AI - Alpha Part 5

"It's better than nothing."

"We have something. Alpha."

"Alpha isn't talking." Bartley's voice had lost some of its certainty, though.

"Give me time to work with her," Thomas said. "See if I can break her defenses. She reacts to me more

than anyone else."

Bartley gave a crude laugh. "She likes you, eh, Wharington?"

Thomas scowled, more annoyed then he should have been. "She's a machine, remember? She's incapable

of 'liking.' "

"So why does she respond to you, hmmm?"

"I don't know."

Bartley exhaled noisily. "I'll wait a week."

"Three weeks."

"h.e.l.l, Wharington, might as well be three years."

Thomas waited.

"Two weeks," Bartley said.

Thomas suspected that was all he would get. "All right. Two."

"Good luck," Bartley said. "With that barracuda, you're going to need it."

Jamie was in the office of Thomas's second in command, C.J. Matheson. When Thomas came out, after his talk with Bartley, he found his granddaughter in the small chair he had brought in this morning, one he had dug out of the bas.e.m.e.nt at home. Matheson had set up an empty packing crate as a desk for her, and she was busy coloring in a NIA notebook. The guards had given it to her while Thomas was getting her visitor's badge processed. Now she wore her holobadge on a silver chain around her neck. She normally didn't stay put for long, but she had been out here nearly twenty minutes, apparently bemused enough by her coloring and her surroundings that she wasn't fidgeting.

Matheson was working at his desk. He served as the conduit to Thomas from the heads of divisions within the agency. Thomas had asked for him in this position and considered Matheson one of his best officers. They had become friends as they realized how much they had in common. Both had grown up in the rural Midwest, Thomas in Iowa and C.J. in Kentucky, each the oldest son of a farmer. Thomas's father hadn't liked it when Thomas chose the Air Force Academy instead of a local university, but he seemed proud of his son. Matheson had gone to the University of Kentucky on an ROTC scholars.h.i.+p, which delighted his family. His interest in computer science bewildered them, but they beamed when he talked about his work. Thomas enjoyed his visits with C.J.'s family, and his parents welcomed Matheson into their home.

"Hey, C.J.," Thomas said.

Matheson looked up at him. "How is the senator this morning?"

Thomas grimaced. "Same as always. In a hurry."

Jamie jumped out of her chair and ran over to him. "Grampy, look!" She held up her notebook, showing him a page.

"Ah." He peered at the picture she had drawn, a black object and some grey triangles. "That's very nice."

"It's kitty hawk," she explained.

If he looked hard enough, Thomas could see a cat with wings flying over mountains. "Well, good job.

Good job." He wasn't certain what to say, but she seemed satisfied with his response.

Straightening up, Thomas found Matheson smiling. As soon as he saw Thomas looking at him, Matheson hid his grin.

Self-conscious, Thomas said, "Thanks for keeping an eye on her."

"No trouble at all," Matheson said.

Jamie reached up and took Thomas's hand. Then she waved at Matheson. "Bye."

C.J. smiled at her. "Have a good morning, Miss Harrows." Thomas felt conspicuous walking through the halls of the NIA with a three-year-old, but Jamie was clearly enjoying herself. Soon they were out in the bright November afternoon, and she ran through the chilly sunlight, laughing and twirling. Striding after her, Thomas managed to catch her before she went any place off-limits. Then he took her to the security trailer. They entered it through a Hughes Arch, which checked them for radiation, extra metal or plastic, and any signals that shouldn't come from a human body. This morning, Jamie had been so excited about the base, talking about everything, she had barely noticed the arch. But now she started to fidget.

"I want to go," she said.

"We have to wait until it's done," Thomas told her.

"Go now!" She stamped her foot.

Thomas picked her up and settled her into the crook of his arm. "Don't you want to know about the

ghost?"

Her eyes widened. "What ghost?"

He motioned at the arch with its glinting lights. "This was named after a mysterious man called Hughes."

"Was he the ghost?"

"Maybe." The arches took their name from one of the most enduring urban legends of the past thirty

years. "Hughes was a mesh genius. Do you know what that means?" When she shook her head, he said, "He was one of the smartest computer people in the world."

"Like infinity smart?" she asked.

Thomas smiled. "Even that much. They say he haunts the meshes. He can uncover secrets no matter how well anyone hides them." He suspected the tales had originated in a real person, maybe an inventor or security specialist. But if Hughes existed, no one had seen him for decades. The rare sightings were always discredited. Eventually "Hughes" became a catchword among mech-techs for unusually innovative security.

"He sees everything," Thomas confided.

"Is he here?" Her eyes got even bigger. "Is he watching us?"

Thomas tickled her chin. "Well, Moppet, your Grandpa is in charge of this place. And I don't let

anybody hide in my arches when you're here. Not even mesh-myth guys."

She dimpled at him. "You made up that story."

He tried to look convincing. "It's true."

"Mommy says myths are made up. Like dragons in the sky."

"You don't believe in dragons?"

"You mean you don't know?" She was clearly pleased to have information he lacked. "They're pretend."

"What about Santa Claus? He flies through the sky." If Jamie didn't believe in Santa Claus, he would

have to have a serious talk with Leila and Karl.

"That's different," Jamie said. "Reindeer pull his sleigh."

"Ah. I see. So that's how he flies."

"That's right."

Thomas laughed and hugged her. "I'm glad to know that."

A courteous voice said, "Scan complete. You may go through."

"Is that the ghost?" Jamie asked nervously. She didn't sound so convinced it wasn't real.

"No ghosts here," Thomas promised. "I check every day."

"I'm not scared of ghosts," she stated. But when he set her on her feet, she stayed close to him.

As they entered the security trailer, Jamie looked around with unconcealed fascination. A woman in a

uniform came up to them. She was smiling in the same way as Matheson had been, as if seeing the director with a little girl was the highlight of her day. Thomas wished they would quit looking so amused. It hardly made him feel dignified.

"h.e.l.lo, sir," she said.

Thomas glanced at her name tag. "Good afternoon, Sergeant Gonzales." To Jamie, he said, "She'll take your visitor's badge."

Jamie solemnly pulled the chain over her head and gave it to Gonzales. "Thank you, ma'am," she said in

a perfect imitation of the voice Leila used when she was teaching Jamie manners. Thinking back to his own mother's attempts to do the same with him, Thomas winced. Perhaps little girls were easier to civilize than little boys.

Gonzales smiled at Jamie. "Thank you, young lady."

Jamie beamed, clearly pleased to have completed the transaction properly.

After Thomas signed the register, he and Jamie walked outside. Jamie said, "That lady had a gun."

"She's a guard," Thomas said. "She protects this place."

"Do bad people want to come here?"

He led her into the parking lot. "They might."

"Why?"

He wasn't certain how to explain national security in terms she would understand. "It's complicated."

"Like the lady with the funny name?"

"The guard?" He wouldn't have expected Jamie to read the badge, but after what she had said last night,