Stryker #5, At the End of Eternity – Chapter 6

“The manufacturing sector of Tikal is quite ingenious! I was expecting to find some sort of zero-point-energy plant that could create matter out of energy, like what we had back in the old underground city. Tikal, though, has something a thousand times better. We’ve discovered warehouses of enormous machines that can transmute one material into another. All you have to do is shovel in large quantities of any material – trash, for example – and tell the machine what pattern you want to apply. It then somehow converts that matter into copies of whatever you chose. You can turn household waste into diamonds, or rocks into copper wiring. It’s incredible! So far we’ve only been able to restore one of these amazing machines. If we can master this technology and repair the rest of them it will open up an entire new era for us!”
–Noel Lawson
June 19, 7243
 

The following morning Amy Stryker met the Sentinel at the bottom of Falcon Ridge. The morning was warm and humid, and the ground was covered in dew. A low mist hung in the air. Alex thought that the weather was perfect. The dog was rolling around in the grass and had become soaking wet. He barked excitedly at Amy, who smiled at him. You always did love playing in the water, she thought to himself. I’m glad you’re happy. You’re lucky, you know – the cares of this world haven’t gotten to you at all. You don’t have a single thing to worry about.

Above them was a wide blue sky. The sun was still low on the horizon, but it burned with intensity. Amy knew that it was going to be a warm day. The nanites shielded her from the heat and from the cold, so the weather would not have an effect on her. She merely noted the ambient temperature as an interesting piece of data.

“I see you’ve been busy,” the Sentinel commented. He watched Alex romp around in the grass for a few moments, and then turned at smiled at Amy. “I hope that you did not give Monroe Araiza too much of a shock last night. He is an old man, you know.”

“Oh, he’s fine,” Amy replied. “Sure, I startled him a bit, but he was more curious than frightened. I didn’t tell him anything, though. Well, I told him my first name, but that was it. He probably thinks I’m some kind of crazy person.”

“I would not be so sure about that. He is a wise man and he excels at thinking rationally. It is possible that he learned more about you than you intended to reveal. He is far more perceptive than most Adrastans.”

“I guess. It doesn’t really matter, though. It’s not like he can stop me or anything. The key point is that the city isn’t all bad. While it is mostly bad, there are a few people there who care about the tribes and are trying to stop General Maldonado from killing everyone. The big problem is that Monroe and his friends don’t have any public support and aren’t in positions of power. All they can really do is stand to the side and protest, which isn’t doing much good. They mean well but they’re completely ineffective.”

“So the majority of people in Adrasta wish to see this genocide completed. There is only a small minority that is acting as the city’s conscience. What do you intend to do?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Amy replied. “I’m definitely going to stop them from bombing any more tribes. That much I know. But I want to stop the general in an unobtrusive way, so it looks like he’s just having a series of accidents or a run of bad luck. I don’t want him to know that he has an opponent.”

“Why not? What do you gain by doing it that way?”

“Well, the main thing I gain is time. I know you’ve been working on a cure, but right now we don’t know if our efforts are going to pay off or not. I’d like to know how things are going to turn out before I decide what to do with Adrasta. What I’d like to do is stall the bombing campaign long enough for us to find a cure. Then I’d like to give that cure to Monroe, so he can present it to the city and use it to turn the tide of public opinion. If the Adrastans are presented with another option they may rethink what they’re about to do. After all, it’s one thing to murder a bunch of so-called ‘subhuman savages’. It’s quite another to murder a group of people who can be cured and returned to their right mind. The existence of a cure might help the city see the tribes as actual human beings. It may give them a bit of perspective. At the very least, it’s worth a try.”

“I suppose it is possible,” the Sentinel agreed. “But I still do not understand why you need to keep yourself hidden.”

Amy sighed. “It’s because I want to give Adrasta a chance. I mean, look. I want to know what the city will do if they know that the savages can be cured. Will they have a change of heart? Will they renounce the general’s plan? I honestly don’t know. If they think that the cure came from Adrasta itself then their reaction will be honest, and I’ll be able to see who they really are. But if I walk in as this all-powerful person and force them to stop, then I lose the chance to see their heart. At that point dropping the bombing campaign wouldn’t mean anything because I forced them to do it.”

“I understand,” the Sentinel replied. “You want to know if Adrasta is worth saving.”

Amy winced. “That sounds kind of harsh, but I guess you’re right. I’ve got to find out if I should intervene and heal them of their infertility problems, and that means I have to test them somehow. I don’t want to heal them if they’re just going to use their offspring to kill millions of people. I don’t want to be the person who allowed them to dominate the galaxy and enslave billions of planets. The consequences for making the wrong decision here are really, really large. If the Adrastans show a change of heart then that’s one thing, but if they don’t then I see no compelling reason to rush to their aid.”

“There is a lot riding on this, then,” the Sentinel commented. “What they decide to do with the savages will determine whether or not their city has a future.”

“Yes,” Amy agreed. “Speaking of the future, how is the cure attempt going?”

“It is still in its early stages. I have noticed that your observation was right – it is indeed the children who are responsible for the more civilized aspects of their society. The damage is still there in the young but it becomes progressively worse as the child ages, and once the child reaches adulthood the madness has fully set in. I do not know this for certain, but it may be possible to cure the children before the damaged genetic code has caused too much mental disruption. A cure while the damage is still limited is far more feasible than attempting to repair a brain that has succumbed to chaos.”

Amy nodded. “I guess we can start there, then. I mean, I’m still hoping to cure everyone, but we have to start somewhere. I guess if we had to we could cure the children, then move the cured children to another planet and let the Stewards take care of them. They could then grow up as civilized people. I really don’t want to do that, though. Children need their parents. A computer program is a poor substitute for a mother and a father.”

“I agree, but it may be all that we can do. It is a last resort, but at least it would end the disease and it would only affect one generation. As the adults died off the disease would die off as well, and the cured children would have children of their own who were sane and rational. It would mean the loss of the entire adult generation, but subsequent generations would not suffer any ill effects.”

Amy nodded. “True. But at this point we’ve only been studying this for one day. I’d like to do a lot more work before we write off all the adults as a lost cause. Besides, we don’t even have a cure for the young yet!”

“Agreed. But we now have a starting point and a potential plan. I will keep you informed as I make progress.”

“Thanks,” Amy replied. “In the meantime I’m going to be babysitting Adrasta. I can think of a lot of other things I’d rather be doing, but someone has got to do it and I’d rather it be me than you. You need to stay focused on the cure.”

“Couldn’t you set up a Steward to watch the Adrastans?” the Sentinel asked. “Is it really necessary for you to personally monitor them?”

“Sure I could, but you tried that before and it was a colossal failure. Remember what happened when you used security bots to control Star City?”

“That was indeed an epic failure,” the Sentinel admitted. “I see your point. But perhaps that could be corrected for.”

Amy shook her head. “The last time I let a computer watch over a city, every last person in that city died. There’s no way I’m doing that again. This time I’m going to handle things myself. I don’t want to lose another planet – or another tribe, for that matter.”

“Very well,” the Sentinel replied. “I see the wisdom of your course. I will return to my work, then. If you need me simply let me know.”

“Thanks,” Amy replied. “I appreciate it. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Alex looked over at Amy and barked. “Does this mean you’re going to go now?”

“I’m afraid so,” Amy said. “I’ve got some work to do. But I’ll be back soon, all right?”

“But I don’t want you to go,” Alex whined. “Can’t I come with you? Please?”

Amy sighed, and then smiled. “Oh, all right. I’m going to be monitoring the city from a distance anyway. You and I can find a safe spot in the mountains and camp out. If you promise to be good I’ll let you come. How does that sound?”

Alex barked excitedly and ran around in circles. The Sentinel looked at Amy curiously. “I would be more than happy to watch him for you. He is not a bother.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it! He is my dog, you know, and I haven’t had a chance to spend much time with him lately. If I have to run an errand or something I may ask for help, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. Just focus on the cure – that’s entirely riding on you. I really can’t offer much help on that.”

“I will do what I can,” the Sentinel promised.

Amy nodded. A moment later, all three of them disappeared.