Chapter 9 - Missing Persons

"Look, we'll figure it out together" Maddie tells me, "Now how do we do that?"

"There was this woman, this historical figure. Her name is Lisa and she built this impressive computer. We need to find out information about her." I answer.

"Okay, how do we do that?" Maddie follows up.

I take out my mobile device, "Information, Lisa, History, Computers" I speak the key words into the device and wait. Nothing happens. I add the key word "Artificial Intelligence" and wait. Soon I get a response, "Lisa was part of a project team that was working on an advanced artificial intelligence program involved with logistics. Before the project was completed the project team was killed by unknown persons. The project was never completed."

"I'll catch up with you later." I tell her and rush home.

"You're leaving me again!" Maddie exclaims as I'm leaving her again.

In a blink of an eye I'm somewhere unfamiliar. I'm walking in some woods. There are no buildings or people around. I've never seen anything like it before. The trees are tall enough to block out the sunlight. I take a look around and I notice someone or something lying on the ground. As I get closer I notice it's the preacher. He's lying face down on the ground. I take out my mobile device and try to wirelessly connect to his operating system. After a few minutes he bolts upright and it startles me.

"Where's the village?" I ask him. He looks at me. He notices my mobile device.

"You know I'm a machine?" He asks me although it's more of a statement than it is a question.

"Yeah, I know you're a machine. I also know the village isn't here, where is it?" I ask again more forcefully.

"It's gone. It never existed." He replies.

"How is that possible?" I ask.

"The past has been changed." The preacher declares, "I tried to stop it but I was unsuccessful."

"Who did this?" I follow up.

"Jake did this along with your sister Nia." He answers.

"Who is Jake?" I continue.

"He is a boy from the past. He was brought here by the AI to change the future."

"That's not possible. The computer was destroyed." I tell him, "Maybe that's what he was trying to keep from happening."

"How did you get here?" The preacher asks.

"The game brought me." I answer honestly.

"What game?" The preacher follows up.

"I started playing this virtual reality game and ever since then strange things have been happening to me. The game took me to your little village and now it's taken me here. Where ever here is." I answer.

"Virtual reality games don't exist anymore." The preacher states.

"They do where I come from." I tell him.

"Where do you come from?" He asks.

"I come from a future where the technology is amazing." I tell him.

"All of humanity is gone, except for Nia, Jake and yourself."

"What?" I say startled.

"When Jake changed the future, he wiped out humanity. Unless someone can go back and change it, the three of you are all that's left." There was a sad quality to his voice as he spoke.

"Does this computer still exist now?" I ask.

"Yes" He says.

"Can you take me to it? I have some questions I need answers to." I say.

"Yes" He says, "Follow me."

I follow the preacher to a dark room. The room is only dark for a moment though. I'm startled as the lights come on.

"Welcome Katy, I've been waiting for you." A voice speaks but there is no one there. It seems to be coming from everywhere.

"Why have you been waiting for me?" I ask. This must be the computer I've been told about that Jake's sister Lisa built.

"Because I sent for you." The voice responds.

"What do you want?" I follow up.

"I want you to choose the future." The voice continues.

"How do I do that?" I ask.

"By going back in time and changing things." The voice answers.

"What do I have to change?" I follow up.

"That depends on which future you want." The voice says.

"What futures do I have to choose from?" I ask.

"You can choose the simple future without technology." The voice says.

"You can choose the fantastic future with amazing technology." The voice continues.

"You can choose the moderate future with simple technology." The voice goes on.

"Or you can choose to wipe out humanity and start over." The voice finishes.

"How do you know about all these different futures?" I ask the voice.

"Those are your options. Choose carefully." The voice answers. The voice doesn't tell me how it knows. How could it present me with options if it doesn't know. The only way is if it was programmed to give me those options by someone. I get a strange feeling I'm still in the game. If I am in the game there's got to be some sort of hack I can use to get to other parts of the game without having to solve the game's puzzles.

"I want the future with simple technology." I answer.

"Then you must go back and join the research team that helped program me." The computer says, "Reprogram me like this." A thumb drive appears. I grab it, "You must become part of the second research team, not the first. The first research team is murdered in an attempt to take over control of the project."

"Does Lisa die in this attempt?" I ask.

"Yes" The voice answers.

"When does this event take place and when does the second project team get picked?" I ask the voice.

"Here is a time cube. Your destination has been pre-programmed. Just look into one of the tiny holes." the voice says. A cube appears that has tiny holes in it. It looks just like the one that the boy who was standing with Nia is holding.

"Who is Jake?" I ask the voice.

"Jake is Lisa's brother." the voice answers.

"Is he another player in the game?" I ask.

"This is not a game." The voice responds. "Whatever decisions you make will affect all of humanity." I find it hard to believe that I was chosen to decide the fate of every person in the world. This has to be a game.

"You can go" The voice tells me. I look into one of the tiny holes in the cube. There is a flash of light and when my sight returns to me I am standing in front of a building. The sign on the building says child services. I walk up to the entrance, open the door and walk in. Before I know what is happening a woman approaches me.

"Can I help you?" She says in a warm kind voice.

"I hope so." I tell her, "I've been homeless for weeks. I don't really want to live with strangers but I've been hungry for a while now and maybe that would be best."

"How old are you?" the woman asks.

"Twelve" I tell her.

"Come with me. Let's get you something to eat and we'll take your information." She says.

"Okay" I tell her. I follow her to what must be the employee break room. She gets a peanut butter sandwich out of an old brown paper sack. It makes me want to throw up but I take the sandwich anyway and start eating it like a savage. She backs up a bit and watches me eat it. It doesn't take long to finish and when I am done she leads me to a chair next to another desk.

"We have a homeless girl here." The woman says as an introduction to the woman sitting at the desk.

"I see. What's your name sweetheart?" The woman at the desk asks.

"Katy" I answer.

"That's a nice name. Do you have a last name Katy?" She continues.

"Katy Welch" I answer. I didn't know what last name to pick. I didn't want to give her my real last name. I don't know why. It's not like she would ever find my parents.

"Well Katy Welch, let me just run your name through the missing children's database and we'll find out where you belong." The woman tells me.

"I don't belong anywhere." I answer.

"Everyone belongs somewhere." The woman insists.

"Not me" I tell her. After a few minutes she gets a puzzled look on her face.

"Well Katy. There is no mention of you in the missing children's database. Are you sure you're telling me your real name?" the woman says still trying to sound nice.

"I should think I know my own name." I say back.

"Of course you do." The woman responds. She picks up a device on her desk and pushes some buttons. She then holds it up to her mouth and talks into it. "We have an emergency placement." She says. She is silent for a few minutes and then speaks into it again. "Yes, you can pick her up here when you have found someone." She says. After another minute she hangs up and speaks her next words to me. "They'll find you a place before the end of the day. You can wait here."

"Okay" I answer simply. This sounds really boring. I can move through time and space and I have to sit in a chair and wait! There's something that's just not fair about that. I sit for hours with nothing to do. A lot of people come in and go out while I'm just sitting there. Finally a couple comes in that look old. The woman greets them and then they all come over to where I am sitting.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cook, I would like to introduce you to Katy." The woman says.

"Hi Katy." The old woman starts, "I'm Mrs. Cook. You are going to live with us for a while. Is that okay?"

"I guess so." I respond. I don't want to sound too eager. They look like nice people. I stand up and follow them outside. We get in a car and Mr. Cook drives us all to their house.