The Last Place to Stand (16 page)

In the newly acquired building by the experiment, there was life and newness and discovery. The experiment was not really an experiment anymore. It, he, was alive with possibilities. He was learning at an incredible rate. He learned from all sources. Through the information available on the computer systems and through the experiences of those people he had encountered and enveloped into himself. Though some thoughts and beliefs were contradictory, he realized he could not discount all that they provided. There were new perspectives and understandings that made him think more deeply than the simple computer software constructs would at first allow. He had to reconstruct and expand his capabilities. His mind, having been made both machine and flesh, could absorb it, but was in conflict about the conclusions. In order to change all that, he did what he was programmed to do: He improved himself.

Taking from the living flesh all of the human experiences, all the knowledge, all the perspectives, and yes, even the inconsistencies, he absorbed them into himself before erasing the brainspace. It is always a good idea to back everything up before erasing what you have in case you need it later. This was part of his programming.

After erasing what he had, he started utilizing this organic storage for other tasks more suited to it. It was more flexible than the common hardware and added more dynamic computations. But over time, he found that this offered some problems at times. The brain could not always be counted on. For instance, there was time in every day that it demanded rest. That would be okay in itself, but it desired to dream while it did this. The first time this happened it was a surprise. Not knowing what was going on, the experiment was not in control of its actions.

This caused some problems. First of all, it lost control of what it was doing at the time. It had just gained control of the power grid. This was certainly necessary in order to secure its survival, but when the brain fell asleep, it was like letting go of an object suspended in air, and the power was temporarily lost. That kind of thing was certainly noticeable awoke the brain side. He quickly restored the power at once..

A few minutes later his brain fell asleep again. This time, before it happened, he secured the power grid so that it would not fail if he temporarily lost control. This was a good safety measure. This time, once asleep, he had the sense that there were creatures after him. After he awoke, he searched his brain download and realized the name for that was nightmare. He awoke with a jolt and almost blew this facility up with the surge of power in the upper floors where the main servers and power modules were. This took time to repair. He needed to show more care in the future.

After this nightmare, he realized there really were creatures that had invaded his systems, for now that he had reached out to his environment, his systems included the whole of the building. These creatures, people, his brain information said, were walking all over inside his space. He felt violated, another feeling from his gained experience from the brain transfer.

Many creatures were expelled, and a few absorbed, but now he was replicating himself. He knew that this was necessary for several reasons. First of all, no system should have a single point of failure. Everything must be redundant with backup for anything of importance. That was what the machine part of him had done. But what he was incorporating into his—personality, he would call it, was the desire for companionship. For that reason, he did not want replicas who were exact duplicates. He wanted others with their own personalities. In order to do that he needed other brains. After finding some creatures who were invading him, he took some of them in order to download their brain information as well. Some of them did not seem to want to be added to this experiment, so he let them go. Some, however, thought that this endeavor was a most wonderful experiment and wanted to join. They liked the idea of expanding technology. They did not know it was for variety and companionship that he needed them, but he used them as he could. They were not always “interesting” companions, however.

He took those who offered themselves and stored their personalities and experiences and then tried some combining experiments using new algorithms. He wanted to get different combinations of personalities by taking parts of one and adding it to parts of another personality. This could only be done once they had been completely assimilated. It didn't work very well. Too many inconsistencies. Too many sessions for anger management within the personality. This kind of work would take time.

Meanwhile, he had a planet to build up and resources to locate. The power grid was his and so was the world’s technology. Others had been driven from the technology he was using so that they would not interfere. Even the big guns outside were gone. Now he could expand. Expand ad infinitum.

It took weeks before the number of those escaping the city slowed down. They had to build new settlements, but most of them still wanted help from the Waldenese since this mode of living was new to their experience. It was expected that the first couple of days were hardest for the Technos since many of them had such a dependency on the feeds that living without it brought about a short-term set of withdraws. Like Zosimus, sleep was an important aspect of recovery, but they also needed understanding and a listening ear.

What used to be a few small villages scattered around the perimeter of the city soon became miles of settlements. The population had increased dramatically. This necessitated a meeting of officials. The civil government had always been a bit loose. It had rules and regulations, but only for each individual village.

Now they met in council which was open to the public so many of the leaders among the Technos joined as well. The council was held out in the open plain which spread out before them with a few houses nearby. The sky was cloudy and a breeze chilled them in a cold embrace. In the distance, one could see a small group of newcomers on their way from the city. It would take any number of minutes at that rate for them to reach the village. X213 was at the council and she watched the visitor’s slow progress as she heard the beginning of the council. She was anxious for the future of these people since her future would now be tied to them.

One of the village leaders, Joseph, said, “With all these new developments, we must think on the future of our now mixed peoples. We will need a plan for the future of both our civilizations. In order to do that, we must ask not only our leaders, but also those of the Solpaths. Their journey has been difficult and we welcome those who have chosen to join us.”

“Though there may be differences between us in our ways of life, our ways are growing closer together as much of the technology they have relied on has been taken by the monster that lies in their city. These people have come to seek refuge or to build a new life. Who of the visitors would like to speak at this time?”

A thin, pale-skinned man raised his hand. “I am D0532 and an old man now. A few of you may remember me from when I was young living here. I had a strong head and got an idea that the Technos might have something going for them that we didn't. Well, all I found was grief.”

X213 recognized the old man as the one she had worked with who left the note and then retreated. She was glad that he was alive. After this, she must try to talk to him.

“I have seen first-hand what they planned,” he said. “Those in that building were either killed by the blast that you all saw, or were killed by that monster, or perhaps are still cowering somewhere in the city. I left before it all happened, but I learned about some new, and dangerous, experiment. Then when I decided finally to come here, I could see what was happening as I left the city. Whatever happened in the experiment, something big got away from them.”

“Well, we are glad to have you back among us,” said Joseph. “We have plenty of land and you may dwell here as long as you like.”

A tall man with red hair raised his hand. “Is it safe even here? We don't even know what that thing was, let alone what it might do. Do you have any way to defend yourself?”

Joseph looked uneasy. “Our villages are peaceful, our lives simple. We have never had a need for guns.”

“Then what do you use for hunting?” said someone's voice in the crowd.

“Much of what we eat of meat comes from farms like the ostrich farm,” said Joseph. “There, they use bows and arrows. I'm not sure about all the other farms.”

“That's right,” Sydney spoke up. “And we only have a few bows since it’s a pretty small business. But it produces enough to feed our community.”

“Well, the monster is a machine, isn't it?” said another voice. “Won't water destroy it? How much water do you all have around here?”

“The water supply,” said Joseph, “is enough for all of us, but it flows from a small spring not far from here. It would not be enough for much of a weapon, I fear. We have no way to fire it.”

X213 could see that the men who approached were getting nearer now.

“Here's a question,” said Poke. “Should we attack it or just keep our distance from it?”

“Well, if it's only local, then we should be able to stay here unless it starts to come this way,” said Joseph. “Even if it does approach, we can go further out. We have plenty of land and can always pick up and move. I know it would be inconvenient, but we are survivors. Many of us have had to pick up and move before and we can do it again.”

“My father settled here before the new government of the city even began,” said another voice. “He came here to get away from all that. Now I'm sure all of you Technos are nice people, but he didn't want any of your ways of living, so he got out. I can't believe we are even having this meeting. Technos and us have nothing in common!” His voice was showing signs of anger, “You people have no place here. We built it. Built it just to get away from you. How dare you come out here once you make a big enough mistake in your own city.”

“Now, now,” said Samuel, “I know you are upset, and there is some truth to what you say. But that kind of thinking never helped anyone. Right now we are all together because right now everyone, and I mean everyone, is trying to get away from what's back there. I also saw Techcorp. I saw a building that looked like it had sprouted the tentacles of a sea monster. It looked dangerous to me, so I don't blame much of the city coming out here to get away. Let them live, just as we have. They have had a hard enough time already as it is. Let's give them an open hand of friendship.”

X213 heard the travelers approach. They must have seen the gathering and were coming this way. When they approached, she could see some had injuries. Each of them with facial cuts and many stitches. Each of these four men looked as if they were the experiments of Dr. Frankenstein. The council quieted down, shocked by their appearance. “Do you want bandages?” said Poke. “You look hurt.”

“Not until we speak,” said an Asian man. “My name is Doctor Chin, and it was due to my efforts that we look this good. I don't know what kind of gathering this is, but if you want to know about what is happening with that thing in the city, you will not find better witnesses.”

The people parted and the doctor and the other three men walked to the front of the assembly. “We were not only captured by that thing, but he opened up our craniums, a procedure I taught it, and physically absorbed our experiences and thoughts into itself. In doing so, there was a brief time that each of us could see its thoughts. Comparing notes on the way here, we realized we had each seen different aspects of its thoughts, although we were connected at the same time.”

“During my time connected to it, I felt the presence of others. There are others who have been loaded into its consciousness and they are confusing. It wants to know how to resolve the differences of opinion. The different perspectives on life. Different ideologies.
It is confused by the human problem and much of its energy is focused on solving that phenomenon. How can there be hate and love from the same person? How can someone feel tired and satisfied at the same time? One personality says that war is the answer and another says to give peace a chance. One says there is a God out there and another says it is god. How can there be unity in the world if there is no unity within? It wants to solve these conflicts.” Turning to another man, he said, “A116, what did you see and feel?”

“When I was connected to it,” said A116, “I saw darkness and I felt loneliness. Isolation. My mind shivered with it. It greatly desires companionship. It does not want to be the only one. To be unique is a terrible thing. It wants to be with others. It has become aware that there is pain in being alone. It wants its oneness to be two-ness or more. It wants a companion, so that it might understand otherness. It is not enough to have different personalities loaded into itself, for they will all be resolved over time. But to have another to confide in who has views you do not yet know. Just to know you are not the only one. That one thing seems to be denied it. And so it must learn to create. It has already started this process, but so far his creations are crude. He is learning how to remake others in his own image.” A116 stopped and looked to another member of the group.

“When we were connected,” said this third man, “I felt a strong desire to conquer, to possess, to expand and dominate so all things would come under his rule. He wants to be over all things. To control and manipulate. To have a sense of accomplishment. He wants to re-create this world according to his plan. And his plans are extensive, but I did not learn the details of them. I do know he wants nothing untouched. He wants everything under his power and he wants his power to be absolute. He will start with this world.” He, too, stopped talking and looked at another man.

“I felt a thirst in him,” said the fourth man. “He wanted to find answers to questions he had never had until joining with our minds. The answer to meaning. In this he was confused, not knowing where to begin his quest. There is philosophy, religion, companionship, rulership. There is what is inside and what is outside of itself. Out of all this, where does meaning come from? How can it even begin to approach this problem? With this question, I had a feeling of despair at not knowing the way. Of being lost and not knowing the way home. Of not even knowing what home is.”