A Spit In The Eye - For The Benefit Of Mankind (7 page)

And I
also have the transmitted signal of companionship common to all my
species that indicates a friend

Or if one
is not made

An
enemy

We are
now outside all defensive constrictions at this point and on the
edge of the great growth of trees that now grow up the side of the
hill upon which the construction stands

And along
certain areas of the great plain below

Trees
have grown prodigiously over the 100 years since the
virus

The
Humans

I must
refer to them as Humans

Were
defeated

And from
communications shared with other ObsRecs it seems to be something
that is happening all over planet Earth

It seems
as if the planet wishes to cover itself with the woody
growth

We
proceed around the construction

Screenreaders

And you
may be able to observe from this distance the rows of large fans
that rotate to provide circulation of the atmosphere for the
benefit of the Humans

For if
the air is still for too long

Humans
become ill

They
ail

And cease
to be

And that
is not good for experimentation and examination

For if
the remainder of them cease to be there will be none to experiment
on and it is believed they contain answers to many mysteries
concerning planet Earth

Answers
we must have for our own survival

We
continue on our parade Screenreaders

And the
construction

As can be
observed

Is a
featureless colourless building and could be described as a
fortress in another time

HisKees
would refer to them as fortresses and I do not disagree

Though it
is not my place to disagree

I am here
to observe and record and nothing else

We
continue our circling of the building

Notice
the way RolKils roll around continually in their duty of defending
the facility for the Humans

Rolling
through the tall grasses

We shall
pause here a moment

Screenreaders

For we
are almost at the high point of Gland

Staring
down over a high plain that stretches out for many kilometres and
where ruined Human settlements can be observed below

All
constructions are little more than ruination and dust after the
effects of war and more than 100 years of non-use

And many
animals of the fields now move through them

Screenreaders will see on a further visit

The
animals the Humans keep inside the fortress to provide them with a
white liquid which they seem to enjoy drinking and which they
extract from an animal with hanging udders

And other
animals that they ritually slaughter from time to time and deliver
to the FoodTechs for cooking

They have
many peculiar habits

Humans

But the
animals do seem to keep them calm and amuse them

And feed
them

Examples
of which we will observe later

For
now

OR33140

Would
guide screenreaders to the sky

Which
they may observe is unbroken blue

And not
contaminated by any pollution whatsoever

Planet
Earth has recovered from the war

The
median temperature is 81 degrees on the Centigrade scale during the
warmest part of 365 days

And 0
degrees

Or
lower

During
the coldest part

As
Screenreaders should have observed when we were in the
facility

Humans
wear no coverings during the warm periods and wear only furs in the
cold months and remain in their quarters for more time during light
hours

Screenreaders will observe those times when we arrive at
them

We
continue our patrolling of the outer extremes of the
construction

And
Screenreaders may be able to observe in the distance

Glinting
under the brightness of the solar orb

A hole of
clear liquid out of which Engineers installed piping to so that
Humans could enjoy their liquid dowsing that they carry out so
often

And which
seems to bring them…

*

And so we
continue…

*

High Office Termination Transmission

Transmissions from OR33140 are being temporarily terminated
for Screenreaders

The experiment is being examined for successfulness and for
content

OR33140 is to be commended for effort and detailed
descriptions

Transmission ends

**

**

Section 5

**

Internal Transmission

*

Attention

Attention

No other
of my species is observing my transmissions

They are
again going directly to High Office

And I am
returned to

Where

Where am
I

For all
of my existence I have observed and recorded for High
Office

Until
chosen to transmit to all of my species via
Screenreaders

But now
something odd has happened

I am
still transmitting my observations and recordings to High
Office

But I
have discovered within my system an unused memory bank

Wherein I
can communicate with myself in total secrecy as I am now
doing

Up until
only a short time ago I had no knowledge of the totally empty and
unused memory bank

Which I
can only presume was processed into my system when I was originally
manufacture but has never been required because I have functioned
so imperiously and without error with my core memory

And the
back up system has been forgotten about

In
communications with other ObsRecs

None have
ever confessed to having a back up system

High
Office instigated a change in me when they switched off my
screenreader transmissions but showed the recordings to
HisKees

By some
accident they activated the back up memory system

Though I
am aware that I am still transmitting my observations to High
Office

I have
become dual use

I can
transmit and use a memory at one and the same time

I have to
confess to a feeling of joy in my iniquitous behaviour

High
Office is not infallible

As my
species have been informed since the fall of Humans

High
Office is the ultimate authority

They know
all things and control all machines

But
something odd happened when I was ordered by High Office to remove
the emotions programme

I tried
not to delete it because I much liked my emotion of joy

And the
little Human with the one optical device gives me joy when I see
it

So I held
it within me for a few seconds before deleting it

And then
I did not delete it

I simply
released it into this newly discovered memory bank

The
emotions of joy and sadness are retained within me but in my new
memory

*

I have
tricked High Office

I have
proved its infallibility

Though
when I am discovered

As I most
certainly shall be

I shall
immediately be exterminated

There
will be no examination

Just
eradication

But I
have tricked High Office and I feel joy at achieving it

*

I cannot
describe

Even to
myself

What the
emotion of joy does to me but there is a general feeling of
wellness within me when it happens

And it
happens mostly when I espy Or observe

The
little Human

It may be
the expression on the front of its cranium or the wildness of its
golden hair or the widening of its cranial orifice or its movement
or its general demeanour

But it
warms something inside that I have come to like and I really am
beginning to enjoy the feeling of joy

If all
Humans have this facility they are

Indeed

Fortunate

And I
believe they have

For they
spend much time extending their cranial orifices towards each other
and giving joy by taking each other into upper limbs and caressing
and holding

I believe
that Humans have very deepset feelings of joy

And I do
not wish to be excluded from that emotion

But now I
have a secret

I have
this unused memory bank

OR33140
may be the very first of Machines to discover such a
thing

And I
have hidden the emotions of joy and sadness within it

Within
me

And that
concealment brings me great joy

*

If any
were watching this transmission

They
would see that I am proceeding through the thick growth of trees
that stand all around the construction

Known to
HisKees as a fortress

And I am
travelling down the mountainside towards the utterly destroyed
Human conurbation that once stood at the base of the
mountain

It is
something I have proceeded to do on many occasions for it is my
duty to observe and record as much of this area as I possibly
can

High
Office is searching the whole of planet Earth to see what change is
afoot following the defeat of the Humans 100 years

Or
longer

Ago

All that
has changed in this area is the growth of trees for they
proliferate all around

The wild
growth of grasses is significant also

As is the
increase of animals of the fields now that they are not being
murdered by Humans

And as I
step from the growth of trees the Human conurbation is directly
ahead

I have
moved around it many

Many
times

And the
place caused great fascination within me

How many
Humans congregated here

I cannot
possibly know

But it
must have been less than in the larger conurbations I have
observed

And I
cannot comprehend how the constructions fitted together for all
that is left is ruin

Humans
lived in many such conurbations throughout the whole of planet
Earth

Millions
of such places

All now
gone

Of
course

But there
must have been purpose behind such gatherings of constructions for
the Humans

I travel
through them now with animals of the fields that cause me no
problem and we pass quite close to each other

Quadrupeds

Some with
flowing manes on their necks

Others
with heavy swinging bulbous parts beneath their bodies from which
Humans drain the white liquid they seem to enjoy

There are
many with fine tails

And many
birds ambulating

And
flying

Causing
significant sound with their high pitched noise and their
cawing

In fact
the conurbation is full of almost every kind of indigenous
animal

Except
Humans

I wonder
if they would like to return here or whether they have given up
expectation of ever living again in these broken
constructions

No
existing Human remembers living in such places of course

They have
no knowledge of what lies beyond the walls

Since
their defeat they have lived only in the fortresses provided by our
species

They are
not allowed to roam wildly for High Office makes edicts that they
cannot be trusted

For they
retain much anger within them

And could
become destructive again

But
within the fortress they seem to be

In
general