“If he’s not bluffing,” Paine countered.
“Remember who you’re talking about here,” Aldous replied. “It’s Craig Emilson, the most selfless, heroic man any of us have ever met.”
“But you pointed out yourself,” Paine continued to protest, “that’s not him.”
Aldous smiled. “How different could he be?” He turned back to Old-timer. “We can’t escape our true nature.”
Old-timer remained silent, while, internally, he asked himself the same question. How different can a man be? He wasn’t sure if even he knew who he was any longer.
Paine finally relented and nodded. He looked at Old-timer strangely, as if he was replaying the memories of the man he once knew. “All right. Let’s trust him.”
“Th-thank you,” Old-timer said, continuing to stammer.
“After all,” Paine shrugged, “any universe that could corrupt a man like Craig Emilson isn’t worth saving.”
8
Thel didn’t even speak as she broke the surface of the water and took in a long, painful, lifesaving breath. The saltwater stung her eyes, and she blinked it away, narrowing her vision and focusing on the dark shape that appeared to be the shore, just a dozen meters away. She tugged James’s body hard as it floated on the surface, still completely limp and lifeless.
The A.I. was equally silent as he swam with his one free arm and his legs, pumping through the nearly freezing water, struggling to see as the saltwater stung, summoning a flow of tears. He tried to turn, craning his neck for a glimpse of where the car had gone down, searching for any sign of the candidate. He couldn’t see the artificially generated intelligence that had attempted to murder them, but the darkness, and the continued splashing of saltwater into his face as they desperately tried to power their way to the shore made it impossible for him to know for sure if the candidate was still looming nearby.
“There.” Thel pointed out, breathless. She was cognizant enough of their predicament to know not to yell out and give their location away. Like the A.I., she was well aware that the candidate could be close.
The A.I. saw the rocky outcrop that Thel was making her way toward. It was the shortest distance for them to swim and there appeared to be a small, relatively level surface for them to get James on his back. It would be then that the desperate attempt to revive him could begin.
“The water’s cold,” the A.I. said in a low tone, just above a whisper, as he continued to struggle in the cold surf. The traumatized trio were only a couple of meters from the outcrop. “That is a blessing. It should buy us a little extra time to get him breathing again, before the damage to his brain is irreversible.”
Thel reached the shore first, and she clawed at the jagged rocks with her fingers, dragging her exhausted, bruised body up and out of the water. Once she was in a sitting position, the A.I. pushed James’s back and forced him up, allowing Thel to pull him further. She scrambled to her feet and pulled James the rest of the way out, grunting with the exertion, before placing him on his back. “What do we do?” she urgently asked the A.I., keeping her voice as low as possible.
“Turn his head to the side. Let any water in his nose or mouth drain out.”
She knelt behind James’s head and propped it up before turning it to the left side for a moment and then turning it to the right. The rain had become a downpour, and it was difficult to tell if anything was draining from him at all. “Now what?”
“We have to get air past anything that is clogging his airway so it can enter the lungs,” said the A.I. as he pinched James’s nose. “Breathe strongly into his mouth four times, as much air as you can give him, with as much force as you can muster.”
“Will it work?”
“It’s a very old method from before people had nans,” the A.I. replied. “But it’s our only chance, and his only chance. Do it now.”
Thel nodded and began breathing into James’s mouth. Each time she puffed, James’s cheeks expanded, but his chest didn’t rise.
“I don’t think it’s getting through!” she exclaimed.
“Shh. We must keep our voices low,” the A.I. replied calmly. He pushed James onto his side and began hitting him hard on the back, in an attempt to get water out of his passageways. “We’ll repeat the cycle until he breathes again.” He let James fall back again, making sure to protect his head before pinching his nose a second time. “Do it.”
Thel breathed hard four more times.
Again, James’s chest remained still.
She pulled up and put her shaking hand to her forehead. “Oh my God. It’s not working,” she realized, hope draining rapidly. “We’ve lost him.”