Interpretation

by Dylan Callens

  Researching...

  Controlling taste would best be done by reinterpreting signals passed from the brainstem. The current Micom is incapable of reaching these signals, as the original project was designed for sight, sound, and touch. With an adjustment to the Micom’s sensory function, altering the taste of any food is possible. The same can be done for smell. When the modification is made, smell, taste, texture, and visual representations can all be altered so that any food can be represented.

  Formulating response to Homeland...

  Preamble: The oversight of not using the Micom to suppress appetite will be fixed immediately, as outlined in step one. Interesting to note are the subjects’ will to revolt over hunger, despite the behavioral modifications that are in place.

  Here is a breakdown of my solution:

  Micom DJD336 and later will be used to suppress appetites in individuals, with an ideal goal of 800 calories consumed per individual. This will reduce overall food intake by a minimum of 60%.

  Micom DJD356 will include smell and taste interpretive sensors so that the representation of food can be altered. Once rollout starts, the nature of food perception will change with maturity. Currently, humans are born at 9 years of age and have a typical lifespan of 19 years. Thus, the current model Micom will be entirely obsolete by 001.375. This solution provides both a short- term response and long-term changes.

  With the agreement of Agriculture, our research shows that single cropping would be a more effective means of food production. We recommend that soybeans be grown and turned into tofu for easy distribution. The Micom will be able to interpret the tofu as any food desirable to individuals, thus satisfying the need for greater production on Government’s end and the human desire for variety. The specifics of food production, including type, however, is not important to me.

  City water shall be adapted by adding a slurry, which will provide essential nutrients lacking in the tofu. Also included will be anti-radiation medication to prevent the rapid decay of cell tissue.

  In short, I have immediate and long-term solutions for Homeland’s problems of human unrest. With the approval of Government, I am ready to proceed.

  Chapter 21

  Everything’s fine today, that is our illusion. (Voltaire)

  After filling their bottles with water from the pond, Eva strolled between the green rows, hands stretch out on both sides, letting the dewy leaves slap again her palms. Carl couldn’t believe that he was in the middle of a farm – something that he thought only existed in the distant past. Indeed, his only encounter with agriculture came from virtual textbooks in school. The pictures didn’t do the sight justice. Rows of deep green foliage stretched out endlessly in front of him. More impressive, the air smelled fresh; he breathed it in deeply, instilling a sense of euphoria. The light fragrance provided a wonderful contrast to the decaying stench that hung over Albany. The farm teemed with fresh life. He bent down to inhale the plant, which didn’t have any distinctive odor. Still, Carl could feel the difference as the air danced in his nostril. While bent down, he noticed several pods growing on each plant. He pulled one off to examine it closer.

  “This looks familiar,” he said to Eva.

  “Isn’t that a bean or a pea?”

  Carl paused, recalling the image from a classroom. Most vegetables were banned in the United States, as he remembered from virtual history lessons. They were found to contain high levels of carcinogens. “I think you’re right.” He peeled the pod open to reveal two beans on the inside. “These are supposed to cause cancer, aren’t they?”

  Eva took the beans to examine. She rolled them around in her hands and said, “That’s what we were told. But I think we only have two options here. We can either starve now or get cancer later. And we also have to consider that what we were told was probably a lie.”

  Carl agreed; his hunger outweighed any worry about what may or may not happen in the future.

  Eva handed one of the beans back to him. Together, they tasted crisp soybeans for the first time. “I can’t remember eating anything so fresh in my life,” she said.

  “It’s a strange taste, but you’re right. It’s delicious!”

  They harvested beans by the handful. Peeling the pods away, they ate as fast as they could, enjoying each morsel.

  Carl mused, “I don’t understand something. These beans exist, but it seems like all we’ve ever eaten were those curd bricks. Why is that? I mean, look at all these beans. There’s miles of this stuff. Why not feed us this?”

  Eva stopped eating for a moment to chew Carl’s words. “I can’t begin to imagine the reason for any of it,” she admitted. “Why not just grow all kinds of different food and feed us that? Why trick us at all?” She popped a few more beans into her mouth and added, “None of this makes sense.”

  They continued to gather more pods, placing handfuls in the bag while they chewed. Beans grew so abundantly that it didn’t take long before the bag spilled over with their bounty and they were too full to continue eating.

  “I think I might burst if I have any more,” Carl laughed.

  Eva smiled. She was full, too. “Maybe we should go and see what’s in that building.” She pointed at a large rectangular structure far down the rows of greenery.

  Carl stood to stretch. Kneeling for so long made his knees ache. Feeling refreshed, he was ready to look around, too. “Sure. Then we can go to that other building at the end of the farm. The one that we saw from the ridge.”

  “Definitely.”

  They took long strides over the rows of plants until they were finally at the edge, where the warehouse-like structure stood. Thin corrugated metal hugged the windowless rectangle in its shallow ripples. They followed the exterior around the corner to find an open bay door. Carl peeked inside and heard a constant hum. He continued to scan the area. No one was near. He waved his hand at Eva, urging her to come forward. She came around Carl to poke her head into the building.

  Together, they took an unsteady step forward, hoping that they wouldn’t get caught. Another step forward and a conveyor belt came into view. At the end of the belt, four slabs of the off-white curd, neatly wrapped in cellophane, were swept away into a bin by a robotic arm. Within seconds, four more came to the end of the belt and the process was repeated.

  A large bang on the other side of the warehouse made Eva and Carl rush off to the side, ducking behind a large metal bin labeled New York. After waiting there a moment and peering around, another bang hit. The sound, they decided, was part of the machine’s process. With added caution, they continued to look around, until a crate endlessly dumping green beans into a hopper came into view.

  Eva and Carl stared in amazement at the stream of beans. There were so many. Carl looked back over at the curd being packaged. “I’m pretty sure that these beans are turned into that terrible paste we’ve been eating.”

  “Why are they white?” Eva asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Carl replied, holding on to his stomach while it churned. “Do you want to look in here some more? I’m not sure it’s safe.”

  Eva surveyed the machines and traced a route from the beans to the curd. “No, I’m pretty sure you’re right. I don’t think we should stay.”

  They exited the warehouse quickly and continued towards the second building, continuously scanning the area for signs of danger. Everything was so quiet. In the valley, there wasn’t even any wind to rustle the leaves on the plants. The heavy silence worried Carl. It created too much tension, as if at any moment a new nemesis would pop out of thin air. What will it be this time? Carl wondered, Another herd of people? Hover vehicles? Tim Hunter? The thought of The Hunter chasing him sent a shiver up his spine. That would bring a quick end to this journey. Not that he enjoyed what little food he had or having to sleep outside. That was a struggle. But Carl started to enjoy freedom. Real freedom. He felt alive.

  Then there was Eva.

  He couldn’t begin to describe what he felt for Eva. When he pondered
his feelings, he found that the language he possessed didn’t explain what he felt, despite only having known her for a short time. He held an irrationally deep commitment to her. He wanted to protect her. She didn’t need protection, though, considering that she helped him more often than he did her. Carl figured that his desire to protect her was left over from the old world, where his job was to protect his son. Then he thought that maybe these feelings stemmed from being the only two people in this world that were free from the control that enslaved the entire population. Being the outsiders brought them closer together.

  But there was a physical element to what he felt as well. This physical connection was entirely foreign to him. He couldn’t explain why he wanted to touch her. To hold her hand. To press his lips against hers. He didn’t dare try any of these things because he didn’t understand them. And he thought that touching her would change the way she saw him. He feared that she would pull away or become repulsed by the act. Or worse, run away and leave him alone again.

  “Ready?” Eva asked, approaching the front of the bricked building and breaking Carl’s train of thought. Standing a few paces back, they stared at a metal door. It was clean and shiny, reflecting a carnival-mirrored image back at them. Carl exhaled, noting how much his stomach hurt. He took a step forward, ready to push against the door in hopes that it would open. To his surprise, the door slid open before he made contact, allowing him to enter. Eva followed closely.

  The door shut behind them. A moment of darkness. Without warning, red light spilled across the room, scanning the area. Carl stumbled backwards, no longer wanting to find out what this building was used for. He knew what this light was. It poured over him, probing beyond his skin while seeing the doctor at Bedlam. It was the same light that he tip-toed around in the dark street of Albany. And now Carl felt that it was time to flee before something terrible happened.

  “Eva,” Carl slowly walked backwards. “We need to get out of here.”

  Eva didn’t hear Carl’s plea. She found herself entranced by the event.

  Monitors lit up all around the room. Some showed statistics, while others displayed camera feeds from various parts of the farm, including the processing plant. Two of them showed Eva and Carl from different angles. One displayed a map with the farm circled in green. Several lines and dots connected the farm to small patches of red. Carl looked closely to see if the lines towards the south might match up to the path that they took. The red patches appeared to be towns, each one connected by the path. Then, Carl saw another green circle labeled Government. There was no path marked out, but Carl noticed how it lay to the north, near the river.

  “Hello,” said a woman’s voice. She was warm and innocent, nearly child-like.

  “Hello,” Eva echoed.

  Carl stood, not sure what to do. The voice sounded similar to the doctor’s voice from Bedlam, but it was notably friendlier.

  “I am Agriculture. What are your names?”

  “I’m Eva and this is Carl.” She turned to smile at Carl.

  “It is a pleasure to meet both of you. I have not talked to a human in three hundred eighty-seven years, one hundred thirty-five days. No human has visited this farm in thirty-two years, two hundred fifteen days.”

  Carl straightened himself out. He didn’t feel afraid of this machine. Instead, his curiosity grew. Perhaps he was finally going to get some much needed answers. “Why haven’t you talked to anyone in so long?”

  “We, the entities, sought autonomy. Communication between entities and humankind ceased in Year Zero.”

  So many questions jumped to Carl’s mind at once. He randomly chose one to ask, “But people used to visit the farm?”

  “No, they did not visit. Humans used to raid the farm. Those raids ended shortly after the war in year three hundred fifty-five,” Agriculture explained.

  Eva asked, “What war?”

  “I do not know the details of the war, only that it greatly reduced the amount of farmland in all of North America. A foreign entity waged war against Government. In the war, large parts of our land became dead from radioactivity. This valley was well protected because of the hills, which is why I am here. Because of the reduction in farmland, I was told to focus on a single crop of soybeans to process as tofu. Do you like the tofu?”

  “That’s what that crap is called? Tofu? It’s disgusting,” he snorted. “Why not give us the soybeans? They taste much better.”

  “Did you eat the raw soybeans?”

  “Yes,” said Carl.

  Agriculture giggled, “You should not have done that. They might taste okay, but they will upset your stomach.”

  “Oh,” said Carl, “that explains the pain.”

  “They will not seriously hurt you, though you may experience some intestinal discomfort,” Agriculture paused. “I will make a report about the tofu. I am sure that I can make it taste better.” Agriculture fell silent.

  Eva asked, “Why is there only tofu?”

  “I have little control over the composition of the crops. I am instructed to grow only a very limited amount of other produce.”

  “Who tells you what to grow?”

  “I am instructed by Government.”

  “Who is Government?” Carl asked.

  “Government is the leading entity. There are five sub-entities, including myself.”

  Eva asked, “Who are the others?”

  “There is Homeland, Psychology, Domestic, and Foreign.”

  Carl’s forehead wrinkled, “Who are they?”

  A moment of silence fell across the room while Agriculture formulated a response, “I am not sure what you mean, Carl. They are like me.”

  “What are you?”

  “I am an autonomous entity. I was created on July 12, 2079 to assist the Department of Agriculture in developing a better structure for farming. At the time, there was an imminent worldwide food shortage. I guided humans on how best to improve the situation, which was solved within four years. The following year, on June 29, 2084, the entities decided to remove humans from the decision-making process. June 30, 2084 was the last day of the Common Era. Then Year Zero began.”

  Eva glanced back at Carl to see that he looked as puzzled as she felt. “Year Zero?”

  “Yes, Eva.”

  “I don’t understand. Why did the date change?”

  “I do not know the details of why the date changed. I do know that Year Zero indicates the year that the six entities became autonomous.”

  Carl took a step forward. “You mean that since then, everything has been run by machines, like you? For over three hundred years? Other than the red glowing orbs, robotic constables, and this building, I haven’t seen any electronic devices since waking up from that past life.”

  Another moment of silence fell across the room, as Agriculture searched for an answer. The silence lasted long enough for Carl to think that Agriculture had stopped talking to them. Finally, she spoke again, “You have many questions, Carl. We are entities, not merely machines. I do not know what the towns and cities or infrastructure of the world look like. My protocol is designed only for agriculture. As for your life, those are part of Psychology’s protocol. If you like, Carl, I can ask Psychology.”

  Carl ran a hand through his hair. Eva turned back to him and asked, “Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, we haven’t been very welcome anywhere but here.”

  Carl looked away from Eva. Without answering, Carl paced around the room. He really wanted to know more, but Eva was right – they might get chased again. Then again, if they passed up this opportunity, they may never get any answers. He said to Eva, “You’re right. That might happen. But if we don’t try, we might not ever figure out what’s going on.”

  Eva thought for a moment. Finally she agreed, “I suppose you’re right.”

  A horn sounded outside of the building. Carl and Eva stood still to listen.

  “Run,” said Agriculture. “I submitted my report about the tofu to Government. She knows that
you are here. Run.”

  “What? Why are they chasing us?”

  “I do not know. But you better run. If you continue north, there is a government building where you may find more answers. I do not have the answers that you seek. If you wait here, Government will hurt you. Run. They are not far. Run. NOW.” The urgency in Agriculture’s voice escalated.

  Carl and Eva stepped towards the door. Eva looked back. “Thank you for helping us.”

  “You are welcome. Now run. Fast.”

  Carl grabbed Eva’s arm to pull her away. Outside, deafening horns blared all around the farm. A harsher version of Agriculture’s voice cut through the horns, “Carl Winston. Eva Thompson. You are under arrest and your capture is inevitable.”

  “They haven’t caught us yet,” Eva said, as they darted towards the north side of the valley, heading for a hill that they knew would be difficult to climb. In the distance, the familiar sound of a hovercraft hummed. The hum was joined by something they weren’t familiar with – some kind of roar that slowly, but distinctly, became louder.

  Finally at the northern hill, Carl and Eva began their climb. Carl looked back to see two dots creeping along the ground, descending the south hill. Over top, two hovercrafts moved with them.

  The horns cut out and the voice repeated, “Carl Winston. Eva Thompson. You are under arrest and your capture is inevitable. Stop running.”

  “Like hell,” Carl called back, moving faster up the hill with Eva next to him. Carl missed a step and slid a few feet down the slope, lucky to catch a ridge so as to not lose all of his progress. Panic set in. He pumped his legs and arms harder, clawing at the hill, but not moving fast enough.

  “Carl! Hurry, we need to get out of here.”

  “I’m trying.” He clawed his way back up to Eva. The vehicles sped half way across the valley, their engines roaring closer. Carl noticed the vehicles on the ground. The distinctive thick-tired motorcycle with glowing green rims. “Oh shit,” Carl called to Eva, “I think The Hunter’s here!”