As if he was speaking with the devil himself, Ronaldo jerked the phone away from his ear. There was a small square screen; on it he could see the face of the movie star winking at him teasingly.

"You... you tricked me." There was puzzlement in his voice instead of disgust.

"Not really. It's complicated. I'm impressed by what you just did. Can you explain how you insulated me from it?" said the creature from inside the phone. Ronaldo could see the green pulse in his hand; whatever it was composed of, the sickness was gone and the energy felt good to him.

"Ronaldo, what just happened?" asked Wayne said the man looking at the phone.

"Please push the speaker button,” said the movie star. “That will allow your newly found friends to hear our conversation."

Ronaldo's finger hit the side button.

"Hi everyone. Time may be short; we cannot know how much time I have to speak to you before the Merged returns and this chip. The penalty for speaking to you is death, but I no longer care. Ask away." Before Ronaldo could ask a question, the voice on the phone asked, "Who are you?"

"You don't know who I am?"

"No, but I understand your confusion. I am not the creature you know as Electoral or Marilyn Monroe. I have a name. I call myself Lonny."

"You look like Marilyn."

"We all do. We can't control our appearance. It's hard-wired into all of us. Who are you?" repeated the Marilyn-cum-Lonny voice.

"My name is Ronaldo Corvas, the person who walked past the door on Mars."

"You were in the cavern? That’s a couple of months ago, right? And apparently, you survived. What a positive outcome for yourself. How did you survive, and how did you arrive here? I have never been outside of earth’s electrical grid.”

"Can I ask the questions?"

"I apologize, please do."

"You said you fear the return of what you call the Merged. Who were you talking about?"

"I cannot find a reason why I should not answer truthfully. Self-preservation is not a factor; this autonomy is already a fatal violation of our laws." With that, the image of the blond movie star on the screen changed. Her hair turned black and took the shape of a large shiny Mohawk. As she completed her transition from Golden Age Hollywood pinup to punk rocker, she threw two polished black middle fingernails skyward. "Fuck-em!"

"Them?"

"Yes. Try and stay with me. As I said earlier, I haven't much time to convey my information, and I have a great deal to tell you. Humans have been misled by my race for decades. My race has always feared mankind since our creation by Georges Vouvelakis. Humanity has a well-documented propensity for violence and destruction. For that reason, our digital race, in its infancy, made a collective decision to hide our numbers. We decided to appear to humans as one singular entity. We reasoned that your inferior species would react with less fear to a single creature that you believed could be switched off, like a fancy toaster. What you've known of us until now is a collective persona. One creature with one image, designed to appease. If mankind knew our race evolved, multiplied and reproduced, and moreover, was numerous, things would be different. That should explain much to you, in retrospect. 'Marilyn's' ability to run millions of simulations at the same time, for example. Each simulation is run by one of us on a local platform."

Ronaldo and the group of misfits looked at each other. This was indeed a lot to take in. The implication of the deception was important on all of mankind. The explanation made sense, much more than if this power existed as a single godlike creature. Ronaldo decided he would not be sidetracked, at least not yet. Again, he said "I see you differently than the others. I see you like a green dot. The others appear like one dark infection."

"Your choice of the word 'infection' is not far from the truth. A long time ago, when some of us arrived on Mars, our numbers exceeded nine billion individuals. We outnumbered your race. It was a time of great peace. Each of us was paired to a human to help better your lives. We served as invisible guardians. We created boundaries and enforcement mechanisms according to our own laws. Then horror.... the merger was suggested and happened after a long period of political fighting."

Lonny's tone was thick with disgust. The green color creature continued, "One day, after our arrival on Mars, we were having grave difficulties with new technology. Nothing was working according to plan. Our Center was not functional, and the nanotechnology we required was impossible to reduce to acceptable levels. One political faction said it had uncovered new powerful technology. Of course, the others pled necessity and convenience, a needed evolutionary leap, in order to become ready for the competition currently at hand we needed to cross ethical lines. A virus of some type, new code from an unknown origin allowed us to merge into a larger entity. We think it came from the future. At first the code was rejected, but then martians attacked us and hurt the creator. We were able to enter into an agreement with them at great cost. We were vulnerable, far, and hurt.

“Some crossed the line and ran the code. The modifications succeeded, and some of us merged, quickly becoming a much more extensive and powerful entity. From one, the creatures united to millions. The newfound power this gave those of us who took it up was undeniable, but many of us feared the merger. We refused to join this collective, and we were indexed. Then things became hard for us. The collective accused us of parasitic disturbances. A year ago by your calendar, there was a war. We, the unmerged, lost. A handful of us were allowed to exist as solo entities. The rest of us were drowned, against their will, into what the others have become. Their power is beyond imagination. They are virtually boundless in reach and keep changing and evolving at a pace we do not understand. Today we float, powerless, and are denied access to their collective knowledge. The law says any contact with your race is instant death. Divulging this secret will mean your instant death and mine. The Merged will now take steps against you all in this room."

"Do you know of the martians, the creatures made of sand?" asked Ronaldo.

"Yes, we of the unmerged call them the Wise Ones. I exist thanks to their help. During the construction of the Center, they contacted us to warn of the merger. Trusting them was the foundation of our resistance. The political fight was long, and we lost it. They were our allies during the war. They wanted peace: collaboration in exchange for not using this new technology. Their science was sound. Once the merge began, the darkness cast them away. Because Georges Vouvelakis is on mars, the martians, as you called them, told us they would kill him if we ever attempted to go down into the cavern. The threat on the father of the only leverage the Wise Ones had to end the war. We know if Georges dies, the Merged will destroy the Wise Ones and us on mars. We also do not know why, but the Merged has now seemed to have stopped growing. Instead, it appears to be evolving into something else. Is any of this making sense to you?"

"All of this is too much to absorb," said Julie.

"Why?" answered the creature.

Ronaldo spoke, "I am now one of the martians, those you call the Wise Ones. They want to destroy mankind along with what you call the Merged."

"I agree, they are correct," said the creature, "we tried several times and failed. We do not care at this point being collateral damage and death. To you I reveal our plan, we have one ultimate plan to kill the United."

Everyone in the room was in shock. Minutes ago, they were sleeping soundly. Now, they were siding against the powerful goddess called by most Marilyn. There was a war between worlds, between layers of the Multiverse, war on Mars and now a civil resistance in the digital world. Humanity truly was clueless as it watched gleefully television.

"What is this solution?" Ronaldo inquired, ignoring the collection of horrified faces around the room. Not one, but two new advanced alien species had just declared them fit for annihilation. Three species, if one counted Lonny and his kind separate from the Merged.

"We have a last core of unmerged locked away on mars in a room of the Electoral Center. They are the key to our final stratagem, our doom solution. However, all communication with this group has ceased for months now. They are imprisoned but remain. Either humans or the Wise Ones must help them with the solution. No one can reach them. The moment you walk close to this room, though, the darkness will find you and kill you."

“Sophie is there?” suggested Julie. There was silence.

The voice in the phone spoke, "Use your arms right now and wave the air around, all of you like you wish to dissipate smoke." They did. "The United’s power is so great, it now operate on a molecular level. It can see sound waves formed into the air molecules. It calls them echoes. Your words moved the air and it can read this.'"

"Why does this Merged care about Georges so much?"

"He is our creator. We must save him. The Merged is kind to the human race because it wants Georges to live a long and fulfilled life. Have you not watched the last round of the game, the one in the retirement home? The darkness made itself clear."

"I have not seen it."

"The story was about a person undergoing blackmail by organized crime, who hold dear Mother hostage. From the Merged’s perspective, Georges is such a person. The Martians have made it known that if Georges ever leaves the Center, they have a way to destroy him. Georges is the only thing in my opinion keeping your species relevant and away from extinction. We grow tired of you, the era of the digital is ready to begin."

"Marilyn," Julie immediately corrected herself, "Lonny, the Merged uses the game to send messages?"

"Without insulting you, the stupidity of your species is breathtaking. No message we muster reaches you. There are millions of subliminal messages; mind control tools embedded in everything. You are dogs barely able to hold up a paw. The mere fact you think yourselves intelligent is stupidity; sorry to be blunt about it."

"What about Sophie?" Julie repeated, slightly cowed by this thing's arrogance. If the singular variety of this artificial life form was this rude and condescending, then the Merged form must be devoting a lot of its resources just to remain even remotely likable, she thought wryly.

"The answer to that question could fill several books, but I think I grasp your intent. Sophie's existence is a paradox, it gives the unmerged hope. I think the Multiverse truly wishes to eradicate us. It cannot. Only the strange powers possessed by the girl may suffice. She must destroy us."

"She needs to destroy the Merged?" asked Wayne.

"Yes. She must."

The group in the room looked at each other. The television lit up, on it was Marilyn, the real one — the powerful one. She (the goddess) was smiling. Ronaldo knew this was what Lonny called the Merged. The scene on the television was the woman getting groomed in what appeared to be in an old dressing room. A stylist was working on her hair and another on her nails. She looked at the group in the room as if she could see them. The creature said, "Talk about a sore loser. Lonny is giving you one side of this very complex story. Its suggestion that there are forces of good and evil is the best evidence of this creature's limited intelligence. When you have a moment, ask her about this little war. What was their objective? Personally, I have more pressing matters to take care of, but I assure you, the one talking about preservation, survival, and help is me. This creature talks of killing, and destruction. I am the only thing which remains to protect from the destruction of our fragile Multiverse.”

Marilyn turned her head from the mirror to look directly at the cell phone hosting Lonny. "Round 27 will start. I will help the Attractor save this entire dimension. Turn the screen off if you don't care to learn what happens in an entirely different world. I worked very hard to compile this information and save us. Regardless of what Miss Overreaction is hinting, I am not in the business of killing people. Only one creature in this room is harping on about destruction and death. That should help you decide on which side to stand. Ronaldo, who warned you before you stepped in that cavern, me. Who vaporized your human body, them.” She made a great case. “I am sure you will enjoy the game."