Software Evolution

by John Fajo

  Neither of them said a word for a while. Nameless Andrew made runes in the sand with a branch underlying the greatly philosophical state he had been in.

  “Anyway,” the scientist said, “the nightmare didn’t end there. It continued although it seemed less composed. I was probably waking up. I remember walking in the park, but I haven’t the faintest idea how I got home. I suddenly found myself in the apartment. It was late afternoon, I was eating some beans. Then unexpectedly I fell on my side. I tried to get up, but realized it was impossible. The skyscraper was collapsing. I thought I would be buried beneath a mountain of concrete. At that point, I seemed to be able to distinguish dream from reality, I wasn’t frightened at all. Instead, I was curious how things might turn out. But I’ll never know. Just before the skyscraper I lived in collapsed, my nightmare abruptly paused. Then it continued. I don’t know how much time could have passed, what happened to my wife or to me for that matter in-between. I was bicycling down a road at a frantic speed. People looked at me with unpronounced dislike. I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anyone, not even about my wife. I felt free as I threw the golden medal I was still wearing among a crowd of spectators. I pedalled faster and faster. I was still pedalling when I woke up.”

  ****

  Nameless Andrew looked at the receding image of the island, which seemed as a simple blotted sand corn from the distance surrounded by water. Standing alone, taming the waves. It was the first time he left the island since he had arrived. He sat in an old and shabby airplane, the best the scientist could afford. By his side, the scientist was steering the airplane. He was to meet the baron. That’s all the scientist had told him. He wasn’t excited. He thought that if the baron was really as powerful as he had been told the scientist couldn’t have been making a too good impression arriving with an airplane that was about to fall apart. If this were the case, he pondered, they would be no match. He glimpsed at the scientist with some despise. His employer was occupied by flicking the instrument panel, attempting to get it to work. For a moment, he doubted they would successfully land, because the instruments went berserk. They began to lose altitude. The scientist cursed. Nameless Andrew peered at the deep blue sea into which he believed he soon would plunge. But after some hesitation the engines started to function again.

  “A sensitive little scrap we have here,” Nameless Andrew said.

  “Yes,” the scientist answered. “One just has to prioritise. And a new airplane isn’t at the top of the list.”

  “I get the idea,” Nameless Andrew said sarcastically. “We’ll crash right down at the baron.” The scientist didn’t answer, showed no emotions as usual. “Because as I see it,” Nameless Andrew continued, “otherwise we’ll simply be the laughing stock of the world. Or is it that the baron is intended to die from laughing?”

  “Not a bad idea,” the scientist said. “As fat as he is he might even burst.” The scientist smiled at him. It was a smile showing superiority and confidence. “The greatest mistake one can make is to underestimate a person. The baron has made that mistake once regarding me, and almost paid the full price for it. He won’t make such a blunder again, whether I arrive with the newest or the oldest airplane on the planet. At this point, my major problem is that I cannot selectively eliminate the unwanted hindrances. I can now completely destroy the baron, but that is an off limit option, because it would in effect mean an end to order. The baron knows that. He also knows that soon I will gain the sophistication required to deal solely with him and his closest associates. This is why he wants to negotiate.”

  “And you will... negotiate?”

  “Yes, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”

  Nameless Andrew shook his head. He often found it difficult to comprehend the scientist. He, for his part, would never have compromised with people he knew he could waste. To negotiate when one was sure of victory seemed to him pointless. It just gave time for the opponent to recover and take offensive actions, complicating matters.

  “We’ll soon arrive at our destination,” the scientist said. “Do you see,” the scientist pointed ahead, “that brown blot extending as far as you can see?”

  Nameless Andrew nodded. He could perceive the continent long before the scientist. He was somewhat relieved, because this meant there was less time for the engines to fail again. On the other hand, he felt embarrassed, and wished he could make a more honourable entrance on the world scene. Of course, he thought, for the scientist it was all the same whether he arrived in rags or in style. The scientist had no sense for the little details concerning public affairs. He rather spent the money he had on some dubious experiments, which often yielded nothing. Naturally, he thought, these experiments must have had some importance, if no other than to find out that one could gain nothing from them.

  Nameless Andrew liked what the scientist deemed as superfluous things. Among all things, he liked women.

  After some time the scientist declared their arrival. And with this said he landed the airplane, which came to a halt after some dozen jerks on a seemingly desolate airfield. The scientist looked at him, his silvery eyes reading his mind as a textbook. “Now that we arrived in one piece you can’t complain. The baron isn’t going to see us for the simple reason that he isn’t here.”

  “But then...”

  “He has some servants waiting for us, who will take us to the meeting.”

  Nameless Andrew remained motionless. He was starting to get angered. Do this, do that and don’t do that was all he heard since he met the scientist. He never knew what the scientist had in mind or what his intentions were. He always had to follow regulation, which reminded him of his childhood. That was a period of his life he utterly disliked, and he could hardly wait till it was over. He didn’t wish to endure a renaissance of that period. So there was only one possible thing to do, he thought.

  “Are you coming or not?” the scientist asked and waved his hands as he was walking towards a taxi. Nameless Andrew didn’t answer. He was still sitting in the airplane, contemplating what to do. But the scientist had some grip on him, some control beyond his understanding. Thus, he followed the scientist. He thought he would have gone anywhere the scientist told him to go.

  He overtook the scientist when his employer seated himself in the cab. There was a tall and hideous character and the cabdriver besides them in the taxi. “Who’s that ugly looking fellow?” whispered Nameless Andrew and nudged the scientist.

  “Just a pumped up no-one who looks even more abhorrent now than before. Do you see the scar around his nose? I gave that to him once upon a time.”

  Nameless Andrew glimpsed at the scientist, just to be affirmed of his disbelief. Right, he thought, once upon a time even piggy was able to subdue and outsmart the wolf. But he wasn’t a child any more, he didn’t believe in fairy tales longer. He shook his head and smiled while watching the traffic on the highway leading to the metropolis.

  “So,” asked the cabdriver, “what is it that you have done that makes the baron so interested in you?”

  “He fears me,” the scientist said briefly.

  The hideous character laughed loudly. Nameless Andrew looked at the scientist. This time they were clearly on the same wavelength. Nameless Andrew could hardly wait till they parked inside a skyscraper located at the centre of the city. He swiftly got out of the cab, and opened the door for the hideous character. The hideous character glanced distrustfully at him, nevertheless was about to attempt leaving the car. However, the door got in his way, which Nameless Andrew made sure hit him in the upper body as he was trying to straighten out. The hideous character fell back on his seat obviously in pain and not entirely conscious. Was it not for the scientist Nameless Andrew wouldn’t have stopped there. He was just starting to get warmed up. The prelude was set for a good fight, he thought.

  “That’s enough. Let’s go.” The scientist pulled Nameless Andrew away. Nameless Andrew wasn’t too disappointed, he still hoped he could have a go at the baron later in the day. He f
elt good. Finally, he could do something he was very good at. He even saw a dawning respect emerging in the scientist’s eyes. He felt important and this made him think he was capable of doing anything. The taxi driver was certainly afraid of him after the door incident, and always made sure the scientist would stand between them.

  ****

  From the garage, they ascended to the top of the skyscraper, and disembarked in a conference hall. The cabdriver courteously took farewell from them for the time being, not being allowed among the great decision makers. Nameless Andrew, while stepping out of the elevator, grabbed the taxi driver’s right hand and shook it. He also crushed it somewhat, just for the fun of it. The taxi driver quietly moaned, and thereafter disappeared as fast as he could. Nameless Andrew was proud of himself. He sat down beside the scientist by the side of a long elliptic table, which itself seemed to represent power with its black and shiny surface. Of course, Nameless Andrew couldn’t resist trying to scratch it.

  In the meantime, the scientist discoursed with some people he couldn’t care less for. There was a fat peanut eater opposite to the scientist, who seemed to be the supreme in arguing with his employer. For some time Nameless Andrew said nothing, but then his patience expired: “Shut up fat ass,” he shouted and leaned towards the peanut eater. He could see the scientist simply smiling.

  “I believe I haven’t introduced you,” the scientist said jerking Nameless Andrew’s sweater. “Nameless Andrew. The baron.”

  Nameless Andrew sat back in his chair and laughed heartily. The baron was quick to respond: “I don’t know where you got this nameless harum-scarum, but I think he needs taming.” A brawl was in the making, Nameless Andrew wasn’t the man who allowed others to intimidate him, nor was the baron known for his tolerance. The scientist was helpless; the situation was definitely getting out of his hands. But the quarrel was not to be, because just as Nameless Andrew was about to lean forward again and grab the baron by the hair, the general arrived. For a second everyone looked at the general.

  “Now that everybody is here,” the scientist realized this was the perfect moment to bring the situation under control, “the formal discussions can begin.”

  Nameless Andrew was stunned and petrified, and his eyes were glued to the general. He literally fell back into his chair. He never saw anything like the general in real life before. She was the woman of his dreams sitting within striking-distance. He looked around and wondered what would happen if he just made his strike. The scientist and the dozen or so delegates were deeply enmeshed in some astonishingly boring and detailed plans for the future. He heard the scientist mirthfully telling the baron: “...it seems the whole weight of the future is on me. I have to pull while you sit and relax...” He couldn’t understand what made the scientist so happy about having to pull something heavy alone. Or was it that this way he believed he could pull all the strings, he asked himself. Whatever, he thought. He stared at the general, but she never wanted to look him back in the eyes. She was, just as the others, preoccupied with the conference. Then the time came when suddenly everyone was silent in the room, only the chairs creaked under the bulky delegates. It was a too appealing an opportunity for Nameless Andrew that he couldn’t miss.

  “Now that you have re-divided the planet,” he said and looked at the general, “how about dinner?”

  The silence was complete this time. Nameless Andrew glimpsed around with a look innocent enough to resemble an angel’s. The general blushed, and then furiously rebuked him. Nameless Andrew was surprised. This hadn’t been the way she had treated him in his dreams. He opened his arms showing his complete innocence. The scientist apologized in his name. The baron simply laughed at him. Nameless Andrew didn’t like to be laughed at or to be made embarrassed. He felt as a fool. He wondered how to retaliate. But then the general started laughing as well. Her mesmerizing voice overshadowed the other delegates’ inarticulate giggling. His confidence in himself returned.

  “So how about it?” Nameless Andrew asked.

  Undoubtedly, this wasn’t what the conference members had expected he would utter. The general was caught in a slippery position. She said slowly as if talking to a maniac: “All right. We’ll do as you say.” She sighed after having said this, and from then on showed always her lateral view. Nameless Andrew didn’t mind, he got what he had wanted. He sat back and didn't interrupt the discussion from thereon.

  “Now as I see it,” the scientist said with some pathos inherent in his voice, “there must be a redefinition of human rights and welfare. I think...”

  The baron disagreed accompanied by a loud outcry. This was the point where Nameless Andrew slipped into a doze. He could hear words being pronounced but was unable to connect them in any meaningful way; words were flying around in his head. The only thing he could see clearly was the general. She was dressed in feminine dress, not in the uniform she was wearing in real life. She was in the midst of a rose garden blurry in appearance. She was in focus. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but the scientist pinched him and the rose garden was gone. But she was there. In uniform.

  “Look,” the scientist whispered to him and made him look towards two newly arrived delegates. He thought there was nothing unusual about them, they were as languid and slack looking as the rest. Besides the general, of course. “They are the beggars,” the scientist said.

  “They look pretty well fed and trimmed to me,” Nameless Andrew disagreed.

  “That’s not the way I have meant it. They are people who once stood up against the baron but failed miserably. In fact, they became tools the baron now utilizes. They are abetting him. They came here to criticize me. They have a seemingly fool-proof weapon. It’s the past. Just listen.”

  “Here are the two most renowned specialists,” the baron said pointing to the two delegates. “What can you tell us after reading the report presented by our honourable scientist?”

  Nameless Andrew could tell a folly when he saw one. And the baron was definitely one. Even his solemn voice wasn’t able to hide the hate he must have felt concerning the scientist.

  “After having read the material and after long and arduous considerations we came to the conclusion that we cannot recommend it,” said one of the delegates. “It lacks the proper scientific approach and proofs.”

  “I must question your sincerity. I would like to know what your connection is to our dear baron,” the scientist inquired.

  “We will not stand such allegations,” both delegates began to resemble ripened tomatoes in colour. “We are independent observers. We are also known for having challenged the baron once, but that we did not succeed proves all the more how easily false conclusions may be drawn.”

  “So you are claiming that my work is based on false methods?” asked the scientist.

  “Exactly.”

  “Your report is based on half truths, the worst type of lies. They are lies, but very believable ones. In addition...” The scientist took out a document from a briefcase he had with him. “What is interesting,” the scientist smiled, “is that although you present yourselves as independent observers the baron pays your bills. Like buying this nice house here.” He showed around a picture of the house, and handed the document to the baron. The baron made gestures apologetically, claiming to have had no prior knowledge that the specialists were in his service.

  “How do you like the development of things?” the scientist asked Nameless Andrew quietly.

  “Quite entertaining,” Nameless Andrew answered.

  The specialists didn’t seem embarrassed having been unravelled nor did this make them reticent. The scientist fell under a vicious barrage accompanied by vociferous exclamations from the baron. The scientist simply sat there, said only a few words. Nameless Andrew thought he was calmness himself. His calmness showed either strength or weakness. Nameless Andrew wasn’t able to tell which. Then after some time the specialists ceased their attacks, and the delegates consented to having a short break. Most of them quickly le
ft the room.

  The scientist turned to the baron. “Once you told me that I like power,” the scientist said. “Do you remember?” The baron nodded. “Of course, when I told you that I didn’t want any part of your kind of power you didn’t believe me. We have two different definitions of what power really means. My definition of power is self-determination. I believe that the first stage in becoming powerful is gaining control over one’s mind and body. On the other hand, you are convinced that power is control you have over others. You can tell them what to do, what not to do. I think your interpretation of power stems from our common primitive past. But now it’s time to build the future, and to leave your definition to oblivion.”

  “You are an idealist and a regrettably naive fool,” the baron lashed back. “Your assumption is that things have changed. Well, they haven’t. Just look at your nameless friend, bodyguard or whatever beside you. He hasn’t changed. He never will. He’s as brutal and unintelligent as the early cavemen.”

  Nameless Andrew decided not to engage with the baron in a scuffle, which would only have proven the baron right. Besides there was no way he could get angry. He was happy in advance for the time he would spend with the general. Although she still refused to look at him. He gave it his best shot though. He coughed, jumped from his chair, made silly noises. She still didn’t condescend to his level. But he was determined. He went around the table and sat beside her.

  “I am Andrew,” he said. Finally, she glimpsed at him. There was a vague smile emerging on her countenance.

  “I am the general,” she said and they shook hands.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” Nameless Andrew uttered.