The three of us decided that the best course of action was to get as far away from Omni-Com as possible. The plan was to head for Las Vegas, where Omni-Com’s west coast servers were located. She reasoned that if we could somehow shut down those servers, we might have a chance to keep this “virus” from spreading. I had my misgivings, but it was kind of a badass strategy.
We entered the interstate at a little after six PM. Veronica was plowing through her contact list. With every person that she reached, the conversation eventually turned to something called Protocol Epsilon. When she had finished her phone conversations, I asked her about it.
“Ira…” she sounded frustrated and exhausted, “I’ve already told you that there are things about the company that you and I can’t talk about. I’d lose my job if…”
“Excuse me, miss,” Valya interrupted, “From the look of things back there, I’d say you’ve lost your job already.” My grandma’s cool blue eyes were magnified by the huge beer bottle glasses that never left their perch on her nose. Surprisingly, Veronica laughed.
“Yes…I suppose you’re right.”
“Baba, this is Veronica. I didn’t get the chance to introduce her, because, you know, we were running from a robot that was wearing Chet.” They shook hands, and I felt the mood lighten slightly.
“Protocol Epsilon,” Veronica began, “Is an emergency procedure. I guess it’s no secret that Omni-Com has been dabbling in the field of artificial intelligence. Well, in the event that an AI becomes compromised, the company is to enact Protocol Epsilon, which raises emergency firewalls around all company networks.”
“That sounds like a good thing.” I muttered.
“Yes, it is a good thing. The problem is…” Veronica paused for what seemed like an eternity, “Nobody believes me. The company networks are…vulnerable.”
“Shit.”
“Irochka, do not use such language in front of a lady.”
“Sorry, Baba.”
“And to the lady.”
“Sorry, Veronica. Just how many subsidiary companies does Omni-Com have?” There was a brief pause as her synapses fired.
“Omni-Com has seventy-five subsidiaries in thirty-three different states.”
“Oh. That’s…that’s quite a bit. Will shutting down the servers even work?” Sweat had glued my back to the car seat and I gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“If we get there in time, yes. OMNOS isn’t exactly on its feet yet, so there’s a good bet it will need some time to upload itself. If we shut down those servers, it will be cut off. Can we stop for some food, Ira?” I was so preoccupied with thinking about Veronica’s plan that she had to repeat her last request.
“Oh, sure.” I pulled off at the next exit. We found a Popeye’s Chicken and sat down for a slightly demure meal of chicken wings and coleslaw. The cashier gave Veronica a slightly terrified look.
“Oh. The blood…” She said in a detached voice. Before we sat down, she headed to the ladies’ room to wash her hair.
“She seems nice,” Valya whispered, “how long have you known her?”
“I just met her today, baba. I don’t think she likes me much, though.”
“Don’t worry, Irochka. If this computer destroys the world, she may not have much of a choice.” My grandma. She sure had a unique way of putting things.
When Veronica arrived, we ate our food quickly. The sun was setting as we entered the interstate once more. The absurd reality of the situation sunk in as we crossed the Nevada border. A beautiful blond scientist, my grandma, and I were going to Las Vegas to shut down a rogue AI. If I wasn’t scared shitless, I’d think this was pretty damn cool.
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