By Matthew Cam, April 2017
I wake up to the sound of the alarm clock behind my bed. As usual, I pick it up and throw it across the room, trying to catch a few extra minutes of sleep.
Then I remember what day it is.
I jump out of bed and grab a change of clothes, a bright orange top and some blue denim pants. It’s not exactly regulation, but it’s Sunday today – the Guard will slacken up a bit.
The year is 2117, and most of humanity is living here, in the city. It doesn’t quite have a name, nor does it have a history. In fact, it can really only be characterized by a few things. A dull glow cast over colorless buildings spiralling towards a smog covered sky. This is the city, and I absolutely hate it.
Despite my constant attempts to escape, I’m doing well at school. I can’t exactly help it. What goes on in the dreary classrooms is simple stuff compared to the schemes I dream up at night. My mother says that if I tried harder at school I could become a Builder. They’re the people that get to work at USCCorp, the only ones that have the potential to “save” mankind.
I put on a pair of runners and pull out my cellphone. I punch in Sarah’s number.
–Sarah? Hello?
–*Yawn.
–Sarah?
–I’m here, what’s all the fuss Jamie?
–Today’s the day, remember? I’ll be at your place in five.
–In five, no more no less?
I could hear her sarcastic grin through the phone.
Yes, Sarah, no more no less.
[ * * * ]
I met Sarah Fraser on my first day of Primary class. It was just after first period, when I tried jumping the metal fence that surrounded the school. I was almost halfway over when I felt a hand yank on my leg that caused me to fall to the ground.
–If you’re going to even try going over that fence, you could at least be bothered to learn the timings of the turrets.
I glanced back at the fence just in time to see the merciless red laser pointer pass over where I was moments ago.
–… Uh… thanks.
I turned around to get a look at my guardian angel. She looked a solid year younger than me, but had very serious dark eyes, a deep contrast to the mischievous smile that was etched on her face.
Ever since that day, Sarah has been getting me out of trouble left and right. Yanking me down from more fences, spotting Guards in the street, distracting the Distributor whenever I was caught grabbing extra snacks for the two of us. Even sweet talking us out of a few nasty encounters.
“You’re lucky this pretty little lady is here, or I would have beat your ass!”
Yep. I’ve heard that one at least 30 times now.
But Sarah was much more than my guardian, after many years, Sarah became my partner. I discussed plans with her to steal equipment, plans to discover Guard secrets.
Plans to escape the city.
[ * * * ]
I hop onto my bike and make my way down the main road. The streets are lined with cars, all jam packed in the cool Sunday morning. They’re headed to the Cathedral, to attend the announcement for the new buildings that will be in place. Security will be tight in the inner ring, but the outer gates will be heavily understaffed.
Today is the perfect day.
I arrive at Sarah’s building in under 5 minutes and reach toward the buzzer for room 26 on the console. She’s ready though, and the front entrance of the apartment swings out just as my finger find its way to the surface of the button.
–Beat you to the punch again, didn’t I, Jamie?
Sarah steps out of the door. Her long brown hair is tied up into a ponytail and tucked underneath her favorite floppy sun hat. She’s wearing a loose black dress tied with a small grey bow at the waist, coupled with regulation leather boots at her feet. Her dark grey eyes seem to gaze right into my soul as she puts on her usual mischievous smile.
–Would it kill you to wear some color?
She sticks her tongue out at me.
–Yes.
I pinch her cheek lightly to put her tongue back into her mouth, but she continues to grin at me even as we make our way to the outside of the city.
It’s a long walk, and we make our way through the dense concrete jungle of the inner ring. I look up into the sky. From the ground the buildings are magnificently built, sculpted to reach great heights but just scraping the looming smog above. Magnificent doesn’t mean beautiful. The entire inner ring is almost colorless, with significant exceptions of the cathedral – a dull red – and the headquarters of UCSCorp, a stained glass robotics facility, the vast windows long faded after years under the control of the Guard.
The Guard had instated itself long before I was born. Created to protect the people from what they believed was the inevitable end of society itself, exploration. The Guard didn’t hesitate in implementing its policies. Within the first week of their rule, most online social mediums were met with extreme censorship. Within the first month, the entire red light district was a wasteland, the “business” leaders either jailed for life or killed in public executions. Within the first year, UCSCorp had its hands in every nook, cranny, and crevice. Public and private surveillance systems were put in place, and automatic weapon systems mercilessly slaughtered anyone who broke the law. It’s hard to imagine what life was like before, crime running free in the streets, drugs being bought and sold. Now the city slept at night, stores were safe without having to cage the windows, and the back alleys were desolate and unoccupied, even in the latest of hours. But it wasn’t natural. More like a boxer kicked in the head after overdosing on adrenaline the night before than a child tucked into a restless dream after a warm glass of milk.
I bump into a UCSSteel worker on the street.
–Sorry about that.
–No worries, you have a nice day young man!
As he walks away I hear him continue whistling a marching tune from last year’s UCS parade. It’s hard to imagine they’re not human. Mindless machines, programmed with the ultimate disguises. Acting like humans meant that they had to be like humans, imperfect. The UCS workers sometimes talked when they should stay silent, sometimes stayed silent when they should talk. They muttered to themselves under their breath, tripped over cracks in the pavement, dreaded taxes and were eager for payday. They gossiped, protested, made bands and played music in their free time. They bumped into people on the street, forgave, and wished others a merry day. After all this it’s still hard to believe-
–That nobody’s there?
I turn towards Sarah. As usual, she noticed my anxiety. I had never been at ease with the idea of these robots, not like the rest of the people in my generation. I always feel there should be more to them than just acting human, but if it walks and talks like a duck…
–Jamie you need to loosen up, we’re almost at the outer gate.
It was the ultimate insult to humankind. After all the work the Guard did to chain us up, watch our every move, hear our every word, know our every secret, prevent even our slightest misstep, they believed that we needed to be fooled that the world is full of us. They created others like humans to make us believe we weren’t alone in the struggle to live. The truth was it was almost 50/50. Humans die easy, we get sick, get hungry, starve in the street, resort to crime only to meet the iron fist of a machine programmed to kill. Almost every second ‘person’ on the street was a UCS worker, and that meant machine.
It was just as I suspected, the outer gate was empty. Most of the human guards and citizens had made their way to the centre of the city. The automatic turrets were a different matter however. Sarah and I made our way to the side of the wall. I had been digging a tunnel here for the months using tools I nabbed from a UCS construction site late at night. Removing the large crates I stacked in front revealed a person-sized hole in the ground that Sarah would have an easy time through, for me it would be a bit of a squeeze. I made my way in first, to make sure the other end was clear, then guided her through the short tunnel towards the exit.
Together, we were greeted with a world of light.
[ * * * ]
The first thing I noticed was the air. It cooled my lungs and stung my nose, alive with deep scents. I looked around and noticed we were in what was called a forest, a sweeping landscape filled with trees and plants, rarities within the city walls. Sarah was lit up with excitement, taking small steps as she gazed up into the light coming from above.
–Look up.
I stared at the burning light in the sky. It was the sun. On some days in the city we could see its faint outline casting a dull glow over the looming towers, but never had I seen it in all its brilliant beauty before. It stung my eyes and skin with heat, the power of the sky, kept “safe” from humankind by a blanket of heavy clouds and smog.
–It’s beautiful.
–Of course, you knew that all along.
–No I didn’t.
Sarah turned to face me.
–Was it not your own father’s books that inspired you to take this risk?
–Of course it was, but mother always said he was crazy.
–Now you know he wasn’t.
–I knew that all along.
We spent the entire day in the outside world, exploring the land beyond the city walls. Carving our names into the barks of the giant plants and trees with stones and metal we found. We ran through fields of taller, thinner plants, and got lost in their sheer volume. I found a huge pool of water, and we dipped our toes in the crystal clear liquid. The water was absolutely transparent, it was nothing like the murky substance in the city. I dipped my lips down to have a drink and almost spat it out. It was completely bland, but it left an amazing refreshing feeling in my body. I drank more.
Before we knew it, the sky was becoming dark. We found a hill to rest on, as we witnessed the sky light up with vibrant colors, the sun slowly fading at the edge of the world we could see, closing in fast. We had long since taken off our shoes, and could feel the soft grass under our feet.
–It’s like the sun’s goodbye.
–I wonder if it says goodbye like that every time.
We lay there in the darkness for a few minutes, listening to the sounds of the city from afar. Suddenly, my eyes were brightened as the sky filled itself with a million lights. I jumped up and made my way to the top of the hill.
–Sarah, look up.
She turned next, and joined me at the top. I kept my gaze towards the sky, and reached up. I felt like my hand could go on forever and stroke the heavens above.
–One day we’ll be free to live in this land again. To pursue our own dreams, guided by these lights in the sky. No more Guard, no more UCS, no more city. We’ll live and breathe with other humans, and only other humans, drinking clear water, playing in the plants, and gazing up at the sun in the sky, the smog swept away.
–You’re quite the poet.
I felt Sarah wrap her arms around me from behind.
–But is that your only dream?
I sat back down on the hill and let myself fall into her arms. She nuzzled her head into my neck. I felt her heartbeat, her warm skin, and the unyielding protection she had given me through my life summed up in that moment.
I guess a close second would be to witness all of that with you by my side.
She let out a small giggle, then closed her lips around mine.
[ * * * ]
We lay there for what seemed like forever. Two kids looking for their place in a world long abandoned.
We were back in the forest now, among the delicate giants that occupied the land. We had just entered their grasp when I heard an enormous cracking sound.
–Jamie, look out!
I turned just in time to witness the mighty terrain splitting before me, a gap opened up in the cover above as a tree began to fall in my direction. I held my arms up to block the inevitable but I felt a huge force throw me to the side, slamming me into the ground several feet away. It was Sarah. I looked up only to see the tree come down with a might crash.
–Sarah!
I called her name but there was no response.
–Sarah!
I quickly ran to the fallen giant, only to see it had completely crushed her arm, her still body laying off to the side. I rushed to her side only to notice the area here her arm once was. Wires, steel, a net of miniature motors supplementing a pneumatic piston? What was going on? I heard sirens above, it was the Guard. They must have heard the tree.
–… Jamie
Sarah’s weak voice made its way to my ears as I picked her up and cradled her in my arms as I ran back to the hole.
–… Jamie you don’t need to run, they’re here for me. They know I’m damaged.
I couldn’t process what was happening, I kept on running.
–… Jamie, stop.
I paused in the middle of a clearing and looked down at Sarah’s body in my arms. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but she was just like them, a robot.
–I don’t understand, why?
–… The Guard needs people like you Jamie, brilliant minds like you are needed to keep the city running…
–Who are you?
–… The Guard knows minds like yours can never be controlled, they know minds like yours will always hunger for more. No machine, no robot, no automatic defense system could ever stop a person who has the potential, the drive, to change the world. Nothing they could create would ever stand up to a true human, unbound by rules, willing to do whatever it takes to carve their own path…
I feel tears welling up in my eyes, I choke on my words, but I allow them to come out of my mouth anyways.
–Then, why… why did you save me?
–… Because a human only has one weakness. Love. I love you Jamie, I always have, from the moment I met you. It’s the Guard’s last resort, after all, our code is extremely expensive to produce… …I’ll protect you no matter what, because I love you unyieldingly. It’s my ultimatum. The path that produces the most good for me is to sacrifice myself unconditionally for the brilliance I find in you…
I hold Sarah’s forehead against mine, tears streaming down my face.
– It’s not true that UCS workers are perfect humans, they don’t possess the capacity to love. Do you understand Jamie? Your mind would never let one of those near you, you would know. They are missing some part of humanity. But us, who are capable of love, become your ultimate partners on the journey. We can break your walls, we can stay by your side, and we can be your guardians forever…
–I don’t care… if you’re a robot… or if this is all some trick by the Guard. I want to spend my life with you. I don’t care if that means we never leave the city again!
–I… I want to spend forever with you too Jamie… but you must understand… I’m not sure what I’m supposed to feel anymore… You’re so special to me… but at the end of the day… I’m hardwired to love…
The sounds of the sirens draw closer and closer, and I can begin to hear Guards closing in.
–They’ll take you back, they’ll make you better, right?
–… Jamie, I’ve done my duty now, they have no doubts that you will never leave the city now, they’ll terminate me once I return to UCS…
Sarah I’ll never let them do that! Stay with me! Please! You can’t go now. Not now…
I hold her hand in mine as whatever created her heartbeat eventually slowed down to a stop. Her body became stiff and her head fell to one side. That’s when I noticed her dark eyes. No life left in them.
Because there was no life there to begin with.
[ * * * ]
It’s been 20 years since that day.
I punch in the last bit of data into the terminal: “f(x)=x^a [a=2,1/2,-1/2,-1] and f(x)=exp(x), f(x)=ln(x).” I’ve long since settled into the world as a Builder. It’s hope that drives me forward. Hope that one day I’ll create something so magnificent it will pierce the heavy clouds above, and break through this austere world of mine. Something so great it will pierce even the heavens, and let me see the brilliant lights in the sky once more!
But there I am, daydreaming again. It’s getting late, time to clock out.
I hear someone running into my room.
–Daddy!
I turn around, it’s Max. I pick him up in my arms and swing him around the room, tossing him up and down, taking care not to hit his head on the low ceiling. He’s still giggling as I bring him back down. Back down to earth. I catch my breath.
–I had my first day of school today Daddy.
I feel myself break into a small smile.
–Did you? Are you all grown up already?
–Not quite, but I made friends! … Well, just one.
–One friend is a lot better than no friends. What’s he like?
–Actually Dad, my friend is a girl.
He’s blushing now, but I break into a laugh.
–That’s nothing to be ashamed of, especially at your age! Well, does your pretty new friend have a name?
–Of course! Her name is Sarah!