by John Lilley
‘Come on,’ he shouted above the noise of the fall.
Yes, he’s definitely lost it, thought Carlos as he squeezed through the bushes, followed eagerly by Gene.
They were now standing in the space behind the fall. The small artificially created cave was part of Jake’s original specification for the fall, but about half of the original floor area had now been “naturally” eroded away by the falling water. It was a bit of a squeeze for them to avoid being soaked by the falling water.
‘So what’s all this about?’ enquired Carlos.
‘We need to talk, but I need to show you something first,’ said Bill as he unbuttoned the cuff on the left sleeve of his shirt. He raised his right finger to his mouth to indicate silence then pulled the sleeve back to reveal the creature.
Gene and Carlos were both concerned at what they saw but kept their silence. Bill then extended his arm and indicated that he wanted then to join hands. Reluctantly they both did so only to be rewarded by the creature moving down Bill’s arm until it was touching all three of their hands.
‘OK if Jake is right we can talk now, our little friend here will stop Central from listening to our speech,’ said Bill.
‘What the hell has Jake got to do with this? Did he put you up to it?’ asked Carlos.
Gene and Carlos both looked quite shocked at Bill’s mention of Central.
Bill continued: ‘Jake brought this little creature with him on his last visit. Basically, we’re all “wired”, by that I mean that Central has implanted devices in our bodies and can hear what we’re saying at any time, so long as we are near one of his sensing devices. This creature nullifies that capability. But the biggest shock for you will be that it does not come from Jake or the Kids, it’s from the Natives in the northern forests.’
Gene’s and Carlos’s eyes widened once more.
‘What the hell are we doing getting involved with those savages?’ asked Carlos.
‘Sorry buddy, but we’ve been living under an illusion for most of our lives. Central has been hiding things from us big-time. I’ll summarise quickly: there is a colony of friendly Native Americans in the Norther Forests, also there are over ten million people still living in a stable community over in the British Isles. The Kids were not rescued from the brink of a killer plague, they were kidnapped. For all we know their parents are still alive. We have wasted our entire lives living in isolation as Central’s lab-rats.’
Gene and Carlos now looked increasingly worried and stunned.
‘We need to get out of here before our lives are over. Wouldn’t you like to spend your last few years amongst a thriving community of your fellow human beings? Jake has a plan to get us over to the Britain, but we’ll need to leave soon. There is nothing for us to prepare, no bags to pack, we just leave in our hovercars and visit Jake for one of our regular picnics. He will arrange the rest?’
‘I think we should go back now,’ said Gene.
‘OK old buddy,’ said Bill. ‘All I want you to do is think about what I’ve just said for the next couple of days. Then I’ll call you, and if you mention Jake at all, I’ll assume you want to go. Jake and I are definitely going along with the Kids so it would be just the two of you after that. Anyway, have a think about it.’
The creature retracted onto Bill’s forearm, they broke their hand grips, Bill buttoned up his sleeve and they headed for the cave exit. The conversation was muted on the way back to the buggy. Gene and Carlos were both more aware than ever of the environment in which they’d happily lived all of their very long lives.
Gene felt it was a bit like the sensation when someone tells you that there are 5,000 nerve endings in your backside. After that, all you could think about was your rear-end.
As they walked through the forest, their minds wandered to the physical aspects of their self-designed micro-worlds. They’d reached the point now where they almost believed that the limits of their worlds were the natural limits. Although none of them could have ever been described as the sharpest knives in the box, they’d each kept their minds alive in entirely different ways: Gene with his interest in fauna and Carlos with his interest in flora and of course, Bill’s interest in beer. However, they’d all retracted so much from the reality outside their domes. They all remembered the many hovercar adventures they’d had with Jake at the helm. Most of them had ended in some sort of calamity, where one of them had been injured or where Central had had to bail them out in some way. But that was real life. What had they been doing since then? Perhaps Jake had a point. What was Central up to? What could be the possible motive for keeping them deliberately isolated in such a way? Even worse, what about taking the Kids away from their families just to amuse the four of them? Or were the Kids just the next generation of Lab-Rats?
Their thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Jethro running towards them. He’d seen them first and had slowed his pace from 60 mph to a more believable 15 mph. At fifty yards he slowed his pace to a brisk walk.
‘Hi guys’ he said, somewhat informally for him. ‘I was getting worried about you.’
All three of them stared for a few seconds. Their collective thoughts were along the lines of ‘How did Jethro get here so quickly? Had he been following them or in some way listening to what they had been saying? Did Central know about Bill’s creature and what they’d been discussing, or was it the sudden lack of contact with their implants that had prompted Jethro’s sudden appearance? Gene and Carlos were still assimilating the bombshell that Bill had just landed on them and were rapidly reappraising their little world in a new light. Gene began to get anxious, and a bead of sweat formed on his forehead then trickled down the side of his nose.
‘Just overheating a bit, thank you, Jethro, Bill has the heating turned up again,’ he said dabbing his face with a fresh linen hanky.
The other two laughed, perhaps a bit too loudly.
‘Great thanks, Jethro,’ said Bill. ‘It’s a shame about that tree. Maybe you could get it sorted while I take these guys back to the lodge?’
‘No problem sir, I’m glad you’re all OK.’ said Jethro, confirming Carlos and Gene’s suspicions that the implant blackout had caused Jethro’s sudden appearance and therefore proving the existence of the implants, the constant monitoring by Central and possibly all the other things that Jake had suggested.
The three old friends carried on walking back to the buggy. Jethro helped them all get over the fallen tree and watched as Bill turned the buggy round and headed off back to the lodge. He’d already wired the maintenance team to join him at the tree, but he did feel something was not quite right because normally Bill would let him drive the buggy. Even if he got a lift back with the maintenance team, he would be away from the lodge for quite some time, but Brad and Molly would be there to keep an eye on them. The good thing though was that their implants were still working, he would run some more tests on them the next time that the humans went for their monthly check-ups, no point in alerting Central, but he would tell Brad and Manuel and get them to also check their domes’ networks.
Brad was already on the terrace watching for the approach of the buggy. The telemetry coming from Gene suggested that he was under some sort of stress. This was concerning since he had not been well since the last operation on his knee. However, Gene never ceased to surprise Brad with his general resilience and love of life, even when he was obviously not well. Brad found it difficult to imagine what it must be like to have parts of your body permanently wear out or gradually become less efficient and even painful in everyday use. How awful such a condition must be, but how amazing such creatures were. All they demanded was water, minerals, vitamins, carb’s and proteins and they effortlessly self-repaired most of the time, rebuilding their broken bodies from the simple compounds they ate and metabolised. Their net energy consumption just to keep themselves in operation was minimal, way less than a simulant. In extreme circumstances, they could survive for days without water or weeks without food. The sheer power and compl
exity of their minds were the other thing. They learnt naturally, made up their own minds about things and could even forget. Their minds also worked on many levels with whole sections specialising in particular activities. Some functions were just autonomous to keep their bodies working while others were capable of many levels of abstract thought and emotions. Sleep was another concept which was hard for Brad to comprehend, and as for dreaming, well, what was that all that about? All that Central could tell the dome systems about the humans was that humans had just as much difficulty in understanding the nature of artificial intelligence.
The buggy finally came into sight as it emerged from the edge of the forest. Brad was aware of its exact position at every instance since it left the fallen tree. The three old men looked a little the worse for wear, perhaps a little sterner for some unknown reason. It was now quite late in the afternoon and Gene would normally be having his afternoon nap about now.
The three men took their seats again around the table on the veranda where Molly had already served tea and biscuits. Bill was conscious of the tension that was now between them. He pulled some photos from his pocket and dumped them on the table.
‘It just seems like yesterday,’ he said.
Carlos and Gene leant forward and took a photo each, staring in silence.
‘Well, I’m sorry, have I kept you both up too late?’ Bill continued.
‘Oh, sorry Bill, I was deep in thought,’ said Carlos. ‘Perhaps you’re right, we should be leaving you in peace for your afternoon nap?’
They all laughed.
‘Have you finished with the tea sir?’ inquired Brad an hour later.
‘Yes, and I think that my guests need to be on their way soon. In Jethro’s absence, would you please take Carlos out to his hovercar?’
‘It would be a pleasure sir,’ said Brad.
The three walked back through the lodge and out onto the driveway where Brad was waiting to help Carlos and Gene into the Cadillac.
‘Great to see you again Bill,’ said Carlos.
‘Yeah, speak to you soon buddy,’ replied Gene.
They got into the car; Brad helped Gene into his seat while Carlos seated himself. Mitzy was already sitting attentively in the middle seat waiting for her master to return and immediately jumped on Carlos’s lap. Brad slipped in behind the wheel, and the old car moved off smoothly towards the airlock. Once outside the dome Brad parked up near the landing pad and helped Carlos back into the hovercar. He managed to put a good hundred yards between the Cadillac and Carlos’s hovercar before it took off. There was no point in having the car scratched by the flying stones from Carlos’s careless take-off. The desert was peaceful after the chaos of Bill’s dome. In the distance, a couple of buzzards (Cathartes Aura) were circling on the afternoon thermals, but Gene could not see them, he had already nodded off in the back seat.
39 AT THE MEETING
They were in conference room six on the third floor of the Lovelock building. As with all the central government meeting rooms, it was luxuriously appointed. The hand-woven green silk carpet was several centimetres thick, and the matching green leather armchairs appeared quite capable of completely absorbing any occupant within their deeply buttoned and overstuffed upholstery. A large oval table made of English Oak (Quercus Robur) filled the centre of the room. The water glasses were of the finest lead crystal, and Arthur could never resist giving his a reassuring tap, just to hear the pure bell tone it emitted. Real English Breakfast tea was also available from the finest bone china cups, and the solid silver three-tier cake tray was filled with freshly made scones, waiting to be topped with the delicious strawberry jam and clotted cream from nearby pots. For those with a more savoury taste, there were also thinly cut poached salmon and cucumber sandwiches.
Just one sandwich, Derek thought, reaching for the silver tray. They were wasted on Arthur; he never seemed to take anything. Come to think of it I’ve not seen Arthur eat, ever! Perhaps that was why he’s so short?
John Doyle, the head of the MI6 section that ran Derek and Arthur, was already in the room. He was near the window deep in a conversation with someone on his link: ‘OK I’ll warn everyone to expect her, bye for now,’ turning to the table he took his seat and rang the small bell to signal the start of the meeting.
‘Colleagues, thank you all for attending this meeting at such short notice. Don especially, I don’t know how you made it down from the Space Centre so quickly, rocket bike perhaps?’
This brought some chortles from John’s now seated audience.
‘We’re about to discuss some interesting and at the same time quite disturbing reports. Some of you may already have been involved in their intelligence gathering. You are our most senior and experienced group of agents, and it’s for that reason we’ve asked you to attend today. I don’t need to emphasise the need for absolute secrecy. To ensure that you all understand the gravity of this situation, Mother has decided to attend this meeting in person. She will be with us shortly.’
After Don’s last statement the gentle tick-tock of the antique grandfather clock at the end of the room was the only sound to be heard. All the commotion of the meeting had suddenly stopped. Several attendees’ jaws appeared to have locked in mid-bite. Eyes bulged, and skin paled. Eventually, a few throats being cleared broke the silence.
‘Blimey,’ blurted Derek.
‘Yes, exactly,’ said John.
That moment the entrance doors clicked open and were held wide by two very tall and muscular men dressed from head to toe in black. Their jackets bulged slightly over their personal weapons, something that was picked up by the trained eyes of all the attendees. The two giants slowly scanned every inch of the room with piercing stares from their emotionless black faces. Then suddenly from between them there emerged a small middle-aged woman in a light blue two-piece, white silk shirt and wearing a two-row pearl necklace. She was smiling.
‘Gentlemen, thank you for coming,’ she said as she took her seat at the table.
Everyone was still paralysed.
‘Thank you ma’me, it’s a great pleasure for all of us to meet you here today,’ responded John after a brief delay.
Mother scanned the room, quite literally. The simulant she was instantiated in was the most advanced currently available. She was actively monitoring every heartbeat, breath, pupil dilation and to a limited extent the brain waves, of every human in the room. She knew their entire life histories and the life histories of everyone in their families and everyone they’d ever met. She knew everything about them including which soap they preferred, what their hobbies were, where they liked to go on holiday, what was their favourite music right down to every illness they’d ever had and the exact makeup of their DNA. She also had the ability to instantly cross-correlate any number of items from this huge dataset. However, what was happening in the meeting room was a microscopic portion of the data that Mother was currently processing. The mobile processing unit in the room was merely one of many active terminals with direct connections to Mother’s primary systems. After hundreds of years of managing human affairs Mother had realised that attending to things “in person” was often necessary. She was a product of the Alan Turing Institute which was formed back in 2014 with the aim to focus on new ways of collecting, organising and analysing large sets of data, known at that time as “Big Data”. The project was funded by the government to the tune of a paltry £42m over five years. To put this in perspective, it was roughly one-fifth of the bonuses at the major UK Banks at that time. However, in retrospect, it was probably also the best investment of all time.
‘I always have time for you chaps,’ she said. ‘You are my top people, great to see you again John, Arthur, Derek and Don, and an equally warm first welcome to everyone else. If you’ve not met me before, then please don’t be alarmed. As you can see I am quite harmless and don’t worry about Julian and Tarquin, they are here for your protection. Just one thing though, and I say this to everyone, I am not your mother! Well g
entlemen, shall we get down to business?’
Fifty minutes later Derek and Arthur left the meeting room along with everyone else. Although they had met “Her” before they were always stunned by the presence of Mother. As instructed they made their way to the mission requisitions counter which was four floors down in the basement, where they queued at the small hatch behind several other agents. The scanner at the hatch identified Derek, and the clerk asked him to wait while he retrieved the mission equipment. Within seconds he was back carrying a small black holdall.
‘OK Mr Hardman, you’ll need to attend an equipment briefing in training room ten, good luck and try to bring this all back please,’ he said.
Arthur got similar treatment and the same message: Training in room ten….
‘What do you think it is Arthur, a new type of midge (Culicoides Impunctatus) cream?’ Derek joked as they retraced their steps up to the ground floor and room ten.
‘More than likely, the smaller islands are infested with the damned things,’ said Arthur.
Inside room 10 an instructor was waiting for them. He had that distinctive straight-backed posture with legs shoulder width apart and hands clasped behind his back, suggesting many years of military service.
‘Gentlemen, I’ve been expecting you, please bring your bags with you and follow me,’ he said as he turned and entered a corridor off the room sign-posted: “Test Range. Authorised personnel only”.
A few metres down the corridor they entered a door entitled “Range 6”. The range consisted of a narrow room some 50 metres in length with several shooting positions at the end near the entrance door. To the right of the door was a counter and on the counter were two small metallic cases.
‘Please, gentlemen gather round,’ said the Instructor as he approached the table and began to open the cases.