NOVEL NEXT Chapter Ninety: A Double Mystery
Negasi felt something close to panic rise up out of his gut as he stared at the empty bench where the android ZHI had been sitting just a few minutes before.
"Cack! He ran off!"
"You gave it too much power," Jeridan said.
"I hardly gave him anything. You saw. He can't have gone far."
"Maybe not, but where did he go to?"
"I know!" Helen said. "ZHI told us, 'I will remain where I am.' Well, she's in the command center too."
"Let's go!" Negasi said.
They ran down the corridor and then raced up the stairs toward the command center, Negasi worrying all the way. What would the android do when he got there? Would he plug in to his other self? And then what?
The deception worried him. The android hadn't exactly lied, since he would remain where he was, or at least where his other half was, but it was still pretty damn misleading.
He never thought he'd have to contend with all this. What else was still alive and kicking on this station?
They found the android halfway up the stairs, laid out face down on the steps.
Everyone came to a halt.
"ZHI?" Negasi said. "ZHI can you hear me?"
"Power required urgently. Three minutes and five seconds remaining at current usage rate. Catastrophic shutdown immanent."
Negasi knelt down beside the android. Not even its eyes were glowing.
"Save him!" Helen said.
Negasi tapped out a miniscule amount of energy on his external power source, plugged it in to ZHI, and fed it to her.
The eyes began to shine again.
"Power required urgently. Two hours, seven minutes, and twelve seconds remaining at current usage rate. Catastrophic shutdown immanent."
"That's all you get until we get some answers," Jeridan said. "Where were you going?"
"To myself."
"To the command center? The other ZHI? Or is it the same ZHI?" Negai asked.
"The same and different."
"Care to elaborate on that?" Jeridan asked.
"Power required urgently. Two hours, six minutes, and forty-nine seconds remaining at current usage rate. Catastrophic shutdown immanent."
"You're not dodging the question that way," Jeridan snapped. "We want to help, but we have to trust you first. I take it you don't trust us. Fair enough. But think of it from our perspective."
Silence.
Helen put a hand on the android's shoulder. Negasi stepped back, worried ZHI might lash out.
"You can trust us," she said. "You saw I'm a cyborg. I can sympathize with your position."
"All factions use cyborgs."
Helen actually stroked the android's shoulder.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Do you really think ZHI can feel that?
Or maybe he can.
"We can't help you unless you help us. We need to know what's going on."
Pause.
"The ZHI in the command center is a part of me."
"Yes, but how?" Negasi asked.
Silence.
"Wait!" Helen cried. "Are you twins?"
"Yes, I think we are."
Negasi sucked in a breath. Twins becoming an AI? He had never heard of that. Was that even possible?
"You think you're twins but you're not sure?" Negasi asked.
"My memory banks have been corroded too much to know."
While Negasi wasn't as naturally mistrustful as Jeridan, he had to wonder about that one. Could ZHI really not remember something as basic as that but know the way to the command center? And if ZHI's memory really was that screwed up, what other vital information might it have forgotten? Could she be mentally unstable?
"Are you a male?" Helen asked.
"Affirmative."
"So you were the male twin and the ZHI in the command center was the female twin?" Negasi asked.
"That is possible. I believe we were identical twins."
Identical twins who both volunteered to become a linked AI? Negasi's mind reeled. One was mobile, the other based in the station's hardware. Did they link up regularly to share experiences and thoughts?
The name made sense now. Like most spacefarers, Negasi knew a bit of Interstellar Chinese, a modern combination of several of the old Terran Chinese languages like Mandarin and Cantonese. Zhi was both a male and female name. It meant something like "wise."
A sad irony for an AI android with a brain so corroded that he wasn't even sure of the basics about himself and his family.
Both the ZHIs had, in a sense, suffered a second death when their power ran out. They had probably used the last of their energy to communicate over that link the android had been plugged into. What had they said in their final, fading moments?
They had been born together, grew up together, died together, and had become AIs together.
And with the last energy he had, ZHI had tried to make it to his sister.
Negasi knelt down and plugged in the external power source.
Jeridan did a little nervous dance. "Whoa, buddy! You're giving him too much."
"He's not going to hurt us, not if we help him get to his sister."
He left it plugged in and stepped back. ZHI stood, holding the external power source.
"All for me?" ZHI asked.
"Yes. Drain it."
Helen gave him a sweet smile. "You're a good man, Negasi."
Negasi smiled uncertainly at her and quickly looked away.
"I have sufficient power reserves for further locomotion. The power you are giving me will last me several days if I limit my physical activity. Thank you."
"Um, don't mention it."
ZHI tucked the external power source under his arm like a satchel.
"Let's go to the command center," ZHI said.
He began to ascend, his metal feet clanking on the metal steps. Negasi and his two companions followed.
They got to the correct floor and headed to the command center.
"Do you want to be alone with your sister?" Negasi asked.
Jeridan nudged him and looked like he was about to poop his pants.
"Why do you ask that?"
"Well, I don't know. It's kind of a private moment."
"Do AIs in your time have emotions?"
"No."
"Part of the AI process is to delete emotion. It leads to greater mental stability once the transformation from flesh to computer is complete."
"Yes. I wasn't sure with Imperium AIs. We've never met one before."
No one has met one before.
Negasi was living through a historic moment.
They rounded the corner and could see the blue glow coming from the female ZHI. Negasi felt a tingle as the brother walked mechanically into the room. The blue face shone on the screen, impassive as ever.
The android stopped in front of the screen. For a moment, brother and sister stared at each other. Then the android turned.
"Yes, this is my sister. I know now. May I link in with her?"
Jeridan opened his mouth, probably to object.
"You don't have to ask our permission," Negasi said.
"I was under the impression that we were prisoners."
"You're not."
The android sat at a chair in front of the central screen, then reached up and pulled and extendible wire from a flap in its left temple. The end fit into a port just below the screen.
The android sat with his hands on his thighs, unmoving. The blue face did not move either. The moment drew out. Given the processing speeds these twin AIs were capable of, whatever communication they wished to have could be done in a split second, and yet they were still communicating.
About what?
Negasi glanced at Jeridan and saw his friend had a white-knuckle grip on his rifle. Was he right to be nervous? Had Negasi been foolish powering up these two entities from the Imperium?
Maybe, but he would have done it anyway. Helen was correct. This had been the right thing to do, no matter what the consequences.
Brother and sister continued their silent communication. Negasi shifted his weight from one foot to the other. When he glanced at Helen, he saw her beaming, those strange silvery eyes glittering with a strange inner light.
When the twin AIs spoke, it was so sudden and so unexpected that all three of them jumped.
The AIs spoke in unison, their metallic voices resonating like a stereo.
"Thank you for your assistance. We will continue to interface to try and fix each other's corrupted files and unify our memory banks. There is much that one has forgotten and the other has not."
"Take all the time you need," Negasi said.
"We are in your debt. We have a proposal for you, one that might help you in your stated mission."