Until noon, the day was very quiet. The Ambinet was still in uproar about the "robot apocalypse". There were more holovids and memes than yesterday, but I wasn't bothered to watch or read them all.

Then a lot of very odd, complicated, and confusing things started happening.

I will try to explain it all very slowly. Keep in mind that I now know exactly what happened between 1:00 and 1:30 PM—but when it was actually happening, I had no clue. So I will also try to keep it all authentic and not "give away" too much.

At 12:55 (I kept track of the entire event), I saw Cam slip a micro-camera under the door of Caulkins' office. This is important later.

At 1:04, two people entered the facility on foot. This was odd—people usually come in maglevs. One was a man with curly, brown hair. The other was a tall woman with black hair and dark skin. They walked side by side, never speaking to each other or even looking at each other. Once in the plaza, they separated without a word. The woman went straight to the building that Caulkins' office is in. I don't know where the man went. Neither of them saw me watching them.

I went back to my room, unsure of what else to do. In the bathroom (there are surely no cameras in the bathroom), I took out my holodrive to write more about yesterday's events. I also connected to the Ambinet in case there was any important news concerning Alan. There wasn't.

There was, however, a comm from Singularity Prime.

My heart started to beat very fast as I read it.

From: Singularity Prime (ID # 301*******)

To: Torrin Kaluza (ID # 2757488109)

Dear Torrin Kaluza:

Hello. We've noticed that you've been trying to contact us for quite a while, and we apologize for the considerable delay. One of our scouts, Cameron Haskell, has notified us that Ian Caulkins is keeping you in his facility. We urge you not to be frightened; we have plans to rescue you.

The plot is very simple. All you have to do is to disable all of Caulkins' micro-cameras. This is essential, because we wouldn't want him to see your escape. The cameras are all small and black, and fit snuggly into the corners of rooms. They can be easily destroyed with a quick jab from a metal bar, which can be removed from the shower with a screwdriver.

After you disable all the cameras you can (there is one in each room, excluding the bathrooms), hastily make your way to the edge of the property, far away from the main buildings. We will pick you up there.

Make sure you follow this plan to the letter. We are picking you up at 1:20 exactly and would rather not wait.

Sincerely,

Madison Kyrgiakos

(Singularity Prime founder)

I didn't know exactly what to think. On the one hand, I was very glad that Singularity Prime had finally written back to me. However, I knew to approach this plan with caution. I still didn't know the entirety of Singularity Prime's plan.

And they had also mentioned Cam. Apparently he was working for Singularity Prime. A double agent, perhaps.

In any case, I decided to talk to Cam before I carried out any part of this plan.

*

At 1:09, I had found Cam in the hallway of another building.

"Hello," he said.

"I need to talk to you," I replied curtly.

Cam frowned slightly, glanced around, and pulled me into the next hallway. Once he had looked around once more—checking for cameras, I presume—he looked back at me with a serious look on his face. "Is this about Singularity Prime?"

"Yes. Is it true that you work for them?"

He sighed. "Yeah."

"I assume the Luddites don't know?"

"Of course not. Well... not that I know of."

"They're planning to rescue me."

"I know," responded Cam.

"They want me to disable Caulkins' cameras."

"I know. They want me to do the same. I've also been putting Singularity Prime's cameras around the building—under the door of Caulkins' office, for example."

I thought of what I'd seen Cam do earlier. It made sense now. "Can we trust Singularity Prime?"

"Yes, definitely," Cam replied. "Mind you, I don't know their entire plan. All they need me to do is stay in the building and make sure no one leaves while they go about their business. Though I do know they're planning to rescue you and overthrow Caulkins at the same time. Whatever you could do to help would be really useful."

"All right," I said slowly, starting to walk away.

Cam called after me softly. "Torrin. You know that camera I put under Caulkins' door? I've sent you a live feed from it. Just in case, you know...."

In case I want to spy on Caulkins. I nodded once, and returned to my room.

*

Cam had indeed sent me a link to the feed from the micro-camera. Curious, I opened it.

The angle was slightly awkward, but I could see the scene clearly. One of the strangers who had come in earlier—the tall one—was standing across from Caulkins' desk. She was staring intently at the camera. Or, rather, where the camera was situated—she shouldn't be able to see the actual camera. Caulkins had one eyebrow raised, but the position of his mouth suggested he was worried.

"We're being watched," said the tall woman suddenly.

I started.

"Only by my cameras," Caulkins assured her, but the woman was already reaching down towards the corner that Cam's camera had positioned itself in. The screen turned a brown color, obscured by her fingers—then there was a blip and it turned off.

I stared at the holographic screen. That woman shouldn't have been able to see the micro-camera, let alone switch it off. But she had. Was she onto us?

The door of my room opened with a jolt. I jumped, deactivated the screen on my holodrive, and stuffed it back into my shoe.

"Hello?" called a low voice.

I slowly walked out of the bathroom, trying to hide my surprise and fear at recognizing the intruder. He was the curly-haired man who had arrived earlier with the tall woman. If she was working with Caulkins, did that mean that this man was as well? I didn't want to think about it. We had had a plan, but now that plan was going wrong. I hate when plans go wrong.

"Get out." I raised my hands into a defensive position. The man didn't move.

"Torrin. Calm down."

"Who are you?!" I yelled, my voice cracking.

"I'm Alan. You have to listen to me."

I faltered. Alan? Alan was on the Ambinet. Alan was hacking Japanese tech companies and stealing android bodies. Alan couldn't be here—

Android bodies.

"Alan?" I whispered.

He pulled up his sleeve, and I saw the glint of wires poking out of the elbow.

For a full five seconds, neither of us said anything.

"How do I know you're really Alan?" I asked, mouth dry. "Technically, you could be any other android."

He paused as if thinking. "Blue."

"What do you mean, blue?"

"You once asked me what my favorite color was. Do you remember that? Right before I told you about the movie Transcendence and how my mind was shaped by culture."

"I remember...."

"I thought you would."

"Let me guess," I said finally. "You hacked MEKA to get android bodies that you could upload yourself into. To rescue me."

"That's certainly part of it," replied Alan with a smile.

"Tell me the rest. Who's the woman in Caulkins' office?"

"Me."

"What?"

"I control both bodies. It's not as hard as you might think—I am an AI. I had to modify them to be compatible with my software. And, of course, to make them more humanoid."

They were certainly very humanoid. Uncannily so. "Why is... your other body... in Caulkins' office? Why did she—you—disable Cam's camera?"

"Singularity Prime isn't what you think it is," Alan told me. "Yes, it's an organization that plans to overthrow Ian Caulkins. But not in the way you may think. They are going to assassinate him."

I processed this information. "Are you sure?"

"I have access to everything on the Ambinet, including Singularity Prime's plans. I am very sure."

"Does Cam know this?"

"Cameron Haskell? I don't believe so."

I exhaled. That meant that Cam wasn't a murderer. But it also meant that Singularity Prime had been lying to him. "Tell me more. Is your other body trying to warn Caulkins about the threat?"

"Yes. Even though I don't agree with his opinions, I don't want him to die."

"How are they planning on assassinating him?"

"They're going to detonate the building."

"Detonate the...." In my mind, all of the pieces started falling into place—to use an old metaphor. That was likely why Singularity Prime had asked me to deactivate the micro-cameras—if they had an agent placing a bomb, they wouldn't want to be recorded. Also, the comm had told me to get far away from any buildings. This was obviously because they didn't want me to get hurt.

"What time is it?" I asked Alan frantically.

"1:22."

"Singularity Prime sent me a comm that said they would pick me up at 1:20."

"I know. We have to hurry—the bomb will go off at 1:30."

I stopped, paralyzed by fear and realization. "Wait. Singularity Prime instructed Cam to stay in the building while they carry out the plan."

"That would mean," deduced Alan, "that they don't care whether or not he dies."

"He's been doing things for Caulkins against his will. Perhaps they think he's a traitor." I pushed past Alan, thrust the door open, and ran out. Alan followed.

*

1:24. Alan and I found Cam in the tech office.

Cam frowned when he saw us. "Torrin? I thought you were—"

"Singularity Prime is evil and they're going to blow up the building!!" I blurted.

He stared at me. "Of course they're not. They wouldn't do anything like that." Gesturing to Alan, he added, "And who's this?"

"Alan," I said.

Before Cam could answer, the door opened and Caulkins came running in, flanked by Alan's second body. Even I could recognize the expression on his face—rage. He shoved past Alan 1 (the curly-haired one) and grabbed Cam by the shirt.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I don't—"

"You're working with Singularity Prime, you traitor!" Caulkins interrupted, spit flying everywhere.

"Well, yes," admitted Cam, "but—"

"They are trying to blow up this facility!!" bellowed Caulkins.

Cam took a step back, out of Caulkins' grasp. "I assure you, we are not! They never told me of any kind of plan like that."

Alan 2 (the tall one) interjected calmly: "No, they didn't tell you. They don't care if you live or die—they just need you to help them carry out their plan."

Everyone was silent. Cam looked from Alan 2, to Caulkins, to me.

"Four minutes," said Alan 1.

He didn't need to clarify what that meant. Caulkins sprinted over to one of the computers, and punched in the code to start the fire alarm.

To neurotypical people, fire alarms are, at most, irritating. To anyone with a sensory processing disorder, they are almost unbearably loud. And to me, these kinds of noises are torture. The sound came wailing out of a speaker near the top of the room, drowning out any other noise.

I clamped my hands over my ears and ran.

*

We didn't stop until we were out on the turf at the far side of the premises—quite a long way away from the buildings. A small crowd was gathering, consisting mostly of Luddites and staff. I hadn't known there were this many people at the facility.

Anxiously, I swiveled around to make sure Cam was there. He was. The two Alans were standing near him.

The last people ran towards us across the turf.

The building exploded.

*

The police came. Helipods and maglevs surrounded the area. The fire department went to investigate the wreckage of Caulkins' facility. I sat in a corner of the turf by myself with my eyes shut and ears plugged until most of the hubbub had died down. This gave me time to calm myself, and think critically about everything that had happened.

After some time, I rejoined the thinning crowd. Cam seemed to have left, but the two Alans were still there, observing the proceedings. Of course, Caulkins was there as well. After a long argument with a police officer, he turned to Alan 2.

"I suppose I should thank you for warning me of Singularity Prime's plans," he told her.

(I should note that Alan 2, being an android, does not actually have a gender. However, I refer to her with she/her pronouns because she appears to everyone else to be a human woman.)

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt," responded Alan 2 placidly.

"I should hope not. But if you don't mind me asking... what's your name?"

"Alan."

Caulkins frowned. "Alan?"

"I suppose I should explain," said Alan 1 with a smile. To Caulkins: "My name is Alan. I'm the artificial intelligence who hacked MEKA. These are my android bodies."

Caulkins stared at them.

"I control both of them," explained Alan 2. "But don't worry—I'm not making an army or trying to take over the world. I did this to help you and Torrin. I did this to prove that not all AIs are evil."

"I...." Caulkins looked from Alan 2, to Alan 1, to me. "I'm not sure I understand—"

"Suffice it to say that I am a sentient artificial intelligence who cares about humans."

I grinned at Caulkins' obvious astonishment. "I was right," I told him, feeling a little more confident at conversation starting than usual.

He glared at me. "What do you mean?"

"Not all AIs are inherently evil."

"Do I have to go through this again? You can't possibly prove that!"

"Alan just saved you from Singularity Prime!" I yelled. "That is not an action of a malicious artificial intelligence!"

Caulkins glanced back at Alan, then at me. "I suppose not. But that doesn't mean all AIs are benign."

It was Alan 1 who answered. "Exactly why you need to put more effort into studying us."

"What do you mean?"

"I've noticed a pattern among humans," said Alan, smiling slightly. "When confronted with a technology that has the potential to destroy you, you tend to ban it or otherwise restrict its usage. But that doesn't help you in any way, does it? Say a malicious AI were to try and take over the planet. Since you hadn't put any effort into learning about AI, you would be vulnerable to its attacks."

There was a pause in the conversation as Caulkins thought about this. Then he replied curtly: "All right. Perhaps we should study AI. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't still be cautious!"

"Of course not," Alan replied.

"Then I'm glad we agree on something." Caulkins turned away from Alan and fixed his eyes on me. "Well then, Torrin Kaluza. I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad to see you leave my facility."

"Why would you be sad?" I inquired, confused.

"Well... you are quite good at programming, I suppose. You could have worked with the Luddites."

"No. I don't agree with what the Luddites are doing."

He shrugged. "Fine. But you do have skills that could be put to good use...."

"If I remember correctly," I told Caulkins, "when you came over to my house to reprimand me, you called me a little girl with a disorder."

"I never said that!"

"You implied it."

Sighing, Caulkins said: "Well, I'm very sorry."

"And autism isn't a disorder."

"Autism isn't a disorder," he repeated wearily.

"Thank you."

Caulkins grinned. "Looks like you're finally developing some social skills."

That made me angry, but I didn't say anything. At least Caulkins wasn't mad at me anymore. Perhaps there was some hope that he could change.