Chapter 24
Sera
Our robot looked perfect, like it was straight off a production line. Its armor gleamed in the sun, polished to perfection. It was proportional, its face neutral, nothing betraying the chaos it was about to cause.
Dean picked it up seemingly without effort and deposited it in a large crate, folding the robot to fit the small space. Motori handed him the lid, and he hammered it on before wrapping sturdy straps around the crate. He fitted them over his shoulders and heaved it up like it was a backpack.
“Let’s go.”
I hugged Motori goodbye and promised we’d come back to celebrate if the plan worked. If it didn’t… Well, one way or another, my worries would be gone.
We took a train to the city. Dean tried to talk to me but I was distracted, thinking about everything that could go wrong with our plan.
The uplink we installed inside our robot was so tiny and well-integrated among its circuits, it would be discovered only if the machine was taken completely apart. It was possible but not likely.
What else? Once the program launched, it would mask itself as one of the system’s maintenance processes. It was designed to send any relevant information it found immediately, which would give us some data even if the robot was disconnected from their system too soon. The receiver was Dean.
The only disadvantage of the plan was the need for proximity. The uplink wouldn’t work if we got too far away. If someone at Zenkyoza monitored city cameras, they could potentially see us, and we’d be close enough to their headquarters to be attacked.
I pulled the hat lower on my forehead and fiddled with my sunglasses. No one will recognize you, I told myself.
My thoughts strayed to the girl Gokiburi told me about, Julia. She was sixteen, and her robot aid controlled every waking minute of her day. The bathroom was the only space where she could be alone without the supervision of her robot. She used her weekly bath hour to slit her wrists.
My heart squeezed with pain. I itched all over with the compulsion to go back home and question whoever I could to get to the bottom of this.
Were her parents truly at fault, or did the robot lack essential failsafe mechanisms?
Which was more likely? The parents would stick to their version that the robot was faulty, but that could be a lie, couldn’t it?
And the robot seller would have their version, too. With the girl having had no friends, objective sources were limited. No one outside that family knew what really happened.
Apart from the robot, that was. As long as it was only disabled, its core intact, it would have all the answers.
However, if there was an investigation into Julia’s death, which there likely wasn’t since it was ruled a suicide, the robot wouldn’t be admitted as evidence.
With their ability to manufacture deepfakes and generate memories and recordings on their owners’ orders, robots were unreliable witnesses.
But a skilled coder or even a sentient cyborg like Charlie would be able to spot evidence of a jailbreak, if that’s what happened.
I fought with myself for a moment, then took out my phone and typed a quick post, ignoring the multitude of notifications in my dashboard.
“My heart is breaking for Julia Booth. We must do everything we can to prevent another tragedy like hers, and for that, we must know the truth. The robot must NOT be returned to Zenkyoza, because they will wipe the core clean, removing all evidence. Julia’s parents, please!
If you are innocent, subject the robot to independent testing. ”
I tapped send. It took twenty seconds for the first comment to appear.
“IF they are innocent? What are you insinuating? Is this really Sera Evans or an impostor?”
I winced and locked the screen, cursing myself. We didn’t have time for this today. Dean, who stood by my side, took a step closer. He saw my post then.
“The Sera Evans they know always stood on the side of the humans. She wouldn’t have expressed even a hint of suspicion that the parents were to blame.”
I thought back to the previous cases I reported on, realizing with a jolt he was right. “A bit shortsighted of her, wasn’t it?” I asked with a wry smile. “After all, humans can be assholes, too. Are the comments really bad?”
“Right now, most are asking where you’ve been and if you’re all right. A few people think your account was hacked. Someone called veganvodka says they know Julia’s parents and will talk to them.”
I forced myself to smile. “Well, that was fast. Thanks.”
The guilt living in my chest lessened a little. I still got it, I thought. Maybe I can have it all—make the world safer and have Dean, too. As soon as I thought about it, my insides twisted bitterly, and I shook my head.
Later.
We got off one stop away from our destination.
Dean found a small alley that was absent from most camera feeds and rarely patrolled, and we let our robot out of the box there.
We posted it in front of a tattoo parlor with the instructions to say it was waiting for its owner if anyone asked it questions.
On the way to our next stop, Dean got me a pair of the AR glasses. I itched to put them on and see the augmented Neo Tokyo, but held back until we got to the hideout place he picked for us.
It was an office building that was closed for renovations, currently paused.
Dean hacked the electronic lock and then locked up behind us, and we climbed up stairs covered in crumbling plaster to the fifth floor where we’d have a good view of the large billboard playing the news outside.
Since it only displayed ads in the normal mode, I had to use the augmented reality glasses with a news subscription to see what I needed.
It wasn’t strictly necessary, but if we were going to wreak havoc in Neo Tokyo, I wanted to see it on the big screen.
“All set up,” Dean said, handing me the glasses. “Just be careful when—”
“Aaargh!” I shrieked when an enormous snake ready to pounce appeared right in front of me as soon as I put them on. I jumped back, and Dean caught me.
“Why did they put this here?!” I asked, waving my arms in front of me. They went right through the snake. Of course, it wasn’t real.
“It was a prank set up by one builder to scare another, I believe. At least, that’s how I interpret the tag. It says, ‘Your turn to piss your pants, Kenta, you jerk.’”
“So anyone can make anything in AR? And it will just appear?”
“Technically, yes.” Dean nodded while I slowly approached the window to look out. “But if a creation is deemed too disruptive or dangerous, it’s removed. The city hires clean up crews who keep the augmented reality in order.”
“Wow.”
I pressed my nose to the dirty pane, looking at the world outside.
It was completely different from the Neo Tokyo I saw with my organic eyes.
For one, the sky was a few shades off, the clouds tinted indigo and pink.
A pterodactyl burst out of one of them and circled above a narrow tower, which was no longer a boring skyscraper made of glass and metal, but an intriguing sapphire structure with thick blooming vines climbing up the sides.
I zoomed in. A woman with unnaturally long blonde hair waved at me from the top floor. I sighed in understanding.
Rapunzel.
I looked down, zooming in further to see every detail.
Neo Tokyo fashion was fabulous in the real world, but many people created their online avatars that were only visible through the glasses.
I saw muscular warriors wearing sci-fi armor smoking cigarettes and talking, someone dressed like a proper ninja carrying a briefcase, and a group of elderly ladies who looked like moving knitted figurines.
Dogs were dragons or unicorns, and a few cars looked like chariots and rockets.
And those were only the things I recognized at a glance.
There were so many other creations, more intricate and astounding.
“It’s amazing!” I breathed. “I should have looked at it earlier. God, I want to live here. I bet there are so many Easter eggs hidden around!”
“Yes. The augmented reality contains many city games and challenges, and people engage in them regularly. Many clubs, museums, and stores have mini games and AR-only features, as well.”
Dean joined me by the window, and we talked about the scene stretching in front of us.
The large billboard was set up to display any content I chose, as long as I had a subscription.
The free channels contained ads of course.
I saw one for AR headphones that promised an immersive in-world experience, but so far, most of augmented reality was vision-only.
When I got tired and looked around for a place to sit, Dean picked me up, cradling me in his arms. My throat grew tight. How could I keep him? How could I not? It was maddening. I almost wished for our plan to fail so we’d be forced to spend more time together without facing the aftermath.
My heart beat faster and faster the closer we got to showtime. Four p.m. passed as I anxiously nibbled on my favorite shrimp-flavored rice snacks. Dean checked on our robot every minute at this point. All looked good. When it was ten to five, he suddenly spoke.
“Julia’s parents gave the robot to Zenkyoza. One of their neighbors is your fan, and she just commented the robot was loaded into a Zenkyoza van half an hour ago. She’s a light sleeper, which is the only reason why she saw that. It’s almost three a.m. where they live.”
I froze. “What? Why would they do that? Oh God.”
Of course, I knew why. I struggled with it for a moment. Could it really mean that the parents were guilty? Did they break the robot’s safety measures to make sure their teenaged daughter was constantly supervised?