ACTIVATION

by M. G. GILIBERT

  It took Henry almost an entire day to reach his destination. The eight hours Jack mentioned were based on knowing exactly where to go and on driving in complete freedom. Henry does not know the area and got lost a few times. It took him some time to re-adapt following maps; as opposed to following a GPS which is quite intuitive and also always gives the exact position of the car. Not to mention the fact that the maps were quite old. They did not reflect many of the roads that were built recently and instead showed roads that had been closed for many years. Henry had also decided to keep a low profile and to avoid big roads, which made the trip even longer. And in this situation, the maps proved to be quite valuable as they showed him roads that no one uses anymore.

  He pushed his car as far as it could go without breaking the suspensions. But eventually, he came to the sad conclusion that he had to leave his car behind and continue on foot. After putting his trekking shoes on, filling his backpack with some cans, his sleeping bag, and a few other things, he starts climbing the last steps of the journey that should normally take him to safety.

  Three hours later, and again, after getting lost a couple times, he finally reaches Jack’s house. Almost by chance, as the house is so deep in the woods that it is very difficult to notice it until you actually stand in front of it. Henry feels happy about that as it increases his feeling of safety. Even though it took Henry a while to find the lodge, Jack’s directions, while not very precise, were helpful enough to prevent him from getting really lost in the woods. And by now, Henry has a good idea of where he is, and where the house is compared to his car. He realizes that, indeed, going back to the car should only take him one hour or so. Good to know for when he will need to get the rest of his stuff.

  From the outside, Henry is surprised at first. According to Jack’s description, he was expecting to find nothing more than just a cabin, a shelter. In fact, Henry is looking at a real house, with a few steps leading to porch and a door, and a couple windows on each side. There also seems to be another level as Henry sees an additional row of windows above the door. The retreat in the woods already appears a lot more comfortable than the one Henry took when he was younger.

  Henry would learn later that this house, even though the word ‘mansion’ feels more appropriate according to his standards, was originally nothing more than just a vulgar cabin.

  Jack’s grandfather used to come to that place deep in the woods to entertain one of his many passions. Hunting. He found this location as a very good hunting spot. Every year, he would come and set up his base camp at the very spot where the house now stands. Over the years, the camp grew to a cabin, then to a house and it was only under Jack’s father’s reign that it became what it is today.

  The house is entirely made of solid wood. Despite its age that Henry evaluates to be at least forty years, despite the harsh weather conditions in this area, and finally, despite it being vacant for the better part of the year, meaning not maintained, the house still looks in very good shape.

  It feels reassuring to Henry. He almost feels something for this house, for this physical object. Having spent his entire life on immaterial philosophical ideas and thoughts, and later, on a virtual, intangible, impalpable artificial intelligence, he feels a little off now that he has to deal with something real and tangible. But looking at a house that endured the weight of the years, and still looks so stable and solid gives him a sense of security. For the time being this house is nothing less than Henry’s lifejacket.

  Inside the house, the story is quite the same. Comfort seems to have been a keyword when the interior was designed. Henry feels far from the early campsite days when the hunters probably slept directly on the ground. The door opens to a large living room that fills most of the space. It is only sharing it with a fully equipped kitchen. Even though the kitchen cabinets seem a bit outdated, they are of very good facture and of equivalent quality. A large fireplace stands across the living area, facing the door. On the right corner, Henry sees a large staircase which he thinks must lead to the sleeping area. He is right. As he continues his visit upstairs, he counts no less than seven bedrooms and two bathrooms. He will certainly feel comfortable here. However, he decides he will spend the night downstairs on the couch as he doesn’t want to take a room that belongs to someone else. That wouldn’t be appropriate and could potentially make that someone upset. Not to mention that it would be a bad start to a life in a community.

  Henry notices another door under the staircase and decides to find out what is hiding behind. For a moment, it makes him feel like a little child discovering a new place and making up stories about secret passages. The door opens to another staircase going down this time. It is much tighter than the main one leading to the rooms upstairs. The switch of a button brings light all the way down the stairs. Henry climbs down and finds a room covering the entire surface of the house. It is filled with cabinets and shelves. As he walks around, he notices that all the shelves are filled with jars apparently containing fruits and vegetables in some kind of liquid or syrup. Interesting. Henry was a bit reluctant to eat one of the cans he found in his garage the day before, and all this food brings an even greater feeling than the one he felt when he found the house. Henry feels good here. He feels safe. He feels like he and Jack’s family will be able to survive for a while before they have to find new supplies.

  “Supplies… Yes. That’s something I will have to discuss with Jack if we need to stay here for a long time,” Henry tells to himself out loud as if to record his thought.

  Henry is all set. He doesn’t see the need to go back to his car to get additional things. There are plenty of books here. And good ones, too. His can wait in the car. They are safe there. And Henry will probably need Jack’s arms to carry everything back to the house anyway.

  Exhausted by the past forty-eight hours during which he hardly slept, Henry decides to call it a day and crumbles on the couch. His ideas will be clearer tomorrow to start designing a strategy. And if everything goes well, Jack and his family should also arrive tomorrow. Provided Jack managed to convince Pam and the kids to leave.

  With this positive thought in mind, Henry falls asleep.

  CHAPTER 9

  “It’s just like I’m telling you,” Jack says to Pam, “I saw Henry and he just said we should leave. Something like GAIA is no longer under control.”

  “How come? As far as I understand, he is the one who built it. How can it be out of control?” Pam asks.

  “Don’t ask me. I’m not able to answer that. But as you said, he built it. That means he probably knows better than anyone else what is going on,” says Jack. “Honey, I saw him. I saw his eyes and he was very concerned. I don’t think he was faking it,” he adds.

  “Does he really expect us to leave everything behind and go to your parents’ house? And then, what?” Pam asks, while getting more and more upset.

  “He said we’d come back if he’s wrong. But for now, it’s probably safer to observe from a distance,” Jack answers. “I don’t know if I believe him, but what choice do we have anyway? At one point we will be told to relocate to the Metropolis. Do you think we will be able to take all of our stuff with us? I doubt it,” he adds.

  At that same moment, Pam’s phone rings. It’s her sister calling. She lives in a district that just reached the relocation stage and they are being moved. Looking at Pam’s eyes, Jack knows something is wrong. Pam decides to put her sister on speaker.

  “… take everyone. We don’t have a choice, we need to go. Our neighbors didn’t want to go, but they took them by force,” Pam’s sister says in a very anxious tone.

  “Who took them?” Jack asks.

  “The robots,” Pam answers before her sister can even pronounce a word.

  “What shall we do? We know they are relocating us, but I don’t like the way they do it. It’s too brutal …” Pam’s sister says.

  “Ok,” Jack says, “you remember my parents’ house up north, in the woods? Go there now. We already have som
eone over there.”

  “Yes, yes I remember,” Pam’s sister says. “Oh my God, they are in front of the house, they’re coming!” she adds.

  At that instant, Jack and Pam hear the metallic sounds of the robots coming inside. They distinguish a “Come with us. Please do not resist” in the distance, from a voice apparently belonging to a robot. They hear a scream and then nothing. The line is cut.

  “Carrie? Carrie?!!!” shouts Pam at her phone. But nothing happens. No one answers.

  Pam is frantic. She doesn’t understand what has just happened. Jack tries to absorb the shock of what they’ve both just heard. But he needs to stay calm and steady.

  “We need to leave, honey. I don’t think it is safe to stay,” he says.

  “Let me try to call her again. Please. Maybe she’s just lost her connection …” Pam begs.

  “Honey …” Jack says while taking his wife in his arms, in an attempt to make her feel safe.

  Pam always found comfort and protection in Jacks’ arms. While not an athlete, he is a solid man. Someone good. Someone you can rely on. Those are the values Pam always put above and beyond any physical characteristics and looked for in the few men she had been with in the past. And the archetype of these values was impersonated by Jack.

  It only took a few seconds for Jack’s hugging to produce the expected result. This, along with the fact that Pam is a very smart woman who quickly understands a situation and acts on it right away.

  “Sorry, Jack. You’re right. Let’s get the kids and go,” Pam says is a very decisive tone. She clearly sounds to Jack like someone who doesn’t want to stay still and wait for her fate. As far as Jack remembers, this is Pam’s drive that seduced him in the first place. And today is no different. Pam is being who she has always been. Only better because of the circumstances. And Jack to think to himself; “and even more attractive than ever.”

  The packing is quick. It requires a few minor adjustments, though. One of which leads to an argument between the parents and the children. When the parents told their kids to leave all their smart devices home, it was as if they asked them to relinquish a vital organ. Something without which they couldn’t function properly. But after a few minutes of resistance, the kids resign to comply with their parents’ demands.

  They all leave. The parents are looking ahead, just like Henry, because they know they are escaping something bad. And the kids are looking behind at the life they are leaving. They don’t understand what is going on. They just know that their parents look more worried than they have ever seen them before and judge it is probably better for now to just shut up and do what they are told.

  The trip to the lodge is uneventful. Like Henry, they have to go through a roadblock and simply tell the robot they are going out for the weekend.

  Pam and Jack cannot help but notice how the robots seem ‘friendly’ as long as the district they are in charge of is not on their relocation list. And how the friendly façade can quickly turn into something ugly as soon as they have to enforce the decision to relocate people. No wonder Pam was suspicious at first about Henry’s motives to tell them to escape. But all her doubts vanished as soon as she overheard how the robots treated her sister earlier.

  Pam spends most of her time in the car wondering about her sister. Where is she now? What is she doing? Is she treated properly? Is she alright? And at the same time, she cannot stop thinking that all of that is Henry’s fault. If he didn’t develop GAIA, none of this would ever have happened. As her mind slowly falls into sleep, she begins to wonder how she will react when she sees Henry. Will she hate him for what he has done, or be grateful for warning Jack and therefore giving them a chance to save their children?

  Pam’s answer to that question is quick to arrive. As soon as the family reaches the house and sees Henry waiting for them at the doorstep, Pam walks straight to him. She drops her backpack in front of the stairs, climbs the few steps that separate her from Henry and slaps him on the cheek. The slap resonates in the woods, disturbing a few birds that quickly fly away from this unfamiliar and potentially dangerous sound.

  “This is for my sister!” Pam says to explain her gesture.

  Jack and the kids are standing behind without saying a word. They know too well not to argue with their wife and mother when she is upset. Any attempt to reason with her always ends in bitter defeat. And Pam is always right anyway. They know it. They respect her and her thoughts. Her actions are always driven by careful thinking, so they know she is not just acting crazy. Even if they disagree with the physical expression of her thoughts, they know it carries some logic and is necessarily fair. And the reasons for such a gesture are pointless to them. Because once again, Pam is their mom. Pam is his wife. And she is the fairest person they ever had the chance to meet.

  And then, the unexpected happens, proving Jack and the kids they were right not to stop Pam.

  “And this is for my family,” Pam says as she starts hugging Henry warmly. The kids and Jack exchange a look and a smile. This woman up there is their entire world. She is their everything. The three of them are proud of her. She is their shield, she is their sword. A woman who would move any mountain to protect her family.

  Henry, on the other hand, feels a little lost by Pam’s disconcerting intentions. He was taken by surprise at first when he received Pam’s hand on the cheek, but he knew she was right. He didn’t even try to defend himself. He thought the time was not appropriate for a battle of arguments. And now he is caught by surprise once again. But this time, it is less painful. At least, physically. Because in his heart, according to Pam, he saved her family. That means a lot to him.

  But what about the other families? This is what pains him the most.

  The others.

  Once everyone is settled in, the men go back to Henry’s car. Jack grabs the opportunity to update Henry on the latest events and more specifically on what happened to Pam’s sister. Henry feels sorry and confesses to Jack that he is not surprised. He was expecting something like that would happen. At least they now know for sure that GAIA’s intentions are not completely peaceful and can become violent.

  Jack also apologizes on behalf of Pam for smacking him, but Henry tells Jack that he should be the one apologizing to Pam. He will do so as soon as they are back home. In the meantime, there are things to do to get organized and Henry also needs to get more familiar with the house and its surroundings.

  Part of this also includes getting familiar with guns as at one point they will need to hunt for food and maybe even defend themselves.

  Shooting is not something that belongs to Henry’s skillset. Not only will he need to learn how to shoot, he will also need to learn how to set traps. Jack has spent countless hours listening, observing, and practicing with his father. He will now try to transmit as much of his knowledge as possible to Henry.

  Jack and Henry come back to the house, each carrying a box of documents from Henry’s car. They will come back for the rest when they can. As soon as they arrive, Jack grabs Henry by the arm and drags him downstairs to the room Henry found the day he arrived. Not only is it a storage area for food, it is also the place where all guns, rifles, and ammunitions are kept safely. Jack opens what looks like a vaulted cabinet and unveils what Henry considers as an arsenal that could allow them to sustain a siege for quite a while.

  Jack grabs a rifle and hands it to Henry. He wants to gauge Henry’s abilities. But he doesn’t make a great impression on Jack. His clumsy and unsafe movements force Jack to take the rifle away from his hands. It may take a lot longer to train Henry than he expected. He decides to stop the training for now and to go back to the main living area to spend time with the family, cook a little something to eat and start discussing the next steps. He grabs a couple of jars from one of the shelves on their way up.

  As they arrive in the living room, the kids are both sitting on the couch, silently reading a book. Pam makes it a personal duty to ensure her teenaged kids are not bored and, above all, a
re not bothering her with constant complaining about not having their electronic appliances. The kids enjoy reading anyway. And they understand the situation requires them to be extra obedient to their parents. As Henry approaches the kitchen and sees Pam preparing a dish with what seems to be cans that he brought back from his car, he cannot refrain himself from adopting a disappointed look. Fortunately, Pam does not notice it. Who knows how she would react in front of such a behavior? Henry decides it’s probably safer for him to just sit down with the kids and start a conversation. At the same time, he feels this is the right thing to do as Jack puts the jars he took earlier from the basement and starts talking to Pam. They probably need a little bit of personal time.

  “Hey kids,” Henry says, “what are you up to?”

  “Reading,” the boy answers.

  “What’s going on, Henry? Why are we here?” the girl asks.