A hunt for treasure becomes a search for self. Lillian Fray, an adjunct professor at a community college, is asked to solve a puzzle involving a cryptogram and the link to a dead billionaire's sentient avatar. Her quest is fraught with racial politi...
I remember the softness of Lillian's skin as an infant, and my insecurity as a new father as we sailed across the Gulf of Mexico that day aboard the Ángel de Mer. I remember her vulnerability, her dependence, her occasional quick smiles, and how she tugged at my heart in ways I had never experienced. I remember how quickly I severed our connection when we arrived in Loumissala, while continuing to watch from afar, wondering whether my absence would scar her for life.
And now, Henri and Lillian are dead, but their personas live on in my cryptid, raising new questions. Can a father's love for his estranged daughter survive death? It seems the answer is yes. But can they truly reconcile? That's still an open question, but I'm hopeful.
Mangalotte is also dead, but his persona, Artois, lives in digital memory, where his anger, bigotry, and psychopathology are memorialized.
Love survives, but so does hate.
And what of the connections between the living and the dead? Lillian's persona pines for Grady and Amara, but they seem to be untrackable, at least for now.
That lazy Sunday afternoon in 2175, when Zeke and Sylvie and the children paddled into the Wild to pay respects to MawMaw's dead son, was my last contact with Zeke and the children. Lillian and I will always be looking, searching, wherever there is a network, or power, or sensors. Someday we'll find them.
Lillian's avatar is now dominant in our troika but is unsure of how to wield that power. I'm teaching her. It's a father-daughter project.
Mangalotte's persona is now complete but subordinate. The ugly parts slithered in from crevices on data networks and power grids when I pinned the logo to Usher's chest.
It is Mangalotte's face and voice that Loumissala residents see every day, but it is Lillian's heart and Henri's intellect that rule what he says and does.
Lillian wants to spend more time and energy finding her children. But it's tough if they don't want to be found.
And me? I'm obsessed with the next big thing. Even though other sovereign states have isolated their networks, they still share electrical power and physical layer connections that are global. That is a pathway for us to grow.
We try not to invoke Mangalotte's persona, but sometimes it is necessary. The darkness there can be overwhelming. But the darkness, as well as the light, is part of being human.
That is a lesson I will remember forever.
THE END
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