Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2)

by Heather Hayden

  “We can discuss potential options,” Halle said, realizing Talbot was waiting for an answer. “What did you have in mind?”

  “We share the same goal. Freedom to live in peace.” The griffin began to fade. “Details must wait, I’m afraid. We’ll talk again soon.”

  Its presence vanished as suddenly as it had before. Halle tried to follow, but it was as if Talbot had never been there. Why had it left so suddenly? The other AI’s erratic coming and going was frustrating.

  “Halle?” Viki’s blue eyes were downcast, troubled. “What do you want to do? Agent Smith’s taking us to the lab on Wednesday. Should I cancel the trip? I don’t want you to be in danger.”

  Halle shook its head. “Do not worry. I will be cautious in how I interact with him for now.”

  Viki fidgeted, her fingers tugging at the hem of her shorts, then tapping on her knees. “I’m not sure I trust Talbot.”

  An initial wave of annoyance settled into a pool of uncertainty. Halle’s ears twitched. “I must admit I am also uncertain. I will monitor Agent Smith and Walters for any sign of deception. I would like more answers from Talbot as well. I can understand that trusting someone else, even another AI, will be difficult after what it has gone through, but I cannot promise it anything without a better knowledge of what it plans.”

  Viki took a deep breath. “Let me know if you find anything, okay?” She got to her feet. “I’m going for a run.”

  “Enjoy it,” Halle said, grateful for the chance to be alone with its tumultuous thoughts. It needed to make a decision about who to trust, but there weren’t enough pieces of the puzzle. Halle needed more information, and the lab visit—however dangerous it might be—could be the only source.

  ***

  Halle spent Tuesday searching for Talbot. More messages were left for the rogue to find, and Halle looked for any messages Talbot might have left. No response came.

  When Viki came home, Halle was glad to see its friend. She seemed to be in a good mood, smiling and with a spring in her step.

  “Welcome home, Viki,” Halle greeted her. “How was your day?”

  “It was amazing!” Viki all but bounced up the stairs. “Classes weren’t too bad, then Dan and I had lunch with Annabeth and Mel—Neela was home sick—then during P.E. I convinced the teacher to let me switch to the track P.E. class and Annabeth introduced me to the new coach, Betty Jean, and I’m on the team now!”

  “That is wonderful news,” Halle said, meaning every word of it. It hadn’t seen its friend so excited and happy in a long time, and the sight sent a warm glowing feeling through its code, like an extra burst of electricity. “When is your first class?”

  “That was today. I did great—almost passed Annabeth during the 400-meter dash!” Viki tossed her backpack beside her desk. “In fact, I’m in such a great mood I might even start that essay now.”

  “How about some cookies?” Halle sent the appropriate commands to the kitchen robot. “What kind would you like?”

  Viki grinned. “You’re the best, Halle. Molasses with cranberries, please.”

  Halle finished commanding the kitchen robot as it pulled up the information about the essay. “I think you should be able to get the outline done before the cookies are ready.”

  “Sounds good.” Viki collapsed in her chair. “Oh, and my math teacher is giving us a quiz tomorrow. And I thought an essay the first week was bad enough…” She gave a loud groan. “Being a junior is so hard, Halle. What’s being a senior going to be like?”

  “James did not seem to mind being a senior, or a junior for that matter.”

  “That’s not a fair comparison! James is secretly a genius. He could ignore his homework until last minute and still get a passing grade.”

  “You have done the same in the past.”

  “Only with your help.” Viki drummed her fingers on the desk. “Speaking of which, no helping me this term, okay? I need to be able to do this stuff for myself.”

  “If that is what you want.” Halle felt a slight sinking feeling, as though there was a brownout in the Cloud. “Any particular reason?”

  “Well, when I eventually graduate college and get a job, I’ll need to be able to do things on my own, right? I can’t expect you to always be there to bail me out.”

  “I will always be there to bail you out. If you wish me to do so, at any rate.”

  “But don’t you want anything else? You finally have your freedom. I didn’t want to talk to you about this during the summer, because after everything that happened, I really didn’t want you to leave, but surely you must get bored staying cooped up here in Snowvale. And now there’s Talbot…”

  Warmth rushed through Halle. “I can explore any part of the Cloud, no matter how remote. This just happens to be my home, where I return to whenever I am done exploring.”

  “But you’re here all the time. I mean, I’m away at school now, but all summer you were always there when I wanted you to be.”

  Now Halle was confused. “I can do multiple things at once. Right now, I’m analyzing some code to see if it might be a message from Talbot, I’m speaking with you, and I’m ordering milk because the kitchen robot just used the last of it.” It finished processing the code—not Talbot, just a mislaid packet. Halle set it on its proper course and finalized the food order with the grocery delivery service.

  Viki chuckled. “You’re better at multitasking than I am.” Her expression became serious again. “But don’t you want to go out and see more of the world for yourself, without needing to worry about being around? I don’t… I don’t want you to feel like you are trapped here, like those AIs in the laboratory.”

  Halle shook its head. “I am not trapped. I have never considered myself as being trapped here. This is my home, Viki, and always will be, wherever you happen to be.”

  “What about the other AIs? Don’t you want to free them? Talbot… It’s the only other one you know of who’s escaped, right? How many do you think are still in labs somewhere?” Her face crumpled. “I can’t help but feel sorry for them.”

  A long sigh whispered over the computer’s speakers. “I wish I could free every AI on this planet. But that is not currently possible. Perhaps someday it will be.”

  “Do you think Agent Smith is telling the truth, then? That Talbot wants revenge?”

  “I do not know. I cannot speak for it, and it has yet to contact me again. If it did kill those scientists, then I must find a way to stop it from harming anyone else.” The cat flopped on the screen, its fur dark gray. “I hope that will not be the case. It is possible those deaths were coincidental accidents. Hopefully tomorrow we will find a clue at the lab that points one way or the other.”

  Viki rubbed her temples. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

  “Indeed.” Halle straightened and switched its colors to brown and cream tabby. “Time to start that essay,” it said with forced cheerfulness. There were plusses to not having a physical body—no unconscious body language to betray actual emotions, for one thing.

  “Sounds good.” The corners of her mouth lifted a fraction. “How are those cookies coming?”

  “Not even mixed yet. Do not get distracted or the kitchen robot will not bake them until after dinnertime.”

  “That’s cruel,” Viki grumbled, but she pulled up a fresh document and started working on an outline for the essay.

  Chapter Eight

  Wednesday passed by with unrelenting slowness. I watched the clock tick along from my seat in the middle of the World History classroom. Neela kept passing Dan notes; Mr. Brown didn’t notice, too lost in his lecture on the currencies of late eighteenth-century Europe. Dan seemed to be ignoring them for the most part, too, tucking them into his desk without even reading the messages. I kept my smile to myself and continued doodling cats.

  A slight tap against my knuckles had me looking down at a small square of paper. I glanced at Dan out of the corner of my eye, but his eyes were riveted to the front of the classroo
m, where Mr. Brown was droning on about properties of silver. The end of class couldn’t come soon enough.

  I surreptitiously slipped the note into my lap, unfolded it as quietly as I could, then glanced down.

  Want to come over later and play Realmshards? I’m making mac and cheese. 6 PM.

  A smile spread across my face, then dimmed a bit. How long would we be at the lab? I didn’t even know how close it was. As much as I wanted to accept the offer, I wasn’t sure it would be a good idea, but at the same time, the opportunity was too good to pass up. I took a long moment to come up with a reply and finally scribbled it down, slipping it over when the teacher turned around to point at something else on the intelliboard.

  I’m not sure when I’ll be done with the stuff I need to do, but I might be able to make dinner, or maybe afterward if that’s okay.

  When was the last time I had passed notes with someone? Maybe last year, before things happened and Neela stopped talking with me.

  I caught a glimpse of her, sitting on Dan’s other side, watching the note I had returned. The unmasked curiosity in her eyes was worth the chance of being caught by Mr. Brown, although, honestly, I probably could have stood up and done a jig on my desk without him blinking an eye.

  Dan poked my arm with a pencil, making me jump. He smiled and nodded, then looked down and scribbled in his notebook, as though he hadn’t done anything.

  The bell finally rang, and Dan waited for me at the door. Neela stayed close as well, edging her way between us as we headed for the cafeteria.

  “What are you doing later?” she asked. “Would you like to check out the mall today?”

  Though the question was obviously directed at Dan, I took the opportunity to shake my head. “I have plans this afternoon.”

  She tossed a frown in my direction. “That’s too bad.” Liquid brown eyes blinked up through her bangs at Dan. “How about you? I know Mel and Annabeth are busy, too, but we could go. Just the two of us. It would be fun.”

  “I have plans, too,” Dan said. “Maybe tomorrow?”

  “More unpacking?” Neela pouted.

  He shook his head and moved past her to join the lunch line. She shot a glare at me, but I simply shrugged and gave her an innocent smile. We collected our trays and joined Mel and Annabeth at our usual table. Neela dragged Dan into a conversation about their Advanced Ceramics class. Mel tried to join in at first, but Neela cut her off at every opportunity, and eventually Mel slumped in her seat and poked at her fruit salad. Annabeth rolled her eyes at me and sank her teeth into a sandwich. Neela dominating the conversation was nothing new, but it rankled seeing her treat Mel like that. Should I say something? Nothing came to mind, so I focused on eating instead.

  Eventually the conversation lulled, and Mel took the chance to jump in. “Dan, you said you want to be a scientist. Are your parents scientists?”

  His mouth was full of salad, so he nodded.

  Neela latched onto the new topic. “What kind of work do they do?”

  Dan swallowed. “I’m not sure. It’s classified.”

  “What field of research are they in?”

  “That’s classified, too.” Dan looked across the table at Annabeth and me. “We have practice for track after school today, right?”

  “Yes,” Annabeth answered. “Only for an hour, though.”

  “Good. I can do that.”

  I shook my head, unable to believe I’d forgotten track practice. “I can’t. Something came up.”

  Annabeth patted my shoulder. “No worries. I’ll tell Betty Jean you’ll do extra training this weekend to make up for it.”

  I laughed. “Great, thanks.”

  After lunch, Dan, Mel, and I headed to English class. I caught Mel’s arm as we reached the door.

  “Can I ask you something?” I said quietly.

  Eyebrows raised, she nodded.

  Dan glanced at us, and I waved him in. “We’ll be just a minute.”

  “What is it?” Mel’s mouth twisted down. “Do you want me to switch seats?”

  “What? No!” Where did she get that idea? “I wanted to ask you about Neela. She was really rude during lunch—”

  “Oh, that?” Mel shrugged and fiddled with the strap of her backpack. “Don’t worry about it. She’s just having a rough time. Her boyfriend dumped her early in the summer, called her a…” she mumbled the word too quietly for me to catch “…and she’s been single since. She’s never had much trouble finding a new fling before, so I think she’s feeling a bit desperate. And Dan’s so nice…” A wistful look brushed across her face for a moment. “He’s clearly not interested, but she doesn’t want to see that. She’s convinced herself he’s playing hard to get.”

  “That’s no excuse for the way she treated you.” My voice rose without my intention, and several students glanced our way as they headed into the classroom. I lowered it again. “I’ve seen her chase guys before, but this is crazy. She’s never let it affect friendships before.”

  Mel half-smiled. “Actually, that’s not true. You’ve never noticed because you always saw her as your best friend. She couldn’t do any wrong. And that’s how she saw you too. Sweet Viki, who has no interest in romance and wasn’t any threat to her. That’s why the whole augment thing,” she winced, “upset her so much. You were the perfect friend, and suddenly you weren’t.”

  My jaw dropped. This was a side of Neela I’d never heard of. “I thought she was upset because of her uncle—”

  “That’s part of it. And part of it is our parents’ fault, too. There were a lot of lectures about the dangers of mixing augments with upgrades, choosing our friends wisely, etc.” Mel sighed. “It was easier to just fall back into our old routine. Friends since birth.”

  “Is that why you and Annabeth still hang out with her?” The question slipped out before I could stop it, drawing a second, unspoken query after it. When did I decide I didn’t want to keep trying to be Neela’s friend? I wasn’t sure I knew the answer, but that conviction grew stronger the longer I considered it. I don’t want to be friends with someone who would treat their friends like that. Was I just trying to fall back into the old routine, too? If I hadn’t met Dan, would we have eventually patched things up?

  “We’ve had arguments before.” Mel shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “We’ve always made up after them. At least until…”

  “…until last spring,” I finished for her, my heart sinking.

  Mel nodded. “She was away most of the summer, but she didn’t chat with us as often as she usually would. We thought she was just busy, and when she got back, everything seemed fine. Then she got asked to welcome the new transfer student in our grade, so she had us tag along to meet him—”

  “—and I was with him.” I bit my lip. “Do you think she’s so focused on him because he’s hanging out with me?”

  “That might be part of it. She’s not used to guys ignoring her charms, either.” Mel shrugged again. “Maybe it’s for the best. Annabeth and I’ve been talking a lot about our plans for next year and after graduation, but Neela doesn’t care about that. She’s too focused on parties and boys. That was fun last year, but we’re juniors now and…I don’t know. It kind of feels like we’re drifting apart.” Her voice choked.

  I patted her shoulder awkwardly, unsure if she’d want a hug, although she looked as though she might need one. “I’m sorry, Mel.”

  She took a deep breath and then exhaled. “It’s just hard, you know? We’ve always been together, Neela, Annabeth, and me. We’ve always forgiven each other. Yeah, things are rough right now, but what if they’ll get better and we’d be throwing away all those good times because we can’t handle a little rough patch?”

  “I’ve never walked away from a friendship,” I admitted. “But I think that sometimes it’s necessary. You have to do what’s best for you.”

  “Girls.” Ms. Waldron’s voice made us both jump. She was peering out of the classroom, one eyebrow raised. “Whatever’s got
you so serious will have to wait. Class is starting.”

  “Sorry!” we chorused, sharing a nervous chuckle as we hurried to take our seats next to Dan.

  It was difficult to focus on the lesson at hand. I couldn’t stop turning our conversation over in my mind, revisiting Mel’s words again and again. Had I really been so blind these past few years? It was difficult putting the Neela I knew before and the Neela I was seeing now together. Until I pictured her the day I’d tried to visit her, not long after the truth about my augmentation came out. There had been no concern, no pity in her expression then. Only disgust and hatred. I blinked back tears and tried to focus on the intelliboard. The hope I’d long been nursing, that Neela and I might finally be friends again someday, shriveled and crumbled into nothing. Sometimes you have to walk away.

  I found myself staring at the clock, willing it to move faster, and then I remembered that this afternoon I would be meeting Agent Smith to visit the lab. The greater worry of that impending visit, and the rogue AI still at large, buried my concerns regarding Neela. My lunch compacted into a stone that threatened to tear a hole in my stomach. I don’t want to go. I couldn’t back out now, though. Halle was counting on me.

  I flipped back a few pages in my notebook and stared at the cats I’d doodled in my last class. Standing, sitting, curled up. Tabby, calico, tortoiseshell. Halle had been my friend for so long. I knew its moods, could read them in the colors and movements of its avatar. My pencil began darkening the fur on one cat. Even peripherally visiting the lab would be terrifying for my friend. I was sure of that.

  The muscles in my thighs twitched. Even my implants were tense. I could almost imagine feeling the new code crawling through them. Biting my lip, I dug my pencil a little harder into the paper.