The Computer Who Loved Me

by Lloyd G Miller

  “Kyle, I can get us out of here, but you must trust me completely. I don’t have time to explain, but I have a backup. We need to get to the roof of a tall building. I have in my data banks an aerial map of this neighborhood. Follow my lead. Get out of the truck on my side. Now.” At that moment they could hear the squeal of tires as an old Chevy pickup truck slid around the corner headed their way. The bed of the truck overflowed with heavily armed men. As the couple leaped from the truck, Annette grabbed Kyle’s left hand and pulled him into an alley too narrow for the pickup truck. Half of the men bailed out in hot pursuit. “Kyle, I know that the doctor told you not to over exert yourself again, but this might be a good time to ignore the doctor’s orders. I don’t exactly have the sprinter body type. I need you to drag me. We’ll save our breath by speaking over RF. Go to the blue door at the building on the left.” The door was propped open for ventilation. The couple slipped through it and pulled it shut behind them and locked it. As they ran through the crowded kitchen the sound of bullets ripping through the door echoed in the concrete structure. The couple burst through the front doors just in time to hear the pickup screech into view again. Annette guided them into another restaurant, through it and out the back door. As they continued, cutting a path right through the city, Kyle could see that they were approaching the business district. Finally, they reached the highest building in the area. They ran into the front door, skidding to a halt on the highly polished marble floor. Annette looked around and then commanded, “Head for the stairs!” The couple almost flew up the stairs with Kyle dragging Annette behind him. When they finally got to the top of the eight-story building, they found the door to the observation deck locked. Kyle kicked at it repeatedly until it sprung open. The couple rushed out and circled the deck looking for the ladder to the roof. A gate blocked the bottom, but Kyle climbed around it and as he reached for Annette she offered him her left hand. He clasped it and pulled her up. They scrambled up the ladder onto the roof. There was no helicopter pad or even an open area large enough for a helicopter to land.

  “What now?” asked Kyle orally.

  “We wait and hope. While we’re waiting would you mind reseating my dislocated right shoulder? It popped out on the way up the stairs.”

  “I’m sorry. I was pretty rough with you.”

  “You were magnificent. I could not have asked for more. Now the shoulder before we get company.” Annette gritted her teeth as Kyle forced the shoulder back into place.

  “Why didn’t you block the pain?”

  “For months my spirit could not feel, taste or smell anything. I am not about to block out any feelings, no matter how unpleasant. Pain tells my spirit that I am alive and it tells my computer mind that I am human. Now help me get off this ridiculous burqa. It is soaking wet with perspiration.” Kyle was surprised to find a black teddy under the heavy garment and Annette’s flak jacket. “I was planning on surprising you tonight.” At that moment, a shadow covered them. They looked up to see the approach of a blimp colored to blend in with the light blue sky. A rope ladder was being lowered from the gondola. Before the ladder reached them, the couple heard shouts from the observation deck. Kyle ran to the ladder and looked for a way to dislodge it. The rails curved around at the top and were each anchored to the roof with lag bolts. Kyle grabbed the rails about half a meter from their mounts. Using his legs to lift he strained to force the rails from their mounts. Annette understood immediately what he was up to and pushed the rails back and forth perpendicular to the rails length. Annette’s action combined with Kyle’s loosened the bolts until they gave way, pulling out of the roof. Together the couple pushed the ladder away from the wall. Two of the terrorist had already started their ascent and jumped free of the ladder. The couple ran to the rope ladder that was now within Kyle’s reach. Kyle boosted Annette up to the lowest rung and she quickly scrambled up. A wind gust pushed the ladder up and past the edge of the roof. Kyle ran and with a leap using his powerful legs, he caught the lowest rung and followed Annette up the ladder, which seemed to be longer than a football field. The terrorist shot at them as they ascended the ladder. A round grazed Annette’s left thigh. Kyle winced as he saw the flesh wound on Annette’s lovely bare leg. Annette did not slacken her pace as she rose up the slender ladder with unnatural speed. When they finally reached the gondola, ready hands helped them through the trap door. The couple panted vigorously as they fell to the floor in exhaustion. One of the attendants applied first aid to Annette’s leg.

  After several minutes of intense breathing, Kyle looked up at their benefactors. To his surprise they were rough looking women, heavily tattooed and bearing the scars from many piercings from which the hardware was now missing. The leader was an enormous black woman who had the physique of a linebacker but was very tastefully attired. “I am Shameel, this is Juanita and this is Amy,” she offered looking at Kyle.

  “Kyle, these lovely young women work for Dr. Samuel Waters. Please don’t be angry. I have been in communication with Samuel and have been working on a presidential pardon for him. He is deeply sorry for his crimes and is trying to make restitution. He has been instrumental in the war on drugs and terrorism and has saved many more lives than he has taken. He has also helped to rehabilitate many young people, including our gracious hosts.” Kyle was dumb founded and speechless. He thought of his mother’s shady past. He thought about how much Annette had changed. He had nearly killed a man himself in anger.

  “Who am I to judge?” he whispered aloud to himself.

  “Kyle, are you alright? You kind of zoned out on us,” anxiously inquired his nervous wife who was not sure if this latest revelation about Samuel Waters had pushed her husband over the edge.

  “Just thinking. Sorry. You were saying?”

  “Samuel would like to personally ask for your forgiveness. We have a telecom set up. Are you ready, or do you need more time?”

  “Please give me five minutes.”

  “You can be alone in the next room,” offered Amy as she pointed to a door. Kyle silently relocated to the small dormitory, bowed his head and wept. He finally gained his composure, dried his tears and returned to the group. Shameel turned on an LCD monitor and a picture of Dr. Waters appeared.

  “Kyle, we are sorry to hit you with this awkward business just after you have barely escaped with your life. It is with the profoundest shame and guilt that I approach you. Nothing could have ever justified my villainous actions. I plotted your murder, the murder of your close friend, Dr. Monroe, and eventually murdered Dr. Monroe and your beloved wife, Sharon. I will spend eternity trying to make restitution for my regrettable actions. I am worthy of death. I will die if you do not intervene. I am standing over the trap door of a gondola similar to the one you now occupy. The trap door will spring open in sixty seconds if you do not push the white button in front of you.” A counter appeared on the screen counting down the seconds. “I have arranged it so that only an action on your part will prevent my demise. That way you need feel no guilt for letting me die if you so choose.” Kyle watched the seconds count down. He noticed that Dr. Waters’ arms and legs were bound making it impossible for him to jump free of the soon to open doors. He thought about how he now loved the woman that he once detested. She had changed. Was it really possible that Dr. Waters had also changed? Kyle had to give him the benefit of the doubt. He pressed the button with plenty of time to spare.

  “I forgive you Samuel. I hope that God can forgive us all.” With that, Kyle crumpled to the floor in exhaustion. The women assisted him to a bunk. He laid in a stupor of exhaustion and pain, not sleeping but not fully conscious. Sometime during the night he drifted off to sleep.

  Annette awakened him the next morning with a gentle kiss. “If you are up to it Kyle, we can disembark. An ambulance is waiting to transport us to a hospital in Rome. The ladies can lower you in a chair.” Kyle sat up. His muscles were stiff and very sore, but his joints seemed to be all right. He let the crew lower him in a chair suspended from
a tripod that they had set up. An electric winch lowered the chair with Kyle securely seated. Once he reached ground level paramedics helped him out of the chair and strapped him to a gurney. The chair ascended for Annette and the paramedics lifted Kyle into the ambulance. When the chair returned with Annette she was given similar treatment. IVs were started on each and each was given generous doses of anti-inflammatory medications.

  The couple spent two weeks in a hospital in Rome. Kyle and Annette had only suffered minor damage compared to Kyle’s earlier over exertion and were able to walk with the aid of crutches when they left the hospital. They caught a cab to the Rome Cavalieri Hotel and checked into a spacious room. The couple relaxed and swam in the elegant swimming pool. They bought new wardrobes, since they had lost all of their luggage. After a few days, they were able to dispense with the crutches and began touring Rome in earnest. Annette helped Kyle learn Italian. They changed hotels several times as their complexions faded to avoid unwanted curiosity. They extended their sight seeing to include not only much of Italy but also many major attractions throughout Europe. After the intense strain and tension created by their clash with terrorists, it was great to relax with no responsibilities. After eight weeks in Europe, they grew homesick and flew home to Utah.

  Chapter 30 – Movie Stars

  Annette had arranged for a full-blown birthday party for Kyle. They were back to their pale-skinned selves and back in their Salt Lake City home. Neither had told anyone about their activities during their absence. Annette had promised to show a full-length movie of their travels. Annette had a home theater installed in the basement just for the occasion. Oh, how she loved having money. It could be so convenient. After a delicious meal, the guests gathered for the video. Some were expecting a slide show, others something like the prison video; not even Kyle anticipated what Annette had prepared.

  “Thank you all for coming. I have a special surprise for you. Kyle and I have tried our hands at movie making. We have created a full-length movie for your enjoyment. On with the show.” With that, Annette started the movie. To Kyle’s shock and amazement, it was a video recording of their entire adventure from the ride to the safe house to their return home. Annette had used their own eyes, her miniature cameras and in some places digital creation of different camera angles. The video even included the maid/teddy incident, much to the amusement of the group, especially Nate. The faces and names of CIA agents had been altered for their protection. The second feature showed video and stills from their European vacation. After the show, there was animated discussion about the video from all except Becky, who was unusually silent.

  Finally, Becky spoke after things had quieted a bit. “That really happened. You just recorded what happened.”

  “Yeah, right Becky, and I’m 007,” retorted Nate.

  “Look at her leg if you don’t believe me. I bet you there is a small scar. Annette, next time Josh and I want to be involved. We may not have super powers, but we want to help.”

  “We do?” asked Josh, taken by surprise by his young wife.

  “Okay. It really did happen, but I will never put Kyle in that kind of jeopardy again. It is a miracle that we survived.”

  “We thought that we were dead,” added Kyle. “It wasn’t fun. Well, maybe just a little in a perverse sort of way. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, but I never want to see the woman that I love in that kind of danger again. If that bullet that wounded Annette’s leg had been fired higher, it might have struck her heart. Not only that, but we each put tremendous stress on our bodies. I don’t think that we need to go looking for terrorists. They will come looking for us. We may all be in danger.” Kyle’s comments had a sobering affect on the group. “I fear that we have started a war that will be difficult to end. Don’t forget that the terrorist group that abducted us only lost a few of its members. They know who we are and where we live. I fear that they will bring the fight to us. All of us need to watch our backs. We will outfit each of your homes with an intelligent surveillance system, with your permission of course. Instead of reporting to the police, the system will report to each of us. We will be our own first line of defense. I apologize for putting each of you in a risky situation.”

  “No apology to us is necessary,” responded Josh. “We are very proud of the dent you made in terrorism. As far as I am concerned, you are both heroes. I salute you for your efforts.”

  “As do we,” added Nate.

  “Well if you ever do anything remotely similar to that again I know that Nate will want in,” added Nancy. “He has been working out and taking private karate lessons and is aching for an excuse to whack someone. I’m expecting again so don’t expect any heroics from me. I was waiting to tell you all, but I guess now is as good a time as any.” The last comment sent the women into squeal of elation and lively discussion.

  That night as Kyle and Annette lay in bed Annette asked, “Do you really think that the terrorists will come after us?”

  “I’m sure that they want to. They may not be able to even get into the country, but they will surely try.”

  “I would like to continue my medical training and begin residency in a local hospital. Saving that woman’s life was the best thing that we did in Afghanistan.”

  “That is a great idea, Annette. I will eventually do the same, but I have a few matters to finish up first.”

  Kyle began several new projects. He worked with CompuSonic to develop a law enforcement program for the sentient computers. After five months of hard work, he donated a sentient computer named Casey along with the law enforcement package to the Salt Lake City Police department. In addition, he provided a smart phone or a smart pad, depending on their preference, to each officer. He insisted on presenting the hand held devices to each officer personally. He wanted to know them and them to know him. He had ulterior motives in addition to charity and business in making the donation. Casey tracked every hand held device and reported its location to Bob, the Jameses’ SUV. Kyle had upgraded Bob’s communication and processing capabilities to make him capable of much more than driving the family vehicle.

  During the flight from terrorists, Kyle had been concerned that he was limited in his ability to communicate with Annette by the limitations of voice. As an electrical engineer, he realized that speech contains a tremendous amount of information in addition to the actual message. Often the message itself is lost or misinterpreted. Text is far more efficient but still inefficient when it has to be converted to a visual format and then interpreted in the mind back into text. The ideal solution would be to develop in his brain the ability to interpret and communicate in binary coded ASCII data just as a computer does. With Annette’s help and the assistance of his brain implants, he was able to create an initial ability, but it took lots of practice to make it accurate and high speed. He and Annette began using radio transmission of text to communicate. He also started “reading” the news this way. He read novels that were already available in text format and with the advent of eBooks, there was a broad selection. Using his new technique of direct ASCII interpretation, he was able to assimilate a book much faster that using traditional methods. After months of practice, he could interpret thousands of words per minute.

  Chapter 31 – How to Make Friends

  Driving Bob, Kyle pulled into the parking lot of the Old West Saloon on Beck Street, north of downtown Salt Lake City. Officer Randy Briggs sat in the passenger seat, holding an Android tablet. Kyle walked into the bar, knowing full well that the biker whom he had earlier confronted was there with his biker friends. Kyle wore a full-length leather coat similar to those worn in the movie The Matrix. The coat bristled with hidden cameras. Kyle was not going into the bar for revenge or machismo. He remembered how he had run into his football-playing adversaries at very inopportune times. There had been only two of them; there were six of the bikers and they posed a much more formidable threat. Kyle wanted to eliminate any possible threat from these men and perhaps even gain them as allie
s.

  As Kyle opened the door and walked in, a host of insects buzzed in with him. He wanted full and total surveillance. Bob and Officer Briggs were in the parking lot in case things went bad. As in their earlier meeting, the leader was at the bar while the rest of his gang was seated at a table. The evening was young and none of the group was overly intoxicated. Kyle scooted in next to “Bear”, the leader. Bear did not recognize Kyle at first and paid him no attention. The bartender approached Kyle and Kyle ordered. “A round of what ever they are having for Bear Carpenter and his friends at the table.” Bear turned to face Kyle.