‘Pseudopods broke through all round the city. I was outside when it happened . . . No one can escape and Monitor is heading in that direction. It has never done that before.’

‘Dragon controls Monitor.’

‘Why . . . ?’

‘Either it tests us or Darson is right.’

‘Thanks for the comfort.’

Cartis was indeed ringed by pseudopods, but they parted to allow the AGC through. At the metrotel, Cormac used Maria’s intentions and fear to get her to bed. He felt no remorse. She had been quite prepared to use him in any way she could for the Separatist movement. Lying on his bed he listened as the rumble of Monitor’s arrival ceased, then he inspected the naked form lying beside him. An affirmation of humanity? he wondered. The question was irrelevant. All waited on him. Careful not to wake Maria, Cormac got off the bed and went to the bathroom. Ritualistically he shaved, cleaned his teeth and dressed. He then sat down and accessed the runcible grid.

<Earth Central.>

Dragon intergalactic.

<Proven?>

To my satisfaction.

With that he sent all he had learnt and surmised to the AI. It took less than a second.

A test. Morality base evident, came the terse reply.

Threat / warning?

<Also.>

Obliterate?

<Not feasible. Obviously has knowledge of device.>

?

<Part of the test.>

It is disposable then?

<As me.>

‘Yes,’ said Cormac out loud.

Go back, react, returned the silent thought of the AI. Cormac closed his eyes and closed access. Then, abruptly, he departed the metrotel.

The honour guard remained and Cormac was soon back before Dragon. The dracoman was gone, the cave gone, the head a black silhouette against the red sky.

‘Have you seen?’ it asked.

‘You can destroy Cartis.’

The head turned. ‘I mean—have you seen?’

Cormac squatted down next to the rucksack he had left. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘if we are judged and found wanting, what happens?’

‘You have been judged.’

Cormac waited.

‘I have been watching for twenty million of your years. I have seen every sparrow fall.’

‘Yes . . . that is enough time to come to a conclusion,’ said Cormac dryly. He entertained doubts, then, about Dragon’s sanity.

‘You will live,’ Dragon said.

Cormac allowed the rigidity to leave him. ‘Cartis . . . the Monitor . . . they were the final push, just to see . . .’ he said, fully understanding now.

‘Your AIs are extensions of your own minds, as I am an extension of other minds. Had you destroyed me for the few petty threats of this day, without regard or understanding of what I truly am, every one of your runcibles would have been turned inside out: converted into black holes.’

Cormac reached across and opened his rucksack. From it he took an innocuous blue-grey cylinder of metal. With a thought he deactivated it, then he put it away again. A similar, if somewhat larger device, had been used in the system of Cassius to demolish a gas giant.

‘Now?’ he asked.