The Ice Warrior

Chapter 19

As they hurried down the hallway, blindly following Arthur, Silv wondered if they were doing the right thing. Yet, she couldn't think of any other possible motivation Arthur could have for freeing them besides helping them.

After going through a few tunnels that were unfamiliar to Silv, they ended up back at the maintenance room. The fact that they were there shocked Silv since she was sure that the place would be heavily guarded, that there would be guards waiting to pounce on them at every corner.

"Don't worry, Arthur took care of everything," Arthur told her upon noticing her hesitation.

It was unnerving to Silv how at times, he sounded like any other AI, but other times he sounded incredibly human. There were nuances to his speech, which Silv often interpreted as moods, in AI that was an impossibility.

For instance, at that moment it felt to Silv as if he was at the same time bragging of his abilities and was insulted by her lack of trust in his abilities.

"How?" Silv asked.

"I am an AI, my dear. I can hack these systems to do anything, well sometimes I can do that." Arthur said.

"Why didn't you do it before? Why let us go through all this?" Silv asked, irritated.

"Humans. They can be unpredictable at times. We had to be smart about this, to use both Rose's vast knowledge of human nature and my technical prowess." Arthur said.

"So, what did you do?" Silv asked.

"I hacked their communications systems. She informed them that we had escaped and sent all the available personnel in the opposite direction." Arthur explained.

"All right," Silv said, gesturing for him to go in first.

She let Wir Eis follow close behind Arthur as she kept scanning their surroundings, afraid that the 'perfect Arthur' as she used to call him as a teenager was wrong. It would've been the first time, but Silv had had too many firsts to dismiss anything.

The moment Silv entered the room, Rose hurried towards her, hugging her firmly. Silv, however, didn't return the hug. She just stood, frozen in place with her hands relaxed next to her body, unable to break the hug but also extremely hurt to return it.

"You are okay! I was so worried. I knew it was a good plan, I made it after all, but even the best-made plans can go wrong." Rose said, finally breaking the hug and looking into Silv's eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Rose asked.

"Yes, I am hurt," Silv said, fuming in anger.

"Arthur, I told you to protect her at all costs. How could you fail me in this?" Rose asked Arthur.

"Silv's physical health is at one hundred percent, mistress," Arthur said.

"Then what's wrong, my dear? Who hurt you?" Rose asked, worry coloring her voice.

"You did!" Silv said as tears ran down her face.

"I thought you betrayed me! You broke my heart!" Silv screamed at her grandmother.

"Too loud. Have to get her out." Wir Eis said, grabbing Silv's sobbing form and settling her over his shoulder.

The others followed close behind them, as Wir Eis carried Silv into the bunker while she thrashed around in anger. Wir Eis held her more tightly until they were safely inside the bunker and the doors were barricaded from the inside, then he let her go.

"Silv is going into hysterics," Arthur warned.

"Would you please carry her a bit further. I think I saw a sign that said 'kitchen' when we went through here earlier." Rose said.

"Yes. Wir Eis help." Wir Eis said.

Carrying Silv to the kitchen proved easier since she had stopped thrashing and was just sobbing loudly. Even when Wir Eis gently lowered her to the chair, not much changed. She just held her head in her hands and cried.

"Arthur and Wir Eis get drink." Wir Eis said.

"Yes, you do that. Arthur will help you find things suitable for human consumption, and you can see if there is anything you can use since I am unsure of your diet." Rose said.

"Yes, ma'am," Arthur said as they went searching through the kitchen.

"Silv," Rose said as she gently put a hand on her head.

Seeing her granddaughter recoil from her touch, Rose withdrew her hand, contemplating her next move.

"Didn't Arthur explain that I had to behave as if I had betrayed you, that it was the only way for us to get what you needed?" Rose asked.

"He tried, but we didn't have enough time for the whole video. I saw everything until you said you had a plan. Still, it doesn't matter, whatever you had in mind doesn't justify the fact that you hurt me, badly." Silv said.

"I know, my dear, and I am sorry, but it was the only way," Rose said.

"There is always another way!" Silv said, agitated.

"Perhaps, but this was the fastest way. We didn't have the time to think of another plan. They would've found out that you were back sooner or later. This way, we were the ones in control of the situation." Rose said.

"And we have the time to sit around here while you explain?" Silv asked as she took an open bottle of juice that Arthur provided her with.

It was unlike any of the nutrition sufficient ones they had on the surface, the taste was too delicious for that. One part of her mind wondered how it had survived so long, but she did her best to focus her attention on her grandmother. She needed to judge if the most important person in her life could be trusted.

"Would you please listen to what I have to say and then decide?" Rose asked.

"Fine," Silv said, gesturing for her grandmother to proceed.

"The plan was to use your and Arthur's break-in and my betrayal as distractions..." Rose said.

"Wait a minute! You used your granddaughter as a diversion?" Silv asked.

"Yes, I did, but let me explain. Everything will make sense soon enough." Rose said.

Her face burning in anger, Silv gave her one short nod, and Rose went on with her story.

"My experience told me that there was no way our plan could succeed but that we could use that to our advantage. So, before you left, I synced in with Arthur's brain circuits and was able to communicate with him through my brainwaves." Rose said.

That surprised Silv since she had no idea that was even a possibility. On the other hand, it was clear she had no idea how special Arthur truly was.

"Once inside, Arthur had managed to hack their security systems, and download the information we needed as well as provide himself access to the devices we needed. All he required was a bit of time during our encounter, thus my little speech." Rose said.

"Fine, I guess that makes sense, but how did he get to those devices, physically?" Silv asked.

"You forget that the security systems are targeted against humans, not AI. Besides, Arthur has had a bit of a thing going with RAADARA, so she allowed for a few glitches to appear here and there, helping him out while he stashed what we needed down here." Rose said.

Silv most definitely didn't wish to know what kind of a thing the two AI could have had, thus she decided to ignore that part of the explanation.

"What about humans? Surely someone noticed something." Silv said.

"No. They are so prejudiced against AI, especially the mobile ones, that they might as well be invisible." Rose said.

Silv was stunned by what she heard, even more so than after finding out the aliens were real. For a moment, all she could do was stare.