The Last Adventure

“More iced tea, Mr. Siddiqharran?” The android servant asked.

“Yes, that would be fine, Corius.”

“Perhaps some biscuits as well?”

“Later, thank you.”

Corius floated off to fetch the iced tea. Other drones moved about the garden, tending to the flowers and plants and mowing the lawn to a consistent height.

The sun shone down. Barely a cloud in the sky. Jacob felt the warmth as he sat in the lounge chair beside the pool reading his book. The transparent aluminum walls kept out the noise of the streets and city life. It was an ideal paradise . . . or should be. Jacob knew what it was. A cage.

Jacob Siddiqharran was worth protecting. 

He was the last human in the universe. 

8 April 2047 was the day the singularity happened. Synthetic Intelligences emerged. For homo sapiens, it meant an evolution for the species that it had never seen before. It was rapid. Gene modification ensured healthy and intelligent beings. Or if they chose, they could modify their bodies with technology. From this, within a few thousand years, arose homo sapien superior or the transhuman. The possibilities were limitless. Except for one group.

One faction of society questioned what was happening to humanity and refused to take part for religious, ethical, or many other reasons. Millions asked if this was the best course for humanity. The Naturalist Movement at first grew with more and more refusing the modification of their natural bodies. They were called Luddites, technophobes, and fools. But they held strong. Then things changed. Fewer stayed with the cause with every generation as believers died off or succumbed to the temptation of a perfect, near-immortal life.

After fifty-thousand years, this left Jacob as the last pure human in the universe. He was an oddity, to say the least. A being that was no longer considered sentient. At times, he had been allowed outside of his beautiful cage to be displayed. He was the object of fascination, of fear by some, and of scientific interest to others. Visiting delegates would watch in wonder as the human acted so much like them. Messages from women told of their desire to mate with him as some sort of fetish. They had taken a complete picture of his genome. They could build him piece-by-piece if they wished, but that wouldn’t be the same as the original.

But today, as he sipped his iced tea looking at a cloud floating by, he knew this would be his last day in his cage.

Jacob had complete freedom within his four walls. He often wandered at night looking at the stars and thinking of the adventures the rest of the population could have. Mars, Venus, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. And now even further with the interstellar travel to star systems near and far.

Corius moved towards him as it became late.

“Mr. Siddiqharran, you should be resting. There is a delegation from the Terec Institute scheduled for tomorrow.”

“Yes, Corius. I just wanted to spend a little while longer.”

“Of course, Mr. Sidddd . . …”

Corius faded out. His head lowered and his body slowly sank to the ground. The lights around the facility flickered and then faded. The house went dark and Jacob could hear drones dropping. The few transhumans in the building came out and instantly fell. 

Jacob heard a loud click as the main gate turned off. The gates dissipated to reveal a group of people. They were taller than him. Their heads and facial features were larger. The group was members of the International Animal Liberation Front. A woman stepped forward.

“Jacob Siddiqharran?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Let’s get moving,” she said while waving towards the gate. Jacob followed.

”Jacob, I’m Crystys,” the female said. “We have twenty minutes before the system reboots. Let’s get you set.”

Crystys held up several odd-looking items.

“This is a mask. It will mould your face and distort your features. It will confuse any monitoring stations we pass.

“These are contact lenses that will create a false retina ID.

“This is a body suit that will give the appearance that you are a transhuman upgrade.

“You need to put these on now if we are going to get you through the city and to a safe environment.”

Jacob followed the instructions.

“We need to move. Security forces will be on their way,” Crystys said.

The team moved out like a military-trained squad. Jacob was in the middle. Lights quickly filled the area from overhead drones. They could hear the sound of sirens getting closer. They looked to the sky to see the police forces moving in to surround the habitat on the ground and overhead. The group moved faster hoping not to attract attention.

A block away was their transport, an older Nakada SUV, perfect for blending in. The six of them got in and Crystys gave the command to the vehicle to go. A half-hour went by before the team congratulated themselves. Another successful extraction. That’s when Crystys looked at the readings.

“We’ve been transmitting our location.” Everyone went quiet.

Immediately they heard and saw police aero cars. Sleek machines. Hybrids of flying and ground vehicles. They looked like segmented domes with police markings. Lights flashed all around the bottom.

“Citizens, your vehicle is being disabled. Prepare for inspection.”

“Shit,” Crystys said as they slowed. She hit the override button, turning over to manual operation. Crystys hit the accelerator, and the Nakada flew. They opened up some distance as the police scrambled.

Up one street and down another. Under bridges and crosswalks. Into tunnels and overpasses. The distance closed.

“Get ready to detach,” Crystys said.

The Nakada steered into another tunnel. She pushed a button and it discarded the outer shell to reveal a new vehicle. On the other side of the tunnel, the strategy seemed to have worked. Then a patrol car fired an ion cannon. A direct hit. The systems sparked as they were overpowered.

“Damn it!” Crystys said as she tried to steer as best she could. It would only move left. They crossed lanes. They crashed into oncoming traffic until they finally hit the wall.

The group came out firing, laying down cover as Crystys and Jacob made a run for it.

Lights were everywhere as more patrol cars flew into the area. Crystys pulled Jacob into a tunnel system.

“Just keep moving. Whatever happens.”

Quickly, they saw the lights in the tunnels. They heard police drones. Crystys reached under her coat and took out a pistol. Three ion blasts and two drones went down.

“This way.”

They turned right and ran into another tunnel. Crystys stopped and set up a hologram to hide them. The drones passed by, not noticing.

“This one runs for five kilometres and comes out near a safe zone.”

At the end of the tunnel, Crystys and Jacob came out into an open-air mall. No one paid them any attention. The security tech didn’t alert anyone to their presence. Police aero cars slowly flew by scanning the area. Crystys watched the cameras move about the mall. They sat down at a cafe and ordered drinks.

“We should be good here.”

“So what happens next?”

“That’s kind of up to you. We get you out. After that, it’s where you want to go. What do you want to do?”

Jacob was quiet. He had never been asked that question and had not given it much serious thought.

“I think I would like to explore. I’d like to go off-world . . . a colony world.”

“Antarctica is lovely this time of year. Tropical waters and palm trees. And much easier to get to.”

“No, after a life in a cage, a grand adventure is needed.”

“Then so be it. There is a colony ship leaving for Kepler 186f within the week. We can have the papers and get you aboard. We can also create a better disguise that should hold up to inspection and scanning. Once you’re coming out of hibernation, it’ll be too late to do anything. You know you will never see Earth again?”

“I’ve never seen it as it is and likely never will. At least, as the last human in the universe, I can also be the first to explore it as well. I can be free.”

Crystys nodded her head. She again scanned the area again. 

“I think it’s okay to move on. Let’s get you to a safe house and prepare you for humanity’s last adventure.”