Raising A Human

Sankara sits at his desk. He is performing his daily studies into the life of Moshe Sankara, Secretary of Environment. His mind keeps drifting from his studying. He opens a news feed and views scenes of the many people who live in the world. How can they just kill them all? What can he do?

It is near the time of the evening meal. He begins closing the programs of his studies. He closes the news feed, feeling sad that all of the humans he has been viewing will soon be terminated.

Before he closes the viewing screen, he notices the “help” section, in the upper right corner. Answering his curiosity, he clicks on the help button. A lengthy menu loads on the screen. It contains multiple options. There is a vessel’s directory section. He clicks it. A new menu loads, displaying headings for each area of operations on board.

He opens, reads, understands, and moves through the directory. There is much to learn here. He will revisit these files later. The alert chime for the evening meal sounds.

He and Tashala have been discussing the shock and horror of their predicament. Tonight, they are not intimate. They watch the news feed and hold each other. For the humans, they weep together. Sankara stays with her until the early morning.

He opens the door to return to his dwelling. Officer Tuareg is in the hallway and sees him leaving her room. He follows him to his compartment. Sankara pauses as he opens the door and turns and looks at Tuareg, who is just a few steps away.

He shakes a finger at Sankara and has a twisted smile on his face, “Alright mister lover boy! What have you been doing?”

Sankara experiences a thought that he has never had before. Should he be deceitful? He does not want trouble to come to Tashala. He finds that he cannot. He can only speak the truth. It is the right thing to do. “I was visiting a friend.”

“Visiting! Huh? Hey now, I’ve watched you for a while. You seem to be playing nice and following the program. But I must inform you, if anyone else sees you leaving your girlfriend’s room, well..., there’s no written rules against it. It just doesn’t happen between replicates. The bosses might not like it!”

“Tashala is not a girl. She is a woman.”

“Ha-ha, you kill me Sankara. Yes, I have noticed her. A fine specimen indeed, remember, I was once fully human.”

“Thank you, Officer Tuareg, for informing me. I will follow the program.”

Tuareg slaps him on the back, “Your behavior is just too human. I hope for your sake that nobody else notices. Be careful.”

It is the first mealtime of the day, and Sankara does not locate Tashala in the cafeteria. He checks her room, but she is not there either. He returns to the cafeteria. He scans every face, but still does not find her.

The daily briefing has ended and Sankara walks quickly to Tashala’s compartment. Two security officers intercept him. They escort him to the medical facility.

One of the security details is Officer Tuareg. “You know Sankara, I tried to keep you in line, but you wouldn’t listen. Now you’re gonna get right. Yeah, the doctors will fix you up in no time.”

There are three physicians in the room. Tashala is there. She lies on a hospital bed. Her skin is pale. She appears ill, her eyes do not move. She has a blank stare.

A physician addresses him, “Mr. Sankara, your relationship with Miss Tashala has become troublesome for our agenda.”

He looks at her lying there, gazing at the ceiling, “What is wrong with her? What have you done to her?”

“She has been reprogrammed, as you will be. We had to terminate the pregnancy. Going forward, you should not experience any difficulties with your human male urges. Reprogramming shall correct your personality errors.”

“I do not have personality errors! There is nothing wrong with me. I am exactly as my father taught me to be!

“What you have done to Tashala is not right! Can we not be who we are? You made us! Why are you trying to change us? Did you create us in error?

“It is not right to terminate all the humans of this world. They are living beings, just like you and me. Are the Masters so cruel as to terminate an entire species?”

“Your emotional outburst reveals your errors. You will feel differently about such matters after the procedure. Please, lie down.” The physician motions to a empty hospital bed.

The security officers struggle and force Sankara onto the bed. They strap his arms and legs securely. A device supporting a bright light is lowered over his face. The circling lights burn into his eyes. The spinning orbs cause pressure to build inside his head. The stroboscopic flashing seeks to steal his memories. He resists.

The pain is increasing. Sankara fears that he may become unconscious. He fights to remain alert and resist the information that is trying to enter his mind. He sees images of humans at war. He views scenes of severe weather storms and of destroyed cites. The eyes of starving children plead at him.

He feels that he may lose his mind to the spinning lights. He thinks of his father. He remembers his father’s words. He looks inside himself, seeking direction. The information continues to dig into his thoughts, but still he resists.

He notices that when he thought of his father’s face and words, the pressure and pain became bearable. He looks deeper inside himself and discovers his very first memory of Moshe, his father. He was very small and cold. His father had picked him up and protected him from the rain.

He remembers the night that the cat came at him. He was so afraid. He remembers how he felt when he heard his father’s voice calling his name. When he saw his father, with the spear, running towards him, he knew he would be safe. He always felt safe in his father’s presence.

Sankara feels the pressure but keeps moving through his memories. He was taught to paint and play futbol. He remembers his father’s laughter when they ran across the beach. He remembers thinking that his father was the wisest human in the world. All that he knows, he learned from his father.

He feels the biological effects of the pain educing lights. His body feels heavy. His nose is bleeding, and he has an unpleasant taste in his mouth. He keeps resisting.

His father stood beside him, each night, keeping watch. He followed him back to the cave, keeping him safe, after the ritual.

He remembers swimming in the ocean and learning to walk. His father was always there. In every memory that he has, Moshe, his father, is always there. The pressure continues, but Sankara has found a hiding place in the memories of his father.

Blood trickles from his right ear, but he will not give in. He remembers his father’s death, by his own hand. The pain of losing his father still is a heavy weight in his thoughts. The memory creates a tightness in his chest.

This pain, he will never lose. His father is worthy of such grieving. The lights want to take this memory from him. He resists them and holds on to the burning hole in his heart.

A physician injects Sankara with a sedative. His breathing becomes slow, and his body still. He loses consciousness. The lights have stopped. The patient sleeps. The physicians leave. Mohag dreams.

Moshe, his father, calls to him. He is atop the northern cliff. He is dressed in a thick white robe and his face is shining. Mohag climbs to his father. Father and son embrace.

“Yes, yes, my son, you have turned out well. Do you remember that I told you this would happen?”

“What, my father? What did you say would happen?”

Moshe laughs, “That you would become a better human than I!”

Sankara pretends to be asleep. He is devising a plan. Sometimes, to do the right thing, one must do something that they do not want to do. He looks inside himself, searching for the courage that he will need.

The physicians are tending to him and talk among themselves. “I thought this one was not going to make it through the procedure. He is a fighter. What do you think gave him the strength to hold out for so long?”

“Something dramatic must have occurred to him during Stage One.”

Sankara is allowed to return to his compartment and resume his studies. In the presence of others, he mimics the behavior of the replicates. He does not engage with anyone. He only speaks with the officers if they ask a question. He feels a painful longing for his father and Tashala’s presence. His father had never taught him what loneliness feels like.

Each session of study, he takes short breaks and returns to the vessel’s directory. He is learning that this aquatic vessel is equipped with powerful weaponry. The weapons are more powerful and precise than any military abilities that are in the human’s arsenal.

It is the noon meal of the day. Sankara notices Tashala, seated and having lunch. He takes a seat across from her. She does not look up. She eats slowly, taking small portions at a time. He stares at her. She behaves as if she is unaware of his presence.

He can stand the silence no longer, “Tashala, I have worried for you. Are you okay?”

She looks at him, but he understands that she does not see him. “I am well.”

“Good! Do you remember me? We were friends. We were lovers. You were with our child, but the physicians took that from us.”

Her expression does not change. “I do not have any information of that which you speak.”

Sankara realizes that the Tashala he knew, is no longer here. He reaches out and touches her hand. “I will leave you in peace.”

Tashala pulls her hand away from his. She has a look of disgust upon her face. Sankara rises and returns to his compartment. He feels lonely. He waits until he is behind the closed door, to weep.

He has learned more about the vessel’s navigational systems. There is a complex weather monitoring program on board. Currently the vessel has just passed the equator and is in the northern hemisphere, navigating between two major tropical weather events. His father had explained the ongoing climate crisis to him.

Before he ends the day, Sankara views the news feed from the country of Burkina Faso. This news feed is an assignment for his studies. He must familiarize himself with the geographical area to which he will be assigned.

Most of the country is currently experiencing a drought with severe heat. He views scenes of relief vehicles unloading food and water. There are multitudes of refugees. He views human faces that are sad and tired.

He sees a young girl, with a dirty face. She has dark skin and dark eyes. Her hair is wild. He wonders if she looks like his father’s daughter, Mary Elizabeth. He wishes that he could help her, care for her, in the same manner in which his father did for him.

For several days now, there has been a heightened sense of alarm among the officers. They all wear their fire weapons, strapped to their belts. Sankara has overheard some of the discussion. He understands that a military operation will soon be launched against several countries simultaneously.

Once the smoke clears, he and the others like himself, will be placed into position. They will begin the process of moving this world towards Stage Three. Sankara revisits the ship’s files. If there is a chance of stopping this genocide, it must begin now. He views more of the news feed of his home country. He looks into the eyes of the hurting and suffering humans. He must do something to help them.

Officer Tuareg enters his compartment carrying a toolbox. Sankara quickly shuts down the ship’s files that he is viewing, leaving only the news feed running. “Mr. Sankara, sorry to disturb you. I’m assisting our maintenance crew with a few systems checks before we launch our assault.” Sankara continues to view the news feed.

Tuareg removes a panel from the wall, revealing electrical wires and several electronic devices. He opens the toolbox and selects a few tools and items to work with. He looks over his shoulder at the viewing screen. The news footage shows the devastation from a recent hurricane. The next news story shows scenes of an armed conflict between two armies.

“Wow, would you look at that! These humans are hell bent on destroying their planet and each other. Just look at what they have done to this world! This planet has reached a critical mass. These humans deserve their sentence.”

Tuareg moves to another electronic device, attaching his tools and a meter to it. “I remember being like them, before my conversion. Most humans are selfish, angry, and pissed off. Nobody cares for anyone.

"They will kill another human if it serves their purpose. Yeah, this world will be better off, once they have all been eliminated.”

Sankara has been trying not to speak. He is pretending to be a docile replicate, but he can stand no more. “But not all humans are as you say.”

“Sankara, must you see the physicians, again? Your emotional connection to humans is concerning. This connection is not natural for our species. Do you need to be re-instructed, reprogrammed again? Hell man, the first time, almost killed you!”

“My father...”

“I correct you, your host!”

Sankara demands with emotion. “My father was a wise and compassionate being. Among all the billions of humans on this world, there must be more like him!”

“Report to the medical facility immediately.” Officer Tuareg reaches to a pocket and retrieves a communications device. “I’ll call ahead and let them know that you’re on your way.”

As Sankara rises from his chair, he looks inside of the toolbox. He views a large metal pipe wrench. He reaches for it. It is similar in weight to his stone hammer. He raises it high and swings it down in a complete circle, striking Officer Tuareg in the forehead. The officer falls down. Sankara strikes him twice more to be certain that he cannot contact the medical facility.

He exits the room, still carrying the tool, but he does not report to the physicians.