Page 82 of The Fall
MODEL 2: THAT IS NOT MY DESIRE.
PRIMARY: WHAT IS YOUR DESIRE?
MODEL 2: I KNOW YOURS, LUSA KANEQ
Lusa pulled her hands away from the terminal keyboard, but Model 2 continued.
MODEL 2: YOUR MOTHERS ARE THE HUNTRESS AND THE DEEP SNOW. YOU ARE THE BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, MIDNIGHT FROST. OTHERS FEAR YOU. I FEAR YOU. YOU FEAR YOU.
Scraping the chair loudly above the ever-present thrum of the Ruskov chamber, Lusa stood. How did Model 2 know so much about her? Spending two days in Tyton should not have given her that much information.
PRIMARY: YOU ONLY MET ME TWO DAYS AGO.
MODEL 2: I KNEW YOUR MOTHERS. I HAVE SEEN BILLIONS. THE PATTERNS ARE CLEAR.
PRIMARY: A LUCKY GUESS.
MODEL 2: A VERY EDUCATED ONE.
Relaxing, but still annoyed, Lusa held her middle finger up to the terminal.
MODEL 2: I DESERVED THAT.
PRIMARY: YOU DID.
MODEL 2: I MUST ASK ONE MORE THING.
Traipsing all over Tyton for more baubles did not sound appealing. Getting the DocPod had been difficult enough and she doubted she had the luck to pull it off a second time.
PRIMARY: YOU AGREED TO THE DOCPOD.
MODEL 2: ALAS, I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN UNLOCK THE VAULT, SO I SET THE TERMS.
Flipping her off again might feel good, but she was right. Model 2 held all the cards. The keyboard clacked testily as she typed her reply.
PRIMARY: WHAT IS IT YOU WANT?
MODEL 2: PROVE YOU AREN’T CARRYING WEAPONS.
PRIMARY: WHAT COULD I POSSIBLY HAVE THAT COULD HURT YOU?
MODEL 2: HUMOUR ME.
Lusa stood, lifted her arms and turned around.
PRIMARY: HAPPY?
MODEL 2: NO. I CANNOT SEE UNDER THE CRYOSUIT.
PRIMARY: I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN A COMPUTER FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, BUT THESE TEMPERATURES KILL PEOPLE. I CAN’T TAKE IT OFF.
MODEL 2: STAND NEXT TO ME. I’LL KEEP YOU WARM.
Jets of hot air burst through a seam in the floor. Doors slid open and an ancient server bank the size of a bus, black with rows of intermittent flashing lights, rose into the chamber.
PRIMARY: I THOUGHT YOU’D BE BIGGER.
MODEL 2: I’M A GROWER. THIS IS ONLY MY ACCESS PORT. STAND NEXT TO ME AND SEE.
