The Paradoxical Nature of Knowledge

to be both very elusive and dangerous. If we manage to capture her we may have enough time to collect more information before we are forced to hand he over.” the General pointed out as Dr. Shaw nodded hopefully.

  “Yeah maybe we can obtain a sample.” Dr. Shaw agreed thinking about her brain, for surely he did not have a sample of that.

  “Then we must be the ones to capture her. I will speak with the others to devise a plan.” the General announced before he headed out the door to get started.

  “Yeah I can’t let her get away.” Dr. Shaw mumbled to himself as he got up suddenly energized.

  “I need to be the one to capture her.” he whispered as he gathered his papers then placed them all in a neat stack on the corner of his desk.

  He looked in the corner of the room at a large gun propped against the wall. He picked it up, weighing it in his arms. It has been while since he was a trained sniper but he was still well practiced. He was sure, he could wield a tranquilizer gun with the same comfort that he once did.

  One of his subordinates entered as he placed the gun back against the wall, not wanting to alarm him.

  “I was informed that our enemies may have sent a covert group of spies to capture Maria after they realized how much effort we have been investing in her. If they capture her, the war may shift in their favor.” he reported as Dr. Shaw nodded unconcerned.

  “Then we simply cannot let them capture her.” Dr. Shaw stated simply.

  “Um yeah but if…” he persisted when Dr. Shaw cut him off.

  “They won’t, I won’t let that happen.” Dr. Shaw stated determinedly.

  “Are you suggesting that you…” his subordinate questioned.

  “You have been assigned to my team.” Dr. Shaw told him bluntly, throwing him off subject.

  “I never received such an order.” he admitted.

  “Well you will so you might as well get started. The reports are all on my desk.” Dr. Shaw explained, gesturing at his desk.

  “Where are you going?” he asked after Dr. Shaw donned his jacket then headed toward the door.

  “I am going to collect some data.” Dr. Shaw responded then closed the door behind him.

  Nowhere to Hide

  Maria wandered down the crowded streets with a tight hold on Snickers. She waded through a forest of towering adults that rushed about on their way. Their pointer fingers were lightly touching their earlobes to alert of the silent conversations that bustled about in their heads, conveyed by invisible means via their Artificial Cerebral Processing Chips. Their eyes were focused only on what laid before them. Their paths were linear and rarely crossed like living traffic.

  Maria sat down on a park bench. She swung her legs as she happily watched joggers bounce down the trail on springy legs as they bobbed their heads to inaudible music that played loudly in their ears. The small devices fit snugly in their ears as they wicked away building moisture with an uplifted hand. A dog, a real dog, raced after a disk, gliding on a cushion of air. Its long tongue flapped about as it became temporarily airborne before snatching the disk from the sky.

  Maria set Snickers down beside her on the bench, pretending that she was watching the other dog, studying its movements. She smiled to herself, patting Snickers lightly on the head when a man sat next to her. He took out a portable hologram then watched the news in silence, though Maria was not sure if the outdated earpiece he wore was to compensate for natural hearing lost or specialized for the hologram. A picture of Maria appeared in the shimmering projection as the man looked up at her.

  Maria grabbed Snickers then watched the old man with her face pressed against her toy’s soft synthetic fur. The old man slowly raised his finger to his ear, to broadcast his thoughts, but she blocked his transmission completely. He slowly lowered his finger but he continued to stare at her. Maria waited unsure whether to run quite yet.

  “The report said that you are a danger to both yourself and others. You should go home before someone gets hurt.” the man nervously advised but Maria remained silent.

  “Don’t you want to go home?” the man persisted as her arms constricted around Snickers, pressing into its cotton stuffing so the toy folded over her arm.

  “I don’t have a home.” she whispered into Snicker’s fur.

  “Of course you do. I am sure a nice cop will take you there.” the man replied as Maria got to her feet.

  “No, they won’t,” she yelled as a few of the joggers slowed to turn in her direction.

  “I am sure they will give you a nice family.” the old man assured her as she shook her head.

  “No, they are liars.” she yelled angrily, remembering how they deceived her.

  “You can’t live out here. It is dangerous.” the old man told her reaching for her wrist but she pulled away.

  “I can handle myself.” she screamed as everyone turned towards her, puzzled.

  “Wait, isn’t she Maria Rivera,” someone questioned.

  “Yeah she is that girl that they are looking for.” another agreed.

  “I heard she is psychotic.” someone else added as Maria backed away.

  “You can’t run forever.” the old man informed her as she shook her head then raced away from the park.

  “Aren’t the authorities willing to pay a lot of money, just for information about her?” one asked before the whole area began to buzz with silent conversations as they alerted the police of her location.

  “I am not letting her get away. I have bills to pay.” one of the joggers announced before tearing after her along with many others.

  Maria pushed her away pass through a stream of unaware people drifting to work, focused on distant issues. They were knocked out of their stupor by Maria’s light nudge but they were racked with fear when the joggers shoved them into the ground, their expensive devices being cast onto the pavement.

  Something pulled at the hood of her jacket, jerking her backwards. She fell onto the ground, clinging onto Snickers fearfully. She looked up to see the joggers standing over her. She got up slowly when someone grabbed her by the arm.

  “Wait, you didn’t catch her.” another jogger pointed out aggressively.

  “Well neither did you,” the one hold her arm said in her defense.

  “I grabbed her,” one claimed, pushing the one holding Maria’s arm away.

  “Well we helped run her down.” someone else argued as many turned on the one who spoke.

  “We can all claim a share of the money.” someone suggested as Maria unzipped her jacket then freed herself from the sleeves.

  “Fine we will share it,” the one claiming to have captured her agreed when Maria slipped free of the jacket only to run into someone else.

  “Maria Rivera, you are to come with me,” a human cop stated as she spun around, taken off guard. She backed away slowly as the joggers hurried over to them.

  “Wait, we captured her so we request to share the reward that was mentioned.” one of the joggers informed him.

  “Actually I captured her so there is no reward.” the cop told them as Maria looked up at the traffic above her. She saw a taxi lazily drifting among the sea of auto-flyers. She called to it with her mind as everyone glanced at it. Maria opened the door then leap inside.

  “Do not take off!” the cop yelled rushing to his cruiser to hold the taxi captive.

  “This is not my stop. Wait, what are you doing?” yelled a man inside the taxi as Maria situated herself on one of the seat looking out through the window. She commanded the craft back into the air despite the cop’s opposing signal.

  “Hang on.” she told the unlucky man before she ascended to meet traffic.

  “Wait, are you controlling this craft somehow?” the man asked her when the cop cruiser rose to meet them. She cursed her luck knowing if she did not lose him soon that he would inform others of her location then she would have to fight her way out. All the auto-flyers had come to a stop, forcing her between the lanes. The cop cruiser raced after her as she sped away.
br />   She half guided the craft using the auto-pilot as she focused on the cop cruiser, determined to stop it in its tracks. She caused the cop’s craft to swerve into the lane of stationary auto-flyers. One of the craft was knocked out of place as the cop cruiser was sent spinning beyond control. The safety systems engaged, guiding the cop’s cruiser into a safe landing.

  “Yes,” Maria congratulated herself in a soft mutter.

  “You just did that but that is impossible.” the man exclaimed as she sped around a corner then merged easily into traffic, after regaining full control over the craft once more. She landed in an area that was quite a distance from her original position and offered ample places to hide. She grabbed Snickers then opened the door.

  “You are Maria, aren’t you?” the man asked her.

  “I am sorry for your inconvenience.” she apologized before slamming the door, leaving the man flabbergasted inside of the taxi.

  Hidden Adversaries

  Maria followed the contours of the buildings, seeking a place to hide, knowing it was only a matter of time before she was found. She paused by an apartment building. For a second, she fantasized sleeping in a cozy room, hidden from prying eyes but she knew it would be a bad idea to break in at this time of day. By now everyone was on the way home from work. If they found her in their room she may be unable to escape before the police come. She could not risk it. She had to figure something else out.

  She continued down the street quickly becoming discouraged as her legs grew sore and her tired mind raced. She knew the man in the taxi recognized