"I'm fine," Raven insisted again to both Abby and Nyko.
"What, exactly, happened, Raven?" Abby asked.
"I opened the case to see what's in there, and next thing I knew, I wasn't in control of my body anymore. A.L.I.E. took over. She recognized Clarke and Murphy. I think the only reason she left was because they threatened to destroy the case."
"How can that happen?"
"Guess you missed a piece of the chip," Raven answered with a shrug. "It the only thing I can think of."
"I wish I could get a brain scan just to be safe."
"I don't think the Commander's going to let me leave Polis anytime soon."
"I don't know what to do to help you, Raven. I'll check on you this evening." Abby looked at Nyko. "The Commander said that Raven is to rest today."
"She will rest," Nyko promised Abby.
"I have things to do," Raven complained.
"They will be there tomorrow," Nyko told her, and pointed at the table. The massage was longer and more extensive than usual, and Raven fell asleep during it. When he finished, Nyko covered her and had one of Raven's guards stay in the room to make sure she remained safe.
100 – 100 – 100
"Thelonius."
He stood and walked to the bars of his cell. "Marcus, it's good to see you."
"How are you?"
"I've been better." His hand went to the back of his neck where the stitches were. "Clarke took her from me."
"Took who?"
"A.L.I.E."
"That is?"
"That is a long story, my friend."
"I have time."
"You know I couldn't come to Earth with the rest of you."
"We thought you died in what remained of the Ark."
"Not quite. But I landed in what the people here call, with good reason, the Dead Zone. There's not much there, some nomads, a lot of sand, the path to the City of Light."
"How did you hear about the City of Light?"
"The nomads who saved me told me about it before they traded me for a horse. We met up in the cell not long after that."
"What, exactly, is the City of Light?"
"It's paradise. There's no pain, no worry, no loss, no grief."
"Is it a real place?"
"Of course it's real. I know you think I'm crazy."
"I'm trying to understand."
"There's a huge solar array that's one part of the City of Light, but you can only truly reach it with A.L.I.E.'s help."
"Who is A.L.I.E.?"
"She. She's our savior. She's going to save the planet and us."
"You know she launched the nuclear weapons that nearly destroyed our species."
"Because we are a blight. We take and use and destroy and never fix or replace. Everything is about us."
"So she wants to remake the world in her image."
"She wants to make it better and keep us safe. If we are in the City of Light, it doesn't matter what happens out here."
"How did you find the City of Light, Thelonious?"
"I had faith, Marcus."
"What happened to the others who left with you?"
"They didn't have faith."
"What about John Murphy?"
Jaha smiled grimly. "He never truly believed. He wouldn't commune with us. He threatened A.L.I.E. Otan wanted Emori to stay with him, but John wanted to leave with her. He got hold of A.L.I.E. and threatened to drop her into the water, so we let him go." Jaha sighed. "Otan was killed at the gates of Arkadia, but I frequently saw him in the City of Light."
"So even if you die, some version of you will survive there."
"Exactly. It's beautiful, Marcus," Jaha said wistfully. "I miss it so much."
"Would A.L.I.E. have died if John dropped the case into the water?"
"She wouldn't die, but it would take time to revive her, and her memories would stop at the moment she was transferred to the case."
"So there's no backup?"
"No."
"Why would you follow her, Thelonious?"
"Do you remember the first time you fell in love, Marcus?"
"Of course."
"Imagine feeling like that all the time."
"You can't feel one way all the time. Change is the human condition. We adapt. We evolve."
"But you can. You can always be joyful. You can always have a sense of wonder at everything around you. You can always be in love for the first time."
"I can't imagine surrendering this life, as hard as it is, for something so simplistic."
"That's because you don't have faith, Marcus."
"Perhaps."
"Whatever happens, happens. I have been to the City of Light. I will return to the City of Light, and I will always be there."
"Is there anything else you can tell me?"
Jaha put his hand through the bars. When he opened his fist, a chip sat in his palm. "It's not too late to join us."
Marcus picked it up and put it in his shirt pocket. "I'll think about it. Is there anything you need?"
"She provides everything I need."
"Goodbye, Thelonious."
"It doesn't have to be, Marcus."
Marcus paused and turned around. "Could you find your way there again? To the solar array?"
"I don't know. It's north of here. The path is treacherous by land and slightly less so by sea."
"Thank you."
"Thank me by joining me in the City of Light."
Marcus turned his back and walked away.