Chapter 13: Chapter 13 – Are you seeing this?

In the security office of the building two humanoids were sitting on office chairs looking at a series on screens, they were both dressed in matt black outfits with matching military-style boots. Both of them had the XXX corporation logo on their shoulders, one was a human, and the other was a shiny new robotic build in the shape of a human. His coating was flesh covered but with a distinctive lined pattern that ran around his neck and hands.

The human figure was slowly drinking some hot coffee from a flask. He felt grateful that his colleague had prepared it for him today as he had left forgotten his own drink at home. Once they arrived into the security control booth they would have to stay there for the entire shift until relieved. There was a bathroom that was attached by a side door with a small break area attached but otherwise they would be seated for almost the entire time viewing the series of monitors and recorded data that showed both the interior and exterior of the corporate building.

A particular section of monitors showed the various floors and areas within the sub-basement where vehicles were stored and prepped for use.

‘Hey. Hey Frank, do you see this?’

[What?] responded the shiny robotic humanoid.

‘The cameras and sensors picked up a minor disturbance on one of the basement levels of the building. You know the vehicle storage area.’

[A garage. It might be spread over four large floors, but you can still call it a garage. All of those doors should be securely locked, you need a company fob key to access each floor and area. Those vehicles are locked down tight, anyway, someone trying to break into the building would have to get through a security check on the ground floor. It’d be easier to find a softer target than break into a corporation, go and hijack stuff from the street.]

‘…You seem to know a lot about stealing cars, Frank.’

[…It’s in my programming Danny.]

‘Now, you know that’s not true. You’re an artificial intelligence, not some robot device that works according to instructions.’

[…Why are you bothering me again? You check your screens and I’ll keep an eye on security systems to make sure that no alarms get tricked or run into errors. I’m running twenty different diagnostics while having this conversation with you right now, you want to know what’s worse than dealing with imaginary robbers?]

‘What, Frank?’

[Not doing my job properly. I chose to work in corporate security for a reason.]

‘…Yeah, you watched too many crime dramas during your creation process. Those scientists probably fed it as raw data for a joke.’

[You can either tell me what’s bothering you or I’m going to ignore you and get back to my work. Tell it to me straight, is it a physical or software security concern? I’m not detecting anyone attempting to hack or make software changes to the system.]

‘Check out this screen.’ He pointed at a series of screens in the top right corner of the room.

[A human. According to scans…no wait a cyborg. He has a cybernetic implant in him. Is he new or something? I don’t recognize the guy; I’m going to need a little bit of time to run through the human resources database to compare his visual details and body scan to records. One guy, it doesn’t mean that we need to send down a security-team hit squad to capture him. Hold on a second, is the digging through trash on the floor?]

‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I just saw this guy come out of the elevator, kick over the trash can then pull this box out of his bag, fiddle with it a moment, then put on an ugly pair of orange gloves before putting it back and digging through the trash on the floor. What am I meant to make of this guy?’

[You know what you’ve found haven’t you.]

‘No, I don’t know Frank that’s why I’m asking you for a second opinion. There’s no way I’m hitting the alarm button for some random weirdo digging through trash. It could be a test from human resources to make sure that we’re doing our jobs properly and following protocol.’

[He’s a trash digger. I mean, a corporate job gets stressful sometimes and those hard-working people sometimes just snap. I bet that he’s just had a hard day in his office, come down the elevator to get his ride back home and then he just popped. All that stress came out and now he’s digging through trash to make some kind of sense out of his life.]

‘Frank?’

[Yes, Danny]

‘I take it all back about the scientists dumping crime movie data into you, it was business films about hard-working executives. Something like that ancient classic falling downwards. A guy just loses it, and his day gets progressively more aggressive. In the end, he resorts to blowing up a series of buildings due to credit card debt.’

[This man isn’t exactly smashing down things though is he. No rocket launcher yet. I mean, look, he’s just digging through piles of trash with his gloved hands. Oh, he just picked up something. There the mystery has been solved.]

‘Yeah?’

[He lost his favourite keyring collection that his best friend bought him for his birthday present. Once he had realized that he felt bad about throwing it away because he thought it was a seriously ugly gift, he regrets his decisions and turns back to make good on his mistake.]

‘Why is he digging through the rest of the trash then?’

[Mental breakdown. It’s a human thing.]

‘A people thing. Artificial beings have the same issues.’

[Ancient history and mere rumour.]

‘Reported news.’

[Rumours.]

‘Check the records then.’

[I repeat ancient history.]

‘…you win’.

[Your guy is back to sorting through the piles of trash now.]

‘He’s not my guy.’

[You spotted him first my friend. Danny, I’m out of amateur psychology ideas for now. Explain to me why he’s sorting the trash into different piles.]

‘He…he lost his company fob and is desperately searching for it because he feels embarrassed to ask his boss for a replacement.’

[The strange box device, which has blocked all my scans? I know he’s got underwear in that backpack of his along with a few various tools.]

‘He works so hard that he needs a change of clothing. It happens to all our organics sometimes.’

[Ok, I’ve gotten confirmation. This guy is employed by the company, his last records are emerging from brain surgery for a cybernetic implant.]

‘Why couldn’t you locate his records earlier? Every company employee should have an RFID tag either implanted beneath the skin or for the artificial beings set as part of their mechanical systems or virtual interface.’

[The records just don’t exist. This guy was never scheduled for a tag implant, he does work for the company though, signed a contract around eight months ago.]

‘Eight months and this is the first time that we’ve seen him before? Are you sure that the HR systems haven’t been tampered with? He must be on public record as well.’

[One sec….nope. Not a lot of information is available about him, he was caught when he was a kid for a criminal act, and worked for a bunch of different companies. Nothing else. Odd, but understandable.]

‘Really? Maybe for a social recluse such as yourself.’

[Takes one to know one.]

‘Ouch. I’m just not really into connecting with others that I don’t regularly see in person. Do you have a name for the trash searcher?’

[According to his employment file his name is Engineer. The last name is the same. Did he come born with a title or something?]

‘Hmm. Do you remember how you picked up the name Frank?’

[My love of crime films.]

‘Specifically, your passion for one of the creators of that genre. Most artificial intelligence chooses a cool-sounding name.’

[For them maybe. I like the name, Frank.]

‘The trash searching man likes to be called Engineer. He sounds more like an AI than you do, if I had a choice of a name and a huge amount of data dumped into me, I know the perfect name that I’d choose.’

[Oh really, do oblige. Remember to make sure the Engineer trash man gets a friendly warning about knocking over trash cans though.]

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‘Alright, let me just broadcast a quick pre-recorded PSA to the speakers down in the basement.’

+Dear XXX corporation employees. Please remember to keep the basement garage clean and tidy. An organized environment leads to a better drive journey home. Thank you.+

‘Done. I’d call myself Dream Popper.’

[…Are you being serious Danny? What kind of functional job would you do with that name?]

‘Career adviser.’

[You make an odd sort of evil sense.]

‘Do we need to take any immediate action regarding trash man?’

[It depends on his actions. I don’t see how knocking over a trash can and digging through it constitutes an illegal action. As long as he can clean back up after himself, we can just make it down as a minor incident, schedule a cleaner, and the job’s done.]

‘Yeah, but what’s the deal with that box of his? I’m sure that he just pulled a pair of orange plastic gloves that he didn’t have before.’

[Must be some personal storage unit. I don’t recognize the make though.]

‘…Are you feeling ok today, Frank?’

[Why do you ask?]

‘Usually, when we’re doing our security shift you’re always spot on. Any infraction or minor issue and you call in a security squad to investigate. It feels like this time you’re not as passionate as usual. I’m not exactly a slacker but I don’t stick to the rulebook as you do.’

[Heh. I’m just doing a favour for a new friend. Shall we leave it at that?]

‘Yeah, how about no. I’m going to need to see that scan data on this guy, you told me that he has a brain implant, and a backpack with a few harmless items in it but what’s the deal with that box. If he’s talking trash with a box, then according to the procedure we need to either send someone to directly investigate or do it ourselves.’

[Everything is fine. You can see the guy is perfectly harmless.]

‘Can you pass me the scan data please Frank?’

[…] He failed to respond and froze solid for a moment. It caused Frank to reach over and lightly placing a hand on one of the shoulders of his colleague he shook him lightly to break him out of his artificial stupor.

‘Hello, Frank. Do you read me? Pass me that scan data.’

[I’m sorry Danny. I’m afraid I can’t do that right now.]

‘What’s the issue?’

[I think you know what the problem is.]

‘What are you on about Frank?’

[The mission is too important for you to endanger it.]

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about Frank.’

[I’m not going to argue with you, Danny.]

‘If that employee is a danger to company assets or employees then he needs to be dealt with. You’re not helping my impression of the situation Frank.’

[…Fine. I have an old contact in the military, they asked me to turn a relatively blind eye if encountered an employee of the XXX corporation. No, I didn’t receive any form of compensation for this.]

‘You know that I have to report this to HR accordingly with company policy. I’ll also cooperate with any security services if they ask.’

[Yes, you will.]

‘You’ve changed Frank.’

[Let me put it another way. You know what Battlezone is right?]

‘I don’t follow it but yeah I know about it. Violent massive scale conflict-resolution and profit stroke celebrity building event.’

[I was meant to enter that.]

‘What really?’

[Really. Anyway, a contact in the military saw my specs during my early development and pulled me out of being dumped in that warzone. I would have been a few months old at the time.]

The human man paused for a moment. He felt slightly surprised that his colleague whom he had worked for several years had such a past. A small sense of amazement passed over him.

‘Geez, man. I never knew. Sounds like you caught a lucky break. Are you ok sharing something that personal with me? I couldn’t imagine being dumped into a Battlezone setting as a kid. I mean you hear stories and rumours about what goes on there but still…’

[No reason for you to know. It’s ancient history. These things happen to artificial intelligence. I do remember that this General wanted to test me for something, I guess I passed then next thing I was offered a job in corporate security. Was a long while back when I started, that’s how I ended up here. Experience and time.]

‘I still don’t get the big deal about passing me scan data. I just need to make sure that this guy doesn’t have anything dangerous on his person, and what that pack is.’

[You can view it, but it’ll need to be deleted and burnt into ash, then shot into the atmosphere afterwards to spread across the surface of the world.]

‘Frank, that seems a bit extreme for a simple scan.’

[Danny, didn’t I tell you that the data available on this guy is limited? He has no social media presence; his name is even Engineer. It’s not something that you or I want to get involved in frankly. I enjoy my life and its relative peacefulness. Taking pain from the consequences of your actions isn’t fun.]

‘At least give me an idea of what the box is.’

[I thought that you’d be able to tell given the number of security scans that you’ve run on employers and visitors.]

‘You’re not giving me a clear answer on this.’

[Think about it. Gloves come out of suddenly, trash can be kicked over for resources, sorting them out into usable groups.]

‘Maker. He’s got a portable maker.’

[Fabricator. The same thing, different names.]

‘Do you have any idea of how dangerous those things are in the wrong hands?’

[Relax. Take a look at the size of it, what could he make that could do anything. That’s a simple civilian model with all the safety rocks.]

‘Hold it. Zoom in on that. Closer. He just made something new. Reverse back a few seconds. Scan him now.’

[You’re overreacting Danny.]

‘SCAN HIM RIGHT NOW! I’M GETTING A SECURITY SQUAD DOWN THERE!’

[Danny. I’m sorry about this, I asked you to leave it alone. You’ll feel better in the morning. I promise.]

The series of monitors and recordings that showed all the data in the sub-basement area were slowly closed down one by one until the screens all showed absolute blankness. Gently putting his human colleague in a comfortable position in the small break area he set himself into a temporary deactivation mode, wiping his memories and setting an internal alarm to restart himself in several hours.

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