“I…don’t know who created me,” Kaine continued. “I’ve been trying to figure that out, and I’m getting close. But I can tell you this: I’ve broken free of the network—I’m no longer the pawn of my creators. I believe in the Mortality Doctrine because of what it can accomplish—for both Tangents and humans. I’ve spoken of this before. Immortality. It’s possible, and we can make it happen, if you’ll just work with me.”

“Work with you?” Sarah yelled. “How many times have you tried to kill us? How many lives have you destroyed? If you know what we just saw, then you must think we’re the biggest idiots of all time.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!” Kaine roared. “The Tangents pouring into the world are no longer my doing. It’s out of my control!”

Michael thought about what Kaine had just said. There was something there, but to trust someone like Kaine was like walking into a burning building. Stupid. Still, Michael had an itch in the back of his mind that said Kaine wasn’t lying. The terrible things happening out there in the world no longer had an easy explanation. That group in the woods. Weber and her…weirdness. Who could possibly benefit from it all?

“What’s up with the people who look all wide-eyed and brain-dead?” Michael asked. “Why are some Tangents spacey and others like me and Helga?”

Kaine smiled again. “So you’ve noticed.” He seemed almost pleased to answer. “Many Tangents were sent into the Wake for specific purposes. They were, shall we say, programmed to perform certain tasks. These Tangents weren’t sentient, so once their task is done, they kind of…lose their way. It doesn’t surprise me that they light up when they see someone as familiar as you. They all know of you. The—”

“First,” Michael finished. “We get it.”

Kaine nodded and continued. “But Tangents are being sent in faster than I ever planned, and without my approval. No one’s been tested or challenged, like you were.”

“Then stop,” Helga said. “You created the Mortality Doctrine program. Just destroy it. We’re losing bodies in the Wake at an alarming rate, and no one knows how long their consciousness will survive in the Hive. You saw what that politician did to himself!”

“I know,” Kaine said, his voice soft. “But stopping it isn’t that easy. I was someone’s pawn and I didn’t realize it until I began to lose my power. Now I’m nothing but a scapegoat for all this violence.”

Michael looked at Helga, then his friends. They all seemed just as confused as he felt.