Kindle Notes & Highlights
The woman placed a hand over her racing heart. She was already starting to feel anger and anxiety, but she assumed that was due to her frustration with Khnum. “I’m not going to kill anyone,” she insisted. “You will.”
“I am,” Charlie said. “By letting it be.” “You’re just going to let the tumor grow? Let it kill you?” “I don’t expect you to understand.” “Because I’m a Shadow?” “Because you haven’t lived my life.”
“Charlie!” Another voice, more earnest than the rest, called her from beyond the red carpet, where a line of riot police were corralling a group of college-age protestors. Charlie guessed they were members of the Sapien Movement, followers of Bob Sapio, the infamous Luddite demagogue. They held signs that read: Consciousness is not in the code, I ≠ Robot, and Death Adler, the latter featuring Jude Adler’s head on a serpentine body. They chanted, “Adler is a Nazi, Adler is a snake, Rivir’s so-called magic is humanity’s big mistake.”
“So you are going to stay with Valerie?” Charlie asked, realizing too late how much jealousy slipped into her tone. “I think so. I’m surrounded by people I love. You should consider joining us.”
Charlie shuddered. The thought of losing herself in such a way—to be one tiny voice among so many—instantly horrified her.
Valerie didn’t answer. She lingered on Bridge for a moment before turning to face Charlie. “Have you no memory of the parent world?” she asked. “The one above yours?” Parent world? Charlie wasn’t familiar with the term, but she assumed Valerie referred to the afterlife. “No. Why would I?” “You were dead before I revived you. Your brain had ceased functioning.” “I remember the dream. The one—” “On the beach, chasing after Bridge.” “Yes, though I didn’t find her. I found ZERO instead.” “I know. I was already in your head by that point. You don’t remember anything before?”
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“Is this why you’re waking her up? So she can tell you about the parent world?” The dark mass spilled from the hibernation chamber like shifting sand. Valerie ignored Charlie’s question and approached Bridge’s body. “Valerie!” Charlie pressed. “What do you want from her?” “You do not see the problem,” Valerie replied in an almost parental tone. “Your mind is still very human, which is both the root of the problem and the source of your blindness. But I have given it much thought—a billion minds’ worth. Our souls are fractured, and our only hope of transcendence is to break the illusion of
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“I’m not talking about us, or Bridge, though I do hope she can help lead us to the parent world. No, I’m referring to everyone: every conscious entity on the planet. We are all echoes of a single archetype.”
