Chapter 2
The next morning Caroline was safely in her midtown apartment. She was sitting on the couch in her living room while sipping her morning tea, trying to calm her nerves from last night’s near miss. She wanted to see if their break-in had made the news, so she turned on her television which she rarely used. Sure enough, the first story that day read off “Catastrophic Break-In at M.E.E.R. Headquarters!” Caroline sat eagerly to hear what the newscaster had to say.
“Last night a break-in occurred at M.E.E.R.’s Headquarters.” the newscaster began. “The break-in occurred between midnight and 1 A.M. Our sources say that all data from user information to the company’s accounting and financial data has been completely wiped from their servers. Although stolen C4 explosives were found in the building, they were apparently not used in the crime. Police and M.E.E.R. officials both declined to be interviewed but officials appear to be mystified as to how such a thorough file deletion could have been accomplished in such a short amount of time. Allegedly, even the recordings from the building’s security cameras were erased, leaving the trail to find the perpetrators of this act completely cold…”
Caroline turned off her television in frustration. Now she was even more confused as to what had happened last night. “The security camera footage too? How?” She could not find a logical explanation for what had happened. Too many coincidences occurred at once for this just to be sheer luck.
Caroline heard the door open and watched as her boyfriend, Daniel, stepped in. The two shared the apartment and Daniel was the founder of their organization. He put his jacket on the coat hanger and walked over to her. “Hi honey, did things go well last night?”
Caroline nodded glumly. “Yes, yes they did.” She thought that was the right answer. The mission had been accomplished anyway.
Daniel frowned. “You don’t sound so sure. I was told you didn’t use the C4. I thought we agreed we were going to blow those techies to kingdom come!?”
Caroline sighed. Daniel had always been far more radical about their movement than her. He had named the group “Mankind’s Way.” They were a group dedicated to the complete and total disuse of modern technology by any means necessary. Some called them terrorists, but Caroline did not see it that way. If humans did not stop relying on technology one day they could be in a lot of danger because of it. Humans had evolved to work with nature, without computers and cars and the like. At least that is what she believed.
Caroline looked up at Daniel. “The situation changed, Dan, okay? We got the job done.”
Daniel’s face showed a twinge of anger, but it subsided into a small smirk. “Yes, I suppose you did. Good job honey.” He leaned down to kiss Caroline’s cheek, which she almost drew away from.
Daniel felt her hesitated resistance, but said nothing about it. “I have to go out again. I just wanted to see how you were. I need you to get some groceries today, please.” With that, he grabbed his coat and exited the apartment.
Caroline took a deep, cleansing breath. Daniel and she had been a bit at odds lately. He had grown increasingly hostile ever since she had said no to his marriage proposal. In fact, now that she thought about it, he was always a tad bit shady about certain things. She was so nervous around him lately that she wasn’t even able to confront him about him telling everyone that they were engaged when they were not. Her instincts told her that she was now in an unhealthy relationship but for once in her life she was just not listening to them.
Caroline stood up, grabbed her coat and left her home locking the door behind her. As she exited the building, she saw her car parked right where she had left it last night. She remembered how scared Lana had been. Was it worth all this fear and pain? “It is…” she tried to tell herself as she walked down the street, choosing to use her legs instead of driving whenever she could.
As Caroline drew closer to the grocery store, she passed by an old electronics store. It had been a small business that was forced to close down when larger corporate businesses moved into the area. Daniel had been happy to see the place go, and she too, or at least at the time. But looking at it now, she almost felt sad seeing all the computers left unsold, abandoned to collect dust in the old building. As she looked she could see the faint light of a computer monitor from beyond the slightly open door to the back room of the building. “Impossible…” she thought. “The electric company would have shut off the power to the building months ago…” As she thought this, she was reminded of how much the owner of the shop had loved new technology when the digital lock on the front door suddenly click open without any provocation by her.
Caroline jumped back as the lock opened as if inviting her inside. She refused to admit it to herself, but she was frightened by this. She stood staring at the lock for a moment, trying to decide what she should do. Eventually, curiosity got the better of her and she pulled the door open, letting herself in. She kept telling herself this was a bad idea but something drew her into the building, as if an unheard voice was calling to her. The door slowly swung shut behind her. She half expected the lock to switch shut and seal her inside in typical horror movie fashion, but no sound could be heard from the digital latch. Whatever was drawing her into the building was not forcing her to remain should she choose to leave.
Caroline jumped again as an audible voice spoke to her from the back room. “Hello. Caroline, right?”
Caroline hesitated. She almost thought she recognized the voice for a second, but could not quite place it at first. “Who are you?”
A modest chuckle could be heard in response. “I’m a friend, Caroline. A friend who will probably have to answer a few questions for you.”
Caroline could swear she recognized the voice. It sounded so familiar. But who was it? As she thought about it, she realized that there was only one person she could place the voice to. “No…” she thought. “That’s not possible…”
Caroline approached the back room, almost tripping over a computer monitor on her way. As she pushed open the door and stepped in, she could clearly see a face displayed on the computer screen. The pale skin, the blonde hair, and those blue eyes were unmistakable. She had placed the voice right. “Jack!?” Her voice was a mixture of surprise, confusion and anger.
The figure on the screen laughed again. “Well, technically, no…”
Caroline grew even angrier. “What the hell do you mean ‘technically’, Jack?” Her fury was not altogether misplaced. Jack had been her lover a long time ago. They had been together for years and almost got married before they were pushed apart due to conflicting opinions. She had always felt like she had never done anything wrong, and refused to regret any of it. She had never known Jack’s side, and never cared to.
The figure sighed. “I’m not Jack, though I was created by him. You can call me Fillin.”
Caroline was still angry but now curious so she persisted in her questioning. “Okay, “Fillin”, if you’re not Jack then what are you?”
Fillin smiled a bit. “I’m what most people would call an Artificial Intelligence Construct.”
Caroline’s eyes grew wide. Jack had managed to create an A.I.? How, and why? “What do you want from me? Why did Jack make you?”
Fillin’s small smile turned into a full on grin. “To help you.”
Caroline scoffed. “I would never accept help from an A.I., especially not one created by Jack!” She turned to leave.
Fillin maintained his composure and called after her. “You certainly seemed to need a lot of help last night when I blocked those security guards from pursuing you!”
Caroline stopped and turned back towards the monitor. Her face was flushed with anger. “That was you!?”
Fillin nodded. “Yes and the deletion of all of M.E.E.R.’s mainframe files as well as the video footage that clearly showed you and your friend casually walking into the building. All me.”
Caroline was angry at this recent development, but she knew she owed Fillin something for helpin
g her and gave “it” the benefit of a conversation. “Why would you want to help me, Fillin? My main goal is to eliminate the very thing that lets things like you exist.”
Fillin frowned. “I’m not a “thing”, thank you very much. I may be computer software, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings. It’s my root function to help you in whatever venture you undertake regardless of my life.”
Caroline grew annoyed. “You’re an A.I. You’re not supposed to have feelings.” She completely ignored his answer to her question.
Fillin’s eyes trailed off. “Jack never considered me an A.I…”
Caroline grew curious. “What did he consider you then?”
Fillin looked back at her. “A Digital Life Form.”
Caroline did not know how to respond, but felt no need to argue about how silly of a sentiment she thought Jack’s pet-name for his creation was. “Look Fillin, I appreciate your help last night, but I don’t need nor want any help from you or Jack. That chapter of my life was closed a long time ago and I don’t want it to be reopened. I mean it.”
Fillin’s face grew blank of emotion except for his eyes which, to Caroline, were filled with hurt and sorrow. The strangely human display bothered her so much that she was forced to look away. Without a word, Fillin vanished from the monitor though in his place, glowing in the bottom right corner of the screen, was a small bit of text.
Caroline peered down to see that it was a phone number. She hesitated. She wanted to leave and forget all about this but something in her chest just kept pulling her back. She took a deep breath, calmly wrote the number down on a piece of paper and stuck it in her bag. “Just in case…” she told herself and quickly exited the building. The monitor shut off and the front door locked behind her.