Machina Viva (15 page)

“Ah,” said Lucy, as though trying to convince herself that it made sense. “Well, I suppose this is a first for all of us, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. How are things out here?”

“Moving quickly. Will and I are trying to assess what’s going on outside and to keep people in here from panicking too much. There are an awful lot of Security personnel outside.”

Dr. Cavendish took a look out the window. The crowd in the park was growing. As more people began to notice the Security perimeter, the mob outside would continue to expand like a seed crystal in solution, forming a huge, intricate mass that would crack if it was struck in exactly the wrong way.

“We’ve also got people keeping an eye on the windows and the roof, in case anyone tries to get in illegally, and Brian is patched into our surveillance and alarms. If the Security people want to get at Eve and Philip, they’ll need a writ like anyone else.”

“Are you worried about some kind of invasion?”

“Not yet, but if things start getting ugly out there, we need to know about any chinks in our armor before Security does. Keeping Philip and Eve safe is our first priority.”

27

The package had been sitting on a table in the tenant’s study for more than a day. Apparently, the tenant had other things on his mind today. The troubleshooter could well imagine what those might be.

Around midday, the tenant finally opened the package and withdrew the small plastic card within. The card read, “Smell Me.” The tenant brought the card to his nose and inhaled, and the card adhered to his mouth. The tenant panicked for a moment, and then he fell harmlessly dormant. Once activity in the tenant’s HPU dropped to resting levels, the card detached. There was a faint aroma of ozone as the card incinerated its own circuits.

The troubleshooter left its observation post in the transit maintenance shed and crept across the main strut to the tenant’s window. It gently scored the glass along the facets in the crystal seams and removed an angular shard from the windowpane. With a simple application of antisolvent silicate paste, the fragment sealed back into the window without the faintest seam. Once in his room, it searched the tenant for his card, but it found only his televox. Most robots transferred the functions of their cards to a televox once they had gained the necessary means to afford the privilege, like most kids did when they wanted to show that they had “made it.”

The troubleshooter took the tenant’s televox and searched through his wardrobe for a new shirt. The resemblance was close enough that the simple disguise would fool any casual inspection, which was as much as the troubleshooter intended to allow anyone. The troubleshooter dressed itself as the tenant once it had safely secreted him with his clothes, and then it ventured out into the hall and headed for the nearest utilities closet.

The other inhabitants of Crownstone were milling around fairly nervously, but overall it didn’t see as many of them out and about as it would have expected. They must have been keeping to their rooms. They knew that something was about to happen. Anyone would, with so many uniformed Security officers camped outside. True, they had served as a helpful distraction that allowed the troubleshooter to do its work, but it seemed as though Security was losing its composure somewhat.

The troubleshooter reached the utilities room and opened the panel that gave it access to the surveillance feeds and lockdown controls for the building. It attached its special televox, and images from the building’s cameras appeared on the small screen, along with a readout of the other signals that were running through the system. It appeared that someone else was tapped in, probably keeping an eye on everything to make sure that no one tampered with their system. A few taps and twists later, and the mysterious observer was locked out of their own system, with a false battery of signals being sent to them making them think that all was normal. The troubleshooter was always amused by these sorts of things. It may not have been an expert at penetrating private protection grids, but it was an unrivalled master of not being noticed.

That very thought was giving the troubleshooter some concern. There were better people in the Security department for cracking into systems like this. If Crownstone’s grid had been much more than a commercially available setup, the troubleshooter would have had a difficult time cracking into it undetected, especially on this timetable. But the chair seemed bent on securing Eve and Dr. Abrams in the minimum of time and with the most skilled personnel, even if those skilled personnel were reduced to shoddy and inelegant tactics.

The troubleshooter was slightly uncomfortable with the thought, but it could not be avoided: it was entirely possible that the Security chair was taking an irrational interest in this case. Something about Eve and Dr. Abrams and the threat they supposedly posed was causing panic in the upper tiers of the Security department.

The troubleshooter wondered what threat the two of them could pose that would so shake the foundations of the city.

28

The people of Crownstone were on their guard. Word had filtered down and out that something important was going on upstairs, and all intruders were to be turned away. At least part of that must have been true, because several break-ins had already been foiled by the various residents that Will and Lucy had mobilized. The desk guard was keeping an eye on the front door, of course. Ergonomix was closed for the day, and Linn and Tamsin were watching the other potential ground-floor entrances, in case someone figured out how to break in through some hatch or other in one of Ergonomix’s back rooms. In the sublevels, Crownstone maintenance personnel were busy securing any access panels to prevent infiltration from below, and Brian was patched into Crownstone’s private surveillance network.

Speculation about the precise nature of events was rampant and diverse. Dr. Abrams had rescued Eve from Security. Eve had rescued Dr. Abrams from security. Eve and Dr. Abrams had rescued someone else from Security. Eve had killed someone, and Dr. Abrams was a witness. Dr. Abrams killed someone, and Eve was a witness. Dr. Abrams had built Eve so that she would kill someone. Eve and Dr. Abrams hadn’t done anything, but someone had framed them and Security was after them anyway. The Security chair had gone mad and accused Eve and Dr. Abrams of murder. Or something. Spirited and animated debate was the prime pastime among the Crownstone populace.

The whole thing was being managed by Will and Lucy, who had more or less taken up posts in Philip’s front room. There was rarely a time when one of them was not on a televox, either Philip’s home unit or one of their own. People all over the building fed them information. Occasionally, Will would venture out to inspect the front lines and make sure that everyone was keeping in good humor, but he had been spending more and more of his time in Philip’s rooms of late. Philip himself was more mobile by means of a driftchair that Dr. Cavendish had dug up, and the two of them had been between Raymond’s apartment and Philip’s own for reasons that hadn’t yet been made clear to Will and Lucy. Well, Philip had plenty of large issues to deal with; he couldn’t always be expected to keep immediate problems at the forefront of his mind. Certainly not with the persistent distraction of an abdominal stab wound.

As they were issuing orders to their various allies around the building, Philip entered the room with Dr. Cavendish still in tow, in case his sutures burst unexpectedly. “Good afternoon, all. Any developments?”

“Not really,” said Will. “Just a few probes by Security. We’ve turned them away so far.”

“We’re not equipped to repel an earnest incursion, though,” said Lucy. “If Security decides to mount a proper force, we’ve had it.”

“Anything from Eve?” said Philip.

“No, not a thing,” said Lucy. “Is she asleep or something?”

“Yes, she’s been charging.”

“I thought she charged last evening,” said Will. “She certainly has been sleeping a lot lately.”

“I know,” said Philip. “It won’t be long now.”

The four of them looked each other in the eye. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the event, but none of them were too keen about what would happen as a result, especially with the attention they were increasingly drawing from Security. The birth of Eve’s child would unleash Bedlam itself in the city without delicate, careful handling, and Security didn’t appear to be in the mood for delicacy or care.

There was a stirring from Philip’s bedroom, and Eve made her way to the door. “Oh, hello, Philip. I must have nodded off.”

“It’s all right,” said Philip. “You need your rest.”

“I had another dream about you.” She took a seat on Philip’s couch.

“Really?”

“In this one, you were leading an army to battle in a revolt against oppression.”

That gave everyone pause. Will tried to defuse some of the tension. “Well, you don’t get that sort of thing every day.”

“Philip, you’re not in the habit of leading revolts, are you?” said Lucy.

“No,” said Philip. “She’s nearing the end of the indoctrination.” Philip eased his chair up next to Eve. “She’s starting to solidify the child’s personality, based on a combination of each of ours.”

“So, what?” said Will. “She’s going to have some kind of warrior?”

“Exactly which of you is the source of that little quirk?” said Dr. Cavendish.

“I have no idea,” said Philip. “Who can say what kinds of things get into kids’ heads these days?”

Eve gave a little smile. Her hands were gently brushing her belly, which was noticeably beginning to swell. Philip ran a finger alongside. They laid their heads against each other.

Will raised an eyebrow. Lucy just smiled, one finger along her cheek.

Will’s televox began to chirp. He took it from his pocket and read the identifier on the screen. “Linn? What is it?”

They could just hear her voice over the televox. “We’re having a bit of trouble down here. Some people tried to get in. They broke a few windows. Tamsin’s trying to bind up the doors, but we need extra hands if we’re going to avoid a breach.”

“I’m on my way,” said Will. He put the televox back and ran from the room. Lucy was fast behind him as he began to shout instructions to the other sentinels.

Philip and Eve’s smiles faded as he pulled her closer to him. They huddled together amid the rising ruckus of the invaders, their fingers interlaced over her abdomen, gently stroking their future child.

29

“Hello, Tamsin. Just called to check up on how things are going. No, this isn’t an audit. I was just curious about what’s going on around there. It looks like you’ve got quite the hubbub at Crownstone. Yeah, I’m out in the park, along with half the city, it looks like. Really? Well, that does sound serious. Wow. Well, I suppose you’ve got your hands full, then. I’ll let you get on with it. I’ll see you later. Bye.”

The man signed off from the conversation and entered a new number into his televox. “Hi, Will, it’s me. No, this isn’t official. I just wanted to check in with you, make sure everything was all right. It looks like you’ve got quite the mess on your hands over there, from where I’m standing. Out in the park. Yeah, I can see your building from here, and so can a few hundred other people, and that’s just what’s near me. I can’t quite see the edges of the crowd out here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were several thousand of them. Now, what’s going on in there, for goodness’ sake? Oh, come on, pal. How long have we known each other? I’m just worried about you guys, that’s all.

“Security? Why, what did you do? Sorry, sorry, that didn’t come out like I meant it. How come Security has such a gripe with you? Well, Colin certainly knows his business. You should be all right. Oh, really? You really think he might go that far? Well, for all your sakes, I hope you’re wrong. I’ll see you around, Will.”

This wasn’t really part of his job description. He was just an auditor. He went around to local businesses and inspected their operations, in case there was something about their work that wasn’t reflected in their quarterly statements. However, due to the recent events surrounding Crownstone, the Finance chair had sent him out on this little reconnoiter. He was on fairly good terms with Will, Crownstone’s accountant, and Will had introduced him to everyone who ran a business out of Crownstone, including Raymond the shrink and Linn and Tamsin the clubber twins. Raymond was too preoccupied to respond to his calls, though, and Mrs. Whitley, his elderly nurse/lodger, wasn’t overly informed about whatever was happening.

He had brushed past dozens of people in his search for a good vantage point in the park, but he clearly hadn’t been the first person with that goal in mind. His current spot was nearly shoulder to shoulder with people, and most of them looked like robots from what he could tell. There were some humans who were just curious, wondering why there was a huge crowd surrounding Crownstone, but the robots seemed to know what was happening inside, or at least think they did. There were theories bouncing throughout the mob like pebbles in a rock tumbler, but everyone seemed to know that something important was about to happen. There was a stripe of Security officers between them and the building to make sure they kept their distance, but no one was challenging the cordon. They were just waiting.

The auditor separated himself from the crowd and reported in to the Finance chair. Will’s account of the situation had confirmed some of the suspicions of the Cabinet. Special measures would have to be taken.

Eve was nearly ready. The atmosphere was hushed in Philip’s apartment. Will and Dr. Cavendish were carrying packages of silicon into Philip’s bathroom and mixing them with water in his bathtub. The tub was nearly full of silver-gray slurry. Lucy was keeping in touch with the perimeter, making sure that there was no impending aggression from Security that might interrupt the proceedings. Brian had transferred his activities to Philip’s apartment so that he could be present for the birth. He would not have missed what was about to happen for a million QUID.

When the tub was ready, Will and Dr. Cavendish left the bathroom. Eve stood up from the couch, and Philip gave her hand one last squeeze before Dr. Cavendish led her into the bathroom. He pulled on a pair of sterile gloves and closed the door behind him.

Will, Lucy, Brian, and Philip waited silently in the front room. Philip tried to remain calm. He had every confidence that nothing would go wrong. He had put a lot of thought into the logistics behind what was going on, after all. Nonetheless, Lucy could see his hands shaking.

There was a brief cry of pain from the bathroom. Philip clasped his hands even more tightly together.

A few minutes later, Dr. Cavendish led Eve from the bathroom. She walked slowly over to the couch. Philip held her in his arms. Through the open door, he could see an HPU sitting in the bathtub, submerged in the silicon solution. Dr. Cavendish took a shirt and pair of soft trousers from a side table and returned to the bathroom to supervise the formation procedure.

The procedure continued for four hours.

A gentle sloshing of water came from the bathroom. Philip held his breath.

Dr. Cavendish opened the door, his gloves wadded in his other hand. Behind him stood a girl, hair still slightly damp from the bath, wearing the clothes he had brought in earlier.

“Everyone,” said Dr. Cavendish, “this is Zelda.”

Will, Brian, and Lucy could only stare. Philip clenched the arms of his driftchair, but it still didn’t stop his hands from shaking.

Eve slowly rose and approached her daughter. The two women met in the middle of the room, and they gently embraced. Eve broke off, and the two of them turned toward Philip. Zelda walked alongside Philip’s driftchair and knelt down. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him.

“Hello, father.”

He gasped. A tear welled up in the corner of his eye. He held her tightly as his eyes misted over.

Brian was the first to break the silence. “Mark your calendars, everybody. This is the day that everything changes.”

Philip, Eve, and Zelda weren’t paying attention to the others. Security may have been on the verge of crashing into Crownstone, but for the present moment, nobody existed but the three of them. Their family was at peace.

As it turned out, their peace was short-lived. A message came through from Linn on Will’s televox. The endgame was approaching.