1- Elizabeth Jakes

‘I don’t want to die.’

The naked body of the young female tosses around the turbulent waters, falling from the lengthy height, and landing heavily on the water below. She’d been banged against rocks, her head bleeding even before she fell over the waterfall.

A small single beep sounds off inside her head at the same time that something brushes up against her left bare calf, briefly. Her body jolts back in fright, but the heavy water slows her movement...thankfully it’s only a log.

[System activated] She hears, and she frowns her body is too weak to cry out for help. Instinctively she knows she must scream out for anyone to come to aid her. Even if she did manage to shout how would they hear her over the sounds of the loudly roaring waterfall behind her?

‘I cannot swim,’ she panics not even understanding fully what the words mean but knowing she cannot do so and would die. ‘How did I survive that?’

[Loading.] A display of blue words ran across her closed eyes. [This will take a few seconds]

‘What?’

Without warning a surge of images flashes across her mind- blood. The squelching sounds of a blade across flesh- except the flesh seemed rotted. The bodies groaning and walking- ‘Zombies?’

[22%] Flashes across her eyes but her mind is whirling from the upsurge of memories.

‘Mum!’ She feels pain inside her chest. Flashes of her family- instinctively she knows it her family- their bodies lay across the floor- a bloodied pile of rotted flesh. Everyone around in a similar fashion- burning buildings- flesh biting...

[65%] 

‘What the f*ck?’ She swipes at the air in front of her- nothing.

She survived the war she understands then even without knowing who she is or what transpired- she knows. She survived the wave too- barely.

[95%]

The girl still does not comprehend what is happening, but she is otherwise preoccupied, with questioning it. Coughing and spitting on the surface of the deep muddied water, the girl drags air into her lungs... one last time before her defeated body gives up.

[100% complete.]

It worked out better this way. Her body is heavy yet light as it floats down to shallow waters but still, she is too weak to move, let alone stand- which is all she needs to do at the moment to not drown. Her mind is too weak to absorb the words she is hearing not even fully aware of where it is coming from.

[System Integrated. Program running...] the ice-blue words blink repeatedly for a few seconds before disappearing. 

[Welcome to A.I.D.C...] The ice-blue dots blink then stop.

[Searching database...]

Her world goes black when her cold body turns over and her face is now downwards into the murky waters.

[Not found. Should I do a full body scan?]

‘No. Later.’

[Confirmed. Would you want to activate water mode?]

‘Whatever it means yes.’ she thinks, her thoughts so weak that it might be her last one.

[Affirmative]

The voice seems to know what she is thinking because suddenly her light-headedness leaves and her eyes open beneath the water. Whatever 'water mode' is, she likes it. Even the burning on her neck does not penetrate her mind for it is blank except for one thing- land.

[Is this pleasing] The voice is still mono, words brightly lit now in the dark water, but the girl understands it is a question, nevertheless.

Suddenly her body stiffens, and she stands upright, her shoulders and head above water. Seeing trees, a little distance away she makes her way towards them, the shallow murky water rolling off her bald scalp, easily.

Her stomach makes a sound and her head bends with a slight frown- what is that?

‘Food.’

On land, she pulls fat leeches from her naked body, staring up at the treetops to locate food, her primal instincts kicking in. Survival. The hot sun above thawing the chill the freezing water left her flesh in.

[Please confirm. Was water mode pleasing?] The words are now in front of her.

‘Oh, uh yes.’

[Satisfactory rating as follows on a scale of one to ten; 1 being the least pleased and 10 the highest.] A display of numbers is in front of her, and she points to one- the last one.

“Ten?" she says aloud because she could have gone into the darkness- dead she understands then. Her hands held out in front of her, she wiggles her- ah, fingers.

The numbers disappear from in front of her. 

[Affirmative.]

The girl furrows her head, her eyes taking in the clear sky overhead. Blue with slight white fluffs- clouds she notes, her head twisting as she opens her mouth and sucks in a deep breath. Alive.

[Should I finish the scan now?]

“No,” hunger pangs has her frowning and she again bends her head to look at the flat flesh where the sound comes from. This time, a burn accompanies it. She stumps around from tree to tree, her bare feet sore, looking up into the branches. “Who- what are you? Who am I?”

[Full body scan is needed to know who you are. Should I do a full system scan now?]

“Yeah, I guess,” she replies, frowning when a loud cry reaches her ears. A predatory sound.

[Confirmed. Running scan now.]

The loud piercing cry is heard again, and her pores rise. Eyes slanted she looks from one side to the other then at her forearms, taking in the strange emotion that caused such a reaction. Something is moving inside her- her breathing quickens- heartbeats she understands. An emotion runs throughout her being- her forehead furrows as she tries to interpret it.

Ah, she is scared. About to be prey...and hungry herself.

[Scan complete. Hello Elizabeth Jakes. I am an Artificial Intelligence Program. You can rename me, but for now, I am in default mode. A.I. Kia. Your body diagnostic shows you are part of the human code.]

“What does that mean?” she mutters, turning around to scrutinize the dense green around her.

[DIGITAL CONSCIOUSNESS] displays in front of her through the tree trunks, suspended in the air. 

C5... DISEASE FREE...LOADING...

Age...19

Mass...135 lbs

Height... 172.72 cm

Physical features;

Eyes...black

Hair...black...long]

Her fingers go up to her head but no hair- she is bald. She taps gently around- nothing.

[Skin tone...]

“Forget that. What is in making that terrorising sound?” she growls out when her entire surroundings abruptly become quiet. No birds, insects ...nothing. Even the wind is still.

[The possibility of animal life is almost nil since the heatwave]

“What?” the girl proceeded to climb the nearest tree with the thinnest trunk that was scalable to her, her heart pumping against her.

[Elizabeth...gathering information]

“I do not understand what is happening. I know my name and er, appearance thanks to you but I have no clue about anything else. I get I am alive but where is everyone else?” Elizabeth scans the tree branches around her for any sign of food.

The A.I starts speaking again this time with a display of words going upwards in front of her.

[In the year 2145, the Earth’s axis tilted to ninety degrees bringing an abrupt end to the world war, with survival becoming number one. Every continent experienced intense climate change. Sunlight would be almost twenty-four hours daily causing massive destruction as rising sea levels flooded coastal lines and land folk life due to the ice caps melting.]

Wide eyes and jaw slack the girl tries to make sense of what she heard while scanning the moist moss-covered floor beneath her, hoping to catch a glimpse of the thing that made the loud cry.

“World war?” she gasps, “you mean after three?” something told her she experienced the third one. She wonders if this is the reason why the sun is so bright or if that has passed. Her skin is already dry, and it’s only been minutes since she has been out of the water.

[Affirmative. World War Four. The earth has since been back on its regular obliquity ecliptic, which is approximately twenty-three, point five, degrees]

Huh.

The naked girl lets the words sink in. “Am... I ...dead?” She knows she is not, but she needs this Kia voice to say it anyway. All this feels so strange.

[Dead. An irreversible cessation of circulatory, and respiratory functions. So no, you are not dead, Elizabeth.]

Her stomach makes another guttural sound.

[I am here for any questions you may have, Elizabeth]

“Where is home? I need to go home.”

[Data unknown.]

“Wow. Guess I need Webverse,” she mutters about the internet that started the search engine for just about any question one could come up with.

[Webverse is a dinosaur. I am much better, but you have to earn my information as you go.]

The girl snickers at the wit of the A.I. “How?” she asks Kia.

[Initiating...] The ice-blue word displays itself among the leaves of the trees followed by the automated tone.

[Level 1]