“If you come with us, no harm will befall her.”

  Frees had the sudden urge to rip the man’s optics out. Gone was the guilt associated with killing these three. He could do it too, he could take them down, then fight his way through an army of them to get to her. But by then Hogo-sha would act. He could be monitoring this conversation right now. Who was to say one of the three wasn’t his avatar at the moment?

  “Take me to her.”

  Less than ten minutes later Frees stood at the base of the tower he’d jumped out of only the day before. He stared up at the impossibly tall glass structure; it’s top reaching so high it seemed to pierce the night.

  The man who’d spoken to him stood at his right; the other two behind as an escort. The front of the building stretched the entire block to both the left and the right and was set back from the sidewalk by thirty-three feet. They crossed this concrete plain only for Frees to realize within it were tiny reflective pebbles that caught the light as they passed. What had been their purpose? A mirror of constellations? Or something more abstract? He found himself fascinated by the mystery. The building itself sat atop a short but wide stairway that also extended the full length of the block. Each step had an ornate carving across its face, repeated every few feet or so, down the entire length of them.

  “A hat. A roll of fabric. Feathers. What do they all mean?”

  The man beside him was silent. It must have something to do with Japanese culture, at least human Japanese culture as they’d been the ones to build the building. It was too bad no one was left to tell him.

  Once they’d scaled the steps they escorted him inside the giant glass doors; everything about this place was made to make it look as grandiose as possible. It reminded him of the Cadre HQ back in Chicago taken to the nth power. Whoever had designed this place, they had done it with love and care.

  He was escorted to a familiar bank of elevators, four in a row. They looked like they could have been the same ones they’d originally ridden on their first visit here. Frees expected the higher he rose the more familiar the building would become.

  They didn’t even reach the first sky lobby before disembarking. Two of the guards stayed behind at the doors and the man continued to escort him.

  “Taking me to lockup? Or surgery, to remove my weapon?”

  “Surgery,” the man replied. Frees gaped at him a moment. He hadn’t expected him to be so candid. At least people didn’t bullshit here. They came to a pair of sliding doors and the man passed his hand in front of the scanner. The doors slid open silently. Inside were a number of alcoves surrounding a large control station in the middle. Frees wasn’t even sure he would get to see—

  “Frees?” a weak voice said from the far side of the room. Frees peered around the control station.

  There she was. Laid out like some experiment. Shin stood over her along with another machine he didn’t recognize. Rage took over.

  “What have you done to her!” he screamed, launching himself across the room toward Shin. “You lying bastard.” He grabbed Shin by the neck. The man didn’t seem perturbed and made no motion to stop him. Why would he? This was only a useless avatar. The real mind was a hundred floors above them.

  “Frees, no, it’s okay.” Arista grabbed for him with her human hand. Her other one was strangely immobile. Had they disabled it somehow?

  “What is going on here?” he demanded, still holding Shin by the neck. Why weren’t the other machines trying to stop him?

  “I asked him to bring you here, put him down, he’s trying to help,” she said. Frees turned to her. Trying to help? This machine had tried to kill them yesterday. But he saw from the look on her face she wasn’t kidding.

  He released Shin’s neck while the man just smiled at him. He turned back to his friend. She looked much paler than usual. When his eyes finally found the arm above her new hand, he took a step back. “Did he…did they…?”

  Arista shook her head. “It wasn’t them. I think it was Sy.”

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Arista tried to explain it as best she could, given her condition. Shin filled in the holes or offered alternative scenarios where possible. When Frees finally got a look at her data he understood just how dire it was. Whatever was in that hand was slowly killing her, one cell at a time.

  “Frees,” she called to him, her voice ragged. He put down the transparent tablet and walked back over to her alcove. “I’m sorry for what I—”

  “Stop,” he said. He couldn’t take her apologizing to him right now. Not in this condition. “Don’t worry about that. I shouldn’t have made the jump. You were right.” He dropped his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking and I still don’t. I’m trying to figure it out.”

  “Are you malfunctioning?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  He placed his hand on her bare shoulder. The lines hadn’t reached it yet, they remained at her elbow, but the skin around them had turned a violent purple. Down closer to the hand itself the skin had turned black.

  Shin came up beside him. “I am sorry for the deception. It was the fastest way to get you here without a fight. Obviously she is not a prisoner.”

  “Not by you anyway.” The more he stared at her hand the angrier he got. Goddamn Sy. He’d known something was wrong with that woman; coming to their rescue like that. Promises of a human colony. All in exchange for one simple, one-hour job. And it had all been a deception.

  “This woman,” Shin said, as if reading his mind. “She is dangerous.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “You think she did this on purpose?” Arista asked. Her head was relaxed on the pillow but her eyes were fierce. “What if it’s a side effect?”

  “Right now it doesn’t matter,” Shin said. “It is killing you.”

  She looked like she wanted to argue the point, but instead turned away and stared at the ceiling instead. Frees didn’t blame her. No one liked to be betrayed by their own kind. He had been furious when Shin revealed his true intentions, and he still wasn’t sure he trusted the man. But at this point he had little choice. If they were to have any chance at saving Arista.

  “She doesn’t have a lot of time.” Frees said.

  “I don’t know enough about humans to be of much help. I’ll begin downloading information on biology.”

  “Everything you can find,” Frees said, still watching Arista. “I’ve been learning all about it as well. And unless we have an antidote for the infection I don’t think we have a choice. We’ll have to take her arm up to the infected tissue.”

  Arista’s wince didn’t escape his attention, though she said nothing. He couldn’t even imagine what she was feeling and how hard it was to keep it all in. First her hand and now most of her arm.

  “Cut it off before it reaches vital organs?”

  Frees nodded.

  “I see,” Shin said. Two orderlies trotted up beside him in perfect sync with each other. “Download all available information on human biology and the care of amputations.” The two orderlies bowed in acknowledgment.

  “Do you have to?” Arista’s asked. Her voice was so weak Frees wasn’t sure they hadn’t waited too long already. She would need fluids and, in a perfect world, a couple pints of blood. But without an ample supply they would just have to be very careful to keep her from losing too much.

  Frees tried to keep his face neutral. “I wish there was another way. How does it feel?”

  “I can’t feel the hand anymore. Everything else is throbbing.” Her lips trembled as she spoke. Frees had to turn away to keep himself from lashing out erratically. Shin stood behind him to catch his gaze.

  “I feel like this is going to need to be delicate but quick. She doesn’t have much longer.”

  Shin nodded. “We can help. How do we begin?”

  Frees went over to one of the stations and turned on the water. After it sputtered for a moment, he rinsed his hands with soap. Even though he no longer had skin his hands could still pick up small bacteria. “We need to sterilize the area. Humans have a high susceptibility to infection. We don’t want to make the problem worse while trying to make it better.”

  Focus. Just focus on the job and don’t think about what you are doing.

  Shin nodded. “I will activate the ionizer. It dispels bacteria. In the air and around the alcove.”

  Frees dried his hands under a sterilizer beside the sink. “Perfect. We’re going to need something to cut with. Preferably something that can cauterize the wound as soon as we make it. A clean cut.”

  Shin turned his head to the left. Immediately one of the orderlies ran over to a supply cabinet and grabbed some tools wrapped in some kind of plastic. “This unit has exoscalpels. They are sterile and don’t leave tissue damage,” Shin said.

  “For never having done this you know a lot about surgery,” Frees said.

  “I am downloading information as we go. My AI upstairs is capable of very fast data transfer.”

  The orderly returned and handed Shin the equipment.

  “Would it…uh…how do I put this delicately?” He tried not to stumble over his words. “Would it be better to let them go?” Frees indicated the orderly who remained blank-faced.

  Shin shook his head. “She will change them. Unacceptable.”

  Frees couldn’t argue, in her agitated state Arista could probably change anyone within a fifty-foot radius. It was curious: Shin was helping them but didn’t want his people to be subjected to autonomy. So what would he do with them once Arista was better?

  Arista lifted her arm and waved him over. He made sure to keep his hands off any of the surfaces and approached her cautiously. “Frees, I can’t go through this again, I can’t—”

  “You are going to be fine. But we have to do this. You will make it through.” He tried to keep any hint of doubt off his face.

  “I can’t lose my arm, not again.” Tears had begun streaming from her eyes and she hadn’t moved to wipe them away. “It’s too much.”

  “It’s not going to change who you are,” Frees said. “And just think: you’ll be able to run even faster now because you’ll be lighter.”

  She scoffed.

  “Okay, not the best argument. But here’s a bonus. You get to see me absolutely lose it as soon as we begin cutting. If I had a gag reflex, I would have thrown up already.”

  A faint smile played across her face.

  “I don’t want to anesthetize you because I don’t know how old these drugs are and if they’ll even work. You’ll need to remain conscious.”

  She drew a deep, ragged breath and nodded.

  “We should still do a local,” Shin said. “For her discomfort.”

  “Do you have anything that hasn’t turned toxic over the past hundred years?”

  Shin nodded. “Of course. All of it is in cold storage. Lidocaine Monohydrochloride.” As soon as the words came out of his mouth a third orderly appeared at the doors holding a vial. Shin turned to him. “Right on time.”

  Frees leaned down to Arista. “He wasn’t kidding about the efficiency.”

  She scoffed. “Wait until you see the subway.” He creased his brow but a faint smile remained on her face. “Just don’t take more than you have to.”

  He nodded. “I promise.”

  “Please stand aside,” Shin said. “I will administer the medication.”

  Frees stood back, watching as Shin pressed the vial the orderly had brought directly to the area above Arista’s elbow. “You sure it won’t hurt her?”

  “Tell me when you lose feeling in your arm,” Shin said.

  Arista nodded.

  Another of the orderlies brought a small tray with instruments on them. Frees immediately recognized the exoscalpel. It had a long barrel that ended in a point with a small handle and what looked to be a pressure-sensitive tab on the top. Shin moved to pick it up.

  “Wait.”

  Frees took the device off the tray. “I’m doing it. Not you.”

  Shin nodded. “As you wish. Is your knowledge up to date?”

  It was. He’d been studying and gathering materials for weeks, in his downtime. Ever since he’d met her. Maybe in the beginning it was because if anything happened to her he needed to repair her quickly. Unless he wanted to watch his own dreams die with her. She couldn’t very well give machines autonomy if she was dead. But as they came to know each other more he realized he was doing it because he genuinely didn’t want anything to happen to her. And yes, human bodily functions were probably the most disgusting thing he could think of; even the sight of her blackening arm made him nauseous. But she’d done this for him and now it was time to return the favor.

  “I’m fine,” Frees said. He locked eyes with Arista. And in that moment she was more vulnerable than he’d ever seen her. She was putting her trust in him and he wasn’t going to let her down. No matter what happened. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  She nodded. “It’s numb.”

  “Then let’s begin.”

  TWENTY-NINE

  Arista’s eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment to remember where she was. The lights were dimmed in the small alcove but she could still make out the medical ward beyond. Frees and Shin stood facing each other, speaking in low voices. The other orderlies were gone. There was no point in waiting, she’d been through this song and dance before. Arista glanced to her right.

  Her arm ended just above the elbow and had been encased in another one of those metal sleeves. Just like she’d had last time. And just like last time it didn’t really feel any different. She could still sense the arm there. But no, it was gone. It had been discarded like the piece of diseased flesh it was. She’d never let anyone install anything in her again.

  “You’re awake,” Frees said, walking over. “How do you feel?”

  She shifted on the bed. “Arm aches. Lightheaded. Hungry.”

  “Do you remember the procedure?”

  She nodded. She’d watched until she couldn’t anymore. And she’d been so tired. Had she fallen asleep while they were working on her? All she’d felt was a slight pressure.

  “We were afraid you had gone into shock, but I think you’re undernourished. Your body has been through a lot of trauma. We patched up that cut on your shoulder and treated the sprain in your other arm too. Shin has people searching outside the city for anything you might be able to eat.”

  She smiled. “Your face. When you made the first cut.”

  He gave a look of mild annoyance but she could see he was amused. “I hope you remember it because it’s the only time you’re ever going to see that face. I’m never doing that again.”

  She laughed, but it turned into a cough. “Thank you. For taking care of me.” She reached out with the only hand she had left.

  He took it in his for a moment and squeezed, before laying it back down, gently. “It’s what you did for me.”

  “So, it was all because you owed me?”

  His head jerked back. “Well, I mean…I did. Owe you, I mean.”

  “Oh,” she said, dropping her eyes. “I see.”

  “I have good news,” Shin said, walking over. “We have found some naturally growing Iyokan and Unshiu outside the city. They will be arriving shortly.”

  It took Arista a minute to process his words, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Frees, who only stared at the floor. Had she been right? Was she nothing more than someone he needed to accomplish his goals? She’d thought, maybe, just maybe, there had been something more there but no. No matter what happened, she was a means to an end. And he was probably just doing whatever he needed to do to ensure that end.

  “That’s great,” Arista said, finally tearing her gaze away from Frees. “Thank you.”

  Shin bowed slightly. “We do not want you to die from malnourishment after all this trouble.”

  “Why are you helping us? Why are you helping me?”

  Shin narrowed his eyes for a moment before responding. “I do not believe you are my enemy. You were sent here under false pretenses, not of your own accord. If you had been given the choice, would you have come here or gone to the colony?”

  It was an easy answer. “The colony.”

  Shin nodded. “Of course. Yet you were coerced into fighting someone else’s fight.”

  “She said it was for the good of my people. That we couldn’t thrive with the Cadre in place.”

  “We created the Cadre specifically for that purpose,” Shin said. “To prevent humans from thriving. How much did Charlie tell you?”

  “Not a lot,” Frees said, his focus completely off Arista. “He seemed to indicate humans were the source of all the problems on the planet. Then proceeded to show us he had a cache of them to use whenever he wanted.”

  Shin closed his eyes and dropped his head, shaking it slightly. “Needless to say,” he opened his eyes and looked at them again. “We did not agree on everything. His treatment of humans was…inhumane.”

  “Do you agree? That humans are a disease to be wiped out?” Arista asked.

  “Let us consider.” Shin walked to the other side of the alcove. “You and this woman: Sy. You fight for machine rights,” his eyes slid to Frees, “however misguided your goal. You help us. You love us.” He turned to look at the next alcove. Arista followed his eyes until she spotted the hand, sitting on a tray with bloody wires exposed at the end. “She hates us. Wants to eradicate us. Is willing to use her own kind to do it for her. Very dishonorable.”

  “She never said she wanted to eradicate all of you, just the Cadre,” Arista said. Why was she still standing up for this woman? This was the person who’d introduced a literal poison in her system. Maybe she didn’t want to believe she’d used Arista in such a vile way. Maybe accepting that fact was just too much for her to handle.

  “If the Cadre falls, chaos reigns,” Shin said. “What method of government will be in place? What structure? How will society work?” He stared at Frees. “This is a question for you too. Free all the machines and what happens?”

 

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