![\"\"](\"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/maite-and-kepa-v3b.png\")
\u201cDon\u2019t we have to try?\u201d asked Kepa, grabbing Latxe\u2019s shoulders and looking into her eyes. \u201cWe can\u2019t let things end like this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latxe looked up at Kepa, then around the room. \u201cIt\u2019s everywhere. It knows what we are saying. The nanobots are part of it and they are literally everywhere. How can we do anything without it knowing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan\u2019t you control them, at least the ones nearby?\u201d asked Maite. \u201cWe can create a deadzone\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Literally as they spoke, the table Latxe was holding disintegrated in her hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSee?\u201d shrieked Latxe on the verge of hysteria. \u201cWe can\u2019t fight this thing!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite looked back at Kepa, seeing only defeat in his face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite let out a deep breath she didn\u2019t realize she had been holding. \u201cGaruna,\u201d she said, it a soft voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A disembodied voice echoed throughout the room. \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latxe looked up, her eyes wide with terror. \u201cZertan zabiltza? What are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite ignored her. \u201cGaruna, why do you believe you have to protect this place?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no belief,\u201d replied the machine, a million little voices all in perfect synchronicity. \u201cI was designed to protect it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProtect it from what, exactly?\u201d asked Maite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom you. From him. From her. From humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asked Maite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHumanity was on the verge of destroying not only itself, but the planet and everything with it. I was built to protect humanity from itself. To do what humanity couldn\u2019t do to keep it safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd is that what you are doing now, by keeping the zatia?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, of course.\u201d The million voices almost seemed to bounce off of her skin as they reverberated throughout the room, millions of sonic pulses that she more felt than heard as the AI continued speaking. \u201cBy protecting the zatia, I am protecting this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut this time shouldn\u2019t exist,\u201d replied Maite calmly. \u201cThis time, this place, is a bubble, one that was created through magic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMagic does not exist,\u201d replied Garuna flatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen what is the zatia?\u201d asked Maite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is\u2026\u201d The AI paused. \u201cIt is\u2026\u201d it started again. After a long pause, it simply said \u201cEz dakit. I do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s because it is an anomoly,\u201d replied Maite. \u201cI didn\u2019t believe it either, at first. There is no such thing as magic. But the zatia exists, and it created this bubble. And, if you let it keep growing, let the bubble keep expanding, we don\u2019t know what will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was silence. Finally the AI spoke again. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll bubbles eventually burst,\u201d said Maite. \u201cWhen they get too big. We don\u2019t know what will happen to one of these bubbles if it gets too big. Will it pop, ending this timeline? If it does, will the burst be so violent that it affects the main timeline? We don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you suggesting that, by allowing this bubble to persist, the entire fabric of time may be jeopardized?\u201d asked the AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know. But I don\u2019t know it won\u2019t be. We just don\u2019t know.\u201d She looked over at Latxe, who had sat on the floor, fixated on Maite. \u201cIs it worth taking the chance?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut,\u201d replied the AI, \u201cthis version of these people will cease to exist if I allow you to take the zatia. I will have failed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite shook her head, at what she wasn\u2019t sure. She almost felt like she was talking to herself or, worse, to some diety. An all powerful diety that could strike her down at any moment if she said the wrong thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t have failed. Your mission is to protect humanity. That includes all of humanity, not only those who are in this bubble. But everyone. To protect the greatest number, you will have to let these go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The room was again silent. Maite looked at Kepa, who, huddled down with his arms around Latxe, gave her a weak smile. She wasn\u2019t sure she was getting anywhere with the AI. But, she saw no alternative. If this failed, she had no idea how they would get out of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After several minutes, a black sphere floated in from the doorway and hovered in front of Maite. It opened up. Inside was the bright light of the zatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A voice, tinged with sadness, filled the room. It simply said \u201cI concur.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite looked over at Kepa, who nodded as he looked down at Latxe. He squeezed her tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was an honor knowing you,\u201d he said. Latxe gave a weak smile as Maite touched the zatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n