Program 13 Book One (3 page)

“Program Thirteen.” McVeigh broke his hold on me, leaving Douglas Todd by my side. “Your caretakers will now be taking you into your hard drive evaluation. Since you have excelled two levels, there will need to be some changes made to your programming.”

Without further ado, the White Coats grabbed hold of my arms and pulled me off into the evaluation room behind us, placing me in the metal chair before securing the restraints. This was the part I hated most, feared even, at least, inside. I was at the mercy of the scientists whom I’d yet to meet. These strangers controlled my core. Unlike my caretakers, they would never become a part of me. They would continue to remain strangers who stood behind the glass, clipboards and pens in tow, marking down my every flaw and my every strength. Whoever or whatever they wanted me to become, I would and that was all I could do. I was nothing without this place, these people.

“And we’re ready to begin,” a voice rang through the speakers surrounding the top of the room. There were no lights. Just darkness.

I could feel the restraints pressing against my flesh.
Do not move
, I had to remind myself. I could not bleed, but my flesh could still tear. I closed my eyes as I heard the charge running through the wires, tugging on the hard drive in my back. I pushed forward against my will, acting strictly on what my mind was feeding me. There were flashes of lights around the room. I looked down at my right wrist and noticed a large tear revealing the wires beneath. A pale blue light pulsed where the flesh once was.

T
he buzzing noise rang through my ears as the volts soared through my insides, speeding through each wire before erupting in my core. Unlike my regular evaluation, I could feel everything. My core pulsed, forcing me to respond to the pain. As they erased files and imported new ones, I wanted nothing more than to rip out the wires connecting me to the computer. I just wanted to run and hide. I did not want to be here.
I did not
want
this.

But I could not move. Restraints were placed on my wrists, chest, and legs to keep me in place until they were through with me. I knew these evaluations were for my sake, McVeigh had told me that several times, but that did not help to make them any easier. My inner voice was screaming.
Almost done, keep
pushing
. And I knew that I would. I always did. I always managed to push through the pain.

“It looks as though your hard drive evaluation is completed. Your caretakers should be in shortly to release you.” The stranger’s voice echoed throughout the empty room. I wanted to see his face, to know who he was, but he would remain a stranger, a shadow lingering behind the frosted glass.

The door creaked open, allowing the light from the hallway to illuminate the dark room. Tina walked over to the chair and unbuckled the strap on my chest. The other White Coats hesitantly entered the room, their gazes fearful as if I were some sort of monster readying for attack.

“Help me out, will you?” Tina gestured to the straps on my wrists and ankles as she undid the one on my chest.

Never taking their eyes off of me, the White Coats leaned over and quickly released the straps, before retreating behind Tina.

“You have a meeting to attend before we bring you to your room. You will be meeting with your social teacher. She will teach you everything you need to know about living among humans.” Tina smiled, giving me her hand as I lifted myself from the chair.

A teacher. The idea pleased me. “Will she like me?” I asked, worried that my presence might frighten her. The humans that were brought to Vesta Corp were not always brought in voluntarily and often tried to attack Programs upon meeting them.

At first the idea puzzled me as to why the humans would act in such a manner, but as I processed it, I began to realize that they were genuinely scared. We were replicas of them. We were created to be replacements. We were created as enhanced versions of the real thing. In the future, the world would belong to us. They had every reason to despise us, but I could only hope that my teacher would welcome me like one of her own.

“I believe she will. She came here on her own, actually, looking to help with our cause. Her name is Alexis, and Mister McVeigh seems to believe she is the perfect match for you.”

I lowered my head as we walked across the hall to the training room. Tina opened the heavy metal door, placed her hand on my shoulder, and smiled. I peered inside, checking for Alexis’s reaction before proceeding any farther.

Sitting at the table was a petite woman with light brown hair and bright blue eyes. “Come in, come in!” She smiled, waving her hand at me.

There was something about Alexis that seemed familiar. I couldn’t know her. There was no way I could know her. I had not been given access to the outside world yet. I should not be able to recall anyone’s face other than those within Vesta Corp, but I knew Alexis. Somehow, I knew her.

“You must be Program Thirteen,” said the woman, pulling out the seat beside her.

I moved to sit in the chair, making sure to avoid any contact what-so-ever. The woman appeared friendly, but I could not guarantee she would be as welcoming if my skin brushed against hers.

“If you need anything, please feel free to let us know. We’ll be right outside the door,” Tina said as she gathered the White Coats. The heavy, metal door slammed shut behind them, leaving us alone.

This human, this stranger was supposed to teach me how to survive in the human world. This stranger, this woman that I somehow knew, although I'd never gone beyond these walls, was supposed to help me become more like her. As excited as I was, I could not help but be worried. Human contact would be a lesson at some point. Would she still accept me so willingly when she grasped just how different we were from one another?

We sat in silence staring at each other, unsure as to where to start. “I suppose I should introduce myself,” she said, tugging on the zipper of her jacket. “My name is Alexis Ward. I’m twenty-two years old. I just completed my human social teaching program last week. What about you?”

She was talking to me as if I were like her - a human; as if I had a human life in which to share. It was strange, but a pleasant change. “My name is Program Thirteen. My human identity is Emile.”

She stared at me waiting for me to continue, but I was not sure what else there was to share.

“Do you have an age? Or a last name?” What was she talking about; what did she mean by age and last name? “You know... like how Ward is my last name? Alexis Ward. Your human identity is Emile. Do you have a last name?” I shook my head no, as we were only given a single name for our human identities. “How about an age? Do you have one? I was born on June 25th, 1990. That would make me twenty-two years old.”

I tried to think back to what Hayden had said to Douglas Todd the previous day. He said that I was only a few months old but that I’d be seventeen years old if I were actually human. I looked over at Alexis who was still waiting for an answer.

“My Program is only a few months old. However, if I were a human, like you, I’d be seventeen years old from what I’ve overheard.”

Alexis smiled in response. It was clear that this was the first of what would be several sessions between us. I had so much to learn before I could be a part of her world. Even though this was all new, and supremely overwhelming, I was eager to learn. I wanted to be like her. I wanted to live out there. I wanted to fulfill my purpose as a Program.

“Emile,” Alexis spoke softly. “I hope that you do not mind me calling you that. I’m aware that in here you are addressed as Program Thirteen. But out there? Out there you will need to become one of them. You will only be addressed as Emile.”

“I do not mind,” I replied. And I truly did not. It was gratifying to feel like a person rather than a Program.

“Okay then. Well, to start with, you are going to need a last name.” Alexis pulled a folder from the bag next to her seat. She spread the manila folder out on the steel table, quickly glancing over a form. “Ah! What do you think of Reed? Emile Reed has a rather nice ring to it, don't you think?” It certainly did. Emile Reed.
Beautiful.

“Yes, Reed will be perfect. Thank you,” I finally replied after I remembered Alexis was still waiting on me.

She laughed and reached out to touch my hand. “I know you are scared that I’ll run out of the room screaming, but I can assure you that I will not. When I took this job, I knew what to expect. I knew what I’d be working with and I was, and still am, perfectly okay with that. My job is to prepare you for life outside of Vesta Corp. I have every intention of making sure you are ready when you leave here.”

As I pondered the idea of being out there among the humans, I began to wonder how different it would be for me. Would I truly ever blend into their world or would I stand out as a copy? I turned to face Alexis, who was currently staring at the door.

“Alexis, may I ask you something?” She turned to meet my gaze, a smile forming on the corner of her lips.

“How different will it be for me out there? Will they accept me for what I am?”

I might be preparing for life outside of here, but I wasn't so sure that humans were prepared for me. It wasn’t that Vesta Corp was a secret organization. It was quite well known actually. At least from what we’d been told. But until every human was willing to accept us for what we were, the world outside of these walls was still terrifying. They felt that we were not living beings and therefore had no reason to exist.

“But you will prove them wrong,” McVeigh always told us. “You are all full of life. Show them that you belong in their world.”

Show them that you belong.
I only hoped that I could.

“Emile, I’m not going to lie to you. Things outside of Vesta Corp will be incredibly different for you. The thing you have to remember is that you are a computer program meant to look and act as a human being. Some of us, like me, have accepted your existence in our world, but unfortunately there are still some who have not.”

You are a computer program meant to look and act as a human being.

“Yes, but I am a
living
program.”

“Look Emile, there is a lot about your program and your outer shell that you are not aware of. Soon enough though, it will all come to light. Soon enough.” Alexis’s gaze fell to the steel table, her hand brushing the folder that lay in front of her.

There was a buzzing sound as the door opened. The large metal door slammed into the wall. I watched as the White Coats approached me, Tina leading the pack. “That will be all for today, Alexis. Thank you,” Tina said, forcing a smile as she grabbed  hold of my arm and lifted me from the chair while the other White Coats followed closely behind. “Thirteen, I believe you are due for a hard drive inspection.
Rhys
, can you please escort Thirteen? I need to have a little talk with Ms. Ward.”

Rhys
stepped forward and grabbed hold of my arm, leading me to the evaluation room as the others looked on curiously.

Hard drive inspections were administered once per day. I’d already received mine earlier. There had to be a mix up of some sort. Maybe they did not receive my updated reading tablet. Maybe they did not know. “I’ve already had my evaluation today, sir.”

“Now that you are in Level Three, things will run a bit differently. Whenever we state that you are due for a hard drive evaluation, you will receive one. No questions allowed. Do you understand?”

I nodded, though I did not understand. Being that I was a Program and Rhys was one of my caretakers I was not allowed to question his judgment. Not unless I was willing to accept deactivation.

Rhys lowered me into the chair and quickly secured all of the restraints. The leather straps were tearing into my flesh. “Looks like we’re going to have to get these patched up, huh?” He smirked. “Wouldn’t want our lovely Thirteen to look inhuman, now would we?”

Rhys stood back up and proceeded towards the frosted glass, tapping the glass gently to alert the scientist that we were ready to start. As he turned to leave the room, he stopped at the door, peering over his left shoulder. “You are worthless.”

The metal door slammed shut behind him as his words lingered in the silent room.

Standard procedure stated that scientists were to remain anonymous to Programs. If they made their identities known, Programs could lash out against them. As long as they remained shadows, they were safe from our hands. They knew how torturous these evaluations were for a Program; they could tell simply by looking over the readings.

We were not supposed to know the scientists, but I knew this one particularly well. It was my old caretaker, Hayden. He pressed up against the frosted glass as his voice, soft and comforting, rang through the room. “I’m going to give you your life back, Emile, the life that they took from you. I promise. I’m going to get you out of this.”

4
INNER BEING

H
ayden lowered the lights throughout the room, allowing only the glare of the mounted monitors covering each wall to illuminate the space. I stared at the monitors, each revealing random bits of information concerning my Program.