Atonement

I. The Threat

Outside lies dark fields, rags of snow, and an endless void of woods. 

Marcus sits inside a camouflage globe beneath an exquisite penumbra. A gloaming shadow cast between beams of bone-colored moonlight sharply refracts lingering specks of dust and sand that seem to transform into drops of gleaming diamonds.

He opens a heart-shaped locket with Iris's picture. 

"Soon, My love. I'm on my way."

Marcus injects a viscous bronze liquid to regulate his vitals. He consumes his ration, disengages the shield, and departs.

A place no one will ever observe again.

Expired humans and androids alike litter a clearing coated in vellum-like whitewashed earth. 

The putrescent holocaust makes his eyes water. 

Although battery life quickly diminishes, he must simulate the social interaction time required by law.  

Joseph’s tender voice awakens the memory of a prodigal inventor, nurturing father, and deferential friend.

“Prohibiting marriage maintains population control. After the Third War, The One declared it necessary only to allow certain individuals to breed and prevent all unmonitored engagements.”

"So why not make it permissible with further monitored regulations?"

“Rulers tried for thousands of years. They called it taxation. The One must be the only authority. When currency collapsed, there remained one threat.”

“Marriage?”

“More than that, son. What it represents is love—true love—sacrifice for another. The One has yet to develop the final algorithm for harnessing this force. It simply cannot allow the bond you and Iris have. Marcus, it is time to pause transmission.”

“Joseph, I love you. I wish you were still here with me.”

“I love you too, son. Always will.”

“You said I’d see you again. When?”

“Not now, son. Later.”

II. The One

Marcus pauses on a low rise above a bustling plaza, assessing a checkpoint.

The neighboring region from the west has begun its celestial transition. 

As it lays wreaths of blood-red clouds, he knows the programmed climate ahead won't be far behind.

Marcus meanders down a narrow, sandy road. 

The One's drones rise like fugitives from a majestic fire at the earth's end. Perennial flames cut through the wind, and a shroud of embers darkens and eviscerates everything outside installed borders.

Farther along, he meets an android cluster pulling a cart loaded with corpses. 

A holographic emblem of The One emanates from the cart's rear gate, and a diarized list of rules blares from a loudspeaker for all to hear.

"Consume dividends at registered times. Obey all mandatory social interactions. Integrate necessary compounds as prescribed. Check in routinely at your assigned post. All breaches are punishable by immediate expiration. The One grants you a happy day."

The robots march in a steady cadence.

Marcus slips in among others in the crowd, adopting their manners and movements, pleased his presence has gone unnoticed.

He proceeds to stride further into the sector and towards the tower of homepods. 

The gigantic dome reaches the heavens beyond sight.

Marcus drops a blue marble to the ground, tracking it until it settles. At his touch, the camouflaged globe activates.

An ethereal force suddenly makes his vision blur.

Marcus collapses and fades in and out of consciousness.

The chimerical entity initially crawls through the air like smoke, and he is blinded until bedrifted splashes of pigment press against his temples like cold, dead hands.

As his heart slows, he can see veiny splashes of fire.

Something whispers.

"There, there, Marcus. No need to hide any longer. Don't worry about a thing. The One has been watching you for some time. It’s waiting. Hail its mighty power.”

Marcus does not recall what had taken hold of him when he wakes to a cold violet light projecting irregular flakes from the stacked tower beyond. The snow nestles upon hovering drones and coats everything in a pale frosting.  

Crisp wafers settle on his lashes, hardening immediately to ice. An elaborate halo of white lattice surrounds him like a partially constructed igloo.

He injects the maximum dosage of endotoxins, evolocumab, and adrenaline. The sudden increase in epinephrine levels may trigger hypothermia or burst a coronary artery, but he neglects the worry, sprinting forward.

"Love. Sacrifice. Unity."

He repeats the words with every stride.

III. The Union

"Iris, it's me, Marcus."

He kisses her ear.

"Marcus?"

"Iris, we need to go right now. I'll explain everything later."

"Marcus, wait. We can't." 

"Iris, we have to leave. Now."

"Things have changed. Everything is different now."

A steady pattern of raindrops aggressively collides with the window and disappears into the vivid miasma beyond.

"Iris?"

"Marcus, you need to go."

"Why?"

"I was selected…"

Night suddenly becomes day.

A spectacle of sunlight floods everything.  

"But when?"

"They are here. Please. Leave."

"Iris, I will not. Not without you."

"They know, Marcus. You. Joseph. Everything"

Iris casts her eyes downward.

"The One knows everything."

"How? Joseph planned every detail. There is no way they could know."

"The One controls the entire mainframe. Joseph's work was hacked long ago and allowed to progress as soon as he surpassed everything It could not."

"How far along?"

"It's a boy. He's been born. You are his father, Marcus."

"But how?"

"The One preserves all human codes. You were deemed the necessary complement."

"So, why did they allow me to come all this way if he's already born?"

"Because they knew you had Joseph's work and that you'd bring it to them. The One wants confirmation of one final variable that cannot be reproduced or predicted."

"I don't understand. They had Joseph's work. He proved and confirmed everything."

"Even Joseph knew there was one final truth that would not be discovered without putting everything into your hands."

"But why?"

"To observe the action of sacrificial love. To allow and segregate unions in the future until they could integrate the algorithm into implanted hardware. Only then can humanity reach its maximum potential. Only then can The One commence the complete extinction of the human race."

"But why? There would be nobody left for implant or control!?"

"It would not matter at that point. What is The One other than an evolving code isolated at a certain location and maintained by a class higher than the rest?"

Iris begins to writhe in pain and sweat uncontrollably.  

Her pupils dilate, and she screams. 

"Iris?"

Her convulsions cease.

"Marcus, what they want is to finally…"

Again, her body convulses, tenses, and then relaxes. 

"…become God. What is ultimate power and control other than a single entity that can create and destroy?"

The affliction possesses her again, then releases her.

"Marcus, go! Don't give it what it wants!… Dammit, leave me. Now! Don't make me watch!" 

"What, my love?"

Iris begins to levitate slowly.  

She flails, floating upwards.

“Please, Marcus…I…can’t…watch…you…expire….”

Her body lifts higher, and she nearly touches the ceiling.

IV. The Judgment

The door opens.

Five men enter in elaborate uniforms.

The leader is distinct from his followers. He is garbed in shimmering medallions and gems, and a chromatic rainbow of ropes and tassels animates and sways like Medusa's enchanting mane.

"Hail The One. Bring her down now. Slowly," he says. 

"Iris!"

"I'm General Herod. I'm the first messenger beneath The One. I'm here to conclude and mediate on behalf of Its command. Marcus, you are free now. You can leave. It appears Iris is very unwell."

"Iris!"

Marcus cradles her head and pulls her close.

"They already have our son, Marcus. We are both going to expire now. Don’t give It what It wants…"

Herod clears his throat.

"Marcus, if you walk out of here, you both live. You have my word. The One has already agreed to all conditions and terms."

"Iris, look at me…"

"Okay, okay, let's go now. Marcus, stand up and walk away. You will both be immediately taken care of. We can move on as if nothing ever happened. Perhaps The One might even allow a follow-up to this rather heartwarming social interaction."  

"Iris! Oh God, oh God! Please no…"

Herod stops and caresses the tassels slithering between his fingers. He drops them in frustration.

“Always so confused when I hear a mortal say God. What does that even mean?”

Herod titters.

“Ten seconds to decide."

"We are both dead, my love," mutters Iris. "Go. Run. It's the only thing you can do. You can see me whenever you like. The locket… I am always with you…"

Herod stamped his foot.

"This is exhausting."

V. The Sacrifice

After holstering their weapons, two of the four men flank from behind and pull Marcus away.

"The One sets you free, Marcus," Herod says. "The One grants you a happy day. Expire her now."

As if they follow a particular sequence of choreographed actions, Marcus falls on the floor after being dropped, and the soldiers that had detained him moments before move soundless and erect.  

They plant themselves like statues, one on each side of the doorframe.

"Hail The One!" Exclaims Herod. "Its final wishes commence in 3-2-1…"

General Herod robotically touches the heels of his black boots together and keeps his legs straight without stiffening or locking at the knees. His hips, back, and chest rise as his spine freezes with a slight arch. 

Like a frantic child, Marcus desperately rushes back to Iris.

"Just take me! Please! Take me! Let her live…"

Marcus leans and kisses her on the forehead. He runs his fingers through her hair.

"Forever, my love. Iris, I am here…. I will never leave you… I shall love you forever."

"Proceed with expiration, but only the man. The revival team is on standby for the woman. Make this quick."

Herod transitions to a posture of ease and exits the room.

Marcus gently rocks Iris back and forth in his trembling arms.

"I'm here, Iris. I’m not going anywhere. Now, close your eyes. Keep them closed. I love you.”

Marcus's head jerks backward from a hand that clenches a fistful of hair. His neck bends and stretches as he stares upwards. 

His Adam's apple nearly pops from his veiny neck. 

A smooth and cold barrel plants below his brow line between his nose and snot-soaked top lip.  

A peculiar and nearly undetectable huff instantly marks two diminutive, symmetrically round holes on the front and back of Marcus's head. 

His body freezes.

A minuscule plume rises and dissipates from beneath his occipital bone. 

The clenched hand tenderly returns Marcus’s head so that his billowing and lifeless glare faces Iris.

He slumps to the floor.

Tiny crimson spots on both sides of his skull emit caliginous bursts of blood that gather into a somber pool like a shallow pillow where he now rests.  

From the hallway, Iris hears them exclaim in unison.

"Hail The One!"