Mind Trace (15 page)

He opened the attachment on the email to see a picture of their
latest "fugitive from justice." Jeremy stared dumbly at the screen
for a few moments while his brain refused to acknowledge what his eyes were
seeing. He was looking at the same young face that he had seen only moments
before…the face of Alice McArthur.

How does Garrett manage to do this every time? It's like
we rewound time and history is just repeating itself.  Garrett's involved in
another scandal and wants me to dig him out. Here we go again.

Jeremy immediately deleted the emails and removed all
traces of his communication with Garrett.

I'll do my best to help him, but this is going to be
much trickier than I thought.

***

Eric slept fitfully, tossing and turning. He gave up trying
around 5:30am, before daylight had even peeked above the horizon. Instead, he
went to his office to review all the information in the McArthur files.

Maybe I'll find something useful.

Engineering was still working on the girl's laptop, trying
to find any information on where she might have gone next. Hours ticked by with
no progress or notifications.

What do I pay these people for?

It was around 10:30am when the intercom on his desk buzzed.
A crisp, feminine voice sounded from the speaker, "Mr. Martin? Grant is
here to see you."

"Send him in."

Grant came in the door with a file and sat down in the
chair across from Eric. "We put a flag on all of the girl's information
like you asked. An employee in the FBI pulled up a large query of information
on Alice McArthur about half an hour ago. It could be nothing, but we obtained
all of his info anyway."

He reached over the desk to hand Eric the file.

"As you can see, he's been with the FBI for a good
twenty years, and gotten many awards and acknowledgments of service during his
term there. He works in the Special Research department now.  I cannot think of
any reason why someone like this guy, Sanders, would want to know about
her…unless he's heard that name recently. Could be that she's trying to get
help from him."

Finally. A lead.

Eric studied the file eagerly. "Find out what he knows
and how he knows it. It says here he has an ex-wife and son, so use them as
leverage if you have to.  You know the drill, Grant."

"Yes, sir. Also, there was another matter you should
know about. I spoke with Dr. Eichmann… Engineering checked the polygraph
machine three times and were not able to find a single thing wrong with it.
They tested it repeatedly on different subjects, all with normal results. The
doctor is convinced, beyond any doubt, that the machine is fully functioning
and the scans must be accurate. There is a separate file here with the data
they collected. He seemed eager to discuss his findings with you."

 "Thank you for the update. I will speak with the
doctor shortly. In the meantime, find out everything you can about Sanders."

Grant gave a curt nod and left the room.

If Dr. Eichmann is right, then Alice is far more than
just "brilliant."  She may be a great deal more valuable than any of
us could have imagined.

***

A short time later, Eric concluded his meeting with the
doctor. The conversation had only served to confirm the suspicions that had
been growing in his mind since Alice escaped.

After the machine had been inspected to ensure that nothing
was physically wrong, it was thoroughly tested for functionality. Several test
subjects all had the same results. Normal brain activity reported on all scans.

The doctor speculated that it was very unlikely to have
been a fluke in the machine, because reviewing both the recordings and the
activity from the machine showed fluctuations that dynamically changed as
different questions were asked. A fault in the hardware or software would, more
than likely, have showed static activity, regardless of what questions or
information was presented to the subject.

They were continuing to look for another explanation, but
Dr. Eichmann informed him that he needed to consider the possibility that Alice
simply had skills and abilities that were beyond comprehension. It was a matter
that assuredly warranted further investigation on all sides.

Eric's mind wandered, whirring with possibilities.

Perhaps after intense study, we can find out how to
reproduce such an ability…but even if we can't, simply having someone like
Alice at our disposal would be invaluable
.

She might be reluctant to cooperate at first, but she'll
come around.  There is no other choice in the matter.

Even if the machine is wrong, Alice can never be free
again.

***

After she successfully copied all of the files they needed,
Alice spent the rest of the morning ensuring that they were sufficiently backed
up. She placed them on multiple drives before putting the last copy on a flash
drive for Jeremy.

Garrett had gone out to get lunch and returned with take-out.
Alice ate hungrily, grateful for the distraction. Over the meal, they discussed
what work remained before they met Jeremy the next day.

"I've backed up the files every place I can think of.
Even if one of them gets compromised, we have plenty of alternatives,"
Alice relayed between bites.

"That's great. I have a bit more work to finish up, since
I won't be in the office tomorrow. Can you find some way to make yourself
useful in the meantime?"

"I don't have anything left to do on my end. Do you
have anything you need help with?" Alice asked.

I'm dying to do something useful. What's the point of
having these kinds of abilities if you can't use them?

He looked doubtful. "Well, there is one project… But I've
been trying to finish it now for over a decade, so I really doubt you can
figure it out in a day. You are more than welcome to try."

"A decade?"

Garrett paused, gaze turning inward. "I got in over my
head and had no idea where to go next. It was supposed to be my 'ace in the
hole.' I guess the only reason EngineerCorp hasn't stolen it and started
mass-producing it yet is because I haven't told
anyone
about it."

Alice was about to ask about the project, but he
interrupted, "I guess it's only a matter of time before they do. Even if I
was able to finish it, I would never be able to beat them to market. I don't
know if there's a leak somewhere in my systems or if it's something else…"
His voice trailed off to little above a whisper. 

"Well, what
is
it?" Alice interjected.

"Oh, that. Come on, Alice. You don't know already? I
thought you were smart!"

He seemed about to say something more, then decided against
it. Instead, his expression became serious again.

He looked her in the eyes and said mysteriously, "Well,
since you chose to trust me, I will return the favor."

"Okay..." Alice looked at him, confused.

Garrett stood up and left the room, gesturing for her to
follow.  He led her into his bedroom, and approached a set of bookshelves on
the far wall. 

As she entered the room, she looked around with great
curiosity. There was a king-sized bed in the center of the room, occupying the
majority of the space. Other than that, the furniture consisted of a dresser,
bedside tables, bookshelves, and a small reading chair. The bed was unmade, and
there were several articles of clothing strewn about on top of the sheets.

Typical bachelor.

As he reached the bookshelf, he said, "This might seem
kind of cliché, but trying times have made me a cautious man… That, combined
with some old-fashioned paranoia." He winked at her as he turned away.

Huh?

He pulled on the right side of one of the shelves, and it
swung suddenly forward to reveal a hidden room. It appeared to have once been a
spare bedroom, now converted into a workshop of sorts.

I don't know what's worse: the fact that every guy I
meet lately seems to have a secret laboratory… or that there was a time when I
would have done anything to have one myself.

Either way, I think I've had my fill of them.

Her mind began immediately taking inventory of all the
parts that lined the shelves and surfaces. She recognized more than half of the
constructions as designs that had been integrated into EngineerCorp products. 

Alice knew they had been responsible for Cyberconn's
original downfall, but why they kept intentionally sabotaging them since then
was beyond her knowledge. There was no data that gave any logical reason for
their behavior. EngineerCorp was beyond the point of
needing
to steal
ideas from anyone. It almost seemed, to a certain extent...personal.

He directed her attention to a table in the center of the
room. Connected to what seemed like an infinite number of wires and probes
(twenty-three to be exact), was a small, spherical device. Light emerged from
hundreds of tiny holes on the surface of the device, casting an eerie light
that reflected back into Alice's dark eyes.

"It's
beautiful
," she breathed.

Garrett laughed. "Yes, that's exactly what I was going
for…beautiful."

Ignoring him, Alice could not help her fascination. "What
does it do?"

"Nothing at the moment. What it will
eventually
do
is put Cyberconn back in the game.  I have the electronics down, but I'm a bit
rusty with the software. I have named this wonderful little device the M
emory
Keeper
.  As you can derive from the title, it is a device that stores an
individual's memories so that they can sort through them and organize them more
efficiently. Memories stored in the device won't be subject to the same
degradation that occurs over time as the person's ability to access those
memories is naturally debilitated."

 He picked up a crude, headband-shaped device lying next to
the glowing orb. Alice had not even noticed it there, preoccupied as she was.
He held it up so that it was at eye-level.  It also had super-thin, nearly
transparent lenses that she assumed would fall over each eye.

"The user places this over their head, and it
communicates wirelessly to the orb. The user interface is controlled via brain
waves, allowing the user to sort through memories, picking and choosing which
ones to store.

"You may be wondering if this could be used to remove
secrets from a person's mind, unwillingly…but, that isn't how this works. The
memories themselves cannot be accessed unless the user permits it.  There is a
sort of 'acknowledgement' that the brain produces, informing the Memory Keeper
where the memory is and how to obtain it.

"I have the primitive communication worked out. The
Memory Keeper receives signals from the headset and can transmit data back, but
the interpretation of those signals into sounds and images is where I am hopelessly
lost.  The hardware is in place, but I just can't figure out how to write the
algorithm that decodes the brain signals into something meaningful."

Alice had continued to stare at the device, mesmerized at
the complexity of it. Garrett stood silent for several minutes, watching her.
When it was obvious that she wasn't going anywhere, he decided to leave her to
work on it.

"Well, if you want to look it over, feel free. The
computer is right over there. Although, if you manage to irreversibly screw it
up, I shall never forgive you."

He smiled, hovering indecisively for a few more moments
before leaving the room.

Once she was alone, Alice examined everything, analyzing it
in great detail. Her mind had been in a state of constant activity since she
entered Garrett's humble workspace. Finding a chair beneath one of the tables, she
wheeled it around to face the computer that was connected to the Memory Keeper.

Whatever casual façade Garrett might wear, that man has
a brilliant mind. Understated, but brilliant. If Eric knew this device existed…

She shuddered at the thought.

I’ll worry about Eric later. Time to work on this beauty.

Within seconds, she was hard at work decoding images and
writing code that would have taken any normal person a lifetime to unravel.

***

Garrett found it strange that he had not heard anything
from Alice all afternoon. He had gone by the lab several times to check on her,
but each time she was completely immersed in her work, to the point that she
didn't notice him at all.

What does she think she can accomplish in one afternoon
that I couldn't in years?

I guess it's harmless if it keeps her occupied.

Around dinnertime, he ordered a pizza, and brought her a
plate. She looked up at him for a brief moment and muttered a small thanks before
turning back to the screen.

Wow. She can be so intense sometimes, it's scary.

Before he left the room, he glanced up at the screen she
was working on.  Complex equations filled almost the entire screen, equations
composed of symbols he had never seen before.

Ha. She probably doesn't even know what those mean. I
admire her for trying, though.

"Isn't that cute? Did you write those all by yourself?"

Garrett expected indignation at his obvious goading, but
she merely mumbled incoherently and continued working on whatever it was she
was doing.

Sadly unfulfilled, Garrett left again. He had already
finished all the things he needed to do, but there were certainly other things
he could work on if she insisted on staying in the lab.

He went back into his office and labored half-heartedly,
all the while, his mind burning with curiosity.

What does she think she's going to do? Could she
actually accomplish something? There is no way...