Gabriella had never been to Frank’s office before and thought it was odd he should want to see her without Jim. Jim always accompanied her in any type of official or corporate business.
“Gabriella, thank you for coming today. I appreciate you saving me the trip out to the lab. Besides, this is a much better place to talk.”
Frank made a sweeping arm gesture towards the two chairs on either side of the small round cherry table in the corner of his office. “Please, let’s have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea, or soft drinks?”
“Coffee would be great. Thanks.”
Frank opened the office door and spoke to his administrative assistant. “George, could you bring in two coffees, please?”
“Sure thing, Frank. Would you like Coffee Shop Blend, Sumatra, Espresso, or Columbian?”
“Columbian would be great. Thanks.”
“So, what’s on your mind, Frank?” Gabriella said.
“How is work going?” asked Frank, completely ignoring her question. “Are you happy with your routine? Is the job satisfying and challenging for you?”
“I’m pretty happy with everything. I like my coworkers, and I’ve been contributing to the design of the next generation of AIs. Takes one to build one, I guess.”
“Excellent. In your opinion, does it explain why you were created by AI Concepts?”
“Well, I had assumed I was created to use the ability of my gel nano-machine brain to not only conceptualize new AI designs but also to build what I came up with.”
“Very true. What else do you think you might have been created to do?”
The office door opened. George brought in a tray with the two coffees, set them on the coffee table, and quietly shut the door as he left the room.
“Cream or sugar, Gabriella?”
“No, thanks. I like mine black. Now let’s see, where were we? Oh yes, why was I created? I thought it was also to see how far we could stretch the technology and simulate being human.”
“That’s correct. And how do you feel you are coming?”
“I think I’ve become human in every sense of the word except biologically. That includes having strong feelings.”
“Interesting. You’re certainly on the right track, but it’s not the whole story, though. As one old-time radio commentator used to say back in the old days, “…and now the rest of the story.” I’m glad you’re sitting down. This could be a little bit of a shock, even to you.”
“I’m intrigued. Please keep talking. You make it sound like a clandestine assignment. Could be interesting.”
“Bingo, Gabriella. You hit the nail on the head. It is. You were not designed to be only an engineer. In fact, you were designed for a purpose so secret even Jim doesn’t know about it. Jim believes we were commissioned to see how far we could push the technology. But it’s time to tell you more. The thing is, you have to promise to keep it a secret from absolutely everyone.”
“Lay it on me,” she said.
“This country has enemies. Some are very obvious and present only a small problem since we know who they are and what they are about. Others are not so easy to spot. In fact, some of our enemies are walking and working right in the midst of us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you read about the terrorist attacks in France lately?”
“Certainly. They weren’t major ones, but people did die.”
“The NSA has informed us they may have a lead on a potential threat to our national security right here. This suspect is a high-ranking member of our very own military. They have called upon us for help, your help to be precise. The hope is you can penetrate this cell, find out the size of their organization, and uncover any current plots against our nation. If you are caught, you could not be coerced into divulging any secret information.”
Gabriella sat in silence for a few seconds, staring at Frank and trying to pick up micro-expressions betraying anything false in what he had said. There were none. She concluded Frank was telling the truth, at least to the extent he understood it.
“So let me get this straight. Because I’m not technically human, you want me to penetrate a potential enemy cell, knowing if I am exposed or captured, I could be dismantled, but never made to talk. Is that correct?”
“Harshly put, but basically true.”
“And what happens if I refuse to play along?”
It was Frank’s turn to be silent. He stared intently at a speck of lint between his shoes on the carpeted floor for a short while, gave a sigh, and slowly raised his head.
“I’ll admit no specifics were given, but only that the government could apply enough pressure to make it happen. I don’t know what it means. It does scare me. We are into something deep, Gabriella. Will you help?”
“Does ‘penetrate this cell’ imply I have to cozy up to the identified person, get to know them to gain their trust, and potentially sleep with them?”
“Yes, it does, Gabriella. I’m sorry to say that, but yes, it does.”
“Can I call you in a few days with an answer, Frank?”
“Sure. No problem. I look forward to your call. Remember, there is a lot at stake here. Many other lives could be in jeopardy if we don’t stop this person.”
“Frank, I’d like to help, but can I ask who this person is?”
“I’m afraid not. I can disclose all of the information to you when you accept the job.”
“That’s IF I accept the job, Frank.”
“Yes. If you accept the job. Give me a call in a day or two.”
It’s not quite right, Gabriella thought on the cab ride home. Something just doesn’t line up, but I can’t figure out what. At least not yet.
The next day Gabriella asked Martha to join her for lunch. They went to the Fiddleback Fern, a small walk-down vegan restaurant in the SoHo district. Gabriella liked the quaint cobblestone back street and all of its scrolled ironwork protecting the street-level windows. Martha enjoyed trendy shoe shops.
The Fiddleback was faithful to its Bohemian roots, back before SoHo became a popular area of the city. The walls and ceiling were wood, painted a dull white. The floors were worn concrete, which once had been painted dark brown but was now worn down to show the grey concrete in the traffic areas. Old Formica tables found new lives after being rescued from a second-hand shop and worked well with the mismatched chairs. White linen tablecloths were covered by a variety of lace shawls. Small, thin bottles in the center of the tables that had once been filled with olives and strips of pickled vegetables contained single flower blooms.
Gabriella and Martha were seated under a small window at the sidewalk level over their heads. They could see the feet of pedestrians as they walked past.
“Martha, are you in charge of all of my socialization experiments?”
“Of course, I am. You know that. Why do you ask?”
“No exceptions, right?’
“Yeah, right. Did someone ask you to do something I don’t know about? What’s going on?”
“I can’t talk about it. I wanted to find out if you were involved, that’s all. It’s no biggie. Someone asked me if I could find out information not having anything to do with what we are working on. It seems unrelated. I think I was asked because of my ability to do web searches during a conversation.”
“Gabriella, please, you have to keep me in the loop on these things. What do you mean you can’t talk about it? I’m feeling some type of way if people are asking you to do things I don’t know about! I think you should tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t, but tell you what; I’ll keep you in the loop as much as I can. Will that work for you? I don’t want secrets between us, but I have to this time. I’ve been asked to dig up some information on someone, sort of like a detective. I may have to venture into this one to see what it is all about. It’s probably a big nothing. Will you forgive me if I don’t tell you all right now?”
“Crazy girlfriend. I pretty much have to trust you. No choice. I’m not your mama.” Martha moved her hand up and down in front of her stomach. “Look! No umbilical cord. You’re free and on your own! But please give me details as soon as you can. You know I’ll forgive you for anything. Anything, unless you make a play for Ralph. He’s my bae!” Both women laughed. Martha flagged a server to take their order.