“There is no other way!” Cecile shot back, her voice cracking. Her knuckles were white around the handle of the pistol.
Talon looked back at her, expressionless. “Go ahead and shoot me.”
“Talon,” Cecile begged. “It’s a matter of life and death.” Even Cecile had switched to pleading now, her threats having no effect.
Talon shook his head, turned his back to them and began stalking through the woods.
Cecile pointed the weapon in earnest, and for a moment Flora feared she might pull the trigger, perhaps even just to wound Talon. She didn’t. She looked down and to the side, and then lowered the weapon.
Cecile cried out to the trees above her. “Zut alors!” Then she looked over at Flora.
Flora could only shrug. She had no power over Talon. She was more likely to cement his leaving if she tried to argue with him.
Cecile frowned and rubbed her forehead and nose in agitation, as if trying to flush out a pack of fleas. After another moment’s contemplation, she jumped forward, running and calling after Talon.
“Talon… why did the Detonation happen?” she asked.
Talon answered without looking back. “Could have been a nuclear war, or a plague. I know you claim it’s this phone. Maybe. But what do I care? I’m honor-bound as a Shinogi to return to my dojo and to defend Grand Caverns.”
Cecile kept walking after him. Flora and Owen followed her.
“Because it’s happening again,” Cecile continued. “That’s why you should care. What honor is there in going back to Grand Caverns if your defense is inadequate, if you have no chance of winning?”
“So you say. If so, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“That’s not true. We survived the Detonation. Why did we survive?”
“We were lucky. The bombs missed our ancestors, I don’t know.”
Cecile was still trying to catch up with him in the forest. “In the Old World Gail had plenty of access to resources, much more than she does now. There would be no way for us to stop Gail from eliminating us. All of us.”
Talon kept walking, but his cadence was slowing.
“So what stopped her?” Owen asked, his own curiosity piqued.
Cecile ignored Owen. She was still desperately focused on Talon, who continued walking away from them. “Talon, why do the retchers exist?”
Talon slowed some more and then picked up speed again. He threw his hand up as he answered, still not facing them. “Let me guess. They were made by Gail to destroy everything.”
“No,” Cecile said.
“So they are some abomination of nature. Some freak mutation caused by the bombs.”
“No.”
Talon slowed, and then came to a stop.
“Because—” Owen said, light dawning in his eyes.
“Shh!” Cecile cut him off and held up a finger to silence him. “Let’s hear from Talon.”
Talon seemed to be at least pondering the question, if not thinking of some other way to stop them from following him.
“What do the retchers do?” Cecile asked.
Talon turned to Cecile, donning an annoyed frown. He said, “They destroy Old World tech, melt it down. Like possessed demons. Essentialists believe they are the earth’s revenge on the Old World.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I don’t know, maybe. I heard what they did to the phone my Mom had.”
“That’s right, they do destroy Old World tech. But Gail thrives on Old World tech. That’s what made her so powerful. She could manipulate machines and people through the huge Old World network that connected everything. Almost everything that had electricity she could control or embed herself in.”
“So… you’re saying… the retchers destroyed all that. The retchers… are good?”
“Yes.”
“You’re saying someone made these retchers? Doubtful. Old World people were magicians, but even that seems a stretch.”
“No, people didn’t make the retchers, not really. Humans weren’t smart enough to make anything like the retchers. It came from somewhere else.”
“From what?” Talon asked. He was still frowning but he was curious enough to remain engaged in the conversation.
“From the only thing that could compete with Gail. Another machine like Gail.”
Talon’s frown deepened as he tried to make sense of what Cecile was saying.
Owen said, “Another machine? Does it still exist?”
“Sort of. In fact, you may have heard of it. It’s called the Sentinel. People in Spoke lands sometimes even refer to it, especially among the Adherents. It sounds like faith, but it’s based in truth, just like the Credo referring to the old sanctuary is based in truth. But only a small part of this Sentinel remains, and it’s dormant right now. I was hoping some part of it was returning to us in the satellite, but it turned out to be Gail.”
“Why don’t we know about it in Essentialist lands?” Talon asked. “Why have I never heard of this Sentinel?”
“Only Spokes know about it, because our descendants came from the sanctuary.” Owen said, making the connection.
“Yes, that’s right,” Cecile said.
Cecile had Talon’s attention now. She took a breath. “You see, during the Detonation, the Sentinel surprised Gail with the use of millions of retchers—biological creatures that could deliver small, electro-magnetic pulses to render electrical circuits inoperable. In doing this, the Sentinel’s own infrastructure was also fried. Mutual destruction was the only way to stop Gail.”
Cecile scratched her head in thought while still fixating her eyes on Talon. “The Sentinel was thorough, but Gail was able to hide copies of herself, like in the phones found in the satellite. Meanwhile, or so the story goes, the Sentinel retreated to the sanctuary. The Sentinel is different than Gail. It needs human direction or it goes to sleep. But it can be reactivated by the right person—a person it trusts.”
Now it was Talon who scratched his head.
“That person is you, Talon. We’re not just going to the sanctuary to get new weapons. We’re going for much more than that. We’re going to awaken the only thing that will give us a fighting chance against Gail.”
Talon’s frown returned. He turned the way he was heading, but then looked back, still contemplating.
“Time is running out, Talon. Gail has created a substantial power base in Seeville, and her resources are growing quickly. It may be too late to stop her. Our only chance is to fight fire with fire. We need the Sentinel.”
Flora chimed in. “Talon, I know it sounds crazy, but all these people risked their lives to find you and get you here. You know about the phone. You know about the retchers. Please give us a chance to prove the rest.”
Talon squinted at Flora.
Cecile continued. “Why don’t—”
“Stop!” Talon yelled. “That’s enough.”
Talon then dropped his pack on the ground, closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged. He engaged in some form of deep meditation, taking deep breaths. Flora had seen Shinogi do this before, when they wanted to make an important decision.
Eventually, after a few tense moments, Talon opened his eyes.
He nodded and said, “You have one day to convince me of the truth of this, and it will take a lot more than words.”
Cecile let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank you, Talon. A very reasonable request.”
KEEPING THE MEATBAGS INFORMED
The expenditures seemed to double every month, and they had little to show for it. Unless you counted the thousands of projects with unknown outcomes, none of which they could report to the board, and few they understood themselves. The emails they received from the board were often laced with exclamation marks and profanity.