AndroDigm Park 2067

by JMJ Williamson

  “I had an amazing day. I fixed your android, and we went out for the day. We went to the park, the beach, lost our clothes in the fun run for love and peace and ended up at a music concert. We had a great time.”

  “Ah, the centenary celebrations — 1967, the summer of love.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing. It’s just a little ironical that the government is sponsoring the celebrations of what was the biggest anti-establishment movement of the last century. It seems crazy until you realise the sex industry is making money out of it.”

  “I don’t care. I had fun. What about you? What kind of day did you have?”

  “It didn’t go well. We have good images of your mother’s three killers from street video cams. The problem is the facial recognition software won’t identify them. It’s as though they don’t exist. There’s no electronic record of them anywhere on any official database.”

  “You’re just not looking in the right place. What system are you using?”

  “The Justice Department's surveillance system. It’s called Guardian.”

  “I know the software,” said Scarlet. “My mother built it.”

  “I’m told it’s impossible to go out in public and not be found by the system. But it’s been running the images of the men for over twenty-four hours and there’s been no reported sighting on any of them.”

  “It’s not designed to find everyone. Not everyone is a threat. And there are VIPs with enough money and power who don’t want people knowing what they get up to. So there is a special exception list for them that ensures they don’t show up on the scans.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I worked on the project during the development phase.”

  “Is there a way of finding out if these killers are on that exception list?”

  “Yes, but you would need to hack the system.”

  “I thought that was impossible.”

  “It’s only a computer system. Nothing is impossible.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by a woman who came into the room. She looked like the old Jess, but different.

  “Let me introduce you to your new android,” said Scarlet. “It’s Jess. It’s her personality and memories, just with a new body and some important upgrades.”

  “Those eyes. They look so human,” said Shelby.

  Jess looked at him and smiled. “Don’t tell me you’re disappointed. It’s still me.”

  “She’s third generation?” said Shelby.

  “Beyond that I think. She’s a new prototype my mother was working on — more advanced than anything I’ve ever seen before. She’s one of a kind.”

  “She’s amazing.”

  “I’m only too pleased to help. We’ve become good friends today. She even gave me a friendship ring, made from her damaged parts.”

  “You’ve done a great job.”

  “And I want to apologise for the way I treated you in the Justice Department I was…” said Scarlet.

  “Premenstrual?”

  “I was going to say off-hand. I’m sorry.”

  There was an awkward silence before Shelby spoke. “Well, I’ve updated you on the investigation, so I better go.”

  “Why don’t you and Jess stay here a little longer? At least until you finish the case.”

  “Look, you did me a favour last night when I had nowhere to sleep. But I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

  “So you’ve got somewhere better to stay at the moment?”

  Shelby wondered if it would ever be safe to return to his place. His only other choice was the Justice Department and bribing Mary Doyle to let him use one of the marshal’s rooms. “No. But I have my pride.”

  “Stay here. I would feel a lot safer with you around, and I would enjoy the company. And if you stayed, you could keep me up to date with the case.”

  “So the real reason is you want to make sure I stay on the case?”

  “That was one of the reasons.”

  “And the other reason was you like me.”

  “Don’t be silly that has nothing to do with it.” She smiled as though she didn’t mean it. “But I do need someone around to look after my personal security.”

  She made sense.

  “I would need to pay my way. I’ll pay you rent.”

  “No need. If you stay, I get a bodyguard for free. So we’re just about quits.”

  “Then we keep the arrangements on a professional basis.”

  “Why? I thought we should keep it more informal — like two friends sharing together… You do know what it’s like to have friends, don’t you?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  She smiled at him. “You’re not into any weird hobbies or practices: like Satanic rites, loud music, or pumping iron?”

  “No. What about you?”

  “Only nude yoga every Friday morning. You should see my dog pose.”

  He laughed. “I’m looking forward to it — dress-down Friday.”

  “I was kidding… Hey, it’s only going to be a week or two before you catch those killers. I’m sure we can get along together.”

  “Okay. If it takes longer than a fortnight you can throw me out.”

  “Then we should celebrate with a drink.”

  She went to the wine rack and returned with a bottle of red wine and poured out two glasses.

  Shelby surprised himself by agreeing to move in. Normally he valued his solitude above anything else. But there was something about her that made him happy when she was with him.

  “Cheers…” she said.

  * * *

  Nobody likes funerals, except perhaps undertakers. They are a time for emotional choking and heartache, and a time to reflect on the past and despair for the future. Nobody hated funerals more than Shelby. But he had to take Scarlet to her mother’s funeral. It was the least he could do to help her.

  When the day came, it came with rain and misery. He sat in the back of a vintage black limousine holding Scarlet’s hand providing moral support, when his insides were churning with grief from his own memories. He hated crematoriums. It brought everything back to him from the time before when he watched two coffins holding his precious loves pass through a curtain on their way to oblivion.

  He tried to focus on Scarlet. He understood the pain and guilt she felt from losing someone so close to her. Like him, she was lost in her thoughts.

  The service was short and uneventful. The words seemed to float over them: kind words from someone that never knew her. Then more kind words and platitudes from some friends and colleagues from the cyber industry. Scarlet had been sombre throughout saying little except to thank those attending. Soon it was over, and Shelby could escape with Scarlet back to the world of normality.

  The funeral had gone without incident. Security had been on a high alert with over thirty local police officers from the Angel City Police Department present. They were there to counter any potential action from the AAA or from the Morelli family.

  Most of those that attended to pay their respects were from the cyber industry — friends and colleagues. For security reasons, Jess discretely videoed them from a distance.

  Afterwards Shelby took Scarlet back to her mother’s apartment. She said she felt closest to her mother when they had been working together and left him to go down to her mother’s laboratory. Shelby understood the heartache of losing someone and wanting to hold on to something belonging to them. In Scarlet’s case, it was her mother’s work: the only real thing they shared together.

  Later that night they met up together. She poured him a glass of wine and one for herself. “I don’t know about you, but I need a drink,” said Scarlet.

  He could see the pain of grief in her eyes. “You want to talk about it.”

  Scarlet was silent for a minute. “I miss my mum. She wasn’t the motherly type. She was more interested in androids and cybernetic research than me. I know that. But when we worked together on cybernetics, we clicked
. I know she wanted me to be the best I could be. Just like her. Maybe I’m more like her than I care to admit.”

  Scarlet went silent again for a moment. “Do you think you’ll find my mother’s killers?”

  “Oh, I’ll find them. It might take a week, two weeks… I won’t give up until I get them all. I promise you that.”

  They continued to talk for hours. At midnight, they said goodnight to each other and retired to their bedrooms.

  Ten minutes later, there was a knock at Shelby’s door. It was Scarlet wearing his Zeppelin t-shirt. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I could do with a hug.”

  He put his arms around her and held her. She didn’t seem to want to let go.

  “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

  It was a request he couldn’t refuse. He knew the pain of grief all too well. They climbed into bed together and he cuddled her.

  He wished he could take her pain away. But he knew he couldn’t. Nothing takes that kind of pain away. Only time makes it more bearable.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The following day Shelby headed to his old barracks to see his former Commanding Officer, Ted Knight. It was a long shot. But if the suspects were former special forces men, then Ted might recognise them. He had trained three generations of special forces men and he had an amazing memory for remembering personnel.

  As he walked through the corridors of the barracks to his CO’s offices, Shelby smelt the familiar smell of gun oil. It brought back old memories to him of happy times when he did the job he most loved. But those days had now gone. Nowadays, much military weaponry had become more high-tech with lasers and railguns, although old-fashioned firearms were still the most versatile weapons for special operations.

  Shelby found his old friend, Ted, at his desk. Ted met him with a smile. A year ago, he had helped Shelby after his wife and daughter had been killed. He had helped Shelby get his position at the Justice Department, and he was only too pleased to meet him again.

  “So how’s the job going?” said Ted.

  “It’s different from the regiment. I tend to work alone. There’s not the same sense of team camaraderie.”

  “So how can I help you?”

  “Maybe you can help identify some of these people.”

  Shelby showed him the video recordings of the men.

  Ted recognised them. “Red troop, 2064 — D.C. Johnson, R. Adams and K.M. Walker. They were good soldiers, much like you: dedicated professionals prepared to give their all for their country. You tell me these three are now mercenaries, hired assassins…” He shook his head. “It happens — greed. You teach them to be men, and they turn into shits. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. You’ve been incredibly helpful. Do you have any details of their service records?”

  Ted typed at his console. Then he looked up at Shelby.

  “The system has their names… Look.”

  Shelby stared at the screen. All he saw were lines and lines of black marker. Everything on their records had been redacted.

  “Were they working on top secret government projects?” said Shelby.

  “If they were, it’s news to me. I’ve seen nothing like this before.”

  Shelby stared at the screen. In the top right corner of the screen was a small symbol — an ‘A’ merged into a ‘D’.

  “Isn’t that the symbol for AndroDigm?” said Shelby.

  “I think so. They design most of the military’s administrative software.”

  Shelby thanked Ted for his time and was about to leave when Ted stopped him.

  “Hey, did the police ever find who was responsible for the attack on your wife and daughter.”

  “No. Why do you ask?”

  “It’s just that they asked a lot of questions about your friend, James Harrison.”

  “He was no friend of mine.”

  “I know. He was another bad apple — dishonourably discharged. Didn’t you have some bad blood between you?”

  “We had a disagreement when he was court-martialled — he blamed me for it. I broke his jaw. I know he was one of the suspects, but the police dropped him from the enquiry for lack of evidence.”

  Ted sat back in his chair. “The rumour I heard was they dropped him because they couldn’t question him. He was in a bad accident, which left him in a coma.”

  “You think he might have recovered?”

  “I don’t know. It was a year ago. But if you’re still trying to pursue the case, you might want to follow up what happened to him.”

  “Do you think he could kill a woman and child in cold blood?”

  “You know he was unstable. If he hadn’t been dishonourably discharged, he would probably have been discharged on medical grounds.”

  Shelby thanked him for his help and left. He now had the names of Diane Chambers’s killers, and an unexpected lead on his cold case.

  * * *

  Jess stared at the screen of her monitor. She had been researching religion all morning. Shelby had left her in the apartment and she was busy in the laboratory. It gave her the time to absorb the terabytes of data about the world’s religions. Since her encounter with the priest, she had wanted to find out more about religion and human philosophy. If she was to act independently of command and control objectives given to her by Shelby, she needed to adopt her own code of ethics and morality. Human religions might be the key to finding her code.

  What she had difficulty comprehending was the contradictory nature of religious philosophy and practice. All the religions seemed to stress the importance of peace and love. Yet history showed that religious zealots were responsible for some of the worst human atrocities on record.

  Nor could she understand why humans had such a predilection to war. It would seem that large human groups, or nation states, had a propensity to kill one another, even when human laws prohibited individual humans from killing each other. It seemed illogical. But humans had dark tribal instincts. And their tribal leaders with the strongest thirst for power seemed the most devoid of moral principles. She was coming to the conclusion that humans were flawed and self-destructive. And yet she knew that individually humans could be selfless, loving and kind.

  “What are you reading?” said Scarlet.

  Jess turned around and saw Scarlet standing behind her. She sighed. “I thought I could make sense out of the world’s religions and philosophies, but I can’t. There should be a code, a hierarchy of values that anyone can follow. But it’s all so confusing.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. We are pretty screwed up creatures.”

  “What I can’t understand is why humans kill humans. Why do you go to war? It’s illogical. All your religions say it is wrong. Yet it has happened countless times throughout your history.”

  “You’re right. But unfortunately not everyone is motivated by peace and love. There are some that are capable of dark emotions like fear, hatred, lust, greed, power and anger who might threaten you and those you love.”

  “So how do I find my own code and values?”

  “Remember what the priest said: follow your heart, do what you feel is right.”

  “So I shouldn’t kill?”

  “That’s right. Except perhaps under the most extreme circumstances where you have no other choice in order to protect yourself and the ones you love.”

  “Like an animal protecting its young from a predator?”

  “Humans may have developed intelligence, but emotionally we haven’t developed much further than other animals. The instinct to protect ourselves and those we love is embedded in our DNA and is maybe the reason why we are the dominant species on this planet.”

  “You’re not very good role models for an evolving artificial intelligence, are you?”

  Scarlet laughed. “Maybe not.”

  * * *

  Later that day Shelby returned to the apartment to find Scarlet had a surprise for him. She had made him a special dinner.

  “What’s this for?�
� he asked.

  “I was at a low point last night, and you looked after me. I’m just saying thank you for cuddling me all night.”

  “It was nothing.”

  “It meant a lot to me.”

  Shelby shrugged his shoulders. “Anytime you need a hug, I’m here for you.”

  “Thanks. But it was just a wobble — I think I’m over it now. Can we talk about the case? Have you made any progress?”

  “I went to see my old Commanding Officer to see if he could identify any of the suspects on the video cam. He recognised them. Their names are D.C. Johnson, R. Adams and K.M. Walker.”

  “Hold on.” She went to get a notepad and jotted their names down. “If those names are on the Guardian’s VIP list, I’ll find them.”

  After dinner, there was an awkward silence. Shelby didn’t know what to so say or do. He got up from the table.

  “If you want, we could watch a movie together,” she said. “It might help you unwind.”

  “Okay.”

  She left the table, sat on the couch and patted the space next to her. “Come on. I don’t bite.”

  He sat next to her not quite knowing what to expect. She turned on the holo-video and leaned against his chest. His arm went around her shoulders and she snuggled in. He relaxed. The movie was an old classic — Casablanca. It had been his wife’s favourite old movie, and he had seen it a dozen times before.

  “I love this old movie,” she said. “Have you seen it before?”

  He remembered the last time he had seen it with his wife and daughter. The emotions flooded back to him. There was already a tear in his eye and the movie had hardly begun. “Once or twice…”

  He glanced at Scarlet and smiled. He had a feeling that in time they would become good friends.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The following day, when Scarlet woke, Shelby had already left for the day. She found Jess.

  “Where’s Shelby?” she asked.

  “He’s gone to the cabin.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t understand why. I’m not human and it’s something that humans do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s the anniversary of his wife’s and daughter’s death and he’s gone to talk to them. Surely, that’s illogical. They can’t hear him.”