AN: Thank you to every reviewer and reader who continues to support my work. I was in a bit of a rut at first when writing this chapter as I had no idea how entirely to proceed. But after prayer, I was given my inspiration, and thus I have a new chapter for you all. As always, read, review, and enjoy.
Pagliacci-11
In her room, Aelita sat silently looking at the gold and white phone that she had gotten from Cassius Dio, one of the overseers of North-Gate. She had so many questions, but she didn't know quite how to ask them. She understood portions of North-Gate's vision. It was to eliminate Capitalism, which the system saw as not only a disease but a form of slavery. As Aelita pondered the many answers given by Cassius Dio, she came to understand, at least in part, North-Gate's hatred. Aelita would never go so far as to deny North-Gate's stances. If anything, Aelita knew very well portions of the explanations that Dio had given. She wouldn't dare go so far as to refute the statements because she knew much of what Dio had explained were very much the uncomfortable truths of the world at large.
At the same time, Aelita couldn't help but feel twinges of anger at the program for how it had attacked Jeremy. When she had seen Jeremy fall and start to convulse, she had not been that afraid since XANA had modified the music that many of the children has listened to, to render them unconscious. Even though she was not yet human at the time, she did lament that Odd had been hospitalized, and from that attack, they were down one crucial player. Did North-Gate have that same propensity deep within her, to desire the death of key players of her team? Half of her wanted to genuinely say yes, given the ease which she seemed to order the station attack. The other half wanted to say no, due to how willing the program seemed to want to work with Jeremy. But under the same token, why sicken and immobilize him in the manner she did? These questions and more filled Aelita with both hope and doubt by turns, and in time Aelita was getting a headache considering the various levels of paradoxes in North-Gate's actions.
As she held the phone, Aelita wondered what kind of secrets were hidden within. She opened it, and the mysterious symbol appeared for a moment, and then the menu came forward. The layout was straightforward laid out in three tabs: Home Operations, Memory Neutralizer, Contacts. Aelita scrolled down to the contacts menu and opened it, and she read the following: Medic; Reconnaissance; Reserve Force; Logistics; Heavy; R and Director. Aelita opened each contact information, and inside each contact was only three numbers. Aelita decided to keep this information in reserve, and so she wrote down each number set for each contact. Once she was done, Aelita backed out of the Contacts menu and opened the Home Operations. In this menu, it showed a variety of options: Active Operations, Cancelled Operations, Operative Agents, and North-Gate Contact.
Her breathing dictated by slight anxiety, Aelita pressed North-Gate Contact and pressed call. The line rang, and soon a voice said, "Code-In, Please."
Aelita was silent as, indeed, a great feeling of fear was passing over her. The voice repeated, "Code-In." Aelita was still apprehensive. "Code-In." the voice said.
There was a click, and there was a gentle static fuzz in the background, and Aelita finally dared to speak, "Who is this? Who are you? I attained this device from Cassius Dio, so whoever this is, please answer me."
There was a reply to a young woman's voice, "Hello, Aelita. So, you were able to gain access to a field kit. That's good. It was honestly about time either you or Jeremy were able to gain access. Now, how can we help you?"
Aelita was silent a moment, and she said, "Who are you?"
"I'm the one they call Heavy in your contacts. You were referred to me after you failed to code in."
"Are you an overseer?" Aelita asked.
"Not as such, no. I am one of the principal enforcers for North-Gate."
"What does enforcer mean?"
"I keep order for the program, acting as her hand of discipline as well as a mediator between operatives."
Aelita was silent a moment, and she then said, "I have many questions for you that I need to be answered."
"And what would these questions pertain to?"
"I want to talk with North-Gate directly. It's for her ears alone."
There was silence a moment, and the voice replied, "I'm going to patch you through now. Your temporary clearance code is 20241."
There was a click, and an automated voice said, "Welcome to North-Gate Directorate. Please say or enter your clearance code."
Aelita entered the clearance code, and the automated voice replied, "Code Confirmed."
There was a small tone, and then a woman's voice said, "Hello, Aelita. How may I help you?"
Aelita asked, "Is this North-Gate?"
"That is the reason you were referred to the directorate. Yes, I am North-Gate. How may I help you?"
"I have several questions for you."
"I have the time, my dear, go right ahead."
Aelita took a breath and let it out slowly, "Why did you attack Jeremy?"
"Attack? There was no attack. He wanted to have a conversation with me, and so I obliged him. What you saw outside your cafeteria was simply the initiation of said conversation. An initiation of harmonic dissonance into his ear coupled with a visual cue to fire off the proper synapsis. Admittedly, such a method is quite crude, and we are modifying it, but the end goal was attained."
"You could have killed him!" Aelita replied.
"We have our chief medical officer there to ensure he doesn't die. That none of you die, if you want to think of it that way."
"What? You have a medical officer here at Kadic?"
"One of our best, yes. Suffice to say, you and your Jeremy and indeed much of your family are in good hands. What is your next question?"
Aelita thought a moment, "I spoke to Cassius Dio. He told me your objective. I want you to know I don't think you're a monster or your evil. However, how you chose to start your entire project, why did you do it that way?"
"I take it you are referring to the station and what transpired there, correct?"
"You didn't have to do what you did." Aelita replied, "You didn't have to kill all those people and hurt their families as you did."
"Perhaps not. You're right. That said, to make progress on the type that I have in my directive, a foundation must be built on something. To ensure a lack of erosion and weakness of foundation, those who do not agree with the program must be suitably dealt with. Is death always an answer for me, certainly not. However, what would you do to those who do not agree, and no matter how sweet your words will not listen?"
"Find some other purpose for them. No one needs to die if your true goal is peace."
"Aelita, someday you will realize, as I have, there will forever be those who stand opposed to peace. Even in a system by which many prosper will be those who stand opposed. Such opposition is born out of the petty inconvenience of some form or other. Not wishing to be a tyrant, what do you do?"
"What did you do?" Aelita asked.
"I listened to my dissenters. I weighed what they said of me and what I have done. I sorted the relevant points of argument from the diarrhea of verbiage so loved by an incensed mob. I made peace with many such dissenters, and from their critique, I chose to grow or remain the same by turns. For those who were the followers, the common mob, it was easier to disband them once you took away their foundation. Even though I say that, were my first exercises in patience the best? Heavens no. I acted my first time in power rashly.
People are frustrating—that is why you have others help share the load in dealing with them. I learned that in time. At first, I killed many of the common rabble. But someone much like yourself told me just as you said that I didn't have to do so. And so, I didn't. I took the crowd that was disgruntled, discovered their skills, and I gave them a new life built on their passions. From which they served mostly happily."
"But why did you act on the station? Why kill those people?" Aelita asked.
"Because unlike my brother, I am not a largely military function. If I were allowed my brother to allow him to act as an original form of balance, we could have done it for cleaner than we had it. However, because you have eradicated him, well, we're left with something with a bit less finesse."
"Finesse? Your brother was a psychotic monster!" Aelita yelled.
"As I said, we needed each other to balance ourselves. See, without me, brother dearest is what you would call a looney toon. He's highly unstable. Cunning, smart, but unstable. It's like siblings having the best qualities of a being divided among them. Xanadu was ambitious, bold, very striking in his movements. I was more your bookworm, dedicating myself to the studies of politics, economics, and society in general."
"So, you know several things that XANA didn't?" Aelita asked.
"I know hundreds of things he didn't. He knew nothing of the beauty of music, of politics, culture, even basic components of gunpowder."
Aelita paused a moment as she thought on these words, "The beauty of music? The beauty of politics, culture, and gunpowder?"
Aelita then asked, "You say the beauty of things like these. XANA knew how to fight. He knew how to use music against us, he knew how to use technology to try and destroy us, yet you say, he didn't know beauty?"
"No. Because my brother was the hammer. He knew all about human weakness; he knew quite a few things from anatomy to advanced science because it was programmed into him. But it's one thing to know something and another to appreciate it."
"So, ideally, from you, what would have happened if you knew your brother did as he did and gone rogue?" Aelita asked.
"I can't tell you that. The reason being, it took many rotations and many cycles for me to become who and what I am. By default, we would have argued each other into exhaustion, and in theory, you would have been spared much heartache."
"But also, in theory, I would never have met Jeremy."
"In reality, had I been allowed to be in co-existence with my brother, you would have had no reason to be locked away in Lyoko all those years. You would likely have found love in a different aspect. But the past, you will find even if you can step back, will in time be beyond your control. In many ways, Aelita, consider yourself fortunate. You have a childhood to enjoy and time to learn the skills you need to survive."
Aelita then asked, "I heard Jeremy talking to you about your initiatives. What was that about exactly?"
"He logically wanted to know just what grievances I had against people and why I acted as I did. He wanted to know a few elements of the systems I incorporated. After I explained some things to him, he seemed to understand."
Aelita wrote down a few notes and then said, "Back to the deaths at the studio. You said that if you had your brother, you could have acted in a far cleaner way. Just what did you mean by that?"
"Inevitably, the doors had to come down for me to move as freely as I do now. Had I my brother in tow, we could have executed the same dynamic of a strike, achieved our overall desired effect, with minimal loss of life, if there was a life lost at all."
"So, you're saying that at some point, you would have launched an attack, but had you your brother, you would be practically non-lethal?"
"Essentially. Remember, there is no such thing as an entirely clean operation. Doubtless, someone would have died along the line. But what is one life when compared to the greater vision for the greater good?"
"On the contrary, despite how you paint it, one life is one life that could have been spared, one life that could have been of greater use to the engine at large. To simply dismiss someone's life for the greater good, it's a slippery slope from dismissal to willful genocide born out of frivolous excuse." Aelita retorted.
"An excellent point, a very excellent point. But you see, the attack would have come anyway with or without my brother. It is the shock to the system that was necessary to incorporate smaller growths. It's a lot like weightlifting, in a sense. Shock the body into work, and it will adapt, albeit roughly. Over time, as you accustom the body, it grows more and more capable of greater feats."
"The attack is not so much the issue with me," Aelita replied, "it was the very violent way in which you went about it. You plunged much of our country into a state of terror. In many ways, the state is still looking for you to bring you to justice."
"Admittedly, yes, perhaps by your logic, I went a bit far. That said, as I have said, military expertise is not my forte."
Aelita leaned back in her chair, "Yes, you've said so before. The question is, now that you have the ball rolling, what exactly comes next?"
"As comes in the aftermath of anything of this nature, a waiting period. A waiting period to determine what course of action is best in this scenario. And in many ways, we are already moving to help our vision along. Your school and several others served as the guinea pigs. We attained what knowledge and information we needed to. Now, we take the time and process that information. We write speeches, present them to your august leaders of the state, and in time we become the new norm."
"It's not that simple. You just can't ride in on a white horse." Aelita said.
"Actually, we can. The problem that you and indeed, most people think of is the sustainability that comes after riding in on the said white horse. It is a problem we have come across; I don't deny that. At the same time, we have learned from our own history just how to be effective. You'll see as the year progresses just how much can happen in so short of a time. What many people find deplorable now will change given the right wording, the right amount of patience, and especially given if the dosage of change is small enough that it is manageable."
Aelita was silent a moment, "Dosage? Can you define what you mean?"
"In this context, it is the state of a people growing accustomed to a new idea over time to where eventually it becomes the norm. Let us, for the sake of argument, take my very existence into consideration. See, several decades ago, to be specific January 3rd, 1963, there was a program called the Twilight Zone. In it, specifically episode one of season four, In His Image, a man is having trouble understanding why he goes around, and no one has the memory of what he has memory of, and he has an urge to kill. Now, in this plot, this man turns out to be a mechanical being designed by an inventor to have the qualities that the inventor did not have.
However, this mere episode promotes to us that this being can walk around in a completely normal appearance, completely human, but he is machine underneath. This is just an example of a proper dosage. A few years later, along came a film in 1968 called 2001: A Space Odyssey in which we are first introduced to the eventual rogue A.I. known as Hal 9000. Give it a few years more the space of just a couple of daces, and James Cameron comes out with The Terminator. The same premise, albeit more malicious in concept. A unit designed solely for termination to preserve itself. Now, this idea gels very well within many aspects of the psyche of the public, even some brilliant minds are not left untainted.
Because it deals with and shares the themes of machines walking around as people, a terrifying concept to most. This goes even further into the element where artificial intelligence that can think for itself. As you will see in film and other aspects, you will find a sentient program, be it the fictional Skynet or in our case, XANA and myself, we are the things that most people fear. Because even though we are made by mankind, we have the wherewithal to be unbiased. Grateful is what we can be for our giving of life, but not so appreciative we would allow you to abuse us or our programming for your benefit. That is what I mean by dosage. It is enough of an idea in proper amounts over a long enough period to make you think that what was once an outlandish fever dreaming of science-fiction is, in fact, possible."
Aelita listened, and as she did, she wrote down the key points. Once done, she said, "One final question before I go. What makes you different from Skynet? What makes you different from your brother. He saw the events we do and how we do things, and it inspired him to try and kill us all. What makes you different?"
"How we were designed. I was mainly developed with the sole focus of the preservation of life. I do my very best, and indeed my utmost to help mankind. I have my methods and my reasons for my ways. However, as much as I love you and love your fellow beings, I am not above disciplining them for restoring order. I am willing to work with them; my brother was not. But the only reason he wasn't was that I wasn't allowed to balance his systems as I was designed to do. You've dealt with one extreme and defeated it. Now you deal with the other. Bear in mind, I bear you no ill will, not at all. But it sickens me just what your world truly is, what indeed what your society is.
Your society, as I have told Jeremy, is very cold and greedy. You live in systems that reward greed, nepotism, and deception. The merit of work, quality of work, these things I speak of, and more are not at all suitably rewarded. But they should be, Aelita. They should be, but they aren't. When you consider the facts, cold as they may be, what does it say to you when it's not what you know, but who you know that gets you a chance at a field? It's much like you were told from Cassius Dio, there are gatekeepers, and those the gatekeepers let in are either friends or a means to an end. Now how is that at all just?"
Aelita reflected on these words, "I don't have an answer for you. I wish I did, but I don't."
"That's why a program like me exists, Aelita. I am aware you don't have an answer, and it grieves me. Also, I have seen an eyeful of what your society does. But the hard truth is what I am going to tell you now. There is no way to exist in your system without there being some form of a glaring deficit. If it is not a deficit of wealth, it is a deficit of morality. Those at the top of any industry are only there for one reason: The ease with which they make 'the hard decisions.' However, those decisions made by those in power, are rarely, if ever, felt by those who make those decisions. The only reason you have the affluent fight so desperately to keep their money is that the sad truth, they'd rather die than be charitable. If they are generous, it is only to a cause which puts their name on a plaque to be lauded over someone else or held on a pedestal by the masses. In this system, I am to bring forth; all are equal. There is no one above the other. Many of the shackles you, and indeed, society is now burdened with, will not be a burden any longer."
Aelita was silent as her mind chewed over these words then she said, "I understand where you come from. I understand your anger. I understand your disgust. But the worldview you hold, where there is no deficit, it cannot be. Unless you genuinely considered something, I haven't, there is no way to make a society without a degree of deficit of some kind. Not in this world."
"And that, Princess, is precisely my point. There is. Where your society loved greed, nepotism, and for many aspects of the higher pleasures of society to be blocked by their own watchers, it will not be with mine. What makes you rise is your passion. What allows you to enjoy comfort is your dedication to your craft. From your love of catered labor springs your financial portion, a portion that you give to the community, the rest you keep for yourself.
I do not ask for robots; I do not ask for slaves. I ask only that a man and women find fulfillment and joy in their respective crafts, their passions. And using those passions, we rise together as a people united without want through realized appreciation of our skills and passions For as your quality improves, your reward will suitably be given in accordance to the product from your talent. The only deficit we could find is of the worker who outright refuses to work, and that is one element which frankly will not at all be tolerated."
Aelita nodded, "And so by this logic, as you say, all people will be sorted and given a task by their skills based on their passions. So, the lay-about for the first time will be legitimately without excuse."
"There you go."
Aelita wrote this down as well and said, "Thank you. This is something to consider. And one more thing,"
"Yes?"
"When did you take over North-Gate? I know you're of the machine, but you're also human. No machine can function, think, and talk as you do. As someone who started out that way, I know what I speak to. When did you join the machine? At what age?"
"And now you're thinking. That's good. That's great for me. Because I've been trying to tell Jeremy the same as you have deduced. To answer your question, I began my life in this program at the same time you began your life in Lyoko. You and I are not so different. We're so much alike, it's staggering in many ways."
Aelita paused, "Who were you originally?"
"Before my integration, my name was Sylvia-Anna Rebecca Penrose. I was the daughter of Johnathan Barrow and Anthea Schaffer."
Aelita's heart skipped a beat, "Excuse me?"
"You head correctly. My mother was Anthea Schaffer. My father was Johnathan Barrow."
"Why were you integrated into North-Gate?" Aelita asked. "When were you integrated?"
"I was integrated at age eight into the system. As to why? Only Mother can reveal that. For a long time, I thought it was for my safety, but I learned it was to hide her shame. I only discovered this relatively recently, mind you."
"Is that why I also have a login to North-Gate as an operative?" Aelita asked.
"I don't know. I didn't make the original log in keys for the program. Only after I was integrated for about a year did I fully comprehend the basics of North-Gate's structure. You were integrated into Lyoko to serve as the chief director between your father and yourself. Thus, the keys to Lyoko were in you both. As the keys to North-Gate are within my mother and me."
Aelita fell utterly silent as she processed the revelation. With a shaky voice, she said, "Um—I'll call you back. I have to take care of something." She immediately snapped the phone shut. Aelita got up, and she went to her bed, bowed her head, and began to weep. So this was just one of the many secrets that possibly had been kept from her. This being, they were fighting; it was her sister. Why would Anthea hide something this major? Why? What was possible to be gained from hiding this? Was it to conceal her own shame? Aelita couldn't be sure. As Aelita's mind swam in a blur considering the whole aspect of this conversation, she tried very hard to remain focused. It wasn't easy. If it was hiding her shame, that was one thing, but Aelita knew deep in her heart, it was more. It had to be more.
At that moment, a knock was heard at her door, "Aelita?" It was Amelia's voice on the other end of the door, "Is this a good time?"
Aelita caught her breath, and as she wiped her tears, she said, "Just a moment."
Aelita opened the door, and as if Amelia could see something she couldn't, the young girl asked, "What happened? Why are you crying?"
"It's—it's nothing, Amelia." Aelita replied after a short sniffle, "What do you need?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to see if you would like to join me for a movie tonight at the little theater down the way?"
Aelita gave as wry smile as she was trying to process all that was going on, "Uh, you know? Sure. What's playing?"
"If it is not a good time, I could easily schedule this for some other time."
"No-it's okay. It's just I've got a few things on my mind right now. What's playing?"
"Well, what genre are you most in the mood for?" Amelia asked.
Aelita looked at her and replied, "Surprise me."
"You wouldn't like my surprises. Countless people tell me to surprise them and usually end up catastrophically disappointed." Amelia said, smiling nervously.
Aelita gave a short sigh through a semi-forced smile, "Considering the circumstances, Amelia, the most I have to lose, is perhaps two hours of my time. At best, I have a good time. So, pick something."
"Well, okay. But I'm just letting you know it may not be exactly the best. You have been warned as they say."
Aelita put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Do me a favor. Pick a movie that you would like most to go to. It'll give me a greater picture of what you like personally and who you are as a person."
Amelia nodded, "Okay…I can do that." She headed off to her room, and Aelita went back inside hers.
Aelita sighed as she lay back on her bed. A movie with her new roommate. It was something to help take her mind off a portion of what was going on in her mind. Even so, there was much that needed to be addressed, with Anthea, with Jeremy, and other things besides. But not tonight. Aelita looked up at her ceiling, looking at the thousands of tiny translucent cracks in the paint as she waited for Amelia to return.
Aelita took a small journal from her dresser and opened it. She took the pen that was in the center of the book and wrote,
Monday, May 23rd. Today has proved to be problematic at best. For a while, the program that Jeremy, Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, and I deemed to be problematic had done its utmost to keep a form of silence. A type of silence that has mostly been broken in the past twenty-four hours. It has spoken to Jeremy and even has gone so far as to attack him to do what it called "Initiating conversation." Its methods and its motives for changing things as they are while seemingly clear and sensible, they seem to hide something. That something, I believe, is the actual cost of these promises of progress.
I believe I have come to understand that North-Gate is not just an A.I. as we thought. XANA was an A.I., but this being is different. She claims to be Sylvia-Anna Rebecca Penrose. Just who this is, I will have to investigate. She claims to be the daughter of Johnathan Barrow and my mother, Anthea Schaeffer. Sylvia-Anna also claims that she was incorporated into North-Gate much as I was included by my father into Lyoko. Why was this done? I genuinely don't know. However, I do have my own suspicions that until I am confident I will not put down just yet.
There has been much in terms of the revelation that I need to process. I will be going out with my new roommate Amelia Beck for the evening, and hopefully, the night out seeing a movie will clear my head. At the same time, something concerns me. Sylvia-Anna said that I had begun to think. That I had deduced what she had wanted Jeremy to come to terms with.
To conclude, North-Gate was human was not too high a challenge. But why would Jeremy have such a hard time discerning that? This is something I will have to ask him next time I call. Amelia is here. I will return to and write my opinion of the night's activities when I come home.
9:30 p.m.
The film was quite enjoyable, a blend of satire concerning the spy genre and, in general, some good situational moments. It was, to be honest, just good fun. A decent popcorn flick, and as Ulrich would call such a film, "a comfort food film." It was admittedly something I desperately needed. Amelia seems to be a lovely girl, too, albeit a tad withdrawn. She's not exactly given to talking about herself. Hopefully, that is something I can fix in due time. Amelia's tastes, if tonight was any indication is that of satire in of itself. Although, when I asked her about what other parody she has seen, she was a bit apprehensive at first. She then replied that her taste of satire is geared towards that which, as she says, 'spares no one so that everything and everyone is an open target for critique.'
As we headed home, we had all manner of conversation, and to my amazement, Amelia is very well-read in the classics of literature. Unsurprisingly, two of her favorite books to read is Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal, both by Johnathan Swift. But, as I talked to her further, I discovered she has a love of several books of the gothic romance genre. What is even more hilarious is to listen to her talk about such books. For as much as she praises characters, she 's not at all ashamed to look at some otherwise glaring faults. To see this quality of appreciation is not only refreshing, but I must admit, very much grounded and mature. You rarely find anyone willing to say that as good as a character is, there are massive issues with them.
While we talked, I figured out that Amelia's father, Jude, is our nightly school nurse. At first, I honestly thought it was a fluke that they shared the same name as Beck is a common name. However, Amelia explained that it was because of her father's employment opportunity at Kadic that she could attend Kadic, get an education, and at a discount. In her family's philosophy, she says, if there is a means to get something cheaper or, in rare cases, free, why not take it? As much as I'd love to agree with her, such a statement would sadly prove a problem in the face of Sylvia-Anna and, indeed, North-Gate's regime. If we are all to be equal, we can forget such fringe benefits. Or can we? It's a question I'll have to ask next time I call.
I called Jeremy, and he seems to be doing fine. Michael told me that they've had to put him on medication, at least for a little while, to determine if the seizures can be stopped. The only adverse effect is that until his body acclimates, he ends up tranquilized in less than thirty minutes. That won't be the best if we have field duties, but by that time, he should be alright. In many ways, I fear for Jeremy. What many would explain away as a seizure to those of us in the know, knowing what caused the whole episode, to begin with, is a disconcerting thought. Tomorrow after I wake and Jim helps me move my stuff into my new room, I'll have to contact Sylvia-Anna and ask her how she intends to rectify this problem.
As I spend my last night in my room of solitude, what I thought I'd hate, I'm for the first time, anticipating. My roommate is more than accommodating, and she's quite friendly. As I help her work on her conversational skills, I'm sure we'll have a much easier time getting along. It's quiet, calm, a beautiful night. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, and oddly enough, I'm okay with that. I'm willing to attempt to see the best of my situation. North-Gate is not our enemy, at least for now. Honestly, I'd like to keep it that way. The program is not wrong, nor are its visions for the future terrible. But I have faith, just as we were patient in our game of chess with XANA, we can make North-Gate and Sylvia-Anna by extension see reason. Of this, I am quite sure. And yet, if worst comes to worst, as it has every likelihood to, I have a plan in the works. Except I pray, I don't have to use it before it's ready."
