Chapter 17

“Who’s a good boy?” Mina crooned to a large brown-and-white-spotted dog with big, floppy ears. He had two hanks of slobber swinging from his droopy jowls. He gave her a slurp through the bars as she handed him a protein chew. She was at the tail end of her morning greeting. No animals had triggered the tracer, and Nancy, the old Lab, was gone. Nancy was now being monitored by CIU, and the middleman would be picked up soon, so that put her mind at ease somewhat. There would be an end to this trafficking ring even if she didn’t solve which bot was directly responsible for applying the encryption. They had the names of the players, and that might be all she would get. Mina stood, clapping her hands to dust them off, heading toward the exit. “Thanks, Elsa,” she told the bot as she passed through the doorway. She paused and asked, as if it was an afterthought, “Hey, is it your turn to wear the nice cuff today?”

The bot smiled amiably. “No. Today, Kari wears it.”

“Good to know.”

On Mina’s agenda today was to find out what was behind those locked doors, and there was no better time than right now since she’d arrived forty-five minutes early and headed straight to the kennels with no uni, her satchel slung casually over a shoulder.

Mina crossed the room quickly, buzzing by all the empty stations, trying to keep her profile as low as she could. She was pushing it with possible discovery, but with only a day left to complete the mission, there was no other choice. Nobody here loved their job so much that they’d show up forty-five minutes early.

Mina had arrived at the same time as Babs, who had been unlocking the front doors and had been genuinely surprised to see her. Mina had managed to convince the bubbly attendant that she was just so sad she had only a few days left with the animals and wanted to spend some time with them. After all, she just loved animals, especially the mini pigs, which Babs heartily agreed were adorbs.

Reaching her mark, Mina paused in front of the last of the locked doors facing the work space, as far away as she could get without actually leaving the room. She glanced over her shoulder as she drew out a handheld NeuDAR system, which was disguised as a personal auditory journal. Elsa was busy doing something with the reptiles, and the other bots were nowhere to be seen. Must not be powered up yet.

The scanning system was no bigger than the pork chop Eggie had printed for her the other night, but it was heavy. The ability to see through objects using neutrons had been transformative, developed more than a century ago, but recently honed to exactness. Once opened, the “journal” broke into three panels, mimicking the popular devices people often carried around with them to document life events. It was loaded with mini and macro lenses, high vid capacity, and thought-synapse capabilities—meaning the journaler could attach a neural receiver “thought catcher” if they chose. The catcher was a head covering with sensors dotted all over it, which converted energy pulses into transcribable words. That particular tech was highly glitchy if you didn’t have an implant, though, so the user had to clean it up later. Otherwise, anyone reading it would think the journaler had actually eaten titanium in a meadow filled with fungus, rather than eating treats at a mecca with friends. Too much work, not enough reward, in Mina’s estimation. The only people she knew brave enough for a hardwire into their skull these days were ult-geeks, who walked around with a data plug sticking out of their foreheads like it was a badge of honor.

No, thanks. Honestly. No need for thought collection when vocal-to-text commands worked flawlessly.

Mina knelt on one knee. “Hurry up. Power on,” she encouraged the machine while expanding the panels. “There you go.” A neutrino laser was inset in the middle with receptacles on either side. The readout was on the main panel, graphics on both sides.

She activated the scan button and began to drag the tech in sweeping motions back and forth as she slowly stood. Images began to form immediately. The graphics were grainy on this handheld, but visible. The data would be airmelded to her supercomputer, as well as recorded on a chip, so she could go over it later. The best viewing would be done on her wall screen.

Mina raised the device over her head. Once she was certain she’d scanned the entire room, she squinted at the display. “What is that? That looks like…”

“Hey, whatcha doin’?” The voice sounded from behind her.

Mina spun, closing down the gadget. “Oh, hi! I’m just feeling a little sad I’m leaving and wanted something to remember this place by.” Kelly, Mina’s lunch partner, was walking toward her, giving her an inquisitive look. “I was recording a few thoughts and taking a few photos in my journal.” She shook the tech in her hand. “This has been one of my favorite temp jobs of all time. I really hope I can come back someday.” She slid the faux journal back into her satchel. “I’ll be sorry when it’s over.”

Her sentimentality must’ve been on point, because Kelly’s face eased into understanding. “I get it.” She stopped in front of Mina, reaching out to rub Mina’s arm in shared sympathy. “I love this place, too. Even though Ruth puts me on dye most of the time, the animals are such a stress reliever. I can’t afford one of my own, so I get my fill here.” Kelly gazed around, her eyes landing on the kennels across the room. “It’s hard not having a permanent job. I hope you find something soon.”

“Me, too.” Mina began to walk toward the uni room. Kelly fell in step with her. “What are you doing here so early?” Most of the time, Kelly rushed in at the last minute.

The woman’s face brightened, highlighting the small enhancements she’d applied today—cheek shadow and light lip cream in a conservative pale nude. “My son won an award for his music academia. He creates guitar and piano music flawlessly. He even knows how to play the real instruments. He has an ear for it, but he didn’t get it from me.” She chuckled. “The ceremony’s at five. Ruth said if I came in early and did some cleanup work, like mucking out some of the kennels, she wouldn’t dock me if I took off a little early. I’m sure she’ll make me handle the lizards.” She shivered. “I’m not a fan of the cold-blooded types. I saw you standing here, so I came over to say hi first.”

“That’s wonderful about your son. Music is not my forte either. You should be so proud. Glad you came to say hi,” Mina told her. They stopped near the uni room. “I’m going to get changed. I’ll see you at meal break.”

Kelly nodded, turning toward the kennels. “Okay. Wish me luck. I hope the bot has instructions to go easy on me.”

Once inside the locker room, Mina enacted the second item on her agenda as she leaned against the industrial counter. “Hi,” she said to the bot positioned there. This bot didn’t have the same brown hair and features as the other LiveBots. Her hair was jet-black, her features sharper, intended to slightly intimidate, which was standard for instructor bots. “I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself. I’m Marjorie Wilcox, the temp worker.” She stuck out her right hand.

The bot mimicked her movements, extending her own hand, replying, “Hello, I’m Diana.”

Mina brushed her finger lightly over the bot’s shirtsleeve, revealing a black-banded cuff. She wasn’t surprised to see it, given what she’d uncovered so far, but that told her there were two fancy cuffs in play. “I like your cuff. It looks high-tech.”

The LiveBot gazed down at it like she’d just noticed she was wearing it. “It is a standard cuff. But thank you for commenting on it.”

It was far from standard.

“So, you hang out with the other bots, right? I mean, you’re in charge once all the humans go home?”

“Yes,” Diana replied smoothly. “I am an instructor bot. Therefore, I’m programmed to organize, teach, and supervise others. Here, that applies to LiveBots instead of humans.”

“Who was in charge before you arrived?” According to the data she and Lee uncovered last night, this bot had been here for four months, while the other bots had been here for six. The questions Mina was asking were likely a shot in the dark, as this instructor bot would have no memory of anything she hadn’t experienced herself, unless she’d been specifically told.

“There was another bot in charge before I arrived. But a defect was discovered.”

“What kind of a—”

At that moment, Ruth burst through the door, drawing up short when she spotted Mina chatting with Diana.

Mina eased away from the counter quickly, casually waving, telling the bot, “Okay, I’ll drop my uni off with you tomorrow.” She smiled enough to show a good amount of white as she addressed Ruth. “Silly me, of course you guys are going to recycle the uni. I think I’m secretly hoping I get to come back. I mean, there’s always a possibility another worker will take a vacation. You never know.” Mina was careful not to formulate anything into a question the bot might try to answer. If not asked anything directly, Diana should stay quiet. But hard to know with an instructor bot. Mina hadn’t met many of them.

Ruth’s gaze narrowed to two slivers as she darted a quick look between the two of them. “What are you doing here so early?” she all but barked at Mina.

Mina made a show of glancing at her cuff. “It’s not that early.” Anymore. “I came in to see the animals, like I told you last night.” Mina took a few steps toward her locker. “Anyway, I’m just going to go get dressed, then I’m going to give those dogs some yummy treats.” Ruth had no idea Mina had already been on the floor, so she’d just loop through the kennels a second time so Ruth didn’t get suspicious. “Thank you for your time,” she said to Diana.

The bot replied, “You’re welcome. Would you like me to answer—”

“No, that’s okay. I have everything I need.” Mina turned her back, avoiding any more conversation.

Mina took more time than necessary getting into her uni and heading back out. She went over in her mind what she thought she’d seen on the NeuDAR as she made her way toward the kennels. Elsa was still at the kennel door, but she let Mina through again with no questions asked.

Once Mina was done with her second greeting and had located Ruth handing out assignments for the day, she decided to head to the waste room. She needed some privacy to get a hold of McAllister.

Inside a stall, Mina engaged her cuff, choosing to type rather than use voice even though she was alone. Someone could walk in at any moment.

She typed quickly with two fingers on a holo keyboard:

NEUDAR SUCCESS. APPEARS TO BE PRINTERS OF SOME KIND.

Mina had immediately recognized the shape, along with the buttons and nozzles. Figuring out what they were programmed to do would be a harder task to decode from the images alone. If they were illegal, which was highly likely, their programming would be altered, likely for weapons printing, but nothing would look overtly conspicuous from the outside.

Mina didn’t wait for McAllister to respond. Instead, she hurried back to the main workroom, seeking out Ruth for her daily assignment. As she got in line, she noticed the bots filing in from a door that led to the back of the building. Diana was in front, ushering them out. Mina had never seen her do that before.

Ruth barely gave her a second glance. “Bioblast. Station twenty-one.” Mina was about to engage in some back-and-forth to try to wrangle herself a tidy-up station, but one look at Ruth’s face and Mina changed her plans. The woman not only appeared haggard, but she was ready to snap. Whatever was going on with those printers and shipments had her on edge. “You got an issue with your assignment?” the floor manager asked out of the side of her mouth.

“No. Bioblast is fine.”

“I want you to do seventy-five today. If not, this can be your last day. I’m certain we can find someone better to do the job.”

Mina was about to argue, but instead she met Ruth’s heated stare head on.

Challenge accepted.

“Seventy-five. No problem.”