Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
“What I want,” Epsilon continues, “is to create the ultimate weapon. The ultimate human, machine hybrid. A true cyborg. And… if I can just be frank here, you’re really my only chance. So.” He leans over top of me so I can see his face. He smiles. It’s an ugly smile, just like him. “So here you are. On my table. In my lab. And your woman gave me permission.”
“What?”
“That’s right. She gave me permission. She said, ‘Epsilon, I love that man. I love him with all my heart. Take all the spark you need from me. Just save him. I can’t go on—'”
“Shut up!” I yell. Cutting him off. “You’re just making shit up!”
“Luther,” Epsilon sighs. “Play the vid.”
A screen comes to life, but it’s somewhere behind me. Not even in my field of vision. But I hear her. Clara’s voice. “I don’t want to live,” she says. “Not without him. He’s my world now. So whatever it is you’re going to do, just do it. And I will willingly give you every drop of my spark if you promise to give it to him.”
“Thank you, Luther. That is all.”
The recording stops.
“It’s a trick.”
“It’s not a trick, Tyse. I assure you. She gave me permission. She’s watching right now. Well…” His head rocks back and forth, wavering. “She’s probably passed out by now. I did drain her into a husk to feed you. So… yeah. But she was watching.”
“Give her spark! Right now! Feed her!”
Epsilon laughs. “Where the hell would I get spark? I don’t have spark. Not in quantities like that. I’ve used all my females. All but a few. And I will not be giving your woman the spark my women make. She deliberately told me that she can refill herself.”
“It’s not true.”
“Why would she lie about that? Hmmm? Why, Tyse. Does she have a death wish? She told me to feed you to keep you alive. That she couldn’t live—”
I stop listening. Because I’m hearing Clara’s voice in my head. Just before she was stolen out of the spark stone cave. What are you saying? It’s like… a loop? I power you, I get weak, you steal spark to make me strong, and then you need to take it from me to work?
And I sighed, and said, That’s exactly how it works. Negative feedback loop.
“Are you listening to me?” Epsilon asks.
“What do you want?”
“What?”
“What do you want, Epsilon? From me? Get on with it then. Let’s do it. Let’s fuckin’ go!”
“Well, the two of you certainly are refreshing.”
“What?”
“She said the same thing. Not in such colorful language, but essentially so.”
“So do it. Whatever it is, just do it.”
“Odd,” he says.
“What’s odd?”
“The eagerness. Why?”
He’s right. I’m giving away hints here and this god, he’s very perceptive. Because while it makes sense that Clara would be eager to give her spark to save me, I should not be as eager to let him experiment with my genetics. It doesn’t fit. Because he doesn’t know I can steal spark from across dimensions to feed Clara after she feeds me.
I growl the next few words out. “You wanna make a deal? Let’s make a deal. I’ll let you do anything you want to me. Augment me, fight me in that cage again. Whatever it is. But I get a reward out of this.”
“Let me guess… you get your woman.”
“That’s right. You get me, I get her. That’s why I’m eager. I want her and want her now!”
“Well, now just isn’t gonna work for me. I’ve got protocols to follow.”
“Then do it. Because if she dies while you’re fuckin’ around, your little experiment is over.”
“She’s not gonna die. Not if she was telling the truth and she’s got a lake of spark hiding inside her.”
“Well, I figured it’d be a simple deduction.”
“And how’s that?” Epsilon asks. His tone snarky now.
“Because I don’t want to live without her either. I go where she goes. If she dies, Epsilon, your fun is over. I’m goin’ with her.”
“Not if I keep you alive. I might be willing to do that. To give you some of my precious spark to keep it going.”
Now it’s my turn to scoff. “Have you never made a real augment? Have ya not had one that made it into Sweep? They give us suicide programs, Epsilon. And my data display is flashing that fucker at me right now. It’s been asking me for the last ten minutes if I’d like to run the final program. And if she’s dead, I will just go ahead and do that.”
A slow clap echoes off the walls of the room. “How. Romantic.”
“Believe me, or not. One way or another, we’ll find out.”
He stands up, walks over to the control panel on the screen, and sighs. “Very well. Protocol number two. Begin.”
Immediately, every part of my body lights up with pain.