Artificial Exile

by D S Emerson

  “I even remember the war,” the old man said, leaning back. “But I came to realize that there is no point remembering the past now. I will live my last days here. I can’t do anything about it, only try to be tranquil and relaxed with no worries left for me.” Bek saw him gently grab the arm of his wife who was seated next to him.

  Suddenly, Bek could not resist speaking. “What about our original planet, Earth?” That sentence seemed to disturb the elder man more than Bek had anticipated, and he leaned forward to whisper in Bek’s ear.

  “Be careful saying anything about Earth anywhere. You know they hear everything—maybe even a microphone inside this vehicle caught what you said. As for me, of course, I would like to be on Earth as before, but you know this is not possible. We do not even know the conditions on Earth right now. The only option possible is leaving the city and getting lost in the desolate wasteland, as other foolish people have done.”

  The old man leaned back and looked out the window as they slowly went along with the other transports on the road. Bek had heard of people leaving the city before, but he could not understand why anyone would do that. As long as you worked in your designated position in the city’s system, you would be provided anything you wanted to live. Sure, you were expected to follow your tough schedule, but still, it was better than living outside the secure boundaries of the city. They were no big walls, either, since there was no wildlife on this planet—only one city with the numerous factories around it linked by trains.

  Minutes late, they stopped at the apartment building where the elderly couple lived. It was the same size, height, and architecture as his own. Because the buildings for residences had been pre-manufactured on Earth and had arrived in blocks on cargo shuttles, most of these buildings looked either completely the same, or had major similarities among them. The building blocks were used mostly one on top of the other for high-rises, but there were times that building functionality demanded they were placed side by side, or in other configurations.

  “Goodbye, and be careful, young man. Keep quiet, and enjoy the fact that you are lucky to be alive,” the old man said as the doors of the transport opened and the couple got out.

  Bek waved at them both, wearing an expression of compassion. He understood that the old man was not crazy: they lived here because they had lost the war, and this was the aftermath. Billions more had died in the eradication decades ago back on Earth, and most of the population wanted no trouble here. Neither did he, as much as he disliked the situation humanity had been forced into.

  Chapter 2

  A short ride later, Bek arrived at his destination. He got out and headed for the entrance in the front of the similar-looking residential tower. He pushed number 103—the apartment number of Jaina on the front panel—and looked back as traffic in the street became thicker. The panel flashed, and her familiar face appeared at last. He got exited seeing her again. Some days had passed since they had last met up; he always was eager to see her.

  “Come up,” she said. “You are already late.”

  Seeing Jaina again made him feel better, especially after all those days in the dark, and orangey atmosphere of the energy factory, pushing wagons loaded with Iorine all the time. He headed straight to her apartment, and he noticed she was smiling as well, at least from what could tell in the few moments he saw her before she hastily went for a bath after opening the door. He waited, sitting in the living room. The apartment was the standard configuration for a single adult and was given to anyone who had a basic job in city. Jaina worked at the agricultural center in a decent job producing the food used for the needs of the population. While sitting on one of the chairs, Bek got a message from Abel asking him if they would like to meet him at Xos Bar in the town square.

  “Jaina, would you like to go out today?” He shouted a bit so she would hear him in the bathroom.

  “Yes, I’d love to, since I only went to work and back home all week. I’m coming out in five minutes,” she replied.

  Bek decided to browse the news on one of the tablets that was lying there. He noticed a segment about a new shipment of water that would arrive shortly. That was a big deal, and usually, a small festival was organized when the water arrived from Earth. He had forgotten about it until now, but he wasn’t going to participate anyway. Abel said that these types of events just were used to make the population in Cennan feel better about the AI oppression.

  Shortly afterwards, Jaina appeared in front of him. He noted her long dark hair with her dark-grey uniform and, of course, the pair of glasses she wore that she wouldn’t separate with.

  “You look nice, as always,” he said to her.

  “You look tired. Is everything okay?” she asked with a worried look “You sure you want to go out? If you are tired, we can just stay here.”

  “I’m usually tired after work, so don’t worry about it. I would like to go out; it’s been some time, and I need to vary my routine—if that’s even possible living here,” Bek said. Jaina’s expression became even more worried looking.

  “Don’t tell me you were talking with Abel again about Earth, and how much better it was before?” she asked him. Jaina often mentioned Earth as well when they talked together, but he wasn’t in the mood for this discussion, so he let her know that Abel had invited them to Xos Bar, trying to change the subject.

  “Oh,” said Jaina, “I wanted to ask you to go the place we met: the one in the square—Blue Nar—that serves the drinks that look like Iorine, but since Abel is coming, let’s leave it for another time. I haven’t seen him for quite a while,” Jaina replied while gathering her things from around the apartment.

  Moments later, they were in a taxi together, cruising into the town center. While passing through the streets, they noticed the city guards going as a large group into one of the residential towers.

  “Could be searching for people who helped the rogues…” Jaina mentioned to him.

  “Probably,” Bek replied. “They carry out attacks on the city often, and they have people helping them. It’s not our problem though,” he said while getting ready to get out of the taxi since they had arrived close to Xos Bar.

  Once outside the taxi, they could see that the vast plaza stretching ahead of them was crowded. At this hour, it was common to have a lot of people visiting the square to spend some time at the varied types of entertainment the plaza provided. From shops to bars, and clubs to children’s playgrounds, it was all here and in the nearby streets around the plaza. The government tower stood at the end of the public concourse. They took a slow walk to Xos Bar as more lights were turning on, and the day was becoming night. The Iorine lakes were reflected in the sky, and gave the city an orange backdrop. The plaza was getting busier by the minute, so they moved toward the bar, not wasting any time. Inside, they were greeted by a waiter, and he escorted them to the back, where Abel was sitting.

  “Hello, Jaina,” Abel said to them as they approached. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

  “Nice seeing you again too, Abel,” Jaina replied. “How is work? You didn’t die from exhaustion?” she said, smiling.

  “Ha, no. I am only a bit tired; thank you for your interest,” Abel replied, laughing.

  They all sat down, and the waiter returned to take their order. “I’ll have some Xor,” Bek said. Abel ordered the same drink, and Jaina asked for water.

  “How is work in the factory?” Jaina asked Abel.

  “Repetitive, but at least it is good exercise,” he replied to her. “How are the plants doing in the agricultural center?”

  “They grow fast,” she replied to him. “I have to be careful not to screw anything up because it’s not easy replacing something.”

  “Oh, I understand,” Abel replied. “You don’t mind that your application to the city guard was rejected?”

  “No,” she replied. “While basic training was fun, I think in the agricultural center I offer way more to the people of the city. I like it there.”

  �
�But enough of work,” Abel interrupted her. “How is it going with Bek?”

  Bek had asked him many times not to bother Jaina about their relationship, but she actually didn’t mind the question. However, as soon as she started to reply, the bar was shaken by a huge explosion—an explosion that shocked the whole square with its intensity. Bek could only hear a buzzing sound, and he saw everyone else crouched down with their heads covered over in shock. The explosion hadn’t been from inside the bar. He managed to stand up and take a look around. He saw most of the bar decorations on the ground. The other visitors were still on the floor, but some were making an effort to stand up and take a look. Bek reached for Jaina, and she told him she wasn’t injured. Abel managed to stand up on his own.

  “What was that?” Abel wondered with pain in his voice.

  “I don’t know…Maybe an accident nearby?” Bek replied.

  “I don’t think it’s an accident,” Abel replied. “Maybe another attack…” he said while trying to stand.

  “The rogues?” Bek replied. “I’ll try to have a look.”

  “Be careful,” Jaina said after she slowly stood up as well. She headed over to help a person who was on the ground next to them.

  Bek made his way carefully to the entrance of the bar. People outside were trying to enter, but he moved slowly toward the entrance, trying to see what was happening, since loud shouting had started coming from outside. Making his way to the entrance, he managed to go the side of the door and take a look. The first thing he saw was many of the city guards running toward the middle of the square. Many people were running to the alleyways, and others were trying to take cover behind benches and kiosks in the square.

  “Do you know what happened?” he asked a couple running past him.

  “A rogue attack on a storage building—the city guards are trying to capture them,” the couple told him as they continued running toward the end of the square. Abel and Jaina came to stand next to him.

  “An attack?” said Abel.

  “The rogues from outside the city were probably trying to steal supplies, but they didn’t manage to go unnoticed, it seems,” Bek told him. “It’s better if we leave.”

  “Yes, let’s leave,” Jaina said, looking shocked from the blast.

  “We probably won’t be able to call a taxi here, since there will be a lockdown of the area. Let’s move farther away,” Bek said slowly, and they started to walk carefully in the opposite direction from the government tower, heading toward the end of the long square. It was a chaotic mess in the area, with people running in every direction away from the government tower. Bek was wondering which storage building they could have hit. They were lots of areas that stored supplies and equipment near the area. Could be anywhere, he thought.

  “Let’s follow the road,” Abel said, and Bek nodded in agreement as they were reaching the edge of the square. Walking slowly along the empty road, the noises and shouting were becoming less intense in the distance. They decided to sit and rest for a while, catching their breath. Suddenly, while sitting on the sidewalk, they saw a big truck coming down the road toward them. It was armored on all sides, and a gunner was at the top, making it different-looking from the trucks in the city. Behind the truck in the far distance, they saw a big force of city guards with their vehicles and flying drones over them running toward them.

  “We better hide,” Bek said with a worried look on his face. However, as soon as they started to get up, the big truck was in front of them and then stopped while slowing down its electric motor. The gunner, a hulking guy with long hair dressed in brown, rag-like clothes, shouted at them.

  “Grab them! We need as many as we can!”

  Two people, a man and a woman, came swiftly out of the rear of the truck. Both wore battle suits. The man was carrying what looked like a grenade launcher on his back, while the woman had a sword with enhancements Bek hadn’t seen before. That was surprising to Bek. While some of their guns looked similar to what the city guards carried, these weapons had visible modifications.

  “Valeena, that flying drone is getting close!” the gunner shouted to the woman in front of them.

  “I’ll handle it,” the woman replied almost instantly, and she stepped in the direction of a flying drone that made its appearance, coming above them.

  Bek had seen these flying drones going all the time around the city and the factory; they were usually used for monitoring and observation, but since this one was used by the city guard for offence, it was also equipped with a gun. Bek was worried in case the drone opened fire on them, but while they were starting to crouch for cover, Valeena drew from her back the sword she carried. Both Bek and Abel were surprised by what the sword was made from: half was metal, but the other half on the sharp edge was orange, a material that Bek had been seeing almost his whole life—Iorine—but in solid form.

  “They managed to make it solid?” Abel said to Bek.

  “Looks like it. They use it as a weapon!” Bek replied.

  Valeena, holding her sword, took a good look at the drone approaching, moved her hand below her back, and then threw the sword spinning in the direction of the drone. The Iorine on the sword forced the drone to start losing power as it approached, and soon, the sword hit it, frying the drone and forcing it to start falling down on the ground. Valeena opened her hand while a subtle whistling noise was heard. Bek figured that her suit was producing more power in order to magnetize the sword to draw it back. Swiftly, the sword was attracted back to her hand, hovering fast in a straight line.

  “Taner, block the road. We need to go,” the gunner shouted from the truck. “The whole city guard will be over here if we stay any longer.”

  The tall, bulky man following the order took his grenade launcher, aimed carefully at a point down the street from them, and fired a grenade. It exploded, spreading Iorine around the whole street and the buildings in the area. “They will need some time to clean this in order to pass,” he said jokingly and fired another couple of grenades. He then turned to Bek and Abel, offering his hand. “You just joined the human side of the war.”

  “Put them in the truck,” yelled the gunner. “We may need to use them as leverage if they corner us before leaving the city.”

  Instantly, Bek responded, “We will come willingly, just leave Jaina here.” Seeing Jaina still recovering from the explosion, he didn’t want to drag her to anywhere the rogues might take them.

  “We will come willingly. We might even want to fight them ourselves,” Abel replied.

  “Okay, put both of them inside,” the gunner shouted.

  “Don’t hurt them!” Jaina replied as she was trying to stand, still shaken from the explosion.

  “What?” the gunner replied while Bek and Abel entered the truck from a rear door. Valeena and Taner got in after them.

  “Don’t hurt them!” Jaina shouted once more to the gunner.

  “We don’t hurt people,” the gunner replied. “Unless they support robots.”

  Jaina stepped back, and the gunner closed the hatch while the truck started its whistling electric motor and gathered speed, quickly moving toward the city limits. Her head buzzing, Jaina lay down at the edge of the road as the city guards approached with their drones and vehicles.

  Chapter 3

  Bek was looking outside the truck’s rear doors as the buildings receded into the distance. He had never left the city before: there had been no reason for him—or most others—to leave. Only the rogues who wanted to live outside the constant monitoring of the AI-installed government dared to leave the safe environment and venture outside its boundaries. Abel was sitting opposite Bek, seemingly not as confused—he had probably wanted to leave anyway, Bek thought, since he was an enthusiastic opponent of the robots. Next to Abel was the big guy; Bek had heard the gunner name him Taner. He also didn’t look too shaken, and was probably used to fighting the city guard. Bek had heard about various attacks on the city carried out by rogues.

  The truck continued
in an unknown direction, and before long, the city was not present in the rear window anymore. The area outside was barren, with orange soil and rocks forming the surface. In the distance, Bek could sometimes spot lakes and small rivers flowing with Iorine. After some time, the door in front of their cabin opened, and Valeena came around from the front of the truck. She took a seat opposite Bek, and by leaning back, her suit made a sound as it connected and started to charge. The energy function of their suits, which had some similarities to the suits the guards in the city used, needed to be charged in order to function.

  “Prepare for arrival,” a voice said, coming from a speaker Bek couldn’t locate.

  “We will be arriving home soon,” Valeena said to them as Bek and Abel looked at each other, not knowing what to expect.

  “Not ‘home’—a temporary base,” Taner replied to her.

  “Yes, Taner—Earth is our real home,” Valeena replied, smiling back.

  The truck came to a stop soon after Valeena spoke. Bek and Abel looked through the rear window, and the orange ground stretched in the distance, while close to the truck at its side, there was a lake of Iorine. They heard the driver’s door opening and some footsteps as the gunner got down from the front seat and walked outside. When the footsteps stopped, they heard a strong sound, as if it were from a hammer hitting the ground, and smashing three times in short intervals. The gunner returned and entered the truck, which started moving slowly. Bek felt the truck moving forward and downward as it navigated a slope below the ground. Going underground slowly, Bek saw from the rear window a kind of door slide behind them, and then darkness filled the cabin.

  “Above us is a lake of Iorine,” Valeena said to them as she turned up the lights in the cabin. “There are tunnels that stretch long distances. The first of us made the base here and sealed all the other exits except for this one.”