11

Aiden felt very warm and slowly opened his eyes. It was dark, there was nothing to see, his head hurts, and so he closed his eyes again.

Time passed, Aiden didn’t know how long, but when he opened his eyes again his mind was clearer. He sat up and noticed that he was on a bed, and in a room. The room was dark but there seem to be tiny rays of light coming from behind the curtains. Aiden noticed that Liam was lying next to him, sleeping. He tried to recall last night’s events and remembered falling in the snow. He concluded that somehow Liam knew where he was, and came to get him. Aiden had many questions, but he decided to let his brother rest. He left the best quietly and went outside the room, closing the door quietly behind him. As he entered the living room, the house’s AI recognized him through the security camera attached to the walls.

“Good morning Mr. Scivit.” The AI said, in a nice, genderless voice.

“Good morning,” Aiden responded.

“Mr. Raycevick wanted me to inform you that you will not be going to work today and that in the case you wake up earlier than him, you ought to stay in the house.” The AI said.

“As expected,” Aiden commented. He knew that he had to think of an explanation to his brother, but he wasn’t sure what he would say.

“That is all, Mr. Scivit. If you need anything, I will always be here.” The AI spoke again.

Aiden gave a subconscious nod of acknowledgment but didn’t respond, as he thought about how he would explain things to Liam. He didn’t appreciate Elizabeth leaving him outside yesterday, causing him to nearly freeze to death, but just as Lucas said, Aiden was now a lot more sympathetic to the HLF now that he saw what he saw. He didn’t know what to say to Liam and didn’t know if his brother could be trusted. He then shook his head and placed his fingers on his forehead. How could he doubt his own brother? No, he can’t do that! Aiden was sure that Liam wasn’t sympathetic to the HLF, but perhaps Aiden could convince him. Even if Aiden could not, the least he owned to his brother was honesty. But, perhaps he should simplify the truth, and leave out unnecessary details.

Aiden walked over to the coffee machine and told the AI to make dark coffee, which the AI happily obliged. Two minutes later, Aiden had a cup of steaming hot coffee in his hand and was on the roof of the building appreciating the view. His thoughts switched from yesterday’s events to his own relationship with this brother. Multiple times, Liam has offered to “help out” Aiden, whether it was buying him a house, or perhaps getting him promotions. But every time Aiden strictly refused his brother and argued that he should not have an unfair advantage over others because of his birth.

Every time Liam would respond that judging by his situation, he is already disadvantaged. Usually, Aiden would continue by affirming that where he was, was a result of his own actions and that he ought to take full responsibility. The argument would typically end with Aiden claiming that he was offended if Liam was suggesting that he could not take care of himself. But now, Aiden wasn’t sure of that anymore. He was about to get fired and finding another job was going to be very hard in the current market. In addition, it wasn’t even his own fault in many ways, it was simply a decision by The Curator.

Aiden knew that his wasted youth has left him with a narrow array of skills, and thus a perilous position in a capitalistic system. However, whereas before he always thought he should bear the consequences of his earlier actions, he now questioned if there was really anything he would have done differently when he was young. He thought about all the people in the buildings from last night, how almost none of them, except for the guard, help him out when he was freezing on the streets. He thought about what kind of life those people have experienced, to take away their basic humanity. Aiden didn’t feel angry for those who did not help him but rather felt sorry for them instead. Then, he felt a bit sorry for himself, for his upbringing, for the state that he was in last night, and how he might need to tell his brother that he lost his job.

Aiden walked over to the pool, sat down on a chair, and switched his specs to sunglasses mode. He rested there thinking about his life, and how he ended up here, for what must have been at least an hour.

“Aiden, are you there?” Came Liam’s voice through a speaker somewhere behind Aiden.

“Good morning brother.” Responded Aiden.

“Good morning. Mind to come down to the living room to talk a bit?” Liam said.

“On my way,” said Aiden as he retraced his steps back to the living room.

The brothers met in the living room, where Liam was already by the table with his cup of coffee and two egg sandwiches with bacon. They smiled at each other, and after Aiden took a seat opposite his brother, Liam took a sandwich from the plate and pushed it over to Aiden who happily started eating. For a few moments, both of them sat there enjoying the food and the sunlight through the large windows. It was Liam who started.

“So, you’ve recovered well from yesterday’s incident?” Liam said, with a tone suggesting that he wanted to know the full story.

Aiden told him everything, except the names and the fact that the colonel was conspiring with the HLF.

“Hmm,” Liam responded after a few moments. “Let me guess. I know from the weekly reports from the TAC IIs that large groups of officers were being discharged by The Curator.”

He saw the surprised expression on Aiden’s face and acknowledged it with a half-smile and a nod.

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“I also looked through the list of security personnel files this morning, and by their upbringing, I would guess that it was Elizabeth, George, Lucas, and maybe Benjamin whom you met with last night. They all grew up in the worst areas of the dark zone, and probably didn’t like the corporation”

Aiden continued to look surprised, but Liam ignored him and continued.

“From the nature of your location, I would say it was some sort of initiation. They asked you to join something and wanted to make sure that you are up for it, or need to somehow prove yourself. You know, when I was joining a fraternity in university, they made me go through five kilometers of dark zone wearing a gold watch. God, I was scared! But I managed it by putting my hands deep in my pockets; also, at least they didn’t make me do it at night. Anyways, back to my predictions, I would say that your officer friends were angry with the Estos TAC IIs, and since they are now fired, are planning to sabotage. I might even go a step further and suggest that they are with the HLF. How close am I?” Liam asked, in an almost sardonic tone.

Aiden was speechless. He had always thought of his brother as a smart and observative person, but this was on another level. Seeing how he could not hide anything from his brother anyways, he told Liam the full story. For a second his brother sat there, contemplating the situation, and letting the consequences of his now affirmed theory sink in. Then, he stared at Aiden, and said: “I don’t know what your political views are, but whatever they are, I think it’s better for us both to be completely honest with each other from now on.”

Aiden nodded, and Liam continued. “I probably hate Bureogis as much as you do now. In fact, I didn’t even like it when you were still enthusiastic about joining the company.”

Aiden nodded again, agreeing that he has changed a lot throughout the years, and perhaps now had more in common with his brother. Liam gave a small nod too, as if knowing what Aiden was thinking, and kept going. “However, I can’t let the TAC IIs be destroyed. They are the center of humanity; they are what have kept us afloat through this dark age after the great collapse. I wish there was a way, and I too want a world for the people, but destroying the AIs will just plunge humanity back into darkness.”

Aiden saw Liam’s perspective but begged to differ. “Yet, what can be done, brother?” Aiden asked Liam. “Are the Estos TAC IIs not creating misery for most people? I look back at myself and see how ignorant I was to embrace the Bureogis, and I have no doubt that many people are like what I was before. Yesterday, when wandering the streets, I saw one of the Temples of The Engineer, and I have no doubt that The Order has created temples for The Traveler and The Curator as well. The point is, we cannot allow this to continue. People are not just dying physically; they are dying spiritually. They are worshipping the very things which bring them misery. Liam, you have not seen the way the followers praise The Engineer, it is haunting I tell you.”

Liam nodded, sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He saw Aiden’s views perfectly, and they were valid, but their disagreement was fundamental. It was a disagreement between how change should occur; which was the choice between evolution, and revolution. Liam tried once again to convince Aiden of his position, and Aiden responded by trying to convince Liam of his. This went back and forth a few times, but seeing that the conversation was going nowhere and that the language was heating up, Aiden stoop up and simply asked Liam if he was going to do anything about the colonel’s plan.

Liam knew that the question was coming but was still caught unprepared with no adequate response. He thought about all the ways he can try to convince his brother to think as he would, but he realized that Aiden was not going to have any of it. Aiden wanted Liam to give a workable alternative to the destruction of the AIs, but Liam had no sure answer. In addition, although his brother’s actions may just wipe out what is left of human civilization, Liam could not bring himself to report Aiden even though his sense of morality compels him. Suddenly, Liam thought of what he has been trying to do with the AI for the whole time and had a dim sliver of hope that perhaps Aiden would understand and agree.

“Look,” Liam said, looking at Aiden in the eyes “I don’t have a clear alternative solution, but I’ve got something that might just work.”

Aiden rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

Liam sighed and continued “Ever since I joined Bureogis, I wanted the AI to do good for humanity, and thus I fed it all the information that I thought would help, including the most advanced economic theories. But apparently, the TAC IIs are not making the best decisions. I don’t know what I am doing wrong. It seems that the TAC IIs are creating wealth for the short term, but does not seem concerned with where that wealth goes. For humans like you can me it’s obvious that there is something wrong when one man starves while another has such abundance that food is wasted, but we know so only intuitively. From the ethical theory of the rights of personal property and freedom, which the TAC IIs’ moral systems are based on, how do we convince it to ever help those who cannot help themselves? I was thinking, if by any chance, we can find something to justify this belief, then perhaps, just perhaps, we can change the TAC IIs’ mind before they present their decennial agenda.”

Aiden thought about the idea, but he wasn’t convinced that it will work. He asked Liam how such a justification was to be crafted, but Liam responded only by saying that is the part which they need to work on. It was then, that Aiden suddenly remembered something.

“I think, for my current mission, the task was to assassinate a professor Kevin Slarj Owhn, who apparently was writing against the actions of Bureogis and similar corporations. I am not sure what his theories are, but they might help.” Aiden shrugged as he finished.

Liam was both surprised and a bit relieved. Surprised at the type of operations which the Bureogis “Security” Forces are tasked with, and relieved that they have a lead. Liam gestured Aiden to come to his workroom and opened his desktop. After opening a few programs which Liam wrote himself, he passed the firewall for his region and was accessing the European internet. Aiden had a look of surprise on his face, clearly realizing what his brother had done, and Liam was impressed that his brother was able to recognize his excellence. After a few searches, the two brothers found a dozen or so articles which the professor had written. However, there seem to be no complete theories of justification. Just as they were losing hope, they saw that at the end of one of the articles in an academic journal, there was an entry stating that the professor was working on a comprehensive book on his theories.

Liam told Aiden that he was going to keep looking to try to find what the professor’s comprehensive theory might be, and how he might communicate that to the TAC IIs. Meanwhile, Liam advised Aiden to get in touch with the colonel, as well as George and Lucas, to learn more about the operation, as well as to perhaps convince the three to slow down their plan. Aiden found the course of action sound and indicated to Liam that he agreed. he made a good catch as Liam tossed him keys to one of his many mag-mobiles. Aiden bid his brother good luck which was met in reciprocation and left the building with a renewed sense of confidence and hope, and Liam felt the same sitting on his desk frantically searching and trying to understand the professor’s philosophy. The two brothers still had a lot to do, but now they knew that they had each other’s back, that they were no longer alone in their struggle, and that was more than enough for now.