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Back The Long Sunset Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Prologue
  5. 1.
  6. 2.
  7. 3.
  8. 4.
  9. 5.
  10. 6.
  11. 7.
  12. 8.
  13. 9.
  14. 10.
  15. 11.
  16. 12.
  17. 13.
  18. 14.
  19. 15.
  20. 16.
  21. 17.
  22. 18.
  23. 19.
  24. 20.
  25. 21.
  26. 22.
  27. 23.
  28. 24.
  29. 25.
  30. 26.
  31. 27.
  32. 28.
  33. 29.
  34. 30.
  35. 31.
  36. 32.
  37. 33.
  38. 34.
  39. 35.
  40. 36.
  41. 37.
  42. 38.
  43. 39.
  44. 40.
  45. 41.
  46. 42.
  47. 43.
  48. 44.
  49. Epilogue
  50. About the Author
  51. Copyright

“They do not approve of me.”

“Why is that?”

“I suspect because I have not been as gracious with them as I might have. It is extremely unlikely they would do anything for me.”

Wally was invited forward, but he merely shook his head.

And finally, Hutch: “Korquit, you’ve met Barry. You and he are obviously able to communicate. Would you like us to take you out of that asylum in which you live? If you wish, we could take you with us. We could disconnect you, bring you on board our ship, and reactivate you here. Ultimately, you would come home with us.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I must regretfully decline.”

“May I ask why?”

“I have had too much experience with biofeeds. My experience so far with you and your friends has been of a positive nature. However, and please do not take this in a negative sense, I would rather be alone than in the constant company of creatures who are controlled by their anatomies.”

Walter Esmeraldo’s Log

That’s really what it said. That we’re stupid. So that thing is going to sit in its shelter on the moon and wait for something to break down that its robots can’t fix. Or for the things on the planet, whatever they are, to show up again and hassle him the way they must have in the past. Hard to believe.

I asked Barry whether he thinks we’re dumb and he said absolutely not. He says we’re creative and smart and he really enjoys having us around to talk to. I’m not sure I believe him.

—Saturday, August 16, 2256

32.

The secret to success in life lies in the ability to communicate. And that starts with knowing how to say hello.

—Gregory MacAllister, “Options,” Baltimore Sun, February 23, 2249

Derek was shaking his head. “First time I’ve seen an idiot AI. What does that tell us about his designers?”

“I wonder,” said Hutch, “if he was designed by the bios. Maybe he was put together by another AI.”

“Whatever.” He sounded tired. “You think we should just turn this whole thing over to Barry?”

“Sure. We just tell him what we want to do and let him take it from there. Better than spending three weeks up here while Ken tries to get another language down.”

Ken looked relieved. “I’m for that,” he said.

“Sounds reasonable,” said Derek. “First, though, can we be sure they won’t attack us?”

Hutch shrugged. “No guarantees. But there hasn’t been any indication anyone other than Korquit is even aware of us.”

“I have an interesting piece of news,” said Barry. “We’ve been picking up video and audible transmissions from around the world. Unless I’m missing something, they all speak the same language.”