Jamie Atkins had been travelling down Jeffry's Trail at a generally constant speed of around sixty or seventy kilometres an hour for just over an hour. Her destination was Seattle in Washington. Her reason was that somehow she hoped to become a pilot of some description, perhaps in the commercial area of it - make it a profession rather than going crop-dusting back on the outskirts of her hometown in Kelowna. Who knew, maybe somehow she'd be able to fly one of those fancy-looking space-planes that went to the moon and back. To think, she had the possibility of making it into space and fly through it like the nothingness was a sea and the plane a cruise liner; and she would shepherd people through one of the formerly greatest barriers of mankind. She had experience in both helicopter and propeller alike, and was hoping that with training, she would accumulate the knowledge to fly jets. Then she heard and felt a thud from the car.
"Shit!" Jamie yelled after she realised what she'd done. Instantly she slammed on the brakes and caused the car to come to a standstill, quickly grinding it's wheels against the asphalt. Damn it, why did she have to get caught up in her own thoughts and not pay attention to the road in front of her? Unfortunately, that had been the downfall of many a deer she'd come across when driving. It was lucky she was driving a Ute; that way if the creature was still alive, she could take it to the nearest veterinary clinic ASAP. Jamie never wanted to intentionally kill another living thing, but wildlife casualties were inevitability when road vehicles were first introduced to human civilisation, and especially when you cut a road straight through a native forest.
Jamie pulled back on the handbrake and pushed open the door, "Oh no oh no oh no oh no," she exclaimed to herself as she moved to the front of her car, "don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead." Whatever she hit wasn't there, but whatever she hit also left a big dent in her bumper. That would cost her a few hundred dozen pretty pennies, and she couldn't expect any charity from anyone in the city. She knelt down and peeked under the vehicle, expecting to see the carcass of her victim although she hoped there had been no dragging while it was still alive, then again, death by dragging would have been just as bad. Blood everywhere... how could she live with such an image?
To her surprise, there was no blood, or flesh, or anything of the like, in fact the thing she hit wasn't even an animal. Well... it was an animal, but it wasn't a living one, it was a robotic representation of... something. And that robotic representation of something living was staring back at her with closed eyelids. Oh good lord, had she killed a robot? That would be just as bad, especially when it has such an innocent look and air around it. Maybe it could be salvaged, yes; maybe if she took it to some IT place in Seattle maybe they could fix it; restore its memory if any was lost in the accident.
Jamie reached as far as she could into the underbelly and grabbed the head, and then pulled as gently as she could, trying not to grind the metal against the asphalt. Gradually the bulk of the body followed in the same direction, and she recognised what the machine was made in the shape of; Jamie had seen many of them before her father requested her help with the fields of wheat. Rather he demanded her help, but nonetheless her dream to become a palaeontologist was cut short because of her family ties. She was looking into the eyes of a robotic coelophysis, the first of any fully mobile dinosaurs she had seen - but for now it was quite still instead of moving about the place with ease. Coming with the body was a rather large lather satchel, and when she opened it, she found an anthology of books all written by the same author, and a map that had two distinct locations circled in red. Most certainly odd. Jamie took another glance at the machine in front of her. The metal parts were all so perfectly formed and connected; exactly in the same proportions as the fossils in Ghost Ranch, except it was smaller than an adult of the species, and perhaps the face was a little more robust than most. Most, though, there were some with a head like that, like that well preserved specimen that that Simon... Murray, yeah, Simon Murray found it, purely by chance of course. Anyone could have found it. Even she could have. If Simon was the owner of this construct, she would laugh loud an hard; he'd always seemed obsessed with that skeleton ever since its find - even stating how sad the creatures death was in university classes. It was tiring hearing the same thing over and over, and whenever she wished to talk to him, he was usually lost in thought, staring into a wall or out the window or nowhere in particular.
Nonetheless, she hit this robot with her car, and now it could have severe memory loss or it could have broken entirely. Jamie carefully loaded the robot into the passenger side - if it woke up during the remainder of the journey, it would easily be able to jump out from the unenclosed rear. Although if it woke up in the driver's compartment and it was completely defective, she could be injured with any thrashing or jump attempts. Worst-case scenario was that any struggling would cause her to crash. Again.
Jamie crossed back around to her side and started up the car. She pulled back the gear stick and accelerated forward, and occasionally as she drove she found herself gazing back to her passenger. This was because she was afraid it may wake up any second, but also because there was no grazing marks; no signs anywhere on it that it had been dragged for a few metres under a car. Not even a... no there were some dirt marks, but still it amazed, no, it confused her that there was no other evidence that the dinosaur had been dragged.
Jamie dialled up one of Seattle's better-known IT stores.
"Hello, this Exquis-IT PC repair and servicing, I am Mick, how can I help you?""Hey, Mick, this is Jamie Atkins on my way to Seattle from Kelowna, I have... run into some kind of robot with my car. Any chance you have a free moment within two hours or so?""Wait, wait, hold on a second, you ran into a robot with your car?""Yeah, it just appeared out of the forest along Jeffry's Trail. And it didn't notice me until it was too late. I couldn't stop.""Now, I've heard of people accidentally losing their PC from the boot while driving," Mick laughed, "but running into a robot? So what do you expect me to do, somehow repair whatever damage you've done?""How the hell am I supposed to know, it's not like I'm Superman with X-ray vision. I just want to know if the memory is intact so I can ask it where it came from... if it can talk.""You mean, if it remembers how to talk.""That too.""Well... can you tell me how complex it is?""What?""Does it look sophisticated or not?""I... guess so. Look, I don't know; I've never even seen inside a computer before. I'm just a crop-duster.""No need to give me your life story. Okay, I'll have a look, but I don't see what exactly I can do. Just come over here and I'll take a look. I can fit you in at around about 10:20A.M.""Thanks. Also, there doesn't seem to be any outer damage to it. Is that a good sign?""Sometimes it is, but the damage can be internal even though there isn't much damaged to the external structure. Just come over at 10:20, okay? And I've got a customer who's shoplifting, bye."
Mick hung up. Jamie pressed ‘end call' on her phone, and then continued driving forwards, following the road as it winded through the greenery. She looked back to her victim again, who was still silently resting on the rear seats, but now it was twitching every now and then with its feet and hands, as if it were... dreaming...? No, no, it couldn't be; no one could do that. It was imposs... implausible... for someone to do that. But of course, who was she to judge? All she'd ever really known about computers and coding was using her own to surf the Internet. And even there she had difficulty. For all she knew, some high-class corporation already invented that sort of thing. Maybe this robot was a high-class corporation prototype, and maybe they'd give a reward to anyone who returns it. Oh, ho ho ho, if that was the case, then all her financial troubles and needs would be met, and she wouldn't need to worry about anything for a long, long time.
"...What I mean is that I can't detect any entry of any kind. I mean... one of them has a way to check the coding and from what I can see that... Alma is fine but there's something else there taking up the other half of the CPU. I don't know what it is, but I can't get any sort of entry. There's no obvious security procedures and I don't see any back door, no side doors either.""So what does that mean, Mick?""It's like... like someone designed it and then completely cut off any chance for it to be modified or... I don't know. I don't know. Okay? I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this.""Do you know if this... other thing is significant to... who was it again?""Alma? I don't know. But there's no way of knowing. All it is identified by is Newblood.""So what's that supposed to mean?""I don't know! Look... Alma seems to be okay. Okay? Newblood is the one I'm not sure about.""So what do I do now? Can anyone else... hack into Newblood?""No one. There are about fifteen other IT places in Seattle, and they're all as experienced as me. Take it to any one of them and they'll say the same thing. Newblood can't be hacked by any one of us.""Still, what do I do?""Finding her owner's the best choice I think.""How would I do that?""Jeffry's Trail. That's where you ran her down, so that's where you should start looking.""But what about the robot?""Alma.""Alma, what about her? Shouldn't we wake her up first?""... Never thought about that. Yeah, we should. She could tell us who her owner is.""Simon's not my owner..."
Jamie and Mick looked down to the table where the coelophysis was just waking up. Through blurred vision, Alma could see the foggy outlines of their faces with the same surprised expression, the female whom she assumed to be Jamie was more so than the other one, Mick. She'd been listening through the whole conversation since she awoke. Alma had been taught by Simon that if she were ever to go into urban areas, then listening in on others' conversations was not a very considerate thing, but this conversation concerned her, so in a way it was her right to. After all, she didn't know where she was exactly; for all she knew she was in Damocles, and in that case she'd need any information about the place available.
"She's awake," she heard Jamie whisper.
"Yeah, I noticed," came Mick with the same volume.
"Well, what do I say?""You could start by telling me where I am," said Alma sternly, now trying to shift her weight to her feet. This was difficult as her head was still spinning from the impact with the car, "Please?"
The two strangers looked at each other as if the question was a difficult one to answer. Jamie, keeping her eyes on Mick, nodded towards Alma, trying to get him to have the first shot at the reply. Oh, honestly, Alma thought, is it really that hard?"What's your name, little one?" asked Mick peacefully.
Alma flinched, "Tell me where I am first.""You are in Seattle," Jamie replied.
"Is that anywhere near Damocles?"
Instantly they withdrew. Jamie spoke to Mick, "Damocles?""Then again," he said back, "I could be wrong about the memory.""I'm fine," Alma intervened, though cursing in her head as she stumbled a little upon finally standing up, "really.""...Well, what's your name?" Mick asked again.
"My name is Alma, but you two already knew that.""Well, yes, but I had to be sure you weren't suffering from any major memory loss from-""When she ran me over.""When she ran you over."
Jamie gave a look of annoyance and crossed her arms, "So I'm the bad guy here?""Oh no, no, no," Alma answered playfully, "you're the one who nearly wiped my memory clean. Nothing serious or anything like that."
Mick began to snigger at the remark, and Jamie also loosened her look of annoyance enough to let out a smirk, "So who's Simon?" she questioned calmly, "You don't mean Simon Murray do you?"
Alma narrowed her eyes and stiffened her joints a little, "How do you know Simon?""Murray? Simon Murray's your owner?!""He's not my owner... How do you know him?""Wha... he actually did it." Jamie said to herself, now walking in a small circle, holding her mouth, "He really did it!""Did what?""Yeah, did what, Jamie?" Mick intruded, carried by curiosity.
"Well... In university... Simon kept going on about this dinosaur he found in New Mexico. It'd somehow found its way into a cave and the entrance collapsed and... it died alone... Sad, I know, but even after Simon found it, even after he received a huge reward from finding it -‘coz it was so well preserved - he just wouldn't stop going on about how sad it was. Like... how it felt in its last moments... or... thinking about why it found its way into there. He somehow came up with this wild theory that it was smart because of a few scrapings in the wall too. But it doesn't really matter. That dinosaur was a coelophysis. Alma, here, is a robotic coelophysis, made by Simon.""So you think that obsession was the only reason he created me?""Well... kinda...""You have no idea what we've been through.""No, I don't, but I intend to give you back.""You can't.""Why not?""He's gone.""What do you mean he's gone?""He's not there and I can't go back. I've got to... Where's my map?"
Mick, seeming like he was feeling left out, jumped into the conversation yet again, "What map?""I had a bag with books and a map.""Well that would have simplified where she came from now wouldn't have it, Jamie?"
Jamie flung her arms up defensively, "Well sorry, it was at the back of my mind. I swear I would have thought about it sooner or later if she hadn't woken up.""Are you accusing me of something?""Ladies, I'm detecting increasing tensions here; can we please calm down. Now let's take a look at the map, Jamie.""It's in my car. Don't worry, I'll get it.""Of course you'll get it; you're the only one who can get your car open... excluding any friends or family."
Jamie left the room.
The room itself was pretty bland - shelves lined the four walls and continued in formal lines into the interior. Stored on the shelves were cardboard boxes and biodegradable plastic tubs that had been labelled with the names of different computer components. The platform Alma was standing on was little more than a well-maintained island workbench that protruded from a grey concrete floor. Sticking out from two of the sides of said island were the handles of many draws that, she assumed, contained repair and working tools of different varieties. There were several LED lamps providing white light throughout the workplace. Now that she was getting her other senses back, her head felt sore, like it had been bashed in by hundreds of bricks all at once travelling at high velocity. And the place... it didn't exactly reek or have stench... the place wafted with the scent of welding and circuit-frying smoke. Alma could also hear the distant sound of cars from a door behind her. The very thought of them moving fast made her involuntarily shudder. Speaking of cars...
"What's with that ‘you're the only one who can open your car' business?" Alma asked inquisitively.
Mick looked surprised that she'd picked up on that small part of the conversation, but still he replied. "Oh... It's a... er... security thing.""What kind of thing?""A thing where only you - you meaning the owner of certain things - can access those certain things. So say if you have a car, like Miss Atkins there, only she can unlock it and start it up.""How does that work?""It's too complicated to explain.""I have time.""...Heh... Well... DNA scanning technology. It's integrated into just about everything today. If you're the owner, all you have to do is touch the car's handle, the car unlocks. Touch the car's ignition tab, the car starts up and you can drive. You can also allow others to access your things as well by going online and saying what they can and can't. It's a genius system. It's also allowed the government to match against the rising crime rate.""How?""Inquisitive thing aren't you? Anyway. Through a heavily monitored system of those scanning surfaces and CCTV cameras, the law can practically find the location of anyone in a populated area. If a known criminal's out there, they'll find him sure enough. Thanks to that, gloves are almost a no-go in the cities, unless it is a cold day in winter. If the cops start a chase when the guy's in a car, they can just call for the car to be shut down wirelessly. Same goes for a foot chase - any doors in the vicinity can be locked.""Isn't that sort of thing violating personal information or something?""That question's been raised a lot, but...""But what?"
Mick closed in towards Alma's face, keeping his voice and his head nice and low. Alma could see nervousness on his face, "Dare I say it aloud, most of the people who question too far stop asking suddenly. I mean, there was the reporter once who was asking whether this would mean we could be manipulated in any way... A day later someone had a head-on collision with his car. They both died at the scene. Other guys who ask about these sorts of things suddenly move on to other topics... I don't like it.""I see...""Look... What do you know about all this?""Nothing, only as much as you've said.""Well... All I will say is that ever since the new President came to office... things have been getting both better and worse. The gates were never there until Fox was.""...What?""Mick! I got it!""Ah," Mick responded with a look of relief to Jamie who was walking in from the room's garage door down at the far end, "then lay it down here... er... if you wouldn't mind scooting off, Alma.""Don't worry about it."
Jamie laid out the small-ish map on the workbench for all to see. Alma stood at the very edge of the table, trusting herself to keep balance, but even as she started she was finding it difficult to focus on both balancing and reading the map. The two red circles were in plain sight for everyone at attention.
"So you came from where exactly?" asked Mick.
"Mount Carlick," Alma replied, and then pointed out with her right foot to the northern-most circle, "there.""So... damn... I took you a long way-""Off course? Yes, by a long way. I'm supposed to be meeting with Ethan's friend... I mean Simon's friend - Ethan, here near El Capitan.""Ethan's in on this too?""Apparently. How long have you known Simon, Jamie?""Ever since university. And you?""Since I was bor... made... two years ago."
Yeah, if we could stop delving into each other's personal lives, that would be great.
Ugh, fine."You were about to say that you were born, weren't you?" questioned Mick.
"...So what if I was? You have a problem with that?""Oh, no, no... Never met a robot before, and certainly not one like you.""Is that good or bad?""Good. What I mean by that is that you're full of character."
Did Alma just feel warmth generate at her cheeks?
"...Anyhoo..." Jamie politely interrupted, "It seems that for whatever reason it is, you can't go back to Simon's place, so you have to go to Ethan's correct?""Yeah.""So you have to somehow get from here in Seattle all the way over near El Capitan?""Right again.""And I guess since I accidentally ran you over, I am the one obliged to take you there?""If you would be so kind.""And that's brilliant because I was hoping to get a career as a pilot here!"
Mick pointed to the map, "But there's a city just outside the eastern valley, Darby, I think it says.""Maybe you could get your career around there?" Alma suggested.
Jamie pulled back from the table and held her hand to her chin in contemplation, and she stood like that for about a minute. The silence before she broke it was awkward, "What about accommodation? I've heard it's quite a tourist spot with the mountain ranges ‘n' all. Hotels would be booked out I'd think.""Maybe Ethan would let you stay at his...?""Oh c'mon, Jamie. Look, she's practically begging for you to take her.""How can I tell? She hasn't got a face full of muscles."
Alma lowered her head a little, "Don't remind me.""Oh I'm sorry, Alma," Jamie apologised, "You know what? Maybe it is time for another road trip." Alma was growing fidgety with joy. She now had a new friend who was willing to help her! "I mean, after all, what've I got to lose?"
This was one of the very few moments Alma thanked that she didn't have skin, because she knew her guilt would have shown instantly after Jamie said that last bit. While she hated herself for doing so, Alma dared not tell Jamie yet that she had her life to lose.
Within all respects, Seattle was a good-looking place. Despite Alma natural distaste for urbanised areas, she found the city respectable for its cleverly designed skyscrapers and other structures. She was no certified art critic, but she found the combination of curved and straight lines appealing to the eye. Unfortunately, there was a minimal amount of green space, though there was the odd tree or two here and there lining the street. While she was familiar to them, she knew that they were aliens of green and brown in this metropolis of grey concrete and reflective glass. Aside from the out-of-place trees and brightly coloured advertisements, the general colour scheme of the city stayed pretty much the same; white, grey, and black, and if it weren't for the presence of said advertisements and trees, Alma was certain she was going colour-blind. Good looking? Yes. Boring? Certainly.
Alma simulated a sigh and slunk away from the car's window. Just as well; the CCTV cameras may have spotted her if she'd stayed next to it a little longer Just like she was three days ago, give or take, she was completely and utterly bored. There was nothing to do except listen to the car's radio, and even then there wasn't much on that really took her fancy. Alma liked more ‘old school stuff', as Simon called it; those old band music that Simon had on his MP3 player, the ones like Coldplay or... or Approaching Nirvana, or even Hans Zimmer. Those two were her favourites - they both were completely genius with their use and design of soundscapes. Now she wished Simon had put the audio device in her bag, but then Alma realised she had no folds of skin around her ears to hold the earphones. She began to wonder how Simon's friend, Hellcat, was doing - whether he, or she, was successful in doing what needed to be done with that cell, and whether it would mean she could finally have skin.
Jamie was obviously enjoying herself up in the front seat as she was humming in tune with the current song. Whatever the song was, it was okay, not brilliant, but okay enough that it was catchy and Alma started tapping her left claw in time with the beat. If sound was her surrogate for taste, then music tasted sweet.
"Thanks again for taking me," Alma acknowledged, "and sorry again for-""Sorry for what?" Jamie asked indifferently, "I ran you over ‘coz I wasn't watching the road. If this is a punishment, I think I deserve it."Maybe, Alma guiltily thought, but you don't deserve their wrath. You're my only transport, but you... She sighed again.
"Tell me about Simon, Alma," requested Jamie, "how's he doing?"
The passenger widened her eyes as she metaphorically felt a stone hit her in the back of the head. Yet another time she was glad she didn't have a face full of muscles. "He's... okay... I guess," she answered nervously, trying to keep the jumpiness out of her voice, "but how am I supposed to know at this exact moment?""Well I don't know, super x-ray vision?""...Really, Jamie?""Heh heh, just kiddin' with you. But what I mean to say is... Never mind."
How long was she going to keep her predicament a secret, Alma wondered. She hoped that they would reach Ethan's before any of them showed up. If they did, then Alma would have a lot of explaining to do to Jamie, but then again, Jamie would want an explanation for why she was migrating sooner or later anyway. So it was not a matter of ‘if', but more so a matter of ‘when' and ‘how'. As in when the time came, how would Alma to tell her new travel companion that there were government forces that wanted her brain to restart a project that was initiated for the purpose to replace soldiers with robot slaves. It sounded a bit cartoonish when she thought about it like that, but it did not lift the fact that Jamie would probably be scared off if she told her. It would be understandable if she did though - if Alma had told her old self that, she would probably run off never to be seen or heard of again as well. Her conscience told her to tell Jamie, but her legs and her mind told her otherwise. Oh deities above, which was she to listen to?
"Alma," Jamie called, "could you do me a favour and pull out the street directory?""What's wrong?""I think I've taken a wrong turn somewhere along the line.""What am I looking for?""I don't know which street we're on yet.""No, I mean what does the street directory look like? I've never seen it before.""Oh... It looks like a thin touch-screen tablet and it should be in the back pocket of my seat."
She spotted it and slid the transparent touchpad out. "Okay, I have it, but how do I turn it on?""Just say the word.""On...?"
The transparent screen lit up to reveal a street map of the surrounding five hundred metres, including exact building dimensions, address numbers, and other cars on the road. Remarkable.
"Now just scroll around the place until you find an exit going eastward."
Alma did as requested and lightly dragged one of her clawed fingers across the screen. According to the directory, which seemed to double as a GPS, they were proceeding south along Montlake Blvd. In the current direction they were heading, it seemed that Interstate 90 was the closest major easterly outlet from the city. Major would mean more traffic, and therefore more cover.
"Take the fourth right after the bridge coming up," Alma instructed, "we'll take Evergreen Point Bridge over to Interstate 405, then cut down to 90.""You seem to be an adept navigator." Jamie observed.
Alma shrugged, "Simon taught me many things.""So it seems."
After crossing the bridge, Alma noted that to either side of the Ute there were yet more skyscrapers. Instead of the simple house that would have been there about a hundred years ago, there were well-maintained apartment blocks. Most were identical, though there were the odd few that caught the eye's attention by the use of a statue or an angle or some other element of art aside from emphasis.
The car jerked right, and in response Alma slid along the rear seats heading in the other direction, struggling to get a grip on the fabric with her feet, but also not to damage it at the same time. As per the directory had predicted, the Ute had turned a full 270-degree rotation and was now following the tarmac down towards the beginning of the floating bridge.
"How you doing back there, Alma?"
The dinosaur rebalanced herself, "Oh don't mind me," she returned playfully, "just barely coping with centrifugal force and all.""You know that's why we invented seatbelts.""No, you made them to stop yourselves from hitting the dashboard or flying out the windshield.""Same thing applies..." Jamie's happy tone drifted off.
"What is it?""I... think I might know..." the car slowed down, "Stay inside."
Jamie exited the Ute and started walking forwards. Alma followed her shape as it went further into the light of the afternoon sun. She followed Jamie's shape as it came closer and closer towards a large metal gate.
You remember what Mick's last cautionary words were, don't you?
"Yeah, I know. You think these could be it?"
I honestly have no idea. I was only ever told what I was supposed to do. Never told anything about internal affairs.
"Why would they be there anyway?"
I don't know, but I know whenever there's a barrier, there's always something someone doesn't want getting out, or getting in.
Alma noticed that Jamie was now talking to someone who seemed to be guarding the gates. Whoever it was, he was wearing the same padding the Special Operations troops had at Simon's place, except all the carbon-fibre was a deep navy blue. Instead of an XM155, the guards - now that Alma could see there were at least five or more - had lower-grade AUG A3s. "Who are these guys? Using century-old guns?"
Military Police...
"Military Police?"
What the hell are they doing there?
"Keep me up to speed."
Military Police nowadays are used in places that need a better grade of security, but the police and mainstream military can't take up the job. So whatever they're guarding, it must be important. As for the AUGs, they're actually great designs with low recoil and high durability. And thanks to Metal Storm, they're deadlier than ever.
"Don't bother going into the details of this ‘Metal Storm' thing."
I know, and I won't. The science behind it's a bit difficult to explain. But it basically revolutionised weapons the world over.
"...Jamie's coming back. Look, if you could do me a favour, Newblood?"
Yeah?
"Please talk only when no one else is. I might get mixed up in my head with so many voices talking at once. And... it'd be best if Jamie didn't know about anything."
I'll only talk when it's necessary.
"I remember this one time, I think it was yesterday, when you didn't want to do anything that would help me in any way."
If you could do me a favour, never speak of it again.
"But you specifically said that you-"
Alma began to feel funny. Not funny-sick, she was feeling funny as in funny, like she was being tickled from all over. On the bottom of her feet, underneath her arms, all over she felt like some invisible hand was tickling her. Certainly it was Newblood, and she hoped he would stop, but she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud - she was laughing with a mixture of saurian and literate laughs. And she was still suffering from the laughing fit when the tickling subsided and the door opened.
"What are you laughing about?" Jamie questioned.
Still laughing, Alma merrily replied with, "I just remembered the funniest joke I've ever heard.""...Okay...""So... So what why is the bridge shut off?""Well according to them there's a fugitive somewhere in Bellevue.""...But wouldn't gates be a little, I don't know, excessive?"
Jamie finally sat comfortably in her seat and switched the car on, "My thoughts exactly. Unless the suspect is high profile"
A fugitive. Alma thought of Simon, "Maybe we should find out what's happening."
Jamie turned in her seat to face Alma, "Alma, I will take you to Darby, and I will do anything for you-""Then we can find out-"
Jamie out her index finger on Alma's mouth, "I will do anything for you that is within reason. As much as I want to find out, I have neither the resources nor the motivation. Now where else is there an exit heading east?"
Alma held her gaze for a couple of seconds, and then bowed her head down to the directory again. "We can head back around and go through the city then cut into Interstate 90 instead."
Joshua Ross didn't like the way that woman was asking so many questions about the blockade. Why couldn't people just accept the fact that there were some things that just weren't meant to be questioned? It made his job just that little bit harder. The woman had a Canadian accent. Foreigners weren't meant to head out this way. If that inquisitive nature was to be kept, then she would cause a lot of trouble in other places. That couldn't be allowed.
It was a good thing then that all Military Police were issued with the same helmets as used by both the military ground forces and Special Operations. The licence plate could be checked for who owned the car, and then tracked accordingly. Technology made things too easy these days. How did people before the twenty-second century cope with lawlessness?Jamie Atkins had been travelling down Jeffry's Trail at a generally constant speed of around sixty or seventy kilometres an hour for just over an hour. Her destination was Seattle in Washington. Her reason was that somehow she hoped to become a pilot of some description, perhaps in the commercial area of it - make it a profession rather than going crop-dusting back on the outskirts of her hometown in Kelowna. Who knew, maybe somehow she'd be able to fly one of those fancy-looking space-planes that went to the moon and back. To think, she had the possibility of making it into space and fly through it like the nothingness was a sea and the plane a cruise liner; and she would shepherd people through one of the formerly greatest barriers of mankind. She had experience in both helicopter and propeller alike, and was hoping that with training, she would accumulate the knowledge to fly jets. Then she heard and felt a thud from the car.
"Shit!" Jamie yelled after she realised what she'd done. Instantly she slammed on the brakes and caused the car to come to a standstill, quickly grinding it's wheels against the asphalt. Damn it, why did she have to get caught up in her own thoughts and not pay attention to the road in front of her? Unfortunately, that had been the downfall of many a deer she'd come across when driving. It was lucky she was driving a Ute; that way if the creature was still alive, she could take it to the nearest veterinary clinic ASAP. Jamie never wanted to intentionally kill another living thing, but wildlife casualties were inevitability when road vehicles were first introduced to human civilisation, and especially when you cut a road straight through a native forest.
Jamie pulled back on the handbrake and pushed open the door, "Oh no oh no oh no oh no," she exclaimed to herself as she moved to the front of her car, "don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead." Whatever she hit wasn't there, but whatever she hit also left a big dent in her bumper. That would cost her a few hundred dozen pretty pennies, and she couldn't expect any charity from anyone in the city. She knelt down and peeked under the vehicle, expecting to see the carcass of her victim although she hoped there had been no dragging while it was still alive, then again, death by dragging would have been just as bad. Blood everywhere... how could she live with such an image?
To her surprise, there was no blood, or flesh, or anything of the like, in fact the thing she hit wasn't even an animal. Well... it was an animal, but it wasn't a living one, it was a robotic representation of... something. And that robotic representation of something living was staring back at her with closed eyelids. Oh good lord, had she killed a robot? That would be just as bad, especially when it has such an innocent look and air around it. Maybe it could be salvaged, yes; maybe if she took it to some IT place in Seattle maybe they could fix it; restore its memory if any was lost in the accident.
Jamie reached as far as she could into the underbelly and grabbed the head, and then pulled as gently as she could, trying not to grind the metal against the asphalt. Gradually the bulk of the body followed in the same direction, and she recognised what the machine was made in the shape of; Jamie had seen many of them before her father requested her help with the fields of wheat. Rather he demanded her help, but nonetheless her dream to become a palaeontologist was cut short because of her family ties. She was looking into the eyes of a robotic coelophysis, the first of any fully mobile dinosaurs she had seen - but for now it was quite still instead of moving about the place with ease. Coming with the body was a rather large lather satchel, and when she opened it, she found an anthology of books all written by the same author, and a map that had two distinct locations circled in red. Most certainly odd. Jamie took another glance at the machine in front of her. The metal parts were all so perfectly formed and connected; exactly in the same proportions as the fossils in Ghost Ranch, except it was smaller than an adult of the species, and perhaps the face was a little more robust than most. Most, though, there were some with a head like that, like that well preserved specimen that that Simon... Murray, yeah, Simon Murray found it, purely by chance of course. Anyone could have found it. Even she could have. If Simon was the owner of this construct, she would laugh loud an hard; he'd always seemed obsessed with that skeleton ever since its find - even stating how sad the creatures death was in university classes. It was tiring hearing the same thing over and over, and whenever she wished to talk to him, he was usually lost in thought, staring into a wall or out the window or nowhere in particular.
Nonetheless, she hit this robot with her car, and now it could have severe memory loss or it could have broken entirely. Jamie carefully loaded the robot into the passenger side - if it woke up during the remainder of the journey, it would easily be able to jump out from the unenclosed rear. Although if it woke up in the driver's compartment and it was completely defective, she could be injured with any thrashing or jump attempts. Worst-case scenario was that any struggling would cause her to crash. Again.
Jamie crossed back around to her side and started up the car. She pulled back the gear stick and accelerated forward, and occasionally as she drove she found herself gazing back to her passenger. This was because she was afraid it may wake up any second, but also because there was no grazing marks; no signs anywhere on it that it had been dragged for a few metres under a car. Not even a... no there were some dirt marks, but still it amazed, no, it confused her that there was no other evidence that the dinosaur had been dragged.
Jamie dialled up one of Seattle's better-known IT stores.
"Hello, this Exquis-IT PC repair and servicing, I am Mick, how can I help you?""Hey, Mick, this is Jamie Atkins on my way to Seattle from Kelowna, I have... run into some kind of robot with my car. Any chance you have a free moment within two hours or so?""Wait, wait, hold on a second, you ran into a robot with your car?""Yeah, it just appeared out of the forest along Jeffry's Trail. And it didn't notice me until it was too late. I couldn't stop.""Now, I've heard of people accidentally losing their PC from the boot while driving," Mick laughed, "but running into a robot? So what do you expect me to do, somehow repair whatever damage you've done?""How the hell am I supposed to know, it's not like I'm Superman with X-ray vision. I just want to know if the memory is intact so I can ask it where it came from... if it can talk.""You mean, if it remembers how to talk.""That too.""Well... can you tell me how complex it is?""What?""Does it look sophisticated or not?""I... guess so. Look, I don't know; I've never even seen inside a computer before. I'm just a crop-duster.""No need to give me your life story. Okay, I'll have a look, but I don't see what exactly I can do. Just come over here and I'll take a look. I can fit you in at around about 10:20A.M.""Thanks. Also, there doesn't seem to be any outer damage to it. Is that a good sign?""Sometimes it is, but the damage can be internal even though there isn't much damaged to the external structure. Just come over at 10:20, okay? And I've got a customer who's shoplifting, bye."
Mick hung up. Jamie pressed ‘end call' on her phone, and then continued driving forwards, following the road as it winded through the greenery. She looked back to her victim again, who was still silently resting on the rear seats, but now it was twitching every now and then with its feet and hands, as if it were... dreaming...? No, no, it couldn't be; no one could do that. It was imposs... implausible... for someone to do that. But of course, who was she to judge? All she'd ever really known about computers and coding was using her own to surf the Internet. And even there she had difficulty. For all she knew, some high-class corporation already invented that sort of thing. Maybe this robot was a high-class corporation prototype, and maybe they'd give a reward to anyone who returns it. Oh, ho ho ho, if that was the case, then all her financial troubles and needs would be met, and she wouldn't need to worry about anything for a long, long time.
"...What I mean is that I can't detect any entry of any kind. I mean... one of them has a way to check the coding and from what I can see that... Alma is fine but there's something else there taking up the other half of the CPU. I don't know what it is, but I can't get any sort of entry. There's no obvious security procedures and I don't see any back door, no side doors either.""So what does that mean, Mick?""It's like... like someone designed it and then completely cut off any chance for it to be modified or... I don't know. I don't know. Okay? I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this.""Do you know if this... other thing is significant to... who was it again?""Alma? I don't know. But there's no way of knowing. All it is identified by is Newblood.""So what's that supposed to mean?""I don't know! Look... Alma seems to be okay. Okay? Newblood is the one I'm not sure about.""So what do I do now? Can anyone else... hack into Newblood?""No one. There are about fifteen other IT places in Seattle, and they're all as experienced as me. Take it to any one of them and they'll say the same thing. Newblood can't be hacked by any one of us.""Still, what do I do?""Finding her owner's the best choice I think.""How would I do that?""Jeffry's Trail. That's where you ran her down, so that's where you should start looking.""But what about the robot?""Alma.""Alma, what about her? Shouldn't we wake her up first?""... Never thought about that. Yeah, we should. She could tell us who her owner is.""Simon's not my owner..."
Jamie and Mick looked down to the table where the coelophysis was just waking up. Through blurred vision, Alma could see the foggy outlines of their faces with the same surprised expression, the female whom she assumed to be Jamie was more so than the other one, Mick. She'd been listening through the whole conversation since she awoke. Alma had been taught by Simon that if she were ever to go into urban areas, then listening in on others' conversations was not a very considerate thing, but this conversation concerned her, so in a way it was her right to. After all, she didn't know where she was exactly; for all she knew she was in Damocles, and in that case she'd need any information about the place available.
"She's awake," she heard Jamie whisper.
"Yeah, I noticed," came Mick with the same volume.
"Well, what do I say?""You could start by telling me where I am," said Alma sternly, now trying to shift her weight to her feet. This was difficult as her head was still spinning from the impact with the car, "Please?"
The two strangers looked at each other as if the question was a difficult one to answer. Jamie, keeping her eyes on Mick, nodded towards Alma, trying to get him to have the first shot at the reply. Oh, honestly, Alma thought, is it really that hard?"What's your name, little one?" asked Mick peacefully.
Alma flinched, "Tell me where I am first.""You are in Seattle," Jamie replied.
"Is that anywhere near Damocles?"
Instantly they withdrew. Jamie spoke to Mick, "Damocles?""Then again," he said back, "I could be wrong about the memory.""I'm fine," Alma intervened, though cursing in her head as she stumbled a little upon finally standing up, "really.""...Well, what's your name?" Mick asked again.
"My name is Alma, but you two already knew that.""Well, yes, but I had to be sure you weren't suffering from any major memory loss from-""When she ran me over.""When she ran you over."
Jamie gave a look of annoyance and crossed her arms, "So I'm the bad guy here?""Oh no, no, no," Alma answered playfully, "you're the one who nearly wiped my memory clean. Nothing serious or anything like that."
Mick began to snigger at the remark, and Jamie also loosened her look of annoyance enough to let out a smirk, "So who's Simon?" she questioned calmly, "You don't mean Simon Murray do you?"
Alma narrowed her eyes and stiffened her joints a little, "How do you know Simon?""Murray? Simon Murray's your owner?!""He's not my owner... How do you know him?""Wha... he actually did it." Jamie said to herself, now walking in a small circle, holding her mouth, "He really did it!""Did what?""Yeah, did what, Jamie?" Mick intruded, carried by curiosity.
"Well... In university... Simon kept going on about this dinosaur he found in New Mexico. It'd somehow found its way into a cave and the entrance collapsed and... it died alone... Sad, I know, but even after Simon found it, even after he received a huge reward from finding it -‘coz it was so well preserved - he just wouldn't stop going on about how sad it was. Like... how it felt in its last moments... or... thinking about why it found its way into there. He somehow came up with this wild theory that it was smart because of a few scrapings in the wall too. But it doesn't really matter. That dinosaur was a coelophysis. Alma, here, is a robotic coelophysis, made by Simon.""So you think that obsession was the only reason he created me?""Well... kinda...""You have no idea what we've been through.""No, I don't, but I intend to give you back.""You can't.""Why not?""He's gone.""What do you mean he's gone?""He's not there and I can't go back. I've got to... Where's my map?"
Mick, seeming like he was feeling left out, jumped into the conversation yet again, "What map?""I had a bag with books and a map.""Well that would have simplified where she came from now wouldn't have it, Jamie?"
Jamie flung her arms up defensively, "Well sorry, it was at the back of my mind. I swear I would have thought about it sooner or later if she hadn't woken up.""Are you accusing me of something?""Ladies, I'm detecting increasing tensions here; can we please calm down. Now let's take a look at the map, Jamie.""It's in my car. Don't worry, I'll get it.""Of course you'll get it; you're the only one who can get your car open... excluding any friends or family."
Jamie left the room.
The room itself was pretty bland - shelves lined the four walls and continued in formal lines into the interior. Stored on the shelves were cardboard boxes and biodegradable plastic tubs that had been labelled with the names of different computer components. The platform Alma was standing on was little more than a well-maintained island workbench that protruded from a grey concrete floor. Sticking out from two of the sides of said island were the handles of many draws that, she assumed, contained repair and working tools of different varieties. There were several LED lamps providing white light throughout the workplace. Now that she was getting her other senses back, her head felt sore, like it had been bashed in by hundreds of bricks all at once travelling at high velocity. And the place... it didn't exactly reek or have stench... the place wafted with the scent of welding and circuit-frying smoke. Alma could also hear the distant sound of cars from a door behind her. The very thought of them moving fast made her involuntarily shudder. Speaking of cars...
"What's with that ‘you're the only one who can open your car' business?" Alma asked inquisitively.
Mick looked surprised that she'd picked up on that small part of the conversation, but still he replied. "Oh... It's a... er... security thing.""What kind of thing?""A thing where only you - you meaning the owner of certain things - can access those certain things. So say if you have a car, like Miss Atkins there, only she can unlock it and start it up.""How does that work?""It's too complicated to explain.""I have time.""...Heh... Well... DNA scanning technology. It's integrated into just about everything today. If you're the owner, all you have to do is touch the car's handle, the car unlocks. Touch the car's ignition tab, the car starts up and you can drive. You can also allow others to access your things as well by going online and saying what they can and can't. It's a genius system. It's also allowed the government to match against the rising crime rate.""How?""Inquisitive thing aren't you? Anyway. Through a heavily monitored system of those scanning surfaces and CCTV cameras, the law can practically find the location of anyone in a populated area. If a known criminal's out there, they'll find him sure enough. Thanks to that, gloves are almost a no-go in the cities, unless it is a cold day in winter. If the cops start a chase when the guy's in a car, they can just call for the car to be shut down wirelessly. Same goes for a foot chase - any doors in the vicinity can be locked.""Isn't that sort of thing violating personal information or something?""That question's been raised a lot, but...""But what?"
Mick closed in towards Alma's face, keeping his voice and his head nice and low. Alma could see nervousness on his face, "Dare I say it aloud, most of the people who question too far stop asking suddenly. I mean, there was the reporter once who was asking whether this would mean we could be manipulated in any way... A day later someone had a head-on collision with his car. They both died at the scene. Other guys who ask about these sorts of things suddenly move on to other topics... I don't like it.""I see...""Look... What do you know about all this?""Nothing, only as much as you've said.""Well... All I will say is that ever since the new President came to office... things have been getting both better and worse. The gates were never there until Fox was.""...What?""Mick! I got it!""Ah," Mick responded with a look of relief to Jamie who was walking in from the room's garage door down at the far end, "then lay it down here... er... if you wouldn't mind scooting off, Alma.""Don't worry about it."
Jamie laid out the small-ish map on the workbench for all to see. Alma stood at the very edge of the table, trusting herself to keep balance, but even as she started she was finding it difficult to focus on both balancing and reading the map. The two red circles were in plain sight for everyone at attention.
"So you came from where exactly?" asked Mick.
"Mount Carlick," Alma replied, and then pointed out with her right foot to the northern-most circle, "there.""So... damn... I took you a long way-""Off course? Yes, by a long way. I'm supposed to be meeting with Ethan's friend... I mean Simon's friend - Ethan, here near El Capitan.""Ethan's in on this too?""Apparently. How long have you known Simon, Jamie?""Ever since university. And you?""Since I was bor... made... two years ago."
Yeah, if we could stop delving into each other's personal lives, that would be great.
Ugh, fine."You were about to say that you were born, weren't you?" questioned Mick.
"...So what if I was? You have a problem with that?""Oh, no, no... Never met a robot before, and certainly not one like you.""Is that good or bad?""Good. What I mean by that is that you're full of character."
Did Alma just feel warmth generate at her cheeks?
"...Anyhoo..." Jamie politely interrupted, "It seems that for whatever reason it is, you can't go back to Simon's place, so you have to go to Ethan's correct?""Yeah.""So you have to somehow get from here in Seattle all the way over near El Capitan?""Right again.""And I guess since I accidentally ran you over, I am the one obliged to take you there?""If you would be so kind.""And that's brilliant because I was hoping to get a career as a pilot here!"
Mick pointed to the map, "But there's a city just outside the eastern valley, Darby, I think it says.""Maybe you could get your career around there?" Alma suggested.
Jamie pulled back from the table and held her hand to her chin in contemplation, and she stood like that for about a minute. The silence before she broke it was awkward, "What about accommodation? I've heard it's quite a tourist spot with the mountain ranges ‘n' all. Hotels would be booked out I'd think.""Maybe Ethan would let you stay at his...?""Oh c'mon, Jamie. Look, she's practically begging for you to take her.""How can I tell? She hasn't got a face full of muscles."
Alma lowered her head a little, "Don't remind me.""Oh I'm sorry, Alma," Jamie apologised, "You know what? Maybe it is time for another road trip." Alma was growing fidgety with joy. She now had a new friend who was willing to help her! "I mean, after all, what've I got to lose?"
This was one of the very few moments Alma thanked that she didn't have skin, because she knew her guilt would have shown instantly after Jamie said that last bit. While she hated herself for doing so, Alma dared not tell Jamie yet that she had her life to lose.
Within all respects, Seattle was a good-looking place. Despite Alma natural distaste for urbanised areas, she found the city respectable for its cleverly designed skyscrapers and other structures. She was no certified art critic, but she found the combination of curved and straight lines appealing to the eye. Unfortunately, there was a minimal amount of green space, though there was the odd tree or two here and there lining the street. While she was familiar to them, she knew that they were aliens of green and brown in this metropolis of grey concrete and reflective glass. Aside from the out-of-place trees and brightly coloured advertisements, the general colour scheme of the city stayed pretty much the same; white, grey, and black, and if it weren't for the presence of said advertisements and trees, Alma was certain she was going colour-blind. Good looking? Yes. Boring? Certainly.
Alma simulated a sigh and slunk away from the car's window. Just as well; the CCTV cameras may have spotted her if she'd stayed next to it a little longer Just like she was three days ago, give or take, she was completely and utterly bored. There was nothing to do except listen to the car's radio, and even then there wasn't much on that really took her fancy. Alma liked more ‘old school stuff', as Simon called it; those old band music that Simon had on his MP3 player, the ones like Coldplay or... or Approaching Nirvana, or even Hans Zimmer. Those two were her favourites - they both were completely genius with their use and design of soundscapes. Now she wished Simon had put the audio device in her bag, but then Alma realised she had no folds of skin around her ears to hold the earphones. She began to wonder how Simon's friend, Hellcat, was doing - whether he, or she, was successful in doing what needed to be done with that cell, and whether it would mean she could finally have skin.
Jamie was obviously enjoying herself up in the front seat as she was humming in tune with the current song. Whatever the song was, it was okay, not brilliant, but okay enough that it was catchy and Alma started tapping her left claw in time with the beat. If sound was her surrogate for taste, then music tasted sweet.
"Thanks again for taking me," Alma acknowledged, "and sorry again for-""Sorry for what?" Jamie asked indifferently, "I ran you over ‘coz I wasn't watching the road. If this is a punishment, I think I deserve it."Maybe, Alma guiltily thought, but you don't deserve their wrath. You're my only transport, but you... She sighed again.
"Tell me about Simon, Alma," requested Jamie, "how's he doing?"
The passenger widened her eyes as she metaphorically felt a stone hit her in the back of the head. Yet another time she was glad she didn't have a face full of muscles. "He's... okay... I guess," she answered nervously, trying to keep the jumpiness out of her voice, "but how am I supposed to know at this exact moment?""Well I don't know, super x-ray vision?""...Really, Jamie?""Heh heh, just kiddin' with you. But what I mean to say is... Never mind."
How long was she going to keep her predicament a secret, Alma wondered. She hoped that they would reach Ethan's before any of them showed up. If they did, then Alma would have a lot of explaining to do to Jamie, but then again, Jamie would want an explanation for why she was migrating sooner or later anyway. So it was not a matter of ‘if', but more so a matter of ‘when' and ‘how'. As in when the time came, how would Alma to tell her new travel companion that there were government forces that wanted her brain to restart a project that was initiated for the purpose to replace soldiers with robot slaves. It sounded a bit cartoonish when she thought about it like that, but it did not lift the fact that Jamie would probably be scared off if she told her. It would be understandable if she did though - if Alma had told her old self that, she would probably run off never to be seen or heard of again as well. Her conscience told her to tell Jamie, but her legs and her mind told her otherwise. Oh deities above, which was she to listen to?
"Alma," Jamie called, "could you do me a favour and pull out the street directory?""What's wrong?""I think I've taken a wrong turn somewhere along the line.""What am I looking for?""I don't know which street we're on yet.""No, I mean what does the street directory look like? I've never seen it before.""Oh... It looks like a thin touch-screen tablet and it should be in the back pocket of my seat."
She spotted it and slid the transparent touchpad out. "Okay, I have it, but how do I turn it on?""Just say the word.""On...?"
The transparent screen lit up to reveal a street map of the surrounding five hundred metres, including exact building dimensions, address numbers, and other cars on the road. Remarkable.
"Now just scroll around the place until you find an exit going eastward."
Alma did as requested and lightly dragged one of her clawed fingers across the screen. According to the directory, which seemed to double as a GPS, they were proceeding south along Montlake Blvd. In the current direction they were heading, it seemed that Interstate 90 was the closest major easterly outlet from the city. Major would mean more traffic, and therefore more cover.
"Take the fourth right after the bridge coming up," Alma instructed, "we'll take Evergreen Point Bridge over to Interstate 405, then cut down to 90.""You seem to be an adept navigator." Jamie observed.
Alma shrugged, "Simon taught me many things.""So it seems."
After crossing the bridge, Alma noted that to either side of the Ute there were yet more skyscrapers. Instead of the simple house that would have been there about a hundred years ago, there were well-maintained apartment blocks. Most were identical, though there were the odd few that caught the eye's attention by the use of a statue or an angle or some other element of art aside from emphasis.
The car jerked right, and in response Alma slid along the rear seats heading in the other direction, struggling to get a grip on the fabric with her feet, but also not to damage it at the same time. As per the directory had predicted, the Ute had turned a full 270-degree rotation and was now following the tarmac down towards the beginning of the floating bridge.
"How you doing back there, Alma?"
The dinosaur rebalanced herself, "Oh don't mind me," she returned playfully, "just barely coping with centrifugal force and all.""You know that's why we invented seatbelts.""No, you made them to stop yourselves from hitting the dashboard or flying out the windshield.""Same thing applies..." Jamie's happy tone drifted off.
"What is it?""I... think I might know..." the car slowed down, "Stay inside."
Jamie exited the Ute and started walking forwards. Alma followed her shape as it went further into the light of the afternoon sun. She followed Jamie's shape as it came closer and closer towards a large metal gate.
You remember what Mick's last cautionary words were, don't you?
"Yeah, I know. You think these could be it?"
I honestly have no idea. I was only ever told what I was supposed to do. Never told anything about internal affairs.
"Why would they be there anyway?"
I don't know, but I know whenever there's a barrier, there's always something someone doesn't want getting out, or getting in.
Alma noticed that Jamie was now talking to someone who seemed to be guarding the gates. Whoever it was, he was wearing the same padding the Special Operations troops had at Simon's place, except all the carbon-fibre was a deep navy blue. Instead of an XM155, the guards - now that Alma could see there were at least five or more - had lower-grade AUG A3s. "Who are these guys? Using century-old guns?"
Military Police...
"Military Police?"
What the hell are they doing there?
"Keep me up to speed."
Military Police nowadays are used in places that need a better grade of security, but the police and mainstream military can't take up the job. So whatever they're guarding, it must be important. As for the AUGs, they're actually great designs with low recoil and high durability. And thanks to Metal Storm, they're deadlier than ever.
"Don't bother going into the details of this ‘Metal Storm' thing."
I know, and I won't. The science behind it's a bit difficult to explain. But it basically revolutionised weapons the world over.
"...Jamie's coming back. Look, if you could do me a favour, Newblood?"
Yeah?
"Please talk only when no one else is. I might get mixed up in my head with so many voices talking at once. And... it'd be best if Jamie didn't know about anything."
I'll only talk when it's necessary.
"I remember this one time, I think it was yesterday, when you didn't want to do anything that would help me in any way."
If you could do me a favour, never speak of it again.
"But you specifically said that you-"
Alma began to feel funny. Not funny-sick, she was feeling funny as in funny, like she was being tickled from all over. On the bottom of her feet, underneath her arms, all over she felt like some invisible hand was tickling her. Certainly it was Newblood, and she hoped he would stop, but she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud - she was laughing with a mixture of saurian and literate laughs. And she was still suffering from the laughing fit when the tickling subsided and the door opened.
"What are you laughing about?" Jamie questioned.
Still laughing, Alma merrily replied with, "I just remembered the funniest joke I've ever heard.""...Okay...""So... So what why is the bridge shut off?""Well according to them there's a fugitive somewhere in Bellevue.""...But wouldn't gates be a little, I don't know, excessive?"
Jamie finally sat comfortably in her seat and switched the car on, "My thoughts exactly. Unless the suspect is high profile"
A fugitive. Alma thought of Simon, "Maybe we should find out what's happening."
Jamie turned in her seat to face Alma, "Alma, I will take you to Darby, and I will do anything for you-""Then we can find out-"
Jamie out her index finger on Alma's mouth, "I will do anything for you that is within reason. As much as I want to find out, I have neither the resources nor the motivation. Now where else is there an exit heading east?"
Alma held her gaze for a couple of seconds, and then bowed her head down to the directory again. "We can head back around and go through the city then cut into Interstate 90 instead."
Joshua Ross didn't like the way that woman was asking so many questions about the blockade. Why couldn't people just accept the fact that there were some things that just weren't meant to be questioned? It made his job just that little bit harder. The woman had a Canadian accent. Foreigners weren't meant to head out this way. If that inquisitive nature was to be kept, then she would cause a lot of trouble in other places. That couldn't be allowed.
It was a good thing then that all Military Police were issued with the same helmets as used by both the military ground forces and Special Operations. The licence plate could be checked for who owned the car, and then tracked accordingly. Technology made things too easy these days. How did people before the twenty-second century cope with lawlessness?
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