A.I. Evolution: The Fall of Lucien

Chapter 26

The stage is set up at the front of the huge stadium, with chairs spread out on the sloped surface in front of them. I look up to the rows upon rows of tiered chairs that slant up to the very edge of the roof. I turn to the tall man, who is holding my right hand as I clutch Bo in my left. "There are too many people father, I can't go out there and face them, they will overwhelm me, I don't think I can handle that."

The insubstantial looking figure beside me looks down to me. "You have Bo to give you strength, besides there is only a few people out there that you will be talking to, all the rest will just be listening to you talk to them. Focus your intent on those few and then it will flow to the rest of them. You can't touch all of them at the same time, so you need to let the few do all the work for you. So, just pick a spot or a person in each section of the crowd and let that person be your spokesman."

The wispy looking figure fades away and I am left standing with Bo at the very edge of the stage still hidden from view by the towering speakers. I look down to Bo and there seems to be a glow behind the glass eyes on his expressionless face. I step out from my safe spot and stride to the mike standing by itself in the center of the stage. I focus my eyes on each section as my father had suggested, picking out a spot and nodding to that person. I let out my breath that I had been holding and allow my vision to blur slightly, as I open my mouth allowing the words to spill out as if Bo had installed them there for me to use. The crowd melted away as I continued to speak in an ever-increasing tone of confidence and absurdness. The crowd sat still as I continued, only occasionally giving a combined clap of approval or a slight cheer to my hard-driven points.

I carried on speaking and moving from one side of the large stage to the other, not noticing that Bo is not in my hand anymore but part of me, guiding every word I utter as I get carried away in my ever rising rousing speech.

I build my talk to the conclusion and smile as the whole stadium full of people rise to their feet and clap loudly at my insights. I bow deeply and smile my appreciation of their response, before walking from the stage a man, tall and ready to take on the world. The small boy has now taken the necessary steps to adulthood and has achieved his lofty goal.

The weight of the blankets that are so warm and cozy are slowly being moved to the side letting in the colder air of the room. I reach for them to pull them back over my suddenly cold body, but something is preventing me from getting them to return. I open my eyes to see Henri's head just above the edge of the wooden railing of the top bunk. "Hey, what are you doing? It's cold."

He smiles but continues to roll the blankets down my body. "It is time to get up. Will has bacon and eggs frying on the wood stove along with some hot chocolate to warm your insides. You do remember that we are going out on the lake today?"

"Yes, but I was asleep," I complain as I start to sit up, noticing right away that Bo is not on the pillow beside me. I look around me frantically before seeing Henri smiling at me.

"If your looking for your stuffed bear, you threw him across the room to land on the other bunk bed in the middle of the night. Do you want me to get him for you, or are you too big for him now?"

The dream I had comes rushing back to me and I can only stare at Henri for a moment, as I think about the message hidden in the dream. "No, I don't need him anymore. He will always be with me now, helping me deal with life from inside my head."

Henri looks at me more than slightly surprised by my response. "OK, if you say so, but I for one am happy for you."

I climb down and make the trip out to the building behind the cabin. The coolness of the early morning very quickly drives the sleepiness from me and the hot chocolate I sip beside the wood stove brings me fully awake to a new day here in the mountains.

The next few days are spent out on the lake in the boat that was stored in the boat house at the end of a small cove. The fish that were caught throughout the day, we cooked at night, after rest periods and board games that we played in front of the big window that looked out over the lake. The hardest part of the whole week was when it was time to leave. I spent the last couple of hours down on the dock, just sitting there, taking in the beauty of the lake and the mountains behind it. I vowed to return as soon as possible to this magical place.

Bo was sitting in my suitcase, but he had not slept with me since that first night. My dreams now were of good times, not like the nightmares that I had been having in the city. Will and Henri had noticed the change in me and were just as reluctant to leave as I was, but Henri and Will had promised Mark that they would only be gone for seven days. If we had stayed any longer, Mark would probably have sent out the army to look for us, which would have ruined the tranquil feeling of the lake forever. This way it can remain a special place for me to think about when I am having a difficult day.