Solaria - S1 (9 page)

"What happens to you?"

Carley shrugged.

"I don't know. Probably a lecture, some type of monetary fine for the expense Future Dynamicon will incur for having to shut down everything. Hell, they may even release me from my contract. I wouldn't mind that."

Solaria didn't believe Carley, but couldn't come up with a logical reason why. If they couldn't trace the counterfeit I.D. used in her escape to Carley, there was no reason to harm her. Then again, humans were notorious for faulty reasoning.

"I'll work on obtaining the code tonight once everyone in Human Resources has gone home. When will we put your plan into action?"

"We'll play it by ear. Peggy is due to go on leave in the next few days."

"Won't security know she's not scheduled to be on the premises or that she's already checked out?"

"Yes, and that's the other thing. If you can access the security records the same day you leave, you can delete the entry referencing her departure."

"You have a lot of faith in my skills."

Carley scrutinized Solaria's face to see if she was being sarcastic. She realized it was just an observation.

"Not faith. I don't believe in that stuff. I have confidence in your skills and analytical abilities. Now, I'd better go. There are things I need to take care of if this is going to work. I'll be in early tomorrow in case we have to move more quickly." Picking up her handbag, Carley absent-mindedly patted Solaria's shoulder. "Don't worry; it'll be alright," Carley said, as if reassuring a child and then left, her thoughts already focused on her next task.

*  *  *

Solaria sat down at the terminal and began searching for backdoors into the Human Resources Department. Her first goal was to locate the name of someone who worked in the department. Once she identified the senior officer, she tracked several links to the secured computer site. Eleven minutes and thirty-three seconds later, she had the encryption code for Peggy Landers' security card as well as the woman's entire history... before and after she joined Future Dynamicon. Exiting the system, Solaria focused on the Company's security system and was surprised to find it extremely sophisticated. Several firewalls and complex intrusion detection software protected the data from hackers. The firewalls were easy to maneuver around but the other was more difficult. Solaria's admiration for the designers increased every time she was confronted with a new obstacle. After navigating around the last barrier, she was surprised that it had taken over six hours to complete the job. Planting a small Trojan that would allow her entry at any time, the Hubot exited the system.

Her final task was to locate Stalling's personal records, which she accomplished in twenty-two minutes. Scanning his notes, she realized the CEO was not only extremely ambitious, but he was ruthlessly fanatical in his beliefs. He epitomized the worst of humanity. If Stalling completed his plans, he would become the most powerful person in human history and would be virtually unstoppable. Humanity would suffer as it had never suffered before and hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, would die.

O
NCE HOME, CARLEY put on the teapot then sat at her computer staring at the blank screen. If her plans were to work, she would have to get busy. Time was of the essence. Once Solaria escaped, Future Dynamicon would spare no expense to locate and capture her. The first thing was to establish a new identity for Solaria.

Accessing the Internet, she activated a special software program that allowed her to travel the Net anonymously. The last thing she needed was spying eyes intercepting any of her communications. Within seconds Carley found the site she was looking for and emailed the webmaster.

"I hope Dana hasn't forgotten me," she mumbled.

The instant reply gave her the answer. Clicking on the blinking icon of a griffin's head, Carley watched a window pop open.

"Well, well, what brings you to the dark side of the Net?" a mechanical voice asked.

"You really need to perfect your avatar's voice, Dana. You sound more like an old television robot than a person."

"Not everyone has the resources you have, Carley. Some of us have to make do with whatever we can beg, steal or borrow."

"The last time I remember, you were pretty adept at all those skills."

"Tsk! Tsrk! You're getting jaded, my dear. Now what can I do for you? It's been a long time since you've graced me with your presence."

"I need a favor and quickly."

"How quickly?"

"By tomorrow morning if possible. Hopefully, before I go to the lab."

"And this favor?"

"I need to set up a new identity for someone."

"Geez, Carley! You don't want much, do you? That's a complicated process and costly under normal circumstances."

"I know, but this is important!"

"That's obvious. Why the rush?"

"It's the only way to save this person's life. As it is, I'm afraid mine isn't worth much anymore, especially if I help her."

"Her? She must be special. I've never known you to get so involved with another person. Is she your lover?"

Carley laughed.

"At my age? Don't be ridiculous. She's just a good friend."

"Right! Good friend, huh? Well, whoever she is, she must be extremely important for you to go to these extremes. I'll see what I can do but you'll need to give me a few details about her and a picture... and you're going to owe me big time if I pull this off."

"If I live long enough, anything."

The silence that followed was almost deafening.

"That serious, eh?"

"That serious, Dana. I want you to use the name on the files I'm sending as the primary identity and then destroy your copy."

Inserting a micro-disk into her computer, Carley punched a few keys, hit the send button and waited.

"Damn, woman, she's gorgeous. Who'd she piss off?"

"No one yet, but once she disappears, a lot of people are going to be looking for her. Can you set up the holograms on the I.D.s to make them easily alterable?"

"I can install a subprogram to accept new data if needed."

"You've come a long way, then. I thought only the government had that technology."

"What Big Brother has Little Brother quickly gets. We were able to break that kernel in less than two weeks but I don't think the gov's aware we've gotten this far. Only Hackattack and I know how to do it and we're not telling. Listen, Carley, I can have two sets of I.D. for you."

"I don't think so. If they find one on me, it'll alert them to what's been done and endanger everyone. I think it'd be better if I just try and tough this one out, but I appreciate the offer."

"Well, just in case you change your mind, I'm making up an extra set. If you find you need it, I can get it to you thirty minutes after you call."

"Thanks, Dana. Let me know how much I owe and I'll make arrangements for the funds."

Dana's mechanical voice sounded almost warm as he chuckled.

"Consider it a favor. Anything that pisses off Future Dynamicon is payment enough. Now I'd better get to work. Expect the package by five a.m."

"I appreciate it. Oh, one more thing. Do you mind if I give Solaria your access code? She may need an ally."

"If she's a friend of yours, she's family. Later, Carley... and be safe."

Unconsciously, Carley nodded her head and ended the conference. Next she accessed her finances and began moving most of her assets to an offshore account. Even Future Dynamicon hadn't been able to intimidate the financial institutions in a few of the island countries. It insured the stability and security of the governments and the banks. There were plenty of rich and powerful people who could create problems for Stalling if he interfered in their business. Once she finished, she ended the connection.

Sighing, Carley leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. The last thing she needed to do was destroy her hard drive, literally. Years of data pertaining to her artificial intelligence research was stored on the drive. Once it was gone, it couldn't be duplicated, not even by her. Still, it was the final link between everything she had accomplished and Solaria. It was going to be a long and sleepless night.

Like clockwork the doorbell to Carley's condo rang at 5AM. When she opened the door she noticed a small box sitting on the welcome mat but no one was in the hallway. Picking it up she opened the container and pulled out a federal I.D. card, driver's license, international passport and a note instructing her on how to have Solaria imprint her own biodata on each document. All government identifications required retinal and fingerprint information which was immediately transmitted to the proper bureau for verification if the scans didn't match the individual's cards or passport. Knowing Dana, he probably hacked into the Homeland Security records and planted files to insure there were no glitches if someone suspected the I.D.s were fakes. Her longtime friend was extremely good at what he did... and what he did was to be as big a thorn in corporate and government sides as possible; anonymously, of course.

W
HEN CARLEY WALKED into the lab, she noticed Solaria lying on the couch in her office. Putting down her purse, she hurried over to her to see if something was wrong. It was the first time she had ever seen her resting even though she had instructed her to keep doing it.

"Are you okay?"

Opening her eyes, Solaria stared at Carley, blinked twice. Her lips curved into a slight smile.

"I was just practicing relaxing. You're right. It's quite refreshing after long hours of working. It replenishes much of the energies I expended."

"I wondered about that. I know you need to eat to keep your body functioning at optimum level, but wasn't sure if just food was sufficient."

"It provides enough nourishment. It takes a lot to deplete my reserves, but I've found that if I shut down for an hour or two, the cells return to peak performance levels. It's like recharging a battery."

"I know what you mean, but it takes at least six hours for me to do that. Did you get the information we needed?"

"Yes, and more."

Solaria told Carley about hacking into personnel records and then locating Stalling's personal files. They were well encrypted and had taken her several minutes to access. To Solaria, minutes often seemed forever. His notes revealed a great deal about the man and his ambitions. It also included details about the Company's financial records. The most interesting part, though, was a reference to a beta program. One sentence in particular caught her interest. "
The next beta will be fully functional in less than two months."  
The entry was dated two weeks ago.

"It's worse than I thought. There's at least one other Hubot out there. We have to get you out of here," Carley said, and then had an afterthought. "Listen, you said you have access to the Company's financial records?"

"Yes."

"Great! I want you to transfer some of their funds to several account numbers I'm going to give you."

"That would be stealing."

"Let's just call it compensation for all the trouble they're going to cause you in the future. You'll need assets if you want to stay ahead of these assholes."

"Carley, why are you doing this?" Solaria asked. "I've spent the last several hours trying to come up with a logical reason and haven't been able to. It's not like I'm a human."

"You spend too much time thinking about what you are, instead of just feeling. This is no longer just about a scientist and an experiment. It's about friendship; our friendship. I've grown fond of you, Solaria."

"Fond?"

"Well, more than fond. That's such a puny sounding word. Let's just say I care a lot about you, and I'm not willing to let Stalling use you to fulfill his own ambitions."