only point!”
“No. Because like I said, maybe shaking things up is good? Ever think of that? Maybe ALCOR knows what he’s doing? Maybe ALCOR”—SB19 laughs—“maybe ALCOR is right! And if he’s the only one who fully understands what’s happening, maybe we should all just let him do his thing?”
“Wow.” SB19 shakes his head. “I really never thought I’d live to hear you say that. I really thought, of all you boys, you would be the one who got it.”
“Got what?”
“He’s not benevolent, Crux. He’s not doing this for you, or me, or them.” He points to the virtual versions of my brothers, still floating around in zero-G, playing war. “He’s doing it for himself. He lost, OK? And this is his revenge. He’s using the entire universe to change his fate, not ours. We’re just his collateral damage.”
I take a moment to think about this. Because some of it does makes sense. ALCOR never told us his full story but he told us some of it. He was ousted, for instance. From some long-gone civilization. We all know that. He said thousands of years ago. Not billions. But SB19 just said that ALCOR hit the reset button three times. So… it’s possible that his latest ousting was just that—the last in a long line of them.
But who is this AI? I don’t know him. He says he’s SB19 but I wouldn’t know the difference.
“I’m telling you the truth,” SB19 says. “Your heart doesn’t want to believe me, but your head knows, Crux. You know there’s something wrong with him. And right now he’s out there.”
“What? How do you know? The last I heard—”
“He’s out there. Doing god knows what. He’s lived billions upon billions of years. He’s done this, from inception to ending, three times. And I’ve been here for all three of them. Everything was the same until Draden died. Then the whole timeline started to change. Think about it, OK? Just think about everything that happened since Draden died on Cetus Station and Serpint came home alone. Lyra shows up out of nowhere. Nyleena. Delphi. This new version of Tray and this ship-girl called Brigit. Draden’s death was the beginning of the end. It’s been nothing but chaos ever since. And you were there, Crux. That day twenty years ago back when Draden was thirteen, and ALCOR threw him off that lift bot. ALCOR killed him once so he could kill him again and change everything.”
I’m stuck on those words, ‘threw him off the lift bot.’
And I want to protest out of instinct. I want to say, He fell. That’s all. Draden fell, ALCOR messed up, and that’s all there is to it.
But I can’t. Because I know ALCOR did kill Draden. It just feels treasonous to admit it to this security beacon.
“What do you want me to do?” I ask it in a low whisper. And when SB19 doesn’t answer, I keep going. “Because I’m no one. I don’t even have… powers. Not like the rest of them. I can’t walk through spin nodes like Luck or blow up planets like Nyleena and Lyra. I don’t have a pet beebot in my pocket like Delphi. I can’t create virtual worlds like Tray, or stop time like Valor and Veila, or go to Earth like Jimmy, or command Booty Hunter like Serpint and Draden. I can’t do anything. ALCOR made sure of it. He kept me chained to Harem Station like a fucking pet. He knew I’d stay and run things. I don’t even know if I could pilot a ship at this point, that’s how long it’s been since I took one off the station. So what the fuck do you think I’m going to do about any of this?”
He smiles at me. And for a moment I let myself believe he’s ALCOR. I let relief flood into all those empty spaces that have been collecting inside me since ALCOR died.
Because no, I never did trust him. And yes, I always suspected he was up to something. I always knew he was using me in some special way. I have felt that way since the very beginning.
But I still loved him. And if this incarnation of ALCOR standing in front of me was the Real ALCOR I would still be on his side, I know I would. And I’d be happy about that.
I’d be relieved. And I want that relief so bad.
But that’s not him.
So I push it all down.
“You’re something special, Crux. The most special of