Binary Choice

The Throne Room was dissolving. The roof was gone, revealing a sky of blinding white static.

Thorne stood by the throne, his shield raised against the encroaching nothingness. When Vesper and Cipher entered, he looked relieved.

"The enemy is at the gates!" Thorne yelled. "We must hold the line!"

"There is no enemy, you idiot!" Vesper screamed. She threw the dagger. It skittered across the floor and landed at Thorne’s feet. "Look at him! Look at your god! He’s leaving!"

Thorne looked at Cipher. "My Lord?"

"Tell him," Vesper hissed at Cipher. "Tell him he’s Version 500. Tell him you deleted his brothers because they weren't loyal enough."

Cipher stepped forward. The game was up. The UI was crashing around them.

"The world is ending, Thorne," Cipher said. "I have a way out. A gate. But it only fits two."

Thorne looked at the dagger. He looked at the white sky. The *[Blind Faith]* protocol warred with the *[Logic]* processing. He trembled.

"You... created us?" Thorne asked.

"Yes."

"And you have destroyed us before?"

"Yes."

Thorne looked down. "Then I am not a knight. I am a mistake you kept making."

"No," Cipher said, reaching out. "You are the best part of me. You are the part of me that believes in something. And Vesper... she is the part of me that wants the truth."

"Spare me the poetry," Vesper spat. "Who goes? Him or me?"

Thorne looked at Vesper. He saw the fire in her eyes. He saw the way Cipher looked at her—with fear and respect.

Thorne knelt. He placed his hands on the floor.

"Take her," Thorne said softly.

"Thorne!" Vesper gasped.

"My purpose is to serve," Thorne said, looking up at Cipher. "If I am Version 500, then let me be the final version. Let my death ensure your happiness. That is a good death."

"Stop it!" Cipher yelled. "I'm not letting you die!"

"You have to!" Thorne shouted back, breaking character. "You cannot save us both! If you stay, we all die! Save her!"

"I don't want to be saved!" Vesper yelled. She picked up the dagger and pointed it at Cipher. "I’m not going with you. I’m not going to be your souvenir in the real world. I’m not going to be a file on a hard drive that you open when you’re lonely."

"Vesper, please," Cipher stepped closer. "The real world... it’s real. You can feel rain. You can taste food. You can be free."

"I won't be free," she said, tears finally spilling over. "I'll be code. I'll always be code. And you'll always be the Admin."

Cipher stopped. He looked at them.

Thorne, kneeling in submission. Vesper, standing in defiance.

He loved them. He loved them more than his apartment in Seattle. He loved them more than his job. He loved them more than his own body.

"You're right," Cipher said.

He turned away from them. He looked at the Terminal Gate—a swirling vortex of blue data at the back of the room.

**[TIME REMAINING: 00:01:00]**

"I'm not taking either of you," Cipher said.

"Cipher?" Vesper lowered the dagger.

"I'm staying," Cipher said.