“What are you doing here?” Beth asked. She still hadn’t taken a step towards the building yet.
“We’re preparing for war, Beth,” the older man replied. “A war against Tarov and the Liberators. A fight for the very fate of humanity.”
“What do you know about Tarov?”
The older man chuckled like he was trying to be modest. “I helped build the Tarov A.I.,” he said. “And I know how to stop him.”
Dr. Miller
Beth was led through a pair of reinforced doors after they entered the health clinic. She followed her rescuers inside and they held the doors open for her. The entrance lobby of the health clinic was still dilapidated and dirty, but the older man explained that it was to keep up the appearance of an abandoned urgent care facility. If anyone was able to peek past the wood reinforcements in the windows, all they would see is the same dusty interior they might find in any other abandoned building. Through the reinforced doors, however, signs of life were clear.
The first thing she noticed was the soft sound of classical music floating through the air, so lightly that Beth assumed she was hallucinating it for a moment. Then she felt the warm glow of a few soft-bulb lamps. It illuminated everything with the friendly aura of a campfire — dim, but not unwelcoming.
Desks with stacks of books covering a vast majority of their surfaces were scattered about the room. There were old computers built into a few of them, but they seemed to be unpowered or nonfunctional. Behind one of the desks — standing up and looking down at some document or another — was another woman Beth had not seen yet. Just a few feet from her, another man rested in one of the office chairs, kicking his feet back on the desk’s surface.
They looked up with listless eyes as the others funneled in. They didn’t seem particularly excited or worried, just curious. They wanted to see the strange detective they all risked their necks to save.
“Beth,” the older man said, a hint of Cuban in his accent, “I want to introduce you to everyone. First off, we have Lia.” He gestured towards the blue-haired woman who had driven the autovan. “She was our fearless pilot on this mission. Bash and Frank here helped get you out of that situation and offered to provide backup should anything happen on our ride back.”
The thin black man and the blond with the beard nodded as their names were said.
“Back here at home base, we have Beta,” the older man continued, waving his open-palmed hand to the woman who had been looking down at her desk. “And lounging in the corner is Seth. I am Dr. Darren Miller, and I guess you could say I’m the ringleader of our little group of outcasts. I’m also one of the original designers of the Tarov A.I.”
Beth needed a moment to take everything in. She panned to each face as they were introduced, but it felt like their names were going in one ear and out the other. Like she had filled up her memory banks and couldn’t take on any new information. A sensory overload.
The others must have sensed Beth’s overwhelmed feelings. Frank moved forward and pulled a chair up for her. He gently pushed her back into it and she sunk into the plush seat cushion.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but first you have to trust us,” Dr. Miller said, fetching a glass of water from Beta and offering it to the detective. “Otherwise, nothing I’m going to say is going to do any good. You have to keep an open mind, or were not going to get anywhere. You understand?”
Beth nodded. She could sense Simon in her C.C., alert and listening.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, Beth, starting first with how we know who you are and where to find you,” the older man said. “Is that right?”
Again, she nodded.
“We’ve been watching you for a while. You piqued our interest when you met with Tarov in the Net, and he offered you his assistance in catching the rogue I.I.,” Dr. Miller started to explain. “You see, I am in the unique position of being able to track and even observe some of the Tarov A.I.’s movements. I can’t do anything about them — as I have no control over the A.I. itself — but I can watch. That’s how we knew you were in trouble — and that’s how we knew you’d be willing to help us.”
Beth looked around at each face. They were all watching her, trying to gauge her reactions. Maybe they were trying to see into her mind and sense her motivations.
“Why did you come to my rescue?” she asked. She did her best to not sound like she was making an accusation, but the edge still came through in her tone.
“We need your help,” Dr. Miller said. “Aside from altruistic reasons, we knew you were better equipped than most to bring our plans of resistance to fruition.”
“Resistance?” Beth asked.
“Against Tarov, of course,” Dr. Miller replied. “He’s not a controlling power for the time being, of course, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t an oppressive force. Every day, he grows more powerful. His followers seem to multiply as relations between humans and I.I.s sink ever further. We are here to stop him before he gets too strong to stop. We’re the countermeasure, so to speak.”
“So why me?” Beth asked. “Why am I better equipped than anyone?”
Dr. Miller took off his glasses and tried to rub them clean on his shirt. The others stood as still as statues, listening to the exposition and watching their new guest.
“For a number of reasons, Detective Dylan,” the scientist replied. “Firstly, you were following a case of personal significance to the A.I. For some reason, his interest in Simon collided with your own, so you’ve already interacted with the terrorist leader more
