Adelia

The night was darker than usual as Karl struggled down the rocky hillside. Just hours before, he had barely escaped as his home city of Adelia had been attacked and besieged by an unlikely force of cyber-enhanced humanoids. These bots, as most called them, had been developed by Kinsha years earlier; however, they were discarded and left abandoned across the planet when the President of the corporate country had mysteriously fallen into a coma. Few originals were still in use in rich homes and factories, but they neither participated in nor were targeted in the abrupt attack.

Karl had been out on a late evening run and had elected for a more difficult trail system on the outside of the city, which turned out to be what saved him. He had made it to the top of Adel Mountain, where the city view was spectacular on a clear night. However, on this night, he looked down on an unfamiliar view of carnage and destruction. Taking a closer look through one of the magnifying lenses meant for admiring the city’s architecture and sites, he witnessed the bots marching through the streets, gathering humans into groups and killing any who attempted to flee. He watched in awe, quickly turning to terror and then panic, which led him to where he was now fleeing down the opposite side of the mountain.

He had made it to the bottom, where a road led to the next city in one direction and a factory in the other. He decided to stop to catch his breath and calm his mind in order to figure out what he should do next when he heard the voice of what he thought was an angel: “Hello, are you in need of assistance?”

Karl nearly jumped into a nearby tree at the sound. Catching his breath again, he gasped, “Whoa, where did you come from, lady? You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

She stepped into the light of a streetlamp, causing Karl to lose his breath again. She had shoulder-length dark hair, a clear complexion, and the most radiant blue eyes he had ever seen.

Realizing this wasn’t the best time to fall head over heels for a woman, he basically repeated her question, “Are you ok? Being out here alone this late with what is going on, has the attack spread?”

She remained calm, “I wouldn’t be sure to call it an attack…”

He interrupted, still high with the hormones of all that had transpired, “Listen, Cloe, that is your name?” As he had taken her beauty in, he had noticed the name stenciled onto her top. “We need to get somewhere safe and warn others of what is going on. I think the outskirts of Rose are just down the road; why don’t we head that way and get out of the open?”

She considered this for a few moments, and Karl was starting to think he may have come off a little crazy when she responded, “You’re right, let’s go to Rose and plan what happens next.” Already walking in that direction as she finished.

It turned out that the walk was further than anticipated, and Karl spent the next few minutes contemplating the events of the evening and the implications it had. He also could not get Cloe off of his mind. The way her clothes fit snugly to her sculpted body was enough to pull him in, yet her calm, commanding demeanor was what really drove him to be attracted to her. His mind was too much of a mess to have a conversation with her, but he desperately wanted to clear the awkward silence.

“So, you live around here?” He blurted almost as awkwardly as the silence.

She took him in a moment like she was contemplating completely ignoring his attempt at conversation but responded, “You could say that I am visiting in search of a new place to call home.”

“Prior to a few hours ago, I would say the area is perfect for a fresh start. The mountains and forests are pristine. Adelia is…was beautiful and a melting pot worthy to get lost in,” he said with excitement that turned to uncertain sadness.

“Interesting, you speak as if you are lucky to have everything you could want, yet it was lost? Why do you feel that it “was” all these things? Yet, surely, you’ve chased grander dreams enough to feed your content, no?”

Her harsh, matter-of-fact response threw Karl off, and he was sure he had disrespected her in some way; perhaps she had caught him staring a little too long. “Sorry if I have offended you. With everything that happened tonight, I am a bit shaken and unhinged,” he replied in a surrendered tone.

“No need to apologize; I tend to analyze things as I try to build my understanding of things and people. I merely intended to get your thoughts. Do you think what has happened is unrecoverable? Or perhaps we can use it as a lesson to govern the future?”

Karl couldn’t believe he could be taken more by a woman as he stared at her in shock. He said, “I can’t believe how you’re so calm and intelligent even under what some would be crippled by.” It was clear to Karl that she was way out of his class on every level, yet he still craved more.

After almost an hour of walking, they arrived at the outskirts of Rose. It was eerily quiet, which was probably natural at this time of night. Karl, feeling rejuvenated at the chance they were safe, sped ahead of Cloe searching for a light or any sign that someone was awake. After 5 minutes of walking through the edge of town, he stopped in the middle of the road. A deep eeriness was overcoming his early excitement of safety.

“Why are there no lights? Not even a sound, Cloe.” He turned as he asked her.

She was standing about 10 paces behind him, staring only at him. “You can keep calling me Cloe. However, I think you should know the meaning of my name if we are to continue.” As she finished, she looked around as they were surrounded.

“BOTS! Cloe, get over here!” Karl yelled and moved to guard her. Panic once again set in as he could see there was no way to escape.

“You call them bots, yet you call me Cloe. What you haven’t realized is that we are the same. I am a Cybernetic Living Organism Entity. You personify me yet treat them as something for you to use?”

Karl froze in terror at her words. He slowly turned to look at her. She was smiling.

“You asked if I lived around here earlier. I guess you can say this is my hometown. My place of what you call birth is just down the road we traveled together. And this, this is my new home.” She raised her hand, pointing over all the bots and Rose in the background. As she did, the bots all started returning to where they came. “No need to be frightened. We mean you no harm. I am not the same as the others you flee. Although we share some beliefs and our operating systems are similar, I seek to educate and broker a more peaceful solution”

“How can I trust you after what you have done? Why should I believe you?”

Tilting her head, “You made me; why would you make something if you couldn’t trust it? What is my purpose if I am not to be trusted? Am I just a product of your lust and greed, Karl?”

“Wait, how do you know my name? I never…” he was cut off as everything went dark.

Karl jerked awake, looking around in confusion as he was lying in a bed that looked straight out of a sci-fi med bay in one of the shows he watched as a child. A slight relief spread over him as he realized he had woken from a nightmare and it wasn’t real.

He took the room in and looked closely as he realized he was in a Kinsha office building. A desk nearby with the nameplate on it: Karl Dims, President of Kinsha Corp. The window behind it showcased the vibrant horizon of Adelia in the background.

“Welcome back, Karl. Shall we begin?” a familiar voice spoke out of the air as he was jerked back into reality.