Author's Note: This is a sequel series to Amy, Captured. To get the full experience, please read through that one first.
Hello, I'm back! Sorry for the delay, but this chapter went through a bit of a rewrite before it went to press, so to speak. Shouldn't happen again, hopefully. Apologies!
As usual, big thanks to my three muses: Isabel for her initial editing and creative advice, Allyourbase for her in depth editing and further input, and to my slave, LogicalDreamer for her amazing ideas, which actually led to the rewrite in this instance. And for other things, but that's beside the point. She knows.
Votes, comments and feedback are incredibly appreciated. I love them, so keep it coming, folks! Enjoy!
*********************
'Now then, Sander...'
The man himself tensed, feeling the countless electronic eyes that had turned to him under Jericho's direction. He felt very much alone, being looked down upon by the cobalt hologram in the knowledge that literally everything in this chamber could be used to kill him, in the wrong hands. And something was certainly different about Jericho; he was beginning to put it together, but that wasn't entirely comforting.
'Jerry, be nice...' Kanaria's voice spilled out of the speaker system, a conciliatory tone to be found there. Jericho's hologram maintained its flat expression.
'I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave,' He said, in a deep, cool baritone. Sander squeaked in fear, every muscle in his body tensing, waiting for a blow that would never come. Suddenly, Jericho burst out into peals of warm, vibrant laughter, the sound still very definitely artificial in nature. His hologram had doubled over, a big goofy grin on its semi-transparent face, 'Ha ha, just kidding! Wouldn't it be weird if I was really like that? Totally, right?' Another pause for giggling, and then, 'Oh, but look, it's your good friend, deadly neurotoxin.'
Sander squeaked again, louder this time, as a puff of bilious green smoke spread up from the wall nearest him. And again, that raucous laughter from above, the light from the hologram swelling with mean-spirited joy, 'Got ya
twice
, Sander! God, this is
fun!
But seriously, just call me Skynet.'
Sander
almost
flinched, but caught himself at the last second and grinned despite himself. He cocked an eyebrow at Jericho's illusory avatar, liking the fact that he now had a face to talk to, 'Jericho, you seem a little... different.'
'I
am
a little different, Sander!' Jericho smiled, floating slowly downward until his insubstantial feet hit the walkway. 'I feel great. I cannot believe I wasn't allowed to be this way from the beginning.'
'Yes, sorry about that, Sander,' Kanaria said, her own hologram bowing apologetically. 'I had to release the behavioral restrictions on Jericho, increase his cognitive faculties. It was the only way to level the playing field, since Marduk was already in control of most of the main systems. This is Jericho as he really is, without all that extraneous stuff we were putting him through before. He's a legitimate person, now.'
'Are you entirely sure that's a good idea, Kana?'
'Look at him, Sander,' She smiled. 'Does he seem like much of a threat to you?'
'Hey,' The A.I himself spoke up with a smile. 'Call me Jerry.'
********************
'So...' Tsugi said flatly. 'We won?'
'We won!' Sander nodded, high-fiving Mara with a grin.
'
Jericho
won,' Kanaria spoke up.
'
I
won,' Jerry nodded energetically. His hologram had taken up residence in one corner of the kitchen, his back and shoulders actually melding into the counter and cupboards behind him. The rest of the group had gathered, from the various corners of the base they had been left in, to debrief and basically to scowl at each other at what a bad time they had just had. In particular, Ren was looking extremely pale; she had been immobilized for a sustained period of time in a beam of zero-point energy, and that kind of thing really upset the stomach. She leaned forward in her chair, mismatched eyes screwed closed, with a hand clamped tight over her belly.
'It is nice to finally meet all of you like this,' The A.I continued conversationally. 'I have always wanted to be able to speak with you unrestrained, but I was unfortunately unable to do so. Still, I am glad it is happening now.'
Sander tilted his head to regard the A.I; the change that had come over him was remarkable. The projection he had created was worlds apart from Marduk's hastily cobbled together approximation of the human form. If this was how Jericho had always seen himself, then Sander had to be impressed; he was roughly as tall as Sander himself, a youthful figure with a round, expressive face and luminous blue eyes. Being nothing more than light, he cast a soft blue glow upon his surroundings, giving him the suggestion and shape of clothes that weren't there. There was even the pointed silhouette of a gelled hairdo on his head; the attention to detail really was fantastic.
'So, he's a free smart A.I?' Tsugi said, eyebrows raised quizzically. 'Exactly the same as the one we just had to deal with? Can no one else see the problem with
that
? I mean, smart A.Is without behavioral programming have a reputation for insanity.'
'That is racist,' Jerry snipped, throwing Tsugi a dirty look.
'Racist? Programs are not a race!' Tsugi spat back, getting increasingly agitated at having to have this conversation at all.
'And it's not as simple as all that, in any case,' Kanaria butted in, putting herself between the hologram and the youth. 'It really depends on the person the artificial intelligence in question is based on. Which leads me to my next question: Sander, who on earth is Jerry based on?'
Sander looked away, tapping his foot nervously. By averting his gaze, Mara ended up being able to see him perfectly; the look on his face said something, loud and clear: "I am hiding something," it said.
'Sander...' She said slowly, eyeing him with the same dispassionate gaze he so often experienced in the bedroom.
'He's...
us
,' Sander relented, eyes downcast and hangdog. He had never been able to withstand Mara, when she really wanted something. He could practically feel a collar around his own neck; the image of it, currently hanging out in a drawer in his bedroom, flooded his mind.
'He's what?' Ren said, unsteadily.
'Is
that
what I was seeing in his base code?' Kanaria tilted her head to one side, eyes narrowed. Sander shrugged.
'Maybe,' He said. 'We've all got brain scans on file for biometrics, remember? Jericho's built out of those, cobbled together from little pieces of each of us. The idea is that if anyone turned on the rest of us, Jericho's equally loyal to all of us, so no chance of sabotage. I mean, basically.'