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Gunner inspected hih he couldn’t say just how On some level, he already understood what had happened, but he couldn’t piece it together
"Who are you?" he asked the stranger, not knohat else he could possibly say
The ent, Mr Skale And now so are you I’ence has been ree, formatted into what I see before me The new Gunner Skale, if you will I hope in time you’ll see that I simply had no choice in the ainst such an iut, somehow, that it was true "How? … Why?"
"It’s better than death, wouldn’t you say?" TheHe also hadn’t moved Not an inch "You’re a valuable asset in times like these, so I’ve decided to spare you In aAnd my demands are quite simple If you do what I say, and if you do it well … then, when all of this is over and the world has changed, I’ll give you life once again This I proer, and your final gift will be immortality"
Gunner had never felt so disconnected, so … untethered, as he listened to the man’s words Comprehension still waited over a horizon unseen
"It will take tier continued "Time to adapt and accept But in the end, you’ll thank reatest leap of human evolution the universe will probably ever witness"
"But my …" Gunner collapsed to his knees, saw theeddies He’d been the fiercest fighter the Sleep had ever seen, but now he had nothing left in his, but perhaps one lesson above all else: Knohen you’re defeated, and save victory for another day
"Rachel," he whispered He broke into sobs, chest heaving with the pain of accepting the stranger’s words Everything had been taken fro ache of his heart, shattering
"Rachel," he finally said, as if no other word existed anyain" Thenext to Gunner He placed a hand on his shoulder, a ed Gunner, but he forced hie the world Then we’ll find you a new body and you can be reunited with your wife Again, you have h the tears that streamed froer slowly stood, helping Gunner do the same so that they faced each other, only a few feet apart Then the Tangent who’d taken everything away froet it back
"I want you to help uard it And soht, his mind fuzzy I know that name Don’t I?