Damnation

by Ken Barrett

  “Liam? Is that you?” Keith was standing at the bottom of the ramp.

  Liam spun about and raced back up, passing levels seven and six in a blur. Where should he go? He couldn’t lead Keith back to their apartments. He continued running up, floor after floor, until at last a plan occurred to him.

  Above level four there were only storage areas and the vestibule that led outside. What was unknown to his pursuers was that the Resistance had dug a shaft from level three that extended all the way down to level fifteen, with a stop at level ten along the way.

  At level one, he yanked open the inner vestibule door and ran by the charred bodies of those that refused to follow Adar’s Burning Path, then shoved the outer hatch open. With his diversion complete, he dashed back down the ramps to level three. Angry voices echoed in the distance as he slipped through stacks of crates and found the secret entrance to the escape route and went inside.

  The hidden shaft was roughly hewn and extremely steep, and he climbed down as if he were descending a ladder. He waited a moment, listening to be certain that his pretense of escaping outside was believed. Shouts echoed from beyond the warehouse, then, at last, he heard barked orders for search parties to be sent outside, and smiled.

  *****

  Liam tapped on Rose’s apartment door, and seconds later she let him in. “That was more trouble than I hoped,” he whispered.

  “Are you ok? Did anyone see you?” His sister had changed out of her olive-colored military uniform into the dark brown garments worn by the mountain people.

  “You changed your clothes.”

  “You have no idea how sick I was of those nasty green things,” she replied. “We’ll also blend in better with the Resistance this way. I laid out a new outfit on your bed while you were gone. But come on, tell me what happened.”

  He sighed. “I had to kill a maintenance guy that saw me working on the radio. He would’ve told someone what I did, and we would’ve lost our chance to listen in on what’s going on up there.”

  “I’m sorry,” she replied. “That must have been hard.”

  “No, it was too easy, and that bothers me.” He sighed. “Then, after I hid the body, Keith saw me.”

  “Oh no!” Her eyes grew wide. “Did you, I mean is he… dead too?”

  “No, he’s fine. I ran all the way to the top of the shelter and made it look like I went outside, then went back to level three and took the shaft dug by the Resistance down to level ten, and from there I snuck back down here.”

  Rose nodded. “Good, they’ll think that you came in for some reason, maybe to get food, then escaped outside and will send search parties out to get you.”

  “That’s the idea,” he replied. “They’ll also lock the outer hatches and put guards in the cafeterias. Their focus will be up toward the surface, rather than down here, where they might find us.”

  “That’ll work,” she said. “Can we set up a receiver in the workshop on level fifteen so Roxi and the Resistance can listen in on what’s going on up above?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  *****

  They quietly eased through the tumble of granite boulders that blocked the ramp leading down to level fifteen. There were a few people about, but with their heads held low and wearing their new dark brown uniforms, no one recognized them. They walked confidently by the power generator and along the row of storage rooms, then unlocked their workshop door and slipped inside.

  “What are all these isolation beds for?” Rose frowned as she stared at the five tables that could be used to assemble an android.

  “It’s pretty obvious; Roxi’s going ahead with her plan to map a human brain and build an android duplicate.” He went to his workbench and began assembling the radio receiver.

  “I thought we convinced her not to,” his sister said.

  “It doesn’t look that way to me,” he replied while working.

  “You’re no help,” she muttered. “Five beds; I wonder who they’re for.”

  “Probably no one for now,” he answered. “She doesn’t know if Lucy Galen’s method will even work, so Roxi has to do a lot of tests before trying it out on someone.”

  I hope you’re right,” she said. “And what about Lucy? The inventor of true artificial intelligence has the same name as your space probe, that’s just too weird to be a coincidence.”

  “Yeah, that’s a puzzle.” The door abruptly opened, and Liam quickly turned.

  “Oh! This is a pleasant surprise,” Roxi said, then closed the door behind her. “How are your upgrades performing?”

  “They were a little distracting at first,” Liam answered. “But we’re fine now.”

  “Your senses were probably overwhelmed,” the older woman said.

  He hadn’t noticed before, but her hair had turned almost completely white. Perhaps fear of death and the desire to be young again were strong motivations for her.

  “So, you’re going to start building more androids?” Rose asked.

  “It’s just research,” Roxi answered. “A lot of testing needs to be done before I consider going further.”

  “Huh,” his sister grunted.

  “I put a bug on the radio in the Command Center,” Liam said, hoping to diffuse the disagreement between the two women. “I’ll get it set up so you can hear what they’re planning.”

  “Oh! That’s good.” Roxi smiled as she went to the workbench to help with the installation.

  “Why five?” Rose wasn’t letting go of her objections.

  Roxi reluctantly turned away from her work. “We need a way-out Rose. The Scarred Faithful Army is on the way, and if we’re discovered, our defenses down here won’t hold them back. We’ll be captured and either burned to death or thrown outside where we have no chance of survival. I’m just looking for a way that some of us might live”

  “As androids like us?” Rose asked. “I don’t think you understand the consequences that go with this kind of life.”

  “I only have time to build a few, but maybe if they work with you guys, we can stop the army.”

  “No,” Liam stated. “I want no part of wholesale murder and destruction.”

  “You’d have us all die?” Roxi’s cheeks flushed.

  “That’s your choice,” his sister responded. “You could join their cult without really believing in it.”

  “Getting a brand is a lot easier to live with than murder,” Liam added. “And we’re not talking about one, two, or ten people, are we? You’re asking Rose and me to kill hundreds, maybe even thousands. I don’t think we can live with that.”

  “So, you would let your friends die to save strangers?” Roxi asked.

  “We would do whatever is necessary to save our real friends, like you, Keith, Denise, Tiger, Alice, and her family.” Rose stepped away from the beds to face the older woman. “But do you remember how the rest of these people treated us? They hate us because of what we’re made of! After fixing the vents, they locked us outside and nearly killed us. Then they poked us with cattle prods and treated us like slaves. Why should we make any sacrifice for them?”

  “War isn’t your only path forward,” Liam stated. “Join their cult, then work from within to find a way out.”

  “Adar’s cult is based on intolerance and hatred,” Roxi said. “The trials have already started; they torture and murder anyone that disagrees with them. We simply cannot let this disease spread.”

  “Nothing is forever,” Liam countered. “All organized systems fail; which is why the peaceful views of the mountain people will prevail. Their beliefs are based on acceptance and tranquility, and most don’t mind a bit if you believe something different than they do.”

  “Unless you’re an android,” Roxi stated.

  “Yeah, that’s true,” he admitted. “But give them time, maybe they’ll change their minds.”

  “How can you know that?” Roxi asked.

  “We don’t,” Rose said. “All we can do is hope.”

  “It’s too
late anyway,” Roxi conceded. “I’ve got months, maybe years of research ahead of me, and the Scarred Faithful Army will be here within a few weeks.”

  *****

  Several days had passed. Liam and Rose had kept themselves hidden within their tiny apartments, but the boredom that grew from isolation was nearly unbearable. They spent most of their time running simulations of human interactions, hoping to find a path to a future that did not involve torture and mass murder. But even after trillions of calculations, nothing was found; there seemed to be no clean way forward.

  Eating was no longer necessary, their batteries provided more than enough energy to maintain their systems, but they missed the camaraderie of taking meals with their friends. Finally, early one morning as he ran through another chain of simulated human interactions, Rose interrupted him with an elbow to the ribs.

  “Hey,” she said. “If I don’t take a break, I’ll go crazy, let’s get out of here for a little while.”

  “Where do you have in mind?”

  “The workshop,” she replied. “Maybe something interesting has come over the radio.”

  He nodded and stood up. “I could use a break too.”

  “I’ve not found any way to unravel the knot,” Rose said, referring to the chains of simulated human interactions.

  “Me either; it doesn’t matter which thread I follow; death always lies at the end. Adar’s Burning Path breeds intolerance and the slaughter of innocent nonbelievers, and eventually, their cult will turn inward and consume itself. Even if the Resistance fights back, war will follow. Both paths lead to extinction.”

  “There has to be a way to defeat the cult without destroying humanity, so we need to keep searching.” Rose sighed. “But I’m feeling pretty discouraged and need a change of scenery.”

  He shook his head while walking to the door. “And we can’t intervene directly since so many among the mountain tribes hate us. The safest path for us personally would be to just step back and watch humanity destroy itself, but that’s not something I’m willing to do.”

  Liam carefully opened the door and checked the hallway; the corridor was silent and empty. So far, no one had come looking for them, and he held tight to the hope that Keith had not reported seeing them. If that was so, then perhaps his fears were baseless, and their relationships with their partners would return to what they were. He remained cautious though, unwilling to invest too much of himself into what could easily turn out to be a fantasy.

  *****

  It was still early morning, so only a few were awake on level fifteen when Liam and Rose arrived. They hid behind the power generator and waited to be sure they wouldn’t be seen. Finally, with their heads lowered, they walked beneath the planting beds then unlocked their workshop door and slipped inside.

  “Oh! Liam and Rose; this is a surprise!” Roxi’s cheeks turned red.

  She was up to something. Liam glanced around and noticed a machine that he had not seen before. The device consisted of a comfortable looking chair with a ring-shaped headrest that was connected to a recording device. “You said that you didn’t have a machine that could map people’s memories, and yet, there it is.”

  “I lied because you two were so set against me,” Roxi confessed. “Please understand, we have to be prepared for the worst. I know you both think I shouldn’t make new androids...”

  “That’s not true,” Rose interrupted. “We’re against implanting someone’s memories in a duplicate being, then murdering the original.”

  “Murder? No! I’m trying to save them.” Roxi stepped away from the machine and found a seat near Liam’s workbench. “You don’t understand, all I’m doing is transferring their mind into a different body. They won’t die, in fact, they might live forever.”

  “How could you be certain that they’re the same person?” Rose asked.

  “They won’t be,” Liam added. “A different person with their memories is all you’ll get.”

  Roxi sighed and shook her head. “Arguing is pointless. You might be surprised at the number of people that want this procedure. Many, even among the tech fearing tribes, want a better body that will never get sick or old and feeble. They also want a way for at least some part of themselves to live on if Oxana’s test of faith kills them.”

  “What if it’s not really them that survives?” Rose asked.

  “It won’t matter,” Roxi muttered. “I’ve heard over the radio that the Scarred Faithful has left the Colorado River gorge and will be here soon. They’ll torture and murder us all, but at least with this technology, some part of ourselves will survive.”

  He saw Roxi’s point of view and nodded. “Yeah, ok. Have they put anyone from the Resistance on trial yet?”

  “No,” she answered. “So far, they’re just torturing and branding their own people. But later, after their army arrives, they’ll overrun us down here, and what they’re doing now will pale in comparison to what’s done to us.”

  “Are Keith and Denise in the Resistance?” Rose asked. “Will they be duplicated?”

  “I made an offer, but they refused,” Roxi answered. “Denise said that their best chance was to join the cult. They want to go with the flow and blend in; that’s what she told me.”

  Liam’s chest was tight with worry. Denise may not be his girlfriend anymore, but he still cared for her. Enduring the torture of branding just to stay alive was horrific; what had spurred her to make that choice? He was missing some vital information but was wary of what he would find if he looked too deeply.

  “How about Tiger and Alice?” Rose asked.

  “Alice doesn’t want her parents to know, but she and Tiger have both signed up for android bodies. They’re coming by tonight for me to map their memories. While they’re here I’ll tell them to keep detailed diaries just in case something bad happens.”

  “What about their android bodies?” he asked.

  “I’ve already started on them. They’ll look like fully-grown adults because I can’t leave them as teenagers forever,” she answered. “Once I have their memories transferred, I’ll complete the bodies then put them in hibernation mode. If we get through this mess somehow, they can choose what to do with their android forms later.”

  “You’ll still have to run the simulation engine to create a seed consciousness,” Liam stated. “That takes a while, do you have enough time?”

  “I can automate some of it,” Roxi responded. “But if the army breaks in here and destroys the place, everything will be lost.”

  Chapter 18: Betrayal

  “We shouldn’t visit Roxi so often,” Rose stated as they slipped through the rubble on their way up to level fourteen. It had been an interesting visit, but lingering was dangerous, and they needed to get back home. “If we keep coming down here, we’ll be seen sooner or later.”

  “I know, but I only had enough components for one receiver, and I was worried that Keith might have reported seeing us on level thirteen.” Liam touched his sister’s arm and brought her to a halt. Near the far western ramp, several workers were harvesting vegetables. After the fake cave in on level fifteen, food rationing was instated on the upper floors.

  “But the priests must believe they chased you outside when you were spotted near the Command Center, and they probably think I’m out there too,” she replied.

  “Maybe; I hope so anyway. But I still want to know beforehand if they’re going to come looking for us.”

  “Why don’t we just leave?” Rose whispered as they slipped behind the east side power generator and began the ascent that would take them home.

  “In my simulations, there are signs that staying longer and even getting caught and thrown out could lead to a better outcome.”

  “Outcome?”

  “Freedom from oppression,” he said. “And a chance for humanity to reach its full potential.”

  “And what would their full potential be?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” He stopped at the top of the ramp to listen. �
�It seems clear, let’s go.”

  “Maybe their destiny is to be subjugated,” she suggested.

  “No. There’s more to them than that. Their existence has meaning; I don’t know what it is, but it’s there, waiting for them.”

  “You sound so noble.” She looked over her shoulder and smiled as they walked along the hall toward their apartments. “And here I thought you just wanted to get out of your room because you were bored.”

  He chuckled. “Well, yeah, there is that too.”

  Rose smiled as she opened her apartment door. “Come in for a minute. I want to talk about what we learned today.”

  “I’m more worried about the invasion of the Scarred Faithful than I am of Roxi building more androids,” he said.

  Her room was in a moderate state of chaos as usual; the bed was sloppily made and her clothes either littered the corners of the floor or lay in crumpled piles on her shelves. On a table across the room, an ancient cloth map was spread out for examination.

  “The sabotage the Resistance is doing is an issue too.” She sat on the edge of her bed. “The violence is bound to escalate, and when the army arrives it will get a lot worse; when that happens, shouldn’t we help?”

  He sighed. “It’s tempting, but most of the people in the Resistance hate us and don’t want us around. We’d only be a distraction.”

  “But there are thousands in the Scarred Faithful Army. Our friends don’t stand a chance.”

  “I know, but it’s still not our fight.” He sat beside her on the bed. “We can’t just hand them their freedom and push them toward their destiny. They have to earn and discover those things on their own, otherwise, they’ll have no value.”

  “All our friends will be tortured, and a lot of them will probably die; can you live with that?”

  “No, I can’t,” he said. “But even with our help, they won’t be able to hold off the army for long. Their best chance is to join the cult, then escape later.”

  “Surrendering is never a good solution.” She stared at the table across the room. “Adar’s beliefs will spread like a plague, more than just our friends will be killed.”