Sunrise Alley

by Catherine Asaro

  Something had awoken her, though. "Is someone here?" she asked.

  No answer.

  "Sam?" Turner stirred at her side.

  "I heard someone."

  He stretched, his lean muscles shifting against her. "Hmmm."

  "Don't do that," she said, flustered. "You distract me."

  With his eyes closed, he smiled drowsily. "Good."

  "Turner, someone is here."

  He lifted his head and peered into the shadowed living room. "I don't see anyone."

  "You see in the dark?"

  "Infra red."

  "Oh." Of course. He had synthetic eyes. Why keep human limitations? "We should investigate."

  "I'd rather stay here, with you."

  Sam traced her finger over his lips. "Later, okay?"

  He sat up, his hair tousled. "I'll hold you to that."

  They rose and dressed quickly. Then they prowled through her suite, searching. If anyone had been there, though, they were gone now.

  "Maybe they went in here." Turner tapped the door that connected her suite to his. It slid open to reveal his living room—blazing with light.

  The major who had met them when they landed stood in the center of the room, a prowler busted in the act.

  * * *

  "So what you're telling us," Sam said, "is Thomas Wharington wants no one to know about us besides Granger and you." She was in an armchair in Turner's suite, which Major Connors claimed she had swept clean of bugs. Sam was just glad Connors hadn't found her in bed with Turner. She doubted the Air Force would appreciate her having intimate relations with someone's top secret project.

  Connors had taken the armchair closest to Sam. The major was a compact woman, muscular and confident, with straight yellow hair and a staser on her hip. Her eyes, cool and gray, seemed to miss nothing. Sam would have liked her under different circumstances.

  It didn't surprise Sam when Turner sat in a chair on her other side, putting her between himself and the major. Authority figures clearly gave him the willies. She wondered if Turner Pascal had been that way or if his EI developed that trait because of Charon's treatment.

  "Security requires we take caution," Connors said.

  That certainly sounded vague. Sam frowned at her. "What happened with that Rex that was supposed to take us to Washington, D.C.?"

  "Your kidnappers stole it." Connors seemed unruffled, though she kept glancing at Turner, unable to hide her curiosity. "Its real crew was found unconscious on the landing field, bound and gagged."

  "That couldn't have been easy to manage," Sam said. "And now guess what? No one here can find any damn record of Turner and me. You say they don't have a need to know. But look at it from our point of view. It could mean a lot of other things, too."

  Connors met her gaze. "We knew only that the Rex vanished after it took off from California. None of us had any idea what happened to you and Mr. Pascal until you landed here and told us."

  "So Thomas is being cautious," Sam said.

  "That is correct."

  "It doesn't explain why you were skulking around our rooms." Sam crossed her arms. "Unless the Air Force doesn't know what you're up to."

  "You don't have a need to know more," Connors said.

  Sam smacked her palm on the arm of her chair. "Someone kidnapped me and Turner. They took us to the Himalayas, for crying out loud. Turner pulls off this spectacular escape that implies his technology is so far ahead of the curve, he's falling off the planet. A stolen spaceship comes after us and Turner blows it to high heaven. And you say I don't have a need to know? Like hell."

  The major didn't look much happier about it than Sam. "Dr. Bryton, we've managed to keep this from going out of control. Only a few officials in the governments of a few countries know your aircraft destroyed a Needle, and even less people know about you and Turner. We are trying to staunch the leakage before more damage is done. If we are careful, it won't go further than this."

  Having grown up in a military family, Sam had enough experience with the mindset to know they wouldn't want details of a potentially devastating weapon made public. Turner fit that bill all too well. "You're trying to avoid a major security leak."

  Connors didn't soft-pedal it. "Yes."

  "That doesn't explain why Thomas didn't send someone for us. Colonel Granger knows the routine. We go off with Thomas's people, no questions, it stays quiet." Sam leaned forward. "It also doesn't explain why you were sneaking around here."

  "General Wharington has sent someone," Connors said. "My orders were to deactivate the android without his knowledge."

  "If anyone else calls me a fucking android," Turner said, "I'm going to lose my very human temper."

  Connors didn't miss a beat. "Very well, Mr. Pascal. We wanted you unconscious."

  His fist clenched on the arm of his chair. "Why?"

  Connors said only, "I'm sorry." She sounded like she meant it. Sam doubted Turner expected her to answer his question. He knew. As long as he remained free, he posed a threat to world security.

  Sam understood what he wanted, though he had trouble articulating it: freedom, not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and intellectually as well. She feared he would never achieve it. Anyone who could do what he had managed these past few days was too dangerous, especially given his knowledge of the Rex and Charon's base. Even if he somehow convinced the authorities he wouldn't act against any person or government, which seemed unlikely, he was a walking target for spies. Given what Charon had already managed, Turner would be lucky to keep his "freedom" even for a few hours.

  However, if she and Turner went public, it would start a firestorm of debate over his humanity among ethicists, academics, and researchers. That debate could protect him. As long as it raged, it would be difficult for anyone to whisk him away or otherwise take his self-determination.

  Sam considered the major. "So you were going to knock out Turner. In the morning someone would take us away."

  "That's right," Connors said.

  "Why didn't General Wharington trust me?"

  "He does." Connors spoke quietly. "He needed to ensure Turner didn't inadvertently do or say anything that could cause harm or backfire. We know so little about Turner's abilities."

  It made sense, as much as Sam didn't like it. Thomas knew Sam well enough to realize she would object to him keeping Turner in the dark. So he cut her out of the loop.

  Turner spoke tightly. "Just one little problem. You didn't find me in my room. I was here with Dr. Bryton."

  Connors looked from him to Sam. "Why?"

  "Maybe I was lonely," Turner said.

  Sam spoke quickly. "Major Connors, we will certainly go with you tomorrow. But please don't try anything with Turner. It won't work and it could harm him."

  "I have my orders," Connors said.

  Turner stood up, pushing up the sleeve on his cabled arm. Connors rose as well, her hand on the staser at her hip. Turner extended his arm, the eight cables uncurling, all pointed at the major. Lights shone at their tips.

  Sam jumped to her feet. She had no idea what Turner intended, but she feared Connors might shoot. She had to hand it to the major, though; Connors didn't even blink as she met Turner's hostile stare.

  "You want to 'deactivate' me?" He lowered his arm, lights glittering along his fingers. "Tell me, how will you manage? I can counter your attempts without even touching you. Right now I'm accessing the biochip you use to enhance the hearing in your right ear."

  Connors pressed her palm against her ear. "Stop."

  Although his posture didn't change, he must have done something. Connors lowered her hand, relief on her face. She spoke dryly. "Very impressive."

  Sam looked from Connors to Turner. "What happened?"

  "He set off an alarm in my implant," Connors said. "It's unpleasant. Then he turned it off."

  Turner regarded her with a direct gaze. "You won't find me so easy to shut off."

  "I had expected to find you asleep."

&
nbsp; His eyes glinted. "I was asleep. You woke us up."

  Us. Damn. Sam could have throttled him.

  Sure enough, Connors asked, "Us?"

  "It's nothing," Sam said. "He was sleeping on the couch. To, uh, make sure I was all right."

  "Like hell." Turner exactly matched the inflections Sam had used earlier. "I wasn't on any couch."

  "Turner, stop," Sam said. The last thing she wanted was Thomas knowing she was sleeping with a threat to world safety.

  The major spoke dryly. "You've a unique approach to research, Doctor."

  "It's private." It was Connors's business, though, whether she liked it or not.

  The major shook her head, amazement leaking past her no-nonsense demeanor. "I certainly don't have a boring job." Her manner became businesslike. "Very well. We won't knock out Mr. Pascal. Your transport arrives in about two hours, at oh-six-hundred this morning. At that time, the two of you will board." She motioned Turner back toward his armchair. "Until then, we sit here and wait."

  When Turner stiffened, Sam feared he would refuse. She didn't know what he expected to accomplish; if he resisted or tried breaking out of here, it could end up with his destruction. Yes, he had some tricks: his ability to change structure, to talk with other systems, even to load his brain into other places, as much as he disliked it. But it didn't make him invulnerable, and this base was larger and probably better secured than the one in the Himalayas.

  Then he said, "Sure, why not?" He dropped into his chair and stretched out his legs. "So what will we talk about?"

  Sam didn't trust his capitulation. She sat down, her gaze going from Turner to Connors. The major settled in her chair, but she kept her hand on her staser.

  "Why do you think I want to talk?" Connors asked. She tried to keep a neutral expression, but her curiosity came through.

  Turner wriggled his cyborg fingers at her. "Come on. You're dying to ask about these."

  That was when the lights went out.

  X

  Breakout

  The room plunged into darkness. As emergency lights came on, blue and dim, Connors jumped up, drawing her staser.

  The emergency lights went off.

  "What the blazes?" Sam was on her feet, though she didn't remember standing.

  A thump came from nearby, followed by a crash, a lamp it sounded like. Then it became silent. Too silent. Sam swung her arms in front of her, trying to find someone. She heard breathing, but she couldn't tell from where.

  "Turner?" she asked. "Major Connors?"

  "The major had an accident," Turner said.

  Ah, hell. "What did you do?"

  "We sort of had an argument. I won."

  "She had better not be hurt."

  "She isn't." He paused. "Much."

  "How much?"

  "I knocked her out."

  "Turner!"

  "When she wakes up, she should be okay."

  "In the hospital."

  "I was careful. Charon downloaded fighting methods into me. I'm learning to use them."

  Sam didn't want to think why Charon would give Turner knowledge in hand-to-hand combat, but it fit all too well with everything else. "What happened to the lights?"

  "I had a talk with the mesh community here."

  "Meshes don't have communities. They aren't sentient." At least not yet.

  "True." He sounded closer now. "They're rather prosaic. But they respond to reasonable input."

  No matter how well he tinkered with other systems, surely he couldn't affect the entire base. "This place should have protections."

  "Not enough."

  Sam let out a slow breath, calming her pulse. She could tell he was close by, but with neither lights nor windows, the dark was complete. She stepped back, away from him she thought, but her elbow brushed his shirt.

  Turner caught her arm. "Don't be afraid of me."

  "I'm not." That was a lie, but she also liked him, a lot, which left her in a complicated tangle of emotions. "How did you affect the power generators, even the backups?"

  "I convinced the other meshes to help me." He clasped her hand with his metal fingers. "I suppose 'convince' is a figure of speech. It feels that way to me."

  "I've never heard an EI describe how it feels to network with other systems." Too late, she realized how she had referred to him. An EI.

  He didn't bristle, though. "They were open to suggestion." He accepted from her what he challenged from anyone else.

  "Suggestions to do what?" she asked.

  "To help me. And a friend. Another EI."

  That could spell trouble. Machine intelligence was rare, and EIs were particularly well guarded. A military base this new and large could conceivably have one, but she wouldn't have expected even Turner could crack it open.

  She tapped his chest. "What EI?"

  "It calls itself George the Second."

  Sam blinked. "Why the Second?"

  His voice lightened. "It didn't want to be the First."

  Well, that was fair enough. "How did you reach him?"

  "I linked to chips in the furniture. They put me through to a mesh in the walls and from there I got all over the base." Turner drew her forward. "Let's go."

  Sam balked. "We can't leave."

  "Listen." He set his hand on her left arm, above the bandage, carefully. "This base—this world—is riddled with meshes. Doors, windows, walls, lights, locks, jewelry, clothes, people, all of it."

  "And?" Her pulse jumped.

  "George is helping me utilize those systems so we can sneak out." He nudged her forward. "We have to go. The longer we delay, the more chance someone will catch us."

  "What makes you think I want to go?" She shook his arm for emphasis, her fingers clasped in his. "Don't you see? You wouldn't stay free outside for even a day."

  "Sure I would."

  "How?"

  "I'll join my other friends."

  "Other EIs?"

  "That's right." He tugged her again. "Like George. He helps me with the ES systems."

  "ES?"

  "Evolving Stupidity."

  She would have laughed, except he was hauling her forward too fast. "Are you saying some EIs are helping you fool with security at this base?"

  "One EI. And yes."

  Sam couldn't believe no one had apprehended them yet. "What did you do to the people here?"

  "Nothing." He hesitated. "Much."

  "Nothing much? What does that mean?" She pulled away from him and bumped into a wall. "Ouch."

  "We released gas." He touched her arm. "You okay?"

  "What gas?" She swung around, flustered he could see her when she couldn't see him.

  "Sam, I wouldn't hurt people. It was Chlorothan."

  "Ol' chloro, eh?" She had never heard of the stuff.

  "They invented it here. It's sleeping gas. I don't know the name that derives from chemical nomenclature, but that's the patented name."

  Air blew across her face. Reaching out, she realized the door to the suite had opened. "How did you do that?"

  "I have control of this wing of the building. For now."

  Sam stepped out into darkness. No lights were on here, either. "I've two questions, Turner. I need answers to both."

  "All right."

  "Will the people you put to sleep be all right?"

  "Yes. Some might feel nauseous for a few hours."

  Brief nausea she could live with. "Second question: how extensive of a power breakdown did you cause?"

  He came closer. "The damage should be confined to a few buildings."

  "Then we still can't get off the base."

  "Sure we can." Quietly he added, "I'm going, Sam."

  She couldn't leave him without even her minimal protection. "All right. Show me."

  He took her elbow and they headed down the hall. The dark hall. She couldn't see squat. She waved her hand in front of her body so she didn't hit anything. Turner could see in the IR if objects generated heat, but she needed to check for herself as
well.

  "Alarms must be going off somewhere," she said.

  "George is helping." He sounded pleased. "This place depends completely on its meshes. If they cooperate, it's easy to outwit security. They are security, after all."

  It didn't reassure Sam. "George must be guarded from physical, electronic, optical, even quantum interference. That you have access to other systems won't change that. They aren't sophisticated enough to break his security."

  "That's why we call them ESs." He led her around a corner into more darkness.

  "So how did you get to George?"

  "Like knows like, Sam."

  "That's not an answer." It surprised her that he was willing, at least with her, to acknowledge he operated as an EI. He was changing, evolving, maturing.

  "Sure it's an answer," he said. "An ES isn't smart enough to get to the EI. I am."

  "Even so. Someone should have checked by now on the power failure in this building."

  "They have." He sounded smug.

  Ah, no. "What did you do? Hit them with sleeping gas?" He couldn't knock out an entire base. The situation was surreal, this stealthy revolt of Air Force meshes.

  "Better than that." He drew her to a halt and tapped on a nearby surface. "We fooled them."

  Sam reached out and hit a wall. "Fooled them how?"

  A door slid open in front of them, and Turner drew her forward. "We sent fake reports about how well the repairs are proceeding. No one checked on you and me because only a few people know we're here. Those who are supposed to check us are asleep."

  "Someone will figure it out."

  "We'll be gone by then."

  "What makes you think I want to be gone?"

  He laughed softly. "Because I mesmerize you, Sam. You want to see what I'm up to."

  It was true, especially if he could hook her into a network of EIs acting outside human influence. But she feared for Turner. Even if they made it off the base without his being captured or hurt, they would be stranded in the Kansas countryside. No convenient tornados were going to whisk them off to Oz.