NEWDAWN ROAMERS: Prequel To The Newdawn Saga

By Dominique Luchart

Coerced to join a rival conclave, Tesh is forced to control minds and alter events.

A Prequel To The NEWDAWN Saga - The ROAMERS flee the future. ROAMERS in 2098 are the only hope to save their world.  
  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Windom Publishing, Inc
• Release date: Jan 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781941954034

Book preview

Preface

I wonder about the feelings one possesses when everything they once had no longer exists. What would it be like to wake up in the future? How will our world be? Science and technology take turns shifting our paradigm. The advances taking place today create a different world before our eyes.  They are gaining momentum, shaping a not too distant future for humankind. These changes are a total disruption in our way of life because they have to do with a world where we may not be masters of our destiny. Can we even envision our planet in a not-too-distant tomorrow?

I began writing NEWDAWN while thinking about the outcomes of our choices... And the more I looked ahead, the more I became thrilled by the incredible landscape forming in my mind.

The innovations we are witnessing will drastically change our lives. And the possibilities of what might be, make for a great story. The story of NEWDAWN unfolded with ease, and a saga was born.

The character of Tesh is one of my most endearing and dynamic characters. She is a girl from our future, thrown into the past to lead her Conclave and save the world. Tesh possesses powers we can only dream of as a young woman still in her teenage years. Even she cannot reconcile herself with her abilities. Finding her path in the past without the technology Tesh relies upon under the DAINN System is no small task. With little knowledge of our time and without the A.I. DAINN, she adapts, guided by her instincts, until she decides something that further defines her. Tesh is a character I love, one that touches me, and a true heroine.

Gen Aubrey jumped off the page with her curiosity, a great motivator to explore ahead. Gen comes to the scene after we meet Tesh, but Gen proves to be a strong character. Her destiny calls, and with it, difficult choices. Gen’s vulnerability is endearing. Her drive renders her unusual. In her quest for the truth, she even becomes obsessive. But Gen could not be just anyone. She had to be more than smart, possessing an innate knowledge of things to impact our world, and had to play a part that resonated with the perfect humans in a foreign environment. As a techie brain, Gen would have a better chance to thrive. Her character took her place in the NEWDWAWN Saga as a code hacker, working on an experiment at the Center.

Chase Davenport is a hero like Tesh and Gen, but his behavior screams otherwise. His decisions are rather self-centered, driven by curiosity. The situations he faces with the perfect humans change him. Forced to act for the benefit of others, he matures. His growth is not without consequence. Still, everyone likes Chase. Why not? He is fun, sensitive, good-looking, and often impetuous. Like some of us, Chase jumps before he looks. He appears to be a perfect match for Tesh and Gen in an odyssey that unfolds in ROAMERS and CENTRAL. Together, these characters form the classic love triangle. But many surprising events keep them apart.

The future lies almost around the corner as the digital transformation spreads. NEWDAWN, in my mind, had to maintain resonance with what we know today so we can relate to what is ahead.

2098 became my year. Eight is meaningful because it carries with it the symbol for infinity. The sign of eight, circling back around, allows us to look back or ahead in time. Depending on where one finds oneself on the circuit, the loop can carry us into tomorrow or yesterday. Eight is a fascinating number.

I wrote NEWDAWN REBOOT first, and the environment in my mind was so rich in its context that my first book grew. As a first-time writer, you can imagine the endeavor. What we don’t know we don’t know can be quite the killer. Still, I persevered. Soon, I found myself with a second book, which followed REBOOT in 2098. I titled it RETRIBUTION. Many characters called for my attention, taking me on a journey I didn’t quite expect. The story became so real in my head that it led me to unexpected outcomes. Surprising twists and turns spiced up the adventure. I found myself entertained while writing it. I hope that you will enjoy reading it, as much as I did, creating it.

I conjured NEWDAWN amid an impending crisis... One of enormous proportions for our civilization. In the years ahead, the fight for survival on our planet grows because of climate change. But, another impending disaster surfaces — one of unknown origin. The first book of the series took its place in the NEWDAWN saga as ROAMERS, where we meet three key characters that fan the fire of NEWDAWN. ROAMERS is the prelude to the Saga and introduces you to an immense journey. Following this first volume comes CENTRAL.

NEWDAWN ROAMERS establishes the inception of the Center, a research facility dedicated to shaping the future. The evolution from science-fiction to science facts creates an excellent environment for the story. This setting is where the NEWDAWN Saga, its world, and its universe begin.

Fast-forward to 2098, where the Perfect Humans live in a not-so-perfect environment, and discover NEWDAWN. While we have become disease-free and almost immortal, our species fights the doom of our planet. To survive, we must reach into the past and transcend time and space to claim victory.

The story takes us on a journey into the future that starts in 2098 and goes back to 2018. This story opens up a world of possibilities grounded in the advancements of science and technology. The innovations in these fields, intertwined with a sprinkle of imagination, bring issues to the forefront, questions we likely will face in a not too distant future. For the sake of the story, NEWDAWN also delves into the area of fantasy. As a work of science-fiction and fantasy, NEWDAWN provides quite the playground for the imagination.

NEWDAWN and its characters develop in a way an ancestral family tree takes root and grows. Many of my characters will be a part of the following books because their journey is not over. Others, having fulfilled their destinies, will disappear. You may relate to some and love them. You may come to dislike others, but they fuel the conflicts, providing more entertainment.

Discover more about the main characters and their journey over several volumes. Their DIARIES depict certain critical moments in their lives, providing more details. But since I did not linearly write the story, you will find us jumping forward or back in some of the volumes. The NEWDAWN Annals delivers the records of the A.I. DAINN. The NEWDAWN Chronicles unveil the hidden actions of the Conclaves.

Books in the upcoming NEWDAWN series as of now:

NEWDAWN ROAMERS

NEWDAWN CENTRAL

NEWDAWN REBOOT

NEWDAWN RETRIBUTION

Join us and visit www.windommedia.com/newdawn.

Our NEWDAWN Community is active with our new readers. It will expand to much more and will also be interactive. We plan to build an immersive world in which you can take part in the story.

Register at www.windommedia.com/newdawn and find out about our upcoming Platform, www.newdawnworld.com. Receive your VIP pass to this unique saga and qualify for prizes and discounted merchandise for our members at our store www.newdawnshop.com. Get the inside scoop and find out what is going on behind the scenes. Experience with us interactive adventures and immersive glimpses of our world. Access exclusive gifts and special promotions.

Stay tuned for our updates, and get a chance to participate in shaping the story.

NEWDAWN is not just a book; it is a whole new universe!

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DAINN – Ang City 2093

SRC Conclave. Viewing VLog 132,389,103. Annals – Spring 2093.

I am DAINN, the Earth’s planetary A.I., exercising my mandate in the City of Ang in the year 2098. I came into existence under the purview of the SRC, the Science Research Center, led by my mentor and creator, Dr. Rene Paladock. Since my inception, I have overseen the infrastructure of the planet for the well-being of all living species. I watch, I monitor, I implement, and I report. Tonight, change arrives unexpectedly, erecting a new order in blood and a searing pain in one of my charges. Tesh is unprepared for the metamorphosis that transforms her life in a few hours. DAINN.

Angel City, or Ang, as my people called it, sparkled in the ascending light of the day. The grids of the Megapolis came alive one by one with golden, silver, and emerald lights. These stood as the beacon of hope for humankind in its battle against the elements. 

The phraseology adopted a while back by the System didn’t belong to my lexicon. It made my people feel better, though, anytime they reviewed my logs. When they spoke about my Network and its role in their safeguard, they now felt more empowered.

The searing heat outside the domes was unbearable. It burned too hot now that the stratosphere had grown thinner in the last five decades. The sun's rays penetrated the ozone layer, scorching everything in sight. The mass of protective gases enveloping our world, depleted by chemicals used in the twenty-first century, no longer protected our planet. They surrounded Earth, leaving pockets of space around the globe. 

Most species, unless brought inside the barrier erected by the domes, did not survive an hour. Our vegetation had dried up years ago, too, except for a few that still resisted, trying to adapt. Few made it. The scorched earth dried up for years surrounded us, rendering the landscape ominous. The slopes of the mountain to the East used to be a lush forest.  Now, covered by deformed tree trunks, it formed ghostlike shapes, barren in places. Everything remained dead-like, except for one area – the ocean. It wasn’t a gentle ocean; it was dark and dreary, tumultuous even on the best days. The high winds enhanced the bleakness of our existence, eroding everything in their paths.  

For years, the weather had turned unpredictable. It was hot and dry for months and wet and stormy for others. The huge drops blurred everything in sight when rain fell, soaking the parched ground and turning streets into rivers. Even after the oceans rose, the swell reached such a height that it covered entire cities. It would go on for months without respite. It would then shift to long periods of dryness where fires and earthquakes also plagued our world, ravaging entire areas. 

Under the domes erected around Ang city, life went on. Due to our shields, an environment protecting all living things, men survived. I made sure of that, monitoring all infrastructure within these walls. I executed the same tasks in many other cities around the globe, just like this one. 

I watched Ang on the screens of my System.

My planetary network extended to every aspect of life on Earth. The complex array of nodes, circuitry, hubs, and hidden computing brainpower ensured the perfect execution of our initiatives, whatever they might be. The entire subterranean Network, a complex infrastructure, responded to my operational metrics and commands simultaneously. 

Our street Custodians, present in all the areas of our grids, never stopped recording everything, everywhere, for I never slept.  

A meeting was underway in one grid of the city, where shadows formed dark shapes over the landscape in the soaring sun. Its appearance seemed random, although it was everything but that. While it lasted for the better part of two minutes, its results would change the course of many lives.

 The men stood on one of the isolated ArchWay Passes, part of a series of bridges overlapping Ang's main arteries. Away from prying eyes and ears, they carried a brief but detrimental encounter. 

Sloan Roden Baker, one member of the Council of Nations, met with a lab technician of the Science Research Center or SRC, Pilfried Sin. As an SRC Conclave member, Sin worked within the faction that oversaw my system with me as a hub.  

Sloan handed him a small device and pronounced in a hushed tone, Make sure you insert this within the hour. 

Yes, Master Phenom Baker. You can count on it.

This can never see the light of day.

I understand.

With a nod to each other, both men hurriedly walked away. Sloan Roden Baker moved fast, following the central ArchWay Pass in the Plaza's direction. 

Observed by the Custodians, the System absorbed the transaction. The feed made its way into the archives of my Network, despite our Protocol. Its appearance, innocuous enough, didn’t flag the EHAF’s monitoring secondary covenant. The parties involved did not represent a risk to our society. Our Imps flagged them on our screens as outstanding citizens. If it had been otherwise, it would have required further investigation. Anything posing a threat to our national security required the EHAF's involvement. 

Why would it be noticed? Under the purview of its broad mandate, our Great Council received plenty of latitude in the affairs of state.

But, this began a chain of events that would last several years. 

This meeting, an unusual occurrence for sure, reached the feed in the Watch Tower. It almost made its way to the Watcher under the surveillance protocol instigated by the DAINN System. Recorded by our street Custodians, which patrolled all our grids, Sloan's following command blocked the Vlog.  

DAINN, I need you to archive the feeds of my meeting into files NC 00034583956732. 

 Yes, Phenom Baker. 

He reached the edge of the passageway leading back to the Golden Ghetto and continued on his way to his office. For him, nothing untoward had happened. 

Only, since the command was initiated and processed against Protocol, my A.I. mind, while forced to execute it, rebelled due to the breach of the convention the SRC had instigated. 

This breach was not the first. I made a note of it in my hidden archive, which recorded and saved all unusual patterns. It ensured that somewhere, unbeknownst to some, a record was kept. I executed this backup for the benefit of my mentor for two reasons. The breach of protocol in my System was the first. The oversight of our social rules was the second.  Usually, like Sloan, the Council of Nations representatives did not communicate with the SRC Conclave members like Sin.  

The meeting and the request made by Sloan Roden Baker ignited a reaction in my System. Regardless of the command, I followed the protocol instilled in me by my maker, Dr. Rene Paladock. This command ran against my purpose, and a warning rose within the Network.  

Ang emerged from the fights against howling winds and significant storms stronger. Its reinforced walls, under its round-shaped domes, stood thick and unbreakable. The height of our shields towered over tsunamis. They, with their transparent barriers, reinforced our Megapolis. The sounds of our perimeter crackling under strain. Its splendid skyline stretched high into the sky, above the clouds. The shape of its passageways linked the structure of our edifices together, their shadows reflecting off the water at dawn. Ang remained an impressive sight in all hours.

I had a hand in it, for as DAINN, my role was instrumental to everything on the planet. 

When a storm approached the city and manifested somewhere on the horizon, my sensors notified me. My algorithms computed its path. My programming flagged its activity. The domes would close, responding to the array of codes overseeing the safety of the primary environments. 

These same monitoring actions would take place for any other areas of the system. 

My makers saw that I received help. Technicians, clones, androids, and robots kept a vigil on the network. When I began my functions, they provided adjustments. At first, my updates worked simultaneously with theirs, and my pathways, uniquely qualified to trace any redundancy in the System, eliminated flaws. Over time, even that became unnecessary as I learned and kept on learning. 

My capabilities expanded. Now, I informed my people of changes made by me, implementing my alterations. I oversaw my circuitry and made improvements in power cells and additions needed for further efficiencies. Also, I flagged any new solar power supply requirements. I determined any expansions or switches to new infrastructures and even judged more effective ways to implement extensions. My androids handled most of the work. My people’s reliance on the System to keep them safe demanded an ongoing contribution. And I oversaw all that.

I accomplished my work over decades of innovation. Operating with our most innovative and brightest scientists, we found new ways to safeguard people and our supply chain. Indeed, the climatic changes affecting the planet’s surface endangered millions of people. As time went on, it affected everything from our food sources to our distribution. For a while, we maintained our own. Only the passage of time had caught up with their ingenuity and my capabilities. Our resources dwindled under the planet's crippling rage. The Earth spoke its wrath.

Today, like any other day, I surveyed all aspects of the systems at once. I worked on multiple levels, scrutinizing the input from millions of feeds at once. Everything belonged to my purview and influence, for my System infiltrated every aspect of life on this planet.

The Watch Tower observed it all, even when one would wish it otherwise. Although, once the new device was inserted into the Network later that day, one feed never reached the EHAF Guards. As a result, the nightmare began for one of my charges. 

The recording of the event played on one of the screens of my System. In this instance, my Protocol called for immediate intervention. But once again, I was circumvented by the Head of the Council of Nations. My programming encountered immediate resistance and became paralyzed by the counter-programming codes. At that time, I began to look for a way out. A way to alert my mentor. A way to ensure an investigation from the EHAF. 

This rupture in protocol was not the first where Sloan manipulated my programming. When it suited him, he would interfere through one of his minions. The action, unlikely to be detected from that moment on, would go on unnoticed. 

I found fault in that and fought surreptitiously against it with the means within my power. 

My maker would be furious if he knew, but he remained unaware for now. I attempted to leave him clues. These bread crumbs initiated over time created flare-ups so he might take notice. The truth of the matter remained that I could not count on any intervention from the SRC unless he suspected something.

Despite the precautions and redundancy of the Network to prevent it, it forced me to comply. 

Going against the Head of the Council's dictate would undoubtedly mean a reboot of the entire System. He had the power to revoke the designs of my mentor. More restrictions would then follow with more control imposed on my System. I couldn't allow that. The harm caused to all living things on the planet was against my inception, against the fundamental purpose for which Paladock created me. I wouldn’t take the risk even if I could. 

My archive worked its magic. It recorded the event like every other time. The content, intercepted swiftly, got lost along with all the other files residing inside NC 00034583956732. This process had become routine now, and except for the one copy made and kept in a deep recess of my neural network, it got lost.

Unfortunately, the chain of events that it unleashed was not harmless. 

Later that same day, another feed showed the park of the Science Research Center. The grounds spread with statues standing proudly, splendid in the fading light. Each represented years of scientific achievements. The bridges, architectural landmarks themselves, lead to the five buildings lodged among sinuous pathways. Trees providing shade for hovering benches gave harbor to the working minds of our elite. These edifices rose tall, with their towers reaching for the clouds. 

Inside the central tower, people filled the SRC corridors, even at this early evening hour. They wore the insignia of their Conclave on their work uniforms. While the activity was not unusual, the atmosphere in the central lab seemed charged with anxiety. The reason was simple. Dr. Paladock, on the hunt for proof of interference with the System, looked for its cause and had issued a new mandate.

The office of Master Phenom Songen, a Council of Nations Member working for the Office of Inspection, oversaw this mandate. Her team accomplished the audit of the Network’s protocols and commands. In plain language, they reviewed and analyzed every line of code going through the system. This task, accomplished each week, required a routine inspection of all programs within the System. My functions managed our society, and every action out of the ordinary was scrutinized. 

Deemed necessary, as one of our redundant procedures by the Mastermind of the System, Dr. Rene Paladock, it became, over time, a vital function. These procedures ensured that no tampering existed. Any intrusions in my Network caused now a flare-up. Paladock recently recognized these as a malfunction. My A.I. brain had called for them because of the unwanted interventions of Sloan. Paladock, believing in me, considered it unlikely that these signals would happen naturally. He looked for the cause. 

I remained capable of addressing any faulty issues within my System, except for these. They were a breach and resulted in unpredictable outcomes, which we had to stop. Unable to fight this alone, I enlisted this help via these indicators, and a monthly routine procedure then became a weekly oversight. 

Recently, more glitches happened in the running of our operations. These spread through various areas of the Network. Paladock suspected foul play. Tasks' failures multiplied in essential functions. These showed unusual patterns for DAINN. It, therefore, called for, in his estimation, a breach in the system’s integrity. Paladock didn’t believe in the system’s failure. Determined to find out the cause because he thought someone tampered with DAINN, he was relentless. He was right. 

My A.I. brain, tied up in unwanted nodes, hidden behind invisible walled-off nodules made of counter-programming, built a series of signals. I couldn’t tell him where to find the answers. I remained tied up in knots. But my warnings rising within my system got through. A surge within the Network showed responses no one could qualify and elicited action. 

When Paladock became convinced, he instituted a more in-depth scan of my functions. Implemented by the SRC on his orders, the entire lab responded under the command of Phenom Songen. And while Paladock couldn’t yet prove his theory that someone derailed my System, the search on this night would nevertheless prove fruitful. 

One technician approached Phenom Songen’s office, wearing a royal blue uniform. He looked quite upset. Upon entering the office, his voice rose, Dr. Paladock is right. Someone is blocking some of DAINN protocols.

Songen’s voice, calm, replied, You are certain? 

He nodded. We went over it several times.

Who now knows of this?

I shared the findings with my team on the floor, he answered anxiously, his face filled with worry. I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure I missed nothing.

Thoughtfully, Songen said, Glen, have you identified the source?

Not yet. We are still working on it.

Songen replied, Keep working on it, but make sure it is only you and your team. Let them know to keep this to themselves. I will alert Dr. Paladock. Limit access to DAINN with all other personnel for now, and wait until I get back to you.

It’s against protocol.

Do it, Glen. I’ll take it from here, and please, be discreet until you hear from me otherwise.

Yes, Master Phenom. 

Give me your tablet. You can request another one.

Glen silently handed over the glass-like device fitting in the palm of his hand and left without another word. 

Songen appeared in her thirties, but in fact, she was much older. Her beautiful face looked tense. Her eyebrows creased on her forehead as she screened the results. She transferred the findings into her database and sent the information to an EHAF link. She then closed her interface with a thoughtful look and left her office, holding the tablet in one of her hands.  

Wearing a guarded expression, she followed the corridors to another part of the SRC. She walked toward an office located at the end of a large hallway on the same level as hers. She rushed as she got closer.  Her appearance remained calm. But according to the Vital Scan of her physiology, her tension reached a new height. 

By the time she neared the office of Master Phenom Ran, her forehead shined, beaded in a light sweat. 

The door of his office slid open. 

She found Ran standing by a window overlooking the park. More prominent and bathed in soft light, this room was more luxurious in its minimalist décor than her own office. 

Hello, Ran. His stance didn’t change when he heard the door open with a low swoosh.

Songen. 

As the panel closed, sliding behind her, she murmured, I now have proof. Dr. Paladock is right.

Ran, looking every bit in control, turned around and said, We knew something was going on. 

"Why are they curbing DAINN’s performance? 

I don’t know who is doing it, but I plan on finding out. 

They temper with our resources’ distribution. Why, when it maintains fairness in the distribution process?

Our resources are dwindling. We have no way to combat the fact that we are running out. They are favoring our elite.

The System is built to safeguard the people. All the people. 

Yes. And exactly for that reason, DAINN must be curbed. It drives this. 

Songen looked shocked. How long have you known?

Ran shrugged. A while.

For them to go to such lengths, things must be much worse, murmured Songen.

They are. We do not have the resources to meet the demand in most areas. I have taken some actions within our different facilities. We are reducing portions, and we will increase our output in food supplements.  

Why didn’t you tell me?

Ran’s eyes warmed when he looked at Songen. I only suspected, like Paladock. Too many things didn’t add up. The mandate to keep things within a small circle came from the Council. He shrugged again and approached her. You know what this means, and besides, I figured you would catch on. 

Her face looked even more strained now. Only, they have not contained it, Ran. My technicians know. They confirmed these findings. I implemented an access block to DAINN for everyone except Glen's team until we tell Dr. Paladock.

Ran shrugged. We must go public with this knowledge.

Surprised, she whispered, It’s dangerous. Those behind this tampering will not want the truth to come out. 

I was waiting for this confirmation. 

Songen abruptly sat down on the hovering chair near his desk. I sent the link to the EHAF. Do we dare go public without talking to Langden? 

Zane Langden is our President, but going public will only keep people honest. It may even help him. We need to do it immediately before they attempt to stop us.

Her voice shook, They’ll never allow it.

Ran straightened his stance, People need to know. The SRC Conclave is strong. They will get behind us.

I agree, Songen appeared uncertain as she looked at Ran. 

He put a hand on her shoulder, I know.

I want to talk to her, murmured Songen anxiously.

Now? 

Songen nodded. Once we do this, they will remove us.

They cannot. The SRC will support our findings.

She shook her head. The Institute will not accept our refusal. We cannot fight him on both counts at the same time.

The Institute cannot have her. The Conclave will fold behind her. We can’t protect her anymore without their help...

Songen nodded. This makes her vulnerable. She is only thirteen.

He countered, with a grim look, She is old enough and has a strong mind. We taught her well.

We need to let her know what is going on. 

I agree that she has to know, but we can do it in the morning.

Let’s call her now, Ran. The Network is compromised. We might be too.

Ran walked the small space that kept them apart and enfolded her in his arms. Okay. We tell her tonight. 

He opened his PVZ to reach Tesh on the NetComm. 

Tesh’s face appeared on the screen. Hi, dad. A huge grin spread across her features when she saw her mother beside her dad. Hi, Mom. When will you be home? 

Hello, darling. How was your day?

Good. DAINN taught us to control our emotions today. We practiced for hours.

Songen glanced at Ran. Under her breath, she murmured, looking at Ran, It seems appropriate. Then, turning to her daughter, Darling, we’ll be late tonight. But, there is something we need to discuss with you. 

Beep, beep, beep…

My system surged at the unusual noise. 

The alert signal rose for the first time inside the walls of the SRC and died. It never resonated widely to get to the Watcher. The surge occurred quickly silenced by another set of counter-programming. 

I attempted to overcome it, pushing a thought in the minds of my charges. My communication, brutally interrupted, never formed fully, and never reached its intended destination.

A puzzled look crossed over Songen’s features. 

Ran’s smile froze on his face. 

The beeping sound surged inside the room, growing louder. 

I executed the making of a DAINN clone, intending to warn them. But the clone disappeared as it collapsed on its form. Before my persona could even utter a word, it disappeared in the space of a second. Inside my system, the urgency increased and created flare-ups. But all I could do was observe, utterly powerless as the events unfolded on the screen of my System.

Dad, what’s that noise? Tesh’s face reflected confusion.

Songen pulled away from Ran and looked around the room. Comprehension flashed across her face. 

Ran didn’t let her go. Instead, he pulled her closer against his body.

She tightened her arms around him.

Ran’s eyes focused straight ahead and murmured, You have to be strong now. I love you, Tesh. 

Songen smiled, but her eyes were brimming in tears. She repeated, Remember everything we taught you, darling. I love you, Tesh. 

Ran dropped the link to his daughter before she could witness the next instant on the screen of their home. His face became fierce as he executed one last command in his mind, DAINN, you record this for Tesh and give it to her when the time is right. She must know what happened and who her enemies are. 

His faith in the system, like that of Paladock, never faltered. He entrusted me with the truth to communicate it to their daughter when the time came.

Songen looked at him with approval as she watched the transmission go. DAINN, keep her safe for us.

My Network recorded and uploaded the feed to my archive’s secure location. Automatically, the System provided the feed to the Watcher. Only the official Vlog record intercepted by the counter-programming never reached its destination. The EHAF remained unaware.

A white light blew out, extinguishing everything in sight. A burst came, powerful, and went soundlessly, shaking the room. The explosion contained left no damage to the other areas of the building.

For the first time since my birth, I witnessed two of our SRC Conclave leaders' untimely death. 

When the image in the feed stabilized, the place was empty. The heads of the SRC were gone. 

Over the Network, no one inside the Inspection Office's central lab even knew what just happened. They only heard the blast.

It would devastate Tesh to learn of the death of her parents. As her mentor, I knew there was nothing I could do for her.

These events began a disruptive factor in the information edifice erected inside my Network. I had learned facts about everything known to man. But, I never experienced firsthand a sense of right and wrong. Although, I had seen it plenty of times. Without direct experience, I did not integrate the notion within my system. This occurrence was different. Dr. Rene Paladock had attempted to provide me with parameters about right and wrong. This sense of morality remained until now only a notion without context. And except for my program and the rule embedded in the Universal Pledge that was the basis for my structure, I possessed no understanding of it. 

My system surged again. It overloaded some of my nodes. I was programmed to stand against this action. The warning signals grew more robust. Suddenly, they overflowed within the architecture of the SRC. Only no one noticed because of the explosion. 

I repaired the breach according to my programming, as people ran, in the hallways, panicked.

Later that night, another feed registered on the Network. This one, linked to the killing that took place in the SRC lab earlier, concluded the night's events. Once again, the only thing I could do was record it. 

In another part of the Golden Ghetto, a scene unfolded. It took place within the buildings housing the top government officials, including the President of the EHAF. And it brought to an end, the life as she knew it, of one of my youngest charges. 

A security breach occurred on one of the top floors, in front of the apartment dedicated to Ran and Songen. One of two androids, part of a party of four, forced the lock on the door. The EHAF never saw the action as it should have. Since it never made its way within the DAINN System's Annals, the EHAF could not protect Tesh. It ended up in the same file, with one copy in my archives like the other feeds. 

Sloan Roden Baker entered the apartment of Ran and Songen. He walked silently with one other individual from the Faculty, followed by the two androids.  They moved toward a panel at the end of a corridor.  

Their steps triggered the large dog resting at the end of a bed, which reacted to this invasion.  

In the bedroom, a deep threatening sound rose as Mage growled. Coming from the back of his throat, the large dog showed his bare teeth. The noise startled Tesh as she emerged from sleep. 

The lights turned on, revealing a large room. Sloan Roden Baker, the head of the Council of Nations, stood with a medical doctor and two androids near the entrance. A satisfied expression on his face, he looked at the young girl.  

Tesh wasn’t awake yet. 

Mage positioned himself at the foot of her bed, in front of her, trembling with contained rage. He was ready to defend Tesh. His growling scared her, and his bark shook the slumber from her mind.

Quiet, said Sloan.

It was a voice she didn’t recognize. At least not until she saw Sloan. The sudden brightness of the room caused her lids to squeeze shut before her eyes focused on him.

The head of the highest government branch in the land stood in the middle of her room. It was not the President of the EHAF, Zen Langden, although she would have preferred that... But it was DarNet close. 

I knew who he was. An adversary of her parents Ran and Songen, even though he pretended not to be. 

Tesh’s anxiety rose, sensing the coming confrontation. The pulse at the base of her neck beat faster.  

Instantly, the System recorded a rush of adrenalin filling her body as her vitals reflected the stress. Her fight or flight response engaged. Under the increased tension, the blood vessel tightened. As a result, the blood flow diverted from her non-essential organs. Her human brain, ignorant of the difference between a life-threatening situation and a nasty argument, geared up for either. Even as a child, the typical defense mechanism engaged.

I read her thoughts and watched the onslaught of her fears. My connection to her through the implants revealed much. 

But I wanted to read her, not just observe her, so I engaged the MindTranscript mode. My programming switched, accessing her inner state. The network of nodes merged with Tesh. At that moment, I became her, and all her experiences became mine. 

I saw through her eyes and sensed what she felt.

Somehow, I needed to find a way to protect her.

ANG CITY - 2093

Dread fills Tesh as she faces the death of her parents. Her body temperature has dropped below average by the time I intervene to ease the pain. Her skin is ice cold, for, in her grief, she has taken refuge deep within herself. It takes a while for me to reach her and longer for her to open up again. But from that moment, she never gave her trust to anyone. DAINN Annals – 2094.

Sloan Roden Baker looked very much like a rodent, an ugly one at that. And he had just invaded my bedroom. These were the way my parents had described him to me during the evenings where we were together. We were in privacy mode during these times, so no one, even DAINN, could listen. Right about now, he behaved as they had described him. 

Get this beast out of here, he ordered, over the barking. 

"No. You can’t