The Extinction Trials(102)

She also saw acts that restored her faith in humanity. Soup kitchens and homeless shelters and ambulances charging into the night to save lives when seconds counted.

At the apartment Will and Bryce had rented, they unloaded the supplies and brought Owen’s mother and Maya’s sister inside.

In the living room, Will and Bryce stood before Owen and Maya.

“This is where we depart,” Will said.

“What will you do?” Maya asked.

“We will take the boat back to Garden Station and destroy it. Now is the time. If we wait, they might find it. They are already developing more advanced satellite technology. We’ve delayed as long as we can.”

“Tell us about the past,” Owen said. “When you released the survivors.”

Will studied them for a moment. “It was difficult at first. As we told you, we weren’t sure the planet would recover from the damage that occurred during the Change War. We waited, hoping it would heal itself. But it only got worse. Our models confirmed that the surface would never again be habitable for humans. As such, we proceeded with our backup plan. In your time, this world was a volcanic wasteland. The atmosphere then was low in oxygen. Frozen methane deposits on the seafloor were melting and rising up into the air. We modeled the changes using Revelation. We knew this world would be habitable for you—eventually. This planet has a slightly different atmosphere and stronger gravity, but it’s easily within acceptable parameters. From a scientific standpoint, it’s almost a sister to our world, one simply a few years younger. Well, younger on a geological timescale. It was a long wait, but as we are machines, time is of no concern to us.”

“What did you do when you arrived?” Maya asked.

“We used a modified version of the Genesis Virus to erase the survivors’ memories and embed the code of ethics deep in their psyche. They mingled with the emerging primate species on the planet, and, as expected, they flourished. There were never this many of you in the world before.”

“I don’t mean to be a critic,” Owen said, “but I just have to say, based on what I saw out there, things aren’t going that great. Again, no offense.”

“It looks that way,” Will said, “but what you saw are just your species’ growing pains. They will ease in time. In the long run, the outcome will be as we expect. We have a high degree of certainty.”

“But not absolute certainty,” Owen said. “Hence, why we’re here.”

Will nodded. “Correct. It would be irresponsible to ignore the unexpected—variables that can’t be anticipated and factored. You will play the role we once did: as a sort of insurance policy, in case humanity once again loses its way.”

“But you had all the resources of ARC Technologies, a massive company. We’re two people, starting from scratch.”

“You have three very important assets,” Will said. He paced to the window and looked out. “First, you know the future, the broad arc of the human race. Don’t underestimate that. Second, and perhaps most importantly, you have each other. The two of you saved the world before—when so many others failed. And lastly, you have capital.”

Owen shrugged. “What are you talking about? We don’t have any capital.”

Bryce placed a small bag on the table. “A parting gift.”

Owen reached out and pulled the string and dumped the contents on the table: a hundred small rocks, clear and sparkly.

“Diamonds?” Maya asked.

“Yes. They hold great value in this world.”

“You’re joking,” Maya said.

“I’m not.”

“For lasers? They were everywhere in the old world,” Owen said.

“True. But here, this new society uses them as decoration, to show importance and status and affinity for each other.”

Owen picked one up and held it in the sunlight. “I don’t get it.”

“What you hold will give you what you need. Think about it: there are three ways to control the future. You can either create it, inspire it, or facilitate it. What you hold is key to facilitating it.”

Owen smiled as he turned the diamond in his fingers. “Okay. Now I get it.”





The next morning, Maya and Owen dressed and went to a jeweler, where they sold the first of the diamonds.

Back at the apartment, they sat in the living room and talked at length about the future.

“Do you think,” Maya said, “that we’re in over our heads?”

Owen smiled. “Probably. Definitely. But we have been since the beginning of The Extinction Trials.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I’ve been thinking about that. And the more I think about it, the more certain I am about what we have to build.”

“What’s that?”

“The thing that saved us.”

“Which is?”

“An Escape Hatch.”





Chapter Eighty-Two





That afternoon, Owen secured a spot for his mother at a nearby assisted living facility. It was similar to the one she had known in the world before, but Owen still worried about how well she would adapt to her new environment.

That thought ran through his mind as he removed the white block from her temple.