by B. C. CHASE
daniel 6:22
She lay down on her back, noticing the air was much colder. There was silence for a while, the wind whipping the tent walls. Vents at the top let the chilly air in, but Aubrey couldn't see any way of closing them. Thinking that it would be best if she got as much sleep as possible, she closed her eyes. She imagined Adriaan's muscular frame as he ascended the cliff single-handed. Quietly, she said, “It's amazing, what you were able to do today.”
“What?”
“Climb this cliff single-handed. The rest of us had a really tough time with two.”
“It might blow your mind to know what else I can do single-handed, love.”
She smiled, “Watch it, bad boy. I can always switch tents, you know.”
“Good luck finding a partner as charming as I am. These guys are real freaks. I don't know where Bridges found them. Almost seem inhuman. And besides, I don’t think you could get to another tent, actually. You’re kind of stuck with me.”
She smiled, “I guess I am.”
There was a moment of silence. Then, Aubrey asked, “What's up with the tattoo?”
“It's verse from the Bible. Daniel 6:22.”
“What does it mean?”
“Have you got a strong stomach?”
“Yeah,” she lied.
“All right. I usually keep it to myself, but I'll tell you. Just ‘cause you’re cute.”
Paradeisia International Airport
Henry, Lady Shrewsbury, Jinkins, Sai Chu, Lakeisha Franklin, and other Paradeisia executives stepped out of the Jeeps and onto the tarmac. A giant cargo plane with the letters “GLS” was parked ahead. The tail had been opened on a huge hinge and all but two of the giant containers had been unloaded.
Jinkins tugged at his suit nervously, “A delivery from Genetic Labor Solutions, is it?”
“You’re not the only one with surprises up his sleeve, Jinkins.”
“I didn't see you sign anything while we were in China”
“That's because I signed on the plane, before we arrived.”
“How are we going to pay for them?”
“They will pay for themselves, my dear Jinkins. Our contractors will pay us to use them.”
“You couldn't have...” Jinkins moaned in dismay.
“It’s a simple lease arrangement. If we don’t like them, we can send them back, eventually. So let's go have a look, then, shall we?”
One of the research executives they had met at GLS was there to greet them. He reintroduced himself as Doctor Han. “You have a wonderful island here, Mr. Potter. A perfect place for a vacation paradise,” he said, looking around appreciatively.
Henry asserted, “This is Mr. Jinkins's island, actually. I only run it.”
The man nodded to Jinkins, “Well, Mr. Jinkins, I hope that you will see that you've made an excellent choice with Genetic Labor Solutions. All we need to do is unload and they will be ready for deployment. Our experts will assist your contractors with all the details. Of course, training will be a simple matter of show-and-tell. Since these are specialized, they will already know how to do the tasks. They will only need to learn the specifics.” He led them into the nearest open container. It was chilly inside, illuminated with the blue glow of LED's in the floor. Rows of shelves with coffin-sized metal boxes lined the interior.
“They are placed into a state of hibernation during travel. They can be stored this way, as well, when not in use. Because they function optimally with six hours of hibernation within a twenty-four hour period, you may rotate them between different tasks during the course of a day and place them in hibernation when business is slow. But of course you know all this already.”
“Yes.”
“Very good,” Doctor Han said. “And now, the big reveal,” he smiled eagerly. He went to a shelf and waited for everyone to gather around. The aisle was very tight. He pulled a handle on the side of one of the boxes and it slid out into the aisle. Then he pushed a button on the end of the box and the lid slowly opened.
Everyone leaned forward to see. Laying inside a round bubble, like a womb, was a female figure. Unidentifiable by any race, it was athletic, like a gymnast, and had an anonymously attractive face in that it clearly was beautiful but in such an indistinct way that it was hard to fully appreciate. Its eyes were closed in peaceful slumber.
The executive knelt down to touch the top of its hand and said, “Biobot on.”
The eyes opened. Gasps erupted from the onlookers. The eyes glowed a white hue, bright in the sockets. Ghost-white.
The executive laughed nervously, “Don’t be alarmed! This would be an acrobatic Biobot, capable of performing challenging circus acts, as in Cirque du Soleil. The eyes are for special effect.” He turned around to look at everyone, “Now, we do not have to wake them all up this way. Let me show you one of the truly miraculous aspects of our technology. But to see that, we need to go…” he smiled, “higher.”
They were all standing in a hexagonal glass elevator the size of the Oval Office that was rising over the airport like a diamond over a piece of slate. The miles of concrete and the flight traffic on it were visible through the 360 degree view. As they rose higher, Doctor Han raised a screen that he held and said, “Now, watch the miracle.” He pushed one of the icons and stared out at the containers on the tarmac expectantly. After a full minute of silence with nothing happening, Lady Shrewsbury impatiently said, “I realize my vision isn’t perfect, but even I can see there’s nothing to look at. Where is this miracle?”
Just then the elevator stopped. They were 70 feet high. His eyes still fixed on the containers, the executive said, “Watch.”
At that moment, a Biobot walked out of one of the containers, followed by others. Before long, there was a steady stream of Biobots from all of the containers, each of them making its way toward an empty area on the tarmac where they assembled in formation.
The executive explained, “They are grouping by function. The servers, the performers, the baggage handlers, the housekeepers … all of them. And watch, I can reassign the groups like this,” he drug the icons around on the screen, and as he did the Biobots began to reorganize, as gracefully as a flock of birds.
“It’s like a game, a computer game,” Sai said in awe.
“Yes. Only this is very serious.”
“How is this possible?” Lakeisha inquired in amazement.
“Each Biobot has an implant, think of it as a Google Glass in the brain. They are thus connected to a network: to each other as well as to this control panel and any number of other control panels you wish. We placed radio beacons on the tarmac. On this control panel, if I move the housekeepers group, represented by this icon here, to beacon number 1600PA here, an easy drag and drop, you will see the housekeepers assemble themselves at the 1600PA beacon.” He motioned toward the Biobots where a group of them was shuffling over toward a different place, ‘There, see.”
“This is an incredible amount of power,” Jinkins intoned.
Doctor Han chuckled, “If aliens from another galaxy were to visit our planet, they would think we were linked telepathically, what with wireless technologies and all of that. In a way, we are. So it didn’t take a very big leap of imagination to apply that computing power to Biobots and come up with what you see here.”
“I believe I would find that kind of power highly intoxicating,” Lady Shrewsbury said. “That device is a twenty-first century crown.”
Henry said, “I don’t think I follow your meaning.”
“What I mean is that power such as this is certain to go to one’s head. It is through things such as this that tyrants are made.”
Henry exhaled, rolling his eyes, “Are you questioning technology?”
“Quite the contrary. Technology can be the people’s greatest liberator. Take the printing press, for example. But if every book that Gutenberg printed gave him the power to control the minds of those who read it? Well that would be a chilling thought indeed.”
Henry shook his
head, “I think your straying a bit off-topic.”
Lakeisha suddenly pointed, saying, “Speaking of straying, it looks like that one is.”
One of the Biobots was, indeed, walking away from its group, heading straight toward the tall grasses that lined the tarmac.
“Well that is strange,” Doctor Han said. He repeatedly dragged an icon, but there was no change in the trajectory of the Biobot on the ground. He laughed nervously, “It isn’t responding. Must be a problem with its implant. Best to shut it down.” He tapped and held on the icon, bringing up a menu. Seeming annoyed, he tapped very loudly on a “Shutdown” option.
Everyone looked up at the Biobot keenly. But the Biobot continued its march toward the edge of the concrete. And, then, with a furtive glance over its shoulder, it began to sprint toward the grass.
The Doctor Han banged the screen with his finger repetitively as if he was tuning a piano. Then he looked up, set his jaw, and raised a phone to dial. He said something unintelligible into the phone, then he gave Henry an apprehensive glance and said, “It seems we have a defective unit. I do apologize, Mr. Potter.”
Suddenly a troop of five men with vests hurried into view in pursuit of the Biobot. One of them raised a Taser and shot it. Lakeisha gasped, raising a hand to her mouth. The Biobot immediately staggered to a halt and fell. As the men strode in to surround it, the Biobot writhed and trembled as if in pain. The men watched, aiming their Tasers at it, until it finally stopped. Then it reached out one arm toward the waving grass and clawed at the concrete, dragging its body. The men fired, and its body convulsed uncontrollably for a moment before, once again, it stilled. Then, once again, it reached out and struggled to pull itself away. The men pushed buttons on their Tasers. The Biobot shuddered a final time, and became totally still, its eyes gaping open.
The group was walking toward a helicopter. Trying to keep pace with Henry's quick steps, Doctor Han explained anxiously, “No business can have 100% quality 100% of the time, unfortunately. With complex machines like this, something will occasionally go wrong. But let me assure you, we will replace any defective units if and when they present a problem—”
“How reassuring,” Lady Shrewsbury muttered.
“—but you should not have any more problems. This was a very, very unfortunate coincidence.”
“I understand,” Henry said. “But, as I said, we will discuss this at a later time. Right now let’s be sure that they are all deployed and ready for service. We are up against an extremely tight deadline.” He turned around and boarded the helicopter.
The helicopter soared between the twin peaks in the center of the island, the view not failing to capture the executives even though they had seen it many times before. They followed thickly forested slopes down from the peaks. Below, amongst the trees, were thatched-roofed structures on stilts, a tall, glass building with thick, wooden beams and a giant dome of crystal hexagons, as well as several roller coaster tracks that emerged from the foliage in loops or drops.
“That’s ‘Congo,’” Jinkins said. “It has the Canopy Lodge, the Gorilla Grill, the Orchid House, rides … and that …” he pointed to the glass dome, “is the lobby of the Congo Hotel. It is an extraordinary rainforest environment with a hot springs water park, a butterfly garden, caves, a hidden temple, a volcano that shoots lava every hour, and a gorilla named Amy who can say basic words and loves to give hugs! All sorts of wonderful things.”
The helicopter flew on to the flatter land where the Paradeisia Angel stood. The statue was magnificent, the tremendous thousand-foot height made impressively apparent by proximity. Jinkins said to the pilot, “Could you circle around, please. I want Henry to get a good look.” As the helicopter wheeled around, Jinkins said, “Do you notice anything special about it?” He was smiling mysteriously.
“No, I do not, Jinkins, though I do admit it is impressive.”
“Well, then, you will be truly amazed when you see it at the grand opening.”
“Why?”
“It will be revealed at the grand opening.”
“It’s probably more dollars swooshing down the drain.”
Past the statue was a cluster of skyscrapers, one of which was a skeleton of steel and concrete. They lowered down to the roof of this and lighted softly. The door was immediately opened and as they exited someone handed them all hard hats.
They were standing on the partially finished floor of the skyscraper. Some workers were bolting giant prefabricated walls of glass onto the exterior while others were running wire in the ceiling. The group of executives was listening to another man in a hard hat who was pointing to a projected architectural drawing, “So the elevators travel both vertically and horizontally. This elevator will travel up the outside of the building here; then transfer horizontally on the twentieth floor to the other, taller side, and continue up to—”
Lady Shrewsbury suddenly jabbed Henry on the shoulder from behind. She whispered, “A word, Henry.”
Henry and Lady Shrewsbury were standing some distance from the others, near the edge of the concrete floor. Visible beyond the edge of the floor was the Paradeisia Angel backed by thickly forested, steep hills rising up to the mountaintops. Lady Shrewsbury said, “It isn’t right, Henry. I don’t care how cognitive they are or how human they aren’t. It isn’t right by any account.”
Henry was erect and stated clearly, “You bring me here to save you from ruin, and when I do what is necessary to save Paradeisia, you criticize my methods. Tell me who else can do what I am trying to achieve.”
“There must be another way, Henry.” Wind whipped Lady Shrewsbury’s skirt.
“There are the people who rely upon facts to make judgments. They have utter certainty in the rightness of their decisions because they have utter certainty in the truth that contributed to their judgments. Then there are people who rely on emotion to make judgments. I have learned the hard way that mistaking emotion for truth can have devastating consequences.”
“But what if the facts are wrong! I grant you, emotional judgments can be disastrous. But judgments based upon the utter certainty that a lie is the truth can be far worse!”
“I have no small amount of experience with this, you know. I worked for Kodiak, once.”
“I know you’ve worked for a lot of companies, Henry. And they all owe their survival to you.”
“Kodiak does not. They never emerged from bankruptcy. Do you know why?”
Lady Shrewsbury was silent.
“Our software had run the world’s computers for so long, Kodiak had become complacent. So when some people from Shanghai raised venture capital for a new concept, we took no notice. We plodded along as we always had, on top of the world. But within two years, it was all over. I was not powerful in the company, and for that reason it fell to me to call hundreds of people into my office and tell them they no longer had a job. And as soon as I was done doing that, I was called into an office. All because we failed to adapt.” He looked down at his feet. “Never again. I will never fail again.”
“But Henry!”
“I’ve seen the numbers. I’ve seen the lawsuit. This is the end of the rope. We have two options. Either we do something radical to give the developers hope, or we bring everyone in and tell them it’s over.” He looked her directly in the eye, “Do you want to call them all in?” Henry shouted, “Do you want to tell them we failed!”
She said softly, “Any failure is mine, and I am not ashamed to admit to it.”
Henry exclaimed, “But you are my aunt! I cannot see this happen to you. It doesn’t end with Paradeisia, you know. I’ve seen it. This is only the beginning. They will come after you and everything you own! It will start with your bank accounts, your stocks, your bonds. Then they will carry away your furniture, piece by piece. They will take it all, down to the very ring on your finger! You will have nothing! You will be nothing! Do you hear me? You will be nothing!” He swore, the words spitting out through his clenched teeth, “You will be just lik
e my worthless father!” Henry’s body was heaving like a roaring grizzly. After a moment, he offered, “I cannot allow that to happen to you. I will stop at nothing to prevent it.”
Lady Shrewsbury looked at him thoughtfully, as if she was absorbing the shock of his outburst. Then she said, “If you will stop at nothing, then your achievement means nothing. An immoral victory is no victory at all. Do not allow a vendetta against your father to cause you to abandon reason, Henry.” She enunciated every word with vehemence, “These Biobots …. This is a line you should not cross. It does not take a scientist to tell you it is unethical. There are some things which only conscience can tell, and when conscience speaks, you must listen! Call Doctor Han and tell him we do not want his ghastly Biobots. We want no part of this abomination.”
Henry’s eyes became distant, and he said, “I am sorry your emotive sensibilities have clouded your moral judgement, Lady Shrewsbury. I am sorry that I must ‘pluck the toy from the infant’s’ grasp,’ as you so eloquently once put it. But, going forward, you are relieved of responsibility at IntraWorld Capital.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Lady Shrewsbury said, chin up.
“The contract IntraWorld signed with me had a very clear stipulation for a stock option which I could exercise at any time without condition. It specified that the price of this stock would be one British pound a share, a reasonable value considering the state of the company. The board has been made aware, and Ms. Franklin has prepared the legal paperwork. In short order I will own sixty percent of IntraWorld Capital.”
“Henry!” she said, aghast. “I cannot believe that you would—”
He loudly interrupted, “You cannot be trusted! You have proven it ever since I arrived. I have no choice but to save you from yourself! Everything you do drives this enterprise further into the ground! Can’t you see that?”