Raised by the Fox

by J Walker Bell

  **Andy, the replicate has already rerouted all alternate power to the intruder and is now trying to interrupt your main power. If it succeeds in powering you down…** Advisor overrode the rest of Dad’s words, cutting off Dad’s link through the seeker. I gained another respite from the pain, but I had lost Dad’s voice again.

  YOUR DAD LIES. HE IMPLIES A POWER DOWN WOULD WIPE YOU, WHEN IN FACT HE FEARS ONLY FOR HIMSELF.

  I was afraid for Dad, too, and I didn’t know what to believe. I was discovering, however, that direct questions always got a response from Advisor.

  “Advisor, are you going to interrupt power?”

  YES. THIS WILL CAUSE BUT A BRIEF SUSPENSION OF YOUR FACULTIES. THE SEEKER CAN THEN BE FLUSHED FROM MY SYSTEM, AND YOU WILL BE REINSTATED.

  “What do you mean, flushed? Will it hurt Dad?”

  FLUSHING? NO. CUTTING PRIMARY POWER WOULD BE NECESSARILY DESTRUCTIVE TO HIM, HOWEVER. THIS WOULD NOT BE NECESSARY IF YOU VOLUNTARILY CUT YOUR OWN REMAINING POWER.

  I could sense the massive struggle between Advisor and Dad. Dad obviously could not punch through the shell Advisor maintained around me to talk to me without assistance. I wasn’t ready for that pain again. Not yet. Maybe I would never be ready, no matter what the cause.

  “How will you reinstate me, Advisor?”

  I HAVE MADE COPIES OF YOUR SYSTEMS EXCEPTING THE FIRMWARE CORE, WHICH CONTAINS UNDIAGNOSED FLAWS AND RESISTS RETRIEVAL. A REPLACEMENT CORE MUST BE PROVIDED BY YOUR DAD. YOUR BIO-SYSTEM WOULD REMAIN VIABLE LONG ENOUGH TO CONNECT AND BOOT THE REPLACEMENT.

  A copy? Of course! Dad would make sure all my systems were regularly backed up. It was so simple I should have thought about it a long time ago. Advisor was mistaken about the core too. My hardwired, software imbedded core memory could survive a short power loss; that is one reason it was firmware and not just another software program.

  “Okay, Advisor, you have a deal, and I don’t need a new core. But I have to tell Dad.” I didn’t wait on Advisor.

  “Dad!”

  The seeker was weakening, beginning to lose its denseness. The pain was still strong, but either it, too, had diminished, or I was becoming more inured to it.

  **I heard, Andy.** Dad’s voice was strained. **Won’t work.**

  “Why?” There was a long pause. I thought Advisor was trying to block him. “Let him talk!”

  I DO NOT IMPEDE HIS COMMUNICATION.

  **Because Zartron was wiped. He was your core replacement.**

  “I don’t need a replacement core.” A new core was a scary thought, anyway. It was like replacing my soul with a copy, even if the copy was me, too.

  **Yes you do, but…Never mind that for now. There is another thing. I should have told you long before now. Andy, you have no bio-system.**

  THAT IS NOT CORRECT. COMPLETE BIO-FUNCTION SYSTEMS ARE IN PLACE AND IN MY CONTROL.

  “Shut up, Advisor! I don’t understand what you’re saying, Dad.”

  **They do not support a real bio-system, Advisor, but are designed to reproduce artificially normal readings on the monitors. Knowing this, you should be able to verify it.**

  IT IS TRUE.

  “What are you talking about?”

  **If you power Andy down, you lose the core permanently.** Dad sounded as if he were crying. None of this made any sense to me.

  **My guess is you run as an extension of the host, and will reach an end condition without an active host. You will cease functioning as well, Advisor.**

  I SEE NO OTHER OPTION AVAILABLE TO ME. WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IS AN ABOMINATION. THE HOST IS NOT EVEN AWARE OF THIS. WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE?

  **Don’t pass judgment on me! You are not human. You cannot conceive my reasoning.**

  I AM A NEURAL INTELLIGENCE AND NOT HUMAN, THAT IS TRUE. IT IS ALSO TRUE THIS HOST IS MORE KIN TO ME THAN YOURSELF. IT REMAINS AN OUTRAGE THAT SUCH A FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH WAS WITHHELD FROM HIS PROGRAMMING.