AH01

Humans swarm to purchase new technology like new Apple products, but in a larger scale, we are afraid of them. This story targets the discrimination against technology in the eyes of one of them.

            I have trudged upon this earth for 9 years now, ever since my Master gave me a body and a big shock that started up my heart and activated me. I will never forget the first words of my life. Someone was talking to himself.

            “And now, I have created… a Soul.” I opened my eyes. “Welcome to life, AH01. I am Dr. Scott, but you are to call me Master. And you will be known to public as Elite Scott.” He paused, staring at me with his penetrating eyes. “Do you understand?”

             AH01… I did not question its meaning. “Yes, Master.” I never knew why they created me, or how I was created, for that matter. Not long after I officially became a living body, I started school as a regular second grader. As the days and the weeks and the years go by, as I learnt and studied and played, my body grew larger, like everyone else’s. I excelled at all my subjects. I excelled at sports. I did everything I was told to do at the laboratory, which I know of as home. Master was nice to me. And just a month ago, on my ninth birthday, I received my first errand out of the lab. That marked the start of all my troubles.

                                   *  *  *  *  *

            “So you’re in grade 11 now, eh?” Dr. Scott scribbled something down on a sheet of paper. “Today, I want you to go to the bookstore at the mall to collect a book for me. Any problems?” He continued scribbling away.

            “The mall?” I was confused. “No, Master. No.” Master had never sent me out of the lab for an errand before, and I have never been allowed to go to the mall either, so I was rather eager and excited about it. I got a change of clothes and went right away, humming to myself happily.

            The mall had a light atmosphere to it, and it wasn’t as crowded as the rumours say. I walked around, taking my time, enjoying myself thoroughly, while trying to find the shop Master was referring to. It wasn’t hard to find. I retrieved the book as I was instructed, and decided to walk around for a bit since I still had awhile till Master would start worrying about me. I relaxed and look around. That was when I noticed that I was the only one who didn’t have any companion in the bookstore with me, particularly an adult woman. I wondered for a moment, then shrugged it off like it was nothing, although it bothers me. Only a little bit.

            A few days later, my only best friend in the whole world, Fiona, invited me to hang out at her house. She knew I wasn’t allowed to go to such places, so she purposely chose a day when school would end early. Terry Fox Run. That way, Master wouldn’t know if I went home at the same time school usually ended. I giggled, and agreed.

            Her place was… different. It was the complete opposite of my home. I couldn’t really explain the feeling, but it felt cozy, and soothing. I ended up staring. Fiona saw the surprised expression on my face and laughed. “Haven’t you seen a house before? Let’s go!” I could see the other end of the house. It was the kitchen, and there, a woman turned her head and saw me. She smiled and gave a small wave.  “Hi Mom!” Fiona yelled.

            “Mom?” I looked at Fiona questioningly.

            She paused. “Yeah. You know, mother.” I must have had a blank look on my face, because she started looking worried. “You’re kidding, right? Don’t you have a mom? Or parents?”

            I thought for a moment. “Well, I have a Master.” Flashes of scenes at the mall of kids with adult women ran through my mind. For the rest of the time at her house, we spent with Fiona teaching me all about families while feeling weird throughout the whole time, and me asking a thousand questions. However, when I asked her if she knew what AH01 meant, she was puzzled. After that, I went home, feeling very confused, and afraid.

            Upon reaching the lab, I went to look for Master, seeking to demand some answers from him. I walked right into his office and asked, “Why don’t I have a mother?” I noticed that Master’s face was flushed. He had been drinking.

            Making an obvious effort to keep sane, he replied, “Well, you see, technically you weren’t born, but then again, you are different.” It sounded like an excuse to me. He was definitely trying to avoid the topic.

            “I am different. Who " or what " am I?” I said in a louder voice, sounding a little more frustrated.

            “You’re a human of course! What else would you be? Although you’re not exactly genuine but- ”

            “Not exactly genuine, what do you mean, ‘not exactly genuine’?! You mean I’m not 100% human? That I don’t have what ordinary people have? Like mothers? Parents? At that bookstore, I saw many kids with their ‘parents’, and they all looked so happy. It makes me feel so… so lonely. And what is AH01? Why do you keep calling me that?! What is that?!” Tears had started blurring my vision, and I was hurling accusing questions at Master one after another, whose face had turned beet red and looked extremely flustered by now.

            “Shut up, d****t! Happy, lonely, anger, tears, bots don’t have those! Bots do not have feelings! Like you! You’re just another one of my inventions! You’re fake. Mothers?” He gave a loud, disgusting burp and fell forward, banging two clenched hands on his desk. “What do you need a mother for? You’re lucky to even be here! Where’s your gratitude, huh?! If you go on I swear I’ll scrap you!” He stood up suddenly and swung his hands outward, sending a few files flying onto the floor.

            I stared at the pile, not paying any attention to the drunk, wobbly, and unsteady old man who had started cursing and swearing at me. Even though my vision was blurry by all the tears, there, at my feet, a folder title caught my eye, and I could barely make out the letters, but I did, with success. And it read “AH01”. That very moment, my instincts told me to grab the folder and run for my life, and that was just what I did. Some distance away, I heard a faint yell coming from Master’s office, “HEY!” Poor guy. He must have realized what happened a little too late, I thought as I burst through the huge, heavy doors of the lab.

            I ran out onto the streets, then stopped, still clutching my file tightly. Without realizing it, I must have ran the way to school. As I calmed down, I let go of my bear grip on the folder and looked at it, not knowing what to do next. But I knew there was only one place I could go to for now " Fiona’s house.

            I stood outside her house ten minutes later, fidgeting nervously. Upon opening the door, Fiona was probably going to yell hi, but she noticed right off the bat that my face was extraordinarily pale, which could only mean that something was terribly wrong. Without saying a single word, she solemnly stepped aside to let me in.

            I sat on the floor of Fiona’s bedroom, hesitating before taking a deep breath, and flipping the file open. My eyes widened. Inside were every single document and information about me, as if that file was my biography, my history, my life. I couldn’t believe it. My date of creation, method of creation, and all were included in it. It even had all the formulas used, and the name of the donors whose blood now flow inside me. I stopped scanning and flipped to the very first page. This was important. I had to know everything.

            I found the answer to one of my most troubling questions at the very top of the very first page. AH01 - Artificial Human Live Experiment No. 1. That was me. I tried to keep calm, but my mind was racing. One by one I went through the pages, dating back from the oldest record, all the way to the most recent data. I was at a lost, so I silently handed the file to Fiona, who had been sitting there beside me all along, watching me closely. My head felt heavy.

            A few minutes passed, and this time, it was my turn to observe Fiona’s expression change as she read through the contents of the file. It turned from seriousness, to disbelief, and finally, acceptance was the emotion displayed on her face as she slapped the file shut after reading half of it. It wasn’t the kind of acceptance I was hoping for. She didn’t accept me with my differences. Rather, she accepted the fact that I was an artificial being, not born, but created. That she had been “cheated”. I think she felt betrayed, although I had no idea why.

            “Well, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. But at least now we know why you don’t have parents or a proper house. And why you’re good at everything you do. Heck, to think the top scorer for most subjects is you. And all the certificates you got... No wonder you’re so smart, although you barely study. And your good looks. But oh well, it doesn’t matter.” Her face told me it clearly did. She gave me a bogus smile. I sensed an unspoken sentence in the air saying “Now get out. Get the hell out of my house, you bot.” The atmosphere was really tense.

            I got up and left as quietly as I came, taking my file with me. Outside her house once more, I leaned against a wall and felt truly exhausted. She had lost all her respect for me. After all, she had really looked up to and admired me. And I turned out to be just a piece of technology. I felt like arguing that I did well because I paid attention in class and everything, but my mouth was dry. No matter what I choose to then wouldn’t have changed her new impression of me. I was a liar to her. Just by letting her read my biography, I had hurt her, and for that, I no longer had the right to be with her as a friend, much less an idol. It was useless. Now, I had no one to turn to, no one to count on. The world was against me, even the very person who created my existence in the first place. Slowly but surely, I made my way back to the lab, letting a few drops of tears fall freely to the hard, solid ground below.

            I stood in front of Master, my posture straight, hands behind my back, and legs shoulder-width apart, like an army soldier. My head was upright and my eyes were still and unfocused. “You were right. Please scrap me.” Tears were still dropping, but I remained motionless.

           “What are you talking about? You couldn’t have taken my words seriously. I was drunk.” I made no reply. “Listen. You’re important to my research and the future of the human species. Now hand my file back.” No reply. Master was becoming impatient. “What do you want? If you want me to scrap you, don’t bother. I’ll never do it. It’s impossible.” With that sentence as my cue, I stalked out of the room in ghostly strides.

            Now, I stand upon a beautiful cliff, listening to the unfamiliar sounds of nature. The grass was green, the sky was blue, the mountains in the distance was a dream, the breeze felt good on my skin and the faint sound of waves slapping against the rock far below me was music to my ears. I was at the top of the world. Behind me was a flat slab of rock planted upright, with untidy carvings on it. It read: “Elite Scott - AH01 " Age 9 years at Grade 11 " Deeply loved and missed by ”. Nothing else. I smiled at my gravestone. Once again, and for the last time, I let tears fall from my eyes as I let my body drop from the edge of the cliff.

            The ocean was a long way down. Arms spread wide, I closed my eyes and laughed a miserable laugh. What was the difference between me and a genuine human again? I couldn’t remember. I had a body and every single organ. I had a brain, and a heart. I had a memorable childhood playing with dolls and Lego’s. I attended school. I enjoyed music. I could feel love, and hate, and happiness and sadness. I experienced mild infatuations. I kept secrets. What was the difference? I still couldn’t remember.

            Giving up, I breathed in fresh air and let my mind go blank. I didn’t feel my body plunging into the water, but I couldn’t breathe anymore. It doesn’t matter. I felt blood that once belonged to someone else rush to my head, and felt my arms and legs trying to drift in every direction. It doesn’t matter. I was running out of air, and I let my mouth open. I felt parts of my body going numb, but it doesn’t matter either. I didn’t resist. I let the final blow of breath seep out of my body. Right before I lost consciousness, I was happy. Nothing mattered anymore.

            And I felt at peace with the world.

Author's Note

This is my idea for an assignment in english class in school that was due some time ago. Quite pleased with the mark I got, so I decided to share it. Anyway, please review, good or bad!

Reviews

[The Jay]

It's certainly good. The character AH01, as a piece of technology, is sublime, Fiona serves as the mediocre class of people who cannot bear people who are a bit different from normal. After I read half of it, it became more than predictable. Something for you to ponder upon in your future works.