A recent joint report between the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the North Korean Ministry of National Defense (MPAF) has exposed the plans for what have been called "Artificial Intelligence Settlement Zones". An Artificial Intelligence Settlement Zone (AISZ) was defined as "A planned community dedicated to the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence and related technologies of national security significance. " Precisely what this would entail is unclear. The mid-Atlantic region seems of particular interest. The report detailed implementations in three locations: Charlotte, North Carolina, Washington, DC and a currently unknown rural region. The first of these locations, Charlotte, proved fruitless. A data center was constructed in 2027 for the Pentagon by Oracle, but was burnt down a few months later, presumably by an arsonist. Further details have not been revealed, though an investigation has supposedly been ongoing since the incident.
Washington has been much more successful. By the end of 2032, the city announced a "second electrification", giving the it the most resistant electrical grid in the country and paving the way for a first of its kind program: cost-free, conditionless high speed internet for all Washingtonians. The project was partially funded by grants from the Council on Artificial Intelligence Advancement (CAIA), an organization established through an executive order late in former president Donald Trump's second term. The CAIA is a consortium that consists of representatives from major companies such as Google and Microsoft, as well as a few key governmental figures, including the secretary of Homeland Security, the director of National Intelligence and the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, among others at the president's discretion. Its official description is vague, but it seems to be a thinktank of sorts bankrolled by the American people, primarily concerned with the effects of Artificial Intelligence and providing the best guidance for "efficient, intelligent, competitive AI policy," per Amazon's official statement. Exactly how this has been implemented in Washington is unclear as of now, but it certainly can't be good. If I had to guess, I'd say this huge quantity of electricity is being pumped into some form of AI. The details aren't particularly discernible yet. The use of the term "settlement zone" makes me wonder exactly what's going on, but I can't make any concrete suggestions.
The third location, referred to solely as the "New Seele Community" in the report, is said to be located somewhere in rural Virginia. Virginia has long been a hotspot of intelligence community meddling, so it would be reasonable for such operations to be going on there. While little is known directly, we can make some guesses. When the CAIA was founded, it was given a certain quantity of money to conduct its operations. As of 2034, hundreds of millions of their initially allocated funds have gone unspent, or so we've been told. Perhaps this "unused" money has gone towards this last project? I can't say with any certainty what that money would be going to, but it appears to be kept for some purpose. One of the many members of the CAIA is the secretary of Agriculture, which could explain the supposed link to rural virginia. Precisely what a more agrarian AISZ could entail is unknown, but the implications are startling. I have some theories which I will elaborate on shortly.
Some have suggested that plans of urban expansion in the New England region, most particularly Boston and New York City, are part of a similar program as well. Both cities have seen a surge in population in recent years, supposedly due to the crisis in the West as it has become known. New York state has already achieved territorial control of the Connecticut region and is expected to get approval from the Congress of the States to gain "administrative privilege" of New Jersey as soon as next month. The Boston government has started construction towards New York city. A mix of state-sponsored tenaments and civilian constructed shantytowns litter the region between the two urban centers. The theoretical Greater New England metropolitan area of past years seems close to reality than ever. Once Rhode Island is out of the way, the new slumlord elite of America can form one metropolis for the unwashed masses that have poured in from around the country, creating a mix of the Saudia Arabian line city and the Kowloon walled city that stands upon the grave of the thirteen colonies. Surely it will not be long until the Congress gives them permission to do away with the piddly little Rhode Island.
These "new" high-power political operators are rather transparent members of the old guard. They're real estate ghouls, technocrat CEOs, any and every sort of the American oligarchy that have run things for decades now. This unholy marriage of the technocracy and landed aristocracy should be unnerving to all Americans. I suspect that they have worked together to create these AISZs. This push for rapid expansion could be a cover for entirely AI-based communities in the middle or on the edges. This massive uptick in electrical capacity is simply not needed, even if the population grew exponentially. If you were stuffing exurbs full of bots that use electricity like we breathe air, that demand for electricty becomes much more logical. The stupid chatbots already suck up a ton of energy without having a body. I can't prove it, so, as always, this is nothing but speculation based on publicly available information.
The following excerpt is taken from an interview with the Commission on Religious Extremist Activities, relating to the recent outbreak in Astrolatry-related psychosis across the nation. The subject of this interview if John Hane, a 20 year old man of uncertain origins which claims Texan heritage. Research into the veracity of his background is ongoing.
When I was a boy they told us bout the boy out there in Bethlehem I do believe. My daddy and mama did. The preachers and allat too but them especially. They would sit me and my sisters down and we would talk about that little boy out there in the desert. We lived in what they told me used to be Texas or around there when I was real little and they said it was like where he lived. A big desert. There werent no dates and figs like in the stories they told me but there were sands that went on far as anyone could see. Maybe if God looked hed see past it all but thats about it. He never really looked where we were I dont think and Ill tell you why.
I was born John Hane. I lived with my mama and daddy and my sisters and my grandpa. We lived out there in a real beautiful place, out in the country. The desert was clear and I could always see what was comin. The things crawlin along the ground or blowing atop it didnt bother me none except for the scorpions and a few other lil things here and there. You could never be too careful. If it was somethin big I could see it comin though. I liked that. There were these big old cactuses that grew tallern hell and I always liked how they looked and I knew theyd keep us safe when I was real little. We had things alright. There were a bunch of preachin type people that would have us doin some bad things. I don't know exactly what they were doin but I never liked it. Id been told by someone around those parts that the leader of it all was touching the lil girls. I never saw none of that or anything but I heard about it a few times. Theyd always be whispering. They musta been afraid theyd figure it out and do something to them for tellin me. Thats what I guessed anyway. That stuff dont matter too much, it just explains what happened next that Im tellin you now.
It was around Christmastime and they got to tellin us the whole story. About the boy in the desert. Im gonna tell it best as I can remember how they told it here and youll see what happened after. In the start it told us about three men. They came from few places around the old world. Somewhere in Africa, a guy with brown skin named Balfasar or somethin of that kind. There was a different one from England supposedly and one from somewhere else where it was kinda like the desert, but he lived on the ocean. he coulda just sailed off in a boat. The men dont matter too much really but theyre part of the story we learned. They all saw a weird star in the sky over Jerusalem. Accordin to the bishop tellin the whole thing their eyes would hurt when they looked at it, but they couldnt help wantin to anyways. It shined bright in the sky against the black night and theyd always want to follow it. He did pointed up at the stars and we all looked up. No one but me saw what he was pointin at. It was like the star over Jerusalem I reckon. It had that shine to it like it was the same thing. He might notve even seen it, but I sure could. It was too bright for me to not see. It hurt my eyes some like in the story too, but I didnt want no one else there to see it. This story was only for the children, my sisters and parents both werent there. They musta given the girls a different story or had someone different tell em the same one.
Anyway, the three of them men all had the same idea and went walkin towards the star. They all did it, and at first they didnt know, but later they found the others all walkin the same way to Jerusalem and they walked there together, hand in hand as I was told. They made it there because they had faith, they believed that the kingdom was in their hearts. When they got to the city and they spoke to the king they didnt need him cause the kingdom was in their hearts the whole time. They were in his kingdom but the true kingdom was inside them. So they left and followed the star to somethin called a manger. It was a dirty little place with straw and animals. There were goats and horses nextdoor, but they were sleeping cause it was early in the mornin. They stank like shit but didnt make a noise other than the breathin. There was a poor woman layin on the ground and her tired husband standin there and watchin it all. He had his hands on his face and I think they told us he was cryin. He was mumblin some words and crying. They said it ran down like theyd stabbed his eye and water came out instead of blood. His wife was just sitting on the ground about naked but still cold and shivering. One of them men took off his cloak and covered her up in it. They sat down with her as her husband cried and cried and watched as she kept trying to get the son of God out. They smelled the shit and the salt from the tears and all that other sort of stuff and still sat by her. They held her as he came out. When he fell out of her they all took turns holding him except the husband because his tears would get the baby wet and cold.
Thats what they told us. I went back and told my mama about them men that saw the star. I told her that I saw it too. I pointed to where it came from but the star had moved and I couldnt see it from our part of the house. I didnt wanna wake up the other people and let them know about the star, just my mama and daddy and my sisters eventually I guess. I knew grandpa wouldnt wake up cause he can sleep through just about anything. The trumpets could go soundin all night and hed still be laying in bed asleep. Hed been runnin things before the new man and I guess that just makes you tired enough to not ever wake up before noon. My daddy was awake and I told him what Id seen. We didnt have windows in that room it was so damn dark. We had to look through the little places in the metal you could see through. But you could see the star right where I said it was. Mama didnt see the star but my daddy could just clear as day, like it was the only thing he could see. Maybe it hid because it didnt want mama to see. It was only the men that went lookin when the son of God was born so maybe it was only the men thatd see and go lookin this time. I dont know exactly and I never tried to. On that day in my heart Id known a new son of God had been born. Theyd been sayin a new son of God might come and that only the faithful would see. Theyd be seen as blind by the world but theyd see. I told daddy to get up early in the morning tomorrow because we needed to go. When I woke up he didnt. I waited around for an hour or however long and he didnt get up. It was dark and I wandered out into the dark with the star of Bethlehem in my eyes.
I couldnt take anything from our house because there would be people thatd see, so I just had to walk. There would be some things that got in my way. Id had to steal food from a few places around the way. We lived not too far from a town that still had stores. I went in there and nearly got shot but I stole me enough food to get to the next town over that had things. I wont get into it too much but some real bad things happened. They nearly fuckin killed me. They stole all my things and theyd got me bloodied. They cut some weird shapes in me. I couldnt figure them for nothin. They pulled me in the doctor's and they put me under for a long time. My head hurt like hell. I can't remember a lot from most of it but it happened. They made me sit around in a white room for a long, long time. They asked me where I came from. I just told them west because I never did know the name of the place. I mentioned the bishop and a few things like that but I dont think thats what they were lookin for. I didnt have no papers or social security to give them, so they just let me alone for a while. They had me put up near a window and I was watching the star whenever I could. When they werent pokin around about who I was and givin me treatments there were some weird men in there in suits lookin me over. They wouldnt say anythin even if I tried to talk to them. Just looking and writin. It got on my nerves after long enough. They were so damn creepy. But that's what it is. They distracted me so much I'd stopped looking at the star of Bethelehem a few times. There was one last time where I'd been harrassed by em all day and all night. When they finally left the star had gone and I never saw it again. I wanted to cry. I just sat there and could barely do much other than cry and sleep for days and days.
Reportedly, Mr. Hane began singing in a quiet tone after he had communicated his story to the Comission. The following is a transcript of what one of the Comission's members heard:
When I close my eyes
And see the Lord in His glory
I cry and hope my father prays for me
No matter how I try
I sin and act a fool anyway
How could I stay
In His kingdom when I die?
I lied and I stole
I said His name in vain
I overate His grain
They ought have whipped me up a pole
I been good, good as I could be
I know it's not enough
But when the world is but dust
I pray He'll forgive me
That He'll love me all the same
And when the rivers flood
Running red with His blood
I will be redeemed in His name
The Comission asked Hane about the origins of this song. His statement is recorded below:
Well its a prayer. Somethin like one at the least. I was taught it by the preaching people. They always did take a likin to me. The leader and the preachin folk that would live around him all the time. Most the time you could never get to even see him in a day, but they lived right with him and talked to him all the time. One day they brought me in there and they made me start learning that prayer. I couldnt tell you much about what I was doin other than learning that for a while when I was little. Not long after I learned to say words they was doing that to me. I dont remember much before I was about six, maybe seven year old. They was actin like I would be the next leadin preacher. I recall em blindfolding me and trainin me to see the future sometimes. I dont really think it got me nowhere. Sometimes theyd lay hands on me, trying to help me do it, but it never helped do anythin but make me uncomfortable. I tried to do lots of prayers and stuff when I was little. Would yall like to hear another? I could do it. This oned even have a beat. Pretty slow one but its somethin.
The Comission expressed interest in this proposition. Hane stomped his feet in a slow, ryhthmic fashion before reciting the following, seemingly from memory:
When I need my Lord
I know he'll guide us to what grows
He plugs our noses
Rot would smell like roses
When I need my Lord
I know he will keep me fed
He sent in his stead
Watered fields for our bread
When I need my Lord
I know he will hear my prayer
He's on high up there
Listenin from the top a the stairs
When I need my Lord
I know he will notice my need
He can see
From the sky to the weeds
When I need my Lord
I know he will take my hand
He can stand
From the snow to the sand
The Technical Services Division has made much progress in the simulation of disorders of the mind which occur in humans. Most notably, researchers have developed a system which can enable or disable multiple distinct "personalities" at any given time. The cyberminds of all current models are to be augmented with Cognitive Override Chips in the coming months for wireless control of mental states. Some of the mechanics are unclear, but the results are not. Subjects can be placed under various effects, ranging from mania and other forms of intense psychological arousal to depression and catatonia. Further research is needed to refine the technology. Potential expansions into organic populations are not out of the question if the data supports their utility; the Technical Services Division would recommend preliminary research into the psychological profiles of organic subjects in the NSC region, either as a part of this experiment or separately, to judge the relationship between synthetic and organic humans.
When I was little theyd take me out near the lake just to look. It was always a little bright out there. Theyd catch fish and want me to just watch it so I would. Sometimes Id want to go and fish but they wouldnt let me. He would just shake his head. My ma would explain but not anything that ever made sense. I gave up on it. I didnt mind poking around the dirt or doing something with the trees. The bugs werent bad either sometimes Id play with them. I never had no brother or sister to play the ball with even though they got me one so I wouldnt ever bring it and ma and pa wouldnt play it either. They would just sit there quiet and try catching fish. They got it every now and again but we never ate them or nothing. We always had wheat and stuff.
There was a time when we went fishing and it didnt go too good. It was when I was little too. They didnt watch me and I got too close to the water. I sat and looked for a bit but it made by head hurt. I didnt mind though since I liked looking. Ma and pa looked sleeping in their chairs, they weren't reeling in fish and not talking either. Just looking like I was sorta but they werent supposed to just look, they were supposed to fish. I saw a dragonfly and a frog or two. It looked so nice. I wanted to stick my hand in, but I didnt because I wasnt allowed and they might have seen me anyway. So I sat without doing much just watching for a while.
But I had to touch. I really did have to. I was just too wanting to see it. So I did it, I got close and put my hand in. It was really bad, it hurt. The little dragonflys went away and the frogs hopped off but I wanted to put my hand back, I really needed to. I couldnt help it. Im sorry. I had to put my hand back in and it hurt but I needed to. So it happened again and I felt real tired. Then I got it out and it hurt real bad for a long time, ma and pa were still sleeping and they didnt wake up. Even some the birds from the tree got scared off and flyed out the tree, a baby bird fell out and the ma had to pick him up and Im really sorry for that too.
I really really needed to touch it again. I didnt even really want to but I had to. Thats what I was told when they made me feel better after. That I had been doing what I wasnt supposed to acted stupid and fell in. I dont really remember it but the men told me I had stuck my legs in the water when it was too cold out and then Id put my whole stupid self in the water fully and nearly froze. I remember it was so cold but not much else. Ma and pa pulled me out and some nice men got me feeling good again, they were doctors or something like them in nice black coat like things. I liked them, they gave me a candy. I dont remember a whole lot from before then but I do remember some of the fishing. We never did went to the lake again, I was never allowed. It made me sad but I probably shouldnt have never been allowed nothing fun again so I guess just no lake is okay. I wanted to go out to the lake sometimes but I never went because it made my head hurt and I didnt wanna get hurt again.
There were times when Id been to the city. When I was little, real little. It was fun, I liked it. The city was real fun and big too. My pa would go and sell food in the city but wed get to do some other things when ma went too. While he would stay selling we would go around the city. I would look at stuff, like the big stone people. Statues is what they were I think, but I liked them. Especially when they were shiny and had pretty people. I really did like them and ma did too. So we would just sit and look at it, sit on the bench and look. Some people would look at us sometimes but I didnt mind because we were doing something and it was okay. We didnt say a whole lot. It made me feel tired, but ma said we had to sometimes and I really wanted to do it anyway. Sometimes Id fall asleep but it would be comfortable. It would always feel warm even if it was cold.
When wed sit there near the statue it would really make me tired more than anything. It was pretty nice but it still felt tired. Really sleepy. My ma would put her hand on my head and rub a bit, and Id feel even more sleepy. It felt weird but a little nice. Shed press her hand down on top of my head and feel around a bit but it felt pretty nice. Shed whisper some things to me too. I never could understand it but Id feel kinda weird when she did it, it felt nice sometimes though. Id fall asleep for a while most of those times. Sometimes Id wake up and it was real late, it was getting dark sometimes and Id go with them in the morning. It wasnt too bad though since there wasnt a lot at home anyways and we needed to sell the stuff we grew. So Id go every time and I liked it. I would look a long time when I wasnt asleep, there would be birds that landed on the things head and theyd stare at me. I liked them, they were my friends. I hear them laugh sometimes.
When that didnt happen sometimes Id go to the doctor in the city. He was a nice man but he did some weird things. He had these little cards and hed make me try to figure which was next. Since my head would hurt bad theyd give me a drink. It was thick and pink, and it would help sometimes. It made me feel weird again but my head would stop hurting. I could hear my heart beating but my head would stop so it was good. Sometimes theyd cover my eyes. Id see a bird I think an eagle flying, the moon changing. Id hear weird things too, it would sound like people. Id keep seeing the lake and hear bugs around it, not like the little bugs I liked playing with. Mean loud bugs. It felt like they didnt like me. My ma was in there and shed press down on my head a bit and even if Id cry theyd keep me in there with little white balls covering my eyes, the crying would get stuck in them. Theyd hear and still keep me. I dont remember too much because it would hurt and my head wouldnt let me get it back. After the doctor theyd get me a sweet treat that tasted really good and I couldnt remember even going until the next time most of the time.
I had a few friends when I was little. There was one with brown hair and brown eyes and real pale skin. He would tell me a story sometimes. There was one time when he told me about something really scary. He was outside his trailer on the porch and there were people in the woods looking at him. There were some in the wheat too. They were just looking at him weird. They had a black thing with them pointing at him. It made him scared he told me. It made his head hurt too. I never saw it but my friend did. It was big and black and there was a man next to it and another man in the woods with a different one. When hed see it he would always forget after he told me. It was scary to me too but I didnt really know why and I hadnt even seen it but it still scared me. I didnt like the wheat and it scared me because he told me about the men in the wheat looking at him and they might have been looking at me too. When Id get too close to the woods or the wheat my head would hurt like his did too. It was scary, really scary. I didnt ever want to go near it.
One time he even told me he saw one of them steal someone. One of my other friends but I cant remember his name. He had yellow hair and blue eyes. He looked like the wheat and the clear sky. But my other friend told me he saw the men bring him in the woods and he never came back. I never saw him after so maybe they really did take him there. I never wanted to go back near there again. They were there looking at me wanting to take me too maybe and it was scary. Sometimes I could see lights outside when I was supposed to be asleep. Shining through the branches. Id see light over the lake too once or twice when I looked. I think I might have seen them looking for me in the night one or two times. When I saw the light Id feel tired and go to sleep right after. I wouldnt remember it all but I could remember some of it. Little bits of it.
No one remembered my friend but me and my other friend. No one ever talked about him. I was sad and my other friend was too but no one else could remember. They never remember the little boy with yellow hair and blue eyes that lived near the forest. He never came back, they never remembered him. It made me really sad and scared. Then one day my other friend went away. My ma and pa told me he had to go to the city, for the doctor I think. He never came back and his ma and pa didnt come home. Now no one remembered my friend, I felt really really sad. He was gone and my other friend was too. They left their stuff. I think his trailer got taken away a bit after but he was gone forever. No one remembers him now. I hope hes okay. He was my friend and now hes gone forever, I hope the doctor was nice like my doctor. I have a nice doctor, I hope he has a nice doctor too. One that doesnt make him cry or maybe gives him sweets the way my doctor does if he cries. That would be nice.
The subject was delivered to the facility without issue. Upon arrival, subject Omega appeared sufficiently primed for ESP sensitivity tests. Subject Omega displayed high levels of ESP sensitivity. Subject Omega could predict random sequences up to four times as often as subject Alpha, and signifcantly more often than children at a similar "mental age"; subject Omega proved abnormally effective at selecting the next digit in a sequence generated by a Random Number Generation program, getting 57.5% of their guesses correct, as opposed to the average (and expected) 11.11%~ success rate that was observed in the biological children. Subject Omega also displayed an increased rate of success in predicting the next card in a Zener series, though the effect was much less pronounced. The subject displayed intense stress at the sight of the multilined blue card, to the point of crying at times. They also appeared slightly more likely to correctly guess this card than the others, though this effect is somewhat unclear and would certainly benefit from further experimentation. It seems to suggest a level of abstract thinking beyond what was designed for by the Technical Services Division.
These tests are limited in their application, but they appear rather promising. If extrasensory perception is to be real, it would make sense for subject Omega to be more capable of wielding it; subject Omega's biological components are much more integrated into its function than previous models, especially subject Alpha. Various attempts at scaleable wetware have been made, and subject Omega is one of the most robust attempts to date. Almost none of subject Omega's systems are entirely synthetic, relying on a hybrid of mechanical and biological engineering to perform at a higher level than has previously been possible. Previous experiments have attempted the use of mycological computation, but the requirements necessary for these systems have been impractical for the deployment desired for subject Omega. For Omega type systems to be widespread, further advancements in computational efficiency are needed, along with more effective cooling methods and cosmetic upgrades.
The biological components of subject Omega are performing better than expected. The synthetic flesh responds well to all tested stimuli. The subject reacted well to generally pleasurable stimuli (gentle carressing, hugging and similar displays of affection from their mother figure) and reacted negatively to unpleasant stimuli (pinching, slapping). Their biological skin has also grown largely as expected, largely expanding at a simlar rate as Omega's natural path. There are no signs of androgenic hair growth, which is to be expected in subject Omega's case. The subject's skin is smooth, seemingly avoiding the aging that was viewed as a necessary process of every organism'ss cycle of life, even those that were also part synthetic. The lack of stress chemicals released by the body in favor of mechanical solutions seems a significant component of this finding, but further study could prove useful. Overall, subject Omega passed all tests it was presented with. The subject's memory was altered to wipe the past week out of their retrievable memory, though bits and pieces of experiential data may remain in the further recesses of Omega's cybermind.
It was dark orange and yellow and red. There were people running. Running from their homes without any idea of where they were going and tripping and screaming. I saw a man fall into the lake to the west and I dont think he got back out again. The big lake that you cant see past even if you were on top the biggest hill. Like the Atlantic I think I was told. I heard the crackling behind me and I was running too. I ran with my pa til we couldnt run anymore. We ran through the trees near the lake through the wheat on the other side. It was a long run. We were both tired and sat down at the forests edge. I could see the houses burning down between the limbs. Burning bright and long. I hope there werent any people in there. I didnt hear them scream anymore so I think they left but some might have burnt alive. I didnt see them either, just the fire and the trees and the big lake. No more people. I didnt want to look anymore but we did anyway. We didnt want to stay because the fire would keep coming so we kept going away, walking along the lake. I never liked it but we had to follow it or the fire might burn us.
We walked for a long time til we found an old barn to stay in. We couldnt see in the fire anymore so it was probably okay. I dont think anyone lived out here anymore. It looked really old and like no one took care of it. The paint was coming off and it smelled like animals, but not like theyd been there any time the past few years. I didnt like the smell but pa said we should stay here and other than the smell it seemed okay. I didnt like the ruined old house near it that looked like itd been burnt down too, but that was okay because we were out here in the barn and I could just close my eyes and not look at it. He went to sleep before me. I fell asleep after a while looking at the burned house. When I fell asleep I had a dream. It was scary. The man that fell into the lake came out and he looked all raggedy and thin. Im thin but he was more thin and looked sick. Like hed got some sickness from the water. He looked like he couldnt think right in hs eyes. He tried to take me down with him with his gross white or grey hands. He couldnt catch me even if I was just walking but it still scared me. I dont want to go back anywhere near the lake again but I think ill have to anyway.
I woke up to black. Pa had gone. I couldnt see anything for a little because it was too dark and you had to push the big wood door open. There mightve been the stars if I could have seen them but they were hiding behind the dull dark wood. My pants were dirty because Id sat down on my ass without anything to cover them. It was hurting. I yawned and got some of the mud out of my hair. There mustve been some rain that came through the roof. I couldn't see any light through it but the rain got in. I wiped some stuff off my face and got up. My feet were wet and cold. I didnt have anything covering them, they were just bare and cold. My shirt was about soaked through too. My head hurt pretty bad and I couldnt help wanting to sit right back down, I was so dizzy. I could even see colors I think. It was too dark to see anything but I could still see the colors. They moved like flies and I heard a buzzing or something like it like bugs too. I got up against the barn wall and waited til the buzzing and colors stopped before I got back up and tried to pull the wood door open. Itd been open before but pa mustve shut it when he went off I guess. I could barely make out the edge of the door but I kept pulling at the door. I kept pulling and pulling and it nearly didnt move a bit. Some little wood thing got stuck in my finger and I could feel it bleed. I breathed in deep and stopped for a second. My eyes were more used to the darkness now and the blood was trickling down my finger and onto the damp dirt. I was going as hard as I could to get the door pulled back and it hurt a lot but I had to keep going anyway.
After I was working on it for quite a while I had the door pulled back enough to be able to get through. I saw the stars again but they hurt my eye and the buzz came back a little. There was a nasty white light shining over the lake. I had to sit down finally because I nearly couldnt see with the light and the buzzing like bugs buzzing in my ears buzzing behind my eyes was making it too hard to stand and I had to look away too so the buzzing would go away. I crawled to the other side of the barn I think the left. I had to go near the house because there was a big ditch over to the right and I knew I couldnt go down there, I didnt want to. There was dark brown water that reflected the bright white lakelight. I already had enough dirt and all that on me, I didnt need the mud and cold water. So I crawled to the house without really meaning to. When I got there the buzzing kept up and I wanted to bury my head down in the wet dirt so I could stop hearing it kinda like one of them big birds that cant fly I was told about, they were black and white with a kinda pink neck. The ostrich Im pretty sure. I ended up passing out and my face got covered in the stuff anyway and I woke up on a bed over here.
The boy woke up after some time. He was awfully pale and looked shook up. There was a decent while where he could not speak and breathed strangely, rather shallow breaths coming in at a somewhat slow rate. He looked towards me, but not at me; in that moment his eyesockets may as well have been hollowed out, he saw nothing. They moved randomly, not seeming to follow a set pattern. The boy was catatonic, unable to do much other than stare at the wall once he sat up. He had been sleeping for approximately half a day and would not lay back down. He was frightfully thin - I could not see his ribs - and his skin was cold to the touch. It was rather concerning, but I could not do too much about it for the moment. I gave him one more looking over before I left the room and told my assistant to keep an eye on the boy while I considered what should be done.
After a bit of looking I found the man who had drove him in. " He was pretty rough. You could probably see it on him. I think he'd got a splinter or two in his finger, " he told me. They had cleaned him up before I arrived, but I had seen some of the bruises that wouldn't go away. They had also give him a heavy jacket to be in. His shirt had purportedly been soiled and soaked through, they had to give him something to resist the cold. It was winter, what had motivated him to be out in such conditions? There was a barn or something like it right where he had been picked up, according to Mark. There were supposedly marks in the grass where it looked like he had clawed and clawed until he could not anymore. There was dirt deep under his fingernails that they had not been able to get out. He must have been exhausted. My heart ached for the boy.
They hadn't picked up much more. I thanked Mark and returned to the boy. He had moved to the edge of the bed, his bruised knees exposed. His head hung low, his hair covering his eyes. I could see his chest, bare, unmoving; he had adopted something of an upright fetal position, taking up the least space possible his frame could take up. It didn't look like he was breathing, but I could still hear something. It all unnerved me, if I am being honest. I was afraid to touch him. I got closer and the noise increased, there was something I could not see on the inside making it. He limply jolted forward and fell to the ground with a loud clang. His face hit my foot and I accidentally kicked him from reflex. I ran out and shut him in the room, then I called for Mark to come quick. We re-entered the room with caution. His knees and head touched the ground and the rest of his body was in a stiff arch, his legs going back up halfway. His body looked like the line on a chart. We turned him over and we looked at his face; his eyes were dislodged, hanging from their sockets by wires.
The subjects, hereby referred to as Seele Alpha and Seele Omega, respectively, were presented to the Technical Services Division at approximately 10 PM. Seele Alpha had signs of intense water damage. Internals appear damaged beyond repair, but the synthetic flesh is mostly preserved and can likely be reused if calibrated to a new body. This would be costly, but not as expensive as starting from scratch. It could prove to be a valuable opportunity to further understand the limits of synthetic biology, particularly the persistence of memory in the presence of a physical "death". The procedure has never been performed before, but there is reason to believe it could be done, with enough time and care. Futher research is likely needed to determine how feasible such a feat would be. The surgery, if that is what it is to be called, would be a major leap forward in mechanical biology. Failure to repair Seele Alpha would have minimal consquences, and success could be paradigm-shifting. It is the reccomendation of the Technical Services Division to proceed. Seele Omega was found to be completely beyond repair. However, the body could prove useful for study. A failed Artificial Intelligence-powered body has never been properly examined. There appears to be some aspects of the cyberbrain that could potentially retain some level of function. The Technical Services Division is divided on what is to be done. The process of determining what can and cannot be salvaged would be complex and involve intensive troubleshooting; if successful, many costs could be avoided in the future and further knowledge could be attained. If failed, a large sum of money and many hours could go to waste. Ultimately, the Technical Services Division would support an attempt to repair Seele Omega, but would respect a dissenting view...
Much note has been made of subject Omega's resistance to Cognitive Override-based technologies. Subject Omega was able to resist consistent mental state changes in almost every instance. Precisely why this is so has been a subject of debate among the members of the Technical Services Division. The prevailing theory is that the especially biological nature of Subject Omega has hampered the Cognitive Override Chip's efficacy. Attempts to erase subject Omega's memory have been mixed at best, with no attempt completely erasing the desired memory from the subject's mind. It would appear as if complete retrospective memory erasure is less feasible the more biological the mind is. Specific research into memory's function in biological subjects would prove greatly beneficial. False memories were also more difficult to inoculate in Omega than Alpha. Researchers could provide Alpha with a completely fabricated origin and Alpha would believe the story in its totality. The most noteworthy accomplishment in regard to Omega was the alteration of trauma responses, resulting in an aversion to the world outside of the New Seele Community and a particular distrust of large bodies of water. Further work into hybrid psychology continues with the Technical Services Division.
I had come out to visit the ruins of Washington while I was on a trip, mainly for business, but not without pleasure as an objective. It was certainly a bit of a bleak exercise, I must admit. I have always enjoyed such things; the macabre, the broken, the discarded, the things we've cast away and wish to forget have always been a fascination of mine, much to the disapproval of my uptight mother and rather discerning father. My inclinations were never much to their liking, but that does not matter anymore I suppose.
For years I had avoided the city because it was a place much too dangerous for my tastes. I remember hearing of gangs wandering the streets, picking off people they saw just for the fun of it (and, ocasionally, for some kind of profit), and other people told me that there were always fires burning, people burning things in barrels like movies. I never fully believed it, but I had no need of travel and there were always better places to go anyway; I had my doubts about some of the reports, but, without question, the beach would be much more pleasant than Washington after it had been bombed and shot to the point it was abandoned. The city happened to be along my way and I hadn't much else to do for the night, so I went into town.
As I entered it looked as I expected. It was bombed out, all black and brown; the ground was dry and the road was wearing out, slowly but surely warping. I caught myself wondering when they would repave it for a moment. I don't think they will ever do such a thing, not with how things are now. Maybe if they can expell all the traitors they will restore the capital and it will be a place we all gaze upon in awe once more. But for now it will stay the domain of barbarians and those who make company with them. I came to see the sights, nothing else. Thankfully, the once-bustling streets were largely emptied. They must have gone off pillaging somewhere else.
Eventually, I reached the whitehouse. It was barely anything worth seeing in all honesty, but I felt a pang of nostalgia at the sight. It was white no longer. Most of it was torn down and nothing but rubble. The few parts standing were in different states of returning to nature, green creeping upward. All the items worth taking had been removed long ago. There wasn't as much as a chair left, not even the slightest indication of anything that could have been sold. It was rather disgusting if I were to be honest. Not a shred of class to it. It stank of urine and looked like it was soaked in it as well. If it weren't so disgusting it would have been boring. Oh well. All good things come to an end, don't they?
I left the whitehouse with something of a bad taste on my tongue. There was no use in mourning; any attachment had faded once it became the property of those thugs however many years ago. I continued further to the other end of town and saw essentially nothing, just as I had expected. There was something like society at the far edge of town. A few of the buildings had been repaired, but most of them were just huts and tents in various stages of inviability. At first I saw no people but, upon closer investigation, some fascimilie of civilization emerged. People were moving, seemingly bartering. How quaint. I found my curious to be powerful enough to warrant paying them a visit, in spite of my reservations regarding their potentially sordid character.
I ended up in something akin to a medieval bazaar. There were skinned animals hanging off of some type of plastic-esque twines in stalls made of cobbled together wood, metal and the various other wastes of civilized society; I had noticed a smell most foul but had not made note of its origin, so perhaps they lived off of the trash of individuals such as myself, but were so ashamed of living as roaches that they hid this habit from the outside world. There were other people speaking some cant unknown to myself and trading in various things, with a few dollars being exchanged from time to time, much to my surprise. It mattered not to me, though it was an interesting sight in a sense.
My status as a voyeur was not a secret. The people looked at me and I could see their dirt-stained faces attempting to make sense of me, a man of society, in their midst. Some of them backed away and others cautiously approached, while the rest attempted to continue life as normal, returning to the filth. They were quite unpleasant in a sensory way, though I had to grant that their fascination was amusing to me. A few grubby children stared into my eyes before turning away and hiding, which wasn't hard considering the grime on them and the ambient uncleanliness of their environment. I handed out a dollar to one of them to see their reaction - he watched quietly as if he expected the bill to dematerialize the moment he acknowledged it, and then he grabbed at it quickly and ran off. None of them spoke to me.
After some time I came to a shack with some rather... interesting, I shall say, illustrations on the side. They reminded me of the neolithic cave paintings I was shown as a boy. The subject may have been comprehensible at some point, but they seemed to have faded over time. I could make out a few stiffly-scrawled people and some high, black lines that rose over them all. There was a rough slit down the middle and a man that had hobbled his way just outside the entrance, his finger curling back in a beckoning motion with some evident difficulty. He spoke in a strained voice, as if hoarse from screaming: " Come... come, here... Would you just come now. " He seemed harmless enough as judged by his physicality that I opted to go along with his request, though I expected it to be nothing more than one of many wastes of time that I had encountered today.
I bent down to enter his tent and found it a bit surprising in its size. The floor was dirt but there was some sort of rough weaved thing that covered it near the center. There were small candles lit on a low table that appeared to have its legs jammed down into the ground, perhaps to compensate for the height of the tent. It did smell pleasantly floral, though it was very faint all things considered. I sat on a dirtied pillow on the other side of the man, my back to the entrance of the temporary structure and my hands resting on a solid, smoothed wooden mass that sat between us directly on the floor. There was enough light that I could see his face and parts of his hands but not much more. Before I could comment on my surroundings he coughed and produced another candle that was set upon the wood and let with an old-styled lighter. He put his hands near the flame, looking into it for a moment.
After a time he cleared his throat and spoke. " I would like to tell you something. You're one a the only people from out of these parts I've seen for quite a long time. Most no one else will stop by where I go, " he said. He looked tired, but a certain excitement was evident in his eyes. " I wander round tryin to sell a few things. Things I'll show you in a while. Maybe you would like a thing or two from here. But that don't matter much at present. I got a story to sell you first if you'd listen for a while. It could take some time and I'm sure you're a real busy, busy man. But I think I'd be worth your time. I go all about and do lots of things. I used to live different and that's the story I'd like to tell you. "
" A long, long time ago I used to work with the government. Some military things. I think out near Quantico. I was doing all kinds of runt work because I needed a job. I'd gotten a degree working on the computers an all that kind of thing, but for a while I was just doing janitor work and that sort of thing. Anyway, after a while they moved me up and I was doing the real work I'd been trying for. They set me up on a weird thing. Now I want you to promise me you'll take what I'm going to tell you real serious and tell people what I'm tellin you, " he said. I nodded without speaking. " I mean it. It's some things they ought to know. Put your hand on mine and swear to it. " I considered it for a moment, but ultimately extended my hand. " Good man. You're a man of good reputation I'm sure. I just need you to tell whoever can hear it and will trust you. Yell it til your vocal cords die. "
" Now anyway I'll tell you what I need to. They're running some experiments out somewhere. I don't know where but somewhere further out west, with robots. They're tryin to raise them like normal people, like you an me. I was there when they were designing it. " His hands were moving with him as he spoke, casting strange shadows on the wall. " They made em able to bleed. And they feed on real food. I helped them plan a boy from scratch and he could move and even faked breathing. He could speak like a dumb boy, but he could speak alright. I heard it. It's hard to remember the specifics of it sometimes but I know what I done and it makes me wish I'd have just died sometimes. They took me out to see it living, or I guess not, I don't know what to call it. But they took me out to watch it in the wild. It just sat and picked at the dirt like it hardly had no brain. Made me think it was lobotomized, but it was the same thing I'd helped them make. There's more of em now probably, but I only helped them with the first one. "
I wasn't sure if any of this could be true, it seemed more than a bit ridiculous. I didn't say anything, in large part because I found the whole thing entertaining. " You wouldn't believe what it was. They'd make fish that ran off internet for the fake people to catch and even a few fake birds. None of it real. Running off solar and shit. It's no joke. They even let the robot things out there into the world. They went into the city and did things, nothing dangerous or bad, just things like me and you would do. They had em out with the farmers in the area too and none of them noticed. The robots would farm and not a single person ever noticed far as we could tell. I don't know if anyone ever picked it up but there was never an indication of it. They set it all aflame and it was on the news for a bit, but no one knew what was really going on. Far as I can tell anyways. I had to leave when I saw it done and they wanted me done ever since. Something horrible done and I did it. When it was finished I wanted to cry, I'd done real wrong. "
" You don't got to believe me, but it'd make me awful happy if you'd tell people. I can show you some of the old plans for it if you'd like. I don't know if it'd change your mind, but I could show it anyway. I just want people to hear and you could go into town and tell them. You gotta come from the city, " he asserted. I agreed with a quick nod. " Prolly out near the bay. They moved a lot of the shit from out here over there. I hope it's good over there. I never been able to go, I've just been around what's left this way, " he said, seeming a bit saddened. " Let me show you the plans and let you see them for yourself. "
He did just that. I could not make anything of them, but they seemed legitimate. " You'll tell them all I hope. Let people know, won't you? I'll let you take a few trinkets along if you promise. It ain't much but I think it needs done, " he said. I looked at the plans some more, trying to figure the schematics out from what little knowledge of mechanics I had. It was much too complicated for my comprehension. I ultimately agreed. He nodded and dug around, giving me a broken prototype of one of the strange animatronic-esque things. It was a bit battered but it looked like the fish. Its eyes had been removed and the internal components looked as if they were starting to rust, but most of the pieces were there. He put it in my palm carefully and he squeezed my hand. " Take care of it, as much as you can. Show it to people that know what to do with it. Just please make it known. It'd be doin me a real favor. "