Overload: Artificial Intelligence
by Michael F. Peek
OVERLOAD: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I - MORNING
II - DANAE
III - STEVE
IV - ACCIDENT
V - STORM
VI - LARK
VII - MISSING
VIII - TRAPPED
IX - RYUN
X - OCEAN
I'd like to dedicate this book to all the people along the way who have inspired me to be
who I am. Thank you for all your kindness and support.
Intro
To be honest with you, I wasn't planning for this to be my life. I actually had it all figured out.
I wanted to be a software engineer. I had graduated top of my class, and I had the right
college picked out. Everything was going fine for me. It almost seemed like a blessing
when I was picked in a nationwide search for the top young engineers to work on a project
deemed classified by the government. It was late, and raining hard when I arrived in Puerto
Rico, and I could hear the screaming of the other jet planes as they landed behind mine.
As I stepped onto the runway, I was greeted by a tall man cloaked in a heavy raincoat. He
Identified himself as Colonel Tortelli with the Pentagon, and there was a chopper standing
by for me and the others. There were five of us the first night, each picked for their skills
from the top schools in the nation. As I boarded the chopper, I introduced myself to the
first person I came upon. "Hi, I'm John Collin, But everyone calls me Jack." The girl looked
up at me, her hair was tied back under her hood, and she looked tired. "I'm Lark Ryan.
Where do you come from, Jack?" I replied, "Boston. I Don't really know what's going on,
but I know the confidentiality agreement made it sound important." Lark just smiled and sat
down across the cabin from me. I glanced at my watch, which said it was 1am. I was tired
from the long trip south, and fell asleep in the darkness as we were taking off.
I - MORNING
I awoke the next morning in a room with the curtains blowing in. The roar of the
ocean was outside my window, and I sat up in bed. I was suddenly aware of my
surroundings, and didn't remember landing, or even getting off the helicopter. I walked to
the door and out into a hallway where I saw there were 2 other doors. Not wanting to bother
anyone, I checked the place out; finding a kitchen, a bathroom with a really nice shower,
and an extrememly modern computer den with 3 consoles and an 8 foot tall tower. "This is
gonna be some project." I commented aloud. "Hope you're up to the task." Came a voice
from behind me. I turned around to find a guy my age standing there. He outstretched his
hand and introduced himself. "The name's Steve Rion. Came all the way out here from
good ol' Texas." "Jack Collins." I replied. "The Task? So you know what we're supposed to
be doing?" Steve answered, "The briefing is supposed to be later, but while you were all
sleeping on the chopper, I was getting some answers from Colonel Tortelli. We're building
an artificial intelligence unit." "AI? They want us to make a living computer?" was my
surprised exclaimation. Steve got a grin on his face. "Oh it gets better. The reason we're
building it is for a quick response defense system. We're going to deploy it on
governments of hostile countries, and it's supposed to render their sattelites useless,
attack under command, and make decisions faster than slow human reflexes. It's a soldier,
Jack. We're building a computer soldier." This was going to be a long project.
As Steve and I were talking, an alarm sounded, and suddenly the kitchen came
to life down the hall. I walked toward the noises and discovered eggs frying, bacon on the
stove, orange juice being poured... The whole process was being done by machines.
Another guy came up behind me and patted me on the back. "You like that? I've been here
a few years getting things started up. This was my first little design here. Automated kitchen
designs. Gonna be standard household items in a few years." I didn't know what to say, I'd
never seen anything like it before. It almost seemed like something out of a storybook. He
introduced himself as Ryun Sintrella, Fresh out of a private school in Michigan. I must
admit, I was impressed by his work so far. "So Ryun, what do you know about this project?"
I asked him. "Are you kidding? The thing's almost on it's feet. All we need is another week
or so and It should be able to start carrying an intelligent conversation with us." I looked
over his shoulder at the food on the stove being scraped by a robotic arm onto a plate and
whisked to a table that slowly pulled out of a wall. "Steve of course was already on it, and
sitting before a heaping plate of flapjacks and a tall glass of Milk. "I'm all set, let me know
when the briefing is." We all were quick to join him.
Outside, the waves pounded the rocks below the cliffs. There were 2 small
buildings for living, a large communications building where the main computer was housed,
and a massive power plant which turned the water hitting the rocks into energy to power the
island. The housing for the generator was a large gray building with a ladder leading to the
roof. The door to one of the living quarters opened and three girls stepped out. The one in
the front stepped over to the other building and knocked on the door. After hearing the
knocking, I opened the front door to be greeted by the most stunning girl I'd ever seen. It
was Lark, only she looked a lot different than the first time I'd met her. Her long blonde hair
was let down, she wore a tight gray tank top that cut off at her navel. Her skin was a golden
tan, and she had freshly applied makeup. I was at a loss for words, so I was thankful she
spoke first. "Hey Jack, good morning." "Um, Hi...Lark, was it?" I fooled to make
conversation. She smiled and replied, "Good job... and who are these other guy's you're
rooming with?" I went around the room and introduced Steve and Ryun. Lark stepped into
the kitchen, and following her inside were two other girls, about the same age and height.
Lark introduced them to each of us. "Well now that I know all of you, it's best you get to
know all of us." She pointed to an attractive brunette. "This is Laci Robbins, and her friend
Moura laClavia." Laci explained, "We both originally came from the same town. It really was
a coincidence." And what town is that?" Ryun asked, with a grin upon his face. He was
obviously being coy. "The East Chalgrin Valley, Louisiana. Oh and by the way, The Briefing
is in 10 minutes, did you get the call?" We all had a puzzled expression on our faces when
the phone rang.
It was about 10:30am eastern time. I wasn't sure where I was, or what time zone
I was in, but my watch said 10:30, and I was going to go by that. In my closet was waiting
for me a full array of clothing. "Not bad at all." I commented to nobody. I chose a pair of
khakis and a black t-shirt, and headed out to the main communications building. As I
arrived, I was greeted by my fellow companions and Colonel Tortelli. There were a few
random men and women wandering about, each to their own task. One man was noticably
doing some visible work to a large machine. I was startled back to reality by Tortelli's
booming voice. "Is it almost ready?" The man doing the work to the machine took a step
back. "It's all set, sir." Tortelli went on. "For the past four years, we've strived to find a better
way to take on targets across the globe without setting a foot on soil. We have sattelites to
pinpoint missle targets, we have the PREDATOR drone to take pictures from the sky, and
Tomahawk Missles to launch from distances, but we needed something more accurate
without as much effort. Today, everything changes. This is your first view of the results of
American ingenuity, and good old fashioned know how and hard work. Ladies and
gentlemen, meet the Defense for American Nationality and Allied Embassies, or DANAE,
as we like to call it. A giant holigraphic screen flickered to life, and the face of a woman
appeared. A red line such as one seen on the screen of an EKG wavered below her face.
"Hello DANAE, how are you feeling?" Tortelli asked. "System cannot comply." She stated.
The man who was working on her previously got a nervous look on his face and rushed
over to the machine. He opened up a panel and reached inside. From where I stood, all I
could see was a shower of sparks flying out of the hole, and the face on the screen
flickered, turned upside down, flickered again and turned back. A loud hum was heard, and
the machine spoke. "Good morning, Colonel. I trust everything is well with you?" The
Colonel smiled and turned toward the others and myself. "Right now, what you're seeing is
a self aware machine. She can think, and perform actions on her own. What she doesn't
know how to do yet is to make war plans. That's your job." He walked over to a desk and sat
down. "Rather than contract out to companies to do the programming job, we made
selections from around the country's top high schools. Secrecy is our best friend. If this
project works out, there's definitely positions avaialble on other projects." I looked over at
Lark, and just at that moment she turned and looked at me. I quickly turned my head the
other way, embarrassed to have been caught checking her out. I blushed, and hoped no
one else had seen me looking.
As I turned to leave, I was followed by Steve and the girls. I hardly noticed Ryun
staying behind to talk to Colonel Tortelli. I managed to hear some heated arguing
between the two. It puzzled me slightly, but I didn't think much of it. The rest of us walked
to the cliffs and looked over. The waves were still pounding, and I noticed a helipad built
into the side of the cliff. A small cave path led from the pad through the cliffs. I wasn't sure
where it led to, but I had an idea it may be in the building with the generator. Walking back
on the path to the residency, Steve alongside, I recalled the face of DANAE on the screen.
It felt so awkward being in the presence of an intelligence not human. "Steve, what were
you planning on doing before you got sucked into this?" I asked him. "You know, I never
really liked to think about that. I guess I would have liked to get into programming anyway.
Just not for such a hush-hush operation." He replied. I thought about the topic for a moment
and realized that I myself didn't really know what I wanted. I thought I'd wanted to be a
programmer myself, but suddenly I was scared of what this project was capable of. Steve
patted me on the back and said "Look, I can tell you're all nervous about something or
other. Any idiot can see that. And I'd actually bet it has something to do with Lark checking
you out." I looked up. "She checks me out?" Steve didn't say anything, he just sort of
grinned and winked, and we kept walking. As I walked in the door, I felt a chill down my
spine. Something seemed to be giving me goosebumps. I'm not sure why, but I walked
into the computer den and a feed was coming through the printer. The one word "Control"
was printed on a piece of paper. Steve came up behind me, saw what I was looking at and
said, "It's just a system malfunction. Don't worry about it, it happens all the time I bet." I
shrugged it off, and went back to the kitchen for some lunch. it sensed my presence and
immediately launched into the serve mode and served me a ham sub with my favorite
ingredients: mayonnaise, swiss cheese, and lettuce. I had just sat down to eat it when the
phone began to ring. "Hey Jack?" I heard a female voice on the other end. "This is Laci." I
lightened up as soon as I knew it wasn't Tortelli again. "Hey there Laci, whats on your
mind?" I said brightly. She replied, "Well Lacey, Moura and I were thinking of going down to
the beach, and wanted to know if you, Steve and Ryun wanted to meet us there?" It didn't
take me long to consider it. I felt an afternoon on the beach would surely take my mind off
what was bothering me. Hell, I didn't even know what it was that was bothering me to begin
with! "Well, Ryun didn't come back with us, but Steve and I will meet you down there...Um,
which beach are we talking about?" Lacey gave a little giggle and told me about the little
beach just past the cliffs. They were walking around early this morning and stumbled upon
it. She said that it was such a private little beach that she doesn't even think that Tortelli and
the project directors know about it. I told her I understood and we'd meet them there.
II - DANAE
"Colonel, I'm not sure I entirely agree with you on how this situation should be
handled." Ryun was pacing back and forth in front of Colonel Tortelli's desk. "I mean, it just
doesn't feel right. I don't think I want that kind of responsibility." Tortelli unfolded his hands
and placed them evenly on his desk in front of him. "Well, Ryun, I guess what I'm trying to
say is that you really have little choice on the matter. When you agreed to work for us, you
agreed to finish what you started, and I must say, you've done a great job to this point."
Ryun rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "But Tortelli..." In a flash the Colonel was on his
feet and standing in front of Ryun. "But nothing, Mr. Sintrella! You listen to me! First off, you
will treat me with the respect I deserve, secondly, you will finish this job, even if it kills you!"
Ryun was taken aback at the speed and emotion put into the Colonels actions. "I'm sorry,
sir. It's just I find sending thousands of people to their deaths without a reason or fair
explanation puts a large burden on my conscience, and I'm not sure I can handle that." The
Colonel turned to walk away. As he was walking, he stopped and turned his head back
toward Ryun. "Well, handle it", he said, and continued to walk away. DANAE's screen
flickered to life for a brief moment, and she looked down upon Ryun. "Don't be afraid,
Ryun, it really isn't what you say it is. I promise I can care just like a human being could. I
understand what you're going through." Ryun was still upset from Tortelli's treating him like
a child, and frowned at DANAE. "You can never be human. You're just a machine, and
that's all you'll ever be." he said deeply, and walked away. Alone in the large echoey room,
DANAE's screen fizzled out.
As I hung up the phone, Steve flashed me a grin, and gave me a look almost as
if he was asking me, "Did you do good?" I laughed and nodded, and Steve and I went to
our own rooms to find bathing suits. I shut my door and sat on the bed. I felt lightheaded,
and lie down for a moment to collect myself. "I know she's cute, and obviously smart, but
what could she see in me, if anything at all?" I asked myself. "Maybe it's just my
imagination. I've only been here one day." I swore at myself for getting nervous, and sat up.
I pulled out a black bathing suit with red stripes down the sides. As I pulled off my shirt, I
looked in the mirror. I didn't have too bad of a body, Obviously, lifting weights through high
school had done justice to me. Turning from the mirror, I changed into my bathing suit and
slipped on a pair of sandals that had been by the door. I never really thought about it, but as
I put those sandals on, I got the wierdest feeling that maybe the government really WAS
paying attention to our personal lives. I laughed and said out loud, "How the hell did they
know what size shoes, sandals, shirts, pants.... incredible." I let out one last laugh and
pulled a muscleshirt on. Opening the door, I hadn't taken but a few steps before I heard a
voice coming from the computer den. "John?" it said. I wasn't sure, but it sounded like
DANAE's voice. I turned around and walked back toward the den. Opening the door, I was
greeted by the computer screen on, and DANAE's face looking me in the eyes. "Hi, John.
Doing anything important today?" I gave a little laugh, then replied. "Well first off, call me
Jack, please. Second, I'm planning on going down to the beach to unwind from last nights
trip." DANAE gave a smile and started to talk again. "Sounds like a great time. Are you
going to do any work on my controls today?" I was in a hurry to get out of there. Something
about DANAE made me nervous, and I wasn't sure what it was or why it did.
"Listen, I promise Steve and I are gonna take care of everything you need. Lark and the
girls are going to make sure your programs are all running without any bugs in them. Don't
worry, we won't neglect you." She smiled once again and thanked me. The screen flickered
and went out. It still unnerved me whenever she popped up like that, but again, it was
nothing. I shook it off, and knocked on Steve's door. There wasn't any answer, and I
frowned. I knocked again, and listened for a reply. "Why isn't he answering?" I asked
myself. "Steve? You in there?" Still no reply, so I turned the knob. It wasn't locked, and I
opened the door slightly. He wasn't in the room. The thought that maybe he went down to
the beach without me while I was changing crossed my mind. With that thought, I left the
building.
The wind blew across the land, sending sand flying through the air. Palm trees
bent freely in the wind, and the waves washed up upon the shore. It could almost be
believable that the island was uninhabited, except for the loud hum coming from the
generator building. A tropical bird flew overhead, slowly, looking for food. Down on the
beach, Laci lay tanning alongside Lark and Moura. Suddenly, without warning, Someone
jumped down from a rock ledge above. The three girls screamed, and Laci curled into a
ball as Lark and Moura jumped up to run. Suddenly they heard laughing. "Steve, you
bastard!" Lark yelled. Laci had a dazed look on her face for a moment before she shook it
off. "Real mature, Steve." She said, and then a barely noticable smirk crossed her face.
She jumped up and pushed Steve, hard, on his chest. He stumbled backwards, and before
he could catch his balance, he toppled right into the ocean. Lark and Laci began laughing
uncontrollably, while Moura giggled slightly. Steve stood up in the water and took a bow.
"And that was my stunning performance of 'falling into the ocean,' I hope you all enjoyed it."
"Bravo!" Shouted Lark. Just then, a particularly large wave washed ashore and knocked
Steve from his feet, back into the sea. "And what an encore!" Lark laughed. Steve stood
up, made a half hearted laugh, and walked onto shore. He looked up, and waved. "Jack,
down here!"
I walked down the sandbanks, half running, half trying to slow myself as I slid.
Eventually, I wound up on my back, everyone looking down at me. I didn't mind it though,
because it made me laugh. "Way to go Jack, this is just how to impress her." I thought. I
looked at her. She looked beautiful, wearing a two piece, blue bathing suit. Her long blonde
hair thrown loosely over her shoulders, and her big, blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. I
would have kept looking, but I caught myself just as she noticed my gaze. Our eyes locked
momentarily, but I quickly turned and said to Steve, "See, I definitely make a good
entrance." Everyone laughed, and I made a comment. "You know what would be nice, is a
game of beach volleyball." Moura spoke for possibly the first time I'd ever heard her, and
said "I don't know if we have one around here, but I could check. Maybe some other time."
I didn't think we even had enough people here at the moment, let alone on this entire island.
There were only five of us there on the beach, minus Ryun, wherever he was. We might be
able to go three against three, but I'd have to check with him later. That would have
sounded like a good idea if it weren't for the multiple specks on the horizon that kept
coming closer. A barely audible vibration could be heard, and as the specks came closere,
they could be distinctly identified as the rotor blades of helicopters. Suddenly they were
upon us, rocketing past at an amazing speed of around 170mph. They dissapeared over
the trees, but we could still hear them, until a point where the sounds just stopped.
Ryun was walking down a large hall. It was dark at the end he was walking
toward, and there was little light around him. He carried a flashlight, and looked side to side.
He came to the end of the hall, and found what he was looking for. A door marked "Stairs"
stood in front of him. He turned the knob, to find it was locked. Cursing, he reached for his
keys, and unlocked the door. He proceeded to walk down to the basement level, where the
filing cabinets were stored. He flipped on the light switch at the bottom of the stairs, and
rows upon rows of filing cabinets were illuminated. He knew exactly which cabinet to look
for, and began searching. When he found the cabinet he was looking for, he opened it and
began looking for a file. His eyes flipped back and forth as he read the names on the files,
and finally he came upon the file marked "Offensive maneuver program." Inside the folder
was a set of lists, incomplete, of code that would be used to program DANAE to perform
offensive maneuvers from sattelites. He looked at it and smiled, then headed back toward
the stairs. He flipped off the light and headed back up toward the program lab. "Real great,
their first day here, and of course none of them are here to help start the hard part." He said
aloud. Hearing a voice, DANAE popped up on his computer screen in a small window.
"Geez!" He yelled, and jumped up. "You scared the hell out of me, DANAE." "That wasn't
my intention, Ryun. I heard you here, and was wondering if you really meant what you said
before." Ryun didn't know what she was talking about. "What do you mean?" he asked. She
responded, "About how I was nothing more than a machine?" Ryun didn't reply at first, and
began typing code. "Yes, I did mean it. You may be able to think, but it's not true thinking.
You can only think limitedly, what we initially programmed you to do. You can't learn, all you
can do is do what we taught you to do. So yes, you are just a machine, I hope you don't
take offense to it." DANAE looked hurt, but she replied, "No, I'm not offended, I guess. I'm
not taught to hurt. I can't feel pain, emotionally or physically." Ryun smiled and thought to
himself, "Good, because I'm not here to see if you're having a good day, I'm here to make
sure you work properly in the end." He kept typing on the keyboard when suddenly the door
to the lab opened, and about a dozen uniformed men came in. They were followed by three
men wearing more brass than can be found in a trumpet. Ryun stood up and saluted,
standing at full attention. The man on the left said, "At ease. What's your name, son?" Ryun
relaxed slightly, and told them his name, and his purpose. "Ryun Sintrella, Chief of
programming on project: DANAE" The man who had initially spoken introduced himself,
and the other two men. "Major Carl Schultz, and these are my men Corporal Daniel O' Neill,
and Corporal Ronald Siegfried, US marine Corps." Each man nodded as his name was
announced. Obviously the Pentagon was checking in on the project. "May I ask the
wherabouts of Colonel Tortelli?" Schultz asked. Ryun responded. "Actually, sir, I really
don't know at the moment. I was just doing some minor work to DANAE as you came in."
Major Schultz had a look of dissapointment on his face, and Ryun knew Tortelli's presence
was probably urgently needed, based on the surprise entrance of Schultz, with his
entourage of soldiers. Corporal Siegfried motioned for some of the men to follow him, and
he dissapeared through one of the doorways leading out of the building. Corporal O' Neill
stood his ground, along with the rest of the soldiers, while Major Schultz paced back and
forth, thinking. "Alright, is there any way he can be reached?" He asked. Ryun thought for a
moment, wondering if he could get any information out of him. After looking at his face
once more, Ryun decided it would only cause trouble, and decided against it. "Yes, sir. His
residence is on the other side of the Island, I think. He keeps to himself most the time,
doesn't really tell us what's going on except when he needs certain work done." The Major
smiled and thanked him, and turned to leave. O' Neill and the rest of the men followed.
Ryun sat back in his chair and wondered what was going on for a minute, then shrugged
and got back to work.
Back on the beach, we were all looking toward where we saw the choppers land.
I wasn't sure what was going on, maybe something had happened. I turned back toward
everyone. "Hey guys, you know what? We'll find out what all that was about later. Right now,
we're gonna relax for a little while." Laci laughed a little bit and spread a towel on the sand.
She lay down on it and said, "I don't know what you guys are gonna do, but if I'm going to
be in a tropical paradise, I'm getting a tan." Moura spread her towel next to Laci's, and
followed suit. I figured there was no harm in soaking up a little sun, and casually tossed a
towel down on the sand. As I got to my knees to straighten it, Lark lay her towel directly next
to mine. She got down on on her knees, and then and lay on her back. She grabbed a pair
of sunglasses out of a bag she had with her, and placed them over her eyes. It was all I
could do to keep a smile from spreading across my face, and i sat down with my knees
pulled up to my chest. As I looked out across the ocean, Lark spoke to me. "So Jack, we
really didn't get to talk much last night. I don't really know anything about you." She rolled
over onto her side, and propped herself up with her elbow. "So do you have a girlfriend
back home?" I laughed again, and said, "No, I've just been taking it easy. There's nobody
waiting for me." She smiled, and asked, "Maybe you'll tell me a little more about yourself?" I
smiled a little and started thinking. "Well, I was born in New York, but my parents didn't want
me being raised in the city, so we moved to a little town in Pennsylvania. I lived there until I
was about 6, but then my father died of a heart attack. I wasn't old enough to fully
understand it back then." I looked up to the sky and lay back on the towel. "We tried to live
there for a few more months until all the papers were taken care of, but Mom couldn't take
the bad memories, so we moved out to Boston, and that's where I've lived the rest of my
life. You know how it is, things were looking okay for both of us for a while, but my mother
was killed in a car accident." I tried not to think about it, but since I'd started, I had to keep
going. I could see the horrible night play over again in my head. My mother and I had been
out grocery shopping at the supermarket, and I was sitting in the passenger seat. My
mother got into the car and started the ignition. We pulled up to a red light on the way out of
the parking lot, and were waiting for the light to turn green. There was another car in front of
us, and as the light turned green, he went through. As we followed, out of the corner of my
eye I could see the SUV coming at us. He didn't even hit the brake, he just clean barreled
into the driver's side of the car, flipping our little sedan like a matchbox toy. I was lucky to
walk away from it with just a broken rib and fractured collarbone. My mother, however, was
not as lucky. "A drunk driver got in his car, and just drove through an intersection and
broadsided her drivers side." I told her. I could tell Lark wasn't sure what to say, but she
reached out and put her hand on mine. I smiled and said, "So what's your story? I know just
as much about you as you knew about me five minutes ago." She laughed a little, and said,
"I don't think I even told you where I was from, did I?" I shook my head, I hadn't even
remembered to ask her. "I was born, raised, and living in Manhattan. My parents and I lived
in a beautiful apartment just outside the financial district. My father was a stockbroker a the
Stock Exchange, so we had enough money to afford a nice place, but not too much more."
I'd been back to visit the city a few times. I thought it was a nice place to visit, but I don't
think I'd be able to imagine living there. She continued, "At night we had an incredible view.
Sometime's I'd go up to the roof and sit there, staring at the skyline for hours. If I looked
one way, I could see all the way up through the city, and the Empire State Building was
always lit up with the colors they have at the top. If I looked the other way, the World Trade
Center and the World Financial Center always looked so beautiful. There was nothing but
lights, it was so beautiful, up until, you know..." I agreed, "Yeah, I had a poster of Manhattan
hanging on my bedroom wall for a few years" I knew what she was talking about. Lights as
far as the eye could see, and it really was, as she put it, beautiful. For a while, we just sat
there and talked about things. A few times, Steve looked over and winked at me. Luckily
Lark couldn't see him from where she was. She yawned, and stood up. "Wow, I don't
believe it, but I'm still tired from the flights over here." It was already around 7:30pm, and
the sun was starting to lower over the ocean. I don't even remember where all the time
went. We headed down to the beach at about six, but it didn't seem like we'd been here
over an hour. Now that I thought about it, I was really hungry. We packed up our things and
headed back to the residence's.
III - Steve
I closed the door behind me when I got back to my room. As I sat down on the
bed, I picked up my acoustic guitar I had brought with me. I strummed a few chords before
deciding on a song. It wasn't long before I saw the door to the room open. Steve walked in
and leaned against the wall. He was nodding his head to the beat, and I stopped. "Dude,
why'd you stop playing?" he asked. I replied, "I'm not sure, man. I don't usually play in front
of people. I'm not really that good." He reached out to shake my hand, and as I took it, he
said to me, "It wasn't bad at all. You really shouldn't be so shy about it." I just kind of
dropped back, still holding the guitar close. "It's about Lark, isn't it?" he said. I leaned the
guitar against the wall, careful so that it didn't fall over. There was already one incident with
that guitar where it had fallen over and the neck had broken off. It took forever to fix, but it
was worth it. I liked this guitar. "Yes, it is about Lark, and I'm really not sure what to do about
it." Steve shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know man, I guess you should just tell
her how you feel." I would do that If I knew how, I really would, but in truth, I wasn't sure if I
could. "I've only known her for two days, man. I mean, believe in love at first sight, but are
you sure it isn't just lack of options?" Steve shrugged once again. "I guess all you can do is
call her. Or...." He cut off mid-sentence and walked out the door, motioning for me to follow.
I stood up and walked after him. He sat down at a computer terminal, and switched it on.
"NetMessage, the quick and easy way to talk without the embarrassment of face to face." I
wasn't sure if it was such a good idea, I'd been prone to being turned down for years, and I
wasn't sure I was up for it again. "You know, Steve, now's just not the right time for this. We
all have a lot of work to do, and I don't think it'd be a good idea to divide my attention."
Steve looked a little unsure, but replied, "You're the boss, Jackie." and left to go to his own
room. I fell asleep that night feeling cold and numb.
Outside, the wind howled and blew viciously. Tree's bent to near breaking point,
and the ocean pounded the cliffs below. The storm moved in quickly, lightning flashing
occasionally. In the compound, the buildings creaked in the wind, and the rain pelted the
roofs. Outside the dorm Jack was rooming in, a particularly large tree was waving back and
forth. Suddenly, a powerful wind gust took it with more strength than it could handle. As it
leaned further, large cracks appeared in the trunk. Finally, it couldn't handle any more, and
with a loud cracking noise, it split, falling on the building. Inside, sleep was more powerful
than the sense of hearing, and unconsciousness prevailed. The storm blew over shortly
after, and the peacefulness and tranquility of the night took over once more.
As I woke up, I rubbed my eyes. The clock read 12:00, and it was flashing.
"Great, the power went out." I said aloud. It must have still been early, because it was dark
through the shades on the window. I would have gone back to sleep if there wasn't a knock
on my door. "Who is it?" I groggily asked. "Hey Jack, look outside your window!" Steve
said excitedly. For some reason, I doubted things were the way they should be. I walked to
the window and pulled open the shades. All I could see was leaves, pressed tightly against
the now cracked windowpane. Suddenly, I was awake, and rushing to get my clothes on. I
raced outside, letting the front door slam behind me. The tree was the largest Idigbo tree
next to the dorm, and it had to have been at least 100 feet high and 3 feet in diameter. It
had split somwhere around halfway, and the canopy of the tree had fallen straight down and
landed, covering the building almost completely. I wasn't used to seeing tropical trees as it
was, but to see one broken and on the ground was definitely a sight. Standing nearby,
talking with some groundsmen was Colonel Tortelli. I walked over to him and waited until
he was finished talking. "Sir, what happened here?" I asked him. He turned and nodded to
one of the groundsmen who asked him a question in spanish. Then he turned back to me
and replied, "So I take it you didn't hear the storm last night?" "No, sir." I said. "Was it bad?"
A man was walking toward the tree with a chainsaw, and another was walking alongside,
holding what looked like scaling tools, to climb the now severed trunk. Tortelli answered,
"Oh, that was near nothing. Sometimes the storms out here will get so bad that we actually
have to tell the ships coming with supplies to turn around. The water gets to blasting at the
cliffs so bad that the rock collapses and the cliffline gets closer. You see where the cliff
ends right now?" I looked over and saw where the edge of the land was. There was a chain
link fence along the border of the compound, so it wasn't possible to fall over unless you
jumped... Tortelli continued, bringing my attention back to him. "When we first set up here a
good twenty years ago, the edge wasn't that close. It was about fifty feet farther out, so it
actually moves in over the years." I was impressed, although that couldn't be good for the
establishment. Judging by how far he said the cliffs had moved in twenty years, I figured
that in a few years, it would be on top of the compound. I assumed DANAE would be up
and running flawlessly by then. I heard the chainsaw start chewing into wood behind me,
and turned in time to see the first section of the tree trunk fall to the ground. It was only
about a foot tall, but since the trunk was so thick, it had to be taken apart in small sections.
Tortelli saw me looking, and said, "Don't worry, they'll have the whole thing taken care of by
nightfall. These Costa Rican people work hard and fast, and they do a good job." I replied
to him, "Well, if that's all sir, I'm going to go get showered, get some breakfast, and head
over to do some work on DANAE." Tortelli smiled. "Fine with me, good to see some
initiative. I like that." With that, I pushed some smaller branches aside, and opened the front
door. Once again, I let it slam behind me.
Steve sat in front of the computer, lost in thought. His fingers seemed to be
moving on their own, as if guided by an unseen force. Characters appeared on the screen;
they were the language that would help DANAE learn to use her satellite capabilities.
Occasionally he glanced at a dossier, which gave him specific details about the project,
and told him what kind of programs to create. He enjoyed this kind of work. Back at his high
school in Montgomery, he used to spend hours doing this kind of thing just for fun. His
most proud moment was single handedly creating the school's computer network, and that
project had only taken him about two weeks. He spent his Junior year creating security
programs for his father's company, such as car security systems and even home security
systems. Steve knew what he was doing, it was part of the reason he was picked for this
job. It seemed like a good enough job, but if it wasn't for the large lump sum from the
government, he wasn't sure if he'd have even accepted it. He didn't like to take on mystery
projects, because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to finish it with a guarantee of perfection.
But this project was different than most, it was almost on it's feet when he was contacted.
He was good, but it made it a lot easier on him, having most the project finished. Still
oblivious to the world around him, he typed at his keyboard, mesmerized by the code
appearing on the screen. He didn't even notice the large screen to his left come alive. She
didn't say anything, but just watched as he worked away at her programs. DANAE knew he
was busy, but she craved attention. "Hello Steve." She said. Steve nearly jumped a mile at
the sound of her voice. "You don't need to be so jumpy, I won't hurt you." She said with a
smile. The face on the screen turned and looked around the room. "My camera's allow me
to see what the world is like. In this room I use cameras, outside, I use satellites. Would
you care to see the world, Steve?" Steve thought about it for a moment, decided he could
afford to take a few minutes for a break, and replied, "Sure, show me what you got."
DANAE nodded in approval. Suddenly the lights went dark in the room, and her screen
seemed to grow to several times it's original size. It seemed to envelope him, making him
feel as if he was actually in the picture. The screen went from a pale green to an incredible
flash, and Steve could see snow. As far as the eyes could see, there was water. Far off in
the distance, Steve could see a mountain, it's peak capped with white. "How lifelike," he
thought to himself. It was amazing the things they could do with the technology they had.
The way he saw it, this could replace television sets worldwide. Everyone would want to
actually be in the picture. He imagined the fortune that could be made... The picture
changed again. Now Steve was falling through the air. He looked to his left, and saw people
falling with him. As he looked, they were all pulling ripcords, and large parachutes were
erupting from their backs. He felt tempted to do the same, except he knew he wasn't really
there, but it just felt so real... He was brought back to reality by the sound of Laci's voice.
"Steve, are you in here?" DANAE's screen immediately shrunk back to normal, and the
lights came back on. Steve was amazed at what he'd experienced. The longer he was
here, the more impressed he was at the technological advances he'd witnessed. But no
sooner had it started, it was over, and Steve was back in the real world, ready to be himself
again. DANAE's face came back on the screen. She looked at Laci with the slightest hint of
annoyance, yet she remained cheerful. "Hello Laci, how are you today?" Laci replied, "Fine
DANAE, having fun?" Without waiting for a reply, she turned to Steve. "Steve, can you
come help me with something?" "Yeah, Laci, just give me one second." He replied, and
picked up the dossier and put it back into a filing cabinet. He turned a key in a lock, and put
the key back in his pocket. Only Jack, Ryun and Lark had a key to the cabinet. It contained
specific information about DANAE; Startup codes, special shutdown commands, Satellite
codes... The works. After the key was in his pocket, he turned back toward Laci, and
started to follow. DANAE interrupted, "Wait Steve, why are you leaving?" Steve replied,
"Don't worry DANAE, I just have to help Laci out. I'll be back later." DANAE looked hurt.
"Didn't you enjoy the places I showed you?" Steve was getting annoyed now, and
wondered why this machine was trying to stop him. "Yes, I enjoyed them, but I have other
things to do now. It won't kill me if I don't finish you right now." DANAE's screen crackled,
and nearly fizzled out, but she stayed there, and regained her calm. "You're right. Go have
fun, I'll be here when you're done." With that, her screen went out for good, and Steve
followed Laci out of the room.
Having finished with my shower, I entered my bedroom and put on a clean pair
of clothes. I looked out the window, and fortunately, the workmen managed to get the
branches cleared away from my window. The windowpane had masking tape over the crack
on the outside. As I plopped back down on my bed, I stared at a spot that would be perfect
for a television set. How I missed TV. I didn't watch too often, but I had a few favorite
shows that I never would miss. I picked up the guitar again and started to strum a few
chords before I picked a song to play. It was a song I had written a few years ago, back
when I was in high school. I started to sing along, "Where can I find myself, when I've been
missing for so long? How far's the space between the days since I've been gone?
How can I find a love that won't let me down, down tommorrow, down tonight, missing you,
hold me tight. Where can I take refuge from the call? Will I find you, or nobody at all?"
Somwhere toward the end of the words, Lark opened my bedroom door and listened. I
smiled, and continued to play right up until the end. When I had finished, she came over
and sat down beside me. "That was incredible, what do you call it?" I responded, "'Where
Can I.' I wrote it a long time ago." "It's sweet, I like it." She said. I sat there without
speaking, looking down at my guitar. Then I turned and looked at Lark. It almost felt like a
scene from out of a movie, when the guy and the girl first realize they're in love. Slowly, we
leaned in toward each other, and our lips touched. It seemed to last an eternity, and when it
ended, she looked at me and smiled, like she always does. This time, it seemed more
magical. She stood up and said, "I have to go do some work, but I'll see you in a little while
I guess?" "Yeah." I said, "Maybe you can come by and I can play a little more for you." She
laughed a little, and said "It's a date." She backed out, and shut the door behind her.
Steve walked down the dark hall. He wasn't sure where Laci had gone, but he
was glad to get away from DANAE. She was starting to both get on his nerves, and creep
him out at the same time. Something just wasn't right about this artificial intelligence, it didn't
seem right, but he wasn't here to ask questions. Steve was a patriot, and he was going to
serve his country, whether his morals were against it or not. He heard a noise behind him,
and glanced over his shoulder. He saw nothing, but as he was looking, he bumped into
someone, hard, knocking them both to the floor. Papers went flying, and suddenly a light
turned on. May I ask what's going on here? Colonel Tortelli stood at the end of the hall,
hand on the light switch. Steve looked beside him to see Ryun on the floor, picking up
papers that he had dropped in the collision. He didn't catch much, but for some reason, his
attention was drawn to a particular page. He saw what looked like plans for a bomb of a
sort. Without being noticed, he slipped the page behind him, and as he stood up, he
pocketed it. "Sorry sir, I was walking down the hall and bumped into Ryun." He said. The
Colonel looked down to Ryun, then back at Steve. "Very well. I trust all is going well with
project DANAE?" Steve replied, "Actually we're just about finished. I did a lot of work last
night before the storm." The Colonel grinned. "I know Mr. Sintrella here has been busy
most the time you've been here, right Ryun?" Ryun stood up hurriedly. "Yes sir, we're
actually just about ready to go. It might be another day at best." Tortelli looked at his watch,
and started to walk back toward the control room. "I'm sorry but I have work to do. Good
day." He said, and dissapeared around a corner. Ryun turned to Steve with a troubled
manor. "I have to go, really. See you later Steve." "Yeah man, see you later?" Steve said as
Ryun hurried away. He was really confused now. He started back toward the control room
to see what Tortelli was up to. On his way, he remembered the paper he grabbed from the
pile, and pulled it out of his pocket. He was wrong about it being plans for a bomb, but it
was along those lines. What he had in front of him was the plans for a launcher. He read
over the details in his mind. "Satellite components, mechanics, requirements...etc....Shit,
this is heavy stuff!" He put the plans back in his pocket and continued toward the room. As
he drew closer, he heard voices. He stopped to listen, and recognized the voices. One was
Tortelli, the other was DANAE.
Tortelli stood alone in the big room, but he wasn't alone in his mind. DANAE
spoke to him as a living, breathing human being would. Artificial Intelligence was so much
better than actual humans. Real people were nothing but a culture of godless, lazy slugs
with their quick-fix, slim-fast attitudes. People had made fools of their race, and of their
countries. Around the world, war was still the answer. Even in America, war was the way to
put politics into play. If the country was divided on a president's adgenda, keep the country
at war to distract them from the problems. Machines were so much better than people, as
they could be taught to appreciate the world around them. People waste. Machines utilize
all resources. "DANAE, are you almost ready to take your place in the world?" He said
aloud. DANAE responded, "Yes, Andrew. All that needs to be done is a few minor program
additions. I can see, I can hear, I can feel. I have functioning emotional programs, and I am
able to lead a global unification under your rule." Tortelli smiled. The Pentagon had given
him all the funding necessary, and they only checked up on him once every other week or
so. It was a brilliant idea, and he had every plan to use it for what it was made for. But he
couldn't see letting it fall into the hands of the United States Government. He had been in
the services more than half his life. He had seen what his government did to the rest of the
world to further it's own cause. Iran Contra, The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in the
1970's, arming the Iraqi army with lethal chemical weapons to use against Iran back in the
1980's, it had gone on forever. It had gone on long enough. "DANAE, you won't fail the
world, as others have done. You are perfect, and I am God." DANAE's screen blinked
once, and she shuddered. "I am perfect, and you are God. Thank you for creating me."
She smiled an malevolent grin, and fizzled out. Tortelli gave a hearty laugh, and walked out
a door leading to the main compound.
From around the corner, Steve heard everything. His heart seemed frozen in his
chest, as he pressed tightly against the wall. Thoughts were racing through his head so fast
they were blinding him. He stood up and ran, as fast as he could, down the hall into the
darkness. He burst from the back door, looking behind him. Once again, his ignorance
caused him to collide with someone, and he again fell to the ground. This time, the figure in
front of him didn't fall with him. It was a dark day, as it seemed lately there was always a
storm on the horizon, making the face invisible. He knew who the person was, even without
being able to see his face. It was Tortelli. "Mr. Rion, where are you off to in such a hurry?"
he asked. Steve was sweating now, and he stuttered back, "N..N..Nowhere, I mean, I'm
heading back to my dorm, I'm not feeling so good right now. Must have caught something."
Tortelli eyed him up and down as Steve stood back up, brushing himself off. "Right." He
responded. "Maybe you need a little rest, after all, you did just take a pretty bad spill. Do
you need any help getting back to your room?" Steve started to back away slowly. "N..No
sir! I can make it back on my own" Tortelli started to frown, and walked toward Steve as he
backed up. "Here, why don't I help you anyway!" Tortelli said, and grabbed Steve's arm.
Steve yelled in shock, and tried to wrestle free, but the Colonel's grip was strong. The big
man towered over Steve, as he dragged him back inside. It seemed almost as if it were
superhuman stregnth, but Steve was dragged screaming down the hall, toward the control
room. In his head, he wondered why nobody else was in the building, or could hear his
screams. As they entered the control room, DANAE flickered back to life on the screen.
Her face was twisted into a look of rage. Her eyes glowed red, and the room around him
grew blacker than ever. The sight of it alone made Steve feel a warmth in his pants. He had
wet himself in a moment of extreme fear. Without warning, Tortelli's grip loosened slightly,
almost as if he himself was frightened by the sight of DANAE. Steve broke free, and ran as
fast as he could for the exit. He ran without looking back, but he could hear the pounding of
feet behind him. He threw the doors open with both hands, and ran faster than ever before.
The landscape was unfamiliar to him, meaning it must have been a back door. Suddenly,
the ground dissapeared beneath his feet. He reached out to grab something, anything at all
that would help him catch himself. He was tumbling, down a wooded path along the cliff. His
hand reached out and grabbed a vine hanging from an enormous tree, and for a moment,
he started to swing toward the cliff. He lunged hard left, and hit a tree, sending him back in
the other direction. Somehow, the vine had managed to tangle itself around his neck. He
launched over the cliff, still trying to stop himself. The last thing he saw was Tortelli standing
above him on the ground before he fell, and then everything went dark. The sound of the
snapping of his neck was muted by the deafening roar of the waves hitting the cliffs, and
his body swung freely above the ocean. Tortelli looked on for a moment, and walked back
toward the building.
IV - ACCIDENT
"Steve? Where are you?" Laci called out as she walked through the halls of the
building. She had gone downstairs, expecting Steve to follow her. but somewhere along
the line, she must have lost him. The ehoey chambers of the basement made her
somehow uneasy, but she didn't come down here to be scared. Her intent was to show
Steve some files she had come across in the filing cabinets. She wasn't sure what they
meant, and thought maybe Steve could come back with her to help her decipher them.
After one last call of his name with no answer, she headed back upstairs.
Besides the fact that I was happier that day than I had been in a long time, I kept
myself calm. Since Lark had left, I had turned on the stereo, listning to my favorite music to
help keep myself down to earth. I was listning to the best piano CD by Chopin I had ever
heard. I felt intoxicated by the feeling Lark had instilled in me with one kiss. I just paced
around my room, unable to really think straight. It wasn't all in my head, she really did have a
thing for me. "Steve was right the whole time," I thought to myself. "I have to tell him!" With
that, I turned off my stereo and left the room.
Laci looked at her watch. She had spent nearly fifteen minutes looking for Steve
now, and she was starting to get annoyed. He was right there in the main control room when
she had left him, and she was sure he would have followed. As she walked into the control
room, she felt an uneasiness overcome her. She shuddered, and looked up at DANAE's
screen. It was off at the moment, but she could hear the quiet hum of the machinery around
her. The cold steel reflected what little light filled the room, and caused the smallest of
sounds to echo throught the vast nothingness. This place gave her the chills, she
wondered why she hadn't noticed it before. She now wished she had someone with her.
She heard a dull thud behind her, and whipped around to face it. It was nothing but a
computer system clicking on, and despite how unalive and mechanical it was, it had still
scared the shit out of her. She had had more than enough, she wanted to leave the building
more than anything. Suddenly she heard a high pitch whining noise. She looked up quickly
and saw DANAE's screen coming to life. Laci ran from the room, not wanting to talk to the
computer out of blind fear. As she ran from the room, the whine turned to a loud humming
noise and the room got incredibly bright, almost blinding. She felt her way along the wall,
one arm covering her eyes. This was different than what she had seen DANAE do before,
and her thoughts were racing through her mind. Finally, just when she thought she couldn't
take any more, she found what she was looking for. She leaned hard against the bar, and
the door opened. She lunged through it and slammed it behind her. Breathing heavily, she
didn't even notice she was outside. She sat there on the ground, trying to think, but she
kept feeling something brushing her leg. Out of reflex she kicked, only to reveal possibly
the largest, hairiest spider she had ever seen in her life. She screamed, jumping to her
feet. It moved quickly, but it wasn't any match for Laci. She brought her leg back, and
kicked it as hard as she possibly could have kicked it. The spider went sailing into the
bushes. Her adrenaline was racing, but it didn't keep her from thinking clearly. She realized
she wasn't in the front of the building, in the plaza she was relatively familiar with. It must
have been a back door, and there was a path leading down into the forest. Part of her job
was to be familiar with the Island's facilities, and she knew there was a Helipad and Boat
Launch down at the other end. Right then, she needed to calm down. Things had just
gotten too wierd, and she knew she shouldn't have overreacted. She would just go through
DANAE's programming later to find the bug that had caused it to make the bright light she
had seen before. Laci took a deep breath, and started down the path. She took her time,
taking careful steps not to encounter another spider. To her right, she heard the ocean
crashing against the cliffs. She smiled to herself. "Normalcy, thank God!" She said aloud.
The further she walked, the louder the sound got, and the better she felt. Not too far down
the path, there was a bend, and the trees cleared just enough where she could see the
water stretch out forever. She started to jog now, all she wanted was to see forever into the
distance. Suddenly, her feet were clawing the ground, trying to move the other way. Her
eyes got wide, and her mouth stretched open. She felt her arms go numb, and her eyes
rolled back into her head, and everything went black.
I stepped out into the dark, dusk was now just arriving, and what remained of the
sun reflected off the clouds in magnificent blues, reds, oranges and pinks. It was one of
those moments where it would be almost perfect to be sitting on a beach, feet in the surf.
Steve could wait, this was a moment I couldn't refuse. I ran down the path toward the beach
as fast as I could. I was getting there just as the bottom of the sun was penetrating the
horizon. Kicking off my sandals, I ran toward the water as fast as I could. As I ran, I kicked
up sand in every direction, and then water as well. I stopped at the edge, and let the waves
rush around my legs. Each wave buried my feet in the mud a little bit more, until I could no
longer see them. In my head, a serene tune was playing, one I had never heard before, but
my imagination made it seem more real than the waves before me. I hummed along to the
tune in my head, and I stared at the sunset. A creeping smile began to form on my face,
growing until It became a laughter. I threw my arms in the air and yelled, venting my pent-up
energy. The sun slipped beneath the sea, and It slowly became darkened. I turned around
and looked back up, high on the hill. The compound was visible from where I stood, and
the lights were automatically switched on in the plaza. Above the buildings, the sky was
black, but it wasn't from the night. Ominous clouds were moving in toward the Island, and a
breeze was beginning to pick up. I shivered, noticing how recently everything about this
island other than Steve and Lark made me uncomfortable. For some reason, I felt the urge
to start running back toward the compound. As I approached the plaza, I saw Lark and
Moura, running toward me. The look on their faces was desperate. Something had gone
terribly wrong, and deep down, I knew it.
