Half in Fire

The planes taking off deafened me. The roar of helicopter rotors filled the airport. Wind whistled fiercely. Summer rain fell mercilessly. I could barely see a few meters ahead.

Kiara parked in an abandoned spot. “We’re here.”

She opened the trunk, revealing the rest of the arsenal. Took I’ll Devour You and a machine gun. Also fitted a bandolier. Two grenades on her belt. Checked the holster on my trousers. Installed noise suppression in my biochip. The android looked grim.

We stood behind a fence. Bent wire. Rusted.

She pointed to a black jet on the runway.

We passed through an opening in the fence and walked toward the aircraft.

She held a revolver.

I followed, lost among blinding lights and fierce wind. Even with noise suppression activated, the engines troubled my ears.

An Aether Network officer approached us, saying something inaudible.

Kiara strode strode ahead. I struggled to keep up. The officer drew closer. Raised a gun at us. My heart raced. I tried to speak to Kiara. My own voice vanished in the noise.

BANG! Kiara shot her right in the middle of the forehead. The gunshot reverberated through my chest like thunder.

My eyes widened, a muffled scream escaping me. My knees almost gave way for an instant. My breathing stopped.

The body fell motionless. Not a drop of blood. No final breath. Only a body on the asphalt.

I looked at Kiara. Her smile passed through me like another bullet.

We reached the plane. The door closed immediately behind us.

The interior was well lit. Large, comfortable seats.

I sat and removed the mask.

Kiara entered the cockpit. Started the plane.

“The estimated flight time to Cairo, Egypt, is fifteen hours. Have a pleasant journey.” The LI announced Brazil–Egypt airspace clearance and initiated the flight.

The android placed the weapons on the table and sat before me. Legs apart. An elbow resting on the armrest.

“W-why?” I swallowed hard beneath Kiara’s intense gaze. “W-why did you do that?”

She rolled her eyes. “You still have a lot to learn.”

“S-she was from the Aether Network. Why did you do that?”

“She was more than a soldier.”

“What do you mean? She…”

“Was one of Saymon’s androids.”

An android?

Wait. I hesitated. Of course, no blood had spurted from her head when she was shot.

“I shot her because I wanted to. If we’d gotten close enough, she would’ve recognized me.” Kiara grinned mischievously. “It was more fun this way.”

I frowned at her ferocity.

“What? She’ll reboot in minutes. I hit her forehead, far from the core,” she said as if stating the obvious.

And had she said androids? It was impossible for a human to connect to more than one android. The only way to connect to more than one was through the Motherboard. But those connections were limited to other nanotechnologies.

“Are you saying…” I searched for words through the daze. “Saymon has more than one android connected to him?”

Kiara nodded. “That’s Saymon’s special ability.”

A slight dizziness darkened my vision. “That should be impossible…” I murmured, my mind spinning.

Kiara only laughed. A dry sound, devoid of humor. “A lot of things that should be impossible happen every day.”

I swallowed hard. How did he have more than one android connected to him? The overload that must cause. It had to be overwhelming. The android’s nanites connect to human atoms during the process.

Scientists had conducted hundreds of tests to overcome this. The results had always been disastrous. All the volunteers died because their atoms exploded. How could he withstand that quantity of nanites? If it was true, it meant an immense advance for nanoscience.

Kiara must have noticed my unease. She placed a warm hand on my knee. “Better try to rest. Once we land, we won’t have much room for that.”

“And Maia? Did she have that?”

A wavering gleam crossed Kiara’s gaze. She quickly grew serious and returned to looking through the window.

Although she had ignored me, I barely minded. As I explored that world, I knew the answers would reveal themselves.

The plane’s noise lulled my senses, but the whirlwind inside me remained restless. What were we going to retrieve in Egypt? What was I becoming? And… did I really want to know?

I tried to relax and fell asleep.