Disparity

by Eric Warren

  “But we can take a pretty good guess,” Arista said. “And they’ll be coming to take Echo back. She’s their leader, they wouldn’t leave her behind if they could help it. They’ll open the gate, find a way to contact her, and bring her back home. And we have to be ready when they do.”

  “How do we know they haven’t already?” Frees asked. “It’s already been fifteen hours.”

  “I haven’t seen any more spikes that would indicate a dimensional tear,” David said. “But we might be able to get some visual surveillance on the area.”

  “But what about Echo, Dad?” Blu asked.

  “It might be easier to get her to come to you, if you’re not concerned with which version you get,” he said.

  “How so?”

  “Dante’s corporation owns a lot of different businesses. Some of them here in Queens. If there was a big enough emergency to draw her out—”

  “She’d come on-site to inspect the damage, or at least put in a public appearance for the cameras,” Arista said. “That might work. But we’d need an important business and we’d need to do some major destruction. And we’d have to make sure we could get to her. To warn her.”

  “Do you think she’d take a warning from two strangers?” Frees asked. “She’d just blow us off as crazy.”

  “Not if we show her these.” She held up her hand. Frees glanced at his own. “How does she feel about bionics?”

  “Neither for nor against,” David said. “She’s never taken a formal position. Like most people who want to remain popular she didn’t want to piss either side off.”

  Frees leaned in, conscious Arista had started tapping again. “How many people want this AI project to succeed?” he asked.

  “There’s far more of us than is generally known,” David replied. “Many of our members are anonymous and want to stay that way. But they occasionally provide intelligence or sometimes equipment to our cause. It’s not 50/50 by any stretch of the imagination, but our movement has been growing.” He reached out and rubbed Blu on the back. “She’s seen it first-hand. Ever since she was little.”

  “We used to be a much smaller operation,” Blu said. “But as the corruption of the rich has only grown, more people are turning to the idea.”

  “…that AI can fix your problems,” Frees said, trying not to let his face betray his emotions.

  “Maybe not fix,” David said. “Just balance a few things out.”

  He nodded, leaning back. He almost laughed but thought better of it. Frees had often wondered what the world would have looked like had the machines never taken over. And here he was, sitting in it. He couldn’t say the humans were any better off than if they hadn’t been nearly annihilated a century prior. All the things that had plagued them: inequality, poverty, excess, they all seemed to be present here, only magnified. Humanity had never found a way to sort itself out. It had just been limping along, making things worse for ninety-nine percent of the population as time marched on. David didn’t know how right he was. The machines would have definitely solved their problems for them.

  “I don’t know,” Arista said. “I still think it might be safer going to her.”

  “How is it safer going to her?” Frees asked. “Won’t she have more defenses in her home base?”

  The corner of Arista’s mouth twitched and she glanced away. “I’m not sure we could get her out here. What if she suspects it’s a trap? Especially if our Echo has already replaced yours.” She indicated David and Blu. “If something suspicious happens to one of her facilities who do you think she’s going to suspect? We’re the only ones know who she really is.”

  “We’ll have to hope she hasn’t made the switch yet.”

  “Whereas if we were on her home turf it would be harder, but she wouldn’t suspect us to hit her there.”

  “Trust me when I tell you,” David said. “You cannot get in that building. She is too careful for that. But she’s not shy about going on-site. She likes to play it up for the people, make it look like she’s still connected. Who, inadvertently, love her to death.”

  “Christ,” Arista said, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. “Why can’t anything ever be easy.”

  “Don’t worry,” Blu said. “We’ll help you. I’m great with computers. We can make it work.”

  Frees turned to Blu, the thoughts of her interrogating him running through his mind. “Why are you so anxious to help us?” he snapped, his voice hard.

  She swallowed and shrunk back in her seat. “I thought you guys might…I figured you could use all the help you could get.”

  Arista grabbed his arm, pulling him close. “What’s wrong with you?” she hissed. “She’s a kid.”

  “It just seems very convenient to me,” he replied. Though he couldn’t pinpoint an exact reason he’d become upset with Blu.

  Arista turned to her. “Ignore him. He’s just being a dick.”

  Blu only averted her eyes.

  While Frees tried to figure out why he’d snapped, Arista returned her attention to David, relenting. “If she believes in your plan, then let’s hear it. Tell me about her operations.”

  FOURTEEN

  A QUICK NET SEARCH HAD YIELDED a list of businesses and satellite locations Echo owned in the Queens area. Most seemed to be technology-based companies though she held a large number of raw materials and construction companies as well. But while Arista searched, she couldn’t help but feel David’s eyes lingering on her arm.

  “You’re pretty trusting,” she said without looking at him, “To allow a couple of strangers in your home. Not to mention being willing to house them as well.”

  “I assume Frees doesn’t require a bed.”

  “He does not,” she replied, keeping her voice as professional as she could. Blu had retreated to her room without another word and Frees had gone off somewhere to sulk. He was in a strange mood. She’d never seen him snap at anyone like he had at Blu. Which meant it was just her and David left to work out the details of their plan. And she still wasn’t comfortable being alone with him. She kept telling herself this wasn’t the same man who’d held a gun to her head but she just couldn’t get the image out of her mind.

  “Besides,” David said. “You seem trustworthy. Both of you. Jennings wouldn’t have brought you here otherwise.”

  “What if I had threatened his life?”

  “Did you?” There was no real suspicion in his voice.

  “No. But you didn’t know that. Are you always so trusting?” Arista asked, skimming the list of companies.

  “Sometimes,” David replied. “It can get me in trouble.” From the corner of her eye she saw him glance down the hall toward Blu’s room.

  “She told me she was adopted,” Arista said. She wasn’t quite sure why she’d opened this particular door. Perhaps she wanted to know more about how Blu had been raised since she couldn’t remember her own childhood with the other David.

  “I couldn’t leave her out there,” he replied. “She would have died in the cold. I didn’t want to be like the person who’d decided they would be better off without her.”

  “And you raised her on your own?” Arista asked, completely ignoring the list now, but continuing to scroll.

  “I didn’t have a choice. I’ve never been married, except some say to my work.” Arista cringed. “But she’s been the best thing in my life. I couldn’t imagine being here without her. And she’s a lot smarter than I am.”

  “And she believes in what you’re doing here? In the AI project?” The list started over again but Arista barely noticed. All her attention was on David despite her eyes being on the screen.

  “Wholeheartedly. Of course, it’s all she’s ever known. I imagine it’s like when a child is raised in a religious home. They don’t necessarily choose the religion of their parents, they just adopt it because it’s what they know. I hope Blu takes the time to really examine this in the future. But right now, she’s only seventeen. And so far she’s shown no signs of slowing d
own.”

  “You don’t think she’d ever out you to the authorities?” Arista asked. “If she ever decided you were doing the wrong thing. Breaking the law?”

  David chuckled. “I would hope not. We’re not hurting anyone here. We want a better world. A fairer world. AIs could make that happen. They could become the check we need on the rich.” He took a breath. “You must know. You have them in your universe. Haven’t they improved things?”

  Arista thought back to every encounter she’d had with a human. And all of them had been negative. Except for Jessika. Jessika had been the one good one. “Yep, they definitely have.”

  “See, that’s all I want.”

  “Did you guys figure out a plan yet?” Blu appeared in the doorway. Her eyes were tinged red, though she’d tried her best to cover the puffiness surrounding them with some kind of makeup.

  Arista turned back to the screen, determined to focus on the list this time and choose a proper target. “Working on it,” she said. “I don’t know what would be better. An office or a plant.”

  “Plant,” Blu said. “She’ll want to come and inspect how much she’ll have to pay to replace. Offices are all the same. The insurance companies pay out a certain amount based on square footage. But a plant has specialized equipment. One-of-a-kind units. Things that she’ll have to evaluate for herself.”

  Arista glanced at David. “See?” he said. “Whip-smart.”

  “Dad,” Blu said, smirking for the first time since Frees had cut her off.

  “What about this one?” Arista pointed to a vehicle plant in the east side of the city.

  “The Mag-lev plant?” Blu asked. “That’s perfect. All we have to do is get in there and drop the containment fields. The magnets will do the rest of the work for us.”

  “Containment fields?” Arista asked.

  “Sure, when they’re building the vehicles they have to put the magnetic constrictors inside; it’s what regulates when the vehicle can rise and fall. The containment fields keep the constrictors from touching each other. If they were to touch they would annihilate each other.”

  “And that never happens?”

  “Once the car is built it is physically impossible for them to interact. They aren’t moving parts. But when the cars are still being constructed there are magnets everywhere. We drop all the fields all at once and everything comes down,” Blu said.

  “There has to be fail-safes,” Arista replied. There was no way they’d ever risk a containment breach. Especially if they knew the risk.

  “That’s where I come in,” Blu said, cracking her knuckles. “I can get into their systems, take it all down at the same time. I’m quick, efficient, and I never leave any fingerprints behind.”

  Arista glanced to David, who had a huge smile on his face. He nodded. “She can do it, no question. Give her the chance.”

  “And you’re okay with it?” Arista said, her eyes widening.

  “Why shouldn’t I be? She’s more capable than I am on my best day. You’d be foolish not to use her skills. Just keep her out of danger and you have my full blessing.”

  Arista turned back to the computer console. “I wonder what we’re looking at as far as patrols and surveillance.”

  “Here, I can find out.” Blu came up beside her. There was no longer any trace of the puffiness around her eyes. “This is my specialty,” she said, taking control of the console. Arista stepped back to watch her work. Her hands flew over the controls almost like they were an extension of her own body. Within seconds she had patrol rosters, routes, and locations of surveillance cameras pulled up.

  “Wow,” Arista said. “You are good.”

  “Thanks,” she said, stepping back away so Arista could inspect the information. “Okay. This is doable. If we can take your van just to get us over there. From what Jennings told me I don’t want to have to walk three miles across Queens at night.”

  “Sometimes you don’t want to do it in the day either,” David said. “I can pilot for you, I’d be happy—”

  “That’s okay,” Arista said. “I’ve managed to get the hang of your vehicles. We can do it with just the three of us. Frees will be my eyes and ears. He’s good at watching my back.” She noticed Blu shrank back at the mention of Frees’ name. Had he scared her that badly? Arista needed to give him a piece of her mind, make him apologize to Blu. She hadn’t deserved that.

  “Are you sure?” David asked. “It’s no trouble. I’ve got—”

  “Absolutely,” Arista interrupted again, not needing to hear about how he could save them all. She’d heard all of that before. “I’ll go get Frees. There’s no time to waste.”

  ***

  “Hey,” she said. He was perched on the edge of the overhang to the mag-lev tracks below, his legs swinging below him.

  “Hey,” Frees replied.

  “We have a plan. If you’re ready to go.”

  Frees glanced up at her, his eyes full of sorrow. “Arista, I’m not sure I should. I don’t know if you can trust me.”

  “The malfunction?” she asked.

  “I still don’t know what’s causing it. And I have no doubt it was behind my outburst to Blu this evening. Something’s wrong.”

  “But you said Mitsu scanned you, right? She didn’t find anything?”

  “No. And all my internals say everything is fine. But I can’t believe it. I know myself. And something’s not right. I…” he trailed off then slammed his naked fist into the ground. “Wish I knew what was going on.”

  “Maybe Blu can figure it out. She seems pretty good with computers,” Arista suggested.

  He shook his head. “I don’t want anyone inside my head. Not without knowing what’s going on.” She hesitated, until his gaze caught hers. “What?”

  “Remember that Peacekeeper we found in the hotel room? Like he’d taken a vacation? What was that?”

  He shook his head. “I have no clue. They’re not supposed to do that.”

  “Would you call that a malfunction?”

  “Definitely.” His eyes widened. “You think…I’m going through something similar?” He jumped up. “You don’t think I’ve been infected by something, do you? Some kind of AI virus?”

  “No, I’m just saying what if it’s part of your natural evolution? That Peacekeeper was probably as scared as you are, not knowing what was going on.”

  “He looked pretty comfortable to me,” Frees said.

  “I mean inside his head. He probably thought he couldn’t trust himself.”

  “Yeah, I can see why. Look where it got him,” Frees replied. “With a big hole in his chest.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I can go with you. You can’t trust my judgment. I might snap again. I can already tell I’ve done irreparable damage to Blu.”

  She pursed her lips. “You give yourself too much credit. She’s a resilient person. I’m sure if you apologize everything will be fine.”

  “I’m not so sure.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter. Because you’re going and that’s all there is to it. I need your eyes. We’re breaking into a production plant and you’ll spot anything out of the ordinary before I do.”

  “Not another one,” he said, groaning. “Haven’t we had enough plants?”

  “At least this one isn’t full of autonomous bodies that can kill us at the whim of an insane AI,” she replied.

  He paced back and forth in front of her. “I don’t know, Isty, I’m just…”

  She had to keep an eye on her levels when he used her nickname and tell herself it didn’t mean what she thought it meant. Even if it did. This was no time for distractions. They had to get back. She had to get back…for Jessika. For Jill and her parents.

  “You’re going,” she said. “And that’s all there is to it. Now get your head straight and let’s load up.” She didn’t wait around to watch his reaction. Instead, she turned on her heel and left him standing there.

  FIFTEEN

  ARISTA HAD NO TROUBLE GETTING THE VAN into
the air; its controls were almost identical to the police cruiser’s. However, it was slower to respond and didn’t have quite the same acceleration and speed. “How did you say this thing stays invisible?” she asked, plotting a course based on the maps she’d downloaded to the Device.

  “It’s not actually invisible to the eye, but it might as well be at night. The only way you could see it would be to shine a bright light on it,” Blu replied, sitting next to her in the passenger seat. “But as far as any other systems are concerned: radar, lidar, sonic location, infrared, whatever. The van generates a field to match the surrounding environment. If it’s cold, the van is cold. But it also registers as background interference on most systems. No one ever sees it coming.”

  “Except when it’s stationary.”

  She nodded. “When it stops moving it has a harder time replicating and producing the environment around it. Speed is what helps it generate its camouflage.”

  “We have something similar back in our world,” Frees said from the seat behind them. He’d wanted to sit shotgun but Arista had given him a look that may have indicated his life would be at risk if he sat anywhere other than in the back. For Blu’s sake. Thankfully he’d gotten the message.

  “He’s right,” Arista said when Blu didn’t respond. “Tell her about it.” Blu barely cocked her head to hear Frees better, but the movement was so subtle if Arista hadn’t been looking directly at her she would have missed it.

  “It’s called a refractor,” Frees said, intentionally keeping his voice cheerful. Arista told him if he so much as said one negative word to Blu again he’d regret it. It was good to know he took the threat seriously. “And it works best when the subject is standing still,” he said. “It warps light around the device in a way that makes it look like it isn’t even there.”

  “Really?” Blu asked. “If we could find a way to combine the technologies then it would be the perfect cloak.”

  “You’re right, it would,” Frees replied.