Port Casper

Chapter Twenty-Two

Raj pushed a heaping bowl of jasmine rice toward Grace. She scooped two large domes onto her plate and then motioned for more sautéed vegetables and nuts. He knew she appreciated honest cooking: it would remind her of home. Raj hoped she found his cooking decent, though it was certainly too slanted toward grains and vegetables for a ranch-raised carnivore.

"You're hungry," Raj said, popping a sesame ball into his mouth.

"Hearing about Maud's plans gives me an appetite," Grace said, digging into the food. "It's hard to believe she plans to steal the liquid computer and run off to Mars. She's at the top of her game as it is. And it's not like she's a programmer."

"Successful as a protector," Raj noted. "You'd be happy with that, Grace, but Maud appears to have larger ambitions."

"Does she know about Tim?"

The PodPooch piped up from the floor. "I don't think so, Ms. Donner. I've found no records at ITB to indicate that they know what the computational gel looks like, let alone that it's in me."

Grace frowned. "But I told you there was still gel visible after Huber smashed your dermal."

"I engineered it with pirates in mind," Raj said. "The gel in the dot was basic stuff, a very crude mesh. It's nothing compared with what Tim's dancing with."

Grace frowned. "So they're looking for the gel, but really they'll want you, Raj."

Raj nodded.

"As I stretched deeper into the ITB network," Tim said, "I encountered eight protectors tasked with new product surveillance."

"Who are the other protectors on product surveillance?" Grace asked.

"Their names are not included. Maud uses coded entries instead. You are known as 'Third Try.' Does that mean anything?"

"Not to me," Grace said.

"The others are: Broken Hawk, Dirt Road, Sunset, Zebra Fang, Snake, Thirty-Seven, and Badger."

Grace shrugged.

"I will send the names to your ptenda. We will be able to identify them soon enough, now that we can correlate their movements with Maud's entries."

"Look. We're stuck in the weeds. Let's think bigger," Raj said. He popped another sesame ball into his mouth and swallowed. "Maud is at the center of a vast, ordered web. With so many leads, she's bound to have trouble multitasking. So let's create a little chaos."

"But we just established that she cares more about getting to Mars than being a protector," Grace said around a mouthful of rice. "What's to keep her from zooming in on you, Raj, and letting ITB flail?"

"She isn't like that," Tim said quietly. "I know her activity in ITB. She's patient. Dangerously patient. She won't move until all of the pieces are in place. If that means dealing with chaos at ITB, she'll do her job. But we'd better have another plan by then. She will trace it back to us in time."

"I only need a little more time with UU," Raj said. "I have to review the patents before they're filed and assigned. And I need to do battle over the licensing agreement." Raj grabbed the teapot and poured himself a cup. He squirted agave for good measure. "Anyone else?"

Tim snorted.

"No thanks," Grace said. "So. Chaos it is, then. What kind?"

"Simple," Raj said. "We know Maud calls her plan 'Hopper,' and she's secretive about it. What would she do if she heard Varghese talking about Hopper in one of his speeches?"

Grace stopped eating. "She'd freak. Either cut her losses and run for it, or lay so low she wouldn't be a bother to you for months."

"Bingo." Raj looked down at Tim. "You said Varghese will be preparing several speeches for Wyoming Compstate over the next few weeks, right?"

"He is."

"But how do you know Maud will hear it?" Grace said. "Even if she were present, she'd be busy coordinating the protectors, not paying attention to speeches."

"Tim will make Hopper a bold new initiative for ITB," Raj said. "Then, even if Maud doesn't hear it, she'll hear about it."

"What sort of initiative?" Grace asked.

Raj grinned. "Our kind of initiative. The goal of Operation Hopper will be to remove the stigma of AI on Earth."

Tim barked a laugh. "Chaos in the name of freedom? It's your idea, all right."

Grace smiled. "You're becoming quite the revolutionary."

"Always was, Grace. Always was," Raj said, swirling the last bit of tea in the bottom of his cup.

"Speeches aren't my forte. Are you going to write it, Raj?" Tim asked.

Raj shook his head. "We'll ask Djoser when the time comes. He'll know what to say."

"Djoser?" Grace said.

"Djoser Reynolds. He owns the Freer Diner. A fanatic when it comes to AI. He's been trying to get artificials acceptance for years. Anything AI eventually makes its way to him."

Grace looked queasy. "Was his food made by AIs?"

Raj smiled. "No."

"But it's highly illegal. I'm a protector, Raj."

"You know what I think about AIs, Grace, and you still offered to help. Going to back out now?"

"It just seems like we're kicking a hornets' nest."

"I think we'll have the advantage," Raj said, returning to his sesame balls.

"You're being cocky, Raj," Grace said. "And you're the first to admit you're usually paranoid. What gives?"

Raj scraped the bowl with his chopsticks, stirring the last bits of rice through the sauce.

"ITB has made my life hell," Raj said. He glanced at Tim. "Our lives hell. Any chaos we can spread their way would be worth the half dozen patents I let them steal. And the security I've had to--"

"Raj, there's a board meeting coming up soon at ITB," Tim interrupted. "It's before any Wyoming Compstate speeches."

"It's worth a shot. Will Maud be there?"

Raj watched as Tim cocked his head, then went motionless.

"Is he okay?" Grace said.

"He's fine. Just a minor version of what he was doing after you got him into ITB. It takes a lot of concentration."

Tim raised his head. "Maud will give a security briefing at the meeting. She'll hear about Hopper from Varghese himself."

Raj smiled. "Good."

"What should I do?" Grace asked.

"If this works, you've done all you need to do for us, Grace. I'll close the deal with UU and AI will be a discussion instead of a taboo." Raj put down his cup. "For now, lay low. Don't give Maud any reason to notice you."