Damn, Cairns was hot and humid. I was kind of glad I caught the Uber. Just imagining lugging my parcel around on a bus or even riding my big one made me sweat more.

Once I got back to my unit, air con on, I sat staring at the package I had put on my bed. I sat there wondering what shit Amy was involved in.

A few minutes later, I got a message from Amy. It was an encrypted video over Wire, one of the apps we used when talking about Dad during his trial, so the police, lawyers and journalists could not eavesdrop. The fact that she felt the need to send this made me a little nervous. I knew her boss could be an asshat, but it was not like he was a mobster or anything. However, who knew about the uber-rich?

I flipped my lucky coin a few times to relax a bit; it helped me think. Four heads and a tail. It didn't mean anything, but it was a pattern, and the pattern repeated a couple of times.

Amy and I had not used Wire since just after the trial, so I knew what she was sending was important. The video was weird. She had taken it from her phone, which was obviously in her pocket or face down, with a slightly muffled sound and a dim blank screen. I could hear one side of a phone call.

A gruff voice cut through the muffled noise, "When the countdown reaches ten days, we use the injectors," After a short pause where I could not quite hear the response, "At day zero, go through the process and then we can activate the… what did you call it, Settlement Stone."

The entire one-sided conversation made the contents very difficult to understand.

Another pause. "Yes, I know it is valuable. Then, follow the instructions to build a teleportation hub. Science fiction. No. No need for another demonstration. Yes, of course, the other zones are ready, too. 100 doses. Yes, we sent them out. Everything is in place. No, you do not need to visit again. The contract will be binding at zero hours. Yes, we know we must use the injectors at least a week beforehand. Yes, we will provide workforce, resources and energy in exchange for exclusive rights. Yes, I know what a binding contract is. OK. Once the teleportation hub is activated. Operational security: I trust everyone here. I don’t know what operation you run, but .. Sorry, sir." There was some shuffling. "As long as you look after the 100 chosen after we dose up. Yes, I know. … All accounted for. … Yes. The stone needs your special energy to activate. Yes, we will provide it. The generator is online, and the backup is ready."

The video cut to Amy’s face. I would have been happy to see her if it was not so weird. She was in a darkened room. She looked like crap. She had bags under her eyes, and she just looked exhausted.

"Luke, I can’t talk in person yet, but this was recorded some time ago. So get your geeky brain around me talking to you from the past." She made a poor attempt at a smile.

"I’ll try to put the last conversation on the video in perspective as I try to answer your questions as I go, but this is getting dangerous, and I am scared. It’s a long story, and I can’t tell it all. Some of it needs to be experienced. We are screwed. Not you and I, the whole human race. The company I work for - Flex Tech, made a big mistake. One the world will pay for, and instead of trying to fix it, our CEO, Noah Elias-Willingham, the fucking third, made a deal with the devil. Literally. Do you know that micro-scale particle accelerator we were building? The one I was so excited about when we made the press release, well, it worked better than expected. It punched a hole in our space-time barrier to somewhere else." She stopped. Obviously, I was supposed to be stunned, and I would have been if I had any idea what she was talking about.

"We made first fucking contact." She swallowed and looked scared. "Those in the know were sworn to secrecy, and all they could see was a bullshit profit. I only got involved because I was in the right place at the right time or wrong. A meeting and someone slipped up in front of me. From what I heard," she looked at her watch, "1312 hours, about 55 days, they are initiating stage one of an invasion."

Amy was good at pausing for dramatic effects. She had no idea what questions I wanted to be to be answered, but she was doing her best. I would have asked, "Who are they?" but she had a different answer.

"They will send an AI to subjugate and assimilate us unless we evolve. Look, Luke, these are their words, not mine. I have no idea what a lot of this means, and I am on the project now. Project Noah’s Ark, the fucking narcissist." She shuddered, "I saw one. There was some weird mind crap going on, I thought it was all BS until it just crushed Kristy, I was fuzzy about it all until I read the reports. They didn’t even touch her. She was dead. We freaked out, and then none of us could move. The power they have is unbelievable, and they are evil, instead of contacting the UN or government, ASIO or ASD or whoever, Noah negotiated with other tech firms, others who share his narcissistic ego. He spoke to some organised crime syndicates, cartels and other super-rich organisations to divide the earth into territories. Some world governments are in on this, too. I was supposed to know, but it was all secret and anonymous. All he saw was profit and a lifeboat. It's that Ben Elton book all over. Rich people save themselves with a wealthy elite-only lifeboat. I have no idea how the fucker knew them all, but the uber-rich are different from normal people."

She shuddered and wiped some sweat from her eyes. “Maybe they all met at some sicko Christmas party. I bet if Epstein were alive, he would be in the thick of it, too. I am glad I got this wake-up. Luke, I was heading in that direction. I'm scared. I think I am in too deep. Wealth is, well, his wealth puts Dad’s fortune to shame, and you know what those bastard partners did to him for that. I know, I know. You can help me now to make up for it.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I paused the video just to think. Heads, Tails, Heads, Tails. Heads, Tails, Heads, Tails.

Crap. I continued the video, knowing nothing good would be coming.

“Each of these megalomaniacs will head up a territory. They have been given 100 doses of some nanotech to protect us from the AIs that will assimilate everyone else. Each territory has a settlement stone that will give instructions and generate energy that the aliens need." She wiped some more sweat from her forehead, "Shit, Luke, they want to change us, the stuff, it will evolve us. One hundred evolved humans will oversee the remainder of the population in a territory. The stone is the key. Once they activate it, those bound by the agreement and have the dose will evolve and rule."

I paused the video again. How dumb were these guys? Even I knew there would be a catch. Fuck them. Heads, Heads, Heads. It was going to get worse.

I continued the video.

"I had to sign the contract. It’s not some normal contract. There is some weird mind juju happening, according to my hackers. Look, Luke, I am not sure what will happen, but I know this is not good. I am guaranteed a dose. The top 100 of the company and family will evolve. It was pretty intense, but Noah is a psychopath used to getting his way. I don’t know, but working for him has left me feeling dirty. Having him as our lord and master makes me feel sick. I had to stop him. His wife is not getting a dose, but he plans on evolving his bimbo personal assistant. Fuck that shit, I'll cut his dick off before I let him be in charge."

There was some noise in the background, "Crap." The video cut for a second. Amy was in a different room.

"Look, Luke, sorry to get you involved, but I can’t go to the media after what they did to Kristy. I am scared they will kill me too. They covered up Kristy’s death and threatened us all. We think that Juliette and Ashley are gone too. Rumours are they have hired a black-ops squad, and I don’t know what else to do. You remember Jed and Jean, well they will meet you in Port Douglas at the Courthouse - the pub where Dad shouted the bar. Call him Dallas – he hates Jed – has booked a room. Sorry bro, you’ll have to pay."

The video cut again. When it came back on, she was terrified.

"Look, they know someone is leaking, and I am really screwed now." She looked at the camera, "I stole ten doses of the evolution serum, as they call it. That is ten fewer traitors to humanity that will get it."

She smiled, "You will never guess what else. I switched the stone out for a couple of bricks wrapped up. Dumbass was showing his bimbo then they got busy screwing. I accidentally walked in early for a meeting, and they didn’t even notice. Bastard, cheating on his wife."

Amy had been married. Her husband cheated on her, so I could understand where she was coming from. Noah is lucky he didn’t get his dick cut off right then and there. She was fond of telling people that. I guess she did have a reason to hate Noah.

"I sent them to you. I didn’t have time to think, and I know you will have my back. Keep them safe. I have no idea how to activate this or anything. Look, I have no idea when to use a dose. We are getting ours a week out and are training. If you train hard, there are benefits once everything gets to zero. Stay safe. I’ll contact you and ensure you look after Jed and Jean. Use the doses, I don’t know. Be careful."

It ended.

I watched it a few times to make sense of her message. No way was I walking into this blind. I still wouldn’t put it past Amy to be playing a huge joke. Amy was known for pushing boundaries for a good joke, and then Dad went to prison and died. Lots of things changed then.

I kept flipping the coin. No patterns, no runs. Nothing. If I sat there long enough, I'd get a pattern eventually, unless it was Pi.

How much did I want to get involved? Who was I kidding? Of course, I was in. Not only was Amy in trouble, but she had kicked the villain in the nuts. 1:0 to us. This was going to be an epic story. Luke and Amy vs the world again. I needed to help her, and she needed me.

But just to be sure, I opened the box.

The box was easy to open. I had to grab a screwdriver, but I cracked it open. Inside was a pelican case. It was one of those expensive dustproof, waterproof cases with foam padding inside. They were generally for camera gear and other delicate stuff you needed to bump around.

Once it was out of the box, I sat it on my bed and spent a few minutes checking it. I was checking it for traps. Not that Amy would trap it, but if it were mine to set up, I'd trap it. I laughed. This was not a game, and even with what Amy said, I was not sure if that level of paranoia was appropriate. I didn’t like to think that way.

I laughed again. As if I had the skill or experience for checking for traps, I’d need to be a DnD rogue, and they were not my first character choice.

I poked the case, shook it, and finally flicked the six catches open.

It was not quite what I expected, but it was fantastic.

Nestled in the case deep in foam protection were nine glowing glass tubes about 2 cm thick and 20 cm long. They were a bio-luminescence blue. A soft glow came from within the case. They took up about half of the case with all their padding, and a shiny black sphere took up the other half. It had a diameter of about 15 cm. It was just weird to look at. It hurt my eyes. Under the top layer of foam, there was a short gun-like injector that looked neat. It was easy to see that the cylinders were inserted into the back and held against someone to administer. It looked heaps better than the last injection I had, a big needle on a syringe.

That was it.

I thought Amy had sent ten tubes. There was space for ten. Crap. One was missing. Not sure if she was mistaken or what, she kept examining them.

There were no notes, instructions or anything else. I watched the video several times and set a countdown app for the 1300 hours. It was possibly a few days out, but I could live with that. I’d ask Amy for an update when I talk to her next.

I wonder if Project Noah’s Ark had a website with a countdown app they shared. I sat on my bed and watched the video a few more times, flipping the coin and waiting for a pattern to emerge. Eventually, I put my lucky coin down.

I wrote some questions down and made notes of anything I thought was significant. I would have called Amy and laughed at her practical joke if I had not received the package. If I rang her, it would put me on the radar of some influential people.

Crap. Crap.

I didn’t like this one bit. I researched Flex Tech and Noah, and she was right. He was a total nut job. He was not quite as loose a cannon as Elon, but he was brutal, nasty, and had a series of high-profile wives and divorces. He was predictable. The pattern for that was there. Marry a beautiful girl when she annoys you or is not beautiful because she has given you children, then marry your lovely assistant. It was straight from a 90s movie. I knew that money could do strange things to people, so I could understand that a little.

But fuck him, if Amy had a problem with him, then so did I. As much as she hated Dad and his money, I would use it to help her. We were totally out of our league. Even though I had a great chunk of money, he was on a totally different planet.

I sat on my couch, flipping my coin, thinking.