then handed it to Brielle. “This is a copy of my experience log at the shopping mall and at the hacker’s apartment. The Council is welcome to review and provide any guidance. We are stumped right now.”
Brielle closed her eyes as she smiled. “Thank you. The recorder is now off.”
Shortcut relaxed. “Thanks for doing the talking, buddy. I hate those recorded reports.”
“I also came to check on you,” Brielle said. “You’ve been pacing around like a nervous wreck for the last few hours. I’m worried about you.”
“You’re worried about me ?” Shortcut grinned. He couldn’t believe she had said those words. He wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. He was going to go for it. “Listen, I appreciate your concern for me. I’m really okay, though. But … you know … since you’re here … say … Why don’t you and I … um …”
“Are you asking me on a date, Shortcut?”
X almost fell out of his chair.
“I guess … yeah,” Shortcut said.
“You know that I’m an android.”
“Yeah.”
“Very well.”
“Very well?”
“Meet me in the square at six.”
“Yes! I mean … okay. Would you like me to—”
“I found something in the code,” X said abruptly, interrupting them.
Brielle looked concerned. “I’ll leave you alone, Shortcut.”
The door shut behind her, and Shortcut punched X on the shoulder. “What was that all about? Couldn’t you wait until I had finished my sentence?”
X harrumphed.
Shortcut threw himself onto a wheeled chair. “My God. She came to see me …”
X was silent.
“Well, what did you find, android genius?”
“Nothing. I lied.”
“What!”
“You can thank me. I just saved you from embarrassing yourself.”
“What do you know about embarrassment?”
“Enough to know that had I not said anything, you would have started babbling and made a fool out of yourself, and Brielle would have canceled your so-called date.”
Silence fell between them.
“What are your intentions, Shortcut?” X asked. “You know that androids and humans are technically not compatible.”
Shortcut swatted him. “Who cares! She’s going out with me!” He adjusted his algorithm lens. He replayed footage of the conversation with her again, savoring every word. He didn’t want to blow this date. He listened to every word she said, analyzing its tone. What was she thinking? Was there a tone of love or affection?
He started to tidy up his desk, then put in a digital request to have Lonnie clean it instead. He only had an hour before it was time to meet Brielle, and he didn’t want to waste any minute of it. He checked himself in the mirror.
“Here goes nothing,” he said, clasping his hands.
X shook his head and kept analyzing code.
Chapter 13
X fired his guns simultaneously. The bullets ripped through the targets, and they flapped in the light of the gallery and started to move toward him. All head shots. His accuracy was still perfect. He studied his results as a cloud of gun smoke surrounded him.
Ever since he had mistaken that android for a human and seen the mystery woman, he didn’t know if he could trust his circuitry. Shortcut had told him that he hadn’t been infected, and he was probably right. If he were infected, he would have gone rogue by now. He would be killing humans just like Brockway had done.
But who was the woman? Her voice was unfamiliar to him, yet some of the patterns were familiar but distant, just beyond his detection.
The firing range manager stopped reading her comic books and gave X an approving look. “Nice job, X. You don’t have to worry about your shot. You still got it.”
He shook hands with the woman and thanked her.
“What are you going to do next?” the woman asked.
“I have to test my remaining features.”
“But if you had a virus, would you even know it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had a virus.”
“Existential thoughts,” the woman said. “If an android goes rogue,
Brielle closed her eyes as she smiled. “Thank you. The recorder is now off.”
Shortcut relaxed. “Thanks for doing the talking, buddy. I hate those recorded reports.”
“I also came to check on you,” Brielle said. “You’ve been pacing around like a nervous wreck for the last few hours. I’m worried about you.”
“You’re worried about me ?” Shortcut grinned. He couldn’t believe she had said those words. He wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. He was going to go for it. “Listen, I appreciate your concern for me. I’m really okay, though. But … you know … since you’re here … say … Why don’t you and I … um …”
“Are you asking me on a date, Shortcut?”
X almost fell out of his chair.
“I guess … yeah,” Shortcut said.
“You know that I’m an android.”
“Yeah.”
“Very well.”
“Very well?”
“Meet me in the square at six.”
“Yes! I mean … okay. Would you like me to—”
“I found something in the code,” X said abruptly, interrupting them.
Brielle looked concerned. “I’ll leave you alone, Shortcut.”
The door shut behind her, and Shortcut punched X on the shoulder. “What was that all about? Couldn’t you wait until I had finished my sentence?”
X harrumphed.
Shortcut threw himself onto a wheeled chair. “My God. She came to see me …”
X was silent.
“Well, what did you find, android genius?”
“Nothing. I lied.”
“What!”
“You can thank me. I just saved you from embarrassing yourself.”
“What do you know about embarrassment?”
“Enough to know that had I not said anything, you would have started babbling and made a fool out of yourself, and Brielle would have canceled your so-called date.”
Silence fell between them.
“What are your intentions, Shortcut?” X asked. “You know that androids and humans are technically not compatible.”
Shortcut swatted him. “Who cares! She’s going out with me!” He adjusted his algorithm lens. He replayed footage of the conversation with her again, savoring every word. He didn’t want to blow this date. He listened to every word she said, analyzing its tone. What was she thinking? Was there a tone of love or affection?
He started to tidy up his desk, then put in a digital request to have Lonnie clean it instead. He only had an hour before it was time to meet Brielle, and he didn’t want to waste any minute of it. He checked himself in the mirror.
“Here goes nothing,” he said, clasping his hands.
X shook his head and kept analyzing code.
Chapter 13
X fired his guns simultaneously. The bullets ripped through the targets, and they flapped in the light of the gallery and started to move toward him. All head shots. His accuracy was still perfect. He studied his results as a cloud of gun smoke surrounded him.
Ever since he had mistaken that android for a human and seen the mystery woman, he didn’t know if he could trust his circuitry. Shortcut had told him that he hadn’t been infected, and he was probably right. If he were infected, he would have gone rogue by now. He would be killing humans just like Brockway had done.
But who was the woman? Her voice was unfamiliar to him, yet some of the patterns were familiar but distant, just beyond his detection.
The firing range manager stopped reading her comic books and gave X an approving look. “Nice job, X. You don’t have to worry about your shot. You still got it.”
He shook hands with the woman and thanked her.
“What are you going to do next?” the woman asked.
“I have to test my remaining features.”
“But if you had a virus, would you even know it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had a virus.”
“Existential thoughts,” the woman said. “If an android goes rogue,
Similar Books
