The Computer Pt.15D - Epiloque

This story is a continuation to 'The Computer Ch. 14D- The First Date', it makes no sense if you have not read that part of the story.

I would like to thank you, my small band of dedicated readers, for reading my story. I would love it, if you would all vote, what you vote I don't mind. If you don't vote I can only presume that you did not read it to the end, and that would be disappointing.

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One year on.

After a month with no word from Henry, I started to worry. I thought surely Security would have got fed up with monitoring my daily life by now?

Two months? Apparently not, for Henry still maintained his silence. And my worries grew.

Three months, I received a letter from the office of the Sector Governor's office. My hands shook as I opened it. How do they know I exist? That's easily answered, Someone told them, but why?

Jack Xxxxxx,

It has been advised to this office that you have performed your duties in the Computer Central Office of Zone 1453 in an exemplary manner. We are therefore awarding you a bonus of C1000.

Signed pp The Governor of Sector XXXX

Henry Seagull

Claire lifted my lower jaw up to meet the upper one. She took and read the letter.

"Wow, talk about friends in High Places. Say, didn't you have a friend called Henry?"

"Yes, I did."

"Is he Henry Seagull?"

"Probably."

"Wow. Friends in High Places. You are connected. You should invite him to dinner."

"I don't think he'd come."

"Course he'd be too busy advising."

"Or something."

First I checked my bank account. Sure enough, there it was, One Thousand Credits.

Next I did a person search for Henry Seagull. He's listed as the Special Advisor to the Governor of Sector XXXX.

So what do you think? Is it Henry? Is Henry, Henry Seagull? I'm never going to find out. He might not be Mr Seagull, he might be the power behind Mr Seagull, the power behind the Governor. The puppeteer pulling the strings of an unimaginable number of bureaucrats, all of whom advise the Governor.

If Mr Seagull is inquisitive, he might make some discrete inquiries as to why this Jack Xxxxxx deserves C1000. I suspect that Henry has learnt his lessons well and would not delegate this letter to an inquisitive man. He wouldn't want to drop me in it again.

Claire eventually got me to admit that I needed her in my life and I moved in with her. It was awkward at first, with her on days and me on nights. Improvement came along with the double bed. Hot bunking is not the best way to sleep. With a bigger bed we each get our own side. Some days she sleeps in and I have an early night, sometimes it's vice versa. Things happened and she is four months pregnant. She is looking forward to her first child. When I find out what caused it, I'm going put a stop to it. Kids at my age, I ask you?

Claire is making a guest list for the Naming Ceremony, Henry Seagull is top of the list, I never told her the truth about Henry, I know she wouldn't believe it. It's been a year since I last heard from him and I'm beginning to have doubts about his existence.

I never asked Claire if she was in Security, but I'm pretty certain that she never was. I think Henry manufactured her Security role to make me Security aware. Everything which pointed to her being in Security came from him. Everything except that first knock on my door.

After that letter, I started to notice improvements in our Zone. The blocks started to fill up with migrants from other sectors. It was announced that the personal lifts in the residential blocks would be reinstated. They will get to our Block in due course, hopefully before the baby comes. Office blocks are being refurbished. There are plans to flatten one zone completely to create a Sector Park with a lake and boats. Things are looking up for us. Other zones are not faring as well. Our Zone's performance has been noticed in high places and our Governor is earmarked for greater things. The Mayor of the British Isles is due to retire soon. Henry could well be on his way to the top.

What happened to the gangster who had me beaten up? Your guess is as good as mine but I know what I would like to have happened. With Henry's carte blanche he could be anywhere in the world, with no access to his bank account. Gangsters going missing do not get reported in the news. What does is the decreasing Gangster activity. That good news has been widely reported, the pundits, who all know which side their bread is buttered, attribute it to the Governor's benevolent guidance. I'm not so sure.

I still work at Computer Central. It took some time, but eventually, Admin did redecorate the office. It's not a palace but definitely a nicer place to work.

I wonder if Henry still has a use for my conscience, maybe my insistence that he have one was the reason he moved on, maybe he has risen above the need for a conscience. They say it is a cut throat world up there. Mind you, if Henry is doing things properly then nobody is likely to know that he even exists. A word in someone's ear, a nudge there, you would be surprised what can be achieved from the shadows. The people he influences may not even be aware of his existence. The less people who know about Henry the better for Henry. Let's face it, I was the weak link in our chain. I was the one Security suspected.

I miss Henry, but I don't miss the notoriety, the mixing with gangsters and Security looking over my shoulder all the time. In fact I like my life without Henry. He changed my life, Claire has come into my life, that may have happened anyway, but I'm sure Henry had a hand in it. I think I'm more confident now than I used to be, all the things which happened to me have made me better at dealing with everyday situations.

If Henry rang me today, I'd be overjoyed, but he won't. He has moved on, he has new friends now, and I accept that. Few BFF last a lifetime, he has outgrown me and gone on to bigger and better things. I hope he thinks of me fondly and not as that hopeless fool who tried to tell him what to do.

I wish him well.

THE END

Author's Note

'MacDapper' has queried where this 1984 style Society could have originated. In the United Kingdom today the roads are heavily monitored by cameras to catch speeding motorists. The footage is also used by the police to track cars used in more serious crimes. Automatic Number Plate Recognition along with access to the National database of Insurance, is installed in all police cars to identify uninsured drivers. All in the name of Crime Prevention. The latest marketing product is home security, cameras within the home with video monitored by security companies. How soon before governments decide that all that video in the hands of private companies would be better controlled by the police. It all points in one direction.

I make no apologies for ending the story in this way. It has always been Jack's view of what happened with no other viewpoints from the other people in the story. I would have loved to know what went on in Henry's thoughts, but Jack didn't want to know for his own safety. So we have to remain uninformed.

I appreciate that this series could have gone on for ever, but frankly, I have run out of ideas. The story has always had a life of its own, I started with an idea for an aware A. I. in a computer run society and little else. Each chapter started with no idea of how it would end, (which probably shows) and the eventual ending has been a mystery to me as much as to my readers, until now.

Speaking of my readers, Thank you for staying, many who started did not last the course, so I thank you for your perseverance. I hope the journey has been interesting if not earth shattering and I trust that this happy ending is what everyone was hoping for.

Don't forget to vote.