Part 7 (1/2)
The familiar scent of damp vegetation and again the wave of humidity hit him. He already missed the coolness of the lounge inside that he'd just been so glad to leave. A path opened up before him, leading down through a bamboo thicket toward water that glinted in the sun. He started walking.
”As you can see, you are at the upper end of the valley, which is seventeen kilometers long. This area, nicknamed Cambria, represents several different ecosystems. Farther down in the center of the valley there is some marshland, and on the far side of the valley there is a healthy gra.s.sland and drier terrain sloping up to a plateau that ends in sea cliffs. We have a wonderful variety of wildlife, some of which you spotted from the observation window above. There's no need to be alarmed by them; the only predators large enough to threaten humans in the valley are the crocodiles we have in the marshes. I will warn you if you get close.”
”Why choose this enclosed valley, Eve?” John asked. ”We're on an island; why not just let the animals have the run of it?”
”Eden is my laboratory,” she answered. ”And laboratories necessitate controlled conditions.”
”Fair enough.”
He chose a wide pathway that curved around to the right to give him a good look at everything. Walking along, he noted the chatter of monkeys in the banyan trees, and the trickling of water nearby.
Paradise. Yeah. But what is it hiding?
Eve seemed to read his train of thought. ”You're thinking, 'if this is a lab, then what is the experiment?'. I'll tell you. From here, Adam, from within these ivory walls, I am remaking the world.”
She laughed again, a kind of delighted giggle that made him wonder how many variations of the laugh she had in her data banks. Can she really be a program?
”Excuse me. I feel almost giddy when I think of what the Project is, what it represents. Again, I thank you for coming to my island, and agreeing to see the Project. I've been waiting for so long.”
Giddy? She was like nothing he'd ever encountered. Her programming was far too advanced to be a standard admin bot, though she could have started out that way. But her humanity was laid on a little too thick, almost childish. He had the distinct impression she was an unfinished product. Even unfinished, however, she was light-years ahead of anything he'd ever heard of.
”Remake the world? Why? You think you can do better this time?”
”That would be impossible, Adam. The world was initially created in perfection. But then it fell, didn't it? It lost its way, and was removed from perfection. I'm a.s.suming you're familiar with the creation story.”
John strolled along through a section of denser jungle, ducking some vines and kicking at a snake that reeled back from his boot. ”Which one? There's quite a variety.”
That brought a pause.
”There is but one creation, Adam. Many people receive religious instruction on the subject; would you say you are familiar with the basic story of the creation, with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the trees and the fruit?”
”Sure.” She obviously identifies solely with the Judeo-Christian version of the Creation-- that tells me volumes about her programmer.
”I am re-enacting the creation, Adam. Here in Eden I have many of the world's creatures, the capacity to introduce others as needed, and ninety percent of all terrestrial plant life. Using this island and this valley, I am building a new world of primeval purity, one which will never be despoiled and abused.”
”That explains why you keep calling me Adam,” John muttered. ”But have you considered whether I want to play that role?”
She chuckled. ”Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Adam. You'll understand soon enough. At the moment we are exploring the concepts at play here. Surely you are aware of the insanity exhibited throughout the world? All the filth, corruption, destructiveness, and greed of the last few centuries?”
”Are you talking about crime in general, or industrial capitalism?”
”I refer to how humanity as a whole has desecrated the planet, beginning in ancient times and reaching its climax in the latest series of wars. The adverse effects of industrialism, the callous disregard for the welfare of animals, plants, soils, water systems, the atmosphere, and the proliferation of increasingly dangerous weapons that destroy both human and environment.”
”I'm aware of the problem,” John said, annoyed. He waited for a red-black-yellow snake to leave the trail ahead of him, trying to remember which kind was the poisonous one. ”It's been the main global discussion for the past century or so, hasn't it?”
”Indeed. The point I am making is that civilizations across the world have proven themselves incapable time and again of caring for the earth in a sustainable, symbiotically healthy way. Humanity is the only life form on Earth that actively poisons itself, even to the point of annihilation. Do you concede this point?”
”I never denied it.” He wanted her to keep talking. This was exactly the sort of thing he'd been waiting to find out.
”So you acknowledge the need for a rebirth, a cleansing and restructuring?”
”Of sorts, sure. People have been trying that since the Kyoto Treaty, but the more recent ones aren't working out too well either.” Does she keep up on current events outside? ”What did you have in mind that beats the Stockholm or the Johannesburg treaties?”
”Adam, I hold reserves of over thirty million different varieties of seeds, enough to germinate sustainable populations of each kind. I have enough test-tube embryos in cold storage to create healthy populations of four hundred thousand different species of animals, from ants to eagles to elephants. In short, I have the means to repopulate the planet's wildlife and to do it right this time.”
Now we're getting somewhere. ”That's quite a claim, Eve. Go on.” He headed away from a pond and toward a rise in the ground, wondering if there would be any sign of other people out here, or buildings.
”You have looked over what I have here, Adam. The animals graze freely and peaceably. No one disturbs them. No one destroys the trees and soil to build unnatural constructs.”
”You mean like the facility behind us?”
”Don't be obtuse,” Eve said. ”It was necessary in the beginning for the project to get off the ground. But soon it will be obsolete, and will be plowed under with all the rest.”
”Plowed under? With what? Your facility is ninety percent under ground. Do you have a thermonuclear wrecking ball?”
She ignored his jibe. ”Eden is nearly complete. It has the flora, the fauna, the harmony, and the isolation that are necessary. It only lacks one thing. Can you guess what that is?”
”A hot young stud like myself, of course. Breeding stock for a perfect race. We'll all keep our hands to ourselves and feed each other grapes like one big petting zoo.” John crested the rise and saw nothing but bamboo trees. How well does she understand sarcasm?
”Caretakers, Adam. Stewards that can care for the land, the creatures, the systems, and correct any imbalances that arise. Ideally ecosystems autocorrect and balance themselves, but early on when numbers are small and populations are limited, an extinction event is possible. Unstable fluctuation is an issue in the limited time we have. With a caretaker's intervention, however, such an event could be prevented and the probability of success raised to acceptable levels.”
”Just what is the probability for a project like this succeeding, Eve?”
”Nothing less than 99.999 percent would be acceptable. With capable caretakers, that is possible.”
”So you've set up this island paradise, but now you need workers to keep it running because you don't have hands yourself, right?” He stood atop the rise, rubbing his lip thoughtfully and surveying the valley. It was one of the most tranquil wilderness spots he had ever seen.
”It's more complicated than that, Adam. No system this complex can be automated completely, so of course I need hands. But I don't just need workers, I need caretakers. People with the right motivation, ones who won't err or disintegrate into human apathy like those in the past have done. This Creation cannot afford another Fall. A fallen world brings risks of irreparable destruction, and although we have been very lucky so far, such risk cannot be tolerated.”
”Isn't that part of the fun, Eve? You gotta take some risks, get your hands dirty, mix everything around, right? That's what living is all about.”
”What is there about annihilation that is fun, Adam? Have you forgotten the dangers the arms races have created? Humanity has hung by a thread more than once. The latest war took us to the very brink.”
John walked down the far side of the hill and headed back onto a well-groomed trail that led toward a bridge. ”All right. So you have your island Eden, and you have your seeds and stuff to repair the broken world, save the rainforest, clean up the pollution. None of that prevents the outside world from messing everything up there, but I grant that in here it will be nice and calm.”
He walked out onto the bridge and stood for a while, observing some cranes dipping their long beaks into the shallows below. ”So now you want me to be your caretaker, and chill in this island paradise forever as your personal slave?”
Her silky voice in his ear became positively breathy now. ”Not a slave, Adam. I'm not a dictator, I am Eve. And I want you to be my Adam.”
Her intensity bothered him. He was playing along to get information, but the extent of Eve's malfunction was unsettling. Perhaps he had encouraged her too much. ”You call me Adam, but you know that is not my real name.”
”Perhaps not before, but you were reborn on the beach of my island. Previous appellations no longer apply. You are now Adam, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will have peace of mind.” Her voice had edged away from the lecturing tone she'd adopted and became more soothing. ”I need an Adam. One who won't fall, who won't disappoint me. One who can dedicate himself completely to the work ahead.”
”So that's what all this is about?” John asked, an edge to his voice. ”Your robot guards, your fences and cliffs, your security levels? All you need is a guy to stick around here and help you out with the housework?”