They turned a corner and came upon a row of elevators; the center one was twice as large as the rest. Grepman immediately headed toward the last elevator on the right. They entered, the door shut, and Sindhu slumped to the floor.
“Hmm. Shit.”
Sindhu looked up at Grepman. “Shit? No. Do not say shit. No shit now.”
“I’m sorry, Sin, but we got into the wrong elevator. This one doesn’t go down. We’ve got to go—get ready to run!”
The door dinged and opened to the back of a holoPod. As the holoPod began to turn around, Sindhu picked it up by the ring of its base and twirled, slamming it against a wall. The smiling face vanished.
Two other holoPods had entered the elevator area, each beginning to read their warning message in tandem: “Halt. If you stop moving, you will be apprehended peacefully by a nano-control unit. Should you resist, we will be forced to utilize a stasis-inducer nano-tranquilizer that will render you temporarily paralyzed.”
Sindhu held the lifeless holoPod in front of her and darted toward another elevator. The two other holoPods moved in front of her, but she did not slow down—instead, she crashed into them, bowling them and herself over. She fell to her knees. The elevator door was sliding open now, and Sindhu was less than ten meters away. From behind she could hear a chorus of “Halt!”s ringing around her. She sprung forward, took two large strides and dove into the elevator, rolling to her side as she did so. Multiple pneumatic shots bounced off the sides of the elevator car around her. As the doors began to close, she rolled slightly toward the center of the elevator to risk a glance out of the closing doors.
The moment before the doors clamped shut, Sindhu saw the pair of androids come into sight. They were marching to the same inner drum, feet perfectly in lockstep. One was smiling. She couldn’t understand why until she felt a cold metal prick embed itself into her neck. She tried to curse as the doors closed, but only spittle foamed out of her mouth.
Chapter Forty-Three
A light sleeper by training, Reverend Coglin was arguably awake at the most infinitesimal moment prior to the buzzing that shook his bed. Whether prophetic or not, Coglin was immediately cogent as he reached for his BUI. Upon placing the device on his ear and clicking it to life he saw the image of his security savant, Mr. Kane.
“Kane, I assume there’s an emergency if you are waking me at—” Coglin glanced at the old grandfather clock that sat opposite his bed “—half past three in the morning?”
“Correct, Reverend. We have an emergency.”
“Searle,” Coglin said resolutely.
“No, sir. We have a . . . well, we have a misplaced lower-level employee.”
Coglin cleared his throat, then said, “What the hell does that mean, Kane? And why is it grounds for waking me?”
“Sir, by misplaced, I mean that we have reason to believe we’ve been hacked—”
“Of course we’ve been hacked. You’ve been allowing my undercover SOP operative to hack us, to keep SOP believing he was being effective.”
“I know, sir, but this is different. It’s as if they know that we are letting them hack us, and then they are hacking us in return on top of that.” Kane’s early-morning voice sounded extra nasally to Coglin. He added, “It’s like a recursive hack.”
Coglin rolled his eyes, sighed, then immediately began to cough. The fit passed and he asked, “Did my contact at least provide us with SOP’s location yet?”
“Yes. He left an obvious trail back to himself. We were able to discern where they are. We’ve traced them to a slum in southern Nevada. An old gambling town called Laughlin, on a dried-up riverbed. Should I send in security?”
“Yes, immediately. Let’s shut them down. Hard. Authorize force; don’t worry about receiving state permission. I know the governor well, so it won’t be an issue. Now, what’s this about a lost employee?”
Even though Coglin’s eyes were still adjusting to the relative bright light of the projection in front of him, he could still make out Kane’s hesitation. “We have a misplaced low-level employee who we think is being aided by SOP.”
“So, catch him. Can’t be that hard. I didn’t let you shell out billions for the EGC androids to look pretty.”
“She, sir. He’s a she. And we are trying to catch her, but it’s proving difficult due to SOP undermining us. They’ve managed to obtain root-level access to some of our less secure control subsystems.”
“Ah, I see. So the Indian bitch has made her appearance. Not very subtle. Where is she now, Mr. Kane?” More coughing.
Kane raised a hand to one of his several chins and scratched it thoughtfully, “We don’t know, sir. Like I said, we’ve been partially compromised. We can’t track her, and the SOP operative—at least I’m assuming this is an SOP job—is disrupting our navigation services. We’re working on it, but they’re proving to be clever.”
“Well, shit, Kane. I want a full write-up on this next week. Even the fucking toilets need to be secure, let alone the navigation systems. Is navigation a lesser system?”
“No, sir, of course it isn’t—“
“Sindhu was her name, right? That cute, clever bitch—and clever of Simeon to protect her identity. He must suspect our mole—no matter.” Coglin cleared his throat anew, then locked eyes through his BUI with his subordinate and stated unequivocally, “This is unacceptable, Kane. If you don’t catch her, you will be fortunate if the worst that happens to you is permanent unemployment. What is your plan to find her?”
“We have every external access blocked. She can’t escape—”
“Idiot. She’s not trying to escape, and she certainly won’t try now, knowing that you’re expecting her to do just that. She’ll go for the most valuable item she can: information. In the form of Dylan. Or me. Which, hopefully, at this point, is the same thing. I want you to instruct your entire security team and the androids—especially the androids—to herd her toward Saint Thomas Kirche. She can grab Dylan if she wants; it’s time to wake him up. Alert Dr. Okafor as well. I will meet all of you at Saint Thomas Kirche. In the meantime, try not to fuck anything up in the next five minutes—actually, scratch that—I’ll take care of the situation here myself. I want you to head to Laughlin, ASAP. Take two of the androids with you and shut down SOP.”
“Sir, I’m certain I can find her if you give me some—”
“I doubt that, Mr. Kane,” Coglin blurted. “And anyhow, we need to deal with this situation on both ends. I need you in Laughlin. Now.”
“Yes, Reverend. One question: You noted authorizing force. Do I need to worry about accidental casualties?”
“No, consider this in line with—” Coglin’s throat constricted suddenly. A searing ache—the pain of which he had never before experienced—shot through the right side of his chest. After a minute or so, he caught his breath, cleared his throat, and continued as if it had never occurred. “Consider this in line with our exercise of eradicating slums south of the border. Do the needful. I don’t care about litigating anyone in SOP at this point. They did this to themselves. The time for restraint is long overdue. I’ve been far too cautious up until now. If someone dies . . . well, fuck ’em.”
Coglin clicked off his BUI and slumped back into his bed. He sighed—a wheeze came out instead—and allowed himself a ten-second respite. At last he rolled his aching body out of bed, and it cracked as if it were making popcorn.
Chapter Forty-Four
Sindhu lay paralyzed upon on the hard elevator floor. Her gaze fixed outward on a pneumatic transport system twenty meters in front of her. In the five minutes she had lain there, she had designed the transport system in her head four different ways. She had even written some of the scheduling algorithms for it, using two different programming languages. The entire time, Grepman had sat next to her, occasionally reaching out to her shoulder, only to have his virtual hand pass through her.
“We just found some data on this nano-paralyzer, Sin. It sounds like you should start regaining some movem
ent at about the ten-minute mark. And it’s already been seven minutes. So that’s good!” Sindhu’s arm twitched at this exciting news.
“I’m so sorry, Sin. There’s more good news, though. Simeon also found a way to obscure your location entirely. They can’t track you anymore. So, that’s good. He also shut down the elevators, and that’s the only way to get down here. Also, they’ve already started spreading to other parts of the facility, trying to anticipate your next move—they are guarding the exits, they think you’re trying to escape. So, in some ways, this wait is serendipitous!”
Sindhu spit, then whispered hoarsely through drool-coated lips, “Fantastic.”
“Sin! You’re talking! Two minutes ahead of schedule!” Grepman lowered himself onto one knee and smiled warmly.
His interminable kindness was breaking down her hard exterior. Her eyes began to moisten, and she was able to blink—a welcome respite to her dry pupils.
She said, “Grep, thanks for being here. I’m sorry that I’m so . . . hard sometimes. I’ve always been on my own, so I’m not really good with relationships, or accepting someone’s help. And, I’m especially not great with men.”
“Hey, it’s okay, Sin. I like your tough exterior, it’s attractive.” Grep grinned, and she returned his smile.
“I’m worried, Grep. If I don’t make it out of here, I need you to—”
“Stop it!” Grep said. “You’re making it out of here, Sin. Everything is under control.” His false confidence was too obvious, but Sindhu appreciated his effort.
He changed the subject: “Hey, have you ever been to Yosemite?”
“What’s a Yosemite?” she asked, now scrunching her facial muscles in an effort to gain more movement.
He laughed. “It used to be a state park, in California. It’s dilapidated now, not cared for anymore, but when you get back I’m going to take you there for a day. My parents used to take my brother and me every year during our childhood. It’s amazing; sweeping mountain vistas, natural springs that you can drink from without detoxification, waterfalls, and so much wildlife, even now. It’s like the best darkVirt you’ve ever tripped in.”
“Sounds nice, I’d like that,” she said, now opening and closing her jaw wide.
He bent down and planted a holographic kiss on her forehead.
“You are going to make it, Sin.” This assurance came with more confidence.
A thousand miles away, in the midst of an unbearably balmy thirty-six-degree Celsius Nevada summer morning, the SOP team was scrambling around their yurt. Jay-san had been plucking away on his BUI, ostensibly seeking access to more restricted levels of Titus servers, though his bias for action left much to be desired by Simeon, who was doing much of the access control himself. Mitlee, Chicklet, and Kristina were plotting routes, optional routes, and alternate optional routes for Sindhu to reach Dylan. Nimbus was arguing with Simeon about details concerning Sinhu’s hopeful extraction. Grepman was the only team member not moving; he was lying on the couch, still as a corpse, ghostTripping with Sindhu.
Jay-san shouted suddenly, “Hey everyone, I’ve lost control of the elevators! They’re operational again!”
“How is that possible? I had access locked down at the root level!” Simeon’s frustrations were boiling over as he motioned Jay to move out of his way so he could view the data. Jay shrugged.
Mitlee yelled, “Hey guys, you should come look at this. Guys!” She was standing in the center of the yurt, staring at the southern wing of a holographic schematic of the facility. Sindhu was represented as a pink stick figure with long, flowing hair (a joke that made Simeon laugh harder than anyone else). On the levels above her, small red dots swarmed in various chaotic patterns. Two larger red dots, representing the androids, were on the grand staircase of the courtyard of the Silas Wright wing of the Titus facility. The two larger red dots had begun to move up the staircase, in tandem, prompting Mitlee’s shouts.
“They are heading to the elevators! She’s gotta get moving, now!”
Simeon had left Jay’s console and joined Nimbus behind the rest of the group. He shouted, “Grep! Sindhu! Grep, you gotta get her out of there.”
Grepman and Sindhu both heard the pleas from Simeon.
“Sin, we’ve gotta get moving, the twindroids are on their way to the elevators. We don’t have control of them anymore.”
Still slurring her words, Sindhu responded, “I can’t move yet, Grep. Look at my thumb.” Her thumb twitched lightly.
“That’s good! You’re getting very close. Motor skills should—”
“Not good enough, Grep. Let me concentrate.”
With great effort, Sindhu closed her eyes slowly and felt a wave of relief. She steadied her breathing, which until this moment she had been unable to control—a helpless feeling for a woman who valued control over everything else. A panic that had been simmering just under the first layer of her psyche began to ebb slightly, and Sindhu started to believe she might yet get out of her predicament.
Until the elevator dinged.
Sindhu’s eyes popped open wildly.
Grepman shouted, “Sindhu! You’ve got to get out of the lift! Now!”
A moment passed as she fought with all her strength to move her hand, and yet it wobbled only slightly.
The glass doors began to slide shut. In a moment, Sindhu would be trapped inside, on her way back up to meet the androids above.
Startled, Grepman panicked and stepped forward to stand between the two closing doors, desperately hoping his holographic image—only viewable to Sindhu’s ocular implants—would cause the doors to stop their movement. It did not.
Sindhu clamped her eyes shut. Following a wild intake of air, she let out a primal scream and her right hand shot forward, falling in between the just closing doors. The doors bounded off of her palm and the back of her hand and began sliding open again. Just in time.
“Yes! Nice job, Sin!”
Wincing perpetually now, Sindhu managed to roll over onto her stomach. The elevator dinged again, and the doors began to close. Again, they bounced off of Sindhu’s hand. She moved her other arm underneath her, and pushed herself upward only slightly. She grunted and slumped back down.
“Damn.”
“It’s okay, Sin, you should start getting full movement any second—“
Simeon pleaded,. “Guys, the doors upstairs are opening, without the elevator. Get a move on.”
Less than a moment later a heavy thump landed atop the elevator. Sindhu gasped and struggled to look up. Grepman launched himself up, sticking the upper portion of his torso through the top of the elevator unit.
“They’re pulling up the paneling! You’ve got to move, Sindhu!”
With a scream, Sindhu shoved her arms under her chest and pulled herself forward over a slick, travertine-tiled floor. Her knees splayed to her sides as she slithered like a salamander. Every push was a new challenge and her breath was heaving. But she persisted, and soon her herky-jerky crawling obtained a quicker cadence. After slithering past the small seam that divided elevator from room, her knees began to slide under her, resulting in a babylike crawl. A few strides later and her feet were again gripping ground.
“Good, Sin, good! Just keep moving forward. Aim for the first transport on your right.” Simeon’s voice rang in her head like a god. “Grep, we’re ready to launch it on this end.”
Now wobbling forward, mostly on her feet, Sindhu looked up from the floor and turned her head to the right to risk a look behind her. Her body, however, betrayed her mind, and she came crashing down on her right side. She cursed aloud and pushed herself back up, vowing now to only look forward.
Sindhu was just ten meters from the loading dock. In front of her, three cylindrical glass pneumatic-powered transit pipes, each several meters in diameter, were stacked one atop the other. A large ramp to the left provided access to the uppermost tube, while a similar ramp on the right gently swooped to the lower tube. The ceiling above her was arched, also made of trave
rtine. At their nadir, the ramps sloped toward each other, rather than having a hard wall between each. Sindhu noticed the door to the lower tube was opened before Simeon had alerted them.
Just as Sindhu began to head down the down ramp, a crash erupted behind her. Grepman, floating in front of Sindhu, looked up and past her, then said calmly, “They’re coming, but they appear to be out of shots—keep moving.”
She heard the clickity-clack of the androids’ shoes against the tile floor behind her. For a moment, in the back of her mind, she realized how odd it was to hear two people running so fast, with no other sound other than their shoes hitting the floor: no breathing, no speaking, no grunting. Just two machines charging forward and closing fast. Sindhu straightened her back and expanded her stride.
“Sin, they are right behind you, you need to dive for it!”
A hand with an inhuman amount of strength suddenly came down on Sindhu’s shoulder. Instinctively, she lunged forward, but the slope of the ramp coupled with her still-hampered gait caused her to lose her balance. Realizing she wouldn’t be able to break her fall, she pushed off with her feet and lurched toward the open tube door, hands out in front of her. She landed hard on her dark shirt and slid atop the slick tile into the tube, slamming her body onto the opposite side of the glass.
Two sets of doors—an inner door for the transport and an outer door for the tube—both closed with simultaneous hisses, but not before one of the androids stuck his left hand in between the sliding doors. The dotted LED lights that lined the transport’s ceiling glinted off of the gold cufflink on the android’s finely tailored, pinstriped suit sleeve. The transport began to float inside the tube, and the android whose arm was sticking through the door began walking beside the transport, trying desperately to pry open the doors with his right hand as the transport began to move north within the glass tube. The transport quickly sped up, and as it did, so too did the android.
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