by A I Knowles
“Alysssss”…
Gasping, I spin around. “Who’s there?” I demand, searching up and down the corridor. When nobody responds, I speed up my pace, trying to control the racing of my heart lest a Nandroid comes looking for me. Around the next gentle curve, I know I’ll find the door to the infirmary at the end of the hall. Windows to my right look in upon the exercise yard. This corridor is on the side opposite the one that takes us to our school cubicles.
“Alyss. Listen, Alyss.”
I don’t dare speak again. The Nandroids will question me, and I can’t take a chance of being labeled mentally ill. Reprogramming is an even worse fate than embedding. This much I know. And the medications they use for “mild” cases aren’t much better, if Linea is any indication. If it doesn’t work, a person can lose their chance of inhabiting an android body altogether. In the Society, this means...well, I’m not quite sure what it means, but I know it isn’t good.
“Alyss. The Society is not what it seems. You can’t let them put you through the Process. It’s not what they say.”
“Leave me alone!” I hiss as quietly as I can manage, cringing when the sound echoes back at me from the walls.
“I can’t, Alyss. Your life is at stake.”
Almost there. If I can just get out of this corridor, maybe the voice will leave.
“Alyss, you have to get away. Time is running out. If you want to live, you have to escape.”
I round the corner and find myself in front of the infirmary door. I could cry with relief when it slides open, revealing the sterile room with the four hospital beds and the Medbot standing at the far end. I run forward, fighting the urge to collapse to my knees as the door closes and the Medbot comes to life.
***
A buzzing sound startles me awake. My eyes fly open and I sit up to find myself lying in one of the infirmary beds. The Medbot is doing something at a console on the far side of the room.
Letting out a breath, I fall back against the pillows. Memory comes rushing in, and I recall the Medbot giving me a pill while assuring me that nightmares and headaches are a common occurrence in the weeks leading up to the Process.
I reach up to rub my eyes, and when I lower my hands, the Medbot is walking toward me. “How are you feeling?” The question issues from the unmoving metal mouth in a light female voice. While Nandroids are bipedal and roughly human in appearance, they are merely computers and don’t contain any human elements. The Medbots are a step further removed from humanity with their also bipedal but un-disguised metal frames.
“Better.”
“Good!” The chipper, human-sounding voice always sounds so strange coming from the metal face. The bot hands me a small bottle with more pills in it. “All of your test results are within expected ranges, so my diagnosis is a very normal case of pre-Process jitters. The pills will help you sleep, and take care of any further headaches. Come see me again if you have any other concerns.”
Like that’ll happen. Nodding, and relieved that I haven’t landed myself in counseling, or worse--reprogramming, I swing my legs down and grab my blanket from the foot of the bed as I hop to the floor. “Thank you. How long was I asleep?”
“Only an hour. You still have over an hour left to prepare yourself for the day, Alyss.”
“Okay.” I draw the blanket around my shoulders. I walk to the infirmary door, but as it hisses open, I hesitate and glance back over my shoulder.
“Is something wrong, Alyss?”
Swallowing, I shake my head firmly and face the empty hallway. “No, I’m fine.” Taking a deep breath through the lump in my throat, I step forward. When the door slides closed behind me, I fight back the panic that rises in my chest, praying the Nandroids are synced with the infirmary and will allow me my moment of distress as they chalk it up to nerves.
As soon as the Medbot can’t see me, I take off at a run and I don’t slow down until I stand in front of my room. When the glass slides aside to let me in, I duck around the receding edge and stride forward until I reach my bed.
Throwing myself onto the mattress, I bury my face in the pillows and sob.
“Alyss…”
“No!” I scream into the pillow, then pull it out from under my face and clamp it over my ears.
“Please, Alyss. You must listen to me.” When I realize the voice isn’t the slightest bit muffled by the addition of fabric and stuffing over my eardrums, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Sitting up, I fling the pillow across the room. It hits the desk and sends my art supplies scattering with a satisfying clatter.
“Alyss, please. Just listen. Today, during math hour, I will show you proof of my claims. You have to be there. Do you understand? This is my only chance. You’re not crazy, Alyss. Just do this one thing. I promise you’ll begin to understand.”
“Go away,” I hiss. “Leave me alone.”
The voice is fading. “I’ll show you...you’ll see...truth...not safe…” the words hiss with static as it dissipates into silence, I throw myself back on my bed and stare at the ceiling.
This is insane. I’m insane. I’m doomed. They’ll figure it out, and they’ll send me to reprogramming, and who knows what happens after that? Nobody ever comes back. At least the HAs come back. Neesha came back a couple times once she got her new body, even if she didn’t look like Neesha anymore. The more I worry at the problem in my head, the more I am determined to just hold myself together for two more months. If I can make it until then...well, the idea of being inside a machine is distasteful, but at least I know I’ll be alive, and with no vital signs for other androids to monitor to evaluate my mental state.
Feeling slightly calmer, I interlace my fingers and place my hands over my eyes. Anyway, how could someone get to me during math hour? I’ll be stuck in a tiny cubicle. If this voice is real, and they want to get to me, that seems like the worst possible time to do it. Just have to make it through school, and I’ll be good. Just have to ignore the voice, pretend it doesn’t exist. Gotta make it to the Process, and I’ll be fine.
Though I’ll never fully reassure myself, it’s the best I can do for now. I push myself upright. Just as I do this, the computer buzzes my wake-up alarm, and the announcement of the day pops up black against white on the bright screen, next to a faded-out image of a woman’s face.
Today we celebrate the 23rd anniversary of The Society’s inception.
23 models of ever-improving android bodies to grant our citizens eternal health and life.
Over two decades of a land without disease, without poverty, without hunger.
Continual improvement to customization and repair options on android bodies.
Further refinement to the embedding process, creating a safer and more comfortable transfer.
In celebration of this milestone, The Society is offering a voucher for a FREE face-alteration to five fortunate citizens. To register for this giveaway, simply send us a direct message via your HUD.
-begin second broadcast-
Throughout history, humanity has fought for the right to life and happiness on a world that always seemed determined to destroy it.
No more.
Two decades ago, when the HA program first began, it was thanks to one man who had a dream and made it a reality. This man, Dr. Shenshaw Ren, spent a lifetime seeking a solution that would enable humanity to live according to his vision. He foresaw a world without hunger, disease, and death. He imagined all people being happy and cared for, and he hoped for a day when poverty and hardship ceased to exist.
With the creation of the first Human Aspect android, Dr. Ren’s dream came to fruition. Although his first few models required more frequent maintenance and repair, he had discovered a way to preserve human minds for many times their normal lifespan, without depriving them of the experiences that come with the possession of a human body. Not only did his HA androids help in his war on hunger, he discovered once a human is placed inside an HA body, they are able to accomplish far more with their time withou
t the need for food and rest.
This meant far greater advances in science and electronics in far less time. The use of fuels diminished, as did the land needed for agriculture. Fields once depleted by the constant growing of crops now became beautiful gardens and recreational parks. Buildings once devoted to the production of food were converted into museums and repositories of knowledge.
Thus, The Society was born.
Dr. Ren is sadly no longer with us, but his legacy lives on in the HA623A. Our scientists work tirelessly, constantly striving to make each model of HA android more sophisticated and beautiful. The current model has reached an efficiency level Dr. Ren could only dream of.
Now, happiness is within reach for all. Hunger is a thing of the past. Those who can’t afford the cost of an HA android are given easy ways to earn one. 90% of our population now inhabits an android body. A new generation is growing up without any memory of a time when life was full of struggle and pain.
The Society has become so much more than a community. It has become a utopia: a paradise for all who reside within. Happiness, joy, pleasure...these have replaced fear, anger, and hatred. Diversity is fully embraced; gone are the days when race and gender were the stuff of war and conflict.
We thank you, Dr. Ren, for your contributions to The Society. May we always continue to grow and improve, and to keep your beautiful legacy alive.
-end broadcast-
Right. They get free face-alterations and I don’t even get to make a request for a specific breakfast food. Thanks for nothing, Dr. Ren. He managed to have a heart attack on the way to his Process and die before he ever got to see the mess his creation turned into. He only got to see the first few years, when embedding was a novelty and an option, not something expected or required.
After a quick glance at the screen and a sigh of irritation, I strip my clothes off and dump them in a pile on the bathroom floor, then step into the shower and turn the water all the way to “hot.” I keep turning the knob until it’s right on the verge of painful. I let the sound of rushing water fill my ears as I scrub soap into every pore and try to pretend I’m just a normal girl, not a teenager who is hearing voices in her head and on the verge of going completely crazy.
***
At breakfast, I pick at my food. Linea nudges me and I glance up at her, then shrug in response to her questioning glance. There’s concern in her dark eyes, but we both know we can’t talk about what’s going on in my head. The implants, the same ones which continually report our vitals to the androids...they’re always listening. Even if the implants managed to miss something, there are cameras hidden in every room. In The Society’s compound, there’s no such thing as privacy.
I just shake my head and turn back to the gray lump of oatmeal in my bowl. After I manage to force down a few more bites, the bell rings and my stomach tightens in anxiety. Almost time for that demonstration the voice promised. Along with the other girls, I rise from the bench and return my tray to its niche. Then it is time to follow the rest of them across the mess hall and toward the dark archway that marks the entrance to the corridor. Hopefully they’ll chalk my lack of appetite up to pre-Process nerves and leave me alone. At this point I don’t care enough to make myself finish the food.
We walk beneath the arch, and I blink as my eyes adjust to the dimmer light. Our little caravan marches around the bend and squints again in the sunlight that spills in through the windows. The Vacbot is out there again, but it doesn’t have a hope of keeping up with the leaves which now thickly litter the concrete. As we walk past, I watch the little bot struggle to keep ahead of its rapidly accumulating work, and I feel a sudden sense of kinship with a being of metal and plastic. Shuddering at the thought, I turn my eyes forward and hurry to keep up with the other girls. When we reach the school cubicles, I nod to Linea, who stares at me with worry in her eyes as I step through the doorway.
The door hisses closed, and for a split second I close my eyes and let my head fall back. I will the knot in my stomach to unclench, for my heart to slow down. There’s only so much that can be dismissed as pre-Process nerves.
I step to the chair and lower myself into it as the screen chimes and lights up.
“Good morning, Alyss.” Teacher’s voice fills the cubicle.
Rocking the chair back on two legs, I pick up the stylus. “Good morning, Teacher.”
Equations fill the screen. “Please begin.”
The knot in my stomach tightens sharply, and I fight to keep my breathing even.
“Is there a problem, Alyss?”
I shake my head. “No, Teacher.” I use the stylus to scribble out my work on the desk top, which functions as a sort of non-lit screen. Tapping the surface to erase it, I type in my answer on the keyboard, then repeat ad nauseum.
I’m looking down at the desktop when something flickers at the edge of my vision. I glance up, but the screen looks normal. Nobody else is in the room with me. Shaking off the feeling of dread, I force myself to return to my work.
Bzzt. The buzzing noise fills the cubicle for the briefest of seconds, and I gasp when I look up at the screen to find it no longer filled with equations. Instead, it holds what appears to be an overhead view of our compound. I can see the circle which surrounds the square of the excercise yard, and the protuberance of the foyer and reception area on the front.
Swallowing, I glance around the room. This is it. This is the moment the voice spoke of. It’s really happening.
“Teacher?” My voice quavers, and there is no response. The scene of the Compound flickers, as if the sender is struggling to maintain the connection.
“I don’t have long.” The voice issues from the same invisible speakers Teacher uses. “Alyss, listen to me. What do you see?”
“I…they’ll hear me.”
“No they won’t. I’ve temporarily disabled the cameras and your implant. As far as they know, nothing has changed. Now answer me. What do you see?”
“Um, I see the Compound.”
“What else?”
Forcing back my trepidation, I let my chair fall onto all four feet and look closer at the image. I’ve seen schematics of the Compound. Even if I hadn’t, my senses of distance and direction would be enough to give me a good idea of the layout. Beyond the outer walls stand an electrified fence, the purpose of which I’ve never understood. But something is different about this image.
“I...green. I see green.” It’s true. Bright green grass, and darker green that’s probably tree tops, surrounds the Compound. There are splashes of color that may even be flowers. The only gray I see is the Compound itself. There’s grass touching the walls. Grass just a few feet from where I walk the corridors every day. This can’t be right. I can’t have lived my entire life a few feet from so much green and never known it existed.
The image flickers again. “Yes, Alyss.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Alyss, this is a live image of your compound. The world is not as you have been told. There is no desolation, and there’s certainly no worldwide wasteland.”
I scrub my face with my hands. I’m confused to the point of being numb. Part of me screams that it’s all lies, but a deeper part desperately wants to believe. “Please, just tell me what you want.”
The screen flickers again, and static buzzes briefly. “I have to go soon. They’ve found me. Alyss, listen. It’s all a lie. They aren’t putting human minds into android bodies. When you turn eighteen, they’re going to scan your brain, and program an android to act like you. But you, Alyss...you’re going to die.”
“What? That’s absurd.” I laugh without humor.
“Do you really think it’s possible to contain a human soul inside a construct of wires and electronics? Dear God, tell me I didn’t birth a child so stupid.”
I freeze. No, I must have misheard. I shake my head, trying to wake myself up...break out of this trance...escape whatever nightmare I’m trapped in. “My mother is dead.”
The voi
ce sighs, and the volume wavers. “Damn it. Alyss, I’ve got to go. Please, you have to find a way out.” Emotion creeps into the voice, and it breaks. “I don’t want to see you die, Alyss. I can’t. I’ve already lost you once. Please, find a way out. I’ll do everything I can to help you, but I can’t do this alone. You have to fight, Alyss. Escape.” The static grows louder, and the voice is fading away. “Escape...lies...Alyss...I love you…”
Frozen in horror, I stare at the screen as the image of the Compound flickers away, to be replaced with the math equations.
