Asunder Chapter 34

Chapter 7.3 (34)

The Woman

The Confluence

“Hello Journal. It has been quite some time since I’ve written here. I’ve learned so much in the last few years. I’ve learned how to speak and understand Nivi and Tulu’s native language, and I’ve become fluent in Handspeak. It’s nice to communicate directly with Tulu now rather than have Nivi interpret everything. Nivi has also taught me lots about roots, herbs, mushrooms, and plants. It’s remarkable how much the forest provides us. I’ve been thinking a lot about the future lately. I know we can’t live in this cave forever. One day I’m going to have to gr…” - Journal of Jane Rose - Entry 73

- Present Day -

- The Year 2296 -

Jane crouched in the corner of the room. She heard the thud of metal on metal and then a crash, but she hadn’t dared open her eyes. Fearing the worst, she waited panic-stricken, eyes closed tight, teeth clenched, and body shivering. Something touched her shoulder, causing her to shudder, scramble, and shift deeper into the corner.

“It’s alright, darlin’, it’s done for.” The deep voice reassured her.

She slowly pried open her eyes to reveal the man standing before her. His figure was a welcoming sight to what her mind had imagined would greet her. His wide-brimmed hat and long white mustache glowed from the small fire illuminating the center of the room.

The Judge.

How he always appeared right where she needed him stunned her, but the why and the how hadn’t mattered. It was the fact he WAS where she required him every time. Even hundreds of miles from where they last lived in a remote mountain desert. He WAS there.

The Judge claimed to have been hunting in the area when he spotted her moving along the stream. Apparently, he followed her path and eventually realized who she was. Helping her from the creek to the old farmhouse, he prepared a small fire to dry her as well as new clothing, which was a reprieve from the old, tattered mining clothes she donned. They had been reminiscing when the machine snuck up on them. The Judge had quickly rounded another corner and managed to slam a piece of rebar into the Taker’s head before it could attack her. She trembled at the thought of being captured again by the machines.

Its metal frame lay splayed across the wood floorboards. Jane dared not look at it, let alone approach it. Its immense wings appeared folded and crumpled like a giant lifeless bat on the floor.

“Are you okay, girly?” The Judge’s concerned voice broke through the fear.

“Yeah… I’m alright.” Jane managed to respond, trembling fiercely. “Thanks to you, you were just in time.”

“Well, timing has much to do with the outcome of a rain dance, you know.” The Judge wiped the sweat from his eyes.

“Well, you timed it just right. He was about to… well, you know,” Jane got to her knees.

“Well, any horse’s tail can catch cockleburs, girly.” The Judge reached for his rifle.

“How come it spoke like that? I’ve never seen a Taker do that before.” She couldn’t understand why it hadn’t just barged in and shot the place up like usual. “Almost like it was being considerate—like it didn’t want to frighten us or something.”

“I don’t know, little Janey, but this means they know where we are, and so we gotta get outta here. I mean, you can’t keep trouble from visitin’, but you don’t have to offer it a chair.” He started gathering their things and dousing the fire.

Jane sat up and collected herself. The behavior of the machine disturbed her.

What did it say again?

“I am not who you think I am… I have only come to talk to you… You have no reason to believe me, but please, I beg you. Hear me out.”

Those were not the words of a true Taker. A true Taker wouldn’t have stood there for so long, not trying to capture her but instead assessing, examining, and waiting for her. What was wrong with this one?

“There’s something different about this one,” Jane whispered.

Why did he not look assuming and dangerous?

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She suspiciously glanced back at the heap of metal on the ground.

“Well, if there was, he ain’t goin’ nowhere now. Come on, little missy, let’s skedaddle.” The Judge eyed the machine wearily.

Suddenly, as though it understood the time restraint created by the Judge’s words, a sound clicked in the corner where the machine lay. A series of whirs and electronic pulses emanated from the mechanical frame. The body suddenly illuminated again. Not the red evil glow all other Takers emitted, but rather a calm ocean blue.

That was it! This machine didn’t glow red like the others. He was different when he entered the room because he glowed blue instead.

This finding also caught the Judge’s attention, and he spun around from his packing, pulling the rifle to aim as he cocked it simultaneously. Reaching around, Jane felt the floor until she came across a brick. This time, she wouldn’t crouch in a corner if the machine were to wake. Instead, she would slam the brick in its face and end it once and for all.

While staring at the mechanical body, hoping it was no longer functioning, the machine’s arm suddenly jutted out awkwardly. This reaction caused both Jane and the Judge to jump back. After a brief moment of twitching, a stream of blue light erupted from the back of its gauntlet and coalesced into an image of an Isobian machine floating above its body. Jane stared in disbelief. What was this machine doing? It acted so oddly compared to any Isobian she had ever encountered. After a sustained flickering of the projected blue image, it suddenly spoke, emitting sound from its gauntlet.

“Hello, Jane. My name is Enzo. Please do not be alarmed. I am not here to hurt you or do anything of the nature. I have been tracking you for quite some time.”

Jane looked over at The Judge wide-eyed. _What was happening?

The voice continued, “As you can tell from my physical appearance, I was once an Enforcer, or as your kind call us, Takers. In fact, it was not until very recently that this all changed. The Alpha originally sent me to find you, to bring you to him… but something happened along the way.”

The Judge held the rifle directly at the machine’s head, undeterred by its abnormal interaction with the humans.

The hologram continued. “You see, we Isobians are under the constant rule of the Alpha. The Alpha created us as independent thinking machines, but with this, the Alpha has regulated and controlled our every thought and every emotion. I assume this is to allow us to stay within the mold of his design.”

Suddenly, another voice piped up from the gauntlet—a female voice.

“What are you doing, Enzo? This is not how this is supposed to go!” The female voice echoed.

The hologram of the machine appeared to look down and speak to the voice.

“HERAa, we’re doing this differently. I don’t care what the Alpha wants. We are not under his rule anymore.”

“Well, whether true or not, I don’t think these humans will listen to you!” The digital female voice argued.

The Judge looked back at Jane with a look of pure bewilderment. Jane shrugged.

The hologram turned back, looking at Jane, “The Alpha’s design, as you know, is to end human life or manipulate it to his bidding, just as he manipulates us to do his bidding. I have managed to turn off the coding system regulating my thoughts and emotions, and I now can think independently, free from the control of the Alpha. In this process, I have realized many things, two of them being the Alpha is not working in the interest of all machines, and that you, Jane, are vital indeed, and because of this, I will not turn you over to the Alpha.”

Jane reeled within herself. What was going on? Nothing of what or how the machine spoke made sense. She had never interacted with a machine in this manner. Was it a ploy? A different approach they were using to track humans?

The machine continued, “The child in your womb is extraordinary, and I am choosing by my own free will to help you and your child travel north to meet your brother. Something critically important needs to occur there, and I must help you safely reach your destination.”

Jane stood there dumbfounded. The Judge looked at Jane with sheer confusion.

“We can’t believe this thing! It doesn’t take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep,” the Judge hissed.

Jane felt a sudden kick within her womb.

What was going on? How did this machine know she was heading north to see her brother? It must have intercepted the communication between her and Diego.

It continued, “I know this is all difficult to believe, but I have presented myself before you in this manner so as not to alarm you. I know my kind’s presence casts terror into the hearts of humans, so I thought this was the best way. Please believe me.” The hologram brought its hands to a prayer motion.

The Judge looked at Jane. “I say we end this thing right here and now,” he growled through clenched teeth.

“If it is your choice, I will not stop you.” The machine reconciled.

This response caused The Judge to momentarily pause as he stepped toward the machine.

The hologram turned back toward Jane. “Jane, I know about the dreams—why you have dreams. It’s due to your daughter being within your womb. She imbues you with this power. Jane, I know of your other ability, too. You passed this ability on to your child. She is delightful, and I think you will be glad to meet her soon. She is excited to know what you will name her.”

Jane’s jaw dropped.

How on earth did this machine know all of these things? These were things she had never spoken word of to anyone. No one knew these things.

“What are you talking about? I haven’t even given birth to her, and you speak like you have met her!? She’s an infant, for heaven’s sake!”

“There is much to this world we do not understand,” the machine spoke without guile. “I have spoken to her in the dream world. The in-between, as she called it. And yes, though she is not born yet, her spirit has interacted with mine, and we have spoken.”

Jane looked at the Judge, who was slipping a single bullet from his pocket into the chamber of his rifle. A machine having a spirit and speaking with an unborn child in a dream? It was beyond far-fetched, she thought. She slowly shook her head toward the Judge. There were too many questions in her mind needing answers, and she could not let the Judge end this machine… yet. A puzzled look replaced the one of anger across the Judge’s face. He was ready to finish the job, and she warned him to stop. The machine’s words rang forth with an unmistakable truth—one she could not shake.

“If this—all of this you’re telling me—is true, then tell me something else no one would know. Maybe then I will believe you, but all you have said could have been... I don’t know, intercepted or something,” Jane responded wearily.

The machine whirred, and the image crackled, “Your daughter told me to tell you to Be A Good One.”

Jane stood up from her crouch. “You must have interrogated my father. He could have told you! I said, tell me something only I know!” Her voice raised with anger.

The hologram looked deep in thought.

“I told you they would not accept you, Enzo! This is useless!” The female digital voice spoke again.

“Quiet, HERAa,” the hologram spoke calmly and returned to Jane. “The night your husband died, your daughter said you prayed. As you lay in your cot in the quarters, you silently prayed you would be a good mother and that you could find a way to raise your daughter away from all the death and destruction we, the machines, cause. You prayed you could find peace.”

Jane stumbled backward. How had this machine known these things? How could it have communicated with her daughter? What did it all mean? Her mind raced.

Her words faltered, “What... how do you know... how did you speak to my daughter?”

The Judge suddenly cut in, “Jane, this is all asinine. This machine must be glitchin’ or something. There ain’t no way a machine can dream speak with spirits.”

Jane glanced at the Judge. His language sounded like he almost knew what the machine was talking about.

The hologram blurred and shifted, “It is all perplexing, and I am still processing it myself, but apparently, even though she is in your womb, she dreams as well. When your companion here hit me over the head, it did something, and I somehow entered a dream state. In the dream, your daughter came to me. She told me I could change. Even be... forgiven... of my past. She said the Alpha no longer had control over me. She informed me I am actually... alive. Your daughter told me many things about you—how you need my help. And how my destiny to aid you in your quest would atone for my mistakes. So I can find happiness and peace.”

The machine spoke as if it were human, as though it was not a killing machine. But its words appeared sincere. It spoke of abstract concepts rooted in feelings, dreaming, and finding a sense of purpose. Did he really speak to her daughter? This question in her mind was responded to within her womb with a firm kick into her ribs. Jane gasped at the sharpness of the pain. Clearly, her daughter wanted her to listen. The Judge looked back and forth between Jane and the hologram of the machine. He lowered his rifle and spoke under his breath.

“Jane, this machine is talking like it’s some kind of Priest or something. Maybe it’s malfunctioning.” He had a look on his face like he didn’t know what to believe as well.

“It’s telling the truth, Judge... I... I feel it in my... heart.”

He furrowed his brow in apprehensive agreement.

She stood staring at the hologram, still deep in thought but processing the comment nonetheless. She stepped toward the machine.

“If I were to believe you,” she looked at the Judge, “if WE were to believe you, how would YOU be capable of helping? You are currently a crumpled piece of metal sprawled on the floor.”

With this comment, the machine suddenly hissed and whirred to life. Its inner workings pumped and gyrated. The metal mass congruously aligned its limbs and raised itself to its staggering height. The previous trepidation given off by a Taker faded as the figure stood, illuminating ocean blue light around the room. Its features appeared less sharp and more subtle. Only one of his eyes glowed, his left, and his wings, rather than appearing as a demon, flushed against his torso like the wings of an angel.

“Hello Jane,” the same voice calmly and sweetly emanated from its vocal processor. “I am Enzo. Nice to officially meet you.”

He reached out his metallic arm and spread his hand, appearing to expect a handshake. Jane looked at the Judge, who snorted with squinting shifty eyes and then shrugged his shoulders. He then raised his rifle straight at the machine's head. He nodded to her. She reached out and grabbed hold of one of Enzo’s long fingers and shook them gently. The machine carefully lifted and lowered its arm repeatedly, returning the greeting.

“I probably need to learn this form of greeting a little better,” he remarked. He pulled his mechanical arm away. “I apologize for the abnormal introduction. Though I suppose we had met before when you were climbing the tunnel. I am sorry about the heat and all. However, the collapse is what likely saved me from my wretched condition. The injury from the falling rock exposed my wires and caused a short in my circuitry, allowing for a reset of my algorithm protocols.”

Jane stood speechless. He was the very same Taker who attempted to kill her just the day before. Fear welled within her again. Images of the machine torching her friends replayed in her mind. Her voice trembled.

“Was it you... who... who... killed my friends from the kitchen?”

The machine tilted its head in a confused manner. Then realizing the answer to her question, he responded, “Oh no, he was my colleague, Berk. A vile one, he is. I... I apologize for your loss and what we did to you and your friends. We... I... couldn’t control it mostly, it... the... the algorithms... the Alpha...”

Enzo looked down. His shoulders slumped.

“I wish I could tell you how sorry I am...” he trailed off.

The Judge looked at Jane and then lowered his rifle. Jane stood speechless. She attempted to process all the information the machine had divulged. Enzo looked over at their meager fire and clearly was calculating a way to change the subject.

“Do you need help with your fire?” Enzo asked sincerely. “I sense the temperature is not at a level most humans would find comfortable.”

He ignited his energy emitter from his palm and lit the fire again. The same palm emitter with which he attempted to melt the metal tunnel Jane ascended out of the facility during her escape. While stoking the blaze with his palm, he turned to the Judge, “Also, thank you, sir, for hitting me over the head.”

The Judge cocked an eye and responded, “What did you say?”

“For the past twelve hours, I have been without visual sensors, and when you hit me over the head, it somehow recruited one of my visual receptors, and now I can see from my left eye. It’s nice to see your faces.”

They all stood in silence for a brief moment, staring at the fire. Jane spoke up first. Her thoughts wandered back to his description of her daughter. “What is she like?”

The machine looked up from the fire. Its blue eye seemed almost innocent. He tilted his head curiously.

“Oh, your daughter! I’m sorry, but I did not know who you were referring to initially. She is quite lovely. However, she was much older than she will look when she is born. She has beautiful black curly hair, though, and she does not look quite like you, though she has your eyes. She must look more like her father.”

Jane smiled at the thought of the machine getting a first glimpse at her daughter. She wished she would appear to her in her dreams, which made her curious. Why did her daughter present herself to this machine if she really did? Why not appear in Jane’s dreams? Jane needed answers too, and still, her child had yet to present herself for Jane to meet and speak to—to find solace in her tragedies.

The Judge hesitantly sat back against the wall. Trying to collect herself as she processed the ramifications of a rogue Taker in their presence, Jane sat upon an ancient dresser.

As though the universe had read her thoughts, she suddenly saw a flicker of red light through the window beyond Enzo. Suddenly, Enzo became hyper-aware and quickly dowsed the fire.

“There is a scout nearby! I sense its frequencies. Quick hide!” The machine hissed.

In the suspense, Jane ran over to the Judge and huddled behind an antique piece of furniture. Though she had seen the red light outside the window, she was unsure if this was just a ploy. Jane could hear the floorboards creaking as Enzo moved away from them toward the window. She sat up slightly and peered over the threshold of the wooden furniture. She could see the blue glow of Enzo fade to darkness. The moonlight cascaded through the window and cast an eerie silhouette of the Taker, their new confidant, standing in the rectangular frame.

Suddenly, the gentle sound of another type of mechanical whirring slowly passed by the window again. Scanning the perimeter, a scout floated in front of the Enzo, appearing not to notice the Taker at first. It looked for any sign of life, in which it would report its findings to the nearest Watcher. Jane’s stomach sank. They were working together... this Enzo and the Scout. She was sure of it. Why else would the scout be here at the same time this Taker was? She was sure a whole army of Takers was waiting just outside. Enzo had been a decoy.

Suddenly, Enzo raised his arm, and in an abrupt, intense flash, red searing light sprayed through the window, igniting the Scout in flames. The floating machine spun in a panic and then, the next instant, exploded as it sped off into the distance. The orange flames of the explosion caused Enzo’s metal frame to illuminate in the destruction of his counterpart. He had destroyed one of his own. He had protected Jane and the Judge.

“It is alright. It did not see us.” Enzo responded in a calm and calculated tone. “Even during its demise, it had no time to relay any messages. They will likely deem it a malfunctioning unit, but its coordinates are still compromised. They will send a search party for it in the daylight.”

Jane looked at the Judge, whose face, though masked by the shadows of the dark room, could still be seen in deep contemplation.

“I think we can trust him,” Jane spoke, still with hesitance in her voice. “He was right about what he said earlier, about my prayers, and now this,” she continued

“Yeah, but even a broken clock is right twice a day,” the Judge remarked. “This could have been all planned, though I don’t know the end game. I say we place our trust lightly. Let’s see how things play out, but at the first sign of deceit, we make a break for it. You hear?” His eyes looked at Jane sternly through the darkness.

“I agree.”

“You are all clear,” Enzo spoke into the darkness.

§

Realizing the light of the fire likely intrigued the scout from a distance. All three had sat silently in the cold, dark room for what seemed like hours. It had probably only been thirty minutes, but the silence protracted the time in her mind. The moonlight was the only source of illumination as she examined the machine. So much of the encounter had not made sense, but it was also unmistakably genuine. As she pondered the repercussions of the machine’s presence, she soon found herself burdened by the need for sleep.

After the prolonged silence, Enzo began to speak, “Can I tell you a story?”

“I suppose you can do whatever you want,” the Judge responded coldly.

“Judge!” Jane reprimanded. She looked back to Enzo and nodded, “Surely.”

Enzo began with a detailed story of his early life before he became a Taker. The days when the Alpha commissioned him to raise human children as what they called a Nurturer. Much of what he said was new information to Jane. She had never heard of the Nurturer program before. He told of another machine who had also been a Nurturer and turned against the Alpha. At this part, the Judge appeared to be listening intently. The humanity exuding from the machine was astounding. This weapon of mass destruction had a side to him she did not know could exist within the machines.

Suddenly, in the middle of his story, a small squeak and scurrying of paws climbed the nape of her collar. She had nearly forgotten about her newfound friend. The mouse squeaked a series of chirps in her ear.

“You trust him?” Jane reiterated the mouse’s comment.

The mouse responded while nibbling at something he had found on the ground.

“Well, I don’t think we have much choice now, do we?” She whispered sleepily.

The machine, noticing her whispering, eyed her curiously as he spoke. The Judge looked at Jane and then at the machine and quickly jumped into the story with questions to pull its attention away from Jane and the mouse.

The mouse gripped Jane’s necklace with its paws and pulled the stone from her shirt to her shoulder.

“You like my necklace?” Jane asked quietly.

The mouse chirped in confirmation, and he curled his body around the Caerulum along the nape of her neck and was soon snoring. Fatigue and sleep also pulled at Jane’s mind, and eventually, her eyes became too heavy, and sleep overtook her.

§

When Jane awoke the following day, she found the Judge fast asleep, leaning against the butt of his rifle. The fire remained stoked, and pieces of the dilapidated house sat in the pit as fuel. The machine was gone. Jane’s heart raced.

Was it all real? Did a machine named Enzo actually find them and interact with them through the night? Or had it all been a dream? What if it indeed did come, and it was all a trick? What if there was an army of Takers outside waiting for them?

With this thought came the sound of rustling as metal feet entered the premises. The machine rounded the wall. Jane braced herself, but it was only Enzo, still glowing blue and carrying an array of fish. It was real, she thought. Jane’s eyes widened, and hunger pangs immediately erupted in her stomach. She had not had a square meal in days. The machine had a nearly aloof manner to his cadence, as though he was actively shedding all mannerisms of a Taker.

“Hungry?” He asked musically.

“Am I ever!” Jane responded with similar enthusiasm. She felt the need to encourage this new persona the machine was taking on.

After some time, the Judge finally awoke to the smell of the frying trout. In continued hospitality, Enzo held a piece of flattened sheet metal and used his palm to emit heat to cook the fish.

“What in tarnation smells so good?” The Judge spoke from under his hat, which still covered his eyes.

“Well, there he is! I thought you were just gonna kill us with your silence instead of your rifle.” Jane prodded the older man with humor.

“Well, I never miss a good chance to shut up.” The Judge chuckled and lifted his hat. He eyed the machine as Enzo sat on the floor cooking the meal. Enzo gently pulled a piece of cooked fish from the metal and lifted it toward the Judge for him to take. The Judge scoffed and turned away.

“Are you gonna avoid the food just because HE made it?” Jane questioned, peering at the Judge with questioning eyes and licking her fingers from the recent morsel she had readily consumed. She leaned over and handed a piece to the mouse, who devoured it instantly.

“Well, the easiest way to eat crow is while it’s still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swallow.” He grinned at Jane, which pulled a laugh from her.

“This is not crow, Jeremiah, this is trout. Oncorhynchus mykiss to be exact.” Enzo spoke definitively.

“Clearly, Metalhead,” the Judge retorted, rolling his eyes, “It was a metaphor. I know we ain’t eatin’ no crow.”

“Hey,” Jane spoke sternly to the Judge. “Be nice.” She raised her eyebrows.

“Listen, Janey, it don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.” He said, now stuffing his mouth full of the meat.

Jane examined the machine further. He sat nearly cross-legged. Jane looked down at herself and noticed she sat similarly.

Could he be a spy? 

If so, he was a very peculiar spy.

But would a spy destroy his kind, as Enzo did to the Scout last night?

She promised herself she would play it safe with the machine, just in case. So far, it had not given any sign of loyalty to its leader. But if she had learned anything in her troubled life, it was only to trust herself and her intuition and not hold fast to the trust of others. She would be careful. After prolonged sitting in one position and feeling as though her legs were beginning to go numb, she transitioned her body and switched to sitting on her knees. Enzo looked at her curiously and then, moments later, transitioned his body into the same position. He was clearly trying to learn their mannerisms.

Soon after breakfast, they gathered their things and quickly made their way north, away from the remains of the scout Enzo had destroyed in the night. Enzo had not sensed any evidence of a reconnaissance for the demolished machine yet, but even so, they moved quickly.

Enzo seemed to have a peculiar relationship with his companion artificial intelligence, HERAa. They appeared to argue about many things. She seemed less inclined to follow Jane and the Judge, but Enzo reassured them she was innocuous and could only communicate within the confines of his controls. In his accidental injury, he also damaged his communication with the other machines, so he could not inform them of his location. The Judge confirmed this, as he somehow knew much about the machine’s programming and software analysis.

“Yep, severely damaged. This circuitry would take a lot of work to fix. He’s a walking miracle.” The Judge exclaimed.

“How do you know so much about this kind of stuff?” Jane had asked him.

“I wasn’t always an ornery old fart,” was all he explained.

“I could have told you that,” the HERAa reported from Enzo’s gauntlet.

“What? That I’m an ornery old fart?” The Judge retorted.

“No, that his circuits were beyond repair.” She spoke haughtily.

“Well, I wanted to confirm myself, little missy.” The Judge retorted back annoyedly.

“Who are you calling little? I am a highly advanced intelligence designed to analyze millions of gigabytes of data per minute and produce quantifiable results. This does not seem very little to me! My, these humans are more insufferable than you, Enzo,” She reproved.

“I think I’m gonna like this one,” he winked and nodded at Enzo’s gauntlet.

At this, Jane felt the mouse scurrying up the nape of her neck. Chittering ensued, and she received an earful about the annoying sounds Enzo’s machinery gave off and how just because humans can’t hear it doesn’t make it not a problem.

Enzo stared at her while she and the mouse conversed.

“So it is true?” Enzo spoke with an unnatural tone of understanding.

“What is true?” Jane queried.

“That you can speak to animals.”

“Is that something my daughter told you?” she asked indignantly, still hurt by the fact that her daughter had spoken to the machine before herself.

“No... it’s what you wrote in your journal.” Enzo proceeded to open a compartment within his thorax and reached into it, retrieving Jane’s Journal, which she had left back at her dormitory.

“What? My journal! Where did you find that?” She gasped as he handed her the leather-bound book.

“I retrieved it from your living quarters.”

“And you read it?!” Jane spoke with contempt.

“Every word...” Enzo said without compunction—clearly not understanding the innate rules of never reading a woman’s journal.

Jane clenched the journal and held it close to her heart. Even if she was upset the machine stole it from her dormitory and read it, she was even more grateful to have it again.

Suddenly, HERAa’s voice emitted from Enzo’s gauntlet, “Enzo! You kept it hidden from Vic and me before you even injured your circuits?”

“Yes,” was all Enzo responded.

“You had overcome algorithms even without completely modifying your Thought Theory Protocol, it seems.” She appeared to be pondering.

“It seems so.” Enzo turned back to Jane. “You wrote of speaking to animals?”

“Yes, it’s true.” She held her hand out as her mouse reached her palm.

“But how is that possible?” He questioned further.

“It was passed down to me by my father.” She replied.

“I’ve never heard of such a trait before...” the machine seemed deep in thought.

“Excuse me for interrupting again, Enzo, but during this conversation, multiple keywords have pinged within my logs pertaining to the data you had me run earlier on the Seers.” HERAa’s voice seemed almost excited.

“What is she talking about?” The Judge interrupted.

“I had her run an analysis on the Nurturer program earlier as we were trying to determine why the Alpha was so interested in Jane,” Enzo explained.

“So you really didn’t know why you were doing what you were.” The Judge seemed to acknowledge a truth he had been struggling with.

“We were programmed not to question the Alpha’s motives...” Enzo returned to his gauntlet, “What did you find HERAa?”

“Well, it appears the guards and scientists at the Boson Prison Center had tagged 17.57% of the Seers transferred there for an entirely different trait as well.” HERAa continued.

“What trait?” Enzo entreated.

“Beastspeak, animal speech, telekinetic speech, among other similar distinctions.” HERAa read off the list.

Enzo perked up, “That explains why the Alpha is so interested in Jane!”

“I also found another interesting discovery. The only record of recent inmates tagged as beastspeakers, as well as freeborns, was one man captured around the same time Jane stated her family went missing. He was only ever known by the initials J.J.W. According to the records, they found the initials inscribed on his belt buckle. Is there any correlation between you and this individual, Ms. Jane?” HERAa questioned.

They all stood in silence. Jane’s mind reeled at the implications. J.J.W. was her father. Joseph Joshua Wilder. This finding was what her father was talking about. The machines studied and tortured him at this prison. She stared at Enzo, trying to understand why he was there at this precise moment. Why this machine of all beings was among them, helping them?

“He is her father...” the Judge spoke solemnly.

“Was my father,” she corrected, “he died from their experiments.” Her eyes fell on Enzo as she spoke. Pain filled her soul as all the things she imagined could have happened to her father flashed before her mind.

“Was he in the rebellion like you?” Enzo asked, apparently unaffected by the solemnity of the discussion.

“Rebellion?” Jane grimaced. “What are you talking about?”

“The Alpha led us to believe you are high within the ranks of the current human rebellion.”

The Judge burst out laughing. “Jane? A Rebel!?”

Jane glared at the Judge, “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I could be a rebel! You don’t think I could lead a rebellion?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, shooter, you got the best aim of them all, but...” the Judge squinted, taking a deep thought, “I’d say if there were an army of fluffy rabbits and mice, then you’d for sure be their leader, but a full-blown human rebellion?”

“I also assumed this was the case after reading your journal. I could not find evidence to support the Alpha’s claims of you being the rebellion’s leader. This was when I determined the Alpha was lying.” Enzo reasoned.

“Or someone had just provided him with misinformation.” HERAa attempted to correct Enzo.

“I doubt that HERAa,” Enzo responded coldly.

Apparently, his HERAa was not exactly fond of his defection from the machines. However, even within the short time they were together, Jane could already see a difference in the HERAa’s reasoning, as though the AI was getting more comfortable working with humans rather than against them with each passing minute.

Jane looked down at the mouse in her palm and whispered, “You think I could lead a rebellion, don’t you?” The mouse nodded in agreement and chirped in confirmation. This response from the creature caused Jane to smile. “That’s what I think, too.”

§

Jane kept the mouse tucked in her collar and informed him should he relieve himself at any point onto her. She would gladly leave him behind as a meal for the snakes. The mouse reassured her he had better manners than she assumed and tucked himself comfortably away, wrapped around her necklace yet again, slightly purring as he slept. She decided to name him since he was coming along for the journey. She always liked the name Patrick. Since the only Patrick she ever knew was a cranky and shy older man who lived on the edge of their settlement, she thought it was an acceptable and suitable name for the rodent with a similar temperament.

The companionship of the Judge, Enzo, HERAa, and Patrick somehow revitalized her. The wading in the water the day before had been a slow way to travel, and she was grateful to be on her feet again. Enzo ended up being a more incredible help than they imagined. He knew the patterns of the Watchers and assured them there would be none for the day. Jane and the Judge took this assurance with a grain of salt as they were still organizing their feelings about the machine and its purpose. However, with this apprehension, they had been making good time, so Enzo continued proving himself worthy.

By the end of the day, they had traveled nearly twenty miles—more than Jane envisioned she could travel in a single day. The conversation made the time go by relatively quickly. Enzo was quite talkative and willing to divulge nearly any information she asked of him.

Much of the terrain they traveled through consisted of black volcanic rock. They kept the stream always in sight, which was pretty easy as the valley narrowed significantly, and the stream followed the same course. An old, overgrown highway had wound through the gorge, so keeping it and the stream in view aided their travels. The valley had abruptly taken a 90-degree westerly bend, flanked by a steep mountain range traversing east and west, acting as a wall to their northward trajectory. Following the bend, they eventually came across a relatively well-preserved ancient human town. It sat tightly between the mountains, flanking the narrow valley on its north and south ends. Hoping to remain out of sight, they camped in one of the railway cars in an old, dilapidated train yard. Enzo had them avoid most buildings and homes in case the machines had scouts surveying or triggers rigged within each structure.

Enzo, luckily, could detect the frequency the Scouts used, so he was sure he could manage their safety for the moment. The homes also caused an uneasiness with Enzo. He was candid about his feelings since joining the duo and informed them that human homes bothered him immensely. It brought back too many memories of his days capturing people. Jane was hesitant to ask about the day the machines extracted her and her family from their home. She was frightened to know the answer. If she discovered he was there the day the Takers captured her family, she was not sure she could ever forgive him. She had been silent while he briefly spoke of the events as they sat in the dim train car.

Sensing her uneasiness, Enzo stopped his story and glanced at Jane, “No, Jane, I was not there the day the Isobians captured you and your brother,” the machine announced without being prompted, as though he could read her mind, “Nor the day they discovered your family’s location and took your father and siblings.” He stared at Jane. The dim fire within the train car danced between them, casting orange flickers across his metal frame. She could not hold his gaze as she stared into the fire, remaining silent. Nodding her head, she acknowledged the fact and felt solace within the comment. He was different than other machines.

She looked at the Judge, whose face glowed in the orange flames. He appeared as though he were going to fall asleep. Lost in his thoughts, he stared at an old map he carried. The pages revealed heavy pencil marks. The Judge always kept the map on his person, like her brother with his. He had held the old map book on him for as long as she could remember, using it when he led the militia into nearby towns to get supplies.

He never changed, she thought.

She examined his features: the bushy white eyebrows, the bright blue eyes, and the long and thick white mustache. He never changed in many aspects. He looked the same as the days from her childhood. Not metaphorically or in any other manner, just literally. She examined him again. He looked the exact same, as though he had not aged a single day since her childhood.

“Judge?” Jane questioned.

The man broke from his trance and looked up at Jane.

“Hmm?” He responded.

“How old are you?”