Inhuman(16)

“Craig,” the A.I. began, interrupting James to address Old-timer directly, “we both know that you are going to take on the mission. Why pretend otherwise?”

“What?” Old-timer responded, slightly perplexed. “I’m not pretending anything. I promised my wife that I’m not going on anymore of these adventures. My word means something to me.”

“It does indeed, Craig,” the A.I. replied calmly, as he always did. “However, so does your sense of honor. You know you feel you have a responsibility to investigate Universe 332 at the very least.”

“Wait a second here,” Old-timer countered. “You have at least as much responsibility as I do.”

“Craig, the decision to kill the Purist super soldier was made by you and you alone.”

Old-timer was left speechless.

“Old-timer,” James jumped back in, “look, you don’t have any responsibility here. It doesn’t matter who goes, as long as we get reliable and useful intel.”

“It does matter,” the A.I. replied to James, though his eyes remained fixed on Old-timer. “It matters to Craig. Craig, I’ve been inside your mind, even recorded a map of your neural patterns. I know you can’t let others risk their lives on your behalf. It will torment you if you do.”

“That...it was a long time ago. I’m not the same person.”

“He doesn’t want to go,” James said firmly to the A.I.

“Your core remains the same, Craig. You are a hero. It is fundamental to your own understanding of who Craig Emilson is. If I allowed you to follow through with this decision, I’d be doing you a disservice. It would cause a psychical existential crisis for you. You’d question if you were truly the selfless hero you’ve always proven yourself to be, or if you’d become a coward.”

“Stop it!” James raised his voice commandingly to the A.I.

The A.I. ignored him. “It would be devastating,” he concluded.

James physically inserted himself between the ghostly image of the A.I. and Old-timer, forcing the A.I.’s eyes to meet his. “If he doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t have to! We’ve made choices, both of us, to take on responsibilities that no one else could. Old-timer hasn’t made the same choice. He’s already done more than enough—”

“Stop, James,” Old-timer said quietly, putting his hand gently on James’s chrome-colored shoulder and pushing him slowly to the side. “The A.I.’s right. I was lying to myself. There’s no way in hell I could let Rich and Djanet go in my place, especially when I have the means to protect myself.” He unfurled one of his tendrils to emphasize his point. “I made the decision to let that Purist soldier die. I took the responsibility then. I have to go.”

James was quiet for a moment before asking, “Are you sure?”

Old-timer nodded. “I’ve got to learn to stop trying to argue with you guys.”

“You’ve made a wise choice,” the A.I. observed, a hint of pride in his tone. The ever-patient teacher had guided another of his pupils successfully.

“Daniella’s going to have me in the doghouse when she finds out.”

“If everything is copacetic in Universe 332, then you should be able to cross over and come back before she even notices you’re missing,” James offered.

Old-timer shook his head. “No matter what happens, I’m going to have to tell her.” He waved the suggestion of not telling his wife away. “Nah, I’m in it deep, but I still have to go.”

“If you notice something is amiss,” James advised, “come back right away. By my calculations, their universe should be about thirty-five years behind our own in technological development. If it doesn’t appear that way to you, simply get out of there and report. That’s it. The A.I. and I will devise a plan for how to handle it from there.”

“And, if all goes as planned,” the A.I. added, “Trans-human will be functioning and ready to protect us from any conceivable threat.”

“My suggestion is that you rendezvous with Rich and Djanet and perform the crossing in space rather than on Earth,” James continued outlining the impromptu plan. “Their ship is equipped with a replicator advanced enough that I’ll be able to upload the existing specs of the Planck platform to it. Rich and Djanet are en route to Earth after delivering a message for me to the android collective in person. You should contact them and get them to change course. I’ll upload the coordinates to your mind’s eye.”

“Why do the crossing in space?” Old-timer asked. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to do it at the mainframe, where you and the A.I. can be easily accessed?”