Solaria - S1 (8 page)

Carley chuckled.

"That's a great Halloween trick. You don't strike me as someone interested in kids' holidays, though."

"True, but I haven't shown you the most interesting part. Turn around."

Blinking at the unusual order, the scientist did as she was told and then waited several seconds until Solaria gave her permission to turn back; before her stood a stranger. With the exception of the hair, Solaria's features had altered sufficiently to make her virtually unrecognizable. The once teal colored eyes were now an orange-brown color. Cheeks had flattened slightly and the skin looked thicker and puffier.

"I don't understand," Carley gasped, leaning closer to touch the alien face staring back at her.

"Once I discovered how cells interacted with the dyes, I wondered if they could be altered by distorting their shape. At first, I could only change a small number. Now I can alter most at will."

"What about the rest of your body?"

"To a degree but it's more difficult. It takes almost all of my processors to do it and the amount of energy I expend quickly drains my reserves, leaving me weak. Maybe in time I will discover how to do it more efficiently or find an alternate energy source. Obviously, my skeletal structure can't be altered."

"Solaria, this is amazing!" Carley exclaimed excitedly. "You've discovered the perfect way to disguise yourself if you need to."

"Why would I need to?" Solaria asked, wondering what Carley was thinking.

"You never know. Listen, don't tell anyone about this. It will cause problems."

"As you wish."

Patting her arm, Carley knew Solaria really didn't understand. She decided to give Solaria a list of assignments and then left the lab. Already she was working on a plan to get the Hubot off the Future Dynamicon premises. All she needed was to locate an employee similar in size to Solaria.

Two hours later, she returned smiling smugly. Walking over to the computer, she entered a series of codes and a holograph image of an older woman popped onto the monitor screen. The features were somewhat similar to Solaria's with the exception of brown eyes, a slightly fuller face, brown hair that was beginning to gray and skin that was slightly wrinkled.

"Solaria, would you mind locking the lab door for me and then do me a favor?" Immediately Solaria secured the locks and then walked over and looked at the image.

"Can you make yourself look like her?"

Frowning, Solaria stared at Carley for a few moments. Her first impulse was to ask why, but quickly realized what was behind the request. Nodding, she analyzed the woman's features, memorizing the minutest details.

Turning back to face Carley, she smiled. Carley was stunned at the immediate transformation. Before her stood the picture perfect image of Peggy Landers, a reclusive scientist in the Animal Behavioral Department.

"Amazing," Carley murmured. "Now, can you duplicate her retinal patterns and finger prints? Also there should be records of those and a voice recording in the data banks of Animal Behavioral. I want you to practice imitating her voice. The hair coloring is going to be a problem. Is there anything you can do to change yours to match hers?"

"A simple chemical mixture of dyes would do it in about fifteen minutes."

"Good. Can you make some up?"

Solaria nodded.

"I know why you're doing this."

"Then you know we have to get you out of here soon. I've been putting off turning in my reports, but Stalling's right hand man is demanding an update. I suspect they're going to want it soon."

As if to confirm her suspicions, a loud buzzer went off and then repeated itself several times.

"Damn! Go sit in the chair and pretend you're deactivated," Carley ordered, dissolving the hologram.

Without waiting for Solaria to comply, she walked to the door and deactivated the locks.

"Mr. Billings, what brings you here?" she asked stoically.

"Your report, Dr. Branson. It was supposed to be on my desk this morning, and do you always keep this door locked during operational hours?"

"Sorry, but I was working on a small glitch in the Hubot's subprograms. I didn't want to be disturbed."

"Another one? That's the fifth this month. Perhaps I should get Peter Janen in to check it out."

"That's not necessary. I've already created a patch. I was just getting ready to test it when you rang the buzzer."

Picking up her ink pen she clicked it three times as if activating a switch. Immediately, Solaria turned her head and blinked at the two humans.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Branson," she said, her voice expressionless. "Good afternoon, Mr. Billings."

Surprised, Billings looked first at Carley and then back at Solaria.

"Uh, good afternoon. You know me?"

"Leonard Billings, personal assistant to Winston Stalling and Chief Operations Officer for Future Dynamicon. Sixty-two years old, divorced, three children. Maggie, age thirty-thr..."

"That's enough," Carley ordered. "Mr. Billings doesn't need his life history, Number 1A526."

The Hubot ceased talking and sat motionless in the chair.

"I'm still having trouble getting it to stop citing so much detail all the time."

"Apparently you still haven't been able to get past that dull artificial voice, either. Abelli told me he solved that problem several months ago."

"She... it's just the side-affects of the new patch. Once the processors fully incorporate the data into the main program the glitch should disappear."

"I hope so. We need a Hubot who looks and sounds human if we're going to move forward with our plans."

"Of course. Disadvantaged people will feel more comfortable around our product if it at least appear human."

"Yes, yes. Definitely we want our clients to think of this unit as human. That is humanlike. How much longer before you've finished the programming and education process?"

"Maybe another month or two," Carley replied, hoping to buy more time to establish an escape plan.

"I'm not sure Mr. Stalling wants to wait that long. We're already behind schedule for the next phase."

"I wasn't aware he wanted to market the Hubots so soon."

"We have several customers interested in this project, Dr. Branson. Before we can introduce the product to them, there are a few modifications that must be completed in the bio-mechanics lab."

"Oh? I wasn't informed of that."

"We didn't want to bother you with such trivial matters."

Glancing at his watch, Billings frowned.

"I have another meeting to attend. I'll inform Mr. Stalling of your progress. I recommend you complete your work as quickly as possible... say by the end of the month. That gives you a little over two weeks. In the meantime, I'll send you a couple of assistants to help. You can instruct them as to the problems and they can work with the Hubot twenty-four hours a day if necessary."

"That's really not..."

"No need to thank me. I insist."

Carley knew it was useless to argue. Nodding her head, she escorted Billings to the door and secured it once he had left.

"We need to get you out of here as soon as possible," she said turning to Solaria. "I don't trust him or Stalling."

It was then that Solaria decided to disclose her eavesdropping capabilities and what she had heard on the sub-frequencies.

"Do you know what black ops are?" she asked.

"Of course. It's a term normally describing subversive government or military operations. Why?"

"I've been monitoring some satellite transmissions and overhead plans to use Hubots in these programs."

Stunned, Carley looked nervously around the room as if suspecting they too might now be under observation. Grabbing Solaria's arm she led her to the vault.

"I knew you could receive certain frequencies but didn't realize the extent of your capabilities. Are there any spy devices in here?"

Solaria scanned the room searching for anything unusual.

"There is nothing in here other than the locking mechanisms on the clamps, the lights and the vault locks."

"Good! Now what plans?"

"Nothing specific. There was a reference to a time frame for getting me into operational mode and activating the subprograms. They seem anxious to see how I respond to their instructions and perform."

"Perform? Perform, how? Did they say?"

"Perhaps it would be better if I let you hear the conversation."

Before Carley could reply, Solaria began repeating one of the communications, duplicating the voices of the participants.

"Tiger One, do you have an update on Project Shadow? We're scheduled to begin our mission within three months."

"The Company says the beta will be put into operation shortly. The program still has a few glitches that need worked out."

"I thought this woman was supposed to be the top in her field. She's been working on the Hubot for almost a year. Can't you get someone in to help her so we can speed this thing up?"

"We're working on it but we need to be careful. Branson's good but she doesn't have Alpha clearance. Everyone thinks she's too ethical to agree with the program. If she learns of this operation, she's liable to become a whistle blower."

"If that's true, what happens when she's relieved of the Hubot? Won't she become suspicious if she's not included in any future activities or hears the Hubot Project has been dropped? She knows the Company's progress is already substantial."

"She'll be taken care of if she makes trouble. For now, just continue with your preparations and let us worry about the Hubot and Branson."

"Will do. Keep me informed, though. I'll need some time to prepare the compound for its arrival and to get everyone in position for the mission."

"Roger. Signing off."

Switching to her normal mode, Solaria waited for Carley to speak.

"Bastards! I knew this was too good to be true but I was still hoping. Future Dynamicon was never known for philanthropic endeavors even though they want the public to think differently."

"We're in a lot of trouble, I take it," Solaria interjected calmly.

"Yes, and I need to get you out of here as soon as possible."

"What about you? Once I'm gone, they'll know you helped me. They will kill you."

"You've been reading too many spy stories. If we plan this right, they'll never know."

Solaria knew Carley was simply trying to reassure her. These people would never believe Solaria escaped their security system without someone's help, and Carley was the logical choice.

"That's why you wanted me to practice altering my features to look like Peggy Landers."

"Yes. I guess I always suspected Stalling was up to no good but never realized it was this bad. Security is so tight in this place it's next to impossible to come and go without the proper identification. Everyone is bio-checked. Fingerprints, retinal scans, special I.D. cards with encrypted barcodes. Even facial recognition software is used at the entrances."

"So, even if I alter my physical appearance, we still have to get a duplicate of Peggy Landers' I.D. card."

"Yes and no. I don't have access to personnel files, but I believe you're more than capable of hacking into the system. If you can get that encryption code, we should be able to overlay the information on my card. That will get you through security."

"And what will you use?"

"I'll report mine lost when I leave at the end of the day. By then, you'll be gone. Security will seal the premises once they know it's missing, and no one can leave without going through a personal clearance."