Chapter 7:

In the garage, Will and his friends stood somewhat tensely, as they waited for a response from the disembodied voice they had heard. The Cube holding the consciousnesses of Sil and Artie hovered outside of the garage, invisibly, awaiting permission to enter.

After a brief pause following Will’s question, Sil decided honesty would be the best tactic, and responded easily.

“Well, that is a bit complicated, but given what you have already experienced over the last day, I’m certain you aren’t terribly surprised by that. That said, I do not exactly relish revealing myself in broad daylight. If given permission, I would join you in the garage.”

Will and his friends exchanged looks, and one by one they all shrugged. They all realized that the invisible thing probably would’ve done something horrible already, if it were going to, so Will answered the request.

“Okay. Come in, but consider yourself warned that we smoke.”

Sounding somewhat amused, Sil accepted the invitation.

“I’ll be fine, I’m certain.”

The Cube then slowly and silently moved into the garage and settled against a wall, out of the way of anyone walking through.

“I will deactivate the camouflage now, but it may seem odd,”

Sil’s warning came from the new location The Cube occupied, and it seemed to sort of slide into reality as the camouflage retracted, revealing itself. The reactions of the humans were more confused than alarmed, and Will’s tone showed it when he said, “Umm… You’re a metal box?”

Sil had often wondered how humans might react to first seeing the vessel he now resided in. He realized now that the hysterics he had expected might well only have happened with previous generations.

“I can’t decide if I am more disappointed or relieved by your lack of dramatic or violent reaction, but that is not entirely true. I was a member of the species which was responsible for human mythology surrounding the Fae.

I came to this world via a portal over five hundred years ago, but was mortally wounded shortly before leaving my own world. Given my injury, I opted to transfer my consciousness into the vessel you now see.”

“Okaaaaay…” Will started, dragging the word out, before continuing a moment later.

“So, you’re a previous member of a race that humans based ancient mythology on. You came here, but you were dying. So, instead of just kicking the bucket, you uploaded your brain into some super advanced computer?

Why were you wounded, and why did you come here?”

Before Sil could answer, Paige interjected, saying, “Hold on a minute, both of you. We’ve established that the box in the corner is a real person, so I’m going to assume this is all real and act accordingly. How about we start by introducing everyone? I would rather use a name than just calling you Will and, ‘The Guy in a Box,’ in my head.”

“Oops,” said Will, smirking at his friend.

“Good call. Mr. Guy in a Box, I’m Will, this is Paige and Jake.”

“Lovely to meet you all…” Sil began, before being interrupted.

“I have to ask, if you’re from an entirely different planet, why do you have a British accent?”

The question had come from Jake, apparently unable to hold his curiosity at bay.

“That is truly your first question in this situation? I can’t help but question your priorities. Perhaps we should focus on more important details to begin.”

Sil’s reply may have sounded a bit snippy. If it did, it may have had something to do with being grumpy about being interrupted. Possibly.

“Now, as I was saying, it’s lovely to meet you all. My name is Sil, and my companion’s name is Artie. To answer your previous questions Will, your summation of my arrival is essentially correct. As for the rest, let’s come back to that, as it will take some time to go over.

I will, however, make you the promise that I will be explaining all of it in time. Further, I will promise to not ever lie to you. In return, I simply ask for your patience, as there is quite a lot we will need to discuss.”

Will looked thoughtful at the response from Sil, and took a moment to consider his next words. While he considered, Paige asked, “What Companion?”

“Oh! Apologies. The companion in question is an electronic entity that occupies this vessel with me. Technically, they were here first.

They are not TECHNICALLY an artificial intelligence, as far as we know. Artie is of a race of beings that, somehow, reside in the digital realm. That said, we know next to nothing about their origins, but his family arrived on my world when we were both relatively young.

They essentially have the ability to inhabit and possess sufficiently powerful computing platforms, and in a very real way, Artie could be called The Ghost in ALL of the Machines.”

“This is… a lot to take in, and my ability to not go off on tangents is pretty limited to begin with. How about we focus on immediate issues for now? Why are you here?”

Will’s tone seemed serious, but not upset. Sil decided this was likely a good sign for things to come.

“That seems fair. Frankly, you’re currently experiencing something that goes well beyond the realm of what you would have thought possible, not long ago. Truthfully, even among those more familiar with what is happening, you are a unique case. It is because of this that Artie and I believed it prudent to introduce ourselves.”

“So, we were right, and there are others? Have you made contact with them?”

By unspoken agreement between the three friends, Will would, apparently, be the unofficial spokesperson of the trio.

“There are, indeed, and I haven’t, personally. I haven’t felt the endeavor to be worthwhile, and I have had no shortage of entertainment learning about the various cultures of your world.”

“Right, I need to resist the urge to go off on tangents. Okay to start with, we will need to figure out who we can trust. To be blunt, you two aren’t just going to be trusted automatically, but from what I can see it’s pretty clear that you have some information we need. You also have yet to do or say anything remotely threatening, which I appreciate.

So, the deal is simple. Don’t be dicks, and we won’t be forced to do everything in our abilities to make your lives as difficult as possible. Regardless of how little that might amount to. Now, Artie, can you tell me what kind of contact you have had with other humans?”

Artie, clearly having been paying attention, replied immediately, in a surprisingly organic sounding voice.

“That seems fair. You have surmised that there are others like you in this world, and they have done everything possible to remain out of the public eye. When they were initially organizing to form their social club, I reached out to the primary leader of the forming group under the false identity of an agoraphobic scholar.

Using what I know, establishing myself as an authority on those with abilities like yours was a simple matter. I quickly established a back channel to reach this person, and gave them a way to get messages to me.

My reasoning was simple: it seemed prudent to keep an eye on the developing group, and it allowed me to establish a lexicon and base level of knowledge regarding the capabilities people like you have access to.”

After thinking it through for a moment, Will nodded and said, “Fair enough. Ok, now that we have that question answered, can I get one of you to give me an explanation for what the hell is happening to me?”

“That part will take some time, and I feel certain you will have more than a few questions following the explanation. You may wish to be prepared for an extensive discussion.”

“I’m free for the rest of the day. Paige, Jake, are you two good to go?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Jake.

“Yeah… if I had any plans for today or tonight, I forgot about them a while back,” came from Paige.

“Very well, Let’s get this underway,” concluded Sil.