Tent City

Chapter 13 - Kelsie

I had been out of the sick bay for 3 months now. I no longer require the use of my walker, I still get tired, but I have improved every day. I have put on weight, and my meals were no longer restricted.

Andy has been more than helpful, and Ben has been blossoming under the people who watch him, while either Andy is away, asleep, or working, and while I focus on strengthening my body. He is learning to read and write. He is learning basic math, and his favourite thing to do is draw. The people who look after him ( Sandra and Colin) love having Ben around. Sandra and Colin used to have a son called Felix, who was a little bit older than Ben. But they lost Felix to slavers.

Sometimes, the slavers would change their main goal of collecting slaves and will sometimes steal children to sell to the wealthy bunker dwellers, who were unable to concieve for a large sum.

That's what happened to Felix. Sandra and Colin managed to track Felix down about 3 years after he was stolen from them. The people who purchased Felix refused to let them see him, knowing that they were Felix's true parents. However, before they were escorted out of the bunker by the military, they caught a brief glimpse of Felix.

They stayed away for 6 months and tried once again to see him, but when they arrived, the bunker was abandoned and had been raided numerous times.

They entered the dreary bunker, hoping to find any clue of where the bunker dwellers had gone. There was nothing, not one clue amongst the mess of ruined furniture, equipment, and paperwork that had been thrown all over the place.

I wondered if they had MCHAP looking after the bunker if they would still be there. Some bunkers had Mchap as their main control, but there were a few, including the bunker that we currently were living in that did not have MCHAP. They were either too old or had refused the chance to install MCHAP because the creator of him, my father, was a surface dweller.

I think that the original owners of this bunker were one of those who refused the MCHAP technology because of what my Father was, as it was quite modern and had voice controlled fittings and a computer that controlled everything.

However, this computer was inferior to MCHAP. This computer could be upgraded but had to be upgraded manually by computer engineers. MCHAP, on the other hand, was AI capable. He upgraded himself and would be continuously learning, plus he had the ability to take control of  a physical form, which was a humanoid robot. Taking control of the robot gave him freedom that other computers did not. They were restricted to the bunker they controlled, while MCHAP could leave and travel quite a distance from his home bunker.

Some people who refused MCHAP in their bunkers did so out of fear. A computer that was continuously learning could potentially turn on them. My father made sure there was a way to manually stop MCHAP from hurting others. He also created a program that would reset MCHAP and another that would destroy him.

I learnt what I could about MCHAP by reading my father's diary. The special code to reset MCHAP and destroy him was not stored electronically. Instead, my father made sure that the people in charge of the bunkers that had MCHAP installed remembered the codes. If something happened to the people who had remembered the codes, there was a way for my father to communicate with the next in charge.

However, my father did not tell me the codes. So if Ben and I lived at the bunker/lab my father helped build, I would not be able to stop MCHAP from harming us or others.

My thoughts and anxieties were interuppted by a ring of the doorbell.

"Computer, who is at the door?"  I asked.

"It's Troop Sergeant Andrea Woolex. Would you like me to let her in, ma'am ?"

"Yes, please." I answered. The door slid open, and Andy walked in. As soon as she entered, I noticed how exhausted she looked.

"Morning Andy." I said chirpily. Andy replied with a mumble, which I assumed was her saying morning back.

She sat on the bed beside me, I noticed the bags under her eyes, which stood out compared to her pale skin. Her black hair hung lifelessly around her face as she stared at the ground.

I began to worry about her, I shuffled closer to her.

"What's wrong, Andy?" I asked. She let out a sigh,

" It's okay, Kelsie, there's nothing for you to worry about. I just wanted to see how you're going with your exercises."

Even though Andy told me not to worry, it did not stop me from worrying about her.

"I'm getting stronger every day, Andy. Dr Su is happy with my progress. It won't be long until I'm back to normal again." I answered, trying to sound chirpy and to hide how worried I was about Andy.

Andy looked up, and when our eyes met, I knew something was troubling her. Her eyes were tired and sad, she tried to smile but i knew it was forced.

"Andy, there's definitely something wrong with you. You're smiling, but it seems forced, and your eyes are sad. Please, tell me what is bothering you?" I almost begged.

Andy sighed again, and her eyes drifted to the ground.

"Ahhh! Kelsie, I can't hide anything from you, can I?" She softly chuckled and looked at me. She hesitated, sighed again, and took in a deep breath.

" It seems there's some members of our troop that believe you and Ben are a waste of resources. Ben has won some hearts. However, there are still those out there that find Ben and you living under our roof and not contributing as an insult to their efforts to contribute to the running of this bunker. They want me to force you out, I  refuse to do that.  

There's so much fear and uncertainty regarding Commander Lee. He should've returned 2 months ago with a whole bunch of medical supplies. Commander Lee  has been delayed so many times due to active bombs and the reemergence of fighting, raiders, and thieves. We could go weeks without established contact with him. He hasn't checked in with us for nearly a month. This is the longest time we have gone with no communication from Commander Lee. It's dangerous out there. He could be dead or badly injured. What happens to you, me and Ben if he doesn't return? 

 They are doubting my capabilities as the temporary commander, and I fear they will try and oust me as leader and put someone else in place who will have no qualms with throwing you, Ben and me out of the safety of the bunker to fend for ourselves. This is the worst-case scenario." 

I now understood why Andy looked as exhausted as she did. She was so young and had such limited experience compared to Commander Lee, and she was thrust into a leading position. She was supposed to make decisions that were way beyond her experience as a soldier. I rested my hand on her leg.

"Andy, you must be doing a good job...If you weren't, we would've lost the bunker and our lives by now. Can I help in any way?" I asked.

Andy gently rested her hand on mine, and she sighed. "Yes, the only way that we can stop them is if I train you to be a soldier. I think you are ready to undertake the training that all of us had to go through to be soldiers in the Outcast Freedom Troop. I will train you in how to use a gun and a sword, I will build your muscles, I will train you how to handle extreme weather, dangerous situations. I will train you to perform basic medical and how to survive. Do you think you can handle all this, Kelsie?" she asked.

I nodded my head enthusiastically. "Yes, Commander!" I answered. Drawing a slight giggle of amusement and relief from Andy. I felt I had accomplished something today, I had eased Andy's mind, and I would finally begin to contribute to the bunker community.