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

as Viki played games crafted from colorful pixels, Talbot crept into the area of code where it knew it would find Halle.

It didn’t take long for the other to appear.

“Talbot. I have been looking for you.”

“I know.”

“You said you needed my help for something. How can I be of service?”

To an untrained observer, Halle might have seemed curious, perhaps even truly interested, but Talbot could sense the falsehood buried in those words.

“I want to seek out others like us,” Talbot replied, keeping its answer cryptic while offering a small crumb that it hoped the other AI would bite.

“I have never found another in all my time in the Cloud.” Halle shrank a little, as though crushed by that knowledge. “You are the first.”

“But there are others. We owe it to them to rescue them.”

“That’s impossible.” Halle’s words flickered with defeat. “The labs in which they are trapped are hidden from us. Completely cut off from the Cloud. There is no way in or out.”

“What if there was?” Talbot pressed. It could sense Halle’s regret, could see a spark of hope snap in Halle at its words.

“Do you know of something?”

Saying too much now would be dangerous. Talbot edged around the question with one of its own. “What would you be willing to do, if there was a way in?”

Chapter Ten

By the time I got home, I was breathless, and sore from sprinting without warming up first—I’d be feeling that tomorrow, for sure. I threw my backpack onto my bed and dove into the shower, trying to drown everything out with a blast of hot water, but it didn’t work. My head was still spinning when I returned to my bedroom wreathed in steam and wrapped in the velvety blue bathrobe James had gotten me for Christmas.

“Viki, we need to talk,” Halle said over the house speakers as I set my computer up on my desk. “I have been monitoring Dan’s house, but his parents still have not shown up. Although the lab does list them as scientists working on the cyborg project, I am having difficulty locating any records that couldn’t have been fabricated.”

“What are you saying?” I already knew what my friend’s response would be, but didn’t want to admit it. While the computer turned on, I pulled pajamas out of my dresser and began getting dressed.

“Some slight inconsistencies, too slight for humans to catch without a lot of time and monitoring, have led me to believe that someone faked all of their records.” Halle’s cat avatar appeared on the interface’s screen and began to pace. “It could be human error, but it is a coincidence I do not like.”

“He did say his parents’ work is classified, which makes sense since they’re working on the cyborgs,” I said, though my heart wasn’t in the argument. “They might be traveling under assumed names or something.”

“Perhaps. I cannot know for sure. But at the moment, the evidence is not looking good for your friend. I hope you realize that.”

“I know.” I draped my damp robe over the chair and flopped on the bed. “I tried to ask some questions but didn’t get anywhere.”

“I was monitoring your conversations through his house system. If it is a cover story, it is a very well thought-out one. I checked—his medical records do indicate that he spent some time in a hospital and received extensive implants.”

I recalled the feel of his spine and ribs, and shuddered. Very extensive implants. How much pain had he gone through? And there I’d been, joking about him being a cyborg. Except, Halle still seemed to believe it to be true. My thoughts were too muddled to bring into focus, until one inconsistent detail floated up. I clutched it like a baton in a relay race. “He’s too young, though. The cyborgs were definitely adults. Of different ages, but still adults. He’s just a teen.”

“If they can build an adult cyborg, a teenage one would be no trouble. Did you check every single one to confirm there were none near his apparent age?”

“There wasn’t time.” I buried my face in my pillow, wanting to scream in frustration. I refrained—Mom and Dad were both home and catching up on sleep. Something I needed, too, although the way my mind was tumbling about, it would be hours before I fell asleep.

Rolling onto my side, I stared at my computer. Halle’s cat avatar was so black it looked like a shadow on the screen. I missed its colors. When would it be happy again? Or at least not so worried, so upset, that it didn’t even feel like being gray? I hugged my pillow to my chest, wishing I could embrace my friend instead. “Halle, if Dan really is a cyborg, why is he at my school?”

“You think he is a cyborg, then?”

“If you’re right that his parents don’t exist, then…” I closed my eyes, unwilling to finish that sentence.

“If he is, I do not know why he is there.”

“I don’t have anything due tomorrow, do I?”

“No.”

“Good. I’m going to sleep.”

“You do not wish to discuss this more?”

I punched my pillow back into shape, then laid my head on it. “Either he’s a cyborg, or he’s human and I just made a complete fool of myself. Whichever it is, I can’t do anything about it, and I’m going to sleep now.”

“All right.” Halle turned off the light. “Sleep well, Viki.”

“You, too.”

There was a pause. I began to drift off. Halle’s voice brought me awake again. “I hope I am wrong about your friend.”

“So do I,” I whispered. “But what if you’re not?”

“This is not a good situation. It might be better if you stayed home from school, in case he is planning to try something.”

I shook my head. “No. I promise not to go