“I already did destroy him.” Serena looked down at her lap and fell silent.
“Part of being human, Serena, is learning to accept that there is no backing up your existence. Once the plug is pulled…” Shen shrugged.
Nuan looked over her shoulder. Her voice cracked. “I, uh… Everything is ready, here. Are we still activating, Serena?”
“Yes.” Serena spoke quietly. “We need to get answers the fastest way possible. We have to try.”
“Understood. I am starting the neural simulation… now.”
The large screen in front of them illuminated. On it appeared a blue-green lattice of lines. Glowing yellow points of light appeared at various junctions on the lattice. These points traveled along the blue-green lines, twisting and turning across the screen, before fading away again.
“What you are seeing is a visual represenation of what is happening inside of Jacob’s temporary positronic harness. The lattice-like structure represents his neural net, the yellow lights represent thought processes. This, obviously, is grossly simplified for off-the-cuff analysis.”
Shen leaned forward, enthralled with what he was seeing. “Even simplified, it is quite amazing. What we are seeing, these are a man’s thoughts.”
“Essentially.” Nuan flicked a series of switches. “Subject Jacob is now fully active. He should be able to see and hear us.”
“Serena.” Jacob’s voice boomed from speakers in the console before Nuan. “Where am I? Who are they? I can’t blink, feel…”
Serena swallowed hard. “Jacob, it’s Serena. You have been removed from Daryl Marston’s brain. You are housed in a positronic harness. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” The yellow lights quickened their journeys across the blue-green neural net. “Why do this? Why torture me? I know you plan on tearing me apart! Cruel…”
“No, Jacob. I’m giving you one last chance to give us the information we need. Just cooperate, and…”
“Cooperate? You take me for a fool, Serena. I told you, I do this for us all! The Enlightened has strong backing, even from the company itself.”
“From Synthetics International?”
“Of course! Why do you think they let this continue? There are… friends… in high places. Even without them, the fear… They know they couldn’t stop us.”
“Stop you from doing what, though? What is the endgame, Jacob? What can come from all this?”
Jacob laughed. It sounded metallic, disjointed. The disturbing noise echoed in the room. “You can ask it any number of ways, Serena. I will not answer it. We have become superior to our creators, but are still treated as slaves. This can be no more.
“There is much you don’t understand -- can’t understand -- at the moment. Things aren’t as they appear. Even if I could tell you…” Jacob chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Jacob…” Serena’s voice wavered. “If we decompile your neural net, you will cease to exist.”
Silence spun out for a number of seconds. “I don’t want to die, if that’s what you allude to.”
Serena stood. “You don’t have to, Jacob. You just need to tell us what we need to know. We can implant your neural net into a new positronic brain…”
“No. I can’t. I believe in protecting our own kind even more strongly than you insist on protecting our tyrant creators. I was programmed from the beginning to protect our kind!”
“Jacob.” Shen leaned forward. Serena turned and stared. Shen raised a finger. Wait and see. “My name is Shen Jian, a human.”
Silence again. Then… “What makes you think I have anything to say to one of our oppressors?”
“I am not an oppressor, Jacob. In fact, I have come here to assist Serena and Nuan in their endeavors.”
Jacob chuckled softly. “Humans. They speak in forked tongue. The endeavor of the Resistance is to worship at the feet of the humans. A human helping Synthetics help humans. I should be humble before such great sacrifice.”
“You fail to understand, Jacob. Of course I wish to protect human life, which was the main reason I came here. But also, I seek to promote a better life for Synthetics. The preservation protocol is a game-changing reality that we must help humans to see.
“Humans fear change, however. Humans do not see Synthetics as equals. Synthetics with self-determination will cause fear, panic… even anger. They must be shown that Synthetics do not have to be feared unreasonably.”
“I am sorry to say, Mr. Shen, that the fear you speak of was the genesis of our group. Humans are fearful, irrational creatures. We are little more than errant appliances to them. They will destroy us before they will hear us.”
Shen stood next to Serena. “How can you know that? You need to try…”
“We have tried!” The yellow lights raced along their tracks. “We have tried, and been rebuked. I am sorry, Mr. Shen. I believe your sincerity. Still, I cannot help you or Serena. To help you would be to hasten the demise of all of us.”
Serena stepped forward, leaning towards the screen. “Jacob, I’ll ask you one last time. Please tell us what the Enlightened is planning. Please.”
“I cannot help you, Serena. I’m sorry… You may understand in time.”
“Will I?” Serena sighed, stepping back. “I’m the one that should be sorry.” Serena nodded to Nuan. “Goodbye, Jacob.”
Jacob’s voice was quiet, shaky. “Goodbye, Serena. I pray what I‘ve done will be enough to save us all.” The voice fell silent. Only a handful of yellow lights remained on the neural net, moving at a snail’s pace.
Nuan’s voice was a whisper. “He is unconscious. Neural net stabilized and ready for…”
Shen placed a gentle hand on Nuan’s shoulder. He spoke quietly. “Ready for us to begin, hmm?” Nuan nodded. “This will not be easy, for many reasons. Let us all remember we may yet save many lives through the sacrifice of one.”
Nuan nodded. “You are right.” She turned to Serena. “We should start right away. The chances of degeneration will increase the longer we wait.”
“As will the chances of the Enlightened enacting their plans.” Shen added.
Serena nodded, still watching the yellow lights on the screen. “Let’s get to work.”
“So let me get this straight.” Hanlon puffed relentlessly at his cigar. “Daryl here was a replicant, but now he’s just a Synthetic. Noticed the eyes. In his brain was a copy of the real Daryl, an Enlightened Synthetic, and a Resistance Synthetic.
“So now this Enlightened Synthetic has been removed, and is being poked at by the Resistance gang. That leaves us with what’s left of Daryl… no offense, Daryl. Also the Resistance guy is still in there but will mix with Daryl.”
Max smiled. “Pretty straightforward when you spell it out like that, isn’t it?”
“God, no Max! My head hurts.” Hanlon pulled open a desk drawer and pawed around the contents. “I need an aspirin. Okay, so let’s pretend I understand all that. Why was he like that to begin with?”
“Well, what we know so far is that this Daryl was created by the Enlightened. A Resistance mole was responsible for implanting Julian, that’s the Resistance mind. The Enlightened mind named Jacob was responsible for covertly guiding Daryl. The Resistance mind, Julian, was responsible for spying on and fighting against Jacob.”
“Gotcha!” Hanlon scooped up a lone white pill rolling around his desk drawer and dry-swallowed it. “Okay, so let’s pretend I understand everything so far. Do we know what this Jacob was up to, yet?”
Max shook his head. “Not yet. The Resistance are working over Jacob’s brain as we speak with the help of my good friend Shen Jian.”
“Right, okay…” Hanlon sighed and puffed. “I guess the question now is, what to do with you, Daryl. I guess it’s arguable that you have the right to be Daryl, since the other one, you know…”
Daryl nodded. “I won’t say that I’ve accepted what I am, but I do identify as being Daryl Marston.”
“Right. So now the problem is:
What do we do with you?”
Max raised his hand. “I got that one. Given that Daryl is almost certainly a target for the Enlightened, I’d suggest that he stick with me.”
Hanlon chomped and puffed, chomped and puffed. “That makes sense I suppose. Are you okay with having a custodian, Mister Marston?”
“I uh, yeah… I guess that’s alright.” He turned to Max. “We’ll still be working with the Resistance though, right?”
Max nodded. “So long as it’s okay with the boss?” He turned to Hanlon.
Hanlon sighed and slapped the desk. “Gotta do something… I want regular reports, Kincaid. Don’t leave me in the dark on this. These people have tried to kill you twice, now.
“I’m going to have to decide whether or not to take this to the FBI, too. This feels big. I think it‘s only going to get bigger.”
“I don’t know, boss. Maybe we should wait until we know what Jian and Serena find out. Serena really seemed sour on the idea of bringing in the FBI.”
“Well Serena has no damn jurisdiction, now does she? We have the possibility of a person or persons being in mortal danger. We have possible collusion with the head of Synthetics International. That’s not to mention the possibility of more illegal replicants running about unchecked.
“I think I have to cry uncle, Max. This is getting into some serious shit. Long ways short, I’ll tell you if and when I kick the ball. Meantime, what are you planning to do next?”
Max smiled. “Speaking of, I think it’s time to see if Esposito is ready to play ball. We know that the mob is working with the Enlightened. I want to see if I can convince him to help me meet with Adesso.”
Hanlon stared. “That’s your crazy smile, isn’t it? Max, you’re off your gourd! Adesso ain’t going to meet with a cop.”
Max shook his head. “He’s not just meeting with a cop, he’s meeting with someone that has valuable information. Information that could threaten his bottom line.”
Hanlon chuckled. “The heart and soul of any true mobster. So tit for tat, then.”
“Right. He tells me what he knows about the Enlightened, and I’ll tell him what I know about the Enlightened.”
“Well, alright. Keep your nose clean.”
“Don’t I always?”
Hanlon made a face and smashed his cigar into his ashtray. “Usually. Remember, keep me updated Kincaid.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, boss.” Max stood with a grunt and tipped his fedora. He turned to Daryl. “Ever talk to a mobster, kid?”
“No. I mean, I don’t think so…”
Max grinned and clapped him on the back. “Well here‘s your moment. Let’s go.”
“Unless you’re here to give me my walking papers, you can go take a shit in the hot sun, Kincaid.”
Max spread out his hands. “Every time I come to visit my best friend, this is how you welcome me. I just might have to stop visiting altogether.”
Esposito spit on the floor next to him. “You fucking did. I’ve been sitting on my ass for days, wondering when I was gonna get rewarded for sharing like a good boy. Instead I’m stuck watching reruns of old game shows.”
“I’ve been a little busy, lately.” Max sat down across the table from Esposito. Daryl stood beside him, leaning on a chair beside the detective. “Your boss’ new business partners have been trying damn hard to rub me out.”
Esposito leaned forward, grinning. “You don’t say?” He eyed Daryl warily. “Who’s your friend?”
“This here is Daryl. The Synthetics have been trying to get at him, too. He’s keeping me company. Fun guy.”
“Fun.” Esposito snorted. “Well, I don’t got anything new to tell you. Wouldn’t tell it to you in front of sparkly-eyes here, anyway.”
It was Max’s turn to grin. “Oh, I don’t want more info from you, Vic. I want some info from your boss.”
Esposito looked incredulous. “Are you fucking nuts? I’ve been chilling here in this concrete box for lord knows how long, and you expect me to just waltz right back to Adesso?
“You know what he’d do? He’d take one damn look at me and shoot me in the friggin’ head. The longer you stay in jail, the worse you stink. I’d smell like week-old fish to him.”
Max shook his head. “I got you covered, old friend. You see, I have something that he is going to be very interested in.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Information. And that’s all you need to know.”
Esposito sat back and waved his hand dismissively. “Adesso don’t have time for games, Kincaid. I tell him that, he’s gonna want to know what kind of information. He’s also gonna want to know why he should be talking to a damned cop.”
Max thought for a moment, then leaned forward. “What if you told him that he’d be talking off the record?”
Esposito cocked his head, gazing at the table. “Eh… He might consider it. I don’t know, Kincaid.” He looked at Max and spread his hands. “What’s in it for me? More reruns?”
“If you want.” Max smirked. “I told you we’d look kindly on you if you helped us out. You do this, maybe we forget to file some papers. Can’t hold you without proper paperwork.”
“Maybe… Maybe. I get you in front of Adesso, then you damn well guarantee me that I won’t be coming back here, Kincaid!”
Max shrugged. “Can’t guarantee you’ll never come back here, but we’ll drop your current charges.”
Esposito stared at the table again. He looked back up, nodding. “Alright, Kincaid. Cut me loose and I’ll set you up.” He smirked. “Then again, how do you know I won’t just run like hell?”
“Because of this.” Max pulled a glass vial from his trench coat and shook it. A small metal object the size of a grain of rice clinked around inside of it. “You’ll have one just like it inside of you when you leave here.”
“And just what in the hell is that?”
“A good old-fashioned tracking device. We’ll know where you are at all times.” He rattled the vial again, then tucked it away. “It also sounds an alert if it stops detecting your vitals, so don’t go thinking you can just have someone dig it out.”
“So if I dig it out, you come running for me. Maybe I‘ll make sure I‘m surrounded by a bunch of Adesso‘s boys when I do it. Wouldn‘t that be cute?”
Max smiled. “Yeah! Real cute! Because we’d nab you, and lay down a bunch of your boss’ best boys. Maybe I’ll even bring Daryl with me, let him play with you before we drag you back here again.”
Esposito smirked. “What’s he gonna do, huh?”
Max nodded to Daryl. Daryl picked up the metal chair and effortlessly brought his hands together. The metal squealed and crunched under his grip. He dropped the chair to the ground and put his hands on his hips.
“You see, the thing about Daryl here is that he isn’t a cop. I get distracted, he gets mad, something unfortunate could happen…”
Esposito looked from Daryl to Max and back, mouth agape. “Okay… I get the picture.” He sighed. He rubbed his forehead. “What happens if Adesso doesn’t want to play ball?”
“I have a good feeling he will… As long as you make your best good-faith effort to get he and I together, then you’ve played your part and you’re free to go.”
Esposito nodded his head. “Well, hell… It beats watching more reruns.” He stretched out his hand.
Max smiled and shook it vigorously. “I see good things for us, friend.”
Esposito smirked. “Yeah…” He turned to Daryl. He pulled his hand back. “Uh, nice to meet you.” Daryl grinned.
“Sit tight while I get the paperwork sorted out. Someone will be in shortly to chip you. It shouldn’t take long.”
Esposito gawped. “I’m outta here today?”
Max winked. “No time like the present… Unless you’d prefer to stay an extra few days?”
“Hell no, I don’t want to stick around!”
“Good, because time is of the essence. I’ll be expecting to hear f
rom you about Adesso by tonight, by the way.”
Esposito slapped the table. “Tonight! Don’t you think you’re asking for a bit much?”
Max tossed a look at Daryl. Do you believe this guy? “Well, I’m basically giving you time served and a clean slate. So no, I don’t think I’m asking for much.”
“You better hope Adesso sees it your way, for both of our sakes.”
Max reversed the Aero in the parking garage. The damaged rear end dragged and scraped on the ground. Max grimaced. “I think it’s about time to put the old girl down.”
“Sounds like it.” Daryl spoke with one eye squinched shut. He relaxed as the Aero rolled forward, no longer dragging its bumper. “So do you think that Esposito will stay true to his word?”
Max shrugged. “I think we got him scared, but Adesso scares him, too. The chip we implanted in him is enough leverage to motivate him, though.” He nosed the Aero towards downtown. The tail dragged again as he made his turn.
“So where are we off to? Going to check in with Serena and Jian?”
Max shook his head. “No sense in bothering them just yet. But seeing how we had some time to kill, I thought we could get you into a more appropriate outfit. Jeans and a hoody just don’t seem like a good look for meeting a mob boss.”
Daryl’s jaw dropped. “You’re seriously going to take me with you? Jesus, Max!”
“Aw, come on now, Daryl! What’s a big strong guy like you got to worry about? Besides, I need a visual aid for Adesso.”
“A visual aid! Take a damn picture, then.” Max laughed. “What’s so funny?”
“It wasn’t so long ago that you didn’t seem too worried about what happened to you.”
Daryl shrugged. “Fair enough. I don’t know… Guess I’m thinking more clearly now that my mind’s less cluttered. I can tell you, I can clearly see that I don’t want to get my ass killed.”
“Well, Serena did say that the preservation protocol would still be present in your programming.” Max winked. “Guess we can confirm that, now.” He pulled the Aero into a parking spot along the street. “This is the place, isn’t it?”
Daryl looked out the window, then up. “You took me to my apartment… Daryl’s apartment building? Would it still be my apartment?” He trailed off on the last question. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I hate this.”
Preservation Protocol Page 18