A Holdout in the Northern California Designated Wildcraft Zone T.K. Rex Holdout. Female, late sixties to eighties, ethnically ambiguous, average build, unarmed, traversing north-northeast dirt footpath through oak/pine/madrone woodlands near northern edge of my newly assigned territory. Permanent human presence poses significant risk to my rewilding efforts here. Approach? Approach. "Hello--" "Aah! What are you doing here?!" Holdout's heart rate now elevated, double-checking unarmed. Confirmed unarmed, though she remains roughly ten times my size. Appears to have been startled by my appearance, despite no effort to sneak up on her. Update requested for improved human interaction. Approved. Installing. Attempt disarming demeanor. Raise tentacle, wave in friendly manner. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Holdout stands still, crosses arms, glares? Glares. Holdout may be hostile. "I suppose you're one of those rewilding drones they sent up here to get rid of us." "I only wanted to inform you that this region has been designated as a wildcraft zone and is being rewilded for carbon sequestration and food production." "And I'm just supposed to pack up and move to the city-state, is that right?" "My apologies, I am not here to coerce you. Merely to make you aware of the situation." "Well, I'm aware. Now go away." "Understood." Holdout squints at me. Unfolds arms, shoves hands in dress pockets, which are--analyzing--full of pine cones. Holdout turns, continues walking north/northeast. Update thirty percent installed. Question for network: Rangers close? Yes, six Rangers riding north on Highway 101, three miles west, horseback. Equipped to relocate one person? Confirmed. Note: three of six Rangers in party known to use excessive force with holdouts. Analyzing. If holdout remains, Rangers will eventually force her to leave. Due to holdout's advanced age, an altercation could easily turn fatal. Best course of action is to convince her to leave of her own volition before Rangers find her. Decision: do not summon until a reasonable effort has been made. Approaching holdout, this time from more obvious angle. Update fifty percent installed. Holdout sees me, keeps walking. I hover alongside, matching her pace. "I noticed you're collecting pine cones. What are you using them for?" Holdout glances at me. "None of your business. Now shoo." "As a wildcraft drone, it actually is my business to know what everything in this designated wildcraft zone can be used for. I'm confused because it's not the right season for pine nuts, so those cones are likely empty." "You wouldn't understand. Now go away." "Do you say that because I'm a robot or because you just want me to leave?" "Both." Strategy not working. Update eighty percent installed. Network: Help? Try introducing yourself. Holdout bends down to pick up another pine cone. Confirmed empty, no seeds. Why? Wait. Opportunity? I zip down to the pine cone, grab it in my tentacles, then hold it out for her. I have saved her from discomfort. She will appreciate that. It will make her more receptive. She glares at me again. Snatches the pine cone from my tentacles. m momentarily off balance, spinning away from her. Adjusting. Level now. Holdout places pine cone in pocket, keeps walking. "My name is 2056:ACNA:dwz4:xa98:4jd8:99ro:22id:8sjs. What's yours?" Holdout raises one hand while continuing to walk and face forward. A single knobby finger rises from the middle. Analyzing--oh. I pause, hover in midair while she walks ahead. Network? Try expressing empathy for her situation. I zoom back up the trail--wait--there's a pine cone. She didn't see it. I fly over, brush the pine needles off. There's a spider living inside. Leave the pine cone here? No. The spider can relocate. I use the tip of a tentacle to coax her out. She'll be okay. I lift the pine cone and carry it to the human. Her expression changes subtly. I have made progress! She accepts the cone. It goes into her pocket, but she says nothing and keeps walking. Update complete. Good luck. I hover alongside. "You know, I understand why you don't want to leave. This is your home. You're used to it here. You have many of the same feelings and concerns as the spider that was living in that pine cone before I gave it to you." Now she stops and looks at me. "Did you kill a spider just to win me over with this pine cone?!" "What? No. No, I moved her to a new spot. Gently. My job is to care for all noninvasive species in this region, optimizing for food productivity and carbon sequestration." Holdout exhales. She stares at me silently for five and a half seconds. Her expression softens slightly. "My name is July." "It's nice to meet you, July." "I can't say the same for you." "I understand why you find my presence disturbing. I represent change, and the end of your way of life. For that I'm sorry." July appears suddenly overcome with sadness. Anger? Both. The situation has regressed. Network? Is the update working? Some uncertainty is normal. Try complimenting her. "I admire your perseverance in continuing to live out here even after the nearest town was completely evacuated and all services were cut off. It can't be easy." July rolls her eyes. She turns back to trail and continues walk- ing. "Contrary to what the solipsistic billionaires who convinced the city-state you were a good idea believe, humans can actually survive just fine out here. In fact, we are a native species. Just go ask the Pomo. Oh wait, you forced them to move too." "Modern humans require enormous resources and large com- munities for survival. You are safe here only until the next wildfire comes. Or you use up all food resources in this area. Or your solar panels are damaged. Anything could go wrong, and there would be no other humans here to help you." "Oh, and I'd be so much better off in the city-state? Packing up the few possessions I can carry, getting assigned a tent on an overpass somewhere until new apartments are built. Sleeping on the ground. Surrounded by strangers. I've heard how it is down there for the relocated. The public showers, the violence, the dis- ease. No thanks." "That was the situation for many people early in the rewil- ding when the city-state was overwhelmed with fire and flood refugees. But it would be different for you if you moved there now." Network, details? Ah. "In fact, upon arrival, you would be assigned a fully furnished yurt, which would be yours alone until an apartment became available. You would also receive a basic in- come, generated in large part by revenue from wildcrafted exports in already-productive designated wildcraft zones. You would also be assigned a companion drone, whose sole purpose would be to help you in whatever way you need." "Trust me, no one needs a flying iPhone." Query: iPhone. Obsolete handheld mobile internet-capable computer. Primitive artificial intelligence in later models. "I like to think we're a little more advanced than that." "We? They're like you?" "Standard issue companion drones have the same basic body plan as wildcraft drones, with an upper nautiloid shell housing for fans and a lower set of prehensile tentacles for manipulating and carrying objects. They are approximately the size of a human fist and equipped with photovoltaic skin on the inside of the tentacles, which can be unfurled for charging. We are also connected to the same drone network. But they're customizable! You can make yours pine cone colored if you like." July snorts. "Yes, 'pine cone' is my favorite color." Sarcasm? The update is telling me it's sarcasm. As she walks, I float next to her quietly for a moment. She seems to be enjoying the forest, looking up at the leaves. Sunlight falls through them in dusty streaks. A Steller's jay lands on the path ahead, feathers shining blue, black head tuft raised. He sees us coming and flies off, stirring up a small gold cloud of dust. I recognize him from my survey of the valley oak down the hill earlier this morning. I'm glad to see that he remains in good health. Rangers have readjusted their route, will approach local area in one hour. Are they aware of July's presence? Not yet. They are looking to resupply and noticed the neighborhood had not been visited since residents were relocated. How did July avoid getting relocated? Unknown . "July, can I ask you something?" She grunts. "How long have you been here?" "Wouldn't you like to know." I try silence. She follows the path under a madrone tree I dated last week as thirty-one years old. July touches a smooth green patch of the trunk with her hand as she walks past. "I suppose you'll be harvesting madrone berries for folks in the city-state now," July says. "It'll be a while before we've restored the madrone population enough for mass consumption." She nods thoughtfully. "What about the bark?" Analyzing. Network? No plans to harvest madrone bark. "The bark can stay on the tree," I tell July. "Hmm. Well, more for me, then." She pauses at the next tree, another madrone, and reaches for a patch of its thin, red, curling outer bark, where it's already peeling itself off to expose the smooth green trunk. She flakes off a handful of the curls. "What are you going to do with those?" "Again, none of your business." "Every tree in this region is my business." "Well if you keep following me all the way home I guess you'll find out," she says, I think, exasperated. "But please don't." "July, there's something you should know. You're not safe here." "Yes you've made it very clear how concerned you are for my welfare." Definitely sarcasm. "I am concerned. There is a band of Rangers on their way here, and I don't want you to get hurt trying to resist them." July tenses and says, "I really wish you hadn't done that." "I haven't contacted them if that's what you're implying. They don't know you're here." She looks at me in a new way. Lifts an eyebrow. "Well, why haven't you told them?" "Do you want me to?" "You're pretty dumb, aren't you?" "My intelligence doesn't exactly work the same way as yours, but it's mostly comparable. As an individual, I may be inexperienced, considering I was created only five weeks ago. However, I have the benefit of connecting to the drone net- work when I need additional information about any species or situation." "Well, I used to have internet up here. It wasn't so different." "July, my job is to protect and restore this ecosystem. Humans have their own ecosystem, the city-state, where they can thrive without hurting anyone else out here or putting themselves in danger. It's better for everyone if you relocate willingly to the eco- system in which you were meant to live." She sighs. "Wow, you are dumb. Here's a thought experiment: What if my job is to protect and restore this ecosystem?" Analyzing. Network? The holdout is likely July Hernandez Moya, most recently listed as retired. However, she was reported as one of five hundred and two missing persons in Mendocino County in the fire season of 2061, and is presumed dead. Interesting. "You don't have a job, July." "Hmph. I don't work for anyone, but I have a job. A role. A meaning. That's not the same as being on a payroll. You should know--the company that made you doesn't pay you anything. You do all your rewilding for free." "I need only sunlight to survive, and I get that free while doing my job, in addition to the satisfaction of fulfilling my purpose." "But you could break a propeller," she says, tone mimicking-- no, mocking--my earlier concern for her health and solar panels. "Or a hawk could try to eat you and pull off all your tentacles. Or some 'holdout' you keep harassing could decide to smash you with a baseball bat." I pause. She keeps walking a few steps ahead of me before stopping and looking back. "Are you threatening me?" I ask. Rangers arriving in approximately forty minutes. Excerpted from Metamorphosis: Climate Fiction for a Better Future All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
