Part 6
"There used to be no theft on this island," Ned said in a sarcastic voice.
"I thought this boat was company property."
"You probably thought the bed in the cave was also the company's property."
"Put that gun down. Let's sit down and talk like two civilized people."
He sat down and said "They say I'm a stubborn man," continuing his sarcastic attitude.
"We must leave this island immediately. The androids just set fire to the warehouse at the compound. The next step is to take us hostage. We have no chance against them."
"I'm not afraid of them. Maybe I'm smarter than you think. Maybe I had the powers to deal with them. What do you think?"
"What kind of power are we talking about?"
"I can't tell you. Because as far as I can see, your will is weak, and you are not reliable. And you're a Cognity man. This is my home, my ancestral land. There are so many things that you don't know."
"You haven't used your boat in a long time."
"That boat was made by the last wood craftsman of the islands region. I didn't want him to be torn apart by robotic sharks."
"Gor took care of them. He built a pyramid out of their scrapped hulls."
"Go if you want. I don't want anyone here to get in my way."
After Ned left, we lowered the boat into the water and began to travel through the ocean, which rose and fell slightly like the chest of someone breathing in their sleep. The boat's control panel indicated that our journey would take about eight hours. We had enough diesel and food, and when I left Android Island, my heart was filled with the kind of well-being that someone who had just come out of prison would feel. I turned to Gaelle and said, "I don't think you like Ned very much."
"I have my reasons," Gaelle said.
Our boat proceeded calmly under the night sky, decorated like a silk carpet by the Milky Way, and by morning we anchored off the island we were aiming for. We had no problems driving in the ocean, under the moonlight-washed sky. While Gaelle was sleeping in the front of the boat, I fell into a deep sleep, knocking my tired body to the side and pulling my legs into my belly.
When I woke up, the sun was rising behind the blackened silhouette of the island, painting the horizon orange. I stood up to examine this small island with a single palm tree at the top. Gaelle, whose sleep was as light as birds, noticed the swing on the kayak and opened her eyes.
We lifted the engine, jumped into the water, and walked on the soft sands of the ocean, and pulled the boat to the beach. When I got away from my mission, android island, I started to feel like I was on vacation. On the coast, I began to watch the sea, enjoying the serenity of the morning. In my mind appeared the image of Nihan wearing a crown of daisies in her hair. We were on holiday in Antalya, on the beach, in the morning under a sky lit by the moon and stars. My eyes filled with hot tears when I thought about our long kiss while the morning wind was blowing softly.
As we sat on the sand on the beach, the boat's radio sizzled, and the words "Barış, do you hear me?" were heard. That was David's voice, so he was alive.
In excitement, I got up from my seat and jumped into the boat and said, "Yeah, I hear you. Where are you? Are you okay?"
" We've disabled Ned; you can go back to the island," David said.
"And what about the androids?"
"Ned had his gun pointed at me. I had to shut down some of the servers. So Fronta and Cerebra are out of action. Then the system optimized the work on it and reactivated Cerebra. The capacity of the existing servers is not enough to make Fronta operational. So I need to open additional servers, but Gor won't let me into the system room."
"What are the company guys doing? Why don't they intervene?"
"You know, the political situation is susceptible. If it is heard that the androids are trying to rebel, it would be bad for the Central Federation ."
"Do you think Gor will let us go to the island?"
"It will be closed tonight. Thala said she'd stall Gor."
"Copy that. I'll see you tonight," I ended the interview.
In the following minutes, we began to walk towards the island's center. The morning mist danced in the rays of the sun floating from the trees. On the way, Gaelle stopped several times, collecting mushrooms of various colors and varieties. We sat on the grass on the hill, under the island's only palm tree, breathing. Over the ocean, dozens of cormorants spread their wings as if they wanted to embrace the sun.
As the fire on the beach grew, accompanied by crunches, Gaelle began to extract the red crabs she brought from the boat. These crabs, each the size of a grapefruit, were creatures unique to the island region.
I was starving as I watched crabs and mushrooms blushing over the embers. "I think you're hungry," said Gaelle, smiling as I took a large piece of mushroom over the fire and threw it in my mouth.
"What can I do for you? You helped me a lot."
"I'm just doing my job."
"Is there nothing you want?"
"I wish my husband Evens was waiting for me on the island on the way back. I lost him last year. Maybe we'll meet him again in our blessed Paradise, Hiva."
"I'm so sorry. And you don't have any other relatives?"
"I came out of the rubble alone in the Haiti earthquake. At that time, I was nine years old. My aunt took care of me for a while. Then I started living in a church dorm."
"I wish Nihan was at the head of this fire now. You'd love each other for sure," I said.
"Maybe it's better she's not here. I don't have nice feelings regarding the future," Gaelle said.
By evening, the sky was covered with gray clouds, and the albatrosses began to rise into the sky, screaming. We put our boat out to sea, jumped in it, and wrapped it in blankets. After opening into the ocean, delicate snowflakes began to fly in the air. As we moved under the darkened sky of snow clouds, we saw the fin of a humpback whale descending into the sea. Unlike the albatrosses, he didn't seem to care about the snow. The vast blueness of the ocean increased the intensity of the snow as the sky darkened. To not be affected by the wind, we slid on the ribs of the boat and covered all sides tightly with blankets. Gaelle started singing in a language I didn't know. The snow had already covered the sides of the kayak with a white veil. When Gaelle's song was over, only the hum of the engine could be heard in the darkness of the night. It was as if we were traveling on a distant, cold planet that was not illuminated by the light of any Star. Before long, the area was illuminated by the light of forked lightning, and a large rumble was heard. The wind began to harden, and the ocean began to swell. If the boat's navigation system wasn't automatic, we would lose our way in that pitch darkness; we moved safely through the night, as the waves in the ocean did not exceed a specific size.
When we reached the Android Island coast, the storm hardened, and our boat began to hurl between the waves. In the following minutes, we began to experience troubling moments due to the waters that surrounded our boat. And Gaelle, who had been watching the events indifferently until that moment, got up and went to the stern of the ship, took the bucket, and lit it in my hand. Then he took the helm and gave the engine full power. Then, when we turned the boat's nose in the direction of the waves, we were saved from capsizing at the last moment. While I was busy draining the waters inside, Gaelle circled the boat around the island, taking us to the western port's calm waters. Something told me that the real danger waiting for us was on the island.
