The Great Pelican Boy

Chapter 10

After a few hours of working on the code, Theo told me that we would need a body to upload the code into. He said that it was necessary for a sentient being to have some type of barrier in order to relate to the outside world.

"We use our bodies and our senses to create the world around us my boy. Without it, the machine would lack the self-awareness necessary to be considered sentient." He explained.

He said that he still had an old prototype Assistant at his old house. I told him that I would be willing to retrieve the machine so that he could stay on the boat editing the code. He agreed that this would be the best course of action and set off back to the harbor. Theo told me that we were only thirty miles from shore and it would take about two hours to reach the harbor. Suddenly, I realized that my anxiety stemming from the fear of being lost at sea had completely dissipated. I had no choice but to completely trust Theo now. I knew that the next few days could be what that changes the course of history and I was glad to have this old man beside me. I now share his hope in creating a world where we are not afraid of following our dreams.

During our sail back to the harbor, Theo and I discuss how to contact those left who have not been corrupted by the medication. He tells me that he plans on sending out a broadcast to everyone in the world who wishes to join us once we have figured out a way to take down the Assistants. I tell him I cannot leave Lily alone to wither away and he agrees to let me get her before we commence with our plan. He informs me that he owns a large chunk of land in the midwest. Somehow I had already forgotten that he was one of the richest men in the world.

"The land," he says, "is uncorrupted by any surrounding towns or cities. I bought the property as a retreat for the employees of TyraTech, but since I left the company it has sat idle. I'm not sure how many people it can hold, but I believe it should be enough."

I can think of no other option and so, we agree on this as the location to start over. I couldn't help but tell him the irony in my dream of one day owning a ranch.

"Looks like your dream was meant to be my boy!" He said laughing as the boat began to pick up speed. His voice was growing harder to hear as the wind blew louder. I couldn't make out what he was saying anymore, but I think it was about how Mother Nature was on our side. I decided to go down into the cabin and look through his books. His arsenal contained books that I had never heard of. They were written in more languages than I thought existed. There were books on poetry, architecture, economics and even one about the migration of the American White Pelican. I decide to pick up the last book and skim through the pages. I see that Theo has written on every page, notes about the bird. "Migrates East to West" He wrote. The next page has a picture of a flock of pelicans migrating West over the Rockies and the note on the side of the page reads, "beautiful". Never have I thought of pelicans as beautiful, but as I sit staring at the picture I come to see that Theo may not be calling the aesthetic aspect of the bird beautiful, but the nature of it. The bird does not hesitate in its decision to migrate West for the Winter, but simply acts upon its instinct. This lack of hesitation is a result of the bird acting as one with the whole universe. I realize that most humans lack this ability to act in accordance with the nature of the world because of our foresight into the future. Our desires are soiled with hesitation of the possible negative outcome of the action and so we cannot act in accordance to our nature. Is that a benefit or a terrible flaw in the consciousness of human beings? The picture of the pelicans migrating reminds me that the fight for the survival of our species is an act of nature and that because of this, the whole universe is conspiring to see to our success. For now, this brings me a new wave of confidence in out plan.

"Up ahead my boy!" Theo shouts as he leans down into the cabin.

I run to the deck from the cabin and see Theo at the helm of the boat. The windbreaker he has on is fluttering like a plastic shopping bag in the wind. From where I am standing, I can't help but think he resembles a crazed drunken pirate, mumbling curse words directed at nothing in particular.