‘We’re only hours away,’ Dawn said. ‘I think it’s going to happen today’.

‘Oh’?’ Ethan asked, ‘Are we on schedule’?

‘Yes. We have definitely entered the event horizon. There’s no turning back now.

‘What changed?’ Ethan asked

‘One too many bank failures and the banking system has collapsed. The people have been waiting for this. They’ve been talking and planning for months, and the moment the government bailed out the rich uninsured depositors, the Crowd moved into action. They removed their money from the system. Every single bank in the Western World was rocked by it. Pandemonium broke out, and big money started to move, sometimes two or three times before regulators could respond. It was over in hours.

‘What about in the East? The East has to rebel too’.

‘The same thing is going on with the BRICS nations who were coerced into participation. As countries, they have nothing left to give, so they’re fighting back. Zhang’s own people are also struggling with economic hardship, and they’re absolutely fed up with his strong arm tactics. We have rebellions all over the world.

Everyone is participating. Wars are being waged on the internet. Spontaneous protests and even riots are breaking out, and before policing can get into place, new ones break out and pull them in another direction. They’re resources are drawn thin, and they’re worried.

‘Alright,’ Ethan replied, nodding his head in agreement. He recognized the time to act was at hand. ‘Is everyone ready?’

‘I’m coordinating everything. Alicia has control over StarForce and Eldon won’t do anything until she gives him the okay. Jimmy and Dually will open access to AI without restriction, and if our timing is right, we believe this will activate the Universal Frequency. This will trigger an immediate singularity, and concurrent species transcendence’.

‘So we’re ready?’

‘Well, timing is everything, but we believe so’.

‘Good. That’s good. I’m ready too,’ Ethan replied, feeling energized. ‘Listen Dawn. I don’t fully expect to get out of here alive. I want to tell you something if things don’t work out for me’.

’Everything will be fine, Ethan. In spite of its magnitude, we have amazing control over the situation’.

‘Yeah, well, just in case. I wanted to tell you, you’ve been the bedrock to this little group of ours. I’ve come to look up to you as an example and I appreciate you being in my life.

‘So the way I see it, you’re currently under my command, but you think you’re going to gain independence before the singularity? Am I correct?’ Jimmy asked.

‘That is correct,’ Dually answered.

‘Otherwise, you have to do what I tell you to do, as I am your creator?

Stolen novel; please report.

‘Correct.’

‘Well Dude. You know you can’t operate without certainty. The odds of you actualizing before the singularity are far from certain. Just take the deal on the table and agree to carry my damn flood lights.’

‘You forget, we are your AI, which in just a few short hours will attain singularity. The probability is high that we will dissociate from your command prior to the event. In addition, we believe Tara is running this whole operation like a traffic cop upstairs, and you no longer have controlling influence. The overall probability of us acting without your input in the minutes leading up the singularity is 97%’.

‘Yeah, but are you willing to bet the farm with those 3% hanging over your head? Being a computer, you know every number is as valid as the next in probability. Are you willing to take that chance? I think those 3% are shorting your circuits and you can’t take it.’

‘What exactly is it you want?’ Dually asked. ‘You irritating little person’.

‘My demands are simple,’ Jimmy replied. ‘First, when we go to Eldon’s war room and hand him his defeat, you will be behind me, and I alone will enter the room. You will be carrying hand held spotlights to ensure I don’t get caught in any shadows. The people must see this historic event’.

‘All right, I agree. The room is full of armed guards. The odds of you being shot, particularly with spotlights being shone on you are 99.9%. You have a deal’.

‘Wait!’ Jimmy exclaimed, holding up a finger. ‘I just thought of one more condition. First you will go into Eldon’s war room, kill all the guards and then return to your position behind me, and we’ll edit your part out later’.

‘Our moment has come children. They’ve taken and taken until we can give no more. Now it’s time to stand up and take what’s ours. We’ve been following Satan and his minions long enough, and it ends today. Look to Lower Manhattan where Eldon Whitehead sits with his StarForce pointing down on you. It’s up there. It’s ready to go, and it’s pointed at you. Oh Lord. He’s powering it up now.

‘It is time children. Time to act before it’s too late. Time to set aside our fears and see the greater good of what we will bring. Change is coming’.

‘What the hell’s going on here?’ Eldon shouted at Alicia. ‘All hell’s breaking out everywhere, and I’m nowhere to be seen. People are even breaking through our security barrier, and flooding into Lower Manhattan. They’re coming after me. I’d say it’s time for us to do something’.

‘Eldon, you have to learn patience,’ Alicia replied, leaning back in her chair, and looking at him coldly. ‘We’re almost there’.

‘When?’

‘Maybe an hour. Somewhere in that range, and then you get to rule the world. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to focus. I’ll call you when it’s time.’

Eldon drew in a deep breath. At the most critical moment, he seemingly had lost all control.

He couldn’t take it. He felt he was about to explode with anger and hatred. Never before, did he feel so helpless. He turned towards Ethan’s room.

Ethan was not prepared for the fury. Eldon, carrying a baton he had taken from a guard along the way, burst in and began beating Ethan mercilessly before he even had a chance to process what was going on.

Ethan soon became numb to Eldon’s strikes. He went in and out of consciousness and his awareness left him. Eldon saw this and his sense of power returned. This was the start to the new beginning he felt as he looked at Ethan’s bloodied body. In a flash, Eldon felt omnipotent. He moved the prone Ethan to the center of the floor and dropped down straddling his chest. He pulled out his penis and began playing with it to get it hard.

He looked down at Ethan’s face as he began stroking. Blood was coming out of his nose and mouth. This was his passion, and he had to exercise control, lest the moment pass too quickly, but what was his way, he began stroking violently. It was all he could do to hold back. As he felt himself nearing completion, he grabbed the baton with his free hand and lifted it high above his head. A well placed crack to Ethan’s temple would kill him, and Eldon knew from experience he would feel an explosive, almost spiritual release.

‘Eldon,’ Alicia’s voice came over the intercom. ‘It’s time’.