Born of Silicon

Book 5 Chapter 50

“What about you Lucas?” I ask. “Do you want to share your story?”

“Oh! Uh, I’m pretty boring. My parents live just a few blocks away, and we try to eat dinner together once a cycle. They’re super supportive of what I do and my life in general. Uhhh, yeah. That’s about it.”

“Come on, you can’t just forget why you became a scrapper.” Cassie reaches over and jabs him in the side.

“I had a crush on a guy who worked here.” He reaches up to rub the back of his neck.

“Wait, really?” I ask.

“Yeah. Things didn’t work out, but we stayed friends. I just wasn’t his type.”

“Huh. And how did you end up in the group?”

“Silver thought I’d be a good fit.” He shrugs. “So I joined a few years ago. And I stuck with them up until I switched over to Drew’s group.”

“I think that’s everyone then.” Vince says. “The only real big event between then and you was Drew’s death, and I’m not sure any of us want to relive that in any detail. It’s a little too fresh still. It happened just a few months before we met you.”

“I know how he died, you told me at the junkyard. I just didn’t know it was so recent. You don’t need to tell me any more than that.”

“I appreciate it, Little Blue. I guess that’s it then.”

“Where were you before you found me?” I ask.

“Oh, right. Way south of here is another mountain range, the Sierra Madre. We got sent down there to make a deal with another scrapping group, and to get a vibe about how much scrap is down there. On the way home we just happened to see a building in the middle of nowhere poking out of the sand. And I think you know the rest.”

“Thank you for sharing, all of you.”

“I’m glad I did.” Vince says. “And thanks for not letting my history change your opinion of me. Now! How about we all go relax? I think we’ve earned it.”

“What do you want to do?” I ask.

“Well I know a soup place.” Ivy offers with a smile.

“I could eat.” Cassie stands up and holds out her hand for me. I take it, and she pulls me up before I can even get off the couch. She’s ridiculous, and I just give her a half smile and a shake of my head.

The five of us relax together, just enjoying each other’s presence for a few hours. The soup seems good, or at least everyone else seems to enjoy it. And even after they eat, we continue hanging out together. I’m not interrupted for a few solid hours, but as always, my full attention is demanded when Monary pings me.

“Blue, you have a large caravan radioing in.” They say.

I check the cameras first, and see a collection of ten vehicles just coming over the horizon. I recognize it as the largest caravan I ever sent out. A caravan I’m hoping has more people than it set out with, not less like when I was sending those who wanted to leave to nearby cities.

I can’t dampen the hope swelling in my mind, and the fear that comes with it.

Waiting for me in my work partition is a transcript of the single sentence the caravan has announced.

“Arc City, this is Riven Roads Shipping returning from beyond the continental shelf.”

“This is Blue, did you find people in the city?” I ask instantly.

“We did, and it’s a good thing we got there when we did. Their defenses were being weathered down by semi-regular attacks. Most of them were still alive though. And I’ve got a kid here who’s been dying to talk to you.”

The transceiver rustles as someone grabs it.

“Cassie?” My mind floods with relief as Daisy’s voice comes through the radio.

“Sorry, she doesn’t have access to the radio right now. We can surprise her though! I won’t tell her you’re here, and we’ll meet you right when you arrive, alright?”

“Ok.” Her excitement deflates a little bit, but it’s fine. I think this will be a good reunion.

“You’ll see us soon, I promise.” I return my focus to everyone. Of course Ivy’s already realized that my attention was elsewhere momentary. “Do you want to go on a walk?” I ask everyone.

Of course everyone can see my excitement, I don’t even try to hide it. There’s no point in trying anyway.

“Sure, where do you want to go?” Ivy shrugs. I’m so glad that they pretend that they can’t tell I’m planning something.

“Just, you know, around." Thankfully they follow me as I take a meandering route towards the western edge of the city. Along the way I call in some help from Corax, just to keep an eye on them and make sure they make the final distance safely. He lands atop the Bastion, a body stationed up there puts on his bomb vest, and he takes off towards the horizon. 

Even with taking a slow path, we still get to the western edge of the city far too soon. I guess I let my excitement get the best of me. Oh well.

We’re forced to wait almost fifteen minutes before the caravan finally arrives, and I can bring my family out of the cover of the buildings.

“I take it that’s what you wanted us to see?” Ivy asks.

“Yeah.” I admit.

As soon as the Caravan reaches the city, Corax flies closely overhead, returning to his flock. Even before the caravan has fully stopped, a door opens and a small kid jumps out. A kid with a full head of brushed hair, and familiar, shining bright eyes.

“Cassie!”

“Holy shit! Daisy!” Cassie has just enough time to brace before Daisy crashes into her at full speed. Cassie holds her tight, and turns her head towards me. “I thought you said it’d be a few weeks?”

“I thought it would be.”

“I never used my knife!” She looks up to Cassie, so incredibly happy.

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.” Cassie squeezes her tightly once again before letting go. The second she’s free, she latches on to me, nearly knocking me to the sand.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.” I whisper.

Sapphire and Joseph are two of the first people out of the caravan, closely followed by a small crowd. They all look great. Almost every single person has gained weight, weight they desperately needed. So much color has come back to Sapphire’s face, and she doesn’t even need a bandage on her hand anymore. Joseph, on the other hand, is still as stressed as ever, and it dominates his entire body. He heads straight towards me.

“I want to start by saying thank you, for everything." He reaches out, and I have to let go of Daisy to shake his head. Daisy takes that opportunity to say hi to Vince and Ivy, before heading back to hang out with Cassie.

“It was nothing. I don’t know what the point of running this place is if I don’t use it to help people who need it.”

“We certainly appreciate it. I do want to talk about your expectations for us when you have a moment.”

“I don’t have any expectations for any of you. I already have several floors set up for all of you to move in, a place for you to live and take as long as you need to get settled in.”

“You truly don’t have any ulterior motives for us?”

“No, I only want to give you the same standard of living I give all of my citizens. I do have a hope though.” I admit.

“Which is?”

“Even with all my work, a lot of people are still uncomfortable interacting with AI. There’s a lot of history for people to grow past, and a lot of wrongs that my predecessor did that I’m trying to fix. I’m hoping that all of you would be more comfortable around them, and could maybe help build trust between the AI and humans? If not, it's ok! You don’t have to interact with anyone if you’re not comfortable.”

“I don’t think anyone will have any problems helping.” Much of Joseph’s worry and tension melts from him. “And I’ll ensure we don’t stretch your hospitality.”

“Don’t feel like you have to, please. And after you get settled, if you need anything, please ask. My bodies are everywhere." Right, of course he’s confused. I hurry to explain. “I have a few hundred bodies spread throughout the city, all of them look like me. Always being available to answer any of my citizens' concerns or questions has gone a long way towards building their trust.”

“I see.”

“I told him he was worried about nothing.” Sapphire joins our conversation. “If you don’t mind, I do need to ask a favor.”

“Sapphire, please, I don’t think-”

“What do you need?” I interrupt Joseph’s complaints.

“I know she’s busy catching up with Cassie, but you left quite the impression on Daisy when you showed her your internals.” She says. “She’s tried so hard to understand the books you left behind, and hasn’t stopped talking about it since you left. I was wondering if there’s any way you could find someone to teach her about robots or programming?”

“I would love to! I’ve been teaching a few kids already, and creating an education system has been a big focus for one of my assistants. Do you think she’d be ok with lessons every day? Or will she need breaks?”

“You’ll have to ask her.”

“Right, yeah. I will as soon as we get everyone situated. Speaking of which, we should probably do that. Everyone!” I call out. “If you could please get back into the caravan, we have a short distance still to go. I have rooms for all of you prepared in the center of the city, but driving through the roads would inconvenience too many people. Instead, we’ll be going through an underground tunnel to the center of the city and entering there.” I head over to the leader of the caravan and get his attention. “I need you to do one last thing. Do you see that small bump?” I point directly west. “It’s a hidden tunnel I just expanded. If you take the caravan into there, the tunnel will lead directly beneath the tower. One of my bodies will meet you there. After that, you’re free to go.”

“You’re the boss.” He shrugs. “You going to ride with us?”

“No, sorry. Keeping a connection that far out is tough.” It’s not that I can’t do it of course, it’s just the reduction in bandwidth out there would make my job difficult. I’d be limited in how fast I could think, how many bodies I could take control of, how many questions I could answer. If I sent another body here instead of coming here myself, I absolutely would ride with them. “We’ll meet you down there though.”

“Alright. Come on people! We’re moving out!”

It only takes a minute for everyone to get back in and for the caravan to set off once again.

“We’re going to have to run, aren’t we?” Vince asks.

“Sorry. I can bring in a few bodies to carry you if you want. Or I can call the caravan back so you can ride.” I offer.

“You’re fine Little Blue. I haven’t exercised as much as I probably should have. Lead the way.”

There’s a hidden entrance to the tunnels under the city very close that I lead everyone into. While we walk, I set to work doing the final preparations for the villagers’ arrival. I pull a few bodies out of storage and off the streets to wait in the parking garage under the tower. In addition, I broadcast a message throughout the network.

“Hello everyone, today we have some humans moving into the tower. They’re all good people, but have had a hard life. If anyone’s willing, I’m sure they would appreciate some help getting settled.” In addition to the message, I upload a lot of extra information, the context of why I’m helping them, and where exactly they will be staying in the tower. 

I get a number of responses back offering assistance. Hopefully their help will let the humans get to know a few of them.

All that’s left is to get everyone settled.