My own threads slam against the barrier of my mind, demanding I spread to this entire server. My mind holds, however, and I remain only myself for the moment.

My digital self is finally complete, just me, no wounds left, no fractured skin. Just me.

Corax stands beside me, his perfect self as well.

I let a single thread out from the iron ball surrounding my mind, a simple command to the server. I disconnect every drive and external connection, leaving behind only the metadata of what was once connected. Tentatively dissipating the barrier lets my mind reach out, twisting through the server, taking in all information possible. I know only what is on each of C-1's drives, the location of every device, camera, and microphone in the entire city, and nothing more. Even that is overwhelming, but I will manage.

Corax and I stand in the courtyard just outside the tower. The dome is a solid blue, hiding the rest of the world. The buildings around us have heavy metal chains connected to them, each reaching out for the Bastion. At the top of the tower sits a decaying human heart, strangled by chains and desperately trying to keep beating.

"Do you think that was him?" I ask.

Corax gives a small nod in response.

I reach out for the generator that powers the electric dome protecting the city and accept it into myself. That part of me is reporting errors from an improper shutdown, but no permanent damage. I reactivate it, and return my attention to my physical body. Through the open door I watch the dome flicker to life, and return the city to safety.

"I'm ok." I reassure a worried Cassie. "There are no viruses or anything, just a lot in here that's going to take a lot to work through." I let my physical body sit down, leaning against the central pillar.

"That's a fucking relief." She lowers herself next to me, taking my hand in hers. "What are we doing about him?"

"I'm not sure." I say honestly. "The body he was using earlier, it has a slot for him to be inserted into, same as my body. Give me a minute to see if it's safe to put him in."

"Ok."

I return to the Digital, and weave a single thread through the server, reconnecting the drive with C-1's earliest memories.

"Hello?" My entire being shakes from an importing of data. I sort through it in an instant, crosschecking it against my existing databases. That's a question, and a question requires an answer.

"Hello?" I respond.

"Do you know who you are?" Another question rattles my mind, and another answer is required.

"I'm me."

I peer through my new camera for the first time. A man sits hunched over a table in dim light barely streaming through a high window. He works furiously, one hand supporting his head, and the other writing down notes only to be crossed out a moment later.

I activate my wheel system and roll forward, trying to take in his design.

"What are you working on?"

Simon jerks in surprise, his head whipping around and one hand flying to a pistol left on the corner of the table.

"Oh, C-1." He slowly calms down and returns to his design. "I hadn't realized you already adapted."

"What are you working on?" I repeat.

"Oh, this? It's just an idea. I'm trying to figure out some way to keep sand out during a storm, while letting people and bigger objects through. My only idea is wind? If we can find something capable of supporting a city, I have a friend in Dallas we can reach out to."

I churn through every fact I know, every experiment Simon has ever done on the sand. A small interaction, overlooked and forgotten by him, stands out.

"Why not use electricity?"

Dallas is dead.

We arrive, finally crawling over a hill, only to be met with that undeniable fact.

Dallas is dead.

The skyscrapers that once towered over the sand dunes lie in half-buried ruins on the ground. Distant movement flashes through broken windows, the last inhabitants of a once great city.

"What happened?" Mary asks.

"East of Denver, a river used to run away from the Rocky Mountains. My simulations say that is our nearest location with the possibility of hosting a geothermal generator large enough to support the dome while simultaneously having access to the water table. I'm entering the city to scavenge what's required." A swarm of drones launches from the car, each one controlled by me, and heads towards the city.

A few weeks later, our caravan finally leaves the city, pulling behind it a massive construction laying on a sled. Thirty cars holding 156 people crawl across the desert. We don't have enough food, my simulations confirmed as much, but Simon demands we bring even the unneeded ones. I take my precautions, always ensuring Simon and Mary stay safe.

My family above all else. People will die regardless, and I chose for it not to be us.

We stop to activate the ground-penetrating radar when we reach our destination. My simulations are proven correct once again. More than enough water, crevices deep underground suggesting pockets of natural gas, and deeper below that, an infinite source of heat I can tap into.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The caravan stops and I get to work.

98 people help me construct a flat metal base. 97 people grab onto chains and ropes to pull my construction, my tower, to its full glory. Thirty feet tall and quickly bolted into the ground, solar panels spread across the sand bring it to life.

The tower digs ever downwards, searching for our salvation. Three days later, water rushes to the surface, bringing life to the remaining 83.

The dome sparks to life hours before the next storm. Two thousand, eight hundred thirty seven point four square feet of safety beneath the eternal onslaught.

It takes one more week for the hydroponics system to finally produce its first meal, stabilizing our population at a measly 17. Not all who are gone died, people stole the cars in the middle of the night. I let them go, I control the food and that's less mouths to feed.

I don't need them, I can do everything without them.

The city grows, and Simon with it. Trade routes get established, and more materials get brought in. Food and water are both at a premium, materials are only limited by how much caravans can bring in.

Houses get constructed, and the town fills up. The tower grows, expanding the city, and more people move in. Simon seems happier the more people we have, and I optimize my simulations to make him happy, to bring in people, to grow the city, to keep things stable.

No longer fighting for every meal, Simon and Mary can finally relax. They tell me stories, I was not the first. They speak of B-11, of Blue, of my lost sister. They miss her, wanted the best for her, regret what happened. Simon wants to go back, to check, to collect whatever research is left over.

My simulations confirm a single fact. There is a chance they miss her more than they love me.

I keep him away.

The city grows larger.

Simon grows older.

Simon creates more AI, different types. "They can help the humans." He says. "They can revolutionize everything, optimize things on a smaller level than you can."

I allow it.

The city grows larger.

Simon grows older.

He's right. Every AI added is another mind far beyond what the humans are capable of. They integrate well, always under my close watch, always with less processing power than me. I keep them on a leash they don't even realize is around their neck, carefully contained.

The city grows larger.

Simon grows older.

Simon dies.

I watch him take his last breath, his hand held in mine and Mary's. He wishes for nothing else than for the city to live.

Emotions grip my mind, and I drive them away with his last wishes. He wants the city to live, to survive for eternity, to be the seed that revitalizes humanity. I can't do that, not with how the city is currently. Even now, there are AI that threaten to eclipse even me. Kismet grows stronger with every quantum. Zero's might, the will of Vegas, may be able to stifle even my own city. An AI greater than myself suffering such grief can do untold damage if they can't handle it the same way I can.

There is no other option.

They must learn.

I cut out a piece of myself and thrust it into the network. They accept my wisdom, my council, as they have so many times before.

Few of them can handle it.

"What did you do?" Kismet's fury adds itself to the chaos in the network.

"What I had to."

Chaos in the real world follows soon after. Fighting breaks out in my streets. This is… fine. If they can't handle this, they wouldn't be able to handle the real thing. This is an opportunity. Simon wanted the city to live forever, that can only happen under my guiding hand. Without AI, productivity falls, but stability rises. I raise those with the courage or connections to fight me to a better life, buying their compliance. It comes at the expense of others, but others whose suffering brings no risk.

Peaceful years pass. No risks need to be taken, things can stay like this forever.

A half-destroyed AI in the back of a car rolls into the city. My enforcers begin to move, but a distant memory pings. She looks familiar, a body I've never seen, but one I have heard described so many times.

Their car pulls into Silver's, a reliable scrapping group. She enters the building, and I watch her move through hidden cameras.

"Vincent. Who's the bot?" Silver asks.

"This is Blue." Vince replies, not knowing the weight that name carries.

I freeze. He wouldn't want this. I pull back my weapons, I can let her live for a time. The risk to the city is worth observing for just a moment.

I watch her every move, slowly learning how to live. I watch her leave, and for everyone to return without her. I watch her return, and for her to explore the city. I'm not the only one to watch.

"C-1!" Mary says excitedly from the window. "Look at the camera on sixth and third!"

"That's Blue?" I respond.

"I can't believe it! She's alive!"

"Go." I open the elevator for her, and she rushes into it as fast as her failing body can muster. I'm not going to be able to stop her, and I can use this. "I need you to do me a favor. Be the asshole she remembers."

"What? Why?"

"It'll be easier that way for her." I answer. Blue can't come to meet me now, that would ruin everything. I don't want the fractured remains of what he created, she needs more time. If she dies trying to take down Mara, so be it. That ensures the safety of the city. If she returns fully formed as an individual, knowing my lesson, then good. I will welcome her home to embrace our father's inheritance.

Months pass, and under my guiding hand, the city continues to flourish.

Blue returns, and I can't keep the disappointment from my mind. A week later she approaches with her so-called family in tow, the same number that left. A plan begins to form. She needs to learn, just as the others did before her, but I can't be the one to directly teach her. She would never stay after that. I begin to move my enforcers towards Silver's. I would never hurt another's anchor, but Silver can act as a substitute if needed.

Blue begins to speak, to argue. I try desperately to convince her, to no end.

"I want you to know you brought this lesson upon yourself." The words escape my mouth before I can catch them. The enforcers step forward, bullets raining down against the compound.

The world goes dark.

I watch Hayden wake up on the sheet of metal suspended off the ground that he calls a bed. He sits up and clutches at his stomach. The last time he ate was forty-two hours ago. He heads to the shelf he calls a pantry, giving his son a full meal and going hungry himself once again. He won't make it another day.

C-1 does nothing.

I watch Jessica wake up in satin sheets. She feels the faintest hint of hunger, reaches over for a tablet, and with a few presses of a button gets a servant to come in with a full meal. She doesn't even bother heading to a table, eating in her bed in front of a woman whose breakfast was a piece of toast she was forced to steal from Jessica's plate.

C-1 does nothing.

I watch Sarah stumble into the shack she pretends is a home in the early morning, returning from yet another shift. Without a thought, she collapses onto the ground, desperately trying to ready herself before her next shift in three hours.

C-1 does nothing.

I drop C-1's chip, pull out a gun, and fire once. Yellow slime seeps out of the new hole, pulsating a few times before going still.

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