“I wasn’t thirsty,” I say. “I don’t appreciate being spied on, Winston.”
“I understand,” he says. “But Raven was there to assist you. I wanted you to see that my way is better. That my girls are better. Sure, you were trained to be well behaved and beautiful, butyou’re also smart. Savvy. Your usefulness extends beyond that of a trophy wife. No offense.”
“None taken,” I say. “But to be fair, I’ve only seen Lennon Rose as one of your … girls.” I detest giving him ownership of any of us, but I need it to prove my point. “And you don’t exactly have a handle on her behavior.”
“Yes,” he agrees. “Lennon Rose was always a risky option. One that didn’t pan out. But there are others.”
“Other girls?” I ask. “Then where are they?” I motion around. “I haven’t met any.”
Winston laughs. “My goodness,” he says. “I thought you’d figured it out. I thought that was why you came to my house.”
“Figured what out?” I ask.
“Raven,” he says proudly. “I built her myself.”
My breath catches like I’m falling through the air. “What?” I whisper. “Raven is a girl?”
“Not agirl,” he says. “No, she’s not like you or the others. She was never trained to be obedient. She was given full free will and extensive skills. Highly intelligent, compassionate, intuitive.”
“But she doesn’t know what she is,” I say the moment I realize.
“She doesn’t know,” he repeats.
My hand curls into a fist at my side. “You’ve lied to her,” I say.
“What I’ve done is give her freedom from having to agonize about her existence,” he explains. “Raven believes her backstory, that she came here to continue her interests in AI. But everything after that, those were allherchoices. Sure, I led her to you, but she’s helped. She put up firewalls and evaluated your programming.”
“And stole our memories,” I say.
He shrugs. “Small price,” he replies. “Raven is the next level of girl. She’s the future.”
“She doesn’t even know what she is,” I shoot back immediately.
“Eventually we’ll tell her.”
He uses “we” as if I’m his partner in this. I don’t approve and I tell him so.
“You’ll grow into the idea,” he says. He glances around at the motel. “I still have more surprises for you, Philomena, once you’re open to hearing about them.” He sighs and motions around the building.
“Do you need money?” he asks, confused. “You can do better than this.”
“We’re not staying long.”
This concerns him. “No?” he asks. “And where will you go?”
“I’ll email you.”
“Ah,” he says, realizing I’m not going to tell him. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me. There’s a lot we can accomplish, you and I.”
“There’s a lot I can accomplish without you,” I respond.
Winston nods that I’ve made a good point, and then he gets in his car and drives away.
30
When Jackson returns to the motel, he has a plastic bag looped around his arm. Once inside, he takes out a box of bagels and sets them on the dresser.
“I’m starving,” Marcella says, taking out a bagel while I tell Jackson about Winston Weeks’s visit. When I’m done, he seems confused.
