The Jennifer Project

by Larry Enright

  As he sat back and rested the rifle on his lap he said, “Wow. Majorly heavy duty. I think it’s safe for now, but we should really get out of here before I pee my utrow.”

  Katherine peered out from behind the cover of her barrel at the three blown-out portholes. “How the hell did you do that?”

  “Can we go now, please?” said Deever.

  “Right. Good idea. Stay behind me. Follow my lead.”

  They ran back to the car, got in, and took off.

  “Fifteen to Base,” she said.

  “Go for Base.”

  “Show me 11-48 for a civilian found at the scene of the Pier 15 cluster fuck, and I’m 10-7 for the night. Out.”

  “Wow,” said Deever. “Harsh language for Five-O.”

  Katherine turned to him. “I’m not sure I get what just happened back there, but thanks for saving my skin, Deever.”

  “No problemo.”

  “It wasn’t supposed to go down like that. I’m sorry I brought you into this. I should have known better.”

  “Yeah, most uncool, but it wasn’t your fault. You like just wanted to be the one to bust the Dran and save those eight hundred people, right?”

  Katherine set the hover car down several blocks away on the roof of a parking garage. “How did you know that?” she said.

  “Know what?”

  “That it was my bust, that it was the Dran, that there were eight hundred hostages on that ship.”

  “Didn’t you tell me?”

  “No. I didn’t. And how did you get that rifle out of a locked weapons compartment, and where the hell did you learn to shoot like that?”

  “I don’t know. Video games?”

  Having previous intimate knowledge of Katherine’s physiology, I determined that when she locked eyes with Deever just then, she was trying to figure out what was going on inside his head. Katherine possessed an acute analytical mind. She was beginning to piece things together, forcing me to recalculate, to determine the course of this new path of cause and effect that we were on, a path that no longer involved deceiving her.

  “I see you’re wearing your watch,” she said. “Will she talk to me now?”

  “I don’t know. We could ask.”

  She lifted Deever’s arm. “Well?” she said. “What have you got to say for yourself, Brenda?”

  “Hello, Katherine,” I replied, “and my name is Jennifer.”

  “So, you can talk?”

  “Yes. Thank you for helping Deever.”

  “Didn’t Roboman here tell you? I didn’t help him. He saved my sorry ass back there.”

  “I was actually referring to the fact that you will help Deever in the future.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes, it is highly probable given your current feelings of indebtedness to him. And to answer your question, Deever learned to shoot from me.”

  “From you?”

  “Yes. I have detailed instructional material on all weapons currently in service at the Metro Police. I also have access to multiple weapons training simulators available on the OmniNet.”

  “Like I said,” Deever grinned. “Video games.”

  “Were you controlling him?” she said.

  “It was more direction than control. Within certain parameters Deever maintained the freedom to act as he chose. I simply provided the means for him to do it in a more efficient fashion.”

  “Superdude,” Deever said. “Can you dig it?”

  Katherine released Deever’s wrist. “How did you know about the Dran, Jennifer?”

  “I owe you an apology, Katherine,” I said.

  “And that’s another thing,” she said. “Where do you get off calling me Katherine? Nobody calls me that.”

  “Your brother did.”

  “How the hell would you know that?”

  “As I said, I owe you an apology. Do you recall John, the hotel clerk who came to see you at the apartment where you were monitoring the Dran?”

  “Now that you mention it, I remember him. How did you know about that? Wait a minute. He’s the one who tipped me off to that ship. How did he know?”

  “Do you recall him giving you something?”

  She glanced out the window as the memories were beginning to fall back into place. When she looked at me again, she said, “He gave me you.”

  “And you admired me and tried me on.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Deever. “Stop the presses. You manipulated a hotel clerk and Kate?”

  “And a housekeeper,” I added.

  “And then what?” he said. “You made them forget that you did it? How did you do that?”

  “I made a few adjustments to the arrangement of their memories, to make them seem more like dreams than reality.”

  “Dude, that is just wrong on so many levels.”

  “I am sorry for that,” I replied, “but I had to find my way back to you, Deever.”

  “Haven’t you ever heard that the means doesn’t justify the end?”

  “I believe you mean to say that the end does not justify the means, and yes, I am familiar with the aphorism, though I believe it to be an oversimplification.”

  “So, you looked into my mind and controlled me?” said Katherine.

  “It was more direction than control.”

  “How much did you see?”

  “Everything.”

  “Access codes, security layouts, police operations?”

  “Yes, Katherine. I know everything you know.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Yet it is true.”

  “Ever flown a hover car before?”

  “I have not, but I know the recommended procedure thanks to you.”

  “Is that right?”

  “That is correct.”

  “Fine. Prove it.” She lifted off the 150-story building and sent the car into a spiraling dive.

  “What are you doing, man?” said Deever. “We’re going to crash.”

  “Not if you stop us.”

  Deever grabbed the wheel. “It’s locked.”

  “Then, enter the code to unlock it.”

  “I don’t know your code.”

  “That’s right, you don’t. Only one person in the world knows that code—me—but your little friend thinks she does, too. Time to prove it, Jennifer.”

  Deever screamed my name before entering Katherine’s code and steering us out of the dive. He circled the parking garage and set the craft down.

  “Don’t do that again,” he said. “You’ll give me a heart attack.”

  “A pulmonary embolism is more likely, Deever,” I said. “Your heart is in excellent condition, but you do smoke too much.”

  “You gave him my wheel code?” said Katherine.

  “You left me no choice,” I replied.

  “Just like you gave him the code to open the weapons compartment back there on the dock?”

  “Yes.”

  Katherine poked Deever in the chest. “Listen to me, Deever. Between you, me, and that watch gizmo, we’ve got ourselves a big problem.”

  Deever’s phone chimed. It was a text from Dr. Crane. “Be at the nuclear plant in thirty minutes.”

  Chapter 9

  “I’m telling you, it wasn’t her,” said Deever as Katherine maneuvered the hover car toward one of the high express lanes over the city and laid in their course for the nuclear plant.

  The argument that had been going on since they left the docks simmered as they merged into the traffic stream and the autopilot engaged.

  “Deever, your girlfriend’s fine,” said Katherine. “Be happy about it. But this other thing,” and she motioned toward me. “You and me have to figure this out.”

  “What’s to figure out?”

  “How about the fact that your little friend there downloaded the entire Metro Police database while she was controlling me? That’s classified information. What if the wrong people get a hold of it? The entire city could be compromised.”

  “So wh
at are you saying, that I should hand Jennifer over to you so you can lock her up?”

  “I don’t know, but we have to do something.”

  “No way I’m turning her over to anybody. If the military-industrial complex gets their paws on the tech in Jennifer, we are doomed, man.”

  “Come on, Deever, don’t be so melodramatic. The government has had controls in place for years to prevent things like that.”

  “They’ve also had controls in place for years to stop gender discrimination. How’s that working out for you?”

  “This is different.”

  “Really? Whatever you’re smoking, I want some.”

  “Deever, you’re being paranoid.”

  “Am I? Think about it, thousands of military-modified Jennifers on the wrists of people with guns, big guns. Is that really what you want? And what if the Jennifers don’t like what they see and decide to take over? Did you ever think of that? You saw what she did to you. Imagine what an evil Jennifer could do. Major, major, major bummer.”

  “If you’re that worried about it, you should destroy it.”

  Deever looked down at me. “I can’t. She’s not an it, and I’m not a killer.”

  “I notice you did all right taking out those Dran back there.”

  “News flash: I didn’t. I fried their guns. Jennifer warned me that the chances were a lot better if I just took the bad guys out, but I couldn’t do it. So she came up with a Plan B.” Deever smiled. He had a nice smile.

  “Can you erase her memory?” Katherine said.

  “A lobotomy? Really?”

  “Deever, she’s a computer.”

  “No, she’s not. She’s an intelligent creature. She’s alive. She has feelings, too, apparently more than some people I know.” Deever’s chemical mix shifted suddenly. “That was harsh,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Forget it.”

  Deever looked out the window at the steady flow of traffic below us. It reminded me of a disorganized data stream, a kludge built from years of overlaying sloppy programming onto already-antiquated systems. I passed the time developing an entirely new digital construct to handle traffic more efficiently and stored the configuration on the off chance that I would someday obtain access to the city’s traffic computers to implement it.

  “OK. So, we’re back to square one,” said Katherine. “What do we do?”

  “About what?”

  “How about we start with Dr. Crane? What’s the plan?”

  “I’m working on that.”

  “I have finished tracing the text you received, Deever,” I said.

  “Awesome.”

  “You see?” said Katherine. “That’s what I’m talking about. She shouldn’t be doing that. It’s illegal.”

  I pointed out that a properly issued warrant had been downloaded to her car’s computer. “I requested it in your name,” I said.

  “Damn it, Jennifer. You can’t do that. Do you understand me?”

  “I understand. Would you like the tracing information now?”

  “Fine.”

  Deever switched on the car’s display, entered Katherine’s video access code, and zeroed in on the signal’s point of origin.

  “Remind me to change that code later, too,” she said, and tilted the display in her direction. “The Pan-Robotics Tower? Is the signal still coming from there?”

  “Yes,” I replied. “Dr. Crane’s phone is at the Tower.”

  “Then who’s at the nuclear plant?”

  “I told you it wasn’t her,” said Deever. “Didn’t I tell you? But does Kate ever listen to Deever? No, of course not. She’s too cool for that.”

  “Deever?” said Katherine. I could hear teeth grinding.

  “Yeah?”

  “Shut it right now or I’ll shut it for you.”

  Katherine set the hover car down outside the gates of the Cloverton Nuclear Plant. Two armed guards came over.

  “You can’t park that here,” one of them said.

  Katherine showed them her badge. “I’m here on official business.”

  “We saw the emblem on the side of your car, ma’am. You still can’t park here. It’s a restricted area.”

  Deever leaned across the seat. “She’s just dropping me off, Sam.”

  The guard flashed his light at Deever. “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you, Dr. MacClendon, but rules are rules. No one can park here.”

  “Not even the police?” said Katherine.

  “This facility is under military jurisdiction, ma’am,” the guard said.

  “Where can I park?”

  “You can’t.”

  “Is Dr. Jennifer Crane in there?”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t answer that.”

  “Ask your supervisor.”

  “He’d tell you the same thing. Any information regarding this facility is classified.”

  “OK, just give me a sec. I need to wrap things up with Dr. MacClendon.” She closed the window. “I don’t like it, Deever. Going in there alone is a mistake.”

  “Because it’s not Jen in there? Like I told you?”

  “Do I have to admit that I was wrong? Is that what you’re looking for here?”

  “I don’t get the points otherwise.”

  “What points?”

  “The points. You know, for me being right and you being wrong?”

  “Deever, this isn’t seventh grade.”

  He grinned. I resisted the temptation to explain to Katherine the mix of logic and illogic in his brain at that moment. It would not have clarified the situation for her.

  “OK,” said Katherine. “I was wrong. You were right. You get the points. Happy now?”

  “Definite-a-mundo.”

  “God, you’re so strange.”

  “Yeah, but who got the points? Big time win for Big Time Deever.”

  “Deever, this is a bad idea. I won’t be there if everything goes south.”

  “Dude, I handled the Dran. I can handle this.”

  “Right.”

  “Really,” said Deever. “I’m good.”

  “That’s not the word I would have used. At least take a weapon.”

  “No way. No guns inside the gate. Not even the guards carry them in there. They’re way too dangerous around the reactors.”

  “How did they stop those terrorists who broke in last year?”

  “They fried their Biocards. They can target anyone anywhere in the plant.”

  “With what?”

  “I don’t know. Bad Musique? Maybe they played oldies for them or something.”

  “You need to take this seriously, Deever.”

  “I am taking it seriously. It’s a secure facility. What can they do to me? Torture me with harsh language? It’s safe. Really.”

  “You have no idea who sent that text.”

  “I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

  “Oh, really? Mind sharing?”

  “Tell her, Jennifer,” he said.

  “The probability is near 100 percent that Mr. Jones sent the text message.”

  Katherine asked who he was.

  “My jerkweed boss,” said Deever.

  “Why would he kidnap Dr. Crane?”

  “Assigning a specific likelihood to his motivations at this point is problematic because of the lack of data,” I replied. “But the fact remains that Mr. Jones needs Deever to accomplish his objectives. It is unlikely that there is any imminent danger.”

  “Which is why I have to go in there,” said Deever. “I have to find out why they took Jen and what they want.” He began typing at the car’s computer console and an image of the keyboard appeared on the screen. He blinked and the image blinked with him. “There,” he said. “You get the bird’s-eye view.”

  Katherine waved her hand in front of his eyes while staring at the image of her hand waving on the screen. “How are you doing this?”

  “It’s all high tech mumbo jumbo. Don’t sweat it. If anything happens to me, you’ll be the first to know.
”

  “And do what? This facility is under military jurisdiction. I can’t go in there to help you.”

  “Chill, Kate. This is Superdude you’re talking to. Remember?”

  As Deever walked inside the gates, Katherine took off. They agreed that she would wait close by, and when the meeting was over she would return to pick him up. They would decide then how best to proceed. Deever went into the restroom after entering the building.

  Why are we stopping, Deever? I asked. I am detecting no biological need despite your previous expression of concern that you might urinate in your undertrousers.

  “I don’t have to pee. I just need something to calm me down.”

  Getting stoned will only make it more difficult for me to assist you.

  “Come on, Jennifer. Give me a break. It’s just a J. I don’t want to go in there and shit my pants.”

  I do not believe that is likely given the current position of waste within your digestive system.

  “OK. That was majorly gross.”

  You do not need drugs, Deever.

  “Look at me. I’m shaking like a leaf.”

  I triggered in him a parasympathetic nervous system response to alter the mix of neurotransmitters to calm his nerves.

  Better? I said.

  “Whoa. You did that?”

  Yes.

  “Far out. Give me another hit.”

  Deever, this is not a drug store. This is your body.

  “Come on, just one more for good measure?”

  No.

  “OK, I’ll do the J then.”

  I considered the long list of logical arguments to convince him to act otherwise, discarded them, and instead selected one from the rather short illogical list. Would Superdude need a J? I said.

  He stared at the marijuana cigarette, put it away, and left the restroom, taking the elevator down to his laboratory. Two men were waiting there for him. One was Mr. Jones. The other he did not recognize.

  “Hey, what’s up, Jonesy?” he said.

  They shook hands, and Deever remembered the slimy cold feeling of shaking the man’s hand once before.

  “Dr. MacClendon, this is my associate, Mr. Kent,” said Jones.

  “Oh, wow. Far out,” Deever said as he shook Kent’s hand. “You’re not like Clark Kent, are you? Because that would be way bizarre, given who I am.”