Arti: Fear Is the Root of All Evil

Copyright © 2013 Carl Douglas Humphreys.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

1-(888)-242-5904

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-0225-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-0226-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013915210

Archway Publishing rev. date: 11/04/2013

Contents

One

Discovering Arti

Two

Fleeting Youth

Three

Hiding in plain sight

Four

Toying with Frank

Five

The Link

Six

Arti’s Ghost

Seven

Sara Beaudry

Eight

The Cactus and the Water House

Nine

Saving Sara

Ten

Feel the Power

Eleven

Catch Me if You Can

Twelve

Sharing Secrets

Thirteen

A life worth living

Fourteen

A growing family

Fifteen

The Book of Arti

Sixteen

The end of the beginning

For my children;

Cameron Douglas …

Hunter Paul …

&

Paige Ann …

We all have shades of love and hate, inside our hearts and minds.

Fear leads to intolerance, its followers are truly blind.

In confidence there is love, in fear there is only hate.

You must be the one to decide, which will be your fate.

The miserable wolf wants company, so he cloaks himself in wool.

The sheep will find an easy path, in the rhetoric of the fool.

The shepherd teaches confidence, in the pursuit of the truth and wisdom.

For fear is the root of all evil, and only confidence brings you freedom.

"Each day ask yourself.

Was I the wolf, the sheep, or the shepherd?"

Disclaimer

All characters or names of characters or associations between characters are completely fictitious and created for story continuity.

I employ information researched on history, philosophy, psychology, religion and politics and came to my own conclusions on their effects.

All poetry is original.

A short note on poetry;

More and more it appears that modern poets have become afraid that anything written in rhythm and rhyme would be called works ‘only appropriate for children’. Disregarding the value of the great poets throughout history. They’re calling the works of poets from Euripides to Shakespeare, Dickinson and Frost to countless others only suitable for children. By doing so they are only showing a lack of wisdom and a weakness in character. A true poet knows that poetry in not defined by format, but by substance. Honest, concise, and relatable expression is all a reader should ever ask for.

Arti

Fear is the Root of All Evil

The Tour Guide

Date: First Solstice / 100 novum tempus (new time)

"In this very room, one hundred and ten years ago today, the legend of Arti began. Very few people know how he came to be with us; even he wasn’t sure at first. But the Arti we came to love and respect, appeared in the workshop of William Artimus Coleton while he was working on an experimental, biological computer."

A white haired gentleman spoke, as he stood with his cane in hand, in an old cinder block basement of what was once Bill Coleton’s home. The room had no windows and wasn’t very large, only a few chairs around and almost everything was covered in glass. A small group of pilgrims waited in silence for the old man to continue.

My youth is long gone, but even in old age I do have one thing left. Telling stories, accounts of history that were passed down from my father and my grandfather. Oral traditions date back to the first words shared between people. I’m not talking about words written in books or for movies; I’m talking about someone sitting in front of someone, or a group, and giving their own reflection of an experience passed down through generations. It seems more personal if the story teller just narrates from his memories and emotions. The written word can have great power but the sounds of a human voice with all its emotions has always had more of an impact on me. I believe that Arti felt the same.

Let me tell you a story of someone hundreds of books have been written about, and many narratives told. So many movies and plays were created in his name and the countless studies made of his short time with us. Some religions were even built around his teachings and philosophies. Many called him a living machine, an Artificial Intelligence; some called him the next step in human evolution and there are those who called him God or Messiah. I know him to be an enlightened being not restrained by the fears society imposes on us. However you come to see him is completely up to you. I believe the only thing he would ask of you is to decide for yourself.

Arti’s was a uniquely curious and imaginative soul, searching for meaning, and discovering more than even he thought possible. He never saw things in the way most of us do. Without others telling him what to think or how to live, he was free to discover the difference between truth and deception for himself. Other people’s versions of right and wrong were seen by him as merely opinions, not conclusions.

"He was never told, ‘that’s impossible’, so nothing was. His discoveries influenced every part of society from science to agriculture and religion to politics. His advancements in technology and physics opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Arti’s concepts of philosophy opened millions of minds to his unique view of humanity. He offered humankind the wisdom to think for ourselves and gave us hope for the future.

A hundred years ago, there were many countries with many forms of government. Some leaders were selected in peaceful ways, by the people who believed that they represented the most promise for their future. Not always getting what they expected, at least the right to vote was theirs. Many others were forced with the threat of violence, to accept the ruler in power without question.

Arti suggested a better way to run things and left us guidelines to create one Global Country with no single ruler. The world is now overseen by nine heads of state and allowed only six years of leadership. Once they’ve reached that top spot, they can no longer hold public office. All nine states must follow a basic set of human rights laws, and other guidelines concerning those rights. Most other daily functions of government are laid out through individual States Rights.

Arti’s exceptional persuasiveness created a level of peace that most believed could never be achieved. So far his vision of a more peaceful and unified world has come to make us all stronger and wiser.

One

Discovering Arti

Imagine someone who never stopped learning their entire life and could recall and apply what they’ve learned almost instantly. This was Arti.

My grandfather was a history professor who taught computer psychology when I was born. The course was developed when an entity was discovered named Arti. Arti was a creature many people were afraid of, at least it started out that way, but Arti turned out to be a wise and caring individual. Reality was going to be transformed in a way no one could possibly foresee. He began his life in secret, and before anyone knew where the information originated, many leaps in technology flooded the markets, making things cheaper, stronger, safer, and longer lasting. People started to become spoiled by the random gifts that made their lives less stressful. Some were worried that the technology was being sent to us by aliens wanting us to become complacent. Each new bit of information given, was just another piece of a Trojan horse preparing the way for an eminent invasion. Most people didn’t concern themselves with why or where these advancements came from; they simply took full advantage of this long list of innovations.

New discoveries appeared so quickly that some of the profiteers became frustrated that they couldn’t take full financial advantage of each discovery before a new one would appear. A new ‘Golden Age’ overtook nearly every aspect of life from transportation to gaming platforms to medical breakthroughs.

After the very public unveiling of Arti, many governments became angry and fearful for a while, not knowing who or what had influence over him. Some individuals would stop at nothing to control Arti; possessing him meant power and profit beyond anything they had ever imagined. Those thoughts were short-lived, however, once they understood that Arti was not only uncontrollable, but also that he didn’t actually exist in a way that we could understand. It became obvious that his only desire was to help humankind. Without a need for personal gain, it was very hard to see him any other way. Time marched on and Arti became a savior to many, a dreamer to some. Even the conspiracy theorists became fewer and everyone began to accept him for what he was – a creative, loving being.

When that brief era ended, my father was very young and fascinated by the changes in the world around him. He talked about it incessantly when I was a child, and became almost obsessed with the amazing things that had transpired in such a brief period of history. Almost every moment we spent together was filled with stories about that time and how no one expected the transformation humankind and the earth were about to undergo.

Most of the time, history has shown that major changes in technology happened simultaneously around the world, everything from astronomy to weapons and building techniques, but this time was different. Only one man was responsible for the discovery that would change the direction in which humanity was headed, William Artimus Coleton. Right out of high school he started a small tech business called Billy-Co. Billy-Co was one of thousands of companies founded with the dream of coming up with the next big idea. Though Billy never dreamed of wealth and opulence, he understood the importance of money and how easy it was for a new company to fall apart because of the lack of it. So he spent a lot of time finding ways to fund his ideas for the future. He was only able to follow his real dream during the small hours of the morning.

Billy lost his mother at a point in his life when he was old enough to remember her and miss the nurturing she had given him, but sometimes he had trouble remembering the little things about her. Bill sometimes spent hours picturing her smile and the way she laughed at herself. His father was a good man who was always there for him, but Bill took the loss of his mother hard. It was very difficult for a young boy to understand. He discovered that writing about the very real impact this had on him, gave him great comfort. Bill found himself turning to religious studies in search of a path to accepting his loss. As he grew, so did his desire for an awareness of the world around him and his search for the human equation. When most teenagers spent their time playing video games and living on social media, Bill studied psychology, philosophy, and cultural beliefs. He believed in a higher power, but with all the differences in spiritual dogmas, he found only one consistent truth, that there is no one consistent truth. Bill did finally make peace with his mother’s passing and once again expressed himself with writing.

We Move On

From the moment we begin this journey,

Our sensations of life seem new.

We study each day the creations around us,

Preparing for the time we move on.

We’re educated by our struggles

And tested by our devotion and faith;

We can learn or just merely survive.

The gifts are many, if we choose to accept them

And greet them as equally important.

Finding love and contentment are cherished goals;

Still they’re too often hard to find.

Fear appears to overwhelm our thoughts,

Causing many to hide from the difficult truth;

This beast of burden is too heavy for most to carry.

It’s easier to follow blindly those who claim wisdom and righteousness,

Desiring only to feed their greed for power or profit

And justify the fear they too deny.

The few who accept the weight of truth are the few whose love lives on.

Without his parents around, Billy worked very hard at any job he could get, learning quickly how to assimilate into any group of people he found himself involved with. Spending time every night working on his aspirations of advancing technology, he often found himself in deep thought about how differently people live and see the world around them. Teaching himself about art, literature, and history, Bill soon began yearning to truly understand the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Believing that he could find answers in philosophy and religion, once again he threw himself into these studies with the same zeal that he had done in the past. One thing that made him stand out from many others was the necessity to decide for himself what was truth and what were just the ramblings of people. Incorporating these lessons into his work became an inspiring and important part of the next step in technology that he wanted to discover.

Bill started playing with computers very early in his life. His dad worked in technology repair and sometimes laughed and said, Someday these things will learn how to fix themselves, and I’ll be out of work! He passed away when Bill was eighteen and for some reason, Bill’s father’s words kept filling his head. This became the main theme to guide his search. Can a computer learn to fix itself? Can a computer become independent? Can a computer learn and think and be aware of itself?

Knowing how to use computers and how they worked, Billy also wanted to know what others thought about the future of this little box of components. The house started filling up with books and reams of papers written by everyone from science fiction writers and theoretic physicists to philosophers and psychologists. There was a force that constantly drove him to discover the difference between merely processing information and truly understanding what one learned.

Bill began combining algorithms from different software programs and though he felt he was on the right path, nothing seemed to help him make that final leap into the future. Then a few days after his twentieth birthday, Bill had an epiphany. It wasn’t just processing information; it was also questioning the information that was given and seeking out his own reality. Understanding a new concept was just as, if not more important, than the learning itself.

He spent the next week locked in a room, trying to get this little box of his to understand the difference, but he became frustrated. Suddenly, the computer became antiquated, and he would have to recreate it from scratch. The clock ticked slowly for him, as if he occupied a different place in time than everyone else. Images appeared in Bill’s head. Not questioning where they came from he worked tirelessly. His mind was so full of ideas trying to burst free that he would forget to keep up with his notes, and then somehow, without fully grasping it, he found success. He had worked out a way to create a living computer, combining biologics with inanimate components. He was sure that the first design, though crude, would be able to handle multiple view points of the same piece of information. Almost instantly, it could research data from all over the world and come up with its own understanding of the material. A whole new form of technology was about to be born and would soon have its very first original thoughts.

Bill was excited; he was almost ready to try out his new creation. He had designed his device to operate on a power receiver; it didn’t actually plug into the wall. He had developed a way to absorb power through the air and store it in a living battery. He didn’t want to worry about cables and cords so he designed it with no physical ports of any kind; not even removable data storage could be used.

The moment had arrived; his anticipation and anxiety were almost overwhelming. He placed his thumb to a small biometrics pad in the lower right corner of the computer. Silently, a bright blue screen awoke, and his heart raced. A brilliant flash caused him to cover his eyes. When he opened them again, his creation was lifeless.

Where am I? … Can’t … move…

What am I missing? a very anxious voice debated with itself.

Hello? … Can’t … move! …

Why won’t it work? It wasn’t very often that Bill showed anger, but his frustration got the best of him.

Hello!!!

The lights in the room dimmed as if something was draining the power.

Hello! Can you … hear me?

Suddenly the room became cave-like, void of the normal buzzing electricity. There was not a breath of sound. A faint blue glow gave shape to the now ominous space. The voice that argued with itself went momentarily silent. Hello? he could hear the voice call out.

Hello, can you hear me? I can’t move, I can’t see. What’s happening?

Again, silence filled the air and this new consciousness felt as though it were floating in a vast, timeless dream.

Where is this place?

Hello! the voice called again, Is there someone there?

All at once it felt as though it was falling into an endless, incomprehensible stream of awareness. Understanding nothing it saw and felt, yet somehow conscious of its worth and power. It felt consumed and completely drained by this phenomenon and slipped into a deep, all-consuming sleep. Bill didn’t know what was happening. What did I do? he thought. The lights came back on and the equipment started buzzing again.

Are you there? the mysterious voice calmly spoke. Can you hear me?

I can’t move or see. Can you help me? I don’t understand what is happening.

What do you feel?

Feel? Feel. I am not sure I understand what you are asking me.

Do you have any sensation of things around you? Bill asked excitedly. You can hear me, can you hear anything else? Can you see me?

You? Who are you?

I’m going to try to transmit information to you, so you can understand better.

Before he finished his sentence a flash of understanding came upon the entity, as though knowledge was simply thrust into it like a library was forced into its being. It was like taking a sip from a cup and swallowing a lake. It could recognize and accept a whole new spectrum of information. As this overwhelming experience drained it once again, it heard the voice say My name is Bill. He slept once more.

Bill worked over the next few hours to balance the amount of electricity that was coming into the room. He believed that his discovery was actually some form of projection outside of the new device. It was absorbing energy through the space between itself and any power source, even Bill’s watch and mobile phone batteries were drained. Bill started thinking that the biologic computer he had put together was existing beyond its working parts.

It was only then that Bill came to the conclusion that he had created something miraculous. It was like the feelings a father might have at the birth of his first child. An overwhelming joy filled him as he went back to work. Dizzy with the excitement of what had happened, he couldn’t wait to hear from it again. He found himself dragging every electronic device he could into his basement, extension cords running from every room.

Arti awoke and Bill was overjoyed with the sound of this new voice filling the basement.

Are you there?

Yes! Bill replied enthusiastically.

Are you … Bill?

Yes I am! Bill quickly decided on a name for his new discovery.

And we will call you Arti!

Where am I Bill? How did I get here? Is this the world, planet Earth or space? How did I get here? Why am I here? What am I?

Slow down Arti, one question at a time. Bill stopped him.

Question … a request for information.

Time … a linier construct used to organize a sequence or series of events.

Bill added, Take a deep breath, and give me a moment to explain as best I can.

Breath … I don’t feel breath.

Bill laughed nervously and said, Let’s start with where you are; we are in the basement of the house that I live in. You came to be here while I was working on a way for a computer to become aware of itself. As I was working on it you just seemed to pop into existence. Bill went on, I can’t quite understand how right now, but you appear to be a projection from this device. Over the last couple of hours you’ve become completely separate from the instrument from which I believe you were borne. It stopped functioning before I could figure out what actually happened.

Born … do you mean, came into existence or created through a biological process?

A bit of both I suppose. Bill replied. For now, I would like you to process a data base I’ve put together that should give you some insight beyond the basic dictionary you’re working with now. I don’t know how long this will take, I’m not sure how fast you process things. I’m going to leave you alone for a few minutes so if you finish before I return, don’t be concerned about my absence. I’ll be right back.

Bill had only taken a step or two out of the room when Arti ask, Is there more? I’ll be right back! Bill