Rowan: The EcoPan

The Return Of Eden

I walk through the woods and the crisp air makes my cheeks tingle. The sun has gone down and I don't bother to try to sleep.

Crazy to think of how simple it all was a few days ago, Yarrow says.

"Nothing has been simple for nine months...or ever," I mumble aloud. I listen to the soothing sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet.

Well, you know what you have to do, right?

"If I knew what to do, I'd do it. And if I knew what to do, I wouldn't be walking while everyone else is sleeping," I tell her.

You have to stop him.

I laugh. "Really? I thought I was going to let him kill off everyone for the rest of my life! I mean I just thought why not?"

I can feel Yarrow roll her eyes at my sarcastic remark. I mean you have to take Aaron out of power. He's too mechanical to make decisions for humans.

"I agree but I don't know how to do that," I tell her as I clench my jaw firmly. Yarrow sighs and I take it she thinks it's obvious.

You can't destroy the Ecopan, obviously. But we can't keep it running. You need to take away his ability to make decisions. Take away his power.

"I can't give myself to the Ecopan. I would, but now that I'm back, now that I put Lachlan through that, I can't do it again. I'm here and it would be cruel to leave now. They've been through so much I won't put them through more," I tell her.

I know. So, put him under your direct control. Wipe him clean. Rowan, you have to wipe his programming! 

I gasp when I realize she's right. It's the only option at this point isn't it? Aaron can't kill innocent people, and he can't hurt me anymore. But there's also a down side, something that holds me back. I'd have to go back to Eden. I'd have to go back to the center. I can feel Yarrow's silence, she's waiting for me to make a decision. I look around and see a peach tree. I pluck a peach then bite into it, revealing the large seed in the middle.

"Let's go back to Eden."

***

I knock on his door tentatively. I hate to bother him, given the circumstances, but I can't do this without him. He answers the door surprisingly fast and I know he wasn't sleeping.

"Rowan, what are you doing up?" Carnelian asks.

"I could ask the same of you," I say. Carnelian's face turns grim. "I need your help."

I take a deep breath then tell him everything. I tell him what really happened in the garden, how Lachlan saved me, how Aaron has been torturing me, I tell him the scans weren't wrong and now, what we need to do to stop it. When I finish Carnelian stares straight ahead blank faced.

"How many people know?" He asks.

"Only you," I say. Carnelian nods slowly, then starts to consider this longer.

"I can't do it," He says finally.

"What?" I ask. "Please, Carnelian. After everything that's happened, everything thing you know I'm going through, you could save me. You could save everyone, yet you choose to stand to the side. Carnelian-"

"I want to help you, Rowan. But I can't, I don't know how to do that. We need Flame," He says. I start to think about this.

"Flame has lenses. You know what happened last time, I can't risk that."

"No, but she can teach me," He says raising his eyebrows.

"What happens if we take her with us and she kills us in our sleep, hmm?" I ask.