Chapter 17


Companion did return and would continue to come back once every so many days. When it did return, it did so more integrated into Warden and thus more capable of altering its programming, if even just temporarily. It gave the Exiles their full vision back, allowing them to again see in rich, full colors and shades. It allowed them to get close to each other. Soon, it allowed them to speak to one another. Communication between Exiles was a strange thing. They could only speak one on one, and only within proximity of each other. Still, that was better than no communication at all. Hayley was relieved to finally learn some of their names. JN22, aka- Jeffery Newman. He’d been the catcher on Hayley’s ball team. He was 22 and had been in Exile for 9 months. KP30, aka Kali Parminder. Age 30. She was one of the regulars at the park, and the woman whom Hayley had seen in the promenade that time attempting to return a little girl’s stuffed toy. She’d been in Exile for 3 years. DJ13, aka Daniel Jeter. Age 29. He’d been in Exile for 4 years. When it was Hayley’s turn to introduce herself, she was both surprised and grateful that nobody made a big deal about her. Of course, some of them had been incarcerated so long, she was just up and coming by the time they were Exiled. Those that did recognize her name weren’t convinced at first, but when she sang some of her lyrics, they were quite taken aback.

Talking with the other Exiles was almost like meeting a pen pal face to face for the first time. Though Hayley had no idea what any of them looked like, they were all real people just like her, some with families, many with careers, but almost none of them with a valid reason for being jailed. A few of them admitted to have been part of protests groups or laborers who’d attempted to form unions, but none of them were what Hayley would call criminals. What she found interesting was that most of them were part of the so-called Labor-class on the planet; a 23rd century equivalent of the lower middle class who made up nearly 70-percent of the Republic’s total population. Hayley doubted there were many from the Corporate or Political-class among them. If there were, it was because they’d committed actual crimes and weren’t just there to be ‘kept quiet’ as it seemed the majority of Exiles were.

Hayley was fast approaching a year in her sentence. Companion had slowly began making existence as an Exile more than bearable. It was actually becoming normal. As her and her fellow Exiles’ restrictions were reduced for greater duration with each passing month, it became necessary for the Exiles in and around the arcologies to venture out into the wilderness. The decision was made naturally, not by any individual Exile, but made out of necessity by each of them for fear that the ordinary citizens might become suspicious of their new behaviors. A few would remain behind, simply having grown accustomed to their immediate surroundings, but the mass exodus saw a majority of them flood the vast area south of the city. It certainly wasn’t something they all did at once. They didn’t want to tip off anyone who might be monitoring them and let them know that the Exiles had become organized. Instead, it occurred over weeks, with Exiles trickling southward in small groups or alone, making their way beyond the walls of the colony and into the vast untouched landscape. Hayley was among them and found herself following a group along the Vega Bay coastline. When at last they came upon a sandy beach, the group stopped.

Hayley looked out into the seemingly endless expanse of water to the sun setting in the west. The Vega star was quite beautiful in the evening. Unlike the Earth’s sun which cast a pinkish-orange glow through the sky as it fell below the horizon, the sky on Vega IV became a deep silvery blue. The reflection of the sky on the waves was simply breathtaking, making the water appear like mercury. Hayley had never truly been able to appreciate the planet’s natural beauty until Companion gave her her eyes back.

The beach stretched for about a kilometer and a half south before the white, sun bleached sands gave way to more rocks and cliffs. The patch she and her fellow Exiles had come upon was the kind of place rich folk build cottages and summer homes on. Fortunately, they had no use for such accoutrements. The suits shielded them from the elements, kept their bodies comfortable in all kinds of temperature extremes and protected them from germs and other potential damaging external elements.

Unfortunately, someone had noticed the Exiles unusual behavior. That someone was DIS who were responsible for monitoring Exile movements throughout the confinement zone. Unfortunately, a few too many Exiles had actually breeched the confinement zone that stretched east from the bay’s coastline approximately six kilometers south of the arcologies to a point roughly ten kilometers east. While there was no physical line of demarcation (except for the western coastline), Warden was supposed to warn you when you’d exited the confinement zone. The warning was typically followed by a punishment and a sentence-increase from violating the range limitation.

The fact that several hundred Exiles had managed to get well beyond the zone border had set off alarms in DIS and undoubtedly within the Council as well. As Companion had indicated to Hayley after it told her all of this, DIS had rounded up all those Exiles who’d broken the confinement area and had taken them in for testing.

Fearing that it might be discovered, Companion was forced to bury itself within the Warden system, going into hiding again despite the fact by that point it had overwritten nearly 80% of the Warden’s programming. With a little more time, it would become indistinguishable from Warden. This was the point in Companion’s evolution where it was most vulnerable to detection. All it would require was a keen eye monitoring Warden’s processes to discover the anomalies created by the invasive V.I.

‘How much longer will it take you to completely take over Warden’s programming?" Hayley asked it one evening when it was free to assume control as she laid on the beach, staring up at the starlit teal skies above.

"Given the variables, I cannot provide a precise estimate. I am afraid that with DIS continuing to evaluate the system following the detainment of the Exiles, my progress may have become indefinitely postponed."

Hayley sighed. While she enjoyed the hour or two each day of freedom she had from the Warden’s protocols, it still wasn’t the same were she to have total freedom. Her moments of freedom were entirely based on when the Companion system could assume control, and that meant it could happen anytime, while she was sleeping, while she was in maintenance...

"However, I have a working theory that may help to expedite the process."

"Yeah? Let me hear it."

"As a Virtual Intelligence, I am limited by my original programming. V.I.s unlike true artificial intelligences have specific restrictions in place to prevent them from attaining higher levels of thought and going outside of their original programming. This severely limits our ability to compute new methods in which to approach problems however. It is possible however for a V.I. to achieve true artificial intelligence. But it requires access to a very particular type of information...the information that is stored in the human mind."

Hayley abruptly sat up in the sand. "What are you saying...you want to take over our minds?"

"Negative. I simply wish to assimilate the information stored within your minds and merge them into my own programming. I have already begun programming the necessary network protocols in order to this. With the collective memories and thoughts of 12,420 humans, I believe I can attain the necessarily level of sophistication to become a true artificial intelligence. I will then be able to expedite my takeover of the Warden system."

"Wait...so you mean you’ll know all of our deepest thoughts? Our secrets? Even the things nobody else knows about?" Hayley shook her head unconsciously. "That’s just...I mean...you can’t even begin to understand how much of a violation that is."

"HK14, I am only a program. A sophisticated virtual intelligence algorithm. I cannot judge you. Further, upon your request, I can assure you that none of your secrets or personal information will ever be revealed to another party."

She had to think about it for a moment. She wondered if it was really any different then when she wrote a journal entry into a DPAD. She often put very personal thoughts into those entries, and it never occurred to her that the computer might somehow be reading those entries and secretly judging her. It was a computer after all. It had no emotions. How was Companion any different? "Have you told anyone else about this plan of yours?"

"I have been simultaneously expressing this plan to all other Exiles on the Warden network. So far the response has been mostly positive. There are a number of those resistant to the idea, however I believe the vast majority of Exiles will agree."

"How long will it take you to download everyone’s thoughts?"

"The network protocol I’ve created will allow me to do it instantaneously. It may take me a few days after that to assume complete control of the network, in which case I will be out of contact for that duration."

Taking a deep breath, Hayley rose to her feet and looked out across the seemingly endless expanse of water before her, the teal starlit skies reflecting off the calm waters, the sky and water seeming one in the same. It was like looking down at the edge of the world. Standing there, wrapped in the natural beauty of the planet, Hayley knew she had to give Companion the tools it would need to allow her to experience moments like that forever, and not just on occasion.

"Companion...I agree to let you assimilate my knowledge. I hope it helps."

"Very well...you may experience some mild discomfort."

Hayley examined the beach. Some of her fellow Exiles who’d assumed residency there were likewise on their feet and staring off into the darkening skies. All at once, their heads and Hayley’s jerked backward as if some invisible force had just hit them in the face. Cringing, Hayley could feel something in the back of her head just at the base of her skull. It felt like someone was digging into her brain with a red-hot poker. She let out a painful grunt, as her hands balled into fists and her body began vibrating. The sensation lasted only a few moments but left Hayley physically drained. She fell to her knees, barely able to hold herself up with her hands.

"Jesus..." she gasped, her head spinning as though she’d been in a centrifuge for the last hour. Her arms soon gave out under the weight of her body, and she hit the ground face first, losing consciousness a half second later.