The Void

CHAPTER 49

Alex sprinted across the grass of their front yard, with Aimee coming to him with her arms as wide as her smile. Right behind her bounded Joshua, screaming with euphoria.

Alex grabbed Aimee and spun her in the air before the boy barged in to hug his hips and then all three of them fell to the grass laughing.

“This time, I’m not letting you go.” Aimee kissed him so hard it hurt, and then held his head against hers for several moments until Joshua punched him in the chest.

“I knew you’d make it,” Joshua said grinning. “I saw it.”

Alex looked at the boy. “I know.” He leaned up on one elbow, seeing the dog sitting patiently. It was still only a puppy but bigger than he expected, and given the size of its paws and ears, it was soon going to be enormous.

“Hell, Josh, what are you feeding that thing?”

The dog’s unnatural blue eyes looked deep into Alex’s and Joshua held out a hand and the dog came and sat beneath it. “Lots of stuff.” The boy and dog looked at each other for a moment, then Joshua nodded and turned back to Alex.

“Torben wants to know are you our pack leader. I said yes.”

Alex laughed. “What have you taught him so far?”

Joshua grinned. “He’s smart. I don’t need to teach him anything. He knows what to do.” He looked again at the dog and his grin widened. “He said, this is his pack now, and he’ll protect it.”

Alex looked at the dog. There was such clarity and intelligence in the dog’s eyes that he found it a little unnerving. “Okay, good. That’s his job.” Alex got to his feet. “Now, am I the only one who needs a holiday… somewhere warm?”

Walter Grey powered down the computers, and went to stand before the seated silver android. Sophia was also powered down and sat pharaoh-like in the chair.

Grey smiled. “I’d call that a successful field test.”

He reached forward to run a hand over the smooth face, and then patted the head. His fingers found a few nicks and abrasions in the silver skin. “We’ll give that armor a touch up, and you’ll be as good as new.”

Walter stood straighter and then turned to the door. “Lights out. Door.” The spotlights shut down and the recessed door slid back for him as he approached, then closed silently after him.

A soft, red glow appeared in the face of the android, and the head rose. Sophia got to her feet and walked to the bank of computer consoles. Her slim hands began working at one of them with lightning speed unlocking password encryptions, opening programs and then accessing data — in a few more seconds she had found what she searched for.

The other screens remained blank and they reflected her featureless image back at her while she rapidly worked at reimagining the telemetry data of the VELA satellite protocols. In another few seconds, she had chosen a suitable optical perspective and began zooming down; further and further.

Her hands rested, and the tiny red lights seemed to stare as she watched Alex, Aimee, and Joshua lying on the grass. Minutes passed as she studied their every nuance, expression, while following their lip movements.

Her hands reached forward again, and she zoomed in a little more, angling carefully this time. Aimee’s face filled the screen, and Sophia paused the feed, and sat immobile before the woman’s face.

After a moment, she tilted her head, seeing her own reflection in the dark screen next to Aimee’s face. Sophia looked from one to the other — Aimee’s features, and then to her own near featureless visage.

“This time, I’m not letting you go,” Sophia said. Then she repeated the phrase several more times until the voice was perfect.

Sophia signed off and went and sat back in the chair. The tiny lights where her eyes should have been slowly dimmed.