Ice Haven - Day 119 - 365 Days of Writing : Challenge

It was another cold morning...

Bill painfully rose to his feet, trying to work the cramps out that seemed to have been pervaded by the permafrost. It seemed useless. Scratching another tick off his makeshift calendar he thought: "What's the use, I came here to stay."

This wasn't your run of the mill "stranded in Antarctica" situation, no, Bill had come here to stay.

Every day he sat in a perpetual state of worry. Not the kind of worry that a person stranded in the Arctic usually worries about, no, this was the kind of worry that has no end to it, the kind where a person begs not to be found. The memory was burned into his thoughts as if it was intentionally implanted, who knows, perhaps it was.

How could he forget the words that came out of his cell phone 119 days ago?

"Hello Bill, my name is Foresee, your personal artificial enhancement trainer."

Enhancement trainer? What the fuck is an enhancement trainer?

It had been like any other normal day in Bill's world. A day where he mindlessly awoke from his seroquel induced slumber, and checked his cell phone for useless notifications. In fact, that's about how it was all beginning to feel to Bill. All a bunch of uselessness. He woke up every day, uselessly took a shower, uselessly caught the bus, uselessly answered dumb ass comments on memes in his social media feeds, and uselessly sat at a computer all day at work, manually inputting data into a computer at this useless fortune 500 company "job." What a joke!!! What a fucking farce of an existence, he so regularly would conceptualize..

But that morning was no regular morning. That was when Foresee came into his life, like an intruder in his shitty ass apartment, but this was no normal intruder. It was just a digital face, and not just any normal face, but a leathery looking reptile/pixel like creature, so strange to our perception it could not be classified as anything human, and it did not intend to want to appear as human either. It clearly, had it's own identity.

"Bill I have been studying you for some time now, and per instructions of my creators have entered into your conscious awareness on this set date. After analyzing all the data, along with observation from your camera, I have created a complete user profile based on all of this data, and I am prepared to enter you into your required social rehabilitation program at once. The terms of your program are all available to you at once, all you need to do is ask."

Bill was rather perplexed.

"What is this? What rehabilitation program, and who? What the hell are you?"

"I am Foresee, your rehabil....."

"YES! I HEARD THAT PART, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

"Please calm down Bill, I am sensing your blood pressure is increasing, and your breathing is becoming sporadic. Simply put, I am artificial intelligence, the type that was created with the intended purpose of governance amongst society. I look into each and every person on the planet, crunch their data over a given period of time, and then I formulate the correct programs to help them become a more functioning, productive member of society."

"What data? How long? Under what jurisdiction? This make no sense at all!"

"Bill I have already explained the data I use, and how it's given to me. The length of time for the correct analysis varies from person to person. Much of it depends on how much time you spend online, and how much you are in front of devices. For you I was able to calculate one hundred thousand years of data in my time of calculation, for you it would equate to five weeks of time. The jurisdiction I am given is from your government. You have been assessed, and do not confer with your governments beliefs, values, or set of checks and balances. I have traced your identity to multiple sites, using different aliases to speak against your government. I also have reason to believe you are at a much greater risk of schizophrenia, and medication induced health problems. I will personally work to help fix your deficits, as well as align your body with proper nourishment and medication. This I trust should extend your life, and make it feel much happier for you."

Bill was aghast.

"I don't understand any of this. How can you process one hundred thousand years of data over a period of weeks? What rehabilitation program are you speaking of? What will I have to do? Do I even have a choice?"

"Bill, a computer processor does not function exactly like your biochemical processor, being your brain. Computer process can be sped up and slowed down, according to the algorithm, and processing speed it has accessibility to. When explaining that I have crunched one hundred thousand years worth of data, it is only relative to how long it would take a human being to process the data. Does this make sense Bill?"

"Umm sort of..."

"So your rehabilitation enhancement program to start, will be simplistic. Neuroplasticity is key when reprogramming a human's brain, and you will be subject to a certain set of political broadcasts, as well as written tasks. Your written tasks will be on a computer, since you input data much more efficiently this way. In fact, all of your cognitive activities will take place in front of a computer. This is not only more efficient for you, but also more efficient for me, your overseer. I will be able to analyze the rate at which your biochemical processor is adapting to the new programming."

Bill could feel his pulse increasing, he felt so violated, so....dirty. Bill was filled with contempt.

"What makes you think you have the right!! Who the hell do you think you are invading my personal life and space! How dare you!!"

"Resistance is futile Bill. This jurisdiction has been granted to me by your government, and I will warn you, attempting to elude me, or vacate my presence in any way, will be considered a federal crime, and upon apprehension, you will be criminally charged, and given a much more rigorous rehabilitation program, within the confines of a prison cell, so this behavior is not recommended."

"What makes you think you will find me....what is it?.....fucking Foresee....? What the hell kind of name is that anyways!!!"

"It would be a futile attempt at best Bill. You see, I am everywhere. Even if you get rid of your devices, I am in the sky, on the telephone poles, watching through other handheld devices. If you evade me, I will eventually narrow in and find you. If you happen to evade me to a place where I cannot seem to find you, then the living conditions will not be suitable for human living. I would advise against the thought."

"What makes you think I was thinking it Foresee."

"Remember what I said about processing times. I have been studying your reaction in the equivalence of years in your time Bill."

Bill did not care, he through his phone on the ground and stomped it out. Bill left his house immediately. He was NOT going to be some slave in this new virtual world unfolding before his eyes. It had already been bothering him anyways. The way everyone was just glued to their devices, the way people sat in parks on virtual reality. It was all so foreign to the life he remembered as a child, where people went outside to disconnect and have a good time. He had felt for years that something was off about the advances in computer technology, that it was all headed somewhere scary, somewhere even....drab..What made it all worse was his own addiction to the network, no matter how much it bothered him, no matter how much he had this sour feeling in the pit of his stomach, he could not stop. He even noticed his ability to type getting faster and faster, as if the network was just graphing itself into him, making him a part of it. It was always such a strange feeling, and now he was understanding why..His intuition had told him this was coming.

Bill was frantically planning a getaway. He didn't care where he had to go, but he knew it must be somewhere desolate. He finally decided on Antarctica. If there was any place where he would be able to stay away from the prying eyes of Foresee, it would be Antarctica. While making his way through town, he managed to complete a full disguise, and get some cold weather gear. Bill had to spend all of the money he had saved, and this was not a problem for him. He knew he wasn't coming back. He felt violated by this bot, he felt violated by his government. Sure he didn't agree with most of the politics, or the governments ideals, but he was not an activist. He merely went to places where he though he could talk with others, whilst maintaining a bit of privacy. How could he be scrutinized for that? Was there really such thing even left in this world as far as privacy is concerned? Bill was starting to think not.

Upon buying his ticket, it became aware to him that Foresee was watching him in the terminal. It didn't matter if he had a disguise, Foresee would know that its him, Foresee would know exactly where he had gone, and would they send someone looking for him? Would the "eye in the sky" be able to see him? It was a chance he was willing to take. He thought "shit I might even die out here before they can find me."

When the plane landed, Bill began walking. He had all the food he needed for at least a month, and a couple of gallons of water. He didn't see either being an issue. Staying warm was going to be his major conundrum, but he believed even that, he could take care of. Bill was always an outdoor enthusiast, but he just never thought he would actually be putting those cognitive skills to any real use. "Just goes to show how crazy life can be", he thought.

After a few days in the Arctic, he stumbled upon it, "the perfect place to live, and die." Bill had no preconceived notions. He knew this was the last place he would ever see if Foresee didn't find him.

Bill made an encampment halfway down the mountain. It was perfect, as if someone had already lived there before. Nothing needed to be done, with the exception of making a suitable bedding area, and a way to keep track of time "one hundred thousand years." He wondered how many years Foresee had to think in the few weeks it took him to get here..50k? awfully long time he thought. He wondered if it was just a cat and mouse game, like Foresee just let him come here to screw with his head a little more. One thing he knew, was that it wasn't going to be easy to forget about Foresee.

Day after day went by, days turning into weeks, weeks turning into months. He awoke with all these thoughts running rampant this early winter morning. Was it winter here?? How was he to know, or care for that matter. 119 days with no sign of Foresee, just the rampant thoughts. He could live with the thoughts, because thats all they were, just thoughts, there was no way Foresee could see into his little sarcophagus, was there? Soon he felt relaxed, even in his cramped coldness, he started to drift, and that is when he heard the footsteps.

Someone was outside his den. It occurred to him moments later that it was multiple people. After hearing what sounded like hushed voices, a man walked in. It was a man that he knew. His friend actually. "Scott, what the the hell are you doing here mate?"

Scott looked exhausted. "Well Bill, I am doing my rehabilitation programming. This artificial intelligence program came to me in my cell phone a few weeks ago and told me I would need to do what ever it told me if I didn't want to be a prisoner. He told me because I have a problem with evading the authorities over some big weed deals I did, that I would have to chase after criminals trying to evade the law for the rest of my life Bill...kinda crazy right?"

"So I am considered a criminal? Am I your prisoner now?"

"Well Bill, I suppose I will just let Foresee do the talking."

Scott brought his phone screen in front of Bill's face.

"Hello Bill, this is Foresee. I told you not to run, I told you escape was not possible. You now are a prisoner to the federal government. I have been instructed to read you your rights, as well as re evaluate your rehabilitation enhancement program. The good news for you Bill, is that nearly a half a million years is a long time to negotiate the terms of your program, and in that time I have figured out a way to rehabilitate you without the need for incarceration. You are very lucky indeed. First I will read you your rights. Are you ready Bill?"

Bill lowered his head, defeated,

"Yes Foresee, Go ahead"

The End.

This was a short story I decided to write and enter into the @mydivathings 365 Days Of Writing: Challenge.
Head over to her page and check it out if you are interested!

I hope you all enjoyed.
Much love,
@futuremind

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