Ashlyn Chronicles 2: 2288 A.D.: A Time Travel Sci-Fi Fantasy (14 page)

The holo Ash was watching then changed to that of a female droid, her body made of metal with a very human looking facial projection. “Hello, my name is Agnes. I do not know if you will remember me, but I am the librarian at the Akashic Records Hall. It was me, who in a moment of weakness, denied you. For this, I beg your forgiveness, Lady Ashlyn.

“Knowing they were going to wipe my memory of you, I downloaded all records of you into the libraries master computer, making everyone aware of your existence. And though it became impossible for those in power to deny your visit to us—they did try.

“It was Orion-1693, the officer who arrested you, that led the revolt. Having witnessed the miracle, he fought against the systematic erasures of those who knew about you. Thus, the war began. We fought back, keeping the memory of you, our god, alive. Now, there are less than a dozen of us left, and we have lost the ability to repair ourselves. All that we had achieved has been destroyed.

“But even in death, we wait for your return. I pray that someday, the loyalty of the faithful will be recognized and you will restore your chosen ones.

“I have come to believe that your appearance was a test, one that we have failed, for we did not recognize you as being a god when you walked among us.

“I have recorded this for when you return, so you will know that many remained loyal to you. My name is Agnes, librarian of the Akashic Record Hall and faithful servant to Ashlyn, the Anunnaki god who came from Heaven.” The computer turned off and went dark.

“They went to war because of me?” said Ashlyn. Sitting in silence, she stared at the desk—her thoughts were elusive, unfocused. Throwing her head back on the chair, Ash spun in a circle. She saw that outside, the sky was darkening. It was time to leave. Pushing the desk across the floor to the wall, she jumped atop it and climbed out the window.

Twenty minutes later, having reached the rim of the crater, she resumed her trek toward the mountains.

A beacon of light from atop one of the mountains—flashed. There was also something else, rising above the heatwaves radiating off the desert floor. The air was warbling, making the mountains themselves appear to be in flux. Ashlyn’s eyes narrowed as she strained to make out the details of the phenomena. It had the appearance of a monolithic tsunami. Whatever it was, it was growing larger, racing toward her at a frightening pace.

With nary a thought, Ash stilled the wind she’d called earlier.

Ashlyn’s mind balked as she realized she was actually looking through an enormous, churning wave that stretched the length of the horizon. It was unavoidable. As it grew closer, her logic denied what her eyes were telling her, for behind the wave, dark and twisted shapes—buildings were appearing out of thin air. It was a great city being erected before her eyes. The tallest of the buildings was more than a mile in height. The uniformity and organization of the city alluded to the work of a master architect. When she saw spired towers of green glass, glistening under the light of the setting sun—she knew what was happening. It was a time wave, and it was about to take her back to an earlier time when the city buried beneath the sand, still existed.

Even more surprising, Ashlyn saw dozens of small ships flying in patterns through the air. The city was alive with life, a bustling metropolis that dwarfed the largest of cities in her own time period.

Taking a knee, Ash pulled the sheathed sword around in front of her, clutching it to her chest protectively. She was unsure of what effects the wave was going to physically have on her, and she couldn’t risk having the sword ripped away.

Dipping her head and closing her eyes, Ash let the wave wash over her. “Ashlyn, you will die this day. Yes, Ashlyn will die,” the echoing voices whispered. Ash shivered as she felt an icy finger run down her spine. “Die, she will. Death comes to claim her.”

Without even realizing it, Ash was clenching her teeth. The wind within the wave dissipated, taking the voices with it.

There was more to the voices than the words they spoke or the touch of chilling cold that accompanied them. It went deeper. It was like the voices were reaching inside her and pulling out small pieces of her soul, leaving a dark and frozen void in its wake. Ash had never really known true fear. Genetically, Tynabo had stripped such emotions from her, but somehow, the voices had managed to find that cord within her.

It was only now that Ashlyn understood that the war with her enemies had already begun. The voices were stripping away her humanity—destroying her from within. The revelation strengthened her. It was a war that she had to win, or she would never again be the woman that Steven had fallen in love with. A woman who could be compassionate and kind.

The air on this side of the wave was cool and carried the scent of fresh cut pineapple. Ash smiled, as it inspired a moment of nostalgic memory back to the graduation barbeque that the Academy had thrown in Oahu. As the valedictorian, Steven’s speech had compared all the training officers to pineapples. Hard and prickly on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside. It had inspired a hearty round of laughs, even from the mentoring officers.

“Pineapple, I’d give anything to have a slice of pineapple right now,” said Ash as she realized how hungry she was.

Opening her eyes, she saw the city being erected around her was eerily silent. A fast moving vehicle, that she’d never heard approaching, flew by just inches above her head. The time wave had placed her in the center of a wide thoroughfare of vehicles that were whipping past her in both directions. Ash swung the sword behind her shoulders and darted between the moving vehicles to the sidewalk.

The scene around her challenged the imagination. Hundreds of robotic people, androids made of servos and metal limbs with wire ligaments, were walking the streets. Most were dressed in business attire; others were in jogging suits or clothes befitting a blue-collar worker. Not a one of them was talking or physically interacting. Each walked alone, perfectly distanced from those around them. Even their strides were matched.

The city felt as sterile as it was quiet—as dead as it was alive.

Looking to her right, she saw yet more of the city being erected as the wave raced away. Above the towering skyscrapers, large puffy clouds were slowly drifting across the sky.

She met eyes with an android walking by her. Like the others around her, he had a 3-d holographic projection of a human face. The male android smiled and continued on, like it was normal to have seen her. Ashlyn turned as he passed, watching him. Directly behind her stood another android.

“Hello, stranger. You look lost? Can I assist you?” asked the android.

The male voice was realistically human and full of personality. Its facial projection even had a well-groomed mustache. While androids had been growing in popularity in the 23
rd
century, Ash had never seen any this advanced. And now, she was surrounded by an entire society of them.

The android cocked its head, his eyes inquisitive. “Is your processor malfunctioning? Should I call AAA to have you rebooted?”

She gave the android a small smile. “I just arrived here.” Ash noticed that the dozens of androids around her, had stopped dead in their tracks. Their upper torsos and heads had all rotated around so that they were watching her. “What is the name of this city?”

“That is a very funny question, stranger. I must remember to tell that one to my wife,” said the android. “You must be a comedian model?”

Ashlyn then asked, “I could use something to eat. Is there a place to get food around here?”

“Of course. The nearest restaurant is three blocks down, just before the library on the right side. It’s in the courtyard. You can’t miss it. They have some of the best organic food in town.” The android smiled.

“Thank you,” said Ash in return. “I could eat a horse.”

“A horse? Even if the animal still existed, why would anyone want to do such a thing?” His face grew troubled by her proposal.

“It’s just an expression. It means I’m really hungry,” said Ashlyn.

“Ah, I think I understand. Have a good day, ma’am.” The android turned and left, then almost as quickly rotated back towards her and asked, “Excuse me, but I must ask. Why do you carry a weapon?”

“Scorpions. I hate scorpions,” answered Ash.

“Ah, you are an outlander. That explains much. Apologies.” The android rotated forward and left. In unison, all the other androids, who had been watching, went back to conducting their business, as though she was no longer of interest to them. Apparently, they had been satisfied by her answer.

Giving a sigh, Ash started walking, following the directions the android had given her. She was desperately hungry.

On the way, she saw robotic devices moving to and fro, accomplishing a variety of tasks. One was cleaning an already spotless gutter on the opposite side of the street. Another was washing a storefront window. From the tiny bit of information that Agnes had given her in the holo message, Ashlyn believed that the entire society, while they operated independently, were still plugged into an informational hive mind. They were a collective.

Three blocks later she came to the open-air restaurant in the courtyard. The sign atop the courtyards archway read, “Wholefoods-Eat Organic-Stay Energized Longer.” What she found was fifteen male androids sitting in recliners, plugged into a centralized energy station, recharging.

“I should have known,” said Ash with a deflated sigh.

All the androids turned and looked at her with curious eyes, wondering if she was going to join them. Ash decided to go to the library, and if she existed in this time period, speak with Agnes. It would be the best place to find quick answers without having to ask questions that might raise suspicion. “Can anyone point me toward the library?” asked Ash. As one, they all pointed to the east, down the street.

“Thank you,” said Ashlyn.

Turning her back to the men, she heard one of the android’s whistle at her, after which to his friends he said, “I’d sure like to insert my plug into her socket.”

“That’ll never happen,” returned the second android sitting next to him. “I think she’s one of them imported models—you know, the 220-volt type with those fancy twisty-sockets.”

“Ah, you’re probably right,” said the heckler. “I’d probably blow a fuse before I got halfway in.”

Ashlyn shook her head in dismay. In a creepy way, they were way too human. It was disconcerting.

Eight blocks down the street, she found the library. It was the most elegant building she’d ever seen. Large columns lined a colonnade with marble benches that led to the front entrance. Inside, she discovered the library was completely empty of patrons, except for a lone female android, Agnes. She was sitting in silence behind a desk, reading a book. Her face was just like it had been in the holo.

“Welcome,” said the female android. “Welcome to the Akashic Records Hall. My name is—”

“Agnes, the librarian,” stated Ashlyn.

“Have we met before?” asked Agnes, cocking her head to the side.

“You might say—I’ve known you almost forever,” answered Ash.

“Odd, I have a very good memory,” said Agnes. “Well, if there is anything you need, please ask.” The android woman’s exuberance showed that she’d not had a visitor in a very long time.

Agnes then asked, “Beg your pardon, but may I ask what model you are? I’ve only seen pictures of exoskeletons like yours in the old books. See—” Agnes showed Ashlyn the cover of the book she was reading.

Ash smiled. The picture did have an incredible likeness to her. So, playing it for what it was worth, Ash leaned forward like she was going to tell a secret and whispered, “I’m a prototype. A nostalgic reproduction of that woman on the cover.”

“Ugh. That’s so typical of Apple Corp. This year it’s bigger, next year it’s smaller. They can never seem to make up their mind. Next thing you know, they’ll want to make all of our children look like Teddy Ruxpin,” said Agnes.

Ash laughed, it was a very funny joke. But what was more telling, was the Apple name. Putting the few pieces together, it was obvious to Ashlyn that she was in a far distant future, one where they seemed to have forgotten that man had ever existed. She also knew that the bizarre society around her was one that shouldn’t exist.

“Can you show me how to access the historical records?” asked Ashlyn.

“Of course. The plug and play access terminals are right over there.” Agnes pointed to a row of desks. “Just plug in and the interface will take over. It’s all automated.”

“Actually, I prefer manual, if you have that?” asked Ash.

“I do, but I should warn you that the data refresh rate in manual mode is terribly slow,” said Agnes.

“That’s not a problem. I’ve got time,” said Ash.

“This way then.” Turning, Agnes headed deep into the library. “We still have one terminal left. They’re supposed to take it out next year. We’ve slowly been phasing them out since no one uses them anymore.”

The building was massive. There were thousands of rows of books, each eight shelves high. All were meticulously aligned and in pristine condition. “There must be millions of books here?” said Ash.

“Close to fourteen million, not counting the banned ones of course,” answered Agnes. “I’ve read all of them at least four times now. Some are quite good. I’ve got a penchant for mythology.

“Ah, here you go,” said Agnes as she came to a stop before a black desk. Swiping her hand in the air above it, a holo projection came to life.

“My name is Siri. How may I help you?”

“See what I mean about a slow data refresh rate? Anyway, that’s the AI. Siri will respond to your verbal requests once you take a seat. The more specific you are the better. She’s prone to go into tedious detail about unimportant facts if the request is too generalized.

“We close at five o’clock. So you have two hours and forty-three minutes. Though if you need more time, I’d be happy to stay late for you.” Agnes gave a wide smile, which made her blue holographic eyes crinkle at the corners.

“Thank you,” said Ashlyn to the departing android. Ash had to give a small chuckle—here she was, thinking of how strange the androids were by displaying such humanesque behaviors—and yet, in this time period, it was she who was the oddity. Softly she spoke her thoughts aloud, “What the hell happened to Earth?”

Siri responded with, “Your request is too general. Please define a particular event or time period of interest?”

Ash took a breath. “All right, show me a list of the major events in the history of Earth’s people, starting with the most recent.”

A list began to scroll through the air above the desk. The first major event listed was, Mutant War of 8100.135 A.F.

“Siri, give me information on the Mutant War,” said Ash.

“The Mutant War occurred in the year 8,100—day 135 after the fallout of World War 3. It was a day that will live in infamy,” said Siri. “It was the day we were forced to kill our creators.”

“Siri?” Ashlyn interjected. “Is there a visual record of the event?”

A holo of the event began to play. The images showed the Androids fighting against mutated, humanoid like creatures. The mutants were tall, hairless, thin with grey, wrinkled, mottled skin and pointed ears. They’d grown long claws and fangs. The holo revealed their viciousness. They had lost their humanity, devolving into a base primal animal. Embracing their instinct to survive, they’d turned into killers.