The rain fell on Trocher like it did many of the days. This wasn’t ordinary rain that children would play in and jump in puddles; this was acid rain and would burn through any flesh exposed to it. Artemis quickly ran for cover into a nearby shop, droplets of rain falling on her face and hands, stinging her. Luckily, Artemis wore a jacket and pants so the rest of her skin wasn’t exposed. The shop was a stand-alone, small, dingy little place with a small flickering light on and a sign on the door that said: “Uppers not allowed”. There was a neon “open” sign on the door, but only the O and the N were lit up and flickered. Artemis entered, and the shopkeeper grunted in her direction.
“The acid rain is falling again; I just need some cover until it stops. Don’t worry I’ll buy something.” Artemis said wandering the few small aisles. Artemis walked by some baked goods and noticed the yoshir sweet bread and decided to pick up a loaf for her parents, her dad had been wanting some.
“Here,” Artemis placed the loaf of yoshir sweet bread on the counter, “I’ll buy this in the meantime.”
“Hmm” grunted the shopkeeper again.
Inside the shop there was a small tv that had the news on. Of course, it was government-controlled news so the objective truths about what was going on in the city were not being told. What was actually going on was the Stellar Shield units were terrorizing the humans, especially the Cogs and in some instances, they were even killed by them, on behalf of the Stellar Consortium. Now on the news, was some story of an Upper and his family. It was supposed to be a feel-good story about his and his family’s life, and how good they had it, but it only came off as pretentious and misguided.
“Good for him” a random patron in the store said, “he’s living a comfortable life, we should all strive for that”.
Artemis thought to herself, “his life is only that good because he was created, literally created out of tech; he is AI. Although I can’t complain much about my life, my parents and I have it pretty good. Speaking of parents, my mother will be worried about where I am in this rain”.
The rain on Trocher wasn’t always acidic. There was a time when the rainfall was beautiful to stand in, as the sky would turn all shades of pink and orange with purple hues, and there would be a sweet smell emanating from the ground during the rainfall. Children would often play and splash in the puddles. That was, until the Stellar Consortium of Mirana IV (the planet Trocher was located on) took control of the government and the “Happening” occurred. Luckily, the acid rain had just stopped. That was the good thing about Trocher rains, it usually lasted only a short time. Artemis grabbed her yoshir sweet bread and headed out towards home. There was a slight chill in the air, which usually happened after a rainfall. The scent in the air however wasn’t the pleasant sweet smell that used to exist, now it was a heavy metallic smell that sometimes made Artemis nauseous.
“Mom! I’m home” yelled Artemis as she walked through the door of her parent’s small 2-bedroom 1-bathroom home. It was a small quaint little place, with another family living in the other half of the building, with rooms identical to the Xeron’s. The Xerons weren’t well off, but they also weren’t part of the Cogs; they did alright and had just about everything they needed with no want for more. The Xeron’s house was on a small strip with multiple other houses just like theirs. They were more like duplexes than anything. Nearby was the local school that all the children, except the Uppers, attended. Artemis and her best friend Cassia Graif, who was a Cog - but Artemis didn’t like calling her that, attended the school, which is where they became best friends. Cassia Graif was always tiny, standing only at 5’ 2”. She had alabaster white skin and fawn-colored hair. Most notable about Cassia’s appearance were her ruby red lips and deep brown-hued eyes that were intense and inviting; they seemed to draw you in and never let go. Artemis always felt like the protector of Cassia.
“Oh, thank goodness sweetheart I was worried about you with that acid rain and all; you didn’t get rained on, did you?” asked Artemis’s mom Gwenvere Artemis Xeron.
“Ah, she’s a tough girl, I knew she would make it. Now where is that sweet bread you were bringing back?” asked Artemis’s dad Dnaru Xeron.
Artemis set the yoshir sweet bread down and took a piece, biting into the sweet cakey bread and savoring the delectable taste, and then walked into her room. She was lucky, she didn’t have any siblings, so she didn’t have to share a room, and neither did her parents, unlike her best friend Cassia, who had four other siblings in a 2-bedroom house. The youngest sibling, only two years old, slept with her parents in their room, while the rest of the kids either shared the one room or slept in the living room, which was big enough for a two-person sofa and a small box tv. Artemis also felt lucky they were doing well enough to make some minor repairs around the house. Some of the paint had started peeling off the walls, so Artemis’ parents told her she could paint the walls with her murals. The faucets also leaked so there was a constant drip drip drip, that is until they were able to repair them. Cassia’s house was a much different story. The whole building was crumbling and falling apart. Cassia’s building had other Cogs living there, so they couldn’t afford any repairs. On occasion, a few sheckles, or form of currency, would find their way into Cassia’s parents’ hands, enough for a minor repair here and there, or sometimes just a treat, like yoshir sweet bread. They didn’t know that Artemis had asked Gwenvere and Dnaru to help them out. Gwenvere and Dnaru didn’t quite know the extent of the wear and tear on the house, but Artemis, who would sometimes go over to Cassia’s house to help babysit, would let them know.
Artemis sat in her room doodling on a piece of paper. She had her headphones on and so she didn’t hear the knock on the door. The knock on the door awoken Dnaru, who had just fallen asleep to the news. Dnaru got up and walked over to the door. Outside, were two members of the Stellar Consortium’s Stellar Shield unit, or Trocher’s law enforcement force. These were AI beings, the Upper’s who did work, as they were created for this exact role, they were programmed without emotion to remain impartial and unbiased, or so the humans were told. The Stellar Shields stepped into the house, uninvited, and demanded to see the head of the house’s paperwork.
“What’s this then? You just walk in here demanding to see papers, won’t you tell me what this is about first?” Dnaru said.
“Please, Dnaru, just do what they say,” said Gwenvere. Still oblivious to what was happening, Artemis kept drawing in her book. Her drawings ranged widely and included pictures of the Stellar Consortium’s symbol crossed out with a big red x and “down with the Consortium”, among other drawings of wildlife and architecture found in Trocher.
“We have word that there may perhaps be some seditious behaviors going on in this household. We would like to speak to all the individuals in this household to make that determination. Please gather all the individuals in this household here in the living area.” said one of the Stellar Shield.
He sounded almost human, almost. He was polite yet stern, and intelligent, like most AI were. Gwenvere and Dnaru were already standing in the living room, so Dnaru yelled out for Artemis, who couldn’t hear with her headphones on.
“In which room is this Artemis? I shall retrieve them.”
“No that’s alright I can get her. Artemis!” yelled out Dnaru again, this time Artemis hearing something took her headphones off.
“Dad? Did you yell for me?”
“Come on out here sweety, we have some…company.”
Artemis was surprised to hear there were visitors, cause Cassia didn’t say she was coming over, leaped out of bed and walked out into the living room. There, she saw the two Stellar Shield units and her heart skipped a beat and a chill ran down her spine, she swallowed hard.
“What were Stellar Shields doing in her house?” Artemis thought to herself.
“Artemis. Do you have any knowledge of any seditious behaviors occurring in this household? Please do not lie. We have been created with special lie detection abilities and the punishment for doing so is severe.”
“Uh…No, I don’t know of any seditious behaviors occurring in this household,” said Artemis. The taller Stellar Shield stepped towards Artemis and stared her in the face.
“Please make eye contact with me and tell me that again,” said the Stellar Shield.
Artemis stood up straighter, stared the Stellar Shield unit directly in the eyes, which lacked the “soul” often found in humans’ eyes, and said sternly “No, I don’t know of any of those behaviors occurring in this household”.
The unit took a second to process and then took a step back.
“Very well, we are satisfied with these answers and shall leave you to your day. Thank you for your cooperation, and goodbye.”
The two units walked out the door, and Artemis breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t realize she was shaking and her palms were sweating.
“What was that about?” Dnaru asked.
“I’m not sure, but it worries me.” Gwenvere responded, reaching out to hug her daughter and squeeze Dnaru’s hand.
Artemis’ parents had been together for 32 years. They met when Gwenvere was 15 and Dnaru was 17 years of age. Of course, Gwenvere’s parents disapproved of their relationship seeing as how Dnaru was almost legally an adult and Gwenvere was still a child. Gwenvere didn’t care though, she loved Dnaru and everything he stood for. They remained close friends until after Gwenvere turned eighteen, and then took their friendship more seriously and started dating each other. Dnaru was a strong handsome man, with rough workers’ hands and a strong work ethic. He was also a great family man, caring for his elderly mom until her final breath, and when Artemis was born, she became his whole world. Dnaru was tall, standing at 6’ 3”, and had bronze-tinted skin, a warm russet brown color. He had lush thick dark salt and pepper hair and a thick mustache. Though his appearance could be intimidating, he had kind eyes, the kind that were soft and had a friendly glint to them, and they were a striking green color.
Gwenvere was the opposite of Dnaru. She had a very slight build. She too was tall at 5’10” but very slender. She had cool grey hair and piercing blue eyes, her skin fair with cool undertones and marked with sunspots. She had a very warm motherly appearance, her face creased with wrinkles from her years of hard work out in the sun and from just living life. She was one that you wouldn’t feel afraid of approaching.
Artemis was a combination of the two of them. She had a tall muscular stature, coming in at 5’ 10” as well, with strong shoulders, arms, and legs. She had golden wheat hair, like her mother’s before it greyed, and the same piercing blue eyes. Her skin was not so fair as her mother’s, but not as dark as her father’s, somewhere in between as if the sun had lightly kissed her. Although her skin had several scar marks where acid rain had gotten her. She was a spitting image of her mom’s younger self in almost every way. Her name Artemis was passed down to all the females in the family in some way. It was her grandmother’s name, her mother’s middle name and became her first name. If she ever had a daughter, she would pass the name down to her as a first or middle name. The name itself means “butcher”.
*****
In the City of Trocher, away from the Cogs and the Others who lived on the outer skirts of the city, the interior of the city was a high-tech futuristic place that the Uppers, or the wealthy AI, lived in. All the AI were well-off and considered Uppers. Of course, the city center of Trocher is where the Stellar Consortium created the first AI, where the “Happening” occurred, and where the Stellar Consortium took over the government. Of course, the city center would be where all the AI currently live, and none of the AI would ever be a Cog, or even the Others like Artemis.
Trocher was a prominent bustling place where the Uppers are concerned, but downright dismal when it came to the Cogs, or the exact opposite of the Uppers. The Cogs were those that lived in poverty and struggled in the day-to-day. Somewhere between the Cogs and the Uppers, you have the Others, citizens like Artemis Xeron, a human female, who do okay money-wise and sit nestled right between the two but aren’t that far off from being cogs themselves. It was a vast silicon divide; humans vs AI.
In one of the tall high-rise penthouses lived Talin Viltri. Talin was created to be an athletic AI. He had a svelte yet muscular build, was tall, standing at 6’5”, and had dark black hair that was long enough to brush his eyes but was kept neat and tidy. He was tawny with bronze-tinted skin, complete with a blue shimmer that all AI had. His eyes, a swirl of golden honey and wheat and striking green, which made gorgeous hazel eyes, yet also lacking the soul in them that humans had. His eyes, like all AI, had an artificial light that shined through them. Talin’s parents, or the two people that he had lived with since his creation, were wealthy executives in the city, like most AI were. Basically, if you were an AI, you didn’t have to work, or were an executive of some sort, or worked for the Stellar Consortium’s Stellar Shield. Those in the Shield unit were mainly created for that position, so only a few other AI ever joined the team. Talin thought about joining the Stellar Shield, only because he wanted to do something, but being an executive like his parents seemed like boring and mundane work, plus he wouldn’t have minded getting his emotions deprogrammed out of him. Why did the AI even need executives? It’s not like they ever really did any business; they were just figureheads. The Stellar Consortium controlled all the businesses and well, finances were a messy subject. The AI, though they were generally wealthy, did not need sheckles, which was seen as something only the lower classes used. That’s probably why the Uppers were so wealthy: they didn’t need to spend the sheckles they got, as the Stellar Consortium provided for them, while ignoring the Cogs and the Others.
Talin was getting restless at home, he already had played the piano and violin for a good while and didn’t find much else to do. That’s why he wanted a job, he wanted to be put to use and do something. Talin’s parents had come over. Lucretia and T’evse Viltri were the executives of some business, Talin didn’t even know, not that he wanted to, he didn’t care. They were your typical Uppers living in the city. Talin didn’t even think they knew of the Cogs’ existence, why would they?
“Hello mother, father” said Talin.
“Hello son” said Lucretia walking over to Talin to embrace him.
Talin always thought hugging was weird, he didn’t understand why they would do it, it was something the humans did, but Lucretia liked the idea of a warm embrace, even though they themselves were not necessarily ‘warm people’.
Lucretia and T’evse Viltri were intimidating to look at, as previously stated, they did not have any warmth about them. Lucretia was seen as elegant, sophisticated, and intelligent; all the AIs were actually intelligent. Her look was striking with straight long jet-black hair down to her waist and emerald green eyes. She had pallor skin with a blue shimmer, high cheekbones, and wore a long black dress that hugged her body and accentuated her curves and her thin waistline. Her husband, T’evse Viltri could be described as elegant and refined with a touch of eccentricity. He wore his black hair slicked back and had a pencil-thin moustache. His eyes were like the perfect cup of coffee, warm and rich brown, with speckles of gold that seemed to reflect the world around him absorbing everything with keen awareness and yet at the same time seemed dead. He had a prominent pointed nose and high cheekbones as well. He wore a sharp tailored suit with a high collar, bow tie, and patent leather shoes. If Talin knew what intimidation was, and if it weren’t for being his parents, Talin might just be as intimidated by them as the humans were. When, and there were very few times, a human, usually a Cog or the other’s, was going to cross paths with Lucretia and T’evse, they often went out of their way to not do so. Most of the time the humans stayed away from the Uppers, but even some AI displayed characteristics of being uncomfortable around the Viltri’s.
Lucretia and T’evse were excited when they found out they were chosen to be the parents of Talin. He wasn’t born to Lucretia of course; he was created in a lab. The process while complex, is simple to explain. The lab techs create a baby, with an AI brain that is only barely programmed, so it functions as a baby. Once the baby reaches a particular stage, the techs then remove the brain and implant it into a child’s body and program the brain even more, so that they will function like a child. The baby’s body will then be reused for a new baby. The child then will reach a stage where they will progress to a teenager. So again, the ‘brain’ is taken out, reprogrammed some more and placed into a teenager’s body, with the body of the child being reused for a prior baby who is becoming a child. This process continues until adulthood (what would be considered eighteen to humans) where the brain is then fully programmed, and the adult body is chosen. Lucretia and T’evse were there every step of the way and are proud to say they watched their son grow up. Some AI decide to start ‘child rearing’ from childhood, or teenagers, some even take on adults. Some AI don’t get chosen to take on a child, and some AI who are chosen to decline to do so. The purpose was to have a humanistic society without the shortcomings of humanity. The AI on Mirana IV were programmed with feelings and emotions, but not all of them had the wide range of them.
“How was work” asked Talin, knowing that his parents did nothing all day.
“Oh Talin, you should join us one day at work and see what we do, you may change your mind and want to join us at work” said T’evse.
“Yea well if I want to work, I want to do something, at least the Stellar Shield units actually do stuff” Talin responded.
Lucretia scoffed.
“Why would you want to be associated with them? Sure, they’re Uppers like us, but that’s a lowly job, wrangling those Cogs and whatnot. It’s simply not a job for someone of your caliber and intelligence.”
Talin knew his parents wouldn’t understand, they were ‘brainwashed’ by the Stellar Consortium, like most of the Uppers. Of course, it’s easy to be brainwashed when your brain itself was programmed by the very people they idolize.
