## The border guard 


![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmSGsG1G7PVTpxrcQFzRo58y46Cio6keGYAP6bGh6h4HP5/img_5323.jpg)
[Image source ](https://unsplash.com/photos/DiTiYQx0mh4)



Flying blind had always been a problem for her; she felt incapacitated, vulnerable. She knew that the drone’s intuition and speed necessitated zero human intervention. Humans made mistakes, the machine’s AI did not. She tried to relinquish herself to its power; enjoy the ride, but it was a challenge for her, she always functioned better when she felt that she was in control. 

Blips registered in her ears as the drone identified possible obstacles in its path, its navigation was purely sonar; it negotiated its way by determining the density and distance of objects both in the air and on the ground. The drone's pedigree was impeccable. There’d never been an accident. 

She’d often heard Radiens talk to their precious machines as if the AI had a heart, a soul, but she wasn’t one of them. She preferred to maintain sensible discussions in the human realm, so she, generally, only conversed with her dog. At least she knew that she was sensitive. 

Then her ears seemed to burst; a sustained, blooming echo resounded in the deepest part of her skull. She wanted to tear the headset off; find relief, even a quick descent into oblivion would be better than the noise ripping through her head. She felt her reality dim, and wondered if death was, merely, a sense of giving in, letting go. Her last thought before oblivion claimed her was that she was about to be the first ever casualty of a hydro-drone’s AI malfunction.

“Are you alive?” It was the senselessness of the question that roused her.
“Of course.” She spat back. For a moment she felt a pendulous weight push her down. An air of surrender assailed her bones. She opened her eyes. 

The woman’s eyes. Oh, God...the eyes. Sea-green, aquamarine, with a care-worn face that was, nevertheless, arrestingly attractive. A Genesis. 

She’d been on border patrol for five, long years and she knew what a Genesis was, she knew that nobody in her realm had green eyes of that particular hue. Her breath stalled in her throat.

She tried to collect herself. She took in the decimated bleak sandy landscape she’d crashed into. Perilous rock rose from bleached white sand, surrounding them in a harsh environment that offered pitiless respite. An unrepentant white sun scorched the land, dry. 

The woman looked at her, but she held her tongue. She felt a tide of emotion erupt, as she held the woman’s glare.

“I have to cross the border. I have to…”
“Why?” Her request was out of her mouth before she could think about it. Her expectations brimmed. 
“I must save myself, I must save my family, my people.” The woman’s words hung like a challenge in the dense, hot desert air. 

A weird noise drew her attention, her jaw dropped. Geez, the woman had a camel, she was trying to cross the border on a camel...a form of transport relegated to history.

“Are you mad?” The woman nodded, that was all.

“Let me see, you’ve got a child that needs medical care, or a father that is about to die. Please, my girl, I’ve heard every excuse in the book. Your fake lies won’t help you with me.” 
“Yes, I’ve  got a child and a father. They are the reason, but not the excuse.” 
“So?”
“I’ve developed the formula for water, there’ll be no reason for borders in our future.”

“You’re lying! How do I know if you’re telling me the truth?”

Then the hydro-drone’s dashboard ignited. The damn thing blipped as if it had an actual soul. Weird, considering.
“Your machine believes me.” The woman said.
There is always a passenger headset attached to every rig. Shad took in her drone, she tried to visualize the reception she’d get when she landed on Octane with a Genesis in tow. Then she nodded, reverently, at her machine and spoke.
“I christen you Joy, how do you respond?”
“At your service Shad, as always.” 

Damn AI, had a tender heart.
“Up, up and away, then Joy, what do you say?”