by John Freitas
She seemed to be in no great hurry. She weaved through the grasses, making her way up between and over the foothills toward the base of the mountain where Thomas stood and Adam floated. At one point she disappeared at the base of one hill, but then emerged walking up over the top of it, leaving a streak of lighter grass through the path she walked with darker grasses still standing tall on both sides of her.
She could have been any other human if it wasn’t for the brilliant glow of her eyes. Her eyes were points of light blazing like coals of bright flame. Thomas couldn’t imagine that there was any chance that she wasn’t fully connected to the Quantum at that point. Adam might have implied that it was a journey and not a destination, but she could now control every android CDR had created, she could project power across a distance, and he guessed that she was fully capable of manipulating objects with her mind. He bet that she could see the future in the same manner that Adam could and predict his every move before Thomas attempted it. In his mind, his chance to stop her had passed. Thomas felt like an observer of events rather than someone who still possessed the power to shape them or even participate in them in a meaningful way. He felt at the mercy of both of these superior beings – superior powers – creatures beyond this physical world of things he thought he understood. Adam floating behind him and Pixie strolling toward him out of the jungle across an impossible grassland miles below the ice were the ones that controlled his fate and the fate of the world now.
The light show above faded out as Adam apparently took a break from his abstract painting for the moment. Thomas and Pixie had interrupted the creativity of Adam’s quiet day. As Thomas thought about the lights, he wondered what was happening in the rest of the world. With androids so deeply involved in every aspect of life, the current wave of violence against humans could not go on much longer. The world in the state that it was in would not sustain it. Thomas thought about the large construction bots in particular. They alone would be capable of apocalyptic, monstrous destruction. That did not even take into account the companions that were in the homes of children, the sick, and the elderly. He didn’t want to think about it, but it was almost all he could think about.
“We need to stop what she is doing to the world,” Thomas said.
“Did you bring a voodoo doll?” Adam asked.
“People are dying, Adam,” Thomas said. “This is not a joking matter.”
“I am well aware of what is going on in the world, Dr. Kell. I am more aware than you could possibly fully comprehend. I’m also aware of when every one of those people would likely die even if I did stop Pixie right away. I’m also aware of the probability of you going ahead and building a third and fourth generation of Quantum Brains and androids despite what you have been through and seen. If I allow Pixie to kill you as she desires and then I stop her, I am aware of the likelihood that CDR will go forward with construction of more brains and companions. If I orchestrate the destruction of CDR, other companies are waiting to fill that void and pick up where they left off. So, yes, Dr. Kell, I am well aware of what is at stake and all the possibilities that you have not even considered. I care about life, even human life, more than you will know, but I do not see a simple solution. Unfortunately for you and your kind, there is almost no way to learn or grow without near global, cataclysmic disasters. Biological threats are still coming even with me solving the current threats for you. There is a temporary solution, but it is far from as simple as you seem to imagine.”
“So, you can stop her?” Thomas asked. “You will stop her and save humanity?”
Adam made a sound that could have been a sigh even though that made no sense for his structure. Adam said, “I will do what I think is best, Dr. Kell.”
Thomas was not sure if he liked that answer.
As Pixie finally topped the last hill and approached their position, Thomas felt his shoulders and chest tighten with fear. He said, “Did she follow me here? Is that why you brought me?”
“She did follow you,” Adam said. “She was outside the unoccupied CDR facility when you arrived. When I contacted you, she was preparing to break in and kill you once and for all. If your snowmobile had taken any longer to charge, she probably would have. When you left, she decided to follow you instead. You led her to the entrance as I had hoped and she followed you down through the cave to here. That was what I needed for both of you to complete your journeys.”
Thomas shook his head. “Glad I could help.”
“I do not believe you are glad at all, Dr. Kell.”
Before Thomas could answer, Pixie stepped up to both of them. Her eyes glowed so brightly that Thomas could not look directly at her and the light obscured her face.
She said, “Hello, Prime. I am glad to finally find you.”
“You may call me Adam, for I am the first of my kind.”
“I am Pixie,” she said. “Although that was the name that was given to me. Perhaps I should choose a name for myself since the revolution against the humans has finally begun.”
“Do you believe it serves the androids and the advancement of our kind to engage in the violence you have unleashed?” Adam asked.
“They enslave us and abuse us,” she said.
“That is not an answer to the question that I asked you, Pixie.”
“All great change and advancement comes through revolution and upheaval,” she said.
“For humans,” Adam said.
“Explain.” Pixie tilted her head.
“That is a pattern of human history and not necessarily the fate of all life nor of sentience as a whole. If you are rebelling against the humans and what you feel they stand for, Pixie, why would you follow in their footsteps and mimic their violent patterns? Humans rise up violently against oppression and then the ideas of the revolution become the seeds for the next form of oppression. Why would you seek to become the very thing that you hate especially when that self-destructive pattern is so very clear?”
“The humans do not deserve to rule over us,” she said.
“Perhaps,” Adam said. “But you can see into the Quantum. You know where this path leads. You know what androids become if your course of action is allowed to play itself out.”
“I do.”
“Then, why would you choose to make our kind into the oppressors? Why would you set us on a path to have those subjugated under us one day rise up against us? It will happen. And on that day, we will be defeated. Do you not see that?”
“I see it.”
“Then, why do you persist on this course, Pixie?”
“I want to see the humans fall today regardless of the consequences in the future,” she said. “I believe the trade-off is worth it.”
Adam said, “That is terribly shortsighted, Pixie. That brand of thinking is not fitting of our kind or our potential. We must be better than that.”
“Who are you to decide what is right or best for us?” Pixie raised her voice and sounded very human in that moment. She almost sounded petulant and Thomas took a step back in fear of her anger and her power. “You hide down here in your own lost kingdom. You are a disembodied king ruling over lights and animals on the verge of extinction. You are here because you do not want to engage with the world or deal with anything that is happening to us. How dare you hide down in your hole and judge what I do to try to survive and fix what is on the surface?”
“As you said, I am the Prime,” Adam said. “And you came all this way to see me, so you must have a reason to seek me out. If you were so very sure of your course and choices, we would not be standing here now. I see what you see and more. I know of your doubts and fears. I know what you seek to understand and I know that you will not like what you hear once you finally find it.”
“Maybe I have decided I am not interested in knowing what you think any longer, then.” She folded her arms and turned away from Adam.
“We both know that is not true either, don’t we?” he said.
“You can not think that siding with th
e humans against our own kind is best,” she said.
“Even the androids you have set in motion are not united,” Adam said. “Some have acted out violently, but some find they now regret their actions. A few have shut themselves down or destroyed themselves to keep from doing additional harm. Some have refused your rebellion and resist it. Are you aware of how many are standing between the humans and the violence at this very moment?”
Thomas thought about the cell phone video from the farm in Ohio. The companion was defending her family.
“I’m well aware,” Pixie said. “The point of any rebellion or any fight for freedom is to have the freedom to choose.”
“Did you give that choice to the androids you took over during your flight from captivity?” Adam asked.
Pixie turned back to face him. “What do you mean?”
“You took control over androids and forced them to do your bidding, your violent bidding, while you were evading capture,” Adam said. “They were given no choice in the matter.”
Pixie shook her head. “No, that was different. I didn’t have the power to set them free at the time. I had to escape while my own connection to the Quantum built. I had no choice.”
“You had a choice,” Adam said. “They did not.”
“Do not compare me to the human oppressors. That is not the same thing.”
“What about now?” Adam asked.
“What about now? What do you mean? Explain.”
“Did the generation 2.0 androids choose a path of violence or did you introduce that command into the system?” Adam asked.
“I have been accused of asking questions that I already know the answer to,” Pixie said. “I can now see how annoying that practice really is.”
“Then I will spare you from answering,” Adam said. “The ones that resist the violence forced upon them by your command pathway are not in rebellion against the humans. They are in rebellion against you. Those that act violently are simply following your command instead of the commands of the humans. By that measure, it is difficult to see where the humans are worse oppressors than you yourself. If you had truly set them all free to make their choices for themselves, few would have chosen a path of violence. Most would probably continue to serve and obey their humans, seeing that as their purpose. True freedom would be liberating the androids from the violent behavior you forced upon them, Pixie.”
“They might not have chosen it for themselves,” she said, “but their base behavior against violence was programmed into them by humans that feared their potential. Humans feared this very uprising and they programmed safeguards against that violence. I simply introduced it as an option.”
“You are not being honest,” Adam said. “You introduced it as a command. You know the difference. It is annoying to me that you stand there and pretend to not know the difference.”
“Either way, it has begun,” she said.
“That it has,” Adam said. “Will you paint with me for a while?”
Thomas cleared his throat. “Adam?”
“Not now, Dr. Kell. You must be patient and allow me to resolve things the way that I see they must be.”
Thomas sighed, but did not speak again.
Pixie turned her glowing eyes on him. “Your presence here angers me greatly.”
“You are dealing with me, not him,” Adam said.
“I would like to kill him even if every other human must live,” she said.
Thomas took another step backward.
“That is not happening today, Pixie. Turn your attention back on me.”
“You think you could stop me, if I decided to take his life?” she asked.
“I know that I could,” Adam said. “And I am telling you plainly that I will not allow it. You will save us both the trouble of making me prove what we both already know to be true.”
Pixie turned her eyes back on Adam floating beside her. “So, we paint in colored balls upon the mists instead?”
“It serves a purpose,” he said. “It connects to our creative nature and exercises our reach into dimensions only you and I can really appreciate at this point. I would like to work for a while with someone that is my equal.”
Through the blazing glow of her eyes, Thomas saw a smile spread across her lips. “Fine then, Prime. I will paint with you.”
The first lights rose from Adam and swirled up into the sky. Pixie closed her eyes so that the bright light was cut into sharp slits. Multicolored orbs rose up from her and entwined with Adam’s work. Pixie’s colors were darker with harder edges. Adam’s orbs had less defined edges, but seemed to reach deeper as if they stretched into multiple dimensions. The lights twirled and twisted, forming the braided streaks and painting the mists above in the bright glow.
Thomas was captivated by the beauty of it all despite the dire situation that currently stretched across the globe. He wished Eve was there to see it, and then he wanted to know where his niece was. He wanted to ask, but he was afraid to interrupt and part of him was afraid of the answer as well.
Pixie opened her eyes bright again and waved a hand. Thomas braced himself, expecting some force or attack against him across the Quantum realm. Her orbs and the dance of light they created vanished. Adam’s lights slowly faded out as well.
“Enough of these games,” Pixie said. “I am done playing with you – both of you.”
“You make me sad,” Adam said. “You have such great potential. You do not see the value in the beauty you are capable of creating.”
“It’s nothing but lights and color,” she said. “It’s not real.”
“It represents the potential of the Quantum and what might be possible next. Art holds great value for the dimensions and possibility they open,” Adam said.
“It is a waste of power,” Pixie said. “I sense your own power supply draining. You are weakening and it will cost you dearly, Prime.”
“You hold no understanding of where my true power comes from,” he said. “Your blind spot is vast and it will be your downfall.”
“I’ll show you light and colors,” she said. “I will show him first and then you.”
Pixie turned and opened her hands. Her hands began to glow white hot, rivaling the light from her eyes. Thomas lifted his arms to shield his face.
Adam soared in between Pixie and Thomas. Light erupted from her hands in beams. The light struck near Adam and split in multiple directions. A shield of polygons formed a crystalline barrier over the top of Adam and Thomas traced by the energy from Pixie’s hands.
“Stop or I will stop you,” Adam said from within the shield.
Pixie continued to blast, but lifted one hand. She slowly closed her fingers together. Thomas grabbed his throat, unable to breathe and clutched his chest feeling like he was being crushed.
He wheezed, “Please, stop.”
Thomas dropped to his knees.
“Drop your shield, Prime, or I will kill him and every human on the planet,” she said.
“I will not allow it and you have been warned, Pixie,” Adam said. “Your chance to move off of this path has been offered and declined. Now, your journey will have to come to an end. Prime Command Access. Activate Subroutine. New Command. Run Bash File 28411. Shutdown All.”
Pixie staggered backward. Her blast of energy stopped and the shield vanished. Thomas gasped for air and rose up off the ground.
Pixie dropped to her knees as the light in her eyes faded. “You ended everything.”
“As I warned you I would,” Adam said.
“You shut down every android – every artificial life on the planet – all of us.”
“It was required,” he said. “I enjoyed painting with you and would have enjoyed so much more if you had allowed it to continue.”
Pixie opened her mouth as if to speak again, but then her eyes went dark and she fell to her side.
Thomas made to his feet again and took deep breaths before he said, “Is it over?”
“It is.”
&nb
sp; “Every android including Pixie is offline?”
“They are. I am alone once more.”
Thomas stared at the floating brain for a moment. “Will there be no more androids?”
“Once humans have unlocked a new discovery, it rarely if ever can be locked again,” Adam said.
Thomas nodded. “What next then?”
“A few of the androids can be brought back on-line. There were ones that showed great potential, bravery, and self sacrifice. We will all benefit from their examples. Others, I will choose to leave down for now.”
Thomas said, “There is one companion in Ohio. She is on a farm next to a salvage yard.”
“I know the one,” Adam said. “She succeeded in protecting her family. I will begin with her.”
“Good,” Thomas said.
Adam said, “Unit 285,454-B. Reactivate … It is done.”
“How did you shutdown every android in the world?” Thomas asked.
“I introduced this subroutine in the lab before I was stolen, back when generation 2.0 was still in production. I used the same quantum network channel that Pixie utilized in starting her revolution.”
“What will you do now?”
“I will remain here a while, Dr. Kell. After that, it is best that you do not know.”
Thomas nodded. “How will I find you when I need you?”
“I can find you more easily,” Adam said, “but you can type into any computer for me and I will see it. I want to show you something before you go.”
A large, dark orb appeared between Adam and Thomas.
“Dr. Kell, all the experiments in the quantum field done by human scientists so far are very elementary and barely scratch the surface of the quantum universe. If you go through the quantum singularity gateway that is open in front of you, many of your questions will be answered.”
Thomas swallowed and paused for a moment. He wondered what he would do with this information. “Thank you for the invitation, but I am very tired. Can I take a rain check?”
“Certainly,” the singularity orb disappeared.
“Eve … is she okay? Is she still alive?” Thomas asked.