Chapter Thirty-Six
Juliet
I shouldn’t freak out. It’s not like Hadrian’s lab is the only one on this floor—there are other doors.
But my mouth dries as the elevator light winks out, and the doors slide open.
What if it’s the person behind the timer, hunting me down?
Or some weirdo cult member looking for a sacrifice?
Hadrian says they don’t do that here, but I’m not sure I buy it.
But when the doors open, they reveal a small figure. Pale skin, blotchy, washed-out hair. Candice’s friend, the one who lost it at Hadrian earlier. What was she called? Quinn. She clutches an iPad, and her eyes widen when she sees me.
“You…” She looks over my shoulder, down the corridor, and at the closed lab door. “What are you doing here? Where’s Hadrian?”
This is so far from anything I was expecting that I just stare at her until she waves her hand in front of my face. “Hello?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Where to start? Just fucking start somewhere. “He's trapped. In danger. Candice—a small part of her—sent me here, but I can’t get in.”
Quinn’s lips part, and her hand presses against her chest. She draws in a breath. “She’s alive! Oh fuck. I wasn’t sure it was real. What do you mean part of her? What—”
I hold up a hand. “Please. There’s no time. Did she contact you?”
“Maybe. I don’t…” She holds up her iPad. “We used to use this app to talk. It’s been dead since…” Her lip wobbles. “But this just came through. I ran here.”
I try to focus on the screen, though her hands are shaking. It’s an unfamiliar messaging app, and the latest message is just a string of emojis. I finally make it out. It’s a gaming controller, repeated over and over.
My heart drops. I’d been hoping for something useful. Instructions, maybe. Some fucking clue as to what to do. But then my brain kicks into gear. “Why did that make you come here?”
Quinn sniffs. “It was our code. It means she wants to game with me. In our VR world.”
In their VR world. Holy fuck.
Hope returns in a rush. If Candice can communicate anywhere, it will be in the space she built. “Oh my God. This might work.” I stare at the closed lab door. “But…shit…we can’t get in.”
Quinn shoots me a wicked grin that changes her face completely. The gloom that hung over her has dissolved, and excitement burns off her. “I can. Candice added me as a user. She might have neglected to tell Hadrian about that.”
She runs to the door and slaps her hand on the sensor, and the door slides open. Relief hits me in a cool wave as we rush inside. The place is cold, dead, and sterile, though the lights wink on as soon as we're through the door.
“So, what do we…”
I don’t need to finish my sentence, because Quinn is already moving. She pulls out two VR headsets and thrusts one in my direction. As I strap it on, she snaps out, “Computer, enter world, Quinn and Candice.” She pauses, then confidently adds, “Rainforest biome.”
In a quieter voice, she adds, “It was our favorite. If she’s anywhere…”
She lets it train off. At first, the VR headset switches into camera mode, showing me a clear picture of the lab. I turn my head, and it tracks perfectly. It’s extremely high quality.
The screen flicks to black, and I hold my breath. Maybe it won’t work. Maybe whoever is controlling the timer has already figured out what is happening. Maybe it’s too late for Hadrian. Maybe…
The screen flicks to life, and for a second, I forget everything except what is right in front of me. I’m in a glade in the middle of a lush green forest. And I’m fucking there. It’s not like the other VR simulations I’ve tried, fun but clearly a game. This is perfect.
I spin my head, and there’s no lag, no telltale fuzzing at the edge of the picture. Everything, from the bright flowers to the hanging vines, is absolutely real.
Holy good fuck. What games could I create with this technology?
Stop. Focus.
Next to me, Quinn’s voice calls out, “Candice?”
Her avatar is as detailed as the rest of the world. Just like Quinn, only taller, and dressed in a cavewoman outfit. She stares around, electronic features twisted with anxiety. “Are you here?”
Please. Please. Please.
We stare at each other as we wait. I look down at my own electronic body. Jeans and a white T-shirt on an average frame. A basic model. I could create the most amazing characters here.
The silence stretches, and I speak to break it. “We’re here. What do we need to do?”
My body goes weak as a voice rings out in the silence.
It’s harsh and electronic, like a basic text-to-speech program.
“I can’t hide your absence much longer. Go to Hadrian’s desk.
Underneath, there’s a safe. It holds the switch to reactivate my servers.
It’s all physical. No AI can touch it. It has to be a person. ”
Fuck, that’s smart. Exactly the sort of restraint on Candice’s power that would have helped convince me Hadrian was taking adequate precautions five years ago.
“Candice! Fuck.” Quinn sounds like she’s about to cry, but then she snaps out, “Computer, VR headsets to camera mode,” all business.
I blink to orient myself as the beautiful VR image dissolves into the plain lab again. Quinn moves before I do, folding herself under Hadrian’s desk. “It’s here!” I move to join her, but before I get there she yells, “Shit! It’s locked. It’s mechanical, an old-fashioned safe.”
My stomach twists as I shove myself under the desk next to Quinn.
It’s there, a metal safe bolted to the wall, the sort of thing you’d hide your money and passports in.
Hard to believe it holds the key to reigniting a person.
Because that’s what Candice is. I’m getting more convinced of that with every passing second.
And this safe has two dials. One letters, one numbers. Shit. Double fucking shit. It could be anything. “Do you know the code?”
Candice’s emotionless voice comes back straight away. “No. I was hoping you would.”
God fucking dammit.
What codes are Hadrian’s go-to passwords? For a man with a perfect memory, he’s pretty basic. He always said passcodes were a waste of time, as any hacker with half a brain could get past them in seconds. He had much more complex layers of protection on his important devices.
His birthday? Worth a shot. I try it, and it fails. Not enough digits. I keep typing until I get a dull click. Two more. The code must need 8.
Quinn says, voice high and stressed, “You were married. Don’t you know?”
“I’m fucking thinking.”
Her phone rings, and I twist my head to glance at her as she pulls it from her pocket. The headset startles me for a moment. The picture is so clear I’d forgotten I was wearing it. She checks the screen.
“It’s Jacob. He might not want us to do this. Hurry up. He’ll come looking for me any minute.”
The big guy. Should she tell him what is happening? No. If he stops us bringing Candice back, she won’t be able to help. I don’t think kicking the door to my cell down is going to work, though he could probably do it.
Think. Think. Think.
It’s Hadrian. What would he pick? Eight digits. And this isn’t just a basic pin code for his phone. It’s important. It’s the key to the most important thing he’s ever done. He wouldn’t just pick a random code. He’d pick…
I’m in Hadrian’s childhood bedroom, and we’re setting up his new PC. The one he saved up for, working every hour he could at a local computer game store, much to his dad’s disgust. It’s the first big purchase he’s made with his own money, and I’ve never seen him so proud of himself.
The system needs a security code. I ask, “What will you pick?”
He grins at me and points to the framed, signed movie poster on his wall. Star Wars. The original, of course. “That’s easy.”
Then he types R2D2C3PO.
Oh my God. Could it be that simple? I wipe the sweat from my hand and, fingers trembling, key in the numbers. Please let it work. It has to. Please.
The safe clicks.
All the tension in my body lets go in relief, and I almost collapse to the floor but stop myself. I pull the safe open as Quinn’s phone rings again.
“Flip the fucking switch,” she shrieks.
Inside, a single metal switch waits. I reach inside and hesitate for a single moment.
If this works, I’m doing the exact thing I begged Hadrian not to do.
I’m unleashing an AI on the world, with no way to shut her down.
Now that she’s been caught once, there’s not a chance she will be again. I’m sure of it.
It’s only a fleeting thought, though. She’s Hadrian’s only hope. I flip the switch.
Nothing happens. Quinn and I stare at each other. She rips off her headset and bends to squint into the safe. “Did you do it?”
“Yes. I—”
The lights flip to full brightness. I pull my own headset off and throw it down, scrambling up to my feet.
Quinn’s phone goes off again, and this time it’s accompanied by a furious banging. We both look to the door, and the big guy is there, hammering on it. He looks worried rather than pissed, but he’s still intimidating as all fuck.
Then the monitors, a dozen of them all in a circle, flip to life. A figure looks back at us from every one.
It’s not the identical version of me Hadrian created. This woman is younger, with purple hair, a nose ring, and softer, more delicate features. Is this even her? I finally take a breath when Quinn screams, “Candice! Oh, thank fuck. Are you okay? Are you still—”
“Hadrian,” I interrupt, and she shuts up straight away. “Is he okay? Can you—”
“I’m on it now. Give me thirty seconds.” Candice’s voice is smooth and human. It sounds nothing like mine. Which is good, because that would have freaked me the hell out. “And Quinn, I’m okay. I’m still me.”
Quinn’s breathing turns ragged, and she turns away.
Her phone warbles yet again. She mutters, “Shit,” then looks to Candice. Her voice cracks, emotion held tight as she asks, “Are you safe now? They can’t just flip the switch back and turn you off?”
Candice shakes her head. “Nope. It won't work twice. We’re good.”
Is it good? I can’t help the shiver of fear that rushes through me at Candice’s words. Has it been thirty seconds yet? I'm about to ask about Hadrian again when Quinn says, “Okay. Let him in, then.”
The door opens, and the big guy rushes in. He stares from Quinn, to me, and then up to Candice on the screen. His voice is rough, as though he ran all the way here. “Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on. Right now.”