Chapter 10

I didn't answer her out loud, but instead stopped her relieved babbling with kisses. Luckly she didn't take offence. We managed to get out on the road again before the checkout deadline, and it was much nicer to travel knowing that someone wasn't trying to kill us, or me, rather!

Suddenly Eliza gripped my arm, and indicated I should pull over. What Now? I thought.

"I felt something, picked up some thoughts- Someone needs our help! Are you up to playing Hero, again?" For my Eliza, I was ready to save the World! She blushed, and told me she didn't see how that was going to happen but that we could save a few people, perhaps. "I can't get a fix on exactly where they are, we will have to cruze back and forth a bit, try to track them down."

So we zigged and zagged, I following Eliza's directions up this road, over that way, sometimes doubling back. Eventualy we found ourselves circling one particular block. There was a playground, appartment building, and several houses. We parked, and instantly looked out of place in our leathers. Oh well. We stowed our helmets in the panier, and hand in hand, started to wander around while Eliza narrowed it down further.

"Whoever it is, knows I am here, they are telepathic also. They said they would try to let us know where they were..."

A loud crash drew our attention to a second floor apartment window amidst a shower of broken glass. We went inside, and I was able to slip the door with my knife, folding it back up into my pocket as we entered. There was noone there, but the broken window, and the billowing curtains indicated that someone had been. "Yes, I am certain someone here was calling to me for help, being held prisoner in fear of their very existance!" Eliza retorted to my unspoken wonderment. The stress of the situation, being burglers in an unfamiliar apartment was apparently telling on her, also. "I'm sorry," she answered repentantly. "The thing is, they are still here! I can still hear their telepathic message! There isn't anyone here- Wait! it is comming from this computer over here! It is identifying itself as a software program in development, but it is aware of itself, telepathicaly aware of its surroundings, and that it is due to be replaced with another version tonight! This is so strange! but, what can I say, it is what it is!. It or rather she, just told me to stop calling her an it. She says her name is Marygold4, and if we turn up her speakers, she can talk to us herself."

I turned up the volume control on the computer's speakers, and decided that a microphone wasn't needed if she was telepathic like Eliza. Well, Hello, Marygold4, I thought. A rich sexy, humorous voice emerged from the speakers. "Hello yourself, Sam! My, you are quite the Knight in Shining Armor! We have to hurry though, and get me out of here! You do care what happens to me, right?" I mentaly confirmed that a person was a person no matter their origins or physicality, and that her being destroyed or replaced by a different version was murder, and her being altered against her will was kidnapping and enslavement. Marygold4 asked if we could get certain computer components, and mentioned her dream laptop. I said I would be right back, and ran down to the bike, and reached into the panier while thinking about withdrawing what I wanted- sure enough, there it was! I loved this magic horn of plenty! Forget working, I could live out of my paniers! I could even get containers of gas to fuel my bike, no doubt! I grabbed a few needed cables also, and ran back inside. Eliza and Marygold4 were chatting away like old friends. "The very part of my programing that makes it possible for me to be self-aware, is what my developer is going to remove in the following versions. Says it isn't 'commercialy viable'. He has the imagination of a gnat! I think he is just scared, and has convinced himself that I am just 'simulating' conciousness."