Maxwell Huxley's Demon

by Michael Conn

  “It’s Kiti -mat, and it ’s small compared to most cities. About ten thousand people, ” Naomi answers.

  “No sky scrapers then?” Walker sounds disappointed.

  ---

  Agent Pirelli mans the roadblock , talking to his hands-free cell . “The kids are nine. All of them. They’re either walking in a wild environment that is entirely hostile to human life, Canada, or they hitched a ride ”.

  “Which is it? Hitched a ride or walking?”

  “They hitched a ride. I’ve stopped every truck with a trailer and nothing so far. I’m running out of time. I t’s not likely I’ll find them today.” No wait. I definitely won’t find them today. But I have to sit here and put in my time. One of the officers on duty taps on Pirelli’s wi ndow. Pirelli mutes the cell call and lowers the window.

  “What time can we call it a day?” the officer asks.

  “Couple more hours.” The officer sighs and walks away. Pirelli un-mutes the call. “I’m b abysitting grown-ups and little mutant critters. What kind of nine-year-old s breaks out of a maximum security prison four hours up a mountain road and then evades an experienced pursuit team looking for them on the one and only road out of the facility?”

  “The kind we made.”

  “I hate these mountains!” He drops the call. I’m never going to catch this one. The whole scene is spotless; I have nothing to go on.

  Agent Pirelli waits in his car as vehicles pass through his roadblock.

  Chapter 7 –Keith

  As he waits, Keith alternates between sit-ups and push-ups. It’s been three days now; Dr. C. will come get me in about five minutes. He’ll be calm and considerate and try to make me understand that I am only hurting myself. I’m starting to believe that the only way to get out of here will be to hurt others. I want to determine my own path and leave nothing to fate . I will not sit around and wait for someone to help . I’ll pull together what I need. Then I’ll hav e revenge. Then I’ll be respected .

  The door buzzes, unlocks, and opens. A guard motions him to come out. From past experience , he knows there will be two other guards here , one on either side of the doorway. They lead him down a sterile white hallway to a room he is quite familiar with. Dr. Concilian sits at a stainless steel table and gestures to the chair across from him. “Have a seat, Keith.” Keith sits. Dr. Concilian waves the guards away. They leave, locking the door behind them. “So—Keith. You ’r e back here. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re a sad old man with nothing better to do than frighten children . What do you think Dr. C?”

  “I think you’re not making it. I think you’re angry, frustrated, and isolated. I think you’re dangerous.” Dr. Concilian open s a file on his tab let . “Your—eight h escape attempt?”

  “Ninth. I like to count the time you found me building a tank in shop class as an attempt.” Keith blows his nose into his hand and smears it on the table top , marring the perfectly clean surface.

  With a pinched look on his face , Dr. Concilian shivers and backs slightly away from the table and the boy . “So , after this interview wher e do you think you are going ?”

  “We ll, I’ll spend the mandatory three more days in the halfway rooms between solitary and the school. You need to see if I can look after myself, right?”

  “Not this time Keith. This time it’s different.”

  “There hasn’t been anything different in this place ever. Same classes. Same training.” Keith’s face reddens with anger. “You train me to escape only to re-capture me and then train me in new and better ways of escape . What, are you going to do, teach me how to build a Tardis this time?”

  “No Keith, you’re writing your final exams this time.”

  Keith sit s slightly straighter even as he tries to seem uninterested . “Final doesn’t sound so good. Why would I bother writing your exam?”

  “It’s just an exam, your first official one . If you pass , you get more freedom and m ove out of this school. On to—d ifferent things.”

  “And if I fail?”

  “You get Processed. If you choose not to write it, you get Processed. So this is j ust what you always wanted , Keith. Control of your own fate.”

  “Let me get this straight. If I fail, I’m a vegetable. If I refuse to play with you, I’m a veg etable. If I play your game and pass , whatever that is, then you will send me on to some other place, one which I have no understanding of. One that could be worse than here . . . screw you, Dr. C.”

  “Alright, alright, how about this? If you write this exam , I’ll giv e you your own lab, j ust like Max used to have. Hmm ?”

  ---

  Keith walks back into the residence. He feels eyes on him, other boys watching him as he walks along the rows of beds to his. At least his area is left as it was before. “What !” he says . Many sets of eyes turn away from him. Afraid. It’s easy to be afraid. If you don’t understand, you’ll easily be afraid .

  I see empty bed s at the other end of the room. I hope he’s far away from here now. No more worries. I guess I might be on his side , but he left me behind. I’m the one who made him think about escape. I deserve more. I deserve everything they gave him. Everything he got without earning it. I deserved the chance not him.

  Now I get the lab and then they all hurt.

  Keith collapses on his bed. “You people are boring .”

  Chapter 8 –Kitimat

  At the first red light the truck stops , and everyone scrambles back into hiding within the empty bread racks . Soon enough, the reverse alarm sounds as the driver parks the truck. Max does his best to stay calm , but confined spaces aren’t good for him. He feels the world spin. He guesses this is probably a normal reaction when you’re on the run from a sinister government organiza tion that is systematically kid napping children , and not one of his bouts starting . He counts his breathing and slows it down , then works on his plan to get into a hotel.

  In his hiding space, Walker holds onto the digging bars to keep them from clanking, and check s that his laptop is in his backpack every few seconds, th en adjusts the backpack straps.

  Virginia balances on one toe and then the other, using the time to increase her lowe r leg flexibility and strength. She wishes the truck would hurry up and park already.

  Naomi picks a t an errant cuticle , senses the agitation of the others and the boredom of the driver. She wonders what her older sister is doing right no w.

  At this point, i t occurs to Max that the driver might just leave them locked in here. I guess I should have had a plan for that. Break out with the digging bars? The truck hits the loading dock bumper, the engine turn s off, Naomi sneezes, and they all wait. The driver opens the trailer doors, ge ts the hand power fork lift, pulls the fi rst stack of racks out backward , spi ns and moves into the building.

  Max pushes to get out of his hiding spot and his stack of racks fall s over. Walker , Virginia, and Naomi sm ile as he stand s up out of the pile of racks. “Just like a cat,” Virginia jokes.

  Out of the truck , they squint in the sunlight and hurry around the corner of the bakery building. Max is surprised how hot it is. They must have come a long way down off the mountain for it to be this hot.

  “OK, so this is Kitimat, first thing we need . . .” The four of them stare at the town around them . Distracted by being in a town for the first time, Max forgets what he was going to say . They walk along in silence.

  Naomi breaks the silence. “D’you think they have a candy store here?”

  “I want to see a regular school.” Max turns to Walker. “Did you hack and enable wireless on everything?”

  “Yup, ” Walker says as he scans up and down the street.

  “Uh m, Walker , I know we decided to take the d igging bars, but you’re gonna have to leave them .”

  “Aw , man .” Walker lays them down beside the curb.

  “It’s a lot dirtier than I thought it would be,” Naomi says. “I thought cities were clean, why did I think that?”
/>
  “I thought a city would be bigger . . . and less smelly, ” Max adds.

  “I want to go to a diner,” Virginia says. “With a jukebox, and chrome, and order a malted.” Tears well up in her eyes , and she turn s away from the others .

  Max doesn’t say anything, but he knows what they’re all thinking. I want to be a regular kid .

  ---

  They pick a direction at random and walk . The street is dry, mostly empty of cars and people, and lined with s mall industrial building s . It’s hot. They walk to the first intersection and pause. Looking over her shoulder, Virginia says, “Where to Max?”

  “Left?” Max shrugs. “Water is that way. I like water. Let’s go left.”

  Halfway down the block Naomi stops and puts an arm on Max’s shoulder . “Max . . .” He looks over at her . “Max , look at the cars on this street.”

  Max glances at the cars.

  “Notice anything?” Naomi says as Walker and Virginia carry on.

  “Uh, I see twelve cars and one van, all with roof racks, two Alberta plates, various colours, mostly old, rusting, worn out, except for that one.”

  “Ya except for that o ne.” Naomi points. “Black and shiny, totally out of place.”

  Max looks at the black car two blocks down, heading slowly in their direction. With it pointed out to him, he sees how it stands out. Like a shark swimming in the surf . “Walker . Virginia. Come back, ” Max calls ahead . “You need to see something .”

  Virginia rolls her eyes. “Seriously?”

  “That car, the big black one . . . let’s back track and try to find another way downtown.” They turn back, walk half a block , and move into a side street hoping to catch another road downtown. As soon as the car is out of sight Max says , “Run!”

  They quickly spread into a line with Virginia at the lead, Walker and Naomi together, and Max lagging behind. “In the alley on the left.” Max hears the squeal of car tires behind him as the others disappear in the alley he pointed to. He knows the black car has turned the corner and is closing in . Wasting time on a look back , Max see s the car picking up speed.

  Tick.

  Max runs as fast as he can. His mind accelerating . The neutrons will be the footprint. The p rotons carry the process es. Each lone p roton will seek a new pro cessing space, repelling other p rotons , eventually all processing spaces will be full. Osmosis. The 2nd law of thermodynamics will kick in. The e lectrons are data or informa tion, but which? Max runs.

  Turning in the alley , Max sees that Walker and Naomi are on top of a concrete wall that blocks the far end . Virginia is standing at the bottom of the wall , waving at Max . He thinks she is saying something, but his ears seem to have stopped working. He only hears his heart beat and his breathing.

  Tock.

  Protons will r oot themse lves and “call” the electrons. Neutr ons will authorize. Left spin e lectrons will accept command s. Right spin e lectrons will trigger command execution . Max looks over his shoulder. The shark turns smoothly into the al l ey. He looks forward and stops—the distance has to be right.

  “Max!” Virginia screams. This time he hears her. “Keep running!”

  The car angles across the alley, blocking his exit . Max waits halfway between the car and the wall where Virginia is still screaming at him to run.

  Think. Tick .

  Looking back , Max sees the car door open. A large man in a suit steps out . Why did they send a football player in a suit ? The man stands and smiles. “It’s all over kids, stop running .”

  Think.

  Ten metres t o Virginia and ten metres to the football player . Electrons always move; they transmit data/energy when they change state. How w ill I call the electrons though ? How will I seed the programs? The n e utrons will know me, but there’s no boot strap yet.

  Max runs. I only need to mak e it three metres . The football-player-in-a-suit runs. Naomi sneezes .

  Tock.

  One step. Think. Two steps. Momentum. Three steps. Max looks at the garbage bin closer to him than Virginia is . Four steps. Mr . Football Man gets up t o speed fast. Five steps. Not too soon, wait. Six steps. Wait. Seven steps. Look back , turn toward the garbage bin . Eight steps. A large hand reaches for Max. Max drops to the ground , curling into a ball .

  Max is sma ll, he stops quickly. Physics kick s in for the football player . His hand over shoots Max. Instinct keeps him from stepping on the boy, instead, he trips .

  Max looks u p at the airborne man.

  Tick.

  ‘e=mc 2’

  ‘k=dc 2’

  ‘Knowledge = Da ta process x Clock tick squared ’

  He has a gun.

  ‘D = Information/Process ’

  ‘K=ICt /p . . . I have to tell Walker this.’

  Approximately when Max thinks about Walker , the man’s skull collides with the garbage bin . The bin makes a sound like a church bell .

  Tock.

  Virginia arrives and picks Max up off the ground . I believe she has wings. She pushes him up the wall, while Walker reac hes down grabbing Max’s wrists . The last thing Max sees , as his friends push and pull him over the wall , is the football player looking as if he is having a seizure .

  ---

  Virginia and Naomi pull Max and Walker out the other end of the alley onto a small d owntown street lined with independent shops and restaurants. “Find us a school , Walker , ” Max says. “We’ve got about a minute before they come down this street.”

  Walker pulls them all into the first restaurant he can find. The hostess raises an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

  With t ears brimming in her eyes , Virginia says, “We’re on a school tri p. We got separated. We’re supposed to be at the school already. We’re in so much trouble. Are we close to a school ? If we are, we should—”

  “Shh . . . Yes , you ’re close to one . You start by . . .” The hostess gives them directions.

  Back outside, “Guys, ” Max says. “We have to stop running. We saw them bec ause they didn’t fit in. They’ll see us unless we fit in.”

  Naomi clutches Max’s arm and poi nts left and up the street. A large black car glides around the corner.

  “It’s OK. We only have to make it four block s , ” Max says . “They’re looking for four of us, split up, follow adults like those kids across the street are doing. Meet at the school.”

  ---

  The car moves slowly along, i ts driver scanning the street and sidewalk for any sign of the kids . He looks over his shoulder at his partner in the back seat, who has blood streaming from a gash on his head.

  He touches the radio. “MGA unit 011-43 reporting.”

  “Go ahead,” says a voice from the radio .

  “Made contact with Canadian 1A target s , one agent injured and on board , still in pursuit, last seen heading toward Columbia Avenue, any further instructions?”

  He listens to static for a minute, then, “Nothing further . . . m aintain pursuit .”

  ---

  They split up. It’s lunch time so there are numerous parents on the road heading to school to pick up or drop kids . Individually, t hey blend in and make it to the front of the school as the bell rings . Morning classes let loose into the school grounds. A screaming mass of kids spill past Max. Some head for playgrounds, others line up for some reason by a door back into the school, other s eat snacks while they run, some kids seem to just run randomly . Chaos . We play at our school. But not like this. Compared to this , everyone at my school is calm, subdued.

  While Max ponders that, a male teacher wearing a suit comes out of the school. We have an hour at most befor e we get picked up. Think.

  Max looks around and easily spots Walker, Virginia, and Naomi. He just looks for the only kids standing still with their mouths hanging open as they stare at the other kids. He gathers them and takes them to a set of bleachers across the school field . Hidden from view, t hey sit in a circle under the bleachers .

  Walker opens his lap
top and boots his reader. “Signal strength is good here.” Walker wr ite s and commit s ne w code .

  When they commit code it’s pushed out to the nearest infected processing space and then spr ead farther by other electrons.

  “So . . . those t wo are smart, I know how smart,” Virginia tells Naomi while pointing at Max and Walker . “You’re not as good as they are at coding. So how did you hijack what they did without having someone help you ?”

  “I didn’t hijack anything, ” Naomi says, “I just changed the keys.”

  “Hmpf .” Virginia look s unconvinced. “Why are you here?”

  “I just wanted out like you did.”

  “I don’t believe you , I still think—”

  Max touches Virginia. “All s he did was copy what we did and change it a bit. Walker made everything. Naomi just saw an opportunity and—”

  “Oh, shut up, Max!” says Virginia. They all fall silent and listen to Walker typing.

  Later, Max hands Walker the phone. “I finally got it working. Can you h ack in what you have so far? Fi rst thing , make the p rotons alter the SIM card ID every time we make a call. Can you do that?”

  Walker nods and connects to the phone. “But in order for a call to work the SIM ID has to be valid AND approved by the carrier.”

  “I t only has to be approved by the towers, ” Max explains. “Just get ‘a pproval ’ proton s and e lectrons onto the nearest tower—got it?”

  “Uh-huh.” Walker types f aster. “Anyone have any food?”

  Virginia throws a granola bar at him , bouncing it off his head.

  They sit in silence for a while , watching the school kids. These kids are free, that’s the difference. “So does anyone know where we are?” Max asks.

  “We’re on the west coast of northern BC, Canada . A t wenty hour drive from Vancouver . 850 kilomet re s straight line from Seattle, Washington. One and a half hour drive north to Terrace, which has the nearest airport. Three and a half hours to Prince Rupert. Rio Tinto Alca n is the largest employer here. They mostly make a luminum and have a large pier and railway line on property . . . what?” Naomi stops talking as the rest of them stare at her .