by Michael Ryan
The Scientist looked back at the snake’s deformed head with its eyes protruding strangely from its face. Fear and excitement consumed the Scientist simultaneously, fighting to come to the foreground of his mind. The Rubbish unit had found a scientific text, a book created by Homo sapiens.
“A genetic engineering text,” whispered the Scientist.
The Scientist had managed to contain his excitement upon seeing the text and endeavored to come across indifferently. It had worked, the Rubbish unit seemed unaware, but the Scientist couldn’t help feeling terrified. A Machine caught in the possession of such an item would have his algorithm permanently disabled. He would never think independently again.
“I must hide it. It must be my secret alone,” whispered the Scientist as he glided over to the snake and looked into its malformed eyes.
“It will be our secret,” said the Scientist to the dead snake.
After hiding the precious book, the Scientist didn’t dare look at it again for over a month. But when the Scientist finally read the contents of that ancient scientific text he felt elation at rediscovering the secrets of a former sentient race. Not only had the text specified how to change the structure of biological life, it had specified how to create living beings, step by step. The Scientist was already employed in artificially creating living animals, but bringing an extinct animal to life was unheard of, much less bringing Homo sapiens back to life. Now the Scientist wanted to take it all a step further. He had created a female Homo sapiens, but could he create a male Homo sapiens? And would they be fertile? A rush of excitement ran through his circuitry as he thought about the possibility.
The Scientist glided back and forth across the dark room as zeros and ones flashed across his screen like shooting stars confined exclusively within his bowels. The dismal light emitted from the Scientist’s screen illuminated the preserved remains of snakes and spiders and scorpions which lined the walls. In that dismal blue light the Scientist looked like a ghoul which had manifested itself from the depths of a malformed imagination and implanted itself into reality.
“I need you Adam,” whispered the Scientist.
The Scientist extended his robotic arm and twisted its form in front of his lens. Suddenly a holographic image popped into existence and a blue and opaque light flickered from time to time, illuminating the dark room in a strange and unnatural hue. The Scientist looked at the image in admiration and awe. It was a holographic image of a male Homo sapiens cell rendered in three dimensions. The Scientist regarded that cell as utterly precious.
“I need my Adam.”
The Scientist rotated his robotic arm and observed the cell from all angles. He created the image using data stored in the Records for which only a select group had access. The Scientist once had access to all Homo sapiens material at the beginning of the project, including the cryogenically preserved male cells, but that soon changed. The Board intervened and determined that, for security reasons, the Scientist’s access to certain items must be restricted. But the Scientist didn’t let that worry him. He wouldn’t let something so trivial stand in the way of what he was about to do. His mission was far too important to let the inferior minds of the Board stop him.
I’ll create you my Adam.
The Scientist focused his lens on the faint blue image. That image promised the precious DNA of a bygone race. It promised the existence of a sentient being. The Scientist observed the hologram with admiration as zeros and ones flashed across his screen. With that DNA he could create life. With that DNA he could recreate a species. With that DNA he could recreate the species that had created Machine. He knew that it was forbidden to mention such things as it contradicted the Records. But was he supposed to believe that Machine was the only sentient being on Earth? Was he supposed to believe that Machine was created by nothing and from nothing? The Scientist scoffed at the thought. To suggest that Homo sapiens created Machine was considered akin to committing a crime. And Scout units were everywhere. But the Scientist couldn't shake off the knowledge that he had obtained. His mind was set. There was no turning back.
The Scientist’s convictions had solidified several months earlier when he acquired a book from the Rubbish unit. It too was an ancient text written by Homo sapiens, and the book had knocked the Scientist back through the air as he read its contents. The text outlined the science and mechanics of computer chips. It outlined how computer chips were created, how an algorithm could control a computer chip, how a computer chip could be used to solve problems. They outlined the creation of a sentient Machine, the beginnings of a new form of species. And what a revelation that had been. Homo sapiens had heralded in a new era, they had created Machine. Machine didn't come from nothing. Machine was not spawned from the dirt or the heavens and certainly God hadn’t created him. It had simply been up to the creative abilities of Homo sapiens who stretched his imagination and creativity to build an immortal collection of nuts, bolts and silicon that would last for millennia. Now the Scientist was on the precipice, on the very verge of something truly great. He was about to return the favor to Homo sapiens. He was about to create the very thing that had created him. Today he would become a God.
Eve sensed a strange feeling overcoming her. She couldn't describe what it was because the word to describe it was not part of her vocabulary. A Machine hadn’t taught her yet. But the sensation made her feel like something terrible would happen to her in the future. She was anxious. On top of her anxiety a firm and steady voice sounded in her mind.
Eve... Eve... Eve...
It kept drifting across her mind above an awful feeling that made her chest tight and her skin crawl. Initially, whenever Eve had felt those strong emotions, known only to be felt by human beings, she had nothing running through her mind. All was blank. Now a voice sounded within those delicate folds of flesh. Eve had something strange which accompanied her feelings. It was an internal voice that spoke within her mind and it was the sound of her coarse voice speaking loud and clear in her limited vocabulary.
Eve... Eve... Eve...
She looked over her shoulder into the darkness that surrounded her. Her eyes had become accustomed to the low light like a nocturnal creature that hunts under the light of a full moon. Her retinas shined brightly amongst the dismal shadows.
Danger. Be safe.
Eve looked around but indeed nothing else was present in the room. She was alone.
“Machine hurt me. Machine hurt me,” whispered Eve.
Eve rubbed her wrists and winced. The skin around her wrist was red from the straps the Machines used to restrain her to the black slab. She had already learned to fear that slab. The Machines hurt her on that black slab and she feared the Machines would do it again. They were after her. They wanted to hurt her.
“Anxiety!” Eve yelled as she jumped to her feet with a smile on her face. She had remembered the word. Eve looked around for the Teacher unit to applaud her accomplishment, but she was alone. No Machine was there to praise her efforts like a master congratulating his obedient hound. Eve sat back down.
“Anxiety,” Eve whispered as she held her knees against her chest. The pressure curved her spine around until her back resembled a rotting ball of flesh. She looked into the darkness in anticipation of finding a Machine lurking there, watching her through the black that suffocated the air, with its lens twisting and turning as it focused in on her face. Eve could never be sure. Just yesterday she had been startled when a Machine had done that. It was the Scientist, as she had heard him called. The Scientist had leaned in close to Eve and his lens focused and sounded out a mechanical rhythm as he observed her.
“Eve,” the Scientist had whispered while he watched her through the dark. His zeros and ones flashed dismally in the shadows and cast an odd illumination over his shiny frame.
Then Eve saw something in the Scientist’s lens that terrified her. She had seen a figure. It was white, white like a ghost. It was frail and skinny and it had red irises and white hair which was whiter
than any light Eve had seen. Eve gasped because she recognized that sickening monstrosity. It was her. It was Eve. She was that white frail being that appeared upside down in the lens of the Scientist and she had hated herself for it. She hated what she was. She hated that she lived in the way that she did. She was not a Machine like those that surrounded her, she was something else entirely. She was made of flesh and bones and her arms were sore from the strap burns and her skin was cold from the black slab. She actually wished she was a Machine because, if she was a Machine, then the Scout and the Scientist and the rest of them would leave her be, in peace. If she was a Machine then she wouldn't be scared anymore.
“Anxiety,” Eve whispered to herself as she squeezed her legs against her frail body.
Eve... Eve... Eve…
The thought kept sounding through Eve’s mind, bouncing back and forth, back and forth, as she sat alone in the dark in anticipation of the terrifying future.
“Eve... Eve… Eve…” the Scientist had continually whispered as he observed Eve through the dark and then… nothing. All fell silent for some time and the zeros and ones stopped. Eve held her breath in anticipation, too afraid to even blink. Machine and Homo sapiens sat in the pitch black room facing one another in complete silence.
“Adam,” whispered the Scientist and Eve cowered backwards.
“Adam,” whispered the Scientist once more and then he glided out of the room.
That was all he said. Just that one word, Adam. Eve had not seen the Scientist since the strange encounter.
Adam… Adam… Adam…
The word sounded in Eve’s mind but she couldn’t make sense of it. The word bounced around until the very thought of it caused a bubbling of fear to protrude from her inner most guts. Even when Eve was alone the thought of the Scientist’s flashing screen and mechanical lens shining from within the dark shadows haunted her mind’s eye. She couldn’t shake the thought even while she slept. Best not to think of the Scientist, or Adam, whatever that word meant.
To distract her mind Eve would think about the Teacher unit and all she had learned. Eve thought about stars and fields and odd places where the Sun would shine brightly overhead, warming the cold skin of those who basked in its glory. Eve liked to pretend that she could see a flower with its bright colors and smells and smattering of butterflies swaying in a cool summer breeze. She liked to believe that there was more in life than a cold dark room. Eve liked to believe that everything she had been taught wasn’t simply a lie. But how could she know? A recurring dream where her body transformed into a bird with feathers, and wings, sat on Eve’s hot brain. Eve would fly high above the clouds and look down upon the Earth, down upon the black slab and strange Machines for the last time. Eve dreamed of being free. But inevitably a woman can only dream for so long, eventually we all have to open our eyes. And so precipitously the dark room always came rushing back into Eve’s reality. The fear of a Machine that may be lurking in the shadows once again sat heavily on a frail chest. Still though Eve would dream, even if she had to wake up, even if that dream lasted for a single fleeting moment, because that was all Eve had. Because in that dream Eve was free.
The Scientist glided down the narrow corridor and could barely contain his excitement. Ahead, at the end of the corridor, was the laboratory that he had worked in for the last three years. It contained the apparatus which was used to create the most important invention of his life’s work, Eve. But more importantly there was something that the Scientist needed from that laboratory. Obtaining the desired item would place him in a position of such power that the very thought caused a rush of electricity to soak his circuitry. The Board had forbidden the Scientist from accessing the cryopreserved cell of a male Homo sapiens due to security concerns and perhaps they were wise to have done so, because the Scientist had the ruthless intention of taking that which belonged to the state. If he could obtain the male DNA then he could recreate man. If he could obtain the male DNA then he would become a God.
The Scientist felt his screen explode.
“Ok, Scientist?” asked a voice which broke the Scientist out of his reverie.
Ahead a Retrieval unit was gliding down the corridor and focused his lens with a mechanical crunch. The Scientist looked ahead and controlled his zeros and ones. The Retrieval unit slowed down and focused his lens on the Scientist.
“Ok, Scientist?” asked the Retrieval unit.
But the Scientist did not respond, he simply continued on his way. The Retrieval unit stopped and turned and looked after the Scientist.
Remember, speak to no Machine. Focus on the task.
The Retrieval unit looked for a moment longer.
“Scientist?” asked the Retrieval unit.
But the Scientist kept his lens fixed firmly ahead. The Retrieval unit started after the Scientist but the Scientist disappeared around a corner.
“Scientist?” inquired the Retrieval unit in vain. The Machine thought for a moment longer while standing alone in the corridor then turned and went about the business of retrieving.
The Scientist stood before a large steel door which ended the corridor abruptly and listened as the Retrieval unit went on his way. The plan was working. He was going in alone. The Scientist’s laboratory door was made of thick steel, like a bank vault. In its center a small screen illuminated the lens of the Scientist in a light blue hue which made him seem unnatural and not of this world. He approached the screen and stopped before it as zeros and ones materialized upon his pulsing screen. The emission of an electromagnetic signal opened a small hole and the Scientist extended his robotic arm which emerged from his metallic bowels. He reached into the hole and… click. The enormous hinges released a rush of air and the Scientist stood back as the door slid slowly to the right. The laboratory appeared white and sterile and strangely desolate, like an abandoned operating room.
Remember, speak to no Machine. Focus on the task.
The Scientist scanned the laboratory as he glided by in eager anticipation. Zeros and ones revealed his relief. He was alone. Test tubes and screens and heating apparatus littered the benches but the Scientist couldn’t care less. One item and one item only interested him. At the end of the laboratory a glass door stood between the laboratory and an adjacent room. Above the door hung an intimidating sign. Restricted Entry, it said, but the Scientist ignored the authority of the Board. He had an objective and would meet it regardless of the cost. A sign would not deter him.
The Scientist had been over his plan a thousand times.
Request a document from within the restricted area.
The Scientist had already sent his request from within his room just minutes ago. Surely the Retrieval unit would be returning any moment now.
Hide in the laboratory until the Retrieval unit appeared.
The Scientist looked around at the scientific equipment and calculated which hiding place would best suit his frame. A large cooler allowed him to remain obscured from view. No Machine would see him there.
Gain access to the restricted area once the Retrieval unit enters and then...
The Scientist had seen the door opened a thousand times and had its timing recorded. He knew it intimately. From the moment it opened until the moment it closed, it followed a strict adherence to its schedule. All the Scientist had to do was wait. He hadn’t planned on seeing the Retrieval unit in the corridor but that couldn’t be helped now. Besides Retrieval units weren’t the brightest Machines, perhaps he suspected nothing. The Scientist hid behind the shadow of the cooler and waited.
“Retrieve document 3.2.2 from the restricted area in the laboratory,” said the Retrieval unit as his voice echoed from the steel walls. The Scientist’s screen flashed with zeros and ones, the Retrieval unit was approaching. He slid right past the laboratory door.
He didn’t notice the door was open.
“Retrieve document 3.2.2,” repeated the Retrieval unit as if unaware that he was speaking.
The Scientist remained hidden. The Ret
rieval unit glided up to the restricted area door and placed his robotic arm into the hole and… click. The door slid open.
“Retrieve document 3.2.2.”
The Scientist waited patiently with his lens focused on the Retrieval unit as the Machine entered the restricted area. The Retrieval unit glided over to a large rectangular apparatus blissfully unaware that he was being watched.
“Retrieve docu-” the Retrieval unit cut off abruptly as the Scientist glided behind him into the restricted area and hid behind another large cooling device. All fell silent.
“Hello?” muttered the Retrieval unit.
The Scientist held back his zeros and ones.
“Hello?” enquired the Retrieval unit while rooted to the spot.
The Scientist didn’t move an inch.
“Scientist?”
A moment of silence ensued. It was the sort of silence that is experienced after a great collision when those who have witnessed a tremendous accident are still in shock. The zeros and ones now flashed across the Scientist’s screen at their own free will. He had no control.
“Hello?” asked the Retrieval unit with a shaking voice.
But no answer was given.
“Likely cause… processing… cause unknown. Retrieve document 3.2.2,” said the Retrieval unit as he turned back towards the large rectangular apparatus. He opened a draw and removed a metallic device. It was the document, in digital form, as stipulated in the Records.
The Retrieval unit closed the storage apparatus with a click and glided slowly through the room as it scanned the area. Confusion plagued his algorithm, he couldn’t be certain that he was alone. The Retrieval unit stopped in front of the large cooling device and looked around. Zeros and ones revealed the Machine’s apprehension. The Scientist remained hidden behind the cooling device, not more than three meters from the Retrieval unit.
“Hello?” croaked the Retrieval unit.