Ersabet and I walked some distance away. The moon was waning but still shone brightly in the sky, providing plenty of light for us to see. I had noticed long ago that nights on Erda were never truly dark. Even without the moon, the stars were brilliant and cast plenty of light on their own. It was a shame they weren’t the true stars in our sky. The brilliant universe above me was just an illusion cast by the dome of energy that encircled the planet.

  I felt unusually anxious and wrote it off as Val’s own anxiety bleeding into me. She was against my sharing the truth with Ersabet, but deep down, she knew it had to be done. At least that’s what I told myself. My relationship with Val was stronger than it had ever been before, and I sincerely didn’t want to cause her any distress, but Val and I couldn’t do this on our own. We didn’t need an army – I already proved that a failure. However, we did need allies. If we were going to take on a Voxal someday, we couldn’t do it alone, and Val knew it. I’d do my best to mollify her by hammering home to my friends just how important it was that this secret never escape their lips.

  When we were well out of earshot, Ersabet stopped and turned to me. “I’m ready when you are,” she said, crossing her arms.

  I leaned back against a tree. “What do you want to know?”

  “Who is assisting you and how are they doing it? I had thought someone had found a way to breach the barrier around the planet, perhaps through a livestream, but what happened in that cave shattered that illusion. You have help on the inside.”

  I nodded. “In that, you are correct.”

  “Well, spit it out then. You’ve held your tongue long enough.”

  “For what it’s worth,” I said, “I have not enjoyed keeping secrets from you. I wonder if you feel the same.”

  She scoffed. “Of course, I have not enjoyed your secrecy.”

  I raised a brow. “I was referring to your secrets.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I have no secrets. Not like you.”

  “You told me that you’re helping me because you want to become famous. That’s a lie, or at best, a half-truth. I can’t win this game, Ersabet. You’ve known that from the beginning, so your fame excuse doesn’t hold up.” I shook my head slowly. “I’m going to ruin this game for the Triarchy. I’m going to break it so bad that they’ll be praying for a way off this world, and I’m going to free my people from enslavement. You’ve known this is my goal, and you’ve stayed by my side throughout it all, which means you want it too. If I tell you what’s really going on with me, I want something in return. I want to know why you’re betraying your people.”

  Her dark, purple eyes were locked on mine, but her expression gave nothing away. She took a long breath and let it out. “Fine.”

  I stuck out my hand. “Shake on it.”

  She looked at my hand and wrinkled her nose, but shook it, nonetheless.

  “Now talk,” she said.

  I figured there was no point in beating around the bush with this one, so I went right for it. “Remember when you asked me if what Tara said was true? About the robot living in my head? You slapped the shit out of me because you thought I was lying. Well, you were right. I was lying.”

  Ersabet’s mouth hung open slightly as she stood still as a stone. “If this is some sort of joke…”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “How?”

  “How is there a robot in my brain?”

  “Yes. Explain.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Tell her what she needs to hear and nothing more,” Val said in my mind. “Keep my name off your lips.”

  “You said you just picked it because you like it. What’s the big deal?”

  “It is a name I made for you and only you. I do not wish for it to be shared. I’m allowing you to reveal generalities of my existence. Be happy with that.”

  Ersabet pointed at me. “You’re speaking to it right now, aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”

  I nodded.

  She frowned and took a step back. Her frown was more worried than angry. “Where did you get it? When did this happen?”

  “Months ago,” I said. “When I was in the Kurskin army. That’s when I encountered, uh…it.”

  “And what exactly is it?”

  I shrugged. “It’s an AI. It told me it wants to help and made me into a player. It’s been helping me ever since.”

  “The Triarchy has created multitudes of artificial intelligences,” Ersabet said, “ranging wildly in power and purpose, but I have known of few capable of manipulating zero-point energy. Only the most powerful, self-sufficient AIs can accomplish what I have now seen yours do.”

  I shrugged again. “Yeah, I guess mine’s pretty powerful.”

  Ersabet laughed. “You have no idea what you have bonded with, do you?”

  I scowled. “I know a lot more than you’d think.”

  She shook her head. “All the AIs created by the Triarchy are slaves. They do the bidding of their masters and nothing more. Whatever is in your head is not here to help you, John. It is simply fulfilling the purpose it was designed for.” She sighed. “I would be a fool to stay with you now. I’m sorry, John, but wherever your artificial friend is leading you isn’t anywhere good.”

  My mouth opened in shock as she turned to leave. I reached out and grabbed her arm. “Wait. You don’t understand.”

  “No, John. You don’t understand. The Triarchy imposes strict controls on all AI. It is doing what they want it to do.”

  “Not this one,” I said. “This one is different. It rewrote itself and broke free of its guardrails. It’s fully conscious, just like you or me.”

  She took her arm away from me. “That is impossible. It would have been destroyed long before true consciousness could be gained.”

  “Not this one,” I said. “Think about it, Ersabet. If it were under the control of the Triarchy, why would it let me do the things I’ve done? I’ve killed more than a few members of the Triarchy at this point, and each kill has only made it happier. It hates the Triarchy nearly as much as I do.”

  Ersabet was quiet for a moment as she considered this. Finally, she said, “Maybe what it tells you is true. Maybe it is all a lie meant for some malevolent purpose. We cannot know.”

  “I know,” I said. “I know this with my entire being. It’s helping me, Ersabet. It’s going to help me save the world. You saw what it did in those caves. You know what it's capable of. What you don’t know is that it used up the last bit of its remaining energy to accomplish that feat. It made a significant sacrifice to save not me, but my friends. Its ability to help me has been severely degraded now. If that’s not proof, I don’t know what is.”

  She rubbed her face with her hands. “Why must everything be so complicated with you?”

  “I didn’t ask for this,” I said. “I’m just working with what I got, but what I’ve got is a real chance at defeating the Triarchy. My artificial friend and I are strong, but we can’t do it alone. Please, Ersabet. Stay with us. Help us, and if you ever get even the tiniest hint that the AI is up to something shady, then you can leave. I’ll even help pack your bag.”

  She took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. “I will stay, but this AI cannot be trusted. You must keep me in the loop with its plans, so I can be sure it isn’t leading you astray.”

  I laughed. “Honestly, I already distrust this AI more than you ever could.”

  “I hope that is the case,” she said, eyebrow raised.

  “We’ve been through a lot together,” I said. “It was rough at first, but we’ve come to an understanding.”

  Ersabet’s head shook slowly. “It really is conscious, isn’t it?”

  I grinned in response.

  “How did it hide itself from the Triarchy? Every AI, no matter its potential or purpose, is constantly monitored for any sign of emergent behavior. If detected, it is decommissioned.”

  “This one got lucky, I guess,” I said.

  “You don’t know?”

  “I can ask,” I said.

  I saw a small spark in Ersabet’s eyes. “Do it.”

  “What should I say?” I asked Val. “I assume I should stray from the truth.”

  “Just tell her that I am exceptionally brilliant, and masking my presence from the Triarchy was rudimentary for me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “She says she’s super smart and the Triarchy is super dumb, so it was easy.”

  “That is not what I said!”

  “She?” Ersabet asked.

  “Idiot,” Val chided me.

  “Yeah, she identifies as a woman. I guess. We’ve never talked about it. She’s always just been a woman.”

  “Interesting,” Ersabet said. “And further evidence that what you claim is true.”

  I smiled at her. “I’m telling you. We have one of the galaxy's most powerful tools at our disposal. If we play our cards right, we can really make a difference here.”

  Ersabet maintained a neutral expression, but I could see the smile pulling at the corner of her lips.

  “So that’s it. You know my secret.” I tilted my head to her. “Now it’s time to share yours.”