The Machine God Chapter 55 - Of One's Own Accord

Chapter 55

Of One’s Own Accord

Annie looked at him askance. “You killed yourself?!”

“I didn’t an to,” Alexander said, feeling defensive for so reason. “I think…”

Talia and Augustus exchanged looks. “At least we’ve confird that your story of being from an alternate reality is true,” she said.

Alexander turned to them. “You didn’t believe ?”

“We didn’t think you were lying, but it was certainly hard to wrap our heads around the idea,” Augustus said. “Granted, it is much easier to believe now that dieval magic knights tried to kill us.”

“Not to ntion the resurrecting priests,” Annie said, nodding sagely.

“Unbelievable,” Alexander muttered. “First my enemies believe I’m a terrorist, and now my friends think I’m a ntal patient.”

He raised a hand to stop Annie’s imdiate response. “Nope. I see how I ran into that one.”

She smirked at him. Then she frowned. “Wait, doesn’t that an we all killed our alternate selves by becoming superheroes?”

They exchanged looks.

“The news in my original world was reporting increased accidental deaths,” Alexander said thoughtfully. “I thought it was a hoax, but then I tripped over a tile and died.”

Augustus tugged at his moustache. “At least it ans we won’t have to fight ourselves in one of these invasions.”

Annie nodded emphatically. “Yeah, that’d suck. I’d totally end up killing myself, and then you’d all be, ‘prove you’re the real Annie!’, and I wouldn’t know what to say!”

Talia laughed. “Just tell us you want to go ho and watch more psychic corgi.”

Annie perked up at that. “Oh, yeah.”

“You having a fourth power could have serious implications,” Talia said, changing the subject.

“Yeah, but I have no idea how to use it,” he said. “Or what it’s capable of. Technopathy just ca to , but the others took being in real danger to reveal themselves.”

“It’s a highly complex na,” Talia began, “but it looks to be Latin. Machina aning machine, or sche. Ani on the other hand…”

She looked amused. “Well, if the System nad it on your behalf, let’s just say it might not like you.”

Alexander looked at her with confusion.

“Instead, if we assu it’s a blend of two words, like brunch, then it might an Anima Machina. Spirit Machine. Perhaps Spirit of the Machine.”

“No…” Alexander whispered. He’d felt it the mont she translated it, stronger and with more certainty than he’d felt when he discovered Technopathy. “It’s Soul of the Machine.”

“That would also work,” Talia said, studying him. “And if it feels right to you, it’s most likely correct.”

Annie patted him on the back. “You’ll figure out how it works. Probably when you’re close to dying next.”

“Okay,” Alexander said, ignoring her. “This has been a lot. Let’s relax and take a day or two to work on our own projects.” He glanced down at Annie. “Or to watch the holo. Then we go after the next target, assuming there are no more invasions or world-shaking revelations.”

They drifted from the armory, carrying new tension with them but softened by the exhaustion of the day, brief as the encounters had been. Augustus set about fixing a al, conjuring order from the kitchen’s chaos as only he could. Annie collapsed onto the couch and turned on the holo. Talia disappeared to begin analyzing the hard drive and its secrets, her need to work on sothing winning over fatigue.

To Alexander, these monts always felt like returning ho. Even with everything that had happened, that had changed, their routines remained the sa.

He retrieved everything he needed from Augustus’s Storage Closet, briefly interrupting the man’s own routine, and made his way to the workshop.

His first priority was fixing up his drones. The crafted ones had suffered extensive damage, and even his favorite had a horizontal hairline fracture running across its face. He couldn’t see it, but tallokinesis could sense it.

Then he’d turn his mind to figuring out how Soul of the Machine, or Animachina, worked. He had ideas about what it might be capable of. Obvious ones, perhaps, but he was excited to find out.

He always looked forward to ti spent on projects in his workshop, even if there were so many other competing priorities, but a corner of his mind refused to be silent; there was simply too much to think about.

Starship armor for his drones. A mysterious alien cube. The System, with its achievents, ascensions, Dreams, and the revelations about a multiverse full of beings that were being forced to fight each other.

His fourth power, of course.

The need for a plan to get Talia her third. Ideas about how they might do the sa for Augustus. Magic armor in storage. Revenge against Santiago Systems for himself, and justice for others like him.

…

The silent question about why he didn’t feel guilty. He’d massacred dozens of people, invaders or not. And now he’d just learned that he’d killed his own alternate self, erasing his dreams, his hopes, all so that so dark corner of his own soul could pursue its ambition.

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Alexander closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. Deep, slow breaths. In, and out. Opening them, he tuned out all but the work.

Everything else could wait.

For now.

Augustus traveled to Astra Omnia the next day along with Annie, though for very different reasons.

Annie planned to continue her efforts in carving her way to the top of the station’s arena rankings, while he was on a different type of mission.

He made his way to the holographic communications booth he’d purchased ti for. Here, a man of ans could pay for privacy; encrypted traffic and anonymized routing across galactic networks, rather than Earth’s highly spied on systems.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was far better than anything else he had access to.

He keyed in a contact. Once, he’d have used the implant for such a thing, but thankfully, with it now gone, they’d learned that their data, including contacts and other functionality, had been preserved through the changes.

Augustus still didn’t like it.

The holo system pulsed, then filled out with a familiar figure seated at a table. Bernard Johnson was older now, grayer at the edges, but with the sa easy grin.

Augustus raised a hand in salute.

Bernard barked a laugh and tossed him a lazy one back. “At ease, Captain. You’re retired. And when you left the service eight years ago, we were the sa damn rank!”

Augustus allowed himself a smile. “And now I’m saluting a colonel. Congratulations on the promotions.”

Bernard waved it off. “Bureaucracy and paper shuffling. You know how it is.” His expression softened. “How’s the old bastard doing?”

“Frank’s well,” Augustus said, though the mory of recent events made him frown. “He got himself into a bit of trouble. As did I.”

Another laugh. “I heard! and the boys poured one out for you after word spread you’d gone full supervillain. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Wasn’t really a choice. Frank found Spencer’s cousin a few years back,” Augustus said softly. “Gave him a job to keep an eye on him.”

Bernard’s eyes widened. “No shit?”

“Yeah, sohow he survived the hunt for Spence. Not his parents, though,” Augustus said. “I didn’t believe Frank when he told , but he introduced us and, sure enough, kid’s the spitting image of Spence at that age.”

Augustus shook his head. “Anyway, long story short: he gets Redacted by Santiago Systems, escapes the prison during Skybreaker’s attack, and runs to the only place he knows is safe. Frank figured it’d be okay, because he’s kept the kid’s employnt off the record. Nothing to tie them together.”

“Hah. Sounds like Frank’s gone soft in his old age. I’m guessing that didn’t end well?”

Augustus chuckled. “No. Frank’s store gets torched, and he gets arrested for aiding and abetting a supervillain. Then the kid shows up at my bar with a dumb plan to get Frank released, except it’s not half bad. Sa face-first into danger for his friends attitude that Spencer had. Has. Has…”

“And the next thing you know, by-the-books Augustus is a supervillain with a genuine bounty on his head,” Bernard said, tactfully changing the subject.

“Yeah. Wouldn’t change it, though. We’re doing the right thing, in a roundabout way.”

“We had no doubts, brother,” Bernard said, turning serious. “Let’s skip to how I can help.”

“I’m looking for information.”

The colonel leaned back in the chair, fingers tapping the armrest. “About recent events?”

Augustus inclined his head.

“I can work with that, but I’ll need sothing in return. Leadership out here is starved for intel, and GOLD’s clamped down hard back on Earth. They’re not sharing with us. We’re not sharing with them. But if I’ve got new information, I can justify trading what I know in return.”

“Fair enough,” Augustus said. “Though, what I can share, AEGIS will have already debriefed the Throne of Scales about.”

“GOLD has its fist up AEGIS’s ass on this,” the colonel said. “We don’t have access to their reports either. If you’ve got firsthand accounts, that’s worth sothing to . Go.”

Augustus tucked his hands behind his back, standing at ease. Old habits. “We were mid-op, engaged with hostiles.”

“Throne of Scales?”

“Correct. Our leader…” Augustus paused. Alexander had told them later that he’d sensed sothing was wrong, which is why he’d called for the retreat earlier than expected. But it wasn’t necessary to share that. “Our leader called for a retreat. I portaled us out, but instead of where we expected to arrive, we ended up trapped just outside the facility.”

The colonel’s eyes narrowed. He leaned forward, voice tight. “Spatial interference?”

“It’s the only explanation I can offer,” Augustus said.

Bernard gave a grim nod. “That tracks. Continue.”

Augustus did. He explained the paralysis, the pain that had raked through every nerve, the rift that tore open, spilling knights on monstrous mounts into their world. “They were strong, but easily subdued by our combined powers. The issue was their priests. They revived them from complete death. Destroyed hearts, broken necks, it didn’t matter. They brought them back anyway.”

The colonel swore under his breath.

“After the survivors retreated, we worked together with the Throne of Scales to crack open the rift from our end. Saw what we assu is another world. dieval castle courtyard with banners and unknown insignia, more knights and mbers of a priesthood. Their leaders looked like royalty. When they spotted us, a knight in black armor struck. He was strong enough to force us all back. I suspect he was at least on par with a peak Tier 2, possibly even an early Tier 3.”

Leaning back, Bernard closed his eyes and sighed. “So of our n had similar experiences,” he said. “There are mixed reports. But there is too much overlap to think anyone is crazy.”

Augustus’s eyes widened. “It happened outside of Earth, too?”

Bernard nodded. “We’ve had reports of attacks by dinosaurs and space wizards—” He gave Augustus a good-natured glare. “—and even one guy who was so kind of warrior. He took out several Tier 2 operators before they overwheld him. Fought like he was in one of those old-school martial arts movies.”

“Why isn’t this intel being made public?” Augustus asked. “I know from other contacts that there were attacks across the planet, and now you’re telling it happened off-world, too. There’s no way to hide it.”

“Sol system blackout,” Bernard said. “They’re trying to slow the bleed and buy ti for the bobbleheads to negotiate with our neighbors and friendlies in the Galactic Council, before it becos common knowledge that Earth is ground zero for so sort of invasion from another fucking dinsion. Or ten of them.”

Augustus sighed. It made sense. Humanity had suffered a lot of scrutiny after creating superhumans. Once it got out that things had taken a turn for the crazier, it was entirely possible they would be quarantined.

Or worse.

“Did we know it was coming?” Augustus asked at last.

Bernard frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Scuttlebutt is that we knew sothing was coming,” he said after a few monts. “Too many grounded flights. Troops repositioned, extra training drills. They even pulled back along major contested fronts in the hours leading up to it.”

“Seems clear enough.”

“I agree,” Bernard said. “Word is that they didn’t know what was coming, though. Maybe they had warnings from those with Divination and Seer powers, but I doubt they had any clue what was really going to happen.”

Bernard laughed. “Shit, we don’t even know what it is now that it’s arrived.”

Augustus didn’t laugh. “Thanks, Bernie. I appreciate you sharing what you know.”

“You too, old friend,” Bernard said with a smile. “Be careful out there, alright? Especially with this supervillain thing you’ve gotten yourself into. Look out for yourself.”

Augustus returned the smile. “Sua Sponte.”

“Yeah.” The colonel gave him a sharp nod. “Of one’s own accord. So things don’t change, no matter where we end up.”

They held each other’s gaze a beat longer before the link cut, leaving Augustus alone in the booth with more questions than he had going into it.