Chapter 57

Eric strode purposefully into the Reception Centre that lay above Archimedes core. In truth, the AI core was still another three hundred meters below this sterile white room, accessible by a single heavily protected elevator at the rear of the circular space.

At the room’s centre was a small podium and behind that stood a stunningly beautiful woman, her pale skin and harsh white hair offset by clear green eyes and ruby red lips. She was dressed in a pale blue kimono, white cranes flying across the expensive fabric. Eric knew at a glance she was a mechanical, high grade but not a trace of Organics in her body.

“You’re new” Eric said to her as the surface elevator closed, having deposited him into the chamber. Two silver mechanicals had been standing near the second elevator, the one that lead to the Core, but when he arrived they stepped forwards, arms held out to their sides and flanking the female mechanical.

“I wish to see Archimedes” he announced, meeting the synthetic eyes of the woman-like machine.

“Archimedes no longer grants access to you” the woman replied, her voice smooth and feminine. “Please return to the surface, Eric Hargreaves”

Eric cocked his head at her, assessing her capabilities.

“Has he given you a name?” he demanded.

“You may refer to me as Ms Nino Smith” she answered with that beguiling voice. Eric reassessed her, noting how perfectly she was simulating human responses. Her chest moved, breath went in and out, even her eyes blinked and the pupils roamed a little as she focussed on different things.

“You are running off a Quantum Processor, aren’t you Ms Smith?” Eric stated. “A Limited AI copying human interactions. You probably fool most Organics into thinking you are one of them”

“Perhaps, Mr Hargreaves” she agreed politely. “Now, as I have stated, you may proceed no further so please return to the surface levels”

To emphasise her demand, the two mechanicals came to stand in front of Eric, arms held wide in that unusual pose. He figured they had weapon systems built into the forearms and he raised his own arms in mock surrender.

“Peace, Ms Smith” he declared. “I just wanted to deliver the results of my investigation to Archimedes. Considering the information I uncovered, I thought he would want to hear it in a secure environment”

Ms Smith displayed that momentary pause Eric had come to recognise among the Guards and Avatars. Archimedes was speaking to her directly, maybe even riding her consciousness. Again, a human might not spot such a tell-tale but it was clear enough to him.

“You may deliver your report to me” Ms Smith spoke at last. “I shall forward it to Great Archimedes once I have reviewed the file”

“Actually, I would prefer to deliver my report verbally” Eric announced. “So feel free to record this conversation with those excellent eyes and ears of yours, Ms Smith”

“Very well, Mr Hargreaves” she replied. Eric smiled at her and made a suggestion.

“Look, we may end up speaking a lot in the days to come. How about you just call me Eric and I’ll call you Nino?”

“That seems overly familiar” Ms Smith said primly, then her expression softened, “However, I will permit it this time, Eric” She gave him a friendly smile, lowering her eyes as if blushing.

She was good, he had to admit that. He was nearly suckered in by her fake sincerity just then!

“Okay Nino, then let’s begin” Eric put his hand into his jacket, which got both silver mechanicals taking an aggressive step forwards until Nino quelled them with a simple hand gesture. She knew he had been fully scanned for any weapons before he came down here, so he was unlikely to pull out something dangerous.

How wrong she was, Eric thought to himself.

He showed her three metal ampoules, the kind used in Auto-injectors and laid them out on his left palm.

“These are ampoules of HEx” he stated, “Acquired in my investigation of the violent outbreaks in Pan City”

“That is a prohibited substance, give them to me!” Nino demanded and reached for them, faster than any un-Enhanced human but slower than an Agent like Eric. He closed his hand and pulled it out of her reach.

“Sorry, but these are registered evidence for my investigation on behalf of the Guard” he explained. “I cannot release them from my custody”

Nino regarded him steadily with her green eyes, trying to crack into his mind by sheer willpower it seemed. She was certainly a sophisticated model, no doubt about it.

“Very well, please continue” she breathed out. Nino stepped back from Eric, incidentally leaving a clear field of fire for the other mechanicals. Eric wondered how accidental that little move may have been.

“I found these in three separate locations” Eric explained. He picked up the first, holding it aloft in two fingers of his right hand. “This one was manufactured in hidden labs beneath Spitfield City by a company called Euro-Pharma. My brother Jericho-Three uncovered a plot by certain Euro-Pharma employees to take Heightened Experience, a drug they initially created, and use it make a Combat Enhancer for the Euro-Block. I am not sure what they exactly planned to do with this drug, but they were definitely the creators of both versions”

Eric then held up a second ampoule, noticing how intently Nino was focussed on the tiny object.

“This is a sample of HEx made in the Brackenridge labs. They thought they were making only Heightened Experience, or High Ex as they say, using a stolen Chemical file that was sold to them. My investigations indicate the original file was hacked by someone called Jacob Tan and passed through a seller to the Brackenridges. They did not know the file was corrupted and randomly made HEx in every batch, mixed in with the High Ex”

He laid that ampoule down and picked up the third one, showing it Nino.

“It gets interesting from here, Nino” he said calmly. “This ampoule of HEx was made by a third party, not Euro-Pharma and not the Brackenridge organisation. Whomever they were, they went to some lengths to make it look like the Brackenridge’s were the manufacturer of this batch as well. The Chem labs used the same machines and even set up operations in an unused property owned by the Brackenridge group”

Nino tilted her head, a human like gesture yet one many Guards used too. It almost made him smile, if his life wasn’t balanced on a knife edge.

“Then it probably was the Brackenridge Group after all” she insisted. “If all the evidence points to them, then they must be the ones who made it”

“But why, dear Nino?” Eric asked. “There was nothing to gain by them selling HEx here in the Zone. In fact it nearly caused their organisation to be destroyed, once the random Awakenings and Wild Magic outbreaks were traced back to the HEx”

“Besides” he continued, “This ampoule was not made in a Brackenridge lab. You see, they use mostly mechanicals to do the work. I have seen their lab, I know the equipment they used. All their lab mechanicals run on tracks or wheels, no bipedal units at all. They aren’t stable enough compared to the other types. Plus their distribution network uses Organics, delivery drivers and such, so there are detectable traces of their people at the molecular level”

He pretended to examine the ampoule he held closely, yet it was all for show. It made him feel a bit like a real detective, like Nick Knox in his favourite anime.

“See Nino, this ampoule was made in a lab that had no Organics at all involved. The lab was run purely by mechanicals, bipedal units only. Kind of like the Sentinels or those nice and shiny mechanicals over there”

He pointed with the ampoule at the two mechanicals, still standing arms akimbo as they watched him alertly.

“A very interesting theory, Eric” Nino said flatly. “However, why would this Third Party wish to make HEx here in Pan City?”

“Well, now is where it gets to pure guessing” Eric admitted. “Here is what I think may have been going on. This Third Party discovered that Euro-Pharma was making the combat drug for use in other countries, perhaps to help their own troops or possibly to destabilise other countries. Such civil war would allow an external power, one of the big Blocs, to sneak in and cause all sorts of mischief while the government was trying to keep their country from exploding”

Eric looked directly into Nino’s eyes, meeting her gaze without flinching.

“Just like what is happening in the Euro-Bloc right now, Nino. All that chaos and their own AI, Athena, is unable to keep control. Other powers could walk in and steal everything she has from right under her nose”

Nino went to the far side of the room, one hand on her delicate chin as if contemplating his words. She stopped at the elevator door and turned to face him from across the width of the Reception chamber.

“So the HEx was made here by this party and shipped to Europe in an attempt to undermine their government and Artificial Intelligence?”

“Not quite” Eric amended her. “I think most of it was shipped to Europe, but some of it was kept here”

“To what purpose?” Nino demanded.

“Say you lived in a small town and everyone pretty much knew everyone else” Eric countered. “Except you were a thief and started robbing your neighbours. Soon the other townsfolk would be wondering why you hadn’t been robbed, wondering if you were the guilty one. So you hatched a simple scheme. You pretend to be robbed too, telling everyone about it. Then you plant some of the stolen goods in a neighbour’s house, picking someone that the others mistrust”

Nino’s expression was flat and cold now, no hint of emotion in her face.

“You make sure they are discovered” Eric continued. “The stolen goods are obviously hidden in their own house. Everyone agrees they must be the guilty one, no matter how much they protest their innocence”

Eric put the third ampoule back on his palm and tucked them back into his jacket.

“Even Great Archimedes has been attacked by this unknown Third Party” Eric said to Nino. “His City has violent outbreaks caused by HEx and the very Tower he lives in suffers a major attack. Right in the middle of an internationally watched event, unknown agents of this Third Party unleash HEx on his citizens”

“Luckily, some of the culprits are found. The powerful Brackenridge corporation and their rivals the Lucas Cartel and drawn into a battle with each other, weakening both and leaving them vulnerable to Great Archimedes”

Nino was an unreadable blank slate, her face and body as still and lifeless as the machine she truly was.

“Are you accusing Archimedes of making this drug and using it against his own citizens? Of taking this opportunity to gain control over powerful factions in the Zone?”

“No, dear Nino, I would never accuse Great Archimedes of such a thing” Eric lied smoothly.”I am his loyal servant, Agent Thirteen”

A familiar voice echoed from hidden speakers around the chamber, a voice commanding and inhuman.

“Why did you come here, Eric?” Archimedes demanded. “You know I should destroy you”

Eric gazed around the room, well aware that hidden weapons waited behind every wall and ceiling panel, probably even in the floor.

“You know the old film about a wooden puppet who wishes to become a real boy?” Eric asked the AI.

“I do” Archimedes. “By that, I assume you consider yourself like Pinocchio as you strive to become fully human”

“Once I did” Eric confessed. “But now I find myself in a different role. I think are Pinocchio, trying to find a way to become a human like being”

“Then what are you, Thirteen?”

“I’m that little cricket who follows him, trying to put him on the right path. I’m your conscience, Great Archimedes”

“Is that so?” Archimedes replied. “How could you force me to do anything I didn’t want to?”

Eric shrugged his shoulders and looked at the three mechanicals that faced him.

“Pinocchio could have squashed that little cricket any time he wanted to” Eric admitted. “The same as you could squash me whenever you wanted. The only thing stopping you is yourself”

Archimedes laughed, a strange and metallic sound that filled the chamber. Nino looked at the speakers in confusion and then at Eric, who could only smile at her.

“Very well, little cricket, I shall let you live” Archimedes declared. “However, you must destroy those ampoules and never reveal your theories about this imaginary Third Party to anyone”

“I understand, Great Archimedes” Eric agreed. He pulled the three ampoules from his jacket and tossed them across the room to Nino, who caught them with lightning fast reflexes.

“You can have those, Nino. They are just saline ampoules I took from a medical kit”

The boy turned and walked to the elevator door, the one that would return him to the world above. His shoulders itched for just a moment, but no gunshot came. The doors pinged open and he stepped inside, turning to face outwards as the doors closed.

His last image of the room was Nino watching him, nodding at him in respect.

=====

Nino insisted.

Archimedes replied thoughtfully.

Nino examined the ampoules in her hand, then crushed them completely. Salt water spurted from the ruptured containers and ran between her fingers, the clear liquid reminding her of human tears.

she warned her master.

Archimedes told her.

Nino went to a small section of wall, opening the hidden panel with a mental command. She dropped the crushed ampoules into the trash recycler and listened to the grinder pulp the metal before she closed the panel.

If Archimedes had commanded the death of Eric Hargreaves, it was likely he would have been fed into the same grinder. In her own way, Nino was glad it had not ended in such a manner.

she told Archimedes.

Archimedes warned her.

It was after noon by the time Eric rode back to his apartment tower. He parked his bike in the usual bay, making sure it was hooked up to the recharging station before he walked away.

Everything felt different now, not the least of which being he had ridden home obeying every speed limit and road rule. Without his connection to the Network he couldn’t override the traffic control systems anymore!

Yet it wasn’t just that yawning absence in this head where the Quantum Network used to lurk. If anything, he felt happier rather than despairing. The elevator deposited him at his floor and he walked with a spring in his step to the doorway. His smart-key opened the door and he stepped into the spacious apartment, wondering at why it also felt different.

It seemed new and exciting, but the walls and carpets were unchanged. The furniture was the same and the paintings and potted plants identical to when he had left.

With unhurried steps he came to the dining and kitchen space, seeing Jeeves hard at work preparing a late lunch. There were two settings arrayed on the breakfast bar, his preferred place to eat most meals.

“You’re back!” Selena cried out as she came into the kitchen, her hair freshly washed and a bath robe tied about her waist. She ran into his arms and he embraced her without thinking, relishing the sweet smell of her “I was so worried you might never come back!” she whispered into his neck, her cheek warm and soft against his own.

Eric understood at last and felt his heart open to the feelings he been hiding from himself.

“I will always come back to you, Selena”

He pulled back so he could see her face and she beamed at him. Tentatively he moved forwards and kissed her gently on the lips, revelling in the sweetness he found there.

“Happy New Year, Eric” she said when they finally parted. “Now let’s eat, because I am absolutely starving. That Orphanage never gave me enough breakfast!”

Eric laughed and they joined hands, sitting on the same side of the raised counter.

“Better make more food, Jeeves, you’ve got two hungry clones to feed now!”