Coyote

[26] the truth doesn't set us free.

"Out of respect for you being the first and last coyote to capture me, I will tell you the truth. Not about Hollow. No, that planet is long gone. Instead, I will tell you about... well, let me talk and you will find out."

"Keep driving," Wednesday said. "I'll compare what she says with what's written in the files. If she lies, I'll let you know."

Sister Mary began:

"I will not start with the Earth natives because... I just will not. Helping them evolve was not a fun time for us, you have to understand. But once the rise of kings and queens, and dictators and deity worshipping started, that is when we could put on a show and enjoy ourselves.

"Adam and Eve, Lucifer and Jesus Christ, Allah and Prophet Muhammad, and all religious events were enforced by us. It is not hard to spread false information. We had believers back then too, and they helped us put on a beautiful show with long-lasting effects."

If The Forgotten Nuns had been creating golems for that long, did it mean all the supposed supernatural phenomena were actually... scientific experiments? Wolf waited to hear from Wednesday if Sister Mary was lying, but the AI was quiet.

"There are these waves called Circles. They range from 1 to... whenever we decide to stop. A circle operates until when we get bored, resulting in us killing most of the population and starting all over again. It takes patience doing that, but my species doesn't age. We had all the time we needed. Now we are in Circle 10 and it is the last before..."

Silence sunk in the jetcar and grabbed Wolf by the neck. Neither of them said anything. Many years ago, he accepted a bounty to retrieve stolen scrolls on Earth. After recovering them, he read what was written and saw it was about terraforming and how it shouldn't have been possible to do it to the other planets that quickly. He paid no mind to it at the time. But now...

"Were you and your sisters involved in terraforming the planets and moons?"

"Everything in this system involves us," she said. "There is no scientific breakthrough that we do not have a hand in. But terraforming, we had not thought about it until Circle 9 when we realized Earth was dying and we could not save it. We had been careless in how we wiped out the humans and raised them again over the nine circles. We were having too much fun to see the warning signs.

"When Circle 10 came, we gathered the smartest scientists in the world and turned them into believers. Then we gave them our technology which they used to terraform the system. We could not let humanity go extinct. There were still so many shows to put on.

"As the planets were nearly terraformed, we started breeding programs—the planets needed to be filled after all. But may I say, I have never seen a species that loves intercourse as much as humans do. Creating religion was supposed to reduce it, but it only amplified the need for it."

"If you aren't a human, who are you?" Wolf knew who she was, but hearing it from the horse's mouth was always better.

Sister Mary laughed. It wasn't the Wolf-made-a-joke-now-I-should-laugh kind of laugh. It was sad, the one people did before changing the subject matter and hiding the truth.

"What I might say may sound unrealistic, but we come from a peaceful species known as Olden. Then one day, a militaristic species called Centauri invaded us. Their leaders, The Majors, gave us two choices: we join them, or we die.

"We were the only oldens who accepted their offer. The rest refused and got killed. We were forced to watch. I remember one of The Majors turned to me as they were slaughtering my species and asked if I was enjoying the show. I will never forget their face as they said it to me. It was an inspiring moment, creating a bond I never knew I needed, but deep down I longed for.

"The Majors will be here soon. I give it a year or two before they arrive and colonize everything. You think your life is bad now, wait until they get here. I chose the easier way out and I got to live."

The bright holo-words GSF floating above the organization's building highlighted the jetcar as it neared the building. "I have one more question," Wolf said.

"Ask."

"Why are you telling me these things? What do you want me to do with this information?"

Sister Mary started laughing like a maniac. He hadn't said anything he thought was funny. When the olden calmed down, she glared at Wolf and said:

"I hate losing, and you are the first human to beat me. I will never forget this day, nor you. When you collect your credits and leave, I will be released by the GSF not long after. I am too important to be locked up. Many powerful people will not survive without me. I provide them the food they need.

"Once my body heals, I am coming for you, Wolf. I have shifted my life's focus and I have made you my number one target. I will not be satisfied until I see you experience the most excruciating pain a human could go through. And then, I will kill you.

"That is why I told you the truth. I want you to know what you are up against when I come for you, armed with technology you have no chance of stopping. Enjoy whatever happier days you have left."

"Don't worry, Wolf," Wednesday said. "Whatever advanced weapons she has, they won't be a match for the nano-bugs."

Wolf grinned like he had lost his marbles. Wednesday was right. He needed more nano-bugs for protection. No matter how powerful Sister Mary was, she had cried out for help when the dust-like particles started disintegrating her body.

All he had to do was convince Rainbow to make him a new nano-ring with unlimited nano-bugs, and he'd be safe forever.