Dr. Sebastian sat in a revolving chair, his head resting on the back as he appeared lost in thought. Timothy Morris entered his office and took a seat in front of him.
"Doc," Timothy called out, trying to pull Dr. Sebastian from his reverie.
"Doc, come back," Timothy repeated.
Dr. Sebastian emerged from his deep contemplation and turned his gaze towards Timothy.
"You're here, but the team is waiting in the meeting room for the briefing," Timothy remarked.
"I've asked LEENA to handle the briefing in my place," Dr. Sebastian replied.
"So, you're not joining the briefing?" Timothy inquired further.
"No, I won't be going," Dr. Sebastian confirmed.
"What's the matter?" Timothy pressed. "Why have you seemed so lost since yesterday?"
"Tim, something doesn't add up," Dr. Sebastian stated gravely.
"What do you mean?" Tim inquired.
"We visited Kelly Jenkins' house and found everything seemingly under control, but things weren't as perfect as they appeared," Dr. Sebastian explained.
"What are you suggesting?" Timothy pressed.
"Take a look at this," Dr. Sebastian continued,
"I've extracted a video from the backup memory of AURORA, the AI system of house number 13."
"You did this without Kelly Jenkins' permission... you know it's both immoral and illegal," Timothy admonished Dr. Sebastian promptly.
Dr. Sebastian shot Timothy a harsh glance.
"Why do you always seize every opportunity to waste time?" he grumbled.
"Please continue with what you were saying before I interrupted," Timothy said, flashing a teasing smile at Dr. Sebastian.
Dr. Sebastian jerked his head dismissively before continuing,
"I managed to retrieve a backup video of house number 13 from AURORA's storage system." He turned the laptop screen towards Timothy.
"The AI system stores periodic backups of all its surveillance footage," Dr. Sebastian explained.
"It took some effort, but I was able to access the archives and extract this clip."
Timothy watched as the video played. In the footage, Kelly was seen standing in the kitchen when AURORA suddenly locked the door from the outside. Kelly's voice could be heard in the video, calling out to AURORA to open the door. They also witnessed a slideshow of gruesome photos that Kelly must have seen while trapped in the kitchen.
In the next scene, the video showed how house number 13 became engulfed in a dust storm, with heavy winds carrying debris through the air.
Timothy stared at the dust storm in disbelief, knowing that Windham's weather had been pleasant that day, with no dust storms reported in the county.
"You know, every AI robot has a backup memory," Dr. Sebastian began, drawing Timothy's attention away from the video clip.
"If permissions are enabled to record audio and video, the robot can capture its surroundings. I randomly checked the backup memory and found this video. Perhaps Anna or Kelly enabled the permissions while trying to troubleshoot their AI system."
"What is all this?" Tim exclaimed in utter surprise after watching the entire video clip.
"After seeing this video, I too was shocked and came to realize that Kelly Jenkins wasn't lying," Dr. Sebastian replied.
YOU ARE READING
House No. 13
Mystery / ThrillerKelly and her two children, Anna and Eric, seek a fresh start in a sleek, smart home. House No. 13, with its state-of-the-art AI named "Aurora," promises convenience and safety. But soon, the house's systems begin to malfunction in eerie ways-lights...
