Human Computer

Prologue

This is your iPod, once it was small and fit into the palm of your hand it got smaller so it could fit into your baby cousin’s hand, smaller still when you confused it with an ant and now it’s literally planted in your head. Advancements in technology to a civilian’s life means convenience, sustainability and a better world. Touch screen, voice animation, things that move without you physically having to move them and trains that take 5 minutes to travel distances further than miles, amazing, until it got personal. If the average person was exposed to this what was the above average person exposed to, what does the government have? Are we being watched? Does our every move get noted? Concerns on the worldwide web were bullying, abuse and social media, but this is so much more. With one chip a persons life can be changed, memories erased, pasts altered and futures remodelled whether it be tomorrow or 100 years later. Seven billion people and we’re all being watched. IPods that you pay to be planted in your head will never be a problem, but the invisible chip about the size of a microscopic dust floating inside you will always be. It’s there for safe keeping, just in case you’re a terrorist, psychopath or planning to kill someone of significance. People no longer need to tap your phone or computer they’ll tap you and your hidden microscopic chip that no one knows about, your past, present and future. Individual thoughts are being monitored, it’s like a conspicuous mind reader inside your mind sending every last bottom detail to a control centre known as the government. Everything you see, know, feel everything you are is what your programed too. You’re a breathing human computer in disguise.

“What a book!” She always enjoyed her time at home during the Christmas holidays. Her mum always made that warm yet wintery rich dark chocolate pudding on Christmas Eve; Auggie could practically taste it right now in her mouth. To her side tucked in her schoolbag was her xo magazine with the ‘Technologize Your Room Section’ and the ‘What Does Your Boyfriend Really Think?’ articles. She wondered what her parents would be giving her this year. A 3D xo pixel screen magazine was one, but a voice animated self-controlled automatic pink convertible was another.

It was just about half a year since she talked to her parents, she wonder if they’d recognise her, with the longer hair and all. The extrain stopped at London Central Station.

“Bye Elena. Elena!”

“Huh, what?”

“Bye,” Auggie said

“Oh right, see ya,” Elena replied with a smile. “We need to catch up for shopping soon”

That was Elena for you, always on her iPod flipping through that pixel chart that projected the iPod chip inside her head. Auggie’s parents were yet to get her one of those. She went into the tube and was right at her doorstep, looking down at that familiar doormat.

“Mum,” she shrieked as the woman opened the door. So, how’s work? Is Dad here or is he in New York again?” Questioned Auggie.

“I miss you so much, Ms Poppy my science teacher is horrible, she’s teaching me biology and I don’t even get what she’s saying half the time.”

The woman just stood there, eyes blank as ever.

“Um, Mum is everything okay?” said Auggie desperate to talk more about school and find out what her parents were up to since she’d been gone.

“Who are you?” the woman at the door said politely.

“It’s me, Auggie.” She replied with a half frown. She thought she look different but not so different that her own mum wasn’t able to recognise her.

“Seriously, mum. I mean you’ve only had one child, but you know…”

“I think you must have the wrong address,” the lady trailed on, “I don’t have a daughter. You know what, come in anyway and you can call your folks.”

If this was some kind of joke then it was definitely going to far. Auggie walked in anyway, unsure of what to expect, taking a quick glance at the pictures on the wall, she couldn’t find that picture with Humphrey or the one with her and Dad making faces, there were none of her, nothing.

“Here, take a seat. You can use the phone”

“Actually, can I please use your bathroom?”

“Sure, straight up the stairs”

Why, was she giving me directions? Auggie was positive she knew her house well enough. She raced up in silence and poked her head in the rooms. The one to the left was hers.

“What the? Where is? This can’t be right! Where’s my room and stuff?” Maybe they changed it, she poked her head into every room, but nothing

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes everything’s fine, Ms?” Auggie shouted back sounding as calm as possible, while pretending to flush the toilet

“Fisher.”

“Okay, mum. Where is my room, what happened to all my clothes and where’s dinner? I’m starving. Whatever it is, it’s not funny anymore”

The woman gave her a frown and shrugged it off. Auggie turned around to face the door with a sigh, her head in knots like a bowl of spaghetti, what was this?

She opened up her phone and dialled Elena’s number. Maybe it was just a prank, Elena was probably in on it too.

“Hey” Auggie whimpered

“Hey, what’s up? I know you just got home, but can you come chill with me my parents are out and I’m just a tad bored. So any chance?” Elena pleaded.

“Yeah be there in a sec.” Auggie stepped into the tube thankful that Elena actually wanted her to come over despite not knowing what had just happened.

“What’s wrong? You know you could have left your luggage at home, unless you wanted to sleep over, which in that case would be even better…” Elena stopped mid sentence

“Am I okay?” Auggie asked with a serious frown

“I don’t know, you wanna tell me?” Elena said

“The library… let’s go to the library”

“Now? Why?”

Auggie stepped into the tube Elena right behind her.

“Are you serious. What’s going on?” she sounded concerned

“She didn’t recognise me… my mum. I knocked on the door and she answered, but she didn’t know who I was”

“You got the wrong address”

“Well, if I got the wrong address than I got the wrong address, but no matter where I am my mum should still be able to recognise me don’t you think?”

Elena stood in silence

“Wait, so you went home on the extrain”

“Yes”

“Went into the tube and arrived at your house, knocked on the door”

“Yes, only when I said hi to my mum she wasn’t my, well she was she just didn’t recognise me,” Auggie said impatiently

We were already walking down the aisle of The Royal Library of Britain by then, you could basically smell it. The Brown books, tables, chairs, walls and shelves. Just how Auggie remembered them

“So, what are we doing here then?”

“Investigating”

“Let’s just go to the authorities.”

“No, I read about this somewhere. Something about the human brain and people suffering from memory loss. It was in Richard Gills, ‘My Mind’.”

“I don’t know what’s happened to your mum, but the police should get involved. This is not right. We can wait until my parents get home if you want, at least then we’ll have proper adults. What about your dad?”

“He wasn’t at home. His probably at headquarters in New York”

“Your mum might just have had this memory loss recently or else your Dad would have said something. Call him”

“Mines not international” She held up her iPhone

“Mine is,” Elena said reaching inside the pockets of her jeans. “Left them at home. Well when we get back you can call him”

Suddenly the already dim lights, turned off completely and the man standing 2 aisles behind us collapsed to the ground, while the lady sitting at the table collapsed straight onto her pile of books. Elena turned around and a man in a black suit stepped towards us.

“Excuse me” I heard her say strongly and confidently. “Excuse me!” she said again this time with frustration. He didn’t budge.

“It’s the …”I stammered

“Auggie?”

Auggie crouched there staring into the blindness of the dark atmosphere of old ancient dusty books. It was that science fiction book she had read called ‘Human Computer,’ yes that was the one. The one she read on the way home on the extrain.

“It can’t be,” she whispered. “That book I read on the extrain”

“What? No!” Elena had read it before her and promised to lend it; the two girls were obviously on the same track “The Computer one? No, Auggie it’s a fictional book!” she said glancing back still fixing her gaze on the man in the suit. Who took another step towards us?

“The chip in people’s heads. It’s not fake it’s real.”

“I don’t think we should be making such grand assumptions.” They followed each other’s gaze to the man lying lifeless just metres from us. A little faint red dot flashing from the inside of his head barely visible

“How do you explain that? And my mum?” she said challenging Elena, “the only reason we’re not effected is…”

“Is because we’re not 18” Elena finished off the sentence looking as though she was struck by a light bulb “The injection.”

The man in the suit gained on them, so that his shadow completely covered the light not that there was much of a shadow cause the lights were off anyway

“Auggie! Auggie like an Ugg boot! We need to go,” Elena almost screamed causing Auggie to break out of her thoughts.

“We need to get Jack or somebody we trust enough, who hasn’t gotten the injection yet!”