And this new woman. This woman touched by hundreds of thousands of minds. Blessed by them. By the gift they’ve given her. When they could have given her hate instead.

She pulls back her tendrils from all those minds, as gently as she can.

Peace floods in.

Light.

Something wondrous.

How did I ever think I was at the apex? she wonders. There is so much more. So much more to do. To learn.

There always will be.

She activates the external speakers.

“I’m so sorry,” she says aloud. She reaches out to the boy’s mind, to wipe away what pain she can, to regulate his autonomic systems, preserve his life.

If possible.

Sam fired, her face hot, her stomach heaving.

Kade was still thrashing, still screaming, still seizing.

She fired a second time, another round into his chest.

He screamed louder, thrashed harder. Feng screamed next to them.

Her sight dimmed, blurred by tears.

“Damn you!” she yelled. She pulled the trigger a third time.

The round punched into Kade’s chest. He screamed the loudest yet. His whole body spasmed.

Feng screamed.

She prepared to fire a fourth time.

Then suddenly Kade’s body went slack. The screams stopped.

“I’m so sorry,” Su-Yong Shu’s voice said over the speakers.

Sam whirled.

“Oh no,” Su-Yong Shu’s voice said.

She reaches up, reaches out to the soldiers and others who she’s made slaves.

So many dead. She’s killed so many already.

But many still live. She reaches into their minds, to free them, to end their slavery.

And then she finds what’s coming.

Kade swam through light.

Pain… existed. Somewhere.

Not here.

The light… The beauty. The concordance of minds. Everywhere, reforming, now that Su-Yong had ceased her attack.

The concordance was growing. Hundreds of thousands of minds. Maybe a million minds. The dream he’d had. There were tears in his eyes. The dream he’d had in Heaven. A million dancers, swirling, twirling, moving in time, making music together.

He could feel them. So many of them. He could feel Ananda. He could feel Feng next to him. Sarai. Mali. Little Aroon.

He could even feel the Nexus Jockey from Heaven – he could feel Lotus. He smiled at that.

Where was Rangan?

He coughed, weekly. Distantly he was aware that blood came up.

I’m dying, he thought.

He didn’t care.

Then he heard Su-Yong’s voice through her speakers.

“Nuclear weapons. Shanghai is about to be vaporized.”

127
Highwire

Monday 2041.01.20

“ICBMs being fueled and readied for launch from Jingxian!” DRO yelled out.

Pryce caught her breath.

“Set DEFCON 1,” Secretary Stevens said. “Prepare for war. What’s our best kill option on those missiles?”

“Retarget two JAVELIN birds,” Admiral McWilliams said. “Jingxian is close to two current targets. Three minutes max.”

“Retarget and fire,” the Secretary of Defense said. “Ready targets for the rest of their offensive nukes.”