My heart squeezed with pain. I itched all over with the compulsion to go back home and question whoever I could to get to the bottom of this. Were her parents truly at fault, or did the robot lack essential failsafe mechanisms? Which was more likely? The parents would stick to their version that the robot was faulty, but that could be a lie, couldn’t it?
And the robot seller would have their version, too. With the girl having had no friends, objective sources were limited. No one outside that family knew what really happened.
Apart from the robot, that was. As long as it was only disabled, its core intact, it would have all the answers. However, if there was an investigation into Julia’s death, which there likely wasn’t since it was ruled a suicide, the robot wouldn’t be admittedas evidence. With their ability to manufacture deepfakes and generate memories and recordings on their owners’ orders, robots were unreliable witnesses.
But a skilled coder or even a sentient cyborg like Charlie would be able to spot evidence of a jailbreak, if that’s what happened.
I fought with myself for a moment, then took out my phone and typed a quick post, ignoring the multitude of notifications in my dashboard.
“My heart is breaking for Julia Booth. We must do everything we can to prevent another tragedy like hers, and for that, we must know the truth. The robot must NOT be returned to Zenkyoza, because they will wipe the core clean, removing all evidence. Julia’s parents, please! If you are innocent, subject the robot to independent testing.”
I tapped send. It took twenty seconds for the first comment to appear.
“IF they are innocent? What are you insinuating? Is this really Sera Evans or an impostor?”
I winced and locked the screen, cursing myself. We didn’t have time for this today. Dean, who stood by my side, took a step closer. He saw my post then.
“The Sera Evans they know always stood on the side of the humans. She wouldn’t have expressed even a hint of suspicion that the parents were to blame.”
I thought back to the previous cases I reported on, realizing with a jolt he was right. “A bit shortsighted of her, wasn’t it?” I asked with a wry smile. “After all, humans can be assholes, too. Are the comments really bad?”
“Right now, most are asking where you’ve been and if you’re all right. A few people think your account was hacked. Someonecalledveganvodkasays they know Julia’s parents and will talk to them.”
I forced myself to smile. “Well, that was fast. Thanks.”
The guilt living in my chest lessened a little.I still got it,I thought.Maybe I can have it all—make the world safer and have Dean, too.As soon as I thought about it, my insides twisted bitterly, and I shook my head.
Later.
We got off one stop away from our destination. Dean found a small alley that was absent from most camera feeds and rarely patrolled, and we let our robot out of the box there. We posted it in front of a tattoo parlor with the instructions to say it was waiting for its owner if anyone asked it questions.
On the way to our next stop, Dean got me a pair of the AR glasses. I itched to put them on and see the augmented Neo Tokyo, but held back until we got to the hideout place he picked for us.
It was an office building that was closed for renovations, currently paused. Dean hacked the electronic lock and then locked up behind us, and we climbed up stairs covered in crumbling plaster to the fifth floor where we’d have a good view of the large billboard playing the news outside. Since it only displayed ads in the normal mode, I had to use the augmented reality glasses with a news subscription to see what I needed.
It wasn’t strictlynecessary, but if we were going to wreak havoc in Neo Tokyo, I wanted to see it on the big screen.
“All set up,” Dean said, handing me the glasses. “Just be careful when—”
“Aaargh!” I shrieked when an enormous snake ready to pounce appeared right in front of me as soon as I put them on. I jumped back, and Dean caught me.
“Why did they put this here?!” I asked, waving my arms in front of me. They went right through the snake. Of course, it wasn’t real.
“It was a prank set up by one builder to scare another, I believe. At least, that’s how I interpret the tag. It says,‘Your turn to piss your pants, Kenta, you jerk.’”
“So anyone can make anything in AR? And it will just appear?”
“Technically, yes.” Dean nodded while I slowly approached the window to look out. “But if a creation is deemed too disruptive or dangerous, it’s removed. The city hires clean up crews who keep the augmented reality in order.”
“Wow.”
I pressed my nose to the dirty pane, looking at the world outside. It was completely different from the Neo Tokyo I saw with my organic eyes. For one, the sky was a few shades off, the clouds tinted indigo and pink. A pterodactyl burst out of one of them and circled above a narrow tower, which was no longer a boring skyscraper made of glass and metal, but an intriguing sapphire structure with thick blooming vines climbing up the sides. I zoomed in. A woman with unnaturally long blonde hair waved at me from the top floor. I sighed in understanding.
Rapunzel.
I looked down, zooming in further to see every detail. Neo Tokyo fashion was fabulous in the real world, but many people created their online avatars that were only visible through the glasses. I saw muscular warriors wearing sci-fi armor smoking cigarettes and talking, someone dressed like a proper ninja carrying abriefcase, and a group of elderly ladies who looked like moving knitted figurines. Dogs were dragons or unicorns, and a few cars looked like chariots and rockets. And those were only the things I recognized at a glance. There were so many other creations, more intricate and astounding.
“It’s amazing!” I breathed. “I should have looked at it earlier. God, I want to live here. I bet there are so many Easter eggs hidden around!”
