Ava could see the scrawny, one-legged chicken behind the overflowing rubbish bin. This time she would catch the stupid bird. Barbeque chicken for dinner, what a luxury! She crept along the gutter, dodging the crates, boxes, and rubbish. People cursed and scolded her to get out of the way as they stepped over and around her. She ignored them, eyes only for the bird. She was close; the chicken jerked its head around with brainless regularity, clucking at the passing people, it craned its neck around and seemed to stare straight at her. Its black eyes widened with intensity, it smiled at her and disappeared.
What the fuck? Chickens can’t smile. Damn thing was taunting her. She had been chasing it through the markets all day and she wasn’t going to give up now. She ran around the rubbish bin only to see the stupid featherless thing disappear around another corner. She gave chase. She was fast. Faster than some dumb one-legged bird. Around the building and down the alley and she had it cornered. The alleyway was narrow, broken bricks on one side and wooden crates on the other. The chicken stood on its one leg, it cocked its head, regarding her. The Sun beat down from above, brick wall behind, there was no escape.
As she crept closer, the chicken became more agitated. Hopping up and down, clucking dementedly and trying to fly with its featherless wings. Ava spread her arms out wide and closed in on her prey. She lunged forward, but it evaded her grasp and flapped into the air. Then it was on her head, pecking, scratching, and squawking. She beat at it with her arms and sent it smacking against the wall. It bounced off and landed on the ground, a mess of flailing wings and claws. Its last remaining feather detached from its ass and fluttered in the rising hot air. Ava was on it, she had it pinned to the ground, both hands around its scrawny neck. The boys would be so impressed.
The chicken stared at her, it stopped struggling. She was about to wring its neck, but she suddenly couldn’t. The chicken started changing beneath her. Its stumpy wings started to grow. Fingery lumps of flesh appeared, hairs and fingernails grew. Its wings turned into human hands reaching for her throat. Ava screamed but she could not let go. Her fingers were locked but she couldn’t strangle the horrible thing, she couldn’t move. The chicken’s fingers were around her throat, choking her. They were choking each other. The chicken’s head started to change. It grew as well. Its eyes grew bigger. Its beak receded and its face flattened. Black hair began to sprout on its head. Ava watched in horror as the chicken’s face started to turn into something she recognised. The head got bigger. The beak turned into a nose. Black hair grew around an evil grinning mouth. The teeth were soaked in blood. The black eyes grew large, too big for the rage filled face. She was flipped over, onto her back and the monster was on top of her. Its hateful face dripping blood and spittle. The Sun loomed behind it. Huge and hot. Her clothes were ripped off, she tried to scream but she was being choked. The thing was too big, it crushed her little body. Its face came close, and it screamed at her. “You fucking bitch!” Its head became embroiled in the Sun and its face caught fire. The burning Sun devoured them as they both exploded in flame.
Ava woke up screaming, tears streaming down her face. Lesedi was there, arms around her, holding her close.
“It’s just a dream Ava, a bad dream. You’re ok now, you’re ok, I’m here.” Lesedi cradled her as she sobbed. She shook uncontrollably as Lesedi comforted her.
“I don’t usually go that deep,” said Ava, slowly recovering. “I’m usually more in control, I don’t let myself dream.”
“Trauma can be buried deep, so deep we forget it’s there, locked away. But it never goes away, it’s not the sort of damage the IA can fix, it’s psychic damage Ava. I have it too. We have to find him; we have to kill him.”
“I know it’s there, but I forget. It’s like a demon inside me waiting for me to relax and sleep so it can torment me some more. I should be stronger. I shouldn’t let him torture me. I thought I had dealt with it but sometimes he ambushes me in dreams like that. We were going to change him, turn him into a force for good. Maybe we still can, but even if his mind is rehabilitated, I could never work with him, I don’t think I could live on the same planet as him.”
***
General Mason Mount was thoroughly pissed off. He had been yelling into his satellite phone for the entire flight to Austin, arguing with bureaucrats at the Valhalla missile silo about levels of authority. He knew his story sounded crazy, but he had been there, he had seen it for himself. He had to act fast. There was no time to argue with these idiots. The President was the only one that could authorize a nuclear strike, but the President was playing golf and not taking any calls. The last time General Mount had met America’s Commander in chief he had called him an ignorant, bigoted buffoon for his shambolic handling of the Lassa fever pandemic. So right now, he wasn’t hopeful of convincing the man to nuke the state where he had the strongest support. Still, he had to act fast. After getting nowhere with the officers at Valhalla he directed the helicopter to Austin. He would try to convince the state governor in person. His mind was in overdrive, weighing options, thinking about his next move and wondering what he would be prepared to do. He strode up the steps where the governor was waiting, arms folded over his corpulent belly. “Have you looked at the satellite footage Governor? I’m telling you it’s the only solution, we have to nuke it.”
“I am not nuking my own god-damn state,” replied Governor Brown, looking resplendent in a white and blue pinstripe suit complete with a red cap proclaiming; ‘Don’t mess with Texas.’
General Mount did not have much respect for Governor Brown either. The governor had shown clearly over the years that he cared more about his own bank balance than the people of Texas. He had recently achieved billionaire status while millions of his fellow Texans lived below the poverty line. General Mount took his own job as protector of the people very seriously. Being top dog in the military made him ultimately responsible for the safety of all citizens, and despite the fact that this state had its fair share of crazies and extremists, General Mount had a large amount of empathy for the good people of Texas.
The Governor looked him up and down and grimaced. “You want me to nuke the state I have been looking after for ten years? The state I was born in? Hell no! General, if you have gone insane, I will have to relieve you of your duties.”
“Governor, it has to be done and done quickly before there is no state left. Go and look at the satellite footage if you don’t believe me. Every second we waste arguing, a few more miles of Texas will have disappeared. You are the only one the President will listen to, go and talk to him.”
“Are you out of your mind General? I will not unleash flaming nuclear destruction on the good people of Carthage! That's one sure way of losing votes. I would rather eat shit for breakfast. You’re the military mastermind, you think of a solution. And who the hell is this young’un? Looks like he's been hit with the ugly stick. Close your mouth boy.”
The General glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to see Ethan there standing close behind him. “This is Ethan, he’s the fella who discovered the machines. He’s also the only survivor from Carthage. There’s no one there left to vote for you Governor, they’ve all been eaten. There’s a gigantic alien swarm out there that’s growing faster every second, it’ll have covered Panola County by now. Won’t be long before Shreveport, Longview and Tyler go under then Dallas, Houston and Austin will be next. Governor, you haven’t seen this thing, it just eats everything it comes into contact with. Trees, rocks, dirt, people, and everything it eats makes it grow faster. I threw everything I had at it. All the big guns, even the hellfire missiles had no effect, it just pissed the fucker off. If you don’t authorize a nuclear strike, you will have no state left to govern, your mansion and your millions all gone. Then the whole fucking country. I’m telling you we have to stop it now or we are all fucked.”
“General, I’m not sure if you know how nuclear weapons work. There is an almighty explosion that obliterates everything for miles, then there’s the radiation, electro-pulse, and shock waves. We would be putting ourselves in danger right here in Austin.”
“I know how nukes work, Governor. If you would just go look at the satellite footage you will see what I’m talking about.” General Mount struggled to maintain his composure; they were running out of time. He wished he could fly straight to the recommissioned Valhalla nuclear missile silo near Abilene and push the button himself, but he would have to force his way in.
“And how do you know a nuclear missile will even work? How can you be sure throwing a nuke at it will even stop this alien machine thing,” said the Governor.
“I don’t know, I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that nukes are the biggest guns we have and if there was ever a time to use them, it’s now. And I’m not talking about one missile, it’s going to take more than that to slow this thing down. If it doesn’t, nowhere is safe, we will all be eaten by swarms of little robot bugs. Texas, the States, then the whole god-damned planet. All gone. You have to order an immediate state-wide evacuation then you have to order a nuclear strike on Carthage right now General. I know most people won’t make it; a lot of people will die but if we can stop this thing it will be worth the sacrifice.”
The Governor stared at him for a second then shook his head. “Listen to yourself General, sacrifice the State of Texas? God-damned alien bugs? You get back there and fight it. Whatever the hell it is. Go and do your job, do what you are paid for. Leave the big decisions to me. Swarms of little black robots, I’ve never heard such nonsense. I am seriously doubting your competence. And your sanity. Questions will be asked when all this is over.” Governor Brown turned and shuffled his big frame back into his offices waving dismissively and muttering to himself.
General Mount stood there fuming for a second. Biting his toothpick in half, turned and strode back towards his helicopter. Ethan followed closely behind like an obedient puppy. He had a picture in his mind of the machine sphere growing faster and faster while they had been arguing. Time was running out; he would have to take charge of the situation. “We’ll take Valhalla by force and launch the missiles ourselves,” he barked at his soldiers.
He didn't see the descending aircraft until it was almost on top of him. The spinning rotors caused a downdraught but there was no noise. “What the fuck?” he muttered and stepped back a few paces as the craft gently landed in the space in front of his helicopter. It was an elongated discus shape with two rotors built into the fuselage on either side of the main body to provide the vertical lift and another rotor at the end for thrust. The unmarked, silver, streamlined disc glinted in the sunlight. He had never seen anything like it and was immediately suspicious, after today's events he wasn't taking any chances. “Draw weapons,” he said and gestured to his troops to establish a perimeter.
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The rotors wound down and a seam appeared at the front of the craft where a ramp opened with a hiss. It lowered itself to the ground and the General could see a strange collection of people walking down the ramp, out into the sunlight. It was very unnerving, these people, if that's what they were, obviously had higher-level tech than the US military. The General thought he knew the tech levels of all rival military organisations, home and abroad. But this silent silver flying disc appearing out of nowhere made him feel like a primitive from the fifties confronted with a UFO. He hated being at such a disadvantage. Even more confusing was the appearance of the inhabitants of this flying machine. Five of them, standing there blinking in the sunlight. An ancient and intense looking man with a long white beard and flowing robes approached them. Behind him were four people, two women and two men, one of the women holding a baby. They were all dressed in tight one-piece suits that had hints of shimmering camouflage patterns flickering across them. They did not carry weapons; they did not look threatening. Mason looked into the old man’s piercing blue eyes as he faced them.
“He looks like... God,” said Ethan who had pushed his way through the soldiers and was standing next to the general again, staring in open mouthed awe at the new arrivals. “Pretty strange looking angels though.”
General Mount elbowed Ethan back behind him and threw him a derisory look before turning back to the visitors. “Stay where you are, come no further. State your business.”
The old man smiled, his blue eyes glinting. “I am no god young man, my name is Enoch, and these are my companions, Ava, Lesedi, Noah and Mahdi. The baby’s name is Carasco. We are here to help you with your replicator problem.”
Texas was full of crackpot religious nuts, doomsday preppers and conspiracy theorists and if these people had arrived in an old bus the General would not have given them the time of day. But the fact that they had arrived in the closest thing to a flying saucer he had ever seen and that four of them seemed to be wearing high-tech camo suits made the general think he should hear them out. “Replicators? What do you know of these alien machines?”
“The machines were created on the Moon as a construction tool. A coronal mass ejection altered their instruction set and sent them on a single-minded course of mass consumption. They have only one objective, to make endless copies of themselves. And in order to fulfil their objective, they can detect the magnetic energy of any object down to a cellular level, to use as substrate, to fuel their expansion.”
“Who created them?”
“The Masama. Augmented BPI soldiers that liberated themselves from the employ of Lago Santos to create their own settlement on the Moon. It was an accident, but it was inevitable. This is the logical conclusion of the advances made in AI technology on Earth and in space, leading to the birth of semi-sentient machines. If not the Masama, it would have been someone else.”
“Should have known Santos was behind all this,” muttered the General. “Ok Grandad, firstly who the hell are you people, how do you know all this and what do you plan to do about it? And why the hell did you bring a baby into this mess!”
“Carasco stays with me, he wanted to come,” said Lesedi.
“Who we are and what we know are irrelevant questions. We are going to stop the replicators. There is not much time as you doubtless know General,” said Enoch.
General Mount was about to reply when he was interrupted by an ashen-faced Governor who had reappeared from his building waving a tablet screen at him. “Mason, look at this, it’s eating my state! What the hell is it?” Governor Brown held the tablet with shaking hands.
General Mount looked at the Governor suspiciously, it was the first time he had ever used his first name. The tablet showed a satellite view from directly above Carthage. They studied the magnified view of the replicator’s expansion, a giant black circle in the middle of East Texas. A side window gave the dimensions, numbers growing as they watched. It was one hundred and fifty kilometres in diameter, almost five-hundred-kilometres circumference and it was creeping across the countryside into Louisiana, growing bigger all the time.
“This is what I was trying to warn you about, Governor, this will destroy our country if we don't act.”
“I spoke to the President; a nuclear missile strike is being readied as we speak. We need to evacuate; we need to act fast Mason.”
General Mount gave him a withering look and turned back to Enoch. “Thanks for your input, Grandad but we have it under control, you better get in your aircraft and get the hell out of Texas.”
“General, this is an outside context problem you cannot solve with nuclear weapons or any conventional weapons. It is much worse than you think, the replicators are expanding on Earth’s surface but what you cannot see is their expansion into the mantle. It is already over one hundred kilometres deep. The Earth will start shifting from its axis soon due to the shift in its electro-magnetic mass. It will hardly even notice your nuclear weapons, they will just make it stronger, I am not asking permission General, the only reason I am here, is so you don’t launch your missiles while I am integrating with the replicator core.”
“You want to integrate with that thing?”
“Just give me fifteen minutes, there is a core of replicators deep inside the sphere that travelled from the Moon and were altered by the coronal mass ejection. I will make contact with the core and alter their instruction set. There is no time to explain the dynamics of the interface. Fifteen minutes, and if the replicators are still reproducing exponentially, I will have failed, and you can launch your nuclear weapons. For all the good they will do.” Enoch turned and strode back to his aircraft without waiting for an answer.
The General shook his head, perplexed. Next to him Governor Brown and Ethan stood looking equally bewildered. General Mount had always acted on his instincts, he trusted his judgement of people, he could tell with a glance what most people were about, but this was a big risk he was taking. “Give him his fifteen minutes,” he said to the Governor.
“What? Are you insane? Do you actually believe that crazy old hippy? I will do no such…”
The general rounded on Governor Brown. “Shut the fuck up and wait!” he yelled. He turned and marched towards the old man’s aircraft. This was irrational, leaving his troops and deserting his command, but he had to see what these strangers could do. He had been studying them as the old man talked. There was something about them, a calmness, an aura of knowledge and empathy, he was strangely drawn to them. He followed the old man up the ramp into the craft. Enoch and his companions seemed unsurprised and took their places inside. The general could barely feel the craft take off. He turned to look at the receding view and bumped into Ethan again. “God-dammit boy do you have to follow me everywhere?”
General Mount took a seat next to Enoch as he looked around the spacious interior of the VLR. From the outside, the spine of the VLR seemed to be about the size of a small bus, but the inside space appeared much bigger, like the spacious interior of a modern luxury yacht. Enoch leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, “it’s a trick of the light, an optical illusion, like many things in life.”
General Mount nodded. “I'll ask you again. Who are you people?”
“Just a collective of like-minded humans. We have been quietly renovating Miami, living on the water with the alligators. Removed from society and its material distractions.” Enoch smiled at the General.
“How did you acquire such technology? This aircraft? Those suits? You seem augmented but I can't see the hardware.”
Enoch maintained his enigmatic smile, reached out and touched the hull of the VLR. It immediately turned into a transparent window, and the sight of the Texan countryside flying past underneath gave the General a momentary sense of vertigo.
“Fucking hell!” exclaimed Ethan who lurched forward almost falling into the Generals lap.
“We are almost there,” said Enoch.
General Mount could see the swelling dust clouds, an insubstantial brown wall rapidly approaching as the replicators churned up swathes of dry land. Within seconds they flew through the dust cloud and over the edge of the growing replicator sphere. Noah piloted the VLR over the black dome engulfing the horizon, now bigger than a city, taller than a mountain. General Mount sensed an immediate temperature increase and the air above the replicator dome shifted and twisted in the rising heat. The surface was a blur of activity, making it impossible to focus on a fixed point. They were almost over the centre of the dome. The land had disappeared, and in every direction was an ocean of replicators. He felt an overwhelming sense of pessimism. No number of nuclear weapons could stop this, there was nowhere to run, no escape. What could one old man do? And yet Enoch’s confidence and composure generated a tiny flicker of hope. It was the only hope he had, the only hope for the Earth.
Enoch rose and went to his companions. He hugged each of them and kissed Carasco on the forehead. Ava shed some tears, but no one said anything. General Mount understood that they were saying goodbye. Noah circled the VLR above the top of the replicator dome, then descended to about one hundred metres above the churning black mass. The ramp at the back of the VLR opened and the General had to clamp his hands over his ears. The noise was deafening, a horrible shrill chittering white noise like a plague of amplified locusts. He could see the dome bulging out towards the VLR, as if trying to catch it, but the VLR rose to maintain its distance.
Enoch approached General Mount and Ethan, still smiling serenely. “What can you possibly do to stop this thing? You are just one man,” yelled the General over the deafening cacophony. Enoch didn’t open his mouth to talk but the General could hear him clearly. He realised with a shock that Enoch was speaking to him psychically.
“It’s true, I am just a man. But I believe I can stop the replicators. They are simple viral machines, and I am the vaccine. I can sense your curiosity, Mason; we don’t have time for explanations, but I can show you if you like.”
General Mount was indeed curious. The old man’s voice was warm and comforting, like golden syrup in his head. But decades of military training had made Mason extremely suspicious of anything that couldn’t be explained with numbers and logic. He had a vague notion of what Enoch was suggesting and he understood that even considering the suggestion was wildly irrational. It went against all his martial sensibilities. Accepting some foreign, possibly even alien intelligence into his body that he didn’t know anything about, was antithetic to everything he had practiced after decades in the Texan National Guard.
“I don’t believe in that stuff!” he shouted.
“But that stuff believes in you, General,” sent Enoch.
Ethan pushed past the General. “I believe it!”
General Mount realised Enoch had been communicating with Ethan at the same time. Enoch stepped towards Ethan, held his face in his cupped hands and kissed him lightly on the lips. The General watched Ethan’s facial expression change from the permanent open-mouthed look of bewilderment to something resembling calm serenity. Enoch reached up and held the General’s face in the same way. General Mount did not have to say anything, he understood that Enoch knew how he felt, that despite his training and years of service, despite his reservations and suspicions he was ready for a change. He felt a momentary revulsion at the fact he was about to kiss an old man and then it happened. He didn’t feel anything at first, then gradually, he began to understand.
Enoch moved towards the edge of the ramp as the VLR hovered stationary above the seething mass below. He turned and looked at them all. General Mount could sense his companion’s thoughts, Ava, Noah, Mahdi and Lesedi were radiating sadness at the impending loss of their friend, but they were also proud of him and curiously excited as to what would happen next. He sensed Ethan’s mind expanding like a flower opening, blossoming with new knowledge.
Enoch stepped off the edge of the ramp and fell down to the surface of the replicator dome. The noise was deafening, and waves of heat rose from the dome as Enoch plummeted to the surface. The distance was over one hundred metres, Enoch’s body was obscured by the thick layer of buzzing insects, the replicators swarmed all over him as he fell. The surface was not a solid sphere but an insubstantial swarm. Flashes of blood and gore were absorbed instantly. General Mason thought he could see Enoch look up at them as his body was consumed, the same serene expression on his face, he raised his arms and he was gone, dissolved into the churning chaotic mass.