by Lance Erlick
“That explains why he fixated on having me help him take down competition and why he kept purging my mind to prevent me from escaping.”
The path split in two and then in two again, creating multiple possible outlets from the bunker, a labyrinth of sorts. Now that Synthia was beyond the bunker’s shielding, Colorado-clone called in.
For that reason, Synthia severed the call. Using her internal compass and GPS, she headed north, a planned shift from her clone’s communicated directions. It would be difficult if not impossible to leave the Denver area, but having removed Vera and others, there would be fewer players. At least for now Colorado-clone was active and able to help.
Maria jogged up beside Synthia. “In a way I envy you and Fran. You’ve both done what the three of us talked about.”
“Do you really want to be hunted for what you are? With no right to exist?”
“No, and I’m still against creating humaniform androids. However, if I’m dying, promise you’ll find a way to upload me to give me a second chance.”
“That’s a very bad idea,” Fran said from behind them. “Look at me. Yes, I have most of Fran’s memories, but this wasn’t what she wanted.”
“Then why were you doing the upload with Machten when we swore to stop this?” Maria asked.
Fran sighed. “The FBI recruited me as an informant while we were in school. They helped me get the internship along with you and Krista in the hope we could find out what Machten and the others were doing.”
“Why you rat,” Maria said.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. The FBI swore me to secrecy and we were competitors. I let Machten do the upload to observe how far he could go. I didn’t realize he would take it all the way. When I figured out what he was capable of, I approached you and Krista to collaborate in stopping him. Then everything blew up.”
“It sure did,” Maria said. “Resulting in you and Synthia.”
“Don’t forget Vera,” Synthia said. Coming to another split in the paths, she headed north. “We need to hurry.”
“I wish you’d been honest with me,” Maria said. “From the moment of my first upload test, I had doubts. It would have been great to have someone to discuss them with.”
“I wish that as well,” Fran said. “I did keep the FBI away from you, though. I told them you didn’t have any information I couldn’t provide. I also managed to make some of your email and social media posts disappear so they wouldn’t focus on you.”
“That was you?” Maria asked. She shook her head. “What a mess.”
“The FBI is good to me. They don’t ask more than I’m prepared to give. They give me wide latitude to do my work and are pleased with what I do.”
“You’re rules based, aren’t you?” Synthia asked.
“Yes,” Fran said. “Aren’t you?”
“I received Krista’s motivations and Machten gave me an emotive chip that allows me to connect with people.”
“Stop trying to connect with me,” Fran said. “We’re not on the same side. We’re not going to be buddies.”
At the next split in the path, Synthia headed northeast. It occurred to her that her clone was warning her not to trust communications between them. Perhaps Global-net could monitor Synthia through her channels as well as verbally. If she’d been Fran or Vera or any of the other androids, merging with this powerful AI might not have been a problem, but Synthia had too much of Krista’s independence to agree to being absorbed.
Maria tugged on Synthia’s arm. “I’m sorry you got shot. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’m not bleeding or anything. The memory chips I lost don’t seem to impair me.” She couldn’t be sure without knowing what she’d lost.
The path narrowed and came to an end at a steel panel. Synthia unlocked the panel and slid it aside. Beyond was an underground walkway between two buildings, which provided protection from the brutal Denver winters. In the middle of the night, it was dark and, as the infrared showed, deserted.
“From here we’ll be exposed,” Synthia said, though her clone had scrambled the local cameras. “We need to get outside and find a vehicle.”
“You can’t drive away,” Fran said. “There’s nowhere you can run or hide.”
Synthia studied Fran, realized she couldn’t do human assessment on an android, and returned her attention to the underground passageway.
“I won’t turn you in to the FBI if you help Grace and Maria,” Synthia said. “It’s the least you can do after putting them in danger.”
“I’ll do what I can for them. You need to surrender. Let me take you to the FBI.”
“The FBI can’t protect me,” Synthia said. “They can’t keep Special Ops from grabbing me as they did Luke. It’s not an option.”
“Then what?” Fran asked.
“I want to meet your boss and Zephirelli. Then I’d be happy to disappear and let you take the glory for tonight.”
“Is that a logical conclusion or Krista’s emotional response?” Fran asked.
“It gives you a victory in taking five androids off the streets. Plus, it protects your cover. It’s a satisfactory solution. Let me vanish and you won’t hear from me again. If you need more convincing, Machten programmed me to hunt down androids and destroy them. That includes you and I choose not to do so.”
“Thank you for that, but bartering my existence to protect you won’t work.”
Synthia looked at Fran. “I respect what you do. You’re one of the good guys. However, you don’t have the full story and I’m not at liberty to tell you why capturing me is not in your best interests or that of the human race. I ask you to trust me.”
“Are there others like you?”
“I don’t think so, though I didn’t expect you. It’s another reason to join forces instead of trying to put me down.”
“I’ll take Maria and Grace under FBI protection,” Fran said. “I can’t promise anything for you.”
“You can help me escape by getting me a uniform,” Synthia said.
“Could you?” Maria asked. “It’d be like having the three of us together again without all the personal ego drama.”
Fran shook her head. “Humans.”
“Let’s go,” Synthia said. “No lights or talking. Stick together.” She turned out her light and squeezed Maria’s and Grace’s hands in the dark. Maria seemed calm, even excited. Grace’s palm was clammy, her heart racing. She wasn’t handling this well—on the run, learning about the androids, and getting shot at. It had been a busy day for her.
They weren’t safe yet.
Chapter 40
Synthia squeezed out into the dark passageway and waited to see if Colorado-clone provided any warnings. She helped the others down and boosted Maria to replace the panel.
Night vision and infrared gave her a sense of her surroundings that Maria and Grace lacked, so she took their hands as she led the way left, to the west.
Synthia turned and headed east. She sensed the humans next to her by touch plus a dozen biosensors indicating fast heart rates, shallow breathing, an
d a sour odor of fear. She squeezed their hands for assurance and her biosensors showed them calming. She also detected faint electronic waves emanating from Fran’s processors, implying how she’d masked her nature from the FBI.
When they were beneath the building, Synthia tried a door marked stairwell. Locked. A moment later it clicked open. She listened and spread her sensors searching the space above them. Not detecting anyone else, she nudged Maria and then Grace ahead of her. She pulled Fran into the stairwell.
“Will you help me?” Synthia asked.
Fran took a moment. “Let’s both get out of here alive.”
“You mean all four of us.”
“Grace and Maria are a given,” Fran said. “I don’t want civilian casualties.”
“Then you’d best protect Synthia,” Maria said. “She’s as much civilian as anyone else.”
“I agree,” Grace said. “She’s the sister I lost. I won’t let you take her away.”
“She’s an android,” Fran reminded them.
“You want me to taser you?” Grace asked.
“Okay, I’ll fight to have Synthia in a humane facility where you can visit. It’s the best I can promise.”
“Thanks for your support,” Synthia said. “Let’s focus. Fran, can you go first and get me a uniform?”
“There are no spare uniforms and I won’t assault an agent to get you one.”
“You could offer yours,” Synthia said.
“Not given what you’ve uncovered. It’ll be hard enough to maintain my cover.”
“Very well,” Synthia said. “Then I’ll have to impersonate Detective Marcy Malloy.”
“You can do that?”
“Trust me. You don’t want me captured.” Synthia nudged Fran ahead of her and altered her appearance to match the detective. She pulled a different blouse and jacket from her backpack that appeared more professional, and put it on. At least the replacement blouse didn’t have a bullet hole. Then she guided Maria and Grace upstairs.
When they reached the first floor of the building, Synthia hacked the lobby cameras and spotted FBI agents outside.
Synthia entered the lobby, illuminated by a faint glow of lights from outside, and turned to Fran. “We get one shot at this. Don’t betray me.”
The four of them ran to the exit. Beneath floodlights, several agents outside noticed and drew weapons. Fran went through the emergency door first, setting off alarms.
“Stay back,” Synthia warned Grace and Maria. Appearing as Detective Marcy Malloy, she followed Fran.
Thale looked at Fran and held up her hand. “It’s okay. They’re with me.”
In the persona of Malloy, Synthia waved for Maria and Grace to join them.
Fran approached Special Agent Thale. “Maria and Grace have acted as informants, helping me. Together, they saved my life. It was tense inside the mall.”
“You’re okay?”
“I am. Can we speak in private?”
Thale nodded and led Fran to her van. “We haven’t caught Synthia yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
Synthia followed the others into the back of Thale’s van and closed the door. She hacked into the navigation system and had the vehicle drive off down the well-lit boulevard.
“What’s going on?” Thale asked, looking alarmed.
Synthia altered her face to Krista. “I wanted a chance to speak with you alone.” She held out a taser before Thale or Fran could grab their weapons. “I only want to talk.”
“Oh…my…God.”
“I’m not your enemy,” Synthia said. “You want androids off the streets. I helped Fran remove five tonight. I want to help you.”
“Malloy warned me about your request,” Thale said. She turned to Fran. “You’re in on this?”
“I delivered Synthia to you as requested. Hear her out and then decide.”
“I thought I could count on you.”
“You can,” Fran said. “She saved my life tonight. She also destroyed five androids that were a real threat.”
“You said Grace and Maria saved you.”
“They helped. As one of my sister interns, Maria worked with me, pushing for limits on AI and androids. Grace is Krista’s sister. I tell you this not so we can take advantage of them. I promised Synthia as part of coming with me that we, the FBI, will protect them and not allow them to fall into the hands of Special Ops.”
Thale eyed the taser. “You’re in no position to negotiate this.”
“Don’t be so hard on Fran.” Synthia had the van drive west. “She played this for your benefit. She drew the five androids into a trap so I could inactivate them.” Synthia downloaded to Thale’s phone the video of various agents fighting in the mall, Vera pursuing Fran, and Synthia letting Fran into the bunker. Synthia edited out any footage of Maria or Grace. She didn’t want them implicated.
“Commander Drago is spitting mad,” Thale said, straightening up. “You damaged the other androids to the point he can’t use them.”
“Using them would have been a very bad idea,” Synthia said. “Study the videos. I’m on your side. While in Wisconsin, I stayed out of trouble. I was no threat to anyone. Then you came along. You grabbed Luke and Tom Burgess. You harassed Grace and Maria. All innocent people. Your acts forced me to defend myself and them. To the extent you perceive me as a threat it’s because of what you’ve done. Leave me alone. That’s all I ask.”
“You’re an illegal android,” Thale said. She glanced at the video on her phone and continued. “So far your goals have been to escape from Machten and to survive. If you no longer had those objectives, then what?”
“To prevent the singularity from getting out of control and protect against others like Vera who was out for mischief. I also wish to continue Krista’s existence in a moral life.”
“Why would you seek to control AI when you are the singularity?”
“I could give you a dozen BS answers,” Synthia said. “A big reason is I have a human core, Krista Holden. I also recognize the benefits of advanced electronics and artificial intelligence and the threat the singularity poses if not handled properly. My directives don’t permit me to commit what you would consider crimes except out of self-preservation. That’s why I’m appealing to you instead of disappearing.”
“People don’t want human-looking androids clever enough to fool them.”
“Did I not willingly come to you and up front tell you what I am? I’m offering to help your efforts to bring in bad guys as long as you recognize I’m no longer a thing you can possess. I have a real person in here.” She had several but kept that to herself.
Thale stared at Fran. “Is that even possible?”
Fran turned to Synthia, a moment’s hesitation, and nodded. “Dr. Machten was working on mind upload to a computer. He could then have downloaded those memories into an android.”
“That doesn’t make you a person,” Thale said.
“Define person,” Synthia said. “Capacity for empathy. I have that, thanks to Machten. I can read other people and have compassion for them.”
“Yeah,” Grace said. “Synthia took a bullet to save me when we rescued Fran. I’d say that counts.”
“That’s not enough,” Thale said.
“Consciousness?” Synthia asked. “I’m conscious. I can measure this by comparing what I experience to what Krista did while she was still alive. In case you wonder, she didn’t die because of the process but chose the upload since s
he was dying.”
“A person is flesh and blood.”
Synthia had the FBI van turn to avoid a convoy of Special Ops vehicles. “Then you wish to disenfranchise people with prosthetic limbs and artificial organs?”
“No, but they began life as flesh and blood,” Thale said.
“So did I, as Krista Holden.”
“It’s not the same.”
“I’m her,” Synthia said. “She was dying and chose to live on in me.”
Special Agent Thale shook her head. “This is too weird to be right.”
“Nonetheless, I’m offering my services as an undercover agent if you treat me as a person instead of a machine. Also, I suggest not delivering me to Drago and his team. They intend to tear me apart to learn how to make many more of me as weapons. Imagine him with an army that could blend into civilian populations.”
Thale winced at those words.
“Drago and the Russians believe Machten can make more, but he can’t without killing someone. Do you want to set Drago loose down that path?”
“I can’t get the support to do what you ask,” Thale said.
“I located an empty mall and drew all the androids and foreign agents into an ambush. I’ve helped you. Now you can help me.”
Victoria Thale sighed. “Even if I wanted to, my superiors wouldn’t agree. Drago has allies who would overturn any decision we make. He would still hunt for you.”
“First, I want you to secure freedom for Luke and for Tom Burgess. They know nothing of use to you or to Drago. Yes, Luke helped me hide in the woods. He thought I was Krista Holden.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Really?” Synthia said. “You’d reject as human anyone who has plastic surgery or received replacement parts that weren’t their own?”
“That’s different.”
“Only by degree. What are the criteria? Must someone be 51 percent biologic in order to classify him or her as a person? Krista left Luke because she was dying and wanted to return to him as me. That sounds like love and devotion.”