Chapter 5 Rehash
Jan 25 2016:
The True Master
I scanned through the data as it streamed in, Kent hadn't used the tablet again to reprogram his Dolls until morning which was only a few hours after we left his club. I was nursing a cup of strong coffee and an energy drink in my attempt to remain awake. My hands were shaking slightly from the lack of sleep and what was probably and unhealthy amount of caffeine and whatever else was in the drinks but at the moment I didn't care.
The data streaming in was being bounced through a dozen different servers encrypted and decrypted several times before making its way to my laptop so it was slow but that didn't matter. I read the code and raw protocols of the system as the Doll that Kent was reprogramming communicated with the central server of the "Company" he had called them.
The server address to the Company was hidden in much the same way as my own piggy backing data stream was and I doubted I would ever be able to figure out where the actual servers were, but at the moment that didn't matter.
I read through the data marveling at the simplicity by which the Dolls could be reprogrammed, I had been going about it entirely the wrong way in my attempts to fix Kate. The Dolls were not stupid automatons obeying the commands of the chip that were programmed in. In fact the chip hardly did anything but act as an inhibitor and computer interface. The human brain itself was running most of the programming having been reconditioned to follow the chips prompts.
It made sense from a programming stand point, coding every possible scenario a Doll might encounter was impossible so the human brain was leveraged to do what it did best, parallel processing and pattern recognition. All you needed to do was program in general parameters and the Doll's own brain would interpret how best to execute the commands. Whomever had come up with this method of programming the dolls was a genius, an evil twisted sadistic genius but still a genius.
Looking away from the computer I rubbed my eyes and tried to get them to refocus on the screen.
"You getting what you needed?" Asked Beth from her seat.
I glanced up, she had changed out of her dress at some point and was wearing only a t-shirt and sweatpants looking very casual compared to my rumpled attire from the club, I hadn't had time to change yet.
"More then I needed." I said.
"So you can fix Kate?" She asked.
I hesitated, I had been sure of what I did last time but that was what had created this situation in the first place.
"I can make her what she was when she turned up on my doorstep." I said.
"Her memories?" Asked Beth.
"That's going to be a little more difficult. The longer someone has been a doll the harder they will be to access. Even for Kate it's going to be difficult and from what we know she's a brand new Doll." I said.
"So Tracy..." she trailed off.
"Will have an even harder time then Kate by a lot once I figure out how to do it." I said.
Beth nodded slowly. "But you could make her like Kate? Let her personality and the Doll mix?" she asked.
"Yes." I said. "Kate seems to have had a chip that was put into diagnostic mode, when it's like that its functions are limited." I said.
I flipped the screen around to show Beth the data coming in.
"When Kent's done with the reprogramming and I have all the data I need I'll fix Kate." I said.
"Alright then, in the meantime can you get some sleep you look like death." She said.
I glanced out the window it was already well past sunrise. "I won't be able too, it's daytime." I said.
Beth rolled her eyes. "Fine kill yourself then." She said.
"Does the Master wish to use Kate to relax?" Asked the Doll from the corner. I glanced over at her, it was horrible to do but since she had gone full doll I had been treating her like a piece of the décor or what passed for it in my apartment. I didn't want her to do anything because she looked too much like Kate and I was afraid in a moment of weakness I would take the Doll up on its offer.
"No, we're going to have you fixed soon Kate." I promised.
The Doll nodded and went as still as a statue again, probably not registering anything past my denial.
Putting the laptop down I stood and stretching my back sighing as a few of the knots in my back cracked.
"Breakfast?" I offered Beth.
"What do you have?" She asked.
"Toast with artificial butter." I said grimacing slightly.
"My favorite." She said.
-
The Company
Adams looked across at the young millionaire, his clothes were a mess and his face was sporting a large bruise, he was not handling the injuries well it seemed if his whining demeanor was anything to go by. He no doubt had other injuries but slumped against the bar she couldn't see them.
"Why did you request I come here if all you needed was an investigation crew from the Company." Asked Adams impatiently.
Kent groaned and pressed a bag of ice to his forehead.
"She knows about the Dolls." He said.
"Who?" Asked Adams as she pursed her lips.
"That bitch of a police officer, the same one who was investigating me a few weeks ago. She came in here said she knew about the Dolls and she said she was going to fix them and then tossed me over the bar." Said Kent.
Adams considered this for a moment, perhaps a competitor had convinced the officer that they were going to help and then steal the technology.
"She has no one to report this too." Said Adams. "We've got the Police chief and half of the judges in the state working for us."
"I'm just telling you what she said! Jesus." He groaned and put the ice back to his face.
"Had someone else with her. A guy I've never seen before she ran out of the club with him." Said Kent.
