Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  Someone was shaking her.

  “Kaitlyn. Please wake up.” Quess’s voice was panicked.

  Kaitlyn’s eyes fluttered open, and she squinted. Why was she on the ground? Her head felt heavier than usual as she glanced around, her eyes quickly adjusting.

  “I’m okay.” Kaitlyn pushed herself to a sitting position, using a nearby tree to lean against. She was lucky she didn’t fall into it when she passed out.

  “What happened?” Quess asked, her eyes concerned.

  “I don’t know.”

  “We should take you to see my grandfather.”

  “No. I’m fine.” Then it came back to her what they were talking about when she passed out … or when her body shut down. She wasn’t sure if there was a difference. “Please, don’t tell him.”

  Quess nodded. “Whatever you want.”

  Kaitlyn accessed her memory files and sorted through her thoughts from their previous conversation. “I believe you mentioning details about my past caused me to shut down. That must be it.”

  “Like a safety measure or something?” Sitting on the grass, Quess pulled her knees to her chest.

  “I just need a moment.” Kaitlyn closed her eyes and waited until she felt normal again. Her rhythms settled into familiar patterns. The mechanisms in place had been successful. Whatever had happened, had passed. Was it possible the IFICS had somehow connected her real memories to some kind of fail-safe blocking system? “I’m fine now. Tell me what else you saw.” She paused. “But don’t use their names. Just in case that was the trigger for my shut down.”

  Quess nodded in understanding. The girl had a quick mind. She paused, as if trying to compose her words carefully before she spoke them.

  “There was this girl who passed away, and everyone she went to school with was devastated, but mostly her boyfriend. He started a memorial page in her honor. He posted pictures of them together all over it, and her friends did, too. To this day, they even comment and tell her happy birthday. Like a shrine. Her boyfriend wasn’t able to move on without her. It was sweet, but also a bit strange.”

  “Where was she from?”

  “Near the ocean.”

  Kaitlyn wanted to ask so many questions, but was afraid it would make her black out again.

  “Kaitlyn!” a voice in the distance yelled.

  Kaitlyn jumped to her feet and looked around. Her sensors analyzed the voice patterns. It was Lucas, and he was over two hundred meters away, but moving quickly. His voice sounded strained, out of breath.

  A few moments later, he came into view. “There you are. Thank goodness. We got an alert that one of your sensor’s shorted out.”

  “I’m okay. I felt funny and then sort of shut down.”

  His eyes searched hers. “What were you doing at the time?”

  “Just talking to Quess.”

  Lucas narrowed his eyes and looked at Quess. “What were you talking about?”

  “It’s not important,” Kaitlyn said a little too sharply.

  “The hell it isn’t.”

  “What, you don’t monitor what she says?” Quess jumped up and put her hands on her narrow hips. “You have cameras all over the place. I kinda figured you knew every word she said before she said it.”

  “It’s not like that,” Lucas stated flatly. Kaitlyn noted that there wasn’t much conviction in his tone. His blue eyes turned back to Kaitlyn. “Kate, please tell me what you were talking about. We need to figure this out. There must be a glitch somewhere, and we need to have it straightened out before your unveiling.”

  “Right. We can’t have your precious project breaking down, can we?” Kaitlyn asked coldly. Of course that was more important to him. Did the kiss they shared mean anything to him?

  “Kate, there are ways we can find out, but I don’t think you want us to do that, do you? Professor Adams will also have been alerted to the shutdown. He’s probably already at the lab scrambling to figure out what went wrong.”

  Her body stiffened. She knew he was right. They could give her truth serum drugs, maybe somehow go into her history file data. Or worse.

  “Fine, we were just talking about my past. Happy?”

  “Your past?” Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Exactly what about your past? What do you know about it?”

  Kaitlyn hesitated. She didn’t want to give up information on the man from her dreams, especially after hearing what Quess had found out about him and the ‘shrine’. Even after all of this time, he hadn’t let go.

  And regardless of the kiss, Lucas’s main concern was clearly the project.

  “I was telling Quess that I’ve been having dreams about the ocean.”

  “The ocean? That’s it?”

  “Yes. Dreams of me swimming in the ocean. Why would that cause me to short circuit?”

  Lucas ran his hand down his jawline, lost in thought. “Are you sure there isn’t more? I don’t see why that would have caused you to short out. Have any other memories surfaced?”

  “I have no memories, Lucas. You and Professor Adams took care of that.”

  He stared at her for a long time before finally conceding. “Maybe it was just a random glitch. We’ll do more testing in the morning.”

  “Of course you will,” Quess spat. “That’s all you do to her. Why can’t you just leave her alone?”

  A look of hurt crossed his beautiful face. “Let’s get you both back to the dormitory. Quess, I don’t know if it’s a good idea that you spend time with Kaitlyn anymore.”

  Quess glared at him. “Well, good thing that’s not up to you.”

  Kaitlyn gave her friend a comforting glance, and took Lucas by the arm, leading him away from her friend. She leaned forward, speaking quietly, “Lucas, please don’t take Quess away from me. She’s the only person that talks to me. I promise I won’t bring up anything about my past again. Just don’t take her away.”

  His eyes softened. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thank you.” She wanted to throw her arms around him, but that would not be appropriate behavior. Her mind raced. So much had taken place in such a short amount of time. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the new information regarding her past, or what was going on between her and Lucas.

  If anything.

  Chapter Twelve

  They screwed up. Somehow, they screwed up.

  “How is this even possible?” Lucas muttered to himself as entered the dimly building.

  Not only was Kaitlyn exhibiting emotions, she was experiencing memories. Neither should have slipped through the robot’s overrides. He couldn’t believe the way she had kissed him; he had never felt so wanted or needed in his life. If anyone felt emotions, it was Kate.

  What if her feelings got in the way of her job? She was designed for a very specific purpose, and that did not involve forming emotional connections. That switch should be firmly in the off position. She should be able to do anything asked of her without question or fear.

  This is not good.

  Lucas shoved open the door to his office, a closet-sized space tucked into a corner near the lab. The thought struck him that the purpose of her very existence was to be put in harm’s way. He hated it. And now, with human emotions leaking into her consciousness, it could prove even more of a danger for Kaitlyn. What if she hesitated on a job and it got her killed?

  Lucas took long strides to his computer, and the chair squeaked noisily as he sank into it. He pulled up Kaitlyn’s files. Harrington will flip when he finds out.

  Lucas started carefully reading through each line of code—coding that he had written—looking for the answer.

  After four hours, his eyes were blurring from staring at the numbers for so long. Maybe there wasn’t a way to turn off emotions, and they had just been fooling themselves all along. Wishful thinking. There had to be a scientific explanation.

  Suddenly, he saw it. His heart fell. No. No. No. This can’t be.

  He never made mistakes, but there it was. One number wrong, and the ent
ire sequence was faulty. It was an easy fix. Damn it! What the hell was he going to do? A couple of strokes on the keyboard and a new upgrade, and Kaitlyn would be fixed. Emotionless and good as new. She would never look at him with that longing, that same intensity again.

  Slumping in his chair, he rubbed his face. As crazy as it sounded, he knew he had fallen in love with Kaitlyn. It had happened gradually … all of the days they’d spent together, alone, testing her skills; all of the times he’d admired her strength and endurance. He’d fought against it for so long, thinking he was an idiot for essentially falling in love with a robot—a non-human—but there was no denying his feelings now that she returned them. After all, she wasn’t a robot; she was real.

  She was always on his mind, and to know it was mutual … How could he erase that? He stared at the code across the screen, the flashing cursor set at the glaring mistake. He had naÏvely hoped the coding was correct, and her feelings for him had overridden the computer somehow, like one of those cheesy romantic movies. He had hoped that a small part of her had remained, and that part wanted him.

  However, her desire for him had been nothing more than a slip of a keystroke.

  Lucas had a sudden urge to throw the computer across the room. Instead, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

  He had to get a grip. The project came first; that was what he was paid for. He needed to make sure she was the sleekest, fittest, strongest, most intelligent mechanical soldier on the planet. Her life depended on it.

  He had to do it. He couldn’t risk her being dismantled because he selfishly wanted her for himself. As much as it pained him, he knew what he had to do. It was the only choice he had … the right choice.

  But for who?

  If only he could have one more night with her. If only he could put off fixing the coding until the day after tomorrow …

  No, he had to do it now. If he spent another day with her, he knew he might not be strong enough to fix her at all

  Picturing her beautiful face, and the excitement in her unusual grey eyes, his fingers hesitated over the keyboard. At least he would have the memory of their evening together. She would have nothing.

  It’s for the best.

  Before he could change his mind, he made the correction and watched as the coding scrolled down the computer screen, updating her system commands. He inserted the new chip and waited for the data to transfer. Tomorrow, he would implant the new chip, and she would be a true cyborg. The thought made Lucas sick to his stomach. He was a monster.

  All in the name of science.

  The next morning, Kaitlyn walked into the lab wearing nothing but a stark white hospital gown, her feet bare. Lucas noted that she avoided eye contact with everyone in the room as she walked over and sat on the cold steel table, and waited. Her hands rested lightly on the edge of the table, and her feet hung motionless. The nurse rushed over, withdrew her blood, and quickly left the room.

  His heart sank. Without a word, he moved away from Professor Adams, making his way to his desk to pick up the upgrade chip. The whole time, he watched Kaitlyn from the corner of his eye.

  He now knew that her fluid movements and blank stare were all an act. He couldn’t imagine what she had been going through all this time, sitting motionless, expressionless, in front of them. In front of the cameras. Her level of self-control was impressive. At least he could take comfort in the fact that he would be removing the mental anguish she must have been dealing with every day.

  Sure, Lucas. Keep telling yourself that. He clenched his fists at his side, tempted to put them both through the nearest window. A little pain and blood would clear his mind, removing his frustration over what was about to happen … the removal of the only spark of life she had left. He opened his right hand and stared down at the tiny, innocuous chip before crossing the room toward her. He had to do it. In two days, they would hand her over to the Department of Defense. He inhaled deeply, steeling himself.

  “Kaitlyn, we’re going to give you an upgrade, which should avoid another shut down,” he said. “We’re also implanting the slang chip so conversations will be easier for you to follow, as well as a facial recognition program that will give you the ability to tell what people are thinking and feeling by their expressions. I’m sure you’ve picked up a lot on your own through watching others interact, but this will make it easier. You are programmed to be very adaptable. Eventually, you will be able to mimic them on your own during interaction.”

  I’m also going to take away any feelings you had for me. He groaned inwardly.

  She nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement. When her grey eyes met his, there wasn’t a hint of distrust in them, which made it even worse.

  It was killing him. He forced his breathing to slow and tried to quiet the emotions raging in his mind. She trusted him completely. If she knew what he was about to do, he knew she would beg him not to, and he would be helpless to tell her no.

  His hands shook as he walked around behind her and gently untied the top of the hospital gown to expose the plastic and metal door in the center of her back. He opened the plastic on her back; the skin on either side was smooth, completely unmarred by anything but the transparent teal door. With a click, Lucas disconnected the old processor chip, removed it, and implanted the new one, wondering if she would feel the changes. Probably not.

  He closed the plastic door, and it slotted into place. His hand lingered on her skin longer than necessary. Being so close to her was too much. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Her processor was updating as he watched. He had just ended any chance he had of a real relationship with her, the one woman he wanted. He had never connected to another woman the way he had Kaitlyn. Sure, he’d had a couple of girlfriends—sexual partners, really—but they had never meant anything of significance to him.

  Maybe he was meant to be alone. He deserved to be alone after what they—he—had done to Kate.

  He cleared his throat. “I have to go take care of some things,” Lucas murmured, pulling his hand away.

  Kaitlyn didn’t reply. Her body had slumped slightly forward, and she could not even hear him.

  He lied. There was nothing he had to do, but he couldn’t stand being in the same room as her, knowing what he had done. It was like she was his mirror and he couldn’t stand to look at his own reflection. He grabbed his coat and rushed out of the room without another word—leaving Kaitlyn all alone.

  What a coward, he thought, disgusted with himself.

  He didn’t deserve her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lucas walked out of the lab, passing Adams, who was on his way in. The professor greeted him, but Lucas didn’t respond.

  Odd, Kaitlyn thought as the door clicked shut behind Lucas.

  She didn’t feel any different, but that wasn’t a surprise. She could rarely tell when they made changes these days. The little tweaks were not as jarring as the big upgrades had been in the beginning. Everything they did now was to make her more efficient, more of a machine.

  “Kaitlyn, I do believe you’ve received your last upgrade,” Adams said with a smile. He scribbled something unintelligible on the white board as he spoke.

  “The last?”

  “Yes, unless something else comes up. You should be ready for delivery.”

  “Delivery?”

  The professor continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “As long as they want you, of course. There is the slight chance that they might not be interested, but that would be shocking to all of us. You are the most advanced human on the planet.”

  Human? Yeah, right.

  “Where will I be sent?”

  The professor turned to stare at her. “Well, I guess there is no sense in keeping it a secret, since you are the one that will be going. I’ve heard rumors of a top secret facility for special projects such as yourself.”

  “There are others?” Kaitlyn kept her voice neutral. This was the longest conversation she had ever had with the professor.

&nb
sp; He laughed. “No, not like you. Not yet anyway. Mostly drones and other robotic equipment that they use on the black side.”

  “Black side?”

  “Yes, secret. No budget. No paper trail. Things that exist in a void.”

  Being in a void didn’t sound too appealing, but like usual she kept her thoughts to herself.

  Suddenly, Kaitlyn’s body went into alert mode, and a giant yellow ‘caution’ flashed in her vision. Someone was approaching the lab from the hallway. Her every muscle tensed, preparing for action. Moments later, the door swung open.

  The man who entered was easily categorized by Kaitlyn’s machinery: six foot two, two hundred fifteen pounds, jet black hair greying at the temples, and sharp blue-grey eyes. His face was weathered, but he aged well. Current age: sixty-three.

  With mechanical precision, Kaitlyn locked gazes with the man. She had to fight the urge to jump up and wrap her hands around Dr. Harrington’s throat. She was programmed to observe any subjects with a ‘caution’ categorization, but not act until it elevated to a ‘warning’. Her body felt odd, and she quickly analyzed the feeling as rage.

  That’s new.

  Her analyzers began listing the many ways she could kill Harrington, but then logic took over. If she killed him, it wouldn’t do her any good; they would probably deactivate and disassemble her. Disassembly didn’t sound good. Her body would die. There was not enough human to survive without the help from the computers. As much as she disliked her new life, she wasn’t ready to cease to exist.

  It had been sixty-four days since she had last seen her creator, Matthew Harrington, owner and founder of IFICS. He carried his large body with athletic grace, and he looked the same, except his skin was a shade or two darker. She should warn him that too much sun exposure was dangerous, but she kept her mouth closed.

  “Professor. Is the subject ready?” the man asked in a smooth, deep voice, not taking his eyes off Kaitlyn.

  “Dr. Harrington.” The professor held out his hand and clasped Harrington’s hand in his own. “So nice of you to drop by. Yes, the subject is more than ready. Magnificent piece of work, if I do say so myself. She is going to stun on her unveiling.”