by D. B. Goodin
“While I do appreciate the kindness, I think you should stay out of my business.”
“That’s what I get for being your friend? Your presence in my home is putting my family in danger. I’m just trying to help you, Alice!”
Alice stood and left the house without another word.
5
Alice didn’t want to ask Lindsey for another ride into the city. After some walking, running, and a combination of the two, she made the 2:05 p.m. Manhattan-bound train with minutes to spare.
Plenty of time to get to Penn Station, she thought. I’ll take the subway and make the 4:15 city council hearing.
“You have three new messages—let me know if you want me to play them now or later,” Doris said.
“Play them in order.”
The first message was from Nigel Watson and had a timestamp of 10:23 p.m.—last night.
“Hey kid, just heard from Simon. As I suspected, he’s in trouble. Call me back once you get this.”
The second message was from Simon Peters.
“Hey Alice, I heard about your banking anomaly. I swear I didn’t touch your money. Whoever is after you has some skill. I got pulled into an investigation based on the hacking that I did. If I get caught, I’m as good as ash in the blowing wind. Call me to discuss. Oh! And please delete this message—we don’t want it falling into the wrong hands.”
The third message was the most interesting, and it was from the Goth Queen.
“Hey Alice, Queenie here. I may have a solution if that silly Alternate People’s Act, or whatever it’s called, shit passes. I will give you a hint—it involves robots. Call me—you owe me for Bobby.”
What the hell is she talking about? Maybe the Purists will help me out at the town council? Maybe if we can get a large group. Can’t believe the mayor is trying to push this ridiculous law through. The Goth Queen knows people. I can only hope that’s enough!
Alice called the Goth Queen back.
“Hey Alice, I see that you got my message,” the Goth Queen said in a petulant tone.
“When did you leave the gathering?”
“Hours ago—it was around 4:00 a.m. My usual wakeup time.”
She runs a night club and gets up that early?
“I was sound asleep, I thought you would be a late sleeper like me. You must not need a lot of sleep,” Alice said.
“I like sleep, but I don’t get a lot of it when the club is active. That is why we’re only open a few nights a week—which is probably why we are so busy when we are open.”
“You mentioned that you have a solution for the robots?”
“I don’t, but Barry does, and he would like to discuss it with you.”
Alice chewed her lip hard enough to hurt.
Aargh, not the creep with the rotten teeth. I sure as hell don’t want to owe him anything!
“Alice you still there?” the Goth Queen asked.
“Yes—I’m just surprised. I thought it would have pissed off Barry that I ran out of the club the other day without the dance he wanted.”
“Barry likes it when you play hard to get. He will no doubt ask for another dance—or something else more invasive—but he won’t force the issue. Your Emissary status notwithstanding.”
“Okay, I’m on my way to city hall. I will call you after,” Alice said as she disconnected.
City Hall, New York City, 4:08 p.m.
I should have taken a dammed auto taxi, Alice thought as she ran up a flight of stairs from the subway station. She was still several blocks from city hall. She almost ran into several people along the way, but she climbed the stairs to city hall with minutes to spare. Alice almost ran into a guard manning the security checkpoint.
“Stop!” the guard said.
Alice glared at the man.
“I’m late for an important meeting,” she said.
The burly guard said nothing. He took Alice’s belongings and examined them, including her AR visor. She shoved the visor back on when the guard handed it back then moved past him before he could react. After the security checkpoint, she stopped at the intersection of two hallways.
“Sir? Can you tell me where the city council meets?” Alice said as she grabbed onto the first person she saw.
The man pointed—Alice started running.
“Doris, what’s the time?” she asked.
“4:14 p.m. I suggest you hurry.”
I better not get locked out.
No sooner had she arrived at the council chambers than a guard shut the double doors. When she tried to open them, the guard moved in front of her, holding up a hand facing palm-out.
“Sorry, city council session in progress,” he said.
“I’m supposed to be in there,” Alice protested.
The guard stood motionless; another guard opened the door for a woman in a business suit. When Alice tried to follow, the guard stopped her.
“Sorry—no tailgating allowed,” the second guard said.
“Why can’t I go in? I have business with the council.”
“The meeting is closed to the public. I cannot allow it.”
Alice scowled at the guard.
“Why not?”
“Alice?” she heard a voice from behind.
She turned to see Brian Reynolds. He was wearing a suit and holding a briefcase.
The guard opened the door for Brian but stopped Alice when she tried entering. She caught a glance inside; she saw several people standing in line, waiting for a microphone.
“Brian, can you vouch for me? They won’t let me in.”
“I don’t have the authority. I’m sorry, Alice,” Brian answered.
“Grrrr . . . he’s lying,” Alice heard from the audio interface of her visor.
“Guard, why can’t I go inside?” Alice said.
“I’m afraid I cannot let you in,” the guard told Alice.
“Well, that’s great!” Alice said as she stomped a foot on the ground.
Brian swept past her into the room, and she left the guards.
“Fucking asshole!”
“What did you say?” the guard asked.
Alice hurried away.
“Alice, I didn’t want to say this while in earshot of the guards, but there is a viewing room you can use to monitor the proceedings,” Doris said.
“You should have told me earlier!” Alice chided.
“I just did . . . Now follow the prompts on the HUD.”
Alice followed Doris’s prompts on her heads-up display (HUD) until she entered a medium-sized room with a gigantic screen on the far wall. She could hear the proceedings of the city council. The speaker, as well as the majority and minority leaders, all sat in a row in front of an audience. The camera’s point of view made it impossible to see anyone but the council members; the people observing or asking questions were not visible.
Looks like they just got started.
Alice sat through almost two hours of petitions and ramblings about budgets and other various local issues. An older woman wanted the city to ban all flying vehicles, citing that it made her cat nervous.
Not open to the public my ass! Am being left out of this meeting on purpose.
Other complaints included too many neon signs on the streets and street vendors blocking sidewalks.
“The final issue on the docket is if it is appropriate to override a local law to amend the administrative code of the City of New York—specifically, repealing subchapter 42 of chapter 16 of title 24 in relation to the prohibition of synthetic patrons in establishments that are considered human-only,” the speaker said.
Then he stopped speaking for a moment; it was as if he had forgotten what he was going to say next.
“Come on, get on with it!” Alice said aloud.
“If we amend this law, then human-only establishments will be required to admit synthetic patrons. The council will now hear any opposing arguments.”
Alice heard a few muffled conversations, but she couldn’t hear anyone opposing t
he bill.
“Dammit, someone speak up,” Alice said to the empty viewing room.
Some time passed. “Since no one opposes, the council will now vote on the matter,” the speaker said.
It took some time, but all votes were tallied from all fifty-one districts in the five boroughs of New York City. The amendment passed, with forty-six out of the fifty-one districts voting in its favor.
“We will send the bill to the mayor’s office for final approval and signatures,” the speaker said.
Alice kicked a nearby chair. It flipped over and smashed into a nearby wall.
“God fucking dammit!”
“I’m not sure if this is the best time to mention it but I have information on that Lawful Discrimination query you had. Do you want the results now or later?” Doris said.
“Later—”
A sharp pain shot through Alice’s head. She rubbed her eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain subsided.
I need to visit the doctor. Dammit, these headaches are coming back with a vengeance.
An hour later, after nursing the headache in the viewing room, Alice left the city hall building complex and started walking down the stairs. Her head was still pounding; it felt like someone turned on a jackhammer in her skull. She put her hands over her eyes every couple of steps until she could move again.
“Calm down, Alice,” she told herself.
“There’s a news alert that I think you’ll want to see. Shall I send it to your visor?” Doris asked.
Alice stepped off to the side. She didn’t want pedestrians bumping into her and restarting the jackhammer of hell.
“Yes, let me see it.”
Doris displayed NYC1, a local news channel. A reporter stood in front of an enormous concert hall with a golden dome on the top. Brenton Morris was standing beside them.
“MuseFam has pledged to bring back the CityWide Concert next month with an all-synthetic musical program that promises to be the new standard in musical performance. We have Brenton Morris, MuseFam’s CEO, here to tell us more.”
“We want to revitalize the musical culture in this magnificent city of ours and bring live musical performances back to the people,” Brenton said.
“There hasn’t been an all-synthetic performance before. Will they sound as good as humans?”
“I’ve listened to their performance—they sound better than any human performer.”
“The last CityWide Concert was hacked. How can you guarantee the safety of the venue?” the reporter asked.
“My team is prepared for any possibility. We have hired several guards and will have some surprises for anyone stupid enough to crash our party,” Brenton said.
What the hell? No human talent? Unbelievable!
Alice continued walking toward the subway station. A light rain fell and fog rolled in.
“How did it go, babe?” someone said.
She glanced in the direction of the voice; it was Barry. He was standing on the sidewalk right in front of city hall.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Doris said.
Alice gave Barry a wary look.
“Hey, the Goth Queen said she talked with you already. About the solution I mean,” Barry said.
“She mentioned it, but I was going to call her after the session at city hall—I didn’t expect you to just show up!” Alice said, trying not to be repulsed.
Barry crept closer to Alice—then he took her hand and kissed it.
“I have the solution to all of your problems,” he said.
Ew!
“What might that be?” Alice said, pulling her hand away.
“I know a guy . . . who has special talents and can make the robot menace go away.”
“Really? What are we talking about?” she asked. “This better not be bullshit.”
“We should talk in the privacy of the car,” Barry said as he tapped his visor.
“Car? I’m not going anywhere with you.” Alice looked around. “No one I trust is nearby. I need a damn good reason before I get into your car.”
“Believe me when I say our interests are aligned. Scotty, my friend, knows how to build an electronic bomb that will damage all the robots in a limited area,” Barry said.
“I’m not an engineer, but wouldn’t that wipe out all other electronics that we use every day, like visors, phones, and computers?” Alice said.
“Yes, but if we are careful and strategic about placing the bomb, we can avoid that. I will let Scotty explain all the technical stuff.”
Moments later, an older-looking black vehicle resembling a hearse stopped in front of city hall.
“I’m still not going with you. Give me the address, and I will take an auto taxi,” Alice said.
The vehicle’s door opened; the Goth Queen was in the back seat. Alice looked; no one was in the driver’s seat.
“Isn’t this cool? I just got this baby modified; don’t you love how sleek the auto attendant is?” Barry said as he winked at Alice.
“Hello, Alice, care to ride with me?” the Goth Queen asked. “Barry’s driving.”
Alice nodded and got into the car.
Barry got into the driver’s seat, pulled into traffic, and started heading toward the Brooklyn Bridge. The fog, mist, and evening traffic made it difficult to get anywhere. Large droplets of rain began forming on the windows. Periodically, the car would start shaking. When this happened, Barry would put the large vehicle into neutral gear and step on the gas pedal a few times.
“Why do you have a vehicle that runs on gasoline? I can smell the fumes back here,” Alice said.
“Why do we keep anything? Because it still works! I don’t need a new vehicle that flies, or some self-driving monstrosity,” the Goth Queen replied.
Alice was confused. “If this car is not self-driving, then why did it pull up by itself?”
“A self-guidance system is not the same as a self-driving vehicle. It has the same technology as cars that would parallel park for people fifty years ago,” Barry said.
“Parallel parking is a helluva lot different than a car driving itself somewhere from a parking lot,” Alice said.
“From what I understand, the guidance system of this vehicle follows a magnetic path that is built into the streets. Once I tap my visor, my coordinates are sent to the car, and we get picked up,” Barry explained.
The rain was getting heavier. Alice could only see blurry shapes outside the window.
“Who’s Scotty?” Alice asked.
“Scotty is a friend, but he’s also my brother,” the Goth Queen said.
“I didn’t realize you had any family.”
Alice regretted her words immediately. “Oh . . . Sorry, I didn’t mean it to come out like that,” Alice said.
If the Goth Queen was offended, she didn’t show it.
“Father wanted Scotty to go to the best engineering school on the East Coast, so he insisted upon the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He studied mechanical engineering but ended up specializing in nuclear engineering. I understand little of that, so I will let him explain,” the Goth Queen said.
Sounds to me like she comes from a wealthy family.
Traffic started moving at a normal pace; drops of water fell into Alice’s lap as they traveled faster across the bridge. Alice traced the source of the water: the windows were not leakproof.
“Did you catch the news feed tonight?” the Goth Queen asked.
“Yes, unbelievable! That MuseFam bastard is reigniting the CityWide Concert,” Alice said.
“Don’t you get it? An entire orchestra of robots—plus backup robots—will be there. We may not get another opportunity to eliminate them all.”
“I’m intrigued,” Alice said.
The rain was slowing. She peered out the window. Several enormous buildings loomed nearby. A few minutes later, Barry pulled up to a building that resembled a warehouse; a light could be seen emanating from the top floor.
Alice knew it would satisfy
her to eliminate all the robots—and that she would be a suspect, anyway. MuseFam was already on to her. The prank that Jamie helped her in—when they had disabled all the robots at the last CityWide Concert—was one thing, but this electronic bomb sounded a lot more destructive. She was afraid of the consequences.
“I’m not sure that destroying MuseFam property would be productive. What about the side effects? There has to be a safe way to stop all the robots. We can organize peacefully,” Alice said.
“Let’s decide how we want to proceed after we talk with my brother—”
A rapping noise interrupted the Goth Queen. Alice jumped in her seat.
“Hey, it’s Scotty,” Barry said as he unlocked the vehicle.
A man with blond hair and a short-trimmed beard entered the vehicle and sat in the empty front passenger seat and gave Barry a small shove.
“You’re late!” Scotty said.
“We had some nasty weather and traffic, but we are here now,” Barry said.
“C’mon, Scotty,” the Goth Queen said, “do you have something to show us or not?”
“I do, and it’s not down here, so let’s go upstairs already!” Scotty said.
Alice followed Scotty and company into the warehouse. Once inside, a staircase leading to a loft was visible.
“Lock the door before coming up,” Scotty said as he ascended the stairs.
Moments later, Alice entered Scotty’s loft. It looked like a bachelor lived here; there was a small table with a single chair, a refrigerator, and a small couch with room for maybe two people.
Scotty opened the refrigerator and grabbed a black-looking bottle. He looked at Alice and asked, “Do you want something to drink? We have beer . . .” He rummaged through the refrigerator. “Just dark beer—sorry, I don’t have anything else.”
“A beer is fine,” Alice said.
Scotty opened it then handed the bottle to Alice. Then he took out an enormous heart-shaped bottle of brown liquid out of the cabinet and faced the Goth Queen.
“Grace, your private stash,” Scotty said.
So that’s her actual name! Alice thought as she took a seat on the coach.
