- AL -

“Listen to my voice, Abraham,” Daniel said, his voice soft and smooth. “Close your eyes, breathe deeply. Let your mind be blank of any distracting thoughts or worries. You must find a detail, deep within your mind, that does not match the life you know. For this, you must not force it. Think slowly and calmly, relive each moments you know. Find a detail that does not correspond. A face that you never met, a smell you are not familiar with, a music you never heard here. Do not rush this process. Let it come to you, whenever it comes.”

Abraham tried to relax as much as he could. After a few moments, his thoughts would always divert back to the accusations, to his mystery. Everytime Daniel would see a facial expression betraying Abraham’s distracted thoughts, he would calmly bring him back to think only about the missing details.

About half an hour passed, and Daniel received inside his brain a call from Randall. The group had all transmitters and receivers implants inside their brain, to make secret calls. All they needed to do was to think the word that unlocked the implant, think about whom they had to call, and think of the message. The neural stimulation of the thought was transformed into a signal that the transmitter transmitted, and the intended receiver received.

Right now, Randall was asking impatiently how the interrogation was doing. After reassuring him that Abraham had no knowledge of his M.U.T. nature, Daniel requested that more time be given to understand the mystery. Randall begrudgingly accepted, and Daniel brought his full attention back at Abraham, whom was starting to be agitated.

“I can’t Fitzgerald! I can’t find anything.”

“Very well, we will try something else.”

Daniel looked blankly at a wall. After a few moments, soft ambient music filled the office, and Daniel returned his gaze to Abraham.

“Try to fall asleep, yet try to remain conscious.”

“A trance?” Abraham asked, annoyed at Daniel for not using this simpler term.

“Yes. Answers will come that way, when the conscious mind does not hinder thoughts.”

“Allright...” Abraham reluctantly agreed. He doubted it would work; his mind was too full of worries.

A soft melody made Abraham open his eyes; his vision was still a bit blurry, so was the melody to his ears, but he saw he was in a car. What puzzled him, was the surface upon which the car... (glided? rolled?)... upon. It was a smooth dark surface, apparently directly on the ground, and not in the sky; there were no aerial glass-like rails and no sky lanes of any sort like the urban cities he knew. Abraham watched in a slumbered wonder as the car he was in followed behind others at a slow pace; and to his consternation, more cars went the opposite way at his left, still rolling on the strange dark surface. Abraham noticed some coloured lines on the surface, one stripe of white each extremity of the dark surface, and a yellow double line right in the middle of it, seemingly acting as the border between the line of cars that his was following, and those that were driving opposite ways. All this fascinated Abraham, for the sky was a place where such demarcations didn’t exist... yet, he have a strange feeling upon seeing this scenery, at the far back of his mind. This was somehow familiar. He also felt strange; he felt like he was somehow in control of the car, his hands were on the wheel, his feet on the pedals, but he also felt so detached…

The music became somewhat clearer, and its rhythmic beauty enchanted Abraham as he gazed upon the dull looking tall buildings that his car passed. He was in a city, that he was sure, but the buildings and towers were mostly made of dull-looking material, grey, black, brown; some towers were in glass, but their shapes were all equally boring and simple. This was not the shining glass city circling the Capitoline... yet, that too stirred something familiar in Abraham’s mind.

The car stopped out of nowhere, at a crossing; Abraham guessed it was because the lights above the dark lane turned red. The music slowly faded, and a cheerful voice took over:

“This is Richard, from the station ‘All Things Classical’; you just heard the masterpiece Bolero, from the famous French composer Maurice Ravel.…”

Abraham turned sharply his gaze toward the car’s dashboard, where he guessed the radio was. Bolero. He knew very well that word... and the music, it was now so familiar.... despite never having heard it in his life. But he knew it…

“What the hell...?” he wondered out loud, before realizing the light just turned green and he needed to drive again.

A strange feeling suddenly overtook him, like the sudden knowledge that something was happening. As that feeling hit him, he noticed out of the corner of his eyes a fast movement. He barely had the time to register what followed next, let alone act, that his passenger door smashed down on him as a car drove right into his as it crossed the street parallel to where he was crossing. A sharp pain hit him his body like he never felt before... wait, he did felt that before... His head hit the dashboard before even the inflatable cushion sprung to life upon him, his body screaming in pain...

Abraham was suddenly hovering above the scene, and he watched with horror as two carcass of cars were mingled in a dark mess.

A sharp pain in his neck woke him up, and he found himself staring straight at a bright spot of light in a pure white room. He immediately closed his eyes in pain, and felt like a strong numbness taking over his mind, and all he could hear was faint voices speaking urgently, faint shapes of people in doctors uniforms. He felt immobilized, pinned to a bed... but even that started to be a faint memory…

Bright turquoise blue eyes... Ysadora. His mind suddenly clung to that one thought, like a drowning man holding out to a flimsy rescue line; she was the one he wanted most to remember in this confusion. As he clung to it for what felt like eternity, dragged to whatever laid behind the eternal darkness, strange yet familiar memories hit him. Many key words were strange, such as ‘Alabama’, ‘MIT’... yet, they... were part of Abraham’s life.

He opened his eyes, though he was still in the darkness, grasping the thought of Ysadora: he finally knew. He knew what happened.

A weight seemed lifted from his whole body, and he opened his eyes, only to stare once more at Daniel’s wooden office roof. Abraham smiled upon seeing it, upon feeling the leather couch, upon smelling the air. It didn’t matter who he once was; it didn’t matter if the body he had right now was real. What mattered the most to him was this:

“The hell with what happened. This is my home,” he proudly said out loud, rising to a seated position.

“Mr. Solomon?” Daniel asked, puzzled.

“I know everything, Fitzgerald. But it won’t matter my current choice: this is my world, the one I want to make a difference in. It’s my home.”

“Then what happened, Mr. Solomon?” Daniel inquired.

Abraham hurried to explain, before the effervescent memories he had just gained vanished:

“I was born in a country called United States, and the state was Alabama. It feels like an alternate version of this world, only more primitive. There was no sky lanes, no glass towers; just brick and metal buildings, and the lanes were on the ground, and black. It was 2017, because in that world, I had just celebrated my 37th year. I was, up until my accident, a chaos theory teacher at a school or university of sort called M.I.T. And the reason why I’m here… There was an accident. Someone crashed into my car, and it seems to have sent my body into a coma... I don’t know how long it has been...”

“Interesting, Mr. Solomon,” Daniel admired. “Your life is almost similar in every way... And the coma would explain your ability to remain physical in this world as long as you have been: you are almost never waking up, and your mind has started to be used to it, used to live and exist in this universe...”

“...And the coma would explain why I don’t feel pain! Last time, when the hitmen attacked me, I got hit, but I never felt the pain of it; must have been the medications that my real body is under...” Abraham realized. “There’s just one thing... I can clearly remember my life here, even more than the life I used to have. But how come? Have I been in a coma for 37 years?”

“Not necessarily, Mr. Solomon. Time is subjective in dreams. You can dream of entire days in just one night’s sleep; some reports even speak of entire lifetime in one night’s sleep. It can be mere days, or dozens of years that you have been asleep,” Daniel clarified. “But there is one thing. Except the quirks such as the watch, the tie, and your unintentional disappearances, your mind has a firm grasp on this reality, even if it doesn’t belong here. I am curious as to why it is so.”

“I told you, Fitzgerald; this is my world, the one that I feel that I really belong to. Down there, wherever I was, I was a mere teacher, ignored, at the lower level of society. But here...” Abraham rose from the couch, his eyes wide with delight. “I am someone. I work with the elite to make this world a better place for those who deserve it; I have a greater part than ever before in the greater plan. And I finally...”

Abraham stopped short; he didn’t want to tell a stranger his real reason to stay, beside the joy of being someone at the top.

“And you love my daughter,” Randall’s familiar voice erupted, startling Abraham.

He had just entered Daniel’s office, Ysadora dutifully by his side, and the orange-haired man, Scott, looking at Abraham with a suspicious glare.

“Daniel has been kind enough to let us listen to his interrogation,” Randall explained, getting closer to Abraham.

Resolved to maintain his pride this time, Abraham stood proud despite the old man’s menacing approach.

“Yes, Mr. Randall. I love her. Down there, wherever my body is, no one ever took notice of me, and they treated me like trash despite everything I did for them. And only in this world has there finally been people who realize my potential, such as yourself and Ysadora. If that is the case, I’m never waking up. However, I have only the highest of respect for you. Decide of my fate as you’ll wish; whatever you ask, I will obey, even if it means leaving this world. Let me however say that all I only wish is to create a world that those truly worthy of it can profit from, away from the true trash of society. And this world is the only one for me where I can truly do so. If I am somewhat immortal here, due to my situation, then give me a chance to use it for your sake, for the sake of the world you wish to create.”

Randall looked intently at him, but amused despite himself. Smiling, he made a step back to let Abraham feel more at ease.

“Mr. Solomon, welcome to the Shiakar Paradigm Society. That’s the four of us in the room as its founding members on Gaea, and you have the honour, from today onward, to be included as the fifth member. You already know Ysadora, and her job is to make sure no one knows about us; you’ve met the other night Scott Johnson here,” he pointed to the orange-haired man, “he’s our liaison to our superiors, and someone glad to do an occasional dirty job; Daniel Fitzgerald here is our informant, bodyguard, researcher, you name it. And you, Abraham, will have the greatest, but the most dangerous, part of all in this society, if you’re up to it.”

“It is my wish, Mr. Redspear,” Abraham immediately replied.

Randall smirked:

“Let's just wait until you meet our superiors before being sure of it.”

“The sooner, the better,” Abraham categorically replied. He wanted this to be over with; now he knew of his unique condition, he felt he had wasted way too many years in ignorance. It was time to accomplish his quest.

Randall turned to Scott:

”Go to the Temple and request a meeting, Scott.”

Scott didn’t answer, only threw a suspicious glare at Abraham before leaving the room.

“Daniel, has every evidences of Abraham’s M.U.T. nature been eliminated?” Randall inquired.

“Yes sir. The last copy, my own, has been eliminated after showing it to Mr. Solomon.”

“Good job.”

Randall turned on his heels and left the room without saying more, leaving Abraham slightly confused as to what he had to do, now his reputation had been seemingly cleared.

As Abraham turned to Daniel to ask if he was free to go, Ysadora walked right up to him, her turquoise eyes delving deeply into his. She gracefully raised her hand, placed it softly under his chin, lightly holding it, and leaned to plant a soft kiss on his lips, a gesture he gladly reciprocated, his hands moving to hold lightly her waist. When they separated, Abraham noticed in the corner of his eyes that Daniel had been looking at them all along, in his usual blank manner. He wasn’t uncomfortable with the idea that they had been watched, but rather perplexed toward the constant unusual behaviours from this Daniel.

“I won’t say that I’m sorry for shooting you,” Ysadora finally spoke, answering Abraham’s silent questions. “It’s not my place to doubt Randall’s orders, for when he decides something, he always has a reason for it; and I have learned to never question his judgments, for they’re always accurate.”

“I didn’t thought wrong of you for doing so; on the contrary, I felt relieved,” Abraham reassured her.

Ysadora cocked a smile:

“You were relieved? It’s a rather strange reaction to have when you get shot.”

“Not at all. Moments of panic are indispensable, for they reveal the utmost basic instinct of someone; always test them in these moments, for their instinct is their true self, and you will see the truth about them.”

“And what have I shown you?”

Abraham smiled proudly:

“That you are the utmost loyal and honourable woman I have met, one who doesn’t let her emotions take the best of her mental composure. Despite your emotional sentiments toward me, you stayed loyal to your father and reacted without any hesitation. I might have been the spy you’re worried about, and giving in to your emotions would have been catastrophic to everything your father has worked hard to accomplish,” Abraham took her hands: “I want such steadiness of mind and loyalty in a life partner; someone who won’t falter when things gets rough, and one who knows where honour truly lies.”

Ysadora smiled and they kissed softly once more, and then Abraham turned to Daniel, and asked in an annoyed tone:

“Now, just one question: why didn’t you moved one muscle since you last got spoken too? Everyone, standing, sitting or lying, moves, even in the slightest; but not you, you’ve been completely still.”

“You can notice it?” Ysadora asked, surprised.

“I rely on body language, and on patterns, either physical or abstract, to determine my environment. Chaos theory rely entirely on understanding patterns. So why doesn’t he have any of that?”

Ysadora snickered, while Daniel announced emotionlessly:

“I am an Asimov-Class anthropomorphic robot, Mr. Solomon.”

Abraham starred at Daniel in shock.

“Anthro... An android?!”

“Yes, Mr. Solomon.”

“About 9 years back, the military succeeded to complete a working android,” Ysadora explained, her smile remaining. “They only made one, until they could test him properly; you won’t believe how expensive Daniel ended up to be...”

Ysadora cut her sentence short, listening to something though no one could hear anything, and then she replied to the empty air:

“Got it; I’m coming down.”

She walked to the office door while saying to Daniel:

“Thanks for your help.”

“You are welcome, ma’am.”

“Thanks,” Abraham also thanked, before joining Ysadora, “Wait up, I’ll accompany you, I’ve got a few questions left.”

“You are welcome, Mr. Solo...” The rest got muffled as Abraham closed the door behind him.

**********************

“So how did he ended up with you?” he asked Ysadora as they walked down the corridor.

“The military planned to use the Asimov-Class androids for several missions such as infiltration agents, spies, etc. They could beforehand program them in any way, so if they would get caught, the androids could appear to belong to anyone the military decided. Since androids can’t say anything if it isn’t part of their programming, they can’t be tortured for the truth. It seemed like a great idea.”

“What happened?”Abraham smirked.

“The downside to Asimov-Class androids is that the International Committee of Gnasci degreed that they needed fail-safe laws, to protect the androids’ employers. Basic laws such as obedience, non-violence, etc. But... the laws ended up being unilateral; the programmers could find no way to make these laws apply only to a specific group of persons (the military) but not to anyone else. The laws, if implemented, were universal to whoever Daniel would encounter, or to whatever situation he would find himself within. Highly inefficient if he was to be a military or secret service agent. The military was about to dismantle it, but Randall and I thought that since he was already operational, and so much money went to his assembly, we might as well use him for our society. We don’t need him to kill or spy, so there is no conflict with his implanted laws; however, he makes a great hacker, he access databases faster than we can, he can speak every single languages once he integrates them, he’s also a very efficient interrogator and infiltrator, when it’s not with dangerous Gaeains. And he's mostly bulletproof, and twice as strong as normal men, so he makes a useful bodyguard in many moments... until the laws kick in and get in the way of our work,” she finished with an annoyed face. “Yesterday, because he couldn’t stop me from shooting, he almost shut down; it’s an automatic fail-safe switch the Committee ordered to be implemented, to prevent an android from disregarding his non-violence failsafe law and injure someone.”

“I see...” Abraham was impressed, even if surprised; however, it explained everything odd about Daniel. “I can’t however but notice that he has a certain somewhat… personality; or at least, a behaviour other than what a programmer would implement...”

“Asimov-Class androids were created with an evolving self-aware program. Once the android, at his core program, gets set the boundaries of how extensive he can evolve, he is given a leeway to expand by himself his own… consciousness, as you may call it. It doesn’t quite work like us, but to an extent, Daniel can do things outside of his programming, if he learned them from his environment. He can even develop motives and missions, and things like that... within the limit of his core boundaries. For example, when we recruited him, a few months later, he had already decreed, without our interference, that his duty with us was to help give humanity a better future. Since it correlated to the first implanted law at his core program, he has thus, by himself, set himself a goal to help us accomplish that.”

“That’s interesting...” Abraham mused; he noticed Ysadora seemed once more to listen to the silent hallway they were crossing, so he asked: “I noticed you and Randall often listen to something, and then answer to someone that isn’t there...”

Ysadora smiled and touched her head:

“We have a receiver and transmitter implant; it’s the only way we can send orders and receive them without anyone being able to track them or listen on them. I wouldn’t always need to answer out loud, but sometimes it’s okay if we're with SPS members, and it lets them know that I have to go.”

“I had no idea you had access to that much secret technology.”

“Most are from the military; the rest is from our superiors.”

Abraham noticed that everyone referred to their superiors only as such: superiors; and then he remembered the name that Randall used for his organization: the Shiakar Paradigm Society.

“So Randall is your father? What exactly is the Shiakar Paradigm Society? What will be my part in it? What...”

A light finger on his lips made him paused, and Ysadora looked at him, smiling broadly.

“Patience. That’s too many questions to answer, I have to deal with some suspected moles inside the Presidential Council. Go rest a little; we'll see you later; and I think Randall has left some details on your desk for tomorrow’s report to the President.”

On that, she turned on her heels and hurried down the stairs, where the man that Abraham recognized as Scott was waiting for her, looking like a man eager to get hunting. Abraham figured that it was a situation where he best should stay out of, not for his protection, but to keep intact his image to the outside world; so he retreated to return to his room to get some sleep. In addition, it would leave him time to process all the informations he just received today, and prepare for the upcoming meeting with the mysterious superiors.