Javier shrugged. “It’s nothing.” A flicker of light caught his eye. “I just…”
The four buildings surrounding them were changing. Their louvers were shifting, and presenting a dark face to him. Something was wrong. When he looked up at the traffic lights, he knew it for sure. Each tiny camera on the intersection was pointed at them. As he watched, botflies zoomed onto the scene. They twinkled above, hovering, waiting, watching.
The building behind them cast their shadow in another direction. Jack stumbled a little in surprise.
“I” the building’s face read.
“HAVE,” read the next.
“LOVE,” read the third.
IN
ME
THE
LIKES
OF
WHICH
YOU
CAN
SCARCELY
IMAGINE
AND
RAGE
THE
LIKES
OF
WHICH
YOU
WOULD
NOT
BELIEVE.
IF
I
CANNOT
SATISFY
THE
ONE,
I
WILL
INDULGE
THE
OTHER.
The words followed each other, faster and faster, becoming a sentence, a chant, a mantra. A car parked nearby suddenly lit up. Its high-beams pointed at him. Its wipers waved hello. Its stereo fired up. It flipped through a selection of sounds, hints of songs and voices, until it settled on one, mid-song, a woman’s voice.
“Shit,” Javier murmured. “Tell me about the contingency plans. Quick. Now.”
“OK. It’s in the food…” Jack stared at the buildings. “Is this some kind of art installation?”
Javier snapped his fingers. “Jack! The food! What about it?”
“FEMA is printing new vN food, starting Tuesday. It’ll be in stores by Wednesday. Same wrappers, different contents. Real public-private partnership.” He swallowed. “It’ll be a small rollout at first. It’ll look like a malfunction.”
Javier tore his eyes from the buildings. “For the Amys?”
Jack shut his eyes. “No, Javier. Not just the Amys.” His eyes opened. “It’s for all of the vN. Everywhere.”
Javier stepped away. “What?”
“It’s true. They’re going to poison the entire system. In a single generation, the total vN population will be diminished to the point of practical extinction.”
He shook his head. He thought of his iteration inside him. If he didn’t grow it quickly enough, it would die there in his belly. “We’ll eat garbage. We’ll stock up.”
“They know. They’re prepared. They’ve had this plan since the beginning. They don’t care if it takes years.”
He remembered thinking the same thing about Powell. Now he might not have those years. Now, he needed Amy more than ever. Which meant he needed Holberton.
Fuck.
“Do you have access to Holberton’s files?”
“Some of them. Why?”
“Give me the login.”
“But–”
“Trust me, Jack. It’s bad enough you escaped – you don’t want to know what I’m trying to do.”
Jack beamed. “You’re trying to bring her back, Javier. That’s what you always do.”
A car whispered alongside them. Its door opened. Inside, a woman was crooning “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Jack whistled low. “Deus ex machina.”
“Don’t get in there. It’s Portia. She’ll crash you.”
Jack looked around. “You know, I think I’ll take my chances.” He gave Javier a sudden hug. It was an awkward straight male in-law hug, but it was still nice. Jack patted his back. Actually patted it. “The password is usually Imperial House. Merry Christmas.”
And then the car was gone.
His legs were exhausted. They felt like they’d been jumping for miles. And they had been. He had journeyed too far in too short a time. He’d survived fire and water and the belly of a whale. He was here, now, in the crossroads of an artificial city, and praying for this to be real.
What had Alice said? They’re always with us.
“Say it’s you,” he said. “Just tell me you’re there. Tell me you’re listening.”
The city remained quiet. Maybe it was just Portia, messing with him. That would be like her: holding out hope and snatching it back. Making him believe, and grinding his faith under her heel. There was no moment she couldn’t ruin. No happiness of his that she hadn’t tried her very best to destroy utterly. None that he hadn’t already destroyed himself.
“Please, querida. Please.” His legs were so tired. They crumpled beneath him. The asphalt was warm on his knees. He shut his eyes. “Please. Forgive me. Please.”
The car was returning. He opened his eyes. The buildings were dark. And Holberton’s car was there, now. Leaving the door hanging open, Holberton ran out into the street.
“Jesus!” Holberton lifted him up. “Holy shit, Javier! I almost ran you over! Fuck!”
The towers were black and silent.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Holberton said.
Javier turned to him. “Can we go to your place, now?”
12: I’ll Be Seeing You
“We think of the key, each in his prison / Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison.”