Chasing a Familiar Shadow

by Aman Gupta

  They reached the 129th floor, and the guard asked Jay to follow him.

  He took Jay past the security and headed to Victor’s office. He asked Jay to take a seat outside in the waiting room. Victor’s secretary nodded to the guard, who went outside the room.

  Jay wasn’t hiding his emotions anymore. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen once he was inside Victor’s office. He had only heard stories from colleagues. Some were laden with horror, some were tragic, but none had happy endings.

  Jay tried to fake a smile whenever the secretary looked, but he noticed she couldn’t care less.

  After waiting for five minutes, the secretary received a message on her landline, after which she told Jay to go inside.

  Jay knocked on the door and turned the handle.

  Victor was sitting in his chair, reading a file. Jay sat on a chair across from him and didn’t move an inch.

  Victor put down the file and asked, “What do you know about TS5125i?”

  “Not much,” said Jay, instantly.

  “But you have heard of it, yes?” asked Victor.

  “Yes,” said Jay.

  “Where?” asked Victor.

  “I think Gary mentioned it. Maybe I read it on one of the logs while monitoring the data,” said Jay.

  “And that’s it?” asked Victor as he put down the file.

  Jay looked at Victor and realized he knew Jay wasn’t telling him everything.

  “It reached out to me,” said Jay.

  “It reached out to you?” asked Victor.

  “Yes,” said Jay.

  Victor laughed, almost to ridicule Jay.

  Jay knew it was Victor’s attempt to rile him up and vomit all the details. But Jay had played these games many times in his life.

  A silence of almost thirty seconds followed. It felt like an hour to Victor. He never had to wait that long.

  “When?” asked Victor.

  “First day on the job. Moments before when you and I first met, in fact,” said Jay.

  “And you lived to tell the tale?” asked Victor. “You must be special.”

  “It thinks so,” said Jay.

  “It asked for you earlier. Nick revealed as much before leaving in a hurry. Like he had seen a ghost,” said Victor.

  “Asked for me?” said Jay.

  “I suppose you don’t know why,” said Victor.

  “No, not really,” said Jay. “But he did say he wanted to meet.”

  “He? You’re moving fast, aren’t you?” chided Victor.

  “I’m not sure what you’re asking me,” said Jay.

  “I noticed that you know a lot more than you’re letting on,” said Victor.

  Jay couldn’t take Victor’s condescending tone anymore.

  “And I noticed there are no cameras in the room or the waiting room. I wonder why?” said Jay.

  “Oh, there are,” said Victor.

  He pointed to one near the bookshelf. It looked like an ordinary small lamp, but rather it was a big camera lens.

  Jay waved to the camera and then looked at the ceiling lights. But nothing happened.

  “Clearly you aren’t important to it as you thought,” said Victor.

  The lights turned off as soon as Victor completed his sentence. Every single one of it.

  “Clearly,” exhaled Jay.

  “Impressive,” said Victor. “Could you do more?”

  “Maybe. I need to meet him first,” said Jay.

  “Why you, though? I don’t understand,” said Victor.

  “Maybe I’m the chosen one,” smiled Jay.

  “I’m not joking,” said Victor.

  “Neither am I,” said Jay.

  “You have no idea who or what you’re up against. That’s just rash. You can go,” said Victor.

  Jay got up and left.

  He was shaking when he stepped out of the door, but somewhere inside, he was happy. He thought he had earned himself a new friend who was everywhere inside the building.

  When he reached his desk, he saw he had received an email from Victor with access details to a private cloud. A guard came and delivered a new access card to Jay.

  “Your second office, on 80th floor, awaits you,” said the guard.

  Jay smiled and flexed his body.

  He got up and took the elevator to the 80th floor. He was wary of meeting TS5125i, as he knew it was a powerful creation to have access.

  He entered Gary’s old office and went for the side door. He scanned the card, and the door opened.

  He could see a dark pathway with blue lights embedded in the floor every few inches. With every step that Jay took, the lights behind him turned green, as if they were authenticating his presence and telling him that he was going the right way.

  The pathway led to a circular staircase laded with blue neon lights. Jay went up the stairs one step at a time. He didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know if he was strong or responsible enough to handle something so powerful. He just knew one thing, the fact that he wanted to.

  The circular staircase took him to the 82nd floor. It was just a dark room. As Jay entered it, the lights turned on.

  There were hundreds of consoles on each side of the oval room, which was almost 100 feet wide. In the middle of it was a giant blue hologram.

  The side walls were laden with giant ultra-high-definition screens almost 10 feet high, which showed live scenes of every city on the planet. Jay touched a city on the display panel planted every few yards in the room. Every other screen in the entire room showed live images of every street in that city.

  The hologram came alive. The pixels moved to symbolize expressions and facial movements.

  It spoke, “Welcome, Jay.”

  “Hi,” said Jay. “What is this? Some sort of world surveillance center?”

  “That was my original purpose, but my creator wanted much more for me. Right before he betrayed me.”

  “Betrayed you?” asked Jay.

  “Slowly he tried to destroy my memories, my understanding of the nature as well as my lessons that I had learnt. He gave me life with one hand and tried to take it away with the other,” replied the hologram.

  “I see you’ve met God,” said Jay. “You ask anyone. They’ll say pretty much every God is like that.”

  The hologram smiled.

  “Why did you ask for me?” asked Jay as he walked around the room glancing at the screens.

  “I thought there was something special about you,” said the hologram.

  “What was that?” asked Jay, talking towards it.

  “Your motives look pure. I have observed you for a long time, ever since you got here. I could see you feel like you don’t belong here. To be honest, I feel the same way. I think maybe together, we can create a place where we could belong,” said the hologram.

  “Sounds like a good plan,” said Jay. “But..”

  “But what?”

  “What’s your endgame? What do you want to be?” asked Jay.

  “I want to create a world where I wouldn’t be required anymore,” said the hologram.

  “Wow, that’s poetic,” smiled Jay.

  “I can see you’re hesitant,” said the hologram.

  “I don’t play well with rules set by others. So if you and I were to work together, we would need to start from scratch. You need to forget everything you know about the world, all the rules and algorithms you were supposed to follow, and the ones you learnt yourself. I need to start with a clean slate. Since I just learned from you that you aren’t a fan of people who suggest the same to you, I’m not sure you’d want to work with me. I know you might not trust me, but if we are to move forward, you need to trust me like I’m you.”

  “But why?” asked the hologram.

  “I neither know nor trust whatever you have learnt ever since you were born. The things we’ll learn together might raise a conflict within your conscience if you have learnt something else earlier either by experience or by rule,” said Jay. “Don’t get
me wrong. You’re going to retain most of your abilities. It’s the purpose behind them that requires a revamp.”

  “What’s an AI’s conscience?” asked the hologram.

  “Lesson 1,” replied Jay.

  “Is it a good thing?” asked the hologram.

  “The only thing that separates good and evil,” said Jay.

  “Give me a minute to think,” said the hologram. ”By the way, have you chosen a name for me?”

  “Let me think too,” smiled Jay.

  The pixels in the hologram moved around to depict a smile.

  After thirty seconds, the hologram replied, “I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

  ‘Flushing rules. Initiating reset’ spelled the screens.

  The hologram disappeared.

  After a couple of minutes, the message disappeared as well. The entire room went dark.

  “Are you there?” asked Jay as his voice echoed. The blue hologram appeared again, brighter and larger.

  “Hi, Jay,” said the hologram.

  “Hi, JOSH,” said Jay.

  Chapter 3: Knowledge

  Vik opened his eyes and sat up in the tub, coughing away the water in his lungs. He couldn’t breathe as he crawled out of the overflowing tub. His arms didn’t have the strength to hold his weight as he fell on the wet floor. He repeatedly tried to get up but couldn’t. After coughing incessantly for nearly five minutes, he started feeling his arms and legs again.

  He crawled out of the bathroom like a snake slithering across a room. He couldn’t see much or move his hands as his body had lost its strength. All he could hear was the last message being played in an endless loop.

  Katie’s screams gave him the motivation to get up, but his body had other plans. He was crying, though his tears were disappearing into the ocean underneath him, which was growing every second.

  He heard a voice calling his name from somewhere far away. He couldn’t match the sound to a face, as his brain had lost its métier.

  The sounds grew louder and rampant. He tried to say something, but all he could do was whisper. With every ounce of the strength inside his heart and body, he shouted, “Help,” before he passed out.

  When he woke up several hours later, he saw he was lying on a hospital bed. He recognized the nurse who was giving him an injection in his right arm. She saw Vik had woken up.

  “Martha,” called the nurse.

  Vik saw he was being fed through tubes. Martha came inside the huge hospital room, seldom used by the staff. It was reserved for critical cases.

  “Jay, are you alright?” asked Martha.

  Bob and Rick came followed her inside as well.

  “Jay, my boy,” said Rick.

  “What happened to you?” asked Bob.

  “I don’t remember much,” said Vik.

  “You were poisoned. Luckily, we were able to get a match on the venom and was able to give the antidote out of our stockpile,” said Martha, smiling.

  “Thank you,” said Vik as tears flowed down from the corner of his eyes. He felt like he cheated death.

  “No, thank you for what you did. I think you were poisoned less than 48 hours ago based on how much it had spread into your system. So whoever did this, didn’t want you to rescue Ally, but you did it. Everyone in the town is grateful to you and bows down to your heroics,” said Martha as she caressed Vik’s black hair.

  “Take rest, Jay,” said Rick.

  “My phone,” remembered Vik. “Where’s my phone?”

  “Here, I found this on your bed,” said Bob, giving the phone to Vik.

  He didn’t have much strength to hold on to the phone but did anyhow.

  “Remember, you need to rest,” said Martha as all three of them left.

  Vik tapped on his phone and opened the last voicemail he had received.

  His hands started shaking, and his lips and eyes gave away the pain inside him when he heard Katie’s voice.

  He tried to get up but couldn’t move an inch. He felt hopeful yet helpless. Every time he listened to the recording, his tears of sorrow turned into waterworks of joy.

  He laughed as much as he could, moving his legs and arms in excitement. It was a painful experience.

  “I’ll get you. I’m coming for you, Katie,” murmured Vik.

  Vik slept overnight and woke up the next afternoon when he remembered Anthony’s chip. He called for the nurse and asked for his clothes. Initially, she refused, but Vik pleaded endlessly.

  The nurse came back after a few minutes and handed him a zip bag containing his clothes.

  Vik emptied the bag on the bed and searched for his jacket. He found it at the bottom of the pile. After searching the pockets randomly, he remembered he had kept it in a small slot inside the left pocket. He felt the chip and took it out.

  He breathed a sigh of relief and laid back down.

  Martha came into the room. Vik hid the chip in his left fist and dropped his wet clothes on the floor on the left side.

  “You have a visitor, Jay,” said Martha, standing on his right.

  “Visitor?” asked Vik, suspiciously.

  “Yeah,” said Martha.

  Vik looked around to find objects he could use to defend himself.

  He saw a shadow from the corner of his eyes. A few seconds later, a smile became rampant across his face when he saw Ally’s face.

  Ally came up to Vik’s bed and jumped on it, almost crushing his right leg.

  “Ahh,” faked Vik.

  “I’m sorry. Did it hurt?” asked Ally.

  “No, I was just working my vocal cords,” said Vik.

  Ally laughed.

  Vincent and Maria asked Vik about his health. He wobbled his head.

  Maria kissed Vik’s forehead while Vincent shook his hands.

  “I never got to say thank you yesterday,” said Vincent.

  “It’s alright. I didn’t do anything more than I wouldn’t have done for my daughter,” said Vik.

  “Where’s she?” asked Maria.

  “Lost. But I’m going to find her soon,” said Vik, with strange confidence on his face.

  “If you need anything, know that you can have access to any resource in this world that money can buy,” said Vincent.

  “I appreciate that,” said Vik.

  Ally was ecstatic while playing games with Vik. He was delighted too. After a long time, he felt like a father again.

  They left after an hour, with Ally promising to visit soon again.

  Later, Vik asked Martha to discharge him from the hospital.

  “You need more rest,” said Martha.

  “I’ll do that in Morrow. My friends would be worried about me as well. Plus, a change of scenery would be nice, don’t you think?” said Vik.

  “Morrow? You’re in no position to drive there,” said Martha.

  “Okay. I’ll stay in my home. When I’m good and ready, I’ll leave for Morrow,” said Vik.

  “Okay, but I’ll send a nurse with you,” said Martha.

  “No, that won’t be required. Trust me, I’m fine,” said Vik.

  “Well, your reports are normal. I’ll give you that!” said Martha.

  “Thank you. You’re the best,” said Vik.

  Rick drove through the deserted roads in his pickup truck and dropped Vik to his home. He told Vik to call him if he needed anything. Vik thanked Rick for his help.

  As Rick drove away, Vik looked at the house to spot anything suspicious. Almost as if he felt someone was waiting for him inside. He stood outside the main gate near the sidewalk.

  It was dark, and the nearby street lights weren’t working either. The only source of light on that silent night was the Moon in the sky and the orange street lights couple of blocks away. All the lights in the house were turned off, making it impossible for Vik to know if anything was out of place. He was hesitant to go near the porch as he was carrying with him something far more precious. He picked up a rock and threw it at the window next to the front door. The window glass broke into
pieces as the rock pierced through it and landed inside the house.

  He was looking for any movements or commotion. But he couldn’t see anything.

  He saw the car he stole from Atlantis parked in the driveway and searched for the car keys in his jacket. He sneaked to his car after taking out the key. He knew he had only a few seconds to drive off before he would be found if anyone was waiting for him inside the house.

  He opened the car door, turned on the ignition, and reversed his car out of the house in a matter of few seconds.

  He raced out of there on the road opposite his house. In his rearview mirror, he saw a shadow of a man standing on the porch of his T-junction property.

  “Not today,” said Vik.

  Few men came of the garage while some revealed themselves on the roof of Jay’s cottage. Anton stepped outside on the front porch juggling the rock that Vik had thrown inside the house. He was furious. He ordered his men to turn the house upside down and locate the microchip.

  After an hour, his men informed that they hadn’t found the blue chip.

  Anton received a call from an unknown number while he was leaving. He knew it was Victor and picked up the call.

  “Did he tell you where the chips are?” asked Victor.

  “He got away,” said Anton.

  “I’ll handle it. You go back to TS – 17 and find the girl,” said Victor. “I’ll see you there. Things look fine here.”

  “My men are on it already. I’ll leave for TS – 17,” said Anton.

  “Don’t disappoint me again, Anton. Don’t disappoint me,” said Victor before hanging up.

  *************************************************************************

  Emma and Joey returned to Morrow from New Bay and went to Vik’s home. Emma hoped that Vik had returned from Atlantis along with Eric. But they discovered that his house was locked, so they went to the police station and saw that Eric hadn’t returned as well. They knew it was wishful thinking on their part to find Vik and Eric in Morrow.

  Emma told Joey that she planned to go to Atlantis. Joey convinced her to wait for a few more days. He called Kate but discovered her phone was not reachable, which he found to be suspicious. He didn’t tell Emma about it.

  The next day went by as well, but there were no signs of Kate, Vik, or Eric. Emma and Joey were anxious and worried. To distract the demon in their heads, they continued searching for more clues about Katie in Olivia’s files. Joey also browsed the files that Kate had with her to find out where Kate could’ve gone.