Alicia Artificial

By Azza Sumner

Three years after the original girls battle to save the world, a new locally produced biod has come into existence with the aid of Ellan Elore and the Lorene. Adam and Alicia don't get along at first as Adam finds her to be a horrible and manipulating girl, while she fails to maintain dominance over him and believes she is merely an organic machine. Soon they are forced to fight for their lives.

This is book two of the biod series.

Suitable for mature teens and adults. Sci-fi, romance, fantasy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Azza Sumner
• Release date: Jul 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311495679

Azza Sumner

A middle-aged dreamer with a word processor, some life experience and heaps of free time. I originally created these stories for my children and decided to share them. I need some constructed criticism before the next books please. Will release more after feedback to [e-mail]

Book preview

Alicia Artificial

Book two of the Biod series

Copyright 2016 A. Sumner

Published by A. Sumner at Smashwords

Revision 1.2

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Chapter 1

Doctor Kingsworth sat at his desk removing his glasses with a sigh. He didn’t want to choose a new guardian for his precious daughter but he knew he must. He felt they were both in danger. He had been up all night thinking on his decision. The doctor picked up a manilla folder from his desk and went over the profile one last time. The young man pictured on the first page was an average looking twenty year old. He obviously didn’t do a great deal of exercise and he was hardly handsome, but he wasn’t unattractive for any particular reason either. His school reports indicated he was bright and full of potential, but lazy. One teacher even noted he was too much of a daydreamer. His computer teacher had written that Adam had the potential for genius if he could just maintain focus and follow through on his creative theories. Every teacher seemed to call him an unfocussed dreamer lacking motivation but capable of great things. The doctor picked up a photo of his younger self with his wife nursing their baby daughter. He spoke to the attractive golden haired woman in the picture saying An unemployed looser, a dreamer, has potential, lacks motivation. Reminds me of myself at that age.

He had studied the profile over and over. It hadn’t been hard to find a capable hacker willing to research Adam for a few hundred dollars. Among other things he had found old school reports, his resume, credit report and conducted a police check which came up clean. He even had a printout of sites Adam had visited on the internet. One or two of these sites caused the doctor a little concern as the father of an attractive eighteen year old girl like Alicia, especially if he was going to be watching over his treasured daughter. The doctor had to admit though that Alicia was a young adult now and Adam was only following the natural curiosity of any young single man. The doctor recalled having many of the same interests at that age. It wasn’t the concern at the top of his priorities list though. He was just being the over protective father again who couldn’t let go. Alicia was a big girl now and very smart. She could always protect herself in the event of anything improper. The role of guardian wasn’t so much about protecting her chastity as it was about protecting her security and keeping her operational until all her idiosyncrasies were explained. There were still too many unexplained mysteries that even her father as the creator didn’t fully understand. She could not be released freely into the word yet. Besides his little girl was all he had left. His beloved wife would be in prison for a few more years yet, and she could never be allowed near Alicia again. She was still fixated on seeing their daughter buried in the ground where she belonged to achieve peace. It was what nature intended.

The doctor placed the photo down and turned to his laptop. He clicked on an icon labelled ‘DeBot 3’ and loaded the file containing the morales and values matrix for the artificial intelligence (AI) used by the chat bot. He approved of what he read. The young man who wrote it was a little judgemental and opinionated, but the doctor liked that. There was some strength of character there. That would be needed to handle his princess. He agreed with the matrix that Adam had created in general. It showed not only genius, but depth and decency in his character as he instructed his chat bot how to respond with his own personal beliefs. It was a glimpse into his soul. The whole program was an inspiration. It was only an incomplete demonstration program in this early version, but the engine behind it was very impressive. The tailored language and database structure was nothing short of revolutionary. Even in this early version the foundation had been laid out for the program to rewrite it’s own segments and evolve. It could learn and update it’s own procedures and routines. It was even able to create new ones. Unfortunately the comments on the site where the doctor had downloaded the program were negative. None of them had seemed to grasp the seed the writer had shared with them. It wasn’t a fully bug free commercial program yet, so the lazy and ignorant had not given it a fair chance. Doctor Kingsworth had given it plenty of chances. He had chatted with the writer and expanded on it. He had done repeated major rewrites many times and was now up to a version twelve. It still kept the original engine and structure though. He would have liked to send the original programmer a copy, but he was afraid the young Adam Winters might figure out too much as to the purpose of it.

Originally from the far north coast of Queensland, the doctor had discovered another contact of value in this area, so had sold up and quit his job to focus on his own research. They moved to the north coast of New South Wales. It was a large property just outside of a large town. They found it was quite peaceful on this rural property studded with trees. He erected a large shed and set up a laboratory inside. Alicia’s illness was getting worse at that stage but she was still able to attend the local high school. He had hired a young nursing student to assist as her carer when her condition degraded.

After lunch today Kingsworth would meet Adam for the first time in person. He had invited the young man over under the pretence of a job interview, but in reality the choice was already made. A large yellow envelope containing the security device and fifteen thousand dollars cash was ready with his name already written on it. He was the only one the doctor would trust after his experience with an assistant that had disappointed him greatly due to his greed and degenerate ideals. There were plenty within his scientific circles that would be better qualified, but they were scientists, and as such were too curious. He couldn’t trust them not to turn his daughter into a guinea pig to satisfy their insatiable curiosity. He needed someone with moral fibre who had enough knowledge to learn about and care for his creation, but not treat her like a scientist might.

When Adam proved trustworthy, he would be entrusted with another responsibility as well. The doctor opened a desk draw and was about to retrieve another folder when a bell chimed and a face appeared on his laptop. It was his mysterious advisor who called herself Ellan Elore from the Lorene Cybernetics Institute. She was a beautiful woman with long white hair and delicate features. Her voice was always soft and sweet. Ellan looked to be in her early to mid thirties but had assured the doctor once that she was much older. The doctor often wondered why she always wore a scarf tied around her head and wore sunglasses, but thought it best not to pry into her little eccentricities. She was an odd woman, but very knowledgeable. Her advice was often cryptic. She had however guided his work and helped him overcome many hurdles. The Kingsworth interface would never have worked without her input.

The woman’s image asked Have you chosen a guardian yet for just in case the worst should happen? Kingsworth nodded and replied Yes. He is no scientist and isn’t driven by greed or power. He seems like a decent young man. Later today I will give him all the information. Ellan seemed satisfied as she continued saying I am sorry I can not offer you more help. We are bound by policies and restrictions. We must limit our involvement in your affairs. Rest assured though that if the worst ever should happen, I will at least ensure this guardian takes custody of her. The woman paused for a moment looking troubled before asking By the way doctor, have you heard anything about someone with a similar interface in your area recently. One of my people has gone missing near your area. I have sent two of my daughters to investigate.

Doctor Kingsworth was stunned and asked I wasn’t aware there were others. Is that how you are so knowledgeable about the interface? Ellan nodded on the screen saying Yes, I have been doing the same work as you, but for much longer. Very much longer. My interfaces are many times more advanced than yours, but they and their technology are not yet ready for public knowledge. I am hoping yours inherits the same gift as mine, but I don’t want to offer false hope as yet. This is why I helped you develop your own primitive version. I have resources unavailable to you doctor. I can not share much of it sorry. Remember doctor that according to our deal, this technology was all your discovery. It needs your understanding and must use your resources. It is your responsibility. Consider it the price of my guidance. We do not desire the credit or the attention from the discovery. Such attention would only hamper our work.

Kingsworth replied I understand and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you have done for my daughter and I. I am just sorry that my poor choice in an assistant has caused security concerns for us both. Ellan replied politely It was not your fault. He poses little threat to my institute. One day I hope to visit with you and you will understand why. Just concern for own well being. Doctor Khall is a horrible and greedy man. He has become increasingly demented. We do not know what lengths he might go to. Looking ashamed Kingsworth replied I agree. He didn’t seem like that at first. Alicia’s body could never have been repaired without him. It is good I kept much of the previous research from him though. Khall was a great help initially, but when he saw the potential for power and money, he changed. That’s when I found out he was stealing all my research. I can not apologise enough for my lapse in judgement. I will deal with him somehow. Ellan smiled and remarked I just hope he has not stolen enough to build an interface for himself. Combined with the muscle and nerve drugs he was developing, it could be disastrous if sold to the wrong people. His newer versions of the drug is a real threat to humanity. The sound of two girls arguing childishly could be heard in the background as Ellan sighed with resignation and said Sorry about my daughters. I had better go. Take care doctor. Before Kingsworth could even respond Ellan was gone.

Kingsworth was startled at the sound of a chair creaking in front of his desk. He glanced around to find his daughter had snuck in and helped herself to a seat. Holding his hand to his chest he said Stop doing that Alicia. You’ll give your old dad a heart attack. He always found it annoying when she did that. Alicia was not only physically strong, but she could move very quickly and quietly with graceful agility. He looked at her noticing how much she looked like a younger version of her mother. She was eighteen years old now and it was hard to accept that this attractive young woman in front of him was no longer the little child they had raised. Neither was she the seriously ill girl slowly wasting away until she could no longer walk. Her brain had eventually started showing early stages of infection as well in the end. How long have you been sitting there? he asked. Alicia played with her long golden hair absently as she replied. Just came in. Was that the mysterious Ellan woman you were talking to again? She’s very cute. Yes it was. the doctor replied before adding with a smile Not that it’s any of your business young lady.

He adopted a more serious tone before he continued saying Alicia, I wanted to talk to you about a serious matter. If something ever happens to me, you will need a guardian, a carer. When your mother gets out of prison, she will probably still want to see you dead and buried. Doctor Khall was a major let down. His work on the synthetic steroid for your muscle and nerve repair was great, but he had twisted ambitions. Alicia interjected Yeah he gave me the creeps. I bet he was a sicko perve or something. He always made me uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter now daddy. That freak is gone. Nothing’s going to happen to you. It’ll be just us happily forever. The doctor shook his head. He didn’t want to worry her with his true concerns for their safety. He continued saying No Alicia, accidents happen. You never know. This is just in case. If something ever happens to me, I am going to employee this young man as my assistant and should the need arise to be your guardian. He slid the folder containing the profile across the desk.

Alicia browsed through the file quickly with a disinterested look and replied It says this drop kick went to my high school. What a looser. No dad he looks like a total dork. Then she noticed something and her expression changed. She appeared to be a little excited for just a moment as she said Wait.…this is the guy. The DeBot guy. I didn’t know that was him. We never talked at school. Different circles. This is the dude that wrote the engine and stuff that you based all your AI work on. I always wondered about him. She carelessly tossed the folder back onto the desk and looked disinterested again as she stated It’s your choice dad. I don’t care. Nothing will happen so I might never need him anyway. The doctor knew that despite her words and expression she was really curious to know more about Adam. She always kept this cold and disinterested demeanour up. Kingsworth added There’s something else. Later today he is coming here. He thinks it’s a job interview. I am going to tell him everything and give him the security device. I know he won’t refuse my offer. He will be eager to accept. Before I do that though I need to talk to you. He paused regretting they hadn’t had talked about this before. It was going to be harder now after almost two years of being activated. The doctor gulped nervously fearing how Alicia might react to