FAI

by Jake Lingwall

  “Christina maybe ordered them to only talk about certain things?” Kari suggested.

  “Those guys wouldn’t work with or trust her. Especially if she admitted she was working on AI. No . . . I don’t think it was them.”

  “So what?” Kari said. “Why does it matter?”

  “Well, it could be proof to use against her. Remember you’re supposed to be working on clearing your name of this mess? This could be key. Do we have any records of what happened?”

  “I have a full recording of my personal experience in relation to my three bodies at the time,” Fai said.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Stop it right there!” David said. “Now focus in on that badge on his shoulder.”

  Fai followed David’s orders precisely and the recording of the massacre they were watching focused in on the shoulder of the nearest gunman. Replaying the horror again was sickening. David had sworn over and over watching the footage, but Kari had just remained silent, trying not to lose control of herself.

  “Great, add that image to the others,” David said. “And let’s keep going.”

  The video continued and Kari saw herself and John moving forward as energy blasts shot from the bloodied lobby of the research lab. Seeing herself from Fai’s perspective showed just how emotionally overwhelmed she had been. She couldn’t take it anymore; she disconnected from the session and returned her vision to the plane, which suddenly felt too small.

  It had almost been over. Everything. Kari reached for the closest throw-up bag and held it to her face as she breathed in heavily. The prison break, fighting Joseth, those had been bad, but at least there was a reason for going through them. This was just senseless murder because of greed.

  “Kari?” David asked. “Are you OK?”

  “Uh . . .” Talking made her stomach turn again. “Just a little air sick.”

  She felt David’s hand rub her back as she tried to calm herself down.

  “You are experiencing a mild bout of post-traumatic stress,” Fai said. “Likely triggered by our review of the attack on the research lab. I admit that it has made me uncomfortable as well.”

  Thanks, Fai.

  “I didn’t think about that . . .” David said as he continued to rub her back. “I should have gone through it alone with Fai.”

  “It’s fine,” Kari said. “I’ll be fine.”

  “It’s completely OK if you aren’t,” David said. “That was something that no one should ever have to go through. It was horrible, anyone would have long-term effects from going through something like that.”

  Slowly Kari’s head stopped spinning and she relaxed the bag from her mouth. Part of her wanted to analyze herself, try to figure out exactly what had triggered her panic so she could learn how to deal with it in the future. But that part wasn’t as motivated as the rest of her that wanted to forget everything about it.

  “Did we get anything out of it?” Kari asked, hoping that talking about the results of their study wouldn’t trigger any extra stress.

  “I think so,” David said. “Looking at the images of their badges, it doesn’t seem to match with the League of Humanity’s profile. Sure they have the symbol right, but everything is too uniform. All the people had the same printed skull contained inside a heart. But all records of the League of Humanity shows all their members with different personal variations of the same logo.”

  “Doesn’t sound like enough to prove anything,” Kari said. Her stomach was calming now as she slowly returned to normal.

  “Maybe not,” David said. “But I think it’s a start. If we can prove that the gunmen aren’t the League of Humanity, then it means they have to be someone else. Who else would have motives to attack? I think that is the start of a case against Christina.”

  “Well, we’re going to need more than that. In the court of public opinion, Freelancer is guilty many times over,” Kari said.

  “Like I said, it’s a start,” David said.

  “We do have one other piece,” Fai said.

  “What’s that?” Kari asked.

  “As you’ve mentioned, surprisingly, my existence has been absent from all reports. For whatever reason, Christina has gone to efforts to ensure that I remain hidden.”

  “That is something,” David said. “I think we could get a campaign going around that. Show the world the video, badges, and the fact that Vision has kept Fai secret. We may not get everyone on our side, but enough that there might be a real investigation.”

  “I don’t know . . .” Kari said. “I’m not sure Fai is ready for what that might mean.”

  “I am prepared, but I am detecting that you have reservations.”

  A notification blinked in her mind informing her that they had arrived in London and that all passengers should secure themselves for the landing.

  “Let’s think about it,” Kari said. “We should have some time to think things through after we land. Speaking of which, everyone needs to secure themselves.”

  “Assuming there isn’t some British enforcement waiting for us,” David said.

  “Well, if there is, we can think about our case after we break free again.”

  “I can’t find any evidence of abnormal activity at the airport,” Fai said.

  “I’ll order us an auto-auto,” Kari said as the plane bumped down on the ground with a barely noticeable jolt. No one had bothered to buckle up. Self-flying planes didn’t make mistakes.

  “Can you hand me that throw-up bag?” David said.

  “Why? You’re feeling sick now?”

  “Of course I am!” David said.

  “I don’t observe any—”

  “Fai! Quiet. You’re ruining my line. I’ve been waiting for years to say this.”

  “Sorry, I did not realize that.”

  “Well,” Kari said, feeling vastly improved already. “Let’s hear it.”

  “You only meet the parents once,” David said with a grin. “It’s a big moment that I don’t want to mess up!”

  Kari couldn’t help but laugh even though she didn’t want to encourage him. Somehow, even though the plan had been to meet up with her parents, she had never thought about the details of having her boyfriend meet her parents for the first time.

  “Oh, you’ll be fine,” Kari said. “You haven’t risked their lives or destroyed their beloved manual truck. I’m sure they’ll love you.”

  “You’ve all been here before, then?” Robert asked. The portly man sat in the corner of their auto-auto in a way that suggested he was accustomed to that particular location. He sported a spotty shave and wore the vest that was required for his position over a poorly printed shirt.

  A small mechanical monkey climbed around his feet. Avatars, as they were called over here, were incredibly popular. From what Kari knew about recent trends most people carried an avatar with them. They were small animals of every imaginable species, capable of learning tricks and exchanging data with other avatars. It was a fad that had never caught on in the states, but Kari always thought it was a fun concept.

  “First time for me,” David said. “I’ve heard it’s nice, though.”

  “Not so much where you’re going. Why don’t you swing down to the city and see some of what Europe’s finest city has to offer?” Robert asked. “Some of the old monuments perhaps?”

  Kari had forgotten that the United Kingdom had long-standing laws that required auto-autos to have human guides present in all of them to help show people around. It was one of the oldest examples of governments trying to find ways to protect jobs from technological advances. It was an entirely useless job that provided no value, but at least it gave people something to do, something that the United States had not necessarily succeeded at.

  The economic upheaval of modern technology had been staggering. Some even believed it was one of the largest causes of the political divide that had started the second Civil War.

  “No, thank you,” Kari said. “We are going to meet some people.”

/>   “Who’s that?”

  “Some friends,” Kari said. She didn’t like when people asked her questions she didn’t feel were justified. She especially didn’t like them asking questions about her relations.

  “I meant no offense,” Robert said. “Just trying to do my job.”

  “Oh, none taken,” David said. “We’re happy to be here.”

  “I reckon,” Robert said. “How long you going to be spending in our country?”

  Kari had never felt so patriotic. What’s the point of having self-driving cars if you are going to be forced to talk to people anyway? At least we got that right.

  “Uhh . . .” David said.

  “Two days is all,” Kari said. “Then we’re going to go see Paris and Rome.”

  “Ah, a tourist trip! Well, if your plans aren’t set in stone, I recommend skipping out on Paris and spending a few more days here in London. There’s so much to see and do here. If you have never seen the farm towers, I highly recommend it! They are capable of feeding our entire city from their produce.”

  The farm tower were one of the wonders of the modern world, impossibly tall towers built from graphium. Every level grew a different crop and they had transformed one of the largest cities in the world into a self-sustaining ecosystem.

  Too bad I’ve visited them a thousand times in my mind chip already. And we’re wanted fugitives.

  Kari stopped listening to Robert as he recited his tourist spiel, trying to convince visitors to spend as much money in the local economy as possible. She did, however, keep close tabs on Robert’s eyes. Even though he was talking primarily to David, his eyes constantly drifted over to Fai. The way he was studying Fai was making Kari uncomfortable.

  There were plenty of humanoid robots, but it was rare to see one as nice as Fai’s body. Probably extra rare to see a damaged one show up with some kids from a different country. He’s going to remember us and that isn’t good. Once Henderson tracks us here, this guy is going to point him in our direction.

  “You need to go to the doctor’s office as soon as you can,” Fai said. “You have an early case of leukemia that needs to be treated.”

  The car went dead silent. Way to be memorable, Fai!

  “Excuse me?” Robert said.

  “If you don’t seek treatment soon, you will die,” Fai responded. Her voice was empathic and thoughtful, which made the situation even worse.

  “Who . . . what?”

  “There it goes malfunctioning again!” Kari said. “My mom’s assistant has been acting so weird ever since it’s accident!”

  She tried her hardest to sell her story. She glanced from Robert over to Fai and gave her a glare that she hoped Fai understood meant she wasn’t to say another word.

  “What . . . ha! An accident,” Robert said. Clearly he was shaken and no longer comfortable with them.

  “Sorry about that,” David said. “We should have warned you.”

  “Oh, that’s fine,” Robert said.

  But it was clear that wasn’t true. He was sweating a little now. Kari didn’t blame him; if someone had told her she had a life-threatening illness, then she’d probably react the same way. Even though cancer treatment was far better than it had been in the past, the occasional case was still fatal.

  The rest of the trip was spent with David trying to make small talk with Robert while he sweated away in the corner. His eyes kept shifting over to Fai constantly. Kari wasn’t sure if he was sweating because he was afraid he might have cancer or because he thought Fai might do something worse than deliver life-changing medical news.

  “Here we are,” Robert said as the auto-auto slowed to a stop. The man was so flustered that Kari hoped he would forget about their destination and would focus only on his medical problems.

  Kari waited for David and Fai to exit the auto-auto before following them. When she was halfway out of the vehicle she looked back at relieved-looking Robert.

  “You should probably go get yourself checked out,” Kari said. “Just in case.”

  “Right,” Robert said.

  Kari looked around the surprisingly populated street, where a few pairs of eyes lingered on Fai. Great, might as well just log on to the networks and message Henderson our exact location. It would save some time. Her mind chip lit up her vision with directions to her parents’ apartment, or flat, as they called them. She walked hurriedly in that direction while David and Fai followed them.

  “Did you not want me to tell Robert of his health problem?” Fai asked in a hushed voice while they walked.

  Kari hadn’t been happy when Fai made herself so obviously intelligent and memorable, but she had potentially saved the man’s life. She couldn’t be angry because of that. “No, not at all. You did the right thing. Next time, though, let me know and I’ll break the news to him.”

  “I will do that,” Fai said. “What level of medical issue do you want me to alert you to?”

  “Umm . . . anything serious,” Kari said. She stopped in front of a four-story apartment building and looked up at the numbers.

  “What would you quantify as serious?” Fai asked.

  “You make that decision,” Kari said, before looking over to David. “Take a deep breath, David, you’re about to meet the Tahes.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Hey, Mom!” Kari said.

  Her stunned mother stood in the doorway motionless as her eyes went wide. The last time Kari had seen her parents in person was when they were both in Henderson’s prison. He had held them unlawfully in order to force Kari to work for him. Like most bosses Kari had ever worked with, he had ended up disappointed, and her parents had landed in London. She talked to them infrequently now, not because she didn’t want to, but because she was just really busy.

  “Can we come in?” Kari asked when her mother didn’t respond.

  Kari’s voice seemed to convince her mother that she wasn’t dreaming, so she swooped in and wrapped Kari up in a tight hug. Kari hugged her tightly back. When her mom started to cry, Kari fought back tears as well.

  “You’re here,” her mom said quietly.

  “Who is it?” Kari’s dad asked from inside the apartment.

  “Come in!” Her mother let Kari go and gestured her inside. Kari looked to David and Fai and nodded for them to follow. David smiled at her, but there was something in his face that seemed to question whether he should be there during their family reunion.

  No other choice at this point.

  “Jamal, you’ll never guess who is here!” Stasha Tahe said.

  Kari was sure that the emotion and excitement in her voice would actually allow her father to guess who it was with decent accuracy, but that didn’t seem important at the moment. They rounded the corner in the moderately sized, but extremely tidy apartment to where her father was sitting on a couch.

  Jamal Tahe rose to his feet as soon as he saw Kari, and a range of emotions covered his face in quick succession.

  “Did you know?” he asked his wife as he moved almost cautiously toward Kari.

  “No! Not at all,” Stasha said. “She just showed up!”

  Kari opened her arms to hug her father, but he ignored that gesture and picked her off the ground and twirled her around.

  “My little girl is home!” he said with a laugh.

  Kari laughed, too. Her father’s overwhelming reaction stemmed the emotions, which she appreciated. He set her down a few seconds later and stepped back to study her.

  “Hi, Dad . . .” It was the only thing she could think to say. She hadn’t seen her parents in person in years, but being back with them seemed so natural that it felt like she was just coming home after a day spent at her factory.

  The smile from her father’s face drained away as he looked over to David and Fai. He frowned at David and looked back to Kari.

  “Who’s this?” He didn’t sound pleased.

  “I’m David Pratt, sir,” David said. He stepped forward and held his hand out to greet Kari’s father, who s
tared at it with distaste.

  “This is the David?” Jamal asked, leaving David’s hand hanging in the air.

  “Yes, Dad,” Kari said.

  An awkward tension filled the room as Jamal looked back and forth between Kari and David.

  “Your boyfriend?”

  “Uh . . . yes,” Kari said. She wasn’t sure why she hesitated to answer, but then again she wasn’t sure why her dad was acting this way.

  “Then put that hand down,” Jamal said. “And give me a hug.”

  David’s face was flush with relief as he hugged Kari’s dad. Stasha hit Jamal softly in the back to let him know she didn’t appreciate the scene. He couldn’t resist the chance to be a dad. Can’t blame him for that; I haven’t given him many chances over the years.

  “It’s very nice to finally meet you,” David said after hugging Jamal, before Stasha could replace him.

  “We’ve heard so much about you,” Stasha said. “We couldn’t be happier you’re the first boy Kari has ever brought home.”

  “Me too,” David said. “It’s great to be here.”

  “Speaking of which,” Jamal said. “Why are you here?”

  “Well it’s a long story . . .” Kari said.

  “And I imagine it has to do with the attack on the Vision building? It’s been all over the news that Freelancer is to blame. We’ve been worried about you,” Stasha said.

  The mood in the room had changed so many times in the past couple of minutes that Kari felt like she had whiplash. One moment I’m going to cry, then laugh, then get upset. What next? They are going to tell me I’m adopted?

  “Um . . .” Kari searched for the right words and realized that Fai was standing silently behind them. Her parents had ignored the robot, likely assuming that it was just another thoughtless humanoid. Robots that were shaped like humans were too expensive for most people to print and utilize, but they weren’t extremely uncommon.

  “This is Fai,” Kari said. “She’s the world’s first artificial intelligence and my friend.”