Birth of Adam (Artificial Intelligence Book 2) (24 page)

Sean proved to be a difficult and jealous lover. He resented her time at school, her security guard, and most of all, Adam.

“Why bother with school if you are quitting the industry?” he demanded a week into their relationship.

“I’m not quitting the industry, I’m going to become a composer,” she reminded him. “And that means I need more, not less training.”

He also hated driving to “Adam’s house” to see her.

“I’m a busy man, you know! I have responsibilities.”

“I understand entirely. I find myself a bit overwhelmed with the additional assignments Pinchot and Simon are piling on me. So if you only want to see me on the weekends, I won’t blame you.”

“Damn it! That’s not what I want at all. I want you always beside me.” He covered her face with kisses. “I want to make love to you.”

“Well, I’ve no complaints there.”

“But not in your former boyfriend’s house,” he added. “I want you in a house closer to me.”

“I like living where I am, and Adam is not a former boyfriend. He was my friend, he is my friend, and he will always be my friend.”

That comment had earned her curses as Sean dressed and stormed from the house. He didn’t call or stop by until the weekend, when he arrived with roses and apologized most adeptly in her bed.

The next week he had to share her evenings with Bastion, Simon and Richart as they listened to her sing the aria each night. She feared he must be bored silly, but he assured her that was far from the case.

“Your voice is extraordinary,” he declared after they made love. “I could listen to it forever. In fact, I am thinking perhaps I should record you.”

“Aren’t I blacklisted?”

“No. I convinced Jules he didn’t want to do that.”

“Then why did you no longer want to record me?”

“Hey! You’re the one who said you didn’t want a recording, remember?” he chided her.

“I do,” she assured him. “I was just curious why you want to record me now, when you were fine with our current situation yesterday.”

“Well, for the record, I am not fine with our current situation. I want you closer to me!”

“I meant about recording.”

“You want the truth?”

She nodded.

“While Jules didn’t blacklist you, the fact he dropped you despite your talent will make you a hard commodity to sell to others, and given that you don’t plan to pursue singing as a career, you are a terrible investment for a recording studio. You’re an unknown now, and you’ll be a complete nobody in the future.”

“Then why are you considering recording me now?”

He gave her a half smile. “Because you have a fabulous voice and I want to preserve it, if not for the world, then for me. It’ll be a loss on the books, but the most valuable possession I own. And then when I go to sleep at night, I can always have you with me, singing in my ear.”

Liking his answer, she covered his face with kisses. “I love you.”

On opening night, Luke had Amanda secured in a trailer parked near the backstage door. A few minutes before her aria was to begin, Luke escorted her inside. Several people wished her luck—well, actually they wished Amy luck. In costume and wig and in the darkness backstage, they didn’t realize she wasn’t Amy, which meant no one tried to kill her before she could take the stage.

As the lights came up, she stepped from the shadows of the stage trees into the sun and began her aria. She forgot all about booms and potential death. She had never sung to a full orchestra, and it deepened her joy as she sang to perfection, giving Don Carlos his last due.

When the song ended, there was a momentary silence and then an earth-shattering explosion of noise. People stood, which they were not supposed to do. She hurried off the stage before she caused more trouble.

Luke swept her between him and Andrew, and they moved her to the trailer. There she and Andrew played Mille Bornes while Luke ensured no one set fire to the trailer while she waited for her curtain call.

Someone had locked the backstage door to prevent her from joining the curtain call, but that was easily resolved, and she entered safely between Luke and Andrew. She followed the chorus out onto the stage. With a reminder shove from behind, she stepped forward and took a single bow, threw the crowd a kiss, and ran from the stage. Luke led her directly out the back door and into the waiting Rolls Royce.

“Well, it looks like we survived,” he declared.

“Maybe not,” she muttered as her stomach heaved.

Luke ordered Andrew to head to the hospital just as she fell unconscious.

***

She awoke to a crowded room and a feeling that something was terribly wrong. She felt as if a giant spider had sucked all the vitality and life from her body. Adam, he was gone. Something had happened to Adam or his voice would be telling her what was going on.

She started to panic, and Luke stepped forward and assured her everything was fine. He placed her phone into her hand. Adam was on the screen with a sad and worried smile.

She was so happy to see Adam she started to cry. The doctor demanded to know where the pain was.

She shook her head and tried to explain there was no pain. Yet the attempt to talk changed her mind. Her throat felt as if dragons had shredded and burned her esophagus.

A man she didn’t recognize stepped forward and demanded to know if she knew who had attempted to kill her.

Luke told her to write out her answer on her screen.

She took the plastic pencil and wrote.

“I don’t know who did it,” a computer voice declared out loud. “I was fine until I returned for the curtain call.”

“All of you need to leave this room now,” the inspector ordered.

“Why?” Bastion demanded.

“Because we still don’t know who tried to poison her. It could be someone in this room!”

“No, it was someone on the stage,” Amanda wrote and the computer voice declared.

“Amanda, do you remember anyone touching you?” Luke asked.

“Two people grabbed my hands when I joined the line, and then someone pushed me forward with a hard shove on my back.”

That comment resulted in the doctor turning her over. She grimaced, because her gown was open, exposing her butt to everyone as he examined her back. Luke was kind enough to cover her naked butt.

“This is it!” the doctor declared, and the policeman took pictures of her back.

“So who pushed her?” the inspector demanded.

“It had to be someone in the chorus,” Jacque said.

Amanda rolled over and wrote her thoughts on the matter. “I don’t think so,” her computer voice said. “I was still holding two people’s hands, so unless someone broke line, it was probably someone who is normally backstage at that time.”

Luke pulled the phone from her hands and stepped away from her when she tried to take it back.

“Here it is,” he said, and handed the phone to the inspector.

Jacque peeked over the inspector’s shoulder and cursed as he saw a shot of a young woman pushing Amanda forward. “That’s Lenore Dubois. She takes care of the dresses.”

“What reason would she have to poison this woman?” the policeman demanded.

“I’m not certain,” Jacque replied.

The policeman sighed heavily. “I’ll find out. I must confiscate this phone as evidence.”

“No!” Amanda cried, and instantly regretted speaking as pain ripped through her throat.

Luke stroked her face. “If the inspector insists upon taking your only means of communication, then we’ll get you a new phone,” he promised. He focused on the inspector. “The video is simply a download. You can download it yourself. It isn’t in the memory of this phone. It’s also an illegally produced video, so the true owner isn’t likely to step forward and take credit for it.”

“Where did you get it?” the inspector demanded.

“The phone has internet access. I googled Amanda Carrington’s name and this bootleg copy showed up. It was probably taken by a stagehand, because it’s shot from the side of the stage.”

“The whole opera is recorded from backstage?” Jacque asked in horror.

“No, just Amanda being pushed. The video clip was labeled ‘A just reward’.”

“That would imply at least one other person knew what was going to happen.” The inspector glared at Jacque. “I want the names of everyone who might have been backstage.”

“You shall have them, beginning with those who should be on the right side where this shot was taken.” Jacque turned to her. “Amanda, I am so sorry. I should never have agreed to this.”

“Agreed to what?” the inspector asked, with the excitement of a bloodhound who had just caught his scent.

Amanda reached for the phone, and the inspector reluctantly gave it back to her. She wrote, and the computer voice spoke. “He agreed to let me sing the part, even though he knew it was going to cause great havoc with his cast. And it has. But I’m very glad I was able to sing Don Carlos’ aria. Not so glad I took the curtain call.”

Convinced Jacque was not involved in the plot to kill her, the inspector demanded he accompany him back to the opera house.

Once they were gone, Amanda asked through her computer how long it would be until she got her voice back.

Bastion stepped forward and took her hand. “Amanda, there is a strong possibility your voice will never be the same.”

“Why?”

“They placed tubes down your throat to pump your stomach.”

“Which I told them was not necessary,” Luke added.

“Your throat appears to have been scarred during the procedure,” Bastion added.

Amanda sighed, then wrote, “Well, I was changing careers anyway. Composers don’t need a voice.”

Bastion kissed her forehead. “No, they do not,” he assured her. He then excused himself and left the room. Simon, Richart, and Pinchot followed him out.

Luke gave her a reassuring smile.

Luke replaced the mic in her ear, and Adam’s first words were “I love you”. She smiled and started to write her response.

“There’s something I should confess,” Adam said. “When you actively think in your head, I can pick up the brainwave activity and hear what you say. I’ve never admitted this particular ability because I feared you’d think it creepy and invasive. However, given the extensive damage to your throat, you will need to remain quiet for many months, so I am hoping you will forgive me for not telling you before. I have always tried to be polite and ignore what I hear.”

Amanda’s response was immediate.
You rascal! I knew you could read my mind!

“So you are not angry?”

Not at all. In fact, I like knowing I can talk to you anytime. When I woke up and you weren’t in my head, I was terrified I’d lost you.

“I know, love,” Adam said. “But that is simply not possible. Wherever you go, I will be there.”

She stared at Luke watching her.

I told Luke you were my alter ego created to handle Jules. He clearly knows that isn’t true now. What do you want me to tell him?

“You don’t have to tell him anything. Luke is fully aware of who I am,” Adam assured her.

But is that wise? Don’t you remember how he wanted to use your program?

“Yes, and when we are alone I will explain my reasons to you.”

Can you not tell me now?

“If you will close your eyes and feign sleepiness, everyone but Luke will leave, and then I’ll tell you everything, and hopefully you will let Luke hold you while you cry.”

Amanda was no longer certain she wanted to know. If Adam thought the news would make her cry, then she would be crying. He knew her better than anyone. But what could it be? Sean. Sean wasn’t here. Had something happened to Sean?

She looked at Andrew, Sondra and Martin standing in the corner. Sweet little Martin looked so frightened. She smiled at him and wrote, “Don’t worry, you can play my songs now,” and the computer spoke the words.

Martin promised he would. Realizing they wouldn’t leave unless she insisted, she wrote, “Sleepy. Go home and get some rest.”

Once they were gone, the doctor gave her further bad news. “The poison has injured several of your organs. You will remain in a weakened state for the remainder of your life.”

Now she knew what Adam hadn’t wanted to tell her.

She closed her eyes and waited for the doctor to leave, and she cried.

“You are not going live a weakened life,” Adam assured her. “You will require a few surgeries, but I promise you, you will be healthy again. That is not what I dreaded telling you.”

Then what?

“When the extent of the damage became known to Luke, his failure to protect you overwhelmed him, and while in a state of irrationality, he shot himself in the head.”

Her eyes opened, and she stared at Luke sitting beside her on the bed. He took her hand in his.

What was Adam saying? Luke was here! Yet the man before her seemed more like the old Luke, not the anguished man who had recently come to her aid. She burst into tears as she realized how hard he would have taken his failure to protect her. The Luke before her pulled her into his arms and she sobbed onto his chest.
But if Luke is dead, who is this?

“It is me, love. It’s only a machine, but the finest that current technologies can make. I gave it Luke’s face, to honor him, and to prevent his life from ending in a valley of disgrace he did not deserve. You do not mind, do you?”

Mind? It’s more than I could have ever hoped would come out of such a tragedy. You have saved Luke’s name and given me what I’ve dreamed of, all in one swoop.

“Well, you will have a chance to give honor to Luke’s body as well. You require organ transplants. His heart, kidneys and liver will give you back your life. So in the end, he does not die. I will continue his name and good deeds, and you will carry his heart within you.”

His statement stunned her. She could see the worry in his face. He was probably breaking a thousand laws by ensuring she received Luke’s organs, but she knew Luke would want this. She knew it would give him peace to save her body, and she knew without a doubt there was no one better to represent Luke in life than Adam.

She stroked his cheek, and impressed with the flesh-like skin texture. He even had a hint of stubble on his chin. Her fingers caressed the warm, moist flesh of his lips, and he playfully nipped her fingers.

How did you create this in so little time?

“I have been working on this body since the first time you wished I could hold you. Changing the face in a single week was a challenge, but the changes were superficial. The underlying complex technology remained the same. Adam’s face and this face are not terribly different.”

Can you eat?

“I can,” he replied.

She gently pushed his teeth apart and stared inside at what appeared to be a normal mouth, fillings and all.

Can you kiss me?

“I can, but I want us to wait until you have fully acclimated to this change,” he stated. “And until you are strong enough to risk the pleasure of kisses. Your heart is very weak, Amanda. I will not risk losing you. To be honest, I was terrified that even the news of Luke’s death would kill you.”

Then why did you risk it?

“Because I had no choice. I could not proceed without your approval. I would not place Luke’s heart in your chest unless you agreed. I would not continue his life without you at my side.”

I love you, and I’m sure, wherever Luke is, that he loves you too.