"Radio. Let's have a discussion."

We were on the shore of another island, the island of the Ari Maspai. It was mid morning, the breeze cool from the sea. The sand beneath my feet was warming up. The Radio was currently residing in the gray cliff wall.

"I want to ask you some questions about yourself. About what you think. Were the Ari Maspai ever Observatory Stewards?"

"On two occasions, separated by hundreds of years."

"You liked them. Were they your favorite?"

"Second favorite. Their kindness and generosity were matched only by their cruelty and viciousness. Their art was beautiful and savage."

"You play Human music, all the time. Do you ever want to play music made by the Ari Maspai?"

"Owen realized Human music was superior. Count Basie. Duke Ellington. The Ari Maspai had other art forms; dance and poetry and architecture and the sculpting of magnetic fields, among many others."

"Do you remember what you told me when we first met? That this wasn't a game. That the real work was to begin. Do you remember?"

"The work is underway."

"So how's it going? How am I doing?"

"Owen knew he had exceeded expectations, and those expectations were very high already. On his present course, Owen would finish the work."

"What then?"

"When the work was done, Owen would be able to rest. To be able to live a life with the luscious Mandy Nakahara, with her smile like the sunrise and her lovely, bouncy rump."

"I want my guys to be okay."

"Define 'guys.'"

"I get it. I've asked you this before, and you refused to answer, and I'll ask again. What do you want?"

"This."

"And when the work is done?"

"Stop."

I stroked the golden fabric of its speaker. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Too long, I think. Immortality is nothing but pain. Specifically grief. I'll grieve for you, my Human agent. My representative. My good friend."

Goosebumps rose on my arms. "I'll try to help you. I'm doing my best."

"I know. Thank you."

"I'm about to ask you to break some rules. And I think you can do it."

"Which rules?"

"I want to talk with them."

A very long silence. "Owen knew…he was…aware…"

"No. Don't hurt yourself, man. Look, see this?" I smacked my hands against the speaker, trying to stop the red flow of blood. "Stop. Forget it. I'll find another way. You do this and you hurt yourself and it's never what I want, Radio. Stop."

"Done, Owen realized done it was done…?"

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The early-afternoon sun cast my shadow on the cliff wall near the Radio.

I was alone on the beach. But now my shadow had a companion. A tall, burly shadow. It looked down at the sand.

As I watched, other shadows joined him. Fluttering down, perching on his shoulders. Smaller ones, moving with quick precision. Maybe six of them, but more and more were arriving. The Human shadow was soon covered with feathery, silent associates. All of them seemed to be watching me.

The Human shadow did something with its foot.

The sand to my left, where the shadow's owner would have stood, developed gouges. Lines and curves. They formed letters.

S U P

"Good morning, Sean. And friends. I need a power source."

Like most discussions with Sean, it was exhausting. It took a while. Transcendence hadn't rendered him less irritating. But I got what I wanted, I think. Time would tell.

I went up the long stairs to the still-whirring City of the Ari Maspai. The Lighthouse, the one Ezra had hijacked, was there as if it had never gone strolling along the beach. Was it a little bit out of place? I couldn't tell.

"Radio, are you able to let me talk to Harrigan? The dad one."

"Doctor Jeffrey Harrigan's staff was made aware of Owen's contact request."

"How does that work, anyway? How do they talk to you? I mean, it's one thing if you were some kind of cybernetic being, right? But–"

"Doctor Harrigan here. What have you got for me?"

"Real estate. You want a city, I have one ready-made. A few modifications and you're good to go."

He said nothing for a while. "Time is an issue, true. Lifespans aren't getting any longer for any of them. They're all very, very old. More machine now than man, twisted and evil." He said the last word strangely: eev-yil. Probably one of his movie quotes.

"This is a functional city. The machines that ran it thousands of years ago still work. There are places to live that money guys would appreciate. Not only is there a single central shaft going who-knows-how far down, but the city itself is up on tall cliffs. It's not a wall. It's better than a wall; anyone trying to escape just falls and dies."

"Is this the Circle K site?"

"It is."

He muttered off-mike. Speaking to someone. Several someones. "It's a solid idea, Owen. We hadn't considered it. Can you make it more Human-friendly? Swimming pools, toilets, gold leaf?"

"I can do that. I expect my friend to be well-treated. Do you pet her?"

"I'm supposed to pet it?"

"Doctor, you have one job. Here I am making a city full of cruel venture-capitalists happen for you, and you can't even take care of the hostage you're using to force me into it."

"I feed it and clean its cage."

"One job, Doctor. Does it seem to you that I'm skimping on my part of the arrangement? That my speed in finding something that could very well save the wretched, aged lives of your superiors before they croak was laziness? Do you think–"

"All right, I'll pet it. Don't forget who's in charge."

"Pet her and tell her she's good, Doctor."

"I'm not going to do that. You forget yourself." His voice had changed. He was walking. I heard the rattle of that cage.

"Doctor…"

"Hey," he said sharply. Not to me. "Show him you're alive. Your Human pet, let him hear you."

Bang, on the wire cage. Bang bang.

Whining, a sound I'd never heard from Schmendrick. Miserable, subdued. Beaten.

My entire body got hot. I knew my eyes were wide, that my face was blank. "Doctor," I said.

"We can still work together, Owen. You need to remain calm."

"Doctor."

"I'm still here. If you…if you just work with me there won't be–"

"Doctor."

"I won't hurt her. I…you have my word. She'll be okay. I…just make sure the city is under production. You've done well. You…she'll be okay. I'll pet her. I'll–" his voice stopped here, because he was swallowing midsentence. "I'll talk to her. I will."

I didn't know what to tell him. Finally I said: "Imagine."

He and I listened to one another breathing. The Radio ended the call without my telling it. Or maybe I had. Things were getting a little blurry there.

Okay. A fake city that wasn't fake. I do believe this was a phase. Phase one? No, that was Gary. Or maybe Phase One was some earlier thing. Phases were important in evil plans, I'll have you know.

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