Cenerea, 3rd planet from the star Letria, Regalius,

The Homeland, Central Region, The Capitol City,

Eighteen Cenerean Months Ago

17:55:00 indicated the timepiece implanted in Jay's wrist. "Whew!" he exclaimed and bent over to catch his breath. The trip from the Corewell Monorail station to the address on Harold's old piece of paper was several kilometers and a mostly uphill journey .

"Why in the name of Letria would the HDF build military personnel housing all the way up here in the middle of nowhere?" Jay thought as he trod up the sidewalk making his way to the door of a relatively trite gray Government issued house. An aging digital panel above the door flickered "114 Darvon Street".

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Jay announced himself to the home security system, "Jay Levant, here to see Harold Bouri." He studied the fish eyed carnival mirror effect his reflection made on its camera's singular glass eye. He could see the retina focusing in on him. Jay glanced at the weathered black welcome mat at the foot of the door.

"Please wait, Mr. Levant. I will tell Harold you are here," said a very feminine voice.

"Huh? A female security A.I.?" Jay was impressed with such a unique choice of personality for a security system. He realized the thought probably reflected on his face, at least for a moment. Jay refocused his attention on to a hazy weathered panel installed next to the door. The thin box slowly pulsed in gradient shades of red most likely indicating the system was requesting a verdict from the resident's occupant. Jay wiped the sweat from his forehead with his gray uniform sleeve while he waited.

Within seconds, the panel turned green and the curved stainless metal door to Mr. Bouri's home rotated open. Cool air from the climate controlled interior washed over Jay and he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation.

"You may come inside, Mr. Levant."

"Oh, okay..."

"Harold is in the kitchen. He is waiting for you there. From the door, take a left and straight down the hall."

"Thank you," Jay replied and stepped inside the doorway. He paused to allow his eyes to adjust to the lower light level. As his vision acclimated, he could see the small home's entry room walls were covered with fake wood panels resembling logs. On his left, a stone fireplace appeared; it looked as though it had not seen a fire in quite some time. Covering the walls and shelves were several pictures of a very beautiful woman. Jay stopped to examine one of the photos. He assumed it was probably his Instructor's late wife. Harold must have really loved the woman. 

"Mr. Levant?"

"Sorry, I'm going."

The fantastic aroma of something delicious greeted Jay's nostrils as he approached the kitchen. He found Harold leaning over a large steaming pot of what he suspected was the source. Jay's stomach was grumbling like a Military transport and his mouth was dry. He watched Harold dip a spoon into the contents, remove a small portion of it from the pot, and bring the utensil close to his mouth.

Blowing slightly on the steaming concoction to cool it, Harold took a taste and whispered, "That's excellent..." The instructor looked up from his food focused meditation when he noticed his student walking in. "Oh, there you are, Jay, my boy. Welcome, welcome. Come in and have a seat."

Jay pulled out a chair and sat at a shiny white acrylic table adjacent to the kitchen.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Water, please. Thank you," he replied.

"Here you are," Harold said, placing a glass of it in front of his student.

"How about stew, Jay?" Harold inquired. "Do you like it?"

"Oh, definitely," the young man replied and then took a sip of water. The wonderful smell really had him intrigued. Having eaten very little at lunch did not help with the situation either.

Harold smiled. "My wife told me she picked up this recipe for vegetable stew when she was stationed out in some remote place for work many, many years ago. It was always her favorite so I learned how to make it for her," Harold said. "It's very difficult to find the ingredients, so, I only whip it up for special occasions...or special guests." Harold winked at Jay and retrieved some utensils from a metal and glass cabinet lowering from the ceiling. Using a ladle, he withdrew a generous portion of the fragrant soup and poured it into the bowl. Harold presented the items to Jay like a waiter and returned to the kitchen. He secured a second bowl and spoon and repeated the process. The old man set his dinner on the table, chose a chair parallel to Jay, and sat. The two ate in relative quiet, one it seemed enjoying the wonderful food, the other, the company...probably both.

When they were finished, Harold picked up the empty bowls and carried them into the kitchen. Harold noted Jay's bowl was practically licked clean. He sat the items on the kitchen counter and pressed a spot on the marble-like surface requesting the ion dishwasher reveal itself from beneath the cabinet. He disposed of the dirty dishes inside and sent the dishwasher back into hiding.

Jay leaned back in his chair satisfied, finally happy to be neither nauseous nor starving after a long nervous day. "Thank you for that, Mr. Bouri, uh, Harold. Your wife definitely had excellent culinary taste. I really need to get that recipe from you."

"You're welcome, Jay. I have yet to meet anyone that didn't like that stew...yep, not a one. I will message the recipe to you later, but keep it a secret. That's something my late wife, Wendy would have told you." Harold smiled, placing his hands on the counter. The old man looked down and appeared to be thinking of something.

"Gertie?" Harold said unexpectedly.

Jay thought he was talking to the countertop.

"Yes, Harold," said the disembodied feminine voice that led Jay to the kitchen. It emanated from nowhere, but everywhere almost as if it were in his head.

Harold looked sideways at Jay. "Gertie is my security system A.I.," he explained, trying to answer the bewildered look on Jay's face. "You 'met' her today." Harold spoke once more to his strange security system, "Gertie. Monitor mode. Turn up the music, please."

"Okay, Harold," the feminine voice replied.

"Thank you, Gertie."

Jay cocked an eyebrow at his Instructor. "What was that Harold? What did you just tell your security system?" Jay noticed his comm unit beeped, but was too preoccupied to look at it.

"I will explain everything if you will give me a few moments of your time." Harold said.

"Okay, I'm listening," Jay said with a smile, sitting up in his seat.

"Well, last year, when you hacked the University server and fooled my A.I., you reminded me of someone from a long time ago. So, I poked around, looking into your background, where you were from, what kind of person you seemed to be, and I realized something else. I have seen your life play out once before, young man. Not exactly in the same manner, but close enough in similarity that I knew I had to talk to you...to warn you, Jay. This person who I am referring to...their life ended tragically and at a young age and I would hate to see you meet the same fate," Harold said in a very grave tone.

"But, I thought we were here to talk about my prospects. You said I had a future. Now, you are talking like I am about to die," Jay said, puzzled.

"Jay, I apologize for my inability to explain things properly at the time, but my office is not that conducive to private conversations. Actually, nowhere in the Homeland is. At any rate, you are correct; I did mean it when I told you back at my office that your skills were amazing and I was not lying; when I told you that you have a very bright future with the Homeland Military that also was no lie. However, when I said that people were watching...that was the truest statement of all. Jay, people are monitoring you and these individuals are not looking out for your best interests...only theirs. You want to know what I told Gertie? I gave her commands to protect us from them."

"Protection? Who is them?"

"The Homeland."

Jay stood from his seat. "Okay, now you have gone too far. You words are treasonous. The Homeland was there for me when I had no one. I do not have any interest if this is where you..."

"Hang on a second, Jay. What if I told you that the people in control, those in the upper echelons of the Homeland, the one's you believe care for you...what if they got there by slaughtering innocent men, women, and children? Would that sound like people who would protect someone out of kindness?"

"Those are lies, Harold, lies that will get someone thrown in prison or worse."

"What if I could prove it? What if I could show you evidence that the people wishing to use your mind for their ends are nothing less than murderous thugs? And then, when they were through with you..."

"Why do you care, Harold? You work for them. You have been working for them for years. Why me? Why now?" Jay stopped. "It's revenge, isn't it? For me hacking the University A.I.! Just like all the rest of your students you don't like!"

Harold glared at Jay through narrowing eyes. The Instructor's wrinkles on his forehead deepened. "Those rumors get it all wrong. Look, I have my reasons for doing what I do in my classroom. But, I am not at all trying to harm you in any way." Harold realized he was coming off rather strong.

"Well, from where I stand, it looks like you are trying to do that to me tonight!" Jay retorted angrily, standing with his arms crossed.

Harold opened his hands and placed them by his side. "No, listen, I like you, Jay and I am trying to warn you," he said softening his tone.

"Warn me about what?"

"The Homeland. You don't know the truth about the games they play with people's lives. Once they've got their claws in you, those bastards will do anything to keep you in line until you have given them what they want. They will even encourage you to have a family. They'll set it up if they have to. Because, when you do, they will use them as leverage. The Homeland will put a proverbial gun to the heads of everyone you love; wife, baby, eventually even you if that's what it takes to advance their twisted agenda. You will dance one way or the other because it's that brain of yours. That's what they want." Harold said emphatically, pointing a finger to his temple. "They intend to use it as a weapon."

The young man was incredulous. "A weapon? Okay, Harold. This is over the top. I really do not care about your nutty ideas of truth or your secrets. Listen to me; I am going to forget we had this meeting. Thank you for the amazing stew, but tomorrow, I will see you in class as if nothing happened and we can just go back to business as usual. I am going to leave now..."

"Jay, wait! Let me finish. There is so much more you need to know!" Harold shouted after his student.

"Harold," Gertie said softly. "I believe you came off too harsh. You should have been more patient."

"I know, and you're right, Gertie. But, time is ticking."

...

Jay stormed out of the small gray house and stood in the street with his heart thumping rapidly in his chest. Filling his lungs with the cool evening air, the University student exhaled, observing his breath. He noticed a streetlight flickering to life above him. The sky was changing from dusk to dark. It was very picturesque; an image of painted purple clouds streaked across a hazy orange canvas.

Jay examined his shaking hands, outward examples of the fear he felt inside. This was the first time in a very long while he feared for his life and it was not a welcome sensation. The young man paused and began looking around nervously. The feeling of someone watching washed over him. Jay turned to find Harold Bouri standing in the doorway of his home. He observed the old man drop his head and close the front door. Jay blinked and with a long deep sigh proceeded to make the several kilometer hike back to the monorail station. "Thankfully it's mostly downhill this time," he thought.

Jay upturned his collar and shoved his cold hands into his jacket pockets. "What the fuck was all of that?" he muttered, passing under another lonely streetlight. Several bugs flittered around the lamp, unaware it was not one of Cenerea's moons. It was odd, but Jay suddenly felt a bit of kinship with the poor insects confused by the light of the electric bulb. The troubled young man walked slowly down the empty rural road listening to the pebbles crunch under the soles of his boots. "What kind of A.I. did Harold have in there? What truth did he mean? Me, a weapon?" Jay shook his head in disbelief. "Crazy," he mumbled. Jay removed his hands from his uniform coat and hugged himself, shivering.

The young man stopped walking as he heard the sound of a transport coming down the quiet road from behind him. He turned and lifted his right hand to shield his eyes from the increasingly bright headlights of the approaching vehicle.

A shiny black vintage, still relatively sleek Homeland Issued transport slowed, pulled up next to him, and stopped. The passenger side window rolled down, Jay could see it was Harold.

"Come on, get in. I'll drive you home."

"No, I'm good, Harold. Leave me alone. Please, just go back. I have had enough scary bullshit for the evening."

"I promise no more strangeness. I just needed to apologize to you. I hate that I made you walk all the way out here and there is no sense in you having to walk all the way back. Just ignore my old age delusions...times are catching up with me, you know? I say some strange things every now and then."

"Whatever, Harold. Look, I am going to catch the monorail back into the capitol. It's only a few kilometers down the road to the station."

"Are you sure? I really don't mind. It's the least I could do."

Jay thought for a moment, staring up at the stars. "Harold didn't seem to be that bad of a guy. Maybe his oddity was actually just senility or something medical and he is definitely different at home than at University. Not to mention, I do need to pass his A.I. class, not that Harold would flunk me anyhow at this point...go on and admit it, Jay, you're exhausted and cold and any excuse will work at this point." Jay convinced himself to get in the transport. "You know what, Harold? Take me to the station. It is a little cool out and I am kind of tired," Jay said.

"Great. Hop in." Harold patted the gray passenger seat.

Jay lifted the vehicle's door. He felt warm air greet him as he knelt to position himself in the transport's cabin. Reaching up and grabbing the handle to seal the vehicle, the shivering young man freed himself from the cold.

"Buckle in," Harold commanded as he put the machine's control into drive mode and directed the vehicle toward the monorail terminal. With eyes forward, Harold stared through the windshield at the road before him. The heads up display, a blue digital information panel projected onto the alumiglass window, indicated everything was working properly and they were not over the speed maximum.

"Seriously, Jay, I didn't realize how I was coming off. I am not good with people I don't know that well. That's why I gravitated toward working with machines. I have always been somewhat socially awkward, even anti-social on occasion." Harold said as he drove.

"I don't understand, you are an Instructor. You talk to people all day."

"That's true, but I have something to talk about when I am up there in front of the class. You know, something to focus my thoughts on. I don't necessarily do so well anywhere else. Besides, it's usually a one way conversation." Harold grinned for a moment, and then let it fade away.

Jay maintained his serious tone, "Look, I don't know what that was back there, but I have goals in my life I want to accomplish. I don't want to jeopardize them or my life with any kind of treasonous speech."

Harold nodded. "I am truly sorry; just forget I said anything, alright?"

"Yeah," Jay exhaled. "I suppose there was no harm done," Jay said, attempting to convince himself, still a bit worried they might have been overheard.

Harold glanced over at Jay. "Thank you. I would like us to be friends, if that's still a possibility..."

Jay half-heartedly returned the smile then turned his head to look out of the transport's passenger side window. He lazily attempted to focus on the various parts of the city streets streaking by. After a moment or two of silence, Jay closed his eyes and pursed his lips, finally shaking his head; the tiny logical part of his brain was fighting against the vast army of his inquisitive nature. ...his logic was trampled to death. "What do you mean, 'they want to use me as a weapon', Harold?"

Harold perked up, but quickly suppressed his urge to begin blurting out things that might make his student balk once more. He thought about what Gertie said, calmed himself, and spoke lightly, "Do you really want to know, Jay? Because, if I tell you, there will be no un-hearing it. It is a line once crossed, can never be reversed."

Jay's inquisitive streak had gotten the better of him. "Fuck it, just tell me. I don't know why, but it's bugging me. I have to know."

"First let me show you something, if that's okay with you. We have about an hour and a half until mandatory curfew and it is only a few minutes from here. We'll get you home with some time to spare."

"Okay," Jay answered, wondering why he acted so reckless. It's what got him in his predicament at University last year.

The beams of the transport's headlights slowly grew shorter and larger as the vehicle approached a large vine covered concrete wall several meters high. The headlights lit a large rusty old metallic sign. The sun faded partially visible words said, 'Univ-Trans Laboratories. No access without proper identification '.

The transport's tires generated a crackling noise as they rolled over the brittle rock and vegetation engulfing the decomposing road. A light evening fog swirled in the headlights of Harold's vehicle as it slowed to a stop, the brakes emitting a low squeal. Harold set the transport's transmission control to stop and pulled the handle to lift open the driver's door.

Jay stepped from the passenger side of the vehicle and stood next to the opening. He watched Harold climb out and walk up to the sign reflecting the headlights' beams. The old man looked at Jay and smacked the ancient panel emphatically with an open hand. The sudden action made a loud metallic pop and produced a glittering cloud of metal flakes that drifted to the ground.

"This is where your reality was built, Jay. The world you know today as The Homeland. Inside these walls is what is left of a large top secret underground military research and development installation once used to make experimental weaponry directly for the Confederation of Regions and the Chancellor." Harold pointed at the mildew-covered concrete wall. "Behind this wall is also where my wife Wendy and I both worked. We made stuff to kill people and it's what they will want you to do, too."

Jay was actually trembling a little, maybe from the cold, or maybe from the fear, he was not sure which.