Captain Han has his hands on the table, and looks at the several officers scattered around it, before settling back on me.

  “So you’re telling me this Fracture… is more? Can you give me anything more? Do you know what’s going to come out of it?”

  I run my metal gauntlet over my face. Rather than the sound of metal on metal, a grinding noise, like stone on stone, whispers out.

  “I really wish I could, Captain. These Fractures are… complex. They are multi-dimensional. At least five spatial dimensions at a best guess. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were more than that. I can see… a lot. I just don’t have the educational background to make any sense of it.”

  I even tried to teach myself cosmology, the study of the universe, and topology, the study of geometric objects. Having the ability to multitask and think faster than a data center doesn’t really help all that much, unfortunately. I still don’t really understand much of any of it beyond basic notation. Not even being able to see higher dimensional objects has helped a whole lot.

  The Captain nods.

  “So, what we know so far is that this Fracture is… more. Deeper, wider, than the other ones that have already ruptured?”

  “I can’t speak for all of the other ones that ruptured, given I only saw one before that, but with that one in mind, yes.”

  “What does that mean for us?”

  “I honestly have no idea. I can give you a wild-ass guess if you’d like.”

  “Go for it. At this point, I think you know more about Fractures than literally anyone else in Korea, maybe even the world.”

  And isn’t that terrifying?

  “I think we’ll see larger monsters, and more of them.”

  “Do you think they’ll be more dangerous?”

  “I mean, ‘danger’ is a very vague term. I have no idea. If something is large and slow? Well, I imagine those tanks will chew them up.”

  I hope so, because if not, we’re so screwed.

  Captain Han looks back down at the table, a map of the intersection, with defensive lines and other notation drawn on it. He hums for a moment before looking back up.

  “Can you go take a look at the other Fracture still left? Maybe you’ll be able to compare?”

  I nod.

  “That was the idea.”

  “One last question before you go.”

  His look sharpens, his face grim.

  “Do you know how much time we have before these ones rupture?”

  I shake my head sadly.

  “Not a clue.”

  Han sighs.

  “I was afraid of that. Well, thank you for what you’ve told us. We’ll go over the defense plan again. Here’s hoping you’ll be able to tell us more later.”

  I nod and leave, understanding the polite dismissal.

  I walk to the truck, the driver napping. The thunking of my boots wakes him up once I get close.

  “Leaving? Not going to stay for the defense?”

  “Well, I need to take a look at the other Fracture. Hopefully I’ll learn something useful.”

  The driver nods.

  “Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, hop in. I’ll radio ahead and get us over there.”

  An hour later, and I’m standing in front of the second unruptured Fracture. This is one near South Korea’s version of the White House, called the Blue House. At least, that’s the English translation of it. While most of the grounds around it have been made into a public park, it’s completely empty now. The President was evacuated elsewhere and the park shut down. This Fracture is even more heavily defended than the one in Downtown Seoul. I suppose all the buildings in the city make it easier to funnel the monsters into choke points.

  This one is much like the Fracture I examined earlier. Deeper, wider, more. I sigh in exasperation, and I make a call.

  “Captain Hwang?”

  “Mr. Ryans, it’s good to hear from you. What did you need?”

  “I’ve studied both of the Fractures, but I don’t have the education to actually make any use of the information. I don’t suppose Korea has some very smart people who would be able to crunch the numbers? I can supply the raw data, and lots of it.”

  She pauses for a second.

  “…I can make some calls, but it will take time. How much data?”

  “It can be as high resolution as they want. Anywhere from gigabytes to petabytes.”

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  Another pause.

  “Right. I’ll find storage for you. If you come to City Hall, you can hand off the data. And… there’s someone here who would like to speak with you.”

  She sounds worried at the last statement.

  “Who?”

  “The United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea. He’s very insistent.”

  That can’t be good.

  As I hop off the cargo truck and land on the road with a thunk, I wince internally when I hear a crack. I barely take ten steps before an American man with a suave smile, perfectly combed hair, and wearing a suit that likely costs more than this trip, walks up to me.

  “Mr. Seth Ryans! It’s good to meet you, I’ve heard so much about you from our wonderful allies. I’m Matthew Farley, U.S. Ambassador. Now, I’m here to make sure that said allies aren’t hoarding your time, as I’m sure you’re ready to go home!”

  He tries to put an arm around my waist to guide me to another cargo truck, this one with an American flag on it. I step away from him.

  “They’re not hoarding my time, whatever you mean by that. I’m sorry, but I have something I need to do.”

  I turn slowly, carefully making sure I don’t turn on my foot. I’ve done enough damage to the roads. Unfortunately, this gives him ample time to step back into my path.

  “Please, slow down Mr. Ryans! You’re a U.S Citizen! You don’t have to, nor do you have any obligations, to work with them, and in fact, if I’m being honest, the United States is… in need of your skills.”

  What skills? Getting people killed? I’m really good at that.

  I’m honestly surprised he can talk for so long without taking a breath. I suppose diplomats have to be good at that, but even so.

  “Look, Ambassador, I’m a little busy right now.”

  The slick smile drops from his face.

  “Right, fine. Look, Korea isn’t the only place with Fractures. It’s bad. People like yourself, people with powers, are needed. Badly. Come home.”

  Home to what?

  “I’m not sure it is home,” I softly mutter.

  The Ambassador flinches, barely. I doubt anyone else caught it.

  I guess that was the wrong thing to say.

  I splice into a telecom satellite, and skim the news in America. He’s right. It is bad. San Francisco had eight ruptures. Washington D.C. had eighteen. New York was the worst. The battle for it is still on, even as I stand here. Twenty-six ruptures throughout the city. Eight more Fractures still unruptured.

  Tens of thousands at a minimum are dead, and that number will continue to climb. It is the single most lethal day for America, ever. I don’t know if America is home. Nowhere feels like home, if I’m being honest. Everyone told me that’s a natural part of grief, feeling so disconnected from the world we knew. But… I was never very good at saying no to people. And a good person wouldn’t say no, right? You’d keep going, keep giving, keep trying. I want to be a good person.

  “Okay, Ambassador. Let me take care of a few things first. I… might need your help with something, actually. But there might be a few… complications?”

  A million dollar smile crawls across his face.

  “Of course, Mr. Ryans. I’m at your disposal. What do you need?”

  “I…I’ll need a plane? A cargo one. I can’t fly commercial any more, clearly. And,” my head bobs back and forth out of embarrassment. “I’ll need someone to get my things from my hotel room. It’s… on the fourth floor.”

  I point to the crack on the road, illuminated by work lamps scattered around the command center, and Ambassador Farley turns around. His eyebrows raise.

  “Right. We can help with that. Let me make some calls.”

  He pulls out a satellite phone and steps away. I turn back to the command center to see Captain Hwang walking out of City Hall.

  As she walks up, she notices the Ambassador on a call behind me, and gives me a complex look.

  “You’re going?”

  “…Yeah. Sor—”

  “Don’t apologize. You’re defending your home. We know the feeling.”

  She gives me a tired grin.

  “Just, thank you. We’ve arranged for an array of hard drives, if you’re still willing…?”

  “Absolutely. Where?”

  She pulls a piece of paper out of a pocket and shows me a QR code.

  “Can you use this?”

  “Uh…”

  I scan it, and embedded in it is an IP address and a set of login credentials.

  “Yes.”

  I rummage through the array they’ve given me, and I quickly find that it’s huge. The array is five petabytes in size, which is no small amount. They must have commandeered a data center for this.

  “Wow, that’s.. a lot of space.”

  “You’re free to use as much as you want.”

  It takes me nearly two minutes to compress and dump everything I got from the Fracture I first saw, as well as the Fractures that have yet to rupture. I fill the entire storage array with the highest resolution video ever created on the planet, as well as topological models of the Fractures themselves. Well, as best I could make anyway. I still understand fuck all about topology other than notation, really.

  “Right, done.”

  She holds her hand, and I gingerly take it, despite the dried viscera and dust completely coating my armor.

  “Thank you, Mr. Ryans. For everything.”

  “I wish I could have done more.”

  “All of us are telling ourselves the same thing, Mr. Ryans. I think we always will. Hopefully we will meet again in better circumstances.”

  “Goodbye, Captain Hwang. Here’s hoping.”

  I turn and walk away, conflicted. I carefully climb into the American cargo truck, and we drive off to the hotel I was staying at.

  We make it to Airbase K-16 two hours later, and a C-17 is waiting on the tarmac for me. I carefully slip out of the truck bed, and step down. No damage this time, progress! I have everything I came to Korea with, stored inside that weird disconnected part of me. The same place everything I had on me went to when I… ascended, I suppose. Honestly, I don’t really like that term all that much.

  The Ambassador gives me another smile, this one seemingly genuine.

  “Thank you, Mr. Ryans. Really, thank you.”

  I look at the yawning cargo door, the entire bay completely empty. The entire plane has been readied for me. A humbling and terrifying thought. Mostly terrifying, really.

  What if I’m not worth all this trouble?

  “I just feel bad for stiffing the President and the General.”

  He gives me a lob sided grin.

  “Yes, I’m sorry about that. I’m sure it would have been a nice party. As for the General, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

  Not like I could have enjoyed it anyway, not with what’s going on…

  “Well, no time to lose.”

  I sigh. What a deeply human expression. It feels odd that I can still make it. I don’t have lungs. The question that’s been haunting me for the last day and half since my awakening comes back.

  What am I?

  I find an answer as I step into the cargo bay, and watch it close behind me.

  I know what I’m not, at least.

  “I wonder if I’ll miss being human,” I mutter quietly, the words lost in the groaning of the aircraft as it readies itself for the long flight ahead.