27 September 2012
Since they arrived at Daniel's destination, Hannah had been unconscious and she lay on a bed, while Daniel hung over her with a curious looking device. Even after he was done she remained unconscious; finally her eyes opened. Hannah considered he new surroundings with bits of equipment all around this confined space. She sat up and realised she was on an operating bed, then she looked ahead to see Daniel standing by a computer desk, with multi-display active. She used her implant to identify her location but no information was provided.
"What did you do to me?" Hannah asked. "Don't worry Hannah your implant still works, all I've done is severed your connection to Jarvis." Daniel replied. "Now with all three of your links to Jarvis severed we can talk freely." "What do you mean? Where are we?" Hannah asked a little disorientated. "We are underneath the borders of Perimeter 2 and Perimeter 3 in a place I call home, welcome." Daniel replied. "You really should have just given me 'select', things would have been simpler." He added. "And what would Daniel the rebel have done with 'select'?" Hannah replied. "Destroy it." He stated. "And please call me Dan." He added, walking towards Hannah. "You see Hannah there is much more going on than you're aware, all that you see..." Daniel said pointing to the multi-screen, which flashed various images of Safe Haven. "... All of this is irrelevant." He added and Hannah got up.
"What do you mean?" Hannah asked curiously. "Good. Now I have your attention." Daniel said. "Where do I start... Jarvis. What do you know about Jarvis?" Daniel asked. "What's that got to do with anything?" Hannah retorted. "Everything." Daniel started. "Jarvis is more than just a supervisor..." Daniel said. "... Yes that's right, he's a caretaker and an unbiased protector of Safe Haven." Hannah interrupted. "Very true but not quite in the way you think." Daniel replied, motioning for Hannah to hear him out. "After the initial destruction there was no land on Earth to find any form of safety and so the only options were in the air or sea. The sea was chosen and the great submersible city of Safe Haven was built." Daniel added. "I know my history! Get to it." Hannah retorted, feeling very irritable and opted for a caffeine inducer and her implant obliged; it also let her know that unless she accessed the network she only had three doses left.
"Aren't we a bit tense." Daniel commented. "Anyway, Jarvis' primary objective is to warden the population for external interests. Your product 'select' would have helped Jarvis a lot." Daniel said. "Whoa, hold on. External interests?" Hannah queried. "This is irritating... Having to explain all this, especially to you..." Daniel muttered. "... After the survivors of the initial devastation created Jarvis, they went into a hibernation of sorts and nobody noticed when an alien race landed on the planet, and tampered with Jarvis' programming from the outside. Jarvis' new objective was to keep the citizens of Safe Haven within the city at all costs and to bolster the penitentiary, so that these aliens could use the citizens and inmates. In essence Jarvis became a farmer and Safe Haven was his field. 'Select' would have weakened the citizens' mental will, turning them into docile livestock; making it as easy for Jarvis to drain energy from their consciousness, as it is in the penitentiary. Even now that the planet has quietened and it is safe outside, the citizens of Safe Haven are still confined to the city." Daniel concluded and silence hung about the small room.
"I realise this is a lot to take in..." Daniel started. "Don't bother, I don't believe you." Hannah replied tersely. "I see. Well the existence of the fact is not dependent on your belief." Daniel responded as he turned to the largest screen, which now displayed a curious image. "The Rebu are here and you Hannah are a member of their livestock." He added, guiding Hannah's attention to the image of a large ship and surrounding encampment, which had alien looking creatures going about their duties. Hannah was dumbfounded but still she resisted; after all, this could all be some elaborate ploy by Daniel... "Is that why you destroyed my building and killed all those people? You're going to need a lot more than that to convince me." Hannah said after a long pause. "I thought you might say that." Daniel said with a smile as he walked towards what looked like a set of cryogenic capsules. "During my most recent excursion outside, I managed to secure a few items, like the rifle I used earlier." He continued, opening the capsules and retrieving two pairs of overalls, he offered one to Hannah.
"Impossible. Outside Safe Haven is toxic, you couldn't possibly have gone out and returned alive." Hannah said and Daniel smiled patiently. "Like I said before; just like all citizens of Safe Haven, you have been misled." Daniel answered. "This is a suit designed by the Rebu but I am told it is compatible with many life forms. It is called a survival suit and if I'm going to prove anything to you, you'll need to wear one." Daniel said, tossing Hannah a suit and left the room. "All I want is for you to release me!" Hannah screamed at Daniel, muttering under her breath in frustration. Her mind raced and she considered all that happened, she worried about the repercussions of all of this and it frightened her... (Tbc...)
© 2012 by Pthasse Amadeus
Stolen Minds Pt. 7 • Opuss № I