Brandon Sanderson: Perfect State

My mental boosts triggered at the explosion. I could see with perfect clarity as the blood sprayed out the side of her head, ribbons of scarlet like her dress. I watched it happen in slowed time, the pieces of my new life dying as her eyes faded.

The boost ended. Sophie’s corpse collapsed.

I stumbled toward her and there, written in the ice, I found words. Imprinted, as if chiseled by a workman.

I TOLD YOU MY NEW ROBOT WOULD BE WONDERFUL. I WORKED LONG TO PERFECT SOPHIE. I AM PLEASED THAT SHE CAPTURED YOUR HEART. YOUR DEBT IS PAID.

“I’m sorry, my lord,” Besk said. “But she was not real. I noticed it, but Melhi cut me from the system. That woman was just like the emissary we met in the Border State—a fabrication controlled from afar, only this time created to be indistinguishable from a human being.”

I said nothing, standing beside my window, looking out over my city. My study felt too warm. Too friendly. A lie.

“I’m having trouble getting any answers from the Wode,” Besk continued. “I . . . I don’t know how he knew which woman we would pick.”

“He didn’t,” I said. “He intercepted the information detailing the one we had picked, kept it from reaching the actual woman, and sent a replacement.”

“Ah, of course.” Besk’s voice was sterile, as always.

“Were any of them real?” I asked softly. “The people I saved? Or was everything in that State Melhi’s creation?”

“I don’t know.”

Everything I talked about with her . . . everything she said . . . it was all fake.

I knew nothing. I didn’t even know what to feel.

Besk left me in my study. He obviously had no idea what to do; he’d been hovering since my return. The warmed wine sat on the table beside my hearth, untouched.

I paced, feeling angry, betrayed, hollow .

Finally, I picked up the Wode Scroll and wrote out a simple request. Who are the Liveborn in the ten jars to either side of me? I would like their names and the identifiers of their States.

I waited. Eventually, a reply came, letters appearing on the stone face as if written in ink.

We apologize for the trauma you have been put through. Melhi will be disciplined. We do not know how she hacked that State; it should not have been possible. You are released from propagation duty, per a unanimous judgment. You may return to your rule.

I stared at the slate for a few moments, then wrote again. What are the names and State identifiers of the Liveborn in the ten jars closest to my own? I would like to contact them.

A long pause. Finally, the names came.

It was time to stop living my life in isolation.

With every project, there are many hands working behind the scenes. Everyone involved deserves thanks.

I would like to thank my writing group, Here There Be Dragons: Emily Sanderson, Peter & Karen Ahlstrom, Ben & Danielle Olsen, Alan Layton, Kaylynn ZoBell, Eric Patten, and Kathleen Dorsey Sanderson. Isaac Stewart is responsible for the look of the finished product. The Ineffable Peter Ahlstrom did his usual marvelous editing job. J.P. Targete adapted his striking artwork to better fit this story.

Community proofreaders for this volume include Alice Arneson, Aaron Biggs, Jakob Remick, Corby Campbell, Kelly Neumann, Megan Kanne, Maren Menke, Bob Kluttz, Lyndsey Luther, Kalyani Poluri, Rahul Pantula, Aaron Ford, Ruchita Dhawan, Gary Singer, and Bart Butler. Thank you for all of your input!