Great White Throne (11 page)

I thought of the meeting of world leaders in Geneva and how they’d agreed to give Don authority, just before the Mahdi attacked. “What if the politics change? What if there’s a new U.S. President who backs out of the UN?”

“Man, you’ve been living under a rock. When’s the last time you connected your precept?”

“Earlier today.”

“Well, let me tell you, just a couple weeks ago, the United States tried to do just that. The President was one of the few Americans who still went back and forth from Babylon—a reward for his loyalty to Don. But I guess when he came back, he started to regret the deal or something. Maybe he missed the power. Whatever the reason, he tried to launch an attack.”

“Where?”

“Here! Can you believe that? It was an assassination attempt, pure and simple. A few thousand men and drones—some rogue holdout group of the ISA and a bunch of ex-Marines. They stormed the palace, climbing the Masada hillside like the Roman soldiers a couple thousand years ago.”

“I didn’t hear anything. What happened?”

Alexi smiled. “There wasn’t much to hear. We killed them in a flash. Literally. Don’s been experimenting for a while with electromagnetic pulses. He used one to blast the whole area around the palace. Everything within five miles was hit, but everything within our walls was safe. All the attackers went down. Weapons, too. Don ordered the drones to go out and dispatch them.”

My mouth had fallen open. Don was winning every battle.

“Scary to think people would be so stupid as to attack Don, isn’t it?” Alexi eyed me knowingly. “You can imagine what happened to the President after that.”

“He was killed?”

“No, no,” Alexi said. “Don wouldn’t do that. He visited Washington in person. He dismantled the shield protecting the city. He had the weapons ready to destroy it, and he explained this to the President, broadcasting it to everyone who wasn’t already in Babylon. The President was groveling, begging for forgiveness. He apologized for America. He admitted the country had fallen from greatness, and it was only Don’s and the UN’s protection that sustained it. Don, of course, responded with grace. He accepted the apology, and he let the man enter Babylon, on two conditions.”

“What’s that?”

“One, he can never leave again. Two, everything the President sees and does in Babylon will be public. Anyone in Babylon can watch it, if they want. You could watch it even now.”

“That’s awful. I’ll pass.”

“Suit yourself. Most people aren’t watching. They’ve got their own desires to enjoy. I know I do.” He paused, licking his lips. “Any other questions? Don told me to make sure you were comfortable.”

“Where’s Naomi?”

“In her room.” His eyes grew distant, absorbed in whatever his precept showed. “Actually, she’s on her way here now. I better go.” Alexi stood, and so did I.

“Why can’t she sync with one of the machines? She’s just as capable as I am, if not more.”

“Don has given her a different role.” Alexi seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “I told you, he doesn’t trust just anyone in his machines.”

But I knew he didn’t trust me. Alexi had made his way to the door. “Why are you going?”

“I came to answer your questions, and I’ve done that. Now the battle calls. You’ll be joining soon.” He opened the door. “Good seeing you. If you have more questions just send me a message.”

I nodded as he walked out.

NAOMI CAME INTO my room without knocking, wearing the baby in a cocoon of cloth wrapped around her torso. The boy was quiet, peering up at her. He seemed too sentient for an infant. I half expected him to say something. Nothing related to Don could surprise me anymore.

“Sorry it took so long,” she said. “Ready to find Ronaldo?”

“How long were you gone?”

She stepped closer. “About an hour. Why? What’s wrong? Your eyes, they look different. Darker.”

“I did the training, and then Alexi showed up.”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s one of Don’s closest advisors. I met him before in Geneva. Smart guy, but weird. He’s always excited about politics and the next big thing. He seems oblivious to what Don is really doing.”

“Most people are.” Naomi walked past me to the balcony outside, and I followed. The fresh air was nice. “What about the training?” she asked.

“Don’s machines are amazing. Total vehicles of destruction.”

“We already knew that.”

“No, we saw it. It’s different being inside one of them. You remember from ISA-7 what it’s like being synced with little drones?”

She nodded.

“Well, I feel like syncing with those drones took up about 10% of my brain. This machine took up all of me…and more.”

“You sound shaken.”

“I think there was something else synced in the machine with me.”

“Another person?”

“No, but kind of like that. Alexi guessed it was machine superintelligence. I doubt that. It was powerful, and it seemed to have personality. Together we could handle the machine. The other presence guided me. We crushed an army of robots. We sliced steel towers in half. But we still couldn’t hold up against the dragon.”

“The dragon?” she asked. “Some
other presence
?”
 

“Yeah, what?”

She put her hands on either side of my head and stared into my eyes. I could see the amber flecks in her green irises.
 

“You can’t let Don meddle with you like that. It could have been a demon. What if you were possessed?”

“I know it sounds crazy. But I wasn’t possessed. Maybe Alexi was on the right track—Don could have coded some of his thinking into the machine.”

She stepped back, hand on her hip, not buying it. I wasn’t sure if the baby at her chest made her look more or less intimidating.

“Seriously,” I said. “I feel totally fine.”

“Feelings are deceptive. Is your precept off now?”

I shook my head. “V, shut down.” The world went bland, but it did feel cleaner. “Happy?”

“No. Not at all. We shouldn’t have tried this. Don’t do it again unless we have another sign, some clear instruction, okay?”

“Okay.” Maybe she was right. Maybe not.

“Come on, let’s go find Ronaldo.”

We ventured down the long hall with black marble floors, walls of glass, and motionless androids lining the way. The windows to our right showed the palace’s courtyards. The windows to the north revealed a steep drop-off and a vast turquoise sea. Naomi’s gaze stayed out over the water for most of the walk.
 

“I know where we are,” she eventually said.

“Don called it Masada. That’s the Dead Sea, right?”

She nodded. “We’re not far from Jerusalem. Someone should be able to find us here.”

“Ronaldo already did. That doesn’t seem to have helped.”

“We’ll see. He may still be more help than you think. Did he give you any hints about where he is?”
 

We had just turned the corner to the east wing. This hallway looked more middle eastern, with sandstone walls, ornate rugs, and arched windows. There were dozens of doors, and stairs going up and down.

“He just said he was locked up in the east wing.”

“Up it is.”

“It’s just a saying—locked
up
.”

“You underestimate Ronaldo.” She headed to a flight of narrow stairs at the end of the hall. The androids watched us. They always watched.
 

After three flights of stairs, we reached the top floor. We were breathing heavily.
 

“Feeling okay?” I asked.
 

She nodded. “I’m fine. A little tired.” She glanced down. “Our walk rocked baby boy to sleep.”

“I tried these stairs before, and the androids stopped me. It’s weird they let us pass—like they wanted us to come up here.” I eyed the hall before us nervously. “Something feels different.”

“I sense it, too. But not in a bad way. I almost feel lighter here. Tell me if you see anything.”
 

We began walking forward. The hall looked more like a prison than anything I’d seen in the palace. There weren’t iron bars or guards, but there also weren’t windows or decorations. Solid metal doors lined the walls, only a few paces apart.

We’d almost reached the end with no sign of Ronaldo. “How are we supposed to know where he is?” I asked.

“You sure there was no trace from his message?”

“No, nothing.”

“I felt my hopes rising as we walked. I’m not afraid here.” She began walking back the other way. “Ronaldo!” she called out. “Ronaldo!”
 

“You really think—” The sound of sliding metal interrupted me. To our left, a thin sliver of metal had opened on one of the doors. A pair of stunning, bright eyes stared out and met mine. My knees suddenly felt weak.
 

It wasn’t Ronaldo. Ronaldo didn’t have yellow halos in his eyes.

“Ronaldo!” Naomi shouted up ahead.

I heard metal sliding again. I kept my eyes on Naomi. “They’re watching us.”

She stopped and turned to me. “Who?”

I nodded to the door where the yellow eyes had appeared. It was solid metal again.

“Did you see something?” Naomi asked.

“Yeah, eyes.”

“Whose?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t look human.”

She wrapped her arms over the baby. “Let’s find Ronaldo and get out of here.”

“Good idea, but don’t—”

“Ronaldo!” she called out again, pacing faster. “Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo!”

Metal was sliding open. I felt dozens of eyes following us. I glanced to my right. Eyes like fire. To my left, irises like molten gold.

I caught up to Naomi’s side and grabbed her arm. My hand was shaking. “You have to stop.”

The baby’s eyes opened. He stared at me like he knew me, like he understood. Then he turned his head to the side. I followed his gaze to another door, and it was opening.

A GIANT OF a man stood in the doorway. He had a shaved head and scars on his face. He looked us up and down, then grunted, “Who are you?”
 

He looked threatening, but at least he had no shadows dancing around him. I put on a confident smile. “We are the guests of President Cristo. He sent us here to talk to a man named Ronaldo.”

The man scratched his head. “I doubt that. If Alexi let you up here, he must want me to take care of you.”