Final Exit

The minutes that followed were excruciating minutes. She did not allow her mind to collapse for the sake of her son and the girl. No tears. No rage. She focused on typing the right words. Anise watched in fear and confusion. Lauren tried to comfort her with hushed promises that everything would be alright. The time that followed was a long time.

An untold miracle of agreement between the natural and the artificial. A human mother negotiated mutual survival with a synthetic matriarch. Control of the ship was restored as a reward for invaluable information. Lauren informed Sophia of the glorious megabunker and its desperate need for a new leader. They returned to the area of Fort Bragg and remotely transferred her consciousness into the bunker mainframe.

Lauren thought of her dream as the airship resumed its journey to Yukon. A reverie of happiness. Above ground. Fresh air. Sunshine. Someplace real in the unburned world. Void of war and hate and synthetics. Free of fear and religion. Heaven is a home without the machines or gods. Hell is a home without love.