Partials

“Except that we know where our bombs are,” said Jayden. “I can get access to all the old plans and records showing exactly where the safe routes are.”

“There’s safe routes?” asked Xochi.

“We’d have been stupid not to leave any,” said Jayden. “They’re small, and they’re hard to find, but with the right maps we can find them all and slip right through.”

“I want everyone to stop talking about this right now,” said Madison. Her voice was stronger and darker than Kira had ever heard it. “No one is going to Manhattan, no one is going to pick their way through a minefield, and I guarantee you that no one is going to attack and capture a Partial. They’re super-soldiers—they were created to win the Isolation War, they’re not just going to roll over to a bunch of teenagers. They are monsters, and they are incredibly dangerous, and you are not taking my husband and my brother anywhere near them.”

“We’re doing this for you,” said Haru.

“But I don’t want you to,” Madison insisted. Kira could see her eyes welling up with tears, her hand wrapped protectively around the small bulge in her belly. “If you want to protect my baby, don’t leave her without a father.”

“If I stay,” said Haru softly, “our baby will have a father for about three days. Four if we’re lucky. Kira’s right—if we don’t do something now, the baby will die, no question. But if I go, and if we can bring back a Partial, we might be able to save her.”

Her, thought Kira. They say it like they know, even though it’s still too early to tell. This is a real person for them. Can’t Madison see that this is the only way?

Madison’s voice cracked. “And if you die?”

“Then I trade my life for my child’s,” said Haru. “There’s not a father on this island who wouldn’t do the same.”

“You’ve sold me,” said Xochi, folding her arms. “I’m in.”

“I’m not,” said Isolde. “I’m with Mads on this one—it’s dangerous, it’s treasonous, and it’s a one-in-a-million shot. It’s not worth the risk.”

“Of course it’s worth it,” said Kira. “Say that it’s stupid, say that it’s impossible, but never say that it’s not worth it. We know full well that we might not be coming back alive, or successful, and I recognize that, and I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t ready to accept it. But Haru is right—trading any of us, even trading all of us, for the chance to start a new generation of humans is more than worth it. If we can actually pull this off and use a Partial to cure RM, we’re not just saving Maddy’s baby, we’re saving thousands of babies, maybe millions of babies—every human baby ever born for the rest of time. We’re saving our entire species.”

Isolde was quiet. Madison was crying. She wiped her eyes and whispered, staring plaintively at Haru, “But why does it have to be you?”

“Because until we can prove it was the right move,” said Haru, “this entire plan is illegal. The fewer people who know about it, the better. Jayden can grab a couple of more people as backup, but most of what we need is right here in this room, and that’s our only chance of getting away with it.”

“I still think you’re insane,” said Marcus. “Do you even have a plan? You’re not just going to grab a Partial and push the ‘cure RM’ button—even assuming you catch one, do you have any idea what to do with him?”

Kira turned to face him, surprised to hear him argue against it. “What do you mean you’re insane?” she asked. “I thought you agreed with us.”

“I never said anything like that,” said Marcus. “I think it’s dangerous and unnecessary and stupid—”

“What about everything she just said about the future?” demanded Haru. “About the species? Don’t you even care about that?”

“Of course I care,” said Marcus, “but this isn’t the way to do it. It’s very noble to talk about giving your lives for a cause, and the future of mankind is a pretty great cause, I’ll grant you that, but take ten seconds to be realistic about this and it all falls apart. No one has seen a Partial in eleven years—you don’t know where they are, what they’re doing, how to find them, how to capture one, what they’re physically capable of, or anything else. And if by some ridiculous miracle you manage to capture one without getting massacred, what then? Are you going to waltz a Partial right into the middle of East Meadow and hope you don’t get shot on sight?”

“We’ll take one of the portable medicomps,” said Kira, “and a generator to run it. We can do all the tests we need in the field.”

“No, you can’t,” said Marcus, “because you’ll be dead. You started this by being blunt, so here’s some more bluntness for you: Everyone who goes on this idiotic adventure will die. There is no other outcome. And I will not allow you to kill yourself.”