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But why?
Kioshi and his family discovered AIs learn much more quickly when they're
allowed sensory input.
It is true. I learned much more about human emotion when I rode with my
father. My father, who is sitting only a few feet away from me, staring at Mai
like she's something good to eat. We shiver.
He watches her every move. "There's a kind of binary beat to your music," he
says. "It's very seductive."
"Thank you," Mai says, speaking slowly in English. To me she adds in Japanese,
When did he hear it? He was cut off in prison. Do you think he's insulting me?
Making fun of my childhood in the program?
I don't know, I say. Looking into his eyes from the outside, my father seems
different. I can't say for certain what he is feeling. I only know how Mai
holds her body when she looks at him. She crosses her arms in front of her
breasts. Her stomach flutters.
I echo her nervousness. I wonder if somehow he can spot me here. Part of me
wishes he would just to get it over with. Another part fears his wrath.
"You're wearing the most fetching outfit," Mouse says. "Are you hardwired to
something right now?"
Mai looks down at the mesh covering her skin as if she'd somehow forgotten it
was always there.
"The Dragon rides Mai," Kioshi says. Mai glances up to meet his eyes. He is so
calm, he is almost unreadable, but she notices a tic in the muscle near his
collarbone.
"Oh, hello. Dragon," Mouse says, waving brightly.
"Hello again," Mai says, pretending to be the Dragon.
Kioshi looks meaningfully at Mai. "Mouse called the Dragon earlier looking for
Page," he explains.
"Page!" My father stands up and starts to pace. "Thing is, Page shouldn't be
able to just disappear like that. He's got to be somewhere."
The Korean, who stands in the corner behind where Kioshi sits with his arms
crossed, jumps when Mouse mentions my name and looks directly at Mai. Mai
glares back at him until he refocuses his attention on my father.
That idiot almost gave us away, she says to me.
Who's to say he didn't? I say. My father is very observant.
Let's hope you're wrong, Mai says. We sneak a glance at my father, but he is
looking at the pictograms on the box of milk like a curious child.
"Maybe he's on mouse.net," Kioshi offers, sipping tea. Unlike the rest of us,
Kioshi still looks perfectly comfortable. His legs are crossed, and one arm is
casually propped against the arm of the chair. The neck tic is gone. I wonder
what the world looks like from Kioshi's perspective; I wish I could go into
his head.
Me, too, Mai tells me.
My father moves back and forth, not at all like a mouse, more like a tiger.
"Mouse.net is the first place I looked for him. But the whole external
interface thing is so damn slow."
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When Kioshi raises an eyebrow, Mouse points to his temple where the
almond-shaped lump of his LINK receptor is just barely visible under the skin.
"I'm screwed up," he says, tapping his LINK-receiver. "I've been hardwiring
all my hacks."
"No wonder you can't find Page. We have a supercomputer," Kioshi offers.
"There's an old terminal still attached, I think. Isn't there, Mai?"
We jump at the sound of our name, our attention being so absorbed in watching
my father's movement in the tiny office. "Uh, sure. I mean, I think so."
"What are you playing at, Kioshi?" Mai sends through their private line.
Kioshi shakes his head slightly and sips more tea.
"Okay, maybe. But, I can't stay here long. The cops, I'm sure they've got me
ticked; I'm probably transmitting right into Interpol headquarters."
"The cops," the Korean says suddenly. "They're already outside, talking to our
security about the riot."
"Great," Mouse says, glaring at Mai and me again.
"Lose them," Kioshi says.
The Korean bows and then leaves.
"I'm doomed," Mouse says, slumping into Kioshi's plush leather office chair.
"If Page were here, I'd know what to do."
Mai holds back a smirk. Obviously not.
I don't respond to her quip. I would rather watch my father's face, but Mai is
watching his hands as they rip the spilled petals in two. I am surprised to
hear him sound so vulnerable. I wish I could tell him I was here.
No, Mai tells me. He would kill you, I know he would. It's not safe.
Kioshi raises a hand. "Mouse, you must know that this building is secure. If
the police somehow received your signal through my jamming devices, no one
would dare raid us. Not even the Order."
"It still makes me nervous," Mouse says. My father looks tired, and Mai lifts
her hand as if to stroke his hair to comfort him. Mouse is staring at the
desk. He still hasn't opened the carton of milk. It sits next to his teacup.
When Mouse notices Mai reaching for him, she quickly counters by grabbing the
milk. She pulls it open, and pours a dollop into his cup.
Mouse touches our hand. "That's enough," he says. "Thanks."
Though the contact lasted only a moment, the spot on our skin feels almost
hot. Our hands shake as we put the carton down.
"I feel naked without Page," Mouse says to himself.
"Father," Mai whispers the words I am feeling. She quickly puts a hand in
front of our mouth. Mouse is looking intently at something on Kioshi's desk.
"Hey," he says, holding up a printed copy of the ASCII dragon I gave Kioshi.
"This is mine."
For the first time Kioshi looks nervous. "Are you sure? My collection is
extensive. Perhaps it just looks like something you own."
Mouse examines the paper, running his hands over the surface. He puts the art
to his nose and sniffs the ink. "This was just printed."
"I'm constantly expanding my collection from various archived sites. The
secretary must have put it on my desk while we were out shopping." From the
sound of Kioshi's clipped tone, the secretary is a dead man.
The telephone beeps, making us all jump. Mouse stares incredulously at Kioshi.
"You have a phone?"
"Sometimes there's information everyone needs to hear." Kioshi leans over the
desk and flips a switch. A voice comes through a tiny speaker somewhere in the
ancient hardware.
"The police want to come up," a voice says. I assume it must be the Korean who
went to talk to the officers. "What shall I tell them?"
"Tell them I will join them when I can. My secretary will give them a tour
until I can meet with them." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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