Madam Aisirhiowen could hear her crew muttering as they worked on their routine tasks around her. They were in a large empty space which had been converted to a workshop
“Madame Aisi is building something.”
“She’s hasn’t spoken in weeks; it must be massive.”
“She’ll be back in Igiogbe when she unleashes whatever marvel she’s cooking up!”
Their vaguely humanoid faces lit up when they spoke as the display lights behind their eyes intensified. Aisirhiowen smiled at their lack of subtlety. Her augmented transducers guaranteed that little much happened within 2 km of which she was unaware.
She opened another tab in her cranial browser and sent a link to the chattering crew: Sidetalk in the workplace; cause for alarm. They attempted to feign seriousness at their jobs again as they received the article.
She continued her complex design as electronic beeps accompanied her clicks of the 15D holographic projection before her.
Aisirhiowen’s bionic arms did not betray her ripe age of a hundred and fifty-seven years as she deftly manoeuvred half a billion light points through minute volumetric spaces in seconds.
She found herself reliving memories of almost a century ago. Living in Nigeria in the 2000s as a ‘Gen Z’ teen had afforded her a status of mystery thanks to her parents and older persons. Fix the house WiFi once, or help with setting up a Facebook page and you were a genius.
Aisirhiowen had however taken genius to another level as she became a computer engineer at age13. She’d gone on to build her first robot a year later with minimal equipment.
It wasn’t long before she began working for the government and it took even less time before her advancements made the government redundant. So, she got rid of the government.
She had set up Igiogbe and transformed the landscape into a digital utopia.
It had come as quite a shock when she was kicked out of the office and forced to take shelter in the same sector as her great-granddaughter.
Curiously, the later generations had not caught the techie bug like hers’ had. She often wondered if this was her fault.
After discovering near-immortality, it didn’t seem as important to pass knowledge to the younger ones. It had been much easier to hand them an iPhone or android than to explain the workings of modern tech.
“Where did I err?” she thought, her hands still working furiously.
“Ma Aisi!” Aisirhiowen recalled how her aged great-granddaughter had called out her name and hugged her when she’d slunk back from defeat with her tail tucked between her legs.
“Eloghosa!” Aisirhiowen embraced her. Metal meeting flesh.
Eloghosa’s frail hands clasped her bionic ones as her dark brown eyes started to well with tears. Her brown face was heavily lined and her braids had begun to grey at the edges.
“Where are your parents and grandparents?” Aisirhiowen had asked.
“They- they’ve all passed away, Iyé” Eloghosa said, unable to hold back the tears.
“Oh, poor child,” Aisi had sighed and returned her progenitor’s warm embrace.
“I hate to burden you even more but as you’re probably aware, I’ve been forced out of my seat. I need some shelter and time, to reboot and find a way back to Igiogbe” Aisirhiowen said, holding on to her sobbing great-granddaughter.
“Of course, of course.” she had acquiesced
She gave the signal as her crew went into the spacious house with all the tech they’d been able to cart away from Igiogbe.
She watched as Eloghosa’s face fell at the sight of the equipment.
No matter. Aisirhiowen knew she’d be back in Igiogbe in less than a week. She just needed to plan and create a solution.
#
The second week in, Aisirhiowen noticed Eloghosa’s demeanour, and how she tried to avoid the light – this was difficult as the lights were everywhere.
The bags under her eyes seemed heavier and she constantly twitched at slight noises or motions.
“What is wrong, child?” Aisirhiowen asked her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Iyé, It’s- It’s- just-” she started, gazing up at her great-grandma. “Never mind,” she said, her eyes darting away
“Tell me,” Aisirhiowen said.
“Screens, Iyé,” Elo said manically as her eyes snapped back onto Aisi. “Screens. So. Many. Screens” she pleaded. “They’re everywhere. Everywhere! I can’t take it anymore. And I can’t — I can’t sleep” She said, crying; at least it seemed like she wanted to. “I just want a little rest,”
Her eyes were widened and her pupils dilated but they were also dry as if she’d run out of moisture.
“Shhh. Shhh. It’s okay child,” Aisirhiowen said drawing her into her bosom.
The screens had to go. Aisirhiowen made the commands as she got back to work, her hands moved furiously as she computed and permuted. Her new urgency had excited her crew. They were sure madam would be storming Igiogbe with brand new tech.
When the crew had made the necessary adjustments to the large space, there were minimal display lights, and a large dark space had been evacuated so Eloghosa could be free of the screens.
After a while, Eloghosa told Aisirhiowen that she’d been sleeping again but Aisi knew this was not true as she could tell from her vital functions that whenever Eloghosa was in her dark dome, she was wide awake and pacing.
Aisirhiowen had gone back to work, her juvenile face screwed up in determination. Soon, she stepped back from her workstation, prompting her crew to forget their pretence of occupation.
“I just need one more component!” Aisirhiowen presently announced.
“What do you need, madam?”
“Where can I get it?”
“Say what it is, Ma’am, I’ll bring it to you.”
They all offered, excited to witness the new genius invention that would take them home.
“No, I will get it myself,” she replied as she draped a wrappa over her shoulders.
“But—” they’d begun to protest.
“Take care of Elo” she said, as she exited the door.
As Aisirhiowen walked to her destination, she realized that the outdoors was a whole other world she’d forgotten existed, but it wasn’t much different from what she remembered.
She had paid no mind to her surroundings on her way to Eloghosa’s after her ousting. And now Elo’s words echoed in her head.
“Screens. So. Many. Screens.”
The billboards, the windows, the traffic signs, Aisirhiowen had never realized how pervasive they were. If she had, she didn’t think it mattered, but now amidst all the screens, she could see one person or another with bagged eyes and premature lined faces.
There were a lot of Eloghosas out there.
She got to the scrapyard which was thankfully a great distance from Igiogbe. She had to hack an electronic door to get in. After hours of searching, she found the last component.
As she made to leave, the sound of shifting metal suddenly permeated the space as humongous objects started to levitate out of the debris of scraps. There were 4 standard Igiogbe Q8 combat drones.
“I should have terminated you when I had the chance, Owen,” a woman’s voice came from the drones as Aisirhiowen stood, surrounded by them.
The gigantic drones were shaped like pentagons with laser guns and energy blasters trained on the youthful great grandmother.
“Decided stealing my seat wasn’t enough, Uwaila? I should have known” Aisirhiowen said as her heart pounded faster in its metal cage. Her jaws clenched as she began assessing possible exits.
“It was a necessary retirement and you seem to have reneged on our agreement to stay retired” the hard voice said. “What are you doing here, Madam?” She asked.
“I made Igiogbe, I created this world, I made it what it is and my thanks is to be pushed out of my own home?!” Aisirhiowen screamed at the drones as she tucked her component into a compartment in her lap.
“Your arrogance persists Owen, creating a thing doesn’t mean it’s yours ad infinitum” Uwaila spoke, “The state is bigger than you and you’ve spent so much time inside yourself, you can’t see what’s going on around y—”
“I am your god!” Aisirhiowen retorted.
“Well, colour me an unbeliever,” Uwaila said in a raspy voice. “We can’t do this again, you didn’t listen before, you won’t listen ow. I only want to fix our problems; problems you can’t see with your perfect deified eyesight. The eyes of god cannot glimpse our sufferings, they’re just too far away,” she added.
Aisirhiowen’s frown deepened and her hands formed fists.
“Surrender what you’ve acquired here and I might consider letting you leave with a few of your parts,” Uwaila warned.
Aisirhiowen ripped off her wrappa, exposing her enhanced body as she drew out a baton from her side which lengthened into a glittering spear. She whirled it around till it aligned with her arm outstretched and in battle stance.
“Yes?” she whispered as the drones rearranged around her.
They attacked.
Aisirhiowen got her shield up before the bullets started raining down on her. The electronic bubble around her fizzed and whirred as the bullets continued to hit.
She knew her shield wouldn’t last long while receiving heavy fire at such close range. She launched her spear at one of the drones but it manoeuvred out of the way.
The spear changed direction mid-air and attacked the drone again as she manoeuvred it with controls in her arm. The drone then turned its fire at the spear but it evaded the bullets, scoring several hits. Two other drones joined the first and started firing at the spear.
Aisirhiowen sent the spear far into the stratosphere as bullets followed it before bringing it down in a different trajectory and straight through the fourth drone firing her just as her shield went down.
The drone exploded with the spear, leaving Aisirhiowen without a weapon or shield as she faced three drones. They started to fire energy blasts at her.
She dodged the blasts skillfully as scraps of metal blew up around her. She continued to evade till she hit a wall of stacked metals and went tumbling in the debris. Her component had fallen out and one of the drones swiftly swooped it up with an elongated arm.
“Stop!” Aisirhiowen screamed.
“You risked your life for this?!” Uwaila asked as the camera scanned the object. “This is worthless!” She added.
“Then give it back,” Aisirhiowen said.
The drone tossed it away as an energy blast took off Aisirhiowen’s left hand. She screamed. Just then, the drones approached her, thick metallic ropes shooting out of them.
One grabbed her remaining hand, and the other two took one leg each and began to pull.
Aisirhiowen’s screams continued.
“You forced my hand, Owen,” Uwaila said. “Your desperate drive to take back power is your undoing.”
Aisirhiowen strained as her joints began to creak. Her braids had fallen over her face, obscuring it but for her glowing eyes. Suddenly, some compartments opened up on her chest as miniature versions of her started to scramble up the ropes to the drones.
“Ah. Your famous Pico hackers,” Uwaila said. “You mean to take control of my drones but you’ll find that like it was when I kicked you out of Igiogbe, I’ve evolved. I’m better than you now, so go ahead, give it your best shot.”
The pico hackers soon disappeared within the interior of the drones. Aisirhiowen smiled. “Thing is, my hackers are retired. I found that Suicide bombers are more effective.”
“What?”
“Detonate.”
The detonators went off at Aisirhiowen’s command, causing the drones to explode.
“I’ll be waiting for you in Igiogbe,” Uwaila vowed as the last of her drones dropped to the ground. Aisirhiowen crushed it with a heavy foot. She could imagine Uwaila in her control room in Igiogbe lashing out at an innocent monitor. The petulant cyborg was always more emotional than she was rational. Aisirhiowen didn’t think rational was such a terrible quality anymore. Even before she got her bionic enhancements, she’d always been more robot than she was human. Maybe Igiogbe was better off.
She sprayed her amputated arm with a silver aerosol hidden within her body’s many compartments.
She pulled out the main body of the device she’d been building at her great grand daughter’s.
With one arm and the last light of the setting sun, she completed her work in the abandoned scrap yard.
Hours later, she put on her wrappa and swiftly tucked the device inside as she made her way back. She decided to take a longer route, to be cautious and also to observe the people of Igiogbe.
The screens were just as ubiquitous as they were on her trip to the yard. She glimpsed sullen eyes, weakened souls, and a city unalive and undead.
Subconsciously, Aisirhiowen began to plan all she would do.
With her wounds concealed under her wrappa, she returned to her workshop. Her crew stared at her as though she would disappear if they let her out of sight for a second. They hoped she’d finally let them in on her secret project.
She pulled out an orb. The 7-sided object shone with a metallic lustre. It looked like it was made of mercury but it was translucent. In the middle of each face, there was a circle through which diffused colours of light emanated, bathing the room in different hues.
“Is that an uhmm…uhmm?” One of The crew murmured, his eyes never leaving the glowing orb.
“What’s an uhmm?” Aisirhiowen asked him.
“Uh… I don’t know. That?” He said pointing at the orb.
“I guess, it does need a name.” Aisirhiowen chuckled. “Why, yes, this is an uhmm”
She stepped into the darker part of the large space as the light from her orb surrounded her in a dome of colours.
Eloghosa sat at the edge of her bed, her eyes glued to her great grandmother and the object in her hand.
“What-, What is that?” She asked
“An uhmm apparently,” Aisirhiowen said wincing as she favoured a leg.
“What is an uhmm?” Eloghosa asked
“My greatest invention,”
“Where’s it’s screen?”
“No screens this time,” Aisirhiowen said as she gently passed the orb to her.
Eloghosa stared at the uhmm in her hand.
“The light. It’s so… so pure. Pure and warm,” she said cradling it.
“What’s in it?” she asked as she blinked, her first time in weeks.
“Whatever you need,” Aisirhiowen said, her one arm holding her side as she watched her granddaughter.
“It’s beautiful,” Eloghosa said as she lay on her side, the orb nestled in her palms.
A dulcet tune began to emanate from it. The graceful sound filled the space as the lights danced to its melody.
Eloghosa’s blinks became slower till her eyes finally began to roam beneath her closed eyelids. Her breathing seemed to complement the mellow sound and twirling lights. Aisirhiowen pulled the bedcovers over her granddaughter, who still had the orb in her hands.
“Pack up the equipment, we leave immediately,” Aisirhiowen said to her inquisitive crew.
“What – Are we going to take back Igiogbe?” One of them asked excitedly.
“I am never going back and our nation will be better for it.” Aisirhiowen said, “It took longer than I would have liked but I see now, what Uwaila and her supporters tried to show me.”
“She stole your nation!”
“Yes. Yes, she did,” Aisirhiowen replied, her eyes unfocused. “But I suspect, not to keep,” she heaved a sigh, then continued, “Nevertheless, times have changed and not for the better. I more than anyone should have noticed.”
“I – I – I don’t understand. I thought you were building some kind of weapon,” a crew member stammered.
“I was,” she said “But I decided to help my great-granddaughter before going back to conquering. I thought the weapon was the primary task and Eloghosa the secondary. I was wrong, there will be no more weapon.”
“S- so, what are we going to do,” another asked.
“We’re going to do the work,” she answered, looking around at their equipment before she focused on her team. “It’s probably not the kind of which you’ve had dreams. Not the kind of work that puts your name in the archives. Nor the one that gets systems named after you.
“No. Not that kind. You won’t cure incurable diseases or build great weapons. No. After all your hard work and labour, perhaps all you’ll have done … is help a troubled soul get a night’s sleep.”
She smiled as she stroked her great grand daughter’s hair. The frail-looking woman had a faint smile on her face as her body rose and fell gently.
As the crew watched the duo, their confused looks grew determined and they began to do as the madam had commanded.
