ACTIVATION

by M. G. GILIBERT

  “It seems like there is a problem with the robots, and your parents and I thought it would be better for us to stay here for a while,” Henry answers, trying not to alarm the kids.

  “For how long?” the boy asks.

  “As long as it takes to fix the problem. It shouldn’t be too long, though,” Henry answers.

  “How come we couldn’t take our phones with us?” the girl asks.

  “Well, I think it’s because of a glitch. The phones will be fixed when we come back,” Henry explains.

  “But aren’t you supposed to be fixing it? This is your company, right? Why are you here with us?” the girl asks.

  “You are very observant. I have a confession to make … I lost my job. There is nothing I can do now” Henry says with a lower voice.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” says the boy, “but don’t worry, you will find a new job in no time.”

  Henry smiles and adds, “I hope so. But let’s talk about something else. What are you reading?”

  The boy hands his book to Henry and so does his sister. They each read a novel. A thriller and a ghost story. It’s not classic literature per se, but it serves the purpose of keeping them busy and allows their imagination to work more than when they stare at one of their many screens. As Henry wants to ask them a few questions about what they’ve read so far and what they think about it, Jack calls everyone for lunch.

  Surprisingly, Pam has managed to fix something edible with the cans. It actually looks very good. She says it’s not much and Jack helped her to prepare the dish. She adds that concerns about taste or seasoning should therefore be addressed to him, which for a brief moment contributes to create some form of normality in their situation.

  They don’t wait too long to start eating as they are all famished.

  Henry doesn’t know if he should start the conversation. And in any case, he doesn’t know where to start. Furthermore, he doesn’t want the kids to get worried listening to the adults and their plan of action. Thankfully, Pam jumps in and engages the conversation in a neutral direction. She talks about how the house still looks good despite having been unoccupied for almost a year. She says that they should get organized and determine who is doing what in the house. Jack and Henry both get the message. Pam is trying to assign roles and responsibilities. She is using keywords like ‘strategy’, ‘resource management’, or ‘the bug’ when she wants to mention GAIA without naming it. All these words mean something to Jack and Henry, but don’t ring any bells in the kids’ ears.

  At that moment, Pam is presenting herself as the true leader in this group. Jack and Henry already suspected that no decision could be made without her consent, and they now have confirmation that Pam will set the rules. They are both fine with that. Jack because he knows his wife like no one else, and Henry because he feels a little less alone and welcomes the additional shoulders to help him carry the burden of the responsibility to start a resistance. As a way to conclude the conversation, Pam says they will need to discuss the topics in more detail later. There is nothing more to discuss now as they don’t want to raise any question from the kids.

  Everyone leaves the table with a good notion of what they need to do.

  Jack will go downstairs and make an inventory of everything there is. Food, weapons, and ammunitions.

  Henry will go back to his car and grab as many documents he can carry so he can share with Pam and Jack everything he knows about GAIA.

  And Pam will think about logistics and communications.

  The kids are left on their own. Pam gave them a list of chores to do and when they are done, they can go outside provided they stay close to the house. They are not allowed to wander in the woods. Wild animals such as bears may potentially come nearby.

  “Bears?!” Henry asks, “no one ever mentioned bears!”

  Jack tells him not to worry. He will be given a gun. There is no better practice to learn how to shoot accurately than encountering a wild animal and trying to save one’s life.

  Pam and Jack look and wink at each other, while Henry tries to find a reason not to go to his car alone.

  CHAPTER 10

  Henry manages to get to his car and back without incident. It took him a lot longer than in the morning with Jack. He was indeed walking with extreme caution, trying not to make a single sound that would reveal his presence to a potential predator. It’s already dark when he finally reaches the house. The kids have eaten and are about to go to bed. After wishing them good night, the parents and Henry gather around the dining table. The tone suddenly gets grave and the atmosphere thick. One can notice that the agenda of the day has just gone from casual to utterly serious.

  “Alright, what have you got?” Pam asks Jack.

  “I went through everything we have and can use in the house,” says Jack. “I think we have enough food to last at least one month. There are plenty of dry fruits, dry meat, and vegetables in jars. You know how my mother was keen on making sure my father had more than enough food when he used to come here during winter.”

  “Anything else? Anything that we need but are missing?” Pam asks.

  “Yes. We don’t have eggs, and it might be a problem at some point. We also don’t have fresh vegetables. In other words, we are not self-sufficient. Same for fresh meat. But this is something we can easily fix as we have guns. Talking about weaponry, we have five rifles, two handguns, and several knives. There are also a couple crossbows, along with their arrows. We are fine on the ammunitions’ side as there are plenty of cartridges’ boxes,” Jack answers.

  “Alright. I think we can work something out regarding the vegetables,” says Pam, “you remember the clearing where we used to go? It has good sun exposure and it might be possible to grow something over there. Just need to find seeds… We may want to consider going to the village to buy what we need,” she adds.

  “I don’t think we can buy anything anymore. Remember? No more money,” Henry says.

  “Right, but it’s possible they still use it in the countryside. They are far from the rules that apply in bigger cities,” Pam says.

  “Fair enough,” says Jack, “but I wouldn’t want our presence to get noticed. They know our faces around here. They know who we are and where we live.”

  “So what do you propose?” Henry asks.

  “We go unnoticed, break in and steal what we need,” Pam interjects.

  “Excuse me?” Jack asks.

  “You heard me. What else can we do?” Pam asks.

  “I’m afraid I’m not very comfortable with your idea,” says Henry. “What happens if we get caught? And what about the kids?”

  “The kids are the reason we will not get caught. Does this answer satisfy you?” Pam replies.

  Henry understands from Pam’s tone that there is no point arguing. He also realizes that she is right. Drastic situations call for drastic measures.

  It is somewhere around that moment that it becomes clear to Jack and Henry that Pam is the leader of the trio. She is in charge and she does what it takes to ensure the men understand it once and for all.

  “Henry, now that you have expressed your concerns about stealing, why don’t you brief us about GAIA and its weaknesses?” Pam asks.

  “Thanks, Pam. Well, as a starter, I think we can forget about weaknesses…” Henry says. He begins his exposé with some background on how GAIA was originally started. He pursues by saying that everything was always done to prevent any kind of attack on GAIA. Security has been a critical element of GAIA’s image and reputation since day one. Finally, and to limit downtime to a bare minimum, GAIA has several redundancy sites, meaning that if one site is no longer operational, another one kicks in and ensures business continuity.

  “Hydra seems like a more appropriate name than GAIA,” Pam says.

  “You’re right. When we built it, it was crucial that GAIA was foolproof and always operational. Now, I realize that given the circumstances, it might be our biggest problem,” Henry says.

  “Wel
l, I have never heard of a foolproof IT solution in my entire life. We just need to find a point of entry. We just need to find someone who can find it,” Jack says.

  “I wouldn’t bother. GAIA is too smart now to let anyone come even close to it. We’ve tried to penetrate the system many times, using armies of developers, of hackers... Each time led to a failure,” Henry says.

  “Ok. Is there some kind of central system we can attack? I mean physically?” Pam asks.

  “With what?” Henry asks, “we don’t have any explosives or a way to get inside any of the sites.”

  “With all due respect, you are missing the point here, Henry,” Pam says, “the means are not the purpose of our discussion. The purpose is to define a clear set of objectives. We will iron out the details later.”

  “Well, even if you could find what you need to destroy a site, another site would pick up the activity right away. An attack would only expose us, and potentially make victims, for a very questionable outcome,” Henry replies.

  “How about a joint attack on all sites?” Pam wonders.

  “In order to do so, we would need to know exactly the location of all sites and coordinate a global action. As far as I know, GAIA is capable of building new sites as we speak. Sites that we don’t know anything about. And furthermore, do you know if another resistance group is operational anywhere, and how to contact them?” Henry asks.

  “Objectives, Henry. Objectives. Forget about the path, focus on the destination,” Pam replies, seemingly tired of this discussion that leads nowhere.

  “Ok, so if I sum up what you told us, there is no way we can stop GAIA. No way we can turn it off or slow it down. And no way we can destroy it. Did I get you right?” Pam asks.

  “Fairly, I suppose,” Henry answers.

  “So we are back to square one. We don’t know what to do. You must be proud of your little toy, huh, Henry?” Pam asks.

  “As a matter of fact, I am. Until we canceled a rule from GAIA’s protocol, everything was going perfectly well,” Henry replies.

  “Which rule? What are you talking about?” Pam and Jack both ask at the same time.

  “We decided to temporarily cancel the first rule of GAIA that states it cannot harm humans. And as soon as we did it, something happened and we totally lost control over GAIA,” Henry explains.

  “So you are saying you willingly gave your tool a license to kill humans? Are you crazy?!" Pam asks.

  “It was the best decision we could make at the time. There was no other option to preserve society. We just didn’t foresee the outcome and when we realized what we had done, it was already too late,” Henry says.

  “Ok, let’s stop here on that subject for a while as I don’t think I will be able to stay cool much longer,” says Pam. “So, once again, if I try to summarize; guns ok, food ok. At least for a month. And we need to start working on growing our own vegetables. To do so, we may need to break into a store at the village and get access to seeds and everything else we may need. About getting rid of GAIA, no clear plan yet, but I’m sure we will get there. There is a flaw in the design. There always is one. We just haven’t found it yet. Any question or comment?” Pam asks.

  As none of the men make any comment, Pam decides to continue.

  “Alright. My turn now. I have spent the afternoon looking around the house, trying to assess what could be useful to us. First, I found the old CB radio your father used to have. I don’t think it works anymore, but I trust both of you will be able to fix it,” Pam says.

  “But GAIA monitors everything,” Henry says, “how do you expect us to use it without being spotted?”

  “Good point, Henry,” Pam replies, “correct me if I’m wrong, but I would believe GAIA has access and/or monitors everything in the digital world, right?”

  “I would tend to say yes,” Henry answers, hesitantly.

  “Ok, do you think GAIA can track the frequencies or wavelengths, I’m sorry I’m not an expert, used by a CB radio?” Pam asks.

  “I don’t know. I guess as long as the data is not digital, then we should be fine. Congratulations, you might be on to something, Pam,” Henry says.

  “I’m sure there will be a way to find out if GAIA listens just by spreading wrong information and see if there is a reaction,” Pam adds.

  “Makes absolute sense, sweetheart,” Jack says, “I must say that your capacity to run our little show impresses me.”

  “Same here, Pam. Thank you for bringing us discipline and organization. I must confess that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I decided to leave,” Henry says.

  “Thank you both, but stop. You are going to make me blush. Keep in mind that running a house with our two devils up there requires extra organizational skills. Now, let’s move on,” Pam says.

  “Yes, we’re listening,” Jack says.

  “Moving on to power. I found seven power cells in the house. If we manage our energy consumption carefully, each cell should last at least two months,” Pam says.

  Power cells were invented a few years ago thanks to GAIA and revolutionized the way energy was stored and used. They consist of long-lasting, high-power batteries. They were developed as a more efficient way to popularize electric cars, and they quickly invaded the rest of people’s usages. They have great autonomy and do not require recharging as they generate and store energy when they are in use. Thanks to them, cars became lighter and the autonomy problem was pretty much fixed overnight. People would just change their battery every ten thousand miles or so. In other words, a car power cell would last an entire year before running out of juice. This dramatic advance in technology became so widespread that every house, every apartment, and every warehouse was cell-powered. Larger cells also equipped airplanes as well as boats. This improvement became the deathbed of most oil and gas companies that did not foresee the new trend or were too slow to adapt to it.

  “Henry, as a last resort, we can always get the batteries and solar panels Jack installed on your car,” Pam says.

  “My car is your car,” Henry says.

  “Heating and sometimes cooking can be managed with the fireplace. There is plenty of wood around, so that shouldn’t be a problem,” Pam adds.

  Pam elaborates a few more minutes on water and waste management and the overall rules of the house. They all agree on everything and that they need to preserve the kids as long as possible from what is really going on. But they are not naïve, they know that sooner or later they will need to tell them the truth.

  In the meantime, they need to assess exactly what they are missing and what they will need to ‘borrow’ from the village nearby. They want to be fully operational as soon as possible and therefore they expect the village operation to occur within the next couple of days. The last thing they agree on before going to bed is that Henry will stay here during the operation. It is unsaid, but he is currently seen and he considers himself as a liability. The operation may require a certain level of stealth that Henry clearly doesn’t possess. And someone will need to guard the house and the kids.

  CHAPTER 11

  It has been two days now since the team planned their operation in the village. It is located roughly thirty miles away from their current location. Jack and his father have been there numerous times in the past and Jack remembers more or less the layouts of the village along with the type of stores they will find there. Their idea is simply to break in a store specialized in outdoor activities. They should find most of what they need there.

  It is almost 10 pm when Pam and Jack decide to head out to their car. It will take them one hour or more to reach it and easily another hour to drive to the village. They expect to arrive there between midnight and 1 am. People should be sleeping by then. They plan on spending as long as they need staking out the place before moving in. The success of the operation resides in their ability to stay discreet and focused. They cannot get distracted from their objectives.

  As they leave, they give additional instructions to
Henry and tell him that if everything goes well, they should be back at dawn or early in the morning.

  When Pam and Jack finally arrive near the village, they realize they have respected their schedule. This first victory gives them a sense of empowerment. They think they are off to a good start as their planning is perfect so far. If the rest of the operation continues like that, it will be a complete success.

  They park the car outside the village limits and continue by foot. They are not walking down the main street. Instead, they make their way to their destination going behind the houses.

  Pam cannot help but feel a sentiment of eeriness as she walks. She notices that some back doors are ajar. She stops for a second and with a sign of the head directs Jack’s attention to the doors.

  “Is this a normal tradition here to leave the doors open?” she whispers.

  Jack just answers by shaking his head as a way to say no.

  “Let’s stay on our guards,” she murmurs.

  They keep on walking in silence toward what Jack points as their destination; the outdoor activity store. As they walk around the building they do not notice any window in the back or on the sides. Only the front of the building has large windows looking at the main street. They are not sure about their next move. They don’t want to break an entire window as it will certainly trigger an alarm. And if it does not, the sound of broken glass will awake the people from the neighboring houses. The only visible point of entry is a door in the back. It is isolated but also looks like it’s made of solid steel. Potentially impossible for them to open with the few tools they brought with them.

  Pam decides to try and climb on the roof. They might find better luck there. There are usually windows or openings on the roof of such commercial buildings and the weak point of this one is probably up there.

  As they are both standing on top of the building, Pam goes to the front side and looks down the main street. By curiosity or just because she feels like she needs to look. She doesn’t know. But again, what she sees disturbs her. She notices again that some front doors are completely open this time. It cannot be normal. It is not right. She understands that in some remote places or villages, crime is almost inexistent, but it is not a reason to leave everything open. She calls Jack and asks him to tell her what he sees. Jack reaches the same conclusion as Pam. Something is not right. After a minute or so of hesitation, they eventually both make the decision to climb down and investigate a little further, even if they run the risk of getting caught. If anything, they can always pretend their car broke down and they are here looking for help.