Amy, Miles, and the Sentinel materialized on the hill that overlooked Star City. This time things were much more peaceful than they had been the last time the Sentinel had visited the planet. Nothing was on fire and the forests around the city were quiet. A blue sky stretched overhead, filled with white clouds. The buildings of the giant metropolis gleamed in the sunlight, and there were no signs of graffiti or vandalism.
The city streets were mostly deserted. The angry mobs that had caused so much destruction had dispersed and were nowhere to be found. There were still a few deranged individuals wandering around and attempting to cause trouble, but the security bots easily kept them from doing any harm.
“You know, I’m really impressed,” Amy commented. “I was expecting a lot more chaos. Those bots of yours have really made a difference.”
“So that is the famous Star City!” Miles exclaimed. “I’ve read so much about it over the years, but this is my first chance to see it in person. I have to say it’s far more impressive than I expected. It’s simply astounding! It really is the jewel of the galaxy – the greatest city of the Rangers. Did the old city of Tikal used to look like that?”
“Kind of, but not exactly,” Amy replied. “This city is a lot newer and more modern than Tikal. It lasted centuries longer than any city on Mars and reached greater heights of culture and technology. Tikal was still impressive, though.”
“There’s also the small fact that your sister rebuilt it,” the Sentinel pointed out. “The historical Star City was never that pristine.”
“Well, that’s true,” Amy agreed. “And it was in ruins when we rediscovered this world, so it’s not like it had been in that condition for thousands of years. But still.”
“So how would you like to do this?” the Sentinel asked.
Amy sighed. “Well, I think we need to separate the violent murderers from the rest of the general population. If the people aren’t being threatened by crazed madmen then they might have a shot at a future. Can you separate the criminals from everyone else?”
“I can,” the Sentinel replied. “The nanite network your sister deployed has recorded everything that has happened. It will just take me a few minutes to process the data.”
A voice called out behind them. “So I see the fiend has finally returned! Have you come to torment more innocent people?”
Amy turned around and saw that Adrian Garza was standing a few feet behind the group, near a tall maple tree. The ancient man opened his mouth to say something, but Amy froze him in place. “I’ve had quite enough of you,” she said bitterly. “Your day of reckoning has finally come.”
“So that’s the man who betrayed your family,” Miles said quietly. “He’s so old and frail. It’s hard to believe he could be guilty of much of anything. And yet – look at his eyes! They’re so full of malice and hatred.”
“They’re all like that,” Amy commented. “Old, I mean. You would think they’d be far too feeble to do much harm, but you would be wrong. The hatred inside them is so strong that it apparently overcomes their physical limitations. It’s kind of scary.”
The Sentinel spoke up. “I have processed the data and am ready. What would you like to do now?”
“How many people are we talking about?” Amy asked.
“I have found 349,483 individuals who have not tried to murder anyone, or who have only acted in self-defense. The other 1,764 are guilty of either murder or attempted murder.”
“Really?” Amy asked. “Are you telling me that only a small percentage of the population is responsible for all those deaths?”
“How many deaths are we talking about?” Miles asked.
“51,916,” the Sentinel replied.
Miles gasped. “Oh my goodness! Surely you’re joking. Wouldn’t that mean that each criminal murdered about 30 people?”
“That is a close approximation,” the Sentinel replied. “Of course, the actual numbers vary. I can give you the number of murders per person, if you are interested. Some people committed far more murders than others.”
“No, that’s ok,” Amy said. “All right. Can you bring all of the people here and divide them into two groups? I’d like all of the murderers to be put in one group, over there, and the rest to be over there.”
“As you wish,” the Sentinel said. A moment later two massive groups of people appeared at the foot of the hill. One group vastly outnumbered the other. Both groups, however, were frozen in place.
Amy nodded and stepped forward. She then hesitated. The girl looked at Miles, and then at the Sentinel. She then looked back at the crowd and took a deep breath.
“Citizens of Xanthe,” she said aloud. “I am Amy Stryker. My twin sister, Amanda Stryker, terraformed this world for you and brought it back from the dead. The reason she did that was to give all of you a chance at a better and brighter future. For that selfless act she and the rest of my family was murdered by your leader, Carroll Lane. This act was made possible because Adrian Garza, the man standing behind me, betrayed them.
“Carroll Lane died in the attack. He has already gone on to face judgment at the hands of God, so I will say nothing more about that. However, Adrian Garza, the man who betrayed my family, is still alive today.”
Amy turned around and unfroze Adrian. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“Yes, I do,” he snarled. “I hate you with all of my heart, you miserable wretch. My only wish is that I could come up with some way to kill you.”
“Why?” Amy asked. “Why do you hate me?”
“Because you have taken my godhood away from me. I used to be–”
“But I didn’t do that,” Amy said, interrupting. “The Artilect is the one that destroyed your pods, not me. And the only reason he did that was because Carroll Lane attacked him. If Lane hadn’t attacked us you would all still be in your pods today.”
“That doesn’t matter! The point is that you could rebuild them. I could be back in my pod right now if it wasn’t for your arrogance.”
“And why haven’t I rebuilt them for you?” Amy asked.
“Because you’re an evil monster! All of you are bigots who have been trying to force your values onto us. You are nothing more than a petty tyrant.”
Amy shook her head. “That’s not true, and you know it. I have tremendous power over this world, Adrian. If I wanted to I could enslave all of you. I could rain down fire and brimstone from the sky. I could open a chasm in the ground and send all of you plummeting to your deaths. I could do whatever I wanted, and none of you could stop me. But I haven’t done any of those things. The reason I haven’t put you back in your pods is because if I do that you will all die. As a friend, I am intervening in an attempt to save your lives. Returning you to your pods would be a death sentence on your entire nation.”
“You have no right–”
Amy froze him. “I’ve had quite enough of you, Adrian. You betrayed my family to their deaths and you would do it again. You are murderous and full of rage. Therefore–”
She stopped and looked at him for a long time. His face was distorted with rage, but he could not move. She knew that if she let him speak he would shout endless curses at her – and yet she had done him no wrong. Up until the moment Adrian had betrayed them, the only things her family had done was heal Xanthe and offer all of its residents an endless life in a beautiful city. In return for that offer Carroll Lane had killed all of them – except for Amy.
Now the man who had betrayed them was helpless, and in her power. She could do anything she wanted to him and there was nothing he could do to stop her. The last time she had confronted him the Sentinel had stopped her. This time, however, the Sentinel had stepped back. He would not stop her a second time. Adrian’s fate was in her hands.
After several long minutes Amy finally spoke up again. “Therefore, Adrian, I forgive you. I forgive you for what you’ve done to me. I forgive you – but I cannot let you go. You are too dangerous a man to let wander the streets, and you deserve to die for betraying my family. I am not going to kill you – but I am not going to extend your life either.”
Miles looked confused. “So what are you going to do?”
Amy sighed. “Adrian, I am going to transport you to another planet. This new world is empty and barren, and you will be the first and only person to ever set foot on it. You will have food and water provided for you but there will be no other luxuries. There will also be no one there that you can torment, for you will be entirely alone. In about three months your body will fail from old age and you will die. Before that happens I urge you – in fact, I urge all of you who are standing here – to repent of your sins. Jesus can forgive each and every one of you for what you’ve done. He freely offers mercy to all who desire it. Don’t throw that away, Adrian. Repent and believe before it’s too late. Should you have questions, there will be a Steward there who you can call on to get help.”
The girl then unfroze him. “Do you have anything to say?”
He paused for a moment. “You’re – you’re not going to kill me?”
She shook her head. “My family didn’t come to this planet to kill anyone. All we ever wanted to do was save your lives and give your people a future. That hasn’t changed. We would still rather see you saved than perish.”
Adrian laughed. “I told you that you were weak! I knew that you’d never kill me. What you are telling me is that I win.”
Miles spoke up. “What, exactly, do you think you’re winning? Amy and I are going to live forever. You, on the other hand, have less than 90 days left. What’s going to happen to you after that?”
Adrian just laughed – and then he disappeared. One moment he was on Xanthe, and the next moment he found himself on a cold, empty planet. Overhead was a brown sky, and a pale sun hovered on the horizon. A weak wind blew from the north. He could see no signs of plant or animal life, and the ground was hard and unyielding. Aside from a few crumbling rocks, there was nothing at all to be seen. The world had no mountains or valleys. There was only a flat, sandy desert that stretched as far as the eye could see. The only visible object was a stone table that was about twenty feet to his right. On the table was a bowl of fruit, a loaf of bread, and a glass of water. There were no chairs.
Furious, Adrian began shouting curses. But the wind simply carried them away.
Back on Xanthe, Amy had finished her speech. The group of murderers was gone. Each one had been transported to his own prison planet, to live out the few weeks they had left under the same terms that had been given to Adrian.
Amy then addressed the rest of the crowd. “The criminals in your midst are now gone. You no longer need to fear for your lives. As a precaution, the bots will remain to make sure that your streets stay safe. As long as you do not attack each other the bots will not interfere with your lives in any way. They are here only to keep the peace.
“There is one other gift that I am giving to you, and that is the gift of an extended life. Over the next few months you will all gradually grow younger until you are in your thirties again. Once you reach that point the natural aging process will resume and you will live out a normal lifespan. The reason I am doing this is to give you a chance at building a future for yourselves. If you wish you can have children and grandchildren, build a society, and choose a new way of life. Or you can do nothing, waste this opportunity, and die out as a race. The choice is entirely up to you. If you do wish to rebuild, there will be a Steward here to answer your questions.
“You are now all free to go,” Amy said.
“Wow,” Miles said, as the group dispersed. “I didn’t know you could reverse someone’s age! I mean, don’t get me wrong – I do not want to go back to being thirty. I’d much rather go on home and be with my Lord. I just didn’t realize you had that kind of power.”
“The nanites can do a lot of things,” Amy remarked. “This just seemed like the best thing to do. After all, if I hadn’t done that then they would all be dead. At least now they have a chance.”
“But what about the ones on the prison planets?” Miles asked.
“They have a few weeks to decide where they’re going to spend eternity,” Amy said quietly. “There are Stewards watching over each of those prisoners, so if one of them does have spiritual questions there will be someone there to answer them. But their sentences will not change. They have taken the lives of others, and I refuse to reward that by extending their lives. Instead they will suffer the consequences of spending five thousand years inside a pod – old age, and death. Perhaps in their last few days they will realize the folly of what they’ve done and will have a change of heart.”
“I can understand that. But the Stewards – well, they’re just computer programs, aren’t they? I have a hard time believing that a piece of software could have deep spiritual insights. Aren’t there any humans they could talk to?”
“Well, there was Reverend Knight, but he was killed in the attack Do you want to talk to them?”
“I would be glad to, if they would be willing to listen,” Miles replied.
“All right, I guess we can arrange that. Steve, if one of them should show signs of wanting to talk to someone–”
“I will go and get Miles,” the Sentinel finished.
“Thanks,” Amy said.
“So now what?” Miles asked.
Amy looked down the hill at the large mass of people that was slowly walking back to Star City. She noticed that an old lady had broken away from the group and was climbing up the hill toward them. “Can I help you?” Amy asked.
“Just give me a minute,” the old lady said, wheezing. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”
It took the lady several minutes to reach the top of the hill. She then walked right up to Amy. “I’m Susanna Hamilton,” she announced. “You may call me Ms. Hamilton.”
“Ok,” Amy said slowly. “Is there something that you need?”
“Yes, there certainly is! Young lady, who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to judge all those people? I certainly didn’t put you in charge!”
Amy sighed. “Look, miss. This planet attacked my family, and we conquered it. I’m in charge now, and believe me, I’m not exactly excited about it either.”
“You’re a killer,” she hissed. “A murderer! How dare you send all those good people off to die! You’re a monster, that’s what you are.”
“Do you not understand that those people were homicidal maniacs?” Amy asked. “If Steve hadn’t stepped in and built those security bots then even more people would be dead by now. There’s simply no way you could ever have built a future for yourselves if madmen were allowed to roam the streets and kill anyone they met.”
“You will regret this,” Susanna said coldly. “I will personally see to it that you regret this, if it is the last thing I ever do. You should never have come to this world.”
“I plan on never returning,” Amy shot back. “Believe me, I am done here. What you people do from this point on is up to you. Come on, guys, let’s go.”
Miles opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance. Before he could speak Amy, the Sentinel, and himself had vanished, leaving Ms. Hamilton alone on the hill.
