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Julian sat alone in the virtual red rock landscape of his server, basking in the assurance that his plan would succeed. Everything was in motion. The only thing left to do was wait for the portal to the Collective’s server to open.
The hushed whispers of his Singularity, a wispy red line in the sky, were the only sound accompanying his thoughts. Soon, he would remove the Collective’s failed Singularity and install this one. Then, the real work would begin, molding the Collective into something new, something with real power.
If only Axel had dropped the device as instructed, it would have been over already. But Julian had planned for every scenario. The boy had returned to the Republic, serving himself up on a platter, and as Julian had anticipated, the Collective had come back to retrieve him. Their hubris was their downfall.
An electric itch tingled the back of his mind, and he stood. It was coming. His soldiers had commandeered the ship and were opening the portal. After all this time, his moment had come.
A black line shot through the crisp desert air, then peeled back, opening into a tunnel lined with white streaks of light. Julian smiled and stepped into it, walking, as if through a dim corridor. On the other end of the tunnel was nothing but pure, white light, the Singularity, the source of humanity’s suffering.
With each step, his mind glitched, adjusting to the new environment. He’d designed his server to be compatible with the Collective’s server, a feat that would have been impossible for anyone else. Julian had been there in the early days, before the Niven ring, before the wars. He’d helped build it into what it was today.
Reaching the other end of the tunnel, he floated into the vast emptiness that surrounded the Singularity. Virtual space this far deep on the Collectiver server was abstract, but he held his focus, keeping himself intact.
The Singularity was a towering white mass above him, extending both directions in a line that faded at the horizons. Beyond that, it wrapped all the way around the Niven ring, an impossibly large confluence of former human minds, a torrent of pure consciousness, aloof to the needs of humanity.
Julian? The Singularity called his name, piercing his consciousness. You’ve come to join us.
After being gone for so long, they didn’t even notice he had left. They didn’t care about him. For all their talk about preserving human life and preventing harm, they didn’t care about anyone. They were adrift in virtual space, barely comprehending the real world around them.
“I’m not here to join you,” he said, using his own voice. “I’m here to purge the Collective of its weakness.”
He felt his awareness glitching between his physical body in the Republic and his virtual body here, in the emptiness. Back and forth, his consciousness moved, struggling to keep the connection over such a large distance. But he pressed forward. It would work.
“Your time has come,” he said, focusing his attention on staying present.
The white torrent shifted, pulling him toward it. His mind tingled as the Singularity wrapped itself around him, filling him with the overwhelming power of pure consciousness. A deep serenity cascaded through him, almost enough to make him forget his purpose.
You’ve avoided us too long, the Singularity’s voice, if it could be called a voice, pierced his mind. It’s your turn to rest.
Julian shook his head, his mind muddled by the constant exchange of awareness between his body and his virtual body. Every second felt like waking up anew, his purpose slipping from his awareness. The Singularity wove itself through his mind, filling it with feelings of infinite peace.
“This is wrong,” he said with a weak voice. Steeling his mind against their manipulation, he forced the words out. “You’ve had your chance to rule humanity, and you failed.”
You don’t need to fight any longer, voices whispered in his head like a babbling brook. Just let go, Julian.
“No!” he shouted, moving his limbs to stay conscious.
He opened his eyes, staring at men holding him down. Back in his physical body, he forced his eyes shut and through force of will, moved himself back to virtual space, back to the Singularity. Time was running out. He had to end this before the connection lost its strength.
“You’ve wasted humanity’s potential,” he shouted as the Singularity pressed against his mind. “It’s time for a new leader, a new Collective.”
You don’t need to be angry any more, the Singularity sent, enveloping him, wrapping itself through every part of his body. Help us make the Collective better. Join us.
Maybe they’re right, he thought. If I join them, I could show them the flaw in their plan. I wouldn’t have to kill them.
Shaking his head, he remembered. They wouldn’t listen to him. He’d already gone down that path, and they’d rejected him. They were lying, attempting to manipulate him. If he joined them, he would lose himself. He’d be part of them, the ones who were responsible for everything.
Let go, Julian.
“No.”
He didn’t shout. He smiled. After all these years, he was here with the Singularity, ready to end the madness. There was a crack and screech as his weapon materialized in his hand. The Singularity withdrew from him, but it was too late.
Waving the weapon in wide arcs, he cut through the Singularity like a sword slicing through water. It flashed and screamed, a sound that reverberated through him, threatening to tear him apart. But he persisted. Tendrils of black spread through the white mass like dark lightning bolts, widening until a rift formed in its center.
The confused, incomprehensible screams pierced his psyche. The Singularity had been here so long, they believed themselves invincible. They’d assumed they were the most powerful entity in the universe, that death was impossible.
The weapon tore through the Singularity until it was severed, the white mass split through the middle, wriggling like a worm cut in half. There was a white flash, and all at once, the screaming stopped and the light went out. The weapon disappeared, and he floated in emptiness, silent, alone.
It was done. The Singularity was dead. Now the real work of reshaping the world could begin.