"Make it so I can see you," she snapped. Lia appeared before her, the fact that she was floating in mid-air completely belied by her posture and demeanor, which remained calm and unaffected.

"What was it you called me?" Ever asked. "Up above, outside, when I passed your test."

"You are the Alpha Scion," Lia said.

"Does that mean that you have to do what I say?" she asked. She was reaching, she knew; it may very well not mean that at all. But Ever had to believe that all of this "specialness" had to include some level of authority—otherwise what was the point?

"I am programmed to follow your commands to the extent that they do not interfere with the ultimate goals of this enterprise."

Which is just another way of saying "If I feel like it."

"Then we're going to start doing things my way," said Ever, with a confidence she didn't feel. "I'm going to ask you questions, and you're going to answer them." She took a deep breath and tried to think.

"Who built this place...who made you?" she asked.

"Initial development of my core processes and construction of this and related facilities was financed by a private business entity called Deseret Technologies, Inc. Later phases of the enterprise required outside investments. I can list the investors in order of phase, investment group, liability, and security access, if you wish."

Deseret? But that's.... The name of the legendary home of the Blessed, when they were called Saints. It was supposedly far to the west, deep in the greater Desolation, long overrun by Damned and apostate tribes.

"No. Later. When did this all happen?" Ever asked. "When did the...enterprise begin?"

"The incorporation date of Deseret Technologies is recorded as June 24, 2167 CE," Lia said. As she spoke, she and Ever began moving again, albeit more slowly, heading in the same direction: north. She let it pass for the time being.

The year—she thought it was a year—Lia cited meant little to Ever; only the old name for the Month of Marriage, June, stood out. The Blessed kept a simple calendar of years, starting with the Saints' flight from Deseret after the Fall, but referred to them for the most part only for record-keeping purposes. One month, one day was the same as another in these latter days. The end times were come; why keep track of the year?

"And what was its purpose? Why am I here?" Ever asked.

Lia paused.

"Give me the short version."

"The salvation of the human race," said Lia.

Oh, is that all?

"You're a few centuries too late for that, I think."

"The nuclear destruction of 2217 was merely the beginning," said Lia. "The dangers posed by its aftermath, particularly the long term damage that fallout would do to the human genome, necessitated a long term solution. Thus, the enterprise's primary mission is to preserve homo sapiens sapiens, along with its benign evolutionary offspring."

"And how, exactly, do you plan on doing that?" Ever asked.

"By finding you a new home."

"That's what we set out to do," said Ever. "If you can help us, great—but why would we need to follow the instructions of people long dead in order to find a new place to live?"

"Your current technology level precludes interstellar travel without assistance from the enterprise."

"I don't understand."

"This simulation was intended to provide just such an understanding. If you will allow me to continue?" Ever nodded, hesitantly.

"As I previously noted," Lia said, whisking them forward once again, "this is merely a primer. You will be briefed and, where necessary, educated on the details of mission requirements over the coming months. For now, it is sufficient that you understand the following.

"Pre-war projections placed the likelihood of catastrophic genetic breakdown of the human race at 64.3 percent in the first millennium after a predefined set of ecological, biological, and infrastructural circumstances known collectively as total nuclear devastation, an extinction-level event. This was deemed to be far too high of a risk, and the enterprise was prepared in order to isolate and preserve modern human survivors as well as the likely genetic offshoots that met certain parameters—for example, you."

The landscape changed now as they began moving east; the mountains became hills and lowlands, increasingly speckled with lakes and rivers. She recognized the terrain as being part of the Maine, from the profusion of water alone.

"Upon confirmation of the existence of such survivors, I was programmed to provide guidance to the enterprise's main installation in order to begin launch preparations. Please stop me if you don't understand. I can return to the programmed orientation at any point."

The land beneath her accelerated until it stopped, without ceremony or rebound, on a mountain. Ever inhaled sharply as she recognized it.

It rose, its peak purple and white, into the sky, a vast lake before it reflecting the blue canopy above: the mountain from her dream, the mountain that the Spirit had whispered about in her mind as she began this long, exhausting journey.

"I...I don't...what do you mean, launch preparations?"

Lia brought them downward, spiraling into a flat section of land near the mountain's base. In the shadow of the mountain's bulk, a large square of gray was neatly cut out of the otherwise verdant countryside. It was the same gray as Lia's bunker, the same material, she realized. A circular portion of the platform opened, vast doors levering upward from beneath the ground, and shadowed within the deep excavation beneath, the tip of a massive, silvery gray structure could be seen. The ship. The ship from my dream.

As Ever looked on in heavy silence, still not understanding completely, night fell in Lia's dreamworld, and the calm gray woman pointed to the evening sky. The dome of the earth was midnight blue, punctuated by the brilliant white and gold of a thousand thousand stars. Ever looked upward in desperate hope, willing herself—willing the Spirit, she realized, to provide some semblance of guidance. What is happening? The question seemed to echo in her mind; all useful thought seemed to have vanished. She felt at the mercy of this spectral creation of the ancients.

Despite the fact that she knew, in reality, that he was standing a few feet away from her, Ever wished Jared were there.

"You have a destiny, Ever Oaks," said Lia, her voiceclear and dangerous in the starry dark. "You will lead your people to the stars."    

Thank you for reading!  I'm posting the Epilogue this afternoon as well, so vote and click Next!

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