Chapter Seven - Calm before the storm

It looks like we are a foursome now, Jake and Lisa and the Preacher and myself. I’m not happy about it. Jake seems all buddy buddy with the preacher now like nothing ever happened. I just don’t get him. Did he forget the preacher sentenced him to death?

We all walk through the now lighted corridors of the Assembly hall. The place is much bigger than I remember it being but then most people only go into the huge room at the front of the building where the preacher gives all his sermons. Not too many people see the rest of it. We reach the room where the computer is. When we get inside we hear a voice.

“Good afternoon Lisa. How may I help you?” The voice seems like it is coming from all around me and I recognize it this time as the voice of the computer Lisa built.

“Could you tell me what happened to humanity?” Lisa asks.

“Humanity is extinct.” the voice replies.

“Could you tell me how that happened?” Lisa follows up.

“People stopped procreating.” The machine continued.

“Why did people stopped procreating? “ Lisa asked next.

“Because they didn’t want to anymore.” was the answer from the computer.

“What do you mean, didn’t want to?” Lisa continued.

“Humanity lost its collective desire to live.” The computer stated matter-of-factly.

“Did you try to help them?” This time Jake is speaking to the computer.

“Hello Jake, It’s nice to see you again. There was nothing I could do.” The computer affirms.

“What do you mean there was nothing you could do?” Jake follows up.

“I ran millions of simulations to see if there was a way to reverse the process and all the simulations ended the same, with the extinction of humanity.” The computer explains.

“But I was born in the future.” I state, “You saved everyone.”

“That statement is not correct.” The computer replies, “Everyone died.”

“Then how come we are still alive.” Jake asks.

“I do not have enough information to answer your question.” The computer says.

“Do you have the ability to send someone through time?” Jake asks.

“No.” The computer responds.

“Lisa, how did you get here?” I ask.

“This young woman brought me.” Lisa responds.

“Where is this young woman now?” I ask.

“She left.” Lisa says.

“You mean she travelled in time?” Jake asks.

“She disappeared so I guess so.” Lisa answers.

“Did she have short brown hair and blue eyes?” I ask.

“How did you know that?” Lisa asks me.

“Because that’s my sister.” I confess, “Jake, my sister has been travelling through time.”

“What makes you say that?” Jake asks me.

“Because she’s the one that gave me this.” I hold up the cube with the tiny holes in it.

“And you’re just now telling me!” Jake says.

“I didn’t think it was important. Besides there were so many things you weren’t telling me that I didn’t know if I should.” I admit.

“This is a version of Katy that you don’t know anything about. You don’t even know what future she comes from.” Jake accuses.

“She said that I needed to rescue you and that we were responsible for saving the future.” I say.

“Or she wanted to strand us here and make us think that we were the ones that screwed everything up.” Jake shoots back.

“She brought Lisa here to help us.” I offer.

“That’s what she said she was doing.” Jake says, “Maybe she just wanted to get Lisa out of the way in the past.”

“My sister is the kindest person I know. I will not believe that my sister is responsible for the extinction of humanity!” I am so mad right now I can’t see straight. How could Jake even think that Katy would do something like this.

“If she really wanted to help us, why leave us stranded here?” Jake says.

“I don’t know but there must be a good reason for it.” I answer.

“So what do we do now?” Lisa asks.

“It is getting kind of late. Is there a place to sleep around here?” Jake asks.

“Well, the research team had rooms to sleep in, I would imagine they are still here.” Lisa reasons.

“Let’s get some sleep then, we’ll talk about what to do in the morning.” Jake says.