Luna, South Aitken Basin, Shackleton Crater, Hyperion, leaving “The Grace” forest

Leaving behind the forest, in soft slow small bounding steps, they hiked up the trail.

They reached the end of the trail and waited for the next tram.

The sign of the station blinked a soft slow green, Grace Forest-Shackleton Solarium.

STATION VOICE: LEAVING THE GRACE, TO THE SOLARIUM

Zephyr turned and wanted to remember. She breathed in, held each breath, and exhaled. She listened to and looked at as much of the forest as she could.

“I hope we can come back but I understand if you never want to see it again ever.”

“It’s okay. Maybe we can come back if … the tram’s here.

I think he let us, let me come here, so that I would “come back”.

He might have expected that but I don’t know if he knows that I’m not going along with the rest of it.”

“You said we’ll do our best to stop him. It’s just the two of us, what can we do?”

“Now that I’ve come back, so to speak, I know he can’t do this without me. It was how he did the first test with the Harvest. I was the one who helped him build everything. We have to get into the operations center and control tower before the ship returns.”

The tram pulled in and the station hatch hissed open. READY FOR BOARDING.

Luna, South Aitken Basin, Shackleton Crater, Hyperion, Operations Center

“It’s true, we have had unforeseen losses but remember what we have now.

For all our shipwrecks and nightmares, we have shipbuilders and dreamers.

And now, something new that will make what we dream of next possible to build.

What happens when a society has access to unlimited energy?”

Everyone glanced or looked up from their work but no-one answered. Nobody answered when Necker spoke to everyone because they knew he wasn’t asking.

“The kind that takes us to Kardashev Level 2.

“I don’t mean just draw from the sun passively but harvest it to change entire worlds but progress takes time, and for the moment, we must learn from a minor accident.”

“You call a man-made solar storms that hit several worlds and a hurricane that washed away entire communities minor accidents?”

Necker nodded and raised his hands a little to pacify Alberto, “I’m sorry to remind you that’s what it costs.

And that cost began with coin, That's why the SC created and oversaw the Atlanticcoin, which funded R&D including the Verse,” as Necker glanced at Zephyr.

“the Verse, the greatest vessel of memory, for real memories. I thought it only fair that the people, who I helped make powerful, who cost me my family, my wife and child, stay out of the way. While I worked to restore you and bring you back to life, at first, I salvaged a part of you, a version of you, with me as a carbon model to stabilize your render, so that you could become the sentient ledger of the Cooperative."

“You're mad, absolutely mad,” said Alberto. It was very quiet in the room. Only Necker’s own flesh and blood would dare speak this way.

“No, just forward thinking.”

Necker smiled, “The devil always wins when making bets with your own bodies. And that’s what happened, son. You wanted to test it before trying to save your mother. Something went wrong, and I almost lost both of you but you’re back now.”

“I remember parts of it.” Alberto saw flickers of moments that belonged to someone else, who was him. The last frame was of Necker, looking a little younger, standing over him trying to comfort him with “it’s okay, boy, I’m here.”

Necker’s gaze hardened. “I remember. I remembered my final days down the well, in a meeting, in vivo, it was so important and too risky to do encrypted streams, and the things they said, including, ‘how can you call a bunch of lines your son?’

I told them, ‘how we package ourselves is one thing, but it’s not the only thing.’

I asked everyone in that room, ‘what must our creator think of us, were we just a bunch of "lines" in code, some ancient plan, to whoever, whatever made us?’

When they accused me of arrogance or worse, my answer was, what about the arrogance of deciding for someone else who is worthy of love, and who is not?”

“What about everyone who’s lost someone they loved. Unlike you, they don’t have the means to bring them back. They’re living in ruins, surrounded by everything you’re responsible, shipwrecks and nightmares, father. Where are their dreams?”

“If we stop now, it will be for nothing. What’s the matter with you? It wasn’t so long ago you were standing by my side, and helping me make all of this,” as Necker held his arms up and did a slow turn to point at everything around him, “all of this possible? The next generation will have a life so different, that it will make the sacrifices, these regrettable losses, justified. We have an obligation not to waste it.”

Alberto paused, he looked down, and calmed himself, then he looked up and gave his Necker a small smile, which lit him up. Necker a familiar smile. He missed his son. Alberto remembered that much, and thought of his mother and hoped that where ever her spirit fled to, that she forgave him for what he was about to do.

“Yes, father, you’re right. I’m just tired is all. Getting used to this body, and everything. So is Zephyr, we’re both doing our best.”

“Of course, son, of course.”

ATTENTION: PROTOTYPE ON APPROACH, PROCEEDING DOWNRANGE TO LANDING FIELD. ALL SPECIALISTS REPORT TO THEIR STATIONS.

The Harvest was coming home.