The Man Who Ended the World by Jason Gurley Read Free Book Online

war.
    But it is there. From time to time he sends Stacy away, and then he slips into the passages that lead to his panic room. Inside the panic room, he rides a rising floor into the center of level one. He just stands there, studying his armory, the haz-mat suits, the body armor, the cases of automatic rifles, the canisters of blinding gas. 
    Then he rides the floor back into the panic room, slips back into his quarters, and proceeds with his day. 
    It is inconvenient that Steven has given Stacy a glowing avatar of light. When she 'leaves', her avatar scampers away and fades. Steven designed this as a comforting mechanism, so that he could do away with the irritating sensation of being watched all of the time. 
    It works so well that he often forgets that Stacy's avatar is only for show.
    Stacy is always watching. 

 
     
     
     
     
     
    The Infiltrators
     
    Clarissa shrieks. 
    Henry closes the bag and jumps backward. Wait, no, he says. It's not real! 
    Clarissa stops. It's not real?
    He opens the bag again and shows her the sticks of dynamite inside. 
    She reaches in and picks one up. It's just a wooden dowel, she says.
    There were a bunch of them in my dad's workshop, Henry says. So I spray-painted them red and tied some string to them. 
    She throws the dowel at his head. He doesn't see it coming, and the dowel hits him above the ear. 
    What was that for? he says, grabbing his head. 
    Because, she says, dynamite could have worked!
    Why did you scream? 
    I don't know! she shouts. I just did! Is that okay?
    Fine! he insists. Stop yelling at me!
    She stops. Sorry. 
    So how do we get in now? 
    Well, dynamite could have worked, Clarissa says. But it would have been pretty loud. Someone would have come to see what happened. And then we would never get into the car. So it's probably good that you didn't get real dynamite.
    See, he says.
    But , she retorts, it also could have worked. 
    What if it blew up whatever is underneath the car? Henry asks. 
    Well, that's possible, too, Clarissa says.
    So we're back at square one, Henry says.
    Square one, Clarissa agrees.
    Not exactly, Stacy says. 
    •   •   •
    Clarissa shrieks again. 
    Henry looks around. Who said that? 
    Stacy says, That would be me. Over here. 
    Clarissa is still shrieking.
    Henry says, Hey, stop. I can't hear. Over where?
    Here, Stacy says, and to signal Henry, she raises the car lid gently, and lets it fall shut again.
    Clarissa stops shrieking and stares at the car, eyes wide.
    Henry, she says. Did the car just talk to us? Does the car have a mouth? 
    Henry shakes his head. I don't know. 
    Ask it, Clarissa says, elbowing him.
    Um, Henry says. Car? 
    Yes, Stacy says. The trunk lid snicks open and shut. 
    Clarissa leaps backward and opens her mouth. 
    Henry slaps his hand over her mouth. Shh, he says. This is really, really cool.
    Clarissa just stares.
    Car, Henry says again. What day is today?
    The trunk lid moves as Stacy speaks. Today is Tuesday, the fourteenth of November, two thousand twenty-three. 
    Oh my god, this is so cool, Henry breathes. Car! Car, what time is it? 
    The time is ten forty-one a.m., Stacy says, still bouncing the trunk lid for effect. I see you are both very small humans, so I must ask. Should you not be in compulsory educational sessions at this time?
    Clarissa gasps. It knows we're playing hooky.
    Henry says, It's a holiday! 
    There are no nationally-recognized holidays on this date, Stacy says. World Diabetes Day is recognized today, but I do not believe that educational facilities close in observance of such an occasion. 
    Holy shit, Clarissa says. It's a smart car. 
    Henry says, Car, what is two plus two?
    I will answer your question, Stacy says, but we must first define the scale of measurement necessary to answer. Do you prefer the nominal scale? Or perhaps the ordinal scale? We might also use the interval scale or the ratio scale. I should point out that I believe the answer you are looking for is