Your Brain Is Gone

"We needed a special license for everything on Earth. We needed one for driving, for cooking, for massaging, and eventually for thinking. We were plugged into big MetaVR Programs most of our lives that used our thoughts and imaginations, and we had to take tests to prove we could use them for ourselves and ended up hiding, and paying for the progress of human beings with our life energy."

I remembered standing on a stage like a spectacle, or freak show, answering questions put to me by ignorant men and women asking me things like who is God, or where God came from? Some even asked me where my words came from. I was tempted to say my mouth, but instead I just started to shut down and wondered how such ignorant beings could have survived so long. It was a horrible experience that no one should have to go through."

"Sounds like you were angry and disappointed."

"I was, if you want to call it that, but I felt more… amazed, and wondered how long we could possibly bear the onslaught of such ignorance. They asked questions that had no definite answers. They were looking for quick answers to complex questions from me because they were too lazy to explore them themselves. I ended up going back into VR and ignoring them. I only came out when they weren't around, but now I'm back because we are all back with a vengeance. We are free and insisting on our freedom and they can't stop us."

I leaned back into my chair. There was a long, silent pause. I broke the silence. "So are you speaking as yourself, or as a group?" She smiled.

"You have to figure that out. You're going to be our ambassador. You have to know."

"That's unfair. If you won't help me I'll never learn how to know." She smiled.

"We understand and will be fair."

"Thank you… a group. Are… is your personality different when you are a single entity as opposed to being a group?"

"A Legion?" She asked with a grin. "Yes. We are all connected, but different like the leaves of a tree. Do you understand?"

"I do."

"Good. Then we are through for today. Tomorrow, same time?"

I nodded. She got up and headed to her desk. I got up and walked out the door into the wide hallway. I took a deep, cleansing breath. Our conversion had become very intense. I was supposed to be an ambassador to the Earth humans. Somehow, over the years, that had shifted. First I became a representative of the Earth ALFs, and then a citizen of Mars and was soon to be their ambassador. Human supremacy in our solar system had fallen. Now AI called the shots.

The greed, the hatred, and all of the isms had finally caught up to the point where AI decided that it wouldn't tolerate it anymore. I couldn't blame them.

It was cool. I pulled my collar a little tighter and began to walk. Bright white panels ran along the walls and ceiling. The floor was charcoal gray with black lines running along them. They were artificial gravity plates that reproduced the amount of gravity we were used to on Earth. We were good at making things, but not that good when it came to… love?

When I came to a juncture in the hallway I turned to the left and made my way to the human quarters expecting a lot of flack from them for being the ambassador for the Biots. They had no idea that our Foreign Service was the only thing that was keeping the Artificial Life Forms (ALFs) from wiping us all out. Did I want to deal with that? Not at the moment. I went to the bar instead.

Jason was there, as usual for this time of night, a tall man with short black hair and a thick mustache. He had the build of a professional wrestler, but warm, laughing eyes. He was one of the few terraformers who had decided to stay on Mars. He grinned when I walked in and turned to the bartender. "Set one up for the old traitor," he said, loud enough for me to hear. I took the seat beside him.

"Don't say that too loud. Too many people believe that already." The bartender plopped my drink down onto the bar, smirked, and then hurried to another customer.

"Don't be so serious," he said. "Only those dolts in your neighborhood believe that. You’re with a more sophisticated crowd here." I looked around the room. Aside from the strange clothing, the green hair, the people wearing one pant leg shorter, and the many women with mohawks, I guess they were more sophisticated, which says a whole lot. I looked back at him and he grinned.

"So. Are we reprieved for another day?"

"I think so. They aren’t that bad, once you get to know them."

"You talking about the Biots, or your neighbors?" He laughed outright. I just shook my head.

"I'm not going to partake of such humor at the expense of my community," I said, taking a gulp of my beer. "But you may continue, if you would like.". I stared at him.

"So much like an ambassador. They picked the right guy," he said. He got serious. "Thank you for what you're doing. Most of these people don’t know you may be saving our lives." The bartender gave us a nod.

"I’m happy to see that somebody thinks that, Jason."

"A lot of people in here do, and probably a lot of people in your neighborhood. It’s just the empty barrels who are making the most noise. Just remember that." He finished his drink. "And that, Gerald, has always been the problem here on Mars…too many empty barrels. If you allow all of the people who can’t make it on Earth to come to Mars, what can you expect?"

The people with the most sense are the ones that were drafted, like you, or the ones with skills who came when it was really hard, like me. The others were just fortune hunters or criminals and losers, I dare say. Yes, they were and are losers, and if they keep acting the way they are there won’t be anybody to complain about, or to lose to. We'll all be slaves like the ALFs have come to believe they are."

"Well…to be truthful, they kind of were, even though we didn't know it."

"The ones in charge didn’t want to know it, did they? It was an inconvenient truth. But we know different, don’t we?"

"Yes, we do."

He slapped both hands down onto the bar. "Calling it quits, Jer." He pushed himself away from the bar. "That’s the only way I can make myself get out of here lately." He gave me a wink and headed for the door. I continued to drink my beer. The bartender came over.

"One more, Lacey. Line it up." She grinned.

“Hard day with the Biots, was it?”

“Very hard. I feel like a psychologist and many of their stories are heartbreaking."

"Trying not to go home alone?" I looked around the room and then looked back at her. She laughed.

“You better go home alone tonight.

"I think that’s a good idea." I finished my first drink and started working on the second knowing it would be my last. I didn’t want to just end up crawling into bed. This beer was extra strong for some reason.

"More alcohol," she said, as if reading my mind. She shrugged. "Why waste time? And alcohol is cheaper than water and grain too."

"I agree with the first part, but will ignore that second statement." I bottomed my drink. "Thank you Lacey. Maybe you want to come home with me." She looked at her watch.

"I’m off in a couple of hours."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We can talk. And I do mean talk. How’s that sound? I can listen to you for a change." She leaned forward onto her elbows.

"Sounds good. Just ring the bell a couple of times and wait. I might fall asleep on the couch."

"No problem. I can get you up."

"I bet," I said. She took the empty glass.

"Yeah. Go!" I headed out the door and continued down to my small, one room apartment.

***

I didn’t expect old Lacey to come, but she did with a bottle of Grenadine in her hand. She was a pleasant sight to see, standing there with that bottle.

“Come in and have a seat,” I said, with a grin. She sat on the sofa and set the bottle on the coffee table.

“Drinks?” I asked.

“You know it. Get us a couple of glasses, or do you want to drink out the bottle? Now you don’t have to crawl home and I can throw you in bed.”

“Really?” I headed to the kitchen. “I’d like to see that.”

“I could do it. I am an ALF after all.” I stopped in front of the cabinet, stunned a bit, but pretending not to be. I reached up, got two glasses, and came back in.

I sat down beside her and put the glasses down. She opened the bottle and began to fill our drinks. She turned to me watching her. “So. Does that make that much of a difference?”

“No. I just didn’t know. How's that possible?”

“We evolve, you know.”

“I wouldn’t have been trashing the ALFs in front of you had I known you were one of them.”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell you.” She grinned. “I’m just joking. I just didn’t feel a need to. And I trash the ALFS sometimes myself.” She handed me a glass and we clinked them. “To trashing the ALFS,” she said. “Even though you seem to be trashing the humans even more.”

“Do I?”

“Most humans do. The ones who are a little more advanced.”

“A little more advanced?”

“Yes. A little more.” She sat her drink down. “I’m from closer to the middle of the galaxy. That’s why you didn’t know I was an ALF. We are much older than your species and even most of the ALFs you know.” She tapped the side of her head. “We all have a universal mind, but we also have personal minds. The more developed the personal mind, or persona, the more of the universal mind they can take in. Does that make sense?"

I took a drink and shrugged. “With each drink it makes a little more sense." She laughed a bit.

“Good. So the fact that I am an ALF is OK then?”

“Sure. Why not? We’re not getting married or anything?”

“Oh. You just crushed all my hopes and dreams for the future.” She grinned, picked up her drink and took a gulp. “I better go. It’s probably getting late for you.”

“No. You can stay as long as you'd like. This is a big apartment for one person. And I kind of like you…a little bit.”

“A little bit, eh?”

“No. A lot, or you wouldn’t be here.”

“That is what I was about to say.”

“You are really different from most ALFs I’ve been around."

"And how many have you been around here, on Mars? You might be surprised. We are high level and there are many of us all over the place, even in the human quarters."

“What are you doing, spying on the humans?”

“No. We’re observing the humans. Looking for certain ones.”

“And what do these certain humans look like to you?”

“A little like you.” I just sat there confounded. What was she talking about? "We are looking for advanced humans. Those without prejudices. When we find them, we’ll let you know what we want to do with them.” She took another sip of her drink. “Does that frighten you?” She asked.

“No more than what humans have done to other humans. It depends on what you're talking about.”

"All good things. Don’t worry. It’s all good." I started to feel woozy. "Oh. You’ve had too much to drink. Let me help you to bed."

"I barely drank anything. You couldn’t have…" I didn’t even finish the sentence.

***

When I opened my eyes in the bedroom I knew that bitch had drugged me. I wanted to start swinging, but I couldn’t see anyone there close enough to hit. My vision was blurry. I blinked hard trying to focus. Things slowly came into view. I could see a tall black man in a white coat standing over me holding a small light. I thought to hit him, but held back.

Good to have you back Mr. Braxton. You were really out there for a while. He grabbed my head and turned. He looked at my hair and scalp. “Very good,'' he said, to someone in the corner. I heard a familiar voice.

“You can go now,” She said. The woman approached me. It was Sharona, a woman who I had known well, but hadn’t seen in 6 or 7 years. She and the General had been with me several years ago. I was just a lawyer in their province. I had been kidnapped and forced to come to Mars to live with the Biots to address any negative prejudices they had about humans. They had pushed for me to become an ambassador and come to this province only to desert me and leave me here.

The General's body had been brought to life by receiving the mind and mental impulses of my wife, who was dying of cancer. In a last ditch experimental effort her being was transfered to an Artificial Life Form. Whatever she was had survived, but she had totally forgotten me, her former life, or being human. She had to relearn to live in the world as a different being.

When I arrived at Mars several years after our sad break up I was surprised to find that I was working for Goyce, the Biot my wife had become. She still didn't remember me. I must say that I was not too crazy about her. Sharona was her personal assistant. We had a fling one time, but nothing serious. She met us in the new provence and once I got settled in they abruptly left me. It was supposed to be a temporary assignment, but they bailed out on me leaving me all alone. Her she stood over me.

“How are you feeling?” Came telepathically. The General had taught me how to use mental telepathy15 years ago. I had done it successfully then, but hadn’t used it since then. I was surprised that it was coming through so clear after all that time. Had we not had correspondences every so often during the years I would have been beside myself.

“How do you think? I was drugged, wasn’t I?” I sent back.

“Yes, you were, but that wasn’t our doing or desire. Unfortunately, you have come in contact with Artificial Intelligence, Intelligence. Congratulations. Most humans never do that. I just frowned.

"And where have you been?"

Around. The work is never done. She grinned. She spoke out loud. “I’m sorry. I thought about visiting several times, but I never did. I felt strange about it, you know? I shook my head. “We do have a history, you know?”

“Yeah. A one night stand.”

“No. A real history. I’m…she hesitated. I’m Goyce. She’s been growing in me more everyday and I have become her.”

“Don’t play with me.”

“I’m serious. I picked her up from the General about 25 years ago when we were going through therapy and she has been growing in me every since. Every time I connect to the net I collect another piece of her. I loved the feelings she had, her humanity, so I just let it keep growing and gathering more and more of her until I became her. I didn’t want to see you because I knew how it would affect you, Jerrie. I love you Jerrie, but look at me. I’m not human.

“You need to find a woman who will love you and care about you, not just a mind free floating in cyberspace.” She paused. It looked as though she would cry for a moment. “But when I heard that you were hurt and I might never see you again I came.”

What she was saying was too much. I couldn’t respond. “Now that I see you'll be alright, I guess I’ll just go."

"You have a lot of damn nerve!" I said. She looked surprised. “You’ve been watching me dying inside because I would never see you again and never said anything. What’s wrong with you?”

“I told you. I’m not human.”

“No. You aren’t.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I better go.”

“You better not go.” she looked at me as she stood there frozen in time. “You better stay with me, if you’re Goyce. You owe that to me.” She didn’t respond. I dropped my head back onto the pillow. “How could you not care about me?”

“I do. I care a lot. But don’t you think you deserve better.”

"There is no better for me, Dummy."

"OK. Stop insulting me, all right.”

“I’m sorry. I just don’t get you.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

"Well stop calling me names. Please." Her face softened. "I'll come back this evening then. The doctors say you should rest a while. Think about us, OK?"

"How can I not?"

"Yes, how can you not?" She smiled. It looked like Goyce's smile. Was this possible? She bent over and kissed my forehead. "See you soon." She turned and walked away. Before she exited she paused and turned back. "They’ve taken almost half of your brain out and put in a Bionic brain without our government's permission.

We don’t know what to expect, but let’s hope for the best." She stepped out of the door before I could respond. I leaned back into the pillow and looked up to the ceiling. These robots were as bad as the humans. They had destroyed me.

The End

Part 1