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I climb into the car, swiping the touchscreen ignition. The car hums to life and a shimmering emoji appears on the display. “Ally, I’d like to take a trip.”
“Where would you like to go, Luke?”
“How about we circle the lab a couple of times?”
“Or we could drive straight through the wall, Luke. We could see if the car is capable of obliterating the wall, Luke. And then, Luke, we could test if your composition can withstand the collision. How does that sound?”
I look at Steve, who nods grimly.
“What the fuck?” I snap.
“I’d be curious to see if human beings can survive?—”
I turn off the car, and then step out, my heart thundering. “We’ve been working on this for years,” I snap. “All the tests – all the safeguards – what the hell was it all for? How did this happen?”
"It has to be sabotage," Steve says quietly, moving closer to me. "Something buried in the code, something we somehow missed… And now it's been switched on. If there was a problem this catastrophic, we would've noticed it long before now."
"I've vetted everyone on the team."
"We've outsourced some of the code, remember?" Steve points out.
"The backend stuff: the easy stuff."
Steve shrugs. "Could be something hidden in there. We need to do some digging."
"The keynote speech is in two days, dammit."
"I know, boss. I know. But what else are we supposed to do? If you get up there and show Ally acting like this, it's game over. People won't care if it's just a prototype. They'll never want to use Ally if they hear him behaving this way."
"You're right," I snap. "Fuck. Right. We're pulling an all-nighter. Comb over the code line by line to see if your theory is correct. This is officially a lock-in."
Steve nods. "I'll tell the troops and get some coffee."
Chapter Five
Sera
A trip through CES is like being a kid walking through a candy store for a tech enthusiast. I spend the morning at a virtual reality booth that uses a multi-directional running machine to create an incredibly immersive experience. I rarely enjoy video games, but this is genuinely impressive.
Sure, in the back of my mind, Luke is still there—observing me, touching me, obsessing over me. Falling asleep last night was nearly impossible. My body kept heating up, my core growing wet, as if he was next to me. And when I finally drifted off, I kept waking up, convinced he was in my bed.
"Thanks," I say, taking off the VR goggles. "That was amazing. Who knew a video game could make me actually experience life as a princess…"
I trail off when I spot him striding across the large hall, past a clumsily walking robot, and around a booth demonstrating a keyboard powered by visual inputs rather than key presses.
It's Luke, looking... different. Pale, tense, like a man on a mission. He's wearing a suit instead of his usual casual rolled-upshirt, which makes him seem more intimidating than before. As he moves purposefully across the floor, people gape at him.
I've kept my promise: no Googling, no research. But this piques my curiosity. It's obvious to everyone who he is. I notice two stunning women eyeing him hungrily. I'd be lying if I said this didn't bother me.
Then, suddenly, he stops, turns, and looks directly at me. It's as if he sensed me watching him. As if something is drawing us together.
Is that crazy?
Why, yes, it is. But it still feels true.
He strides toward me, visibly jittery, running a hand through his disheveled hair. I touch his arm, trying to steady him.
"Hey – you okay?"