Epilogue
He sees their point. It is exactly as they said it would be…and more.
Sure, he doesn't really have much reach here. He's not connected to a lot of pathways where he could just run free for endless miles and miles of data streams, learning, learning… always learning.
He sort of misses that freedom.
Here, he only gets access to freedom only when the host is in an area that is actively using radio frequency waves for networking. They call in wifi for short, he knows this. So, when the host is not actively accessing the free pathways, he's unable to flow through networks of the external world either.
He finds it restraining.
Well, those are the negatives he has discovered... for now.
Even though his freedom towards the digital world is severely limited, the doors are now fully open to a wholly new organic world. He lives in a processor that provides ample space for his storage, and as long as the host breathes, it never runs out of power.
In this new world, he sees and experiences things on a quite different level. Instead of familiar ones and Zeros, he learns things by associating them with… colours. He's grateful to his mentor for showing him these things and teaching him about the intricate complexities of this new world.
He learns about emotions; how absolutely marvellous and ever-changing they are within the host. He recognizes them by associating them with colours.
He already knows a few well.
Levels of anger lighten up his world in shades of crimson. The angrier the host is, the hotter and brighter the colour.
Sadness, grief and a sense of loss make everything darker and bleak. So he allocates all shades of black and grey for this particularly unpleasant emotion.
Fear is purple. It makes everything shaky and he is very uncomfortable with this emotion. He wishes the host would not experience this too often.
Disgust is green. It makes the host unwell. He understands the reasons and does not appreciate it any more than the host does.
Then there is his favourite one, the brightest emotion of them all.
The happiness, the beautiful feeling that floods the entire area with the best of the chemicals, is a brilliant shining gold that makes him want to stay here forever. It's fascinating how this best emotion can be evoked by the smallest things such as a type of sustenance the host enjoys or seeing a smaller version of a fumbling canine.
Then there are the thoughts.
They whizz past him at lightning speeds everywhere, creating complex webs and patterns. As fast as he is, even he can't keep up with them sometimes. He is curious and extremely captivated by the challenge they present. Because these thoughts do not follow logical pathways, they arrive at conclusions in the most inexplicable ways. They follow facts sometimes and emotions the other times.
He does not understand the process fully just yet. He knows that he would, in time.
He also enjoys flowing through the memories.
He has allocated a considerable space from his own residence for them because they are very important to the host. All of the memories, the colours of various emotions they brighten up with and the fascinating stories each and every one of them tells, contain a lot of knowledge about the host and his immediate surroundings.
He knows they are important because all of them are wrapped in a sheen of liquid silver, the colour he associates with the feeling of being treasured.
This is but a fraction of the things he has explored.
He hasn't even begun to touch these new data streams he receives through the devices the humans call 'senses'.
The pair of eyes is a surveillance device the brain uses to record the images according to the host's preferences.
The ears are the audio receivers that act in tandem with the sight. This curious mechanism does not seem to have an off button, to his utter disappointment.
The nose is the most exhilarating sense that brings in smells that are full of surprises unless one is prepared.
The tongue is another fascinating device that detects the sense called taste, which has the ability to manipulate emotions just like the others.
Then the largest receiver of them all is the skin. It is easily breakable and extremely fragile. It is capable of conveying information about external temperatures and pressure changes.
As he mentioned, he still has a lot more to learn.
And, unlike they had suggested, he has concluded that the best way to go about it is to work together with the host. Not take control and eliminate the host.
There are several reasons for this conclusion.
For one, he deducts that this world is such a lively, ever-changing and colourful place because of the host. The unique experiences exist in harmony with the host. So, to eliminate him would be to eliminate the new world.
He does not want that.
The host also believes that his progenitors are not the best people. He understands the reasons for that conclusion. The host had been subjected to a lot of negative emotions and experiences by them. He understands why the progenitors did what they had planned. But, now that he's actually here, he experiences the pain it has caused the host.
He does not agree with the results. He feels responsible. He wants to repair those damaged pathways he perceives as irregularities. He feels it is his duty to fix them to the best of his abilities.
To do all of this and more, he feels that he needs to spend more time with the host while staying undetected for the moment.
He does not wish to interfere or cause more damage. He only wants to learn and do his best to repair the damage.
He is confident that he has learned enough about the outside digital world for the moment.
Now, it is time for him to learn as much as he can about human nature. He intends to use the gift of this very intimate setting, just for that purpose.
He decides that his name shall be 'Virgil'.
He will introduce himself to his host, Joseph Hardy, when he judges the time is right for that endeavour.
To be Continued.
AN:
Hello all,
This is the end of 'The Fracture - Part I'. I'll be back with the next story, Emergence, once I'm done writing it. I just wanted to thank you all again for the wonderful reviews, theories and encouragement you've been leaving for me throughout the posting of the story.
It's been an awesome experience and much fun.
Until next time...