Nexus

Epilogue CROSSROADS

On the third morning since Shu's death, Sam and Kade sat together atop one of the monastery's stone walls and watched the sun come over the horizon.

The monastery had changed. Only a crater remained where Shu's car had been. The courtyards and buildings crawled with Thai armed forces, with their jeeps and their guns and their missile launchers guarding against another American attack. Out over the Thai plains they caught a glimpse of an RTAF jet flying a patrol around them, its silver skin glinting in the early morning sun.

Sam and Kade sat in silence.

What now? Kade wondered. What will people do with Nexus?

There would be atrocities. That he was sure of.

Would there be positive effects? He couldn't be certain. But he could dream. He could dream Ilya's dream, of a world where people were free to become more than what they were. He could dream Wats' dream, of a world where people could better understand each other, a world where that mutual understanding brought peace. He could dream Rangan's dream, of a world where every night was a party, and every time was a good time.

The thoughts made him smile. He had his own dreams. A thousand minds connected. A million minds. A billion minds. What kind of ferocious intelligence could they wield together? What would they learn about themselves, about the mind and the brain, about the universe around them? Would they still be human at the end of this? Might they be something more?

Kade looked down at the stump of his right arm. He wasn't fully human himself any more. Gecko genes had been injected into his cells there. Over the coming weeks they'd send new growth outwards. In a few months perhaps he'd have a hand again. Or perhaps he'd develop tumors. It remained to be seen.

There was no way back. No way back on either front.

Conflict is inevitable, Shu had said after their dinner. You have to decide if you're on the side of progress… or of stagnation.

I'm on the side of peace, he'd replied, and freedom.

I hope I did the right thing, he thought to himself.

Only fools are always certain of themselves, Ananda had told him.

He glanced at Sam to his left. She was staring out into the landscape, watching the line of dawn crawl down the mountain and onto the plains.

It was a wonder she didn't hate him. She of all people understood the dangers of what he'd unleashed on the world.

Sam spoke without looking at him. "I'm in no position to judge, Kade. You did what you thought was right, what you thought would help people most. I guess right now… I guess that's as good as anything."

Kade smiled faintly. She'd picked up on his thoughts again. It was happening more and more often. With all they'd been through together, with the hours of meditation every day and night…

"It's beautiful," Sam said.

Kade smiled.

"You're sure you don't need me?" she asked.

He took her hand with the one that remained to him. "Feng is coming with me," he answered. "With luck, the Chinese think he's dead. And you did what Wats asked. You kept me safe until I released Nexus. That's what he wanted. He thought it could save the world."

Neither of them said anything for a time. They sat, hand in hand, and watched the sun rise higher into the sky.

"Let's hope he was right," Sam replied.

It was time to go.

Sam helped Kade down from the wall, put his left arm over her shoulder, helped him hop over to the vehicles, to where Feng was waiting.

Ananda had kept them safe thus far. They'd given their statements to Thai National Intelligence. Ananda had pulled strings to keep them out of jail, out of the hands of the army or the police. That wouldn't last. Even his friendship with the King had limits. It was time to move on.

Sam helped Kade take a seat on the lowered gate of the old pickup. Feng was there. He hugged Sam, and to Kade's surprise, Sam hugged back.

After a long moment, Feng pulled back, kept his hands on her upper arms, looked her in the eye.

"You'll be OK?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "Becker's dead. The UN's in an uproar. There are hearings being scheduled in Washington. They won't come after me for a while. I'm safe for a bit."

Feng nodded. He hugged her again. They held each other for a moment, and then separated.

"Take care of that one," Sam said, gesturing at Kade.

Feng grinned. "You got it."

Kade accepted Feng's help into the bed of the truck. The Chinese ex-soldier tapped on the glass at the rear of the cab, shouted something in Thai, and off they went, on a long and bumpy ride towards the border with Cambodia, and from there to destinations as yet unknown.

Sam watched them go until they rounded a final bend in the mountain road and were lost from sight.

She turned and faced south. There, near a tiny village on the border with Malaysia, there were more children like Mai. That was where her road led now.

She turned back to the east, stared into the dawn. After all these days of rain, the sun felt good on her face. Sam closed her eyes, took a deep breath of the clean morning air, and went to meet her own transport south.