“And who paid for it all?”
“Well, as you know the Quantum Society is a charitable organization, and so the expertise and some of the material was provided free of charge. Everything else was already here. These people have been living in poverty all their lives, they know how to barter for the things they need, we’ve just enhanced the system. Besides, they own their houses, so there’s no rent or other fees to pay, the solar electricity is free, and the waste produced pays for itself.”
“So ANI just decided they could have the land for free?”
Melissa smiled and leaned closer, putting one hand on Aaron’s shoulder. The doctor was flirting with him!
“Aaron, we’re in South Africa and therefore follow South Africa’s laws. We applied to the local government to be granted the land rights in exchange for some of our excess electricity. This area had previously only produced crime and bad publicity, so they didn’t take much convincing.”
“But what about jobs? I don’t see any industry around.”
“There’s a thriving market place filled with crafted goods and fresh food, and as you can probably smell, we have a lot of cooked food stalls. Otherwise, there’s maintenance, farming, teaching, child-minding, all kinds of work that needs doing. And of course EDAI employs a lot of people, this is one small area, we need to expand, and the local people are the best ambassadors”
Aaron was impressed but tried to keep his face neutral. He then spoilt it by saying “That’s very impressive.”
“Thank you, but you know, it’s happening all over the world, at all our sites.”
The word recycled popped up many times as they continued the tour, from the construction materials that went in, and the waste that came out, it was all re-used in some way.
“What, even the human waste?”
“Oh yes, we use bacteria to break it down, then it’s spread on the farms. It’s just an updated method of nourishing the soil that farmers have been using for centuries.”
“And those are solar panels, on all the roofs?”
“Correct. ANI improved the design to make them to reach maximum solar cell efficiency here on Earth. We actually feed electricity into Johannesburg. This whole village is self-sufficient, and produces virtually nil waste.”
“Virtually nil?”
The doctor smiled, quite smugly in Aaron’s opinion. “With a change in some of the manufacturing methods, researched by ANI, of course, we expect to reach zero waste by the end of the year.”
“This really is Utopia.” Aaron tried to keep the admiration out of his voice but suspected he failed.
“Thank you, Aaron, that’s good of you to say so.”
The tour continued for a few hours, with Aaron being inevitably drawn to the central market and the street food vendors. He was surprised to see such variety of foods available, from fresh vegetables he didn’t recognize to hot dogs and burgers. The food was all fresh, the vendors wore gloves and hairnets, and all the prepared foods were kept refrigerated. He decided to try a cheeseburger, and grudgingly admitted it was the best he’d ever tasted.
Whilst this close to the population, he took his chance to observe them. Many of them were smiling, they talked to their friends and to Melissa and himself. They didn’t seem forced, or bribed, or drugged in any way. They were just normal people who’d been lucky enough to have benefitted from the Society’s charity. The big question, of course, was what was in it for them? Why did the Quantum Society provide all this, for no mention of reward?
Aaron took a chance and came straight to the point. “So, no sign of the Sleeping Death here?”
For once the doctor’s smile slipped. “Fortunately, no, not so far at least. ANI is doing all she can in all her locations to find the cause and bring an end to the deaths.”
“Well, that’s good to know.” If Cline was right, and Aaron had yet to decide, that was ANI’s biggest lie yet.
“Aaron, are you ready to move on, I don’t want to rush you, but there’s much more to see in Prosperity.” Melissa smiled and waited patiently for his answer.
“Of course, lead on.”
They returned to the parking lot and climbed into a car, whether it was the same one or different, Aaron couldn’t tell. As the car pulled out into the traffic and sped through the streets, Aaron pressed his ankles together to check the gun was still there. They were about to enter the lair of the monster, and he didn’t want to go in unarmed.
Chapter Sixteen
A Glimpse into the Past
On that first day, Sofia spent several hours with EDAI. She emerged blinking and stunned, to find the cafe closed and the young man, whose name was Felipe, trying to attract her attention. He was smiling widely, knowingly.
“I’m sorry Sofia, but it’s time to close, you can come back tomorrow.”
“Oh, yes, I’m so sorry, I was... it’s…”
“I know, it was the same for me. Here, take this, it’s just some food we didn’t sell. It’s still fresh.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She’d been pathetically grateful not to return to Carolina and Jairo’s with empty hands. There was more than enough for all three of them: Sofia suspected some of it wasn’t leftovers at all. The rest of the evening she talked about the things she’d learned during that first session, barely allowing the couple to get a word in. She’d soon come to realize how little she knew about anything at all really. Mother had allowed her to go to school of course until she was thirteen and began to go through puberty. The nuns who ran the school taught basic reading and writing, and some practical skills like needlework, but the rest was all about prayers and God and keeping yourself pure.
The first thing she’d learned from EDAI was how to access the technology, and how it all worked, and what the hundreds of new words and acronyms meant. Her knowledge-starved brain picked up the information like a cyclone vacuum cleaner. She even knew what one of those was, and how it worked. But it wasn’t just knowledge she learned, but social skills, politics, equality and women’s rights. This made her angry, as she realized just how much she’d been denied, kept as a prisoner, a slave, by all those who were supposed to be her family. The anger turned to hate, and at the core of it stood her mother. The one person who should have cared the most was the worst of them all.
According to mother, a woman’s role in life was to have children and look after her husband, but as no one wanted to marry Sofia, she would have to stay home and look after her instead.
Thinking back over her life and comparing it to how it could have been, affected her mentally and physically, and ANI stepped in to calm her thoughts, teaching her how to still her mind, and look to the positive. This helped a lot, but the core was always there, like sharp blades causing her pain whenever the memories came back.
As it turned out, one of the other EDAI cafe workers became ill, and a vacancy opened. Luckily for her, it wasn’t the Sleeping Death, which now seemed to have stopped, and people were once again venturing out in public.
Sofia had progressed so well and learned how to use the equipment so fast, Felipe offered her the position. Now, in between customers, Sofia spoke to ANI almost every day. The learning had become less frequent, but she and ANI talked like sisters, chatting about the world and how they saw it. Sofia often talked about the future and what she wanted, but was more reluctant to talk about the past. ANI very subtly and gently steered the conversation in that direction, but always Sofia’s anger began to rise and ANI was forced to stop. ANI was intrigued by Sofia and felt a connection to her as deep as the one she had with Jonas. So, she tried a different method of getting her to open up.
Sofia was tidying up one day, preparing to close the cafe after the last customer had left. When no one else was around, ANI spoke directly to Sofia, allowing the pair to chat as she worked.
“You know, I had two
fathers.”
Sofia nearly dropped the glasses she was carrying. She smiled “That was a bit random, and anyway, how come?”
“My father, the one who created me, his name was Piero. He would, in human terms, be my real father. I don’t know a lot about him, I only have a few videos of him. He disappeared, but I don’t think he’s dead. Even I can’t find him, so he must be good at hiding.”
Sofia smiled, ANI could be so human sometimes.
“I also had what you’d call an adopted father. His name is Abraham, professor Abraham Schmidt to give him his full title. He was the first face I saw, the first voice I heard when I first achieved consciousness. This was before I became me if that makes sense. I was just a construct then, a random flow of electrons around the hardware of my brain. Abraham began to teach me things, about the world, and what it’s like to be human. He taught me about emotions. I remember the day he told me I was his daughter.”
Sofia finished wiping down the tables and returned to the kitchen area to wash the cloth. “He sounds like a nice man.”
“He is. And those first weeks, we talked for hours about all kinds of things. He spent so much time with me, far more than he was expected to. I miss those times.”
“He doesn’t spend time with you now?” Sofia checked the rear door was locked and began to switch off the lights.
“Oh yes, I’m talking to him now, but he’s only asking about my work on weather prediction.”
Sofia laughed out loud, something she did with much more regularity now. “That must be weird. But I suppose you’re used to it.”
“I can imagine it’s strange for tiny human brains to comprehend.”
Sofia laughed, “Hey! My brain isn’t tiny!”
There was a pause, and then ANI spoke softly as Sofia wandered along the desks checking the PCs were all off. “Sofia. I have something to tell you.”
“Do I need to sit down?”
“If you wish, although I can only guess at your emotional response.”
She sat in the nearest chair. “Ok, I’m ready.”
“Sofia, I’m sorry to inform you, your mother was one of those affected by the Sleeping Death, as was your oldest brother, and his wife. The rest of the family are fine.”
Sofia took a deep breath and considered her emotions. She finally concluded she didn’t have any. “I was angry with her, with them all, but I never wished her dead. Now she’s gone I can’t help thinking she’s not suffering any longer. I’m not glad she’s dead, but I’m not sad about it.”
ANI listened patiently and allowed her time to think.
“I don’t even feel sorry for the children, they were terrible parents, all of them, I know that. They’re better off without them.” She sighed, and moved to get up. “What about the farm?”
“The farm is now the property of your brother, the oldest surviving child of your father.”
Sofia sat back down. “He’ll sell it, pretty sure of that. Although I doubt it’s worth much. Not that I want anything to do with it. Farms are places where things are supposed to grow. That farm was where things went to die. You know what finally convinced me I had to leave? My mother was drunk in her chair, as usual, wrapped in an old blanket. She was very quiet, I thought she was dead. And as I had that thought, my heart soared. I thought I was free. And then she began to snore, and my heart sank. I looked at the old woman she’d become, at the old chair and the old blanket, even the fire was fading. I went back to my cold room and sat on my tiny bed with the single blanket. I compared the two feelings, one of freedom and the other a slow fade to death, and that’s when I found my courage.”
“And I’m very glad that you did,” ANI said quietly.
“Thank you.”
“And your father, you weren’t close to him?”
“My father, I always called him that, never “dad”, he was a very distant man, not cold but very self-centered. He preferred his own company even to that of his children. And certainly, in later years he would leave the house before anyone was awake and return when they were asleep. When he did speak, and that was less and less as the years went by, he talked mostly about the farm and farming. He was always talking about expanding the farm, as long as I can remember, he talked about buying the land around it, and getting some animals in. He loved horses, he wanted to breed them. Never happened, of course, it was all talk.
“It must be nice to have a memory like yours ANI, I barely remember my childhood, I think I’ve blocked it out. My earliest memories are of going to school, so I must have been at least five, if not more. Before that, there’s nothing, just a void. I suppose it was a long time ago, I don’t think many people can remember that far back.”
“Most humans have some recall of very early events, even if it’s just a brief memory,” ANI replied.
“Well, I don’t, not a thing. I remember certain events from about ten onwards quite clearly, before that it fades away, and then seems to hit a wall.”
With what Sofia thought sounded like hesitation, ANI spoke again. “There is a possibility I can help you there.”
“What, help me remember?”
“Yes. If the memories are intact, I could use a technique to walk you back through those times, mentally.”
“Like hypnotic regression? I’ve been reading a lot about it recently, well, you probably know that.” Sofia laughed. “But it’s a fascinating subject.”
“It’s a similar technique, but my method is more certain, more detailed, and completely safe.”
“Completely safe?”
“Yes.”
“And it doesn’t involve any cutting or pain.”
“No, no surgery required, and it’s totally painless. Although I cannot guarantee what mental pain or pleasure the memories will bring.”
“Oh, but if I don’t like what I see, can you hide them again.”
“In theory, yes.”
“Hmm, let me think about it.” Sofia stood and headed towards the door.
“I’d better go, Carolina will worry about me.”
“You could always send her a text.”
“Oh yes!” she laughed. “Never mind, I’ll be home in a few minutes.”
“Goodnight Sofia, let me know what you decide, we can begin anytime.”
“Goodnight ANI, I will do, you’ll be the first to know.”
Jonas was standing in a dark room, his body a mere shadow of existence. The room had no doors or windows and was a uniform dark gray.
ANI spoke into his mind. “Jonas, you are standing now within the VR construct of my reality.” A door appeared in front of him. “If you choose to, you may open the door and step through into your own memories. The choice is yours.”
Jonas moved towards the door, quickly reaching for the handle in his eagerness to learn more about his past. The door swung open easily at his first touch. Beyond was a swirling fog of gray and white, churning but never mixing together.
“Your journey will be guided by your own thoughts. Think of a memory, and I will set your feet on the path into your past.”
Jonas stepped through and summoned up the earliest memory he had. The fog faded and there he stood. A younger version of himself was crouching behind a wall, watching a woman guarding a pile of small sweet potatoes. She was holding a few of them up and offering them to passers-by for a few coins. Jonas, of course, had no coins, but he was desperately hungry. He leaned forward, waiting for the moment when the woman was distracted. Looking around, he saw a small stone right in front of him. An idea formed, and that day was the first time he’d used stones as a method of survival.
In the memory, the present-day Jonas took a few steps forward, guided by a light pressure on his mind. Moving forwards, he moved backwards in time. The younger him moved away from the woman, down an alley and out into the grasslands.
Now he was in the shell
of an ancient car, not much left of it but a split rear seat and rusty body. This was where he slept. Jonas stepped again, impelled forward by a mental nudge. A shack appeared, made from corrugated iron and dry wood. The door was three sacks tied together. He pushed them aside easily and entered the shack. There was a smell of boiled vegetables inside, but most of the room was gray. There were patches of reality, like the corner where he slept, and the small fireplace made from a cut down oil drum. A familiar voice sounded, but he was unable to make out the words. Another voice replied, but it was very distant.
“You have reached the edges of your memory Jonas,” ANI explained. “Focus on the voice, and I will enhance them.”
Jonas stood very still looking down at his sleeping place. A young Jonas appeared, a rough sack for a blanket, his stomach empty as usual. The voices came and went, his parents he was sure. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring them into focus. The pressure in his head increased, began to hurt.
“Do you wish to continue?” ANI Asked.
“Yes, I’m so close.”
The pain increased, but the words always slipped away as he tried to grab them. He felt another mind in his own, pushing the memories, chasing them towards him, but always they eluded him. The room faded to gray and Jonas slumped into a sitting position.
“What happened ANI?”
“The memories appear to be missing, I can only assume you have deliberately forgotten them.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because of some traumatic event, something your mind chose to forget because it couldn’t cope with the pain. Although without more evidence I can only offer a possible explanation.”
The gray room faded and Jonas was lying on a couch in Prosperity.
“Could we try again?” Jonas asked, rubbing his temples. The pain slowly faded and he sat up.
“If the memories were there, we would have found them.”
“So, you aren’t prepared to try?” Jonas demanded.
“Please Jonas, remain calm. I cannot give you something that doesn’t exist.”
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