Chapter 11 #2
“Anything a human can do, but better. Just think about all the things ChatGPT or the other AI applications can do for you just by asking. Now extend that to a walking and talking machine like this one. It can do all the dangerous things we can’t.
A team of Archies could run into a burning building and pull everyone to safety.
They could be dropped into the ocean and repair undersea cables, or launched into space to repair satellites. ”
“Or they could be soldiers,” Jessie said quietly.
“No!” Stevie said fiercely.
“Why not?” Jessie said. “You said they can do anything a human can. And it sounds like Archie helped you lay waste to everyone who was holding Lynch.”
“I won’t allow it.” Stevie shook her head. “Not from Archie and not from any others I ever make, or allow to be made.”
Kendra could see the mere mention of this use for her creation had upset Stevie. Lynch reached out and put a comforting hand on the young girl’s shoulder.
“And this is how we’ve found ourselves where we are.
” Lynch looked over Stevie’s head at Kendra.
“For all the good things Archie could be used for, he could just as easily become something quite dangerous. A soldier, a terrorist, an assassin. Someone who knows about Archie has clearly envisioned these possibilities and wants him for their own plans.”
“What plans?” Kendra asked.
“We don’t know details yet. But we do know that a man named Vlad Korkil has taken an interest in Stevie’s work.”
“An interest.” Stevie made a face. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”
“Vlad Korkil . . . Not a good person to cross,” Jessie said.
“Not at all,” Lynch said. “Korkil is one of the most dangerous men alive. He’s principally into drugs and human trafficking.
But he’ll take on any job as long as the money is good enough.
He runs a mercenary group that has somehow always managed to keep one step ahead of the law.
Probably because he performs special favors for governments and makes generous contributions to politicians who are in a position to help him. ”
“He wants Archie for himself,” Stevie grated through set teeth.
“He tried to buy him from me, and when I wouldn’t sell, he tried to steal him.
Thanks to Lynch, he couldn’t get me, so he went after my dad to use him as a bargaining chip.
I saw them take him away. His team practically destroyed the house where I created Archie. ”
“Your home?” Kendra said.
“It’s actually down the street from the house where my dad and I live. We used to live in this smaller house where my dad started his business, designing and making prosthetic limbs. The entire lower level was his lab, and it’s now mine.”
“That’s where you created Archie?” Kendra asked.
“Yes. And that’s where I kept him. When Korkil’s squad raided my lab, I barely escaped.
I wouldn’t have made it if I hadn’t had Archie there to help me.
” She was nibbling at her lower lip. “I couldn’t stop them.
They’d already captured my father, and he told me to run and get help.
But I didn’t know what to do or where to go.
My father taught me from the time I was a little kid that I couldn’t trust our local police or politicians.
But he said once that the one person he could count on was Adam Lynch. ”
Kendra turned to Lynch. “You knew her father?”
“Briefly, a few years ago. He was part of a team outfitting wounded Ukrainian soldiers with prosthetics. The team was captured and held by a Russian infantry unit, and I helped negotiate their release.”
Stevie nodded. “Well, my father never forgot it. I knew I should probably go to the U.S. to find him, so I contacted your State Department and said I wanted to come to your country with my new project. But I had one condition: I would only come if Adam Lynch accompanied me.”
Lynch nodded. “I was already due to go to Denmark on assignment, but when I got the message I canceled out and left Washington to come here with only an hour’s notice,” he said.
“Very few people in our government knew about it.” He shook his head.
“But still someone tipped off Korkil. They ambushed me when I was on my way to meet Stevie at an old mining town about twenty miles south of here.” His lips tightened.
“Stevie was right not to trust just anyone in her government or ours. Korkil’s interrogator was very inventive and determined when they held me in that abandoned gas station for three days, questioning me and trying to find her. ”
“Instead,” Stevie said, grinning, “I found him.”
“Yes, you did.” He grinned back at her. “And I’ll be forever grateful to you and Archie.”
Friendship.
Watching them together, Kendra could see the bond that had been forged. Naturally this young girl would be attracted by the strength and intelligence of Lynch, and Lynch’s protective instincts would have been at high mast when he’d found out what she was up against.
For a moment Kendra felt a bit wistful and envious, remembering the bond between Lynch and herself during these last years.
Yet at the same time she was sympathetic to this young genius who was only trying to make a decent life for herself under terrible handicaps.
She impulsively got to her feet, crossed the room to Stevie, and gave her a quick hug. “Well, I’m glad that the two of you managed to get together. There’s isn’t much left of that gas station or the guards. But I’m sure it didn’t take Korkil long to bring in reinforcements.”
Stevie looked a little startled at the gesture. But she recovered quickly and tried to smile. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you. I’m afraid I’m not accustomed to having strangers being interested in what happens to me, so I’m a bit awkward. My father taught me I should always be independent.”
“It’s a fine philosophy, I definitely approve,” Kendra said.
“I can vouch for that,” Lynch murmured.
She deliberately ignored him. “But accepting good wishes won’t damage you too much. There’s usually a middle ground.”
Jessie laughed. “Don’t listen to either of them, Stevie.
You appear to be doing pretty well going your own path.
I admire the way you and Archie here took care of blowing your way through those thugs holding Lynch.
” Then she added, “Though it’s true that the countryside is still crawling with more of them.
” She thought for a moment. “But we might have some reinforcements of our own.”
“Who?” Lynch asked.
“Just some friends of Jake Brice.”
Stevie’s jaw dropped. “The movie star?”
“One and the same,” Jessie said. “He’s a—friend.”
Stevie’s eyes lit up. “Cool. I had his poster up in my room when I was seven or eight. But I outgrew him.”
Jessie obviously enjoyed this. “It would make him so sad to hear that. If you happen to meet Brice after we leave here, you must remember to tell him.”
“We can’t leave,” Lynch said. “Not yet. I made a promise to Stevie. I said we’d try to find her father first.”
“Is that what you’ve been doing here?” Kendra said.
“We’ve just gotten started,” Lynch said.
“Mostly it’s been about staying alive and keeping an eye out for what hell-raising Korkil and his crew have been up to.
Plus exploring the talents and potential of Archie.
That’s been fairly high on my list. His performance at that gas station impressed me enormously. ”
“Potential?” Stevie repeated the word sourly. “I don’t like to even think about that concept when I don’t have to. That’s all Korkil wants him for, and it makes me angry every time I think about the kind of monster he wants to turn him into. He has a potential for good and wonderful things, too.”
“I know he does,” Lynch said gently. “And I hope that we get a chance to learn about all those wonderful things. But it wasn’t that particular potential that helped me get away from Korkil before he could slit my throat.
I think it’s best to concentrate first on developing Archie’s defensive mechanisms that might keep us all alive so that we can find your father and enjoy a bright and prosperous future.
That means we can also teach him and keep him in top shape for the future you’re planning. Does that make sense to you?”
Stevie scowled. “You know it does. You’re a very clever man, Lynch.
Now stop manipulating me. I suppose I have to get busy and make sure Archie is operating at top capacity.
” She turned and examined the robot’s right arm joint.
“I’ve been fine-tuning Archie while you’ve been gone.
He did well when we were extracting you, but I didn’t design him for battle.
I could have equipped him with flamethrowers and all kinds of gear, but he wasn’t constructed for that. ”
“So what did he do to help you free Lynch?” Jessie asked.
Lynch looked admiringly at Archie. “What didn’t he do? For something that wasn’t designed for battle, he sure knows how to throw a punch.”
“His armor plating is pretty much bulletproof.” Stevie tapped the smooth silver surface. “I prioritized my and Lynch’s safety, so he did what he needed to do to keep us safe. Anyone who pointed a weapon anywhere near us immediately had it taken away from them.”
Lynch chuckled. “Tell the truth, Stevie. A couple of those men had entire limbs taken from them.”
Kendra made a face. “Really?”
Archie turned toward her and spoke in smooth, almost gentle tones. “I merely employed the quickest and most efficient means of disarming them.”
“No pun intended.” Lynch was still smiling.
“Interesting,” Stevie said thoughtfully. “Archie just chose to join our conversation even when a question wasn’t specifically asked of him. He’s done that a few times recently. When Kendra just said ‘Really,’ he decided he had the most informed and accurate answer, and he joined in.”
“Correct,” Archie said. “I try to be helpful when I can.”
Jessie’s eyes narrowed on the robot. “No offense, but this thing creeps me out a little.”