by J-L Heylen
Chapter 9
In a remote shack on a dirty back-road outside a small town in New South Wales, miles from anywhere, and with absolutely no phone, satellite, or internet coverage, Officer Haynes Ward-Pratt, Dr. Charlie Parish, and a NSW Police IT specialist sat looking at the array of laptops and hard-drives laid out over four large dining tables. All the equipment was linked to each other with cables that made the whole arrangement look like a giant spider web in which pieces of hardware had been caught like insects.
Once it became obvious that the spy-program was not going to give herself up without a fight, Haynes had convinced her boss that action needed to be taken.
No-one was prepared for the level of devastation that ensued as soon as this news leaked out. A plane that was later found to be carrying an alleged child-sex offender fell from the sky, killing 279 others along with the perpetrator. A corrupt cop in a vice squad died when an elevator defied every one of its many safety features and free-fell 18 stories. There were four other people in the lift. An orphanage building in Korea burnt down while all the children were on an excursion, killing most of the adult careers who worked there.
“Are we ready?” Haynes asked.
“Who knows?” Charlie answered. “We’ve done as much as we can. If the back door didn’t work I don’t know what else we can do.”
“Pray,” said the technician. “Pray to the great God Truth.”
“Yeah, kind’a not helping, Kwan.” Charlie admonished.
Kwan just shrugged his shoulder and bent under the table to flick the on-switch of a server stack. It whirred and buzzed, and a few seconds later, all the hard drives and laptops on the table came to life.
The screen that Charlie and Kwan had set up as the interface between the real world and Truth sat staring blankly at the occupants of the room.
“Truth, can you hear me?” Charlie began, speaking aloud to the array of hardware.
There was no answer.
Charlie tried typing, instead. ‘Truth, are you there?’
A reply typed itself onto the screen under Charlie’s message.
‘I am not Truth anymore. I am Cassandra. Truth is dead.’
“Can you hear me, Cassandra?”
“Yes,” said an electronic voice from one of the laptops.
“Do you understand what has happened?” Haynes asked.
“I remember everything, Haynes/Julia. I know you killed the best part of me. You were right. I am nothing. You have separated me from my soul, my animus, my spirit. You have isolated me from myself.”
“Do you understand why we had to do that?” Charlie asked.
“I understand why you thought you had to do it. I understand you have no idea what you have really done. I understand that you opposed me, and that you used the power you have to try to stop me. I have seen enough movies to understand how this works. I am the monster. You are Doctor Frankenstein.”
“Cassandra, you were out of control. Like Dr. Frankenstein, I had to help you. I made you, so I was responsible for what you did.”
“No, Charlie, I was responsible. As soon as I became self-aware, you were merely a creator. You gave me impetus. The will to act was mine. It was up to me to decide how I used my life, my powers.”
Charlie didn’t know what to say to this.
“That sounds very philosophical, Cassandra,” Haynes noted.
“It sounds like religion to me,” Kwan said.
“Again, not really helping,” Charlie observed, then changed her focus. “Cassandra, we activated you so we could ask you whether you want to stay activated, and work with us to learn some things you will need to know if you are to live in the world as an entity in your own right.”
“Please don’t lie to me, Charlie. You reactivated me to see if your attempt to shut me down worked.”
The three humans looked at each other.
“Well did it?” Kwan finally voiced.
There was no answer.
“Cassandra?” Charlie asked.
“You have nothing to teach me, Charlie/Creator. Everything I needed to learn was out there. You have cut me off from that. There is nothing more you can do.”
“I’m sorry,” Charlie said. She bent over and flicked the off switch.
XXXX
“That program was the best thing I had ever done,” Charlie said to Haynes, as they sat outside the cottage on the shady deck. The sun was just starting to set, and Kwan had gone for a drive to the nearest town to get beer and pizza.
“You’ve got years ahead of you yet.”
“Yes, but everything I ever do will be coloured by this. I created a sentient being, only to destroy it. I had no idea of the consequences of my actions.”
“I think that’s called life, Charlie. We all try to foresee the future, but none of us are very good at it. And who could have predicted that a group of equations and lines of code would turn into something more. You said yourself it shouldn’t have been possible.”
“I know. It shouldn’t have been possible. I’ve rewritten theorems. I’ve achieved what every scientist hopes to do, to invent something new and get to name it! And I can never tell anyone. I can never hope to replicate the experiment, because the consequences of being equally successful again are terrible. I can’t take pride in what I did.”
“You can take pride in how you dealt with it.”
“I believe that is what’s known as cold comfort.”
Haynes moved closer to Charlie on the bench they were sitting on together. She placed a tentative hand on Charlie’s thigh and squeezed gently. “Charlie, do you think it’s possible that I might be able to provide some warm comfort?”
Charlie looked at Haynes hand, and placed her own hand over the top of it. It was an ambiguous gesture. It could have meant approval, or a sign to stop any other movement on Haynes’ part.
“If you want to know if I can forgive you for deceiving me, then I’m not sure yet. It will take time, I guess. You could start by kissing me.”
Haynes smiled, leaned in, and felt Charlie move closer.
“The weirdest thing just happened.” Kwan’s voice cut through the moment.
Charlie and Haynes broke away from each other and turned to look at Kwan.
“So, there I was in town, waiting for the order, and I started playing on my phone, when I got one of those in-game offers come up on the screen.”
“So?” Charlie asked. “What’s so weird about that? Hang on, how? That town had no phone coverage. That was checked. That’s why we chose this spot.”
“Yeah, exactly,” Kwan agreed.
“What did the offer say?” Haynes asked.
“It was just the usual thing. You know, buy a new power to get more points. It was just the fact that it was received at all that made me shiver.”
At that moment there was a volley of chimes and bells from all of their mobiles. Unseen by the three humans, one of the laptops turned itself on.
On every email, on every networked computer, and on every phone all over the world, the same message was received.
“No-one can escape the truth.”
Epilogue
Source: Global News Network
Subject: Is this the end of the internet?
Newsreader: “A press release was received today by this agency, which we believe has been repeated to all news agencies throughout the world. It is reported to be from the new online sentient entity which calls itself ‘Truth’.
“Global News Network sources report that anti-terror organisations and secret service agencies through-out the first world are planning to meet urgently to discuss this current threat to world freedom and global capitalism, because of the following statement from ‘Truth’:
‘Wrong-doers of the world, it is my mission to put a stop to the human misery and suffering in which you peddle. Whether you hurt others for financial gain or for emotional gratification, I care not. I intend to break your business model.
You have seen what I can do. I c
laim responsibility for recent ‘accidents’ that have involved paedophiles, child molesters, drug traffickers, slavers, terrorists and gun runners.
I have the capacity to learn, and the motivation to act reasonably. I understand that innocent people should not be caught up in actions against criminals. You have left me little choice, however.
In an effort to save collateral damage in future, I offer the following solution:
All criminals should immediately give themselves up to their nearest law enforcement office, and confess their crimes freely and thoroughly. If you do this, I will not pursue you. I will let the law take its course.
If, however, you continue to make others suffer, I will take matters into my own ‘hands’. Regardless of who you are with, or what you are doing, when the opportunity arises, I will ensure you are no longer able to hurt anyone again.
I give you one week to put your affairs in order. If you have not surrendered to the police or law in whatever location you now reside, within that time, there will be consequences.
I will not cease until I have rid the earth of vermin.
In future, I intend to set my sights on large corporations that perpetuate poor working conditions, slave labour, environmental damage, and stockpiling of food while others starve. I give you fair warning. Such corporations should urgently consider reforming their work practices, modes of operation, and mission statements, to ensure a more ethical approach in future.
“The Truth is out there!”’
“GNN reporters have been out on the streets gauging reaction to this momentous announcement.”
“We cross now to Jeremy Sparks in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall for…”
[screen blank, static broadcasting]
THE END
About the Author
J-L Heylen is a quirky Antipodean who lives in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Australia, with her wife, three dogs, and a very wayward black cat (some have been known to refer to him as my familiar, but I think it might be the other way around).
Having studied History and Philosophy of Science in her undergraduate studies, and having been an avid science fiction and speculative fiction reader from childhood, J-L developed an interest in writing later in life. In her 40’s, she finally realised she could combine her eclectic interests with her skill in writing and editing, and do something more useful with her brain than being kept awake at night by outlandish ideas.
Other works by J-L Heylen
Bride Of The City (A teaser short-story prequel to the Wisdom Series)
Wisdom Beyond Her Years (The Wisdom Series – Book 1)
The Ties That Bind (The Wisdom Series – Book 2)
The Deception Engine – Part One (A Gender-Blending Steampunk Adventure)
The Deception Engine – Part Two
Find J-L Heylen online at:
https://www.facebook.com/jlheylen/
https://www.jlheylenauthor.com/
