Binary, page 4
‘5:55 p.m.’
Sparky’s character followed the shift in mine. He trailed me with those sad little steps again as I wheeled my bag into the living room. A pitter-patter I would soon miss.
“This is it, huh?” asked Father.
“Yeah,” I answered. “It’s time.”
He exhaled and stood from his chair to take me into his arms. “You be safe? You hear me?”
“I swear,” I answered. “Scout’s honor.”
“When were you ever in the Scouts?” asked Father.
“Hey,” I answered through giggles. “It’s the metaphor behind the expression that counts, right?”
He smiled. “I guess it is.”
We chatted for a bit before he released me into the world. It was somber yet freeing. An ominous sense of accomplishment swept over me as I moved for the porch.
It was atypical to leave without taking him or Sparky with me. It did not happen. I was breaking an unchronicled bond.
6-2
Leaving alone
My heart sank when the door shut behind me, but I forced myself to stay the course. I needed to remain focused. I took a deep breath to calm myself, taking a seat on the bench next to my suitcase and the package Mr. Pope delivered.
Another alarm sounded out:
‘6:00 p.m.’
I had to hurry. There was no longer room for hesitation as I opened the box, then situated the vial of liquid into my pocket and opened the small box within the larger one. It was tougher to open than the first. I lost a few minutes on it.
A small apparatus with a flat screen and a large button rested inside. A green light flickered in the screen’s corner, signaling it was on, telling me a few minutes of the sixty I had available had already passed.
Beneath that device was a magnetic compass and another set of instructions:
‘1. Drive exactly 6.5 miles towards The Institute.
2. Exit the car and walk due east, into the forest, and follow the compass until the GPS device gets a PING, then stop. We’re sending down a small signal with only a quarter-mile radius, so be precise.
3. Once you get the ping, drink the contents within the vial.
4. Hold down the button on the device until it beeps. The flashing green light will shift to a solid red state if you are accurately located.
(Holding the button will signal to us you have completed the steps above)
5. Wait for our arrival.’
The gravity of the situation set in as I pulled the vial from my pocket. I studied it. There could have been cyanide in it for all I knew. Doubts rose to settle on my shoulders.
I felt too heavy to rise from the bench. A few more of those sixty minutes passed before I gathered the willpower to put the vial back into my pocket and press forward. It was a long walk to my little Mitsubishi Raider that day.
6-3
Letter to Father
There were no goodbye twitters in the air when I climbed in and started the engine. Nobody was outside waving me farewell. The world was vacant. My heart sunk with Father’s and Sparky’s leaving them behind.
I depressed the clutch and rolled from the driveway, resetting the mileage indicator the moment I reached our mailbox. 6.5 miles is how long I had to change my mind. 6.5 miles would not be enough.
I drove. I thought about the possibilities to come, though I had little to go on as far as predictions were concerned... not beyond guessing. I stopped wondering long enough to focus on the road. The trees. Anything to distract me. Something to keep me from turning tail.
The stopping point came up fast.
I pulled to the side of the gravel road. It had always amazed me how one trip in a car could seem like it took hours, while another of the same distance could feel like minutes. The jaunt was the latter.
I exited the little 4x4 with nothing but my suitcase, the vial in my pocket, the compass, the GPS device, and the clothes on my back. I left the keys on the seat so Father would see them when he ventured into town. He would also find a note:
‘Father,
I’m okay. Nothing bad has happened to me. This is all part of the plan to get me where I’m going. I know you’re worried about me, and this is scary for you, but it’s something I need to do.
I can’t pass up the chance to work on a project that seems so top secret. Nor can I pass on the chance to remember my childhood and time spent with my biological mother and father. It’s my only chance at intimately knowing who they were.
Sorry to inconvenience you and leave you trying to figure out a way to get this old clunker of mine back home. I must leave it here to continue. I’m not disappearing on you, and I haven’t been kidnapped or anything crazy like that.
Just know that I love you for everything you’ve done for me. I’ll be back before you know it. I’ll try to contact you as soon as I’m able.
See you in six months and say “hi” to Sparky for me!
With Untold Love,
Alexis...’
6-4
Trek
The following hike through the woods was arduous. My suitcase was too bulky. Every step was a mental, emotional, and physical challenge. I was forcing myself into the woods.
There were trees, old and young, spread about with vast root systems intertwined amongst the ground as I stepped, forcing me to watch my footing. Holes hidden by shrubbery and fallen leaves formed small traps. Pitfalls.
My foot sunk into one. A sharp pain shot through my angle, and I took a tumble. It hurt as I gave it a wiggle it to circulate blood and work out pain.
“Okay...” I said. “That hurts.”
The pain eased a little. It was nothing serious. I stood and pushed forward with a limp.
Thorns pricked my legs, but the nature scurrying about captivated me. I wanted to stop more than once. The trek took longer than the drive and, to make things worse, there was not a specified distance I was told to hike before receiving the ping they spoke of.
A squeak in the woods. Breaking branches. A distant scamper.
I halted, frozen in fear. My eyes searched all directions, high and low, awaiting something to attack me. I grew paranoid before seeing it was nothing more than a rabbit. There had always been an abundance of them in our area.
“Come on,” I said. “Gotta’ move, gotta’ move, gotta’ move.”
I found the strength to ford onward. What I was doing was neither rational nor safe. If it was not for the possibility of remembering my parents and childhood, I might not have been able to continue. Though, I was interested in the money and dabbling in some innovative fringe science.
The temperature was dropping, and the ever-fading light coming through the canopy above told me it was getting late. The sun would soon bid its farewell, leaving me without a light source beyond my cell phone.
Had I had a lapse in judgment? Apprehension was setting in, but the GPS device released an electronic ding into the surrounding woods and snagged my interest.
I lifted it for an examination. The battery indicator flashed, reminding me of its short lifespan:
‘20%’
There were eleven minutes left to drink the vial and depress the little green button.
I raked my sight over the woods, then pulled the small vial of clear liquid from my pocket and gave it a long stare. “What... am I getting myself into?”
I could not tell what it was, yet they expected me to swallow its contents if I wanted to proceed. It would be a lie to say the thought of pretending like I drank it never crossed my mind, but I was sure they would have somehow known.
The cork released a vacuum-generated pop as I twisted it out and took a deep breath. Several of them. Back-to-back for valor, as if I were about to walk across burning coals.
“Here it goes.” I hesitated. “Damn it.”
I cut my head into the woods and exhaled. Then the mettle to swallow the vial’s contents came from nowhere and I shot it without warning, like a veteran alcoholic reaching for shot number nine from an old barstool.
My lips smacked slowly. Tongue searching to capture the flavor’s origin. It tasted funny, but it was done.
I licked my lips trying to decode its contents. “I guess you’re along for the ride now, Alexis.”
I weighed over the liquid’s effects, positive it was going to make me drowsy or something before they showed up. I would most likely get into one of their vehicles, too groggy to recall where they were taking me.
My eyelids grew in bulk, submerging me in drowsiness. I held the button long enough for it to beep and the light to go red. Seconds later, the GPS device died. Panic arrived, subconsciously repeating the fact I was in the middle of the woods, on the verge of passing out, miles from the nearest motorway, and did not know if they were going to find me.
My feet took an uncalculated flight, hijacking me back towards the road.
“No...” I stopped and returned to my suitcase. “I’ve come too far to turn coward.”
Dizziness set in. I stumbled. I was not going to make it.
“How am I already so...” I placed a clammy hand against my head. “This isn’t possible.”
My legs grew wobbly, and I slumped against a tree with a fleeing sun, leaving me in isolation. Darkness leaked into the woods faster than the weight of my eyes could force them closed. My head tingled with nervousness.
Instincts urged me to call Father. I grabbed my cell and dialed out, only to have it release an odd buzzing sound and begin smoking. It grew hot, bullying me to drop it.
I was unaccompanied under an onrushing night sky with no one to help me. It was a vulnerable feeling. The kind you hope not to have in life.
My thoughts grew murky with the surroundings. For all I knew, I would never wake up.
“Professor,” I whispered under the echoing umbrella of an approaching helicopter.
The leaves on the trees churned up an intensifying rustle and rocked with increasing passion until it turned into an angry shake. Older leaves lost their grip and drifted down, filling the surrounding air. A radiant light penetrated the timberland.
I tried to move, but a narcotic had overtaken me.
A couple of dark ropes hit the earth, folding onto its leafy carpet at my feet. Means to lift my head departed. My eyes fluttered closed as a pair of black boots landed, taking three steps toward me before they blurred.
Fading voices... Overtaking blackness... Dreamland...
Chapter 7
The arrival
I AWOKE ALONE IN THE back of a blacked-out vehicle. The windows were too dark to peer through. It was clean and sterile—the ride, smooth.
We made our way down a sliding grade and leveled to a stop. I waited. A few minutes crept into more before the door next to me opened. Light soaked the interior as an older man’s hand reached in. I took it. Cautiously.
“I’m Dr. Landry,” an unfamiliar voice said as he assisted me out. “Nice to meet you, Alexis.”
I stood to find myself taller than him. He was older than Father by a decade or more with a balding head, but he was not feeble. He walked as well as I did.
The ceiling was low. I looked around. There were no windows in sight. Five rugged vehicles matching the one I emerged from lined its walls.
I was in an underground parking garage with a long ramp behind us. I was not sure where it went other than up. They could have taken me anywhere.
Only two heavy-framed steel doors gave hints as exits: one in front of the vehicle, a secured entryway, and the large bay door closing to seal the ramp behind us.
Dr. Landry placed his hand on my back, leading me towards the steel door ahead. “Sometimes the sedative takes time to wear off. Not feeling drowsy or anything, are we?”
“No,” I answered. “I’m not. Where are we?”
“Underground,” he answered, “but you’re safe.”
A few guards came into view with uniforms matching the one Desmond Pope was wearing when he dropped off the package, minus a few decorations. Two were taller than Pope and built lean. The other was shorter and rotund.
“Ready to get started?” asked Dr. Landry.
“Wait,” I said. “Get started? You mean, like now? On what?”
He giggled. I got it. I was kind of freaking out.
“Calm down,” he said. “You’re not going to work. Not right away. We just want you to fill out some paperwork before we show you the facility and give you a glimpse of what you’ll be working with.”
I did not reply. I was too excited. Flooded with ideas. Instincts. My excitement ramped because of the unknown lying ahead. A tremendous wish for new knowledge had always guided my path in life, and something told me I was about to learn things the rest of the world was oblivious to. I knew at least a few dreams of mine were about to come true, and I was going to be living a personal fairy tale over the next six months.
“Right this way.” He guided me closer to the door.
Dr. Landry seemed nice. His voice was genuine and easy to trust. I assumed he was the head of The Project.
The one bothersome thing I saw during my arrival were the armed guards shepherding me and the old scientist further into the compound. They did not talk. I looked them over carefully, but they ignored me. Coiled snakes in a glass cage.
“They don’t bite,” said Dr. Landry. “They’re a little jagged, but they don’t bite.”
We passed through several security doors along the way, each with a dissimilar passcode I could not see entered. Someone was always blocking my line of sight when Dr. Landry input the codes. I only knew they were different because of their diversity and tone from one to the next.
It was the highest-level security facility I had ever been in. The place was massive and the flooring beneath our feet had a gradual decline as we moved deeper into the compound. The walls were hard and cold. Ceilings were maybe nine feet in height, and I never saw a window. We had to be deep.
A large section of the hallway came into view after we rounded another corner, allowing us to enter the first door we came to on our right.
7-2
Paperwork
The room was bare bones. Nothing more than a desk and a stack of files was present. Brown walls with aged paint. It was ugly.
Dr. Landry ushered me towards one of two chairs in the room. Only one guard remained with us.
“Take a seat, Alexis,” said Dr. Landry. “We need you to fill out the paperwork there and answer a few questions along the way. It’s imposing, but it’s standard, I can assure you.”
My throat was dry. “Is there any way I can get some water?”
“Water, food...” answered Dr. Landry. “Just name it.”
“Water’s fine,” I said.
“Consider it done.” He motioned to the remaining guard, who left to retrieve the water, and extended his arm. “Here’s a pen.”
I took it and depressed its button a few times to hear it click. “Thanks.”
The guard returned with a glass of water in hand. It was ice cold, and I was grateful for it, tipping the glass until it was empty.
“Sorry about the parched feeling and all the cloak and dagger stuff,” said Dr. Landry. “The soporific you drank has that effect. It’ll dissipate soon. As far as everything else is concerned, you’ll see what all the hush-hush is about soon. Get that paperwork taken care of and we’ll show you around.”
The guard was casting a watchful eye over me as Dr. Landry walked from the room. He never spoke, but it was hard to concentrate with him lingering. He might as well have been reading out loud over my shoulder. And he was scoffing. Staring at me. For no reason. Like my five-foot-two-inch self was about to open cans of whoop-booty in there.
It must have taken two hours to wrap the paperwork and the staring guard had me ready to pull my hair out by the time I finished. There were dozens of signatures required and lots of reading, most of which repeated the same things about confidentiality and consequences. If I left before my six months were up, spending the rest of my life under a microscope would be the price.
The guard left to fetch Dr. Landry when I was done, but no one returned for some time. I thought they had forgotten about me, but the door opened, and Landry reentered with a guard in tow.
“Pardon the delay, Alexis,” said Dr. Landry. “We’re right in the middle of something prestigious here, and I had to tie a few loose ends before I could break away.”
“Are you going to tell me about The Project now?” I asked. “Or is there a waiting period?”
“Dr. Crane was planning on doing a facility tour before anything else,” said Dr. Landry, “but I’ll give you a glimpse... a sneak peek of the scale in which we’re working here if you’d like.”
“Yes. Please.”
“Alright. I think you’re bright enough to grasp it without the standard weeks of introductory jargon.”
He opened the door and allowed me to leave with him.
7-3
A.I.
“Now listen,” said Dr. Landry. “You’re not in a position here yet to be handling any of the equipment, touching anything, or getting involved with anything hands-on. That’ll come in time. When we get in there, I want you to stay close to me and keep your hands at your sides. Is that fairly clear?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “Very clear.”
The hallways opened three times wider than anything I had seen so far. Coded symbols rested on the walls next to passing doors.
“Your work here won’t be with your hands,” said Dr. Landry. “It will be with your mind.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’re here for your expertise in A.I. systems, robopsychology, and all things within those fields.”
That is when I knew. There was only one possibility.
I stopped to face him. “You’re working with cybernetics and advanced artificial intelligence systems, aren’t you?”
