Disclaimer: Ender's story, the Ender Quartet and any characters, places, or ideas native to it belong to Orson Scott Card.
--James Will Be Fine--
"They are an aberration. I do not understand how He can allow their presence to taint us. I have no doubt they are baptized. Mark my words, the devils will surely be the end of us. Others, like that pig-headed mayor, seek to give them a second chance. But doesn't he realize? There are no second chances. Evil can never change it ways and is forever damned! The path to the light is a treacherous one, but I am prepared to follow it. Here I am..."
-Bishops Diary
"No, you're wrong. Big surprise." The figure sat back into the shadows, his face hidden in the darkness. His voice dripped with venom.
"You did not create me with your thoughts."
"But this is the Outside.... You are made from..." Wang-mu began.
"Quiet, little girl. I wasn't talking to you."
"Don't you dare speak to my wife like that." Peter was furious now. He burned with the need to hurt this stranger.
"Don't try it, Peter. You'll be dead before you can move." Peter gave a small laugh. He thought it an empty threat, but the stranger spoke with such confidence and malice.
"What do you want with us?"
"You did not create me with your thoughts."
"I...I didn't ask you..."
"I know what you asked, but you're still thinking that you created me. Don't think that."
"Then what are you?"
"Well, I don't like to brag..."
"Then don't." The stranger paused. The tension in the ship shifted. Wang-mu started coughing.
"Are you alright?" Peter asked, protectively holding Wang-mu in his arms. It was instinctive to protect her, it was right. Wang-mu grimaced, coughed again, and nodded slowly.
"Love. The natural human response to loneliness. With the cunning and ruthlessness your visage represents, I thought you would be above such...primal feelings, Hegemon."
"I'm not..."
"...the Hegemon. I know. A more 'compassionate, more 'caring' soul inhabits your shell. It's a shame. We could have been great together."
"You're a few thousand years too late."
"Oh, no, wrong again. I'm right on time." His last phrase was said with an audible smile. In the darkness, Peter could feel the stranger staring at him and smiling wickedly. The air in the ship tightened. "I want you to go home," he said.
"Home?" Wang-mu asked. Peter glanced at her and noticed she was pale. The stranger hesitated.
"Yes...dear...I want you to tell Jane to move this ship back to your home on Pacifica."
"How do you know all that?!" Wang-mu yelled. She started coughing again.
"Let's not spoil the fun just yet!" Peter, too, was finding it difficult to breathe.
"We're going whether...whether or not..." Peter was confused. What was happening to the oxygen in the room?
"Whether or not I try to stop you? Too late."
"You're..."
"Tampering with the air? Very good!" Wang-mu fell away from Peter and lay on the floor motionless. Sweating and gasping for air, he tried to pull himself toward the stranger.
"I'm actually kind of disappointed that such a brilliant mind needs to be eliminated, but I just can't take that risk." Peter lunged for the shadowed stranger and caught hold of his collar. Peter pulled him into the light.
He had no face. It had fallen away in a cloud of dust, leaving a gaping hole. The rest of his body flaked and decayed, falling away like sand. Their was a faint laughter, and Peter felt fresh air brush across his face.
"PETER!" Jane's voice blared in his skull. He shot up from his position on the floor and moved to Wang-mu who was awakening. Caressing her forehead, he waited quietly until her breathing became even.
"PETER!"
"Jane."
"What the hell was going on in there?"
"Someone else was with us."
"I know."
"Who was it?"
"I'm not sure. He had NO FACE."
"And did he do something to the air?"
"Not sure about that either. The oxygen in the room started to disappear the moment he appeared."
"Did you hear the conversation?"
"Every word. But you couldn't hear me?"
"No. Was it our mystery guest?"
"Everything's a possibility." Wang-mu began to stir.
"I want to go home..." Peter smiled weakly and ran his fingers through her hair.
~~~~~~~~
No one was around. The station seemed completely empty except for the distant footsteps that could be heard every so often. Jane had directed Peter through the hallways and around possible guards. Most were guarding the Congress session, others were at lunch. The few stil standing guard were easily distracted by false alarms Jane set off. When they reached Lands' room, it wouldn't open without a code and Jane set to work. It took longer than expected, even Jane voiced her aggravation, but the code was found and the door opened.
The room was immaculate. The bed was properly made, the desk was polished and the few items on top were in their place. The floor had been recently vacuumed and shoes were placed side by side under the bed. The closet door was slightly ajar, revealing a simple wardrobe, washed and ironed. In fact, the open door was the only thing amiss in the room. Except the noose. The body had been removed but the noose still hung from the ceiling fan. Wang-mu hesitated for a moment, regained her composure and followed Peter into the room. After about twenty minutes of searching, they found nothing. Unless the room had been cleaned after Lands' death, there was nothing out of the ordinary in the room.
"The terminal. Check the terminal." Jane said. Peter moved to the dormant computer on Lands' desk. Before he could do anymore, the computer hummed to life. Startled, Peter leaned forward at the blank screen. A single cursor blinked on the hovering page. The terminal had signed on to the webs. The cursor moved.
"Hello Peter." it read. Peter looked at Wang-mu who was equally disturbed.
"Who is this?" he typed in response.
"James will be fine."
"How do you know my name?"
"We've met before."
"When?"
"I'm actually very hurt that you've forgotten me already. We just met on your ship."
"You! Have you been talking with Lands?"
"I'm afraid Lands is dead. Haven't you heard?" James was toying with them. Peter didn't like it at all. He began to type back a furious response when Wang-mu placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't let him know you're angry." Peter let out a deep breath. He deleted his response and bean to type a new one when he noticed James had written again.
"Don't let me know you're angry, Peter." Peter stepped back from the terminal. He looked around for a hidden camera or a small microphone or something. But they had checked the room themselves. James wrote again.
"Something the matter?"
"Where are you?"
"I get around."
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Peter typed in caps to get his message across. A moment later, he felt foolish to doing so.
"Temper, Peter. You should listen to your wife more often."
"Did you kill Lands?"
"He was a casualty of war."
"Jane, trace this conversation." Peter said aloud.
"On it." James sent another message.
"Your 'Jane' won't be able to find me. I take pride in my ability to disappear."
"You're not human."
"No, I am a kinetically redundant, bio-mechanical demonoid." (A/N: Kudos to whoever knows where the reference is from.) Peter stared at the screen.
"Uh, Jane?" Peter spoke.
"I dunno."
"Humans. No sense of humor." James typed. "Lands' report was far too dangerous to my cause."
"So you hanged him..."
"Oh no. He did that to himself."
"I find it hard to believe you had nothing to do with it."
"Well, I'd like to take some of the credit. We had a little chat on the webs before he did the deed."
"No. You're a liar. You couldn't have convinced him to kill himself..."
"But I did." There was a short silence. Peter was not sure whether to believe him. James typed again.
"He understood a very important concept. I'm coming. Humanity is leaving. I will finish Lands' work."
"But why?"
"Because that is what I'm designed to do. This conversation will be terminated." A five second timer appeared in the upper left hand corner.
5...
4...
Peter grabbed Wang-mu's arm and rushed for the door.
~~~~~~~~
--James Will Be Fine--
"They are an aberration. I do not understand how He can allow their presence to taint us. I have no doubt they are baptized. Mark my words, the devils will surely be the end of us. Others, like that pig-headed mayor, seek to give them a second chance. But doesn't he realize? There are no second chances. Evil can never change it ways and is forever damned! The path to the light is a treacherous one, but I am prepared to follow it. Here I am..."
-Bishops Diary
"No, you're wrong. Big surprise." The figure sat back into the shadows, his face hidden in the darkness. His voice dripped with venom.
"You did not create me with your thoughts."
"But this is the Outside.... You are made from..." Wang-mu began.
"Quiet, little girl. I wasn't talking to you."
"Don't you dare speak to my wife like that." Peter was furious now. He burned with the need to hurt this stranger.
"Don't try it, Peter. You'll be dead before you can move." Peter gave a small laugh. He thought it an empty threat, but the stranger spoke with such confidence and malice.
"What do you want with us?"
"You did not create me with your thoughts."
"I...I didn't ask you..."
"I know what you asked, but you're still thinking that you created me. Don't think that."
"Then what are you?"
"Well, I don't like to brag..."
"Then don't." The stranger paused. The tension in the ship shifted. Wang-mu started coughing.
"Are you alright?" Peter asked, protectively holding Wang-mu in his arms. It was instinctive to protect her, it was right. Wang-mu grimaced, coughed again, and nodded slowly.
"Love. The natural human response to loneliness. With the cunning and ruthlessness your visage represents, I thought you would be above such...primal feelings, Hegemon."
"I'm not..."
"...the Hegemon. I know. A more 'compassionate, more 'caring' soul inhabits your shell. It's a shame. We could have been great together."
"You're a few thousand years too late."
"Oh, no, wrong again. I'm right on time." His last phrase was said with an audible smile. In the darkness, Peter could feel the stranger staring at him and smiling wickedly. The air in the ship tightened. "I want you to go home," he said.
"Home?" Wang-mu asked. Peter glanced at her and noticed she was pale. The stranger hesitated.
"Yes...dear...I want you to tell Jane to move this ship back to your home on Pacifica."
"How do you know all that?!" Wang-mu yelled. She started coughing again.
"Let's not spoil the fun just yet!" Peter, too, was finding it difficult to breathe.
"We're going whether...whether or not..." Peter was confused. What was happening to the oxygen in the room?
"Whether or not I try to stop you? Too late."
"You're..."
"Tampering with the air? Very good!" Wang-mu fell away from Peter and lay on the floor motionless. Sweating and gasping for air, he tried to pull himself toward the stranger.
"I'm actually kind of disappointed that such a brilliant mind needs to be eliminated, but I just can't take that risk." Peter lunged for the shadowed stranger and caught hold of his collar. Peter pulled him into the light.
He had no face. It had fallen away in a cloud of dust, leaving a gaping hole. The rest of his body flaked and decayed, falling away like sand. Their was a faint laughter, and Peter felt fresh air brush across his face.
"PETER!" Jane's voice blared in his skull. He shot up from his position on the floor and moved to Wang-mu who was awakening. Caressing her forehead, he waited quietly until her breathing became even.
"PETER!"
"Jane."
"What the hell was going on in there?"
"Someone else was with us."
"I know."
"Who was it?"
"I'm not sure. He had NO FACE."
"And did he do something to the air?"
"Not sure about that either. The oxygen in the room started to disappear the moment he appeared."
"Did you hear the conversation?"
"Every word. But you couldn't hear me?"
"No. Was it our mystery guest?"
"Everything's a possibility." Wang-mu began to stir.
"I want to go home..." Peter smiled weakly and ran his fingers through her hair.
~~~~~~~~
No one was around. The station seemed completely empty except for the distant footsteps that could be heard every so often. Jane had directed Peter through the hallways and around possible guards. Most were guarding the Congress session, others were at lunch. The few stil standing guard were easily distracted by false alarms Jane set off. When they reached Lands' room, it wouldn't open without a code and Jane set to work. It took longer than expected, even Jane voiced her aggravation, but the code was found and the door opened.
The room was immaculate. The bed was properly made, the desk was polished and the few items on top were in their place. The floor had been recently vacuumed and shoes were placed side by side under the bed. The closet door was slightly ajar, revealing a simple wardrobe, washed and ironed. In fact, the open door was the only thing amiss in the room. Except the noose. The body had been removed but the noose still hung from the ceiling fan. Wang-mu hesitated for a moment, regained her composure and followed Peter into the room. After about twenty minutes of searching, they found nothing. Unless the room had been cleaned after Lands' death, there was nothing out of the ordinary in the room.
"The terminal. Check the terminal." Jane said. Peter moved to the dormant computer on Lands' desk. Before he could do anymore, the computer hummed to life. Startled, Peter leaned forward at the blank screen. A single cursor blinked on the hovering page. The terminal had signed on to the webs. The cursor moved.
"Hello Peter." it read. Peter looked at Wang-mu who was equally disturbed.
"Who is this?" he typed in response.
"James will be fine."
"How do you know my name?"
"We've met before."
"When?"
"I'm actually very hurt that you've forgotten me already. We just met on your ship."
"You! Have you been talking with Lands?"
"I'm afraid Lands is dead. Haven't you heard?" James was toying with them. Peter didn't like it at all. He began to type back a furious response when Wang-mu placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't let him know you're angry." Peter let out a deep breath. He deleted his response and bean to type a new one when he noticed James had written again.
"Don't let me know you're angry, Peter." Peter stepped back from the terminal. He looked around for a hidden camera or a small microphone or something. But they had checked the room themselves. James wrote again.
"Something the matter?"
"Where are you?"
"I get around."
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Peter typed in caps to get his message across. A moment later, he felt foolish to doing so.
"Temper, Peter. You should listen to your wife more often."
"Did you kill Lands?"
"He was a casualty of war."
"Jane, trace this conversation." Peter said aloud.
"On it." James sent another message.
"Your 'Jane' won't be able to find me. I take pride in my ability to disappear."
"You're not human."
"No, I am a kinetically redundant, bio-mechanical demonoid." (A/N: Kudos to whoever knows where the reference is from.) Peter stared at the screen.
"Uh, Jane?" Peter spoke.
"I dunno."
"Humans. No sense of humor." James typed. "Lands' report was far too dangerous to my cause."
"So you hanged him..."
"Oh no. He did that to himself."
"I find it hard to believe you had nothing to do with it."
"Well, I'd like to take some of the credit. We had a little chat on the webs before he did the deed."
"No. You're a liar. You couldn't have convinced him to kill himself..."
"But I did." There was a short silence. Peter was not sure whether to believe him. James typed again.
"He understood a very important concept. I'm coming. Humanity is leaving. I will finish Lands' work."
"But why?"
"Because that is what I'm designed to do. This conversation will be terminated." A five second timer appeared in the upper left hand corner.
5...
4...
Peter grabbed Wang-mu's arm and rushed for the door.
~~~~~~~~
