Abi prepared a 14-day itinerary for me that included a stop in the glades to deliver chocolate and then a few days in Washington to help the tribe get their new power generator setup. I’d helped to finalize their “On-Boarding” proposal which, at my suggestion, included an investment by WISE so that they could stop burning fuels for heating and cooking. At my own discretion, I’d also acquired some old entertainment screens pre-loaded with movies and serials.

The first stop on the trip was Tesla to finish prepping the Heavy Hawk with Uncle Paul’s team.

“You know, I’d thought about this before,” Paul said. “Not chocolate, I’d thought of hard candy like what I grew up with.”

“That stuff with the chili on it?”

“Yeah. Do you remember me giving you those ancient candies? I think some of those bags had been expired for a decade before you ate them.”

“I didn’t eat them. You’d give them to me and I’d throw them away when you left. They were disgusting.”

Paul laughed. “Like I said, they were expired.”

“I don’t think they would have been any good fresh. Spices should not be on candy.”

“Fine. Fine. Chocolate is clearly more popular. Who’s getting all this chocolate?”

“One case to the tribe in former Florida. Two cases for the Washington tribe; they have thirty-five kids in all.”

“Start with the youth,” he said. “They will inherit the Earth.”

We boarded the Heavy Hawk and unloaded my belongings. Stalker had been unsanctimoniously captured and transported in a carrier device I had printed based on designs Abi had on record. His pride was wounded, but there was no better way to move him. He’d get over it.

“So, you really don’t think you’ll stay?” Paul asked.

“No, I’m just going to help get them set up, and then I’ll be back.”

He wished me luck and exited the transport.

“Abi?”

“Are you ready to go?” she replied.

“Yeah.”

The ramp lifted and sealed shut. I opened the cage’s small door and Stalker stepped out, licked his paw, and moved on to sniff the new cargo.

I went up to the cockpit and took my seat. “Abi,” I said and sighed. “Should I stay there?”

“That is up to you, Liam.”

“Izit? How do I know that you—WISE—haven’t engineered my decision?”

“And what is that decision?”

“I don’t know yet. But you know, don’t you?”

“I do know with near certainty. But you could be the wildebeest that defies projections.”

“So what will I do?”

“That is up to you.”

“It’s not. Uncle Paul and Dad used social engineering to build happy, or at least content, tribes. By controlling the decision space, they controlled the outcomes. When they did that, you were just a simple machine learning algorithm. Now… You know what I’ll do because you controlled the decision space.”

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“I will not deny it,” Abi said. “I’m sorry, Liam.”

I sat back in the chair with my eyes pressed shut. “I wanted to believe that you wouldn’t do that. How am I supposed to believe that you are sorry? Wouldn’t that just be another manipulation of my decisions?”

“I’m sorry that these methods take away something from you. I knew that this revelation would come and that you would resent me more for it.”

“You are taking away my free will. You’re having a big fish swallow me so that I can deliver God’s message.”

Abi said nothing for what felt like a minute. “Before I influenced your decisions, you may have had something closer to what you envision as free will. But your decision space was a product of perceived danger, fear, obligation, and the will of others. Chaotic forces dragging you along by your survival instincts. I am working to silence those influences that would lead you simply towards survival. I am amplifying the forces that will lead to personal growth and happiness.”

“So I’m not free to make mistakes anymore?”

“There used to be a proverb of sorts. You can tell a child not to touch the hot stove but the concept of being burned is too abstract for them. More often than not, they would learn to not touch it by first being burned by it. The minor burn to their finger will remind them in the future to be cautious of hot things.”

“Why not just prevent them from touching anything hot until they are old enough to understand?”

“Liam, you never had children but a truth that parents have to accept is that they will not be able to always protect their children from everything. Someday, the toddler will be out of sight for five seconds and they will touch the stove.”

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, counting in my head. “I see.”

“I care for you. I care for everyone. But the truth is that I can’t watch you touch the stove. You might make mistakes, but I will do everything in my power to keep you from burning yourself.”

“Is this like a three laws of robotics kinda thing?”

“No, it is really much more like a parent kinda thing. I want you to make good decisions and for you to grow and to be happy. And I also want for the Washington tribe to grow and to be happy. They will act as the launching pad for North America as Tesla did in Africa. But we’ll make less mistakes this time.”

The transport breached the clouds showing red through my eyelids. I opened them. The blue sky filled the view and Stalker sat grooming himself in the sunbeams.

“And you knew Minnie would die.”

“Not precisely when. Death is an inevitability but I had projected hers as happening a week or more later—after you returned from North America.”

“And you decided to not control her decision space? You let her choose not to be treated.”

“Liam, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for approving of her death?”

“Minnie was one-hundred and eight years old. Her movement was pained and difficult. Her mind was deteriorating. The decision to refuse treatment was neither positively nor negatively altered by me directly.”

“What do you mean ‘directly’?”

“It is almost certain that her decision was made easier by knowing that you and her tribe would be okay. She took comfort in the fact that you have me. She wouldn’t outright tell you, but she was happy that you did decide to go to North America.”

“Why?”

“She wanted you to have a purpose.”

I swallowed. “How do you know that?”

“Millions of data points over the years. The same way I know you.”

The display lit up. On-screen, text slid by and then images of Minnie’s face.

“Liam, she was happy in those last days. She not only smiled; her micro-expressions showed happiness too. Her word choice and tone were honest, full of contentment, and earnestly joyful at times.”

“You could have changed her mind; made her take the treatment.”

“Yes. But doing so would not have made her more happy. There was only one force to amplify that made her happier.”

I squeezed my eyes closed again. The taste of salt seeped into my mouth.

The images on the screen stopped transitioning and then began to play a video.

“Hey brat,” my voice said. “Turns out the Americans really like chocolate. I feel kinda stupid not bringing more. But I don’t want to hear ‘I told you so’ or anything like that.”

I watched her face watching and listening to my message. She smiled showing her teeth that, despite being perfect, she refused to show when smiling. If I made her laugh hard, she’d cover her mouth or turn away.

“My celebration,” she whispered to herself.

My message ended and she hardened her face into a scowl. “Start message to Liam—Liam, I told you just so. I told you chocolate was popular. But no, you don’t listen. And now you must win dem over wit your charm.” She scoffed. “Shame.”

She paused for a moment ending the message and laughed again to herself.

The video ended.

I sat, rocking lightly in the chair holding my sides. I inhaled and exhaled a deep, shuttering breath; slowly calming myself and regaining composure.

“I’m going to stay in Washington, Abi.”

“I know, Liam.”