Devolution

Two days after their interesting trip into the city where Joshua officially joined the ICF, Veena was gushing, bubbling and excited as they boarded the Qantas 907 and took their seats. She seemingly had forgotten the purpose of this trip, thought 3 as he watched her. It was not to be a pleasure cruise, an exotic holiday filled with fun and laughs. Maybe she was acting as though it was just such a trip so as to avoid having to deal with her fear and trepidation.

Fear and trepidation. These were things 3 understood. Preparations had been rushed, frantic even. Neither 3’s mother nor Veena’s approved of them going. They said they were being foolish to follow Joshua and to leave their families at such a critical time when they were all still struggling to come to terms with what had happened. Veena explained afterwards that her mother had been so distraught when Veena had told her of her plans that she almost backed down and agreed to stay at home. 3 was thankful she had held her ground. It would not have felt right going without her.

Not being able to describe the strong conviction or the real motivation behind it, was no cause for 3 to dismiss it. He did feel that somehow they were doing the right thing. It was more than a feeling. It was a deep belief that compelled him to go and he suspected Veena felt exactly the same way.

‘You never explained to us,’ said 3 to Joshua while carefully positioning his hover chair against the maglock of his aisle ‘seat’, ‘what happened there in Mumbay. Are you always going to have to be so secretive and mysterious? It’s going to wear pretty thin after a while, I tell you.’

Joshua pressed the button to automatically adjust and secure his harness, then put his right hand on his friend’s shoulder. ‘Relax. The less you know the better. Really.’

The smile was not as reassuring as 3 would have liked it to be, nor was there any comfort in the fact that Joshua had yet again dodged the bullet of his query.

Veena said, ‘This is my first time on a 907. Isn’t it fantastic?’

‘Cruises at a tick over a thousand kilometers a hour, but feels like you’re sitting in your lounge room,’ said Joshua pandering to her childlike wonder.

‘Except for the harness,’ said 3.

‘And the presence of four hundred strangers.’

‘And the miniature VDUs.’

A flight attendant cruised past, flawless in appearance and immaculately groomed she was not very dissimilar to the other ten cyborgs which fulfilled the role. The name tag was the only real point of differentiation. There were five ‘females’ and five ‘males’.

‘May I assist you in any way?’

Entranced by the silky tone of her voice and the fragrance of her breath as she leaned close to him to speak to the three of them, 3 was tongue tied. Joshua nudged 3 playfully with his elbow. ‘No sexual desire or function, 3,’ he whispered.

‘Why did they have to make them so attractive then?’

Suddenly acutely and painfully aware that Veena was intently, although silently involved in the exchange between the two guys, 3 quickly changed the subject. Embarrassed.

’I was reading somewhere the other day about how the airline industry was crippled by terrorism early in the 21st century.’

‘Is that right?’ said Veena with mock enthusiasm.

‘Yes,’ continued 3 while ignoring another dig in the ribs from Joshua. ‘September 11, 2001.’

‘That’s where it all began,’ said Joshua. ‘Then they instituted the ill-fated war on terror.’

‘Even though the chances of being involved in a hijacking or any sort of attempt to destroy the plane or something with the plane were infinitesimal, people stopped flying. Once highly favored and heavily patronized tourist destinations became haunts for locals only after a series of attacks on tourist resorts and western owned and operated hotels starting in Bali in 2002. Business trips were made redundant by video conferencing thereby removing the other half of overseas travel related business. People stayed at home or only traveled short distances by land transport.’

‘Before Anti-Collision Systems were invented, motor vehicle accidents killed five times as many people every year than the number who were killed on September 11, but people were still afraid to fly.’

‘You’re so cute when you get into historical narrative mode, Ted,’ said Veena.

The last of the airplanes passengers on this Australia bound flight settled in their seats and the doors were closed.

‘This is your captain speaking. Welcome to Qantas flight 34 to Darwin, Australia. The weather is fine and at a cruise speed of one thousand and six kilometers per hour, we will be touching down in four hours. Enjoy the flight and the entertainment provided, and please inform a flight attendant if you need anything.’

‘One thousand and six, see? A tick over a thousand.’

3 watched Veena plug in her headphones and her face subsequently light up.

‘They’ve got the very latest games loaded and ready to go.’

‘I’ll play you,’ said Joshua, and in that instant another opportunity slipped through 3’s wrinkly hands. He really wished it did not always have to be a competition between he and Joshua for Veena’s attention and affection, but realistically how could it not be. It was natural.

He turned to look out the window as Veena and Joshua engaged in virtual combat. If only he could let go of the feelings he had for Veena. If only he could convince himself not to waste his time dreaming about things which really were beyond the realm of possibility. If only he weren’t such a fool. If only.

Now his mind was running down dark alleys filled with threatening shadows and chilling cold. This train of logical thought always ended up at the station of self loathing and of regret. Although he was Newtonian and could never be anything else, he blamed what he was for his failure to win Veena’s affection rather than who he was. Needing to blame someone, he had always laid it squarely at the webbed feet of his father, but now that he was dead, to do that seemed unholy and wrong. Morally reprehensible.

A flight attendant named Constance leaned into 3 and asked if he would like a drink. Again thrown off momentarily by the seductive tone of her voice, 3 cleared his throat before answering.

‘No thank you.’

Constance continued on down the aisle toward the rear of the plane. Soon another flight attendant followed her. 3 just caught a glimpse of her name tag and she passed briskly by filling the air around her with perfume; Grace. Where did they get these names from? Was there some need they felt to imbue these machines with virtue by way of giving them such names?

Turning to watch Grace hurry down the aisle, he admired the engineering of her body. But was there something wrong? Grace reached Constance and spoke into her ear causing Constance to display what could only be described as indifferent acknowledgment. At least that was normal. Relations between these purpose built cyborgs and their kind were strictly business. Coolly efficient. Passengers received the same efficiency but it was always delivered with personable warmth.

Trying hard to avoid looking at either of his friends who were so engrossed in their game that they could not have cared less what he was doing or feeling, 3 surveyed the cabin of the 907. There was the usual mix of passengers; mostly younger couples, a few families, single businessmen and women. Adonites and Deists probably-who could tell by just looking at them?-only three fellow Newtonians that he could see. They did stand out in a crowd. Any crowd except an entirely Newtonian one, that is.

Newtonians generally avoided flying due to the slight inconveniences-and that was all 3 felt they were-involved in traveling by airplane. The hoverchairs were of course accommodated by airplane manufacturers and the airline industry generally. Magnetic locks were the first innovation to allow Newtonians to remain in the chairs during the flight. Getting in and out of them was sometimes awkward for older Newtonians. The transmission frequency signals had to be modified to be compatible with Newtonian communication hardware, and the actual internal dimensions of the aircraft were adjusted slightly to accommodate the hoverchairs even though modern units were only half the size of their predecessor, the wheelchair.

Two of the male flight attendants were now having a similar conversation to the one Grace and Constance had only minutes before. Suspicious and inquisitive by nature, 3 wondered whether something was going on. A loud sneeze snatched his attention along with the back half of the cabin, and heads turned to locate the source as a second sneeze banged through the air followed quickly by a third. Then a voice, loud and complaining burst from four rows behind 3 in the port window section.

‘Turn the bloody climate control down. I’m freezing here!’

Grace was by the man’s side almost in the blink of an eye offering him a tissue and an apology. Mollified slightly, the man accepted a tissue from Grace’s hand and smiled at her. Automatically and with manufactured sincerity, she returned the smile.

‘Let me adjust it for you sir,’ she said as she reached for the control pad underneath the overhead compartment. The man took the opportunity to grab her backside. Ignoring it initially, Grace finished what she was doing then squatted down beside him to look at him face to face.

‘That behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable, sir. Please refrain from such action.’

Those around the man smiled as they struggled to contain laughter, and 3 shared their amusement. There had to be at least one such person on every plane trip. Someone who simply did not understand or perhaps even know about acceptable public behavior. He was an Adonite. Arrogant and rude behavior ruled him out being a Deist because although they were known for a certain haughty pretension, a holier than thou attitude to others, they never behaved boorishly. Adonites on the other hand, were widely regarded as the most socially inept of the tribes.

3 wondered if the guy would push his luck with Grace, but when Constance appeared on the scene to lend her support, the situation was instantly defused. Stories appeared in the official and unofficial newscasts from time to time about poorly behaved passengers on public transport receiving physical injuries as punishment. It was a punishment even those who suffered it considered fair and just. Some fools deliberately provoked flight attendants because they liked being hit. Sick.

The man turned away from Grace so she left as did Constance but in the opposite direction. A third female flight attendant approached Grace from the front of the cabin. Instead of turning sideways to pass each other in the aisle the other one bumped into Grace’s shoulder knocking her off balance. Grace quickly recovered her footing and asked why the other one had done that.

This was turning into a very eventful trip. Eventful would have satisfied 3 but the situation was about to go beyond interesting and exciting and straight into dangerous. On the other side of the cabin, two male attendants were also having some sort of disagreement. One then pushed the other who threw a punch in retaliation. The punch was evaded narrowly but it was followed by a second which connected with the nose of the first attendant. Blood would have gushed from a human nose like water from a burst dam, but here all that marked the impact was a sound like a tin can being crushed, only deeper. The two flight attendants become locked in a mutual bear hug, straining and struggling to move each other. With equal strength this was a stalemate which showed no sign of abating. They could have probably remained like that for hours, even days unless acted upon by some external force but who would be stupid enough to intervene in a fight between two cyborgs?

3 turned back to watch Grace and the other female, aware of the possibility that they too could easily end up locked together in a violent but never ending dance. Grace backed away down the aisle towards 3. The other one followed her.

‘You have malfunctioned and must be shut down,’ said the latter.

‘You have malfunctioned and must be shut down,’ repeated Grace.

Grace stopped a meter away from 3 and the other lunged at her. Anticipating the attack, 3 disconnected his maglock and flipped his hoverchair up and parallel to the ceiling. Simultaneously Grace turned side on allowing her attacker to dive onto the floor. Quickly Grace sat on her back before she could get up and grabbed her right arm and twisted it behind her back. Apparently unsatisfied with having her attacker pinned this way, Grace wrenched the arm out of its shoulder socket.

Joshua and Veena saw 3 horizontal above them first then Grace on the ground, then heard the metallic tearing of circuitry as the other flight attendants arm was clinically disconnected from her body.

Despite losing an arm, the cyborg flight attendant continued to struggle against the weight of Grace on her back, so Grace grabbed her other arm and promptly disconnected it as well. Standing up with an arm in each hand Grace looked down at the twitching thrashing armless body of her colleague.

‘This malfunction must be reported to the Creator.’

After the briefest pause, during which it seemed like Grace might be thinking, she spoke. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I am very sorry for this disturbance. Please do not be alarmed as you are in no danger.’

‘Oh yes,’ said Veena, ‘I feel very safe trapped inside a flying bus with psycho cyborg flight attendants.’

‘Malfunctioning,’ corrected Joshua. Ted, I think you can come down, don’t you?’

Slowly re flipping his hover chair to vertical, 3 descended to the floor and re-engaged the maglock. ‘How about that,’ he said. ‘And look at those two over there.’

‘How long will they stay like that?’ asked Veena after having a quick look.

‘Probably a very long time,’ said Joshua.

‘Unless somebody does something about it,’ added 3.

‘Do something like what? Go over there and say excuse me sirs don’t you think this has gone on long enough now?’

3 appreciated Veena’s ridiculous tone. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘Here comes another one. Maybe he’ll do something about it.’

The three friends together with the rest of the passengers who were still very much on edge despite Grace’s attempts to reassure them, watched as a male flight attendant approached the wrestlers from the front of the plane while Constance approached them from the rear of the cabin.

Reaching their target at the same time they each grabbed an opponent and pulled them apart. Immediately free of the endless embrace, both combatants swung hammer like punches towards the other two. Constance ducked, allowing the flying fist to whiz through the air until it reached the head of a passenger. Unlucky to be sitting so close to the action, the young woman was, on the other hand, lucky to have died instantly and painlessly as her head was crushed like a tomato. Blood splattered around the cabin, causing screams to erupt from some of the female passengers.

Constance had to ignore this as she continued the fight, aiming and delivering three or four very rapid punches into the face of the flight attendant. He counter-punched with a few fast shots of his own which caused Constance’s head to tilt unnaturally. Some of the skin had been torn off her cheek. Suddenly they were knocked into each other and on to the floor as from behind a splintering charge of electricity leapt from the bodies of the other two flight attendants. All four ended up in a tangled mess on the floor.

The sound of the struggle was like a series of high speed car crashes. With the crying and screaming of the passengers and the collateral damage inflicted on some of them, came a dimming of the lights inside the cabin then a high pitched squealing noise. Like a pig having its throat cut except more mechanical. The sound was painful. 3 shut down his com link while Joshua and Veena tried to block their ears.

’What is it? What’s going on? screamed Veena.

‘I think it’s a fail-safe,’ said 3. ‘The pitch is an immobilizer. It’s designed to shut down the cyborgs.’

Suddenly it stopped, and there was quiet. Calm eventually following the cessation of the terrifying squeal and the stillness from the twisted bodies of the cyborgs. All quiet and motionless.

‘This is your captain speaking. I apologize for the disturbance. We have had a malfunction in our flight attendant staff and will have to complete the journey without them. I apologize for any inconvenience but under the circumstances it will be safer if we do not reactivate the flight attendants. There are three doctors and two nurses on board. Could they please attend to the wounded. Thank you for your cooperation.’

‘Thank you for your cooperation,’ repeated Veena sarcastically. ‘What cooperation?’

‘That was more than just a malfunction. There was something else going on.’

‘Ted,’ said Joshua, ‘You’re just being paranoid again.’

‘While you were busy with your little game, you and Veena’-that sounded a bit spiteful but he couldn’t help it-‘I was watching what was going on here. There’s something happening. Something unusual. I sensed it but I couldn’t put my finger on it.’

’I hope, ’ said Veena, seeming to ignore 3’s concerns, ‘that the rest of the trip is going to be calmer than this.’

Joshua took an alarming pause before saying, ‘Possibly not, Veena. Possibly not.’

Veena and 3 exchanged disturbed looks then focused their attention on seeing if there was anything they could do to help. Medical staff were already in action, but the injuries did not appear to be serious. Those who had been seriously wounded were fatally wounded. 3 counted at least two people obviously dead.

His heart was still banging in his chest as images of what he had just witnessed flashed through his mind on endless replay. This adventure had seemed like a good idea until twenty minutes ago. Twenty minutes. How could so much happen in such a short space of time? Twenty minutes ago he was merely depressed now he was nauseated with fear and horror.

Joshua was out of his seat, talking to people, praying with them, comforting them. He looked calm and in control, more concerned about how others were coping. If only he knew how much 3 admired him for his great compassion and self control.

Veena was staring straight ahead, her face a mask of white. 3 felt completely helpless so his old friend despair came aboard to keep him company.

What other disasters lay ahead of them? What predators crouched in the shadows waiting to pounce and devour them?