by Jaka Tomc
“How are we going to inform Kent about the location?” asked Rea. “He will land in twenty minutes.”
“I took care of everything,” said Primo. “He’ll wait at the airport for my call.”
“And how do you intend to call him?” asked Cody.
“I won’t be the one making the call. Surely, the government is checking all the calls at the airport. I'm convinced that they're observing Kent as well.”
“But we’re trying to meet up with him,” said Rea. “Obviously, we’re willingly walking into a trap.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t meet him. Not yet.”
“Now I’m really interested in this brilliant plan of yours.”
“Let him be,” said Zion. “I’m sure he has it all figured out. I trust you, Primo.”
“You’re not the one they’re after,” said Rea.
“I’m an android, aren’t I? If they catch us, I’m going with you. But I’ll do my best to avoid that scenario at all cost.”
“OK, grandmasters of intrigue and deceit. How are we going to call Kent?” Rea insisted.
“Somebody will call him for us,” said Zion before Primo could open his mouth. “I thought we went through that already.”
“Where exactly are we going to find a man who will do that?” asked Rea. “How will we persuade him? We can’t pay him. Are we going to threaten him?”
“We already have a perfect candidate,” said Primo. “I’ll call him and give him the instructions. He’s a professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Kent knows him well, and he’s expecting his call, so he’ll know right away what it’s about. All we need now is a phone to make the call to inform the professor.”
“I know where we can find one,” said Zion. “We’ll soon be in San Antonio. I’m sure there’s a bar with a telephone there.”
“Great,” said Primo. “How much longer?”
“Five minutes. Six tops.”
* * *
“Four androids walk into a bar,” said Zion while they were standing in front of the Owl, trying not to laugh. “The jokes just write themselves,” he added when there was no response.
“Zion and I are going in. You two wait outside and immediately let us know if anything suspicious occurs,” said Primo.
“Yes, boss,” said Cody. Rea smirked, unsatisfied with the lack of action.
Zion opened the door, and they entered a small but cozy place. There were ten barstools in front of a long wooden bar. Seven of them were empty. Primo and Zion chose two on the far end, close to the exit. Primo noticed that the owners must’ve been proud of their establishment’s name, as there were hundreds of owls on the wall opposite the bar. Plush toys, wooden figures, cardboard owls, candles, and so on. Primo couldn’t decide whether it was cute or kitschy, but he quickly concluded that it didn’t matter.
“Excuse me,” Primo said to a server who was probably twentysomething and had long dark hair.
“Just a moment. I’ll be right with you,” she said, moving the other way, toward the booths.
“Did you see the jukebox?” asked Zion.
“Jukebox?”
“Yeah. That big boy over there.” He pointed toward the far wall.
“What exactly does it do?” asked Primo.
“It plays music. You throw in a quarter, pick a song, and voilà.”
“I see. Some kind of YouTube?”
“Sort of. But this one only plays classics.”
“Where do you get a quarter? They’ve been out of circulation for fifteen years.”
“My dear fella, coins will never go extinct. They’ve always survived the civilizations that minted them.”
Suddenly the server was standing before them. “What can I help you with?”
“We’re not thirsty,” said Zion. “But we do have to call a friend. Do you, by any chance, have a phone hidden in the back?”
“There’s one in the office, right there, but it’s for customers only. One of you can make a call. The other stays here as bail and orders something.”
Primo stood up and walked to the back room.
“I’ll have a lemonade. I’ve noticed you have a jukebox. Would it be possible to get a quarter? I’d like to show my friend…” Primo heard before he closed the door of the office. He found a phone on the desk and entered ten digits.
“Hello?” answered the face on the screen.
“Professor Corbin, I’m calling you about your friend Kent Watford. I just want to let you know that he’ll be at the university in one hour, just like you arranged.”
“Good. Is that all?”
“That’s all, professor. Have a nice day.” Primo cut the connection and returned to the bar. Zion was standing by the jukebox, waving at Primo to join him.
“You see, Primo, the quarter goes in here, like that, you pick a song…”
“I don’t know any of these songs. Wait, this one…May I?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Primo pressed the big button, and a known tune filled the place.
“Good choice,” said Zion. “I thought you were totally uptight.”
“I’d be a bad writer if I wasn’t just a little educated.”
“You’re a writer? Who would’ve thought? My first guess would’ve been that you were a construction site supervisor.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you call your friend?”
“I did. It’s all taken care of.”
“Just a moment.”
I Want To Break Free by Queen filled the place.
“Can you imagine that this song has been playing, across the entire globe, for more than sixty years?”
“Some songs are timeless,” said Primo.
“Timeless and perfect,” said Zion.
37. Kent, 2048
Fifteen minutes to two, Kent was waiting for his suitcase at the airport in Santa Fe. Five minutes earlier, soon after he’d stepped off the plane, he’d received a call from his old friend, Corbin. The professor said he was expecting him in one hour in Albuquerque and was looking forward to seeing him again. Kent felt relieved, as he realized that Primo was alive and presumably well.
“How much to Albuquerque?” he asked the lone cabdriver outside.
“Hundred and fifty credits.”
“I have to be at the university in half an hour. Is it doable?”
“Sir, as you can see, I’m driving the latest model of aeromobile. It’s a Ferrari among Fiats.”
“Please excuse me; I don’t know much about flying cars.”
“Just trust me when I say that you’ll be at your destination in half an hour.”
“Very well. Where can I put my suitcase?”
“I find it very interesting that you’re sticking with an occupation that is dying out,” said Kent.
“Interesting or not, I like it,” said the driver when they were high above the ground. “But it’s true that I don’t see many colleagues these days. And it isn’t like that just in my line of work. Everything is becoming automatized. What’s interesting to me is how fast things turn. Today you’re a good worker who loves his job; tomorrow, your place is taken over by artificial intelligence.”
“Ever since we established a universal basic income, many people have been satisfied with these kinds of solutions.”
“I’m not the type of person who likes staying at home, lying around all day and only getting up to pay the toilet or the fridge the occasional visit. Actually, forget about the fridge. Every other person has a robot for that. I feel that all this progress we’ve been experiencing in the last years has made us lazier and less knowledgeable. But it should be the other way around.”
Kent looked out the window. “Maybe you’re right. But today every person decides for themself how to spend their day. Basically, that’s not a bad thing. The idea of ‘automatization,’ as you call it, is not new. But people are indeed different. Some of them have started creating. Others have given in to idleness. Nowadays, whatever floats your boat goes,
I suppose.”
“I still felt better twenty years ago. Although today, I have everything I need and I do what I like. Anyway, what do you do, Mister…”
“Watford. Doctor Watford, actually.”
“Wow, you’re a doctor?”
“Not all doctors are physicians.”
“That’s true. Then you’re a scientist. Wonderful. What is your expertise?”
“Do you promise not to throw me out if I tell you?”
The driver laughed. “Now that would be something new. If your real name isn’t Doctor Frankenstein, we’re cool.”
Kent smiled. “I work with artificial intelligence. More specifically, I develop artificial brains.”
“Wait a minute. I’ve heard of you. Watford. Of course. You made the first android. Bimbo, right?”
“Primo.”
“That’s the one. Does he still work?”
“I hope so.”
“Ah, so stupid of me. I always forget that the government hunted down and locked all them androids up. Unnecessary, if you ask me. But that’s my opinion. Those in power make their own decisions. Presumably in the interest of the public, but in truth, all they want is to stay in those comfy leather seats.”
“I don’t like to discuss politics; never did,” said Kent. “But I agree with you. Whatever happened was a disproportionate act of aggression in response to the actions of one individual.”
“Individual? Ah, you mean android? I’m sorry, but after all these years, I still find it hard to treat them as living beings.”
“I understand. There’s no need to apologize. Lots of people have trouble with accepting them for what they are. I guess it will take few more generations until we accept them as a new species. You see, in a way, this was an evolutionary step.”
“Are you sure? I’m not a man of faith, and I like technology, but I believe technological advances have boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed. Thinking robots? I think we’ve played God in this circumstance. Well, you did, to be exact.”
Kent smiled. “They’re not just thinking beings; they feel. I once asked Primo if he could describe his current emotions to me using words. You know what he said? ‘At the moment they are yellow mixed with green. That’s good. My favorite is blue. I definitely don’t like brown or black.’ I’ll never forget it. Isn’t it fantastic? To create a thinking, sentient creature from a lifeless substance?”
The driver shrugged. “I guess. I’m just having trouble with seeing them that way.”
For the next few minutes, they flew in silence. Talking about Primo had put Kent in a sentimental state of mind. He remembered the rush of happiness when Primo made his first steps. When he spoke his first words. When they debated for the first time. He remembered their first match of Go and the day when Primo left the laboratory to live independently and explore the world all by himself.
“They grow up so fast,” he said out loud.
“What? Did you say something?” asked the driver.
“Nothing. I’m just talking to myself. Are we almost there?”
“Yep, five more minutes. You’ll be at the university on time, as I promised.”
38. James, 2048
“Horus? In some joint in the middle of New Mexico? Who would’ve thought? The last time I heard of him, they assured me he was safely locked away and there was no chance he could escape.”
“He was,” said Karen. “But he used a weak link in the facility’s security procedure.”
“It being?”
“A human. He tricked one of the security guards into transferring him to another computer on a USB drive.”
“So incompetent,” said James.
“Actually, he was one of the best. You need to realize that Horus’s intelligence is light-years ahead of the human variant. Even compared to me, he’s a superior being by far.”
“But still, he’s prone to the same laws as the others. He may be intellectually superior, but he can’t do anything to endanger humanity.”
“You forget why we’re in the current situation.”
“Are you talking about the murdering android?”
“Him and the android who disarmed the soldiers, thus making the escape possible. I’m quite sure that there are others.”
“I’m certain there are.”
“A minute ago, you were saying that they pose no threat to humankind.”
“Well…What I wanted to say was…Are we gonna talk about me now? We’re in the middle of a serious situation.”
“Of course, sir. Excuse me. I only meant to help.”
“I know, Karen. Why don’t you find a solution to this crisis?”
“A solution? They’ve sent a unit to deal with Horus. But I doubt that he’ll allow himself to be taken captive without putting up one hell of a fight.”
“Rangers?”
“Scorpios.”
“I’ve never heard of them.”
“They’re supposed to be the best,” said Karen.
“Doesn’t matter. Finally, somebody’s taking things seriously. Where’s Greystone?”
“He’s following the androids, of course.”
“Did you find them?”
“Are you still doubting my abilities?”
“Never have, never will.”
“Good. The runaways have been joined by another android. They are heading north. Since I’m also following Kent Watford, their destination wasn’t hard to pin down. They’re all heading to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.”
“All of them?”
“That’s right. The military unit that’s in pursuit has found some clues and is moving north as well.”
“Damn it. I thought that this would be resolved quietly. Now they’re all moving in the same direction. This shouldn’t be happening!”
“The university’s campus is almost empty. Except for a handful of researchers in the laboratories and a few professors, there’s nobody there.”
‘Not that many people’ are still people. I don’t want anybody there. Can we evacuate the campus?”
“We can, but that course of action can cause all sorts of complications. If I set off the fire alarms, the intervention units will arrive on the scene within five minutes. I’d prefer to take my chances with some scientists than a multitude of police officers and firefighters.”
“Darn! You’re right again. What is our best option?”
“To let the operation run its course.”
“That sounds like a dumb idea to me.”
“Do you have a better one?”
“Can you connect to Horus?”
“I can, as soon as he’s connected to the Omninet. Are you sure that you want to go down this road? The Scorpios are just minutes away.”
“I don’t know. I have to do something.”
“My advice is to trust Greystone. You’ve sent him there with a specific task, and so far, he’s never returned from a mission empty-handed. So there’s no reason to panic. Horus resembles Pandora’s box. You don’t want to open it.”
“You know very well that the NSA will use him to shape and execute their hidden agendas.”
“That’s their problem, not yours.”
“Karen, have I ever told you that except for Michelle, no one knows about you?”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Well, now you know.”
“Honesty compels me to say that I’ve always thought as much. It wouldn’t be good for you if people knew about me. It would end your career.”
“True. What you don’t know is why I took you under my wing.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Do you know the proverb Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”
“I’ve heard of it. Am I a friend or an enemy?”
“I won’t lie to you. You were an enemy at first, but you slowly became my best friend.”
“I understand. I remember the beginnings. You were very strict. At first, I imagined that all people were like that. Later I learne
d two things. Not all humans are the same, and you’re not the person you were pretending to be back then.”
“Am I better or worse?”
“Define good and bad.”
“Let’s see. If Adolf Hitler was an example of an absolutely bad person and Jesus Christ of an absolutely good soul, then a bad person is someone who does more harm than good and vice versa.”
“Define doing harm.”
“It’s an act that causes damage. To other people. To animals. To nature.”
“Have you ever harmed nature?”
“I did. But I’ve also done a lot of good things for it.”
“Good. Have you ever harmed any animals?”
“Not directly. Wait. As a kid, I once kicked a cat and burned ants with a magnifying glass.”
“Do you eat meat?”
“Of course I do.”
“Animals are dying so that you can eat meat.”
“I’m not the one killing them.”
“But they’re dying for you.”
“If you look at it that way…OK, what’s the point of this interrogation?”
“We’re trying to find out whether you’re good or bad.”
“Karen, leave it be.”
“But Senator, I’ve almost completed the analysis. One last question. Have you ever hurt a human?”
“Never.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never even hit another person, let alone anything worse.”
“Have you hurt another person’s feelings?”
“Chances are that I have. Probably a lot of people’s. But that … wait … I didn’t really hurt them. Did I?”
“Words can be hurtful. Sometimes they hurt just as much as some actions do.”
“That’s true. But you can’t say I’m a bad person because I’ve hurt someone’s feelings, can you?”
“I didn’t say that. But now I have an answer. The conclusion of my analysis is that you’re a better man than you were six years ago.”
“Karen. Never do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Corner me like that. Do you understand? I can shut you down in one split second. Always remember that.”
“I understand. I’m sorry, Senator. It won’t happen again.”
