Homicidal By Design [Hector Escaton]

Chapter 6

"So you think I shouldn't leave."

For what seemed like the hundredth time, Izzy's mom sighed. "No I don't think you should leave. I think you should stick it out and go to the board member's gala."

"So I'll come back for the gala! You don't even like this place, why do you want me to stay?" Izzy retorted with exasperation. She rolled over on the king-sized bed in her Mesa hotel room and studied the ceiling. Everything in the room was an unthrilling shade of grey.

"Izzy, you know why I want you to stay. Because my shares will be your shares soon."

"Mom, don't say stuff like that!"

"Izzy, I don't mean to say that to get you worked up. It's just a fact, and one that won't be helped when the time comes if you are unprepared for this."

"Why don't you sell the shares now? Then you can make sure they go to someone you approve of."

"Because nobody will think like I do. Nobody on the board has had any firsthand experience with the hosts the way I did, and quite frankly I think that the designers want to keep it that way. Nobody will know the ins and outs from the technology side the way I did. But you will."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that not enough people have a reaction the way you did, Iz. There are a million Craigs in the park, and there are very few Izzys. And there is only one Izzy who has the will, intelligence, and position to make sure that nothing unethical is happening in the park," her mom confessed. She could hear the resolve in her voice.

"Unethical meaning what?" Izzy asked, unable to hide her incredulity. There was definitely something going on under the surface that her mom wasn't letting her know for some reason.

"Nothing, really. I suppose it's just me being a bit silly, having worked too closely with the hosts for too long. But even back years ago, the hosts...once in a while...would go off-script."

"Like they would improvise?"

"Yes...only the improvisational abilities of the hosts are, at heart, scripted. The host can only improvise as well as his personality allows him. A host with a high bulk apperception—his ability to understand and process the world around him—will be quicker and more successful with improvs. Other personality traits like self-preservation and charm are also tied in. These...off-scripted moments happened rarely, only twice when I was in the lab. They were always quickly fixed with a patch or reset."

"But you think they were completely original," Izzy deadpanned. A feeling of dread settled into her stomach. "You think that they were beginning to create their own thoughts and actions...becoming conscious."

"I wouldn't go that far, but I also know those moments were very hush hush. If they were happening now, I guarantee the board wouldn't even know what questions to ask, and the board director wouldn't be quick to fill them in. But now you do. And you can gather information yourself. If something is there, you can help protect it."

"Okay. I'm going to write down some initial questions for Lee. I'll make sure to get the contact info for some of the other techs in case I need clarification." Her resolve was strengthened. This meant a lot more to her mom than she had originally let on—even if she didn't have the whole story.

"Love you, sweetie."

"Love you, mom."

******