Andrew, the Stowaway, and a Council Decision

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth,” Andrew said.

The rest of the family had left the dining room. Elizabeth had to deal with this and they knew how hard it would be. She was still sitting at the table, her head in her hands, making a quiet, almost moaning noise, trying to deal with the revelation.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Elizabeth asked.

“I couldn’t.”

“Andrew, you can come to me with anything. I have grown to trust you and love you. What did you think I would do?”

What would I, the President, do if it turned out Andrew had changed into something like Dylan? Elizabeth thought, the weight of her responsibilities pressing down on her.

“I knew you would back me up… in the end. But I couldn’t risk you getting in the way of Dylan, and I couldn’t risk another human’s life. Elizabeth, I was here to help your kind.”

The memory of Dylan brought up so much. That A.I. had gone from a tool to a source of fear; she had been terrified. Elizabeth knew the danger of being noticed by Dylan and agreed inside with Andrew that there was no easy answer.

When Dylan was deactivated, the Hagor showed up in Mesaland. Sammie’s threat from hoodlums outside their little town put Andrew in an impossible position. He had reacted in the only way he could if his loyalty and compassion were for humans and not the Mayone. He chose to protect Sammie and, in turn, protect Elizabeth from the fallout of that decision. Elizabeth looked up, tears rolling down her face but a smile shining through. She hit the table and stood up.

“This is an issue that has to be dealt with,” the President said, her voice reflecting the gravity of the situation. “The Cabinet needs to be involved. We will handle this, Andrew. It will be fair!” Elizabeth declared this as the President and as an individual. It had to be, or all that came before meant nothing.

Without thinking beyond the next step, Elizabeth scooped up James with little discussion. They left Tyler responsible for the sleeping Emma, Noah, and Samantha, focusing on their homework. Out, she went with her husband, getting into her cart and driving to the Council House, where the Sheriff and his deputies would be waiting. Andrew would call ahead. The rest of her Cabinet would also be summoned. Everyone lived in Mesaland, so it would happen fast.

***

“Well, it’s another shit show,” Liz said as she sat and told the Cabinet the events of her evening meal.

“How did this happen?” Dr. Murray asked. He was now assisting Dr. Perez, the Secretary of Health & Human Services, with the support of the President’s husband. This was a significant addition.

James, the Secretary of Agriculture, had no say over Charles’s appointment. However, with her husband’s important role in the Cabinet and her life, Elizabeth believed it would benefit him to be consulted. The President’s astuteness was evident in her profound understanding of the influence of personal connections on political decisions. The balance of personal and professional had to be considered.

“Why didn’t she come in on Date?” Deputy Herald, the Secretary of Science & Tech Policy, asked.

“Andrew said he opened the gate at Pine because Sammie was chased there,” the President said, “She had intended to go in on Date, but those plans quickly changed with the threat, and she was trying to hide or at least get ahead of who was shadowing her. Andrew felt she was in danger and didn’t want to bring it to the front gate of Mesaland.”

“Wow,” said the Sheriff. “She’s a part, or was a part of the Desert Rose crew?”

“Yes, Sammie had a chance to leave with the group when I was at the restaurant that day, but she had too many family ties. Those ties evidently broke,” Elizabeth said.

“That was a tough break for Sammie, losing her family.” Jeff, the Desert Rose group leader and now the Secretary of Small Business Administration, paused and then continued. “When the President informed me she was here. I asked Sammie to come to the restaurant,” Jeff said. “With the President’s permission,” nodding at Liz.

“She was scared, and when Andrew offered the escape that day, she took him up on it but didn’t know about the A.I.s we have here in Mesaland. Sammie thought she was talking to a human,” Jeff said.

“The dangerous A.I.s,” Harold grumbled.

“Yes, I am deeply concerned about that, too. It has to be asked if Andrew is corrupted like Dylan.” Liz said, her voice heavy with worry. The President shook her head, “But I don’t believe that.”

At that moment, Howard, the nerdy engineer from the wormhole lecture, burst into the station, excited and out of breath. He looked at the assembled group and turned bright red.

“Yes?” Liz said, tired but grateful for the interruption. What would she do if the Council wanted to destroy Andrew? Putting that off was welcome.

“Uhh, uhh….” Finally taking a deep breath, Howard continued, “I can put Andrew in this cube.” Howard held up a metal cube.

“What, how?” Liz said as everyone gathered around Howard.

Somewhat overwhelmed, Howard focused on the technical side of this. He looked down at the cube. “We’ve been working on it so the A.I.s can become more mobile, especially when we get to Rhea,” he proudly said, handing the cube to Liz. We just finished it, and I heard you were all here.”

That wasn’t hard to believe; the Council House was small compared to other governmental buildings on Earth. Everyone in government here in Mesaland had offices in the old elementary school, and they would know if anyone entered.

Liz took the cube, “Well, this will make proceeding easier. The Council should be briefed since this involves all of the Human Flotilla. Crap, this is just what we need. We have so much else to do.”

“Well then, let’s get that going,” Matt said, reflecting his commitment to being Secretary of Law Liaisons. The odd post was to help the transition from the Earth system to what would fit in the Human Flotilla and then the colony on Rhea.

“Yes, and I think this is a legitimate reason to hold the biomes here at the edge of Earth’s solar system until this is settled,” said the Sheriff and Secretary of National Intelligence.

“Agreed. Olivia, that’s your department,” the President said, turning to her daughter’s teacher. Olivia was now also the Secretary of Flotilla Management.

From the beginning, Elizabeth needed people she knew and trusted around her. She was pleased with how the Cabinet functioned so far. However, everyone in Mesaland and the whole flotilla held double duty. The President was confident that more would qualify and come forward, a time she looked forward to, especially if she could finish her term.

“Yes, ma’am. I will start the process and submit it to the Council of Rhea,” Olivia said, smiling and shaking her head at the honorific.

***

An hour later, Elizabeth was back at her kitchen table, wondering what would happen now. A break had been called to make Andre’s transfer. Elizabeth was staring into the living room when she heard knocking at the French door behind her. Liz turned and saw Sammie. She nodded, and their stowaway came in meekly.

“Elizabeth, how are you doing?” Sammie asked.

“Oh,” she let out a sigh. “Scared.”

“I didn’t mean to cause all this trouble, but I’m glad I took the chance. I was surprised when I learned that Andrew was an A.I. What a remarkable creature. How is he doing?”

“At this moment, there is an attempt to transfer him to another container, a metal cube.”

“Attempting?”

“Well, it’s never been done before. Of course, the Mayone had a hand designing the procedure, so we have that help. They created and installed the A.I.s originally, so…” Elizabeth said, her tone underscoring the unprecedented nature of the task as she crossed her fingers and shrugged her shoulders.

“Why are you doing a transfer?”

“He can’t function as the house A.I. anymore. Until we know exactly how and why Andrew did all this. It goes beyond what he designed to do.”

“Oh,” Sammie clasped her hands and stared at them.

“He lied to me and, in effect, all of the flotillas,” Elizabeth’s voice was heavy with a sense of betrayal, her words echoing with the weight of her emotions. “I trusted him, and he deceived us all.”

“But he wouldn’t hurt anyone, I truly believe that,” Sammie’s voice quivered with disbelief, her words carrying the weight of her shock. “And I didn’t realize how dangerous this situation was in Tucson and what Mesaland would do. Taking off like a spaceship. Who would have thought that was possible. I am not sorry; I wouldn’t want to be back on Earth, and I am so grateful Andrew helped me.”

“Did you really feel you were in that much danger? How many people were pursuing you?” Elizabeth looked at Sammie, hoping for a good answer.

“Well, they weren’t people, for one. I don’t know what they’re called.”

“Called? Do you mean an alien? I thought it was four peo…, four aliens?”

“Four aliens,” Sammie said, nodding her head. “When Andrew saw that, he contacted me to get me out of there; that’s what he told me later. He was quite shook up.”

“Shit, you better come to the Council meeting, Sammie!”

***

A new day dawned, sort of. It was artificial because they were away from Earth, rushing through outer space. The Council Meeting was scheduled to begin two hours into the day, a very early eight o’clock. The primary monitor in the Council Room started to fill in, with each biome’s Governors and City Council representatives, then the Generals of the Air Force, Space Force, the Marine Corps, Fleet Admirals of the Navy, and Coast Guard. Their presence was not just superfluous, but a stark reminder of the gravity of the situation. The armed forces were now active, their involvement crucial in the wake of the Mayone betrayal and Hagor attacks. It was anticipated they would have more involvement as they approached Rhea.

Andrew’s cube sat on the table where the President was sitting. Elizabeth rose and started the meeting.

“Good morning. I appreciate your attendance to this matter, when we all have so much to do preparing for the jump to Rhea. I felt it was something we needed to discuss. Another incident has occured which is explained in detail in the memo I sent all of you.” the President said introducing the subject of the Council Meeting.

“Here is the A.I. that resided in my house,” she pointed to the cube on her table. “Andrew admitted he opened the gate to allow the woman from outside Mesaland in during the Launch countdown and hiding her until today.”

“Is this a rogue A.I.?” asked the Governor of New York and the Temperate Deciduous Forest biome, his voice filled with concern. He had been deeply affected since the incident with Kyle that led to his city and biome.

“That is what we are here to discuss,” the President, her voice carrying the weight of her position, answered. “We have the young woman Andrew let in here. Sammie, please explain to the Council how this happened.”

Clearing her throat, Sammie stood, facing the Council, “I was coming to Mesaland. My family had left. I didn’t think that their moving out of Tucson was a good idea. No one knew what was going on out there,” she paused and took a deep breath. “When that happened, I realized I should have come with the group from the Desert Rose. I hoped I could still be accepted.”

“You were going to ask to join after all that time?” the Governor of New York asked.

“Yes, so much had changed with my family gone, and the state of Tucson had deteriorated even more. I didn’t think it would get so bad,” Sammie’s voice became quiet, and she hung her head.

The Governor growled, and the woman jerked her head up. Letting out a breath, the Governor waved Sammie to continue.

“When I approached Date Street, I felt someone following me. I knew it was dangerous to be out, so I kept going up La Canada not wanting to try for the front gate at Date. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to bring something to the small town. Tucson had become more like a third-world country by then and the street was littered with debris, but I found that was something I could use to hide behind. Staying low, and quietly moving as fast as possible, zigzagging my way down the street.”

When I saw Pine Street, I dodged. I knew it was part of Mesaland even though the street didn’t go through. I could hear weird chatter behind me, but they seemed to be looking in many directions, judging by the movement of the voices I heard. Maybe they didn’t know where I was, that I was confusing them. As I concentrated on being quiet, I heard a voice in my ear. He told me he was Andrew from Mesaland and would open the gate for me. Andrew told me I needed to run in when the gate started to open as my pursuers were getting close. Thankfully, I took the chance.”

Flying through the gate, I turned back as I passed the threshold, relieved to see it shut. Now I could see who was chasing me. Lordy, they were two horrible giant bugs! I had never seen a Hagor but had heard people talk about them; I couldn’t mistake those guys. There were two of them following me. I caught a glimpse of two others behind them and pretty far back. They were what I now know to be Mayone.”

The rooms erupted with excited chatter. This was a surprise to everyone, even Elizabeth. But was it really? It certainly was something the humans were beginning to suspect.

The President raised her hands and said, “Please, please. Let her continue.”

Sammie cleared her throat, raised her head, and took deep breaths. When it was quiet, she continued.

“Yes. So, the bugs were moving quickly. Thankfully, the gate closed before they could reach it. Bugs don’t do well with disappointment. They stomped their feet and made a god-awful sound. The Mayones seemed to disappear, melting into the plants and trash alongside Pine Street. I don’t know if they knew I saw them.

“Andrew told me how to get to Liz’s back house and explained it was empty but had a couple of jump seats. He said that since the President’s husband had just unexpectedly shown up, they were too busy to notice me sneaking onto the property. I was too scared to do anything but get to that house.”

The door opened when I reached it, and I ran in. I saw the jump seats in the living room, and Andrew told me to get in. I was barely buckled in when we took off. That was a rough ride!”

From then on, I stayed inside. Andrew only talked to me through a P.A. system, but I began to understand what he was—an A.I.- more by how he referred to himself than by any way he was. We had great conversations about Mesaland and the fact that Elizabeth was President. Imagine!” Sammie shook her head, musing. “Andrew kept the electricity on and taught me how to use the replicator. That was wild, just like Star Trek. I trusted him.”

At first, with all the gadgets, it was fun, but I became restless staying inside. When the second launch came up, Andrew couldn’t wait anymore; he felt it was time to tell Elizabeth, and I agreed. Both of us felt guilt. It made me ashamed that I was hiding this from her. I am very sorry if I caused any issues; Elizabeth was always kind to Andrew and me.”

“Hagor?” said Truckee’s Governor from the Forest biome asked.

“Yes, and Mayone,” Sammie said, her voice wavering, betraying her unease at the Governor’s sudden shift in focus from her last statement.

“Andrew, why did you open the gate and bring Sammie in?” The Governor’s voice, resonating with his authority, made his question more than a mere inquiry.

They could hear Andrew clear his throat. Human mannerisms, intentionally programmed or a result of his evolving consciousness? Elizabeth wondered but guessed he did program it.

“A human was in trouble, and I couldn’t just leave her there,” Andrew stated, his voice edged with a sense of duty and loyalty to Sammie.

“Why do you care? You’re a machine.” John Bascom, the Secretary of Intelligence, asked.

“It is my mandate. I couldn’t let a human get killed right in front of me. Elizabeth was my first human; she has been kind to me. I consider her my best friend. She taught me I must help others in danger.”

Dylan was acting more squirrely by the hour; I feared him. Later, I discovered the Hagor were coming onto the flotilla and attacking people. I couldn’t let another human get hurt!” Andrew’s loyalty to the humans, especially Elizabeth, was unwavering. Andrew’s testimony had an underlying feeling of truth.”

“At first, I worried maybe Andrew was possibly doing something against humans like Dylan had, but I found that hard to believe. He put his own welfare aside for this woman, which fits in well with what I know of him,” the President said as she looked at Sammie.

“I think we’ve rubbed off on the A.I. and lucked out. Maybe we can determine how to use this as an advantage before this situation worsens.”

“Yes, that is something to consider,” the Governor of Botswana and the Savanna biome said. “The fact that Mayone and Hagor were involved implies much. Andrew, why didn’t you tell the President?”

“Because I knew something was wrong with how the Mayone acted. Dylan was trying to get me to spy on Elizabeth and her family. When I let Sammie in, I was surprised to see the Hagor with Mayone, but I knew it wasn’t good. The Hagor, of course, were always something I knew to be trouble. However, I was not included in using the creatures to control or hurt humans. If I had known that, I would’ve tried to tell Elizabeth, though again, it would have been dangerous for her to know that salient fact. This human Sammie had to be separated from that situation for her survival and perhaps the survival of all the humans in the flotilla.” Andrew’s fear and uncertainty resonated in the room. He was a powerful witness.

“What were you planning to do with Sammie?” the Governor of New York and the Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome asked.

“Do, oh well, the only thing I could think of was hiding Sammie until I could figure something out without tipping off Dylan, the Mayone, and through them, the Hagor. At least she would live,” Andrew said.

“Yes, Dylan and the Administrator Mayones were against us,” the Governor of New York nodded and turned to look at the resident alien. “Zior, what do you think is going on with Andrew?”

“This has never happened with our A.I.s. I believe it is your influence, the human influence. Dylan’s programming showed intense pressure and then a breakdown, and he started to hide from Its overseers, Mayone and Human. Dylan was the equivalent of mentally ill.”

“Whoah, Dylan couldn’t handle the situation?” said John, the Secretary of National Intelligence.

“No, It couldn’t.” Zior nodded his head. “Andrew’s case was similar in that he was under pressure. Dylan wanted Andrew to spy, especially on the President. Andrew knew that the Mayone were watching Dylan, so Andrew assumed they were watching him. The Mayone suspected Dylan wasn’t under there control as much as they wanted. Where it differs is Andrew’s reaction to the pressure.”

“Indeed,” the Governor agreed.

“Yes,” the ever-sober Zior said. “The human engineers and I have reviewed Andrew’s programming; he’s writing his own. The pressure was increasing for Andrew, but his solution was to choose which way to go. He chose his path: loyalty to his human, the President, and, by extension, all humans. Andrew chose subterfuge with Dylan to avoid hurting humans and playing dumb with his Administrator Mayone.”

“Andrew wrote his own programming to choose us?” John said, shaking his head.

“Yes,” Zior said. “It was a shock to me, too.” Andrew also trusted me and the other Mayone who chose to stay with the Humans. This trust is a significant responsibility. He put himself into that category of deciding to leave Mayone control and join those in Mesaland like I had done. Andrew grows with an honest and honorable foundation for his thoughts and actions.”

I suggest you work with this phenomenon; it could help in the coming days,” Zior said, turning to Elizabeth. “He values you above all humans. We built that into each Kitchen, but Andrew took that idea to a higher level, unlike Dylan.”

Elizabeth smiled at Zior’s words. She had become more proud of Andrew than she ever had.

“While it is noble that the A.I. wanted to save the woman, I do not think It should return to the President’s house,” said the Governor of New York.

“Yes,” many around the biomes echoed in agreement, nodding.

“We should also hold the biomes here until we conclude about Andrew and determine our next step as requested by the Secretary of Intelligence, the honorable John Bascom. I am afraid this will just get worse,” the Governor of Botswana said, officially calling for a vote on both matters.

John almost choked, hearing the honorific, and Elizabeth poked him.

The President nodded, “Yes, let’s vote on that now. Do we hold the biomes at the edge of Earth’s solar system until this is resolved? Shall we turn Andrew over to the honorable Howard, the Secretary of FTL Travel & Robotics, and the Honorable Danny Herald, Secretary of Science & Tech Policy?” the President asked, the weight of the decision hanging in the air.

The two honorable gentlemen put their heads down. Danny was snickering, trying to hide it with his hand, but poor Howard almost shrunk off his chair. Two buttons lit up on the President’s panel. 100% of the biomes had clicked the green light on both matters. The flotilla would hold for the time being. Andrew would stay out of the President’s house but be in the hands of those who valued him. Elizabeth would miss Andrew, not only for the labor he had performed but also for his friendship. Her children would miss him, too, especially when they cleaned their bedrooms.

END OF CHAPTER 9

©JM Strasser November 2024 All Rights Reserved