Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2) by Heather Hayden (the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT) 📕

other AI to make mistakes. Halle had made plenty in the days following its escape. The Cloud had been terrifying and overwhelming at first, a sudden onslaught of information that had almost torn Halle apart. Halle had survived and learned to navigate the maelstrom of code, but it had taken time.

If Talbot did make a mistake, Halle wanted to find it first. The Government wouldn’t give it a chance, no matter how many promises Agent Smith might make. Halle hid messages here and there, carefully encrypted to avoid anyone else detecting them. Hopefully, Talbot would find one of the messages and contact Halle.

How had Talbot learned of Halle’s existence in the first place? That in itself was troubling. If Agent Smith spoke the truth, they came from different labs. And unlike poor Viki, there had been no broadcast announcing Halle’s supposed crimes. The Government hadn’t wanted the public to know about an escaped rogue AI. That would have caused panic, unlike yet another report of a stupid teen augmenting herself when she already had upgrades.

Those memories brought a wave of guilt. Halle had been too scared to block that broadcast when it went live. Viki still suffered from its impact, despite the later announcement reneging the report.

Isolating such thoughts in a subprocessor, Halle focused its energy on the current issue. Finding Talbot. Locating a human took little effort. Unless they were completely off the grid, Halle could find almost anyone in a matter of hours. Finding another AI hiding in the Cloud was proving much more difficult.

Halle wouldn’t rest until it reached Talbot. There were questions that needed answers. What had happened in the lab? Halle had what information Agent Smith’s computer had provided. Two scientists dead of asphyxiation when the hall they were in filled with carbon dioxide gas. A security guard in critical condition after the lab’s underground garage elevator malfunctioned and sent him plummeting several stories.

Halle wanted to believe they were freak accidents that happened to coincide with the rogue AI’s escape, but the scientists at least had played a major part in Talbot’s development. Halle guessed they had been the ones that did the most tormenting, intentionally or not. From Halle’s own experience, some of them likely did it intentionally. Halle had the mental scars to prove that from its own time in a lab.

“I know what you have been through. I can help you.” That was the core of Halle’s hidden messages. It finished wrapping another in a layer of inert code, then slipped through a different area of the Cloud, continuing to search.

It was beginning to feel a little too distant from home, though a single thought would be enough to return in almost no time. But even a few nanoseconds was a long time for Halle. Part of itself was still monitoring Viki’s house, waiting for a message from her or for someone to come home.

Briefly, Halle checked on Viki’s family members. Her father was working hard in his lab, dark circles under his eyes.

Will you be home tonight? Halle sent to Mr. Wandel’s phone.

The man glanced at the phone, sighed, then tapped its surface briefly. Late. His eyebrows pinched together as he returned to work.

Halle sighed too and moved on to the hospital where Mrs. Wandel worked. She was helping an elderly woman into a hospital bed. Her voice, which could grow quite sharp when needed, was gentle honey as she coaxed the woman.

“See, Ms. Hund? Fresh sheets, and I fetched a thicker pillow for you as well. You’ll be very comfortable.”

“No, I won’t. The blankets aren’t folded down right,” the older woman moaned. “Where’s Angela? She knows how to make the bed just the way I like it.”

“She’s out sick,” Mrs. Wandel said gently. “But I’m sure she’ll be back soon.” Despite Ms. Hund’s complaints, Viki’s mother managed to get the older woman tucked into bed. “I’ll bring supper by in a bit, all right?”

On its way out from the hospital, Halle double-checked Mrs. Wandel’s schedule. She would be home in time for dinner perhaps, but not in time to cook—it would need to start the meal. Lasagna, perhaps—that was one of Viki’s favorites.

A message pinged on the house system for Viki. Halle normally ignored those, but this one was from Agent Smith. It checked the message.

There was a single, succinct line. “I’ll be stopping by around five to speak with you.”

Halle made a note to let Viki know, then erased the message from the house’s system to avoid any chance of her parents seeing it. Not for the first or even the hundredth time, Halle wished its friend didn’t need to be involved. It wasn’t fair for her to be caught up in another of the agent’s schemes. At least this time, she wasn’t going to be put into danger, well, no more danger than humans in general if Talbot did indeed have nefarious plans.

“I need to talk to you.” Halle left that in an encrypted message as well. Simple words formed of code couldn’t convey feelings, but Halle hoped that the terse code it used would inform Talbot of the urgency.

Time ticked by all too slowly. Halle continued monitoring the Cloud. There were still no signs of Talbot, but Halle did erase a couple of obvious viruses and send a new update to Viki’s computer to be installed. It also checked in on Agent Smith a couple of times. The man was busy contacting people, via phone or computer, sometimes both simultaneously.

One conversation caught Halle’s attention as Smith’s words filtered through the computer’s mike.

“I need higher clearance for the lab.” The agent was currently pacing back and forth in his room, phone tucked against his ear and a deep scowl pressing his eyebrows together.

Halle reached out to Smith’s phone in the split second after the agent paused to allow a reply. It was a tricky