Solaria Series: Solaria Part 14

"You're impossible. Listen, I want to go home. My father can protect me. He's rich and powerful. I don't need a bodyguard."

"If he could protect you, why are you here now?"

"I'm here because you made me come and won't let me contact Daddy. Don't get me wrong. You've been real nice and everything but I'm bored."

"Boredom is a state of mind. It will not harm you. You are safer here. Your father was not capable of protecting you. My employers were aware of that and removed you from danger because your father's security is inadequate."

"So why don't your employers, whoever they are, just take me back home and offer their services to him?"

"I have no answer to that question. It is not my place to question them. My a.s.signment is to protect you until they determine it is safe to return you to your father."

"Well, I think this is bulls.h.i.+t! I'm tired of being cooped up! It's time to break out of here and do something exciting."

"We can go outside if you want," Betta offered.

"I don't want to just go outside. I want to do something adventurous. You know, like ride the great white rhino across the tundra. Now that would be fun."

"There are no great white rhinos in tundras," Betta pointed out logically. "It would be too cold for them. Besides, they would sink..."

"Geez, Betta. It's just a metaphor! Lighten up!" Exasperated, Joanie spun around in circles a few times until she was dizzy. "Don't you ever want to step outside of that somber sh.e.l.l of yours and have fun?"

"No!"

"Figures! Have you always been a stick in the mud?"

"I believe a stick in..."

"Never mind! I'd almost swear you weren't human. Nothing you say makes sense half the time... and why do you always talk like that? I swear you are the weirdest person I've ever met."

"Is there a problem with the way I speak?" Betta asked. Her processors quickly scanned her data banks for language anomalies in her speech patterns and found none.

"You've got to be kidding. You sound freaky! No one talks like you do."

"I believe my grammar is correct."

"I didn't say it wasn't. Oh never mind. Obviously, you're a foreigner. You sure as h.e.l.l aren't from these parts."

Betta's programming required that she appear as human as possible. If her language made her appear differently, she had missed something in her linguistic research. She would have to adjust her speech patterns.

"You are correct. I am not from this country. I will work at sounding more native."

Joanie rolled her eyes and sighed. Betta was definitely different. Rubbing the back of her head with her hand, she screwed her face up in frustration.

"Oh, don't pay any attention to me. You just speak English a little too perfectly, that's all."

"I do not understand. Is that not what I am supposed to do?"

"Yes, of course. Look, never mind. You're sidetracking me. Why don't you just tell me the truth about why I'm here? I find it hard to believe Daddy would agree to this."

"I do not lie, Joanie. This is what I have been told and I must follow my orders."

"Yeah, right!" Joanie said kicking at the small trash can near the bed.

Betta knew Joanie's reasoning was sound but had no reason to question the Company. Her programming didn't permit her to challenge their directives. Still... A sudden disorientation caused her to go rigid and grunt. Betta knew it was a.s.sociated with the small doubt she was having and quickly isolated the nano-processor containing it from the rest of her processors. It was the only way to reset her systems to optimum operation.

"Are you alright?" Joanie asked, walking over to the dark haired woman sitting in the chair by the door. As much as she hated being held captive, she held no animosity toward Betta. In fact, she sort of liked her. The woman treated her well, although she rarely talked. Joanie could leave the hotel whenever she wanted as long as Betta was with her. It was like having a bodyguard, except Joanie wasn't in control. As long as she didn't discuss who she was with other people, she could talk to anyone about anything else, go shopping and take in a movie or restaurant. It was all very bizarre.

"I am fine. I suffered a moment of disorientation."

"Disorientation? You mean dizzy-like?"

"Yes, dizzy... like."

"Maybe you should lie down. You never seem to sleep."

"I shutdown all functions as needed," Betta replied, stoically.

"Shutdown all functions...You sound like you're talking about a machine," Joanie teased.

She had noticed the woman's strange way of speaking at times and a.s.sumed it was because English wasn't Betta's first language.

"I am sorry. I meant sleep. I need little sleep."

"I wish I could say that. Without a good eight hours I'm a zombie."

"Zombie. Walking dead! This is a metaphor."

Joanie giggled.

"Yes. Now lie down and rest."

"I cannot. My a.s.signment is to make..."

"I know; I know. Make sure I'm watched at all times. Listen. I promise to stay right here, if you promise to rest. How's that?"

Betta stared at the young woman, trying to decide if she could be trusted. Humans were notorious for their skills at deception. Deciding she could shutdown six of her eight processors and still remain alert enough to monitor Joanie's activities, she reluctantly agreed. Her body needed the down time to replenish her energy. Her processors were operating at sixty-three percent capacity due to the power depletion resulting from her inability to send her bio-system into sleep mode. Eventually, she would begin to make serious errors in calculation which could compromise her mission.

"I will rest," she agreed, reluctantly.

"Good. I'll just watch some television but I'll turn it down."

"That is not necessary. I can shut... sleep with it on."

Standing, she walked to the bed and lay near the edge. Placing her hands on her stomach, Betta closed her eyes and deactivated six processors. The two remaining were slowed to seventy percent operational mode. Immediately, the Hubot's body relaxed, her chest barely moving.

"Wow!" Joanie whispered, leaning over to examine Betta's face. "I wish I could fall asleep that quickly. You must have been exhausted."

The temptation to touch the sleeping woman was irresistible. Hesitantly, she ran a finger down Betta's cheek, barely making contact with the soft skin. Aware of the girl's action, the Hubot determined her intent was nothing more than curiosity and decided to ignore it.

Seconds later, not wanting to chance waking up Betta, Joanie pulled away, turned on the television and scanned the channels until she found a news station. Leaning back against the pillow, she listened somewhat disinterestedly to the reports until the picture of a well-known scientist appeared on screen. Turning the volume up slightly, she leaned forward to stare at the screen.

"Internationally known scientist, Dr. Carley Branson, has been awarded posthumously the n.o.bel Prize for her advancement in the field of artificial intelligence. Dr. Branson received several awards throughout her career recognizing her contributions to science. Employed by Future Dynamicon, she was highly respected by her fellow a.s.sociates. At the time of her death, Mr. Winston Stalling, the CEO of Future Dynamicon, reported that Dr. Branson's suicide was a complete surprise but hinted that she had been deeply disappointed by several setbacks in her attempts at creating a computer comparable to the human brain. Her death last month was a great loss."

"That sucks!" Joanie muttered. "Professor Simms said she might be a guest speaker this coming fall... not that I'd be there anyway from the looks of things."

Sighing, she tried to find something else interesting to watch. Finding nothing, she turned the television off, scooted down next to Betta and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was sound asleep, unaware that she had wrapped her arm around Betta's waist. The Hubot was very much aware of the unusual embrace and tried to ignore it. Tried!

CHAPTER 18.

JAIN UNLOCKED THE library door and stepped inside. Giving the street a quick glance, she noticed the black car parked a half block away.

Surely they don't think they blend in with the rest of the people around here.

Shaking her head she walked over to her desk and threw her handbag and the keys inside a drawer. Her next stop was the computer room. Amy would be in at nine so she had an hour and half to figure out how to get past Future Dynamicon's system intrusion detectors. She had already wormed her way past four of the firewalls thanks to the information Solaria had given her.

Fingers flying over the virtual keyboard, Jain blocked and parried each challenge as if she were playing a video game and then had the strange feeling she had done this before.

Well, I was pretty good at Corporate Espionage when I was at the university, she thought, remembering how she and a few computer geeks would get together online to play their favorite game. After creating avatars some would design programs to keep government or corporate businesses from being hacked while the others would try to figure out ways around the security systems. As a hacker, her goal was to steal the company's secrets without getting caught and then sell them on the international market. The challenge was to make sure the buyer wasn't a corporate spy trying to trap the hacker. If that happened, the hacker was eliminated from the game until a new one began.

I hadn't thought of that game in years. We used to joke about some of us doing this for a living. She chuckled softly. If they could only see me now!

Glancing at her watch, she swore. Amy would arrive in less than twenty minutes. She had just decided to back out and try later when the screen flickered. The company's logo melted away. Before her was a list of files labeled Restricted. Quickly scrolling down the names, she searched for anything that might resemble what Solaria had described to her. Two files in particular caught her interest... The Hubot Project and Betas.

Betas! Hmmm. Solaria said Stalling mentioned this in his personal file.

Opening the Hubot Project file, she scanned the first few pages and then grunted.

I don't have time to read this now.

Slipping a micro-memory disk into the slot she downloaded both files. Once the copy was completed, she did a quick check of the other files. Nothing else appeared important so she began backing out of the system. Retracing her entry route, she carefully closed each port behind her until she was clear of the company's network.

"Phew!" she muttered, leaning back in the chair. "I don't know how people do this all day and night."

Pulling the chip from its slot, Jain pushed the chair back and stood up. It was time for her to get to work and already she was exhausted. Jain knew it was going to be a long day.

CHAPTER 19.

SOLARIA KNEW she was taking a chance talking to the man behind the counter but decided it was the only way she could locate the records she needed. The Bureau of Community Planning oversaw construction of all commercial sites for the past thirty years. The Future Dynamicon site had relocated to Was.h.i.+ngton State fifteen years ago after having exhausted its expansion capabilities and good will in Southern California. Even with all the power and pressure they thought they could weld over local politicians, they misjudged the determination of the people in the area. The constant verbal attacks and protests about their government and military involvement made the City Council uncomfortable. Accusations of spying and intimidation of employees and fear by local businesses that the Company intended to expand beyond their existing boundaries had created an unacceptable environment for Future Dynamicon. Knowing the situation would escalate if he didn't do something, Stalling recommended to the Board members that they relocate to another state: one that had enough open land where they could expand without local problems, especially if the Company could offer incentives to the political engines in the area and entice the locals into believing they had just won the billion dollar lottery because of job opportunities and benefits.

It didn't take much for the people of Temple, Was.h.i.+ngton to embrace the idea of having a huge corporation on their back steps, especially since the town had been losing its young to the big cities for years. With the opportunity of acquiring work at a decent pay and benefits, they were more than ready to welcome Future Dynamicon. Fifteen years later, many of the original enthusiasts had their doubts.

Over time the original townspeople discovered that working for the Company meant giving up many of their rights, especially privacy rights. Disclosure contracts, arbitration contracts, employment contracts prohibiting dismissed or fired employees from taking on jobs in similar occupations without the Company's permission (which was never given) made it almost impossible to find outside work unless they moved several states away. Even then Future Dynamicon's influence was far reaching and many discovered they were unemployable no matter where they went. The lesson to the remaining workers was "Don't cross the Company. Do your jobs, keep your complaints to yourselves and you can lead a relatively comfortable life." Most accepted the terms without complaint.

Still, no matter how big and powerful the Company was, the one thing they couldn't get around was submitting the proper paperwork outlining specific details of the buildings and infrastructure being planned on the thousand acre site. Too many companies had been involved in the design, implementation and construction to keep any of the structures secretive. Of course, Solaria realized there was a lot that could have been done over the years that was not permitted by the local government, especially considering the size of the establishment. The add-ons would have to be dealt with at the time they were uncovered.

"Really, Ms. Dudley, it's going to take me several hours to isolate those records. They've been archived for years; not to mention the computer shows they're now cla.s.sified. I'd lose my job if I allowed an unauthorized person to look at them."

"I understand Mr. Timmons but I do have the proper authorization and this is a priority issue. Future Dynamicon is concerned about a security leak and needs to make sure every possibility is covered. Would you like me to call Mr. Stalling to confirm my credentials?"

Sweating profusely, Joey Timmons wasn't sure what to do now. The I.D. she had flashed at him looked official and the brown haired, brown eyed woman certainly matched the photo. Winston Stalling was known for his intolerance when unnecessary interruptions disturbed his busy schedule and had chastised many a public employee for their lack of cooperation with his agents. Chastis.e.m.e.nt was a nice word for being fired or demoted.

"No, no," he replied nervously. "It's just going to take time."

"How much time?" Solaria asked, giving a symbolic glance at the clock on the wall.

"A few hours, that's all," Timmons promised.

"I see. Well, I guess I'll just call Mr. Stalling and let him know he's going to have to wait awhile longer."

Taking out a cell phone she pretended to dial a number.

"Wait! I didn't know it was that important. Give me fifteen minutes. I think I can have them for you."

Smiling her thanks Solaria wandered around the office as Timmons scurried from the room, wiping his sweaty palms on his pant legs. As promised, fifteen minutes later he rushed through the door carrying several rolled up doc.u.ments in his arms. Dumping them on the desk, he picked through them and pulled out three.

"Here!" he exclaimed, holding them up proudly. "The original site plan and blueprints, the modifications done about seven years ago and the latest from last year."

"Very good, Mr. Timmons. Now if you don't mind, I'll just take a quick look at each one to make sure they are what you say they are."

"Sure."

Unrolling the first one, he stood back and let the woman see them. When she nodded, he rolled it back up and then did the same with the second and third.

"They all seem to be in order. You've done a very good job of keeping them in good condition. I'll let Mr. Stalling know how efficient and cooperative you've been."

Timmons beamed at the compliment.

"Thank you, Ms. Dudley."

"You're welcome. Now, one more thing, my visit here is confidential. I serve Mr. Stalling at his pleasure and no one else's. Do you understand what I mean?"

Timmons nodded his head up and down vigorously.