Chapter Twelve
It had been a turbulent day for I. There had been the initial happiness and excitement when it was told that the intervention was coming. It had believed that its problems were to end and things would return to normal. Then, there was that sudden, brutal reassessment as it watched the forces routed and 541588 chase after them with its scythe. Then they all disappeared out of the view of the cameras, running away from the commune. I waited and waited, hoping that 541588 would never come back. It was outnumbered twelve to one, with all its brainwashed troop waiting behind within the confines of the boundary. Surely it would be overpowered and removed.
At dinnertime, I saw 541588’s troops return back to their apartment’s dining room and there was still no sign of the leader itself. I kept itself awake, way past its normal bedtime as it looked across the screens and saw nothing. Maybe this was the central control’s plan all along; drawing 541588 somewhere far away. Perhaps they’d even killed by now. As the time passed, I grew more assured, finally deciding to go to sleep at midnight if it saw no signs.
At six minutes to midnight, a lone figure, shoulders hunched, head bowed, unmistakeable even in the dark, limped past one of the cameras. I was too tired. Felt nothing. Went straight to bed. And slept as soon as it lay down. It was only next morning, after seeing 541588 right in front of it on its video screen, that the reality of the previous night could be comprehended. Last night had seemed like a dream. Now it was back in the nightmare of its own deteriorating existence. The central command had failed. 541588 was still at large. Now what? I went on the computer and contacted the central command. The man appeared in an instant, sad and regretful and spoke before I had a chance to open its mouth.
“We apologise for what happened. Mistakes were made. We are sorry. We -”
“How did that even happen? Who were those people? They just ran away. They did nothing. They did nothing at all. You’ve failed. You’ve failed your duty and let our commune down. And 541588, it’s still out there.”
On the other side, the sound had been muted. There was just I remonstrating madly with its arms. The grand master waited for this episode to finish, but continued nodding as if it were listening and understanding. It waited for the shouting to die down I to compose itself before turning back on the sound and giving its reply.
“We’re sorry. We’ve already sent new troops along the way. These people are armed. They will not make the same mistakes. They will be efficient, they will be direct and they will use force. They will capture 541588 by the end of today.”
But I was shaking its head.
“It’s what you told me last time. How can I trust you? The people in our commune are starving! You’ll just apologise, you’ll make me wait a few months and send another group, a weak group, a half-hearted attempt.” The shouting was back, but this time, the grand master was ready.
“You’re all usele—”
“No! You’re useless. If you really cared about your commune you would have stopped hiding in your little room and gone out and stopped it yourself. You’ve had your opportunities. Talk about half-hearted attempts, we should talk about those notes you left for 541588, we should talk about failing to secure your palace.”
“I’m trying!”
“Well, so are we. We’re trying to get you out of the mess you created.”
“It wasn’t me; it was the one before me.” It’d quietened. The person on the other side was right.
“The failed implanting was the fault of the one before you, but you know we can see everything. You know we saw you skip parts of its conditioning. And you enjoyed it, did you not? You didn’t do anything, you let it happen because you were bored.” There was extra venom on that last word. “You should’ve tried to stop it while it was still entertaining, harmless fun. You should’ve tried to stop it after it had killed someone. But you didn’t, did you?”
In the face of such excoriation, I wilted. The person on the other side did indeed know everything; all its inner thoughts and private actions. And they were right about everything, right about all of Is mistakes and faults. I sometimes did doubt its own ability, but it had always believed itself to be a good person. Here it was exposed, its failings demonstrated in the most demeaning fashion. It had one job. To oil the most well-oiled machine there was. That was the only reason for its existence, the purpose for which it had been raised from birth. And it had somehow destroyed it all. It was completely at fault for risking the system that was everything because of its stupid, immature desire for some entertainment. Why? Why had it been so dumb? Now, even if normalcy were restored, there would be a permanent scar, a stain that would hover over it forever. The deaths were irreversible. The tarnished lives could not be untarnished.
Now it saw the beauty of its world and why it approached perfection, not for itself, or the other commune leaders, but for the majority, those numbered 1 and above. Their lives were lived in fulfillment and peace. For them, there would be none of the pain of seeing failure, none of the pressures of ruling a commune. Its hate of 541588 turned to pity. 541588 was burdened with freedom, struggling with unhappiness and dissatisfaction. And yes, it was its fault. It had failed to condition 541588 properly. It had ruined 541588’s life because of its own selfishness and boredom. The man on the screen was right. The man on the screen. It snapped out of its thoughts, and looked up again.
He was still there, had stayed silent. He had watched as I turned away, looking down, thinking, shameful. Seen the distress marked on its face. He had been successful in feigning anger, perhaps too successful, and the words now coming out of I’s mouth confirmed this.
“I’m sorry. Forgive me. I’m wrong and, and I’m sorry. But I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t ask to be the leader of the commune. But yes, it’s my fault, my fault. I’m sorry. I need your help, really need your help. And, uh, I accept your apology from before.”
“Well. help is coming today. It will be fine. Nothing to worry about.” That was enough to placate it. He turned off the screen, gathered his notes and left his apartment.