Android X: The Complete Series Page 24

  “But the network is down,” Fahrens said.

  “Not the black market,” Shortcut said. “She’s been using avatars and meeting with someone.”

  “For what?” X asked.

  “Who knows? But if Crenshaw was in the black market, then that’s where she’s been broadcasting from. It’s why we couldn’t trace her. She’s routing her signal through the black market, which is scrambling her location. The next time we see her, I’ll search for her signal on the black market, and I bet I’ll find her.”

  “It’s worth a try,” Fahrens said.

  “But we’ve only got one shot. If Crenshaw finds out what we’re doing, she’ll change her strategy and we’ll be screwed.”

  “We’ll bait her,” X said. “With Dr. Crenshaw’s information.”

  A few minutes later, they stood before the Council. X explained his plan again.

  “That’s a risky idea,” the Councilman from North America said.

  “Yes, sir,” X said, “But it is also our best chance. Is there a way for the Council to restore my memory chips? We can offer them to Crenshaw. That should get her interested.”

  “But if we fail, the UEA as we know it is finished,” Fahrens said.

  “If we don’t do this, the UEA as we know it is finished,” X said.

  “And we can’t locate her already?” the Councilman from North America asked. “We can’t send in special forces to take her out?”

  “Crenshaw’s position is impossible to find,” Fahrens said. “Mr. Aaronheart’s plan to trace her is our best chance. Crenshaw has been several steps ahead of us all along, but I’m not so sure she’ll expect this.”

  “I don’t like the plan,” the Councilman from Australia said. “It’s too risky. If we lose, then we’ve just given away our national treasure—and our bargaining power. I don’t think you truly appreciate the value of Dr. Crenshaw’s work.”

  Fahrens banged the table. “What good is his research if we don’t live to enjoy it? We have to act quickly or we’ll lose our opportunity.”

  “We’ve been patient with you, Commander,” the Councilwoman from Europe said. “We know you’re doing your best, but we do not believe X is ready for his memory chips.”

  X’s eyes widened as the Councilwoman from Europe continued.

  “The real reason we haven’t given you your memory chips is the same reason we haven’t given Crenshaw her father’s information. Yes, you are entitled to your memory, X, and yes, Crenshaw is legally entitled to copies of the doctor’s information. But Dr. Crenshaw didn’t want that.”

  “What do you mean ‘he didn’t want that’?” X asked. His tone was sharper than he intended.

  “Dr. Crenshaw was many things. He also happened to be an adept estate planner. We hold his property in trust.”

  “In trust?” Shortcut asked. “For who?”

  “Dr. Crenshaw’s will states that we are not to release any of his research to Jeanette unless she devotes herself to the UEA. Jeanette was a talented android engineer. We believe that she could one day be as good, if not greater, than her father. But she lacks a fundamental understanding of business and the shrewdness it takes to run a scientific laboratory that contributes to the world. Until she learns those abilities, her inheritance is off limits.”

  “That’s pretty harsh, don’t you think?” Shortcut asked.

  “Those were Dr. Crenshaw’s words, not ours,” the Councilman from North America said.

  “What happens if she doesn’t earn her inheritance?” X asked.

  The Councilwoman from Europe sighed. “Then all of his property and estate passes to you, X.”

  “Holy moly macaroni,” Shortcut said. “X is the heir to the richest scientist in the history of the world? All of Dr. Crenshaw’s assets?”

  “All of it,” the Councilwoman said.

  “But I don’t understand,” X said. “I’m an android.”

  “A successor android,” the Councilwoman said. “He designed you for this very purpose. In the event of his death and the event that his daughter is unfit, you will oversee the continuation of his legacy.”

  “Does Jeanette know this?”

  “No,” the Councilwoman said. “And heaven help us if she finds out.”

  X thought for a moment. He felt the android equivalent of anger and bitterness at the Council for concealing his past from him. He scowled. “So why didn’t you give me my memories?”

  “Dr. Crenshaw makes everyone earn their rights,” the Councilman from North America said. “He said you wouldn’t be ready until you received your first memory upgrades. To our knowledge, that hasn’t happened.”

  “Yes, it has,” X said. “I’ve received two already.”

  The Council gasped. The Councilman from North America said, “X, tell us what you saw.”

  “When Crenshaw attacked the UEA the first time, I received an upgrade. I saw the doctor, and it felt real. We were in his laboratory. Shortly after that, Jeanette tried to reprogram me but she couldn’t. It must have been the upgrade. Then, not too long ago, I was accosted by humans who were angry with the UEA. I had another memory of Dr. Crenshaw, Mrs. Crenshaw and Jeanette.”

  “And where were you in that memory?” the Councilman from North America asked.

  X sensed that the question was loaded. “Aruba.”

  The members of the Council looked at each other, concerned.

  “Why didn’t you say anything sooner, X?” the Councilman from North America asked. “If we had known these details, we would have given the chips to you.”

  X shook his head. “I didn’t feel it was my place. I stayed quiet out of duty to the mission.”

  The Councilman from Australia laughed dryly. “I’ll be damned. Happened exactly like the big man said it would. Even in death, he’s smarter than us.”

  “And speaking of death,” Shortcut said, “There’s going to be a lot of it if we don’t do something.”

  “Brielle, bring us X’s chips.” The Councilman from North America looked at X and smiled. “It’s time for an upgrade.”

  Chapter 17

  Brielle returned to the room, ceremoniously carrying a small wooden box.

  “On behalf of the Council, I present you your memory.” She opened the box, revealing two small chips resting on velvet foam. “The first chip is your memories. I’ll insert that first. Once your memories are restored, I’ll insert Dr. Crenshaw’s research into your chips. All you have to do is download the data into the second chip and deliver it to Crenshaw. Hopefully it doesn’t actually come to that, but if it does, we’ve made copies so they won’t be completely lost.”

  X sat down in a chair and opened the side of his skull. “Got it.”

  Brielle inserted the first chip into X’s head. As it clicked in place, a rush of feelings and memories flooded through him. Everything mixed together, and he saw Dr. Crenshaw, Mrs. Crenshaw, Jeanette, the UEA headquarters, the siege, Aruba, Xadrian, the museum of natural history, and earlier memories that he did not yet understand because they were still downloading. He tried to stand, but the rush of information was too much. Several progress bars hovered over his vision, and everything around him turned into millions of lines of code.

  “X, are you okay?” Brielle asked.

  X tried to stand, but he collapsed.

  He woke up in a funeral home. He stood up and noticed caskets everywhere, some open, some closed. Dr. Crenshaw lay inside a casket next to him, his hands across his chest, a peaceful look on his face. He wore a stark white suit and a rose was tucked in his breast pocket.

  Dr. Crenshaw opened his eyes and looked over at X.

  “What do you think?” the doctor asked.

  “W-What?” X stumbled backward in shock.

  “This casket? I think it’s too small.” Dr. Crenshaw climbed out of the casket and straightened his suit. Then he looked at a price tag hanging from the corner. “Lordy. I’m not going to pay sixteen thousand dollars for a glorified box.”

  Dr. Crensha
w walked around the rest of the room, studying the caskets. X hesitated, then followed.

  “The thing about death,” Dr. Crenshaw said, “is that it’s so uncertain. No one knows what happens afterward. Maybe you go to heaven, maybe you go to hell. Maybe you get reincarnated as a baby or a dog or a grasshopper. Maybe nothing happens and the screen just goes dark from now until the end of time and you lie in peaceful rest.”

  “Why are you talking about death?”

  “I’ve got to be ready when my time comes.”

  X remembered this day, but the preceding events were fuzzy; a few days before, Dr. Crenshaw had almost died, but he couldn’t remember how. The events were locked in a memory he hadn’t processed yet. The near-death experience had scared everyone in the house—Mrs. Crenshaw, Jeanette, and the rest of the android crew, X included. He remembered Jeanette crying when Dr. Crenshaw told her that he was going to go pick out a casket and a plot. She had screamed at him and stormed out of the house.

  “My daughter thinks I’ve given up on life,” Dr. Crenshaw said, chuckling. “The truth is that I’m just getting started.”

  “But why focus on death?”

  “Because I’m trying to build something bigger than just me. Bigger than you, X. Death would be awfully inconvenient right now, but if it happens, I’ve got to be ready.”

  More of the day’s memories flowed into X. He remembered that, earlier in the day, they had gone to an attorney and an accountant. Now they were here, in this funeral home.

  “You, too, are going to have to prepare for death someday, X,” Dr. Crenshaw said, leaning against a casket. He unwrapped a piece of hard candy and put it in his mouth, swirling it around.

  “You’re right.”

  “Have you thought about it?”

  “About death? No, sir.”

  “You’ve never thought about what will happen to your consciousness once your chips stop working?”

  “I’ll no longer exist.”

  “Does that bother you?”

  “No.”

  “Atta boy.”

  Dr. Crenshaw clapped his hands together and said, “X, record the rest of our conversation and file it away as ‘Important.’”

  X blinked, and a recording icon appeared in his peripheral vision, along with a timer.

  Dr. Crenshaw started to speak, then stopped, trying to find the right words. He started slowly at first, but then found his rhythm.

  “Death is sad, but what makes us truly human is our memories, as long as we don’t cling to them in an unhealthy way. The next time you review this video, I may be gone. What I want you to remember is that there’s only so much in our lives that’s within our control. I’m trying to get Jeanette to understand that. To accept it. Maybe one day in my lifetime someone will come up with a breakthrough discovery that lets humans live forever. If that happens, I’ll stick around. But if that doesn’t happen, I’ll be gone one day. And yes, it might sound morbid, but I want you to remember me without being too sad. That goes for anyone in this world, and it applies to humans and androids alike. Clinging to the past is expected at first, but it will become a weakness. I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to accomplish something. Lord knows I ain’t got no time for weakness!”

  He laughed and motioned to X to stop recording. “Thanks. Just had to get that off my chest, partner. But today will come in handy some day in the future.”

  “What do you mean?” X asked.

  Dr. Crenshaw stopped at a blue casket, surveyed it, and then touched an access panel next to it, purchasing it. “There. I’m done thinking about caskets for today. Let’s get out of this place before I start talking nonsense.” They walked out of the door and entered the sunshine.

  X expected to see a busy street outside, but instead he saw Shortcut and Brielle gathered over him.

  “What the heck happened to you?” Shortcut asked.

  “It was … another memory,” X said, climbing to his feet.

  “What did you see?” Fahrens said.

  “Dr. Crenshaw,” X said.

  Everyone gasped.

  “What did he say?” Shortcut said.

  X adjusted his cuff links, walked over to the digital screen and entered a code.

  “Are you going to answer us?” Shortcut asked nervously.

  Moments later, Jeanette appeared. “So, have you made a decision?” she asked.

  “Name the place,” X said.

  Chapter 18

  X and Shortcut stood in an abandoned warehouse. It was completely empty except for piles of scattered boxes and trash. Clerestory windows above let in moonlight.

  Shortcut turned on the lights, illuminating a chair and a single terminal with a digital screen in the middle of the floor.

  They heard Jeanette’s voice from speakers above. “Sit and upload the data.”

  X and Shortcut approached the seat in silence, only communicating with their eyes. The terminal had a camera on it. X scanned the room and noticed cameras everywhere.

  X sat down as a metal rod extended from the terminal. He opened his skull and stuck the rod into his black box. The rod attached with surprising strength, locking him in a vice grip.

  “Upload,” Jeanette said again.

  X sorted through Dr. Crenshaw’s research and organized it into columns ranging from least important to most important. He bet on the fact that Jeanette wouldn’t know the difference. He began to upload the nonessential information first, and at a slow rate. The terminal pinged every few seconds.

  “Yes!” Jeanette said. “Finally. Upload faster!”

  X increased the stream of information. Dr. Crenshaw’s speeches and television interviews flowed into the terminal.

  “I want my father’s research,” Jeanette said. “Send that.”

  “Now, Shortcut!” X said.

  Shortcut drew a gun and shot the metal rod; it broke and crashed to the floor, detaching from X’s black box. X closed his skull and jumped away from the terminal.

  Shortcut’s lens lit up and he pulled up a digital screen, typing a string of commands into it furiously. A giant picture of a lock appeared on the terminal screen as Jeanette roared.

  “What have you done?” Jeanette asked.

  Shortcut sat down and blinked six times in rapid succession. A green wall of information appeared around him. “Game on,” he said.

  The terminal sprouted guns but X shot them before they could fire. He stood with his back to Shortcut and said, “Good luck, buddy.”

  “Big mistake,” Jeanette said.

  “That’s a weird looking terminal,” a voice said from above. They both glanced up in surprise.

  Jazzlyn dropped from the ceiling with her guns drawn. “Who’s the kid?”

  “Not a good time,” X said.

  “This is the perfect time to settle our vendetta,” Jazzlyn said. “I don’t care how many times I have to fight you to succeed.”

  “How do you keep finding me?” X asked.

  “Let’s just say I work for someone who is paying me a premium price for you.”

  “You’re late,” Jeanette said.

  “I had trouble finding this place. Wait a minute—who are you?”

  “You work for me,” Jeanette said.

  “Noooo. I work for Condor.”

  The burning condor logo flashed on the screen, and Jeanette’s image flickered and wavered between her normal self and the man in the hood.

  “Jeanette Crenshaw!” Jazzyln sneered. “So you wanted the Crenshaw android because you’re a Crenshaw. Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning?”

  “I don’t pay you to ask questions,” Jeanette said. “Finish X.”

  “Sure will,” Jazzlyn said. “Except we have one problem. I won’t work for you—ever.”

  Jazzlyn fired at the terminal, cracking the screen.

  “You’re a disappointment,” Jeanette said. “Very well. Our deal is off.”

  The windows broke as several dozen androids burst into the warehouse and
gathered around X, Shortcut, and Jazzlyn. Xadrian flew in on his disk and hovered over them.

  “We’re not going to tolerate your games,” Xadrian said. “We’re going to kill all of you.”

  “Seriously, what’s up with your hair?” Jazzlyn asked.

  “You’re one to talk, you rainbow-headed freak!”

  Smoochums jumped up and down on Jazzlyn’s shoulder, fuming from the insult. Jazzlyn shushed him. “It’s okay, honey. When he’s being sold on the black market, we’ll see who the freak is.”

  The androids drew their weapons.

  “Looks like we’re on the same side for a change,” X said.

  “I don’t choose sides,” Jazzlyn said. “I’m just trying to survive. But we could use some help. Is your friend going to stop playing video games or what?

  Shortcut remained on the floor, typing.

  “Seriously, what’s that kid doing?” Jazzlyn asked.

  “Saving our lives,” X said as Crenshaw’s androids attacked.

  Shortcut’s vision surged forward and he appeared on a virtual cobblestone street with several brick storefronts. The sky was orange and the sun a red disk in the sky. He had never been to this place before, but he had heard Frantz talk about it.

  “I’m in,” Shortcut said. “Commander, go ahead and send in help.”

  All around him, a fleet of S.W.A.T. androids appeared and saluted Shortcut.

  “Oh, come on. What’s with the uniforms? You guys are just android engineers.”

  One of the androids shrugged. “Can’t we have a bit of fun every now and again?”

  Shortcut pointed to the old-fashioned storefront of CLANDESTINE MEETINGS, INC. and grinned. “Let’s move out.”

  The team fanned out around him, taking cover in the shade of the building just out of sight of the windows.

  Shortcut tried the door to the shop, but it was locked and the window shades were down. A S.W.A.T. engineer placed a small box on the door. It beeped several times, then injected code into the door. A spider web of light appeared inside the door before it disappeared.

  “That beats a battering ram any day,” Shortcut said.