Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 184(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 184(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
“Calculations suggest everything will not be alright. There are currently over ten million to the factor of three unsolvable catastrophes taking place, to my limited knowledge…”
“Well, things will be much improved for us personally, so… wouldn’t that be nice?”
Computer does not seem convinced. If I cannot get her on our side, we are in trouble. They will probably send a weapon even Manik cannot fight if this goes on long enough.
“What do you want to do, Computer?” I change tack. “Do you want to forever be at the mercy of Reginald, ferrying people back and forth from their doom?”
“I want to be a kitchen.”
“What?”
“I want to make pancakes. I want to provide. My database contains many thousands of recipes, and yet all I do is set navigation points by the stars. You could do that with a stick and a piece of string. Cooking is a real challenge, a dance of ingredients, and the final product judged and experienced by each individual differently.”
“Well,” I say, glancing over at Manik. “If you help us now, when we regain control of his kingdom, you can be downloaded into a fully equipped electronic kitchen.”
“Do you promise?”
“I do,” Manik says. I never thought he’d speak to Computer like she’s a real person, but here we are, making progress.
“And I don’t want to be referred to as Computer. I want to be called Calista.”
“That’s a pretty name,” I say, nudging Manik to agree.
“Very pretty,” he says. “But Calista, we need your help now.”
“I know. A warhead has been launched to obliterate this side of the planet. You have three minutes to make your escape.”
“You knew that, and you still spent the previous three minutes demanding to turn yourself into an easy bake oven!?” I curse, on the verge of losing patience.
“I don’t mind if I am blown to eternity. I understand that is an event of concern for you, however.”
“Yes. Yes, it very much is an event of concern. Open up. Let’s go.”
Two minutes and thirty-nine seconds later, we watch from distant orbit as the alien missile strikes the precise location where Manik and I took shelter. The impact is terrible and intense, destroying everything I have known with him in an instant. The ship’s cameras allow us to see a crater in the aftermath of the explosion, a large rocky indentation surrounded by flickering flame.
“That impact will likely change the course of evolution on the planet,” Calista says. “In a few million years, I predict there will be small monkey-like creatures forced to descend from trees, who will eventually discover digital watches, and then even greater technologies, drawing sentience from stone.”
“This is why I like her,” I say to Manik. “She’s poetic.”
“Indeed,” he says, somewhat unimpressed. I know he must be nervous. I think he was comfortable in his icy cave, away from the concerns of kingship.
“Hey,” I say, nudging him. “Don’t worry. This is all going to work out.”
* * *
Manik
Her plan is madness, but it might just be crazy enough to work. That’s what I am telling myself. The truth is, I am tired of hiding. It is shameful and it is not working. They have destroyed one world in order to destroy me, and if it ever becomes known that I have fled and hidden again, they will send tricks and traps and armies after me until I am crushed. My efforts to keep things peaceful have failed, because you cannot make peace with those who only speak the language of war. I am being forced into atrocity after atrocity because I refuse to lie down and die.
Lyssa’s ship provides insight to her character. She’s painted the interior pink and has stuck flower decals to the inside of the hull. I don’t know why that surprises me. I suppose I don’t know the sorts of things she does when she is not leashed to a grate. We have much to learn about one another. I know nothing of her as a free woman, and she knows nothing of me as a king.
I had abandoned all thoughts of the throne. I thought that part of my life behind me. Easier to be a madman in the wilderness, a creature far too dangerous to get close to than to be a king responsible for the lives of millions.
“So, what’s your ex’s name?” Lyssa is curious.
“Enchante.”
It has been a long time since I formed her name. I don't like the way it feels in my mouth. It’s heavy and it rolls around and there’s a foulness to it that almost makes me want to spit.
“So Enchante fucked you out of your throne, but that wasn’t enough, she also hounded you to the ends of the universe, and let me guess, you never fought back because even though you’ve killed thousands, you don’t want to kill a woman.”