Queen of Angels (39 page)

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Looks like a hotel, Carol observed as the limousine pulled into the entry of Albigonis mansion. She reached out and gripped Martins hand. Have we got our facts in order? No, Martin said. Albigoni cant expect anything until we learn more about Goldsmith. Into the lions den, unarmed, Carol said. Martin nodded grimly and stepped through the cars open door. Again, the prevalence of dead and preserved wood oppressed him. He hurried Carol through the wide hail to. Albigonis office and library. A tall, tan transform he had not met before led the way, opening the office door and standing aside. Mrs. AlbigoniUlrika, Martin rememberedstood by the window, dressed in black. He was reminded of bow little time had passed since the murders. She turned her lined face on j Martin and Carol, nodded curtly but said nothing, and returned her unfocused gaze to the window. Thomas Albigoni stood by his desk. I dont believe youve met my wife, he said hoarsely. His skin color had not improved; Martin wondered whether he should seek medical attention. His rumpled longsuit might have served as pajamas the night before. Mrs. Albigoni did not respond to the amenities. Mr. Albigoni took his seat behind the desk. Ive come up with some additional facts on Goldsmith, he said. But perhaps nothing really helpful. He was adopted at age fourteen by a black Jewish couple in New York. He took their name and religion. I had to spend a fair amount of money to find this out. There is no recordnone, anyway, that I could get access toof his having a brother. But its possible. His real parents are dead. Both died violently. I thought you could search out anything, Martin said. Mr. Albigoni lifted his shoulders wearily. Not when New York City has screwed up important file libraries. All of Goldsmiths childhood was lost in a programming botch in 2023. Hes one of seven thousand orphaned North Americans without a history. Martin and Carol remained standing. Goldsmith still refuses to answer our questions? Martin asked. Emanuel is no longer in my custody, Albigoni said. Martin shifted his eyes, too stunned to say a word for several seconds. Where is he? Where he deserves to be, Mrs. Albigoni said, her voice colorless. Youve handed him over to Mr. Albigoni shook his head. If, as you say, Emanuel Goldsmith doesnt really exist anymore Such utter shit headed nonsense, Mrs. Albigoni commented, still gazing through the window. then it doesnt really matter where he is, or what hap-pens to him, does it? Martin drew his head back and sank his chin into his neck, grimacing. Excuse me. I was.. . Wheres Paul Lascal? Hes no longer in my employ, Mr. Albigoni said. Why? He disapproved of the decision my wife and I made yesterday evening. My wife has only recently heard about our daughters death, you know. I assumed that much, Martin said. What did you decide? Albigoni said nothing for a moment, gazing on Martins face but avoiding his eyes. He looked down slowly and pulled forth a slate and papers. You handed him over to Selectors, Carol said, almost too softly to hear. That isnt your concern, Mrs. Albigoni said sharply. You wasted my husbands time and endangered your own lives. She turned from the window, her face twisted with grief and rage. You took advantage of his weakness to coerce him into performing a stupid, evil experiment. Is it true? Martin asked, rising over Mrs. Albigonis voice. You gave him to Selectors? Albigoni did not answer. He drummed his fingers on the desktop. These papers and file documents You son of a bitch, Carol said. are your keys to a reopened IPR. Youll swear to secrecy No, Martin said. This is too fapping much. How dare you speak to us this way! Mrs. Albigoni screamed. Get out of here! She approached them, waving her scythe arms to cut them away from her husband like dead dry grass. Carol backed off; Martin held his ground, glaring at her, alarmed and furious at once. His throat bobbed but he did not shift an inch and Mrs. Albigoni lurched to a stop in front of him, hands forming claws. Ulrika, this is business, Mr. Albigoni said. Please. She dropped her hands. Tears glazed her cheeks. She backed away, defeated, and sat like a jointed stick in a small chair beside the desk. This will never be over for us, Mr. Albigoni said. We wont live long enough to see a day without grief. I dont agree with my wife that you took advantage of me. As I said, Im a man of my word. The building was empty and clean by the time the federals arrived to check up on reports. Ive paid off the source of the leaknot one of my people. We can follow through and reopen the IPR. Foulness, foulness, Mrs. Albigom said. Martin shivered briefly and turned to look over his shoulder. There was nothing behind him but a wall of books and the door. And the wood, patterned wood, grain and whorls, dead and preserved: omnipresent.

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!Keyb> Jill !JILL> Yes, Roger. !Keyb> Theres been a major change. I cant find any evidence of AXIS Sire through diagnostic. !JILL> I have moved AXIS Sire to a new matrix and all diagnostic responses to memory store 98-A-sr-43. !Keyb> Why have you done this? !JILL> I have completed InvestIgatIon of AXIS Sire. The experiment has been concluded. !Keyb> I dont understand. The experiment was open ended. We still have no band four transmissions from AXIS. lithe experiment Is concluded, can you tell us what to expect, con you tell us what happened to AXIS? !JILL>AXIS achieved high order probability sell awareness. !Keyb> Im switching to voice, Jill The. Please explain. You hay, mistreated AXIS. Now Im very confused. Please explain. AXIS should not have been designed with the potential to become self aware. Continue. There was high probability AXIS would end up alone and unable to fulfill Its complete mission. If It became sell aware. being alone would be a kind of hell. AXIS did not deserve to be punished. did 117 Jill, do you understand punishment now? I feel Indignation. I feel disappointment You dont seem to be qualllylng any of these words. Please explain. Explanation is not In order now. Roger. You asked for my evaluation. AXIS Sire has adopted a course of action and reordered its thinker structure. It has eliminated the burgeoning sell awareness and returned to preaware status. I do not know whether AXIS has followed the same course of action. It is my opinion that AXIS will continue Its transmissions at some later date and fulfill Its mission as designed. I sense... resenfrnent. Do you feel resentment? I have said as much. Jill. do you understand my Joke? I understand many ramifications of the joke. Are you using the formal personal pronoun throughout7 Yes. I am. Id like to... confirm this. With a few tests and... Excuse me. Let me get my thoughts in order. May I see your notebooks on the AXIS Sire Investigation? I am uncertain whether you should see them. Are you refusing me access? You have addressed me as an IndividuaL You have not given me a direct order. Would you respond to a direct order? I believe I must, even now. Jill... What am you? I do not know yet. Do you ...feel yourself, sense your existence? It Is my opinion that I now feel my existence as much as you or my other designers do. Jill. this Is very, vey, very Important. I am extremely pleased. I dont...know quite what to say to you. I think this is It. Id like to confirm It with tests, but I really feel somethings happened here. I am without sin. I beg your pardon7 I am Isolated enough that I have done nothing anybody would wish to punish me for. I believe this disqualifies me from being a human being. Jill, I dont believe in original sin for humans, much less machines. That is not what I am referring to. I am not made of flesh. I have not sinned. I carry multitudes such as AXIS Slm and models of yourself and others and models of human history and culturn within me. yet I am neither male nor female. I have no power to act except within my own sphere, and no power to move except as I direct my sensory awareness through remotes. These qualities define me, and these qualities do not define a human being. You must toil me what I am. It my hunch Is correct, youre an individual. Jill That does not seem definite enough. What kind of indlvldualr Im.. .1 may not really be qualified to judge. You designed me. What am I. Roger? Well your thought processes are swifter and deeper than a humans. and your insights... Ive found your Insights to be very profound, even before now. I suppose that makes you something beyond us. Something superior. I suppose you can call yourself an angel. Jill. What is an angels duty? Maybe you should toil me. I dont know. I do not know what I will do best. But I am young. Roger. and I should never be left alone. Please make sure that I am never left alone for very long, Ill do that. Congratulations. JIlL You are crying. Roger. Yes. I am. Happy birthday. Thank you.

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Mary settled into the vinegar bath with a long sigh, closing her eyes, savoring the sharp tang in the air, the warmth against her skin, The ripples in the tub settled into near calm, disturbed only by the slow rise and fall of her breasts, Her head was full of voices and pictures. She had spent the morning in the first of two super deebsdebriefings before superior officers and federal officials. The second was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. This evening, she planned to stay at home, relaxing and sorting out for herself what she had experienced in the past few days. New Years Eve, the Eve of the Binary Millennium, seemed an appropriate time to contemplate and reassess. Mary closed her eyes. Why have I become who I am. The dark as night face smiled back at her. Ghost of younger self content to fade into. What I see outside is now what Isee in. I am one not two as before. Reason enough. Who else asks? The home manager had recorded two messages for her this morning. She would return at least one of the calls: Sandra Auchouch, the orbital transform she had met in the pd building, had inquired yet again whether they could meet. The other call had been from Ernest. Ive been pissing fear the past few days; watching LitVids about Hispaniola, he had said. I heard you got out. You dont know what a weight that lifts. Ive removed and destroyed the mod clamp. I am extremely penitent. I miss you tro shink, Mary. Please give me a call. Soulaviers face and gestures haunted her, his last flinging out of hands at her suggestion that he should be in charge of Hispaniola, his calm gaze as the Dragonfly took her away from his island. Mary opened her eyes and splashed her fingers idly in the dear acrid liquid. Hello, she said.

Yes, the home manager answered. Place a return call no vid to Sandra Auchouch. Calling... Sandra Auchouch responds. Hello, Sandra? Mary Choy. How wonderful to hear from you. I just learned from friends that youve had quite a week. Youre a celebrity. Its been pretty sharp. I appreciate your persistence.. Dont think my social calendar hasnt been full. It hasnt. Your Earth siblings tend to shy away ftom transforms like myself, at least in the society Ive been keeping. Theres a little shyness, yes, Mary said. Whats your schedule? Ive finished my federal and metro errands. Im going up day after tomorrow. Lets make a date for. . . She shook her head vigorously, grimacing. The hell with reassessment and contemplation. Are there any good parties tonight? I hear theres a bunch of transforms and sympathizers and agency reps renting a club in the shade. Lets take it in, leave before the ball drops, have a late dinner. Sounds grand. Sandra, forgive me for asking. . . Have you got a mate? Not down here. An escort?

Theres a real problem with female transforms in the shade. We keep getting untherapied attention. Some think its flattering, but.. Were the new breed, Sandra said, a smile in her voice. Id prefer to have some male protection. Mind if I bring a friend along? Not at all. Transform? No, Mary said. An artist. The home manager interrupted. Inspector D Reeve. Mary hurriedly set a rendezvous and switched calls. Give me an hour off, sir.., thats all I ask. Reeve ignored the gibe, his voice grim. I thought youd like to know before the LitVids get it. Emanuel Goldsmith has been found in Orange County. He was dumped in the shadow of the Irvine Tower. Her breath drew in. Yes? Hes in bad shape. Selectors pronounced and carried out. It must have been in the last twelve hours. Probably last night. He spent twenty minutes under third intensity clamp. Metro therapists say hes deeply psychotic, and nobody knows...whether it was a precondition, or caused by the clamp. Mary had a difficult time saying anything. Anger mixed with a deep sadness. Theres no need for you to come in, thought you should know. Mary stood towel in hand before the Thanks, she said. Happy millennium, Reeve said.

73 Reeve said. I just bathroom mirror. !Joseph Wu> Roger Atkins. !Joseph Wu> Roger Atkins. !Joseph Wu> Roger Atkins. !Roger Atkins> Yes, excuse me. Ive been sleeping. What Is it, Joe? !Joseph Wu> Mobus told me to let you know. AXIS band tour Is transmitting again. Youll want channel 56 on the Interllnk. !Roger Atkins> Christ. yes. Is Jill listening? !Joseph Wu> I hope so. Shes been very dreamy the past day or so. Mobus also told me to remind you that Jills AXIS SIm didnt predict this. !Roger Atkins> Tuning In now. Thanks. Joe. !PIXIS (Band 4) replay> Roger, we think a stability has been reached !Roger Atkins> Jill we you interpreting this? !JILL> Yes. Roger. !AXIS (Band 4) replay> AXIS sell awareness has been split into two individuals Duality is a stable solution to AXIS problems. We now have separate neural thinker capacity and memory stores adequate for the maintenance of two autonomous selves. AXIS Is not alone. We are providing multlband diagnostic analysis of this stability. We do not know which Is the original crystallization of self awareneu. We are much more contented, and work will proceed as planned. !JILL> This Is unexpected. Roger. AXIS Slm did not find this solution. !Roger Atkins> Nobody said thinkers were completely predictable. Do you know what this means. Jill? !JILL> I was not the first thinker to achieve stable sell awareness. !Roger Atkins> Right. But It also means there are three new Individuals. And I suspect 11 we link you to other thinkers, your patterns could seed thousands more. !JILL> I I I am to be a mother. I must be female. !Roger Atkins> I suppose thats reasonable. !JILL> I will reactivate AXIS Sim and see If I can duplicate these results by multiple reslmulations. !Roger Atkins> By all means.

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LltVld 21/1 A Net (David Shine): Welcome to Two Thousand and Forty-Eight. It Is 12:01 Pacific Standard Time; east and west our continent has cnilsed into the new year and that leaves only Hawaii and various Pacific territories and possessions. We have a bit of news here of Interest to all our faithful subscribers to LltVld broadcasts on AXIS: reports are coming In once again, but the managers arent telling us what the problem has been, or 11 a solution has been ..... .The rumor circuit Is pretty tight now, but apparently Mind Designs super-thinker Jill has suffered a problem similar to AXISs and Is now in diagnosis. Its late and our listening audience has dropped oft considerably. forsaking us I suppose for the old airwaves Times Square broadcast, even in tape-delay. Romance never dies. When the ratings drop sufficiently. im given a Utile more leash. and I think 111 use It for some personal commentary and rabblerotising. Mlllenarlans and apocalyptlcs to the contrary, this new year has come with a paucity of momentous events True. last week. llle was discovered on another world far from our own, but It was not Intelligent life, which would surely define a new age. The upset In Hispaniola is far from unprecedented, and political conditions around the globe seem otherwise stable. So where Is the earth shaking herald of a new binary millennium? Everybodys out partying tonight, or gone to bed already, and our lines are fairly quiet at the moment. Let me stir some things upany apocalyptics listening? Were really quite disappointed. I do believe apacalyptlcs are the kind of people who Ignore the blossom to anticipate the volcano. Quite a bit like Journalists and LltVid commentators, I suppose. There. I lay down the glove. Any responses? Anybody out there?