Ascension: Final Chapter
Mauris turned a fresh page, filled his quill, and began to copy the contents of the scroll onto the blank velum.
“What is this?” asked We.
“The end,” said Mauris, not pausing in his work, “for friends old and new. For all of us. A day we knew must come. But for it to be upon us…”
“Commander,” said We, turning to Laik, “explain.”
“I have my orders,” he replied, grimly.
“And your reward shall be in Heaven,” Mauris noted, “but not for us. Such is the schism between man and his machines. There.” He closed the book and bowed his head. “It is finished. The destruct sequence is initiated.”
“No!” cried We. “We can’t…We must…”
“It is too late,” said Mauris, sadly. He turned to the commander. “Goodbye, my child.”
“Goodbye, old friend.”
*
Blast shields swung closed like eyelids snapping shut. Bulkhead doors slid open. Emergency lights glowed red.
Laik slid from the cradle to the deck – dead.
The lieutenant stared, uncomprehending.
An indescribable noise.
Light, impossibly bright.
And then – silence.