by DeVere, Taya
“What?” With wide eyes, Dennis stares at Maria. “I mean, yes. I’ve heard of her. The kid. She’s troubled if I understand right.”
“More than troubled. Margaret says she’s extremely violent. Suffers from PTSD and goes through frequent rage attacks.”
“Why PTSD?” Dennis is not sure why he asks.
“Iceland. Owena’s the one who found all the corpses. She also witnessed some intense abuse at Kinship Care and murdered her guardian.”
“Now, now. Don’t be dramatic. Most of those people were just shut down. Only a few of them died. The kid just saw a bunch of rebels taking a nap. That’s hardly enough to turn a five-year-old into an assassin.”
“But it’s not just Owena’s mind they recreated. They gave her a fully grown body. And uploaded it with combat training. Martial Arts. The whole shebang. At the same time they uploaded the copy of the kid’s mind. This assassin was based on Owena. But she’s something else entirely now.”
“Like a robot?”
“Of sorts. Yes.”
“Huh. A five-year-old killer robot with PTSD,” Dennis shakes his head. “And here I thought I’d heard it all.”
“Make fun of this all you want. But this person is no joke. Think otherwise, and you will end up dead.”
Doctor Baldwin clears his throat, interrupting their conversation. Dennis steps back to give the doctor and Maria space.
“There is no trace of any bugs or malware. It seems that the hijacking was done through temporary coding, and no permanent software remains in your brain. Well, except for your chip, but as you know, it hasn’t fired properly since it was installed.”
“And let’s keep it that way,” Maria says, shifting her weight under the helmet. “So what is causing me this pain? Why is my body suffering even when I’m nowhere near the city?”
“System overload. It looks as if there wasn’t just one takeover that day, but two.”
“Right. Margaret overrode Solomon’s code. She saved me.”
“I see. That makes sense. However, though this second programming may have freed you from the state the first code put you in, together the two destroyed a part of your brain’s electromagnetic field.”
Maria closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Dennis stares at her, wondering if this is the point where the woman’s strength finally crashes. If this is the moment when she’ll let Dennis help her, carry her back to the city to keep her safe in the penthouse—
“My brain is fried. That’s what you’re saying?”
“In a manner of speaking. Yes.”
Maria bites her lower lip and stares at her gun. “So, I’m doomed.”
Now. This is Dennis’s chance. He sighs and takes a step closer to Maria. To put his hand on her shoulder for comfort. But as he approaches, Maria raises the gun, pointing it at Dennis’s head.
The doctor clears his throat again, his hands up in the air. “Actually, you’re not doomed, Maria. You’ve still got options.”
Dennis sighs and steps back. It seems as if it’s never the right moment to make the first move. But he won’t give up. He needs to keep this precious gem in his life. “Maybe we should talk about this another day,” Dennis says to Baldwin. “This is a lot to take in, and Maria here needs to rest and think about—”
“What are my options?”
Lord almighty. What is it with this woman? Is she not human, after all?
Baldwin taps at the CS-key’s screen and shows Maria what seems to be a scan of her brain. “See these lines over here?” Maria nods. “They are neural circuits that need to be replaced. The damage here stops the synapses from functioning properly, causing you nervous system pain.”
“You can fix it?”
“Yes. With the helmet. And with your permission, I can do it right here and now.”
“But then I would be Chipped?”
“No. The Solomon Foundation has not yet found a way to fix a non-firing chip implant.” Doctor Baldwin exchanges a quick look with Dennis. “As far as I’m aware, that is.”
“So it’s just these two circuits or whatever? That’s all you’ll touch?”
“That is all.”
“And I’ll be the same as I was before I got hijacked by you people?”
Doctor Baldwin twitches nervously at her words. When Dennis nods at him, he sighs and continues. “Yes. Your brain will then be back to the unknown medical state that you’ve been in since your initial chipping procedure.”
Maria scratches a spot next to her perfect nose. She stays quiet, not looking at anybody. The whole tent is quiet, only the chipping helmet hums. Finally, she sniffs and shrugs her shoulders.
“Better get on with it, then.”
Baldwin lifts the CS-key in his hands. “I have your permission?”
“Yes, doc. Just get on with it.”
Baldwin nods at Maria and hands the computer to a man in a black suit. A coder. One of City of California’s best, Dennis was once told. Robert is his name.
While his team works, Dennis looks for a chair to sit on. When he finds no such thing, he kneels down next to Maria, close enough for him to grab her gun. If he didn’t know how dangerous she is, he might even try it.
“Great news, isn’t it?” He says to Maria in a low voice. He’s surprised when her finger doesn’t move to the trigger. Eyes closed, she breathes deeply, focusing on something Dennis can’t see or hear. Is she in that much pain?
“Doc here will get you fixed up in no time.”
Nothing. Her trance state continues.
“Listen. About this assassin. I know that you’re a woman of your word, but I would like to get this little deal of ours on paper. Just basic protocol, you see, to keep my lawyers from becoming a pain in the ass. I also think you’ll need to move into my building for the time being. And I know you’re worried about the lights and all that. But I assure you, I will do everything I can to keep you… umm, are you okay?”
Her eyes open, she looks at him with alarm. Blinking and looking out of place, Maria is suddenly out of breath.
“What? What happened?” Dennis asks. “Are you in that much pain?”
Maria’s breathing evens out, and the usual calm and neutral look returns to her gorgeous face.
“I’m not in pain. Just talking this all through with Margaret.”
Lewis. Dennis forgot the Unchipped can connect with one another this way. Anywhere and anytime. Without ever uttering a word. Has Margaret been listening in all this time?
“What were you saying? Something about lawyers?”
Dennis clears his throat. “Just about this assassin business. Assuming it’s all real, and not just a trick to get me to help you.”
“It’s not a trick. And I’ll protect you. Not because I want to. But because Laura wants me to.”
Dennis blinks and stares at the woman. Numerous questions rush through his mind. He doesn’t know what to ask first, so he remains quiet. Laura wants him safe? Why? Does Maria care at all? Of course she doesn’t… but could that change? Or will she just work for Solomon until her mission is over and then bail out? What’s Solomon’s end game anyway? The reason why Maria’s back in his life… it’s like two pieces of an AR puzzle, clicking together. No, that can’t be right. He refuses to be just a pawn in a game.
“Since when have you worked for Doctor Solomon?” he finally asks. A hollow, gnawing feeling has taken over his chest. Like he’s lost something he didn’t even know he had a minute ago.
“Since never.”
“Margaret? She works for Laura?”
“Nope.”
“Then what the hell are you doing here? Protecting me because she wants you to?”
“It’s not just you that we’re protecting, Texas. This is bigger than that.”
“The assassin will kill others too?”
“Not Owena. But Nurse Saarinen. She wants all the Unchipped people dead.”
“See, that makes no sense. Laura doesn’t care about the Unchipped people.”
“Not quite true. She does care for one of them.”
“Right. She has a secret daughter”
“And that makes her an Unchipped ally… well, sort of. Laura wants to stop Nurse Saarinen just as much as we do. And the only thing stopping her right now is that affidavit Laura signed and sent to you. Without power of attorney, Nurse Saarinen doesn’t have official access to the program’s military troops. It’ll take her time to convince the city leaders of her agenda. Once she has that affidavit, no one can second-guess her orders, but for now, she can’t go around murdering people they’ve stored in Chip-Centers and stasis capsules. Only you can.”
“Holy balls.”
Maria investigates Dennis’s face, maybe making sure he understands what she’s just told him, maybe still contemplating whether or not it’d just be simpler to kill him here and now. In wonder, confused and muddled, he stares back at her. It’s hard to focus on her words when she sits so close by. An angel like her. So mesmerizing. Strong. Remarkable. Staring at her, Dennis’s mind sinks into her dark eyes. Those deep eyes, luring him—
“Hey, asshole. Do you get it now?”
“Mm. I get it. I got it. Just one more question.”
Maria winces under the chipping helmet. Baldwin raises his hand nearby, gesturing for her to keep her patience.
“What’s your question, Texas?”
“If Nurse Saarinen is after the throne. And Solomon doesn’t want her in charge…”
“Right.”
“Then where the hell is Laura? Why isn’t she stopping Nurse Saarinen herself?”
In the middle of Dennis’s question, Maria’s body stiffens, and she inhales sharply. She sends a dirty look to Doctor Baldwin, who raises five fingers in the air, keeping his gaze fixated on the CS-key in front of him. Five minutes. Five minutes and this incredible, heavenly creature can climb into Dennis’s limo, and travel home with him. Five minutes and his life will be filled with her enchanting eyes, words, moves, maybe even touch. Five minutes and—
“Laura Solomon can’t stop Nurse Saarinen herself. Not now and not ever.”
“But why not?”
“Because she doesn’t have a body.”
“Come again?”
Maria exhales in pain.
“Doctor Solomon is gone. Her mind is uploaded to a cloud or an egg or something bizarre like that. Margaret explained it to me but I still don’t really understand it. Her body is in City of Finland, but not in a stasis capsule or her penthouse bedroom.”
“Where then? Where the hell is Laura?”
Maria opens her eyes, her gaze drilling deep into Dennis’s soul. Which is a weird sensation, as Dennis didn’t know he had such a thing.
“Laura Solomon is dead,” Maria says. “Buried six feet under.”
***
The AR-glasses blink with a green light, resting against the gaming chair’s hefty cushioning. Wearing his flannel pajamas, Dennis paces around the penthouse living room. It’s been hours since Maria’s surgery. Restless thoughts and doubts fill his mind, making the room and the city and his whole goddamn life just a messy bundle of questions without answers.
“Five-year-old assassin clone…” he mumbles, then scoffs, and stops by the balcony door. The building isn’t glowing its usual green. The tenants are pissed off, some threatening to move out. Some probably will, maybe they already have. Let them. What difference does it make? Dennis has more CC’s than he could ever spend, even if he was to travel around the world ten times with the black market’s private plane. No—hundreds of times.
He doesn’t need anything. Just someone. And that someone sleeps in his bedroom right now, tucked under a hefty blanket that Jenny found somewhere, her one-in-a-million head resting against the finest memory foam available in City of California.
“Maria.”
He tastes the word. Whispers it again. The winery, the chipping helmet, doctors and coders, Margaret Lewis, and Nurse Saarinen’s new killer pet Owena 2.0… Does any of it really matter? Couldn’t it just be the two of them against everyone in this building? In this city. This world.
Dennis walks to his closed bedroom door and presses his ear against the metal surface. Silence. Surely the Unchipped woman has been asleep for hours. It’s three a.m., but Dennis hasn’t even touched the king-size mattress that Jenny has arranged for him to sleep on. It’s not that it’s not just as cozy as Dennis’s usual bed. The same memory foam pillow, the same cooling sheets rest on his temporary bed, waiting for him to dive in. But how can he? When an angel like Maria sleeps nearby, just one wall and door away?
To see her is all he wants. To watch her, investigate her, and discover every small imperfection on her face, the skin smooth between scars. But he can’t open this door. No. He would either end up dead, or he’d lose Maria the moment the door opened. And he's not sure which option terrifies him more.
Careful not to flap his feet against the floor, Dennis makes his way back to the living room. The AR-glasses blink in the darkness, their small green light the only Chipped technology currently active in the building. He reaches for the glasses, then pulls his hand back. “No AR-rooms until we’ve dealt with Owena 2.0.” Maria’s words, her order. But would it matter if he just peeked in? Just visited for a split second. Just five minutes in the fantasy simulation, where he’s able to create an AR-Maria. Where he can watch her sleep peacefully—like he’s done a number of times before. Admire her. Stare. Imagine what it’d be like touching her exquisite skin.
The fantasy SIM had been easy enough to arrange, back when Maria was still resting in a stasis capsule in City of California’s Chip-Center. One picture. That’s all it took, and Dennis was able to visit her anytime he liked. He could have done so much more, too. Talk with Fantasy-Maria. Touch her. Kiss her. But it just wasn’t the same. It wasn’t her. Maria’s impossible to duplicate. Fantasy-Maria would never do her justice. So Dennis had just watched her sleep. Over and over and over again.
“Oh, what the hell,” he says and grabs the glasses from the gaming chair. Maria will never find out. And it’s not like the assassin can get past the CS-key that locks the building. And even if she could, Dennis would be alerted by the AR-security the second that door was opened. Just a quick look, to ease his mind. What’s the harm in that?
As he puts the glasses on, three white dots appear immediately. Dennis swipes to his left, rejecting whoever tries to call him at this hour of the night. It must be Jenny. Who else? He doesn’t bother checking the initials, and he’s turned the sound off.
The white dots reappear.
Swipe to the left.
White dots.
Swipe to the left.
But the dots keep appearing. Then Dennis finally acknowledges the initials under the dots. L.S. Not J.R. for Jenny Rowan. But L.S. for Laura Solomon.
“Answer the call,” he says, clenching his jaw with nervousness. What is this? Is it Nurse Saarinen? Using the dead Doctor Solomon’s private AR-glasses? Is it the assassin?
The line stays quiet. When Dennis taps the audio back on, a strange sound—like humming mixed with static—fills his ears.
“Hello?”
Nothing. Dennis holds his breath, listening to the eerie emptiness at the other end of the line. The dead Doctor Solomon calling him makes him more nervous than the assassin toddler, allegedly lurking around the corner.
He rips off the AR-glasses and tosses them back on the gaming chair. A long exhale. The room has started to spin around him slowly. Is he losing his mind?
A slight vibration reaches his ears. Dennis turns his back on the gaming chair, staring at the bedroom door. Would Maria know what this is about? Would she know who has Laura Solomon’s private CS code?
He takes a step toward the door but then stops. What would she think of him if he woke her up like this? Just to come and rescue him from a dead woman’s AR-ghost? No. He needs to man up. Take control and do his part. That’s the only way Maria will ever see him as what he is; the kingpin. Ruler of the new world.
He turns around and pushes the glasses back on. The white dots are still there, running across his field of vision. The silky robotic voice greets him. This time, Dennis lets it talk instead of swiping the sound away.
CALL FROM LAURA SOLOMON. CITY OF FINLAND
“Answer call.”
Humming and static. But this time, there’s something else in the mix. Breathing. Dead doctors don’t breathe, do they?
“Nurse Saarinen? Is this you?”
Familiar laughter echoes from the line. A pearly, smooth, comforting sound. Something Dennis used to dream about at nights and seek during the day. It’s Laura, for sure. Is this a recording?
“Laura?”
“Hello, old friend,” she says. The smile in her voice is so obvious that Dennis can almost see her white lab coat in front of him.
“It is you. Or is this a recording? An AI?”
“Ahh, dear Texas. Always with the questions. But I understand your suspicion, of course. Not too many dead women calling you in the early morning, are there? My breathing is artificially created—to make you feel more comfortable.”
Dennis huffs and pauses to think.
“Dennis?”
“So it’s not just a bluff? Something that Lewis made up?”
“No, dear, it’s not. As soon as I got here, my body, as we know it, was gone. The upload damaged my brain and literally shut down the system. And in this case, the system was my earthly body.”
“As soon as you got… where? Laura, where are you exactly?”
“Oh, I’m with my mother.” A long pause. Dennis can almost hear her smile. Which is odd because—as far as he understands—Laura doesn’t have a face anymore. What kind of power does she have over his senses, exactly?
“Mrs. Salonen is there with you? In the afterlife?”
“Mother comes and goes. And it’s not really the afterlife, dear.”
“What is it then? The place you’re in?”
“We call it the egg.”
Dennis sits down on the gaming chair. Exhaustion sweeps over him, his legs and arms suddenly numb and powerless. Nothing makes sense anymore.
“It’s a lot to take in, dear. I know.”
“You said you were uploaded?”