Intelligent By Design

Paul Gallager was a quiet and reserved records runner toiling in the labyrinth known as County Public Records. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to his idiosyncrasies and odd behavior. He did his best to keep to himself cloaked in obscurity but suspected that others in the department somehow knew his secret. Whenever he would pass by their cubicles, he would meet their suspicious glances and sometimes hear their gossip. Ever since P.L 1927 went into effect at the beginning of the week, Paul could not quell his apprehension over the new public law.

The new public law that was put in effect because many of the workers complained to their union representatives about how non-humans should not be allowed to take their jobs. As far as they were concerned these jobs were only supposed to have human workers. Ten years ago, cyborgs had taken these jobs, because of the cost cutting measures and the fact cyborgs were easier to control. As a result, the economy had some boom years in the beginning until the complaints started to filter in. Reports of violence against cyborgs became common since they were considered non-human.

With the election of a new president who promised to once again only employ humans, the cyborgs were being relegated to work details and other menial jobs. Paul did not want to be regulated to those menial jobs. He would embrace the masquerade and continue to act human.

There was a meeting tonight in an abandoned building near the waterfront where all the cyborgs would meet. Jasper Hennings was the president of the organization and had written a book about how cyborgs could assimilate as a human. There were tricks and ruses they could use to avoid detection, because once detected, uniformed officers would come in and isolate any cyborgs.

Paul had also heard that the company was going to give examinations both written and physical to determine who was human and who was not.At tonight’s meeting, Jasper was going to talk about the examinations since he had a mole who got her hands on the examination the companies were intent on using. To gain access to the abandoned warehouse, the cyborgs would display the laser they had programmed with. If someone at the door could not display the laser, he was escorted out of the area by a couple of very large non-humans. If the infiltrator put up any kind of resistance, he would wind up in bobbing in the river. Most of the time there was no one infiltrating the meetings, but the large non-humans were there just in case.

“What’s up, Paul?” Dane asked when he saw Paul standing by one of the vending machines.

“Hey Dale, just hanging out.” He chuckled in a cordial manner. Paul did not eat or drink, but during one of the meetings, Jasper demonstrated how to give the illusion of consumption.

“Hey, most of that stuff’ll kill ya.” Dale stood next to Paul. Paul swallowed hard. He did not like it when humans stood so close to him.

“You’re right.” He nodded with a smile.

“Hey, I was just funning ya.” Dale exhaled through his clenched teeth. “Get what you want.”

“Yeah, but none of its good for me, right?” He stared at his loafers.

“If you have a hankerin,’ get whatcha want.” Dale put his dollar into the vending machine to get a bag of pretzels. “Like me. I don’t give a hoot about my girlish figure.”

Dale laughed as he left the breakroom. Paul made a deep sigh before putting his dollar into the vending machine to get a Pepsi. He would open it but let the liquid slide down a concealed tube. The tube led to a bladder he would empty once he got to the meeting. He had another tube for food. As far as anyone knew, Paul ate food and drank liquid.

That evening the warehouse was jammed since P.L.1927 was now being enforced. Jasper stood up on a riser with a microphone in his hand. He smiled as he quickly glanced around the room.

“Good to see you all here tonight. We have a lot to cover.” He paused and then said, “Has anyone here been identified? Raise your hands.”

There were a few who raised their hands.

“Alright, we will plan to have you disappear until we can get you into another part of the country where nobody knows who you are. I’ve got some very talented people working on identification where you can become somebody else.”

He coughed and took a deep breath, “So, here’s the deal. We have been teaching you how to act human. The companies have developed an examination. It is a two-parter. First you will be given a written examination. Flunk it. Most humans do. The problem will be the physical examination. As you know, we are built and programmed differently than humans, but we must learn some of the tricks and tonight we will learn some of the tricks. Each of you are superior to your human counterparts, but if you display it, they will know you are not human. The choice is yours. You may decide you don’t want to live as a human. That is your option.”

He sniffs and glances around the room again, “But what I’ve been hearing is that these good squads are taking us cyborgs to a detention center.”

He pauses for dramatic effect. Some of them begin to voice their opposition to this idea.

“Yup, it’s true. Many of you heard work detail, but there ain’t no work detail, the deal is they want to get rid of us. I’ve heard some of us cyborgs are given an electrical charge and then dumped in a landfill.”

“NOOOO!” A few voices sound in the room. Jasper put his hands on his hips and nods.

“Sure. This is how they plan on fixin’ the problem.” His head swivels around the room again, “So, those of you who have been identified already, you need to meet me after the meeting is over.”

Paul walked home after the meeting, shaken with the images Jasper Hennings had put in his head. He felt his energy start to get low. He would need a charge as soon as he got home. Paul had seen the examination, and it did not seem so hard. Most of the exam focused on tricking the person taking the test. There were several loopholes that he was made aware of. He got an email from headquarters saying his examination would be in three days before he started work.

He opened the door to his apartment and climbed into the energy station. Plugging in, Paul felt the welcoming surge of electricity humming through his circuits. His mind began to flash on all the things he had been told during the meeting. When his recharging was done, he would be ready to face the day by being as human as he could possibly be.

“You, Paul Gallager are intelligent by design. You have been given the best circuitry available. You will be able to exceed expectations and master any task you are given.” The recording played in his complex mind filled with top-of-the-line circuitry.

“Even God could not create such sophistication as you possess.”

This was one of the points that angered the humans by claiming that God could not create such a perfect specimen.

Before anyone had heard of P.L.1927, Gary came to County Public Records. He would occupy the cubicle next to Paul’s. Gary was proud to be a non-human and told everyone that his circuitry was superior. This did not sit well with some of the humans and one night when Gary went to start his car, the bomb inside detonated. Gary was consumed in the blast and the flagellation that followed. Paul was just leaving the building when he saw the car go up in flames.Behind him Dale remarked as he chuckled, “What a shame.”

“Do not dwell on the past, Egron 5541 (this was Paul’s model number from the laboratory) and only see what the future will bring.” The voice told him, but Paul had been traumatized by the event, and it was difficult to clear his mind.

After a night in the charging station, Paul was ready to start the new day fully recharged. He would put on one of the suits hanging in his closet. He looked at himself in the mirror and wished he had a different face. His piercing blue eyes always seemed to attract a lot of attention from the women in the office. He could hear them make lude comments as he passed.

The next morning Shawn McCade, his supervisor, called Paul, “Hey Gallager, in my office now.”

Confused, Paul stood up and went to his supervisor’s office.

“Yes sir, Mr. McCade.” Paul’s voice was meek as it usually was.

“I need to administer your examination.” He shoved a piece of paper at Paul.

“I thought my examination was in two days.” Paul stumbled over some of his words.

“We have changed the schedule.” McCade sat in his chair and folded his hands under his chin.

Paul glanced at the first question about the logarithm of space-time continuum. He knew the correct answer right away. Picking up his pen, he answered the question. McCade looked at what he had written and shook his head.

“Incorrect, Gallager.” He could not hide his grin.

Paul glanced at the next question that had to do with acceleration of a rocket engine against the pull of gravity. Again, he knew the answer right away. This was a basic part of his programming.

“Also incorrect, Gallager.” McCade snickered. “You must be human.You don’t know shit, do you?”

“I guess not.” Paul tittered and shook his head.

“I don’t think we need to go any further on this written examination.” McCade collected the paper from Paul, “I need you to go see Dr. Quain for a physical examination. Paul nodded and rose to his feet. “Sorry, but everyone must take this examination. Most humans will not get the correct answer since there is complicated calculations involved that are beyond most human comprehension. You have failed this portion of the examination which means you have human cognitive abilities. Go see Dr. Quain. If he determines that you possess human physiology, you will not be in violation of P.L, 1927.”

Paul left McCade’s office and proceeded to the medical unit on the sixth floor of the building.

“Hey, dija pass?” Dale asked as Paul passed by, but Paul just shook his head and proceeded to the elevators. He did not know that once he was on the elevator, Dale would follow him on the next elevator.

“Come in, Mr. Gallager.” Dr. Quain waved him into his office.

“Good day, Doctor.” Paul nodded as he entered the office.

“Let me close the door before I ask you to remove your clothing.” Dr. Quain instructed. Paul felt humiliated standing there naked in front of the doctor since Paul was a modest man. Using a mobile panel to scan Paul’s vitals, Dr. Quain continued to view the monitors to see if there was any evidence that Paul Gallager was not a human. But Jasper had made sure to cover all contingencies with his fellow cyborgs and even with the sophisticated technology at Dr. Quain’s fingertips, the scan failed to prove that he was a cyborg. Dr. Quain would press the print button for a printout of the results.

“You may get dressed.” Dr. Quain pulled out the printout and scanned the report. “I find nothing to indicate that you are in violation of P.L. 1927. You are free to go.”

Just then the door burst open. A hatchet wielding Dale Crane grabbed Paul’s hand with his left hand pinning it to Dr. Quain’s desk. The doctor was so startled by the sudden intrusion he dropped the report to the floor. Dale brought the hatched down and severed Paul’s right hand. Blood began to flow from Paul’s severed hand. Unable to keep his feet, Paul sank to the floor as his blood spilled all over the carpet.

“I was wrong.” Dale stood there with the hatchet in his still dripping with Paul’s blood. Dr. Quain was able to quell the blood flow of Paul’s open wound as paramedics took him to the ambulance.

Meanwhile, Dale was taken away by security. He did not offer any resistance as he kept mumbling, “I could have sworn he was one of those metal heads.”

Jasper Hennings came to visit Paul as he was recovering from Dale’s attack.

“We will make sure to replace what you lost.” Jasper pointed to Paul’s amputated right hand. “We will fix you up, good as new.”

“I couldn’t believe he was capable of doing that.” Paul shook his head.

“You will find there are a lot of people like Dale Crane unfortunately. The only reason they passed that legislation, was to protect lunatics like him.” Jasper sat in the chair next to Paul’s bed. “You will need a new identity.”

“Why? If you fix me up, why can’t I be Paul Gallager?” He shook his head.

“It’s for your own good, my friend.” Jasper gently put his hand on Paul’s shoulder.

“I don’t like it.” He pouted and bowed his head.

“You will be fine. Trust me.” Jasper smiled.

After the story of the hatchet wielding man appeared on the media posts, the legislature began to take a second look at P.L. 1929.

One senator debated, “When the law causes harm to one of our citizens, we must consider repealing that law. Paul Gallager was suspected to be a cyborg, .and he was attacked by a coworker Dale Crane. Paul suffered the loss of his right hand. We must prevent this from happening again.”

After an all-day deliberation, the legislators decided to repeal P.L.1929.

Jasper got the news on his social media. He did a fist pump in the air.

“I got good news.” He told Paul who was being fitted for a new right hand.

“What?” He winched as the doctor applied the loose wires to his new hand.

“They have repealed P.L.1929.” He smiled.

“Does that mean we can start being our cyborg selves?” Paul held up his hand and wiggled his new fingers.

“Not on your life.” Jasper shook his head.

“Why not?” Paul queried.

“Even though the law has been repealed, there are still people out there who will feel it’s okay to attack cyborgs.” Jasper glanced at the doctor.

“You mean like Dale?” Paul shrugged.

“Worse than Dale.” Jasper sighed, “Like the gang who attacked me one night. I spent a lot of time in rehabilitation.”

“I had no idea.” Paul sat up on the bed.

“No one does. I keep it to myself.” Jasper mumbled, “It’s safer that way.”

“He’s already.” The doctor told them.

“So, I have to keep my identity hidden?” Paul stood up.

“Fraid so.” Jasper patted Paul on the shoulder, “Oh yeah, before I forget.”

Jasper reached into his pocket and pulled out an identification card, handing it to Paul, “From now on, you are Barry Mumford.”

Paul or Barry scanned the card and frowned. After a moment, he said, “I don’t like this.”

“You don’t have to like it, Barry.” Jasper let a smirk cross his face, “You just have to keep on like you’ve been doing. You can’t take chances, because there are still a lot of people who resent cyborgs. The repeal did not change anyone’s attitude in the matter.”

“I suppose you’re right.” He paused for a moment, “Do you think there will ever come a day when we will be accepted?”

“I wish I could answer you on that, Barry.” Jasper pressed the button on the elevator.

Barry Mumford applied for a position in the records department of the County Public Records in a county farther north. No one questioned him about whether he was human or not. He just went to the office, did his job and returned home. He heard a few employees griped about P.L.1929 being repealed, but he does not engage in their conversation. It was clear to him why Jasper had told him to keep his identity secret. It was safer that way.