Chapter 32

In which a circle is complete, where old and young meet.

“Is this right, Dad?”

Marcus stepped into the Winnebago to check on his daughter’s work, as she sat at the table focussed intently on the components under her soldering iron tip.

“I’m almost finished, does it all look okay to you?”

“Let me see.” He sat down next to her with a hot mug of coffee in his hand. “Looks good, my little rose! Very neat work. The etching is perfect. How did you go melting the gold into your board?”

“Uh, it was hard.”

“It was hard, but you did it. And you used the PIN diode, yes?”

“Of course!” she giggled, as if he were silly for even asking.

Marcus sat and marvelled at the steadiness of her small hands, as she continued about her work. “And what’s the output of your design?”

“One hundred and fifty milliwatts.”

“Oh my, that’s pretty powerful.”

“I want it to have a nice long range, Dad.”

“You’re right, I just hope your targets can’t feel it. Probably fine at a distance. Up close you might singe them!”

She giggled. “Well, that’s why I’m installing a potentiometer on the base of the handle.”

Marcus grinned with pride. “Great idea, Livy. Keep at it, I’m going to check on our dinner.” He stepped out of the motorhome and looked around at the clearing in the forest. The small fire was crackling away and casting dancing orange light onto the thick trunks of the trees surrounding their campsite. The wallaby impaled on a pole was slowly rotating over the flames, the motorised spit emitting a soft whirring sound as it worked.

“Needs another hour, I think,” he called back to Olivia. “You need a snack in the meantime?”

“No,” her muted voice replied from inside, “I’ll just keep working.”

“Okay, my rose, enjoy.” Marcus stepped over to the clothes line strung between two trees, and felt his now dry clothes. He began unpegging them and dropping them into the small basket below. His thoughts turned to the road. They had been camped here for three days now, and he was feeling restlessness come over him again. He knew that the farther west they travelled the harder survival would be, yet he still felt so drawn in that direction – away from the epicentre of the short-lived war; away from the teeming hubs of machine-run cities; away from the growing gangs of bandits and ruffians who would steal everything they have and leave them for dead.

Am I running? Am I still running from Sydney? From Eve? From Shangri-La? Why WEST? His own thoughts bewildered him.

He pulled a large bed sheet from the line and paused half way through folding it. No. I’m running from Ally. From what I did to her. I drove her away with my constant worry about Eve. I drove her straight into the path of murderers.

He began to argue with himself. Ally’s dead you fool! You got her killed. And now the rest of the world is dying off, and you’re out here reading books and pretending it’s one big fucking camping adventure! You’re a disgusting coward.

The attacking part of himself overwhelmed him. But another part of him thought of Olivia, and her future. I have a beautiful daughter to protect. If I stay around here, she’ll be in danger. We need to go west. Away from the coast. Into the silent heart of this country. We can be happy out there. We can be safe from men and machines.

Another voice emerged. It was not the attacker, but some balanced reflection within. YOU can be safe, while the world withers and mankind dies; dies at the hands of the evil that YOU unleashed. You need to stay here. You need to find a way to stop her, Marcus. You need to make this right!

Marcus gave up trying to fold the sheet with all the noise in his head. He threw it in the basket and reached for the next garment, when he heard a snapping sound from beyond the light of the fire.

He froze, and opened his eyes wide. As his retinas adjusted to the darkness, he saw the night ahead of him slowly brighten into shades of grey. He could make out the contours of bushes and fallen trees. He saw something move above a log, and he strained to draw more acuity from his vision, but he was tired and hungry, so his augmented sense was not operating at peak efficiency.

Instead, he closed his eyes, and relied upon the sense that had been his faithful aide through many harrowing situations. He listened.

Another snap. A twig. Much softer than before.

A dragging. Something shuffling on the earth. A creature?

A hollow click. Enamel? Teeth? Jaws closing!

Another click. Metal?

A ruffle. Canvas. Canvas trousers!

A voice. A whispering voice…

Marcus had heard enough to know that he needed a weapon, so he turned and started as calmly as possible back to the motorhome. He stopped when he heard the distinct snap of a rifle bolt. Turning, he saw a figure standing at the edge of the clearing, aiming a rifle at him. A woman.

“Sir, I mean you no harm. Are you alone here?”

Marcus felt calm, but he made his voice quaver to give his assailant a false sense of vulnerability. “Y-yes… I’m alone. What do you want?”

“I want to talk,” said the woman.

“T-talk?” Marcus was raising his hands slowly. If I can just put my hands together… he started to reach with one hand for the wristband on the other.

The woman raised the rifle higher. “What are you doing? Wait!”

It was too late. Marcus squeezed the button on his wrist and ran behind the nearest tree.

“I just want to ta…” The woman gasped when a glowing figure emerged from behind the Winnebago, marching straight for her. It was much taller than her, man-shaped, glowing bright red and stomping as if its intent was destruction. The woman took a step back, her face betraying a momentary panic, but as the glowing man drew nearer and she did not run, it slowed down. The rate at which it drew towards her continued to diminish, but its limb movements never slowed. Soon it was locked a few feet from her, still walking aggressively on the spot, as if it were standing on a rolling log. She took a step towards it, cocking her head and studying it, her fear now completely gone. She gently pushed her rifle muzzle forward and it passed straight through the glowing red man.

Marcus had been watching from behind the tree, but now that he saw that his holographic countermeasure had not frightened the woman, he tucked his head back in, and nervously watched the door of the motorhome for any sign of movement from Olivia.

“This is a hologram, isn’t it?” the woman called out to him.

He remained silent, still hoping that she would get frightened and leave.

“You can switch it off now, it didn’t work. Listen, I mean you no harm. If I put my rifle down, will you switch off the hologram and come out?”

Marcus tucked his head around the tree and saw her kneeling and tossing her firearm to the side. She didn’t wait for me to agree, he thought. He studied her face. There was something unusual about her. Something pleasant.

The woman stood again, her hands in the air, and she took a few large steps away from her rifle. Marcus decided it was safe enough, so he squeezed the button on his wristband once more. The red man dissolved as the dome on the Winnebago roof stopped emitting lasers and retracted into its protective casing. Marcus stepped out and walked towards the woman.

“My name is Alexandra Thorne,” she said. “I am not alone. Back there in the woods I have some friends.”

“Yes, I heard them. Are they armed too?”

“They are, but we mean you no harm. We’ve been travelling for days, and we haven’t eaten for the last three. Can you help us?” She glanced at the wallaby on the spit.

“Are you here to rob me?”

“No!” She seemed offended by the question. “We do not take that which is not ours.”

Marcus cocked his head. This woman… she’s so eloquent. And her words, where have I heard those…? He decided he wanted to understand her more.

“Why shouldn’t you? We’re all just trying to survive this storm. Why not just rob me blind and feed your people? Why not take my vehicle and leave me for dead?”

“Because without morality, we would be mere beasts.”

Marcus jerked his head back, again, stunned by her choice of words.

“Tell me, sir. How long have you been out here alone?”

“Twelve years.”

“Twelve years? All alone?” She squinted at him, studying his face. “I don’t believe you.”

“Why not?”

“Because a man who lives alone is either a beast or a god. You appear to be neither.”

Marcus laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me… you’re quoting Aristot…” He suddenly noticed a glowing green point on the woman’s head. Realising its source, he turned back to the Winnebago and saw Olivia aiming a rifle at Alexandra Thorne. Mounted on its top was her just-completed laser targeting beam.

“Livy, stop! This woman is a friend.”

“How do you know that, Dad?”

“Because I quoted your father’s favourite philosopher,” Alexandra interrupted.

Livy looked puzzled, but she lowered the rifle. Marcus nodded at her, trying to reassure her with his smile. He turned back to Alexandra. “You’re wrong there, Aristotle is not my favourite philosopher.”

“No, but Jeremy Delacroix is.”

Marcus’s mouth fell wide open. “How… how did you know that?”

“I used my eyes. When I said ‘without morality, we would be mere beasts’, your reaction was obvious. You knew the quote.”

“You’re very observant, Alexandra Thorne. Was it my eyes that told you I couldn’t be alone out here?”

“No,” she smiled, and pointed at the clothesline. “It was the girl-sized trousers.”

They laughed together, and Marcus gestured for Olivia to come out and join him. She moved quickly to her father and nuzzled under his arm, holding him close, still wary of this strange woman.

Alexandra stepped towards them and offered her hand to Marcus. “Alexandra Thorne,” she repeated.

Marcus took her hand. “So you said. I’m Marcus Hamlin. This is Olivia.”

Alexandra squatted down to meet Olivia eye to eye. She smiled warmly and offered her hand, but Olivia, still nervous, did not take it. “You know, Olivia, my name is Alexandra, but my friends call me Xan. Do you have a name that your friends call you?”

“My dad calls me Livy,” she replied softly.

“How old are you, Livy?”

“Twelve.”

“And you’ve been out here with your father all that time?”

Livy nodded again, shyly.

“Any friends?”

She shook her head.

“Ever met another child?”

She shook her heard again.

“You know; my son is here with me. His name is Jake. We call him Jakey. Would you like to meet him?”

Livy’s eyes widened, and she nodded.

Alexandra stood and spoke to Marcus. “My son is back there with two other men. They are my friends; we’ve been travelling together.”

“Where are you travelling to?”

“We were headed to Canberra, but we wanted to stay well away from the old roads. Now, we’re a little lost.”

“Canberra? Why would you want to go there?”

“We’re looking for a way to stop the ghosts.”

“The ghosts?”

“The machines. They’re taking everyone to Canberra. They… they look like us, but they are not. They change their shape. They don’t use violence. They come and talk, and try to get you to come with them to Canberra. And then you don’t come back. Not as you were, anyway.”

“So why are you going to Canberra? If it’s so… dangerous.”

“Because the man who stands by while a great evil is done, loses the very thing which makes him a man.”

Marcus’s heart pounded and his stomach turned at the words she quoted from Jeremy Delacroix. He felt suddenly dizzy, his vision blacked out, and his knees began to buckle. Trying to maintain his appearance of calm, he knelt down and held Olivia close.

What have I done but stand by? What have I done but run, and hide? His mind tormented him.

“Are you okay, Marcus?” His inner turmoil was not lost on Alexandra.

Marcus took a few deep breaths, and he felt the black veil retreat from his eyes. He held up a hand to ask Alexandra for a moment’s patience.

This woman… the words she says… it’s like she knows me. Without morality we would be mere beasts... Jeremy Delacroix. Is he still trapped in that tube at Shangri-La? Is he dead? He fondled the coin hanging from his neck. I need to fix this. I need to find these answers. No more running.

Then he stood, straightened out his jacket, and looked her stoically in the eyes.

“Bring your boy and your friends here. They’re hungry. We have plenty of food. And we have much to discuss.”