—I knew nothing. I suspected. When the NSA granted funding to your research project in Chicago, I became aware of your childhood discovery and I immediately took an interest.
More than anything, I saw this project as a potential legacy. What I do, it is … It takes a particular mindset. It is not unlike law enforcement in that regard. I started out thinking I could remove the bad from the world one piece at a time until there was none left. The world, unfortunately, does not work that way. Perhaps it needs a certain equilibrium to function properly. Whatever the reason, it soon became obvious that what I had set out to do was very much like digging a hole in the mud. Remove a bad man from power, and a year later the person you put in his place is just as corrupt. If a policeman stops a drunken man from beating on his wife, what are the odds he will never have to go back? Can he really prevent anything, or is he just delaying the inevitable? I came to realize that good and evil were out of my reach, that time was the only thing I had any control over. I could buy time, create intervals. I could not truly make the world a better place, but I could make part of it a better place for a short while. I came to peace with that. Some cannot. As I said, it takes a particular mindset.
But as you grow older, you realize there will come a time you cannot keep digging, and the idea that your hole in the mud will fill itself completely, as if you never existed, becomes harder to bear. Permanence is the Holy Grail in my line of work. I saw this as an opportunity to leave a mark.
—If you could go back in time—
—Perhaps I could.
—That’s true. Do you wish things had been different?
—Besides the world coming to an end?
—That’s not what I meant. Would you rather have lived a … normal life?
—I wish my son had never died. I wish my wife were still here. If I could not change that, I would probably choose the same path. It has not always been easy, but overall, I believe I have done more good than harm.
—I guess that’s all any of us can ask for.
—I do have one regret.
—What’s that?
—I wanted someone to continue what I started. I did not know that I would run out of time. I had hoped to find a successor, to take someone … under my wing. I was looking for— —A son.
— … Perhaps. I wanted to leave some form of legacy. For a while, I thought Mr. Couture was a good candidate— —He could still do it.
—He has a family now, a child. He has too much to lose. I was saying I thought Mr. Couture was a good candidate until I realized you were the ideal one.
—Me?
—It had to be you. You are intelligent, dedicated. You do not have a family and you have expressed no desire for one. When I first met you, you were too na?ve, too … fragile, but since your reappearance, you have become more resilient, less— —I tried to kill myself.
—A momentary lapse in judgment. I meant to say you have become less … vulnerable to what the world has to throw at you. I can tell you that your former self would not have remained as collected as you were these past few days.
—I don’t give a shit anymore, is that what you’re trying to say?
—I said that you could replace me. That was never meant as a compliment.
—I couldn’t do what you do. I’m not … James Bond!
—I was not looking for someone to blackmail world leaders. I wanted my replacement to safeguard the Themis Files, preserve a record of these world-changing events. That said, I have accumulated a tremendous amount of sensitive information. If you knew what I knew, you could get what you want from just about anyone.
—Thank you, for thinking of me. I—
—I am sorry to interrupt, but it appears we have run out of things to climb on. Shall we stand?
—It’s all over my feet. Do you feel anything?
—Not at the moment.
—What will happen to them? Your files?
—I do not know. Everything I collected in my—I hesitate to call it a career—is on a hard drive in a safe-deposit box. The key and access card are in my jacket pocket. I can only hope that whoever recovers our bodies has a curious mind and an adventurous spirit. The most recent files are on a thumb drive, also in my jacket. Figuring out the password should be easy with this recording.
—What is it?
—The name of my son.
—Tell me something more about you.
—What do you want to know?
—I don’t know. Anything. Tell me how you met Eugene. You two seem to be close.
—That is a very interesting story but also a very long one. It was an honor knowing you, Dr. Franklin … —cough —Sir?
Sir?—cough
…
…
FILE NO. 1588
MISSION LOG—VINCENT COUTURE, CONSULTANT, EARTH DEFENSE CORPS
Location: EDC Headquarters, New York, NY
—This is Vincent Couture. I’m in the control room next to hangar one. Everyone’s gone. I sent them to UN headquarters. They’ll be safe on the top floors if they get there in time. I hope Rose makes it. She was in the lab when the robot appeared. That’s a lot farther from the main building.