Artificial Absolutes (Jane Colt Book 1) Read online

  “Advanced as medical technology is these days, you still need your rest, at least for a few more hours while the medicines restore you to full health.”

  “Please, I haven’t seen him since—since it happened. I just want to see his face again.”

  The nurse opened her mouth to speak, then smiled resignedly. “All right, dear. I guess it can’t hurt.”

  The nurse approached the touchscreen and pressed an icon. The bed rose, hovering a few inches above the ground. She detached the touchscreen from the wall and used it to guide the bed out of Jane’s room and into the one across the hall.

  The nurse stopped Jane’s bed beside the one where Victor Colt lay unconscious, attached to so much medical equipment that, for a moment, Jane’s mind flashed to the AI workshop and the human-looking android parts wired into various machines.

  “Hi, Dad.” Jane had so much she wanted to tell him, but she didn’t want the nurse to hear. She said it silently in her head.

  I love you, Dad. I know you’d hate that I let myself get pulled into this mess, but I’m doing it for you, and I’m doing it for Devin. If I don’t act, they’ll kill him, and the bastards who did this to you will get away. I still hope the justice system will realize they’re wrong, but if they don’t… I don’t care what I have to do. I won’t let him die. If you want to stop me from being a fool, wake up and yell at me. Please, Dad. Please wake up…

  Tears streamed down Jane’s face. She felt the nurse’s comforting hand on her shoulder.

  Wait a sec… The best evidence of Devin’s innocence lay right in front of her. Her father had been shot from the ceiling, not point-blank. Surely the doctors had noticed—unless No Name hacked their systems and altered the records. “Whom do I talk to about a second opinion?”

  The nurse frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “I want my father’s scans redone. The originals must’ve been wrong. There’s no way he could’ve survived being shot point-blank. It must’ve been from a distance, from the internal defense guns on the ceiling.”

  “I’m sure the records are correct.”

  “Please…” Jane widened her eyes into a pitiable expression. “My father and my brother are all I’ve got, and if there’s the slightest chance my brother’s not guilty…”

  She covered her face, and it wasn’t long before the tears returned. The nurse first tried reassuring her that the Kyderan justice system was infallible. After a minute of Jane’s sobbing, the nurse agreed to have a doctor come in for a second opinion as soon as possible.

  Jane wiped her eyes. “Thank you.” Exhausted, she reclined in her bed.

  I love you, Dad. You’ll always be in my heart, but I’ve gotta get you out of my head.

  According to the night nurse, Adam had visited, but Jane had been asleep, and he hadn’t wanted to disturb her. She wished he had. He’d put himself down as her contact, and she’d been told she needed him to check her out of the hospital. The medicines had restored her completely. Even the scars on her arm had vanished. She felt energized and ready to go. She’d tried simply walking out, only to be escorted back by a pair of orderlies.

  Jane wasn’t in the mood for holovision, but she needed something to keep her mind from replaying her disturbing nightmare.

  You’re real! I don’t care if we’re made of metal and wires! We’re real!

  “Shut up!” She pressed the button to activate the holovision projector, which flipped through arbitrary channels. A hologram of Adam appeared.

  What’s he doing there? “View channel!”

  Adam stood before a crowd of reporters. “If the police were to examine the facts more closely, they would see the inconsistencies. Devin Colt is innocent, and I think it’s clear that evidence was planted and records tampered with. I pray President Thean will give us more time to prove what is, for me, an indisputable truth.”

  Thanks, Adam.

  A reporter started detailing the case. Jane had no interest in listening to people tell untruths about her brother. “Change channel.”

  Every news channel obsessed with Devin Colt’s crime, and every entertainment channel fawned over the music sensation Sarah DeHaven. Jane shut off the holovision with a huff. She lay against the tilted back of her hospital bed and daydreamed about pouring Lithran stinger ants on the bastards behind No Name.

  Someone requested entry. Jane eagerly swiped the icon to open the door. “I saw your bit on the news!”

  It wasn’t Adam who walked in. Riley grinned, waving his scrawny arm too quickly. “Hi, Janie!”

  Jane blinked in surprise. “Riley! What’re you doing here? Where’s Adam?”

  “I’m right here.” Adam, carrying a canvas sack on his shoulder, entered behind Riley.

  Riley shoved his hands in the pockets of his baggy orange pants. “So, I quit BD Tech and came looking for you guys, but not before I did a little diggin’.”

  Jane sat up and hugged her knees. “How’d you get here without No Name catching you?”

  Riley spread his arms, shoulders raised. “Uh… Bought a Moray ticket? Riley Winklepleck’s a boring maintenance worker with a clean record. No one’s interested in him. Corsair has been gettin’ in plenty of trouble, but he’s just a name on the Net, and not a unique one at that. Online me can kinda fade into the crowd until the time comes to do some major demonizin’, like I did on the Hard Planet. Man, have I got some stuff to tell you!”

  Jane hugged her knees tighter in excitement. “What is it?”

  “First of all, you can chill. I… uh… rescheduled the security cams’ maintenance shutdown for right now, so we’re invisible.” Riley seated himself in the chair by the bed. “I doubt No Name’ll try anything anyhow. They’ve been quiet. Their little stunt on Travan Float kicked up a lotta commotion, and I guess they don’t wanna attract any more attention. And the news has been all over Uh-Dame here because of the whole amnesty thing, so they’re not gonna snatch him again with everyone watching.”

  Jane felt her shoulders relax. “Thanks, Riley.”

  Riley grinned awkwardly, as though unaccustomed to gratitude. “Anyhow, here’s what we know: Kron, paradin’ around as Mastermind, was working on something with several members of the Collective. Most of those demons were killed or disappeared, and a little while later, bam!” He slammed the chair’s armrest. “No Name was born. Now, Adam told me that Devin told you that Kron told him that there was this thing called the Pandora Project. Uh… Did I get that right?”

  Riley turned to Adam for confirmation. Adam nodded.

  How would he know? Jane looked up at Adam. “Were you eavesdropping?”

  Adam tilted his chin down in a sheepish expression. “I didn’t mean to, but that Stargazer didn’t exactly have soundproof walls.”

  Riley waved impatiently. “Anyhow, I found out the Pandora Project was an aborted… uh… project at BD Tech about ten years ago, around the same time the No Name people first reared their ugly mugs. I had to dig really hard to find out about its existence, and I think it wasn’t aborted at all. I think the Pandora Project is No Name!”

  Jane raised an eyebrow. “You also thought Kron was No Name.”

  “Hey! I had good reason to! All the evidence pointed to old Kuh-Ronie, but now I think it’s bigger than one megalomaniacal dude. Uh… What do Kron, Fragan, and the Pandora Project all have in common? BD Tech!”

  Jane kept her eyebrow raised. “You think the galaxy’s most successful tech corporation is secretly policing the Networld, kidnapping seminary students, and hacking Fringe floats?”

  Riley pointed confidently. “Yup!”

  She was skeptical, but then it started to make sense—more sense than when she’d thought it was Kron and maybe a handful of his cronies. The people behind No Name clearly had money, manpower, and influence. BD Tech certainly had plenty of those—
more than some star systems. With all the power they wielded, it wouldn’t be hard to skirt the IC’s tech regulations.

  Jane’s other eyebrow lifted as she widened her eyes. “Holy shit. The Pandora Project is code for this business with the AIs, isn’t it? It’s BD Tech’s attempt to… to basically take over!”

  Adam rested his arms on the bedrail. “Could be. If they control the people who influence the galaxy—politicians, academics, even cultural icons—they could really… have power over everything.”

  I’m kind of impressed. “It makes so much sense. I mean, people buy influence all the time, but why pay a superstar or bribe a politician when you can create them? Why risk your superstar being a flop or your politician not winning when you can engineer them to give the people what they want?”

  The IC’s strict voting laws made hacking elections impossible, but if the Gag Warriors could fake a talking head who swayed the opinions of multitudes, then a company as powerful as BD Tech could undoubtedly guarantee wins for their AI politician.

  Riley put his hands back in his pockets. “Uh… I don’t think it’s the entire company. I think it’s a cabal within BD Tech. You know, an inner circle of their biggest players. I couldn’t find anything about the Pandora Project other than that it existed and then it didn’t. I’m guessing Kron and his amateur pals developed the AI codes, and the bad guys didn’t want them knowing what they were really up to. I mean, this is clearly a long-term plan. Actives like Sarah can create almost immediate rewards, but actives like Jonathan King? It’s gonna be a while before they’re seasoned enough to be useful.”

  Adam looked over at Riley. “How did they develop the technology so fast? And without getting caught by the Tech Council? As far as I know, people are still arguing over Ocean Sky’s riddle-solver.”

  Details, details. Jane dismissed the questions. “They’re an evil corporation. What can’t they get away with? I think Riley’s right. It’s probably a select few who abuse the rest of the company and hire crooks to do their dirty work. Hey, why don’t we show the authorities what we found? I mean, we’re not exactly ISARK agents, and if we could figure it out… What about showing them the chip from the machine? Or the info the Seer gave us?”

  Riley shrugged. “It’s gone. No Name, or I guess… uh… the Pandora people, blew up your Stargazer right after Devin was arrested. Some little ship came out of nowhere and boom.” He flicked his hands to indicate an explosion.

  Damn you, No Name. “What about all your research? The stuff you dug up?”

  “We don’t have any proof,” Adam said patiently. “I’m having a hard enough time convincing people of Devin’s innocence, and there is evidence of that.”

  Shit. He was right. Clear as it seemed to Jane, most people would think she was having another psychotic episode. “Screw the Pandora Project. First, we’ve gotta show those idiots that Devin’s not a murderer. Adam, can you please help me check out?”

  “Sure.” Adam took the sack off his shoulder and handed it to Jane. “By the way, I brought you some proper clothes.”

  “Thanks.” Jane opened the sack curiously. A thought struck her. “Riley! Who greenlit the Pandora Project? If there’s a record of its existence, then someone must have signed off on it, right? One of the bosses?”

  Riley started to answer, then shut his mouth and thought for a moment. “Uh… Must’ve missed that.” He held up his forefinger. “I’ll find out.”

  The moment Jane stepped out of the hospital, she found herself facing a horde of reporters who blockaded the hospital.

  “My brother’s innocent,” was the only thing she could say that didn’t involve a long string of insults. Realizing she had a platform by which to be heard, she said as matter-of-factly as she could, “The forensics must’ve been either faked or tampered with. If online pranksters can shut down BD Tech’s security, surely someone can hack the police department’s computers.”

  The crowd shouted loud protests and prying questions. Jane had no patience for any of their bullshit. She rudely pushed through them.

  “Miss Colt! Can you give us details as to what happened while you were missing?”

  “How did your brother coerce you into going on the run with him?”

  “Had he shown previous signs of his murderous intentions?”

  Jane shot back at the last one, “What the hell? What kind of question is that? If you won’t report the truth, why do you bother at all?”

  She felt Adam’s hand on her shoulder. For some reason, his presence made her calm down.

  “Come with me.” Adam guided her through the crowd. He blocked any reporters who approached and politely told them she had no comments. Normally, Jane would have insisted on taking care of herself, but she was too agitated to deal with the situation and was glad for his help.

  She saw an empty air taxi ahead and rushed toward it. The door opened, and she hurriedly climbed in. She motioned for Adam to join her.

  Adam looked back at the reporters. “I’ll meet up with you later.”

  “Okay.” Jane closed the door and turned to the pilot. “FFC Residential Complex, please.”

  The pilot dropped Jane off on the landing pad next to the courtyard of her apartment complex. Weird, returning to the normal world after being a fugitive. Her mind was at a loss, but her legs automatically steered her toward her apartment.

  A familiar figure exited the neighboring building. Jane ran up to her. “Sarah!”

  Sarah stopped. “Hello, Jane. I’m glad to see you’re all right. I heard you were in the hospital.”

  “I know what you are, but I don’t know what it’s like to be you.” Jane couldn’t help herself. “Please tell me it’s not all an illusion, that there’s something… real… in there.”

  Sarah didn’t react. A chill flooded Jane’s body. Is she… calculating a response?

  Sarah’s eyebrows pushed together. “I don’t understand. I’ll admit, some of my stage persona is for show, but—”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.” Jane took a breath. “He loves you, Sarah! He really, truly loves you! Do you even know what that means?”

  Sarah’s face relaxed, arranging into a regretful, melancholy expression. “Of course I do. I loved him too.”

  “Then why did you say you were afraid of him, make it sound like he was… threatening you or something?”

  “It’s complicated. Sometimes the people you love are the people you fear. I should’ve left him earlier, before I let things go too far.”

  Jane gritted her teeth. “You’re lying. Sarah, I know the truth, that you’re… mechanical.”

  Sarah regarded her blankly, then laughed. “Jane, I don’t know what kinds of drugs they gave you at the hospital, but I think you should take it easy. It was nice seeing you.”

  She started walking away, the precise clackity-clack of her heels ringing against the pavement.

  Sorrow struck Jane as she inexplicably clung to the notion that the mechanical being before her was still somehow a person. “Sarah, wait.”

  “Yes?”

  “He’s going to die. Because of you. Because he wanted to save you. Come with me to see him. You’re his fiancée—they’ll let you in.”

  “No. I never want to see him again.” Sarah reached into her purse and removed something. Jane recognized the ring Devin had given her, the one that had once belonged to their mother.

  Sarah approached Jane and handed her the ring. “I’m not his fiancée anymore.”

  Jane clenched her fist around it. “Look me in the eye and tell me you at least loved him once.”

  Sarah met her gaze. “Of course I did, but it’s over. I’m sorry you’ll be losing him, but I won’t be sorry when he’s gone. He’s a murderer who frightened me, and I want nothing more than to forget him. Good-by
e, Jane.”

  Jane watched, frozen by fury, as Sarah entered the air transport waiting for her. She’s just a machine. A metal robot covered in synthetic skin. There’s no reason to be angry with her. She can’t even think.

  Sarah’s eyes had seemed empty when Jane looked up close, as if her eyelids adjusted to create expressions in a manner that was deliberate, engineered. Or is it because I know what she is?

  Jane recalled what Adam said about how the only consciousness she could be certain of was her own. The persistent images from her nightmare started filling her head again. She shook them away with frivolous brainstorms about the deliciously horrible things she would do to the Pandora cabal.

  You bastards. Why did you have to go and ruin my life? Hey, Absolute One, is this Your idea of a joke? I complain about being bored, and You throw me into this mess? I wish I could go back to boring.

  Three days had passed since Jane’s release from the hospital, and she’d spent them scrambling to convince the world of Devin’s innocence. In the process, the distraught heaviness she’d initially felt was replaced by an indomitable denial. There was no way in hell she would let anything happen to her brother, and therefore she had no reason to be anxious.

  “You know what?” she’d said to Adam after he talked her out of her last panic attack. “To hell with this freaking out! Devin’s not gonna die. That jerk! I’m gonna save him, and then I’m gonna kill him!”

  Riley called and informed Jane that he’d found something. She rushed to Adam’s dorm, where Riley was staying. As soon as she arrived, Riley swept the place for bugs and did some fancy tricks to the building’s central computer. Not long before, Jane would have dismissed that as paranoia, but at present, she was glad for it.

  Riley folded his slate. “Okay, we’re good.” He took a deep breath, as though about to make a grand announcement. “James Xavier Thiel, the big cat himself, better known as ‘Jim X.’ The dude who ran the company for decades before retiring to a cushy estate in the Wiosper system. I don’t think you guys can appreciate how much trouble I had to go through. The Pandora people have been making it impossible for me to do anything.”