How to Think Like a Computer

May 26

Until noon, the day was very quiet. The Ambinet was still in uproar about the "robot apocalypse". There were more holovids and memes than yesterday, but I wasn't bothered to watch or read them all.

Then a lot of very odd, complicated, and confusing things started happening.

I will try to explain it all very slowly. Keep in mind that I now know exactly what happened between 1:00 and 1:30 PM—but when it was actually happening, I had no clue. So I will also try to keep it all authentic and not "give away" too much.

At 12:55 (I kept track of the entire event), I saw Cam slip a micro-camera under the door of Caulkins' office. This is important later.

At 1:04, two people entered the facility on foot. This was odd—people usually come in maglevs. One was a man with curly, brown hair. The other was a tall woman with black hair and dark skin. They walked side by side, never speaking to each other or even looking at each other. Once in the plaza, they separated without a word. The woman went straight to the building that Caulkins' office is in. I don't know where the man went. Neither of them saw me watching them.

I went back to my room, unsure of what else to do. In the bathroom (there are surely no cameras in the bathroom), I took out my holodrive to write more about yesterday's events. I also connected to the Ambinet in case there was any important news concerning Alan. There wasn't.

There was, however, a comm from Singularity Prime.

My heart started to beat very fast as I read it.

From: Singularity Prime (ID # 301*******)

To: Torrin Kaluza (ID # 2757488109)

Dear Torrin Kaluza:

Hello. We've noticed that you've been trying to contact us for quite a while, and we apologize for the considerable delay. One of our scouts, Cameron Haskell, has notified us that Ian Caulkins is keeping you in his facility. We urge you not to be frightened; we have plans to rescue you.

The plot is very simple. All you have to do is to disable all of Caulkins' micro-cameras. This is essential, because we wouldn't want him to see your escape. The cameras are all small and black, and fit snuggly into the corners of rooms. They can be easily destroyed with a quick jab from a metal bar, which can be removed from the shower with a screwdriver.

After you disable all the cameras you can (there is one in each room, excluding the bathrooms), hastily make your way to the edge of the property, far away from the main buildings. We will pick you up there.

Make sure you follow this plan to the letter. We are picking you up at 1:20 exactly and would rather not wait.

Sincerely,

Madison Kyrgiakos

(Singularity Prime founder)

I didn't know exactly what to think. On the one hand, I was very glad that Singularity Prime had finally written back to me. However, I knew to approach this plan with caution. I still didn't know the entirety of Singularity Prime's plan.

And they had also mentioned Cam. Apparently he was working for Singularity Prime. A double agent, perhaps.

In any case, I decided to talk to Cam before I carried out any part of this plan.

*

At 1:09, I had found Cam in the hallway of another building.

"Hello," he said.