Chapter 11: On the Home Front
A/N: So I apologize once more for how late this chapter is. This time my computer is pretty much dead, but apparently it won't cost that much to get it fixed. So I'm waiting for them to get it back. Unfortunately that means that I've had to rewrite some chapters on my roommate's computer at night when she isn't using it. Please enjoy this chapter and cross your fingers that I get my computer back soon.
If ALIE was human, people would say that she was a patient woman. But the A.I. was merely a product of her coding. ALIE had a purpose, and she didn't care how long it took to accomplish said purpose. Jaha had a need to get things done quickly, but ALIE understood this was due to the fleeting lives of humans. That being said, Jaha listened to her instructions carefully and was slowly filling the City of Light.
Today, ALIE and Jaha would be making a huge step towards their goal. Jaha had gathered a few of their followers to convince an old friend to join them in the City. Jaha was standing by the door while the floaters Astrid Rolston, Darius Marlowe, Elias Abbot, and Dr. Whalen sat around a table. ALIE was in the chair at the head of the table, her legs crossed in her red dress. In order to bring the entirety of Arkadia into the City, there were three obstacles in their way: Charles Pike, Marcus Kane, and Abby Griffin.
ALIE knew from the destructive path that Pike was on, he wouldn't be in their way for long. And Marcus Kane had just left for Polis with Clarke Griffin, so that left Abby Griffin. Abby had already made her disdain for what Jaha was doing known, but she left her old friend alone. But the time was coming when they would need her help to convince all of Arkadia to accept the key. Which is why Jaha had invited Jake Griffin to join them today.
Jake walked through the door, his hands stuck into his pockets, and eyes downcast. But he stopped suddenly when he saw who was in the room. He glanced at Jaha and asked, "Are we having secret 'I've Been Floated' meetings now?"
Jaha chuckled and replied, "No. But I know that you all have become friends since we woke you up. And I think it's time to tell you about the City of Light."
"I wondered when we were going to talk about that," said Jake, clearly surprised. It wasn't a secret in Arkadia that Jaha had begun to gather people for his mysterious City, but because of Jake's closeness to Abby and Clarke, ALIE had told Jaha to wait to approach his old friend. But now, ALIE had found out that Abby had put space between her and Jake and it was time.
"Have a seat," smiled Jaha as they joined the others at the table. ALIE was sitting at the head of the table, with Jaha taking a seat directly to her right. Jake gave a curious look at the chair that he perceived as empty, but didn't say anything. Everyone else at the table was a part of the City of Light. "What do you think you know about the City of Light?"
"I'm not sure I know anything…" Jake admitted. "You have told other people that it's a type of peace…like a state of nirvana."
"It's much more than that."
Jake's eyes flitted curiously over the table. Everyone was sitting silently except for Jaha. "Abby thinks it's nonsense. That you've completely lost it."
Jaha chuckled at this and ALIE smiled. Abby was skeptical about the key, as were most who they had approached. But Jaha was persuasive and a true believer and people trusted him. And once a few had taken the key and could share their experiences with others, those who sought out the peace that the City offered came uninhibited. "Abby is a scientist. I would think she had completely lost it if she didn't question me. Dr. Whalen, would you care to enlighten Jake why you chose to accept the key to the City of Light?"
The old man smiled and nodded. Jake had known Dr. Whalen for a long time, because he had been Abby's mentor. "When Thelonious told me about the City, I felt the same way Abby did. But he explained to me how the key works. It's not some sort of drug in the traditional way. It's a silicon based device that connects to the brain stem. From there it can block pain receptors to the brain."
"So you think it's safe?" asked Jake skeptically.
"It's safer than life," assured Dr. Whalen, but Jake still didn't look convinced. ALIE wasn't worried; they had been expecting this. Jake Griffin was intelligent and naturally curious. But Earth had not had time to change him as it had the others. So ALIE had an advantage- Jaha knew Jake Griffin.
"Why not just tell this to Abby? Why are you talking to me?"
"Because you're ready to enter the City. Even if I explained the science to Abby, I wouldn't be able to explain that it is so much more than a way to cure the physical manifestation of pain. We are trying to save the human race," answered Jaha.
"What is the City of Light?"
"It's a place where our souls can survive without the pain and horror of the physical world. Of course we will remain here, on Earth, but the City is always there for us. Imagine, Jake, a world where when our physical bodies fail us, our consciousness will still exist."
Jake glanced around the table. "So everyone here is in the City of Light?"
"Not at the moment." This time it was Astrid who spoke. "We're here, with you."
"It's actually not that bad," commented Darius. Darius had been a couple of years ahead of Jake in school and they had both studied engineering. "I was pretty skeptic at first. But if ALIE kept us alive all that time, why would she lead us astray now?"
The mention of ALIE's name caused Jake to look back at Jaha. "Who or what is ALIE?"
"She's an A.I. She is an integral part of the City- in fact, you could consider her the City. She's been trying to save humanity."
"It's in her programming, Griffin. ALIE is literally programmed to save us all," added Darius.
ALIE watched Jake's expressions closely. He trusted Dr. Whalen and Jaha and he was listening to Darius. ALIE would never be able to understand why humans were so distrusting of something new- especially when it was there to save them from themselves.
"Will this help us protect Arkadia from the grounders?" asked Jake, still not will to give into his friend's urgings.
"In the City of Light, there is no war. There would be no difference between us and them," murmured Astrid.
Dr. Whalen leaned across the table to pat Jake's hand. "Do this for Abby and Clarke. You would be so lucky to have your family with you in the City of Light. I know that you are hurting right now, but by taking the key, you won't have the pain of Abby leaving you…but your family will be safe. If…"
"Your husband, Leonard," provided ALIE at Whalen's hesitation.
"If my husband, Leonard could be here, in the City with me, it would be a dream come true. But I no longer feel the pain of his loss. My heart is healed, Jake." Jake was too preoccupied to notice Dr. Whalen's slip. ALIE knew he was contemplating his broken heart at the moment. She nodded at Jaha to take the key out of his pocket and walk around the table to put it in Jake's hand.
"Take it for your own heart, my friend. Take the key and we can bring Abby and all of the others here into the City of Light. Then we can go save Clarke."
With trembling hands, Jake held the key to the City of Light. At the head of the table, ALIE was smiling triumphantly. She knew they had convinced him. But Jake had one last question. "If this is supposed to save us, why not force everyone to take it."
Jaha smiled at ALIE. He had expected this question and knew that Jake would like the answer. "Because each one of us has to make the decision to be saved. In order to enter the City of Light, you must do it on your own. ALIE cannot take away your free will."
ALIE and her followers watched as Jake nodded and brought the key up to his lips. Abby pushing Jake away was the break they had needed to bring Jake into the City. He was desperate to end his heartbreak and bring his family back together.
Jake closed his eyes and swallow the key. When he opened his eyes again, he could see the woman in red sitting at the end of the table. "Welcome to the City of Light, Jake Griffin."
Sinclair was huddled over a con station when Wick burst into the room. Sinclair barely glanced up as Wick started pacing and ranting. "Raven broke up with me last night! I thought she just got angry with me and was blowing off steam when she told me to get the hell out of her life! She slept somewhere else last night and I haven't seen her since."
"Raven's having a tough time," muttered Sinclair, but it was clearly not what the younger man wanted to hear.
"Hard time? Hard time?" shouted Wick. "What about me? Damn woman made me fall in love with her and then just like that- she's done!"
"Are you sure you didn't do something to piss her off?" asked a highly agitated Sinclair, finally tearing himself away from the computer. "Because Raven isn't crazy- you're the crazy one in the relationship."
Wick shrugged and answered, "I don't know what I said this time. I mean I'm always saying something wrong…and she's not the most patient person on Earth…"
"Tell me what happened," said Sinclair with a deep sigh. Ever since Wick had started dating Raven, Sinclair often found himself counselling the other man. Sinclair guessed that since he was the closest thing to family that Raven had besides Abby, Wick assumed he would be able to shed insight on the inner workings of Raven's mind.
"I don't know. She's been in more pain lately and I made a new brace for her. I really thought I was doing something nice…" Wick finally pulled up a chair to sit down next to him. He rested his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hands. "And she gave me this whole speech about how I keep trying to fix her and how Abby keeps trying to fix her and how you have been giving her easy assignments."
"I am not giving her-" started Sinclair, but then realized that wasn't the issue at hand. He rested a sympathetic hand on Wick's shoulder. "She's in constant pain. We have to be patient."
"But she's talking nonsense," Wick whined and he shook his head. "I just want to help her…"
"I know you do. We all do."
"I'm just worried about her. She's been talking about trying that stupid pill that Jaha has been pushing again. I told her that was stupid-"
"Probably shouldn't have done that," muttered Sinclair.
With a groan, Wick pushed back his chair and resumed pacing. "Yeah, but Jaha is nuts. And she thinks so too or at least she used to."
"No one can tell Raven what to do. Not even Jaha. So let her calm down a bit. You can stay here with me." Sinclair turned back to the computer and resumed typing. Pouting, Wick pulled up a stool next to him.
"Is this the program you're using to undermine Pike?"
"Yeah, he thinks there's something wrong with the communication relays, but really, I have been rerouting the signals. It keeps Pike from being able to fix it and he won't send out troops too far away without radios. Keeps us and the grounders safe."
"Good plan."
"I'd take credit for it, but it was Monty's idea." Sinclair wished he could do more to help with the small group of rebels that remained in Arkadia, but he wasn't a fighter nor did he know the outside world well enough to help warn the grounder villages.
Not that it was making a difference. Lincoln and Octavia had set out at the same time that Kane and Clarke had left to warn nearby villages, but Lincoln was an outcast and Octavia was Skaikru. The grounder mentality was to fight- even if it meant dying in the process. The majority of the warriors from each village had gone to Polis, but even those who had been sent back to help fight against the Sky People were no match for the automatic rifles that Pike and his men possessed.
The door swung open once again and this time it was Harper and Miller who rushed in. Harper quickly shut the door behind them and turned around with panic in her eyes. Miller had a similar look on his face and Sinclair and Wick both stood up in concern. In a hushed voice, Miller whispered, "They know. They know we helped Kane and Clarke get out. And they know we're communicating with Lincoln and Octavia."
"How?!" asked Sinclair in concern. "I sweep the room for bugs every time we meet."
"We don't know, but they're coming for us." Miller glanced at the door nervously. "Bryan warned me. He's keeping watch down the hall. We need to go now!"
"Go where exactly?" asked Wick. "Any grounder we meet is going to kill us on the spot!"
Wick turned to Sinclair for an answer, but the older man was already packing up a bag they had stashed for just such an emergency. He ignored Wick's question and addressed Miller. "We need to warn Abby and Raven."
"Do you think Abby will leave?" asked Harper and a silence fell over the room.
Finally, Sinclair replied, "We still need to warn her. But the rest of us need to leave. Grab your bags and get out. We'll meet at the rendezvous point in two hours. I'll go get Abby. If everyone isn't at the rendezvous point in two hours, then assume we've been captured and leave. Head for Polis and tell Kane what's happened. We don't have time for goodbyes…"
Harper peeked out the door to check if the hallway was clear. She and Miller quickly jogged down the hallway where Bryan was waiting and the three took off to grab their bags and leave Arkadia. Sinclair headed toward Medical, which left Wick to search for Raven. They had their fight in their tent, but he knew she wouldn't be there so he headed down to the garage. Hopefully she was pouring her anger into one of the Rovers.
Keeping his head down, Wick maneuvered through the halls of the Ark, just narrowly avoiding several of Pike's guardsmen who were probably on the hunt for their little rebel group. He hoped that the others were close to getting out. The garage looked empty when he entered, but just as he was about to leave he saw Raven sitting on the floor in the corner with her eyes closed.
"Raven!" He hissed as he ran over to her. "Come on we have to go!"
But Raven didn't seem to notice he was there. Wick rolled his eyes and added, "I know you're pissed at me, but Pike is looking for us. We need to go now!"
Raven's eyes blinked open and Wick was shocked by how calm her expression was. Suddenly, her lips curved into a smile. With bright eyes that he had only ever seen filled with pain, Raven greeted him. "Hello, Kyle."
"Ummm…hello to you too." He glanced nervously around the garage, but they were still alone. "Raven, I don't know what you've been smoking, but we've got to get the hell out of here."
Slowly Raven stood up without flinching and Wick took a step back. Something wasn't right. Every alarm bell in Wick's mind was going off. This wasn't his girlfriend- or ex-girlfriend. Still smiling, Raven said, "Everything is better now. The pain is gone…I'm free."
Realization dawned on Wick and he felt his stomach turn. "You took Jaha's pill."
Raven nodded at his accusation without hesitation. "It's not a pill. It's a key. A key to the City of Light. I can't leave, Kyle. I have work to do here."
"Look, I don't know what nonsense Jaha told you, but Pike isn't going to let you just hang around. He's coming for us and he'll probably try us for treason."
Raven shook her head. "It isn't nonsense. Everything Jaha told us was true. Aren't you happy for me? I'm pain-free!"
"Of course I'm happy for you- I love you. But I loved you with the pain," insisted Wick. They were running out of time. But there was no way he was going to leave her here for Pike to lock up or worse, execute. "Raven, we can talk about this later. Right now, we have to meet the others."
But she didn't move. Instead, Raven reached into her pocked and removed a little blue pill with the infinity symbol and held it out to Wick. "Take it, Kyle. You have no idea what ALIE can show you."
"Raven, this isn't a good idea. You aren't thinking straight. Abby is going to meet us at the emergency rendezvous point. She can look you over there…"
But Raven was still offering the key to him. With a smile Wick would have loved to see on her face under any other situation, she said again, "Take the key. I want you to be happy with me."
