New Alcatraz: Dark Time

by Pies, Grant

  As I looked around, I reasoned that, given enough time, the Ministry would send women here and a few people would survive and multiply. Factions would form and grow, and the natural learning curve for new prisoners would be reduced by the collective knowledge of all previous prisoners. The groups would fight and kill each other both out of hatred and out of scarce supplies.

  War, hatred, bad intentions. All of these things existed before humans; they were tools that sat and waited for humans to exist and use them. They did not disappear when our species left this earth. War and fighting simply waited just as it did long ago. These things sat dormant like the sand dunes, the craggy mountains, and the gray dead forests here in New Alcatraz. The future inhabitants would pick up right where we left off.

  But, also given enough time, I thought that people would overcome all the hardships and the fighting. They would find less and less use for them and would find materials in New Alcatraz and develop new skills. Eventually, people would realize that it is better to collaborate and trade, and that the use of force to acquire things they want or need is uncertain and tiresome; that a system of voluntary trade is preferable.

  This may take decades or centuries, but I was sure that it would occur. All developed nations learned to trade and cooperate instead of ripping belongings from another person’s hand. This would happen, and once it did, people would devote the time they once spent fighting toward other pursuits.

  From what I’d seen of New Alcatraz in 5065 it was hard to fully visualize, but I could see people following creative pursuits. They would sculpt, paint, or draw, tell jokes and stories. They would look up at the stars and wonder what was beyond them. They would grow and expand way beyond what used to be Denver and would sail across the newly shaped oceans. They would also dig in the dirt and find remnants of our past lives.

  Sometime in the future, after society regains its footing, people would finally find and explore this facility, and discover the bones of Nolan and of Deslin, crushed beneath a mass of rubble. Maybe some scientist would even find Gaines soaked into the cold cement floor as part of their investigations into the origin of everyone on earth. This place, I thought, might be recognized for what it was, the origin of humanities second wind. They would find the large room that I now stood in and see a stage surrounded by pistons.

  But they wouldn’t find Red or Ellis. And they wouldn’t find me. I followed Ellis’ instructions and dialed in the year 2070 and the month and the day. I dialed in the location; Phoenix, Arizona. The pistons started to move up and down and the lights flickered as power was pulled from the rest of the facility toward the device.

  The pistons moved faster and faster, and the walls vibrated. I stood on the center of the large stage and prepared myself to return to a time that I almost forgot during my short stay in the future. I closed my eyes and listened to the hum of the pistons around me. I felt the air become moister and warmer, and my heart raced. I felt the nanobots inside of me preparing for a battle.

  My surroundings flashed between the large dark room to a modern society. Each flash lasted longer and longer, and I breathed in and held my breath. Finally, I was back. I stood in the middle of a back alley somewhere in my own city. I opened my mouth and exhaled the air from the future for the last time.

  UNIT 5987D V.

  FEDERATED NORTH AMERICA

  CASE NO. 2070FN99823

  Bailiff: All rise!

  Court: Thank you. You may all be seated. We are back. Is each side ready for closing arguments?

  Counselor Powell: Yes, your honor.

  Prosecutor Klipton: Yes, your honor.

  Court: Okay, prosecutor you are up.

  (Prosecution’s Closing Argument)

  Prosecutor Klipton: Thank you. May it please the court, opposing counsel, and members of the jury? First, I would like to thank all of you for your service. As a citizen of the Federated North American Territory, this is the highest service a civilian can perform within our judicial system. You should all be very proud of your service here for the last two days.

  The defendant is charged with three very serious offenses. The court will summarize the components of each offense, and explain exactly what we must prove in order for you to return a verdict of guilty. I am certain the North American government has met its burden of proof.

  First, defendant is charged with unauthorized use of technological components. I don’t claim to know what Counselor Powell will say, but I would suspect that even he will admit that the Defendant is guilty of this offense. With the defendant’s testimony alone, we have shown he is guilty. You heard the defendant admit that he was in possession of components from six different android units. You also heard the testimony of the Technology Development Agents that seized the components from defendant.

  Next, you heard the defendant admit, he doesn’t deny this, that he was attempting to reverse engineer these android units. Yesterday you heard the vice president of manufacturing at Wayfield Industries, Mr. Hall. He testified that the Delta Model is meant for companionship, general employment, and housework. This is a far cry from reverse engineering and android DNA extraction. And of course, he is not authorized to use the androids for anything other than their intended purpose. The Ministry is very selective with who they authorize for such things, and to my knowledge they have especially never authorized an android unit to own, much less, study android technology.

  Before I move on, I would like to remind the jurors of the purpose of the ban on unauthorized use of technological components. The Ministry of Science passed the Technology Development Act for good reason. The laws are in place for the safety of the North American citizens. It is best if advanced technologies are not in the hands of untrained people, or, in this case, an android.

  We don’t allow every citizen to own a nuclear bomb, or its various components, for the same reason. It is for our own good. It does not take much imagination to foresee what would happen if everyone was allowed to develop their own individual power sources, their own race of androids, or, God forbid, their own time machine.

  As jurors, you are the last line of defense against those who wish to develop their own technology. Those that want to circumvent the laws of the Federated Government for their own personal gain are a threat to everyone’s security. They seek to unravel the fabric of our society. I ask you to protect our society and return a guilty verdict against Unit 5987D.

  Next, the defendant was charged with defrauding an authorized technological company. For this offense we must show that the defendant sought to permanently deprive the victim, in this case Wayfield Industries, of protected property over the course of multiple events. A single event would only amount to theft, but multiple events are a pattern. A scheme equals fraud. The defendant was in possession of parts from six different android units. Six. You heard the testimony of Wayfield’s records custodian. He testified that they had six Delta Model units stolen from their facilities. Not five. Not seven. But six units stolen. It is no coincidence that the defendant had precisely six units in his possession.

  The defense will have you believe that the defendant came by each of his six units in a legitimate way, while a completely different person stole six separate android units from Wayfield Industries. I submit to you that the more logical conclusion is the obvious one. Unit 5987D stole the six units from Wayfield Industries. You as jurors are permitted to, and should, use your common sense. You can weigh the evidence, but also ask what makes sense in this case.

  Neither the Defendant nor his attorney produced a bill of sale, a bill of transfer, a reclamation ticket from the recycling barge, not a holographic statement, not even a note scribbled on a bar napkin that documented the transfer of one, let alone six, of the androids found in the defendant’s possession at the time of his arrest.

  Last, and most importantly, the defendant is charged with the murder of Walter Pierson, a human. You heard testimony that Pierson was ill. Pierson was prescribed medicine to help relieve his pain and fight
any infection he may have had. You heard defendant’s testimony that he was the one in charge of giving Pierson his medication. You also heard defendant testify that, at the time of his death, all four bottles of Pierson’s medications were full. Not one pill was given to Pierson. Not one milligram of Trivexis, Lexipril, Eloxazole, or Zalcan was taken from those bottles.

  This alone is not entirely damning for the defendant. But combine defendant’s neglect with the fact that he alone benefitted from Pierson’s death, and defendant’s guilt becomes clearer. Unit 5987D became interested in his own unit’s composition. He admits that.

  Over the years he disassembled six separate android units. With each unit the defendant deconstructed in secret, he found more questions than he answered. With each unit he needed another, and another after that. Disassembly of the android power source led to questions of its sensory system. Disassembly of the sensory system led to questions of the android’s memory retention capabilities. So on and so forth. Eventually, the defendant’s obsession grew to the point that he thought he contained human DNA, and he believed that the DNA inside of him could lead to where he came from.

  He began his tests on his owner, Mr. Pierson. He had total access to his ailing owner, and he took advantage of him. Instead of taking care of Pierson, Unit 5987D took blood samples, skin samples, and hair samples from Pierson. He reached a point in his experiments where he believed he needed entire organs from Pierson. Organs that the victim needed to live. He thought he needed Pierson’s spleen, liver, and brain, and he intended to access those organs no matter what. While Mr. Pierson grew weaker, lost weight, and his body continued to attack itself from the inside out, the Defendant was already thinking about what organs to rip out of his owner’s body.

  The defendant admits that he needed those organs for his experiments. You heard about him withholding Pierson’s medications. You also heard from the coroner’s report that they could not conclusively tell whether the organs were removed before or after Pierson’s death. We know the defendant removed the organs from Pierson, but we are not sure if he even waited until he was dead to begin his extractions.

  The logical conclusion is right in front of us. An android became obsessed with his absurd belief that he was partially human. He was obsessed with learning whose DNA he believed was inside of him, which led to him murdering his owner in order to run medical experiments on human organs.

  I ask you to return the only verdict that makes sense in this case. That is a guilty verdict for all three counts. Thank you.

  Court: Counselor Powell…

  CHAPTER 71

  2069

  ASHTON, IDAHO

  After his last jump and his last exhale of future air. After the Ministry debriefed Ellis for the last time, and they injected his body with one more dose of thick hot nanobot cells, just for good measure, they sent him on his way. Ellis drove to Ashton alone, and the thought of a reunion with Emery pulled him toward the vacant town.

  Oddly, he actually looked forward to seeing Beckett again as well. He sped down the highway, watching his mirrors all the way. He packed only one change of clothes, cash, an apple, and a bag of almonds, leaving his phone behind to prevent anyone from tracking him.

  The further he drove from Denver, the less congested the roads became. Eventually he was the only car on the highway. Rusted signs pointed the way to Ashton. He left Denver at night, so by the time he arrived in Ashton, the sun was barely above the horizon.

  Long shadows stretched out from the empty benches lining the streets. He parked at the outskirt of the town and walked toward the orphanage. The pavement still cool from the night before. The dead traffic lights hung over the streets on wires. Ashton was like the memory of a city that was fading from a person’s mind.

  After a few wrong turns Ellis found St. Anthony’s Orphanage, and walked through the door. The single exposed light bulb cast harsh shadows against the wall. At the bottom of the stairs he walked across the large room with bunk beds that lined the walls. Ellis assumed that unwanted orphans at some point had occupied these beds. Or at some point would occupy these beds.

  He knocked on the door on the opposite wall in the room. The sound of his fist falling on the door echoed throughout the room, and the sound reverberated on the other side of the door. He knocked again, this time slightly louder and heard a deadbolt twisting inside the door. It opened and white light spilled over the entire room.

  Beckett stood in the doorway, a large smile reached across his face. His blonde hair looked almost dark against the bright light behind him. He chuckled and walked towards Ellis with his arms open. He grabbed Ellis, wrapping his arms around him, and lifting him off the ground. Ellis’ arms were trapped at his sides, but he smiled at Beckett’s warm welcome.

  “I am glad you made it here,” Beckett told him. “You are just in time. We were waiting for you.” Beckett set Ellis down and led him through the door to the sterile labs.

  “We know roughly how far into the future the Ministry had us jump. Somewhere after the year five thousand.” Beckett talked as he walked briskly through the connected labs; most were empty, but the lights were still on.

  “They debriefed me after I jumped to the year forty-three sixty-five. Buenos Aires was fucked long before that. It was cratered, like the city was swallowed by a volcano.” Beckett walked in front of Ellis, glancing back infrequently. Most of his words were propelled forward and only drifted behind him towards Ellis. Each lab was only four or five of long strides wide with a door on each side.

  “Steam billowed out of the ground. Geysers. It had to be about one hundred and ten degrees there at least.” Beckett looked back at Ellis and sensed puzzlement in his face. “Or forty degrees Celsius. Sorry.” Beckett corrected himself sarcastically and flung his arms in the air in frustration.

  “The ground was soft, but rocky at the same time. Like pliable or melted plastic. If those stupid devices the Ministry gave us actually measured the air quality, it would have told me to get the fuck out of there hundreds of years ago!” Beckett laughed at his own joke.

  By now they had gone through five different labs. Beckett stopped and entered a door on their left. It was a door that Ellis hadn’t noticed the first time he walked through the long corridor of connected laboratories. Beckett stepped into a room about three times larger than the other labs.

  In the middle of the lab was a room blocked off in all glass; isolated and quarantined. In the middle of the glass room was an operating table with a body lying on it. Three doctors and two nurses stood around the body, while outside of the glass walls more observers stood and pointed, like guests at a zoo.

  Beckett walked up to the glass and waved Ellis over. The room was lit in a white light, with even more lights positioned directly above the body on the operating table. Despite the strong lights, the room managed to stay cold. Ellis almost immediately started to shiver.

  Ellis approached the glass, and he recognized one of the doctors inside the glass room as the gray haired Dr. Adler. The person on the operating table was cut opened. Not just in one place, but in many. His chest was cut from the base of his throat to the bottom of his sternum, and a large metal device held his chest cavity open.

  Dr. Adler was elbow deep inside the man’s chest, while the others were crowded around the man’s face. His light blue scrubs that covered his arms were stained a bright red. Underneath the table was a mound of ice, and the doctors’ and nurses’ breaths puffed out from their face masks. No signs of breath billowed out of the man on the operating table. Only a slight hint of steam wafted out of the large hole in his chest.

  Beckett looked over and noticed Ellis’ pale face held an expression of disapproval and confusion.

  “Don’t worry Ellis, the patient volunteered for this. He was dying a painful death. Cancer. He wanted to help us.” Beckett spoke in a voice that he surely believed was calming, but only came across as disturbing.

  “Why?” Ellis asked. He knew that his single worded question c
ould apply to many aspects of what Beckett just said. But he figured he would let Beckett choose which way to take the question.

  “How old are you?” Beckett asked Ellis.

  “Thirty.” He replied in puzzlement.

  “What I mean is exactly how old are you? Down to the day and hour?” Beckett cocked his head at an angle and continued to speak in his version of a calming voice. Ellis responded only by shaking his head in bewilderment.

  “Consider all of the time you have spent in the future. Take the length of each jump and add it all into one block of time. How many jumps did you take?” Beckett rattled off numbers. “twenty-five? thirty?”

  “Maybe thirty-five,” Ellis said. Ellis looked away from Beckett and peered through the glass. Doctor Adler pulled out the man’s heart and placed it on a sterile metal tray next to the lifeless body. Once the heart was on the tray Dr. Adler stood as straight as he could and stretched his back.

  “Okay, thirty-five jumps,” Beckett continued, uninterested as to what was happening behind the glass. “On average let’s say you spent an hour in the future during each jump. That is thirty-five extra hours added on to your life!”

  Ellis, still watching the doctors in the glass room, said “So what? What does that matter?”

  “It matters because you are older than you think you are. To be precise you are about thirty-five hours older.” Beckett smiled, like he had just explained a clever riddle to Ellis. Beckett enjoyed having more information than Ellis. He enjoyed rationing out his explanations.

  Nurses moved the heart to the other end of the glass room and placed it inside a metal box. They pressed a series of buttons on the box until it shook. Seconds later, the nurses retrieved paper thin slices of the heart from the box and placed them in sterile labeled containers, then placed the containers on a metal rack.