Javier led Karina up the stairwell and outside into what used to be (in her past life) the back courtyard of the A.R.A.
Infant trees held their posts as parallel guards of honor leading towards a circular fountain twenty yards away. To Karina, it looked like she stepped into a scene straight from a classic fable, as sparkles from the gold Axiom mineral caught her eye. Flakes of the mineral drifted off the leaves like dandruff while the siblings pushed forward down the path.
Reds of roses, lavender of lilies, and yellow centered sunflowers lined the walkway. Resurrected vibrant colors born from the Earth pre-E.I.E. takeover. The E.I.E’s presence in the world was a drain to its literal essence.
“You planted a garden back here?”
“The mineral acts as an enhanced fertilizer as well. I decided it would be best to make the graves as respectable as I could. And plant a few other things.” Javier answered, picking an apple off a tree and tossed it back to Karina.
“Graves?” Karina asked, but noticed upon looking further small twigs tied together in the shape of a cross in front of each set of flowers. “This is where you put the failed Reversions?”
“Yes. And this is where the successful ones live.”
Praise exerted from leaves dancing on both sides, revealed once Converted humans stepping out to present themselves as newly Transfigured. Karina noticed young and old faces bright with life. Faces that represented of the only race that mattered at the end of the world — human. Free from the chains of an intellect created within the boundaries of this reality. Eager to give what they have left to the One intellect set apart from this realm forever attached to their souls.
“How long do you plan on running your tests and hiding here? You can’t transfigure all of Cardinal-Wood under the E.I.E’s watch. It will send Inspectors to every house and alley until it figures out what’s going on.”
“You were my last test. Now, it’s time to take down the E.I.E. for good and hold the Akachi brothers accountable for their crimes.”
“How do you plan on taking down the whole U-Net? Taking out one node of the E.I.E. won’t be enough. It will heal, replicate, and retaliate.”
“The E.I.E. has to face what’s last of humanity. It has to know — to learn — it was the abomination on the Earth, not us,” Javier answered. His voice grounded in defiance. “Here, watch this,” Javier said, reaching down into the earth to scoop up a mound of dirt. He sifted through the pile, lightly shaking the dust back to the ground until his hand revealed five golden sized pebbles of the Axiom mineral. Javier launched the minerals in his hand towards a tree behind the fountain. Thunder broke and shattered pieces of bark, sending a few branches crashing down.
“The mineral is volatile?” Karina asked after she uncovered her ears from the blast.
“Yes. Along with its jamming qualities, this is the Earth’s natural defense against the E.I.E. and only chance of winning. We just have to take it.”
Karina reached into the ground for herself. She let the soil build in her nails as she grasped for the buried treasure. Each grain felt like a life in her hand. One’s that she felt deserved a chance at freedom like herself. Justified by the Axiom mineral — all of the Converted had been warranted the right for a Transfiguration, Reversion, or to die as a human in the process.
“So what’s the plan?” Karina asked, revealing a hand full of golden Axiom minerals.
“We add to our numbers by freeing the Incompatibles. The prison where they are kept and experimented on is down south in Heathland. We can try to free mom in the process.”
“Mom’s alive?” Karina asked with eyes wide. “What about dad?”
“He didn’t make it past Inferno Day. I found out the Conversion had killed him. I tracked mom to the prison a couple years ago, but there wasn’t anything I could do.” Javier’s words trailed off. Karina could see the weight of the situation push tears out of his eyes. Her younger brother, forced to grow up in an A.I. controlled dystopian society alone. All while trying to figure out how to end it all.
Karina hugged Javier tightly in the brush of the Axiom mineral garden.
“We will destroy the E.I.E., I promise,” Karina said, with fiery reassurance in her eyes.
To Be Continued
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