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

would find them to be either empty or containing things that belong to an entirely different family, such as the one that was supposed to move into that house a week ago but did not because they were told it was infested with straw itch mites.”

“What?” I sat down heavily on the bed. “So Dan shouldn’t be living there.”

“The reports of the insects seem to be falsified as well. And well-hidden; I almost did not find them. Nothing adds up, though; he seems to be a normal teenager in all other aspects. I do not understand how that is possible.”

“That could be programmed,” I pointed out. “You could act like that if you wanted, couldn’t you? I mean, you talk the way you do because you choose to, right?”

Halle’s ears flicked. “There is nothing wrong with the manner in which I speak. The use of contractions by humans is a sign of their inherent need to shorten things so that it takes less time to do things. But I am an AI; I do not need to worry about wasting time when I have plenty of time to do things.”

I laughed but didn’t argue. “So, it’s possible?”

“I might manage it with a week of preparation and the knowledge of how a human acts. I would also need to know how to handle the cyborg, although that would not be difficult. The lab would have records accessible from inside the laboratory.”

“Were you able to gain access to anything while we were there?” I couldn’t recall Halle mentioning that, but perhaps it hadn’t thought to.

“No, unfortunately I was not able to do so. I did not want to risk my presence being detected.”

My friend had probably been terrified the entire time we were there. I didn’t blame it, not one bit. Given what they had done to Talbot, I had a better understanding of the horrors Halle had escaped. It hadn’t harmed anyone, though. And as much as Halle wanted to believe Talbot was telling the truth, I couldn’t help but wonder if the other AI might have been lying.

“Why would Talbot need a teenage cyborg in a school? It doesn’t make sense.”

“We do not know that Talbot stole the cyborgs,” Halle reminded me. “I have no idea why anyone would want to infiltrate the school in such a manner, though it could be considered suspicious that he befriended you so quickly.”

I flinched. That wasn’t something I wanted to contemplate. Halle continued to pace. How could I cheer it up? “Would you like to play Realmshards later? I thought maybe just you and I could play tonight.”

“Perhaps. Is Dan busy?”

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. Realmshards is our game.” We’d been playing for as long as we’d known each other—as much as I liked Dan, he would never replace Halle.

There was a faint lifting of the cat’s ears, only the slightest of movements, but it made me feel a little happier about the current situation. Halle had a lot of things to worry about right now, but our friendship shouldn’t be one of them.

Or my homework, for that matter. I drummed my fingers on the desk, then called up the essay I’d been working on before dinner. Time to work on my introduction for an essay dealing with the Non-Human Rights Law. My argument was that sentient non-humans, specifically artificial intelligences, should be given the same rights as humans, rather than reduced rights as the law currently allowed. I had told Halle earlier it couldn’t offer feedback until I was done writing the first draft, but I was excited to see what it thought.

Chapter Twelve

It was time. Halle hadn’t told Viki what it was planning; she might argue against it, but there were very few ways this plan could go wrong. Even if its assumptions turned out to be wrong, it was not risking much in investigating Dan.

Traveling to the teen’s house through the Cloud was not difficult, and Halle found the teenager in his room on his computer, conspicuously not unpacking the many boxes that filled the room. He appeared to be doing homework, if the half-finished essay was any indication.

The best way to handle things was to be as blunt as possible. A quick twist of code, and the cat avatar appeared on Dan’s screen.

“What the—” Dan swore and clicked at the avatar, then pressed a few keys, to no avail—Halle could control how the computer handled input.

Dan went for the power button next, but that didn’t work either. Halle smiled to itself, remembering when Agent Smith had tried the same technique, not all that long ago.

“What’s going on?” Dan slammed a fist on his desk. “Come on, work. I’ve got an essay to write.”

Halle paced to the center of the screen, sat, and curled its tail around its paws. “Hello, Dan.”

Dan peered at the computer, frowning. “Hello? Did someone hack my computer?”

Halle flicked its ears. “There is no need to panic; I am not a virus.”

Dan rubbed his eyes and blinked. “Is that…Halle?”

“Yes.”

“What’s going on? Why are you hacking my computer?” He reached for the computer’s power cord. “That’s not cool.”

“You can unplug the machine,” Halle said, this time through the house speakers, “But it has an internal power source. And even if you disable it, I can speak to you in a variety of ways. I thought that via the computer screen might be easier for you. Humans tend to prefer to see body language, which is why I developed this—” it flicked its tail “—simulacrum.”

“Is this some sort of joke? It’s not funny. Does Viki know you’re doing this?”

“No. She has no idea. And this is not a joke. I want to ask you some questions.” Halle waved a paw. “You might be more comfortable if you sit.”

Dan’s hand fell to his side,