Axiom's End (Noumena) by Lindsay Ellis

Author:Lindsay Ellis [Ellis, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781250256737
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published: 2020-07-21T04:00:00+00:00

24

Cora paused after she got to Ampersand’s allocated space, shutting the door behind her. A part of her felt like putting a physical barrier between herself and the “militarists” was the only way she could begin to feel safe. On the other hand, that would seal her inside with Čefo’s corpse, which was lying on a table on the opposite side of the room, although she noted that the Genome had been removed. Čefo was another source of consternation for the DOD, the CIA, and ROSA—Ampersand refused to hand the corpse over to them, and they were in no position to push. So here it sat, shoved into a corner like an unloved childhood toy. Cora wondered if it could even be considered a corpse; she knew Ampersand saw it not as a dead thing at all but a husk that once housed a living thing. A high-tech hermit crab shell.

She found herself drawn to a cabinet in the corner opposite to where Čefo’s corpse lay with a sliding metal door that groaned with the effort of opening. It was empty, like most things in this part of the complex. Without thinking, she slid into the cabinet, drew her knees into her chest, and shut herself into darkness, only thin lines illuminating her. Being inside this cabinet felt natural, more natural than anywhere else in the bunker. At first, all she heard was the eerie breath of the complex itself, what she imagined being entombed deep underwater might sound like.

Then she heard shouting, and she was twelve years old again, not in a cabinet deep inside the Cheyenne Mountain Complex but in her closet in her old house. It was a tiny thing, filled with boxed-up memories from distant childhood, barely leaving room for her small body.

And then there were the voices in the kitchen.

I’m not keeping your name. The kids aren’t keeping your name. You can go die in obscurity, because you sure as hell will be dead to us. Is that what you want?

Yes, that’s exactly what I want. Are you happy?

Fuck you. I’m dead fucking serious. When you go, you go for good. How many times do I have to make it clear? You can’t have your cake and eat it, too. This is insane.

I can’t stay in this country.

For what? You really think they’re going to come for you over this New Yorker shit?

Absolutely. You don’t know them like I do.

Her hands were pressed to her ears as she tried to keep her tears back. She was failing Felix. She knew she should go look after him, tell him it would be okay, but she couldn’t bring herself to get out of the closet. She retreated even further into her head. She pulled her hands away from her ears just long enough to twist her hair into two identical ropes, which she wrapped around her ears like cinnamon rolls.

This wasn’t a closet; it was a holding cell, and she was a prisoner slated for termination. This wasn’t a condominium complex adjacent to Cornell University; it was the Death Star.

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