Chapter 645: Syntax (1/2)
Seven days after the start of the first data download, Dex inserted the last crystal into the only remaining cluster of five. He worked solo for nearly half a day since both Darsi and Gadget left to conduct virtual searches of the Trip-7 hard drive. Thumper finished the navigation program and downloaded it into Dex's glove.
”Everyone's gone?” Stiletto had been sleeping for the better part of six hours. She'd been curled into a small ball on his couch since just before Thumper left.
”Yeah, just finishing up here.” Dex stretched his long body toward the ceiling. ”No word from Quicksilver or Gadget?”
Stiletto shook her head grimly. ”That means they're goose egging.” Her feeling was that they might have been wrong about the AI.
Dex chuckled; the petite hacker would often use terms no one ever heard of; he suspected that she made them up. ”I'm ready to go here, but I need to grab some sleep.”
”You've barely slept in three days.” She stood up and returned the blanket and pillow to Dex's bed. ”Thanks for the loan.”
”Thanks for helping.” Dex offered her a tired smile, watching as she walked toward the stairs. ”Hey! Mind if I say something?”
Stiletto shook her head slightly. ”Shoot.”
”I personally think that your eyes are cool. They give you a bit of mystery.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her pale features blushing slightly. Then, instead of responding, she continued down the stairs and exited a few seconds later.
Although he was tired, Dex took a few minutes to eat a meal and take a quick shower. The hot water seemed to amplify his fatigue; by the time he was done, making it to his bed had become a struggle. Belatedly, he remembered that he hadn't locked the front door. ”Shit… I'm too tired to go down there.”
Several hours later, a gentle nudge woke him from pleasant slumber. By the time he managed to sit upright, a cup of coffee was pushed into his hands.
”Didn't know how you like it, so it's black.” Darsi sat on the edge of his bed, nursing her own cup while watching him with tired, red eyes. ”I may have been wrong about the AI.”
”Black is fine.” Dex scooted until his back rested against the headboard. Although covered by his blankets, he was shirtless, wearing only boxers. ”
Her frown collapsed into a smile. ”Focus, I've seen men in their underwear before. What are we doing wrong?”
”Not sure,” Dex replied with a shrug. ”If an AI wanted to hide within a hard drive, short of harming it, how could anyone find it?”
”Fucking Da Vinci could.” Darsi's smile could melt ice. ”You must have an idea or two.”
”Hmm… Maybe, let's consider what we know.” Dex leaned toward one side of the bed and grabbed a shirt that he had tossed there before his collapse.
”Stiletto is attempting to search right now, although I'm not sure what she can do that the other four of us haven't already tried.” Darsi leaned closer. ”I'll bite. What do we know?”
”If there's an AI in the Trip-7 drive, then it exposed its existence to warn me. Why?”
Darsi considered his words while sipping her coffee. ”It was scared, either for you or itself. Shit… It must have been using the array you built to access the net.”
”A scared AI? That would suggest cognitive reasoning.” Dex closed his eyes, inhaling the aroma of fresh coffee. I think you're right.
”Maybe it warned you and then escaped?”
”Could be. Close your eyes while I get dressed.”
”No need.” Darsi stood up slowly, stretching her tired body. ”I'll head downstairs and let you have some privacy. Try and think of something.”
Thirty minutes later, Dex was sitting in the stealth pod. Nearly all the components had been swapped out for Hive gear. ”There are four external jacks; you guys can come along for the ride. You won't be able to interact the same way we can, but later we can sync it to accept pod dives.”
Stiletto frowned at the statement. ”There's five of us….”
Dex moved to one side. ”Darsi will be inside the pod with me.”
Darsi grinned and eased herself into the seat. ”Damn straight, partner.”
A few moments later, both pod riders experienced a moment of vertigo as they unexpectedly appeared a hundred meters off the ground. Dex summoned the navigation platform with a wave of his hand.
Darsi whistled softly. ”Thumper outdid herself on this thing.”
The platform had six seats that were mounted on a transparent floor. A console with a navigation screen and basic controls marked the front of the craft. Then, one by one, the bottom feeders started appearing.