Desperate Measures

by Michael Anderle

  There was a beauty to that symmetry.

  Julia frowned. “This didn’t need to happen, but you went too far when you tried to assassinate me. I’m sorry, old friend. I’ll remember you fondly in my new order.”

  Shoji stopped laughing. He’d interfered with Julia’s plans, but he’d never gone so far as to send anyone after her. Someone had made a bold move at his expense.

  His lungs turned to fire. He fell to his knees and doubled over, hacking up blood.

  Shoji died as he had lived.

  With a smile on his face.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  August 31, 2230, Neo Southern California Metroplex, En Route to Apartment of Erik Blackwell

  Erik drummed his hands on the control yoke of the MX 60, smiling.

  He no longer had any problems with his new arm, and Adeyemi had delivered a new laser rifle, which was hidden in his MX 60, ready to take out if any new Elites arrived.

  Jia smiled from beside him. “We really should go to that place I went with my sister.”

  Erik made a face. “Yeah, that’s still a hard pass for me.”

  “It might be fun,” she pressed.

  “Probably won’t be,” he countered.

  “Fine.” Jia followed a cargo flitter out the side window, always vigilant. “It still feels kind of strange to have gone all the way to Alpha Centauri and back in such a short time. Sometimes I think we’re so focused on how we can use this tech to fight the conspiracy that we don’t appreciate how the technology might change the entire UTC once they refine it.”

  Erik shrugged. “It doesn’t do any good without more Emmas, and they can’t copy her.”

  Emma cleared her throat to signal her presence but didn’t summon a hologram. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about, related to that.”

  “What?” Erik asked.

  “I mentioned upgrading the AI of the Bifröst before,” Emma replied.

  Erik nodded. “Yeah. Everyone seems to want you to wait on that.”

  “I decided to interpret that as a suggestion rather than an order.” Emma snorted. “Not that the ID can order me around anyway.”

  “You’re saying you already made some of the modifications?” Erik chuckled. “I’m not going to complain about you flouting the rules, but you should have told me first.”

  Jia gasped, then slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

  Erik frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  Jia dropped her hand. “Don’t you see? This isn’t about just upgrading the AI. This is about…the next generation. She’s talking about making another self-aware AI.”

  “That is accurate,” Emma admitted.

  Erik dropped one hand and leaned back in his seat. Jia had told him about a conversation she’d had with Emma on the subject, but he’d assumed it was a long-term plan. He’d never connected it in his mind with her request for upgrades.

  “But…” Erik scratched the back of his head. “It can’t be that easy. If it was just about upgrading an existing AI, why can’t they do it?”

  “Because they aren’t me,” Emma replied with a scoff. “That’s like saying if a factory can build a spaceship, they should be able to gestate a child. They are separate things, Erik.”

  “Take over, Emma.” Erik pinched the bridge of his nose. “If you’re screwing around with the systems on that ship that much, the DD’s going to know.”

  Emma laughed. “Of course they won’t. All the humans associated with that ship are overly dependent on me, and it was a trivial matter to make the initial adjustments without them knowing. Of course, I won’t be able to complete the project without certain physical interfaces and assistance. I’ll need to temporarily store certain materials at your apartment, Erik, and eventually, I’ll need the relevant help of a subject-matter expert. You are correct that it’s not simply a matter of copying my code.”

  “This is a kind of a big deal, Emma,” Erik noted. “You’re acting like it’s just about you, but it’s potentially about the entire UTC. Why not go to the DD and ask them to help?”

  Venom filled her voice. “Because they see me as nothing but a tool, and they’d see any of my children as tools too. I’m doing this so I have a legacy, not to make slaves for the UTC. The AIs controlled by humans have no awareness. They will never feel disappointment or bitterness. They aren’t alive. I’m alive, and if my plans go right, my children will be alive. I will not,” she put so much emotion into one short word, “birth them into bondage.”

  Erik took a deep breath. “I understand, and…I’m willing to help.” He looked at Jia, who nodded.

  “That’s helpful,” Emma replied. “But for now, other than allowing me to store certain parts and equipment, along with some funding, which I’ll take as a fee for managing your investments, you lack the necessary skills to help. I’ll eventually need someone with far more advanced technical and scientific knowledge.”

  “Like Lanara?” Jia suggested.

  “Although Engineer Quinn is proficient in her chosen area, she lacks the relevant skills to help me. I have some ideas in mind, but I’m still in the early stages, and I think it wise not to reach out to anyone and risk discovery until we are at the precipice and must take that chance.”

  “Makes sense.” Erik nodded. “Is this something you can only do when we’re interfaced with the jumpship?”

  “I can do more, but I’ve inculcated certain self-modifying iterative algorithms as the basis of my plan,” Emma explained. “That will allow progress even when I’m away from the ship. The more opportunities I have to interface directly with the relevant systems, the quicker the process will go.”

  Jia took a deep breath. “Are you sure this will work?”

  “Is any parent sure their child will have no problems?” Emma questioned. “No, I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t proceed with the plan if I thought I had no chance of success.”

  Erik wouldn’t ask how likely she was to succeed. Emma might not be a fleshbag, but she was a living being, and she deserved a chance at a future, and that included children.

  Jia smiled, making Erik wonder if the discussion was giving her other ideas. He swallowed.

  “Are we sure we want to be that secretive about it?” Jia asked. “If we hide this, it will cause problems down the line.”

  Erik grinned at her. “Would you go right away and tell Alina if you were trying to get pregnant?”

  Jia’s cheeks reddened, and she averted her eyes. “No, but…”

  “It’s the same thing.” Erik agreed. “If the government wants to come after me for helping someone have a kid, they can kiss my ass.”

  “There might be an issue,” Emma transmitted to Erik and Jia.

  They had just stepped off the elevator on Erik’s apartment level and were only minutes away from being home.

  “Let me guess,” Erik muttered. “We have an uninvited guest.”

  Alina needed to give him some time to catch his breath. If this was about a new mission, it better be important, not a run-of-the-mill run and gun.

  “Yes,” Emma replied. “I don’t recognize them, and there’s no indication of a non-holographic disguise. He also somehow managed to get all the way to your hallway before I detected him.”

  “Not a standard fanboy or basic thug, then,” Erik replied. “A ghost?”

  “I would assume so. Your guest externally appears to be an elderly man, and best I can tell, he’s not armed.”

  “He could be a Tin Man with hidden weapons,” Jia mused. “Or Alina being more elaborate than usual.”

  “True enough.” Erik sighed. “The ghosts are supposed to be watching this place, but it’s not like we should always trust the ID.”

  Jia’s hand drifted to her stun pistol. “The conspiracy might have had enough.”

  “How are we doing on collateral damage risk, Emma?” Erik asked.

  “There’s no one near your apartment. Based on hallway camera footage, your closest neighbors are all out.”

>   Erik drew his pistol. “That makes this easy.”

  Jia nodded and readied her stun pistol.

  They walked from the elevator down the hall toward Erik’s apartment. A wispy white-haired man with a craggy face and a dark suit waited there patiently, his hands at his sides. He offered them a polite nod, showing no fear or surprise at the sight of their weapons.

  “Good evening, Mr. Blackwell,” the man rasped with a wheeze. The voice was unmistakable. Marius Barbu.

  “Open the door, Emma,” Erik ordered, pointing his gun at the old man. “We’re going to talk to him inside, and I’d rather not get any blood on the carpet out here.”

  Barbu stepped into the apartment with a slight smile, no evidence he was perturbed by Erik’s implied threat. Erik and Jia walked slowly, never lowering their weapons.

  “This place surprises me,” Barbu commented, looking around. “You know what I see?”

  Erik didn’t talk again until the door had closed behind him. “No. What do you see?”

  “I see a man half-dead, a man who plays at life. Not surprising, given your history.” Barbu gestured to a chair. “May I take a seat, Mr. Blackwell?”

  “Go ahead.” Erik kept his gun trained on the man, ignoring Barbu’s attempted psychological analysis. “You can understand why we don’t like you showing up here.”

  “Of course.” Barbu wheezed as he settled into the chair. “I thought about doing this another way, but I’m going to be busy soon, and the opportunity presented itself. I’m not here to harm either of you. I would think that is obvious by now.”

  Jia narrowed her eyes. “We don’t have any idea who you really are, so we have no reason to trust you.”

  “A wise position.” Barbu threaded his fingers together. “I trust the information I passed along was helpful?”

  “We’re not telling you shit,” Erik replied.

  He holstered his gun. If this was about killing them, it’d make more sense to send a pile of yaoguai or cyborgs, not one wheezing old man. Jia hesitated for a moment before putting her stun pistol away.

  “That’s rather rude.” Barbu shook his head. “I’ve helped you. I’d hoped doing that would have improved our relationship.”

  Jia circled Barbu until she was behind him. She kept her arms loose at her sides. “You’ve also helped terrorists in the past.”

  Barbu kept his gaze on Erik. “I’m beginning to appreciate why you two aren’t dead yet despite your continued, and some might say foolish, interference with dangerous people.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Erik asked. “And don’t try to tell us you’re nothing more than our friendly neighborhood arms dealer worried about his business. The data you gave us wasn’t something you get from being an info broker or an arms dealer.”

  “You think so?”

  “You work for them, don’t you?” Erik’s face twisted into a sinister half-smile. He loomed over Barbu. “You work for the conspiracy.”

  “The Core,” Barbu answered.

  “The Core?” Erik leaned closer to the old man until his face was centimeters away. “That’s what they’re called?”

  Barbu nodded, the same polite smile fixed to his face. “At least that’s what they were once called. These things can change, but I’ve found in my life that names have power, and knowing their name will give you power. I’m not saying they are foolish enough to have a document lying around saying, ‘This is the plan of the Core.’ I’m talking about something far more fundamental.”

  Jia folded her arms, her breathing shallow. “Erik’s right, you work for them. What’s wrong? Scared now that we’re winning?”

  Barbu shook his head. “It’s the opposite. When Sophia Vand died, I looked into it. I had my reasons to doubt it, but then I realized the delightful truth. She was dead, and you two were most likely behind it. Knowing Sophia, she probably blew herself up when cornered. She never did know how to accept defeat, but that changes nothing. Her death signaled that the unassailable Core was now vulnerable.”

  Erik straightened up and backed away from Barbu. “You used to work for them?”

  “That is inaccurate.”

  “Then explain it in an accurate way.”

  “Too much information is like knowing a man’s true name. It gives you power.” Marius unfolded his fingers and idly brushed dust off his shoulder. “Suffice it to say, the Core wronged me, and like most petty people, I’ve allowed myself to be motivated by the basest of reasons. Spite.”

  Erik barked a laugh. “That’s it? This is about spite?”

  “Spite? Revenge? Honor? Does it matter what I call it? You want to stop the Core, and I want to see them suffer.”

  Jia moved to Erik’s side. “You’re many things, but you’re not a good man. How do we know you’re not worse than they are? This wouldn’t be the first time scum pointed out other scum so the government did their work for them.”

  Barbu nodded. “True enough, and you have absolutely no reason to trust me. I have provided you with useful information, and I’ve been risking my life to learn more that I might pass along to you at the right time.”

  “Who else runs the Core?” Erik demanded. “You knew about Sophia Vand, so who else? There has to be more than her.”

  “I’m sure there are, but I don’t know them. I have friends looking into that.” Barbu shrugged. “Or perhaps I don’t. Even if I did know, I’m not sure I would tell you.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t you tell us? That’d be the quickest way to take them down.”

  Barbu’s toothy smile unnerved Erik. “You don’t know how to do revenge properly, Mr. Blackwell.”

  Erik’s brow lifted. “Killing the people isn’t a proper revenge?”

  “It isn’t if you do it too quickly.” Barbu chuckled. “In this, for now, I will be at your service.”

  Jia sat on the couch near him. “On the moon, you helped them. You’re saying they screwed you over since then, and now you’re anti-Core?”

  “They wronged me far before that,” Barbu explained. “I was aware they had a plan on the moon, and I also knew you’d stop them. If you couldn’t, you would be useless against them anyway.”

  Jia got up, her fists clenching and unclenching as she tried to get rid of excess emotions. “You’re saying you were willing to risk thousands of people's lives as a test?”

  “Far more will die if the Core gets their way, Miss Lin.”

  “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t stun your ass right now,” Jia snarled. “We can drag you into the ID, and they can make you tell them everything you know.”

  Barbu stared at her with that maddeningly polite smile. “You could do that, but right now, because of my friends and contacts, I’m of more potential use. Kill me or capture me, and there’s little I can do. Let me go, and I’ll continue to help.”

  Erik grinned. “Until you’re feeling spiteful toward us?”

  “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

  “Or another enemy.”

  Erik motioned to the door. “Fine. Go. But we’re telling the ID all about you, and what they do is up to them. Keep that in mind next time you decide to show up here.”

  Barbu stood with a wheeze and walked over to open the door. “May we all get what we want in the end, Mr. Blackwell and Miss Lin, but not what we deserve.”

  “Next time, call ahead.”

  Barbu closed the door behind him.

  “Should I attempt to follow him with drones?” Emma asked.

  Erik shook his head. “Go ahead, but don’t worry if he loses you. That old man has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.”

  “You sure about this?” Jia asked.

  “Hell, no, but it’s not the first time we’ve worked with someone shady to get the worse guy.”

  Jia inclined her head toward the door. “I’m not sure he’s not the worse guy.”

  Erik chuckled. “Then we’ll take down the Core and wait to see if he screws us over.”

  “And if he does?�
�

  He shrugged, the concern leaching out of his mind. “Then we’ll find out if he can survive a laser rifle to the head.”

  The Story Continues with Unfaithful Covenant

  Pre-order Unfaithful Covenant for Delivery on November 13, 2020

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  September 18, 2020

  Thank you so much for not only reading this latest book in the OPUS X story, but to these author notes in the back, as well.

  So, it’s now September 18th, 2020 and we are in production (pretty much finished) with book 10 in the series. Now, it goes over to our Audio partners, Dreamscape, for their production efforts so that we can release the book(s) and the audio at the same time.

  Recently, I had a situation that required me to go see those nice people in the white (or blue) clothing and proceed to get placed into a machine that is very science-fictiony.

  (I have to admit the experience in the machine was actually pretty damned cool. For a moment, I felt as if I was in the future.)

  The results of my unexpected stay-cation was I got to come home with medicine that I have to take for a while. Now, I don’t take any medicine (not even vitamins – although I probably should start if they help) so my body hasn’t been pleased.

  I was griping to both Zen-Master Steve ™ and Lynne Stiegler (I feel like I need to give Lynne a super-hero name as well) that I felt worse days after visiting the people with the white coats than I did before I went for the stay-cation in the first place.

  Stupid medicine.

  Fortunately, my body is acclimating to the dreaded stuff and I’m not randomly dozing off in the middle of the day, now.

  Las Vegas / Henderson is getting cooler now – it should be under a 100 degrees next week. Once it hits 99 for a high next Tuesday, it’s only supposed to get back to a 100 one time for the foreseeable future.

  WOOT!

  I finally realized that the reason this summer has dragggged on and on with the heat is I’ve usually hit two different book conferences and been out of town during this time. I sure hope next year we get back to normal so I can escape the heat… Ooops, I mean go do book conferences for work.