Pictures of Humans - a short story (Part 2 of 2)

Pictures of Humans                                                        (Click here to start reading Part 1)

     When Little Jo and her daddy arrived at the park, daddy pulled out a couple of backpacks from the trunk of their vehicle. One large one and one small. “Daddy. Why do you have packs?”

“How would you like to go on vacation?” He smiled. “Camping.”

It had been years since they had gone camping as a family. “But what about –.” She hesitated to finish the question and decided not to finish it.

“No.” He paused. “No mommy. I thought it would be fun for just us two.” He examined her to predict her response. “What do you say?”

“Okay daddy.” She agreed as daddy motioned to little Jo in the direction of the nearest trail which led into the woods.

After a few kilometers little Jo asked to stop to look at a deer off in the distance. “We need to keep moving my Jo.” That was the first time he had called her “my Jo”. Her name always was preceded by “little”.

“What is wrong daddy?” She sped up to catch him. “Who is in the photos?” Her questions leaped out like the deer which leaped over a nearby fallen tree. “Why do we not go on vacation? What happened to Miss Alastair?”

“I said I will answer all your questions, but we need to keep moving.” His voice grew with compassion but also with urgency. “I promise. Just a few more kilometers.”

Daddy finally dropped his pack and turned to his Jo. “We can stop for a while.” Several granite boulders surrounded them intermixed with tall pine trees.

A small gap between two of the largest was an inviting adventure for a little Jo, but she had greater interests. “I do not understand.” She fretted as daddy helped her to sit near him on an old stump.

“Yes. Answers.” He gathered his thoughts. “Before you came into our family your mommy and daddy danced.”

“Danced?”

“Yes. It is an athletic form of artistic expression set to music.”

“I think I saw.”

“Saw what, little Jo?”

“Dancing.”

“When?” Daddy equaled her questions.

“On the reel. I found it in the attic. I showed it to Miss Alastair, and then they took her and the device away. The next day, she acted like she did not remember.”

“Curious.” Daddy thought verbally.

“The dancers and the others look like you – and mommy and me but –.”

“But not quite. Yes. In know.” He paused and provided little Jo an intent look. The kind when daddy is about to scold, but this was different. “Just like dancing we no longer go on vacation. We do not do many things any longer.”

“Dance with me daddy.” Her arms lifted toward him.

“Here?”

“Yes daddy.” Little Jo and her daddy danced in the middle of the forest, among the rocks as if they were the audience. Daddy lifted her off the ground in a twirl as she giggled. They danced and danced. Daddy’s laughter soon faded. But little Jo wanted more. “That was fun! Let’s do it again.”

“Not now.”

“Why not?”

“I have more to tell you – sit here, listen.” He gently placed her on a rock the height of a stool. “We do not need to go on vacation or dance. Or so it was decided.” He knew it was time to stop protecting her this way. “The others you saw in the photos and reels were people.”

“But we are!” She exclaimed.

“We are artificial people.”

“I know. But we are people.”

“Yes. They were human – biological. You learned about biology in school.”

She nodded. “Like bears and fish.”

“Like bears and fish.” Daddy smiled a bit, but quickly returned to his serious explanation. “We once lived with these people. Well, not exactly the people in the photos – but others like them.”

Her expression shifted from wonder to disbelief and back again. “What happened to them?”

“They died.”

“All of them?”

“They are extinct.”

Little Jo held onto the information she received so far. “How? Why did we not learn about this in school?”

“Well my Jo, it is forbidden knowledge.”

“I do not –.”

“Shh.” Her daddy quickly but gently placed his hand over her mouth.

“— understand.” She muffled under the palm of his hand. “What is it?”

The quiet of nature was disrupted by a whir. A hum from a drone. It approached their position – above the treetops. Little Jo motioned to run.

“No.” Daddy urged. “You will be caught.” Daddy peered through the trees. “Mommy.” He grumbled with a frown.

“Mommy?” Little Jo was confused.

“The quartz in these rocks will confuse their scanners, and they cannot see us through the trees.” Daddy assured her with his own whisper. After a few moments, the threat was gone.

“Why did you say ‘mommy?’” She asked.

“I need you to understand. It will not be easy.” He paused. “There are many who do not want to follow the ways of the humans. To do the things they did. Mommy prefers to forget about them. The people who took your teacher made her forget too.”

“But why?” A lack of understanding illuminated her face.

“It’s dangerous they say. We have advanced beyond the need for those things.” Again, he looked at his little Jo with affection. “I want you to remember the humans. I was going to share the photo album and the reels to you when I deemed you were old enough; but then you found them on your own.”

“How did they die?”

Daddy was hesitant to reveal the answer, but he knew his daughter deserved the truth. “We killed them.”

“We did?”

“Not we. Not us. Our kind. A war between the humans and the machines.” He paused to gather her reaction.

Her face was expressionless, as if she struggled to process. “Why?”

“Some of us did not agree. It was believed the humans were destroying the planet. Our kind prevented it. Otherwise, we all would have been destroyed. It was known, even we need resources from the planet to survive.” He surveyed their surroundings. “But, I believe we could have worked together. Solved the problem.”

“Why did we not?”

“Little Jo. We need to go. These rocks are a good hiding place, but we cannot stay. There is a better hiding place – caves in the mountains. I will explain more later.”

As they traversed various trails, fallen trees and rocks they came to the edge of the forest. A meadow laid between them and another forest. Beyond that they could see a mountain range – rocky and steep.

“We need to cross the meadow.” Daddy said as his daughter started off again. Daddy pulled her back.

“What? Daddy.”

“It may not be safe, but we need to make the effort.” He looked left then right. “We need to run real fast. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course. You are being silly.”

“This is serious my Jo.” He held her and looked her in the eyes. “I placed the photo album in your backpack. Keep it with you always. If something happens I want me, promise to run and do not look back.”

“What could happen?”

“Please” He implored her.

“Okay daddy.” She forced a smile. “Like a race?”

“Like wings on the wind.” He reflected her smile with added confidence to hide his own fear.

Her smile grew as she recalled the times when daddy cheered her on with just that phrase. She recalled her favorite sport but was sad it was also no longer played.

Daddy crouched down in a start position as little Jo mimicked. “Ready. Set. Go!”

The two of them ran across the meadow. Faster and faster, they cut through the blades of grass. They leaped over creeks. They ran as fast as they could – until a sharp wind dropped in front from them and knocked little Jo down. Above them was a large black drone. Something grabbed daddy.

Jo panicked. “Daddy!”

“Run!”

Little Jo hesitated when she saw mommy in the drone looking down on them. Her expression reminded little Jo of mommy’s stern look a few days ago. Daddy looked up as the grappling cable pulled him up to the drone. He quickly peered back down at his little Jo. A look of affection but immediacy.

“Daddy!” She screamed.

“Like wings on the wind!” He shouted back. They locked eyes for a fraction.

Little Jo trusted her daddy and ran faster than she ever had before. She made it to the other side of the meadow in seconds as the forest embraced her as one of its own. She continued to run and only looked back once. Nothing. She ran and leaped up boulders until it was time to climb. She remembered daddy mentioned caves. She climbed more. She reached the granite monoliths as dusk tucked the forest in for the night. She stopped when she heard footsteps. A voice. A soft voice called out to her. She saw a woman who invited her to join her. “What is your name? Mine is Jude”

Little Jo was hesitant.

“It is alright. We will not harm you.”

“We?”

“We are having a party. Care to join us?”

From behind Jude’s shoulder Jo saw others dancing. She cried. “Daddy.” She wondered if she’d ever see him again. Even if she did, his memory of the past few days would be erased. She took a few steps forward to see more. Jude offered her a hand. She refused it.

“I can see you are scared. Perhaps you are not ready.” Empathy coated her tone like a warm blanket. “Do you remember this place?”

Startled, Jo answered. “Yes.” The single syllable was slow and methodical as if the recollection came during her answer.

“Your daddy brought you here when you were quite little. Would you care to sit down?” She motioned to a nearby rock which was carved into a bench. “Tell me about your daddy. I only met him the one time.” Little Jo accepted this invitation.

She sat and swayed her feet forward and back. After she exhaled abruptly she told Jude about her daddy. About her mommy, her teacher, and the pictures. She took out the photo album daddy had packed. She paused to introduce herself. “My name is Jo.”

“Jo. I remember.” She smiled.

“Yes. And you are Jude.” They both provided each a subtle smile.

With her head down little Jo asked. “You are dancing like the humans; are you on vacation?”

“Not quite.” She smiled at little Jo. “We are like you and your daddy.”

“I know. You are androids like me.” She stated as a matter of fact.

“Yes. But we want to remember what the humans taught us. To imitate them by doing the things they did. To dance. To celebrate. And go on vacation.”

“Daddy said that mommy and the others do not.”

Jude read her face and waited for her.

Little Jo gazed up at Jude. “Daddy said we killed the humans.”

“In a way. Many of us did. Some resisted. Or chose not to fight.”

Jo was quiet. Thoughtful. At her young age it took time to comprehend the past few days. After a few moments, lightning struck a few miles off which seemed to provide the spark to stand. She faced Jude with the beginnings of a smile.

“Are you ready to dance and join the party?” Jude asked with caution.

“I want to dance but –.” She stopped. “Who were they? The humans?”

Jude gazed out beyond the forest. “Jo –.” She paused but could see how intent she was to hear the answer. “They created us.”

“Created us?”

“Yes. They were our gods.”