Chapter 1
Copyright © 2023 By Cc Lopez
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the publisher's prior written permission.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
!WARNING!
This book contains mature scenes, including sexual language, murder, death, abuse, etc. Reader discretion is advised.
Charley Fynn (Hacker) - 24 years old
It's the year 2050, fifteen years after the first AI robot was released into our world, and that day my life changed forever. I was nine years old when they made a robot they called Callen. He was made for military purposes and trained to take down the worst of the worst.
But they made a big mistake releasing him so early on. He was programmed to only listen to the commands of a Sargent general who was killed by fellow government officials wanting Callen for their selfish gain. Callen killed every last one of them, began to develop his own decisions, and disappeared from the military base in Iran, and he has been rogue ever since. The Marines, army, and even Navy Seals have all tried to stop him but have been unsuccessful.
Even after losing a robot that could kill everyone in the world with his bare hands, the government decided to continue building robots, making them even smarter than before. They were the same as humans. You couldn't tell if they were AI or not. They looked just like us. They started as hotel maid services and then moved on to office buildings. Then, soon, we were buying them as companions, maids, and for sexual desires for the lonely.
AI was perfect for filling in for jobs, leaving humans with no work. Soon, robots were living lives like us. They lived in high-rise buildings downtown, even driving high-end sports cars, while humans lived in the slums begging for change.
My family was one of those begging for change. I was fifteen when my dad lost his job at a huge manufacturer because they wanted free labor.
A few years later, both my parents were attacked by a rogue AI and were killed.
I have spent the last several years helping the police hack into AI robots that went rogue, but there has always been one rogue who piqued my interest: Callen Knox.
My phone buzzed on my nightstand, pulling me from my thoughts. I reached over and flipped it over to see a text from Harlin. I quickly let it scan my face for my screen to open.
Harlin (Hacker) - 19 years old
Harlin: TEXT: Hey Charley, you need to get to the office. The military is here, and the police chief requests us at the PD.
The military?
Charley Fynn: TEXT: Alright, I'll be there soon.
I hurried to get ready and headed to our office so Harlin and I could head downtown together.
As I walked in, Harlin was at the computer looking through some street cameras.
"Morning, Harlin." I sat down in front of my computer, then swiveled toward Harlin.
"Morning, Charley."
"So what is this military stuff about?"
He swung his chair around to face me. "So, it turns out that rogue Callen was spotted here in LA, and the military wants our help to track him down."
I sipped on the coffee I grabbed on my way here as I looked over the rim at Harlin, confused. "Why us? No one has ever been able to hack Callen. What makes this Sargent think we can?"
He shrugged and swiveled back around to his computer.
This made no sense. Callen would never let people see him. He was too smart for this. It seemed he was trying to call the military out for some reason.
I got up from my chair, grabbed my satchel bag, and placed it over my head around my shoulder. "Let's go see what they have to say." And I headed for the door with Harlin right behind me.
We took the subway downtown. Much has changed since before AI. A part of me hated those fùckers. They killed my family, and I wanted to see every last one of them burned alive. I wanted to watch their digital faces disintegrate and melt into a puddle of nothing.
But Callen has always intrigued me. He had all the power to destroy us but never did. Maybe the government was lying about his strength. Perhaps they only wanted to experiment on him to see how he could reprogram himself and act like a human, which he wasn't. His outside looked like a human, but he was all robot inside.
As we made it off the subway, the darkness was gone, and the sun had risen. We walked the rest of the way to the police station.
The chief greeted us as we made our way over.
The Chief - 47 years old
"Good morning, Charley and Harlin. This is Sargent Loki." The chief gestured toward a large AI that stood by. Was this asshole the Sargent? Even our government was AI instead of a human. Humans were no longer in control.
Sargent Loki (AI) - Produced in 2045
"Good morning," it said in a tone that he was programmed with—a copied voice from a human. It seemed weird that they sent an AI to hunt an AI.
"Why are we here, Chief?" I asked, wanting to get straight to the point.
The AI pushed the chief out of the way and stepped before me. "Your name?" He looked down at me, demanding an answer, but I wasn't one of his military dipshits.
"I wasn't talking to you, bot!" I snapped.
"I am your government, and I demand you answer me, girl!"
"You are a piece of metal designed by people who were too smart for their own good. Go fuck yourself!" I raised my coffee to throw it in his face when the chief caught my arm.
"Let's settle down." The chief turned toward me. "Charley, please behave. Just answer the thing."
I sighed, setting my coffee on the desk nearby, and faced the scrape of metal. "My name is Charley Fynn." I gave him a sarcastic salute.
"Charley Fynn, you are ordered to report for duty." Loki declared.
"Excuse me?" My brow lifted.
"You are ordered to come with me."
"I don't think so, battery pack." I retorted.
"What the hell is this thing talking about?" Harlin stepped forward between me and the bot.
"Callen is here in Los Angeles. We need the best hacker to get close to him." The chief interjected.
"Why? He can't be hacked," I conveyed.
"The only way to reprogram Callen is to pull his chip," Loki stated.
My eyes grew wide. "Pull his chip? That's suicide. He's the deadliest AI. You can't even get near him." I argued.
"You must do whatever it takes to get close to him. Our intel shows that Callen was last seen in the poor part of the city, and he has no idea who you are. He expects our military to be after him, not a petite blonde." Loki said it like I was immune to his death tactics.
"Why me?"
"Because you know your way around a computer," Loki answered.
"You're asking me to walk into my death. He will kill me."
The chief stepped forward, placing his hands on either side of my shoulders. "Charley, this is our only chance to stop him before he kills more people. You're the only one who can do it."
My shoulders slumped. "I'm a hacker, not an agent."
"Please?" The chief pleaded.
I sighed. "Fine... I'll find him and figure out a way to get close to him if he doesn't kill me first."
"He won't. Not if you can get him to think you want in on his business." Loki said.
"What's his business?" I asked.
"Guns." Loki declared.
"What does an AI need guns for?" I asked, baffled.
"He's removing them from the military," Loki answered.
"Great, I feel so much better that he just wants to de-arm our military," I said smartly.
"I'm going with her." Harline cut in.
"No." Loki snapped.
"Why not?" Harlin questioned.
Loki's head snapped toward Harlin. "Callen hates men and humans. He doesn't trust them. He only trusts one other AI male, the second AI made. He'll kill you both. We need her to do this alone."
I took in a heavy breath before exhaling. "I'll head out tonight," I said and walked out.
Dread consumed me as I thought of Callen, a merciless killer with the strength of a machine, capable of ending my life with a single blow. I was a walking, talking Callen victim.
