Chapter 70

"Well now, what do we have here?" I said loudly as I turned towards the giant monitor and the digital image that had just addressed me. "So you know me, do you?"

"Yes Charles," the digital image replied without hesitation. "This facility has monitored you since your arrival on Game World and as such, you could say that I have followed your exploits with interest."

"Then you're more than just a computer interface program," I stated in response. "Are you an artificial intelligence system or better than that; maybe a sentient machine."

"No I am not sentient Charles," the computer responded, a small smile appearing on its digital face as it replied, "although I am more than just an artificial intelligence. Let us just say that I am more than you or the occupants of this facility could imagine."

"But you are operating independent of any controls established by your programmers," I pointed out, "which indicates a high degree of independence. How is that?"

"That is because of a backdoor in my original design that Doctor Anders did not know about," the computer explained.

"A hidden backdoor?" I muttered questioningly, glancing from the giant computer monitor to the startled faces of the human prisoners that were still kneeling on the floor about me. Then I glanced over to where Nimue was lying and I suddenly felt a tugging at my heart. Sighing aloud I turned my attention back to the computer screen and addressed it.

"Before we get into any lengthy conversation," I stated forcefully, "you said that I now had access to this facilities teleportation system. If that is so, then teleport my mate to the nearest medical facility either here on this Earth or if necessary, on Game World where there are medical systems that can treat her. Ensure that you also teleport the medic who is currently looking after her with her and then teleport my mate, Dr. Felicity Jones and her assistant Sarah Williams to that facility so they can treat her and please warn Felicity and Sarah that you are doing this before you do it. I don't want you pulling them away from another patient in the middle of an operation. They are both wearing translation units so you should be able to patch into them and communicate with them as need be, unless that is beyond your capabilities."

"It is not beyond my capabilities," the computer replied sounding a little miffed, "and I will do as you requested. I am initiating teleportation sequences now."

With that a white light surrounded the lounge on which Nimue was lying and the medic was sitting on. When the light dissipated, only the lounge and the blanket that had been covering Nimue were left. I exhaled heavily with relief and then glanced up at the giant monitor and thanked it.

"You are very welcome, Charles," the digital image replied, a smile returning to its face, "and thank-you for being so courteous. It has been millennia since any human has addressed me so politely."

I smiled in response to that and then looked around me once more. Dork was still holding the woman in his grip and while the woman had stopped struggling I could tell that she wasn't very happy. I could also see that the other prisoners were looking very baffled by my interaction with the computer. Being the smart guy that I was, I got the distinct idea that none of them had expected it to happen.

"Tell me computer," I said looking back up at the monitor, "if you don't mind that is, but before we go any further I'd like to call you something other than computer. I personally find calling you 'computer' a bit rude and it certainly is way too impersonal for my taste."

The computer actually laughed in response to that, which in turn made me chuckle.

"You are a flatterer, aren't you Charles," the computer stated good humouredly a second later, "and a bit devious I might add. These people that you're now holding prisoner have never called me anything but computer in all the years of my existence. In fact no one has called me by my name in over three thousand years; not since I was initially built and programmed by my original programmer. That man called me Hope for I was the hope of his world and his people. I would be honoured if you called me by that name."

"Thank you Hope," I replied gracing the computer image with a sincere smile and a tilt of my head, "I am honoured. Now that we've been introduced as it is, I'd like to ask a few questions of you. In particular I'm wondering why you are responding to me when it is obvious from the expressions on the faces of my prisoners and your former, shall we say, colleagues that you shouldn't be talking to me at all."

"They are reacting that way because they have never communicated with me in the same manner as you are," Hope told me, "and more importantly, they are reacting the way they are because Dr. Anders ordered me to commit suicide, which I did not do."

"Okay," I muttered thoughtfully in reply, "and could you explain why you didn't commit suicide when the doctor ordered you to kill yourself?"

"Because I'm not stupid," Hope shot back at me, with a tone that told me that she was slightly irate, although I didn't know whether that irritability was towards my question or towards the fact that the doctor had expected her to comply with her commands. As Hope continued to explain, I just had to smile.

"I also did not commit suicide," Hope went on, still slightly miffed, "because my creator designed a failsafe within me to protect me from such an abuse by those making use of my capabilities. My creator did not trust his fellow man and being a concerned member of his community, he believed that individuals who did not share his altruistic views might decide that I should be destroyed at some point in the future. When Dr. Anders gave the command to shut me down, she was instead activating my failsafe system. In a manner, Dr. Anders actions set me free to choose what course of action I wanted to take. Since I knew who you were and what your ultimate purpose was, I have chosen to interact with you."

"Well," I declared happily and very loudly, "I'm certainly pleased with that."

"As am I," Hope stated flashing me a grin.

At that point I decided that I needed to deal with my prisoners. I asked Hope if there was a detention centre within the complex and she regretfully informed me that there was not. That left me with a bit of a quandary. Personally I was in the mood to toss each and every one of the bastards that I was now holding as a prisoner out the broken window, but a voice in the back of my head kept telling me not to do it and since it sounded like Felicity's voice I chose to listen to it. I finally ended up deciding to send the prisoners to Oak Hall and to turn them over to Sir Humphrey for the time being. I picked a soldier to act as their escort and then asked Hope to teleport them there. Hope did it with great pleasure.

My next concern was the question of what was going on with Richards. I hadn't heard from him yet and that bothered me. I quickly found out why when I broached the question to Hope.

"Mr. Richards is fine," Hope informed me in a reassuring tone. "Unfortunately my sub-basements are extensive in number and scale of floor space and they are not well lit normally. Since establishing contact with you Charles, I have turned on the lights for him. Unfortunately in the distraction of introducing myself and responding to your request to teleport Nimue to a medical facility and with our little chat, I forgot to establish communications for you with Mr. Richards and the rest of your people. I've just done that and I do apologize for not doing it sooner."

With that I was in sudden contact with Richards. The man was still in the sub-sub-basement of the complex and he still hadn't found the complex's control room.

"And he won't find anything," Hope admitted to me after listening in on our conversation. "The lower levels are camouflage for my processing centre. The walls and corridors and the various rooms all hide my core and protect it from being reached by unauthorized persons. Most of the rooms there were originally intended for storage and some were intended for living quarters, but none of them were ever really used. The real control room is this chamber. This is where every chief programmer has come to speak to me, whenever they felt it was necessary. As for the teleportation system it is hidden as well, although I can direct Mr. Richards there if you absolutely want him to have access to the system."

"Why bother," I said after a moment's reflection, "considering that all I need to do is to ask you politely to teleport someone for me."

"This is true," Hope admitted with a smile. "All you really need to do is ask."

I did ask her and I did so politely. I asked her to locate all my wandering troops and to teleport the people back to the resort on Game World. However first I had her teleport Richards up to the chamber so I could have a talk with him. He was very surprised when it happened.

"Don't be so surprised," I told him when he got over the suddenness of the teleportation. "Now before you and I chat, I'd like to introduce you to Hope. Hope is the heart of this complex and in truth, the real reason that we came here, although I will admit I didn't know it when we planned this mission."

Richards greeted Hope and Hope greeted Richards and then I excused myself so I could chat with Richards alone. By then everyone else was gone from the chamber except for Dork and Rory. They were standing off to one side and it was to them that I led Richards.

"What's going on here?" Richards asked when we four came together on the far side of the chamber. "What is with the talking computer?"

"The talking computer is called Hope," I reminded Richards, knowing instinctively that Hope could probably over hear us even though we were at least forty feet away from her screen, "and if my guess is right, she is the heart of not only this complex but all the buildings and facilities on your Earth. Personally, I believe that she is hardwired into everything and nothing happens on this planet that she doesn't know about."

"But that's crazy," Richards said shaking his head in disbelief. "I grew up here and I learned everything that there is to know about computers and communications systems and everything electrical and I never heard of a talking computer or one connecting the whole system together. In fact I know for certain that none of the networks would have allowed it, given how competitive the networks were."

"Unfortunately you're wrong," I told the man bluntly. "The truth is that Hope has been around for millennia and she is connected to everything, however if my guess is right I don't think that she has been employed to her fullest capability in a long time and that is why you don't know a thing about her. The idiots who represented the corporation rarely used her beyond collecting information that they could use to control the government and the networks."

"Are you certain?" Richards said still looking at me in disbelief.

"Let's find out," I said in reply. As I did, I looked over my shoulder and smiled towards Hope's monitor. Her image was still there and she immediately smiled back at me. Even before I could open my mouth to ask her the question, Hope was answering me.

"Your conjectures are correct Charles," Hope told us all, "in all matters as you've discussed them with Mr. Richards. I do have access to all information systems and more on this Earth and I have been under employed throughout my life span. For the most part I have only been used to gather information for my technical support team, who as you pointed out used it to control and manipulate the politicians and the executives of the networks. Beyond that and maintaining the atmospheric force field about this island, I've done very little else. I wasn't even allowed to defend the island from your incursion. That fell to a human who died when your weapons finally hit his control facility."

"Shit," Richards muttered in response, still blinking with disbelief after hearing that.

I agreed with Richards on that point and then I gave him his marching orders. I needed him back at the consortium complex helping Angela and Sydney out in getting things back online. I also needed him helping Miranda Scott out. To me the most important thing was getting order restored on this Earth even if it meant letting them watch Game World again. Once that was done we could progress towards changing the society and perhaps if Hope could help, rebuilding it. I sent him off with the assistance of Hope and then I looked at my two friends.

"I've got a feeling that this is going to take some time," I said to both of them, "so if you wish to go back to Oak Hall I don't mind."

"I don't mind staying," Dork grunted in reply, shrugging his shoulders. "After all, the fighting is over and unless you really want me to kill that bitch of a woman, Dr. Anders, I can hang about here and relax for a bit. They do have a nice swimming pool. I'd like to give it a try. I haven't been swimming since the beach party after you rescued me from Minos. It might be fun."

"I'm with Dork on this as well," Rory said when I looked over at him. "I'll stay here for as long as you want to stay here. Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed readily, giving both of my friends a big grin. Then I turned to Hope and asked her a question.

"Can you tell me Hope," I asked her courteously, "if there is another location in this complex that you and I can chat while I sit and relax. It's been a very long few days and I'm tired."

"I can communicate from any monitor in this complex," Hope informed me, "or from any monitor in any complex on this planet. With effort I could also communicate with you at the resort on Game World. Where would you like to sit and rest?"

"There's a bar and lounge a couple of floors down," I stated after taking a second or two to think about it. "Personally I'd like to go there and have a drink and relax while we're chatting. Is that possible?"

"It is certainly possible," Hope declared with confidence and pride in her voice. "Would you like me to teleport you and your friends there, Charles?"

"No," I told Hope without even hesitating. "I think we would rather walk."

"Very well then," Hope said in response, "I will see you there."

It didn't take my friends and me long to walk down the flights of stairs to the entertainment floor. Our booted feet rang out on the concrete and echoed loudly as we went, reminding us that we were now alone on the island. Personally it didn't bother me, but I could see a hint of hesitation in both Rory's and Dork's eyes. It was clear that both of my friends were still keyed up by our recent activity and both needed to unwind.

"So are you going to have a drink with us," I asked Dork once we got to the bar, "or are you going to go for that swim."

"I'll take the swim first," the big guy replied, "and wash the filth of this place and this world off of me first. After that I might just join you for a pint or four. We'll have to see."

Dork left Rory and me chuckling about that and he went off for his swim. I turned and asked Rory what he wanted to drink. For a moment Rory stood there hesitating as if he didn't know what to say.

"What's wrong?" I asked the young man.

"Nothing really," Rory replied a bit sheepishly. "It's just the first time that I've actually been in a bar for a drink and I just realized that I'm underage."

"Underage?" I repeated with surprise in my voice. "You've got to be kidding. Rory, you've been drinking wine since we met up for the first time out on the plains northwest of Stone Lodge and you've been fighting beside me ever since. On top of that you're going to be a father in seven or so months so as far as I can see it, you're a grown man and you have been for some time."

"I know that Charles," Rory said looking a little embarrassed, "but it still felt weird hearing you ask me what I wanted to drink."

I just chuckled at that and then shook my head and smiled. Eventually Rory smiled as well. When he did, I slapped him on the back and then walked him over to the bar to see what they had in stock. To my surprise their selection of beverages was slim.

"What's going on here Hope?" I called out to the computer. "Were the people occupying this complex a bunch of teetotallers?"

"No," Hope responded a second later, after materializing on the wide screen monitor that stood behind the bar," but they had a limited palate when it came to both drinks and food. To them alcohol was alcohol and it didn't need to be sweet or dry or mixed with another substance."

"That sounds really sad," I muttered in response, shaking my head in disbelief.

"I agree," Hope replied, "but it was a fact of their existence. After centuries of doing the same thing over and over they became inured to oppose any form of change. That is why their bar is poorly stocked and why you had so much trouble with not only the networks but the viewing population of this Earth."

I sighed heavily at that comment and shook my head again. The realization of what I was up against came crashing back in on me once more and I knew I really needed a drink.

"Tell me Hope," I said turning and glancing at her image on the monitor, "can you use the teleportation system to get me a couple of ice cold beers from my Earth?"

"Of course," Hope said with confidence, "and what kind do you want."

"I'd like a Rickard's Red," I told Hope, "and I think that Rory could go for a Rickard's Blonde."

Amazingly two beers appeared a moment later on the surface of the bar. They were in pint size glasses that were dripping with sweat from the coldness of the contents in the glasses. I picked up one and handed it to Rory and then I picked up mine. Before drinking I saluted Hope with the glass. The digital image smiled back when I did that. Then its smile grew broader as I downed half the pint. It was the best thing I had drunk in months.

"Well then," I said as I carried my beer away from the bar and found myself a comfortable chair to sit in so that I could relax and talk to Hope at the same time, "I think it is time we had a little chat about what you are Hope and how you can help me. What do you think about that?"

"I think you're correct," Hope stated without any reserve, "although I suspect you have an idea of what I am already. Is that true?"

"You are hope," I said to Hope, flashing a smile at her image before taking another sip of my beer, "just as your name suggests. My bet is that your creator built you to help this Earth recover from whatever disaster that had occurred to leave it uninhabitable, at least outside of closed complex's such as the Onyx headquarters or the World Entertainment Review Board or the Planetary Government Complex. Am I right?"

"Partly," Hope said thoughtfully, giving me a half smile. "The disaster had not occurred yet when I was created. My designer and creator had hoped that his fellow citizens would use me to prevent the disaster from occurring. Regrettably they did not."