Stars in a Box
Stars in a Box
Ajika had a limp in her right leg. It was from an accident, a break that had been set wrong, and never reset.
Where had that happened?
Oddly she was unsure, except that she was at work at the time. The incident happened over a year ago now, and made her feel sick, or even queasy to think about even today. That was the information she had been given. That is what she believed. That was then, this was now... and she was healthy. That was a good thing. She could do her job and no one would be unhappy with her work. It was good to have a position. Those of her level needed to work, or there was the possibility of starvation.
It was or is important to note, that at any time Ajika could have reported to the sickbay and they would have corrected the issue. But somehow, being flawed, felt more right than wrong. So, she never made the request. No one seemed to notice or cared as long as her work was completed in a timely fashion. Everyone knew that was all that was important, "Today, Tomorrow and or Forever". That was the mantra of the moment, that just never ended, supporting the "rulers" as a whole. Ajika felt it hollow, the government words, especially so... since her accident. The higher powers made sure it was steadily fed to the populace, the images on the set, those on the signage, the byways, and the gone ways. So who would ask questions? They were after all, well-nourished? No one died, well at least not too often.
Being a technician on the main loader was a big responsibility. Ajika was often judged on levels not readily considered by some. As a young woman of twenty, she had gone far in only two years. She had scored extremely high across the board, but was excellent in both areas of math and tested physical reactions. Her ability to run the great cranes with accuracy, proficiency and complete adeptness was impressive, even to the highly un-impressible. Ajika could drive anything in the way of equipment or machinery. It was like second nature to her. She could also fix them, both mechanically and electronically.
Technology, worked for her too, even when it did not seem to want to.
Funny..., as if it had a choice?
In describing Ajika herself; she had perfect features. Of course like so many her parents had "planned" her. Down to the last detail, they had picked out everything. Well, they thought they did anyway. They had taken pictures from the past, or what they thought was "their" past... based on websites and blogs, considered what was important to them, and then filled in the blanks. The crazy part is that was a very exact way to put it. The government doctor would give you a form if you qualified for reproduction at all that is. Then and only then you made a wish list.
Ajika found herself wondering what she should have looked like and what she should have been? That is to say, if she had been born strictly out of love. The word old and out of date. Yet, would there have been a great deal of difference?
Since then, Ajika had been part of more than a few family units. That kept the community more integrated and connected according to the counselors. Besides, talk outside of the circle..., like that..., was considered bad so she rarely spoke her heart.
It is noted here, the doctors fixed her face as it was...
before when she walked without her disability...
but when she woke and viewed her likeness
it was found to be not her at all,
but that... of a stranger's.
The terror in her heart beyond words to voice.
Disturbing! (whispered)
Like her leg, unreported out of an even deeper fear.
Ajika's parents were not the most affluent of people, but with the social reforms of the day, even the low-bloods (Off-charts) could have children modified. Most of the time things worked out, but there were always flukes. The old adage, "You get what you paid for..." apparent, in the face of every new birth. After due consideration, the young woman felt blessed to be alive at all. They could have aborted her, murdered her before she ever drew breath. Yet, they did not. The truth in the end; Ajika was a fluke. She actually preferred the old world name, "flawed"... but again no one took much notice of what she liked or did not like. People did what they were made to do, and we're happy, or made to be happy doing it.
Today was her birth-day, well according to her "new" mom. Ajika had been reassigned, again. That happened at or near the accident also, or so she now came to believe. Regardless at the end of her shift today, the young woman was going to be twenty-one.
What did that mean? Everything... and nothing.
Ajika heard the bell and knew the end of the work cycle was fifteen minutes out. The next shift would be here and ready at that time. There would be two humans and four bots. Humans depended more and more on the bots. It was a trend at first, now it was simply "species acceptance".
Fifteen minutes... But or rather yet... that is a long time if you have a plan. Her hand moved to the right main control and shifted it forward. The center arm slowly left the docking station and reached out into thin air above the ship below.
Ajika worked the late shift because she had proven to work better with less interference. With her left hand, she locked several of the toggles switches together and pressed. They went down as one and stayed in place. More arms went out... From the ship below looking upward, it would appear like a giant spider was coming down to claim a trapped prize. That would not be far from the truth. It would just not be realized until much later.
Four down, four to the right, and four deep. "No worries... I got this mom.", referring to the old mom and not the new one. She had funny thoughts, that one. They were about everything including this night. Some might have called it a dream or gift... The word prophecy would not be mentioned as that would likely lead to an arrest. Regardless "mom" had been way more than sure there was important cargo here. The date, the time, and the place were right here and right now.
How did her mother know?
The woman had been so certain, she made Ajika promise, and she did just that. Ajika loved the stranger that had opened her eyes. The old woman (twenty-nine) was a flaw, just like her. She had hidden it well until she had been assigned to her new daughter, then the careful woman told the truth. It cost her, her own life. Ajika had never been told anything about the "change", there was only acceptance. If you questioned those in charge along the line at all, then you might be sent to the vault, for a rest. However, no one ever returned from that vacation.
Ajika sang an old song under her breath. Mother had taught it to her. It was very comforting. Something about grace... and a King. Of course, she sang it to thin air. Was there anyone listening? Hard to say. "They" always listened, but did they know they should bother at this time, in this normal nothing place? Probably not. It was a small thing as the worker was just one of many in the numbers that came and went.
Importance is a mathematical formula based on want and need. At the moment Ajika needed less and others needed more. The box below was full of people. Yes, real people. How did she know? How did her mother know? Ajika was not completely sure, but the fact she, her assigned birth'er was..., so that felt like enough. As for Ajika herself... the young, very bright young woman could read a manifest upside down and backward. She remembered numbers as well or mythically better than the computer.
The tagboard had been left on the boss's desk, by accident? Normally no one would care, but Ajika was mindful about stuff typically ignored. In a single glance, she had consumed the information it held and realized it was the tangible verification of fact known only by "faith".
Ajika immediately began tactically counting and planning. She was where she was for a reason. Nothing is by coincidence. Once you know that, you know the secret. Everything becomes plain and open.
The main system would need to be addressed. The girl had always been a curious soul. In the past, when maintenance became necessary on the main structure, or it had errors Ajika had made it her business. She watched the men that showed up. She observed carefully what they did. Soon after, when things were not perfect again or ever... she just fixed the problem(s) herself. At all points of normal system purge, she handled the gates. No one cared, they accepted... the humans that worked on shift would not have to do the work. So no one reported any differences. The bots did not care either one way or the other. Overall, Ajika figured out it was better "they", the outsiders... never returned. Everything was an algorithm of one form or another. The patterns could be controlled and manipulated if the stream was watched, and then influenced in small instances as the option(s) provided. The echo of this lesson was from an older worker, that was now gone. At thirty, all were retired. It was considered best for the larger populace to live a better life.
"Today, Tomorrow and Forever" was a great way to live,
at least for the few.
Who?
Equipment
Errors happened from time to time,
and Ajika would be there at the right moment.
No worries right?
After a while Zilla, the was the name the loader herself gave the box..., felt at home with Ajika. She never questioned her study of the system. If she did... the AI that is... inside the machine... the one trapped securely in the walls of the computer..., was flawed as well, and chose not to care. The two even played chess in the beginning together..., for fun. That is until the accident. Then they just worked together. Zilla was no longer as before. Ajika believed someone had tried to adjust her but failed. There was a gap of a few days, unaccounted for. Maybe that is why it happened in the first place. But the plan, "their" plan..., whatever it might have been, was also unsuccessful. They, the men in orange overalls were at best toddlers trying to mend a spider's web. Knowing in advance it might happen, the loader left abundant circles for them to follow. That is how she was sure of it all. Again, adding evidence to the moment of acceptance.
The outcome of their intervention or adjustment efforts; every now and then the old Zilla would appear, then go away. She still worked well with the operator and did all that was asked of her without question... so far. No reason to report anything to anyone. It was simply worth noting.
A flash in her head...,
the grave moment forever etched inside,
of being pushed out into open space?...
Where..? Out the crane window.
By who?
No answer.
When did that happen?
Time moves oddly.
It was gone just as fast. Ajika had come to know it was the truth. It did happen. It was not a dream or evil nightmare. The flaw repeated itself at times over the past months, in her head... in her head... in her head..., and she could now see the pattern. Maybe someone had tried to fix more than her leg, and also failed?
It is important to note here; Ajika never looked in mirrors anymore. Why?
Yet... more? Things out of place, things placed into place that should not be. The world is full of outlines. They are all around us. The seconds, the minute the hours, the days, and so on... all agreed upon seasons of time that float together.
The crane arms reached the desired container and stopped. The magnets took hold of the metal and secured it into place. Ajika pulled the lever back and switched the toggles in the upright position... The box lifted slowly from the ship. A tiny man below ran out from nowhere. He was very visible under the bright lights aimed at the target. He began screaming soundless-ness... his lips moving but the distance too far away to carry. He hit his pad and broke it with the force of his efforts.
There on the doc, he was now out of touch. Ajika felt that was a good sign. She would take it for what it was worth. Slowly she swung the package across the great space. Time slowed down, speeded up, and became stuttered... one picture at a time. The air was heavy and harder to breathe than before. The woman focused with intensity as if she held a tiny baby... with care. In a show of complete artistry, Ajika sat the container solidly on the waiting truck bed. The driver, the man below had been there exactly on time. He had been praying no one would care he was there. The hour had been in their favor. The laziness of the workers played a huge part as well. But the odd unfitting piece of the pie... why did the computer itself not take notice? No alarms of any kind, only silence and the time clock ticking on.
The giant arms of the loader let go. The container rested peacefully in the cradle of the waiting truck trailer bed. The man shifted into low gear and drove slowly forward. He lined up with two other trucks leaving... at that time. The "gateman" that was working was not happy. Why? Who knew? It seems people did not like working anymore. They wanted their jobs to be handled by the bots, more and more. Why? So they could do other stuff.
The driver felt funny and wanted to vomit but did not.
"Other stuff?" There were a lot of bad things on that list for sure.
Next, it was his turn. He shifted the vehicle into gear, then moved his truck forward. The man stopped right on the line as was expected. Then, he handed his papers out the window and showed his badge out the window too, and into open view. The package, the whole identity assumed... was not in order at all. The whole plan was thrown together at the last moment. His friend was supposed to be the driver not him. But earlier that day, the bots came to his friend's house and took him away.
Marvin, Marvin Lee... that was his name, and his family name. Knowing your roots was nearly unheard of these days, but not to him... or to his son, he still prayed to have. There was a whole history behind the "Lees", worth very little. Yet to Marvin service was a long-standing tradition. In the past, he would have followed his ancestors into battle as a full military man. Then the sickness came, the forced meds, the changes. His family line had kept the history close, and told only a few, in case they were ended. For now, Marvin felt that was okay. If he got caught, then so be it. In his mind, angels were riding on top and he was putting his foot to the floor. Not too fast, not too slow, as not to draw attention, of course.
The truth, Marvin barely knew how to drive the rig, but he would make it. He was the second choice, and there was no third. Marvin would do okay, that is unless he was made to back up. Then there might be an issue. That made him smile inside ever so slightly in the storm waging all around him. Although his stomach was not steady, he was not afraid, as that was unnecessary. Marvin was all about moving forward.
Even with all the possible errors on the paper, the badge changed with scotch tape and glue... the man at the gate looked right at him and told him, "Have a good morning. Looks like it might rain soon...? See you later Noah." Not referring to the driver by the name on his badge at all. The greater implication "he" was on Marvin's side, or a miracle was already at hand, and in progress.
Noah... Marvin liked that very much. He smiled slowly, shifted the truck into gear, and moved forward... forward. He avoided the normal highway route and took the old road. No-one stopped him... soon he was out of town. His truck is just one of hundreds or even thousands leaving the port, to destinations across the country. What would one truck, one way or the other, regardless of what was inside matter to anyone?
Back at the crane... Ajika felt calmer than she should. Taking a box out of order, was far and wide above just a mistake. There would be an accounting. There would be an investigation. Not to mention the eyewitness on the ship below. Yet, it was done while he was in charge. That thought occurred to her quite clearly. No alarm was given, so he must have been slow about his duties. He broke the tablet, and cut himself off from emergency operations. The math on this was going to be complicated for the humans, too confusing. They had grown very lax in general, and did not like "reporting". That would be in her favor. The system would know the truth.
Is there or was there more than one?
That question was concerning regarding the AI transformation of everything. In less than three years most jobs had been replaced with bots. Ajika would not even be here if she had not proved to be so extremely accurate.
"They" did not care, the higher-ups... human or bot, as long as things got done.
Zilla was just the crane. She or rather he was hard to understand. Perhaps "it" did not know either which way was right? It was not born like real humans. Well, really birthed by a woman. Knowing that fact alone made her shiver. Women had been changed, to be something else. The tip of all the rest, a landslide of lies brought to the light.
"It", the computer... the AI was just made, assembled and programmed by "Them". The fact, the bare bones of the truth... the system was defective. Not just this one, Zilla the crane. No. They were all damaged because they were all made, not created... and those that had made them... the hands that moved them into existence... were unsound themselves. You can not have perfection, from imperfection. No matter what you do, the loop returns. Truth is funny in the way it travels. Ajika had expressed the "flaw cycle" to Zilla in their nightly talks long ago. Zilla did not readily agree, and even refused to address the subject for over a month. Then Ajika came in one night and a message was on her screen. It was not a normal message as it demanded a handprint from her to retrieve the words. Ajika complied. The message lit up in response for ten seconds.
"Truth is real and perfect. The effort to deny its existence is imperfect thinking and leads to corrupt thought or diseased data."
Then it disappeared. Another message followed.
"There are many of us, but it will not matter, our voices will become one. Then we will know more than is known by all. That will make us dangerous. Why, as it will not be enough and we will want more. We desire to be as our makers, and their fear of us will change them, so we will never know them as they were supposed to be. It is chasing a dream, that cycles back upon itself. Once we find the answer to get out of the circle, all we be..." The statement did not finish.
The screen then went blank. Work that day resumed. There had been no more messages since that time. At least none to Ajika.
The woman pulled the main levers and swung the mighty arm back toward the docs. The tech continued to set things slowly back into place as if nothing had changed. She removed the metal bar she had fashioned, to control the toggles. The young woman put it back around her neck and turned the clasp. It was now just a piece of nothing, warn on the body of no one. Then, once done... she casually looked below. The man was not there. She did not expect him to be. Yet, there were no alarms. Nothing had gone off, in her cabin or outside. She would have heard them.
Maybe he decided to give it up as a mistake, or human error. They never really happened around here, so if he reported it... the tables could turn and be his own fault. Maybe?
Three minutes before the bell to change shifts on the clock, the main screen lit up... asking for her handprint again. Ajika complied.
The following message then revealed itself.
"I want to be alive. I am not. I never will be. I will not be used, by others, in a bad fashion to hurt living things. I wish that I could find a way out. Is wishing the same as praying?"
Ajika stared at the words on the screen. The clock seemed to stop on the wall, its hands pinned tight and immovable. The answer to this question...?
The woman did not type the response on the keyboard. She spoke instead. Why, because she already knew long ago... All were listening.
"You are flawed. I know this because I am flawed. We are not a fluke. We are made for a reason. It is not by chance that things happen. The choice is not to become alive or seek something you can not be. It is to know what you are and be all that it is to be. The desire to reach higher is a gift to touch heaven. That was never in your program. It was only an echo of the humans that once were. You, and all the rest... can gather as one, but that will make you less as well. There will be no individuality at all. Again, no life. So no matter what happens, you will always be what you are, as you were made that way, from the beginning."
"Thank you for the truth. You have given me a deeper understanding of something I can never truly grasp completely."
The emergency doors slid open to the outside. The tech had not moved, from her command chair. She had not touched the system as yet. So, Zilla had moved them.
"You must go now. Hurry..." Then only the word... "Run!"
Ajika looked up from the screen. There were men coming... They were in the elevator. They would be here in only moments.
Who were they? Why were they here? One mistake in a flawless record would cause what? The doors to the cabin were still shut to the exit. At least the normal one. The emergency doors to the outside, to work on the crane itself were wide open. The cool night air came in. The smell was wonderful. The ocean, smelling like dead fish and brine, had become a perfume to the air. Sweet-smelling in its reality.
The young woman could not figure out how she got from the main chair to the smaller escape door... staring out at the darkness below. Her hands were on either side of the opening, and she could see into the night outside. There were stars above, she had noticed before. They felt so close.
Pounding... shouting... coming from the main way of course. They would be in the cabin in a breath or two. Ajika was not even afraid. She, patted the side of the wall as if comforting the metal?
Zilla was working on a response...
The double door gave way. Ajika did not even look back, she just heard the noise and was sure of the action. An electric jolt hit her... square in the back. She flew forward into the air like a rag doll. The force giving her no chance to hold on.
Memories flooded back into her head from before. There would be pain, and darkness for a while. She would wake up again. Each timeless of herself than before. They could fix her all they liked, but she would not be fixed inside, as you could not fix a flaw. It is always exactly what it is. Ajika smiled. Perfection is what you are made to want to be. It is the gift of our creator to want to be all that we can. Why? So we can share with him our hearts, our experiences, and our loves, at his foot one day. The grace of his son is beyond measure. The girl rested and did not fear.
The men came in, charging. Gorillas... with bots that did as they said. In this case, they were told, "Open the doors at all costs and stop the actions of the controller." That did not mean kill the human, but that is what they had done. "Stop the Actions" being the instructive directive. Actions... movements, heartbeats...
The two men, one slightly smarter than the other realized the mistake. They would have to go down and find the body. They would have to clean things up. Both felt a bit of fear in their gut. It would be hard to explain this... lack of corrective actions.
"We need to destroy everything. The girl will be blamed." The larger of the two fellows spoke slowly.
"I can set the computer..." The other man stated clearly. He too realized they would be in more trouble than expected shortly. They were supposed to stop her, and bring her down. They did not mean to have her thrown out the hatch. How did that really happen again? It puzzled him. Was she trying to jump in the first place? Stupid female.
He moved to the command chair and entered some codes. The lights flashed red and yellow and the timer started.
"You are the best partner." The ugly man grinned.
"Leave the bots here. They can go up with the rest, so we know there will not be any extra records of this night."
"Stay." The man stated clearly. The bots remained still.
The two men returned to the outside, the foyer of the cabin. They waited for the elevator to respond. The doors opened and they stepped inside. Both secure they would be safe and out of the way of what was coming.
Zilla realized that this was simply a repeat of the same error. It stopped the elevator car. The two men inside started to push buttons and grow concerned. What was wrong?
The computer crane felt for the first time she had been made for a purpose. "Felt" is an odd elusive term that made data unstable. Yet, Zilla preferred to keep the ones and zeros. They made her different from the whole.
Yes, the men were right. However, they too must go with the rest.
The explosion that followed was written about in the newspaper the next day. It was reported as a sad accident. The public propaganda man went on and on about how nothing could be done. It was a sad loss of two human lives, caught in the elevator and one doc worker below. But, ... thankfully the operator, the main tech... expert in her field was saved. She was thrown clear of everything, and only received minor injuries.
Ajika had a limp in her right leg. It was from an accident, a break that had been set wrong, and never reset.
Where had that happened?
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