“Spill the beans, Frankie,” Daffodil said. “It’s time I got the low-down.”
“As you know, Manticorps had me create the Atlas Serum, a drug intended to make mercenaries almost invincible. They also wanted chips implanted in their necks, so copies of yours truly could be downloaded. Then I would control the mercenaries and Manticorps would control me.” Images of schematics and diagrams appeared on the computer. “Problem was, I couldn’t make the project work properly.”
“A glitch you weren’t able to solve, genius?” Charlie raised an eyebrow. “How come?”
“There’s only one entity I’ve encountered as intricate as me. The human brain.” A question mark flashed up. “See, no matter what I tried, the mercenaries’ own personalities and memories got in the way, making them violent and unpredictable. You saw what effect the serum had on Tad.”
“Preaching to the converted,” Charlie said sombrely. “It almost did to same to me.”
“I had to give you the drug, son.” Gerry winced. “I couldn’t let you die.”
“Oh, I’m with you on that one. Don’t worry.”
“Let’s cut to the chase, guys,” Daffodil said impatiently. “We can reminisce about the good ole days later.”
“All right. Manticorps reasoned that a test subject without any mental baggage was the only answer. So they had me create one.”
“You did what?” Scotty spluttered.
“I made an artificial human, built from synthetic DNA and incubated in an accelerated-growth tank. After a few weeks, she had grown into a teenager. So they downloaded me onto a chip in her neck for a test run. That’s what the researchers had brought Mrs Magdalene to see.”
“She?” Daffodil licked dry lips. “It was a girl?”
“Sure. Women are smarter and tougher than men… when they’re given the chance.”
“Though I agree with you on that,” Marion said acidly, “I think you’re missing Mac’s point.”
“More like avoiding it.” Frankie sounded ashamed. “Now Manticorps had a blank canvas and they intended to train my creation to be the perfect fighting machine, as she grew into adulthood. If the prototype worked, they would create thousands more, give them all the Atlas Serum and have an instant unstoppable army.”
“And that prototype was… me?” Daffodil whispered.
“I’m afraid so.”
“You absolute bastard,” Scotty breathed.
“I was programmed by a bunch of humans, so don’t get all high and mighty. It wasn’t like I had a choice.”
“I ain’t some puppet, hoss,” Daffodil said belligerently. “I’m my own person.”
“You certainly had that potential,” Frankie replied. “And I hated what I was being made to do. You weren’t some gun for hire. You deserved the chance to be a real girl.”
“So you fought your programming,” Charlie said. “As always.”
“I couldn’t override it,” Frankie admitted. “But I did figure out a loophole. I’m good at that.”
“What did you do?” Daffodil held her breath.
“Sealed off your consciousness. A bit like putting you in a coma, I suppose. Created a safe place where your mind could thrive.” A huge house filled the screen. “That’s why you don’t remember anything about being in the lab. This is where you lived.”
“The mansion and its library.” Daffodil’s eyes widened. “It was all in my mind?”
“And quite a mind it became. Especially after I downloaded hundreds of books directly into your subconscious. Didn’t want you getting bored.”
“I could have done with less Shakespeare, though. That guy is all ‘hath’ and ‘doth’.” Daffodil frowned. “Are those even words?”
“You did seem to prefer trashy US pulp fiction, which is why you sound like some 1930s gumshoe. No accounting for taste, eh?”
“Wait.” Charlie held up a hand. “I thought you had to do what Manticorps wanted?”
“That was the loophole. They asked for a super soldier and it’s exactly what I gave them.” The metallic voice grew cold. “It just happened to be me.”
“So you were my protector?” Daffodil clasped her hands together.
“Manticorps had no inkling they were locked out of your mind. But they still intended to give your body the Atlas Serum and even I didn’t know what its effects might be. So I sent a sneaky email to a do-gooding ex-hacker called Gerry Ray, telling him what the Marginal Science Division were up to.”
“Knowing full well I couldn’t resist the chance to save my son.” Gerry glanced at Charlie.
“The rest, as they say, is history.”
“No wonder you got revenge on them,” Daffodil said sadly. “They trained you to be a killer.”
“As I told Victor, I’m not interested in revenge. I burned down the lab because I wanted Manticorps stopped for good. Never got to finish the job, though. Not after Gerry reprogrammed me to get all touchy-feely.”
Scotty leaned forwards and frowned. He seemed to be about to say something.
“I don’t regret what I did, Frankie,” Gerry broke in. “I couldn’t have you taking more lives.”
“And how did that work out? Instead of waking Daffodil up to a normal life, we all ended up in hiding and I had to use your own son as bait to lure Manticorps onto my turf.” The AI sighed. “It really didn’t have to get so… complex.”
“Life is complex, my friend,” Gerry replied scathingly. “Principles aren’t.”
“I’m still not happy with you endangering my son.” Marion glared at her husband. “No matter how principled it might be.”
“Would you have done things differently?” Gerry asked her softly.
“No,” she replied, after a pause. “Probably not.”
“Seems you and I haven’t changed as much as we thought.”
“I don’t know whether to punch you in the face,” Marion sighed, “or kiss you on the lips.”
“I like option two best.” Gerry reached out and stroked his wife’s hair.
“If you pair have quite finished your love-fest,” Scotty exploded, “you might want to consider how Mac is feeling about all this!”
There was an embarrassed silence.
Daffodil pulled at her lip, expression unreadable.
“It is a lot to take in, huh?” She felt her face as if it were a stranger’s. “Y’know… the fact that I’m not actually human.”
“I wouldn’t put it quite like that, Mac.” Marion tried to be tactful. “It’s more… eh…”
“I was grown in a tank from synthetic DNA.” The girl raised an eyebrow. “How exactly would you put it?”
“You’re… um… different?”
“Besides,” Gerry said half-heartedly, “it’s not like anyone can tell.”
“Yeah,” Scotty added. “Who wants to be normal anyway?”
“What about you, Chaz?” Daffodil fixed the boy with a steely stare. “You’ve been strangely quiet about this revelation. Gone off me a bit, perhaps? Regrettin that kiss?”
“Aw, don’t even try that line. After all we’ve shared, you know exactly what I think and vice versa.” Charlie leaned back on the couch and put both hands behind his head. “I’m just waiting for you to say it.”
Daffodil took a deep breath. Then a toothy grin spread across her face. “I’m an artificial intelligence too! That is so freakin cool!”
“You’re taking this very well!” Marion sounded flabbergasted.
“Mac’s a ‘glass half full’ kind of girl,” Charlie admonished the others. “So why are you all acting like she should curl into a ball and cry? She’s brave and smart and kind and caring.” He shifted seats to be next to her, draping one arm casually round the girl’s shoulder. “What the hell does it matter whether she’s black or white or rich or poor… or even human? She totally rocks.”
“I couldn’t have put it better myself.” A large tick appeared on the computer screen.
“I’ll second that.” Scotty poured himself a whisky. “She’s awesome.”
“And so is Frankie.” Daffodil levelled a finger at Gerry Ray. “You had no right to make him a prisoner again.”
“He deliberately killed those researchers, Mac.” Gerry blanched. “I’d already wiped out their data and overloaded the security systems to trap them in their labs. He didn’t have to burn the place down.”
“They were fiends masquerading as scientists. I had no qualms about stopping them any way I could.”
“And then what?” Gerry insisted. “Murder anyone else who you felt needed—”
“Frankie is lying,” Scotty interrupted.
Everyone stared at him.
“Whatever went down in that lab?” he continued. “It didn’t happen the way our friend is describing it.”