«I’m not near a screen,» Tyoma said. «I’m being led somewhere by the mobsters that kidnapped you earlier. We’re in the basement level of The Pyramid. Hold on a moment…»
The mobsters stopped before a faux-wood door identical to the others they had passed along the corridor.
“This one empty, you think?” Alexei said.
“I believe so,” Oskar replied and placed his right palm flat on the wall scanner.
The door slid open to reveal a room not much bigger than a closet. The walls and floor were the same concrete as the corridor, and the only furnishings were three wooden stools and a picture on the wall opposite the door. Oskar steered Tyoma onto the nearest stool and said, “Okay, you just sit here awhile and the general will pick you up when he’s ready. You need something to drink?”
Tyoma thought about it. He hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since morning. “Could I please have some water? And something to eat, if you have it?”
Oskar smirked at him in reply and the two men departed. The ceiling light was overly bright. Probably on purpose, Tyoma thought, assuming the room was meant for interrogations or worse. The picture was the only thing in the room worth looking at, so he turned his attention there. It was a copy of a painting he’d seen numerous times — a portrait of Arkady Delchev, the huge, black-bearded warlord who’d kept the Moscow region together during the darkest of the Dark Times. It was Delchev who’d ensured the area’s nuclear reactors had been secured, thus preventing the meltdowns that had occurred in many other parts of Russia.
«They stuck me in a little room. General Andreykin is supposed to come get me later.»
Kostya shifted in his chair. «Did they hurt you in any way?»
«No…well, other than a slap in the face. But that could change pretty easily. Can you get me out of here? I don’t know what the general intends for me.»
The three scientists glanced around at each other and then Big Dima leaned in and said, «Something…odd, has happened. We’re all unsure how to take it.»
«Odd?»
Dima nodded. «You see, Volodya called us in to figure out how to help you, and we’d just sat down to discuss it when a caller broke in, no need for permission or anything. He just started talking to us.»
Tyoma had designed the communications security of the compound himself, so he knew how strong it was. His first thought was that it had to be one of the group’s former members, but he had changed the access codes each time one of them left. «Who could do that?»
«That’s the part that’s really hard to believe,» Volodya said. «He claims to be Javier Saenz.»
Tyoma nearly choked. His colleagues each had quizzical expressions on their faces. «Well, speaking the obvious, but…he’s been dead for years.»
Kostya grinned. «That’s what we told him. He’s on with us, by the way, so you can see if you buy his story any more than we do.»
«Greetings, Doctor Grachev.» The voice was soft and so nearly human, just the faintest trace of flatness to it. American accent, of course.
«Nice to…meet you,» Tyoma responded. «Are you a simulation of some sort?»
A slightly metallic sigh. «One might say that, though I consider myself to be quite genuine. This was my greatest achievement, which is ironic considering that the only thing people remember me for is my sentry code. I worked for years on creating what I call ‘cradle code’, which is a simulator for how the human mind works, an operating system, if you will, for interacting with data from my own brain. It was—»
«Hold on,» Tyoma said. «You saying you pulled this off before you passed away? You turned yourself into an AI?»
«While I can understand the use of the term, I assure you I don’t consider myself to be artificial. I believe it was the rush to complete this project that caused the stroke, as a matter of fact. I spent three days straight during the final testing and I imagine that wasn’t the best of ideas. But I’m sure you know what it’s like to get excited over such things. You and your colleagues have been doing remarkable work.»
Tyoma sat in silence for a minute, trying to absorb the implications. «So…if this is true, what have you been doing all these years? How come we’ve not heard anything about you?»
«I’ve had no reason to make my presence known, and many good reasons to remain hidden. Learning how to live life on the Web took some time. I’ve been on the lookout for signs that anyone was doing the kind of work that your group has been doing. You’ve kept that amazingly quiet.»
«For obvious reasons,» Big Dima chimed in.
«Yes, obvious,» Javier said. «I know you won’t agree, but for me it is lucky that your work was stolen, or I might never have found you.»
Tyoma had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what was coming next. «And what is it you want from us?»
«I wish to join you, help you with your work. And naturally I wish to benefit from it. I want a body again. Living on the Web has its advantages, but it’s not the same as true living.»
«But…» Tyoma began, then paused while his mind absorbed a bombardment of different thoughts. «But our work requires the data captured from a brain to be in a very specific format. However you managed to capture your own data, it surely isn’t in our format.»
«I didn’t say it would be easy, but we are, after all, the greatest collection of minds on the planet. The challenge is why we do it, is it not? I refuse to believe it impossible to find a way to reformat my data.»
Kostya spoke up, «That would be a complete redirection of our research at a critical—»
«I can fund you.»
No one spoke for half a minute.
«As I understand it,» Javier went on, «the reason you are in your current predicament is your funding problems with the Russian military. I can remove those problems for you. I can provide as much money as you need for all further research and development.»
«Where do you get so much money?» Big Dima asked.
«The Web is my playground. I have access to more money than I can ever dream of spending…and believe me, I can dream big. If you’d like to relocate out of Russia, we can do that.»
«This is fascinating, to say the least,» Tyoma said, «but I’d prefer to discuss this after you extract me from my current situation. Hold on again…»
Oskar entered holding a large plastic bottle and a plate with a neatly sliced sandwich on it. He held them out to Tyoma.
“Water, like you asked. I hope chicken is okay?”
“I was hoping for tuna, but thank you.”
Both of them chuckled at the joke, tuna having been practically extinct since before the Dark Times. Oskar ducked out the door and it slid shut.
«Okay, I’m back.» Tyoma took a sip of water and eyed the sandwich suspiciously. The lettuce looked good, but the tomato was too green.
«I can help you, Doctor,» Javier said. «I won’t do it out of the kindness of my proverbial heart, though. I want in. There is nothing I want more. Give me assurances, and I’ll help you.»
«How can you help me?»
«I can handle anything the Web touches. You kept your work secret by keeping your network strictly private. Few manage to keep the Web from interfacing in some manner with their networks. My guess is, wherever you are, I can help you.»
Tyoma considered how easily Javier had breached his security at the compound and believed he could probably do as he claimed. «I already said, I’m in The Pyramid. Look, I can’t speak for the others, but as far as I’m concerned, if you can really provide the funding, I’m happy to include you.»