Vault

The VAULT
By: Steve Mullis

Jonas awoke to the artificial sounds of nature resonating from the
walls. It was seven A.M., time to get up and get on with his day. Jonas
rose and pivoted off the bed, his tender feet touching gently to the
cold, steel floor. Jonas pushed a button on a panel set into the wall
and the bed slid away into the side of the room.
Jonas walked over to a tall glass box in a corner of the room and
stepped in. A mist of hot water and sterile chemicals sprayed his body,
cleansing him inside and out. He stepped out and put on his silver,
one-piece jumpsuit that always fit, and always kept him warm. The glass
box disappeared into the floor with a swoosh, its steel top falling
flush with the rest of the surface.
"Breakfast," said Jonas to the walls.
A panel in the floor opened and a steel table rose up that presented a
breakfast of something green, something red, a bit of something yellow,
and a glass of milk. An arm under the table pivoted out extending a
flat piece of steel, and then lowered itself creating a backless
chair.
"Ah, everything a growing boy needs," said Jonas as he sat down to his
meal. "ALI, let me have an audio of news updates of the last twelve
hours, and filter out all of the junk."
"Yes sir," said a smooth voice that hummed from every wall. An
invisible speaker crackled with static followed by a low hum.
"?today the war continues as opposing forces struggle for dominance?"
a monotone voice filled the room. "?bunker ridden residents continue to
live below ground as the Alliance forces battle against the oppressive
Bloc Army."
"Great, the war goes ever on doesn't it." Jonas finished his meal.
"Anything else of interest today?"
"Resources on the surface are continuing to diminish," the speaker
barked. "Scientists are attempting to find alternative means of solving
the Earth's energy crisis, but so far to no avail. In other
news-"
"Enough, I can't stand to hear only bad news," Jonas stood up from the
table and walked into the center of the room. The seat retracted and
the table, along with the plate and utensils, slid back into the floor.
"ALI, bring up today's lesson. I think I'll get started early
today."
"I don't think so David," said the faceless voice. "Today is Friday,
and you haven't even had your physical yet."
"Oh fine. But don't blame me if I get behind in my studies."
One of the walls dilated open and in walked Jonas's instructor, ALI.
Although ALI was sexless, it had the look of a female. Synthetic human
skin stretched over the surface of fiber-optic cables, steel tubing,
and a carbondium endoskeleton. She could almost appear human to the
untrained eye, if you could ignore the seams along her neck and the
strange twilight glow in her eyes.
"How are we feeling today Jonas?" ALI's soothing voice always
comforted Jonas. She touched him on the chest, listening to his
heartbeat with her sensors. "I'm sorry you had to hear that bit of
disheartening news."
"Oh it's not your fault ALI," Jonas removed his clothes down to his
underwear. "I just wish that something good would come from the surface
world one time."
"It will Jonas. One day, it will." ALI produced a syringe from a
compartment in her wrist and inserted it into Jonas's arm. She
retracted the plunger and inserted the blood sample back into her
wrist.
"So any news from my parents? Are they coming to get me anytime soon?"
Jonas sat on the ground and began doing some stretching.
"Now Jonas, I've told you before, you are not supposed to leave until
the war is over. Your parents are very important in the war effort.
They are doing everything to end this horrible conflict and make a
better place for you to live in." A green light on ALI's wrist began
blinking, followed by a confirming beep. "Blood is clean, no parasites
or viruses."
"But ALI, I just want to know when I might get out of this room."
Jonas walked over to the panel on the wall and pushed a series of keys.
"Looking at the same four walls and doing the same thing for, how many
years is it now?"
"Close to ten Jonas." ALI looked at Jonas, a wide beam of light
emitted from her eyes and scanned Jonas up and down.
"Yeah, ten years." The center of the floor opened up revealing a black
conveyor belt. "It's beginning to grow a bit boring. Everyday I hear
the same thing. The war is still on, my parents love me, and they are
doing everything they can to end the war and get me out of hear."
"Bio-scan shows that everything on the surface is fine," ALI motioned
to the belt on the floor.
Jonas walked over to the belt and stood on it. Six tentacle wires that
ended in circular dermatrodes slithered from the ceiling. They attached
themselves to the sides of Jonas's head, chest, and back with a hiss.
Jonas began to walk forward and the conveyor belt moved under his feet,
keeping his pace.
"The least they could do is visit once in a while. All I ever get is
those recorded messages that you bring me." Jonas started to run a bit
faster.
"Jonas, as your Automated Life Instructor, I must urge you to
discontinue this line of questioning," ALI walked over to Jonas's left
side. "You are going to disrupt the physical if you get your emotions
running to high."
"Sorry, I'll stop." Jonas continued to run, increasing his pace until
he was at a steady run. Jonas loved his running sessions, they gave him
a chance to freely think and get away from all of his lessons. The
daily instructional lessons, while always stimulating, were beginning
to get to him. So now Jonas just ran, free from all constraints and
bonds.
Jonas thought of all of the pictures shown to him in his science
lessons. Pictures of mountains, beaches, rivers, lakes, and even
deserts flooded his mind. How he would love to see real Earth
landscapes. He yearned to touch trees and feel the sand beneath his
feet. To feel the rush of real air as he sailed along the ocean. Water
splashing him in the face as he sat on the banks of an ivory coast. He
longed to stare out into vast canyons with his parents whom he had
never met. These were things that Jonas began to feel he would never
know.
"Okay Jonas, you can stop now," ALI's voice slapped from his thoughts.
"All is well, you are a perfectly healthy, fifteen year-old boy."
Jonas slowed and the belt stopped under him. The dermatrodes detached
themselves and slithered back into the ceiling.
"So what is on the lesson plan today ALI?" Jonas asked as he put his
clothes back on.
"Today is," ALI looked up as if she was searching her eyelids. "Macro
and micro economic principles and how they are applied today."
"Again, I thought we did that already this week."
"Well, economics is very important you know," ALI jabbed some buttons
on the main control panel. "Now log in and begin your lesson for today.
I'll be back later to discuss it with you." ALI walked back through the
door and Jonas sat again wrapped in cold, steel silence. The room
always seemed to grow colder when ALI left. To Jonas it always felt as
if she was never coming back.
Jonas pushed away the solemn thoughts and walked over to the room's
controls. A few keystrokes opened another panel on the opposite wall
releasing a steel-topped desk with a computer terminal atop it. There
was a pair of glasses with crystal lenses sitting next to the terminal,
a wire connecting the two. The screen flipped open as another backless
chair craned itself into position.
Jonas sat down at the terminal and slid the glasses over his eyes. He
then placed his fingers into indentions in the desk, five on each side.
He took a deep breath, allowing his mind and body to prepare itself for
the task.
"ALI, begin today's lesson," Jonas spoke into the air. A flash of
images raced at Jonas's mind through the glasses. His fingers tingled
with energy, the indentions sending electrical pulses through his body.
Pages and pages of text overlapped by graphs and diagrams blazed across
Jonas's eyes. Economic theories, marginal propensities, recession,
depression all came rushing through him.
Jonas always loved and hated the lessons. He was amazed at how much
information bombarded him, sometimes he did not know how he kept up.
For the last ten years, this is most of what Jonas did. He learned
trigonometry, calculus, history, philosophy, biology, literature,
engineering, and every other subject possible. Jonas always assumed
they were preparing him for the outside world, where all of these
things he was learning were common knowledge.
The whirlwind of images continued to assault Jonas. Karl Marx overlaid
with text from "The Communist's Manifesto" was suddenly invaded by
graphs and charts of spending costs and imaginary budget plans. Adam
Smith runs into Jean-Baptist Say who both meet Milton Friedman, all of
them discussing Keysnian and Monetarist forms of economic theory. More
images and text swirled into the view as Jonas continued to absorb each
new thing thrown at him.
Jonas's lesson continued for another two and half hours. When the
glasses stopped showing images, Jonas knew he was done. He removed his
fingers from the indentions and then took off the glasses. Jonas leaned
his head back with his eyes closed to let all the information sink into
his subconscious.
"Jonas, are you all right?" came ALI's voice from an intercom next to
the control panel.
"Yeah, just a lot of information in that lesson. It seems as if you've
been increasing the info dumps lately," Jonas stood up and made a lap
around the room. "It's starting to wear me out."
"I'm sorry Jonas, but that is what is required if you are to survive
the outside world," ALI paused. "It is very dangerous out there Jonas
and knowledge is power."
"I know, you're right," Jonas pressed the button for his bed and it
emerged from the wall opposite the computer. He sat on the bed with his
back against the wall; economic principles were still spinning in his
head.
"Jonas," ALI came back over the intercom. "There is a critical
thinking problem being sent to your terminal. Have this turned in
before you go to bed tonight. Other than that, the rest of the day is
yours."
Since he was nine Jonas received these 'critical thinking' problems
once or twice a week. They usually pertained to the most recently
studied subject and were very complicated. They always involved obscure
and hypothetical situations which Jonas was supposed to solve, and
which he normally did. However, he never received any feedback or
responses to his answers. A "good job," from ALI was usually all he saw
in return for his efforts.
Jonas got up from the bed and walked over to the computer terminal.
The problem displayed itself in a simple text format on the screen. It
was of course an economic problem, as he suspected it would be. It gave
him a list of costs, a budget, a graph of past expenditures, a list of
available resources, and a slew of other data about some imaginary
country. The problem asked Jonas to decipher the material and come up
with the best economic plan for the region.
Jonas pressed a few keys and then closed the lid of the computer
screen. He stepped back as the room began to grow dim. A thin laser of
light shot out from the wall behind the computer and towards the
ceiling. When it hit the ceiling a beam splitter scattered the laser
all around the room, displaying all of the pages of information upon
the walls. The words surrounded Jonas in a blanket of
information.
Jonas moved to the center of the room, rotating to look at each wall.
He began pacing the room, every so often looking up at one of the walls
of text or a graph. An hour later, he returned to the terminal and
turned off the laser images. He sat back down at the terminal and typed
up his solutions to the problem presented. His mind was burning with
all of the information he was attempting to convey. He finished and
dismissed the computer terminal and desk.
Jonas decided to exercise and let his mind cool off from all the
activity. He keyed in an exercise program and the room adjusted itself
to his needs. A stack of weights rose from where his bed normally
extended, the treadmill opened up, and other fitness equipment emerged
from the room. Once again, this was Jonas's time to let go and be free
from all of the thoughts that swam in his head. Who were his parents?
What was this war all about? Why would someone leave his or her child
in a place like this?
All of these things rattled Jonas's mind lately. Up until now, he
always just went with it. However, ever since the lessons started to
get more intense and the problems more complicated, Jonas started to
think about the outside world. What was it like out there? How Jonas
longed to see it for himself, no matter how devastating.
Jonas stretched his body for a moment and then spoke to the air, "ALI,
can I have my evening meal now?"
"Of course Jonas," ALI responded over the intercom. The table in the
floor reappeared, atop it sat a plate covered in more odd colored
substances. Jonas quickly ate his dinner and then sat back on his bed,
contemplating the day's lesson.
Jonas got up and took another shower before bed. Dermatrodes extended
from the bed and attached to Jonas's head. He lay down on the bed,
slowly drifting off to sleep. He dreamt of running through fields of
grass and swimming in the ocean. As he treaded through the clean blue
water, it began to swirl around him. Darkness flowed over the horizon
and the water swirled faster. Jonas tried to resist the pull of the
water but it was too strong. The water spun Jonas around, sucking him
towards the middle. Jonas could feel the water growing colder and the
pressure beat down on him with anger. With a great rush, the whirlpool
flushed Jonas down its center into obsidian darkness.
The pool spit Jonas out into a barren wasteland. The sky was crimson
stained and melted into the landscape. The smell of ash and fire hung
in the air clinging to the world. Jonas could hear explosions in the
distance, screams in the dark. The noises grew louder and louder, until
it started to hurt Jonas's ears. The explosions pounded Jonas into the
ground. The screams pierced his consciousness.
Suddenly Jonas heard a voice, "Jonas, Jonas," the voice called with
angelic comfort.
Jonas tried to speak, but no words escaped him. The crimson above
Jonas began to split and a sapphire sky pierced the veil of darkness.
Through the light the voice called to Jonas again, "Jonas, Jonas," the
voice grew louder yet still comforting. "You must go Jonas. You must
see."
Jonas burst from his bed with a yelp. A cold sweat blanketed him, the
images still resonating.
"Jonas," called ALI's voice. "Are you okay, the monitors show that you
were having a bad dream?"
"Yes ALI," Jonas regained himself. "I'm fine, just a nightmare is
all."
Jonas lay back down, wondering if the dream meant anything. Normally
Jonas's dreams were pleasant and calm. What could this mean? Should
Jonas tell ALI? A hiss from the side of the bed told Jonas that ALI was
giving him something to help him sleep. Jonas hated it when she did
that, but it was too late to protest. All thoughts left Jonas as he
drifted back into sleep. This time there was no dream, only sleep, and
only darkness.

****
Over the next few weeks the dreams continued. Sometimes they were more
intense than others were, and often Jonas awoke as he did the first
time. Jonas suspected that it might have something to do with the
increasing intensity of his lessons and the difficulty of the problems.
Finally, during his morning checkup one day, Jonas decided to tell ALI
about his dreams.
ALI was taking a blood sample from Jonas and examining it. "ALI, I've
been having dreams," Jonas said as rolled his sleeve back down.
"Of course you have Jonas," ALI place the sample in her wrist
compartment. "You wouldn't be a young boy if you didn't."
"No, I've been having dreams unlike the normal peaceful ones," Jonas
extended his bed and sat down on it. "They're dreams of the outside
world. A voice is telling me to see the world."
"Oh Jonas, they're just dreams. Nothing to get excited about."
"I don't think you understand ALI," Jonas leaned his head back against
the wall. "It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. ALI, I'm
scared."
"Oh Jonas," ALI sat down next to Jonas and gave him a hug.
"The thing is, I'm not scared of the outside world," Jonas pushed ALI
away, looking into her twinkling eyes. "I'm scared of never seeing it,
of never knowing it."
"Jonas, what do you mean?" ALI placed her hands on Jonas's shoulders.
"Now you know that when the war is over you're parents will come and
get you, and you'll spend the rest of your life with them."
"Yes, but ALI, I'm beginning to believe that the day will never come,"
Jonas sat back against the wall. "Each day I sit in this cold, steel
room doing the same thing over and over again. All I hear is that this
war is getting worse and worse everyday. If it never ends, am I to die
in here?"
"Now Jonas, enough of that talk," ALI stood up. "Today's lesson is on
earth science and geology. I'd like you to begin as soon as I
leave."
"I've made a decision ALI. I want to leave, I want to see."
"Jonas I will not have you talking like that. You know that you
cannot, there is a war outside," ALI moved towards the door.
"ALI, I just want to see. I'll come right back if you just allow me to
see. Just once, please."
"No Jonas, no."
Jonas detected a bit of compassion in ALI's voice, as if she
understood his plight. What did she know that he did not? What was she
keeping from him? ALI walked through the door and it closed, cloaking
him in silence again. Jonas felt very alone today, alone and cold.
Jonas lowered his head into his arms and began to cry.
****
A rift began to grow between ALI and Jonas. Each day he expressed more
and more how he longed to just see the outside world, if only for a
moment. ALI would dismiss his wishes, sometimes ignoring him all
together and just continuing with her work.
Jonas's lessons however, continued to grow in intensity. Sometimes
they lasted up to four or five hours of constant images. He learned
more about technology, engineering, and political machines. The
problems increased in difficulty as well. Sometimes it took Jonas hours
to solve them, but he always did.
Then one day Jonas devised a plan. He would refuse to do the lessons
or the problems until ALI let him see the outside world. He would just
sit and do nothing; not eat, exercise, or work.
Three days into Jonas's protest ALI confronted him. She came through
the door and sat next to him on the bed.
"Jonas, you must do your work. You must eat, if you don't, I will be
forced to do something I don't want to do."
"Then let me see the outside world," Jonas leaned towards ALI, tears
started to rim his eyes. "All I want is to know what is going on. I
know so much about everything, except who I am and what is out
there."
"Jonas, you know I can't do that. It is not my decision to make," ALI
glanced up at the corners of the room.
"Whose decision is it then?" Jonas looked up where ALI was looking. "I
want to know! Whose decision is it?"
"Please Jonas remain calm," ALI produced a small syringe containing a
green liquid from her left wrist. "I'm sorry I have to do this Jonas,
but you leave me no choice." ALI leaned closer to Jonas, her face right
next to his. As she pricked Jonas with the syringe, she whispered into
his ear. "Be careful Jonas, they are always watching you," ALI pushed
the plunger releasing the liquid into Jonas's bloodstream. "They love
you Jonas, and they would never hurt you."
Jonas felt his eyes and arms grow heavy. An uncontrollable drowsiness
enveloped him and he slumped on the bed. The room started to dim as
whatever ALI injected in him began to take hold. Jonas fell with his
head awkwardly against the wall, his legs dangling off the side of the
bed.

****

Years could have past when Jonas finally awoke. The room was dark, and
he had to sit still for a moment and let his eyes adjust to the
conditions. The room was silent, more silent than usual. Through the
gloom Jonas could make out the outline of the door, it was open. "What
was happening?" Jonas thought to himself.
Jonas stepped onto the cold floor, his bare feet touching down
lightly. "Hello. ALI," Jonas called into the darkness. There was no
answer, only the echo of his voice. Jonas knew something was wrong. He
knew that he probably should not move beyond the door, but he was
compelled to see what was beyond.
Jonas took a deep breath and slowly walked through the oblong doorway.
Beyond was a long corridor dimly lit by fluorescent lights.
"Hello," Jonas called out again. "Is anyone here?" As if in response,
track lights on the floor lit up. They went down the corridor and
turned right at the end. Jonas followed, not knowing what was waiting
for him at the end. He did not care though; he had to know what was
beyond his room.
Jonas followed the lights down several other corridors and past
several doors. "What kind of complex was this?" Jonas thought.
"Shouldn't there be some people around? Workers, guards, or
something?"
"ALI," Jonas called. "ALI where are you?" No response.
Jonas followed the lights into what he assumed was an elevator; he
never actually saw one before. He got in and looked at the buttons on
the control panel. One marked with a G flashed. Jonas pushed the button
and the elevator doors closed. The elevator genlty glided upward.
Jonas's palms began to sweat with anticipation. What would he
see?
He arrived at a large lobby area. The lobby was empty and ghostly
silent. Jonas stepped out of the elevator and saw that the track lights
continued through the middle of the lobby. The lights ended at two
huge, hangar doors at the end of the room a hundred feet away. Jonas
walked towards the doors with caution. Any second he expected the
explosions to rock him, or for some hidden foe to snatch him up.
Jonas was a few feet from the doors when he heard the sounds of
mechanisms in the door unlocking and moving. The doors started to open
with a groan of metal sliding along metal. What Jonas could only
perceive as natural sunlight cut through the room as the door opened
wider. Jonas had to shield his sensitive eyes from the unfamiliar
light.
Jonas was scared at what lay beyond. Listening to the horror of the
war over the news broadcasts for the last ten years prepared him for
disaster. He could not stop though, not when he was so close to seeing
it for himself. Even if just for a moment, he had to see.
Jonas stepped through the light, anticipating a wasteland of death and
destruction. When his eyes finally adjusted however, there was no
destruction, explosions, or screams.
Jonas looked out upon a vast field of green. A stone walkway led from
the doors to the center of the field, it then split into a four-way
crossing. At the center of the crossing was a giant marble statue of a
boy. It was facing the horizon, which was dotted by rolling hills and
interrupted by tall, conical shaped buildings.
Jonas slowly walked toward the statue, surveying the landscape as he
went. There was no war, no explosions. Not even in the distance did
Jonas hear anything, only the singing of birds and the whistle of the
fresh breeze. Jonas came upon the front of the statue, and when he
looked up, he fell to his knees in shock. It was Jonas.
Carved out of marble was the innocent visage of young Jonas. He looked
out into the world with a look of wonder, and fulfillment. Jonas did
not know what to make of this. He looked around at his surroundings,
hoping for an answer.
"Hello Jonas," called a familiar voice. Jonas looked to see ALI coming
up the stone pathway.
"ALI," Jonas ran toward her. "What is going on? Why was the door open?
Where is everyone? Where is the war?"
"Calm down Jonas. It's all right," ALI embraced Jonas.
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance," a strong, male voice came from
behind ALI.
Jonas peeked through ALI's arms and saw a tall, silver-haired man with
wrinkled skin approaching. He wore all white, and looked very sterile.
"Hello Jonas," he said as he extended his hand. "I'm Dr. Herbert
Lucian, your father."
The news set Jonas aback. "My father? What are you talking about? And
where is the war?" Jonas backed up from ALI. "Please tell me what is
going on ALI. I'm scared."
"There's no need to be afraid Jonas. Please, sit down and let the
doctor explain."
Jonas sat down on the edge of the statue, Dr. Lucian beside him.
"Jonas, all that you see here, the buildings, the grass, even the clean
air is because of you," Dr. Lucian swept his arm across the
horizon.
"But, how? I've been in that room for as long as I can
remember."
"ALI," Dr. Lucian said. "Would you mind helping me with out
here?"
"Of course doctor," ALI turned and projected two beams from her eyes.
The beams formed a screen upon which images of a war torn landscape
floated across.
"Jonas, this is the world as it was 70 years ago. War, overpopulation,
and the stripping of most of the Earth's resources finally began to
take its toll. The world was out of options. Our scientists couldn't
come up with solutions quickly enough to combat all of the problems
that plagued the Earth. Plus, bureaucratic influences warped many of
their minds, greed taking over the pursuit of peace and
prosperity."
"What does all of this have to do with me?" Jonas was puzzled.
Dr. Lucian nodded toward ALI and the image changed to that of
scientists working in labs. "That is where I came in. I'm a geneticist,
and fifty years ago my colleagues and I came up with what we called the
PAX project." The image changed again to show babies in glass tanks.
Scientists clamored around them, working like bees in a hive.
"Our goal," Dr. Lucian continued, "Was to create the most intelligent
and brilliant human ever. One that could solve any ethical,
environmental, or technological problem presented to him. And we did it
Jonas, in you."
"Wait a minute. Where are my parents? What about the war," Jonas stood
up motioning at the surrounding terrain.
"Your parents Jonas are over a hundred of the most brilliant men of
the first 2,000 years of this world. Socrates, Plato, Ben Franklin,
Einstein, Newton, Hawking, along with so many others including myself.
We devised a way to sample their DNA and combine them with a human
zygote creating you, the most intelligent problem solving being
ever."
"So my entire life has been a lie," Jonas looked up at Dr. Lucian. "I
have no real parents. There was never any war; you just used that as an
excuse to keep me locked away."
"No, Jonas. We had to keep you locked away. There is still evil in
this world and there are people in it that would like to see you
harmed. It was for your own safety," Dr. Lucian knelt down in front of
Jonas. "Don't you see Jonas; those problems you solve each week are
real problems. Your ideas and solutions have shaped this world into
what it is today."
"What good is shaping a beautiful world if you don't get to experience
it for yourself," Jonas looked into Dr. Lucian's calm, blue eyes.
"That is why we sent ALI into your dreams. She was the voice you
heard. We used her to pique your interest in seeing the outside world.
We didn't get the exact response that we wanted but you expressed the
need to see the world, which is what we wanted."
"So you let me out?"
"We set into motion a plan that would let you see the world. We made
sure to clear everyone out of the complex so that you wouldn't be
overwhelmed," Dr. Lucian stood up pressed a small button on his
collar.
Jonas looked around him as people began to filter from out of the
building. Hundreds of people in white outfits exited the building. They
filled the field in front of Jonas, Dr. Lucian, and ALI.
"These people, along with millions of others owe you their gratitude
Jonas. You've made the world a better place for all of us," Dr. Lucian
smiled at Jonas.
Jonas looked out at the blanket of smiling faces. They were all
looking at Jonas with awe and respect. Jonas looked up Dr. Lucian,
"What about me?"
"What do you mean?" asked Dr. Lucian.
"What about my world? What about my happiness?"
"Jonas," Dr. Lucian reached out for Jonas but he backed away. "It was
our only choice; we're already taking a big risk by letting you out for
this long."
"What do you mean, 'for this long?' Do I not get to see the rest of
the world?"
"Well Jonas, as nice as it would be, we just can't allow it. We can't
run the risk of the outside world exerting influence over you. This was
just an experiment to see how you would react. Clearly you are not
ready yet."
"Not ready? Experiment?" Jonas looked out over the sea of faces in
shock.
"However, we all want to extend a thank you," Dr. Lucian motioned
toward the crowd. "We owe our way of life to you Jonas."
"Thank you Jonas. Thank you Jonas," the crowd began to chant in
unison. "Thank you Jonas," they said repeatedly.
Dr. Lucian pulled a syringe from his pocket and walked toward Jonas.
"Now Jonas, when you wake up this will all have been a dream. Maybe
we'll try again when you're eighteen."
"No, no," Jonas ran toward the mob as they continued to chant.
"Thank you Jonas."
"Thank you Jonas."
"Thank you Jonas."
"No, I will not be a puppet," Jonas screamed as he stumbled through
the mob. "I will not be controlled!"
"Please Jonas, do not resist," Dr. Lucian called after him. "It is for
your own good, and the good of all humankind."
Jonas continued to fight the swarm of people, still chanting their
disturbing mantra. Then as Jonas fell through a hole in the crowd, he
dashed right into ALI.
"Please ALI, help me," Jonas looked into ALI's twinkling eyes.
"Jonas please, it is for your own good," said Dr. Lucian's voice
through ALI's mouth. "All we want is a peaceful world, and only you can
give it to us."
"No, no, no," Jonas fell to his knees. All he could hear were the
bellowing sounds of the horde chanting.
"Thank you Jonas."
"Thank you Jonas."
"Thank you Jonas."
Arms seized Jonas and held him to the ground. Jonas closed his eyes
and tried to shut out the sound. Images of war, death, and destruction
began to cloud his mind. Then, images Jonas knew of the beach and of
green fields suddenly washed away the horrible scenes. The sounds of
the crowd turned into the crashing of waves on the shore of every
coastline. Jonas could smell and taste the salt in the air. He could
hear the birds in the sky and feel the crisp air against his
skin.
"No!" Jonas let out an extended scream. Then all was silent.
The crowd silenced and parted, Dr. Lucian ran to Jonas's comatose
body. Dr. Lucian looked down at Jonas and began to cry. Jonas was gone,
overwhelmed by the reality of his existence.

****
Jonas floated along in the cool water. This time there was no
whirlpool or crimson sky. There was only the clear cobalt of the
heavens and the endless stretch of beach that was now his home. Jonas
was finally at peace, within himself.