Lemuria by Burt Clinchandhill (epub e ink reader TXT) 📕

couldn’t do your job during normal office hours, the task was defined in the wrong way, or—and this option, according to Mulder, was much more likely—you were the wrong person for the job.

Amie sighed as she looked at her watch. Almost nine p.m. She had already canceled the dinner date she had with a friend, again, but found herself lucky she didn’t have much of a social life to begin with. The building might have been empty at these hours, but at least four days a week, she was tied to her desk, finishing up some kind of report or presentation for Mulder to give in the early morning. Granted, Mulder himself was working at least six nights a week, of which at least four were in his office next to Amie’s. But not tonight. Tonight, Lean, in the upper right corner of the screen, told her she was completely alone, and that was precisely how she had wanted it, given the nature of her business tonight.

Lean was an adapted version of the Lea AI, specially programmed to run security for the building. Lean’s avatar looked exactly the same as Lea but was recognizable through her light brown hair and eyes, where Lea was blonde with blue eyes.

Everyone inside was automatically logged in and out, through facial recognition, and Lean monitored every single movement in and around the building. There wasn’t even any security personnel inside the building. Outside, on the edge of the terrain, was a small security post with two guards who watched a handful of monitors with images from the grounds and outside of the building. Lean took care of the rest and was able to shut down parts of the building, locking in trespassers and call the guards or authorities, all by herself.

At night, the big empty building sometimes gave Amie the creeps, knowing she was utterly alone in the building that had housed fifteen thousand people a few hours before. Now, as she stepped away from her mahogany desk for a moment, she thought she heard a sound. Not just a crackling or ticking sound like from a fridge or the shrinking or expanding of metal or wood—sounds she was used to hearing at night—but more of a shuffle of feet. She turned around to her computer screen. The text beneath Lean’s brown-haired avatar said, ‘One person located in the building.’ Amie walked into the doorway from her office to the hall.

“Hello,” she shouted into the long, empty hallway. Nothing, not a single sound, but her echo returned. She sat back behind her computer again and clicked her mouse. At that exact moment she heard it again. She kept absolutely quiet now and listened. For a minute, there was nothing, and then, there it was again. She clicked on Lean and said. “Lean, please tell me who else is in the building.”

The avatar immediately came to life, blinked a few times, and spoke. “Only you are, Miss Coleman,” the lifelike head on the screen spoke in her somewhat cold voice.

Amie walked to the doorway again and listened. She heard the sound again, and this time she was almost sure it was dragging footsteps from just beyond the corner of the hallway. “Hello,” she shouted again. Nothing came back except for the shuffling sound. Somewhat panicking now, she took her cell phone from the desk and went out of her office on the other side, and entered Mulder’s empty office where the lights came on automatically.

“Lights off,” she spoke softly, and immediately the lights dimmed again, leaving a small night light above the door to the office, filling the room with just enough light to see large obstacles. She looked at her cellphone and pressed the screen. “Lean,” she whispered, and the brown-haired avatar now appeared on the screen of her phone. “I’m not alone. Who else is in the building?”

For a second, the avatar seemed to think before coming back. “I have no registration of anyone in the building, but you, Miss Coleman.”

“Please call security.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Coleman. I seem to be experiencing a problem with the external phone lines.”

Amie thought for a second, looked left and right into the hallway, then quickly crossed Mulder’s office and took the exit to the room on the other side. The room next to Mulder’s was a conference room with a large circular table with some twenty chairs surrounding it. Again, the lights came on automatically. “Lights off.”

She crossed the room to the only other door in the area, this one leading to the central hallway. Slowly and quietly, she opened it. When it was open about a foot, she stuck her head through the opening, looked left and right, and listened while holding her breath. Nothing, so she opened the door a little wider, and there it was again, from the right, the shuffling of footsteps.

In one big swing, she threw the door open and rushed out of the room, running left into the hallway. Overhead, the lights came on, reflecting her shadow on the white, high gloss polished floor. “Damn,” she grunted softly. If ever there was a moment she didn’t like the automated systems, it was now. Everywhere she ran through the hallways, she left a trail of lights coming on behind her. She looked up and recognized the trail of breadcrumbs she left behind her. Shit. “Lea!” she called out at the phone in her hand.

“How can I help you?” This time, the blonde avatar’s voice came from the phone.

Amie quickly held the phone to her ear, switching the speaker off. She stopped next to the door leading to the stairwell. From the fifth floor, she figured, she would be down the staircase and outside in under a minute. She tilted her head slightly, listening for the shuffling sound—any sound, for that matter. She had to be sure whoever was present was still following her and not take a shortcut to the exit and wait for her. There it was again, still coming in