"The firewall held," Jim commented. "It looks like we're going to be okay!"

"We are not, as the saying goes, out of the woods just yet," the A.I. quickly cautioned. "We have given ourselves a second chance, but what we do with that chance is yet to be written."

At that very moment, James Keats hovered just above the waterfall he'd been considering naming after his dead wife. A voice whispered in his ear.

"Welcome back, my son."

24.

"Welcome back?" James responded with a confused grin painted across his lips. He turned to Old-timer. "What do you mean?"

Old-timer was at a loss. He hovered only two meters away from his young friend, the mist making him appear almost like a dream. "Say what?"

"You said, 'welcome back,' didn't you?"

Old-timer knitted his brow. He shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

James's embarra.s.sed grin melted into a look of concern. He was sure he'd heard a voice.

"It is me, James," the A.I. spoke.

James's heart jumped at the sound of the kindly, elderly voice. He heard it, but he couldn't believe it. "No."

"Stand by for upload," said the A.I. "You may need to brace yourself. This will feel strange."

A sudden jolt of energy flowed through James's connection to the mainframe as the A.I. uploaded James's memories from before he had been sucked into the black hole, back into his reestablished pattern. In a matter of seconds, with his eyes fluttering wildly, the events of the past twenty-two hours flooded his synapses, forming new memories and bringing him instantly up to speed. When the upload was complete, he doubled over, propping himself up by placing his hands on his knees as he gasped in the fresh, cool air over the falls.

"What the h.e.l.l just happened, James?" Old-timer asked as he braced the young man, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

James looked down at the water churning below, frothing against the rocks. Trans-Human had been completely successful. "What about the nan consciousness?"

"What?" Old-timer asked. James put his hand up, signaling for him to hold on.

"You removed it from the equation when you sent it outside the blast radius," the A.I. informed James. "It is no longer part of this time period, and you are free."

He sighed with relief. "It worked." He turned to Old-timer, who was now joined by Rich. "The Governing Council is about to summon us to headquarters. We have to grab Thel and head out right away."

"What the heck's going on, Jimbo?" Old-timer asked.

"I'll explain it all on the way, but first, you might want to brace yourselves." He tapped back into communication with the A.I. "Are their uploads ready?"

"Yes, James."

He turned back to his friends. "Okay. This is going to feel pretty weird."

25.

When they reached the front entrance of the Council headquarters, Djanet was there to greet them. Her face appeared stricken by worry, and she began walking with them in step as James hurried into the building. "The situation appears very bad, Commander. No one has any idea what's going on. The anomaly doesn't appear to make any sense. And the chief is furious with you for taking so long to get here," she informed James, her eyes on his flight suit. It would be very difficult for James to explain himself.

James placed his hand on her shoulder rea.s.suringly. "Everything is going to be okay."

They marched toward the door of the emergency strategy room. As soon as they entered, the eyes of all of the Council members who were present, as well as the dozens of a.s.sistants and advisors, fell on James.

"Keats, just where in the h.e.l.l were you?" Gibson thundered as he saw James's flight suit. His eyes narrowed. "You better have one h.e.l.l of an explanation, son."

"I'm sorry, sir," James replied, regarding Chief Gibson with much more empathy and respect than in the past. Gibson had dealt with Luddites too, many years earlier-James realized now that he and Gibson were not so different-they were fighting on the same side. "A lot has happened, and I need to get you all up to speed."

Gibson was momentarily stunned by James's respectful tone. He still wasn't sure whether he should suspect that it was sarcasm or part of some sort of trick to make him look like a fool. He decided to play it safe. "Well, we're listening. This had better be good."

"Listening won't be enough," James replied. "I'm going to have to show you. You might want to hold on to something."

Instantly, the experiences and memories of the twenty-two hours previous to the reversal of the solar system were jacked into everyone present. Djanet, just as Thel, Old-timer, and Rich had earlier, had her saved pattern overlaid with her own. The councillors who were present experienced a program put together by the A.I. that made up, essentially a highlight reel of some of the most intense and poignant memories experienced by James and his companions. In only a few seconds, the experiences were relived as viscerally as they had been originally. When it was over, the room was electric with the terror that they had all just seen and felt and it was as if they all, collectively, had awoken from the same nightmare.

"It's over," Djanet finally said, breaking the silence that hung in the room.

"What about the nans?" Gibson asked. "They're still in us!"

"We're safe," James a.s.sured the room. "The nan consciousness has been destroyed."

"But what about the android armada? They're still out there," Gibson observed. "They've already proven themselves too powerful to be stopped!"

"That is where you are incorrect," announced the A.I., suddenly appearing in holographic form in the room.

"Oh my G.o.d," whispered Thel.

"h.e.l.lo, Aldous," said the A.I., greeting the chief warmly. "I have missed you."

"We've all missed you," replied Gibson, smiling in return. "And we need you."

The A.I. shook his head. "What you really need is yourselves."

Gibson's eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you mean."

"He means we already have the power, Chief Gibson," came James's voice just before a small foglet of nans appeared next to the A.I. When the foglet dispersed, Katherine and Jim stood next to James; concurrently, James had been transformed back into his new, gleaming body, right before their eyes.

Katherine didn't waste any time. Before Jim could grab a hold of her arm, she stepped in front of Thel and slapped her hard across the face. Jim pulled her away as James helped Thel regain her footing. "Don't tell me you didn't deserve that," Katherine said icily through tightened lips as Jim pulled her away, walking her as far away as possible.

Thel turned to James, completely baffled. She looked away from him and at Jim, who had his arm around Katherine, and then back at James. "Who...who was that?"

"It wasn't me," James replied, holding his hands up indignantly. He smiled and drew her to him. "I'm sorry, hon'. It's a long story that I'll explain later. I promise."

Gibson was awestruck by James's appearance. He stepped in for a closer look, marveling at the way the skin material, which appeared hard like diamond, moved with the same flexibility as flesh. "I've never seen anything like it," Gibson whispered.

"You have only needed to imagine it," the A.I. replied.

"So what are you suggesting? Are you suggesting that we all change ourselves into these...things?" Gibson asked.

"No," James replied. "If we did that, we'd be no better than the androids. They've all taken on the same form and stopped growing individually. We will have no individual limits."

"That's why they're here, Aldous," Old-timer added. "They're trying to a.s.similate us so that they can hold us back."

"1 is the true cause of this though," James pointed out. "She's the one who has drawn the line and won't let her people grow. She needs to be eliminated."

"But how is that possible?" asked Thel. "You're only one person. You can't stop trillions of androids!"

James smiled. "Yes I can...and I will."

"How? she asked.

"I'm going to go ask them politely to turn around."

"They'll refuse," Gibson a.s.serted.

"I hope so," James replied. He turned to Thel. "I love you. I'll be back soon," he said before turning to leave the room.

"James, wait!" Old-timer suddenly spoke. He sidled up next to James and said in a low voice, "I have a score I'd like to settle. Do you mind if I tag along?"

James grinned. "I know exactly what you're talking about. But you're going to need an upgrade first."

26.

The android armada appeared like a giant asteroid belt in the distance, the sun reflecting off each individual body until it blended to form a surface that seemed almost smooth, like smoke.

"I'm going to get closer," James announced to Old-timer, who was flying alongside him as they crossed the horizon on Jupiter. "You can hang back here and wait for my signal or you can come along. I promise you will be safe."

Although Old-timer had made a hasty upgrade to his physical form before departing with James, the changes were not immediately apparent. The only outward sign that he was not the same was the conspicuous absence of the protective glow of a magnetic coc.o.o.n. "I'm not looking to play it safe on this one," Old-timer replied gruffly.

"All right," James nodded as the duo streaked ever faster toward the androids. They slipped in and out of wormholes and, within moments, James felt they were close enough. They pulled up and floated in the zero gravity.

"Time to give them a call," James said as he used his knowledge of the android communication system to patch through to 1. He and Old-timer waited in the perfect silence of s.p.a.ce for a response.

"I don't think they're going to pick up," Old-timer said after several moments.

"As expected," James agreed. "I guess I'll just have to leave a message."

"Of course. We don't want to be rude."

James patched into 1's communication, making sure each individual android received his message. "My name is James Keats, and I am representing the humans of this solar system. I'm here to inform you that your leader is not who she appears-that she has held on to power while pretending to pa.s.s it on, taking on new forms after each transition, making sure your society remains frozen in time. I am an example of what humanity can become. We can grow. Each of us can become even more of an individual than we previously were. We can become better. Your leader, 1, disagrees. She believes that to change is to somehow become inhuman. The truth, however, is that to remain the same forever is inhuman." James paused for a moment.

"I doubt that they'll listen," Old-timer a.s.serted.

"Most of them won't," James agreed, "but some of them will. At least now they know."

"What's our next move?" Old-timer asked.

"Now we make ourselves clear," James replied. He reengaged his communication with the android collective. "The humans of this solar system will not a.s.similate. We require that you leave this system immediately."

"We have come in peace," 1 suddenly answered, cutting into the communication. "You are in grave danger. Your nan.o.bots-"

"The nan.o.bots have been neutralized," James replied, cutting her off. "You will leave immediately and not reenter our system. You are not welcome."

"The nan.o.bots can never be neutralized," 1 replied, still keeping an earnest tone.

"You're not fooling anyone," James said sharply. "We've heard all of your lies before. You will leave this system immediately."

1 desperately switched to a new strategy. "This communication is obviously a nan.o.bot trick," she announced to her legions. "We must carry on to save the people of this solar system."

"As expected," James said to Old-timer. He addressed the collective once again. "You will leave this system immediately," he reiterated.

"We will do what we need to do to save these people," 1 affirmed, "and we will not be intimidated, especially by one man, however grotesque he may appear."

"I like the new look," Old-timer said.

"Thanks," James replied.

He reengaged the collective to give them one last message. "If you will not leave by your own choice, then I will remove you. This will not be a pleasant experience for you. My lines of communication will remain open. When you are ready to capitulate, you need only signal, and I will allow for your retreat."

1 scoffed. "Your ego is boundless."

James held his arms up and placed his palms outward, toward the oncoming astronomical storm of androids. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a moment to ready himself like the conductor of an orchestra. When he was ready, he opened his eyes again, and the dark storm that appeared like a dust storm bowling across the Sahara desert suddenly seemed to slam into something. It was as if an unimaginably huge gla.s.s wall had been placed in front of them. James moved his arms slightly, and then, like Atlas hoisting the Earth upon his shoulders, he began to drive the androids back.

Old-timer's mouth fell open at the sight. "My G.o.d," he whispered, before speaking to those that he knew were monitoring from the Council headquarters on Earth. "Are you seeing this?"

"Yes," Thel replied, astonished at the unfolding surreal picture in her mind's eye. Everyone present in the room shared the same astonished stare.

"James...James, how are you doing this?"

"I can see with more than just my eyes now. I can sense s.p.a.ce, time, and matter and manipulate it," he replied calmly as he concentrated on the android armada, forcing it backward with symphonic precision.

"But how is that possible?" she asked.