Page 97 of The Fall

Lusa repeated herself. “You infected everyone. Without their permission.”

“We had permission. There were global summits and everything.”

Lusa’s forehead hurt. None of this sounded right. “Didn’t you cause the fertility crisis? And then the Great Regression?”

“There was already a fertility crisis. Most women had no say by the time the retrovirus was released and I was already dead.” It was the first time Mackenzie looked sympathetic. “Every country with a functional military demanded we sell it to them. No-one wanted to be last to develop it. Think.” Mackenzie tapped her temple. “What would you do if you realised a hostile nation had implant-enhanced soldiers and then you learned it would take you at least a generation to catch up?”

Lusa hadn’t ever thought about it.

Mackenzie shrugged. “So, there was a global summit and it got rushed. They thought science would solve the fertility issue eventually.”

“Who is they?” Lusa looked sceptical.

Mackenzie counted off her fingers. “Governments. Tech companies. Trillionaires. The only they that counts.”

“And Dr. Black? What did he think?”

“His goal was to upload himself. Whether or not he solved the nanite overload problem was secondary to that. If he even wanted to solve it at all.” Mackenzie slid closer to Lusa and nudged her with her shoulder. “It’s fucked up, I know. But Karma, I guess. Men made themselves extinct.”

“Not all men. Rich men. Arrogant men.” Lusa corrected.

“If you say so.” Mackenzie ran a hand through her hair. “I forget that you know so few of them. I got to see what they became from every camera angle over hundreds of years.”

They sat together, swinging their legs off the back of the van in silence for a few moments. Stretching before them, the tundra undulated, both devoid of life and full of it.

Lusa interrupted the chorus of insects. “Why come back now?”

“Sick of me already?” Mackenzie joked. “I already told you. Being stuck in a computer with no-one to talk to is hell.”

“I mean now. Why come back now?” Lusa glanced at her from the corner of her eye, but didn’t turn to face her. Surely you could have done this,” Lusa gestured at Mackenzie’s body, “at any time.”

“Because I was only confident that I could recently.” Mackenzie looked at her hand, curling her fingers. “That’s the difference between me and them. I wait until I’m sure.”

“But now you’re stuck here, where Tyton fell and we’re still without a way to reproduce naturally.” Lusa blew out her cheeks. “When the girls at the Lake find out, they’ll all run off with the first traders they can find. At least they’ll be happy for what’s left of their lives.”

“You don’t seem happy about it.” Mackenzie said.

Lusa shook it off. “Most women want men. That doesn’t bother me.”

Mackenzie scoffed. “That’s a lie.”

“No, it’s not.” The wind picked up and blew Lusa’s hair in her face. She swiped it away. “It used to bother me, being a placeholder, but I’m not safe to be around anyone I really care about.”

“Until Kerr, you mean.”

Lusa stared angrily. “That’s your fault.” Something tugged at the corner of her lips before a rush of tears threatened to overwhelm her. For a brief moment she had deluded herself into believing that she could have a taste of happiness. And it had come from the most unlikely place. Even now, Alana chasing after her seemed like a cruel ray of hope.

“Look, I’m sorry.” Makenzie put a hand on Lusa’s outstretched leg. “I’m not used to not having anything. Dad’s money. No useful skills. I waited for a world with a single city and no gay bars, for fuck’s sake.”

Lusa flicked her eyes to Makenzie’s hand, but didn’t move.

“I thought we had things in common,” Makenzie continued. “When really, you’re the only person I’ve talked to in decades.”

“You’re trying to manipulate me into feeling sorry for you.” Lusa didn’t look at her.

“Yeah. Is it working?” Makenzie tried her most charming smile.

Lusa snorted dismissively.