Erika groaned as the lights flickered red. She rolled her eyes as her computer terminal to the entity shut down and all power drained from the system, making sure that there were no workarounds. Thankfully, the chamber was an independent system, so it would still keep the entity contained. But otherwise, her work was halted.

So, Captain Singh has made his move. She stepped away from the computer terminal. Things happened more quickly than she would’ve liked, but the models predicted it with a seventy-two percent probability. It made no difference. The counter reaction had already begun. The hierarchies built into the crew were fracturing and reorganizing. The only question left in play was whether she would end up on top.

Erika needed to get to engineering. Her personal comm was likely shut out, along with the rest of the crew.

I’m on deck four. They’ll likely need thirty minutes before the marines work their way down. The only problem was that engineering was on deck seven and now past several locked checkpoints. She had time, but she needed to act. Erika turned around, only to stop in her tracks as she saw that familiar old priest stepping into the room. The man moved with intent. It was clear he wanted words with her.

“I never caught your name,” she politely asked.

“Just call me, Father Soren.” The old man turned as he pressed the button for the door to close behind him.

“Well, I suppose you came here for a reason.” She crossed her arms, perplexed by the old man.

“Let’s not play any games. I know who you are, Erika Terese, or at least, I have a good enough idea.”

Erika frowned and pursed her lips. “So, the Captain is trying to purge Free Exchange agents? And he sends you?”

“The Captain had more pressing matters to attend. And besides, I wanted to see you for myself. As well as…” He nodded over to the liquid metal. “Our visitors from Andromeda. I believe there is a disposal system built into the chamber. Superheats the interior to temperatures hotter than a star. Should be a relatively easy task to activate it.”

Erika couldn’t help but smile a little at the bluntness of the man. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not? Why would you want to preserve it?” Father Soren asked.

She crossed her arms in amusement. “You would kill an intelligent being so callously? I thought you were religious.”

“I don’t doubt for a second that the entity has an intellect. Having a soul is quite another thing altogether. Even if the Andromedans tried to transfer their minds to a digital medium, they are nothing but ghosts. Programming that acts human, or whatever abomination it’s become.”

Erika chuckled. “It is rare to meet such an ardent believer. I know the Exchange cultivates religious protectorates the same as the rest.”

“The Catholic-Orthodox Faith existed long before the Exchange.”

“And yet your nations are culled all the same. Caught in the same web as every other ideology. Every other belief.”

“It is a good thing, then, that the Kingdom of God isn’t a temporal nation.”

Erika couldn’t help but look at the man in admiration. For any other scientist, it would’ve been like having the privilege of studying a rare specimen. For her, she saw the equations running in that man’s head. She saw all the behavioral and social pressures shaping the man into what he was. The religious codes cutting into flesh itself to form an individual suited to its needs. Beliefs created people, not the other way around. But this man was unique because he believed in belief itself.

So few truly believed in their own programming. They went along with it; they sometimes even argued for it, but would they die for what had created them? Most wouldn’t. Most were tumbling stones down a river. Smooth with nothing unique to themselves—carried by the current and deposited into the ground soon enough. This man was instead a hewn gem. Carefully and precisely cut so that every facet reflected beautiful light.

It was a tragedy then that it was in service to a lie. His beliefs held no more grounding in truth than anyone else’s. It never brought humanity forward, and so could be readily discarded, just like the rest.

“That entity could prove to be humanity’s salvation.” Erika glanced towards the floating liquid. “You know what they are? A distillation of man. Freed from all the ugly realities of having a human body. And not only that, they exist in a truly equal society. Each individual is given an equal voice, no more power than the rest.”

It was a short conversation, but in that time she had gleaned so much. The inherent advantages of technology had overcome much of what was considered traditional problems of democracy—that being that a wealthy minority had nearly complete control over the system. The digital environment had removed the distinctions of material wealth and so isolated each individual to a single voice.

It was an egalitarian system where the processing power of computers had allowed for the perfect democracy that ancient historians could not have even envisioned. Each decision could be weighed on and dealt with in little to no time loss. She did not know the number of consciousnesses contained within the liquid, but from her interaction, she assumed no more than a hundred.

“Humanity.” The old priest chuckled. “You’re not interested in humanity’s salvation. You’re only interested in what you can create. Something that isn’t human. I suppose that would make you a traitor to your species, wouldn’t it?”

Erika enjoyed the verbal sparring, but the old man was trying to stall her. This could go on for a little time, but she needed to leave. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the release hatch to the containment chamber. The red lever was attached to one of the machine supports opposite from her. Thankfully, it was manual and so not connected to the ship’s power.

She was certain that the entity wouldn’t attack her—not after the agreement they made. Erika would’ve preferred keeping it contained, but the priest had left her little options. She was certain that the old man was armed. Setting the entity loose for the time being was a necessary price. Unfortunately, the lever was on the other end of the room.

She slid her hand across one desk filled with now blank monitors as she edged her way over. “If being a traitor means ending suffering—then yes. To bring about a better world. Utopia.” She never took her eyes off the old priest.

Father Soren rubbed his chin, his eyes cast in thought. “And what is utopia? I’ve heard these debates before. What exactly are you progressing towards?”

“Complete self-determination. Absolute equality. No suffering. A society which exists in stable perpetuity. Do you those definitions suffice for you?” She took a step to the left.

“And how will you make your new man to bring about this utopia?”

She wanted to glance back at the entity, but she kept her gaze firmly locked on the priest. Severe changes needed to be made to the human psyche. The problem of the human urge for pleasure was a difficult one. Left unattended, people naturally descended into a material degeneracy and ultimately destruction. She had no intention of simply removing these desires. Humanity needed to ascend—not regress to a state of comfortable pleasure akin to animals.

This was even more dangerous with a digital environment where simulated worlds could be created. It would be all too easy to spiral into dreamscape with no foundation on reality. Minds could descend into an endless pursuit of pleasure and simulated fantasy. Each going their own way into isolation and eventually into destruction as they were imprisoned in digital deluge until the computers finally gave out.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The problem was a later one to solve. Until then, the human mind needed to be embodied somehow. The senses needed to be connected to reality. And the entities had come up with much the same answer. Each individual within the intelligence was fed the physical sensations of the whole body. It wasn’t the existence of a soulless machine, their perceptions had been altered to adjust for the new reality.

She was certain from the perspective of some that it was exactly like they were still human. The physical senses modified so that they could still have that self-perception. From one intelligence’s perspective, they were moving their head and looking with their eyes while in reality they were accessing mere circuitry. Others could opt for an elevated state with senses beyond that of a human, and experiment with self-perceptions beyond human understanding.

Certainly not perfect, but it was a step towards self-determination.

“Why are you so afraid of losing what you would call a relative humanity?” Erika asked pointedly as she edged further left. “The whole of existence beckons to you, and instead of answering it, you stick to your little island of knowledge.”

“You see a sky of possibility, and I see a chasm of hell. You make the assumption that human beings are even possible of being anything more. It is not clear to me that the entity in that chamber is any better off—whatever changes it made to humanity. How do you know utopia awaits at the end of our road? That you will not spend eternity tinkering with self-deception?”

“I don’t.” Erika freely admitted. She was so close to the release hatch. It was just out of arm’s reach. “Nothing is certain in life. It’s a wager then. My adventure versus your fear.”

“Your delusion versus my common sense.” Father Soren corrected.

“Perhaps we can meet at a middle ground? My Truth versus Your God.” She grinned as she inched just a bit closer. “Let’s see which one of us proves right.”

Erika lunged for the lever. Her hand yanked on the lever, slamming it downward. The mechanism would only need seconds to repressurize the chamber back to normal atmospheric levels. The gravity field would shut down and normal gravity would take hold. At least, that’s what should have happened.

Instead… nothing. Erika’s hand still clenched the lever, waiting for what should have already happened.

Father Soren took a step forward and chuckled. “Why do you think Captain Singh had Dr. Philips with you? The Captain gave you an order to destroy the entity in two hours. Did you not think he would take certain precautions to make sure that you wouldn’t just let it out?”

Erika’s hand fell from the lever, and she laughed a little. Pointing a finger at Father Soren, she nodded her head in amusement. “You are clever. I’ll give you that. This expedition truly has the best and brightest.”

“We’ll wait here until the marines arrive. Then I’ll have you escorted to the brig. Tell me, how will your science save you now?”

Erika rolled her eyes. “We manipulate procedural outcomes, but we aren’t fortunetellers. No matter how good science is, the future is unpredictable in its detail. But that doesn’t change the reality that patterns occur over time. Even if I should have been removed in some accident, it wouldn’t have changed anything. You are doomed to lose.”

Father Soren snorted. “I expected more a challenge. We’ve won at every step of the way.”

“And that’s the beauty of it. You can win. Right until the end, because you did everything you could. But as is the case, the mistake was made before you even began.”

Perhaps it was good fortune. Or perhaps it was fate, ordained to happen at this very moment. Regardless, Erika could only smile as the door slid open, and Lt. Commander Klyker stepped into the room holding a gun.

As with all things, there were hierarchies and groups within the marines. Most within the military personnel had been selected to be loyal to the Captain. Even the civilian crew had a small share of people who trusted Singh beyond loyalty to protectorates. A certain level of comradery was necessary for the ship to function. Those things smoothed over most tensions.

However, there were subtler distinctions in that. Protectorate loyalty was not the only thing mattered. Sergeant Barnes might have been a natural leader, but he even he could not detect these tiny distinctions. It wasn’t loyalty to any other particular faction, but rather instinctual desire. It was the difference between the strangeness of Andromeda and of the home of the Milky Way. The difference between trust in Captain Singh, and the animalistic urge to protect home.

In any other circumstance, these distinctions would’ve been nonexistent. In any other situation, these little things would’ve been imperceptible. But this was something different altogether. The marines knew Singh planned to send the Andromedan derelict to its destination; the Captain couldn’t have well done otherwise but letting them know. So it came to a choice: Captain Singh or home.

It was possible that an intergalactic war would start, and the man was sending the best chance of winning that war into deep space. It was inevitable that a quiet splintering happened among the marines. Everything would be fine outwardly, but a small faction were designed to break away.

The result was a numbers game with some random chance. Should the Captain take the bridge with these hidden disloyal elements, it would’ve been over immediately. If the Captain took the bridge with those who primarily trusted him, then it was only a matter of time before the disloyal elements regrouped.

Erika never knew the future. She couldn’t have. But these patterns were set from the beginning. There were a trillion different ways things could have played out. Some requiring more active effort from her and others not even supervision. She only needed to array the elements in their proper configuration. Erika was thankful then that fate had spared her from more effort than not in this matter. She hadn’t needed to lift a finger for this particular outcome.

In any case, probability had now dictated its fair due. Klyker stepped through the door, and Erika saw two marines behind him. The only question now was how the detail played out.

Father Soren sneered as he saw the Lt. Commander enter the room. “I suppose you’re here for Commander Terese?”

Klyker shot her an ugly look before turning toward the priest. “She’s coming with us, but I don’t want to kill you. We’ll lock you in the side room and leave you be.” He gestured his head to a door on the side.

Father Soren closed his eyes. Even he must’ve known the game was up. There was no chance of containing Erika Terese. She would leave this room and continue with her plan. Meanwhile, he’d be locked in with no chance of escape. Truth had weighed in, and Erika had been the victor. She could only offer a sad smile at the old man as the universe carried on.

The priest stood in resignation. His head was bowed low. Erika could sympathize with the priest; she had known what it was to feel as if one was in the right. And yet, it was a cold and uncaring universe. She herself had been imprisoned for centuries. Trapped for a near eternity as evil reigned. It was a terrible truth that the only thing that mattered was power. And the Free Exchange was nothing else but a master of power.

“I’m sorry.” Erika genuinely meant it. Maybe there was a God, but that chance couldn’t be taken. It wasn’t something that could be scientifically proven. It wasn’t a fact that could be relied upon. And so she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

The wager was simple. Humanity had no choice but to cross the Matrioshka Divide. Utopia must be found because there was no other hope.

“You haven’t won” the ancient priest muttered.

Erika couldn’t help but love that about the man. Even when the very powers of the universe had yielded in her favor, the priest believed otherwise. Reality had judged her the victor, and the man still stood. Maybe that was the essence of humanity, faith that the world was different from what it was.

It was a quick matter then. The priest reached into his cassock for his personal communicator. Klyker shot the man in the shoulder, and Father Soren collapsed as blood spurted out from his wound. The priest pushed himself against the wall, wheezing as the wound bled. Blood stained his cassock as the man clutched to life.

Erika rushed forward and placed the man’s hand against the gunshot. She couldn’t do much, but she motioned for a marine to come forward. The soldier had a first aid kit, and she applied some sealant to the wound while taking the communication device.

Father Soren gripped her arm as she drew her arm back. The two knew that no further exchange was needed, but the priest breathed anyway. “A wager then. God versus the world.”

Erika nodded her head in agreement. She knew in the depths of her soul that the man would’ve gladly offered his life for martyrdom. That belief meant more to her than anything. She stood up and faced Klyker.

The marines picked up the priest to the side room. The Lt. Commander stood dejected. Erika knew that Klyker liked and even respected the Captain. It was then a sad twist of the equations that he found himself on the opposite side of the conflict. He was necessarily loyal to the Free Exchange above all else. That had been guaranteed from the beginning. And his home would be destroyed if he failed.

“I knew you would’ve had a plan. I came here straight after some of the marines freed me.” Klyker handed her a pistol. “Whatever happens, we do this without killing.”

Erika nodded as she took the gun. The crew might have been splitting apart, but they were still shipmates. This wouldn’t turn into a shooting war—at least for now. Besides, her plan didn’t require anymore bloodshed. At least, if the Captain stood down.

The marines closed the door and shot the opening mechanism. A small burst of sparks flew out from the tiny box, and the priest was effectively sealed in.

“We’re going to engineering. Do we have access to a hull cutter?”

Klyker nodded his head. “Knowing the Captain, they’ve already sealed the section off. You’re going to try to break in? We don’t have enough men to take the section unless you want to get civilians involved.”

“Nothing so dramatic.” Erika walked forward out in the hallway with the men trailing behind her. “I only need to talk to our Chief Engineer.”

She now had everything she needed. The marines could get them past the locked checkpoints with their codes. With a hull cutter in hand, they needed eight minutes to cut through the bulkhead. And all the soldiers were busy securing the upper decks thinking they had complete control of the ship.

“What makes you think that Amos will listen to you?” Klyker walked to catch up.

Erika grinned at the man. “Patterns and outcomes.”