15th July 2355, 10PM
Feeling surprised after a very long time. It feels so weird that after all I have seen, still there are things on this planet which can still boggle my mind.
After I stepped out of Phil’s office Samir, one of the juniors, came running to me,”Sir, the soldier we captured has committed suicide.”
” How the hell did that happen? He was under constant observation right?”
“Yes, he was. He was roaming around his cell and suddenly he stopped, put his hands on his head and chin and snapped his neck. We ran inside just to find his body lying on the floor.”
“Do an autopsy, look for some sort of receiver” and I walked towards the cell where our bald guy was held.
He was intently looking out of the window of his cell when I entered. He turned his neck a little after hearing my footsteps to acknowledge my presence. In a low husky voice he said,”It’s curious isn’t it? Everywhere you are bound in some or the other way. Even if I walk out of this confinement, I would be bound by Earth’ gravity.”
I asked,”do you know me from somewhere before?”
He turned to look at me and said,”No, why would you think so?”
I walked forward, sat down in my chair and said,”No reason. You don’t seem disturbed, rather you seem curious about the recent developments and that makes me curious.”
He smiled at me,”Well, it’s quite obvious that I am not the guy you want to hurt, it’s Sergei.”
“How is that so obvious?”
“People don’t hurt twelve year olds as far as I have read. Moreover, after I heard Sergei speak to you people, I was certain that Sergei had lied to me. So, you must be the good guys.”
“I am sorry, what? Are you trying to suggest that you are just twelve years old?”
“Yes, that is correct. I look much older because I have extreme levels of metabolic activities. Sergei had told me on multiple occasions that I have a special brain because of which I can think better than others, calculate faster and acquire knowledge from sources much quicker. That apparently has led to increased usage of other vital organs and thus, my physical ageing process is accelerated,” he paused for a bit to study my expression. Satisfied, he started again,” You may think why am I divulging all this information to you. It’s because I am going to die soon, at max I’ll live for another year or so. Sorry, I forgot to mention, I am Frankie, short for Frankenstein like the one in Mary Shelley’s novel. You have read that right?”
“Yes, I read it when I was a kid. You don’t seem worried about your untimely death.”
“A living being is supposed to have some purpose of existence. I have read about the old civilization before the war. I was used by Sergei like a tool, useful one but still a tool. It is only normal that a tool reaches the end of its usefulness eventually.”
“Hm, I understand your situation. Do you repent working for Sergei?”
Frankie went to the window and looked outside. Then he said slowly,”No, I don’t because whatever I did was based on the belief that I was helping Sergei to achieve something good. Also, there’s no point regretting about past actions.”
“Yes, I’d agree to that. If you want to do something worthwhile then help us to bring down Sergei’s operations.”
“Let me know you a little better before I comment on it.”
“The distrust is mutual. However, if we have to gain trust we have to start somewhere. I’ll arrange a tour of the city, the non vital areas first. Let’s see how it goes.” To this he nodded and I left his cell.
I’ll have to make arrangements for the tour tomorrow. He maybe 12 years old but he is sharper than me. Let’s see how he behaves out in the open.
17th July 2355, 5PM
Just got back home. The day was fruitful as was yesterday. The tour went well.
Given the fact Frankie was still a twelve years old kid I took him to the carnival first. His eyes told me it was a brilliant idea. It was obvious since Sergei destroyed this boy’s childhood by using his brain to create weapons and other machinery of destruction. A droid accompanied him to the amusement rides and I observed from a distance. I could see from his actions that he was experimenting and learning about himself through this experience. He was learning how to see life from a different perspective. I didn’t interfere with the process. The droid guided the boy around the carnival, who scrutinized everything with his curious eyes. I wish I had a son like him. I was talking to one of the robot administrators when Frankie got back to me, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
I took him for lunch at Sushi-n-Ramen, a classical Oriental restaurant. It was conceived by Yamamoto a few years ago, a restaurant managed entirely by droids. The chef was an AI who had procured old South East Asian recipes from the archives and later developed new recipes on its own. While eating, I did some chitchat with Frankie and found out that Sergei ran a tight military camp which had no colourful or meaningful future. All he wanted to do was increase his firepower be it in terms of size of army or war machines.
The military personnel consisted of genetically engineered clones, their decision-making capabilities altered as per their jobs. Frankie was instrumental in altering their brains physiology. He was not able to remove the amygdala, which controls emotions so, he burned out the neural pathways reaching into that section. I listened with awe. This boy had vast potential which was misused. The clones’ frontal lobes were further engineered to modify the learning process. Sergei had forced Frankie to install two chips in their heads but withheld information about their respective utilities.
Frankie, being of naturally curious character, tried to investigate the properties of the chips and Sergei found out. Frankie shuddered recalling that day, “It was the worst day of my life. I had never felt so much pain before.”
I asked, “Did he torture you?”
“I don’t know what that was. He dragged me to this machine in his room, put me inside and clasped my arms and feet using belts. I couldn’t move my head. Then, I felt something cold and metallic being clamped to my head. I saw Sergei move his hand and the canopy came down and then everything went dark. I started seeing horrifying things. They were happening right in front of me, people killing each other, ripping out limbs and heads. There was so much pain and blood everywhere. People were screaming, crying, begging for death. I wanted to close my eyes but I couldn’t. It felt like ages. I don’t remember when I passed out. I only remember Sergei explaining to me that I should do only what I have been told to.”
I wasn’t shocked. I have seen much worse in the past. I felt bad for this kid. He already has a short lifespan, he grew up in captivity and he has seen such horrors before he even had the chance to see the world. I told him to try and forget the incident.
It was almost evening when we reached Abhay Falls. Frankie’s eyes gleamed as I told him about the man after whom the falls was named. I wish I had a son, maybe like him.
I called up Phil and requested him to file in the paperwork so that Frankie could stay with me. I wanted to observe him more closely.
Chronicles of Tomorrow: Echoes from the Future 