Waking Gods

  There’s something else you need to promise me. When you find our daughter, I know you will, don’t become someone you’re not. I know your dad wasn’t everything you wanted him to be. Don’t let that change you. Don’t try to be like him. Don’t try to not be like him. Be you. Remember how unhappy I was awhile back? I didn’t even know I was, but I was. It was because I thought I had to be someone else. It wasn’t your fault. You never asked me to change anything. In fact, I’m pretty sure you weren’t happy I did. I know I did it to myself. I guess what I’m saying is: Don’t do what I did. Don’t become something you’re not because you think that’s the right thing, or the “normal” thing to do. She has a good father. Let her get to know that man.

  And don’t be too hard on her. If she’s anything like me, she might be a little rough on the edges. She might try to put you in your place every now and then. Good for her. You need it sometimes. And if she’s anything like you … You’re in for a sea of trouble if she’s anything like you. She might not want you around. Don’t take it personally. She had parents who probably loved her very much. They took care of her. They’re her parents. She doesn’t owe us. So be her friend if she’s not ready for a dad just yet. Just be there for her.

  Let her be what she wants to be. She might not have a long life ahead of her. The way things are looking, none of us have much of a future. Let her get through it on her own terms. Let her live. She deserves that. She’s earned it, believe me.

  Time to do something stupid. Hey! What am I saying? It will work. You’ll be safe. I’ll come home and surprise you in the lab, introduce you to your daughter, then I can throw out this letter. Easy as pie.

  You know I love you, right? I don’t tell you often because your ego would get even bigger and maybe implode and create a black hole. I don’t want to destroy the universe. But I do. Love you, that is. You’re a cocky, arrogant son of a bitch and I love you. You’re also the bravest man I ever met. I’m not sure I ever told you that. We had fun, didn’t we? Anyway, I did. I hope I haven’t been too much of a pain in that Quebecois ass of yours.

  You probably saw the other envelope. It’s for Eva. Give it to her when the time comes. Not now. She’s got enough to deal with, but someday. You’ll know when it’s time.

  Be good. I’ll see you on the flip side.

  Kara

  FILE NO. 1614

  TRAINING LOG—VINCENT COUTURE, CONSULTANT, EDC AND EVA REYES

  Location: Shawnee Mission Park, Lenexa, KS

  [Are you sure you want to do this, Eva?]

  —Yes, Dr. Franklin.

  [Call me Rose. Just don’t try anything on your own. Listen to Vincent, OK?]

  OK!

  —Eva. This is … this is your station.

  —Are you OK, Vincent?

  —Yeah. This is just—

  —You’re crying! Did I do something wrong?

  —No! It’s not you, Eva. It’s just … harder than I thought it would be.

  —Do you want me to leave?

  —No! No! I’m good! … There! Hop on. I’ll help you strap yourself in.

  —What is this?

  —That’s a … It’s a pedestal, so you can reach the controls.

  —Is it a phone book?

  —It’s two phone books I duct taped together and glued to the floor. We can find you something prettier if this works. I’m pretty sure it’s the right height.

  —Are you sure I can do this?

  —Nope. Absolutely not. That’s what we’re here to find out. The helmet might not work for you at all. Doesn’t work for anyone else. Here, put this on like you would a jacket. See! Perfect height! Can you fit your fingers in there? Is it too tight? Too loose? I think the gloves fit you better than they did Kara. I’m going to close these on your forearms. This big thing here goes around your chest. There! How do you feel?

  —I’m OK.

  —Try to move a little. Move your arms. All the way up. Try to bend down. How far can you go? … What is it?

  —Can I ask you something, Vincent? Is it OK if I keep calling you Vincent? I’m not—

  —Oh yes. I’m not ready for that either. Let’s take this slow. What did you want to ask me?

  [Are you guys OK up there?]

  Yeah, Rose. Just give us a minute. Go ahead Eva, she can’t hear us now.

  —What happens if I can’t do it?

  —Nothing. Well, we’ll probably fall first, then nothing. It doesn’t matter.

  —Yes it matters! People are dying.

  —Eva, I don’t think either of us can make much of a difference at this point. But I’m with you, Eva, win or lose.

  —What if I make a mistake?

  —Trust me, kid, even if you completely sucked at this, you couldn’t possibly do as much damage as Kara and I did when we first started. For now, there aren’t even any skills involved. Either the helmet turns on or it doesn’t. You can’t will it to work for you.

  —Thank you, for changing your mind.

  —Don’t thank me. I’m a horrible father. I’m letting my ten-year-old girl pilot a humongous war machine. I’m going straight to hell, maybe to jail first, if child services ever hears about this. And I’ll be honest with you, I’m hoping the helmet won’t work. Then we’ll know. We can let the world know. They’ll leave you alone and you can have a normal life, whatever that is.

  —And if it works?

  —If it works … your life will get more complicated than it already is, probably a lot more.

  [Guys? What’s going on up there?]

  What do you say, Eva? Are you ready to try this?

  —Yes.

  —OK, Rose! We’re ready. I’m putting the helmet on her head now. Eva, put your arms straight so Themis doesn’t move if this works. I’m not at my station, so I can’t keep her balanced. Ready? Here we go.

  [Is it working?]

  Eva, is it working? Eva?

  —What?

  —Is the helmet working?

  —I don’t know, you told me not to move. I’m just looking at Dr. Franklin.

  —You’re looking at … You can see outside?

  —Yes. Can’t you?

  [Hello? Is everything OK?]

  Yes, Rose, we’re fine. The helmet turned on for her.

  —You mean it’s working?

  —Yes, Eva, it’s working. You’re your mother’s daughter all right. Don’t move! I want you to stand still until I get to my station. Then we’re gonna try some very simple things, OK?

  —OK. This is cool!

  —Isn’t it? Don’t move, now! I’m gonna bounce around this place like a pinball if we fall before I’m strapped in.

  —I’m not moving.

  —Don’t move! I’m almost there!

  —I’m not moving!

  —All right. I’m good. We’re gonna try taking one step. I know this’ll sound silly, but I want you to think about how you walk. When you lift one foot, you start turning your shoulders in the opposite direction. When you lift your right foot, you turn to the left. That transfers the weight of your body to your left leg. When you lift your left leg, you turn your shoulders to the right, keep the weight squarely on your right leg. Try it now, pretend you’re walking.

  —Will we fall?

  —Probably later when we try walking for real. For now, I’m not moving my legs. It doesn’t matter if you move yours, and I can shift my weight to keep the balance. Go ahead.

  —Like that?

  —I can’t feel the weight shifting from side to side. You have to exaggerate a little. Pretend you’re modeling. Walk the runway.

  —That doesn’t help.

  —Hmmm. Pretend you’re walking with something really heavy in your hands. Yes! There you go!

  —Can we walk for real!

  —Not today. Baby steps.

&n
bsp; —Please!

  — …

  —Please!

  —What the hell. Rose? Can you go back inside? We’re gonna try walking a little. I don’t wanna squish you.

  [Are you sure you want to do this? It took you months to learn how to walk with Kara.]

  I couldn’t hold the weight back then. And no, I’m really not sure, hence the: “Go back inside. I don’t wanna squish you.” There’re plenty of trees around. That should break the fall a little. Maybe not. Eva, this isn’t such a good idea.

  —Are you afraid?

  —Are you really trying to pull a Marty McFly on me?

  —Who’s Marty McFly?

  —Some guy who … Never mind. We’ll watch the movie together sometime. I’d never do anything if I waited for good ideas. Are you ready to fall hard, get hurt, watch me break my nose on the console, blood gushing everywhere?

  —Yes!

  —Fair enough. We’ll take a few steps. Let’s start with one. You have to watch me move. Watch my legs, watch my shoulders. Watch me shift my weight before I lift a leg. You have to move with me, not after me. By then it’ll be too late and we’ll fall.

  —Got it!

  —Here we go.

  —Like this?

  —Nope. Not like this … Aaaand … we’re falling. Put your hands up!

  —AAAAAH!

  —UGH! Damn, that hurts. Are you OK?

  —I can’t move my arms!! They’re stuck to my chest!

  —It’s OK! That’s Themis’s weight pushing against you. It’ll loosen up when your helmet’s off. Let’s get out of here while she’s lying down.

  —That was your fault! I wasn’t ready!

  —It’s OK, Eva. We can try this again.

  —I CAN’T MOVE! Get me out of here!

  —One sec. I need to get out of my station first.

  —GET ME OUT!

  —I’m here. You’re shaking like a leaf.

  —I can’t do this. I’m not good enough.

  —Eva, it’s OK. You couldn’t expect to get this right the first time. We’ll try again tomorrow if you want.

  —This is stupid.

  —It’s up to you Eva. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.

  —You don’t understand. They all died for nothing if I can’t do it!

  FILE NO. 1617

  INTERVIEW WITH DR. ALYSSA PAPANTONIOU

  Location: Shadow Government Bunker, Lenexa, KS

  —Good morning Doct … Dr. Franklin. I thought we were done with the gu … guards.

  —We’re not done with the guards. They’ll be with you everywhere you go. You can go from here to your room, to here. That’s all. I don’t want you anywhere near Eva, or Vincent, ever again. What possessed you to go talk to that child?

  —She has a right to know.

  —You had no right to tell her. She’s been through enough.

  —I had no right? I mmm … I made her! I have every right to tell her. When were you gonna do it?

  —When the time was right.

  —Wh … when?! When things sss … settle down? When everything is OK again? We don’t have that kind of time. She has a right to know what she is.

  —She’s a child! That’s what she is!

  —She’s our best hope of saving the world! You w … wouldn’t have that without me.

  —You told her you were her mother!

  —I told her I cr … created her. I never said I was her mother. She can ca … call me that if she wants to.

  —You’re insane! You’re a psychopath, Alyssa!

  —Insulting me doesn’t make me wr … wrong.

  —I don’t wanna hear what you think is right, Alyssa. I just care about the science. If I had my way, you’d be locked up in some jail cell, somewhere hot and humid.

  —That doesn’t sound like you at all. You should leave the empty threats to him.

  —Well, he’s not here anymore, and I’m a fast learner. Believe me, when I make threats, there will be nothing empty about them.

  —He’s the one who brought me here. You should t … trust his judgment.

  —He didn’t trust you! He thought you could help, but he never trusted you. I don’t either. I’ll turn you over to the government the minute this is over.

  —Then why keep me here? What mmmm … what makes you think I’ll help if I know you’ll have me locked up afff … terwards?

  —Because I trust your sick, twisted ego to always have the better of you. I know that you wanna be the one to solve this. You wanna be the one who saves the world, not because you care, but so you can feel justified, vindicated. I don’t think it matters to you at all whether you spend the rest of your life rotting in a cell.

  —That is still him talking.

  —I told you I’m a quick study. What do you say we stop wasting each other’s time and you tell me what you’ve been up to these past few days?

  —He had me com … pare DNA from the London survivors to genetic material from the alien b … bodies.

  —Did you?

  —Yes and no. Their ge … genetics is so different, none of my tests will w … work on them. I can’t know how it would recombine with ours, if … it would recombine at all. I’d need live sss … specimens to go any fffurther. It doesn’t matter, I know I won’t find what he was looking for. He thought the survivors—

  —He thought they were descendants of aliens who lived here three thousand years ago.

  —He thought wrong.

  —Are you sure?

  —Yes.

  —You’re absolutely sure, Alyssa? Why?

  —It makes no sense. It’s t … too long ago. Everyone was your ancestor three thou … sand years ago.

  —What do you mean?

  —People look at fff … family trees the wrong way. They think you start with someone, then you branch down to their ch … children, then their grandchildren, and the tree gets bigger going down. It d … d … doesn’t. It grows upwards.

  —How does that have anything to do with the survivors?

  —Think of it like this. You have two p … parents. You have four grandparents. You have eight great-grandparents, sixteen great-great-grandparents. That’s about one hundred years ago. Twenty-five years, thirty years p … per generation on average. Two hundred years ago, you’re looking at about two thousand ancestors. Ffffive hundred years ago, that’s … fifty … million.

  —How many going back three thousand years?

  —Just keep d … doubling every thirty years. You get to a billion very fast. By t … twelve hundred years, you reach a trillion. Three thou … three thousand years ago … It doesn’t matter what the number is. It’s t … too big.

  —That makes no sense. There weren’t a trillion people on Earth twelve hundred years ago. There aren’t close to a trillion now!

  —That’s because the same p … people appear mmm … many times on your family tree. Your twenty-fifth great-grandfather is also your distant cousin. Mmm … most people will appear hundreds, thousands of times in your ge … genealogy. The farther back in time you go, the fewer people there are on Earth, and the more branches there are in your family tree. Soon, you need … all of them, to fill the b … br … branches.

  —I’m not sure I under—

  —If you lived on Earth back then, either your line died out and you have nnn.… no descendants at all, or you’re an ancestor to everyone alive … t … today. Everyone who lived a couple thousand years ago, and whose line didn’t di … disappear, is your ancestor, and mine, and everyone else’s.

  — …

  —Dr. Franklin?

  —That’s it, isn’t it?

  —That is wh … what?

  —If aliens roamed the planet three thousand years ago, they couldn’t have just a handful of descendants
alive today. They’d either have none—and we know that’s not true, I met one yesterday—or …

  —Are you saying … ?

  —That’s exactly what I’m saying. Or they’d be a distant ancestor to everyone alive. I didn’t survive because I have alien DNA, I’m alive because I’m one of the few people who doesn’t. We’re all aliens, part alien anyway. Every single person on Earth—well, 99.95 percent of them—has alien genetics.

  —That’s cr … crazy.

  —Thank you, Alyssa. Your services won’t be required anymore. These gentlemen will escort you out and take you … well, we’ll figure that part out soon enough. Goodbye, Alyssa.

  PART FIVE

  IN THE BLOOD

  FILE NO. 1619

  INTERVIEW WITH MR. BURNS, OCCUPATION UNKNOWN

  Location: New Dynasty Chinese Restaurant, Dupont Circle, Washington, DC

  —They came for you, didn’t they?

  —What? No hello? No “it’s nice to see you again”?

  —They’re here to kill you, not us!

  —Fine, then. No hello.

  —They made that gas so it would kill anyone who shared genetic material with them. They came here to wipe you out. They probably thought there were only a handful of you. But we all started dying, and they realized everyone on Earth—almost everyone—has alien genes. That’s why they stopped.

  —Bingo! I told you you were smart enough! Just enough.

  —You lied to us! Everything you told us … Everything you told him, it was all a lie!

  —First, I only told him a story. I never said it was the truth. Besides, everything I’ve said is true, more or less. I may have omitted certain parts of the story, but I didn’t lie. A few millennia ago, they sent a dozen of these robots to Earth because they feared an attack from one of their enemies. Nasty people, or so I was told. A couple thousand years went by, no one came, so they went home.

  —You said they left Themis behind so we could defend ourselves.