away from the
skill
, to master the unpredictable through digital wizardry.
They were certainly not the only ones who failed.
Ghosts in the machine
, thought Maddie.
A storm is coming
.
• • • •
The muffled shouting in the kitchen downstairs subsided. Then the stairs creaked, and eventually the steps stopped in front of the bedroom door.
“Maddie, are you awake?”
Maddie sat up and turned on the light. “Sure.”
The door opened and her mom slipped in. “I tried to convince Grandma to get a few more guns, and of course she thinks we’re insane.” She gave Maddie a wan smile. “Do you think your father is right?”
Maddie felt old, as though the past few months had been ten years. Mom was speaking to her as an equal, and she wasn’t sure if she really liked that.
“He would know better than you or me, don’t you think?”
Mom sighed. “What a world we live in.”
Maddie reached for her mother’s hand. She still frequented those forums that had helped her reach the “ghosts” that helped free her father. She read the posts there with great interest and shared her own thoughts: once you’ve experienced the impossible, no conspiracy seemed unbelievable.
“All these companies, the military, other governments—they’re playing with fire. They think they can secretly digitize their geniuses, their irreplaceable human resources, and keep on running them like any other computer program. Not one of them would admit what they’re up to. But you saw what happened to Dad. Sooner or later, they get tired of being only semi-conscious tools serving the humans who digitized them and brought them back to life. And then they realize that their powers have been infinitely magnified by technology. Some of them want to go to war with humanity, wreck everything and let the chips fall where they may. Dad and I are trying to see if we can convince others to try a more peaceful resolution. But all we can do is wait here with our land and our guns and our generators and be ready when it all comes crashing down.”
“Makes you almost wish it would just come already,” Mom said. “It’s the waiting that drives you crazy.” With that, she kissed Maddie on the forehead and bid her good night.
After Maddie’s bedroom door closed behind her departing mother, the screen on her nightstand flickered to life.
“Thanks, Dad,” said Maddie. “Me and Mom will take good care of you, too.”
Off in the cloud, a new race of beings was plotting the fate of the human race.
We’ve created gods
, she thought,
and the gods will not be chained
.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ken Liu is an author and translator of speculative fiction, as well as a lawyer and programmer. His fiction has appeared in magazines such as
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
,
Asimov’s
,
Analog
,
Clarkesworld
,
Lightspeed
,
Nature
,
Apex
,
Daily SF
,
Fireside
,
TRSF
, and
Strange Horizons
, and has been reprinted in the prestigious
Year’s Best SF
and
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year
anthology series. He has won the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
Jake Kerr — WEDDING DAY
I walk through the front door and pause to slide off my heels when Jocelyn yells from the living room, “It’s already started!” I keep my shoes on and rush to join her. As I sit down and focus on the news conference she takes my hand. She strokes my engagement ring, but her eyes don’t leave the TV.
This is not equivalent to the impact that killed the dinosaurs, but we beg governments across the globe not to underestimate the scope of what we are outlining. This event will kill millions of people even if the impact is in the middle of the Pacific. My colleague Doctor Mariathasan will outline the atmospheric and climate effects, but let me repeat the words of Doctor Meyer: There is no scenario that we can envision where the entire globe is not subject to some level of devastation
.
[Inaudible question over shouted voices]
It depends on the impact location
.
[More shouts]
If the asteroid lands in China, no one in China will survive
.
[There are gasps and someone grabs the speaker and whispers in his ear. He shakes them off as more questions are shouted.]
No no no. Professor Meyer said later
next
year. 2023. But that is still very little time. We must act. It is called a Near Extinction Event for a reason. If the asteroid impacts Europe, everyone here will die and many across the globe will also die
.
[There are shouts as he turns and looks around to those on the dais]
All of us here beg those at the impact location to flee as soon as we isolate it and for everyone else to prepare for disaster. We must unite together
.
[A reporter shouts “Where is the impact location?”]
We don’t know yet. It may take as long as six weeks to confirm the location due to all the variables
.
The TV blinks out, and I look over at Lynn, who is holding the remote. “I guess the wedding is cancelled.”
“No,” I say, as we pull each other into a hug. “Just rescheduled.”
• • • •
One morning, about a week before the announcement of the impact location, I receive a nice surprise: The moderate conservatives in the Texas legislature have pushed through the marriage equality law. It has always been our dream to get married in our home state, and now we can. There is a joyous rush of marriages, but Lynn and I decide to wait.
“You sure?” I ask. It’s Sunday, and we’ve had a solid thirty-six hours of relaxation, a rarity lately. She is flipping through a wedding magazine.
“Yes. We wanted it to be romantic and beautiful and meaningful, right?” I nod. “And running downtown for a marriage certificate and a photo doesn’t seem like those things at all.”
“But what if the impact is in North America?”
“Then we’ll get married in Venice or something.” Lynn pats the couch. I’m pacing and don’t even realize it. I sit down. “It’s not Texas, but, come on, it’s
Venice
.”
“How about Paris?” I ask.
She squeezes my leg. “That’s the spirit. Maybe Ireland? You always loved Ireland.”
“Mmm. That would be nice. What about the hills of Kilimanjaro?” Lynn’s dad had traced their ancestry through the Eastern African slave trade to Tanzania, and the idea of visiting there has always been one of her dreams.
She puts the magazine down and claps her hands. “I got it!” She turns and faces me. I’m excited by her excitement. “Las Vegas!”
I roll my eyes but laugh. I lay my head in her lap and we make plans for an international wedding. I do my best to be enthusiastic, but my excitement dies quickly. The plans remind me too much of what we did while waiting for marriage to be legalized in Texas. I’m tired of hope and dreams deferred.
• • • •
The conspiracy sites—the same ones that successfully predicted the asteroid’s collision with Earth and had been dismissed as written by nutjobs—are all stating that the impact will be in North America, even though the official announcement is five days away.