Solaria Series: Solaria Part 3

"Well, if there's nothing else, I have an appointment with our President at three. He needs a little help with one of our Middle East clients. Seems Sheik Amul Kahbrahn is threatening to cut off oil supplies to our African allies if the US doesn't back down on its threat to place sanctions on his country. That would be problematic to my plans."

"Kahbrahn... didn't he try that same thing about four years ago?"

"Yeah. The guy never learns. I guess we may need to give him another reminder that I don't like being left out of the loop."

Pus.h.i.+ng a small b.u.t.ton on his desk, a voice instantly answered the summons.

"Yes, Mr. Stalling."

"Cora, get me the file on Kahbrahn."

"Of course, Mr. Stalling."

Moments later, an older woman with gla.s.ses and graying hair walked in and handed him a file.

"Thank you, Cora. You may go."

Nodding, his secretary left without saying a word.

"Now, let's see. What can we do that would leave a lasting impression on our Mid-Eastern friend?"

Flipping through the pages, he halted and pulled out a photo. Smiling, he held it out to Lawrence, who took it and glanced at the picture.

"This, I believe, will do nicely."

"His daughter, Princess Reina? But she's only twenty."

"Exactly, and his pride and joy."

"And what are we supposed to do with her?" Lawrence asked, frowning. There were some things about his job he didn't like. As much as he didn't mind ridding the Company of problems, kidnapping a young, innocent girl didn't feel right.

"Now, Lawrence, I'm not asking you to do anything drastic. We're just going to give her an extended vacation at one of our local hotels for a few months. When Kahbrahn realizes we mean business, he'll be more than willing to accommodate our wishes. Pick her up during the next college break. That should give us a few weeks to decide on her future before anyone gets suspicious. After all, everyone knows how university kids like to disappear and party."

"We need to be careful and make sure she's not harmed. You know how that country feels about their women if they think they've been dishonored; especially the Sheik. He'd stop at nothing to avenge his daughter's honor," Lawrence warned.

"True, but sometimes we must sacrifice a lamb for the good of the cause. At the moment, though, I have no intention of harming the girl. In fact, since you seem so concerned about her well-being, I'm authorizing you to a.s.sign our best special ops agents to guard her. It'll be a perfect test opportunity. How does that sound?"

Lawrence knew Stalling wasn't really asking for his approval. If, however, it provided the girl a greater degree of protection, he was satisfied. The last thing the Company needed was an angry Sheik making waves. Stalling was powerful but the Arab ruler had a lot of clout.

"I think that will do."

"I'm glad you approve. I'm beginning to have a few reservations about you, though, Lawrence. Surely, you aren't having doubts now."

"No, of course not, but there are some things I just don't like."

"I understand perfectly. G.o.d's work isn't easy. Unfortunately, sacrifices are necessary."

Lawrence stared at his boss for several seconds, wis.h.i.+ng again that he had the man's strength of faith.

"I know. I'll get in touch with our contacts and have them make the arrangements. It should be fairly easy since she's attending a university in Ma.s.sachusetts. Sheik Kahbrahn believes in our western education systems."

"Good. Now, I think we're done here. Get me the update on the Hubot as soon as it comes in, and let me know when the Kahbrahn situation is taken care of."

Nodding, Lawrence left.

Leaning back in his chair, Stalling stared into nothingness of his wood paneled walls. He was bothered by the conversation that had just taken place. Lawrence had been with the CEO for more than twenty years and rarely challenged Stalling. On those few occasions that he did, it was usually for a good reason and proved to be valuable advice. Still, Stalling knew better than to put his complete faith in the man. Occasionally, although it was rare, Lawrence revealed a few undesirable traits, such as a reluctance to perform certain duties essential to Stalling's plans. As his designated successor, Lawrence needed to be strong if he were going to take over Stalling's empire in the event something happened to the CEO. Future Dynamicon was the largest IT network in the world, he would be required to make quick, hard decisions, leaving no room for doubt.

Stalling was well suited for the job. His position also provided him with the necessary funds and power to achieve his real goal. As G.o.d's Chosen, he was destined to save humanity, even if it meant sacrificing millions to accomplish his goal.

Stalling was the only child of a televangelist minister and his wife, an overworked social worker who had suffered severe 'burn-out syndrome' from her case load. The only way she could keep her sanity was to turn to her religion, hoping G.o.d would grant her some relief from her guilty conscience.

Focusing their attentions on their son, they made sure he practiced his religion faithfully. As the Reverend Jerry Stalling's ministry grew so did his wealth, his influence, and his ego. G.o.d had obviously chosen him to spread the word of his Savior. Unfortunately, diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, Reverend Stalling realized that he had been mistaken. G.o.d had chosen him to father the next Messiah. In the little time he had left, he made sure Winston's future was a.s.sured. Arrangements were made to send him to the best religious universities in the country. Against the wishes of his wife, he transferred custody to one of his most loyal followers who would carry out the Reverend's plans for his son. From that moment on Winston Stalling was shaped and molded to fulfill the ambitions of a small group of fundamentalists who believed in promoting their religion at all costs. When he became CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the world, they were ecstatic, having succeeded in their goal. Now they impatiently awaited the fruits of their labor.

It was only a matter of time before the final stages of their plans were completed and the world would tremble at the new Messiah's feet, begging for mercy and forgiveness. Of course, Winston Stalling would be merciful, but only after he punished those who doubted his position as the Chosen. Men would regain the manliness they had lost with the birth of the women's rights movement. They would again become the leaders and providers. Women would bear their children and take care of the homes and their men as G.o.d had intended. The world would once again be on track to becoming unified as all other religions would be forever banned.

Winston Stalling was the first to acknowledge that religious fanaticism spurred discontent amongst followers. The only way to insure peace and security in his newly formed world was to eliminate those who didn't believe in him. No one could argue the logic in having one universal belief. Why humanity hadn't realized this sooner only confirmed what he believed.

Thinking of the latest reports from several missions in Africa, Stalling smiled with satisfaction. Already he had established a strong foothold on two-thirds of the continent.

Almost three hundred villagers knelt silently before the chieftain outside of his hut. The women and children were gathered in small groups on the periphery of the a.s.sembled group, banned from getting too close to the tribal leader. The men who had converted to the new religion, were allowed to enter the sanctum as long as it was done humbly and they could prove their faith was strong. Heads bowed respectfully, they awaited their chief's instructions. Azubuike motioned two men holding a third to come forward.

"Tubuktu, you have not taken Chukwu into your heart. You do not follow the teachings of our glorious father, Reverend Talbert. He has helped our people find the one true G.o.d. Through him, we have found new hope and you will be saved. What have you to say?"

"I follow the old beliefs," the man declared proudly, "Just as our ancestors did. I will not bow to this white man's false G.o.d!"

Azubuike frowned and then clapped his hands together and signaled to the two guards to take Tubuktu away.

"Your arrogance will wither and die like the wild rice when the sun bakes the lakes dry. Reverend Talbert brings proof of his power and will use you as the vessel to help other disbelievers. Take him to clinic," he ordered.

Several groans arose from the kneeling followers but were quickly silenced by their Chief's angry expression.

"Do not dare to anger our Savior. His ears and eyes are everywhere. You have food in your bellies; your children go to school, and we have medicine to treat your ills all of this and more. Anger him and you will return to the old ways when you had to forage for food and watch your young die from starvation or disease. Is that what you want?"

"No!" several voices yelled. "Praise be to Reverend Talbert. Praise be to our savior, Winston Stalling."

Azubuike nodded his head happily. Most of his tribe were now devoted followers. The few doubters that remained were being weeded out and converted with the treatments supplied by the medical clinic a few miles from the village. Reverend Talbert paid a good price for disbelievers and the chief didn't have to worry about troublemakers. Already, Azubuike was richer than he ever imagined, thanks to the benevolence of Winston Stalling and his followers.

Picking up the phone, Stalling pressed several b.u.t.tons and then spun his chair around to admire the scenic view through his picture window.

Situated in a valley, mountains rose majestically from all directions. A large lake separated the installation from the city. The location provided an extra layer of security between Future Dynamicon and the outside world. No one came or went without being noticed since they had to take the only road around the lake to gain access to the main offices. It kept out unwanted intruders. An unwanted intruder was anyone that didn't work at the Company unless they were invited by Stalling.

CHAPTER 4.

SOLARIA WAS CONFUSED, an uncomfortable sensation considering it was becoming a regular occurrence; especially when she thought about her recent reaction during her last examination. As a Hubot, she thought she was incapable of feelings. Now she wasn't so sure. Something was changing in her data processors to cause her body to behave in a totally illogical manner. It wasn't logical but she couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for it yet.

Putting the magazine on the desk next to her, the Hubot switched her attention to the woman fumbling with one of the lab computers.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked, walking over to stand next to Carley.

Looking up, Carley smiled and nodded.

"You'd think after all these years, I'd learn how to operate these things," she confessed, "considering I'm an AI expert."

"I have to agree it doesn't seem logical that you can write complex programs for computers but have problems operating them," Solaria agreed. "Is this a test?"

"Test? What makes you think that?" Carley asked, surprised by the question.

"Is not the purpose of my existence to aid humans and provide relief from stressful conditions?"

"Well, yes, but you're more than that. Hopefully, you'll be able to integrate yourself amongst the normal population and eventually establish your own life."

Had Carley been looking at Solaria, she would have been surprised at the skeptical smile that appeared on the Hubot's face.

"I don't believe my investors would be so willing to let one of their most expensive projects wander around freely."

"Oh, I don't know, Solaria. Future Dynamicon has big plans for developing a whole line of Hubots to a.s.sist people. Once we're sure there are no glitches, we can start ma.s.s production. In a few years there'll be thousands of them similar to you out there co-mingling with humans."

Silence followed. Carley glanced at Solaria. At that moment, she wished she could read minds. Although totally expressionless, Carley sensed her comment had disturbed Solaria.

"The thought bothers you?"

"That would be a human reaction," Solaria replied, her voice expressionless.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I don't understand why you want to create something that serves no real purpose. Humans can do everything Hubots would be doing. You already have robots that a.s.sist in everyday lives and dangerous jobs. We would be redundant."

"I know it's hard for you to understand right now but it's just the way we are. Our very nature makes us want to continually move forward... to improve on what we already have. It's just the way we are."

"How does creating a race of servants move humanity forward? Your history has proven time and again that too much free time is the major reason for most social unrest."

"I can't argue that point, but we're not talking about servants."

"Is there another word that's more appropriate?"

"Well, a.s.sistants or companions sound better."

Even as she said it, Carley knew it sounded weak. From Solaria's angle, Hubots would be servants if they were created to serve humanity; especially if they had no choice. It was logical.

"Hubots would be more like..." Carley couldn't think of an adequate word or phrase to describe their purpose. In fact, she had been so caught up in the concept of creating a Hubot, she failed to consider what would happen once she accomplished her goal.

Solaria waited patiently for Carley to finish her thought.

"Maybe we should continue this discussion later," Carley said, feeling inadequate.

"Have I said something to upset you?"

"No."

"But you're uncomfortable now."

"Let's just say you've given me something to think about. I may have been a little too naive in my enthusiasm to be a part of this experiment. I hope not, though."

Solaria knew Carley was troubled, but understood that pus.h.i.+ng for an answer served no purpose. Much like herself, the scientist solved many problems once she was away from her work, not that Solaria ever went anywhere; at least not physically. At night, though, when the lab was secured and the lights off, she was able to shut down most of her biological functions and several processors. Then she would organize the day's data. Occasionally, she imagined she was someplace else and all of this was nothing more than a dream.

Solaria understood the concept of dreaming. Recently, she had experienced strange fluctuations in her processing patterns which created random visual mini-programs in her processors. The only logical explanation for the visions was that they were the Hubot equivalent of dreams. She was reluctant to share this information with Carley, but still felt the need to talk about it.

"Carley?"

The hesitant way Solaria said her name immediately caught Carley's attention.

"Is something troubling you, Solaria?" she asked softly, sensing the uncertainty in her companion's voice.

"When you designed my psychological profile, did you use a specific human as your model?"

"Not really. You wouldn't have a unique personality if I had. Plus it really wouldn't have been fair to either of you. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering. It would have been interesting to meet her."

"Maybe, although I think you'd eventually find it boring. Being programmed to think like someone specific..." Carley shook her head. "It just doesn't sound interesting. Besides, I don't know anyone remarkable enough to duplicate. For the most part, human personalities aren't worth replicating."

"I find them interesting."

Carley laughed.

"Wait till you meet a few hundred or thousand more. You'll see what I mean. At the moment you're like a child taking her first steps. Everything is new and wonderful."

"I may be new but I doubt if a human child is capable of understanding the Lorinian Theory of Neural Cellular Communication," Solaria said, feigning indignation.

Patting her arm affectionately, Carley chuckled.

"True! No one looking at or talking to you would consider you a child. In fact, you'll probably be getting a lot of unwanted attention by a few of the scientists in the building."

"Unwanted attention?"