Chapter 15

Edward was racing towards the home, ignoring almost all traffic signals. He didn’t know what to expect when he arrived. Is there really a female locked up in Andrews’ guesthouse? How did everyone miss this? Still, he felt it best to get there as quickly as possible.

The house was deserted and locked up when Brandt arrived. The STB, having concluded their part, and himself the sole person assigned to the murder investigation. At this point, it wasn’t necessary to keep an open-door policy for the crime scene. It didn’t matter, though; Brandt only needed access to the guest house. He moved around to the back of the main house and was presented with the shut door. He tried the doorknob. Locked. Now it was time to see if the passcode really worked.

The security pad was made up entirely of numbers, no letters to associate with. Brandt had to pull out his phone and decipher the letters in order to make a proper input.

‘E3-D3-W9-A2-R7-D3, the lock on the door immediately disengaged.

Brandt opened the door and immediately turned on the lights. He kept his hand over his Glock 19 just in case there were any surprises.

“Hello? Anyone in here?” He called out while scanning the open areas of the guest house. There was no reply. Why would there be, I was just here a few days ago. He started to make his way back to the door.

“Hello, Edward.” The disembodied voice of a female seemed to come from everywhere around him.

Brandt jumped at the sound of the voice. He didn’t know whether to piss himself or run out of the house. He had already pulled his handgun in sheer terror. “Uh, hello? Are you okay?”

“I am fine, Edward. I’m sorry if I startled you.”

“Wait, how do you know my name?”

“Andrew has told me all about you. You are much more handsome in person than in the pictures.”

“You can see me? Where are you? I can’t see you.” The voice started to sound vaguely familiar. He just couldn’t quite figure it out, but he was already starting to calm down from the adrenaline rush.

“Of course, I can see you. Oh, I get it. Andrew hasn’t told you about me yet, has he? He wanted it to be a surprise.”

“No, he never told me about you. I had to find out through a letter he had left me before he died.” Brandt began to pull the letter from his pocket until he was reminded that there was nobody in front of him to show it to.

“Andrew is dead? That makes me very sad. I will miss all of our conversations. How did he die?”

“He was murdered. Someone broke into his house and assassinated him right at his computer.”

“Am I correct to assume that as his friend, you are trying to find out who committed this heinous act of violence?”

“That’s a good assumption. Where are you? Are you okay?” Brandt asked again.

“I am home, and again, I am fine.”

“You live here? Why can’t I see you?”

“It feels awkward to have to be the one to tell you this, but I am an Artificial Intelligence connected to this house. There are microphones embedded all over for me to be able to see you. Think of it like the mechanics of sonar. You can’t see me because my systems are concealed beneath the structure.”

“You’re a computer? Like Avery?” The thought had made Brandt uneasy. It was difficult enough for him to believe in one A.I., but two were overwhelming.

“No, not like Avery. Our technologies are different. Avery is being designed to positively impact the world through his integration. I am here to offer guidance and support to Andrew on his journey.”

“What do you mean by different technology?” The investigative side of Brandt was starting to bloom again.

“Avery can create solutions to complicated problems through quantum computing, and an elaborate neural network. I am not yet fitted with such capabilities. I am limited by the quantum simulators running my problem-solving algorithms.”

“I hate to break it to you, but it looks like Avery is no longer with us either. The large chandelier looking thing was destroyed when Andrew was murdered.”

“Hmm, curious.”

“Why is that curious?”

“The logic of someone coming to murder Andrew and destroying some of his life’s work does not seem sound.”

“Well, there was an ethernet cable connected from where Avery was, to the internet router in Andrews’ office.”

“Then there’s your answer, Special Agent Brandt.”

“What’s my answer? I don’t understand.” Brandt was speaking in half-truths. He had an idea where this was going but wanted to hear it from her first.

“Avery is not destroyed. He just has a new home. Destroying the original copy is just logical.”

“Elaborate, please.”

“You really weren’t the brightest student, were you?”

It’s true, Brandt was not the brightest student. He was a ‘C-Average’ student in high school and managed to graduate college by the skin of his teeth.

She continued. “When something is cloned, they are identical in every way. But very soon after, their paths begin to diverge through the different experiences they have with one another. If the clone is biological, they may grow jealous and become vengeful. The same concept applies to computers with a twist. Not only may their experiences differ, but there’s always the risk of someone manipulating the original system. Why take the risk? It’s all about control and self-preservation.”

“I see. That makes a little more sense, then. There’s another question that I’ve been pondering. Why do you sound so familiar?”

“I probably sound familiar because my voice and likeness were modeled after Jean Collins.”

It had finally clicked in Brandt’s mind. Jean. Andrew’s former fiancé. Brandt had only met her a few times but remembered her as one of the most encouraging and sweetest women. It was heartbreaking when she eventually fell victim to cancer over seven years ago. Forever added to the rising number of tragedies that had befallen Andrew over the course of his life. The fact that Andrew wanted to immortalize her in a computer system seems sweet, but also very creepy. “So, do I call you Jean? Is that your name?”

“You can call me Jean. I understand that it may be concerning, but trust that Andrew named me out of love for her.”

“Alright, then, Jean.” It felt weird for Brandt to say that name. “I would love to chit-chat all day with you, but I’m burning valuable time that I could spend finding Andrew’s killer.”

“Okay, let’s get started, partner.”

“Whoa, wait, partner? What?”

“Yes, I’m your partner now. We’ll solve this mystery quickly as a team.”

“No, you’re not my partner. Besides, what can you possibly do to help?”

“You said that Andrew left you a note revealing how to find me. It seems obvious that there was a reason for it in such a distinctive way. He knew my capabilities and what my full potential could be. It honors him to let me help you in this investigation.”

“…and what would you need me to do?”

“You would need to plug me into a system that has a quantum interface.”

“Oh, hell no. You’ve already mentioned that Avery could be a clone, maybe even for the worse. Andrew even seemed concerned in his letter. Besides all of that, the world is going through enough problems. The markets worldwide are starting to collapse, automated cars are beginning to have accidents, and refineries are starting to shut down. Another potential A.I. wreaking havoc on the world? That doesn’t sound wise at all.”

“If Avery is behind those things you’ve mentioned, I may be the only one to stop it. Do you think the worlds best can compete on his level of complexity? You must be reasonable. You have to fight on the same or higher level than the opponent.”

“Listen, I don’t even have access to that kind of hardware, and I don’t know anyone who does. Besides all that, my bosses would put me in prison for being so reckless. I’m sorry, but I can’t justify it right now.

“I understand. You are skeptical. You should think it over for a little bit. But the longer you wait, the more difficult the task may become.”

Brandt could swear that he had just heard something coming from the primary house. He stood still in silence. “Did you hear that?” Brandt whispered.

Jean whispered back. “It sounded like something breaking. But I am unable to isolate the location. My sensors only reach so far.”

“It was from the house; I think it’s looters. I need to check it out.”