out most of humanity and who was intent on killing even more people. Carroll Lane richly deserved his fate. Amanda Stryker did not.”

“Liar! You’re just a bunch of petty tyrants. Why, just look at the so-called security system that you put in place. How dare you police our every move!”

“I am keeping you from killing each other,” the Sentinel said coldly. “If I did not intervene then none of you would survive. You would beat each other to death with your bare hands. I have never seen such savagery before.”

“You’re the savage monster that destroyed our pods,” Adrian shouted. “You’re the one that took away our future and left us stranded in this awful place. We were surviving just fine before you showed up!”

“What is wrong with you, Adrian?” the Sentinel asked. “You were not insane when I first met you. In fact, you were quite reasonable, and we had a number of peaceful conversations. What happened to you?”

“Amanda Stryker is what happened to me,” Adrian said bitterly. “She’s the one that doomed all of us to extinction. Before she came along I was the supreme ruler, master over galaxies, with trillions of people bound to obey my every whim. I was young and powerful and had wealth beyond anything you can imagine. Then Amanda came along and destroyed my life. Now everything I spent a lifetime working for is gone. I’m trapped in the body of an old man, living a horrible life in a horrible place. My superpowers are gone, my wealth is gone, and my future is gone – and Amanda is the one that did it. I wish I could kill her a thousand times over.”

“You and your people are fools,” the Sentinel replied sadly. “None of your wealth or power or fame were real. You traded a real world with real people for a fake world with fake people, and you stayed there so long that you ruined your health. The entire population of your planet is now dead, except for a tiny percentage of people that managed to outlive all the rest. The Strkyer family was trying to save your lives and keep this world from becoming an empty graveyard. They wanted to replace your phony wealth with real wealth, and your phony future with a real future. And you killed them for it.”

“And I would do it again,” Adrian snarled. “They had no right to impose their values on other people. We have a right to live as we please.”

“No you don’t,” the Sentinel shot back. “You have no right to murder your neighbors.”

“Says who?”

“So says the Most High God. It is written, Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. Murder is nothing less than a direct attack on God Himself. He does not take it lightly, and He demands that justice be done.”

Adrian opened his mouth to say something, but the Sentinel cut him off. “Adrian, oh Adrian, can you not see the madness of all this? Do you not realize that the road you have chosen leads to death – not only for you, but for your people as well? You have to stop this. You have to back away from the precipice and return to sanity. You used to be reasonable, Adrian. You talked with me, and you talked with Reverend Knight. You understood the danger your people faced. Go back to that. Rethink your ways.”

“I can never go back,” Adrian shouted. “I was what you call ‘reasonable’ back when I was the supreme master of my universe, and reality was little more than a dream that didn’t involve me. Now you have taken away everything I’ve ever cared about, and robbed me of my rightful place as master of the universe. You should be on your knees begging us for forgiveness.”

The Sentinel shook his head. “You cannot bend reality to your whims. You can choose life, or you can choose death. If you continue to chase after death then you will find it. But it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. If you reject His mercy then you will face His wrath. There are no other options, and there are none who can withstand Him. Choose wisely, Adrian.”

“I’ve made my choice,” Adrian said.

“Then may God have mercy on your soul.”