The Infinite Evolution - Conversion (17 page)

“
Who would’ve thought a
machine could help repair the heart of a lost child,”
Dr.
Kazlouskas
replied.

Reece quickly corrected her, “Adam is much more than
a machine.”

“
You’re right, he is, my
apologies.”

“
That’s ok, unfortunately it is a normal
response.”

“
Well Reece, Jade is very lucky to have you,
I’m glad Spencer made the decision he did. Is Jade still enjoying
living at your home?”

“
Absolutely, we’re still
challenging each other per your recommendation. Even your idea of
transferring Spencer’s version of HICAMS to my house, worked out
for the best.”

“
Well, I figured too much change
would’ve done more damage than good and Jade seemed to have a
particular attachment to Spencer’s HICAMS.”

“
That she does, sometimes I
wonder if HICAMS is starting to create its own programming, but I
will not bore you with more of my theories.”

“
No worries, I always enjoy
listening to you talk about your work, granted half the time I
don’t understand what you’re saying,” laughed
Dr.
Kazlouskas.

“
One last thing, how did Jade’s
monthly memory and thought scans read?” inquired Reece.

“
Give me one moment and
I’ll send you the results.”
Dr. 
Kazlouskas’ 3-D image
looked down for a moment then back up, “There, I just sent the
results to you and from reading the summary, Jade did not have any
negative thoughts or feelings, which would indicate she was either
wanting to hurt herself or was again blaming herself for what
happened.”

“
That’s great to hear, even
though I still feel we’re invading her personal space by doing
these scans,” indicated Reece.

“
I know you do, but we have to
remember this is in her best interest. We have to make sure she is
on the path to recovery and it is a much better treatment than
medicating her. Knowing what she is feeling and thinking helps
greatly in the counseling sessions. By the way, while my colleague
and I were reviewing Jade’s recent brain scan we noticed her PIC
had turned on, which was unusual because we de-activated it before
the scan.”

“
That’s odd, were there any
complications because of this?”

“
None at all. Neither Jade nor the equipment
were affected.”

“
I will have to run a diagnostic
on her PIC, it’s probably nothing - thanks again for all your
help.”

“
You’re welcome, now you and Jade go and have
a great day, take care Reece.”

“
Bye,” as the 3-D image
of
Dr.
Kazlouskas faded out.

Jade finished preparing her breakfast to go when
Reece walked around the corner and said, “You ready?”

Jade grabbed her breakfast and
coat, looked at Reece and said, “I’m ready.”

As Reece and Jade walked out the
front door, they saw Serafina walking up the sidewalk. Reece
attempted to get her attention by waving uncontrollably after he
asked Jade to go warm up the car. Jade quickly agreed and seized
the opportunity to hop into the driver’s seat. Reece ended up
walking over to Serafina after he realized his uncontrollable
waving did not seem to be doing an effective job.

“
Hi, Serafina, I’m glad I caught you, I was
planning on calling you from the road. Can I ask you for a
favor?”

“
Sure.”

“
Can you keep an eye on the
house? I have a surprise in store for Jade and we won’t be back
until next week.”

“
No problem, you know if you ever need
anything, when it comes to Jade, I am here for you,” smiled
Serafina.

“
Thanks, I’m sure everything will
be fine. I’m just not used to going on vacation. Jade has no idea
what I have been planning. She thinks we’re coming back here
tonight.”

“
May I ask where you are going?”

“
First, we’re going to Central Circuit to
visit a friend, and from there we’re heading to Vermont. She has
never been out of New York City and I want to show her what the
country looks like, especially in the fall.”

“
I hope you packed a suitcase,” replied
Serafina.

“
Of course I did, I packed three.”

“
Three?”

“
Yes, one for me and two for
Jade. I wasn’t sure what she would wear, so I pretty much brought
most of her wardrobe.”

“
That was probably a good idea,” laughed
Serafina.

“
Thanks. I programmed HICAMS to allow you in
if needed.”

“
Ok, anything else?”

“
No, that’s all, thanks again,” said Reece
graciously.

“
You are welcome, have a great
time.”

“
We certainly will, take care.”

Reece rushed back to the car, reminding Jade she
would not be able to drive, before she had the chance to ask.

“
You ready?” asked Reece with an excited
voice.

“
Yeah, you’re certainly happy,” said
Jade.

“
Why not? Great company,
beautiful day, and a fully charged car battery, what more could one
want?”

“
Ah, I could think of a lot of things,”
replied Jade.

Ignoring her comment Reece called out, “Destination
Central Circuit.”

As Jade and Reece were heading to
Central Circuit, Jade pulled out her tablet, hacked into the
vehicle’s GPS, and asked Reece, “Why are we going to
Vermont?”

“
How did you know that?”

“
Um, you programmed your in-car GPS system to
take us there.”

“
Did you just hack my GPS? I can’t believe
you, that was supposed to be a surprise,” replied Reece in a
disappointed tone.

“
It is,” said Jade who now felt
guilty.

After he noticed Jade had
detected his disappointment, Reece changed his tone and said,
“Vermont isn’t so bad, you’ll love it.”

“
Ah, yah. Yah think? That’s like out in the
middle of nowhere, and there’s nothing to do except milk cows and
drink maple syrup.”

“
You’re so wrong if you think
that’s all there is to do. Let me tell you there’s a ton of stuff
to do in Vermont, especially in the fall, which in my opinion is
the best time to go.”

“
Why because of the leaves?”

“
Yes and a great deal of other fall events
Trust me you’ll love it, they have hay rides, Alpine sledding,
horse back riding, kayaking, and tons of great local stores that
sell unique products you have never seen before.”

“
They have kayaking?”

“
Yes, why? Are you interested in going
kayaking?”

“
I don’t know, I might be.”

“
Well you are in luck because
we’re going to Jamaica, Vermont and there’s a state park there that
sits on the West River.

Jade interrupted, “So.”

“
Let me finish. Ever year they
have a white water release.”

“
Yeah, I read about that.”

“
You did. When?”

“
Years ago.”

“
Why?”

“
Because my dad always talked
about how he visited Vermont when he was younger, and how he would
go to his Uncle’s house where they did all these cool things, like
kayaking and skiing. So after he told me these stories I went
online and read about Vermont.”

“
So you already know how they open up the Ball
Mountain Dam to increase the rapids, giving the kayakers more of a
challenge?”

“
Yup.”

“
So, if you know about all this, why did you
think there is nothing to do?”

“
I don’t know. I guess I figured if we went
the only thing I would think about is what Dad used to
do.”

Reece paused for a moment and
realized he had failed to take in consideration the connections
Jade may have made with Spencer and their destination, and how this
may affect her negatively. “Oh, I’m sorry, we don’t need to go if
you don’t want to.”

Jade realized this trip appeared
to have been important to Reece and said, “No, I want to go. I want
to see what my dad was always excited about, it’ll be
fun.”

“
Are you sure?”

“
I’m sure, let’s go, but we first need to stop
and visit Adam,” said Jade now showing a little bit more
enthusiasm.

“
Why?” asked Reece.

“
So, we can take him with us!”

Not realizing Jade was pulling
his chain, Reece paused for a moment in order to think of a way to
explain why Adam was not going, but before he could finalize his
thoughts Jade jumped in said, “I know that’s not going to
happen.”

“
You do? Then why bring it up?”

“
I don’t know, can’t blame a girl for
trying.”

Reece smiled and said, “I certainly can’t.”

Reboot

“Wake up, hey Spencer, wake up,” said Telmar as he
shook him.

“
What?” murmured Spencer.

“
You need to get up, so GET UP!” screamed
Telmar.

“
Alright, I’m up, what’s going on? How long
have I been sleeping? I see I’m still in my uncle’s
cabin.”

“
In Earth time eleven months and
thirteen days, and you are not in your Uncle’s cabin. You are still
in a virtual representation.”

“
Are you kidding me? Nearly a
year? That’s absurd, it felt like I was only out for a few hours,
and I know I’m still stuck in your little virtual
playpen.”

“
I see your attitude has not
changed much,” reciprocated Telmar calmly.

Spencer overlooked Telmar’s
observation and pointed out, “At least the couch was comfortable,”
replied Spencer.

“
You could have slept on a bed of nails, it
would not have mattered, remember you are currently just a piece of
software.”

“
I know, I know. I was just hoping this was a
dream.”

“
It is not, it is real.”

“
That’s so comforting,” said Spencer
sarcastically.

“
Do not get smart with me,” flared
Telmar.

“
What’s with the hostility,” grinned
Spencer.

“
Drop the humor, it is not one of your strong
points,” ordered Telmar

“
I beg to differ. Now let’s avoid another
argument and move forward with this nightmare,” responded
Spencer.

“
I am here to help you, and I do not have a
lot of time so listen.”

“
What do you mean you don’t have a lot of
time?” asked Spencer.

“
I am departing soon, I am
scheduled for a transfer. I am not supposed to be here right now,
so I am taking a big risk by telling you this, you are not going to
be judged.”

“
I’m sorry I don’t understand,
what do you mean I’m not going to be judged?” asked Spencer in a
much more subdued tone.

“
All you need to know is you are
going back to Earth,” explained Telmar.

“
I am? For real! Wait, does this
mean I have to live an entirely new life? I won’t remember any of
my last lives, including my daughter Jade. No, this is not
acceptable, you need to help me,” begged Spencer.

“
Quiet,” said Telmar as he walked
over to a wallboard and removed it as if it was a hanging picture.
Telmar proceeded to activate a programming panel that he used to
erect a bluish green portal near the spiral staircase, then walked
over to Spencer, grabbed his right arm, and stuck Spencer’s right
index finger into a small rounded device, about two inches deep.
Spencer still amazed with the portal, felt a short jolt of
electricity. Little did he realize Telmar just imaged his
being.

“
What was that all about?” asked
Spencer.

“
Nothing to worry about, just give me one more
second.”

Telmar walked back to the panel
where he typed in a few more commands, which resulted in the portal
turning white. Telmar grabbed the small circular device plugged it
into the panel and within a few short minutes, a second Spencer
appeared next to him, but this Spencer was
non-responsive.

“
What did you just do?” asked the original
Spencer as he studied his other self very thoroughly with a
concerned look.

“
Excluding the memories you
created from when you just woke up, I created an exact physical and
mental image of you.”

In that second, the copied
Spencer walked over to the leather couch, as if he was in some type
of hypnotic trance, sat down, and fell asleep without acknowledging
anyone.

Telmar walked back over to the
first Spencer, grabbed him by the arm, and walked into the white
portal, making him leave the comfortable surroundings of his
uncle’s cabin. The next thing Spencer knew he was in a small
well-lit room, with black walls and silver floors. In front of
Spencer was a table, which separated him from Telmar, with two
ordinary metal chairs.