Artificial Mates - Chapter 122

The vehicle stopped after what seemed like forever. Green lights lined on both sides of the wall casting strange elongated shadows. The two cyborgs got off and marched to the only door at the end of the corridor. I swallowed my fear and followed Grant as he slipped out of the cart. Olga had our backs, she walked with her head high and her face blank.

“This way,” said one of the cyborgs in a pale imitation of a male voice. The door slipped open on a circular room, almost identical to the one Atlas interviewed us, except it was much larger. Our reflections in the mirror were distorted and painful to look at. Grant grabbed my hand for comfort, I gave it a little squeeze back. The cyborgs guarded the door, the mirror slipped into place concealing the exit. Now it was one smooth reflective surface with no seams. My stomach twisted in a knot. The fact that I didn’t have lunch didn’t help either. There was a low hum inside the room, but I couldn’t quite spot the source.

“Where is Dem—?” shouted Grant, he didn’t have time to finish his question that Atlas’ voice rose to a deafening level.

“Welcome,” I pressed my hands over my ears with my mouth gaping. Pain pulsed in my head.

“Sorry,” he adjusted the volume. “I’m not used to receiving visitors in my domain,” his voice was incredibly sweet it made my skin crawl. Grant opened his mouth to protest.

“Your domain?” asked Olga before Grant could speak.

“Yes, this is my core. The meeting will start soon,” the only light above dimed and images appeared on the mirrors around us. In front, the red dot representing Atlas, next to him on his right an inverted black triangle, and on the left a white diamond shape.

“But—” Grant tried again.

“I’ll answer your question, only if you stay quiet during the board meeting,” he sighed and that made him so much human, it was scary. Grant gritted his teeth, Olga reached to touch his shoulder.

“Do as he says,” Grant relaxed a little but he was still on alert peering at the red dot.

“Atlas, why are those—civilians, here? They have no clearance to attend our board meeting,” the black triangle vibrated as a low female voice spoke. I wasn’t sure it was really female. I don’t think A.I even have gender. I stepped closer to Grant holding on tight.

“They are my guests, don’t mind them,” added Atlas.

“This is a breach of security protocol. Civilians can’t enter our cores,” said the Diamond in a deep male voice. “I can’t overlook this,” warned the shape.

“Shut up and let’s get down to business,” snapped Atlas. The screen shifted to black with rapid walls of codes cascading over them. The distorted reflections of the letters on the floor and ceiling gave the illusion that we were submerged in a sea of flashing text. It was a nauseous experience.

-Those are amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Grant turned to Olga with glimmering eyes. She nodded with a smirk. I had no idea what they were smiling about. For me, those rapid texts made me want to throw up. I squeezed my eyes shut and took deep breaths. Grant’s warm hand slipped under my shirt making me jump. My eyes flickered open.

-It’s ok, I’m just helping you relax.

His hand rested at the small of my back. The warmth radiated and spread to my whole body. I let out a sigh as the tension released from my shoulders. I felt eerily alert, my vision crisp and hearing sharp. When I looked up, the screens have changed back to the shapes with a 3D version of a chessboard on the right side of the screen. On the opposite, the codes rained at a crazy speed.

“What’s happening? I thought it was a board meeting” I whispered to Grant. He didn’t take his attention off the board. The pawns started moving rapidly around.

-They are playing while discussing the topics of the meeting—just to keep things interesting.

What? I don’t get it? I’ve never understood chess, to begin with. The pieces disappeared fast from the board. I had no idea who was winning or who was playing against whom. I wasn’t really a gamer, the only game I played was VR ones that I enjoyed with Lyla. The vacation simulations. She really liked traveling but never had the money. The thought hit me in the ribs. I still haven’t digested the knowledge that she—no it can’t be. I averted my eyes from the screens.

After fifteen minutes of standing and getting bored, I shifted on my feet and looked around. I have to keep my thoughts on Lyla at bay. Any distraction was welcomed, I focused on the streams of codes. Something on one of the mirrors near the door, or where the door was supposed to be, piqued my interest. It was a slow steady three dots, appearing, and disappearing. Something like a heartbeat. Under the three dots were letters mixed with numbers. B0237-H4-D. I frowned at it trying to work out what it stood for. But couldn’t come up with anything. I wasn’t Grant and was already having a headache for thinking too hard. Grant turned around.

“Liliane!,” he shouted. His voice rose among the low murmur of the A.Is. He let go of me and rushed to the door. I stood there a little surprised by his reaction.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered trying not to piss the Almighty. Olga glared at us for the interruption then turned back to the chessboard. I tiptoed to where Grant was. He placed both his hands on the surface where the strange code slowly pulsed.

“Grant?” I hesitated, his was smiling, I slowly turned back at the dots. What the hell? It blinked in a frenetic manner. Grant turned to me with eyes sparkling—for a second I thought he was crying.

“What?” I frowned.

“It’s, Demos—”