Deep Black Road: The Head of the Snake

Chapter 47

"Hey Al," Philip said as he joined up for chores first thing the next morning.

"Morning," Al replied.

Philip came up close to him and said confidentially, "Your wife's still alive."

Al's eyes widened. "You sure? How do you know?"

"I can't say; so just trust me, okay?"

"A-alright, I'll do that. And thanks for telling me. Yeah ... I mean, yeah, thanks a lot!"

"No problem."

"Can I ... Is it okay if I tell Lisa?"

"I don't see why not."

As Al rushed off to find her, Philip gazed up into the sky. Well, Ricky, he thought, how do I single-handedly extract this woman from a high-security re-training centre? Not to mention what we're supposed to do with all those other Followers they've got. And they've got a lot! So many centres ...

I suppose I'll have to visit you sometime and see if you can suggest anything.

#

"Go ahead, General," General Corran responded to the link from Marringa.

"I contacted Dr. Sheppard this morning about the rogue robots he's built, as you requested; and he stated quite emphatically that he only built the two."

"Thank you," Corran replied. "I don't think we'll get any further useful information from that source."

"I understand," said Marringa. "I won't bother him anymore."

After signing off, Corran leaned back in his chair. I know for a fact that Dr. Sheppard built at least three, he thought; but General Orkan swore him to secrecy regarding his; and it was destroyed by the Ricky robot.

He drummed his fingers on his desk for a moment.

So where did this third rogue come from?

#

Standing on the tip of a mountain in the centre of a huge crater, with Earth hanging silently above them, Ricky and Suzanne faced each other, holding glowing hands.

"I'm sorry," Suzanne said. "I guess I got the idea of marriage from when I was carnate because, you know, I wanted us to make a real thing of your promise. But 'best friends forever' is fine. Really."

"Okay, and I'll make my promise to you, just like I said."

"You don't suppose ... Can I make a promise to you too?"

"Why not? In fact, I want you to."

"Then let's do it."

"Sure. I promise to stick with you-and love you-for the rest of my life."

"And I promise to stick with you too-and to love you-for the rest of my life. There. Thank you."

"Thank you," he replied. "Now, to find a purpose for our life together."

"I wish we could go back to Earth and look after the carnate kids," she said. "Nothing else really makes any sense to me."

"Me neither," he said, and then noticed that her chest was glowing where her spark lay. "Hey, look," he said.