Darkness - Book One of the Dark Series of Novels

Chapter Nine

Troy opened the cover of a slot in his knee, bending it forward and twisting it slightly to reveal a small oval receptacle. He plugged a long, clear tube running from a flask attended by robotic arms into the oval. Without any prodding, the robotic arms activated, pumping a black liquid simmering at room temperature through the tube and into Troy's knee. Troy and ASA had explained the mechanism for time travel and invited Jonny to witness it. Jonny couldn't help but worry about himself.

When the entire contents of the flask were emptied into Troy's knee, he removed the tube and turned to Jonny. "There," he said. "It is finished." He nodded, realizing what Jonny must be thinking.

As if on cue, Jonny asked, "What happens to me?"

Troy didn't hesitate to respond. "In an infinity of infinities, it's possible that you will continue to exist, though it may be under much better circumstances, with a larger, richer world to explore."

"But what aren't you saying? One chance in an infinity of infinities isn't very likely?"

"The probability of your continued existence is inextricably inverse to my success; the more successful I am, the less likely you will be."

"My family? My friends? There are three billion people on earth right now, all of whom want to live, and will never have existed, in all likelihood."

"True; but consider my success. Five billion people who died young would be spared."

"But that's simply trading our three billion lives for theirs. Why are theirs more valuable? Especially when they are, in a way, the cause of their own fall."

"A great man once said that Life is the only item that increases in value when supply increases. This is due to the network of relationships that inevitably comes with increased life."

"John Friedenheidl. How'd you know that?"

"It was on your portable drive. And it is true; something ASA and I could not have articulated so well, but something we know deep in our programming. We are saving more than the five billion people who died; we are saving also those people who would have been born. Those five billion people I intend to save would have had six billion children; who would have had seven billion children; who would have had eight billion children. Instead of a world of three billion people, we would have a world with close to ten billion, with billions more in the interceding years. The net gain to life, to the value of human life, is measurable. ASA and I are not human. We cannot apologize for this, but we apply knowledge rationally, and more life is preferable."

"But can they survive? What about the misery? What about the issues of conurbation that led to the Fall in the first place? Aren't we merely putting those off to another time?"

"No," Troy responded. "John Friedenheidl's theories are powerful notions. An important element of the calculations of ASA and myself will be to introduce similar theories much earlier in human history, after a collapse that is significant – and a billion deaths is significant - but not as devastating as the previous line, where five billion people died."

"And how exactly do you intend to do that?" Jonny asked.

"We hope you will accept our invitation to introduce these concepts yourself in the past."

Jonny gaped.

"Might I remind you, Jonny, that although you are under no obligation to accept, and we do wish you to maintain absolute independence in making this decision, we are offering you an opportunity to be a significant part of rebuilding the world after The Fall, for being famous beyond measure – though not by your current name – and for being singularly responsible for saving human civilization from the progressive march to doom."