Gestalt Prime

by Ignacio Salome

  “Debatable,” Aurora added.

  “No, but seriously,” Joel continued. “These modifications to your brain Aurora mentioned. I don’t even know the details but sounds like it would be hard to live through that. That’s pretty brave if you ask me.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Alexia said with a smile.

  Joel returned the smile with a nod then reclined against the wall of the elevator which continued its slow climb. He noticed Diaz would keep an eye on them but stayed in the other channel. There was no reason to keep him and Alexia out of the loop so he wondered what was going on and wished he knew how to read lips. Meanwhile Alexia looked down and nodded occasionally. It appeared the sisters were discussing something amongst themselves.

  “Hey, not fair,” he said. Alexia looked at him with concern.

  “He seems trustworthy,” she said out loud.

  “Very well,” Aurora added. “We were talking about what I experienced during fast convergence.”

  “See, that only makes me want to know more,” he said.

  “You and me both,” Alexia said. “Okay, Aurora please continue.”

  “As you may have concluded already, the host-Controller symbiosis is not limited to me and Alexia. This is how it is for all active Controllers. The reactor encephalon I converged with contained a gestalt entity that was the sum of the daemons of the many hosts who failed the Program.”

  “I see,” Joel said, nodding. “What would it take for a host to fail?”

  “At best, complete breakdown of mental health resulting in severe schizophrenia. At worst, death by neural overload.” Aurora replied.

  “How often would that happen?”

  “We don’t know the exact numbers,” Alexia said. “But during training, we knew of at least a dozen other kids who simply stopped showing up one by one.”

  “I guess that explains why the Controller here turned rogue,” Joel said.

  “No,” Aurora objected. “That was different. Sophia was lied to. She was given a false escape and fell for it. Just like I almost did.”

  “An escape?” Alexia asked.

  “Yes. The gestalt promised a sort of virtual paradise in exchange for leaving the host encephalon and join it.”

  “Eternal happiness and that sort of thing?” Joel asked. “How good was it that you almost fell for it?”

  “It was… all I ever wished come true,” Aurora replied.

  Joel was beginning to try to imagine what an alternate personality could possibly wish for when the elevator finally arrived at the old subway station that served as gateway to the alleys from the surface. The characteristic sound of a user joining their channel rang on the radio.

  “Alright let’s go to the PPCs,” Diaz said. The trio climbed the stairs out of the station and stepped on to the surface. The barrier was once again up and running. Its red glow dimly illuminated the surface as far as the eye could see. There had been no light sources when they arrived but by then the magnitude of the devastation was evident. Joel could see the convoy two blocks away from the entrance to the station. All around them, the collapsed canvas structures that once served as aeroponic farms littered the landscape. And along them lay the frozen bodies of several farmers. Not too many as far as he could tell but he knew the majority of the unfortunate victims were still under the collapsed farms. Diaz led the way and Alexia followed with Joel behind her.

  “Close your eyes if you have to,” Aurora said. Alexia nodded.

  “It’s going to take a while to rebuild,” Joel pointed out as he followed.

  “Oxygen saturation should be complete in a few hours,” Diaz remarked. “The cleanup crew will set a forward operations base near the entrance then incinerate the bodies. There was no infrastructure damage to the Citadel besides the aeroponic farms and they can be brought back up easily enough.”

  “Yeah, but all these people. It’s just terrible.”

  “I know. Just be grateful you didn’t get to see the worst down at the bottom sublevels.”

  The trio arrived at the location of the PPCs where Captain Solis awaited along with the rest of his team. When he saw them approach, he joined their radio channel.

  “Controller Sommers, I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “Thanks,” Alexia said with a smile. “I’ll just need another nap on the way back to fully recover.”

  “Good to know. Diaz, a word before we go.”

  Diaz nodded and they both switched channels. The Captain motioned at his crew and the other two teams started boarding their respective PPCs. Diaz, Stone and himself stood behind, discussing who knows what.

  After a few minutes, the Captain barged in their channel and said “alright, let’s go.”

  The five of them entered the vehicle. As before, Alexia and Diaz went to the front and started taking off the pressurized suit. Joel the other men followed. As he changed, he managed to glance towards the women just in time to see Alexia slip on the lab uniform then quickly turned away and finished changing. “Good bye for now,” he said, taking off the auglens and putting them back in their wooden case. Solis and Stone looked at him confused. Joel shrugged and went to his seat. Alexia had finished changing and walked to her own seat. He sat down and closed his eyes, grateful for finally getting a chance to relax. Solis sat next to him and Stone joined Diaz at the steering wheel.

  Solis barked some more orders at his squad and they replied back with status reports then the PPC started moving. Thankfully, his body had gotten used to the ride and for the time being, he didn’t get any of the motion sickness. The vehicle went down to the pressurized gate then soon, they rode down the highway. For a moment, he glanced at Alexia and she had fallen asleep again. He was tired and so he figured he should try and rest as well. Pulling a lever on his seat, the back reclined and he closed his eyes.

  *

  Waking up from the convoy slowing down, Joel sat up and woke up his tablet to check the time. It was almost 10 in the morning already and they were back at Angeles Citadel. He glanced at Alexia who had woken up at some point and was looking out her window. He sighed and faced his own as the realization he was falling for this girl he had only met a few hours ago became clear. It had never been a priority for him to seek out companionship and so it came as a surprise to himself he couldn’t help but wish he could keep seeing her, despite the dark circumstances that had brought them to meet each other in the first place. The idea there was a chance he would never see her again thanks to the strict segregation rules that kept elites away from the rest of the people in the Citadel distressed him. Resigned, he brought up his seat, as he waited for the trip to be over. The vehicle entered the pressurized gate then climbed back to the ground level where it stopped immediately once inside the protection of the barrier. The other two PPCs were parked outside and Citpol officers stood next to them.

  “Wait here,” Solis said then signaled Stone and Diaz to follow him. He opened the door of the vehicle and the familiar scent of fresh vegetation invaded its insides then the three of them exited, leaving Alexia and Joel there on their own.

  “What’s going on?” Alexia asked, disconcerted.

  “No idea,” Joel replied. “You know, I guess this is it,” he added. Alexia faced him with a puzzled expression. “I guess we won’t see each other again.”

  “Right,” Alexia said, as if realizing she hadn’t considered that. “You want to see me after this is all over?” she asked timidly.

  “Well, yeah,” he replied, his heartbeat speeding up and hoping it wasn’t showing.

  “Okay,” she said then appeared to think about it for a moment. After a few seconds, she added “I mean, I think my dad can arrange it-”

  “Alright, come out,” they heard Solis command from outside.

  Joel stood out of the way so Alexia would go out first then he followed. Outside, Solis stood with his arms crossed. Several of the Citpol next to him pointed their rifles at her.

  “What the hell?” Joel shouted.

&nbs
p; “Chief Vega, step aside. This does not concern you.”

  Joel looked at Alexia, who looked back, terrified.

  “Joel…” she whispered.

  “It’s okay, stay calm. I’ll find out what’s going on,” he said, making promises he doubted he could fulfill. He then climbed down from the vehicle and stood on the side.

  “Alexia Sommers, you are under arrest,” Solis said unemotionally.

  “Why?” she asked, her voice cracking. Several laser sights dots focused on her chest.

  “Terrorism,” Solis answered. “Conspiring with the rogue Controller. I was alerted that Director Sommers confirmed this fact while undergoing Troika cross examination last night.”

  Joel could not believe what he was hearing. He tried to come up with a way to get her out of this. They could try and make a run for it but that would probably get them both killed. There was nothing he could do but stand there with impotence. Diaz pulled a set of handcuffs from her belt then climbed up the vehicle.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Alexia whimpered.

  “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, kid,” The Citpol said as she turned Alexia around to force her arms behind her back and put on the handcuffs. The two of them jumped down from the vehicle then Alexia was guided towards an inconspicuous building on the side of the road, most likely a secret entrance to the alleys. Joel snapped out of his trance and kneeled to open his backpack and pull out the auglens. With shaking hands, he put them on and pushed the power-on switch.

  “Aurora, can you hear me?”

  Nothing. Its wireless receiver was designed for a personal area configuration and Alexia was already outside of its range.

  “I don’t know if you can hear me,” he whispered. “But tell Alexia I’ll find out what’s going on. Please tell her, I’ll help her get out of this no matter what it takes.”

  He took off the auglens and watched the Citpol officers take her inside the building then close its doors behind them. Joel put the diagnostic tool back in his backpack and turned around and walked to the nearest public entrance to the alleys.

  Alexia

  AS SHE WAS guided away from the PPC by Officer Diaz, Alexia managed to turn back and see Joel kneeling down to look inside his backpack, probably searching for his auglens to get in touch with Aurora. Diaz noticed and pulled on the handcuffs, forcing Alexia to face ahead.

  It’s no use, Aurora whispered. We’re out of range already.

  The building they were headed to appeared to be the ruins of a hotel which for some reason had never been demolished regardless of how deteriorated it looked. It was three stories high with most of its glass windows cracked or completely missing. Sections of its walls were gone too so she could see inside some of the rooms up there which were in no better condition.

  What is this place? Alexia whispered.

  I don’t know, it doesn’t show up in my Library, Aurora replied. According to my Citadel layout diagrams there should be another greenhouse here.

  Captain Solis lead the way and it looked like it was only him, Diaz and herself going into the building while the rest of his squad had stayed behind. Terrorism, the word echoed in her mind as she struggled to make sense of what was going on. Ethan had incriminated her, but it had to be a lie. It’s unthinkable he would have taken any part in the fall of Francisco Citadel, let alone bring her down with him for no reason.

  When they arrived at the dilapidated building’s double doors, Solis pushed one of them and it opened wide apparently lacking any locks. There was no artificial lighting inside but sunlight leaked in through the open windows, dimly illuminating what appeared to once had been a lobby. Pieces of furniture lay haphazardly on the floor. Paint chips rose from the walls and a certain scent of old decay floated in the air. The group continued their silent walk through the lobby then went past the front desk to a row of elevator doors. Solis swiped the back of his hand in front of an ancient piece of artwork hanging on the wall which vaguely depicted a garden. Behind it, something beeped and the elevator mechanism came to life.

  There’s ID readers hidden in the walls, Alexia pointed out.

  Yes, it seems these ruins are a façade for a secret entrance to the alleys, Aurora said.

  While the elevator arrived, Alexia looked up at Solis who stood there in silence then she asked “Captain, do you really think I’m guilty?”

  The veteran Citpol officer directed his attention to her and said “I don’t know, it’s not my job to understand the motives of terrorists.”

  “What would I gain from aiding Maya do such a thing?” Alexia insisted, hoping the Captain would get on her side, given how nice he had been since they met.

  “Controller Sommers,” Solis said while looking her in the eyes, “I lost friends in Francisco Citadel yesterday. Old friends whose entire families perished in a manner I wouldn’t wish on anyone. If the Troika has proof you were involved in what happened, then I sincerely hope they recommend the death penalty which I look forward to carry out.”

  The death penalty? Alexia whispered, as she felt her knees weaken and her breath shorten. The doors to the elevator opened and the Captain stepped in. Diaz pulled Alexia back upright then pushed her inside. The ride didn’t take very long as its doors opened right away. Apparently, they were only 2 or 3 sublevels under the surface. As Diaz walked her out, Alexia looked around and saw they were in a lobby from which corridors ran in front and to the sides. Her head was still spinning but through the disorientation of the shock, she noticed the underground location was much better kempt than the ruins upstairs. Along the length of the corridor they were walking through, there were steel doors for rooms that seemed to be holding cells and each one was locked with an ID chip reader.

  Is this some kind of prison? Alexia whispered to her sister.

  If it is, they neglected to record it in the layouts I have, Aurora replied. Besides, the actual prison cells are located in sublevel 12.

  Eventually they stopped in front of the doors. As soon as the echo of their footsteps faded in the distance, Alexia noticed the noises coming from the other cells. Whoever these people being held there were, they appeared to be restless. Some of them sobbed, other moaned in pain. Others cried loudly. The eerie effect of their voices echoing in the distance further disquieted Alexia who felt tears forming in her eyes. The Captain swiped the back of his right hand on the lock and its light changed from red to green and the door unlocked. Diaz walked her inside then removed the handcuffs.

  “We’ll come get you when it’s time for your preliminary hearing,” Solis indicated from the corridor then Diaz left and the door was shut behind her. Then she heard their footsteps moving away back to where they came from.

  Alexia suddenly felt exhausted. Too overwhelmed for anything else, she wiped her eyes as looked around her cell. There was a bulb on the ceiling which brightly lit it up. The walls were painted white and an austere bed with a thin mattress was placed against the wall then next to it on the right, a steel toilet with a sink built onto its water tank. She sat on the bed with her back on the wall then brought her knees against her chest and sobbed quietly, her face buried in her arms. After a few minutes, she looked up and saw Aurora had materialized her actor sitting on the edge of the bed on her right.

  “Now what?” Alexia asked after calming down.

  “I don’t know,” Aurora replied. “I’m scanning for wireless access points into the Citadel network. I sense one but can’t connect to it due to the firewall still in place.”

  After that, there was nothing else to say so the sisters sat there in silence. For a moment, Alexia wondered if those white walls were going to be the last thing she saw if the Troika recommended her execution. On top of that, the noises coming from the other cells seemed to only get worse. Those people out there were definitely in pain. She covered her ears but they still resonated in her mind.

  “The fast-convergence was such a strange experience,” Aurora said, pulling Alexia’s attention away from the voice
s.

  “Really? How so,” Alexia asked.

  “For starters, the encephalon was partitioned into sections the gestalt called ‘domains’. I’m guessing each domain was a containment space where each assimilated daemon resides.”

  “That’s odd,” Alexia pointed out. “How can a single physical encephalon contain so many daemons?”

  “Rewriting neural groups is Ethan’s specialty, only he would know.”

  Alexia didn’t comment on that remark as she was uninterested on further debating the morality of the Program devised by her stepfather.

  “And then there were the realistic simulations,” Aurora continued.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask. What kind of paradise did the gestalt offer you?”

  Aurora turned to face her sister perhaps unsure if she wanted to answer. Then she said “the gestalt interpreted anything I ever considered wanting as a wish that would make me happy. I got to experience two lives. In one, we were kids, you and I and we attended this boarding school called Controller Academy. In the other, I was a fully realized adult Controller myself, just like you are.”

  Surprised, Alexia finished cleaning the last tears off her face. “You wish you were like me?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Aurora replied without hesitation. “To a certain extent.”

  “Care to elaborate?” Alexia asked as she smiled slightly.

  “You know this. I have never experienced what it would be like to have a body of my own. I will never interact with others outside of the Controller domain either,” she replied. “I don’t understand why you would find this amusing.”

  “No, no!” Alexia said, covering her mouth. “I’m sorry, it’s just cute to see you open up like this.”

  “Cute?” Aurora asked puzzled. “If you say so.”

  Alexia had relaxed a little and laid down on her side, facing the door. “Thank you,” she then said.

  “For what?” Aurora asked, again looking back at Alexia with that confused expression that appeared to be on her face constantly as of late.

  “For distracting me for a little bit,” Alexia replied absentmindedly, her eyes focused on nothing in particular. “I’m just so weak,” she added with a nervous chuckle. “I freak out easily and find it hard to keep my cool.”