Inception - Ascension Paradox, Book 1
Copyright© 2023 by L.R. Thornton
Chapter 20
“Why did you say that to them, Ray?” Amy hollered as he drove her back to her apartment after the VEX conference. “Jessie was trying to come back home to you and—”
“Did you miss the part where I told you about with the killer robot? I can’t risk their lives.” He slammed his foot on the brakes as he saw the light turn red.
“But—”
“What a mess,” Ray mumbled into the steering wheel as he rested his head upon it. He was exhausted after having had to spend the entire time he was at the VEX conference looking over his shoulders. He’d been fear-driven; afraid of being recognized as Officer Ramone Sanchez and afraid of being caught at the conference by the robot that still seemed hell bent on destroying his life.
“Are you going to let me stay with you or not, Amy?” He asked. A horn beeped behind him. He looked up to see the light had turned green again.
“Of course, I am,” Amy said without hesitation. “You’re family and family help each other. You know that.”
“Most of our family ignored me during the trial though,” he reminded her gently. Amy had even done so ... but he didn’t need to bring that up just now.
He drove in silence the rest of the way, his thoughts churning. Why had the robot come to him? What possible motive could it have?
“At least Professor Lawton is going to hear you out, Ray,” Amy said when they drove up to her small apartment. Amy lived only a couple of miles away from the university.
“Do you think he could help?” He opened the door for her as she got out.
Amy pursed her lips together. “I’m not sure. If anyone knows anything about this, it would be Professor Lawton. He’s a brilliant man.”
She punched in the security code to her house and used the retinal scanner. The lock clicked open. A scamper of feet met Ray’s ears and he glanced down to see a tiny black Dachshund come galloping at them.
“Hello, Einstein.” Amy dropped to the floor right in front of him and started rubbing the dog all over.
Ray rolled his eyes. It wasn’t that he didn’t like animals. They were cute as long as they belonged to someone else. Jessie and Dylan were allergic to animal dander. So, it was a relief for him to learn, early on in his marriage, that they would not be having pets.
“You’re such a good boy!” Amy went on, letting the dog lick her face.
Ray shivered in revulsion. He’d hate to think of where that dog’s tongue had been.
He walked around the two lovebirds and sat on the couch, glancing around Amy’s apartment. It had been some time since he’d been there. She’d invited the family to her house warming. He and Jessie had given her a big check so she could buy whatever she wanted. Amy had sent a text a few weeks later, showing them a collection of pendulum clocks she’d brought on an auction site. They were spread throughout the house, the synchronized sound of them chiming together, very loud.
The moment Amy finished swapping spit with Einstein she got up from the floor. “I’ll get you some bedding and put you out here on the couch. It folds out and is very comfortable.”
“Thanks for doing this, Amy.” Ray stopped talking. He was afraid of humiliating himself like he did in front of Matthias.
His cousin seemed to know. She gave him a small smile of understanding and then walked down the narrow hall and out of sight.
Ray leaned forward and stared at the carpet pile. Bits of what the professor said earlier in the day drifted back to him. ” ... impossible for a robot to harm a human. There are protocols embedded into its programming which prevent anyone from hacking into their system. I know. I was the originator of those protocols.”
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