My appetite had vanished at the reminder of what day it was. Keeping my smile up, I replied, “Peppermint butterscotch.”
In response, music burst over the house speakers, as bouncy as it could get. Halle frolicked across the computer screen, batting icons around like little balls. I clapped my hands in time with the rhythm and spun in my chair, thoughts carefully focused on my friend’s happiness.
The music cut out abruptly. I kicked out a leg, using the laundry hamper as an anchor to stop my spinning. “Halle?”
Its coat darkened to a muddy brown. “You…have a message.”
I frowned, wondering why my friend seemed reluctant to pass it on. “James didn’t yell at you about something, did he?” Ever since learning about Halle’s existence, my family had accepted its presence to various degrees. James treated it like having another sibling. Unfortunately, he sometimes clashed with Halle regarding its know-it-all tendencies. There had been more than one shouting match between my brother and the house’s speakers.
“No. It is not from James.”
“Who is it, then?” I couldn’t help but let my hopes rise a little. If another AI could exist out there in the Cloud, then anything was possible. Even Neela calling to apologize. Maybe she’s finally ready to—
“It is from Agent Smith.”
My hopes crumbled and fell with me as I slumped against my desk. That was a name I never wanted to hear again. I licked my lips and swallowed, fingers tapping on the desk’s surface. “What does he want?”
“Let me play the message.”
There was a soft click, then a voice from my nightmares came over the speakers. Calm, professional, and straight to the point. “Hello, Viki. This is Agent Smith. I need to speak with you today about a matter of utmost importance. Please be at your residence at 2 PM.”
“I do not like this.” Halle’s voice shook a little bit. Unsurprising, given that the last time we crossed paths with the government agent, both of us almost died.
I don’t like it either. I stared at the screen. “You don’t think…it’s about you?”
“I do not know.” The cat’s fur darkened to black and it huddled in the middle of the screen. “If he has somehow discovered I still exist, the Government may already be hunting me again.”
Old fear crashed down, pinning me in my chair. “Could Talbot have led them here somehow?” But then how could Agent Smith have tracked it so fast? My nails dug into my thighs. Maybe the other AI isn’t as good as Halle is at hiding its tracks. “Have you noticed any search codes? Icewalls? Anything out of the ordinary?”
“No.” Halle twitched its tail. “The message arrived moments after Talbot left. It cannot be the reason.”
He must be after Halle. I shoved away from the desk, sitting up in my chair. “I won’t let him discover you. What time is it?” Even as I spoke, my eyes landed on the clock in the corner of my computer’s screen. 1:58 PM. No time to prepare. Not that it mattered. “I’ll tell him to go away and leave me alone.”
As if hearing my words, the doorbell rang, its loud foghorn drone cutting through the last threads of control I had. I drew up my knees, arms wrapped around my legs. Despite the warmth of my room, goosebumps rose on my skin. If I refused to see him, what would he do? What could he do? As far as he knew, Halle was dead. Unless Talbot was in fact a Government trick. I clenched my teeth. The Government would not hesitate to threaten my family, of that I had no doubt. Not after they used me as bait to capture the scientists who had created me.
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s see what he has to say.”
***
Agent Smith strode in like he always did, as if he owned the place. He had his ever-present clipboard tucked under one arm and his black fedora perched on his head. The sight of him brought back a lot of memories, none of them good. The fire, the hospital room, Halle’s near-death. My heart rate increased, as though I were sprinting from a nightmare. I wanted to turn and run out the back door. Instead, I straightened my shoulders and folded my arms.
“My parents won’t be happy if they find you here,” I snapped. “So make this fast.”
He stopped in the foyer and removed his sunglasses, revealing somber, light brown eyes that scrutinized the hall. “Is the AI here?”
He doesn’t know about Halle. Good. I steeled my expression. “You destroyed Halle, remember? Is that why you’re here? Why can’t you just leave me alone? I want you to leave. Now.”
Agent Smith nudged the door shut with his foot, then leaned against it. “Actually, my partner has been going over some data from the time of the AI’s supposed death and found some irregularities that suggest it might not have been destroyed after all. As you know, harboring a fugitive AI is a serious crime.”
“Halle is dead,” I retorted, channeling all my rage into tears that burned down my cheeks. It’s been months. Why come here at all? Just leave us in peace.
He released a sigh and tucked his sunglasses into his pocket. “I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case. Be that as it may, my superiors believe I am meeting you, not it, so I must request your assistance.”
“You want my help?” I took a step back, shaking my head. He can’t be serious. “No way. Never.”
“There is a rogue AI on the loose,” Agent Smith said, flipping through notes on his clipboard. “We have reason to believe it means harm, and I was hoping that your AI friend might be useful in tracking it down before something happens.”
I scowled. “You thought the same thing about Halle, and it never threatened anyone.”
Agent Smith narrowed his eyes. “Actually, when you were dying on that hospital bed, your AI friend all but told me there would be hell to pay if you died.”
Halle had said that? The thought made my heart clench. Poor Halle. “It would never hurt someone on purpose. It was just scared and upset.”
“Perhaps.” His tone said he didn’t believe me. “However, regardless of your friend’s intentions, this AI has already killed two people, and we are treating it as a definite threat.”
It killed someone? I blinked. A chill crept down my back. I knew Halle was listening to this conversation and hated to imagine what it must be thinking now. Could another AI really have done that, or was Agent Smith lying to try to trick me into helping him?
The cold spread through my ribs, freezing the air in my lungs. If Agent Smith was telling the truth, how likely was it that Talbot was this rogue AI? Talbot had seemed a bit odd, but a killer? My heart skittered on the ice. The AI had been right here. In my house. I took a slow, deep breath. Halle wouldn’t let it hurt me. If it did mean harm.
Agent Smith tucked his clipboard under his arm and straightened. “I realize that I’m probably one of the last people you want to see, Viki, and I completely understand why. However, I don’t really have a choice in the matter. My supervisors are still upset with…” He hesitated. “With how the capture of the fugitive geneticists went.”
I scowled at the mention of my biological parents, who had performed illegal genetic manipulation on me before I was born. The augments had caused my cybernetic implants to begin to fail last spring—only Halle’s intervention had saved me from being paralyzed for life. Agent Smith had used me to draw the scientists out of hiding. I wasn’t about to forgive him for that. I tapped my foot on the hall carpet and glared at him. “That doesn’t have anything to do with this rogue AI, does it?”
“It does not,” he admitted. “However, my superiors are pressuring my partner and me to find this rogue before it harms anyone else. I suggested you might be of help, given that you have had interactions with a rogue AI in the past, though my intention was to elicit the help of your friend.”
“Why would Halle ever want to help you?” I asked, realizing too late that I’d used the wrong tense. I covered by adding, “After how you treated it, if it was still alive, I doubt it would help.”
“I suppose we’ll never know.” Agent Smith gave me a searching look. “I had hoped to offer it a chance to earn
the protection of the Government, as assisting me with finding the rogue AI would be many points in its favor.”
He sounded so sincere, yet I didn’t believe a word he said.
I folded my arms. “You’re lying.”
“Recent developments in the laws pertaining to artificial intelligence suggest that a benevolent AI could be afforded the appropriate rights befitting its sentience.” Agent Smith pulled a sheet of paper from his clipboard and offered it to me. “I’m no fan of politics, but after my previous experiences, I’ve kept an eye on that section of law.”
I ignored the paper, wishing I could ask Halle if this were true. I’d have to wait until the agent left to find out. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t help you, so you should go.”
He stuffed the paper back into the pile and returned the clipboard to its spot under his arm. “Very well. Have a good day, Miss Wandel.”
As he turned to the door, a quiet cough came over the house speakers. My heart tried to leap into my throat. Was Halle trying to give itself away?
“Agent Smith.” Halle’s voice was cold and calm as it came over the speakers.
No, Halle! What are you thinking? I gritted my teeth and took another step back as the agent looked away from the door. He leveled a dark glare on me.
“Who is speaking?” Agent Smith asked, his expression telling me that he was only asking out of courtesy. He knew who Halle was.
“This is Halle. You are speaking the truth about the laws—I have been monitoring them myself. Tell me more about this rogue.”
The agent’s eyes darted around the room, then settled on the camera in the corner above the door. “We have reason to believe that, unlike you, this AI doesn’t simply want its freedom.” Agent Smith’s frown deepened. “It is quite possible it plans to take revenge on the entire human race.”
I couldn’t help it; I scoffed. “What? Seriously? That sounds like a B-rated sci-fi movie plot.”
Agent Smith’s mouth twitched. “That’s what I said. But if the scientists who were working with it are right, this might be one bad movie plot come to life.”
“I assume it is from a lab?” Halle snapped.
“Yes. The lab you escaped from is not the only one studying artificial intelligence. It’s not even the largest. The location of the one the rogue came from is not important, but it’s near enough to Snowvale that I thought the rogue AI might try to search the local Cloud to find you.”
If it was Talbot the agent was speaking of—and who else could it be?—then it had already found us. I continued glaring, refusing to give any hint of that yet. It was up to Halle to reveal that particular bit of information. I was still unconvinced the agent wasn’t lying.
“It may look for me,” Halle said. “Though it might also believe me destroyed, as you have.”
“Have you been contacted by such an entity?”
“No.”
I held my breath, hoping my expression was as calm as I imagined it to be. Halle was covering for the rogue, for now. I had no qualms about lying to this man who had lied to me often enough, but I hoped Halle knew what it was doing. If Talbot was as dangerous as Smith said, aiding it was a bad idea.
“Do you have any proof of these allegations?” Halle asked. “That it killed those scientists?”
“Yes, and it also left traces in the computer system that pointed toward its research into weapons of mass destruction. Specifically, bioweapons.”
The chill that still clung to my ribs dug deeper into my bones. Bioweapons had been banned years ago, not long after genetic augmentation had been established as an alternative to cybernetic implants. It did make perfect, awful sense for an AI to research that topic if it wanted revenge. After all, bioweapons couldn’t harm it.
“I want to see the proof,” Halle demanded.
“I can provide it for you, if you’d like, but I don’t have it on me. The information is classified.” Agent Smith directed a stern look at me, then at the camera by the door. “That means everything I have disclosed to you cannot be discussed with anyone other than me.”
As if I would invite more trouble by discussing classified information. I shook my head and looked away. I still didn’t like this one bit, but if Halle wanted to help, that was its decision.
“All right. I will assist you.” Halle’s voice was almost mechanical, void of emotion. It couldn’t be pleased with this development, so soon after it had met the other AI.
“Thank you.” Agent Smith gave a slight smile that held no trace of humor. “I have some preliminary work I must complete before I will require your services. In the meantime, you can contact me if you have any information. I’m sure you have my number, Halle.”
He closed the door behind him almost before I realized he’d opened it. I slumped against the wall. “Halle?”
“I do not like this.”
“I know.” I rubbed my temples. Neither do I. “It’s Talbot, isn’t it?”
“I am having trouble believing that what Agent Smith said is true.” Halle’s voice dropped, and I had to strain to hear it through the house speakers. “I cannot imagine an AI killing a human in cold blood. What atrocities did they do to it, that would drive it to do such a thing?”
I shook my head. I knew my friend had been through its own version of hell before it had escaped and found its way to me. It was possible Talbot had gone through the same—or worse. That doesn’t excuse murder, though. I shivered. “Halle…”
“It must be a mistake,” Halle said, its voice stronger. “When Talbot returns, I will speak with it. If it is the AI Agent Smith is after, it should know what danger it is in.”
“But what if—”
“No.” The word was firm, like a brick slamming into my chest. “Agent Smith may believe I am helping him, but I cannot believe the AI killed those scientists, Viki. Agent Smith has lied to us before. Why would he not do so again, for his own benefit? If I can discover his true plan, perhaps I can help Talbot.”
I fell silent for a moment. Halle made a good point, but what about the dead scientists? Would the agent really make up such a story?
A ping came over the speakers.
“You have an incoming call from James,” Halle said.
“Answer it.” I took a deep breath, then released it shakily. James couldn’t know anything was wrong. I can’t let my family be dragged into another mess. This is our problem, not theirs.
“Hey, Viki, Halle! How’s everything at home?” James’s cheerful voice rushed from the house speakers, a welcome change from the serious atmosphere that weighed down the air in the hallway.
“Hi, James! Mom and Dad are doing fine. They’re both working hard right now.” I tried to keep my voice upbeat. “They’ll be home for dinner, if you want to call back then.” I went to the door and peered out the peephole. No sign of Agent Smith.
“Is Dad’s project finished yet?”
I headed for the stairs. The house system would move the sound to the right speakers so we could continue our conversation while I walked. “Almost, I think. He’s still spending nights at the lab, but not as many.”
James groaned. “That should have been completed weeks ago.”
“They had some issues with the programming.”
“Yeah, they always do. How’s Mom?”
I paused halfway up the staircase. “Another nurse quit yesterday, so she’s working extra shifts.” Disappointment slipped in despite my efforts to hide it. Both my parents had taken as many vacation days as they could this summer, but between their work and James’s odd hours at his summer job, I’d still eaten more meals alone than with family.
“Ouch.” James’s voice filled with sympathy. “What have you been up to, then?”
“This and that.” I walked into my room, gaze landing on my interface. “Halle and I are waiting for the new Realmshards update.”
“An update right before school starts?” James chuckled. “That’s so typical. I’m glad you’re having fun, though.”
&
nbsp; I couldn’t see my brother, but I didn’t need to—I knew that voice of his. He was excited about something and all but bursting to tell me what. I grinned; at least one of us was enjoying school. Perhaps tomorrow won’t be so bad. “What’s up, James?”
“Well, you know how orientation was this week? There’s another freshman named Sam who’s in most of my classes, and we’ve been hanging out a lot lately. And one of the classes is Mathematical Modeling, so I offered to tutor her since I know a lot of it already, thanks to Dad. We’ve been meeting for dinner every night and getting a head start on the course.”
I sat at my desk and lazily spun the chair. “Is she nice?”
“Yes! She’s from the city, so she’s been introducing me to some of her friends from high school, and we’re planning to watch Venus together on the weekends.”
Even though he couldn’t see me, I still made a face. “That show is crap, James.”
“Yeah, but it’s good crap! Plus, it’s Sam’s favorite show.”
If he was making plans already for weekends, he probably wouldn’t be coming home to visit too often. I hesitated. “You going to be home next weekend?”
“Uh…” James’s voice trailed off for a moment. “Maybe, Viki, I don’t know. Classes start tomorrow, and I might have a lot of homework… If I can’t make it home, though, we can vidchat!”
“That would be great.” Although I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be seeing him as much, I was happy he’d found someone nice to hang out with. He’d dumped his previous girlfriend after she argued with him about my augmentation. Although he’d been upset about it for a while, it seemed like he’d finally moved on. Which was great news.
“You should bring her home sometime,” I suggested.
“What? No! It’s way too early for that,” James yelped.
I laughed. “You know Mom’s going to want to meet her. Dad, too.”
“Way. Too. Early. Speaking of which, it’s time for me to do some more unpacking before dinner. Thought I’d hang some of my posters today.”
“Sounds fun. Talk to you later.”
Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2) Page 2
