Love in the Time of Technology 1

by Veramu, Joseph

  Fing said that they wanted to reward him for his excellent work by sending him on a mountain skiing holiday to Aspen where a glass domed center was recently constructed. “Take a break. You’ll return refreshed to work on the follow-up.” He made a grimace that looked like a smile.

  Fing knew that he loved skiing. GI had got a good deal for the 5 day lift plus discounted meals and lodging, he said.

  He mentioned in passing that Chloe in ‘Bioinformatics’ was also going. He sensed immediately that this was not a match making ploy. She was going to tease out information. They had not dated for a while and he was not sure if they could ever be intimate again. Chloe’s section was notorious for producing a number of strange creations, for example, rats with snakes bodies or horses with wings. Wolf assumed drily that he would be regaled with more outrageous creations when they ran out of things to say but kept his sarcasm to himself.

  He knew that she was a late bloomer and had developed artistic talents; some of her works hung in the GI foyer. He still remembered Roneel’s comments on first seeing and then examining them. “These are definitely the works of a highly intelligent robot, a machine.” Wolf had cackled at this outrageous suggestion. “My take is that she distilled our human narratives and then spat out this spattering of paint with machine like efficiency,” Roneel continued. “She calculated that her droppings would be treated as the equivalent of honey by chemically fazed citizens. It’s just glorified shit. But I won’t spoil the effect for them. They obviously are infatuated with her,” he laughed.

  They should have been cautious to realize that the paintings had listening devices and hidden cameras. In Genetica, anything that hung carefully or casually anywhere had a purpose; they monitored citizens.

  Wolf watched Fing closely.

  “I envy you. I’ve so much work and can’t take a break,” Fing said very quickly hoping that he had not suspected anything. “We’ll definitely have to go together on your next trip. I’ve always been thrilled with the experience of zipping down mountains. We can go with Lazer.”

  Fing knew that Lazer would do anything to go with him and get involved in risky escapades.

  Wolf relaxed. He convinced himself that his overworked brain was just imagining things.

  But just to be sure, he had not mentioned that he had talked to Roneel who had suggested a model simulation he had followed. Roneel had also pointed him to the sensitive data that he had used.

  As he walked out he saw Lazer swaggering as he was led in looking supremely confident. The term ‘survival of the fittest’ aptly applied to him. He was not remorseful that he had already caused the death of one of the teen clones.

  He was programmed to succeed and at his tender age, he was very sexually active.

  “Hi, brother heard that you’re going skiing.”

  Wolf thought that the “brother” greeting was probably one of those fads that would soon wear off and be replaced by other terms.

  “Fing arranged it.”

  “Lucky you.”

  Lazer admired Wolf’s body because he was one of the few ‘top of the line’ clones. He suspected that Wolf resented his near perfect features. This irritated him because he felt Wolf was ungrateful.

  “Heard the latest gossip in the twilight web?” he whispered.

  Wolf pretended to be ignorant even though he had heard it too.

  “They’re sending someone here! From the Fringes! Can you believe that?”

  “It’s probably just rumors spread from here. I wouldn’t take it too seriously.”

  “You seem so sure,” Lazer probed and searched his face.

  Wolf shrugged resolving to be careful.

  “I hear the girls are very pretty there and can you believe this? They are organic! I’d give anything for an organic girl my age.” He laughed.

  As Wolf was about to walk off, Lazer whipped out his tab and said, “The Fringe girl of my dreams would look like this.” He was looking very intently at Wolf who was at great pains not to gasp or look surprised.

  The girl in the picture was the same one that Wolf dreamt about almost every night. How had he got hold of the picture? Had he hacked into his account? He knew that Lazer worked as an apprentice at the Super-Machine Complex. His highly intelligent mind would have noticed unusual things that came up in the system.

  He knew he was treading on dangerous ground but had to satisfy his curiosity anyway. “How’d you get that?”

  “Statsline. They’re marketing the organic look.”

  Wolf relaxed. “So she’s probably one of our clones given the organic make over.”

  “I’m checking through the system.”

  Lazer looked at him with intent eyes as Wolf walked off. He couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. He’d heard rumors that he was being put into suspension to extract data. Something about outsiders hacking into their system and Wolf being the link.

  Chapter 3: Fringes: Getting Ready

  Roan was always intrigued with Mario because he looked so disarmingly young and vulnerable but was wise for his age. He knew that Mario had other information he was not sharing and did not want to pester him. He admitted that the kinds of God like knowledge that Mario had to deal with, sometimes overwhelmed him. It should have been given to a much older person to handle. But the Oracle had chosen him.

  Mario was not sure whether to tell Roan a vital piece of information. Two people at the very highest level of Genetica society were helping them. The situation was getting worse with every passing day and the Resistance had no choice but to make their move very soon.

  Although Genetica was a beacon of the latest enhancement technologies, it was rotting at the core and dying a slow and gradual death. Worse, it stifled innovation in its citizens. It needed to generate itself with new births rather than recycling new clones from old genes. In desperation they had begun going out to the Fringes to kidnap girls for organic baby farms. They had also experimented with human guinea pigs from the Fringes for protein supplements. The vast majority of Genetica inhabitants were not aware of this sinister plan. Those who found out were silenced.

  Roan looked accusingly at him. He felt that Mario did not have a sister so he could not possibly empathize with him.

  “You think I don’t care for her. I do but we are all pawns in the great order of things. Our numbers come up and we follow what destiny has for us. You know that,” Mario pleaded.

  Roan looked sullenly at him. He didn’t disagree with what Mario said. Roan was offended that Mario seemed to know what he was thinking. He needed some privacy to have negative thoughts sometimes.

  “And don’t say I don’t have feelings for her because I don’t have a sister,” Mario said. “I’ve got my work cut out for me. You could ask the Resistance for other assignments or have a girlfriend or something,” he said aimlessly.

  Almost before he had finished his sentence, Roan dived at him pushing him roughly to the ground. “Don’t you ever speak to me in that rude tone of voice! And what about you? You’re so quick to act high and mighty.”

  “I’m still on my journey in search of my identity.”

  “Guys stop it,” Lilydeen shouted at them. “This isn’t the time for this.” She paused and looked at Mario.

  “She is moving very shortly. We are looking at various underground tunnels and other openings.”

  Roan groaned.

  This was not going to be easy. The Fringes resembled the Wild West with some sectors having well ordered communities with their mini governments while others lived in anarchy without any law. They would have to be very carefully in moving through it to get to the old underground channels that would take Lilydeen inside Genetica. Although they were battle ready with various weapons at hand and were honing their skills in hand to hand combat, they didn’t want to sap their energies fighting in the Fringes. They felt they should be channeling their energies to the common enemy.

  America like most parts of the developed world had fallen apart many years earlier due to the
rise of enhancement technologies. At first people had welcomed cloning and then things had gone from bad to worse. Governments had fallen and people had come together in likeminded communities of conservative Christians or new agers. Liberals had formed their own. Those who did not belong anywhere had lived in lawless hubs. Cities had fallen in disrepair and neglect. No one cared what happened to the world. All they cared about were their own communities and they made sure no one took that away from them.

  She came close to Mario and hugged him. “I need to know,” she sounded desperate.

  “No!” he said fiercely.

  “I have this dream of the same guy who looks at me sadly. He’s sort of lonely and not really sure what to do.”

  “No!” Mario shouted.

  “I have the same dream day after day,” she said with finality.

  “No!” Mario said again overwhelmed by the fact that his head was networked to the Oracle program that could simulate the future with incredible accuracy. He cradled his head and burst into tears. The emotions were too much to bear and he passed out. He could not bring himself to tell her that the mission was so dangerous he was not even sure she would return. He was very close to her and the prospects of her dying inside a cold hideous shell overwhelmed him. That was not all. There was another teen who would stalk her. Why the Oracle allowed this complication was a mystery to him at this moment.

  Roan carried him gently as they walked. He couldn’t help noticing that Mario looked almost cherubic in his delicately formed face with his greenish blue eyes, blond hair and well crafted body. He always wondered whether Mario had been one of the rejects from Genetica that had been rescued; perhaps a cloning experiment that had taken a wrong turn. There had been rumors. If this was true it meant that Mario was being used and would be discarded when he became obsolete. He hoped this was not true.

  Mario became conscious and was embarrassed. He however felt good being carried by Roan because it gave him the feeling of belonging. Although he was very intelligent, he felt lonely at times. He initially hated the reason why he had been chosen but had grudgingly come to accept it. He had been smuggled out of Genetica when he was very young. They had rejected him as a clone because he had many ordinary features. Since his tech footprints were very low and was compatible with the Genetica system, the Resistance had used him. He was able to access their system without producing significant tells tale signs.

  Chapter 4: Genetica: Disturbing Art

  He had gone with Chloe who had also been rewarded with an Aspen trip. Although the person he had dated and shared intimacies with had been warm and friendly, Chloe seemed to have changed. She felt like a different person. Perhaps people changed their personalities over time, he thought. But there was something disturbing about her: it was as if he went to Aspen with her avatar.

  Wolf couldn’t help sighing. He had received a message that Lazer was coming too with a girlfriend in tow.

  To complicate matters, the girl who appeared in his dreams smiled at him and said everything would work out well. Did she know about Lazer? Accidents happened, she said cryptically. She added that GI would rebuild his brain and insert a microchip but that her team would try and reprogram everything so that they did not succeed. She was coming to him soon. He should be on the lookout for a salamander, her personal icon. He had worried over how she would get to him. But stranger things happened later; the screen saver on his tab showed a salamander with a missing tail and a gecko with part of its head removed. The intriguing thing was that these missing limbs were regenerating themselves. Who were these powerful forces who could infiltrate Genetica tech space? Would they come in time for him?

  Thankfully Lazer was too preoccupied with his girlfriend to bother with him.

  Chloe said that she was working on an interactive piece of art that she was trying to complete in the evenings. They got along well perhaps because they did not discuss their GI work.

  The disturbing part was her familiarity with a story he had not told anyone about a dream he’d had regarding his encounter with Dr Mengele who tried teach him to paint using a special electronic brush. He had never posted it on GeneticaBook. It was his little secret.

  There was no way she could have guessed it so how did she know? He had always treated the story as one of those reminiscences that was mysterious. But the way Chloe related it seemed to make it sinister, as if Dr Mengele was encouraging him to create unimaginable things through his paint brush. The breathtaking thing was that everything he created came to life, including a clone of himself.

  Everyday they went skiing in the familiar places but often found the long lines, the short runs and the thinner ice tedious. It limited them in taking risks. They needed to come out of their comfort zones to develop their potential. For Wolf, his current life had reached an abyss. Should he take the risk of jumping over it and finding a new life in the unknown Fringe world beyond? Would the girl of his dreams turn up in Genetica?

  In the evenings they returned to her painting. He was always confronted by the decision he had to make. Should he leave his familiar world? Chloe gave him a paint brush which she held from the brush end rather than the handle (just like Dr Mengele had done), with trembling hands, inviting him to paint his insightful dreams into it. But he always refused saying that it was her private world and he did not want to encroach on her spaces. The truth was that her spaces disturbed him. He was trying to escape it by painting himself out of Genetica.

  “In that case, you should paint your own,” she encouraged him.

  Since they could not explore each other’s worlds they could not be intimate.

  She suggested they go ski touring. It was boring doing the packaged holiday ski trips. They needed to challenge themselves to go beyond their horizons, she urged him. Besides, both of them were highly experienced mountain skiers. They were very fit with strong hearts and imbued with mental toughness. They would tour the back country communicating by two way radio so they would be aware of possible avalanches. They would get the latest weather reports sent on their g-pads.

  “Let’s discover ourselves. I’m sure we’ll come back with some inspiration,” she challenged him.

  They were never separated by further than a quarter of a mile.

  The incident happened at an elevation as Wolf was planning to descend. He knew that he had to come down not too soon and not too late. If it was too soon his skis would have difficulty gripping the snow. Too late and the snow would collapse and possibly develop into an avalanche. He had calculated it with pinpoint accuracy and it looked perfect. The moment he started descending, he knew that he was on the appropriate pacing. It was just right.

  Then something unusual happened. It was as if someone or something reconfigured his descent so that he came down very fast. The snow started softening and became mushy. The unthinkable was happening. The snow was collapsing on him.

  As he came tumbling down at high speed, he realized without an iota of doubt what had happened.

  They had planned his accident.

  He was supposed to either die buried in snow or become immobilized. There was nothing he could do since the whole purpose of the holiday was to enable his ‘accident’ to happen as smoothly as possible without a hint of abnormality.

  He lay there unable to move, conscious of the world around him, but not knowing if there was anyone who could help him in this isolated back country.

  He could feel Lazer hovering around him quickly reaching for his g-pad and frantically searching and cursing when nothing came up. Then he gasped and whispered to him. “I hate you brother. You are the favored one given everything in the world yet you spurn it. Look at you now. You’re on your way to chem suspension.”

  After what seemed like eternity, he felt the form of Chloe trying to revive him and get help at the same time.

  What struck him as strange was Chloe holding on to a paint brush offering the handle to him, urging him to repaint his world so that the impossible would happen. This was like a narra
tive board that Chloe wanted him to paint away so that the new scene would erase this accident. He remembered two things before he became unconsciousness; he refused to paint a new narrative and Chloe looked incredulous that he had passed up the chance of a lifetime.

  If Wolf had a special role to play in Dr Mengele’s master plan (the electronic paint brush) why was he being immobilized? It didn’t seem to make sense although he realized that he was just a pawn and those who were manipulating the matrix knew the long term plan. Were they already aware of plans to help him escape? Was this an elaborate ruse? He felt his mind becoming vague as he lost consciousness.

  Wolf’s serious injury was reported to his colleagues. Neural tissues were inserted to repair damaged areas of his brain. A microchip was also inserted to rebuild parts of his personality and memory.

  He set a series of tests to prove that he was still the same person. Having passed these, he was allowed to resume his life. If he had failed the tests, he would have been assigned a new identity. All these issues were explained with the advisory that he might at times act in an erratic manner until his personality build-up had stabilized. GI was a socially responsible partner that wanted only the very best for its staff, Fing said with deep concern.

  Wolf tried to keep a straight face and hoped that he would escape soon.

  Chapter 5: The Fringes: Time to Move

  The 2 heliships came so fast that they were taken by surprise near an abandoned warehouse. They couldn’t run and stood rooted. Suddenly they realized the reason for the unusually high number of patrols. The robots in their heliships and the drones were all after them. They knew that the Resistance was planning to come to Genetica. While Roan and Lilydeen huddled together in fear, Mario looked at them calmly without fear. They stared back intrigued at this unassuming boy whom their great clone builders had rejected. He had become the cornerstone of the Resistance army. This brief moment of hesitation was their undoing. It was a weakness they rarely suffered. The Oracle program would not have risked Mario being exposed like this if it was not supremely confident.