Read Online DeathWeb (Fox Meridian Book 3) by Niall Teasdale - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Niall Teasdale
Tags: detective, Science-Fiction, Action, Sci-Fi, Police Procedural, serial killer, cybernetics, robot, fox meridian
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wherever you are.’ Fox pointed at where she perceived Kit to be. ‘You’re there.’
‘I am currently running on a quantum processor in your right forearm.’ Kit, in turn, pointed to a spot around the middle of Fox’s forearm. ‘I am there. I am software running on a complex, multi-layered processor architecture, in there.’
‘That, my dear young AI, is like saying that I am just a lot of electrons buzzing around in some soggy, grey jelly up here.’ Fox tapped her head to emphasise the point. ‘No one is just that. Not in my philosophy anyway. There are some people I’ve met who are less, but most are more. And so are you. And also, this is getting very preachy and I never honestly thought I’d say something like that to an AI.’
‘Well then, I shall attempt to assimilate your philosophy and I am very pleased to have expanded your view of artificial minds. That was a little pompous, wasn’t it?’
Fox shrugged. ‘You’ve a right, I got preachy.’
18 th June.
The bath was relaxing. Fox lay sprawled in the hot water, eyes closed and arms on the side of the tub, with a glass of cold, white wine beside her. The water swirled around her as the jets pushed it, giving a constantly shifting pattern of heat across her body. There was also the inaudible pulse of the sonic massage system, which seemed to be trying its best to relax tense muscles. But none of it was entirely working.
Marie had said she would come up to Fox’s rooms once she had completed her acting exercises for the day, and Fox had really forgotten about it, but was not displeased when she heard the girl’s voice. ‘So, this is how the other half bathes.’
‘No, this is meant to be relaxing. If I want to wash, I still take a shower.’
‘Huh. Kit said it was okay if I came in…’
‘Of course it is.’
‘You know… You don’t look that relaxed.’
Fox sighed. ‘I’m going to Dallas with Jackson and Terri tomorrow. It’s three years since the operation there. I think Terri’s hoping we can put it all behind us now.’
‘You’re not so sure?’
‘I… She might be right. Maybe this is the closure we need. The loose ends were tied up in February.’
‘That business when she was kidnapped again? I saw it on the news.’ The water shifted, currents changing direction, as Marie slipped into the water. Fox smiled at the soft sigh which followed.
‘Yeah. The survivors of Dallas tried to pull the same stunt, basically, with a little added revenge. There are still a couple of survivors, but they’re locked up and they won’t be out for a long time. And putting them away helped, but it didn’t get rid of everything. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get rid of it all. I’m not sure I should be able to, or want to.’
‘Well, I doubt anyone wants to forget it, but you can forgive yourself for it.’
‘Forgive myself? Oh, survivor’s guilt. I think that may be Terri’s problem more than mine. She was kept alive while all the rest of the staff were killed. They wanted a single hostage, and they knew she was going to be there. Jackson Martins’ daughter was all they needed, so everyone else died.’
‘Damn. That must have really hurt her.’
‘It did, but it made her more determined that they shouldn’t die in vain. There was no way UA were going to get what they wanted. Dallas hardened her, according to Jackson. I’d never met her before then, but she was supposedly easier-going, less inclined to work her ass off into the evening. She went from Terri the intern, dipping her toes in various areas of MarTech to see what fitted, to one of Jackson’s smartest AI researchers in two years. I think it was mostly to make sure United Anarchy didn’t win.’
There was silence for a few seconds and then Marie said, ‘That sonic vibration thing is doing really weird things to me.’
Chuckling, Fox brought up the controls in-vision, selected the massage component, and raised the amplitude. She could feel the change,
‘I am currently running on a quantum processor in your right forearm.’ Kit, in turn, pointed to a spot around the middle of Fox’s forearm. ‘I am there. I am software running on a complex, multi-layered processor architecture, in there.’
‘That, my dear young AI, is like saying that I am just a lot of electrons buzzing around in some soggy, grey jelly up here.’ Fox tapped her head to emphasise the point. ‘No one is just that. Not in my philosophy anyway. There are some people I’ve met who are less, but most are more. And so are you. And also, this is getting very preachy and I never honestly thought I’d say something like that to an AI.’
‘Well then, I shall attempt to assimilate your philosophy and I am very pleased to have expanded your view of artificial minds. That was a little pompous, wasn’t it?’
Fox shrugged. ‘You’ve a right, I got preachy.’
18 th June.
The bath was relaxing. Fox lay sprawled in the hot water, eyes closed and arms on the side of the tub, with a glass of cold, white wine beside her. The water swirled around her as the jets pushed it, giving a constantly shifting pattern of heat across her body. There was also the inaudible pulse of the sonic massage system, which seemed to be trying its best to relax tense muscles. But none of it was entirely working.
Marie had said she would come up to Fox’s rooms once she had completed her acting exercises for the day, and Fox had really forgotten about it, but was not displeased when she heard the girl’s voice. ‘So, this is how the other half bathes.’
‘No, this is meant to be relaxing. If I want to wash, I still take a shower.’
‘Huh. Kit said it was okay if I came in…’
‘Of course it is.’
‘You know… You don’t look that relaxed.’
Fox sighed. ‘I’m going to Dallas with Jackson and Terri tomorrow. It’s three years since the operation there. I think Terri’s hoping we can put it all behind us now.’
‘You’re not so sure?’
‘I… She might be right. Maybe this is the closure we need. The loose ends were tied up in February.’
‘That business when she was kidnapped again? I saw it on the news.’ The water shifted, currents changing direction, as Marie slipped into the water. Fox smiled at the soft sigh which followed.
‘Yeah. The survivors of Dallas tried to pull the same stunt, basically, with a little added revenge. There are still a couple of survivors, but they’re locked up and they won’t be out for a long time. And putting them away helped, but it didn’t get rid of everything. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get rid of it all. I’m not sure I should be able to, or want to.’
‘Well, I doubt anyone wants to forget it, but you can forgive yourself for it.’
‘Forgive myself? Oh, survivor’s guilt. I think that may be Terri’s problem more than mine. She was kept alive while all the rest of the staff were killed. They wanted a single hostage, and they knew she was going to be there. Jackson Martins’ daughter was all they needed, so everyone else died.’
‘Damn. That must have really hurt her.’
‘It did, but it made her more determined that they shouldn’t die in vain. There was no way UA were going to get what they wanted. Dallas hardened her, according to Jackson. I’d never met her before then, but she was supposedly easier-going, less inclined to work her ass off into the evening. She went from Terri the intern, dipping her toes in various areas of MarTech to see what fitted, to one of Jackson’s smartest AI researchers in two years. I think it was mostly to make sure United Anarchy didn’t win.’
There was silence for a few seconds and then Marie said, ‘That sonic vibration thing is doing really weird things to me.’
Chuckling, Fox brought up the controls in-vision, selected the massage component, and raised the amplitude. She could feel the change,
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