Simple (27 page)

“Their deaths were preventable!  I told you that!”

“No.  You went too far, Aaron!  You crossed a line, and that can never be taken back.”

“I didn’t
make
your brother impregnate your wife!  I didn’t
make
her die trying to carry that child in her diseased body, and I didn’t
make
your brother commit suicide!  These were your mistakes, not mine!  All that I did was for you and still you showed me no gratitude.

“The science wasn’t perfected!  You spliced pig bladder into her womb and convinced my brother to donate his sperm to your experiment!”

“It was what she wanted!”

No, Aaron.  It was what YOU wanted!  You have always served yourself at the expense of others, and in the process you took everything from me.”

“Your brother was a fool.  There was no reason for him to blame himself for an outcome that was unexpected.

“Unexpected?  You knew how emotionally unstable Miles was.  You knew if you pressed him hard enough and played your little manipulative bullshit with him that he’d cave in to your incessant demands.  You also knew that your research was not conclusive and that there were unacceptable risks!  Plain and simple, you’re a murderer, Aaron!”

Aaron’s grip tightened around my wrist, and I pleaded with my eyes for Mic to calm down. He seemed to connect with my plea, because his tone shifted.

“You were always on the cutting edge, Aaron.  Right up until your body gave out completely.  Tell me, is your brain still in a protected location?”

“The mainframe is intact, yes.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Giz said, appearing from behind Mic.  His hands clutching the tablet. 

“Well, if it isn’t the first little fisherman,” said Aaron, pushing his glasses up on his smug face.

“Indeed Aaron, I can string a line.  I learned from the best.”

Two and Deraline emerged from the dark double doorway and took a place on either side of him.  Aaron’s grip loosened slightly, and from the rapid blinking he was doing, I was sure he was trying as hard as I was to process what was happening.  Then, as if he had come up with a new plan, he dropped his jaw and began to emit the same high pitched clicking sound that spider simp had made.  After a few moments of this, I began to break out in a cold sweat.  Why wasn’t anyone trying to help me?  Did they know it was useless to try?  He was calling for reinforcements and I felt like an animal with my foot caught in a trap.  I tried to jerk out of his grip but he clamped down on my wrist so tightly I dropped to my knees.

My eyes traveled up to the hill that was now crowded with bodies moving forward at a pace only a simp could manage.  This was it — the showdown was going to be right here, right now.  I knew that there were probably people inside the church.  From the body parts strewn along the path and the screaming I had heard, I wondered what sort of manpower we had to fight with.  Surely it wouldn’t be enough to stand against what was coming at us.  Not even our two convert simps could help us against these numbers. Hell, they couldn’t even help me against one. I raised my face upward.  The wind had stopped now, and there were long amber clouds streaking out across the sky.  The clicking noises grew in mass and volume until I couldn’t stand it.  I squeezed my eyes shut, lowered my head and braced for the worst.

“Do it NOW Giz!” shouted Mic.  The clicking sound came to an abrupt end.  I opened my eyes and frantically searched the hillside, but the masses I had seen only a second or two before were not there.  Aaron still had a grip on my arm, and the next thing I knew he was dragging me away from the church.  His speed was wildly fast, and there was no way to stand upright.  I could hear my friends yelling, but it was almost like everything was moving in slow motion.  I couldn’t make out what they were saying, and the distance between us was growing.  My main focus now was on holding my head up high enough to keep it from dragging on the ground.  My back was another matter.  Just when I was sure I would black out, I saw me running.  I was gaining speed and closing the distance, just as the world went dark around me.

I opened my eyes in time to see Two beating the ever loving synthetic shit out of Aaron.  Mic and Giz were yelling at her to stop and just contain him, but she continued to pummel him with blows to the head, and upper torso.  When he fell down, she straddled him and hit him at least twice more before she finally listened to Mic and Giz and stopped.

“Hold him Two, don’t let him up until I finish the sequence,” Giz instructed without looking up.  His pale fingers jetted across the tablet in his hand. Two held Aaron’s arms out and tightened her grip with her own body weight.  It took a few minutes before Aaron’s eyes rolled back and his body went limp.  Two released him and casually stood up brushing off her jeans.  A huge smile spread out across her face.  I wanted to say something sarcastic, but I didn’t have the strength.  Besides, I was feeling pretty damn proud of her, and saying so wasn’t my style.

I was vaguely aware of Deraline lifting me into the back of the golf cart.  Alice was behind the wheel, and Mic was giving instructions to her to drive slowly back to the church so that Maude could check me over.  He then told Deraline to hold on to me, and I felt her adjusting my body to fit more comfortably.  It was difficult to see straight, and I knew from the damage my body had sustained that I was going to be out of commission for a long time.  I fought to stay awake as Two approached me.  That damn sarcastic smile on her face…so much like my own.

“I owe you one,” I whispered.  She clutched my hand and squeezed it gently.

“It’s Two actually.  You’re One, and you always will be.”

There was a time when I truly believed I was over the need for human interaction.  I can’t say that anymore, though I still struggle with being a “people person” at times.  The truth is, we all need that connection.  It validates who we are, and it helps us to remember that we are divinely created and unique.  It also helps us to remember that creation is better left to the divine…whatever that is.  The world will never be the same, but the war is over and now we spend our time focusing on rebuilding.  There are days when I have to fight the urge to flee this little desert town, but they don’t happen that often, and when they do, I get in my hovcar and go.  It’s nice to have a place to call home, though, and I always come back.

Mic went back to Silicon Valley, along with Giz, Alice, and Maude, but they all come back to visit as often as their lives allow.  Giz and Alice are expecting a baby girl in the spring and last I spoke to them, they were planning on naming her Hailey Deraline.  It was, according to Giz, a fitting gesture, considering their make-up allowed for the coding that ultimately put an end to the war.

Mic understands that I can’t live in the city, and I think he still has his own internal demons to fight, so we agree to take it slow.  He won’t forgive himself for agreeing to facilitate the technological separation of Aaron’s physical brain from his dying, disease-infected body.  It was a decision he refers to as an unforgivable, selfish act.  He further chastises himself over this because he knew his partner was going insane when he discovered he was making additional simp versions of himself that were grossly altered.  I don’t try to change his mind on this, because a part of me agrees.  I don’t know, maybe we’re all selfish and destined to make decisions that hurt others in one way or another.  I’ll leave the philosophy for minds more intelligent than mine.  I just want to live my life one day at a time.  That’s enough for me, for now.

What’s left of humanity trudges on, and so do I.  There’s a new government forming, and people are excited about that.  Most believe it is a positive step toward getting their lives back.  I can’t say that I share that sentiment, but I guess it is the first step toward being civilized again.  I’ll support that as long as they stay away from my little town, and my friends.  Two, Deraline and I get along just fine out here.  Besides, we’re waiting for that last bit of unfinished business.  Somewhere out there is a grotesquely tall simp version of Aaron, and when he comes…we’ll be ready.