Chapter 224: Secrets Revealed
Taking off inside, the robot's sphere whirred as it zipped into an adjoining room beside the large white dining hall. The room itself was bare, with no tables or chairs, but a low mechanical buzz filled the air. Panels split apart in the smooth white floor, and two long tables rose into place along with matching bench seats.
The robot's voice called out as a long serving window slid open in the wall behind them.
"Take a seat, we'll bring out some drinks!"
The window finished opening with a soft click, revealing a spotless stainless-steel kitchen. Inside, the robot whirred from station to station, grabbing ingredients and switching on different appliances with practiced speed.
The group exchanged a look and shrugged. Teal, however, had already bolted to a seat. Joining her, the others settled onto the benches, the smooth surface cool beneath them as they looked around and spoke in hushed voices.
Ash leaned toward the kitchen and took a few slow sniffs as the first smells drifted through the opening.
"It's been a hundred years. Think the food's still good?"
Min pursed her lips as she breathed in the scent.
"Smells good. You saw the farm. This place can probably feed a few hundred people easy."
As she scanned the room, Min's eyes drifted past Ash, then stopped when she caught the expression on his face.
"What's wrong?"
Running his hands along the smooth tabletop, Ash's excitement faded. His eyes stayed fixed ahead.
"It's just sad. All the things we lost because of the Convergence. You hear stories, but seeing all this really makes you wonder. How much did humanity really lose?"
"Everything."
The robot answered as he rolled into the room carrying a white tray. Resting on it were three pitchers and a stack of clean glasses.
"Humanity lost everything that day. A day that I'll never forget."
Setting the tray on the table with a quiet clink, the robot noticed Ash's eyes brighten again as he spoke.
"That's right, you were there."
"Technically, I was here, but yes, I was still alive when the Convergence happened. Miss, would you like orange juice, water, or beer?"
Min slapped both hands onto the table and shot to her feet.
"You have beer?! Like, actual beer?"
Ignoring her, the robot turned back to Teal and gestured toward the pitchers.
"What would you—"
"Beer."
Teal swallowed, her eyes locked on the frothy head crowning the third pitcher.
"Beer it is."
He picked up a glass and poured one for Teal, then another for Min. Without even asking, he filled a third glass with orange juice for the visibly disappointed Ash.
"Food should be ready soon. Until then, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have—"
Ash slammed his drink onto the table, making the glasses rattle, and jumped to his feet.
"What is this place, and why did you build it?!"
The glowing face blinked as the robot turned toward the excited boy. A faint edge of annoyance crept into his voice.
"This is a fallout shelter I had built. It houses anything one would need to survive an apocalypse. The robots repair and maintain themselves along with the farm. I had seeds from almost every species of flora flown in, so food should never be a problem. It's also equipped with facilities for nearly any kind of leisurely activity, as well as research."
The more Mr. Gates spoke, the more pride crept into his voice. It was obvious the robot was immensely proud in what he'd built.
As he listened, Ash's eyes grew wider with every sentence, but as the explanation ended, he frowned.
"But why'd you build it? It's not like you could've known the Convergence was gonna happen."
An awkward silence settled over the room, thick enough that the others exchanged uneasy glances. Then a cheerful ding sounded from inside the kitchen.
"Ah, hors d'oeuvres!"
The robot whirred away before anyone could press him further. The tension lingered around the table. The implication of his silence was enormous. Had he known the Convergence was coming? Even the rich smell drifting from the kitchen did little to distract them, Teal included.
Returning with another large tray, the robot spun with a flourish and set it down. Steam curled from rows of golden sticks, while several small bowls of red sauce sat beside them.
"These are called cheese sticks. Dip them into the sauce. Go ahead. It's been so long since I've eaten anything, I'm actually looking forward to watching you enjoy them, so don't hold back."
But no one reached for the food.
Instead, Ash kept his eyes on the robot.
"Did you know?"
The smile on the screen faltered.
"You guys better hurry up before they get cold. If I remember right, they lose a lot of their flavor once they cool down."
Without breaking eye contact, Ash picked up a cheese stick and took a bite. He did everything he could not to react to the best thing he'd ever tasted. As casually as he could manage, he asked again.
"Did you know the Convergence was going to happen?"
Still waiting for an answer, Ash dipped the cheese stick into the sauce and quietly took another bite.
The smile vanished from Mr. Gates's screen, replaced by a flat line. When he finally spoke, his voice was small.
"I knew."
Shoving the rest of the cheese stick into her mouth and wiping at the drool on her chin, Min nearly choked.
"That's impossible! Every story says humanity was completely caught off guard. If you knew, how come—"
Min cut herself off as the robot slowly raised a glossy black hand.
"This conversation is too heavy. I would like it if you enjoyed your meal first. As I said, it has been quite some time since I've enjoyed food, let alone company. Please, let's enjoy the pizza before we dive into the unpleasantries."
At the mention of pizza, a visible shiver of excitement ran through Teal. She quickly nodded in agreement.
It didn't look like arguing would change Mr. Gates's mind, so they agreed to wait. The taste of warm garlic and melted cheese from the hors d'oeuvres made the decision much easier to accept.
They quickly finished the cheese sticks, along with another pitcher of beer. Both women were absolutely in love. Neither had ever tasted real beer brewed from hops before. The only alcohol they'd ever had was basically toilet hooch compared to this amber liquid of the gods.
Their surprise only grew as the smell of fresh pepperoni pizza drifted through the room. They watched the robot carry it over and set steaming slices onto their plates. Strings of melted cheese stretched from the pie, and every one of them found themselves drooling.
As they ate, Teal cried. So did Ash, and Min barely held it together. They'd thought the cheese sticks were heaven. They had no idea that was only the appetizer, nor did they even know what an appetizer was.
Conversation stayed light, mostly revolving around the food, but once everyone leaned back with full stomachs and satisfied sighs, the mood around the table settled into something quieter.
Licking a bit of grease from her fingers, Min let out a loud burp before turning her attention back to the robot.
"That was the best thing I've ever eaten in my entire life. Thank you."
The smile returned to the robot's screen.
"Seeing you all enjoy it so much was thanks enough. For a moment, I could almost taste it again."
Eyeing the last slice of pizza like it was the only antidote in the world, Ash spoke without taking his eyes off the cheese.
"How long have you been like this?"
"A robot? Ninety-eight years. Almost to the day, actually."
"Hold on, Ash—"
Before anyone could stop her, Min snatched the last slice and stuffed it into her mouth. Ash and Teal both glared at her as she chewed, swallowed, wiped her mouth, then pointed at Mr. Gates.
"The origin story can wait. Tell us about the Convergence. How in the hell did you know?"
"I was hoping to enjoy the moment a bit longer. Me too. Should we offer them some lava cake? No, they deserve to know."
As Mr. Gates argued with himself, he whirred to the head of the table. Turning to face them, the image on his screen blinked away, replaced by a picture all three humans recognized immediately: the world before the Convergence. A pristine city of gleaming glass and technological beauty.
"Before the Convergence, I was one of the world's leaders in technological advancement. My company specialized in computers and global communications systems. It was during this time that certain people around the world were contacted. I was one of them."
Teal leaned forward, elbows brushing the table.
"Contacted by who?"
"Gods."
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Mr. Gates's screen shifted from the city to a glowing mass of multicolored light.
"All the top scientists, political leaders—anyone sitting at the top of the world was visited by what we later determined to be gods from different realms, all warning us of an impending disaster. We, of course, didn't believe them at first, but as we interacted with these entities, our reservations steadily dwindled, especially when they began sharing knowledge about the universe. Knowledge we used to advance our technology centuries beyond anything that came before."
The screen changed again, revealing another city. If the first had looked like a technological marvel, this one could only be described as fantasy. Buildings shifted and reformed as they stood, cars drifted through the sky, and everything revolved around a towering spire of ivory-colored metal at the city's center.
"We were tasked with building five cities. Cities that would allow mankind to weather the storm. Most would still die, but the ones deemed special enough to be chosen would live. But it was all a lie, and I was too late...and too small to stop it."
The screen zoomed closer to the ivory tower.
"My research became an integral part of the operation, so I was involved in almost every sector of the project. Along with that position, I was given access to more information than anyone else in the world. In my hubris, and as my ego swelled, I stumbled across the truth. The cities weren't meant to protect us. They were designed to bring about the end of the world."
Lost in the images and the weight of the story, Ash's voice was barely above a whisper.
"How'd you find out?"
"Well, truth be told...I discovered it."
The second personality, Alex, spoke up.
"Part of Mr. Gates's personal research involved trying to develop a way for the rest of humanity to survive. That's how I was created. An A.I. designed to interface with a human host, capturing their spirit through a combination of technology and magic."
Ash's eyes lit up.
"That's how you saw Triss! You're a ghost in a machine."
Tilting his head, the robot laughed.
"That is correct. After Mr. Gates killed himself, I was able to—loudmouth! I didn't want her to know that!"
Almost simultaneously, the image of the corpse on the porch flashed through each of their minds.
Seeing their expressions, Mr. Gates bowed his head.
"Apologies. Alex has the tact of a water buffalo. Rude. It's true, now shush and let me finish. After I built Alex, I gave him access to all the data we had collected, and that's when he discovered the truth. Those inside the cities wouldn't survive—they would be sacrificed. That sacrifice is what would start the Convergence. I tried to warn them, but the enemy had already poisoned their minds. I was cast out. More like they tried to kill you."
The image changed again. A newspaper's front page filled the screen. In bold letters, the headline read:
"William Gates a Traitor! How He Sold America Out to China."
"Luckily, I had this place built off the books, and the contractor was a friend of the family. I still tried to warn people, but once they made a movie about it, everything I said was dismissed as conspiracy. I was forced to watch the world end with no power to stop it."
"Is that...why you—?"
Teal didn't finish the question, but everyone at the table understood what she meant.
Mr. Gates's screen returned to its simple face. Somehow, it looked sadder than a machine should have been capable of.
"No. My reasons were more selfish than that. I am, by nature, a coward. I knew I'd never leave this place. I knew I would die here alone. After a few years, I couldn't bear the thought anymore, so I ended it. Then this idiot brought me back. It's not my fault. You wrote the protocols."
Min, Teal, and Ash looked at each other, each searching the others' faces for an answer, but all they could do was shrug.
"Alex had never been tested. We never reached that stage of development. When a human host took over, Alex's personality was supposed to erase itself. Apparently, the code I wrote had some bugs, and now I'm stuck with a voice in my head. You're a voice. This is my head. Our head. I built it."
"So you gave up?"
Everyone turned. Split-jaw's ghost emerged from the kitchen, carrying the now-awake Triss in his arms.
"Correct. I lost hope."
"Is that why you acted like a normal robot when we first met?"
Looking back at Ash, Mr. Gates gave a weak smile.
"Yes. It was nice to see humans again, but I didn't see the point in talking to you. In fact, I'd eventually decided to kill you if you ever came back...until I saw Ms. Teal."
At those last words, the green face on his screen flushed red for a moment.
"Ha! I knew it! You were checking out her ass!"
Min slapped the table, grinning as satisfaction spread across her face. It wasn't often she caught subtle cues. Teal, on the other hand, quietly scooted a little farther away from the robot along the bench.
"I have always been a fan of beautiful women, and considering you are the first one I have seen in a century, your beauty truly stunned me."
Ash stayed silent through that exchange, absentmindedly tracing a finger along the cool tabletop. The revelations they'd heard were so enormous he was still trying to fit them together. Even so, one piece was still missing—possibly the most important one.
"Who were these gods? Did you ever find out where they came from?"
Mr. Gates's face went rigid.
A prickling wave of bloodlust crept across the group's skin, raising the hairs on their arms.
"Not all of them, but the main one, yes. He was the one I dealt with most. He went by the name Atherial—"
His screen flickered, and a radiant eye of light filled the display.
"But his real name is Orashal, the chief God of the Realm of Light."