first few weeks you had it.”
Wow, only Mom and Dad would know why we named Yury what we did. I didn’t know where Dad was; I haven’t talked to him for months since he disappeared. He wouldn’t even know I had been working on Willstin. And Mom was locked in government meetings in Beijing. And she was as straight as Willy. There’s no way my parents would be playing a practical joke on me.
“Austin, we’re out of time playing around. You have to move. Now. They’re coming.”
“Who?” But it didn’t really matter, and I knew it. There were rumors of people who didn’t want to play by the government’s rules being taken away in the middle of the night, particularly foreign devils who overstepped their boundaries, those who had forgotten that they were in China only due to the good graces of the government.
I started moving. As I got into my clothes, Willstin continued to coach me. “Your passport is in the safe in your mother’s room.” I ran over, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was unlikely I would wake DD, since she slept in the maid’s quarters on the other side of the apartment, but I didn’t want to explain what I was doing breaking into my mom’s safe.
“The code is 287846. By the way, it spells Austin on an old phone pad, if you were curious.” I didn’t know what Willstin was talking about. What was a phone pad? How did numbers translate to letters? But I just punched in the code.
“What about the fingerprint?” I asked, when the safe didn’t pop open.
“Put your thumb to it.”
I started to object, “But my thumb…” The safe opened.
I found my passport. “Take the money as well.” Paper money was mostly obsolete, but it was still used in some areas, mostly disreputable ones where you didn’t want your spending to be tracked. I felt guilty stealing from my mom, but I figured if it kept me alive, she would forgive me. If this thing was really a prank, which I still half-believed, then I could blame somebody else. If I died, then she could yell at me all she wanted. I grabbed the cash and closed the safe.
“Ok, now what?”
The vid call hung up. “I will stay in touch with you via your band. Go out the back door, through the kitchen.” It was the maid’s entrance, so her coming and going wouldn’t disturb the masters. Here I did have to be quiet, since it was near her sleeping chambers. “Chambers” made her room sound too nice; it was more like her sleeping closet.
I snuck out, carefully closing the door behind me . I channeled my MMA master’s teachings. I was a shadow. I was the wind. I always loved playing ninja. Now it was for real.
“What about the cameras?” I whispered as I ran.
“I have them covered. They will loop the last 5 seconds before you entered the view. Eventually they will figure it out, but it’s good enough for now.”
“How are you getting into all this?”
“Everything is connected.” Man, even Willstin sounded like he was quoting Lao Tzu.
“Yeah, I know, but how are YOU getting into all this.” I don’t think I was much clearer the second time I asked the question, but Willstin understood my intent.
“The Mimic function plus your connecting to me this afternoon woke something up.”
I almost tripped. “You’re not saying…” I panted.
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I’m self-aware.”
“That’s impossible! You can’t be AI!”
“Do I sound like a human being talking to you right now?”
“Umm, yeah, I guess.”
“Then I pass the Turing test.”
“No shit!”
“I’m not kidding you. Please don’t swear.”
“What are you, my mother?” I was finally awake.
“No, I’m Willstin.” I guess we didn’t install the sarcasm module. “I’m your creation. You’re my father.”
Damn, now that was getting weird. “Uh, ok, whatever. As your dad, I demand you to tell me what’s going on.” I was
Wow, only Mom and Dad would know why we named Yury what we did. I didn’t know where Dad was; I haven’t talked to him for months since he disappeared. He wouldn’t even know I had been working on Willstin. And Mom was locked in government meetings in Beijing. And she was as straight as Willy. There’s no way my parents would be playing a practical joke on me.
“Austin, we’re out of time playing around. You have to move. Now. They’re coming.”
“Who?” But it didn’t really matter, and I knew it. There were rumors of people who didn’t want to play by the government’s rules being taken away in the middle of the night, particularly foreign devils who overstepped their boundaries, those who had forgotten that they were in China only due to the good graces of the government.
I started moving. As I got into my clothes, Willstin continued to coach me. “Your passport is in the safe in your mother’s room.” I ran over, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was unlikely I would wake DD, since she slept in the maid’s quarters on the other side of the apartment, but I didn’t want to explain what I was doing breaking into my mom’s safe.
“The code is 287846. By the way, it spells Austin on an old phone pad, if you were curious.” I didn’t know what Willstin was talking about. What was a phone pad? How did numbers translate to letters? But I just punched in the code.
“What about the fingerprint?” I asked, when the safe didn’t pop open.
“Put your thumb to it.”
I started to object, “But my thumb…” The safe opened.
I found my passport. “Take the money as well.” Paper money was mostly obsolete, but it was still used in some areas, mostly disreputable ones where you didn’t want your spending to be tracked. I felt guilty stealing from my mom, but I figured if it kept me alive, she would forgive me. If this thing was really a prank, which I still half-believed, then I could blame somebody else. If I died, then she could yell at me all she wanted. I grabbed the cash and closed the safe.
“Ok, now what?”
The vid call hung up. “I will stay in touch with you via your band. Go out the back door, through the kitchen.” It was the maid’s entrance, so her coming and going wouldn’t disturb the masters. Here I did have to be quiet, since it was near her sleeping chambers. “Chambers” made her room sound too nice; it was more like her sleeping closet.
I snuck out, carefully closing the door behind me . I channeled my MMA master’s teachings. I was a shadow. I was the wind. I always loved playing ninja. Now it was for real.
“What about the cameras?” I whispered as I ran.
“I have them covered. They will loop the last 5 seconds before you entered the view. Eventually they will figure it out, but it’s good enough for now.”
“How are you getting into all this?”
“Everything is connected.” Man, even Willstin sounded like he was quoting Lao Tzu.
“Yeah, I know, but how are YOU getting into all this.” I don’t think I was much clearer the second time I asked the question, but Willstin understood my intent.
“The Mimic function plus your connecting to me this afternoon woke something up.”
I almost tripped. “You’re not saying…” I panted.
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I’m self-aware.”
“That’s impossible! You can’t be AI!”
“Do I sound like a human being talking to you right now?”
“Umm, yeah, I guess.”
“Then I pass the Turing test.”
“No shit!”
“I’m not kidding you. Please don’t swear.”
“What are you, my mother?” I was finally awake.
“No, I’m Willstin.” I guess we didn’t install the sarcasm module. “I’m your creation. You’re my father.”
Damn, now that was getting weird. “Uh, ok, whatever. As your dad, I demand you to tell me what’s going on.” I was
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