Artificial Exile

by D S Emerson

  “What are those people like, since you know them now? I’ve only heard rumors and stories about the group that was against the AI and lived outside the city.”

  “Look—honestly, I think they are good people. I got to know them when I was away,” Bek replied. “And Abel is totally on board with them and their mission. They claim they want whatever is good for humanity, but the problem is, I don’t think they can achieve it; they will make things much worse for the remaining population here.”

  “And now they control the city?” she asked.

  “Yes, they have explosives at the base of the government tower and the water storage area, so they forced the government to recognize them as the leaders. However, I do believe the guards will be planning to oust them even if they comply with them for now. I want to try to convince Abel to leave them, but I don’t think it will be possible. He was always against the robots’ plan of forcing humanity to be on this planet,” he told her.

  “So, you are a member of their group now?” she asked him.

  “Abel is really in; I only went with them as a means of coming back to you. I would probably be locked back at their base now if I hadn’t pretended to join them,” he explained.

  “I understand. With you being captive there, there weren’t many choices. And I always understood people who wanted to live back on Earth. However, since this isn’t possible, they shouldn’t act recklessly, and risk harming the rest of the people here,” Jaina said. She stood up to take a look outside the big window overlooking the city. “It would be a good idea to make an announcement to conserve water. We don’t know how long it will take for this mess to clear,” she spoke slowly while gazing outside.

  “I should probably go to my apartment and rest. I am exhausted,” Bek told her from where he was sitting.

  “You can rest here. Don’t go away again - you just came back,” she replied to him. “I would even prefer that you stay here for now.”

  “I understand. Well, since I am already here, I will stay. But I would like to take a shower. My account is probably blocked—can you order me some clothes to wear?” he asked.

  “Of course,” Jaina said. She took her tablet, entered his size, and browsed the available selection of clothes while Bek entered the shower, exhausted. From the moment he and Abel had left the city until now, this was the only time he had felt peaceful—even if there was uncertainly for their future here. After all the trouble he had encountered, he finally relaxed. Moments later, the apartment buzzer rang, and his clothes arrived via the drone delivery system that the city used.

  “Well, at least the automatic delivery services are still working,” Jaina told him after receiving her order. She left the clothes outside the bathroom door and went to the couch, turning on a monitor to look for any news that might have been released. Watching the screen, the same programing as before was playing in an endless loop of rebroadcasts. Bek joined her shortly after finishing his shower. They decided to stay inside the apartment, ordering what they needed. Thankfully, no one came looking for them. They preferred to stay safely away from trouble, if possible.

  Days passed in quiet confinement at the apartment, and as the city seemed peaceful, Jaina thought it would be a good idea to go outside again. “Things seem to be quieter now. Want to go for a walk in the square? I would like to go outside,” she mentioned to Bek. “…see how things are going; maybe even meet with some of my friends from the agricultural center.”

  Bek knew that they couldn’t stay forever in her apartment, even if he liked how relaxed it was after the rogues’ takeover of the city. “It’s a good idea, I guess. It seems quiet outside, and I have to check and see how Abel is doing as well,” he replied, getting ready to leave.

  They left the apartment together, walking carefully as they exited the building. People were going outside in greater numbers, but the crowds were still smaller than usual. Many people were obviously apprehensive about how the current situation would unfold. Jaina and Bek continued on to the square where people were gathered, and there were a number of entertainment and food facilities open. Some places closer to the tower were still being repaired.

  “I should contact Abel to see where he is. Maybe he wants to join us,” Bek said while they were walking.

  “Want to call from the restaurant that we will visit?” Jaina asked him, but Bek thought about going toward the government tower and asking if Abel was there. However, he didn’t want anyone to see Jaina going inside with him, since they may associate her with the rogues.

  “I can stop by his apartment later. Maybe it’s better to find a place to sit for now,” Bek said while going toward a restaurant that Jaina used to like: one named “Home”. It was one of their favorite places to visit, mainly because of its open space outside, with a view of the square.

  “I can come with you now to visit Abel and check on him, if you want?” Jaina said to him, but Bek said that Abel’s apartment was far from here, and they would need to find a ride.

  Rogues were patrolling the area. He recognized them by the darker uniforms that were different from what the city guards wore, and there were familiar faces among them that he had seen while being at their base.

  “Let’s sit in the restaurant. I have missed being here,” Bek said. He pulled out an empty chair for Jaina to sit in. They both sat watching the square that was full of scars from the recent conflict. Various groups were trying to repair the damage that had happened on their allocated property, and the whole square was overall less crowded than usual. Messages about needing to consume as little water as possible, and the new government wanting what was best for humanity, occasionally popped up on the square’s messaging screens.

  “Are you ready to order?” a waitress asked as they were observing what was happening around them.

  “Yes, the usual for me,” Bek told Jaina, who ordered the dishes they regularly enjoyed here for both of them since she had a working account. They preferred the dishes with products from the agricultural center where Jaina worked, and they usually ordered them when they came here. Jaina pressed her thumb on the waitress’s device to pay.

  “A max limit of water to each customer is set up now. We can only serve up to a certain amount,” the waitress mentioned to them, and Bek nodded that he understood. He knew that even with the water recycling plant working, more water would be needed to be brought from Earth to replenish the reservoir. The waitress thanked them and ordered a serving drone to set up their table.

  “So, what are you going to do about not having an account now?” Jaina asked him while the drone was setting the table.

  “I don’t know. I can probably go and report to the government when the guards retake the city, and ask to be assigned to a new job. If they don’t retake the city, I don’t know what the rogues are planning in the long term. Probably, I’ll ask Malok for help, since he put me in this position.”

  “Malok is their leader, right?” Jaina asked him.

  “Yes, let’s say he is their leader. He started their group, along with others, and more joined afterward. They’re a group of wishful thinkers, in my opinion. I am in favor of humanity, obviously, but let’s be realistic: this is the situation we ended up with, and it would be better just to go along with it.”

  Jaina listened carefully. “Did you meet any other members there?”

  Bek told her about Taner, Valeena, and also Denec, who had handled their training. He mentioned that they were friendly and that he believed they wanted to help the people. He mentioned again that he had joined because he wanted to return to her, whereas Abel really wanted to join the rogues for their cause.

  The service drone returned as they were speaking, and the waitress interrupted as she brought their order. Bek was trying his best to enjoy the meal with Jaina. He had missed being away from her, but he also worried about what would happen in the long term with the situation the rogues had created.

  They were observing the square while eating when Jaina asked if he would l
ike to go afterwards to check for Abel in his building, and Bek agreed. However, while finishing their meal, a ruckus started near the places where the rogues patrolled around the city. Bek saw rogues coming from inside the tower where they had taken up residence, and then head out to join the rogues patrolling the square—all wore an anxious look on their faces. Bek recognized Denec coming out of the tower. He too was looking around nervously. Bek realized that something was wrong.

  “Stay here for a while. I have to talk to one of the guys from the rogues,” he said hastily to Jaina.

  “Don’t you want me to come with you?” she asked, but Bek told her that it was better for her not to be associated with the rogues.

  He left his place in the restaurant and picked up his pace as he entered the square, heading to the base of the tower. He saw Denec standing outside, talking with other members of the rogues. As he approached, Bek saw more people inside the tower moving frantically around, gathering their equipment. He wondered if the city guards were organizing to re-take control of the city, and if the rogues were rushing to take cover; the idea didn’t overly worry him. Bek approached Denec as he was giving orders to other rogues.

  “Denec, what’s happening? I noticed some trouble around the area. Are the guards going to retake the city?”

  “You are back? Abel was looking for you. He went to your apartment to look for you,” Denec told him anxiously. “We need everyone who can fight.”

  “Maybe I will sit this one out, Denec. I don’t want to risk my life, and maybe the city would be better off with the old government,” he said quietly.

  Hearing this, Denec looked up at the orange sky and then into Bek’s eyes, saying in a trembling tone that Bek had never heard him use before: “It’s not the city guards who are attacking—the AI army is headed to the city! They are coming!”

  Chapter 7

  Bek couldn’t even move after hearing what Denec had told him. He had never taken the rogues’ fight with the AI seriously since he hadn’t expected it to lead anywhere. Now, he realized that the events put into motion by their attack on the city could put the life of every human being on Cennan at risk. While he expected the city guards to eventually regain control of the city, news that the AI army was on its way to the planet made him realize that things would never be the same again.

  “We tracked them entering though the warp gate above Cennan just now,” Denec hastily said to Bek while more rogues were running to gather their equipment. Guards around town were also scrambling to their base to salvage any equipment that had survived the blast after the rogue attack. “Malok will make an announcement for the people to go inside their apartments soon,” Denec told Bek. “We don’t know why they would even come here—probably to enforce order. In that case, Malok would rather die fighting them than surrender.”

  Bek was trying to think of the best way to deal with the situation. He wanted to get to safety with Jaina and needed to find Abel. He had no idea where Abel had gone, though. “Where is Abel?” he asked Denec. “I haven’t seen him since I left the tower.”

  “He was with us after you left, but then he went to look for you,” Denec told him. Bek was getting nervous. If the AI army was coming here, it must have a reason. Suddenly, the screens around the square turned on. A broadcast was about to start. “Malok should be making an announcement now,” Denec told Bek worriedly, and they both turned to face toward the square. City guards and rogues were running, taking cover, and warning people in the square to get to their homes. It was almost as chaotic as when they had ambushed the city, and the AI army hadn’t even appeared yet. Finally, the screens flashed, and Malok appeared on the broadcast that was being sent from the tower all over the city.

  “My friends! Last survivors of our race living in exile on this planet! Our oppressors have come to visit us!” he spoke with a determined look, facing the camera directly, as if he knew that whatever the situation, he would take the same course. “The command center in the government tower has picked up a large fleet of transport shuttles emerging from the warp gate above the planet. The shuttles appear to be carrying units of the AI army. We believe that they are coming to reapply the long-lasting condition of humans serving them without question since the time they put us on this rock! They don’t like the fact that people are finally standing up to them, and their imposed slavery of us,” he spoke, getting more and more serious. “I understand that some people don’t want to fight. That is all right. You don’t have to risk your lives, as every life is precious, especially now. I advise you to leave the city and head to areas outside that are covered with Iorine. Our forces will, however, stay to fight them to our last able fighter. We were trained to fight the robots, and we will never surrender again to them!”

  And, at that, Malok left the central recording system on, and disappeared from the screen; Valeena and Taner were briefly in the camera’s view as they exited behind Malok. Witnessing the end of Malok’s speech, Bek realized that the city now faced an unprecedented and dangerous situation.

  “I have to get to Jaina,” Bek told Denec. “Do you have any equipment that I can borrow?”

  Denec went to the entrance of the tower where a makeshift armory existed. Everyone was grabbing supplies. He gave Bek one of the assault rifles, a portable deployable shied, and an Iorine-filled baton.

  “The rifle has Iorine rounds. I can give you one,” he said to Bek as he grabbed them as fast as he could.

  Bek managed to stealthily also pick up a pistol for Jaina while Denec was busy searching.

  “I’ll help fight the AI, but I will be on my own,” Bek said to Denec as he left the tower entrance, moving quickly towards the square.

  The rogues took cover around the square and inside buildings, with Denec organizing them. The same went for the city guard. The majority of people fled the area, running to the safety of their apartment buildings. Bek picked up his pace while going toward the restaurant where he’d left Jaina. When he arrived there, he looked outside the restaurant area, and she wasn’t there. He headed for the door, but the door didn’t automatically open. He hit it twice with his hand, and yelled: “Is anyone inside?” He tried hitting the door again and this time, it opened. Inside, there were a lot of people hiding, but Jaina came out of her hiding spot toward him, recognizing his voice.

  “Are you alright?” she asked him.

  “Yes, but it seems the AI army is coming to Cennan. It’s not safe here. We should head outside the city, to areas where there is Iorine interference; that may offer us some safety. Everyone—move outside the city!” After hearing Bek’s command, everyone else who was hidden inside the restaurant rushed outside, running quickly through the streets. “I managed to grab a pistol for you,” he said to Jaina while handing her the weapon he’d brought. “The rounds are filled with Iorine to shut down the robots. All the rogues’ weapons are like this.” Jaina grabbed it, saw that it was a modified pistol, and nodded to him that she was ready. Her failed application for the city guard would prove useful after all.

  Bek went near the door to check what was happening outside. He saw that the area was calmer than before and everyone was looking around, waiting anxiously for whatever happened next. “Let’s go. It looks safe for now,” he said to Jaina, and they both exited slowly from the front door of the restaurant. They walked close to the building and got around the side. They decided it would be best to stay as quiet as they could and leave the city immediately. Bek walked carefully, trying not to make noise that might attract attention to them.

  They carefully continued for a while when a message began broadcasting from the government tower. They were near an alley with a view toward the square, and they decided they should wait to see if there was an update. Shortly, the face of Sivet appeared on the screens. She probably stayed at the tower after the rogues left, Bek thought. The preparations for making a new broadcast looked messy, as if they were trying to hastily make the broadcasting system work. Sivet was on the screen, with other members of the
city government fiddling around with the broadcast systems. It looked like the sound wasn’t coming through and needed fixing.

  Suddenly, a huge flash lit up the square, followed by sound of explosions. The screens went completely black again, and Bek turned toward the explosions to see the tower hit in the center. A huge autonomous flying drone passed over them with great speed, making a piercing sound. Bek and Jaina saw the tower catch on fire after the explosions and begin to burn. The huge AI drone carried on, making a fast turn on the outskirts of the city and moving toward the city again.

  “They are here,” Bek told her. “We need to go—now.”

  “Sivet, the governor—she’s gone,” Jaina told him slowly as she watched the tower burning.

  “Nothing we can do now. We have to go!” He grabbed Jaina by the hand since she was shaken from the attack on the tower, and tried to move her. The AI drone was circling the city now, and as it moved again toward the tower, it released a new barrage of rockets. Another string of explosions shook the city, and the tower started to crumble; debris was falling all around. Suddenly, the top half of the building started to lean to the side—a few degrees in the beginning, but then more and more pronounced. The sideways lean accelerated, and half of the government tower went down in the city opposite of the square, taking buildings in the area with it. A thumping sound followed the fall, and the center of the city was in chaos.

  People started to come out of their buildings to see what was happening and check to see where they should run. Bek saw the half of the tower that remained burning on top. He turned to check on Jaina when suddenly, the announcement monitors in the city lit up.

  “Who is making announcements now?” Jaina wondered in a trembling voice.

  “I have no idea. Let’s hope some people managed to escape the tower,” he told her, and he leaned to peek at what the screens were going to broadcast.

  Some people in the square and on nearby streets stopped as well, while most of them continued running. Then the screen’s black image started to fade away, and images of what Bek believed to be Earth began to appear. It didn’t look like the place he had seen in pictures…They were images of vast areas occupied with what seemed like factories producing robots. Between the factories were mining facilities to extract whatever energy sources existed on Earth. Other images showed both aerial and ground robots making their way all over Earth with numerous facilities to service them. Nothing that was made for humans existed in the images they showed.