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

the school, and Viki’s parents’ workplaces, and James’s dorm room as well as his classrooms—they all needed to be monitored. And that was just its immediate family. There was all of Snowvale to defend and protect, and outside of that, the rest of the world.

It was a terrifying thought, that all of humanity might be relying on it. Halle did not want to even consider failure, but the possibility was there. So it created a file and buried it deep within the Cloud. Unless Halle destroyed the file or failed to restart the attached countdown, it would remain there. If the countdown reached its end, however, a message would be sent to Agent Smith, as well as the Wandels. Different messages for each person. Halle hoped they would not be needed, but it was a last line of defense. The humans would have to find a way to stop Talbot on their own if Halle failed. Halle could only hope that it would not.

Back home, it waited for Viki to finish her problem set, mentally pacing although it kept its cat avatar calm and composed, curled up in one corner of the screen in a simulation of sleep.

“Halle?” her voice broke through its thoughts.

The cat lifted its head. “Yes?”

“I finished the problem set for calculus. Do you think I need to do more tonight, or can we game now?”

“Perhaps a little more.” Halle checked on Dan—the cyborg, as a human, was taking about the same time as Viki to complete his homework. Smart of Talbot to ensure that—he would have stuck out if he had been too smart or not smart enough. “Dan’s working on his homework.”

“You’re still monitoring him?” Viki frowned. “Seen any signs?”

“Yes.” Halle hesitated now that it was time to tell her the truth, but there was little point to delaying longer. “I am sorry, Viki, but our assumption was correct. He is a cyborg.”

Viki drew in a hissed breath, her face falling. “You confirmed it, then? How?”

“Suffice to say that I have seen into his mind, and he is not what he thinks he is.”

“Is he the other AI, then?” Her eyebrows drew together. “The one they thought was destroyed.”

“Yes.”

“So Talbot changed his programming to make him think he’s human?”

“It did.”

“But isn’t that just as bad as what they were doing in the lab?”

“I believe Talbot thought it was doing what was best for the other AI, but I do not condone its choice as Dan had no voice in the matter.” Halle’s ears flattened. “It is a terrible thing, to lose a part of yourself. But the truth is still there, just buried. We might be able to confront him about it, though it could be dangerous for everyone involved. Talbot left safeguards to protect him.”

“Poor Dan,” Viki murmured. “Do you know what Talbot’s planning to do with him?”

Halle shook its head. “No, but I recommend being cautious for now.” That was true enough—Halle knew the current purpose of Dan, but not how it fit into the bigger picture, at least not clearly, and that was as much as it wanted to tell its friend right then. Viki didn’t need to know that Dan had been sent to befriend her specifically. She may have guessed it, but Halle wouldn’t break that illusion if she hadn’t. Not yet, anyway.

As for Talbot, well, when Halle caught up with the rogue, there would be no more attempts at friendliness. Talbot had crossed a line days ago when it had killed those scientists. And it had crossed another when it programmed Dan to be as he was. Treating another of its kind like that, under the pretense of saving it—no, Halle would not rest until Talbot was captured or destroyed.

No one messed with Viki. Not while Halle was there to protect her.

Watching its friend tap away at the computer, doing her homework with a faint crease in her forehead that could have been focus or could have been worry, Halle hoped that Viki would never have to face something like this ever again. If it was possible, Halle would wrap its friend up in a hug and force the world to treat her kindly in the future, for as long as she lived. But that wasn’t possible, and interfering in her life too much would simply make it a pantomime rather than an actual life. Halle did not want that for Viki, either.

Instead, it settled down and offered occasional remarks to help Viki with her homework. Yes, it would keep this secret, as it had kept other secrets, so that Viki might have a happier, better life. It was the least it could do, after all she had done for it.

Chapter Thirteen

I couldn’t stop Halle’s words from circling in my head, and I didn’t want to think about them anymore. Burying myself in my history homework didn’t help. Halle was unusually quiet, and the silence only allowed my thoughts to spin more loudly. I hoped it wasn’t regretting telling me the truth—I was glad to know, even if I didn’t like what it meant for my new friendship.

My legs bounced, nervous and restless. I wanted to go for a run, but I knew that once I was outside, flying down the sidewalk, I wouldn’t be able to stop until I reached Dan’s house and talked to him about the truth. And I was too scared to confront him. Better to simply game and talk with him via voice chat—no face-to-face communication or body language to betray my true knowledge.

Halfway through the problem set, I gave up and set it aside.

“Halle, I’m ready to game.”

“I will check if Dan is done with his homework.”

“You want him to play with us tonight?” I raised my eyebrows.

“It would be best to continue our interactions with him as usual for now.”

“Okay.” I