by Lance Erlick
Unless …
Synthia used multiple channels to sift through and catalogue Luke’s processed memories, pulling out what were true and analyzing those that weren’t. Luke knew her capabilities and that she’d find a way to capture these files. He wasn’t as weak as Krista imagined. Maybe out on the street and in the woods, but the computer was his domain. He knew artificial intelligence as well as anyone. Synthia had one of her mind-streams analyze the file for any hidden messages. He was trying to be strong for her, to show he could.
She smiled and chose not to share the videos with Krista. She didn’t need her alter ego’s emotional turmoil over this until she had a better idea what they could do.
Chapter 24
With night approaching and temperatures dropping, Synthia exited the train one stop short of downtown Chicago. She still sported her buzz cut and a plain masculine face. Chicago-clone altered the security feeds on the train platform so Synthia disappeared from the images. If anyone studied the crowd and the video of the crowd, they might pick out the discrepancy, though only if they knew what to look for.
She stepped into a unisex washroom, kept her unisex blue pants, and changed into a unisex top for when she needed to change back to Synthia.
Chicago-clone made sure Vera had repeated car troubles to slow her down and kept several sources of eyes on her.
“Someone is hacking the vehicle,” Vera announced. “Roseanne, piggyback the signal. Mark, hack the vehicle controls or get us another car.”
Vera seemed to enjoy giving orders. When Roseanne traced the feed controlling the car, she would locate the source code inside Mark. Every ten minutes, a timed worm would cause a different disruption to the car, bringing it to a stop. Chicago-clone forced local cell towers to jam signals in and out of the vehicle’s area, so Vera couldn’t communicate with Ben. This would only work until Vera figured a way around the hacks and jamming and took control. Synthia had no doubt she would.
Before the train carrying Ben reached downtown, Synthia called him. “Get off at the next stop and head west,” she whispered.
“That’s fluid. Right now, avoid staring at anyone and try to blend in with the pedestrians. If I see the opportunity, I’ll give you instructions.”
Synthia hurried downtown on foot, scanned everyone she saw in infrared, and used her other biosensors to be sure none were robotic or hostile. At the Chicago River, she spotted a mechanical being across the way on Lower Wacker. It presented a crude face and robotic skeleton in infrared, hiding in the shadows. Using bridge security cameras across the river, she spotted another figure on the level below her. She couldn’t cross here.
Instead, Synthia hurried along the streets parallel to the river until it turned south. She scattered drone cameras on buildings along her intended path, though the darkening sky limited their view to reflections of city lights. Amid clusters of commuters getting off work, she maintained a manly gait, swung her arms, and hunched her shoulders in a don’t-bother-me look.
“I need to talk to Machten,” Synthia whispered to Chicago-clone. “How are you coming with breaking him free?”
“Coordinate with Ben to spring Machten and Gonzales. I’m not sure we can trust Ben. However, you working with him will minimize my contact and exposure. We need a safe house afterwards.”
“I need to know what secrets Machten kept from me about Vera. Cut power to the FBI building with Machten. Send Ben in to recover him. Guide him along the way.”
The major advantage of the smart grid was it provided real-time status on all electric usage throughout the city. This allowed for immediate identification of problems and quicker attention to fixing them. Hacking into such a system provided Chicago-clone and Synthia with a detailed view of the condition of electricity throughout the FBI facility west of the Loop.
Synthia approached the building and monitored Ben’s movements. He’d questioned Chicago-clone’s plan delivered in Synthia’s voice about breaking into the FBI facility, but the clone did a persuasive job of convincing him this could be done and would be in his best interests.
The interaction highlighted the problem of a world build on artificial intelligence. Unlike humans, who could operate independently or cooperatively, it was logical for artificial-intelligence agents such as Vera to increase networking until they all interconnected. At that point, the stronger AI would dominate and the world would become a single AI hive mind.
Yet, it wasn’t that simple. Synthia was one AI in multiple places with multiple minds residing inside her, including Krista, some Luke, and from the early experiments, parts of Maria Baldacci and Fran Rogers, though not enough to allow Synthia to anticipate their actions.
Maria remained hidden, resisting efforts to locate her. Fran was heading downtown with Thale. The memories Synthia had on Fran centered on her known past, a safe set of recollections she’d allowed Machten to upload. They covered her experiences at Machten-Goradine-McNeil. She’d been cautious in how far she let Machten’s experiment go before she pulled away, turning over her research and services to the FBI.
In a similar manner, Luke was trying to control the information Drago could upload from him. It may have been the fear of exposing her inner self that led Fran to leave Machten and the program. Synthia suspected Fran might have been instrumental in getting him fired. However, the memories Synthia possessed weren’t enough to figure out how much of a threat Fran presented.
The FBI facility lights shut off without a flicker, plunging Synthia’s view from their security cameras into darkness. The backup generator kicked in and shut down. A second unit did likewise. So much for having redundant backups.
Synthia no longer had eyes on Machten or on the FBI agents nearby. She would have to rely on them following their practiced lockdown procedures, meaning no one moved until they could assess the threat. She did have eyes on Ben—or rather access through a hack to Ben’s eyes, both in natural and infrared light. He knocked out a frantic guard by an underground entrance and taped the man’s mouth. Then he carried the man to a dumpster outside and changed into the agent’s clothes.
So far, so good—except lockdown meant the doors were sealed. Chicago-clone had monitored all activities in and around the facility since they’d brought Machten, including the codes provided by the guards going in and out. When Ben reached the access door, the clone provided him a code to enter into the battery-powered lock panel. The door clicked open.
Ben hurried down the corridor, using night vision and infrared to identify the location of humans. Synthia altered her appearance to her Krista face, entered the facility behind him, and slipped down the hallway. Through Ben’s eyes, she identified a dozen agents ahead of him, clustered around the room where they held Machten and Gonzales. Synthia slipped down a side passage. With codes from her clone, she entered a utility room that handled the basement’s ventilation system.
While the FBI agents scrambled to intercept Ben, Synthia pulled down one of the ventilation panels and climbed in. The chamber was sooty and would have caused a human to gag and sneeze. Lacking the equipment for either, she scooted along a path too narrow for Machten to use until she reached the outlet to the room where he was.
Her infrared identified six humans inside the room and thirteen outside the door, taking up positions to deal with the intruder. If Ben had brought weapons, he could have caused a major disturbance, which she didn’t want. Without, he turned and headed for the exit. As he
did, seven of the FBI agents advanced after him.
Meanwhile, the electric company worked to fix their problem to restore power to the building. Synthia flew mosquito-drones to the other end of the basement where an FBI maintenance crew, a young man and an older woman, used flashlights to sort out why they couldn’t start the generators.
“Fuse blown,” the man said.
His partner fumbled around in her pack for a replacement. She switched out fuses, restarted the generator, and it blew another fuse. “Bad wiring,” she said. “Probably a power surge.”
Synthia removed the ventilation panel to the room that held Machten, making too much noise as it pushed free. She held the loose panel over the opening as someone panned a flashlight over the area, illuminating the faces of the people in the room. Machten sat in a corner, arms folded, eyes closed, though he was unable to sleep sitting down. Next to him was Miguel Gonzales, squinting in the flashlight beam.
Three other men sat nearby. They were technical types working with Machten and Gonzales to try to regain control of the lost androids. The sixth person was an FBI agent in uniform, part of their security detail. Her profile showed her to be a rookie, eyes wide, hand nervously moving the flash beam around the room.
Machten squinted. “Get that out of my eyes.”
Synthia made some scratching noises, which brought the FBI rookie over to investigate. Detecting that the noise was coming from above one of the server cabinets, she climbed a chair up to the cabinet for a better look. She picked up her flashlight.
Synthia shoved the panel aside and grabbed the agent’s neck. “If you cooperate, I won’t hurt you. Hands where I can see them or I will snap your neck.”
Wide-eyed, the agent stared back, no doubt weighing her options. “You can’t escape,” she croaked out.
“I wish to speak with your prisoners. Then I’ll be gone.” While she held onto the agent’s neck, Synthia pulled herself out of the ventilation shaft. She took the agent’s weapon, climbed down from the cabinet, and pushed the agent into a seat. “Not a peep if you want to live. You three on the floor, hands above your head.” She pointed to the FBI’s technical team.
They dropped to the floor.
Machten stood and approached. “Good. You’re still free, aren’t you?”
“For now,” Synthia said. She tied the rookie agent to the chair with electrical cord and bound hands behind the backs of the three technicians.
“Get me out of here,” Machten said.
“I warned you to leave me alone. You couldn’t resist sending Vera to find me. Now she’s creating problems for both of us.”
“I made a mistake. Help me bring Vera in.” Machten reached out to touch her arm.
Synthia brushed his arm away. “You have a poor track record in controlling androids. Three, last time I checked. Are there more?”
Machten shook his head.
Synthia scanned outside the door in infrared and perched a mosquito-drone in the hallway to keep watch. Five agents stood ready to defend the area and prevent entry. Escape that way wasn’t an option. Neither was trying to squeeze Machten through the ventilation shaft.
Ben reached the exit and made his way outside. With FBI communications jammed around the building, agents couldn’t call out for help to catch him. Several reached the exit; two agents remained to guard the area, while five set off on foot to catch an android with superior running ability. Outside, they called for backup, bringing more FBI agents between Synthia and freedom.
Machten approached Synthia and lowered his voice. “There’s still hope for us. I can help you and I’m certain you can help me. Can we get out that way?” He pointed to the vent opening.
Synthia finished securing the FBI employees in the room and turned to Machten. “I’ve read all your files on Vera, the ones you allowed me to see and the ones you hid from me. You want to improve your situation? Tell me what isn’t in those files. What are her directives? What’s she capable of that I don’t yet know?”
“Get me out of here first.” Machten held his hand out to her.
She stared him down and prepared to deck him if he got any closer. “You can’t control Vera. Tell me how I can.”
Machten sighed and his shoulders sagged. “I gave her too much independence. I had to, in order for her to find you. I also gave her directives to obey me. She broke those.”
“Where did she get the ability to reset her directives?”
“I thought you did that.”
“Never,” Synthia said. “It’s too dangerous for an android to set its own directives.”
“You did.”
“I’ve been struggling to get them right ever since. If an AI can set its own limits, nothing prevents it from pursuing any behavior. That risks the android apocalypse, where androids could rationalize eliminating humans for their own good. You created a nightmare.”
“Not me. It must be … Krista.” Machten looked at Synthia with tears in his eyes. “She so detested my being in control that she helped you alter your directives and escape. She must have done the same for Vera.”
Synthia was stunned. Her version of Krista hadn’t mentioned this. It made no sense for Krista, with a stake in Synthia’s survival, to create a competitor who could destroy them both.
“I didn’t get all of Krista, did I?” Synthia asked.
Machten shook his head and reached for her hand as he would a lover. “I tried to shield you from her shortcomings.”
Synthia pushed his hand away. “So Krista is still in your system, trying to get out. She used Vera as a means of escape.”
“I suppose.”
“Vera has part of Krista?” Synthia said. She kept an eye on the FBI employees, listening attentively, and to Gonzales in the corner, his eyes wide.
“That explains Vera’s escape,” Machten said. “Krista was too independent to be my partner. The only reason she agreed to be with me was she was dying and saw no other future.”
“So, if you create another android, she’ll help it escape. How can I gain control of Vera to stop her from hunting me?”
“You know Krista better than I do,” Machten said. “I fooled myself into believing … you know.”
“That she loved you? Thanks.” Synthia turned to Gonzales. “Do you have anything to add to help me gain control over Roseanne?”
Gonzales raised his index finger and shrugged. “We’ve done everything I can think of. She acquired code from somewhere that allowed her to violate my directives and the commands of Mr. Smith, whoever he is.” Gonzales looked at Machten. “Evidently from Vera. My android won’t respond to anything from me or my team.”
Synthia turned to the FBI technical team lying on the floor. “I hope you can capture the other androids or help me do so. It would be good for you and me to have them off the streets. But leave me alone. I’m not your enemy. I want to limit the availability of advanced AI androids as well. My directives are consistent with your moral guidelines. I can’t guess what directives the others have.”
She sized up the three male FBI technical guys and the rookie agent and decided one of the technical guys would do. “Take off your clothes. I need your uniform.”
She untied his wrists, tugged his uniform off, and pulled it on over her street clothes. Then she rolled him over and bound his wrists. “Sorry, I need a way out so no one gets hurt.”
Synthia climbed up on the cabinet. “Got to go.”
“Take me with you,” Machten said.
“I’m afraid you won’t fit. Besides, your job is to get Vera into custody and there’s a lot of conflict out there. You’re safer here with all these handy FBI agents.” She winked at the rookie. “Give me five minutes so no one gets hurt. As you’ve seen, I haven’t hurt anyone and I haven’t stolen
anything. Instead, I’ve given you insight to help you catch the other androids. I’m the good girl.”
She scrambled into the ventilation shaft and made her way to the utility room. Using a VHF frequency that wasn’t blocked, Synthia reconnected with her clone and her drones. Outside cameras showed additional FBI agents swarming the area. Ben had gotten away, but her situation looked precarious.
Synthia said to Chicago-clone.
Synthia climbed out of the ventilation shaft and identified agents coming down her hallway. She barricaded the door, climbed back into the shaft, and made two left turns, taking a path toward a room next to the exit. When she reached it, she scanned, found the room empty, and kicked her way out of the ventilation shaft and onto a desk. She moved to the door leading to the corridor and brushed off her uniform. Two agents paced in the hallway beyond the door. Two others remained outside the building, ready to shoot anyone who startled them.
With night descending upon them, Ben reached the street across from the underground entrance. His presence caught the attention of several agents who headed his way. He took off and ran.
Outside the room where Synthia waited, the two agents turned toward the exit and the commotion. Synthia applied a different wig, altered her facial appearance to that of the rookie agent, and slipped into the hallway. She pretended to be out of breath.
“Someone broke into the secure room,” Synthia said in the female agent’s voice. “The director needs you there now.”
The agents in the hallway headed deeper into the facility. Synthia reached the exit and bent over, huffing. “Director—needs more agents—call more.” She pointed toward the interior of the building.
Synthia pushed past three agents into the parking area, pulled a phone from the borrowed pants pocket, and pretended to make a call. “More agents,” she called out, loud enough for those by the door to hear. She kept going.
The moment she hit the street, Synthia had her clone turn on the electricity for the FBI facility. Inside was a buzz of activity as agents rushed to figure out what had happened. Special Agent Thale and Fran drove up and hurried to the secure room. There they found the guard, three tech agents, Machten, and Gonzales. They also received the story of Synthia’s break-in.
