Gods (The War Machine Book 2) by David Beers & Michael Anderle

Author:David Beers & Michael Anderle [Beers, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2022-07-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Monk, Achilles, and Charon sat at a table on a different level than the one Monk thought of as the command center. Given the ship’s technological advances, that likely wasn’t the case.

Charon had directed the elevator to the correct floor, knowing what they wanted and intended to do. The Primordial showed no anger or emotions. She seemed perpetually calm, perhaps because she was as much a machine as Monk.

Or perhaps it was because the Primordials had transcended emotions, though Valice made Monk think that wasn’t the case. What the other Primordial was to her, Charon didn’t say, and they didn’t ask. It didn’t concern him at this point.

Achilles only wanted to know one thing. “You can fix that? You can reprogram him to make decisions that affect your kind?”

“Yes. If that’s what you wish, I can do it.”

Achilles leaned back in his chair with a sigh, relieved. “Go on, Monk. Ask away.”

Monk’s attention was on Charon, who was half-machine, half-humanoid. They were more similar to one another than either was to Achilles. The being in front of him…

She was kin in a way humans never could be.

The first question Monk asked, given the state of two universes, mattered the least to anyone but him. “Who made me? Why did they do it?”

The Primordial answered as if she’d expected the question.

“The idea for you came from the woman I followed. At a certain point, she saw that humanity would most likely head in two directions, one which ended with a madman wiping out most of them and the other with them having a chance. You, and the machine world you came from, were Alaina’s attempt to thwart the madman.”

Charon nodded at Achilles. “You were created as a sort of caretaker for them.”

The next question was simple, callous or not. “Why? Why not let them decide their fate?”

“Alaina felt responsible for humanity in a way no other Primordial could. When your universe came into being, there were many debates about what to do with it. Should we seed it? Should we leave it as bait for other species to seed? The discussions were endless, but Alaina took the position that we should let it be. Let the universe exist without interference.”

Charon nodded to her left, and an image of nothingness came into being.

“That was the universe before the Big Bang. Nothing. No open space, no stars, just the absence of anything. That’s what she wanted, and I know you’ll ask why, so I’ll go ahead and answer. Whether or not she was right, she firmly held the belief that, given the choice, non-existence was preferable. Existence, according to Alaina, is hard, and only the fear of non-existence keeps us in that state. Does that make sense?”

Achilles spoke, “If given a choice, knowing everything, we’d choose not to live because life is a struggle. That sum it up?”

“It’s not precise, but it’ll work,” Monk responded without looking at him. “Please continue, Charon.”

“Alaina was young but powerful, and people heard her voice, but in the end, she lost the debate.

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