Gabriel stepped away, swallowing the urge to vomit. He stared at his creation, seeing it for the lost, tortured child it really was. That thing, that life he’d created, was going to infect and murder the entire human population. And it was going to do it in his name, so that he could live.
“When the humans are dead,” it whispered, “we can recreate the Earth however you like it, Father. With our help, you’ll never die, and the world will be ours.”
Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t want this.”
“You will.” The Schistling lovingly petted Gabriel’s hair. The creature’s eyes widened, as if an idea had popped into its head. It smiled warmly and lifted Gabriel off the ground. “And we can cure you.”
Cure? “Pardon?”
The Schist Ex Machina returned Gabriel to his circle and let go. “Father, we can cure you!” The Schistling sounded excited. “We know the human body better than any human scientist ever could hope to. We know every individual particle of it. You can’t stop us from killing the humans; it’s too late for that. But as a consolation prize, we will cure your mind.”
Gabriel looked into the Schistling’s affectionate eyes, then he glanced back at the Sky Amoeba. Static electricity sparked in the air. Inside the nucleus, Earth spun. The slugs and Victor remained quiet. “No. This isn’t—”
“We will do it, Father! It’s easy for us. We will mend the holes, heal the plaques, and restore the damaged pathways. You’ll have your old mind back. Gabriel Schist can live again. We’d let Melanie live, as well. Any other family members can live too, maybe even a small group of your human friends. Yes, a small group, whoever you chose. A new, smaller civilization of humans. Only the best ones.”
What if it was true? He believed it. The Schistlings had proven their mastery over the body. They could cure his Alzheimer’s, probably even his old age. He’d be the same man he once was, and he could do things right next time. He could conduct scientific experiments again. He’d never have to live in a nursing home because there would be no nursing homes. He could sail across the world. And anyone he wanted could be saved, as well.
But at what cost? The cost of his soul, apparently, as well as the lives of almost every human on Earth.
“This isn’t fair,” Gabriel murmured.
“Nothing in life is fair,” the Schistling rasped. “But don’t you deserve this?” The Schist Ex Machina stared at Gabriel with pleading yellow eyes.
Gabriel looked over at the slugs. They were quiet, bound by laws of noninterference. Then, with great uncertainty, he slowly turned to face the radiant presence of the Sky Amoeba. He stepped forward to stand in the Amoeba’s ultraviolet glow. The rising sun sent reenergizing warmth through him.
He closed his eyes. Hey, Sky Amoeba?
The Sky Amoeba sent a strong, powerful, loving emotion, but it was an answer that could never be translated into mere words. It could only be felt.
Listen, Sky Amoeba. I’m sorry for the things I’ve done. I’m sorry for the bad decisions I’ve made, the people I’ve hurt, and the resentment I’ve carried on my chest like a badge. Gabriel dug his hands into his pockets. I want to do the right thing. I really do. But what am I supposed to do here, exactly?
He tried to capture the feeling the Amoeba was sending out to him, to hear it, to comprehend it. No, that was wrong. He wasn’t supposed to comprehend it, just to understand it.
Look, Sky Amoeba. I have an idea. It’s risky. I don’t know if it’s going to work. I won’t ask for help or answers from you, but if you can just give me strength to go through with this, I would appreciate it. Because this is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Gabriel opened his eyes. He stood there for a moment, feeling the warmth. He was focused, thinking and feeling, with every ounce of willpower left inside him.
“Okay.” Gabriel turned away from the Sky Amoeba, but he still felt its warmth radiating against his back. He faced the Schist Ex Machina: his greatest creation, his life’s work, his abandoned child.
The Schistling’s mouth pulled back into a happy grin. Its eight slimy hands twitched with delight. “So are you ready to accept our offer? Do you wish to be cured?”
“Actually,” Gabriel replied, “I have an offer for you, instead.” He reached into the inner pocket of his trench coat and took out the vial containing the antidote. The poison. With his thumb, he popped off the top.
The Schistling’s happy expression changed to a look of pure horror. One of its arms shot toward Gabriel. “You can’t! You—”
Gabriel dropped the vial. It fell through the hole in the clouds, right down into the center of the black maelstrom. Plop.
“You’re murdering us!” the Schist Ex Machina wailed.
A repugnant odor filled the air. Smoke pillowed out of the maelstrom, sending black clouds into the sky. A thin trail of noxious fumes spewed from the giant arachnid’s oily body.
“You idiot!” the Schistling cried. “Don’t you know what this means?”
“Do you?”
“We’ll kill all of them, right now! We’ll kill everyone who has already been infected. While we crumble, they will die with us.”
The Schist Ex Machina’s spider-body was breaking down as chunks of black flesh floated into the air and dissipated into dust. Within seconds, its skeleton was revealed. “Murderer!” Its lips began to disintegrate as it spoke. “If we die… if the center of our collective consciousness dies… we all die! We… will kill all of the humans. We will destroy the—”
“No,” Gabriel said calmly. “You won’t.”
“You’ve sealed their fate!” The Schistling’s jaundiced eyes were swimming with naked panic. The stench coming from it smelled like burnt rubber.
Below, the maelstrom was dissolving into the ocean. But the collective was desperate, craving his love. Staring at Gabriel, face to face, it hadn’t yet gathered the will to send out the telepathic signal that would begin the mass murder of humankind. Until it did that, the Schistlings still inside the infected humans would not be affected. And they might never be, as long as Gabriel moved fast.
Hands trembling, Gabriel reached into the plastic bag in his coat. He withdrew the syringe that contained the original Schist vaccine. How did I know to bring this? Though his resolve was sharper than a craggy mountain range, his heart was pounding. He was terrified of what he was about to do and the consequences that he would have to live with. Once he did it, there was no going back. Beads of sweat ran down his face.
“I gave you life,” Gabriel said, holding the needle steady. “And now, I’m going to bring you home.”
The Schistling’s mouth dropped open. “You…”
“If your consciousness is collective, then that means that all it takes is one injection before your center dies, and you will stay alive. Right?”
Black clouds clustered around the dying maelstrom, the toxic fumes staining the white ones above.
“I’m going to let you fulfill your dream of coming home, becoming a part of me. I’ve never injected myself with my own vaccine. Did you know that? That’s why you could never find me.”
“Yes, obviously we know!” Its dark tongue was dripping, melting onto the clouds. “But, Father, you can’t… you can’t…”
