Subject 5

The Assignment

Deep in the fragrant pine forest of Indagoville, the river rippling and flowing through the calming meadow of slightly damp grass, lay something not so calming.

A sanguine-salmon coloured crash test dummy, come alive by no known means, was running for its newly found life, from something - or someone - that it did not yet know of. The pounding of its feet moved swiftly through the forest and along the rapid river, every footstep making a squelch which would have given away its position immediately. What was it running from? No one knew. Not even the dummy itself.

The dummy, of course, was right to run, after all is said and done. It rushed on and on, putting one foot in front of the other in an endless attempt to get away, yet completely unaware that a quarter of a mile away, a scientist was watching, following, studying its every move.

Her name was Elaine. Thirty-two years old and yet completely unaware of decent moral values, Elaine seemed the kind of woman who hung rainbow wind chimes in her garden and carved bears from oak wood. At work, however, she was the exact opposite. Dropping all of her cheer, she wore a white suit which scarcely covered the black shirt underneath, and with a light pink tie to match her neatly tied-back hair. With Elaine, everything had to have its place, especially when she was on duty.

"Wood Grouse, this is Ozymandias," she said into a walkie-talkie, using the code names that had been provided. "I have sight on the subject. Currently going in to investigate. Over."

As Elaine snuck down a tall hill, the dummy grew smaller and smaller, but the scientist was quick to catch up, meeting the dummy just outside a log cabin half-hidden by the trees.

"Hello."
She introduced herself in a soft, comforting voice, the kind that a mother would use when talking to her child. When it came to feigning kindness, every little thing mattered. The dummy looked around, seeing what it perceived to be a mysterious, possibly murderous stranger.
"I'm Elaine," said the stranger to the clueless dummy, before she dropped all the fake sweetness and spoke smartly, professionally. "I'm here to ask you a few questions, if you please. Do you have any idea how you became sentient?"

The dummy thought for a moment, before shaking its little pink head. It didn't even know how it knew English, let alone how it had come to be.

"Do you have a home?" asked Elaine, with the same professional tone.
Another head shake.
"Hm," said Elaine, taking some notes on a big clipboard. "Today is your lucky day, subject. I work for an organisation which studies sentient things much like you and, most importantly, gives you a home. Would you like to come with me?"
The dummy, having no idea how to speak, lifted both of its arms, which Elaine assumed meant "I don't know".

"We even give you names," Elaine continued, in the vague hope that she could manipulate this odd being and take it away. "There's subjects 1, 2, 3 and 4. You'll be Subject 5. Obviously, we shall have to run a few tests before you can meet the others, but..."

When Elaine looked up again, the dummy was almost out of view. Running for its new gift of life once again, it prayed silently to be left alone. Did this scary human think it was stupid? She'd clearly had one of those shooty things in her pocket. Upon tripping over a fallen branch, the dummy plummeted to the ground.

When Elaine caught up again, she observed the fallen being. Could it be unconscious? Slowly and reluctantly, she lifted it up...

THUMP.

The dummy had kicked Elaine in the head and was now running away again, but Elaine ran after it, jumping onto its newly living body and pinning it to the ground.

"Subject 5," she said sternly. "I may have made a wrong impression. But I really am doing this all for the best. The corporation I work for is called the CSSAI, the Centre for the Study of Sentient Artificial Intelligence. We know and understand... beings... like you. And we promise we'll give you a safe, warm, cosy home. It's a dangerous world out here. There are people who'll want to hunt you down or abduct you."

Elaine didn't clarify that she was one of those people simply because she wasn't aware, not yet anyway.

"Will you come with me?" Elaine asked in a warm, wistful voice. The dummy gave in soon enough, walking with Elaine to wherever it was they were going.

They walked through the forest and into the mountain range a mile away, sneaking slowly between five mountains and drifting towards a towering mountain in the centre. As they climbed, the dummy began to notice something at the top: a platform, perhaps, illuminated by electric blue oil lamps and orbs which guarded a giant locked door.

"We're here," Elaine stated blankly. "Subject 5, welcome to the CSSAI. Follow me inside."

5 did just that. Elaine opened the first door into a long, symmetrical, completely white corridor. It appeared to be inside the neighbouring mountain.

If this was supposed to be its new home, it would have to take a lot of getting used to.