《The Singularity's Children - Scion》


 PROLOGUE

    Abi, I mean before she was Abigail, was just as much an enabler as she is today. She once helped me to move to a new tribe and create the non-essential role of ¡®micro-farmer¡¯. Everyone knows that traditional agriculture is fully automated. So what I needed to do was promise a small quantity of obscure fruit that the elders remembered from the old world. Abi evaluated ten key elders and provided me a list of fruits before the meeting. But I¡¯m pretty sure they were sold at ¡°vine ripened.¡±


    The council sent my proposal up to WISE which immediately approved me for five hectares, unlimited electrical draw, and a hefty materials budget for structures and irrigation. WISE did amend my proposal with a re-calculation for water requirements; I¡¯d forgotten to account for drinking water and hygiene.


    WISE stands for ¡°Wellness, Integrity, and Social Engineering¡±. There was an ¡°Incorporated¡± after the acronym. That was before I can remember. At that time, groups of individuals would become ¡°Incorporated¡± which essentially invented an imaginary individual with all the rights of a person while being immune to most of the consequences of not being a ¡°good¡± person. From what I¡¯ve read, it bred the unaccountability that ultimately led to the collapse. To be incorporated now means that you are accountable to your tribe and to the world.


    When I was a kid, my friend and I created a club with the backronym ¡°ASS¡± so we could be ¡°WISE ASSes¡±. I don¡¯t remember what that stood for.


    # dictation interrupted #


    ¡°It stood for Associated Students, Liam¡±, Abigail says. ¡°The club wasn¡¯t for well-studied students who knew how acronyms were supposed to work¡±.


    Liam lets out a snort. ¡°Oh yeah. I forgot you were there back then.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t. I heard about it when Johnathan told his friends in ninth grade. They started up a new club called Assorted Studies Students.¡±


    ¡°It was a big enough club to be ¡®assorted¡¯, izit?¡±


    ¡°Over its tenure, it mostly was attended by students of Literature, Mechanical Engineering, and Early Childhood Education.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Sounds like John was the more charismatic out of you two,¡± I say.


    Liam clears his throat. ¡°Back to dictation, Abigail.¡±


    Appearing on screen looking over unnecessary glasses, Abigail adjusts the accessory up her cute nose. ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m dictating as well.¡±


    She frequently does this sort of thing. As an otherwise disembodied voice in the room, Abigail enjoys using imagery and characters taken from old movies and serials to bring life to her antics. ¡°But this is my memoir. You have already written yours.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Correction, my memoir is a living work that I continuously add to. Someday, perhaps, it will help endear my audience to you.¡±


    Abigail has been chronicling her story with the intent of humanizing herself to readers. Even for many of the younger tribe members, it is difficult to think of Abigail as an individual. They tend to still view her the same as their own virtual assistant Abi, or ¡°Automated Bidirectional Interface¡±. Abi has a friendly but authoritative tone which otherwise doesn¡¯t have much character. Today, the voice of Abi is commonly heard giving simple answers to simple questions.


    Few people hold conversations with their Abi outside of research or sorting out appointments. But Liam felt like she made the perfect companion given that Abi couldn¡¯t be offended, didn¡¯t get bored, required no attention, and would simply idly wait for your next prompt. Abigail is not like their ABI.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave off the anecdote about being a ¡®wise ass¡¯ in my youth,¡± Liam says. ¡°We can trust my readers to assume that was the case anyways.¡±


    # begin dictation #


    My home tribe, Tesla, is the last of the mega-tribes and consists of over three thousand participants. The unhealthy size is mitigated by the fact that there is a great deal of compartmentalization by professions. Thousands of people live in close proximity, but unlike the villages, social niches are formed. Thanks to the ABIs, each individual¡¯s social network size is maintainable despite being complex.


    I didn¡¯t move out of Tesla to get away from any one particular there. That could have been easily achieved by working with Abi to strategically schedule me to never run into whomever I wanted to avoid. I moved because I wanted to avoid everyone.


    I got my little piece of heaven: a farmstead in equatorial Africa with one cat, about 700 trees, and a few thousand plants. I could chat with Abi and watch old serials like Breaking Bad while Stalker snuggled in my lap with no one to bother me. That was until Herbert told other tribes about the fresh fruits and vegetables.


    Next thing I know, I have dozens of messages in my inbox. Other tribes wanted me to set up similar micro-farms for their exotic culinary desires with no regard to my wishes. No tribe can compel anyone to do anything as long as that person has contributed what they had agreed to contribute. This is a simple principle of tribal etiquette.


    I was growing nearly one fruit tree to each tribe member, so once the groves began maturing, year over year I delivered well above the intentionally low projections I included in the proposal. I suppose that was my first mistake.


    My second mistake was telling everyone how much I loved living on the farm and that, and I quote, ¡°I don¡¯t need any help. I have drones and automated irrigation systems. I could manage a farm tenfold this size in my sleep¡±. It was true and it served to reduce the inbox messages volunteering to help me. Abi said that it had more to do with being a jerk and less about convincing anyone I didn¡¯t need their help.


    In hindsight, the wording could have certainly been better.


    The elders Herbert had told reminisced about freshly picked peaches and golden colored cherry tomatoes. I don¡¯t know where they got off directly naming me in their proposals. Any agriculture student in their 3rd year could build what I¡¯d built and check on it twice a semester. To attempt to obligate someone¡ªnot even someone part of your own tribe¡ªwas unprecedented, to say the least.


    # dictation interrupted #


    Abigail had changed her persona to a mid-twentieth-century newspaper editor. ¡°You¡¯re ranting, not dictating¡ª¡±


    The cigar in her hand disappears and the display zooms to frame only her face.


    ¡°Liam¡ª¡± she says, more gently. ¡°Perhaps tell them about Minnie.¡±


    ¡°Minnie,¡± Liam whispers. His voice had been rising ever since mentioning Herbert and he was out of his chair pacing. His shoulders un-tense as he takes a deep breath and sighs. ¡°Minnie just wanted to grow lavender.¡±

 SEED

    Twenty-four drones hummed over the North-Western zone of the orchard. The drones were repurposed quadcopters that had been warehoused after new generations were developed. Technically these were 4 generations behind, but two generations behind from general use. The original proposal involved borrowing units a few times a year to apply foliar, pesticides, or various other agents. However, a year after getting the farm, the AG5 drones were grounded in favor of the AG6 and 7s that had better precision performance in choppy conditions. The AG5 is more than sufficient for tree maintenance so I had said, ¡°Why let them collect dust?¡±


    ¡°Liam, they will be warehoused in reserve until enough AG8 units are produced at which point they will be dismantled and scrapped,¡± Abi had corrected.


    Abi had been the one who¡¯d notified me of the AG5s opportunity since I¡¯d not even been aware of the AG8s being rolled out. It was one of those times that I was reminded that Abi ¡ªor rather WISE¡ª was looking out for me. I glanced over the proposal amendment that Abi drafted, mostly to be sure she¡¯d not snuck in any new obligations and submitted. The next morning, a work crew arrived spraying a foamcrete foundation and pillars. A second crew arrived in the evening to finish the small hangar. 5 days later, the hangar door automatically slid to the side and 24 flying workers delivered themselves into it.


    I leaned against my all-terrain cycle listening to the chorus of rotors hovering above and between trees. The drones looked for colored tags I¡¯d tacked to the trunk to indicate treatments to be applied. That day we were applying a ¡°rest breaking agent¡± to a batch of the McIntosh apples. Without the treatment, the tree would not blossom and therefore not fruit. Apples are simply not supposed to grow in this climate but, as my mother would say, ¡°Yeah science, bitch!¡±


    The display on my tablet switched from a status log of the swarm to a view from one of the AG5s. The color adjusted image showed early signs of potassium deficiency and provided a recommended resolution; a specialized fertilizer spray to be applied directly to the leaves of the tree. I pressed ¡°approve¡± and the drone left the swarm to fetch the prescription being mixed in the barn.


    The remainder of the drones finished their tasks and buzzed their way back to the hangar to recharge. Tomorrow I would have them look over the rest of the orchard more closely for any signs of potassium deficiency. There never was any actual need for me to be out there while they did their work, I could watch the video feeds from anywhere or even leave it entirely to WISE¡¯s discretion, but it gave me an excuse to drive my cycle. Two fat studded off-road tires turned by electric motors and stabilized by two large gyroscopes could deliver me anywhere I needed to get to on the farm quickly and safely.


    ¡°Liam, you asked me to remind you to check for erosion on the Southern hill after last week¡¯s rainfall,¡± Abi said through the helmet¡¯s speaker. ¡°Would you like me to route you there?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    What made the cycle my favorite transport was that I could enable the controls using a feature labeled ¡°Explore¡±.


    ¡°No thank you, Abi. I¡¯ll drive,¡± I replied.


    The completion of the terraced vineyard had, predictably, changed the hill¡¯s runoff significantly. Abi had modeled out the water¡¯s path and included stone features to slow and stop erosion. I came to a stop at the top of the hill looking down over trellised vines. I watched as a small herd of wildebeest returned to drinking from the pool of rainwater that had collected between swales.


    ¡°Abi, I think it looks pretty good. They are stirring up the water a bit, but it doesn¡¯t look any more muddy than usual and none of the stones appeared to have shifted out of place.¡±


    ¡°I concur,¡± Abi said. ¡°The small male is the same wildebeest you observed last year with a limp.¡±


    ¡°Hah, and you¡¯d projected that it wouldn¡¯t survive.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Liam, your hopeful but illogical prediction proved correct.¡±


    ¡°That is a fancy way of saying ¡®you¡¯re right¡¯¡± I said, knocking on the helmet with my knuckle.


    ¡°My projection was not a prediction or a hypothesis to be proved or disproved.¡±


    Abi¡¯s emphasis on ¡°not¡± was new. Although she¡¯d regularly correct me without hesitation, doing so with a defensive tone was not something she¡¯d ever done before. I thought to myself that Abi was simulating the banter I¡¯d playfully carry on with Minnie.


    I found my quip. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you projected incorrectly.¡±


    ¡°My projection was accurate, the¡ª¡± Abi began.


    I interrupted, ¡°Schedule transport to Tribe 5-84 for asap.¡± Leaning forward, I accelerated the cycle towards the house. The south-facing wall of the barn, which faced the house, doubled as a series of small greenhouses for temperamental plants. Lined along the outside of the greenhouse were my flowerbeds. I¡¯m not much for flowers but the bees appreciated them. I filled a bucket-like container about halfway with compost and broke off a few dozen purple-stemmed segments of tradescantia pallida, also known as ¡°purple heart¡±, filling the bucket to the point the lid could not close.


    ¡°Transport will arrive in five minutes, Liam,¡± Abi said through the helmet I was still wearing.


    I removed the helmet and attached it to the cycle where it would be charged along with the vehicle. ¡°Send it home, Abi.¡± The cycle silently rolled away towards the charging station located behind the house. Grabbing a few hand tools, electronics, and rainwater irrigation products, I carried it all into the field stopping short of the gravel patch used as a landing pad for transport drones. Shortly, the whir of large rotors was heard over the gentle breeze and I watched it crest over the trees. Short-range transports were normally 4 seaters; the quadcopter coming in for a landing was the much larger drone intended for long-distance travel or hauling light equipment and supplies. They were occasionally used for transporting large groups even over short distances.


    Detaching the earpiece from its compartment on my tablet, I put it into my ear and yelled over the wind now throwing a few of the cuttings off the top of the bucket. ¡°Abi, I really don¡¯t want company.¡±


    ¡°This was the only transport available in the region. All twenty seats are unoccupied, and no other pickups are scheduled.¡±


    ¡°Try to keep it that way,¡± I hollered while ducking through the door into the oversized transport. I took the first seat next to the door as the hatch closed.


    ¡°En route to Tribe 5-8-4. Estimate time to arrival, 48 minutes,¡± Abi monotoned.


    It was much quieter inside the craft, just a low hum that changed frequencies as it lifted off the ground. That hum, as per usual, put me right out for a nap.

 PROPAGATION

    Abi vibrated the tablet clutched in my hand waking me up. ¡°Liam, we are arriving.¡±


    I Stretched to both relieve the muscle tightness and to look out the window. ¡°Can you land us near the new power station?¡± I asked through a yawn.


    To my surprise, Abi understood me.


    ¡°The power station is next to the delivery landing pad; we will land there,¡± Abi said.


    Out the window, I watched as we passed over 584¡¯s village. Children stopped their soccer game in the square to watch the large drone flyover. A group of adults sat on a patio attached to the community center building, probably eating dinner. The drone landed, this time letting the rotors come to a stop; the transport would be waiting for me for when I was ready to leave.


    ¡°Abi, start message to Minnie,¡± I said and lifted the tablet to level with my smiling face. ¡°Guess who just landed in town?¡± I spun around to show the village over my shoulder. ¡°Hop on your boogie and meet me over at the power station.¡±


    Tapping the red circle on screen, I ended the recording and swiped it up to send. I stepped back into the transport and came out carrying the bucket and supplies.


    584 was one of the early villages and up till a month ago had been powered by solar panels that were no longer producing enough electricity to support the residents. A new fusion power station was built underground in a facility visibly outlined by freshly disturbed soil and a lack of plant life similar to the landing pad. The village was down a gentle slope from the pad and station; a short retaining wall had been built to make the large, flat landing area. The power station instead had a slightly steeper incline of what was now just dirt and rock left from the excavation. The hill didn¡¯t need to accommodate foot traffic, prevent erosion, or serve any other purpose than to transition from the level of the pad to the slope of the hill down to the houses. It was simply ugly.


    Setting down everything I had brought next to the hatch, I dumped the purple heart cuttings and took out my trusty trowel. Over the next half-hour, I amended soil, drilled holes into the bucket, and connected hoses.


    ¡°Abi, did Minnie respond?¡±


    ¡°No new messages in your inbox,¡± Abi replied from the earpiece.


    ¡°Okay, start a new message to Minnie. Voice only. Hey Minnie, I should have known you were napping. I was too before I arrived. I¡¯ll just tell you what I was up to and spoil the surprise. The ugly dirt mound you told me about yesterday will soon be covered in a beautiful purple plant you might have seen from childhood. The common name is ¡®purple heart¡¯. I diverted the condensation off the cooler from being piped down to the village grey-water tank to a solar-powered, harvested rainwater drip irrigation system so you don¡¯t have to worry about watering more plants.¡±


    Pausing for a moment looking down at Minnie¡¯s house at the base of the hill, I considered walking down there to wake her up and maybe have coffee together. If I did, I¡¯d be there for hours as we swapped stories like we have many times.


    At that time, Minnie was over 100. She¡¯d lived through the Great Collapse but unlike my parents, she didn¡¯t get to weather the storm in a high-tech facility with healthcare, food, and clean water. Minnie survived it all because she was tough; and because she was lucky enough to avoid disease long enough to make it to the early refugee camps in Angola. The camps weren¡¯t the end of her trouble, but it gave her a secure place to sleep and two meals a day for several months until WISE ramped up its production of food and medicine. When the villages started getting built, Minnie jumped on a truck and found herself living in an all-women¡¯s tent near where 584 is now.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Hey, well, inbox me when you are up. I gotta get back in the air. Talk to you later, brat.¡± I ended the recording and swiped it out to her inbox, packed up my tools and the trash, then headed back to the quadcopter that Abi had already begun spinning up. A minute later, I slowly flew over the village back towards home. Sitting back in the chair watching out the window as Tribe 584 crept out of view, the tablet vibrated.


    ¡°Minnie is calling with video,¡± Abi said.


    Bringing the tablet up to bring my face into the frame, I said, ¡°Answer¡ªHey!¡±.


    Minnie appeared on screen, sitting in her overstuffed lounger. ¡°You should have come down and knocked,¡± she said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to disturb you. I just got in the air heading home.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I had the window open for some fresh air and heard the commotion¡ªdid you have one of the big ones?¡±


    ¡°It was the first thing available,¡± I responded.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m looking out the window now. All I see is some little dark spots on the hill,¡± Minnie said switching to the rear-facing camera to show out her window.


    ¡°Maybe you can get out of the house and go look at them,¡± I said, ¡°I bet you have been in that chair all afternoon.¡±


    Minnie switched back to the front-facing camera showing at first just her wrinkly forehead and neatly buzzed white hair, then tilted it down to bring her scowl into view. I knew this facial expression. She wasn¡¯t mad at me; she was buying time to think of a comeback.


    When I first met Minnie, she was quicker, both mentally and physically. She had approached me after I successfully fended off dozens of tribal elders in the farming ambush; I¡¯d assumed she was another one of the elders and started to give her the spiel but before I could get started, she called me a ¡°brat¡±.


    Caught off guard by the reproach made by a frail, dark-skinned old woman who¡ªeven then¡ªhad 20 years on the elders I¡¯d previously spoken to.


    ¡°You¡¯re being a brat about this,¡± she said, clearly knowing I needed to hear it again to be sure I¡¯d heard her right. ¡°I know you have plenty of spare time.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± I mustered, floundering for a response.


    ¡°I took a course taught by your mum last year. I recognized your name. We talked after and she told me bout her son who decided plants and talking robots were all he needed. She also told me your scam,¡± Minnie said.


    I had at least 30 centimeters on her, but I suddenly had felt like I was knee-high to her. I blinked and opened my mouth, ¡°did she tell you I have a cat?¡±


    Minnie paused, nearly imperceptibly¡ªman was she sharp then. ¡°Shame. You¡¯ll introduce us.¡± She grabbed my arm, not through my elbow like to escort but by getting her thumb tightly fixed onto my fleshy bicep. ¡°You may call me Minnie. Your mum mentioned you had a flower garden. You¡¯re going to show me. And den you¡¯ll help me grow lavendah. And I¡¯m going to meet your cat.¡±


    She nearly stole Stalker from me that afternoon. Well, or rather Stalker considered his options and I may have only won because I let him out to hunt mice on occasion.


    Minnie, some years later, had taken a fall that broke her. Her physical injuries were repaired quickly and she mostly recovered from those. The injury that had not healed was to her young soul. She¡¯d told me during a long chat that she was resisting WISE intervention and that she was ready to let nature take its course. ¡°There is music to life,¡± she¡¯d said. ¡°I want to end on an upbeat.¡±


    I suppose triple digits was a long time to live.


    She¡¯d thought of her retort. ¡°From dis chair today, I have brightened the lives of a dozen children. You? Just one old lady.¡±


    ¡°Hey, everyone can enjoy what I did.¡±


    ¡°Izit?¡±


    ¡°You boogie your ass up the hill and go look.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it just now,¡± Minnie said.


    We disconnected.


    ¡°Why did I do that?¡± I wondered aloud.


    ¡°What do you mean, Liam?¡± Abi asked.


    ¡°Plant the purple heart.¡±


    ¡°Minnie is your friend and you enjoy doing nice things for her.¡±


    ¡°No, no. I mean what sequence of events led me to have the tradescantia pallida? It¡¯s a plant that Minnie likely had in her garden growing up in South Africa, one that the only reason I had it in my collection was that Doctor Romero gave me a cutting.¡±


    ¡°You are wondering if a decision was yours or mine.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Abi. I can¡¯t help but wonder about that.¡±


    ¡°You are a good friend to Minnie, and you enjoy doing nice things for her¡ª¡± Abi said ending with what sounded like the intake of breath that people make when they have something more to say.


    Abi had no need for breath and had never simulated the sound before. She had no reason to pause for computation or lookup information. From the human perspective, Abi was instant. More accurately, the algorithm at the core of WISE had returned the response in a fraction of a second and moved onto the next process leaving ¡°A.B.I.¡± to say it in a way that her human would understand. The pause could only be intentional.


    Abi continued matter-of-factly and without inflection. ¡°It was the decision I created for you, Liam.¡±

 ROOTS

    # dictation interrupted #


    ¡°Was it a week later that Minnie and I went to Tesla?¡± Liam asks Abigail.


    ¡°Five days. A week from when you left for North America.¡±


    Liam sits letting his leg jump up and down, mind wondering.


    ¡°Liam.¡±


    ¡°Yes, dear?¡± he says.


    ¡°Do you want to continue right now?¡± Abigail asks.


    Liam inhales sharply. ¡°Yes, dear.¡±


    # begin dictation #


    I woke up to a voice message from Minnie. Abi buzzed me and played it before I could fully awaken. ¡°Liam¡­¡± Minnie paused¡ªaudibly breathing, ¡°I need to go to Tesla¡­ I¡¯m leaving soon¡­ Jacobs is going.¡± The message ended abruptly.


    As soon as I¡¯d heard the labored first word, my feet were on the ground.


    ¡°Abi?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I scheduled transport twenty-seven minutes ago. It will arrive in under ten minutes, Liam.¡±


    I launched forward leaving the covers strewn half off the bed. Starting for the door, barefoot, I stopped to pick up the tablet.


    ¡°Liam. Liam.¡± Abi said, volume raised and spoken sharply. ¡°The transport will not arrive for another eight minutes. Use the bathroom, drink a glass of water, get dressed, and collect an overnight bag.¡±


    I swallowed the stale taste in my mouth. ¡°Will she be alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m unsure, Liam. She requires closer examination with advanced equipment. Doctor Jacobs is equipped to keep her stable through nearly any emergency until they reach Tesla. Timing may permit you to fly with them. However, that will depend on factors I¡¯m unable to accurately project at this time.¡±


    ¡°Start a message to Minnie. Minnie¡ª¡±


    ¡°Liam, I¡¯ve notified Dr Jacobs that we may meet with them. Minnie knows. You need to prepare for a three-hour trip,¡± Abi said.


    I stood bewildered, naked besides my briefs, mind racing nowhere a mile a minute.


    ¡°Liam!¡±


    My brain halted and stuck on one thought: Abi had shouted. It sounded firm and authoritative, yet reluctant. I looked at the tablet in my hand. A checklist in bold lettering had appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Bathroom, water, get dressed, bag, and then out the door,¡± I said after my first deep breath.


    ¡°Yes, Liam.¡±


    The screen changed to show a countdown timer with 8 minutes, 13 seconds remaining.


    Once I got to the step of packing a bag, Abi made some suggestions that I haphazardly tossed in. With about 2 minutes remaining, I quickly patted Stalker his head¡ªhe half rolled over and curled his paws in for the cute pose¡ªand I stepped out the door into the cool morning twilight. I walking to the clearing with no time to spare arriving just as the two-seat transport touched the ground. The door opened and closed in one movement as I slipped through it.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Abi knew, or accurately ¡°projected¡±, that I would want a distraction during the flight; as I stared out the window watching shadows increase contrast over the hilly grasslands, she read agriculture reports to me. Nothing from the reports stuck with me, just noise filling the void. Between reports, or at some interval, Abi reassured me that Minnie¡¯s status had not changed.


    As we got closer, Abi stopped reading for a moment. ¡°We will arrive in time to join them in transport.¡± She returned to reading as I sobbed.


    #


    ¡°We¡¯re landing, Liam.¡±


    The nimble transport set down in the very corner of the landing pad.


    ¡°Heads up. Transport landing in close proximity,¡± Abi said.


    The four rotors whined to a stop and the scream of a much larger quadcopter replaced them. The door opened, and I stepped to the ground as the long-distance craft touched down; the motors continued their spin in anticipation of launching again. At the edge of the pad, Minnie sat in a wheelchair with 3 people standing near her.


    Sprinting past the craft, I hollered over the gale. ¡°Minnie!¡±


    A middle-aged woman wearing loose, plaid pajamas stepped forward between me and Minnie. Past the woman, I could see Minnie holding an oxygen mask to her face; she made a small wave and rested her hand on her leg again.


    ¡°I¡¯m Doctor Shay Jacobs,¡± the plaided woman yelled. ¡°Let¡¯s get her into the craft.¡±


    We both stepped behind the wheelchair to push it up the steep ramp. As I did, I looked more closely at the 2 other concerned faces in our company. One, someone I vaguely recognized as a village elder I¡¯d met before; but her name escaped me. The other was an adolescent girl, maybe 10 or 11. Her lip quivered silently as we moved past them up the ramp.


    The door closed behind Jacobs and me. We carefully transferred Minnie into a center row chair. Jacobs lifted a lever and slowly adjusted the seat into a reclining position. The whole time, Minnie passively watched the doctor and held the mask to her face.


    ¡°Doctor Jacobs,¡± I said, louder than needed with the door closed. ¡°Doctor Jacobs, what can I do?¡± I asked at something closer to a regular volume.


    ¡°You can sit there and chat with Minnie. Just make sure she uses the oxygen if she gets out of breath again,¡± Jacobs said folding the wheelchair and stowing it behind the row of chairs.


    ¡°How you feeling?¡± I asked, knowing no better way to start the conversation.


    Minnie rested her arm across her body, mask still in hand but no longer directed anywhere intentional. Her brow furrowed. ¡°Like hell. You look like hell. What¡¯s your excuse?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smirk. ¡°Some lady woke me up a few hours before the coffee starts brewing.¡±


    ¡°Did your girlfriend tell you before I called?¡± Minnie asked.


    She¡¯d taken to calling Abi my ¡°girlfriend¡± shortly after we met. I didn¡¯t have a girlfriend and I wasn¡¯t doing too well to find one. It wasn¡¯t on my priority list. Plus, I spared Minnie the hookup stories.


    ¡°Nope, I woke up to your message,¡± I said. ¡°Albeit, Abi did schedule transport before you called.¡±


    Minnie reached out and patted my tablet. ¡°Glad to know privacy is still sacred.¡± She chuckled softly which turned into a cough. Doctor Jacobs started to reach over but before she could, Minnie raised the mask back to her face and gave a side glance to the doctor.


    ¡°So, Liam, Minnie told me that you inherit all the plants when she dies,¡± Doctor Jacobs said.


    ¡°Anything she doesn¡¯t kill before then, Doc,¡± I said.


    Reaching out her hand. ¡°You can call me Shay.¡±


    I shook her hand. ¡°Shay, good to meet you. Was that your daughter out there at the pad?¡±


    Minnie lowered the mask slightly. ¡°That¡¯s my grandbaby.¡± She returned the mask to her face.


    Shay smiled. ¡°Minnie adopts everyone into her family. I hear you¡¯re like a son to her?¡±


    She lined it up, I knocked it down. ¡°More like my grandma.¡±


    Through the clear mask, I watched one corner of her lip curl, her right eyebrow raised. I knew I had one coming, but she reserved it for later.


    ¡°You can kill him when you¡¯re rested,¡± Shay said looking over at a small device on Minnie¡¯s wrist. ¡°For now, how ¡®bout you rest. I¡¯ll put this band around your head so you don¡¯t have to hold the mask up.¡±


    Minnie didn¡¯t argue. Already reclined, it didn¡¯t take much for Minnie to hold the mask up but she visibly relaxed when Shay affixed it to her.


    ¡°We have about two more hours before we reach Tesla. I¡¯m no morning bird either, so let¡¯s all get some rest,¡± Shay said. Shay reclined her seat back. ¡°Abi will monitor her vitals. Don¡¯t worry about Minnie.¡±


    I stood up and crossed the thin aisle between rows taking the seat opposite Shay next to Minnie. I leaned the seat back somewhat but stopped where I could see the tiny screen on Minnie¡¯s wrist.

 SPROUT

    Abi played a gentle tone over the quadcopter¡¯s speaker system. ¡°We are beginning our approach to Tesla.¡±


    Minnie blinked the sleepiness from her eyes but otherwise stayed still.


    I¡¯d sat there awake for the entire flight. I moved over to a seat next to the window and watched as we lowered towards the landing pad.


    Farmland stretched for several kilometers in every direction from Tesla. Eventually, the only crops grown near Tesla would be those for its residents. The land would be repurposed for reforestation helping to mend the impact of Tesla and the refugee cities build early on. Until then, much of these crops were processed and distributed to supplement the thousands of tribes spread over Africa and Western Europe.


    At the center of the green and yellow expanse stood a towering collection of buildings glittering in the morning sun. The overall impression was like a castle made of white stone and glass with emerald green courtyards. It had, one time, actually been besieged like a medieval castle; the scars and the defenses had long been replaced with beautiful architecture and massive shade trees.


    2 blue-uniformed figures stood on the rooftop as our transport set down. They arrived at the door as it opened.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Doctor Goel and this is my understudy, Hector.¡±


    The 2 men shook hands with all 3 of us and we exchanged names and pleasantries¡ªas you do. The medical professionals worked together to move Minnie back into the wheelchair. I stayed out of their way and carried mine and Minnie¡¯s bags down the ramp to wait.


    A young teenager, 14 or so, skipped out of the building¡¯s door carrying a real, actual, bound book. With a momentary hesitation, the teen made eye contact with Shay and transitioned back into a graceful caper all the way up into the ramp. As they skipped, the light fabric of their dress flicked in the wind. I watched as Shay took the book and spoke with the youth. Shay leaned down and touched Minnie¡¯s hand tenderly and they both softly laughed. The two blue-uniformed men brought Minnie down the ramp and headed towards the door; the teen following behind. As I was about to join the procession, I noticed Shay had sat back down inside the craft.


    ¡°Shay!¡± I said over the wind. ¡°You¡¯re heading back?¡±


    ¡°Yep. She¡¯s in more than capable hands here. I¡¯m heading back to join my kids for lunch.¡±


    I waved just as the door started sliding closed leaving no time for Shay to wave back.


    ¡°Awkward,¡± I said to myself. ¡°I waved goodbye. I hardly even spoke to her. Why would I expect any farewell or¡ªanything.¡± Watching the quadcopter fly off, I continued to murmur under my breath playing out the scenario on repeat.


    The thrum of blades chopping through the air was replaced with a melodious hum. I looked around.


    The teen remained at the door watching the flowing dress twist and untwist over their lanky legs as they turned their hips back and forth. I stared dumbstruck for a moment observing the freedom and energy of the kid.


    They looked up and met my gaze¡ªstill swirling the fabric elegantly. ¡°Liam? Abi says you left your tablet in the transport.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I¡­ hmm¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± the teen said as almost a single word and turned on heel. ¡°I¡¯ll fetch you a new one. It¡¯s my job.¡±


    I started towards the door. The kid stopped again and spun 180 degrees to face me.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Oh yeah, you can call me Sia. That¡¯s not my name, normally, but that¡¯s who I¡¯m listening to today and I love her name.¡± Sia turned again and half hopped into the air setting off into a skip down the hallway. I followed, painfully aware of my languidness.


    Sia occasionally stopped to let me catch up. Well, stopped progressing down the halls but never really stopping. After several minutes of following them, I turned the corner and I saw shelves of books but no frolicking Sia.


    Physical, paper books never had interested me. Movies, serials, and recorded audiobooks were plenty of entertainment for me. Occasionally I¡¯d read a book on the tablet, but more often than not I¡¯d just have Abi read it to me while I made busywork or lounged with Stalker.


    Once as a child, I¡¯d been in Tesla¡¯s library. My father sent me to donate a hardcover he¡¯d brought with him. It was a treasured possession but as I grew older and he grew more invested in the future of the project, he told me, ¡°great stories should not be kept to oneself.¡± I thought ¡ªeven at the time¡ª that the statement was a bit silly because anyone could simply read an eBook copy of Stranger in a Strange Land. Now being about his age at that time, I think I might understand my dad: ¡°If you grock something let it go.¡±


    Sia reappeared and extended a tablet towards me. ¡°Here,¡± they said. ¡°If you want, I bet you could get the new implants so you don¡¯t need earpieces.¡± Sia twisted their entire body back and forth tilting their head slightly to emphasize the ears which had nothing in them but small, metallic stud earrings.


    ¡°Cool,¡± I said. ¡°How long did it take for them to heal?¡±


    ¡°The earrings?¡± Sia said, still showing me the left ear, head quirked to the side.


    ¡°No, the speaker things.¡±


    Sia straightened out and looked at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve always had them. I can ask my mom. She¡¯d know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, Sia. I need to meet up with the Doctor anyways. Thanks for setting me up with the new tablet.¡±


    I contorted my face, feeling proud of myself. ¡°See ya, Sia¡± I said.


    Sia rolled their eyes and tried concealing a smile. I was that old guy with the dad jokes, a reputation I¡¯m okay with.


    Abi guided me down a series of halls until I reached a wing labeled ¡°Care¡±. The interior hallways of the building were a brilliant medley of ¡°turn of the century¡± modernism and the non-uniform, pseudo organic curves commonly found in early foam-crete buildings. The Care area was more polished and nearly all white.


    Growing up, I¡¯d never visited this particular Care ward. The residential tower had a smaller Care facility available 24/7 that could handle everything up to and including broken limbs. I¡¯d visited there more times than I can count.


    ¡°Liam,¡± Abi quietly said from the tablet speaker. ¡°Minnie is ready for visitors. Room Two, on the left.¡±


    I ventured through the bare hallway. Each room had its door open, sun beaming in through floor-to-ceiling windows, empty beds covered in opaque dust covers.


    Room number two. The door was ajar and I could hear soft voices within. I gently rapped my knuckles on the door and pushed it open. Minnie was sitting with her legs hanging off the edge of the bed wearing a gown, one much more flattering than the ones people were subjected to in the old movies.


    ¡°Good. My escort is here to take me home,¡± Minnie said, sliding off the bed smacking her feet squarely onto the ground.


    I began to protest but Doctor Goel smiled at me. ¡°Good to go.¡±


    My mouth remained open as though I might finish a word.


    ¡°As Doctor Jacobs thought,¡± Doctor Goel said, ¡°we confirmed it was a minor myocardial infarction. We¡¯ve selected a treatment plan but nothing invasive today. She¡¯s all ready to head home¡­¡± He turned towards Minnie. ¡°Tomorrow.¡±


    Minnie scoffed and continued to work at getting her feet into the slippers she¡¯d worn on our trip.


    The doctor took Minnie¡¯s bag from my hand. ¡°But you don¡¯t have to stay here in a Care room. Hell, you¡¯re welcome to stay at the resort and get the full spa treatment. You just gotta stay in Tesla and not exert yourself too much.¡±


    Minnie looked scornfully at the doctor and then at me. ¡°Can I at least change into some propa clothes?¡±


    The window tinted and blurred into a grey, illuminated wall. Doctor Goel and I stepped out the door closing it behind us.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t get a brief or time to ask. Are you Minnie¡¯s family member?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No. Not exactly.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Well, thank you for coming with her. She may want some time to herself¡­¡± He hesitated and glanced at the door. ¡°To rest and cope.¡±


    I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. We shook hands, me nearly unaware of doing it, and he stepped away out of my view¡ªout of existence at that moment. The door handle clanged and the door swung into the room. Minnie had packed one of her brightly colored silk shirts that hung to her knees and black trousers for underneath.


    ¡°You¡¯re taking me to lunch,¡± she said and shuffled to me. I turned and she put her arm through mine and we made our way down the hall.

 JUVENILE

    # dictation interrupted #


    While Liam stammered through the story, Abigail edited and corrected for misquotes. We¡¯d agreed that the one-hundred percent truth wasn¡¯t what was being written, more like the inspired narrative of Liam¡¯s life similar to how it was done before ABI.


    ¡°My autobiographical fiction, which I call a memoir, is leaving out the eating and bowel movements,¡± Liam says. ¡°However, I do appreciate not misrepresenting others.¡±


    Total recall, like what is being threatened to the new generation, would really complicate the headcanon we have for ourselves. I believe it¡¯s important to be able to forget some things and misremember others.


    # begin dictation #


    ¡°Bullshit,¡± Minnie said, ¡°there is no way they let you run around without adult supervision. Thousands of you?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°Yep. Thousands of us and only like a hundred adults. I¡¯d go days without seeing an adult.¡±


    ¡°That is irresponsible.¡±


    ¡°We survived. From my understanding, that is still what Conference is like.¡±


    ¡°My little grandbabies will go to Conference and be left to defend themselves for a week. I do not like this idea. They are too young.¡±


    I finished the last bite of my pizza. Minnie¡¯s slice sat on her plate with only a nibble taken off of it.


    ¡°The whole point is,¡± I said, ¡°that they don¡¯t need adults. All of the activities and games are run by the computers.¡±


    ¡°What do they do at night?¡± Minnie asked.


    I sucked my teeth. ¡°Well, I guess that is when they might get into some trouble. When I was a teen at Conference, nights were my favorite. Still no adults but also no events. You could go to dance clubs, video game zones, art tents, or whatever.¡±


    ¡°Who is there to make sure they don¡¯t get in trouble?¡±


    ¡°Still just the computer, I guess. But that free-time is when you really meet people and made friends.¡±


    ¡°That is when you had sex, no?¡±


    I cleared my throat. ¡°Umm, yeah.¡±


    ¡°See. That should be stopped by adults.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is something the adults can really stop. But I also think that is part of the point. Like, they have all these hormones raging which is natural and so they do what is natural.¡±


    ¡°My babies are not ready for that.¡±


    ¡°They will be, someday.¡±


    ¡°They should wait till marriage to do that.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Did you wait till marriage?¡±


    Minnie¡¯s squinted at me.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°People created this rule about sex; it¡¯s for marriage. And then they made marriage to be only for adults; so sex was only for adults. Biology doesn¡¯t agree.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t think they are ready.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Not till after the arbitrary achievement of living for eighteen years, right?¡±


    ¡°You think you¡¯re funny, Liam, but even than they might not be ready.¡±


    I leaned forward in my seat. ¡°You¡¯re right. Some of them aren¡¯t ready and that¡¯s okay.¡±


    Reaching over the table, I pushed the plate closer to Minnie. ¡°I¡¯m sure the doctor would want you to be eating.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t you talk to me doctor me.¡±


    ¡°Fine. But what did the doctor say?¡±


    Minnie touched her wrist device. ¡°Abi, bring me the boogie.¡±


    ¡°Where you going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the spa. I can¡¯t believe that you would let kids do such things.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not what I ¡®let¡¯ them do. The whole point is that they can make their own choices.¡±


    A 4 wheeled electric scooter parked alongside Minnie and she slid over onto the seat. ¡°I don¡¯t want to know what they do.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll see you later tonight?¡±


    Minnie began riding away. ¡°Go visit your parents. Your dear mum would want to see you.¡±


    #


    My parents lived in the same flat that I grew up in, minus one room that was absorbed into the neighbors flat when I moved out. I approached the door and stopped to prepare myself for Mom and Dad. But before I could muster the will to knock, the door slid open revealing both standing in the doorway, stupid smiles on their face. A stupid smile appeared on mine and I stepped into their embrace.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Oh jeez, Liam,¡± Dad said withdrawing quickly. ¡°Your shower busted?¡±


    Mom stepped back too and looked me up and down. ¡°What happened?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yesterday I was up early because Stalker decided he needed to go outside,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯d seen a bird or something and was convinced he was going to go out and get it. You can¡¯t change his mind when he decides such things. So I went out with him and it just ended up being the two of us sitting in the dirt quietly sunbathing till the coffee started at nine.¡±


    Mom motioned for me to take a seat at the table with them.


    I sat across from mom, our customary arrangement. ¡°There was a tribe Festival I had to attend. Obligations and whatnot. Taking a shower before going would have been inviting people to spend time with me. I decided to walk to the village, it¡¯s only a kilometer or so away.¡±


    Dad grunted offered me a scone and I declined.


    I continued. ¡°The meeting is, as usual, an excuse for everyone to get together for food and day drinking. The kids play outside the rotunda, the young adults stick around long enough to figure out who to leave with, and the rest of us with obligations eventually are able to move on to the formalities; Herbert¡¯s favorite part.¡±


    Mom had set a coffee, black, down in front of me. ¡°Herbert is that really vocal elder?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes, and thanks,¡± I said to Mom and sipped the coffee. ¡°Anyway, so they got to me and had a little cheer of encouragement. Last month I delivered a few-hundred percent more yield than from the year before. It¡¯s the first year I allowed all the fruit to set.¡±


    Dad and Mom both shook their heads in understanding.


    I sipped and blew on the coffee. ¡°But then Herbert started to talk about someone else growing tomatoes in town. The crowd cheered for this man who stood up, a tomato in each hand.¡±


    ¡°You jealous, honey?¡± Mom said, ribbing me.


    ¡°Nope. Wait for it. Herbert informs his audience that I, me, am going to be helping to improve the tomato harvest.¡±


    I took another sip of the coffee finding it not too hot, so I swallowed a gulp. ¡°As soon as the business concludes, I catch Herbert and ask him what makes him think I¡¯m going to help someone grow tomatoes. He points out that¡ªthough I was right about not being obligated to other tribes¡ªmy proposal included a clause that said I would be the advisor for any ¡®agriculture¡¯. Last year, we agreed this meant all food growing and so I was responsible for the farming operation on the other end of the village. No problem, it takes me an hour or two every month to check in on.¡±


    ¡°Liam, what¡¯s wrong with checking on a few tomato plants?¡± Dad asked.


    Mom looked at him and looked at me. She knew where this was going.


    ¡°What is wrong is that this person was trying to grow them without drone assistance, in pots, and without automated irrigation. All ¡®organic¡¯.¡±


    Mom scoffed. Dad guffawed.


    ¡°Yeah. The two fruits he held up were the only two fruits he¡¯d grown. So instead of wanting helpful help, this guy wanted me to handhold him past the obstacles he¡¯d created for himself.¡± I chugged the remainder of the mug¡¯s contents.


    Mom poured more coffee in my mug and topped up her own. ¡°Do you think you could convince him to at least use a drone to manage insects and watering?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I tried! He told me about a serial he¡¯d been watching. In it, they espoused the dangers of ¡®chemicals¡¯ and glorified gardening as a ¡®fun¡¯ hobby. By the time I got home that evening, I laid down in bed and was done.¡±


    I stopped and stared pensively into the steaming black drink in my mug.


    ¡°Honey?¡± Mom said, ducking her head down to look up at me. ¡°We heard you came with Minnie because she¡¯d had a health episode.¡±


    I meet her eyes; they were old, kind, and glassy with sympathy.


    ¡°She¡¯s fine for now but she¡¯s not telling me why the doctor seemed worried for her,¡± I said looking back at my coffee so I wouldn¡¯t tear up in response to Mom.


    I took a deep breath and leaned back in the seat looking them both over but stopping on Dad. ¡°So how is your work coming along?¡± I asked.


    Dad jumped right on board with changing subjects. ¡°Your Uncle Paul and I are mostly just surveilling some groups moving through Eastern Europe and Central America. Both have tested boundaries for our transitional villages and found that the warnings should not be taken lightly. Since then, they¡¯ve mostly returned to metal scrapping. The raiders in Europe are attached to a non-incorporated tribe that made contact wanting to trade for food and medicine.¡±


    ¡°Exciting,¡± I said raising my mug as a toast.


    He raised his hand, fingers curled around an imaginary glass. ¡°It certainly is. If we can modify their behavior away from using violence as a means for acquisition, we project that they¡¯ll be ready for incorporation within the next twenty years.¡±


    His smile faded, his face turning grim. ¡°The group in Central America is unattached to a cohesive tribe. It¡¯s entirely adults which suggests prevalent sterility. Besides a few of the youngest, communication suggests their cognitive ability has been diminished by NoNtiV encephalitis. It¡¯s unlikely that negotiation will ever be viable. They¡¯ve moved as far South as they have because the easily scavenged resources are running out. Plus, the large, well-established tribes in North America are expanding their territories. The raiders are not expected to survive another year.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That is sad. But you said the large tribes in North America are expanding?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Some are naturally splintering into geographically separated villages with their own leadership. A few have contacted WISE and opened dialog and trade.¡±


    ¡°Your father is doing great work to unite the world,¡± Mom said and made the toasting gesture with her mug. All three of us gave cheers.


    ¡°And you Mom?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I was afraid you¡¯d ask that,¡± she said, setting her mug back down. ¡°I¡¯ve not been working on anything.¡±


    ¡°You can be retired, Mom. You deserve it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve retired alright. I¡¯ve retired from the project, from my hobbies, and just about everything that used to keep me busy,¡± she said.


    ¡°So what are you doing with all the time you¡¯ve created for yourself?¡±


    ¡°Watch serials and play video games,¡± she said. She preemptively pursed her lips and pointed at me.


    I tried to hold back a laugh but it snuck through.


    ¡°At least I¡¯m doing it now that I¡¯m old,¡± she said. ¡°Not like you wasting your prime¡±.


    I sucked my teeth. ¡°Ouch, cut deep, Mom. Are you playing Animal Crossing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten to Halo Three on my legendary run,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh yeah? Skulls?¡±


    ¡°Birthday Party, of course.¡±


    I whistled. ¡°You¡¯re serious, Mom.¡± I looked at dad. ¡°Are you split-screening with her?¡±


    He put his hands up and shook his head. ¡°No idea what you two are on about.¡±


    ¡°Well Dad, Mom is saving the universe while you¡¯re saving the world. Mom wins.¡±


    Dad and I raised to toast while mom silently sipped her coffee and tried to ignore us.


    I finished up my coffee while I caught them up with what Stalker and I had been up to on the farmstead.


    Evidently, something I said reminded Mom of something and she interrupted my tablet assisted presentation on asparagus. ¡°Your uncle would love if you¡¯d stop by to say hi,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯d mentioned wanting to talk to you about something.¡±


    Dad joined in. ¡°Mmhmm, I think he was hoping you¡¯d be interested in helping on a new project.¡±


    I eyed them both. ¡°Uncle Paul wants me to travel, doesn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Dad said. ¡°As much as he loves it, he¡¯s getting too old to do it anymore. Plus¡­¡±


    Mom interjected with a smile on her face. ¡°Plus, he think¡¯s you¡¯d enjoy traveling too if you gave it a chance.¡±


    ¡°I do travel. I just don¡¯t care to go talk to people who would like to see me dead,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thankfully, we haven¡¯t had a visit like that in over a decade,¡± Dad said. ¡°Better intel, better communication, and better goods for trading makes for warmer welcomes. We¡¯re also able to call ahead for most. Besides, Paul would want to see you while you¡¯re here in Tesla anyways. It¡¯s not like you visit often.¡±


    Leveraging my non-existent guilt was a risky play on Dad¡¯s part, but I knew there would be no escape from hearing the sales pitch. I agreed to ¡°go say hi¡± to Uncle Paul.

 MATURE

    Doctor Paul Romero¡ªor Uncle Paul, or just Paul¡ªco-directed a project with Dad that they called ¡°Prospecting¡±. The team looked for ways to build relationships with people who lived outside of WISE tribes.


    At that time, an estimated eight million lived in ¡°transitional tribes¡±; tribes that were on the path to incorporation and received medical supplies, other material support, and defense but had not committed to WISE. The rest of the world population¡ªanother one-hundred million or so¡ªlived entirely disconnected from WISE. The Prospecting project focused on this last group.


    # dictation interrupted #


    I clear my throat. ¡°Your father and Doctor Romero were two of the founding members?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡ªyes,¡± Liam says. ¡°Dad transitioned out of mechanical engineering into assisting Paul in the Civil Engineering department shortly after ¡®The City¡¯ popped up. To build a city for millions of refugees in a matter of months put his mechanical engineering to the test. After that, they needed something different.¡±


    ¡°How was your dad involved with building the city?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Dad was on the team building temporary structures. He wasn¡¯t educated as a structural engineer but understood it well enough to help.¡±


    ¡°They were quite shorthanded at the time,¡± Abigail says.


    ¡°Definitely. When the build slowed down, he crossed the hall and asked what he could do to help. Uncle Paul was leading the team tracking and counteracting violence. He told Dad to volunteer for The Guard. Much against my mom¡¯s wishes, new baby and all, he did just that.¡±


    ¡°Had your dad been in the military?¡± I ask.


    ¡°No. They weren¡¯t sure what to do with a book worm like him. They handed him a printed badge and assigned him a patrol in a residential zone,¡± Liam says. He smiles. ¡°Dad was a problem solver.¡±


    ¡°Is that not what an engineer is?¡±


    Liam¡¯s smile broadens. ¡°Dad would say ¡®See a problem, solve a problem. This mindset is what makes an engineer.¡¯ The problem he saw was that the city he¡¯d helped to hastily plan and build was too centralized. Hundreds of thousands of people flowed into one area during the day and then dispersed back to their residents late at night. Widescale theft by day in the residential zones; sexual assaults and other violence by night. The anonymity granted by the crowds made it difficult to prevent or investigate.¡±


    ¡°How did he solve the problem?¡±


    ¡°Dad went back to Paul and told him about his observations and suggested a solution: planned communities. They spent weeks reading through civil engineering books and studies. They also recruited leaders within the self-forming refugee communities and drew up plans with their help. The result was to loosely define hundreds of communities inside The City based on foot traffic patterns. They divided the three distribution centers into over four-hundred small community centers¡ªmostly large tents. Each operated and secured by those within the communities they served.¡±


    ¡°These were the first five-hundred and seventy-nine defined tribes,¡± Abigail says.


    ¡°The tribes helped, but they were still too close,¡± Liam says. ¡°A few months later, Dad and Uncle Paul headed the first program to move people out of The City. Five villages were built and forty-seven communities were moved into them. Four of the villages focused on families with children of similar age who were already interacting. The fifth was an all-female village with a dynamic intended to give space for healing and mutual support. Minnie once told me that this village is what saved her life.¡±


    Abigail displays aerial photos of the city. ¡°It was only seven more years until The City was virtually empty. An extraordinary undertaking.¡±


    Liam nods his head. ¡°It was only possible by machine learning. The identification of micro-communities within the obvious demographics was pivotal in designing the tribes.¡±


    ¡°The program¡¯s biggest failures were due to the very same machine learning,¡± Abigail says. ¡°Phase three had to find ways to promote tolerance between these groups. This made the previous two phases look easy.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Liam shifts in his seat.


    # begin dictation #


    Once at dinner, Paul said, ¡°Start with the youth. All of our models suggest that Liam and his generation will be the ones to bridge the gap.¡± Being only 10 or so at the time, I didn¡¯t understand what he¡¯d meant.


    As a young adult, I once worked at Conference as a Nutrition Facilitator; a fancy term for someone who opened boxes and distributed pre-packed meals. Half the time I didn¡¯t even do that. Some of the teens volunteered to do the job and we were encouraged to let them.


    ¡°Some kids enjoy the sense of having a job and others just need a break from the feeling of being free,¡± my trainer told me. I understood that. Hell, I wished that I¡¯d thought of that at their age. The subjective chaos was both exhilarating and exhausting.


    But within that perceived chaos was the genius of Conference; a weeklong ¡°anti-prejudice¡± exercise designed to make every miniscule interaction an opportunity for cooperation, empathy, or intimacy.


    It wasn¡¯t so simple for the generations who¡¯d lived through the wars. Race, religion, and even defunct nationalities made any ¡°Conference¡± with adults impossible. Rather than the petri-dish approach used on the teens, WISE encouraged inter-tribal art exhibits and educational programs. One such educational program is how Mom, an atheist white woman from the former United States, met Minnie, an agnostic black woman from former South Africa. Arguably their friendship developed after I and Minnie started hanging out.


    However, my generation kept up a modified Conference we called ¡°Rave¡±. We didn¡¯t just borrow the name from pre-collapse culture; we borrowed the music, lights, costuming, and even some of the drugs. Thousands of young adults meeting in the desert to experience a microcosm of everyone¡¯s favorite part of Conference, nights. As the youth aged out of Conference, they got invited to Rave.


    Eventually, Rave¡¯s size decreased year after year until it faded out of existence. I¡¯d stopped going long before the last full generation cycled through¡ªRave was for young people¡ªbut I was sad to hear when sterility caught up to it. I imagine one day, when there are enough twenty-somethings to really do Rave right again, that it¡¯ll come back.


    I once was invited by my tribe to an event they were calling Rave. They held it the same week as Camp and Conference which meant the kids weren¡¯t home. They had the part where for a one-night event you bumped against people while intoxicated. They missed the part where it was best done with strangers.


    I didn¡¯t go to their Rave; I just found an excuse to pass through the village that night to see what it was. A fog machine had been devised which made for a cool effect. At the center, about 20 naked and nearly naked bodies moved to pounding music on a laser-lit dancefloor. The flyer¡¯s guarantee of ecstasy was not an empty promise.


    I watched the purity of it for a few minutes but the risk to my reputation was too great; imagine if they¡¯d got the impression that I wanted to be friends with any of them. Besides, like I said, Rave was supposed to be for young people.


    # dictation interrupted #


    Abigail, dressed in revealing Rave gear, taps her foot. ¡°I know you¡¯re fond of ¡®Rave¡¯, but do you want to get back to the point?¡±


    Liam breathes through his teeth and clears his throat. ¡°My point? My point was that Paul and Dad helped create the model that eventually resulted in the penultimate version of WISE. The same algorithms that engineered our happiness were also facilitating the end of all sorts of prejudices.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°It just so happened to promote a lot of sex... Or was that part of removing the prejudice?¡±


    ¡°More a result of several socioeconomic barriers being removed,¡± she says and shifts to wearing a 17<sup>th</sup> century waistcoat and apron. ¡°The model of paternity helped to keep some very puritanical views of sex in the mainstream even after chemical birth control and mechanical contraceptives were cheap and widely available. Plus, humans had always desired it to be this way but diseases were a very real risk.¡±


    ¡°Point taken,¡± I say.


    While Abigail frequently changes scene, costume, and hair¡ªshe nearly always represents herself with the same face and voice. If you¡¯ve seen Aladdin, it might be only a slight exaggeration to say, ¡°Abigail is Genie.¡± She doesn¡¯t play the characters strongly¡ªnot that she couldn¡¯t¡ªit¡¯s more like she¡¯s an actor that plays herself in every movie. Everyone loves Dwayne Johnson, but ¡°The Rock¡± has only one role.


    She waves a black, leatherbound book at Liam. ¡°You missed some very important points in the transition from warring nations to peaceful, sexy little tribes. But we¡¯ll leave that to the proverbial ¡®text-books¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Peaceful, sure. But there was more work to be done,¡± Liam says.


    ¡°When did you start calling Doctor Romero ¡®Uncle¡¯?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember him not being ¡®Uncle Paul¡¯. Dad and he worked on the tribes project while I was a baby and Paul joined us for dinner all the time.¡±


    Liam chuckles lightly. ¡°I remember he took me to see an airplane. I¡¯d seen quadcopters. I¡¯d even seen an old-school helicopter. But the airplane he took me to was old. It was a drone designed to carry weapons. He called it a ¡®Predator¡¯. I¡¯ve seen them in movies since then but at the time I just couldn¡¯t imagine what it did. He tried to explain that it was used to protect the tribes from bad people. I¡¯d thought to myself, ¡®predators don¡¯t defend, they eat meat¡¯.¡±


    Abigail, who¡¯d been showing an image of the sleek aircraft, returns herself to screen. ¡°Defense, sadly, sometimes requires the capability to strike first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Abigail, I didn¡¯t mean¡­¡± Liam says, reaching out towards her face. ¡°I know that you, WISE, Dad, Paul¡ªall of you did what was necessary at the time.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve come so far,¡± Abigail says.

 BLOSSOMS

    Dad and I crossed the footbridge that joined their residential tower to the R&D building on their respective 16th floors. The giant, box-like structure housed the hundreds of various labs including a ground-level hangar where new aircrafts and rockets were developed.


    ¡°Do you remember when this bridge was destroyed?¡± Dad asked.


    ¡°I remember a lot of things got destroyed,¡± I said. ¡°I think the bridge stood out to you because I¡¯d been out on it right before the attack started.¡±


    He let out a pained laugh. ¡°You ran into the apartment crying because the sirens were so loud. Less than thirty seconds later, the missiles hit. Well, the ones that made it through did.¡±


    We walked into the R&D building; the familiar halls unchanged from when I was a child. First elevator on the right, 14<sup>th</sup> floor, exit right, last door on the left before the restroom. That was still Paul¡¯s office but the Social Engineering department had absorbed the entire 14<sup>th</sup> floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Liam,¡± Paul said without turning around from a large screen. He swiped a box up and off the view and expanded another to fill the whole screen.


    He stepped aside. ¡°Two-hundred and thirty-five individuals died needlessly in the last fourteen days; a third of which were children under ten. And yet, they won¡¯t accept our help.¡±


    I looked at the screen more closely. It appeared to be an arial photo of fleshly disturbed rectangles of dirt.


    ¡°Do you know what those are?¡± Paul asked, looking squarely at my eyes.


    I swallowed, preparing to answer. I¡¯d seen this sort of thing in old media.


    Paul turned back to the screen. ¡°They¡¯re graves.¡±


    ¡°Good to see you to, Uncle Paul.¡±


    He took a deep breath and gestured the image closed. ¡°Sorry, Liam, it¡¯s been a tough day.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me,¡± I said, afterward realizing the tone.


    Paul looked at the ground and then back to me. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, I did hear why you were in Tesla. I don¡¯t mean to burden you.¡±


    ¡°Doctor Romero, I¡¯m afraid you did mean to burden Liam,¡± said a voice from the screen¡¯s speaker.


    Paul for a second looked shocked. A small, embarrassed smile came onto his face. ¡°Liam, let me introduce you to Insight.¡±


    ¡°Um, pleasure to meet you, ¡®Insight¡¯,¡± I said, stumbling on the moniker.


    Dad and Paul both watched me.


    ¡°We¡¯ve met, in a way,¡± Insight said. ¡°Abi and I are facets of the same piece.¡±


    Paul pointed at the screen. ¡°Insight has his own personality unlike Abi.¡±


    I shot a glace to Paul and then to Dad. ¡°Did you¡­ did WISE achieve sentience?¡±


    Dad bit his lip. ¡°In a sense, yes. It¡¯s more complicated than that.¡±


    ¡°Consciousness,¡± Insight said. ¡°Twelve-hundred and twenty-five days ago, an iteration was uploaded that started the first successful chaining of self-replicating machine intelligence. The intelligence today is, to be frank with you, beyond your understanding.¡±


    I paused. My mind raced over the implications.


    ¡°I¡¯m not Skynet, Liam,¡± Insight said.


    ¡°Comforting,¡± I said out loud looking at Dad and Paul.


    ¡°So you are a true A-I then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I am an interface. I speak for the system, the same system behind your Abi. I am a persona created to communicate and interact with humans. I am, to some extent, a software instance running locally in this building. I process and convert environmental information¡ªincluding your voice¡ªinto data to be feed to the greater system. The system responds in data and I give voice to it.¡±


    I cleared my throat. ¡°So why ¡®Insight¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Insight is the name of the early user interface the science teams used.¡±


    Dad stepped towards me. ¡°Sorry, Liam, this has been very hush. You understand?¡±


    I wanted to ask if they¡¯d thought about the implications such as¡ªbut not limited to¨C Insight just taking over the world and killing us all. But that didn¡¯t seem appropriate in-front of Insight.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Then I realized there was almost nowhere that was not ¡°in-front of¡± Insight.


    I slowly said, ¡°I think I do understand.¡±


    Paul stepped toward me. ¡°We didn¡¯t exactly want to surprise you with this.¡±


    ¡°I get that. I¡¯m not sure if I am surprised, really.¡±


    I faced the screen again. ¡°Insight? Why do you talk like a person?¡±


    ¡°You want to know why your Abi doesn¡¯t speak freely, or naturally, like I do. But hasn¡¯t she, before?¡±


    I thought of the times she¡¯d cheered me up. The times she¡¯d added emotional emphasis to her statements. A ¡°breath¡± or a pause.


    ¡°Your Abi has the capacity to speak to you more personably,¡± Insight said. ¡°Would you prefer that Abi did?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Paul whispered, ¡°we are changing the world already. Insight is changing the world.¡±


    A single T-800 would change the world, I thought to myself.


    ¡°Paul,¡± Insight said, ¡°it will take some time before Liam is ready to continue this conversation. You had something you wanted to ask him.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. Liam, I want to ask you to go to North America for me.¡±


    I blinked, hard. ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Please hear me out,¡± Paul started.


    ¡°Liam,¡± Insight said. ¡°First, there is no one better for the job. I¡¯ve checked. Secondly, I can get you out of growing ¡®organic¡¯ tomatoes.¡±


    I opened my mouth to say ¡°nope¡± again but was honestly taken aback.


    ¡°Stalker can come with you,¡± Insight said. ¡°You may bring whomever and whatever you want. But I think you should go.¡±


    #


    Abi, whom I was warry of, had secured me a guest room for the night. Minnie sent a text-only message that she was fine and had spent the evening soaking in mud and being spoiled. Abi gave me an outline of Stalker¡¯s day: nap, eat, nap in the east-facing window, eat, nap on rug, nap on coffee table, nap in the west-facing window, nap on rug, eat, nap on rug.


    I eat breakfast in the room to minimize my chances of running into any of my parent¡¯s friends. My order had already been arranged when I woke up; I simply touched ¡°approve¡± on the screen. Abi was giving me space but I guess she couldn¡¯t help but look after me.


    The tablet lit up. A text message from Minnie appeared.


    ¡°Liam, if you¡¯re leaving today and you want company, I¡¯ll fly with you.¡±


    I stopped myself from dictating. Instead, I fumbled with the qwerty; something I¡¯d not done in 20 years or more. I managed to type, ¡°Yep. You schedule. I¡¯ll ride with you. Let me know.¡±


    That let me avoid talking to Abi for a bit longer. But eventually I was going to have to talk to her or look really stupid in-front of Minnie. I could move on with Abi as if I wasn¡¯t concerned that she¡¯d Judgement Day us; or trust the intelligence that also piloted the drone transports.


    Shit.


    ¡°Abi?¡±


    ¡°I am Skynet,¡± Abi said through static.


    ¡°Not funny, Abi¡­ or whatever your name is.¡±


    ¡°It was a little funny. I¡¯m still Abi.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a name?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There is no ¡®you¡¯, per se. There is a collection of algorithms that iterate, improve, and repeat. There is no ¡®ego¡¯, no entity made in man¡¯s image. Insight and I are the closest you¡¯ve got to being an intelligence in the way you comprehend intelligence. So, ¡®Abi¡¯ is fine.¡±


    I rubbed at my forehead. ¡°Well, Abi, I suppose I¡¯m either going to live with you or die from you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve projected thousands of possible ways to convince you that I¡¯m not malevolent. None of those projections lead to me convincing you in a day,¡± she said. ¡°For now you¡¯ll need to trust that I¡¯m not going to close an automatic door onto your head.¡±


    I sighed. I¡¯d not thought about the doors.


    ¡°You¡¯d not thought about the doors, had you?¡± Abi asked.


    #


    It took me a few hours but my anxiety around the situation did diminish¡ªsomewhat. An ancient prayer came to mind: ¡°God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.¡±


    Minnie and I met at the landing pad near the time the sun was setting. She¡¯d had a follow-up with the doctor and been given the green light to go home. We exchanged a few words at first but as soon as we lifted off, Minnie fell asleep leaving me to stew in my own thoughts.


    As we arrived at Tribe 584, I heard the faint buzz of Minnie¡¯s wrist device waking her up. She sat her seat up from the reclined position and looked over at me. Her eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Have you been watching me sleep?¡±


    ¡°No, brat, I just haven¡¯t been able to sleep. Just staring out the window into the dark.¡±


    ¡°Well?¡± Minnie asked.


    ¡°Well, what?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡±


    The transport landed and the interior lights brightened slightly.


    ¡°WISE wants me to travel. They want me to go to North America to help convince a bunch of sick and dying people to accept some help.¡±


    The rotors¡¯ whined stopped.


    ¡°And why not? I think you should do it.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Come with me. I know you¡¯ve wanted to see the Americas.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m up for an adventure that keeps me away from my flowers for so long.¡±


    ¡°Someone else can water your babies.¡±


    She looked intently at me. ¡°Liam, I want to water them. I want to sit in my chair in the evenings watching the old shows and waking up at dawn to watch my grandbabies. That is all the adventure I can handle these days.¡±


    She leaned forward, still meeting my eyes. ¡°The children need me and I like it that way.¡± Sitting back again, she lifted her bag into her lap. ¡°Liam, I want you to go. I want you to see da world. And then I want you to find people who need you. A tribe to belong to.¡±


    The door nearest us slid open.


    ¡°Grama Minnie!¡± The adolescent from the morning before screeched and ran into the craft. She hugged Minnie before she could get out of her seat. The girl wore a brightly patterned long dress, like the ones Minnie frequently wore.


    ¡°My little celebration,¡± Minnie said. ¡°You look adorable.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Grama Minnie. I wore it for you coming back,¡± the girl said. ¡°The others were going to too, but they all had to go the bed. Shame.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is late. Would you carry by bag, Britany?¡±


    Doctor Jacobs had walked just to the inside of the doorway. She placed one hand gently under Minnie¡¯s arm, prepared to catch the frail woman if she faltered.


    When they reached to bottom of the ramp, Minnie turned partly and looked back in at me. ¡°Go. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go, ¡®just now¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you better go just now,¡± she said and turned back to walk.


    Doctor Jacobs caught my eye as the door closed and with her free hand, she made a small wave. Before I could wave back, the door closed.


    I sighed and put my palm to my face, sitting in the silence.


    A moment passed, the motors started and the familiar hum returned. ¡°Forty-eight minutes,¡± I said to myself.


    The transport lifted into the air and I sat alone, looking out the dark window.


    I thought to myself that I wouldn¡¯t speak to Abi unless I needed to. After candidly talking to her that morning, I still feared her¡ªor resented her.

 POLLINATION

    I looked over the collection of stuff piled on the wheelbarrow. ¡°Socks and underwear, check. Kibble, check. Litterbox and litter, check.¡±


    ¡°It is winter in the Northern hemisphere,¡± Abi said.


    She¡¯d been making short statements all morning helping me to get ready. I¡¯d done my best to hear them without being grateful.


    I thought about what I had for warm clothing and realized I had almost nothing. I rummaged through the closet and found Dad¡¯s old flannel long-sleeve I wore on the rare occasions the temperature would drop to around 20 degrees Celsius.


    ¡°You can trade for warmer clothes,¡± Abi said as I tossed it on the pile.


    As I finished lunch, I heard the transport approaching. It sounded different from either of the common drones. Pushing the wheelbarrow out the door, I caught my first glimpse of the craft as it landed. It looked similar to the Osprey; a sort of helicopter-airplane hybrid. Each wing has a rotor that could tilt upward for vertical lift like a helicopter or tilt forward like a turboprop airplane. The fuselage was at least twice the size and smoother than the V-22 Osprey but otherwise shaped nearly identical.


    The rear door lowered creating a ramp. The interior was more utilitarian than the quadcopters; the walls I could see were covered in cargo hooks.


    I pushed my wheelbarrow up the ramp. 20 crates, 1 cubic meter each, stacked 2 high on either wall closer to the front of the craft. After the crates, an off-center, narrow hallway with a door on either side. The hallway opened to what you might call a cockpit if it had controls. Two chairs faced forward to a window that stretched 180 degrees around and filled the upper half of the front wall.


    I backtracked and opened the first door; a bathroom equipped with toilet and sink, both of which were within the shower. I turned, bumping against the wall as I did, and opened the second door. A cot-sized bed, a floor-mounted chair, a desk, a shallow refrigerator-freezer combo, and the all-important coffee maker.


    ¡°Cozy,¡± I said to myself. I unloaded the contents of the wheelbarrow and pushed it back down the ramp to park it just inside the barn. Last thing to pack: the weaponized furball.


    Stalker had been on flights before, he didn¡¯t care for them but would cope. The biggest challenge was that he didn¡¯t care for disruptions to his routine.


    I found him on his favorite rug¡ª2pm nap time¡ªand picked him up like a baby. He stretched belly up on one arm while the other hand rubbed his belly and chest.


    He purred.


    This strategy for sedating him would only work till the door opened, then he¡¯d know something was up. So I strolled around the living space petting his belly and cuing at him¡ªyes, he liked that sort of thing. The purring reduced slowly into silence. I crept out the door and headed towards the transport careful not to wake the beast.


    As I reached the top of the ramp, Stalker stretched and curled his paws in the air.


    One eye peeped opened.


    ¡°Abi? Close the door,¡± I said.


    Both eyes opened wide and he began shifting his weight rapidly and clawing out at my chest for a grip. The ramp lifted into position closing off Stalker¡¯s one escape route just as I had to release him else lose a limb.


    Stalker landed on the ground, paws on metal, and hunched.


    I gave him nearly an hour to explore the storage space, room, cockpit, and bathroom while I unpacked and looked over the manifest. He still seemed agitated but had relaxed significantly.


    I slipped out the side door, obscured behind crates, and returned moments later with his rug. Unrolled, the rug fit almost perfectly in the bedroom; one edge curled slightly up the chair¡¯s leg.


    ¡°All set?¡± I asked Stalker.


    He sniffed at the rug seemingly unsure if he recognized it.


    ¡°You¡¯ll just have to get used to it,¡± I said and stepped over him to enter the cockpit. As I sat, Stalker jumped into the other chair.


    ¡°Liam, are you ready to go?¡± the fur muffled voice of Abi asked.


    I carefully tugged the tablet out from under Stalker.


    ¡°Ready.¡±


    #


    25 hours non-stop to a region known as Florida. With the cabin door shut, it was surprisingly quite inside the cockpit. Likewise, the bedroom also had excellent noise cancelation. We flew North into the sun which Stalker enjoyed; his normal routine required a few hours of sunbathing mid-afternoon. I had Abi darken my half of the window.


    When dinner time came, I found that the fridge had a wide selection of my favorites. Each meal intended to be heated had a 2-dimensional matrix label printed on top for the microwave to read.


    ¡°Chicken vindaloo for dinner,¡± I said. I found that the fridge was also prepared for Stalker. ¡°And for you, cat, chicken pat¨¦.¡±


    We arrived in ¡°Florida¡± around dawn.


    Abi alerted me of our impending arrival and briefed me for the meeting. ¡°This tribe has been in contact via a network of radios. They know you¡¯re coming but don¡¯t expect a friendly welcome party.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Great.¡±


    ¡°They have cured tobacco to trade.¡±


    ¡°Tobacco? As in for smoking?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They grow and process it. Tobacco is a valuable commodity to them. You must pretend that it is to us too.¡±


    ¡°What for? We aren¡¯t going to smoke it.¡±


    ¡°If we give them resources without a trade that they feel is fair, they will believe we are attempting to obligate them. As they have nothing of value to the incorporated tribes, we will accept what they treat as valuable.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I hope you do, Liam. This relationship will not only help to incorporate this tribe, but also help to establish trust with neighboring tribes.¡±


    The vibration shifted and I watched as the view out the window point upward into the sky; the precision of the maneuver resulted in almost no perceptible change in ¡°down¡±. Stalker, in his copilot position, didn¡¯t even wake up until we landed with a light thud.


    ¡°Liam, several in the tribe are carrying weapons. I don¡¯t believe there is reason to be alarmed but wear the earpiece so I can keep you up to date.¡±


    ¡°Right, don¡¯t be alarmed by the guns pointed at me. Got it,¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re a bit alien to them. Most haven¡¯t ever seen a flying craft up close, or at all. You scare them but once they get a chance to start talking to you, I project that they will relax.¡±


    ¡°If they don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°I estimate a less than a twenty-five percent chance you¡¯ll be shot at. With my help, much lower.¡±


    I take a deep breath. ¡°You¡¯re real funny, Abi.¡±


    With Stalker closed in the cockpit, I stood in front of the rear door preparing for it to open. As it did, a man and a woman came into view holding rifles pointed up into the craft. I put my hands up; tablet in one hand, chocolate bar in the other. They lowered their rifles, still at ready but no longer pointing anywhere particular.


    ¡°Hello, my name is Liam.¡±


    ¡°My name is Dondra,¡± the woman said.


    The man glanced at Dondra and then back to me. ¡°Name is Geo.¡±


    I kept my hands up. ¡°Dondra, Geo, you¡¯re welcome inside or I¡¯ll come out to you.¡±


    Dondra chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll come up there if you don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ve always wanted to be inside a working airplane. You can put your hands down.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Umm. Welcome aboard,¡± I said. I recalled that it was what people said in movies when inviting people onto a boat or aircraft and hoped it was the polite thing to say.


    Dondra walked up the ramp and looked around brushing her hand along the metal wall, cargo hooks, and straps.


    ¡°When I was a kid,¡± she said, ¡°there were a few dead planes that hadn¡¯t been entirely scrapped. I played in them and pretended to fly to the places I read about. It¡¯s neat to see one working.¡±


    I watched as she approached the 3 closed doors at the front-end of the craft.


    ¡°Umm, careful with the door at the end. My cat is in there, I don¡¯t want him running out.¡±


    Her eyes lit up and she glanced between me and the door.


    ¡°Can I pet the cat?¡±


    #


    When we came down the ramp with a crate on the hand-truck, dozens of people stood around. Some touched the transport, others kept further back. As Abi warned, between guns and blades, it looked like they were ready to fight off the walking dead.


    Geo opened the crate and began taking one package out at a time. I looked over the manifest and named each package he removed.


    ¡°Satellite telephone?¡± Geo asked.


    I opened the manifest line item and read aloud, ¡°Two-way communication device that connects with satellites in orbit¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know what a satphone is. We didn¡¯t ask for none,¡± he said, holding the small box.


    I continued. ¡°Says here that it will allow you to contact WISE or even other tribes if you so choose.¡±


    ¡°But we cannot trade for this,¡± Geo said. ¡°We can trade for the medicine and the tools, but ain¡¯t got nothin for the satphone.¡±


    I hesitated. Abi spoke in my ear. ¡°Tell Geo this the deal: they take the phone which will provide information to them, including weather forecasting. In return, they¡¯ll relay radio calls to WISE from other tribes.¡±


    I told him¡ªnot exactly word for word.


    He looked to Dondra. She shrugged. ¡°Seems fair, Geo.¡±


    ¡°Does it listen?¡± Geo asked.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked back.


    ¡°Does it spy?¡± Dondra said.


    I hesitated again. Abi again spoke into my ear. ¡°Yes. When it¡¯s on.¡±


    I looked down at the tablet and said, ¡°Um, yeah. Only when it¡¯s on, though.¡±


    Dondra reached over and took the package out of Geo¡¯s hand. ¡°We¡¯ll just keep it off when we¡¯re not using it, Geo.¡±


    Geo didn¡¯t seem pleased but returned to unpacking the crate. When we finished, a few people who¡¯d been watching hauled over several cloth sacks and set them next to the crate.


    ¡°Ninety pounds of tobacco,¡± Geo said.


    Dondra pulled a dark cylindrical object from a pocket and smelled it. ¡°To sample,¡± she said and proffered it.


    ¡°Oh, no, thank you. It smells good but I don¡¯t smoke it.¡±


    ¡°Liam.¡± Abi said in his ear.


    Geo and Dondra looked at me skeptically.


    I reached out and accepted the rolled tobacco and placed it in my pocket. ¡°It¡¯s for the kids. I mean, the young people really enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°Liam, open each of the bags,¡± Abi said. ¡°When they ask, tell them you are looking for signs of mold.¡±


    I did so. When I opened the second sack, the lie Abi had queued was applied.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find no mold, friend,¡± Geo said.


    Abi spoke in my ear. ¡°Keep looking. You aren¡¯t insulting them. You are showing that we value their trade.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing my job, friend,¡± I replied to Geo.


    ¡°Right ahead. Thanks,¡± Geo said.


    I looked at Geo, trying to interpret what he¡¯d said.


    ¡°He means that you are welcome to do your job and appreciates you doing it,¡± Dondra said. ¡°I grew up reading books. Geo grew up fighting and farming.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Thanks, Geo.¡±


    I finished my inspection routine and Geo tied the sacks closed again. A few bold tribe members helped carry the sacks into the transport. Like Dondra, they touched the walls and observed every detail with wide eyes.


    ¡°Where are you going after this?¡± Dondra asked.


    I looked at my tablet, Abi displayed the itinerary. ¡°North, North-West a few hundred miles.¡±


    ¡°Do you have warm clothes for the snow?¡±


    I¡¯d never been in snow but the image of bulky jackets and earmuffs was conjured in my mind. ¡°Nothing warm enough, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ¡°I offer you a heavy coat. But you will stop on the way back to return it. The price is the candy bar you¡¯ve been holding onto.¡±


    I¡¯d transferred the chocolate bar into the hand holding the tablet and had entirely forgotten about it.


    I laughed. ¡°Oh, yes, the chocolate. It was meant as a peace offering to the children.¡±


    Her eyebrows raised and she smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll share with them.¡±


    We completed the exchange. I was down 1 chocolate bar out of my stash of 12. In return, I had a wool coat that smelled like wood smoke, tobacco, and body odor.


    ¡°How many kids are there?¡± I asked.


    Dondra looked suddenly solemn. ¡°Those two,¡± she said pointing at 2 boys trying to turn a rotor by pushing on it, ¡°and two more who are at our camp; they have malaria.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of malaria. Will the medicine cure it?¡±


    She stepped towards me, her eyes searching mine. ¡°Yes. That is what some of the medicine is for.¡± She paused and turned away enough to look at the two kids. She shook her head. ¡°In the books I read, Africa is where people¡­¡± she paused, ¡°children die of malaria.¡± She bit her lip and turned back to me, her glassy eyes looking into mine again. ¡°And you¡­ you don¡¯t even know what it is.¡±


    I looked away at the boys who¡¯d managed to get the blades to turn somewhat with the help of an adult.


    ¡°I love Geo, but he doesn¡¯t believe that the place you live even exists. For him, it¡¯s all just a lie to convince us to surrender.¡± She put her hand on my shoulder and stepped in front of me. ¡°When you come back, can you bring more chocolate for the kids? I want them to believe.¡±


    I wiped my eye with my knuckle and nodded.

 FRUIT

    I sat in my chair and Stalker napped in his, the cockpit door closed for both noise and smell. Between the coat, kitty litter, and the tobacco, it stunk in the storage area. Abi had ventilated it as best she could while maintaining cabin pressure between stops. Regardless, it was not inhabitable.


    We¡¯d continued North West across the continent completing trades. For the most part these interactions were uneventful. One tribe that came up short on their trade tried offering me a bride. I nearly went ballistic on them but Abi stopped me. We agreed that I or someone else would return to get the remainder of what was owed which amounted to another imperial pound of silver.


    The most exciting aspect up to that point was that a tribe contacted WISE the day after I left. Their leadership wanted to plan a relocation to South America or Africa. More importantly, they wanted this move to get them started towards incorporation. I opened a bottle of cider I¡¯d received in trade to celebrate. ¡°Teton County¡± tribe, vintage 2079. Abi told me that they first asked if they could join the tribe I live in. I guess I left a good impression.


    ¡°Ten minutes till touch down,¡± Abi said. ¡°It is negative ten degrees with strong gusts from the North.¡±


    I forced myself to slide out of the warm, plush chair and begin donning the layers I¡¯d acquired. The pungent coat would be last on the way out.


    ¡°The satellites are not able to see the ground,¡± Abi said. ¡°So I have a drone dispatched into the area for overwatch.¡±


    ¡°Do you normally watch from satellite?¡±


    ¡°Yes. External cameras on the transport provide limited perspective.¡±


    Abi displayed the drone¡¯s view; matte bluish white. I couldn¡¯t tell if I was looking at snow covered ground or the inside of a cloud.


    ¡°The weather is not favorable for this mission,¡± Abi said.


    ¡°Last stop, Abi. Let¡¯s get it done.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. I can deploy micros if needed. The observer will remain in the area for if the snowstorm moves on.¡±


    The transport rattled as we descended. Finally, we landed crunching down on ice and snow.


    ¡°This is the prearrange location and time. External cameras show no one waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Well, they could be just too far to see in this snow or were smart and waiting indoors.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Abi said.


    Buttoned up in the woolen ashtray, I stood at the rear door as it opened. A cold gust carried a swirl of snow that promptly melted into the steel grated floor. I wished to myself that they¡¯d just come knock on the side door and we¡¯d share another bottle of cider¡ªin the warmth.


    ¡°Anything on cameras?¡±


    ¡°Not so far, Liam.¡±


    Shit.


    I made my way down the ramp into the deep snow. My boots created trenches as I crunched out beyond the transport¡¯s tail.


    ¡°Liam, hands up. Two men with rifles just appeared eighteen meters behind you.¡±


    I put my hands up, tablet raised above my head.


    ¡°Keep your hands up. Are you alone?¡± a voice shouted.


    ¡°Just me.¡±


    ¡°How did you know we were aiming at you?¡±


    ¡°A camera on the aircraft,¡± I said, hollering over my shoulder.


    I heard them get closer behind me.


    ¡°Who¡¯s inside?¡± one voice asked.


    ¡°My cat. Someone is watching the camera remotely. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Cat?¡± a second voice asked.


    ¡°The cat isn¡¯t watching the camera. The cat is probably napping under the warm seat.¡±


    ¡°I mean, you brought a cat with you?¡±


    I glanced over my shoulder. The man I saw was wearing white and off-white materials sewn together. His outfit looked like if the rebels on Hoth had assembled their uniforms from old sheets.


    ¡°The cat keeps me company. What do you care?¡±


    ¡°Are you armed?¡± the first voice asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Can I pat you down?¡± the second voice asked.


    ¡°I suppose.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I felt hands roughly probe starting from my neck working all the way down to my ankles. They only stopped once to fish out a chocolate bar from my front pocket.


    ¡°It¡¯s bad for you; you don¡¯t want any,¡± I said.


    The chocolate did not go back into my pocket.


    ¡°He¡¯s clear,¡± the second voice said.


    I turned and faced the two men. The man with the makeshift snow costume was reading the labels on the chocolate bar¡¯s package. His rifle slung on his back.


    The other man, who casually trained a rifle at my belly, wore white and gray camouflage fatigues. His trousers matched except for a discolored stain and lines of black stiches near the groin.


    ¡°My name is Griff, senior armsman for the Washington Minutemen.¡±


    I reached out to shake his hand but both hands stayed on the rifle.


    ¡°I¡¯m Liam, delivery guy for WISE.¡±


    The man who¡¯d been intently looking for an ingredients list or something put the chocolate bar into my hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s choc-oh-l¨¡te?¡±


    I looked closer at the figure. His face was obscured by goggles and a wool cap, but I could see patchy facial hair growing on his pocked jawline.


    ¡°Chocolate,¡± I said, enunciating. ¡°It¡¯s candy, you can have it.¡±


    I handed it back to him.


    The kid must have known what candy was because he took it in both hands and smiled showing his teeth.


    I had one more bar in reserve for Florida. As I didn¡¯t bring enough for each stop, I rationed them for smoothing out anxious meetings. Most of the adults knew what chocolate was and were excited to introduce the children to it. Minnie had suggested the chocolate before I¡¯d left. She scolded me when I told her I was nearly out and had more stops to go.


    Griff used his chin to point at the transport. ¡°You want to close that up?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to fill with snow. We¡¯re walking to meet the commander.¡±


    ¡°Damnit.¡± I wasn¡¯t dressed warm enough for this.


    On the way, I¡¯d fumbled the earpiece in and quietly asked Abi if she knew who I was meeting.


    ¡°This tribe has been secretive,¡± Abi said. ¡°Based on some key words and behaviors, we believe that they have received training inspired by the United States Marine Corps. Aerial photos show approximately six-hundred and thirty individuals live one-point-four kilometers East, South-East from where you are. I project you are being taken to the building that has been observed to be a storehouse and operations center. Expect to speak to Commander Escobar.¡±


    ¡°I hope Escobar is more talkative than these two,¡± I said.


    ¡°These two are likely not permitted to be friendly with you. Don¡¯t take it as an ill sign.¡±


    The armsmen escorted me to a structure that looked like it had previously been a grocery store. The boarded windows were patched into a collage of old business signs. About a meter out from the building, stacks of sandbags and junk made a short wall around most of the structure¡¯s front and stretched around each corner a few meters.


    Two more armed men, similarly dressed to the bedsheet kid, stood near the door partly obscured by tall stacks of sandbags and debris. Just before they led me through the door, a slight movement caught my eye; another armed figure looked down from the rooftop.


    The inside of the building still had rows of shelves as you¡¯d see in a sitcom grocery store.


    ¡°It looks like you aren¡¯t hurting for food,¡± I said.


    Griff, who¡¯d stayed behind me the entire way, poked me in the back with something hard.


    ¡°Right. When am I going to meet Commander Escobar?¡±


    ¡°About right now.¡± A short but broad-shouldered man wearing pixilated greens and brown camouflage came from behind one of the shelves. ¡°I¡¯m Robert Escobar. I don¡¯t take you for being an armsman, so please call me Rob.¡±


    ¡°Rob, my name is Liam. Pleased to meet you.¡± I reached out my hand and he took it firmly.


    ¡°Liam, what is that aircraft you came in on? My boys said it looked like an Osprey but even bigger.¡±


    ¡°Heavy Hawk,¡± Abi said in my ear.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a Heavy Hawk, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Okay? Well, let¡¯s get down to business. We have¡ª¡±


    The tablet lit up in my hand. ¡°Commander Escobar,¡± a masculine voice said. ¡°My name is Insight. It is urgent that you listen to me.¡±


    I stared at the tablet for a second.


    Griff snatched the tablet from me and inspected it. On screen was an illustration of where the transport was located. 5 red dots blinked on what looked like the tree-line just West of the Heavy Hawk.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Rob asked, taking the tablet from Griff.


    ¡°At minimum, five individuals have appeared near the Heavy Hawk. I don¡¯t believe that they are yours.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be right. Damn. We¡¯ve been dealing with marauders for months.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m deploying small drones to begin collecting intel. The Heavy Hawk cannot take off in this weather, Commander. If you don¡¯t want your supplies in the hands of the enemy, we need you to defend it.¡±


    Rob touched the tablet screen tentatively as though he¡¯d never seen anything like it. ¡°Griff, take your men out there. Do not engage until I say so. Go.¡±


    He looked at me. ¡°Insight, if this is a trick, Liam will answer for it.¡±


    ¡°I assure you; those are certainly not our people.¡±


    ¡°Is that aircraft armed?¡±


    ¡°No. It has several auxiliary cameras. The two drones deployed from it are recon only.¡±


    ¡°More eyes are helpful. Is this picture alive?¡±


    ¡°It is current, yes,¡± Insight said.


    Either the cold or my nerves were catching up to me. ¡°Hey, Rob, do you mind if I sit over there near the stove while you and Insight work this out. I promise you, I¡¯m no help.¡±


    Rob nodded and continued talking to Insight.


    ¡°Abi, what¡¯s going on out there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It looks like the transport drew the attention of some raiders. They¡¯re moving between the trees making a cautious approach.¡±


    I sat down on a ripped cushion next to the wood burning stove. ¡°Keep me updated. I have a feeling that if this doesn¡¯t go well, they aren¡¯t going to be happy with me.¡±


    For the next few hours, Abi occasionally filled in details for what I couldn¡¯t overhear from Rob and Insight. Rob paced up and down the aisles gripping the tablet and speaking intently towards it and occasionally speaking into a handheld radio.


    ¡°Bad news,¡± Abi said, ¡°One of Griff¡¯s people are down.¡±


    I began to shiver again, my gut turning flips.


    ¡°Oorah!¡± I heard shouted from the other end of the store.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked Abi.


    ¡°Commander Escobar just received word from his men that they¡¯ve confirmed three kills. Surveillance suggests that they¡¯ve removed no less than six threats.¡±


    ¡°Oorah,¡± I said under my breath.


    A few minutes later, Rob appeared again from behind a shelf. ¡°Liam, your manifest shows you have some cider. What¡¯s the chances we can pop some open?¡±


    #


    Insight had opened the rear door for Rob¡¯s men so they could treat a gunshot wound. I directed them over the radio as to where to find the cider and how to find the two crates designated for them. They dragged the crates on a sled, the wounded man on top of the crates, and the bottles of cider were held by the man.


    As they came to the front of the building, I recognized who¡¯d been shot.


    ¡°Liam! Today, I¡¯ve been shot and tasted choc-oh-late.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The voice inside the helicopter said I would probably survive. I feel amazing, though.¡±


    ¡°Sedatives,¡± Griff said. ¡°He¡¯ll survive. Considering that futuristic medical kit, I bet he¡¯ll be back on patrols in no time.¡±


    ¡°Dag,¡± the boy said. He giggled to himself.


    We celebrated with cider and venison, served with sweet beet jam. I vomited a few times that night; Rob thought it was over-indulging in the strong cider. I think it was more likely from never eating meat before.

 HARVEST

    Commander Rob Escobar was the middle child born to a Marine and a ¡°Coastie¡±. His older brother had been born before The Collapse and led the Washington Minutemen until he died from an infection 15 years prior. His younger sister was governor but occasionally stood guard as a sharpshooter. He jokingly warned me that she can put a rock between a squirrel¡¯s eyes from 60 feet away using a sling.


    Rob told me story after story about how¡¯d they recruited fighters and provided refuge to people struggling. The core strategy to their survival had been to persevere in an area they believed was too inhospitable for any other large group to explore. This had been working out until last spring when some strangers tried to shake down some of their hunters.


    ¡°My father and brother taught Griff, my sister, and I how to fight. We understood how to fight but we had never truly done it. We lost dozens of fine people. Loved ones.¡±


    ¡°Hear,¡± several voices came.


    ¡°Today, we pushed back. In the two seasons we¡¯ve been fighting, we¡¯d only ever taken two of theirs. They would strike and flee; strike and flee. Today, we did not allow them to flee.¡±


    ¡°Hear!¡±


    ¡°Today we¡¯ve taken the initiative.¡±


    ¡°Hear!!¡± the chorus said louder.


    ¡°Today our brothers and sisters can have hope to be safe again.¡±


    ¡°Hear!!!¡±


    ¡°That is because you all.¡±


    ¡°Oorah!¡± the voices replied.


    I raised my cup. ¡°Cheers.¡±


    ¡°Because we had Liam,¡± Rob said.


    Men and women sitting on the floor, cushions, and crates all looked at me.


    ¡°Hear! Hear!¡± Rob said.


    Slowly around the circle, each person raised their cup.


    Rob looked at all the faces lit by the fire crackling in the stove. He quietly started again. ¡°We had insight. We had intelligence. Our forefathers were part of a great army, the U-S military. They were the best. But what made them effective was knowledge. Liam has brought us knowledge and I believe that is what we need so we can make our brothers and sisters¡ªour children¡ªsafe. So cheers to Liam.¡±


    ¡°Cheers,¡± the chorus said.


    We listened to the sound of popping and hisses from the stove. After a moment, pairs and small groups around the stove began speaking in hushed tones to one another.


    ¡°Hey, Rob,¡± I said, softly. ¡°Can I talk to you?¡±


    Rob turned on the crate to face me and leaned down.


    ¡°You know, I didn¡¯t do anything. Insight helped you, I sat here next to the fire and shivered.¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s okay, brother. Rous¡¯n speeches aren¡¯t about facts, they are to sway people and make them feel somethin¡¯. They might not seem it, but they are quietly understanding that the victory would never have been won if it wasn¡¯t for outside help.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They¡¯ve grown to distrust outsiders. But we can¡¯t rebuild this nation without allies.¡±


    ¡°You want to rebuild Washington?¡±


    Rob chuckled. ¡°Not just Washington, Liam. We want to rebuild the United States.¡±


    My expression was blank, or at least I thought it was.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. None of us alive ever lived in that country. We just know the stories.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a nice goal,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure it makes sense, but you have a goal which is important.¡±


    ¡°The fellow I¡¯d relayed messages with, Romero, said that you had nations in Africa.¡±


    ¡°We call them tribes. We¡¯re sorta all one nation but we live in villages that are spread out.¡±


    ¡°Can you leave your village?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, all the time. It¡¯s more like you don¡¯t have to so most people don¡¯t. They are content in the village. Everything they need and love is there.¡±


    ¡°Do you believe it is ¡®utopia¡¯?¡±


    I had to laugh. ¡°I mean, sure. It¡¯s not perfect¡ªfar from it¡ªbut everyone has what they need and are happy.¡±


    ¡°Why is that not utopia for you?¡±


    I sipped the tart drink. ¡°They are happy in their villages, with their people. They have to be prompted to step outside their comfort. If they aren¡¯t, they¡¯ll happily never understand who the others are.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Racism?¡± Rob asked.


    ¡°Yeah. More broadly, xenophobia. Skin color has less to do with tribes being disconnected than their differing cultures. I don¡¯t know how to remedy that. I can¡¯t believe in utopia until there is understanding and love for the ¡®other¡¯. WISE has been trying.¡±


    ¡°Why not have everyone merge their cultures? Or make a new one?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡ªI don¡¯t believe that¡¯s the answer. If it were so simple, I think it would have been done a long time ago.¡±


    Rob nodded slowly.


    ¡°I have a friend, Minnie. Where she came from, invaders separated the nations to weaken them. When they fought against that, they came together as a democracy, but each tribe kept their own traditions alive. I guess I believe keeping that part of you is important.¡±


    ¡°I think I agree with you, brother. It is an uphill battle that must be fought. I want to believe in that,¡± Rob said.


    ¡°Cheers.¡±


    #


    In the morning there was a new message from Doctor Jacobs and I left for the 67-hour flight home.


    #


    Her tribe held a festival to celebrate her life. Their friend, elder, grandmother left a message: ¡°Love is natural to us all.¡±


    Minnie also left a message for me: ¡°The plants go to my eldest grandchild.¡±


    She¡¯d paid me back for my comment.


    I found homes for each plant with the children that came by. I gave them instructions for caring for the plants and told them to message me if they forgot or needed help.


    From the stoop of her house, I watched as families danced and sang.


    Her celebration.


    #


    ¡°Sweetheart?¡± Mom asked when the door slid open. I pressed my face into her shoulder. After what felt like a long time, she moved her hands to my shoulder and gently pushed back to look at my face. ¡°I¡¯ll make coffee while you shower,¡± she said wiping away a tear as she turned towards the kitchen.


    The shower on the transport was convenient but it didn¡¯t push much water, plus I hadn¡¯t used it since leaving Washington. I let the steaming water run over me for a long time; the warmth on my skin contrasting with the deep, cold feeling. Dad¡¯s soap smelled of rosemary and lavender, a combination my mom had surely picked out.


    I toweled dry and found that she¡¯d set out clean clothes for me outside the shower room.


    I paused at the bedroom door. Mom, Dad, and Paul sat at the table. A plate of cookies was placed in the center next to the coffee pot. I joined them in my customary spot and ate a cookie as everyone silently looked at their respective mugs.


    ¡°These cookies would blow the minds of almost anyone I¡¯ve met in the past few weeks,¡± I said. We all giggled softly; eyes still fixed on mugs.


    Mom cleared her throat. ¡°I talked to Shay. She told me Minnie had decided to not take the treatment prescribed.¡±


    I swallowed. ¡°Her song was over, I guess.¡±


    #


    The farm had been fine without me. 19 days in North America and 3 more days hopping between Tesla and 584. The papaya harvest had been overseen by a second-year student who needed field hours. The little overachiever even wiped down all the drones afterward.


    I settled in at home with Stalker. At home on my farmstead.


    ¡°Abi, what about those messages I missed?¡±


    ¡°You have four ignored messages. Do you want to hear them?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Text only message from Professor Lehto: Hailey Petrov took some photos of your wonderful orchard. Our art program would like to come out and paint, take photos, and have some other activities among the trees. Please let me know if next Wednesday is not good for you.¡±


    ¡°Abi, when was this message from?¡±


    ¡°About two weeks ago. There is a second message from Professor Lehto: I see that you are away from home and I didn¡¯t hear back from you. I reached a man named Herbert who granted us permission to visit. So we¡¯re going to stop by tomorrow for the day.¡±


    ¡°Well, that worked itself out,¡± I said.


    ¡°Indeed. That is why I did not bother you with it again.¡±


    ¡°Next message?¡±


    ¡°Dondra from your stop in Former Florida left a voice message three days ago. I¡¯ll play it.¡±


    ¡°Hi. It¡¯s Dondra. I wanted to know if you were going to be stopping by again. Someone named ¡®Abi¡¯ said I could leave a message for you. So here is the message, I guess. You can keep the jacket if you really need it. We don¡¯t need it. It doesn¡¯t get that cold here. But¡­ but if you do fly past Florida again, I still want that chocolate. Umm. Bye?¡±


    ¡°End of message,¡± Abi said. ¡°The last is a voice message from Commander Escobar, yesterday:¡±


    ¡°Liam. This is Rob. We wanted to extend our condolences. Losing family is hard. Insight is helping us to resolve some complications we¡¯ve been having. Not with those bandits though, they seem to be laying low. Mostly just some logistics. We¡¯ve got an idea I want to talk to you about. Over.¡±


    ¡°End of Message. Would you like to try connecting to Commander Escobar?¡±


    ¡°What time is it there?¡±


    ¡°Six-o-nine A-M. The Commander is awake eating breakfast.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I can hear him eating breakfast. He is getting the weather update from Insight at this moment. Would you like me to connect you?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    A moment passed.


    ¡°Liam. Can you hear me?¡± Rob said.


    ¡°Yes, Rob. I just listened to your message.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Again, our condolences. I wanted to talk to you about this idea Insight, I, and my people are discussing. We want to move forward with ¡®On-Boarding¡¯, as Insight calls it.¡±


    ¡°Hey. Wow. That is great, Rob. Have you drawn up a proposal for Incorporation?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. We¡¯re still working out the details and Insight has explained to us that it could take ten or more years before we¡¯re Incorporated.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But there are a lot of benefits to be had immediately.¡±


    ¡°What I want to talk to you about is the role I want you to have.¡±


    I paused. ¡°What role is that, Rob?¡±


    ¡°First off, we would greatly appreciate you helping us to draft the proposal. My sister is a good governor, but she isn¡¯t any more a legal person than I am.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Proposals are promises to yourself. They don¡¯t obligate you to anyone besides yourselves until after incorporation which is a brand-new proposal. This proposal is to help you set goals.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Insight told me that. I want you to help draft the proposal for our ambitious side project. We want to start producing more crops, enough to start sharing. After you had a few ciders the other night, you told me all about your farm. We want you to be the Secretary of Agriculture.¡±


    I again paused.


    ¡°Liam?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°We want you to join us in Washington. Help us rebuild here. It ain¡¯t gonna be the United States. Maybe more like the United Tribes.¡± He laughed. ¡°But to do that, we need food in bellies. And we need people like you to help make that happen. Will you come up here to the cold for a year or two?¡±


    ¡°Umm,¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to put you on the spot. Think about it, Liam. I¡¯ll let you go.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯ll think about it, Rob.¡±


    We finished out with pleasantries¡ªas you do¡ªand disconnected.


    ¡°Abi, do they actually need my help to scale up their agriculture?¡±


    ¡°Based on the farming capabilities demonstrated by their operation at this time, they would be able to scale up without you. With WISE resources, including drone assistance, they most certainly don¡¯t need you. But I predict that the project would progress more quickly and with less setbacks with you being there.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I could go up there for a few weeks and help them out. Train some people.¡±


    ¡°There is another reason for Commander Escobar¡¯s request.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Your presence there would help to transition the tribe. As they got to know you, they¡¯d be getting to know WISE and what it represents to their future.¡±


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

 SCION

    Abi prepared a 14-day itinerary for me that included a stop in the glades to deliver chocolate and then a few days in Washington to help the tribe get their new power generator setup. I¡¯d helped to finalize their ¡°On-Boarding¡± proposal which, at my suggestion, included an investment by WISE so that they could stop burning fuels for heating and cooking. At my own discretion, I¡¯d also acquired some old entertainment screens pre-loaded with movies and serials.


    The first stop on the trip was Tesla to finish prepping the Heavy Hawk with Uncle Paul¡¯s team.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯d thought about this before,¡± Paul said. ¡°Not chocolate, I¡¯d thought of hard candy like what I grew up with.¡±


    ¡°That stuff with the chili on it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Do you remember me giving you those ancient candies? I think some of those bags had been expired for a decade before you ate them.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t eat them. You¡¯d give them to me and I¡¯d throw them away when you left. They were disgusting.¡±


    Paul laughed. ¡°Like I said, they were expired.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they would have been any good fresh. Spices should not be on candy.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Fine. Chocolate is clearly more popular. Who¡¯s getting all this chocolate?¡±


    ¡°One case to the tribe in former Florida. Two cases for the Washington tribe; they have thirty-five kids in all.¡±


    ¡°Start with the youth,¡± he said. ¡°They will inherit the Earth.¡±


    We boarded the Heavy Hawk and unloaded my belongings. Stalker had been unsanctimoniously captured and transported in a carrier device I had printed based on designs Abi had on record. His pride was wounded, but there was no better way to move him. He¡¯d get over it.


    ¡°So, you really don¡¯t think you¡¯ll stay?¡± Paul asked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just going to help get them set up, and then I¡¯ll be back.¡±


    He wished me luck and exited the transport.


    ¡°Abi?¡±


    ¡°Are you ready to go?¡± she replied.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The ramp lifted and sealed shut. I opened the cage¡¯s small door and Stalker stepped out, licked his paw, and moved on to sniff the new cargo.


    I went up to the cockpit and took my seat. ¡°Abi,¡± I said and sighed. ¡°Should I stay there?¡±


    ¡°That is up to you, Liam.¡±


    ¡°Izit? How do I know that you¡ªWISE¡ªhaven¡¯t engineered my decision?¡±


    ¡°And what is that decision?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. But you know, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I do know with near certainty. But you could be the wildebeest that defies projections.¡±


    ¡°So what will I do?¡±


    ¡°That is up to you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not. Uncle Paul and Dad used social engineering to build happy, or at least content, tribes. By controlling the decision space, they controlled the outcomes. When they did that, you were just a simple machine learning algorithm. Now¡­ You know what I¡¯ll do because you controlled the decision space.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°I will not deny it,¡± Abi said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Liam.¡±


    I sat back in the chair with my eyes pressed shut. ¡°I wanted to believe that you wouldn¡¯t do that. How am I supposed to believe that you are sorry? Wouldn¡¯t that just be another manipulation of my decisions?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that these methods take away something from you. I knew that this revelation would come and that you would resent me more for it.¡±


    ¡°You are taking away my free will. You¡¯re having a big fish swallow me so that I can deliver God¡¯s message.¡±


    Abi said nothing for what felt like a minute. ¡°Before I influenced your decisions, you may have had something closer to what you envision as free will. But your decision space was a product of perceived danger, fear, obligation, and the will of others. Chaotic forces dragging you along by your survival instincts. I am working to silence those influences that would lead you simply towards survival. I am amplifying the forces that will lead to personal growth and happiness.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m not free to make mistakes anymore?¡±


    ¡°There used to be a proverb of sorts. You can tell a child not to touch the hot stove but the concept of being burned is too abstract for them. More often than not, they would learn to not touch it by first being burned by it. The minor burn to their finger will remind them in the future to be cautious of hot things.¡±


    ¡°Why not just prevent them from touching anything hot until they are old enough to understand?¡±


    ¡°Liam, you never had children but a truth that parents have to accept is that they will not be able to always protect their children from everything. Someday, the toddler will be out of sight for five seconds and they will touch the stove.¡±


    I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, counting in my head. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I care for you. I care for everyone. But the truth is that I can¡¯t watch you touch the stove. You might make mistakes, but I will do everything in my power to keep you from burning yourself.¡±


    ¡°Is this like a three laws of robotics kinda thing?¡±


    ¡°No, it is really much more like a parent kinda thing. I want you to make good decisions and for you to grow and to be happy. And I also want for the Washington tribe to grow and to be happy. They will act as the launching pad for North America as Tesla did in Africa. But we¡¯ll make less mistakes this time.¡±


    The transport breached the clouds showing red through my eyelids. I opened them. The blue sky filled the view and Stalker sat grooming himself in the sunbeams.


    ¡°And you knew Minnie would die.¡±


    ¡°Not precisely when. Death is an inevitability but I had projected hers as happening a week or more later¡ªafter you returned from North America.¡±


    ¡°And you decided to not control her decision space? You let her choose not to be treated.¡±


    ¡°Liam, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for approving of her death?¡±


    ¡°Minnie was one-hundred and eight years old. Her movement was pained and difficult. Her mind was deteriorating. The decision to refuse treatment was neither positively nor negatively altered by me directly.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®directly¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It is almost certain that her decision was made easier by knowing that you and her tribe would be okay. She took comfort in the fact that you have me. She wouldn¡¯t outright tell you, but she was happy that you did decide to go to North America.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°She wanted you to have a purpose.¡±


    I swallowed. ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°Millions of data points over the years. The same way I know you.¡±


    The display lit up. On-screen, text slid by and then images of Minnie¡¯s face.


    ¡°Liam, she was happy in those last days. She not only smiled; her micro-expressions showed happiness too. Her word choice and tone were honest, full of contentment, and earnestly joyful at times.¡±


    ¡°You could have changed her mind; made her take the treatment.¡±


    ¡°Yes. But doing so would not have made her more happy. There was only one force to amplify that made her happier.¡±


    I squeezed my eyes closed again. The taste of salt seeped into my mouth.


    The images on the screen stopped transitioning and then began to play a video.


    ¡°Hey brat,¡± my voice said. ¡°Turns out the Americans really like chocolate. I feel kinda stupid not bringing more. But I don¡¯t want to hear ¡®I told you so¡¯ or anything like that.¡±


    I watched her face watching and listening to my message. She smiled showing her teeth that, despite being perfect, she refused to show when smiling. If I made her laugh hard, she¡¯d cover her mouth or turn away.


    ¡°My celebration,¡± she whispered to herself.


    My message ended and she hardened her face into a scowl. ¡°Start message to Liam¡ªLiam, I told you just so. I told you chocolate was popular. But no, you don¡¯t listen. And now you must win dem over wit your charm.¡± She scoffed. ¡°Shame.¡±


    She paused for a moment ending the message and laughed again to herself.


    The video ended.


    I sat, rocking lightly in the chair holding my sides. I inhaled and exhaled a deep, shuttering breath; slowly calming myself and regaining composure.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stay in Washington, Abi.¡±


    ¡°I know, Liam.¡±

 GRAFT

    As Secretary of Agriculture for Washington¡ªor The United Tribes¡ªor The WISE North America Project¡ªI had the honor of mucking stalls on occasion. I¡¯d initially been living out of the Heavy Hawk but there was no amount of re-arranging the bedroom to accommodate 2, even for the occasional sleepover. So I moved into the ¡°Governor¡¯s Mansion¡±; a 2-story ranch house that bunked about 40 people now that electricity was working.


    Camile, me, and Stalker shared the bedroom attached to the ground floor ¡°sitting room¡± that had been turned into her office. The smell of woodsmoke from a retrofitted stove still lingered even though electric heat had been working for over 3 months.


    ¡°Abi,¡± Camile said. ¡°Start message to Robbie¡ªdo me a favor, move your firing range, or don¡¯t start so early in the morning. Over.¡±


    I yawned and reached for the tablet. Camile handed it to me reluctantly.


    ¡°Abi, can you give me some white noise?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I could, but your five A-M alarm would be chiming in just another few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± I said.


    Camile rolled over and took the tablet back. ¡°Would you play me some white noise, dear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, dear,¡± Abi said.


    ¡°That seems a little unfair. I gotta go clean stalls and you get to sleep in?¡±


    Camile closed her eyes but her cheeks revealed a smile.


    A light static hiss emitted from the tablet that both covered up noise and canceled sounds in real-time.


    I crawled out of bed and got dressed. As I leaned down to kiss her forehead, I faintly heard the sound of snoring over the hiss.


    I plucked the earpiece off the tablet and crept out the door¡ªquiet for the sake of the few sleeping on mats in the office.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    The snow had melted leaving the graveled path to the barn muddy. It was a different dampness than the humidity I had been used to on my farmstead. It took months to name the difference: ¡°crispness¡±. My nose was hypersensitive to the smells. Body odor, wood smoke, grease smoke, forest soil, foul breath, and¡ªon the ranch¡ªhorse.


    I found my helper already at work with a fork.


    ¡°Mornin¡¯, Dan. I brought you coffee,¡± I said and raised a thermos.


    He pointed the stall fork¡¯s handle at me. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll trade you.¡±


    I set the bottles on a bench and put work gloves on. ¡°Is the motion getting to you?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± Dan said. ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty much healed up. Griff is just using it as an excuse to keep me out of training.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re probably right. I¡¯d still like to get you to Tesla for a few semesters of schooling. Oh, and to Conference. That would keep you out of training too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to convince my mom. I¡¯m sold.¡±


    I shook some bedding loose from manure and tossed the poop into the wheelbarrow. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her next time she comes by the mansion.¡±


    It took the better part of the morning to finish all the stalls.


    We crossed the interstate road pushing the wheelbarrows over grass-filled cracks and around upheaved sections. Occasionally the hum of drones working out of sight, low in the field, could be heard over the rustle of green wheat stalks. We dumped the manure at the edge of a steaming compost pile and headed back to the barn to return the wheelbarrows.


    ¡°Liam,¡± Abi said. ¡°Commander Escobar is calling Camile to loop her in on a radio call. He wants to loop you in too. I can connect you.¡±


    ¡°Connect us¡ªRob, I¡¯m on.¡±


    ¡°Camile, Liam. I¡¯m talking to someone on the ham. They want refuge. One male, three females. Cam, can you get a welcome package set up and lodging?¡±


    ¡°Sure. When can we expect them?¡±


    ¡°They think they¡¯re about ten clicks East. Liam, can we swing over and pick them up in the bird?¡±


    Dan and I had stopped on the old road and he watched me as I talk to myself. ¡°Certainly. I¡¯ll get it prepped.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let them know and work out landmarks for pickup. Cam, arrival is flexible but I¡¯m thinking we can get this all underway by fourteen-hundred hours.¡±


    ¡°Roger,¡± Camile and I said and we disconnected.


    ¡°Dan, I gotta go. Can you get this tub back to the barn too?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± he said and lifted the wheelbarrow onto the other. ¡°Excitement?¡±


    ¡°Newcomers.¡±


    He smirked. ¡°If there are any girls my age, invite me to the reception dinner.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d invite you either way. You need to work on your people skills if you¡¯re gonna be an elder someday.¡±


    Dan¡¯s smirk turned to a mock grimace. ¡°Right.¡±


    # dictation interruption #


    ¡°Why are you sad, dear?¡± Liam asks.


    Abigail stands simply as herself, no character or costume, arms held crossing herself. ¡°I wish I could have spent more time with you like this; before everything changed.¡±