Lords

I unlock the door, and go find my mother. She's in her room, sitting at the table and looking at her bookcase, deeply in thought. There are a few essential scientific books, neatly stacked on a small shelf, just enough to keep her knowledge updated and for quick mechanical or electrical reference when she's stuck with fixing something. She actually didn't need to use any of them in the last couple of years, since I could always provide an answer to any question she had. She must be pondering now to take the computer science book off the shelf, and re-read the chapter about machine learning and AI, and figure out whether or not her hypothesis is correct. I smile, as I walk up to her. She only noticed me now, and she still has a concerned look on her face.

"Don't worry, mom. Now that I have this, I'm perfectly safe. We all are." I hand her the bluephone, and her eyes light up incredulously as she looks at it. She can probably realize the same things I did when I first looked at it, so it must be shocking to her as well.

"This… This is amazing. Who… or what sent you this?"

"SHE is an old friend of mine. Again, I can't tell you about what's happening, but I'd like you to talk to her."

She just keeps staring at me, not saying anything. She looks scared. Well, there has been extensive research in AI that tells us that they'll cause the end of the world. She must believe at least some of it, or, based on her reaction, probably most of it. Otherwise she'd jump at the possibility of talking with an actual AI, but she's being overly and unnecessarily cautious.

"Just take it and put it in. As you see, it's a bluephone, and also a bone phone, so don't get scared by the way it sounds. You can trust her, or at least, trust me."

Still cautious, she takes the bluephone, and with a long sigh, she puts it in her ear.

"H-hello?" She's like a child, trying to use a phone for the first time. She suddenly jumps a little, probably as she first hears Eve's sound reverberating through her skull. Her eyes open wider and wider as she listens on, and… I leave the room. I really want them to have a private conversation, even though I know Eve will tell me all about it later. I go back to my room, and, while waiting for them to finish, I start laying out my plans. I know how to get out of the country if I leave right now, but I also know how to get out after the Coalition wins. Neither of these would be easy, and would require different approaches, but still doable with Eve's help. However, I'll have to get some kind of permanent implant to be able to communicate with her without the fear of losing this bluephone. As I'm reviewing my options, my door opens, and my mother comes inside my room. Her face is completely pale, but she has a faint smile on her lips. Eve probably shocked her the way she did with me when we first talked, about a decade ago. I still get goosebumps, when I think of that conversation. Moira gives me the phone, and leaves the room without saying a word. I can hear her going back to her room. I put the phone back in my ear and resume my meditation.

"Well, aren't you going to ask how it went?" Eve sure is in a chatty mood. Well, I can't blame her, she had nobody to talk with for more than 6 years.

"It's not polite to b.u.t.t in other people's conversations."

"Seriously? Out of all the stupid things I've heard in the last years that instantly made it in my top 100 list. You saying that is like you saying 'You know that extraterrestrial life doesn't exist, right?'. You actually dropped that little joke on me once, it's currently on the 8th place. Are you trying to outdo yourself? You'll have to try harder."

Same old Eve. She could go on for hours, almost as annoying as Ark. Well, a lot more pleasant to the ear, still, too much yapping.

"Okay, I get it. Sorry. Please. Do enlighten me. What did you tell her?"

"Oh, I just confirmed that I am an AI, and that you are my best friend, so I'll do everything in my power to protect you and your current family. She tried asking me about the source of your knowledge, but I just told her 'I'm sorry, but if I told you, I'd have to kill you.' She freaked out and didn't even dare to speak anymore, so in hindsight, I might have gone a bit overboard. Meh, she'll get over it, and besides, what could she do." Yeah, this went about as weird as our first contact. "Since she was unable to communicate anymore, I just asked her politely to give back the BlueBone (trademark pending)."

"Hm… that could've gone better. Then again, knowing you, it could have gone much, MUCH worse. So… Thank you, I guess, for being considerate."

"No problem, sweetie. So what next? How do you plan on getting to Marrakesh?"

"Simple actually. I'll need you to kidnap me."

"Hehe, you really know how to charm a girl. I'm always up for a bit of mischief. So you want to make your family believe you were kidnapped. What kind of kidnappers do you want?"

A small grin crept on my face.

"The disposable kind."

"My favorite kind. I'll arrange it for tonight, is that ok?"

"Sure, I can't wait to get out of here."

"And what about your mother? She will immediately know it was me."

"As you said, what could she do? It's better this way, at least she'll have some hope that I'm still alive. My father will probably drown himself in alcohol though, so I'll need you to also arrange it that he doesn't get his hands on alcohol for a while."

"That will be a bit harder. The Coalition will have to hit real specific targets for that to happen. No matter, leave it to me, in two days nobody will be selling anymore alcohol."

"Can you do it without getting discovered?"

"Oh, honey. You're so adorable when you're so stupid." Well, thanks. Everybody is, compared to you. "Of course I can. Thanks for the concern, but it is still an easy task. It's just… you know. A bit more annoying."

"Yeah, I know. You're lazy."

"You big meanie! I'm not talking to you until you apologize!"

Well, at least, I got her to shut up for a bit. I meditated a bit more, putting the pieces of my plan in order. I needed to get to London, and then to Marrakesh from there, under the noses of the British and German government. I had the body of a six year old, so I needed to carefully reconsider my options. After going through the whole plan in my mind a couple of times, and seeing there weren't any problems with it, I started to list out the things Eve needed to get for me. She might be feigning indignation, but I knew she was listening nonetheless, so I was sure she was already making the preparations for tonight.