Paul Hardy - The Last Man on Earth Club

“So I suppose they wanted to get rid of the L2 station…”

“That is correct. We expected a frontal assault but they decided instead to eliminate the installation entirely, using gravitationally accelerated asteroidal mass. The battle was lost before we could expend ammunition. We had no effective defence against an aggregate of small silicate pieces which could not be dispersed by detonation. We fell back to the Earth-Moon system.”

“That must have felt terrible.”

“Yes.”

“What happened then?”

“I next participated in the defence of the Earth-Moon L5 station.”

“Right, hang on…” I used my control pad to bring up a diagram of orbital positions on the wall so I could better grasp what was going on. The L2 station had been some way outside Earth’s orbit, where the gravitational pull of the Earth and Sun cancelled each other out; the Earth-Moon L5 station was in the same orbit the Moon took around the Earth, lagging behind in another stable orbital position.

“Another strategic point, then.”

“Yes.”

“Another fighter base?”

“No. We had very few fighters remaining. The L5 station was primarily used as an emplacement for mass drivers and plasma pulse weapons.”

“So did they destroy it?”

“No. They assaulted the station with combat troops. Ramships were used to breach the hull and we fought hand to hand.”

She paused. “Please. Go on,” I said.

“Our soldiers were physically superior and unencumbered by environmental protection suits, but outnumbered. We concentrated our defence at choke points in the station superstructure, and inflicted comparative losses at the ratio of five to one. We calculated this would be unsustainable for the enemy but were mistaken. We were forced to retreat compartment by compartment until we held only four percent of the station. There were seven of us at that time, and communication with headquarters was lost. I ordered the station scuttled by antimatter detonation and the survivors to fall back to L1.”

“And what happened after that?”

“We destroyed the moon with staggered singularity release.”

“You destroyed the moon?”

“We destroyed the moon as a demonstration of the technology and a deterrent to further enemy advance. We threatened to use the same weapon on the Earth if they continued to attack. They did not comply.”

“And you were sent out on a final mission, to try and stop them?”

“That is correct.”

“And it was your side that destroyed the Earth?”

“That is correct.”

“It wasn’t the enemy?”

“That is correct.”

“I’m… surprised by that. We thought your enemies did it.”

“That was incorrect.”

“How many people died?”

She paused. “I do not have accurate population figures.”

“But… your whole species committed suicide rather than let the enemy win?”

“That is correct.”

“What was so terrifying about them?”

“We could not permit them to take the Earth.”

“Katie… who were they? You said they were religious, but you’ve never said anything else about them…”

“It is better that you do not encounter them.”

“Thanks for the concern, but I’m more worried about you. Did you agree with all this? I mean, destroying the Earth?”

“It was an appropriate action in the circumstances.”

“Couldn’t the two sides have negotiated a settlement?”

“We attempted negotiation on many occasions. All communications were ignored.”

“So who were they?”

She paused. “I have divulged sufficient strategic and tactical information.”

“Katie? Can you tell me who they were?”

“I have divulged sufficient strategic and tactical information.”

“Can I tell you what I think?”

She did not reply.

“I think these people you fought, I think they were humans. You said they were religious. They needed environment suits to survive in space. They behaved irrationally. That sounds like humans to me. And I think… I think your side was the machine side. Artificial intelligence. Rational. Reasonable. Is that the case?”

She paused.

“The situation was more complex.”

“How was it more complex?”

“I… I have divulged sufficient strategic and tactical information. May I leave?”

That was going to be it for today. I let her go, worried that the day’s progress came at the price of her failing health, and wondering if she would survive long enough for me to do any good.

Pew tended to contribute less in group than the more vocal members, so much of the progress he made took place in the individual sessions. But there were often things to pick up on and address, and of course his reaction to the street sign at Kintrex was something I couldn’t let pass. He’d looked up a good deal of information on the former inhabitants of Hub in the days since, trying to find out more about where they lived and what had happened to them; and I could take a pretty good guess at why he was interested.

“How much are they like the Soo?” I asked.

He considered his words. “They weren’t as advanced. And they were the only humans on the planet. I don’t know. Maybe they’d have been like the Soo if we’d been here as well, I mean if the Pu had been here. Or someone like us.”

“But they still remind you of the Soo? They don’t look like them.”

“They were human. I suppose the Soo are as well.”

“So it was just the sign? Why did it bother you?”

“I told you, I’ve seen something like it before.”

“When you escaped.”

“Yeah.”

“Hm. Okay. I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a difficult question…”

He shrugged and smiled. “Okay…”

“How do you feel about the Soo?”

His face fell instantly and worry lines appeared. “What do you mean?”

“I mean: what emotion do you feel when you think of them?”

He swallowed. “I hate them.”

“Okay.”

“They killed everyone. I’m allowed to hate them, aren’t I?”

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t.” He was perplexed, and didn’t know what to say. I went on. “I’m a little concerned. You hate the Soo — all right, that’s understandable. But then you see a species that reminds you of them. And you start researching that species. You spent three days going over everything we have on them. So my question is: do you want to see what happened to the people who lived here happen to the Soo?”

He looked back at me, far too directly for comfort. “Yes.”

“You’d be happy to see them all die?”

“I’d push the button myself.”

“So… we’re not talking about a random asteroid any more. You’re talking about pressing a button and wiping them out. Does that mean you’d commit genocide?”

“Didn’t they?”

This was disturbing, and potentially a very serious problem for therapy. “Have you always felt this way?”

“Yes,” he said, then caught himself. “No.”

“Was there a point when you started to hate them?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Pew, it does matter. I want to get to the heart of why you’re suffering. And some of that has to be because of the Soo, and what they did to you. If there was a moment when you realised you hated them, that could be really helpful.”

He looked around at the room and didn’t answer.

“Pew?”

He looked down.

“Pew, is this something you’d be uncomfortable discussing?”

He looked back at me. “It was when I escaped.”

“Okay. Can you tell me about what happened then?”

He sighed. “They let me go on holiday.”

“How old were you?”