Duplicate Minds

Twenty-Three

When he stepped off the elevator, Rajeev heard voices chattering to his right. He made out a trio of people chatting in the hallway. The man and woman he'd overheard from the janitor's closet were not among them, and luckily no one in the group had noticed him step off the elevator. He hurried to the other side of the hallway until he was safely around the corner.

Now what? He had made it to the sixtieth floor undetected, but he had no idea where to go from here. All he knew was that there was something important here—something that apparently necessitated Ian's discretion. Speaking of Ian, he and his female companion should be arriving any moment. It was possible they'd both arrived early and already left for their destination, but if that was the case, he'd just have to wander around hoping to find them.

He peeked around the corner and watched the elevator. If Ian and the woman emerged and walked away from him, he'd follow after them to see where they went. If, on the other hand, they began walking toward him, he'd scurry off in the opposite direction and pray he didn't stumble into anyone.

A couple minutes went by, and the elevator doors opened. Ian stepped out into the hallway alone. He didn't walk away; he just stood there, presumably waiting for the woman. He seemed miffed that she wasn't already there waiting for him. He tapped his foot impatiently and crossed his arms.

He didn't have long to wait, however; a moment later the elevator doors once again opened and the woman emerged. Rajeev braced himself, ready to turn and run in the opposite direction if they began moving toward him. Thankfully, they turned and walked the other way, disappearing around the corner.

He followed after them, scurrying down the hallway but doing his best to minimize the sound of his silicone-covered feet clicking against the concrete floor. The trio that had been chit-chatting was gone, but Rajeev peeked his head around the corner to make sure there weren't any other interlopers. The hallway was empty, save for Ian and the woman walking slowly but steadily away.

Just as they were about to round another corner, Rajeev took chase again. When he came to the corner, he took another peek and saw that they had stopped in front of a door. The woman flashed a keycard against a sensor. A clicking sound reverberated throughout the hall as the door unlocked. She opened it and let Ian pass through first. Then she followed him in and shut the door behind him.

Rajeev ran to the door and tried the handle but, of course, it was locked again. He cursed. The door was thick and appeared to be made of steel. Even so, Rajeev strained his artificial ears, hoping he'd be able to hear something, anything. But there was no sound.

He'd come so far, but it appeared he was now stuck. As good as he was at picking locks, he didn't know a thing about how to disable a lock with an electronic keycard. He knew there was something important behind that door—something that might satisfy Gregory Maltek's thirst for dirt he could use against the company—but there was no way to get to the other side of it. Maybe this would be enough to satisfy Maltek. Maybe he had other people "on the inside," as he'd put it, who could break into the room and find out what was behind it.

He turned around to head back, and just as he was rounding the corner he bumped into a security guard.

"Pardon me," the guard started, but then he looked up and saw Rajeev's unnatural face staring back at him. There was a moment of stunned silence from both of them; neither one moved a muscle. Then the guard cried out, "What the hell?" Rajeev sprinted past him, running down the empty hallway as fast as his legs could carry him.

The security guard immediately gave chase, but to Rajeev's surprise, his artificial limbs allowed him to run far faster than he'd been able to as a human being. By the time he made it to the elevator and pressed the button to go down, the guard was just rounding the corner. The elevator doors opened; Rajeev stepped through, pressed the button for the twelfth floor, and watched as the doors closed just before the guard could reach them.

It was a surreal sensation, descending in the elevator, completely calm. He'd just run the fastest he'd ever run in his life. In his old body, he would have been completely out of breath—if not dead—but now he didn't even breathe. He was constantly "out of breath," and it had no effect on him. It was the first time he'd been fully aware of the utility of his new body. He'd always considered it lesser than his old one. Less functional. Less desirable. Less aesthetically pleasing. But he was beginning to realize that a nonhuman body could be greater-than. Running quickly was just the tip of the iceberg.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened onto the twelfth floor. He ran to the entertainment lounge, hoping to find someone inside. He wasn't disappointed: A lone android stood inside, looking straight ahead at the television.

Rajeev rushed inside. "Who are you?" he asked.

The android turned and looked at him. When it spoke, it sounded taken aback by the abruptness of Rajeev's query.

"It's me," he said. "Ted."

"I don't have a lot of time," Rajeev said, speaking quickly. "I found something on the sixtieth floor. I don't know what, exactly, but it's gotta be something big. When you get off the elevators, take a right, then another right. The first door on your left—whatever it is, it's behind that door. I couldn't get inside." Ted was looking over his shoulder; Rajeev turned around and, through the window, saw the guard approaching the lounge. "You need a keycode or something to get in. You guys need to find out what's on the other side of that door, Ted."

The door to the lounge creaked open and the guard barged in.

"Which one of you did I catch sneaking around?" he barked.

Rajeev raised his arms as if a gun was being pointed at him. "It was me," he said. "I'll come quietly."

The guard grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the room. Rajeev turned to Ted and gave him one last look. He hoped that despite possessing two dead photoelectric eyes, Ted would be able to see the desperation he meant to convey.