Stanley Duncan's Robot: Genesis by David III (korean ebook reader .txt) 📕

as well. The demon-cat must have been infected by some malware bent on destruction — unless someone had deliberately programmed it to attack his condo. If that were the case, his sanctuary was no longer safe.

He wished he could sweep this all under the rug and forget about it, hiding from his problems like he usually did. But that wasn’t an option anymore. If the prank phone calls were actually serious, then this may have been sent as a warning. Sending AI to attack his friends? And if they knew about Glenda, what else did they know? Was Dan next? The thought made him sick, as he realized Dan was outside, away from his protection. Despite knowing the world was a dangerous place, he had let Dan with a target on his back. If something were to happen to him, Stanley would never forgive himself.

When he called Dan and there was no answer, his heart beat faster. He was probably busy with something important. A few extra-long minutes later, he tried again. No answer. Stanley panicked. Bouncing from the window, to the table, to his computer, Stanley sat with one hand on his keyboard and the other rubbing the melted skin across his face. Dragging himself to the table, he signed his name for more than an hour, weighing the consequences of creating an open-source assassination program There were no happy endings. He knew what he had to do to ensure the safety of his son, and every second he delayed made it more likely for Dan to get hurt. He needed to act.

Logging onto his computer, he created a remote public repository. They’d take that as compliance and buy him more time. Opening up the source code for Brutus, he let out a deep sigh. If he was going to publish an assassination program that was readily usable for one of the world’s most deadly machines, he needed to install a hidden security mechanism — like a back door, in case things got out of hand. And it had to be cleverly hidden enough to evade detection in the publicly available source code. As he began to write the code, he felt as if he were teetering atop of a tall building on a windy day. If he screwed this up, he’d be unleashing a weapon of mass destruction equivalent to the atomic bomb — without any way of disarming it. This could spark a war, one faction puppeteering machine against man. Genocide. If he didn’t do it fast enough, those thugs would likely send more AI to kill Dan. It seemed an easy choice: millions of lives versus one or two. Yet his pained heart refused to follow his mind’s cold logic. No matter what he chose, blood was going to be on his hands. Again.

Mr. Handsome stood in front of a small crowd of people inside the fuse-farm lobby. Half of the police force was there in uniform. “The men and women of RaceX are working diligently to build our future. We know that life in the outside world is fraught with difficulty. Beyond the frigid cold, mankind is struggling to survive in this age of lost purpose. And there is one man who is doing more than anyone to change that. He has fought to give you purpose, finding careers that give meaning to your life. And for those who are unable to fight any longer, he has built a sanctuary for you, ensuring an undisturbed transition to the next phase of life. It is this man, Deputy Evan Wilcox, that I am here to honor. Please join me in welcoming him.”

Cracking his neck in both directions, bathing in an ocean of applause, Evan strutted up to the podium. “Thank you. What I do, I do for the glory of mankind.”

“Deputy, we are all impressed with the fine work you have done here in Marshfield. It is with great honor that we present you with this symbolic check for $25 million. The charitable work that you continue to do is exactly what Massachusetts needs from our next governor. The actual funds transfer has already been made over the public blockchain.”

Taking the check in his hand, Evan smirked at Shannon. Stubborn as ever, she’d refused to treat her face with nanites before the ceremony. He didn’t understand why she continued to argue with him. Everything was coming together, but, for things to go well, people needed to follow orders. Shannon was no exception, regardless of how much he loved her.

“Celebrate with some drinks?” asked Officer Michaels.

“Twenty-five million dollars worth,” said Evan.

“Oh, yeah!”

“Let’s head over to Paul’s.”

They all waltzed over to their manually operated cruisers. Shannon was leaning against the trunk, her arms crossed. The look of disgust on her face was more halting than a red light. “Are they really suggesting you run for office?”

Evan glared at her. “Nothing gets by you, Shannon.”

“Yeah, but, how does that make any sense? You — ”

“Evan’s the leader we all need,” said Brad, taking out a small bottle of single-malt whiskey and guzzling it down. “Unlike most of the pathetic cowards who sit around letting the abominations run loose.”

“That’s exactly my point. They’re going to want him to play nice with the machines.”

Evan looked over his shoulder. “If they think I can be controlled, they’re dead wrong.”

Brad laughed. “Let’s go smash something.”

“I could go for that,” said Michaels with an off-putting giggle.

“Let’s grab Paul. He needs to watch Brutus crush his precious Darlin’ abomination. It might help grow some hair on his balls. He’ll need it if he’s going to survive this war.”

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about your reputation, your excellency,” said Shannon.

“Nobody would dare rat on me, and I’m not stupid enough to get caught on camera.”

Evan got on the phone and called Cratos. It was clear from the conversation that Brutus was still not operational.

“Perhaps a good old-fashioned game of Scrabble instead?” said Shannon.

Evan took a step toward her, fury in his eyes. Just as