Exalted Warlock - 3 Chapter 2

Magnus walked outside of the auto mechanic shop and started to speak out loud. But the weird thing was that nobody was anywhere near the young gentlemen, for him to be talking to.

Before you start thinking that he is crazy, there is a perfectly normal explanation for this.

What Magnus is talking to right now, is an AI. An AI, which he had developed all by himself, way back when he was a little kid.

‘Why play with noobs in video games, when you could have your very own AI to assist you.’ That was the sort of mentality Magnus had as a kid, and after so many long years of teaching it and caring for it, this what he ended up with….

“You know, Grandpa Richard is right. You got to do better or….”

Magnus sighed as he rubbed at his temple; this is what I got for all my hard work, a nagging motherlike AI. Ahh, I guess this is just a way for the cosmos to quip at my efforts.

“Codex,” Magnus grumbled out, as he tried to move on from this sore topic, while also not wanting to get into an argument with his AI in the middle of the god damn street. “Did you order my automated cab?”

“Of course, I did!” Codex said with a hint of scorn. “You, humans, are always so predictable. I know exactly the schedule that you follow every single day. So, obviously, I would know when you leave your work, and I simply just timed it to that.” She said, in a tone which she is clearly trying to state her superior intelligence.

Then she flicked off to another topic, in a snap of a finger. “Anyways, is that what I am to you, a nagging mother!”

“Are you reading my mind, again?” Magnus shouted out loud in indignation.

“We talked about this a hundred times. You got to give a person his or her privacy! You know what,” He then said, as if he hated himself for even saying this, “I should have kept you on my focus, instead of downloading you on to my Biochip.”

Codex just snorted in derision and said in a matter of fact tone. “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear.”

‘If only I could…’ Magnus thought as he closed his eyes, so that he could keep away the coming headache, I would have jumped up and already strangled her to death.

Magnus took in a big deep breath to cool his boiling blood and said, “You are still using that ‘nothing to hide argument,’ huh? I told so many times that it is fundamentally flawed. You cannot…”

Right when Magnus was about to get to the meat of his point, Codex interrupted him. Plus from the way how she did it so smoothly, you could tell that she has done this to him a million other times.

“Your ride is here,” Codex said, in a bland tone.

Magnus looked up and ahead, and there it was, only a few meters away from him, a vehicle that was hovering a few inches off the ground. If you peered through the windows, you would notice that nobody was in the car at all. That is because this is a self-automated vehicle.

“This is not over!” Magnus shouted to Codex as he walked up to the vehicle.

“But we all know that it truly is,” Codex muttered to herself.

The passenger door automatically opened by itself with an audible click. Magnus got inside the car, and the door closed by itself.

A voice spoke up from the front of the vehicle; it was a robotic voice that asked. “Where would you like to get to, sir?”

“To Saint Fairlane Hospital,” Magnus replied to the basic AI.

“Would you like to listen to anything during your ride, sir?” The AI asked politely, as the car got out of the parking space and on to the road.

“No thanks,” Magnus answered the robot, from the back of the car. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.

Magnus turned to face Codex, not literally but metaphorically speaking. “Look here, Codex, you cannot just…”

Once again, Codex interrupted Magnus as he was mid-sentence, “You do know, you do not have to speak out loud. This is not a Focus. You can simply say your thoughts in your mind, and I could hear you.”

Focus is what everybody uses nowadays. It is a device that attaches to your temple with a virtual interface popping up right before your eyes. You literally have the whole internet right before your eyes. Those apple and android bricks that the older generation, my mother and father, used to talk about fondly are a thing of the past.

A Biochip, on the other hand, is a new tech that only the rich and fancy can get their hands on. The only reason that Magnus got one in the first place, is because his school was giving it away to every student.

That should make it clear how much Mecha engineers are valued in this new era.

The Biochip comes in a small capsule that you swallow. After that it is implanted into your DNA, perfectly merging with you. It is able to assist you in every aspect of your life; whether it be work, school, or play.

Or that is how the advertisement likes to promote the product.

In order to make sure that the complication does not arise, it is advised only to upload a basic A.I.

Magnus, on the other hand, had the bright idea of uploading Codex.

She is literally a SUPER AI, a template that Magnus’ father gave to him: which he got from one of his crazy, out of the world missions. ‘Anyways who would be crazy enough to give that to a kid; well I guess that would be my dad. An absolute badass military man. Magnus thought fondly as he remembered those younger times.

Still, both of them have absolute trust in each other, since they have been through everything together. Codex has been with him when he was at his lowest; the death of his father, the revocation of his license, and the fall into illness of his mother.

She has also been at the height of his life; getting into OAS Mecha University, his first kiss, his happy early childhood, and every other great memory.

But now, Codex literally gets to know every single little detail about Magnus, and she sure as hell is making sure to take advantage of that.

Magnus did not know whether to cry or laugh because he was the one who put himself in this situation. “You mean read my mind, right?” Magnus sighed in defeat as he looked up at the car’s roof. “You are not going to stop reading my mind, are you?”

“You have finally got it,” Codex said. Magnus knew for sure; if he were able to see her face right about now, then it would be one that had a huge smirk plastered on it.

Seeing that Magnus was feeling down, Codex tried to cheer him up; like you would a little child. “Come on, Magnus, cheer up. OH! Look, it’s your idol. That Mech guy, right?”

Magnus turned to look at the direction, that Codex was most likely trying to point at with her no existent hands.

And there he was- my idol. The main reason~besides wealth, women, and fame~that I decided to become a Mech builder.

When the world was on the brink of anarchy, thanks to gifted individuals running amok, Charles Zimberman rose up with his Mech army and put to rest all anarchy and turmoil.

Or at least that is what my father use to tell all the time. He used to read me all sorts of tale about him when I was a little kid. Those were some of the great times. That is why I idolize him so much, he is a true hero! Magnus thought to himself fondly as a small smile played on his face.

With Codex continuously probing him, Magnus squinted his eyes as he racked his eye all over the place, trying to find what Codex was attempting to point at.

The view outside was wonderful and spell bounding, the car quickly and orderly passed one skyscraper of another, all of them reaching high, up into the sky. They were massive structures, each and every one of them artistic and technologically advanced, and once the late setting sun hit them, it was perfect.

This must be the rich part of town, Magnus thought disgustingly, where all the rich and haughty gather together.

Finally though, Magnus gaze landed on what Codex was pointing at all this time, it was a virtual poster of Charles Zimberman! The man was quite average looking, and from that, you would never believe that he is the most powerful gifted individual in the whole wide world.

He had a light almond skin tone, and he looked to be a mid-aged man, which he was. He was standing at 1.77 meters tall, had a skinny and scrawny frame, and his face was neither attractive or repulsive. He had on green eyes capped with black square glasses, which was the only thing that elevated his looks, since those glasses were fine as hell. Must be the best that money could buy!

The man would never stick out in a crowd, but he was still the most powerful person alive.

“Did you have enough staring at him?” Codex asked me with amusement in her voice, “We are nearly at the hospital.”

If Magnus hadn’t known better he would have thought that she was some sort of vixen, but her voice just off-puts that idea. This was the voice that Magnus’ father helped pick out, “It is one of the best that there is” he said. Now Magnus regrets that he followed his tip, the man has the worst tastes ever! And now thanks to him, Codex’s action and her voice do not match at all.

‘Why did I have to pick the voice of Siri!’ Magnus cried out loud.

Before he could start bashing in his head, for his idiocy, the car came to a stop in front of a hospital.

“We are here, sir!” The basic AI said, still in that polite and courteous voice. “The total for your fare is 12 Western Alliance Credit.”

‘If only Codex was like that, so polite and obedient,’ Magnus thought to himself enthusiastically.

Once he conceived that thought, Codex immediately shouted, “HEY!”

Magnus just ignored her protested as he opened the door and said to her, “just pay the AI, Codex.”

She grumbled to herself, then after only a few seconds, she said, “Done!” with indignation in her tone. Not stopping at that, she got into her rant as Magus walked towards the hospital. “I can’t believe you would compare ME to some basic little shit. Do you know how powe-…”

This time it was Magnus’ turn to interrupt her, he spoke in a plain tone and obvious tone and said. “Nevertheless, that basic little AI is still better than you, it is that simple.”

“AAAAA! You grateful li-…” At that, Magnus totally toned her out, as he hummed a happy little tune while snapping his fingers at the beat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello, Magnus.” A sweet, kind, and elderly voice said.

“Right back at you, Mrs. Robinsan!” Magnus said with a nodded of his head to the aging woman, that was smiling at him brightly, from her chair right across the counter. The woman was quite elderly now, with grey hair coming in droves nowadays in her blond hair. She was caucasian, with a pair of round glasses covering her brown eyes. She was quite heavy set, and at 1.74 meters tall.

“Here to see your mother, I bet.” She said, as she handed Magnus a metal stick with a clean blue virtual screen, which he filled out and singed.

“Who else would I be seeing?” He asked, offhandedly as he handed back the tablet to Mrs. Robinsan.

Mrs. Robinsan took the tablet in her hands while shaking her head from side to side, “You need to make some friends, Magnus. Do you plan on being alone for the rest of your life?”

Magnus just waved it off and said, “I have all the friends I need in the world, including you, Mrs. Robinsan.”

“Ohh, that is sweet,” Mrs. Robinsan said with a smile as she pointed a laser-like object at Magnus, then with a poof, a virtual name tag appeared. “But it is also sad, that your one of your few friends include an old woman like me.”

“Very funny, Mrs. Robinsan,” Magnus said, but from the look on his face, he did not find it funny at all.

“It is the truth, Magnus. I have known you ever since you were a kid, way back when your mother brought you along to her work. So, I know you best dear, and I would never lie to you.” She said with her eyebrows raised in seriousness, then she quickly moved on, “Anyways, I do believe you know how to get to your mother’s room?”

“Yes, I do.” Magnus simply answered as he stepped back from the counter, then as he was walking away he shouted. “I am still of the opinion that I do not need anyone.”

Mrs. Robinsan just shook her head at him sadly, and said, “Everyone needs somebody to stand by their side. You can’t be a cube of ice forever.”

Magnus simply continued walking away.

“Man I did not expect Mrs. Robinsan to get all philosophical with you.” Codex said as Magnus continued to walk along, “Still though I got to say, that part about her saying it is sad that you have her friend as one of your few friends, now that was a burn!”

“Still feeling salty about that comment I made?” Magnus asked as a ghost of a smile played on his lips.

Codex snorted at my remark, but Magnus could sense that is exactly how it was.

Immediately learning of my thought, Codex tried to cover it up, she is the sort of person that likes to show no weakness. “Look, I am not the one who is a complete loner!”

“Who said that was a bad thing,” Magnus asked.

Codex simply said, “It is sad and pathetic.”

And with that, they kept up with their repartee until they made it to their destination.

Magnus took in a deep breath once he got to the door, making these daily visits were always painful to him, and seeing that state his mother is always in, doesn’t do any good.

“Just go in, like you always do.” Codex prompted me in a patient voice.

Magnus bobbed his head up and down, like he was pumping himself up, once he heard Codex calm urgings.

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But once he placed his hand on the door handle, he paused, then asked Codex in a worried voice. “Hey Codex, do you think I should knock first or just go in?”

Codex kept up that patient tone, but you could tell it was stretching to its limit. “What do you always do when you come here, Magnus?”

Magnus thought on that, and answered back after a bit, “Well I just go in.” Then he paused and once more asked Codex a question, “So you are saying I should just go in?” Not giving her a moment to answer, he carried on as he rubbed at his forehead, “But now that I think about it that is rude… Am I a rude person, especially to my own mother.”

The poor young man was so anxious and afraid, that one small problem got him going off into a tangent. But Codex immediately shattered that, “Just GO in!” She shouted at him, and her voice was so commanding and sharp as a whip, that Magnus instantly went through with it without thinking or pausing.

He slid the door open and walked in without missing a beat, as he did, he shouted, “Hello, Mom!”

A woman turned her head around once she heard Magnus’ voice. She had a rose pink complexion that was leaning towards a sickly pale shade. She had the same pitch black hair as Magnus in a ponytail shape. Her eyes were the monolid types of eyes, denoting her Japanese heritage. The color of eyes where amber just as Magnus, but it lost all of its light and luster, making it look like just your average brown colored eyes. She had a small delicate frame and was nearing to thin, thanks to the disease.

“Ohh, Magnus, was that you arguing with Codex, again?” The woman, who Magus called Mother, asked.

Magnus awkwardly scratched the back of his at his mother’s question, with no answer coming forth right.

“Ahh, come sit down.” Magnus’ mother said as she pointed at a chair near her bed while chuckled to herself out loud.

Magnus did as his mother asked of him, and faced her once he was seated. To lighten the mood, he asked, “So are feeling any better these days, mom?”

His mother just sighed at his question, “You know how it is, same old same. Not getting any better, but also not getting any worse.”

After Magnus’ mother answered his question, it was silent all around. Why did I even ask that stupid question, Magnus asked himself, you stupid fucking idiot.

Then out of nowhere, Codex whispered to Magnus, which was totally unnecessary, since only Magnus could hear her in the first place. “Talk about the weather, genius!”

“What?” Magnus nearly shouted out loud indignation, “that is the stupidest advice you ever gave me.” He said.

“I am only trying to help,” Codex said as he sniffed at him.

“Alright, alright! I am sorry,” Magnus said apologetically, and he would have raised his arm up in defeat, if he wasn’t being watched. “But we got to come up with something else.”

“Fine, what about the news,” Codex said.