“Minister Cooper has established a legal and economic system that provides every Aeternan with a vital role. He has upgraded our defense network to make Aeterna invulnerable. He and his wife, Lady Samantha, established trade and diplomatic relations with sixteen former colonies of the Collectorate as well as Earth under the Warner Alliance. He has expanded upon the technological marvels made available when immortals first colonized Aeterna in Standard Year 5357. Our communication and transportation infrastructure is the most efficient and dynamic anywhere.

  “Under Minister Cooper, every Aeternan works hard, makes every day a great challenge to be conquered, and insists we celebrate our accomplishments in the spirit of love and joy. When you need counsel, Minister Cooper will be there for you, as he is for all two thousand and five hundred immortals. He was our savior. Now he is our greatest defender. He is the man who walked across the stars for love. He is the impossible future.”

  Countless videos accompanied the words, including glimpses of life in the capital, the defense fleet in orbit, immortals in military training and building their bodies on phasic weight systems, to ships departing Promise through the flashing aperture of a wormhole. Interspersed in a predictable pattern, images of Michael showed a man in control of his people but adored by them, and playful at home with his wife and two children.

  Why not just go ahead and call him a god?

  Exeter thought if even half the introduction was true, Michael was far more formidable than Angela ever imagined. But this wasn’t the first time he encountered propaganda. The Chancellor Swarm mastered the art form. They glossed over their thirst for blood with anthems and selective images that strayed far from the reality of the battlefield, where bodies lay stacked like dirty laundry.

  The narrator settled into a disciplined spiel as the CVid continued.

  “Michael Cooper was born outside this universe on a primitive Earth only two centuries removed from the dawn of industrialization. He lived in a small town called Albion, Alabama where he …”

  The visuals rarely left Aeterna as the narration described Michael’s childhood. At one point, Michael spoke over grandiose shots of Aeterna’s many ecostems to say:

  “I was what they called a ‘country boy.’ That was code for, ‘He ain’t nothing, ain’t going nowhere, and won’t amount to squat.’ Which is pretty much what I thought until my life changed.”

  The biography took Michael across an Interdimensional Fold between universes, where he entered into a battle to save himself, Samantha, and his friend, Jamie Sheridan. The story focused heavily on Michael and Samantha while briefly reminding the viewer of a previous CVid about the terrorist organization Salvation, founded by the former Jamie Sheridan, who become known as Brother James.

  “Brother James and the other hybrid monsters like him sowed terror across the Collectorate while kidnapping and torturing Bouchet immortals to build an army of the unwilling. However, Michael took on the just cause of equality on Earth, joining the armed uprising to give Solomons the same access to opportunity as the Chancellory.

  “However, when monstrous Brother James kidnapped Samantha, Michael turned his eyes to the stars. He vowed to destroy the hybrid monsters and save the greatest love of his life. He became a warrior, mastering the ways of the Chancellors for a time, all in the service of saving Samantha and protecting other immortals from oppression at the hands of the hybrid monsters.”

  The CVid described a jumpgate that allowed Michael to “walk” across the stars – four hundred and sixty-five light-years, no less – carrying two others on his back and landing on Aeterna in its time of need. Though Exeter knew better than to be surprised by any manner of whizbangery, this part of the story felt mythologized at best. It sounded like a glorious but laughable tale out of the ancient, pre-history Earth texts. The information, however, was consistent across CVids focusing on Salvation and The Last Day’s War. Did historical accuracy matter? Exeter decided no, so long as he could answer the inevitable pop quiz with a perfect score.

  The vid continued, reminding the viewer of Michael’s role in the defense of the city then known as JaRa but later renamed Promise. It talked of the seventy brave immortals who lost their lives in the invasion and briefly mentioned the immortal general, Valentin Bouchet, who “assisted” Michael in the victory. A disclaimer scrolled across the bottom of the screen saying Valentin betrayed the immortals by abandoning Aeterna without warning a year later.

  “Remember, the hybrids were prepared to destroy all the Bouchet immortals rather than share power. Michael’s arrival and fast action saved us from this fate. He slew Brother James and forced the Chancellor invaders to accept unconditional terms of surrender. His actions brought peace to Aeterna and will guarantee prosperity for our world. Now, he possesses the knowledge of Aeterna’s great recreators, the Jewels of Eternity. No one will dare stand against Aeterna because no one will stand against our Minister Michael Cooper. As he tells us every day …”

  Michael’s voice took over:

  “Learn to love. Prepare to kill.”

  The CVid ended, and Exeter slumped. He saw the time stamp: Three hours and ten minutes long. The morning wasn’t halfway done, and Exeter was trying to figure out whether he should praise Michael or revile him. The man he met in orbit was cocky but more personable than this video suggested. Yet only a man with a staggering level of narcissism would approve a CVid with this tone. Maybe he didn’t care what new recruits thought so long as they understood who held the iron grip on Aeterna.

  “I’ve seen it dozens of times.” Rikhi entered. “Still gets to me.” He must have noticed Exeter’s confusion. “Yeah, I know. It’s very … loud. But it’s just a bold way of talking about a great fucking man.”

  “If you’re the Information Minister, I assume you work with him?”

  “I’ve been on his staff since he took over. I was a messed up kid when I came here. I was one of those kidnapped by Salvation. The hybrids forced me to kill one of the few people who ever showed me kindness. Those fuckers. Michael helped me leave that darkness behind. He’ll do the same for you, Exeter. All you have to do is finish the curriculum by sunset tomorrow. That will leave you one step shy of being made.”

  “So, about ‘being made.’ You still haven’t told me …”

  Rikhi raised a hand to demand silence.

  “Not important. Now’s the time for answers. You ready? Here we go. First question. Four days after Michael arrived on Chancellory Earth, he and Samantha were killed in what city?”

  Exeter’s mind scrambled. Shit.

  “Philadelphia Redux.”

  “Good. How many Chancellors did Michael assassinate during his years fighting in the Solomon uprising?”

  “Ten? No, wait. Eleven.”

  “Excellent. What was Michael attempting to do when Chancellor agents killed him in Ericsson Station on Tamarind?”

  “Use a jumpgate to walk across the stars and warn Aeterna of the Chancellors’ planned invasion.”

  “How many Bouchet immortals has Michael rescued from the former Collectorate since he took command of Aeterna?”

  “Seventeen hundred and fifty-nine.”

  And the questions continued. Names, dates, places. The minutiae seemed more important than the major events or Michael’s guiding principles, which dictated half the CVid. The teacher wanted to know how well Exeter was paying attention.

  Two more CVids followed, each focusing on personal testimonials. Aeternans from ages seventeen to twenty-nine (the full gamut) recounted their origin stories on the colonies and how Michael’s version of Aeterna brought order and comfort to their lives. Some spoke of their time with Salvation, during which all agreed they were taught to harness their anger and little else. Michael, they said, showed them how to balance love with the essential ability to kill their enemies. Rikhi’s quiz insisted Exeter connect names and details.

  “Perfect score, Exeter. Take twenty for lunch then you’ll run. Today, we’re heading east to Tower 6. Maybe you’ll have an answer for the third question by the end of your climb?”

  “East? Toward Promise?”

  “Yeah, but don’t make a thing of it. The Towers are a hundred-five kay from the capital. You won’t sniff Promise until you complete the curriculum.”

  Today’s run did not take Exeter past tall pines and corinpian trees. Instead, he raced steadily uphill through thick and at times spiny chaparral, where rabbits lived by the thousands and tiny red songbirds called mayjings formed a cacophony as they darted through the scrub bush in flocks. As the high country flattened and the horizon emptied of tall flora, a monument grew from the planet.

  From a distance, it looked like an ancient ruin; the base of a great building lost to time and entropy. Upon closer inspection, Exeter saw a different picture. Tower 6, like the other seven of its ilk, measured 48.3 meters wide on all four sides (a statistic Exeter learned in the CVid and was later quizzed on). Its dark metallic surface revealed nothing – not its mineral composition nor symbols connected to its purpose. It was blasted apart at one hundred feet, and the remnants of what used to stretch into the clouds formed a field of stone where nothing grew in any direction, farther than Exeter could see.

  He tagged the tower’s base and caught his breath. Exeter ran the final fifteen kilometers at a dead sprint.

  Rikhi arrived a moment later and jumped off the rifter.

  “It’s a hell of a thing, right? How does it make you feel?”

  “It brings up questions. The CVid said the Towers were the last line of defense if all else failed. That’s what the Jewels of Eternity supposedly told Michael. But it never talked about what happened here during The Last Day’s War.”

  “The Chancellors thought if they took these out, we’d be easy marks. But we had other weapons, and we were great fighters. Michael did the rest.”

  “So, it was a ruse?”

  “No. The Jewels created these around every Aeternan city when they regenerated the planet. We defend ourselves. If those fuckers defy us, the Towers finish the job.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “No. Not until after you’ve been made.”

  “But this one is destroyed.”

  Rikhi smiled like a sly devil.

  “Is it?”

  “You’re not going to tell me anymore?”

  “No. It’s time for you to climb. But first, how about an answer to the third question. C’mon. It’s the easiest one.”

  Exeter was ready, having formulated the reasoning overnight.

  “The question makes the assumption that I fear death and rebirth. The implication is that I shouldn’t fear because I know I’ll return. A mortal man has good reason to fear the end. If I am afraid of it as an immortal, I must be a coward.”

  “OK, so you’ve analyzed the shit out of the question. Your answer?”

  “I fear it because I’m sane. There is no scientific justification for how a man can suffer mortal injuries and regenerate on his own. There is no scientific explanation for how memories and personality are restored after the body regenerates. I fear death because while it will most likely lead to regeneration, I don’t know how long my allowance will last. Only an insane man believes he will live forever, making this answer an extension to the first one.”

  Rikhi tapped his pipe and smoked.

  “Nice. A little long-winded, but it works. Just one more to go. First, time to climb Tower 6.”

  “How? The surface is smooth.”

  “There’s a rope. Far side. Go.”

  Rikhi didn’t say a word as Exeter climbed. This was the simplest physical test in four days. When Exeter reached the top, he scanned the horizon. The field of rubble was much deeper to the east, suggesting the attackers struck from the west. Dark clouds approached from the south, a purple wall confirming hard rain. He looked over the edge. Rikhi yelled up:

  “Let down the rope!”

  “What?”

  “Do it! You have one minute. Go.”

  The thick-hewn rope looped over a jagged, six-foot stalagmite. Exeter complied and walked to the edge, holding out the loop.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Drop the rope, Exeter!”

  No. He can’t be serious.

  The timing of question three became all too apparent. Exeter also knew he dared not violate the teacher’s instructions. He let go.

  “Good,” Rikhi said. “Now jump.”

  “Why? What will this prove?”

  “To me? Not a damn thing. Do it.”

  “This can’t be part of the curriculum.”

  “It is for you. Exeter, if you don’t jump, we’ll burn you. Then you won’t be asking anymore dumbass questions. Jump.”

  He couldn’t avoid the Tower’s debris if he tried.

  Exeter knew how this would end.

  “Shit.”

  He closed his eyes and leaped. Aeterna rose to meet him with sudden fury. Exeter felt no pain ….

  The staircase descends into the shadowy depths of the abyss, but Exeter does not want to know what lies at the bottom.

  They are everywhere. The first hands are wet and sickly. They reach out through the dark veil, coming at him from all sides.

  Many are wrinkled and calloused. Others glisten with the jewelry of privilege. The voices of their owners beg.

  He’s not doing enough. He’s not doing enough.

  But you’re beautiful, they say. So beautiful.

  Hands grab hold, their fingernails evolving into claws.

  Beautiful child. Beautiful child.

  Wait. The staircase recaptures him. Exeter ascends.

  The voices dampen ….

  He awoke on the rifter. Rikhi was piloting, and Tower 6 was nowhere in sight.

  Exeter hurt all over, but already the pain was retreating.

  “Why did you make me do it?”

  Rikhi shrugged.

  “You weren’t ready to answer the fourth question. Nobody ever is. But you got no choice, and there’s only one day left. It’s time for you to start thinking about that fucking abyss. Come to terms with it.”

  He was right. Rikhi was always right. Exeter didn’t want to face it. He knew where he’d have to go to find the words.

  “Soon as we’re back to camp,” Rikhi said, “you can wash the blood off. Then it’s class time. I’ve got three CVids for you.”

  Exeter thought fire might be the best outcome.

  19

  T WO HOURS. THAT’S ALL THE TIME he had. No one said a word about it, but Exeter read the sun. It would fall beneath the horizon in two hours, and they’d send him into the fire. Would they at least render him unconscious? Perhaps the incineration of an immortal was a spectator event worthy of sound and fury.

  Rikhi provided Exeter with a bowl of strawberries and locada nuts for their review of the curriculum’s final lesson: Understanding the Aeternan mantra “Learn to love. Prepare to kill.” They talked and ate from a small table outside the main camp module.

  “You’ve had five days,” Rikhi said. “You’ve watched every speech Minister Cooper gave on the topic. From the heart, Exeter. Why is our mantra the only sensible way for Aeternans to live?”

  He bit into a nut, which was white and knotted but soft as cotton inside. He tasted a hint of vanilla.

  “I know the answer because I lived it.”

  He heard the screams of war as the Swarm descended on Talon positions. He remembered Ryllen’s touch and all the right words in the quiet moments between desolation and savagery. He cut down the enemy with a disciplined brutality, dying twice in battle, always anticipating his return to Ryllen. Always with the knowledge that the inhumanity carried a reward. He remembered their last perfect hour together, naked in a freshwater spring just before Scramjets Horn and Ram departed Hokkaido.

  And then the reversal.

  Ryllen humiliated him at Artemis Station. Ryllen allowed him to be taken by the Chancellors without objection.

  You never loved me. You controlled me. Just like the others.

  He recounted these events to Rikhi and concluded:

  “We have to know how to kill. It’s in our nature, but the proper way requires training and discipline. Sooner or later, immortals will be hunted. Aeterna will be a prize. We must defend ourselves. We must have the will to slaughter them before they have the chance to invade. Savagery is acceptable because killing is in their nature, too.”

  Rikhi nodded. “How do we reconcile slaughter with love?”

  “The easy answer is that they represent a simple duality in every human. The real answer is more complicated. We must be able to justify why we kill. The only true justification is found in love.”

  “Define love.”

  “Unlimited trust. The kind of love that binds us is the one that says we will catch each other no matter how far we fall. When we share this kind of love with the people around us, we will go to any lengths to protect each other. We will be prepared to kill anyone and justify it.”

  “What about when the slaughter’s done?”

  “We rediscover who we are by relying on the love we share.”

  “Nice fucking words. But that’s all they are. How do we know it will work, Exeter?”

  “It won’t unless all of us are committed to each other without hesitation. Anyone who deviates from that commitment threatens the entire community. If we go into the battle together, no one can beat us if our love for each other is absolute.”

  “No compromise?”

  “None. Minister Cooper tells us to be our true selves because when we love each other despite our differences, our love is stronger.”

  Rikhi stole a strawberry and rolled it in around in his mouth.

  “Nice. We always save this lesson for last, but I knew you’d ace it. Most Aeternans never fought a war. We were only seven hundred when we defended the capital. We lost ten percent. Actually, that was fucking incredible considering how little training we had and how the hybrids didn’t lift a finger to help. Now, with Michael guiding us, we won’t lose anyone in the next fight.”