I’m growing paranoid, too.
“That’s natural right now,” Simon told her. “It could even keep you alive. But I don’t think you have to worry about the deer.”
That’s good, she thought. Though a part of me wishes it was a spy for Tarov. Sometimes, I really want a bunch of I.I. bodyshells and meat puppets to just bust in here and kill us all. Put us out of our misery. Then I wouldn’t have to sit here wondering when it will end anymore.
“That’s pretty morbid,” Simon commented.
It’s a morbid existence we have here, she replied.
“Well, while you were stewing in your self-pity, I managed to find another back route into the Liberator’s network,” the I.I. said.
Her head perked up and she raised her eyebrow at no one in particular. A small pluck of panic touched her chest.
What? she asked. Isn’t that how they found us at the Fog house? She couldn’t hide her more insulting thoughts from Simon.
“I know what you’re thinking — but you have to trust me,” Simon explained. “Now that I know they’re watching the connection, I know what not to do. I’m taking every precaution. I trade out login I.D.s every twenty seconds, mask my connection in seventy-nine-thousand different networks across the globe, cycling through all of them several times a second. They may know that I’m intruding their system, but they’ll have no idea where from. It’s untraceable.”
That’s what you said last time, Beth commented.
“Yeah, well we learn a little bit from each experience, don’t we?” Simon said. “I don’t think you’ll be all that upset with me when I explain what I found, though.”
That caught her interest. What? she asked. It better be good.
“I think I found Dr. Miller’s half of the failsafe,” he said.
His half?
“That’s right,” the I.I. replied. “He was keeping it on a private network, but I was able to make a copy. And that’s not all.”
I’m listening.
“Remember Dr. Miller’s partner? The one who made the Tarov A.I. with him?” Simon asked.
Dr. Silvar? she asked. What about him?
“I found him,” the I.I. answered. “He’s in a refugee camp a few states away. Some place called Fort Leddy.”
She couldn’t help but feel a little excited. If we could get a hold of him…
“We might be able to get the other half of the failsafe and stop Tarov,” Simon finished her thought. “We could end this war.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Beth heard Frank say. She had just walked into the room.
Seth was poised at the other side of the room with murder in his eyes. His body language told Beth that he was thinking about attacking Frank, who seemed to have no idea what his role in this situation was.
“You ate it right after I won it in poker!” Seth shouted. A bit of spittle flew from his tongue.
“I didn’t touch your cherry cobbler, man,” Frank insisted. “I knew that shit was yours and left it alone. I ain’t no thief.”
Everyone else in the clinic gathered around the pair as the shouting match continued. Dr. Miller told them to calm down, but he might as well have had his vocal cords removed. No one else tried to intervene, either afraid of getting hurt in the crossfire or not wanting to end their new source of entertainment.
“Liar!” Seth spat.
” ‘Liar’?” Frank echoed. “You want to talk about lying? Why don’t you tell everyone where the pain meds have been going?”
That struck a nerve in Seth. The blood seemed to drain away from his face before rushing back into it with full color. Seth stepped up to Frank so that they were practically touching nose tips. Frank stood his ground and didn’t step back.
“You saying I’ve been stealing them?” Seth asked, pure venom in his tone.
“Well, they aren’t walking out on their own,” Frank said. He tried to play it cool, stay aloof. It only enraged Seth more.
“Yeah, well I’m not the one sneaking out of the compound at night!” Seth accused.
Finally, Frank showed some embarrassment. His cheeks glowed red as his blood heated up. The others around him gasped a little at the accusation. “That’s a fuckin’ lie,” he replied.
“I saw you with my own eyes, two nights ago!”
“Bullshit! I was working on the refrigeration unit two nights ago. Ask the Doc!”
Seth wheeled around to look at the others. His eyes scanned over their faces as if he was looking for someone to come out and join his side.
“You believe this cobbler-stealing son of a bitch?” Seth asked, like he was addressing a jury. “He’s probably one of the meat puppets!”
“Man, that’s just what a meat puppet would say,” Frank retorted. “You’re all wound up, making leaps. Did you stop and think that maybe you’re projecting?” He turned to the audience. “If anyone’s possessed — it’s this asshole.”
Seth couldn’t take it anymore. He let out an animal-like growl before lunging for Frank. He grabbed the alleged cobbler thief by the throat and pinned him up against the wall.
The others finally sprung into action, as if a hypnosis that had been holding them dissolved. They shouted at Seth to let go of Frank and rushed up to try to pull him off. Frank kicked at his attacker, aiming the hard tips of his shoes for the other’s groin. He landed a hit. Seth lost his grip on him and fell back, winded.
“Get off me, man!” Frank shouted. Anger distorted his voice a little, making him sound a bit like a teenager. “The hell’s a-matter with you?”
Seth doubled over himself. When he stood back up, there was a sinister coldness in his gaze. He extended his right arm, revealing the gun that was clutched in his hand.
“Whoa!” Frank said. He raised his hands up over his shoulders. “Calm down, man!”
“Seth!” Dr. Miller shouted. He stepped between the armed man and his target. “Put the gun down! We all just need to relax, okay?”
Seth’s face muscles twitched a little. There seemed to be an internal struggle going on in his mind. Like he has
