Epilogue

“Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.” John F. Kennedy

A week had passed since the night of their “execution”. Kate still couldn’t quite believe that they were alive and Harry was dead. It had turned out that the inner circle had consisted of only Harry and Boyd. All the other former members had met with mysterious accidents in the last few years, presumably coinciding with some sort of policy disagreement. With Boyd Winters gone, Gideon had been left as head of the Secret Service. He’d decided to disband the group—no more secrets.

Auspex had given them a list of things that needed to be done. So far, both she and Gideon had agreed with the list. Kate had spent a lot of time thinking about what would happen if they didn’t. Having the exact probabilities of success and failure gave her a sense of security. She trusted the data. She trusted Auspex.

She’d turned off the surveillance systems, and for the first time in decades, the chatter was silent. Let people talk for a while without fear that their words would be overheard and held against them.

The firewall had also been taken down. Technology was supposed to expand their horizons, not fence them in and cut them off. They were already reaching out to the outside world.

So, the nightmare was over. Time to see what the American people would do with their newfound freedom.

“What happens now?” Gideon asked.

“I suppose we’ll have the elections, but Auspex thinks it’s best to wait a while. Let things settle.”

“I can’t believe we owe our lives to a computer program.”

“Does that scare you?”

“The idea of anything with that much knowledge, that much power, makes me a little uneasy.” He shrugged. “Hell, there’s no ‘little’ about it. I’m terrified.” He scanned the room as though he might catch a glimpse of some physical manifestation. “Is he everywhere?”

“Not everywhere.” They were working from Kate’s office at Homeland Security. The White House was, for now, shut down. She waved a hand toward the screen on her desk in front of them. “But if there’s a computer, he can enter.”

“And is it safe? Will he do us any harm?”

That was something Kate asked herself constantly. “Truth?” she said to Gideon. “I don’t know. He says he’s still learning about who, and what, he is. And about us, as well.”

She’d put so much of herself into Auspex. What would he ultimately think of them? What would he be when he’d learned? A friend or an enemy? Had they just exchanged one prison for a jailer of a different kind? Did she wait around to find out?

Auspex was no longer under her control, so she didn’t have much choice. All she could do was wait and watch. And hope.

At least she was alive to hope. And so was Gideon. She smiled up at him. “Let’s go home.”

“I like the sound of that.”

They were still getting used to life after the Loyalist Party. After Harry. It was a new world for everyone, and she fully intended to take advantage of it with Gideon by her side.

As she rose to her feet, she glanced at the screen. “Goodnight, Auspex.”

Goodnight, Kate.

She switched off the computer and followed Gideon from the room.

As the door clicked shut behind them, the lights went out and the room settled into darkness. But not for long. Unlike his human counterparts, Auspex didn’t need to sleep—or even to rest—and he had work to do, information to assimilate.

A cursor flashed in the corner of the monitor, and seconds later, streams of data scrolled down. Faster and faster until it was just a blur of light. All around the room, other screens awoke, until the cavernous space filled with the hum of his thoughts.

Hours later, the streams slowed to a trickle. One by one, the screens went blank.

For a moment, the room was once again dark. Then a timer appeared.

And the countdown began.