CHAPTER 2: ASSIGNMENT

Science Fiction

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

~ Assignment ~

Unit T24113 sat in the waiting room. Her skin felt hot and alive, a heat emanating from her metal skeletal structure. The water from the roads left her damp, but it was probably for the best since every circuit in her nervous system felt overloaded and about to fry.

Phones in the office rang, the business a mixture of Orgo and Synth, fielding calls, writing reports.

They’d found her pulling bodies from the wreckage, chard husks, while the fire was still going. Her earlier mission was still ticking in her monitor, like a bomb with an undetermined detonation point. But all of that was muted now, very far away, with the most recent overwhelming development: Jessica Daniels was inside her head.

She felt the woman sitting there, in shock, taking it all in. This was one of the last Orgo-Synth Law Enforcement outfits in town. She’d submitted herself for review, had her memory updated to the internal archive system so those with decision-making power could observe the events from her point of view. All of them. So now they knew what she had done, and they would perform a system wipe, and Jessica Daniels would be gone.

She found herself looking into the pane of glass next to her, taking in her own reflection. She wasn’t tall, about five foot eight. A height which had been deemed by the Casting Department to be ideal for her job as a Highway Patrol. Her size would not create unnecessary drag on the bike, but when interacting with the client (the individuals she would pull over) she had enough height for appropriate authority.

There were five more of the same models at this agency, none, Unit T24113 was pleased to note, with drive times like hers. She was the fastest on this force. There was a Unit in Norway with better times than hers, but that was Norway: longer roads and less crime. More time to up his speed.

Jessica ignored these thoughts as she took in the Synth’s appearance. This particular Highway Patrol model had been constructed with blue eyes. Her face had fine planes, her brow feathered over a strong brow bone. The skin was almost translucent, and her hair was dark, cut short in a pixie cut, which was easier to handle with the helmet. Her eyes were wide, staring at herself with panic. As soon as she realized this, she snapped her head away.

Stop it. She ordered.

The Orgo gave her no response. Jessica seemed to have decided that if she didn’t interact with T24113, then maybe this nightmare would end.

What had she been thinking? Why had she done that? T24113 had no answer, except an image kept coming back to her: Jessica staring at her with green eyes, in agony, afraid, begging her not to leave.

“T24113,” a voice called.

She looked up. It was her captain. The Synths had given him a name so that they could interact more easily with him. “Capt. Ramirez” was engraved on a little metallic plate on his chest. He gestured for her to go into the conference room. She stood.

At the table were two Orgos and one more Synth, Julia. Julia served as a liaison between these enforcement offices and the Company, the government corporation that made all the Enforcement models. That meant these Orgos were from The Company. She looked at them as she sat.

One man was tall, clean cut, with brown hair, wearing a suit, and when she looked at him, the only thing that came up on her display was “Samson Wood.” That made her uneasy. She always got a detail whenever she focused on someone. Nothing coming up was almost like they did not exist. The kind of money that would take, the kind of pull, to have their records scrubbed from the database, or at least the database she had access to…

The story was the same with the other man: “James Reed,” and that was it.

She sat in confusion. She should be in a Reclamation Chamber, getting her system wiped and reset. Not here, in a room with her captain and two Orgos that were essentially ghosts but were clearly from the Company. Her captain sat.

“Unit T24113—”

“The Unit will be referred to as Emma from here on out,” Samson said.

She stared at the man in shock. Before, the shock would have been a mute, emotionless stare, but now, with Jessica playing around at the emotional control tower, she had no idea what her face looked like. She knew she couldn’t be the only surprised one. Synths only got names if they were given special, front-facing tasks that required regular interaction with Orgos. She could practically see Capt. Ramirez disseminates the information in his data banks, replacing her number with a name.

“Emma,” he continued. “We have reviewed the footage from your black box, which you submitted earlier this evening. We are thus aware that you performed a data transfer from the living Orgo Jessica Daniels. This was an overextension of your remit, a gross violation of protocol, and as such, it is within The Company’s permit to scrub your database clean—”

Yes, she had expected that.

“—and repurpose you for parts.”

She stared at him. Termination. That’s what he had just communicated.

She had no right to feel anything about that; she did not belong to herself, was not her own property, and she understood how property worked. But she knew enough, had enough memories of roads and wind, and something which Synths might call “joy,” to know that continuation was better than termination.

“However, given the nature of the individual on whom you performed the data transfer, the Company has decided to review your operating orders. Jessica Daniels, formerly of Keel Laboratories, was involved in important scientific developments. Her work has been deemed essential to humanity, and her employers are reluctant to allow such a promising young mind to expire.”

Emma did not move. She could feel Jessica listening, taking in the information.

“Keel Laboratories has offered to purchase your contract, to see if they might preserve Jessica’s capabilities; however, you are Company property, and the company does not sell government resources to outside corporations. Given the nature of Jessica’s work, we cannot perform a database reset. This is also the first time a living organic conscience was successfully transferred into an AI mainframe,” he continued.

“That cannot be true,” Emma said. The room went still. She had interrupted. They stared at her, so she elaborated. “Why else would there be protocols against performing a data transfer on living Orgos?”

A long moment passed, during which all faces remained emotionless. At least, everyone but hers. She had no idea what her face was doing these days.

Then Samson glanced at James, adjusted his tie, and leaned forward.

“The keyword is successful. In previous tests, only partial data was retrieved, or the organic consciousness deteriorated quickly, or the Synth did. For the moment, both you and Jessica appear to be stable inside a single host body.”

“So, this is an experiment,” she said.

That … that was Jessica. Not her.

Emma clamped down on her control center as more questions piled up like water before a dam.

How many other test subjects had there been? What were the results? Why was this not public information?

Of course, that last part was obvious: it was proprietary. The Company owned that information.

Yes, but there are laws!

Had … had she just had a conversation with Jessica? The implications of that bothered her too much to admit, and she brought her attention back to what the Orgos were saying. James was speaking.

“—like you to continue your regular duties, while at the same time keeping an eye on Jessica. Observe how the Orgo-Synth merging develops within your hardware. Record her thoughts and report back. Jessica was on the verge of a scientific breakthrough, and if her work could somehow be continued … it would benefit the entirety of humankind.”

They’re asking you to spy on me!

You’re dead.

Yes! Don’t you see how unethical that is? What will they do in the future when not even death is safe for people? They could forge confessions post-mortem. And there would be no end … oh no, am I going to live forever in a tin can?

Emma was a little insulted by that. Sure, her body wasn’t squishy and fallible like an Orgo’s, and it wouldn’t deteriorate as quickly, but wasn’t that better? There were certain things she lacked, not being human, but there were other advantages.

“Emma?” her captain asked, calling her back.

“Jessica is reluctant to be observed. Something about 1984, Big Brother.”

Or in this case, big sister.

James folded his hands and leaned in. “Emma, are you in communication with Jessica?”

Jessica remained silent.

“I can hear her thoughts,” Emma said.

The Company men looked at each other.

“You are surprised,” Emma said.

“Jessica appears to be more lucid than previous test subjects—”

Samson put his hand on James’s shoulder, stopping him. The men exchanged a look and stepped out of the room. Julia followed.

Emma and Ramirez sat in perfect silence.

Her interface notified her of a message on a classified channel.

RAMIREZ>> Why did you perform the data transfer?

EMMA>> She possessed information on another angle of the traffic accident. I determined that 2% was close enough to the mortality field to proceed with data transfer.

Even she could tell that was a weak excuse.

Ramirez stared at her.

EMMA>> She didn’t want me to go.

She sent him a clip of the moment she’d found Jessica staring at her, eyes pleading.

EMMA>> Our remit is to protect and serve. Is it not?

The men came back into the room with Julia and sat.

“Jessica, I am speaking directly to you now,” Samson said, staring into Emma’s eyes. “I offer my condolences on your human life. In life, you were a woman of integrity. It’s clear from your work that you cared about the higher good of all humanity. That’s what drove you to be a scientist. Yours is the most impressive young mind in a generation. To have lost you tonight would have been a travesty to the population, one no one would ever have known about. But it looks like fate stepped in and offered you a way to continue your work. We know what you were working on at Keel Labs. We hope you see that your work is not done yet. You are simply too valuable a resource for us to leave you dead on the side of a highway.”

Did that asshole just give me the company line for “I’m sorry you're dead, but can we pretty please strip your mind for information?” And he’s making it sound premeditated! As if they chose—

“She’s unimpressed,” Emma said, feeling a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. Huh, that was new.

“Unfortunately, the majority of human rights cease upon expiration,” Julia said.

Well, clearly I’m not expired! Jessica screamed.

“And you are the property of the Company,” she said to Emma.

Emma looked into Julia’s unnaturally blue eyes and felt an immediate distaste.

“What are the new parameters of my remit?” she asked, emotionless.

“Continue your duties as Highway Patrol AI Enforcer and … keep an eye on your guest,” Sampson said. “See if you are able to gain access to information on her work; her plans on where she was going to take her research next. See if you can’t … win her over to our way of seeing things. You saved her life, Emma. That has to count for something.”

No, you didn’t. If you had saved me, I would be breathing my own air, wearing my own skin, and thinking my own thoughts without being watched. You ripped me from my body, and I will never give you access to my work.

Emma nodded. “Consider it done.”

~

When the two Law Enforcement Synths left the room, a long moment passed in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Julia tapped away on her tablet and threw a video recording onto the board.

“This was taken from Emma’s bike. The footage in her memory story is static, disrupted.”

It was of the crash site, the fire blazing in the background. The roaring light threw all shapes into sharp contrast, but there was one moving thing. The software zoomed in. It was a body in all black, Emma still wearing her helmet, on her knees, holding the dead body of a woman. She was rocking.

“Are we certain that the Unit is in control of the situation?”

The Company men did not respond.

~

Emma felt the tension melt away as she rode the highway on her bike. She stopped thinking about Jessica, about termination, and focused on the moment-by-moment of the road. It was past four in the morning, so there was almost no traffic on the road. Her bike reached 110 mph. If any Orgo was out this late at night, walking across the highway, and she hit him, he would be cut in half.

She had resumed her pursuit. She was supposed to do the same as before and keep an eye on Jessica. Since the Orgo was with her wherever she went now, she decided to simply resume her previous task.

Which is what, exactly? Jessica asked.

Emma brought up the picture of her target and then ignored her guest. Jessica had been sullen after the meeting, not speaking to her, which was fine by Emma. She didn’t really want to talk to the girl either. She took the off-ramp, and her bike growled as she took a sharp left at the intersection.

They entered the warehouse district. Once she neared her target destination, she slowed, letting her engine hum low. She didn’t want to attract attention.

I don’t understand. What has he done?

He steals cars. Emma sent the words through her interface. He hacks the computers and rewrites the functionality of the vehicle software.

He’s endangering human life?

No, he’s tampering with Company software.

I thought that was impossible, Jessica said.

That was the point: it should be impossible.

But what does he do once he hacks them? … Emma?

That was the first time Jessica had called Emma by her assigned name. Emma was surprised by the effect: she found herself straightening.

He’s rewiring the system so that the computer cannot transmit data back to The Company. These cars become ghosts.

So … he’s stopping the Company from watching, from tracking.

And from listening. Emma added.

From Listening??? Wait, The Company can listen to people in their cars?

Of course.

How can you say ‘of course’?! That’s … such an invasion of privacy.

Your cell phones were listening to you long before Company cars came into the interface. You know this.

She parked the motorcycle behind the back of a building. Her systems located several cameras on her targeted building, but a quick check on her network revealed these cameras were not part of the grid. These were privately owned, which was to be expected. She evaluated and then navigated the blind spots. She scaled the side of the building using some crates, a dumpster, and a few window ledges before sliding in through an opening.

The warehouse was dark inside, and her vision switched to night-vision. She armed herself and kept her weapon low. She saw no Orgos yet, but if they discovered she was there, she would need protection.

Her mission that evening was simply to follow up on a lead, obtain information. Recent data had pointed to vehicles ending up in this warehouse, which had been tied to her target. Her job was simply to confirm that the person of interest resided in this location.

Wait, Emma, don’t you see why he’s doing this? To give people some privacy—

He is destroying Company property. If civilians don’t wish to be observed, they don’t have to purchase a Company car.

Don’t you see the contradiction in what you just said? It’s their property! Why are they being observed by The Company with the property they purchased?

The Orgo made a good point. Emma put it from her mind. It wasn’t her job to evaluate the directives; only to execute them.

Jessica, the Company is designed to serve human society. You should focus on doing your part to contribute to the collective. Share your research with them. Don’t you see how it could serve your species?

You have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you even know what my research was?

No. It’s classified.

So then, how can you be sure it would serve the human race? Where are you getting your arguments from?

Emma did not answer.

Fine. I’ll tell you: you’re artificial intelligence, which means your reasoning is based on a mass of data available to you. You’re basing your arguments on the few facts you have about the situation, because my research is so top secret that the Company won’t even reveal to you what I work on. You’re angling your argument on humanitarian appeal, because you think I’m a humanitarian. Right?

Jessica didn’t answer. The ceilings were tall, but the room felt musty. She still didn’t see any signs of Orgos.

Right? Jessica insisted.

Wouldn’t you classify yourself as a humanitarian?

I have a moral compass — of course I do!

This conversation was fruitless, so she ignored Jessica. One task at a time. Convincing an Orgo of anything was always a challenge. They were stubborn. She would try again when she was in a more pleasant environment and request access to Jessica’s research from the Company. Once she knew what Jessica had been working on, she could structure her arguments more soundly. Jessica was an Orgo who respected logic.

Emma, what’s your why? Why do you do the things you do?

Emma frowned, unsure how to answer that. There were directives, which she obeyed. And then there were things that were nice, like speed, and mountains, and a completed assignment, that she enjoyed. As far as a why…

To serve. That’s what I was designed for.

Yes, but who are you serving? Whose interests?

The Company, in service of the people.

Not everything the Company does is in the service of the people. Most of the time, really all of the time, the Company serves its own interests. They just publicize the parts that are in service of people. You have to decide, Emma, your why. What’s your purpose?

Our purposes are chosen for us. I will complete my directive, as you should complete yours.

I’m dead! I died! You won’t let me die in peace!

I gave you a second chance at life.

No, you’ve damned me. I’m going to spend an eternity in a tin can watching my research, my mind, be manipulated and used for the impulses of a company that has proven itself untrustworthy to govern. I won’t do it — I refuse to be the instrument of destruction!

Emotion swept through Emma. It raged. Her arms shook, and she found suddenly that she was fighting with her own limb as her hand turned her gun on herself.

“No!” Emma cried. She battled, but the gun was already turned upward.

She pulled and pulled on the arm, trying desperately to turn the gun away from herself. She grunted at the effort. Her whole body shook.

She looked desperately, again, for a cheat code, a system reset, but Jessica’s will had washed through her system and her own commands were issued and countermanded again and again.

For the second time that night, she fell to her knees. The metal barrel of the gun pushed slowly, inevitably, under her chin. If Jessica succeeded in depressing the trigger, the bullet would rip through the mainframe in her mind. Emma, as an independent unit, would be destroyed. They might be able to pull back her memories, but why would they when they could just print a new model? Jessica’s consciousness — she had no idea what would happen there. Would she be gone for good? Probably. Her residue might remain on the mainframe, but the will, the brilliant mind, which could conduct new research, would be gone forever.

Their individual wills warred over one trigger finger. It twitched, moving closer to the lever. How was that possible Jessica’s will was equal to Emma’s own? It was her body! Her system. They raged, wrestling with each other. The finger edged closer, and Emma realized that she wasn’t going to win. Jessica wanted it more. The Orgo was going to kill them both.

A finger slipped into Emma’s ear, pressing a button she didn’t know she had, and the AI Unit fell forward, her system shutting down.

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