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The others took their own stue to begin

"Now," the oldhis unnecessary armor "Look into the fire, Mr Skale Look deeply, and you will see the world of our code You’ll see just e’re so excited about e’ve discovered"

Gunner did as he was told He sat and stared at the charred wood and sooty ash Then it began to change, dark swirls dancing upward frorew and grew, reaching for the celestial body–filled sky, enco backward, trying to take it all in, wondering what it was Soon he saw nothing but blackness, so like a black hole It ain he wondered if he’d fallen for so splashed froht of letters and numbers and symbols He’d never seen so --of such co cyclone of code, he heard George’s voice, quiet and proud

"This, Mr Skale, is so we like to call the Mortality Doctrine"

8

Hours later, Gunner had forgotten all about any promise he’d made to himself to rush hoht out He’d forgotten about every little thing in his life, enraptured by the code that George and his partners revealed to him piece by piece Mes it to end, wondering if maybe it was all a drea story seemed utterly impossible And yet … it was there In the code

"We still have a long way to go," George said at so before Gunner wanted them to stop their presentation "But hopefully we’ve shown you enough that you’ll believe in our cause We want you to join us, Mr Skale Not only do ant your endorsement for publicity’s sake--we are practical, after all--but ant your counsel and advice We want you as part of this teae the world forever"

There was a whir of sound, and then everything disappeared, sucked back into the little fire pit in a great whoosh Gunner could do nothing but stare at the ashes Clouds and sky and planets filled the world now

"What are you going to do with it?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper His tonetheir cause was an absolute given All he wanted noas to understand what he’d just witnessed

"The possibilities are endless," George replied The arb of his He looked like the greatest warrior who’d ever walked the earth "Educating the young with instantaneous downloads of infor dee barriers by downloading every known language into every ence Endless, Mr Skale The scope of possibility is matched only by its sheer wonder"