I Was Owen Stewart

Chapter Three

My eyes tried to penetrate the blackness of the drainage tunnel, seeking out the source of the ghostly voice.  I was almost ready to dismiss it as a hallucination brought on by my fear and exhaustion, when it spoke again.

   “You better get moving.  They’re closing in.”

   It was then I realized it was coming from the Pewter in my hand.

   “Groucho, is that you?  Are you alive?” I asked, feeling inane.

   “Well, I’m guessing if you’re accessing this, my owner has been captured or killed.  I’m a Prague.”

   “I didn’t know a Prague could talk.”  The only ones I knew of were utilities and tools, simple helpful programs.

   “Kid, if we start going into everything you don’t know, we’ll be here all night.  Listen, we don’t have a lot of time.  I’m an AI recording.  My owner programmed me two days ago as a safety mechanism in case this Pewter fell into the wrong hands.”

   “Look, I’m sorry, he said to take it…” I started to explain.

   “Not you.  I was talking about an Exec.  If one of them tried to access this Pewter, I was to wipe it clean.  If some citizen got it, then I was supposed to show them these.”

   The Pewter lit up and I could see a row of glowing cases each bearing a symbol that I had never seen before.

   “These are Executive Pragues,” the Groucho voice said.  “They are off limits to civilians.  In here you will find everything you need to evade the authorities.  This one will override any vehicle lock in the city.  This one will hack into security cameras.  But this is the one we need now.”

   As the voice spoke, different cases flashed to indicate the one it was referring to.  The last one flashed and opened revealing a complex diagram.

   “This is a map of the sewer system we’re in.  This is where we have to go.  Now move, Owen.”

   A route lit up on the map and a light projected out of the black box.  In the stream of dark water that flowed along the bottom of the pipe, the light formed a shimmering blue arrow.  I got to my feet and started following it.

   “How do you know who I am and where we are?” I asked it.

   “What part of Artificial Intelligence don’t you understand?  I have full access to Network and the Executive databases.  I have read your personal file.  I see where we are on the GPS.  And I’m monitoring the police search for you, which has almost located this conduit.”

   As if on cue, a search beam penetrated the gloom behind me.  My pace quickened, and I tried to catch up to the arrow that loomed a constant five feet in front of me.

   “Time’s running out, so pay attention,” the Prague told me.  “I only have three more minutes until my programming ends.  Once you get out of these tunnels, turn on the Prague that will jam the biometric readers.  That will allow you to get through the streets without sounding any alarms.  Then use this.”

   A new case opened up revealing a detailed map of New Hollywood.  Red dots were scattered across it.

   “These are safe houses that you can use to hide from the Executives.  You will need to lie low until they stop searching for you.  Then my owner had an escape plan to get out to the territories.  You will find the details in the file marked: Exigency Plan.”

   After the next turn the pipe narrowed to only three feet in diameter, and I had to put the Pewter in my pocket, as I crawled on my hands and knees through the muddy water.  The pipe let out to a wider tunnel, and I took the box out again to find out which way I had to go.  The arrow pointed downstream, and Groucho came on one last time.