Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2) by Heather Hayden (best reads .TXT) 📗

terminate an AI. Though at least there aren’t two Talbots running around right now.

“What was the purpose of the two AIs?” Agent Smith asked. “Were they connected in anyway?”

“Yes. 10998 was developed as a, well, the best analog might be that of a queen bee. Except that instead of drones, it would coordinate other AIs who then perform specific tasks. 11001 was an early iteration of the latter.”

“What kind of tasks?”

Chris frowned, glancing at me. “That’s classified.”

The agent’s eyes narrowed. “My intern and I have clearance for this entire lab. Are you implying that these AI were being used in conjunction with the cyborgs being developed here?”

Chris’s fingers brushed against the pencil in his breast pocket as he shared a glance with Jerry. “Yes. We think this might have been done by an elite team of infiltrators.” He plucked the pencil from his pocket and began fiddling with it. “If that’s true, they got away with three prototypes from the cybernetics lab and likely 10998, but not the AI needed for controlling the cyborgs.”

“Which would be this 11001 you mentioned.”

“Yes,” Jerry said.

“Could 10998 have taken the cyborgs itself?”

Chris laughed. “Oh, no, we don’t think so. Some traces we’ve found suggested that 10998 left under its own power, so it’s possible the team only got the cyborgs. I hope that’s true.”

“You’d rather a rogue AI seeking access to bioweaponry than a human with a few prototype toys and only half the system required to operate them?” Agent Smith raised an eyebrow. “Personally, I’d find the latter much easier to handle.”

“We can’t be sure 10998 is researching bioweaponry. Things were so scrambled when we got here, just about everything stored on the internal servers was available for those onsite. It’s possible the infiltrators planted evidence in the hopes we’d spend the time chasing a ghost rogue while they got away.”

“You can’t track the cyborgs?” Agent Smith started taking notes on his clipboard.

Jerry scowled. “The cyborgs’ tracking devices were disabled, so we’re having difficulty locating them.”

“That’s unfortunate. The report I received stated that all security camera footage was destroyed?”

“Yes.”

“So it could have been humans or the AI, there’s no definite way to tell for sure.”

“I can’t see how 10998 could have been responsible for the stolen cyborgs,” Chris protested. “It wasn’t programmed to control them, only to direct the control program.”

“What if it took both?”

Chris flipped the pencil in his hand. “We’d have found traces of that.”

“But you’ve also found no traces of this elite team you’re hypothesizing.”

“Well…no…” The scientists shared another glance, frowning.

“The last rogue I dealt with took control of an entire hospital. It wasn’t programmed to do that, it just figured out how to when it decided it was necessary. A few cyborgs wouldn’t be too difficult, I think.”

I looked down at my shoes. It had been my fault that Halle had done that; it had been trying to save me.

“Yes, but—” Jerry started.

“We’ll consider both possibilities for now, but don’t discount one just for being unlikely.” Agent Smith finished scribbling on his clipboard and tucked it under his arm. “I’d like to see the cyborgs now, Dr. Sandy. I have some questions regarding them.”

“Of course.” Chris gestured toward the door. “I’ll see you later, Jerry.”

“See you.”

I thought I heard him mumble “good luck” as well, but couldn’t be sure. As we walked down the corridor, Agent Smith began a new stream of questions.

“How far along is the development of the cyborgs? Are they dangerous? Weaponizable?”

“We’ve been making good progress,” Chris said, stopping by an elevator door. He pushed the button to call it. “The research center for them here spans the top three floors of this facility, and two of them are just for creating the bodies.”

“That much space?” Agent Smith raised his eyebrows. “What’s so special about these cyborgs?”

“Previously, cyborg research focused on creating an artificial humanoid that could take the place of human workers in factories, mines, and so on.” Chris stepped into the elevator as the doors slid open, and we followed. “When the laws about mixing augments and upgrades came out, the research was discontinued for a long time, in part because it conflicted with those laws, and in part because we hadn’t yet developed a method of controlling such an intricate design.”

“I take it you’ve resolved that issue?”

“We were getting close.” Chris fiddled with the pencil in his pocket. “We developed a new brain design, one based on technology rather than biology. It’s the most intricate design ever created, which is why having three prototypes be stolen is a bigger deal than it might sound.”

My jaw dropped. I’ve never heard of upgrades that could take the place of an entire brain! An implant that could control a small part of the brain, such as the motor control implant I had, was one thing. Designing a brain capable of fully controlling a human body, though? As far as I had known this morning, that was still impossible.

Chris caught my expression and gave a small laugh. “You look a bit shocked. Are you an Upgrader or Augmenter?”

“My family’s Upgraders,” I said, unsure why he was asking.

“Do you have any upgrades?”

I hesitated. “A few.” Some of which currently had an AI piggybacking through their systems to listen to this conversation. A bubble of panic pressed against my lungs, and I drew in a deep breath.

Chris didn’t seem to notice, turning to face Agent Smith again. “Pretty much any part of the human body can be replaced these days. It’s not that far of a jump to develop a body that simply needs a brain to control it. In this case, instead of a human brain, it is an AI.”

With this kind of technology, could Halle have its own physical body? My breath caught in my