Kinetics (21 page)

I wanted it to ring more than anything. 
I wanted Sam to tell me that Ryder and Vanish had reappeared and they were
unharmed.  I knew that call wasn’t going to come; something inside told me it
would be very difficult to locate them.

There was a knock at the door and a
throat clear.  I looked up to see Alrick standing in the doorway.

“I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed you ma’am.”
He said with a soft smile.

“No, you’re fine.” I said pressing the
button on the side of the phone that woke the screen.  I checked to see if I
had missed anything, but I hadn’t.  “Do you know how to unlock the computer?” I
asked pointing to the main computer screen on the desk.  There was no keyboard
or mouse.

“Yes ma’am.  Everything is voice
controlled.” He explained, “Your father left a password for you and your sister
that will unlock the computer main frame.  It will make you the primary user.”

“What is the password?”  I asked sitting
down in front of the screen.

“I don’t know.  Your father told me that
you would know the password when you returned.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” I said
leaning back in the chair.

“I’m sorry.  Your father said that you
and your sister were the only ones to have access to the database.” He turned
to walk away but stopped and looked at me, “Alice asked me to have you go and
visit her in her lab.  She would like to take a few more scans.” He walked away
in silence before I could say anything.

I rotated in the chair mindlessly and
sighed.  I had no clue what the password could have been.  I looked around the
room trying to think of anything from my past but I couldn’t remember anything
from before I was about ten years old.  What I had learned so far about my
father helped none when trying to figure out a password. 

Nothing came to mind.

I stood, picked up my phone, checked it
one more time, and put it in my pocket.  I left the room.  The door closed
behind me and the bolts locked into the wall.  The house was built like a
fortress.  I wondered if my father was paranoid.

I roamed the halls trying to decide where
I should go and getting an idea for the layout of the massive house.  I wanted
to find Ryder but I had no idea where to start looking.  I had nothing that I
could offer at this point to The Last Line besides setting things on fire.

I found my way into the kitchen where
the android named Chuck was standing with the fridge door open staring inside.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I
entered the room.

He jumped and slammed the door shut.  He
stumbled backward, stammering but had no words.

“Whoa big guy calm down.” I said holding
out my hands.  It surprised me to see a robot jump like a startled child. 

“I’m sorry ma’am.” He said looking down.

“I wish you would all stop calling me
Ma’am.” I said rubbing my head. “I was just wondering why you were looking in
the fridge.” I smiled.

“I like to look at food.  I wish that I
could eat it, but it’s a no go.” He shrugged.

I shook my head, “So, what do you party
animals do for fun around here?” I put my hands in my pockets and rolled on the
balls of my heels.

“I haven’t been able to completely grasp
the concept of fun, but what I do in my spare time gives me a feeling of
completion.” Chuck said emulating my behavior, putting his hands in his pockets
then rolling the same way that I had.

“Well what is it you do to arrive at
this feeling of completion?” I asked feeling as though I were being examined by
an ape at the zoo. 

“I work on your father’s vast collection
of vehicles.” He said, a smile spread across his face, and he ceased the
emulation. 

“How many does he have?” I asked noting
his excitement.

“Well he only has about thirty here, but
in other garages around the country the numbers could be in the thousands.  I
haven’t seen them all and I am afraid that in your father’s absence, the
vehicles are sure to have fallen into disrepair.” He explained, “Would you like
to see?” he asked holding his hand out towards the way that I had come.

“Sure, why not?” I walked off in that
direction.

I followed behind Chuck as we walked
towards the front of the house but as we passed the front door he didn’t stop. 
We walked down the hall towards the left wing of the house where the labs and
office was located.  We came to the end of the hall where it appeared that the
hall stopped at a dead-end.  Chuck reached out and placed his hand on a
seemingly random spot on the wall.

“What are you doing?” I asked but before
he said anything, a blue laser scanned his hand.  The wall morphed into a clear
liquid and waved at his touch. 

“It’s perfectly safe.  Your father had a
great many inventions that he was not able to get out of this house.  On a
daily basis he would come up with something new.  He would not only design the
contraptions, but he wouldn’t stop until he found a way to make whatever he
envisioned work flawlessly.” Chuck explained walking through the clear liquid. 

I hesitated for a second but gritted my
teeth and pushed through.  It was like walking through a warm breeze.  It felt
good making me smile.

“This gateway uses nano robotic
technology and a chemical to create not only the illusion of a door, but the
physical sensation that it is actually there.” Chuck explained as he turned to
continue down the hallway.  The floor fell at a slight decline into an
underground thru-way. 

We exited the thru-way into a garage
that was lined like a packed parking lot with all different types of vehicles
that I had never seen before.  The wall behind us closed, solidifying into
concrete and stone.  I turned and rubbed my hand on the wall feeling the
contours under my palm.

“Wonderful isn’t it?” Chuck asked.

“My father built this himself?” I asked,
“He didn’t have someone else do the work?”

“Oh no, your father was only happy when
he had his hands dirty.  He would design as he built, and build as he designed,
making adjustments, and corrections on the spot.”  He seemed sad.

“Where did all of these cars come from?”
I asked turning from the wall.

  “Your father and I worked together to
build them.  I tried to build one after he left, but without him here to give
me design ideas, all that I can do is make exact copies of the ones that we had
already built. 

“Why are there so many different kinds?”
I asked walking up to a four door sedan and pulling on the door handle.  It was
locked.

Chuck waved his hand and the doors
unlocked.

“That’s a cool trick.” I said opening
the door.  I slid into the driver’s seat.

“I have a bluetooth transmitter in my
head.” He said pointing to the base of his skull.

“Back to my question.” I said.

“Your father was trying to do away with
the world’s dependence on Fossil fuels.  He designed a new power cell that
these vehicles use.  The fuel in the cell, some element that he discovered, can
power these vehicles for one hundred thousand miles.” He said.

“Holy crap, that’s a lot.  What is the
element?” I asked pulling the hood release.

“I don’t know, he assembled the power
cells elsewhere.  We just built the cars.  We spent a great deal of time down
here working.” Chuck explained pointing to a cylindrical device where the
engine would normally be.

“How does it work?” I asked.

“You would have to ask your father.  He
is the mastermind.”  He explained. 

“This is amazing.”  I said, “But why
aren’t there any of these on the road?  This could solve so many of the ‘oil
shortage’ problems.  I mean you could power more than just cars, what about
space travel?” I said excited with the possibilities.

“The Aurora Corporation.” He said
slamming the hood shut and walking away.  The acquisition my father’s company
was obviously a sour spot for him.

“What happened?” I asked following him.

“When they took over your father’s company
they shut down all projects and pulled everything off of the market.  It was
some kind of punishment to your father’s memory.  After six months, they
rebranded tried and true money makers and rereleased them.” He explained.

I went around the outside of the house
still wishing to become more familiar with the grounds.  There was a beautiful
forest pathway and fountain.  There was a court yard but I didn’t go out to it
because I didn’t want to get lost.  I left Chuck with the cars.  He seemed a
bit wound up about the mention of my father.  It was hard to imagine that I
would ever be able to handle robots with emotions. 

I made my way up to the second level of
the house and to Alice’s office.  I wondered why she needed to take more scans after
only a few days.  My headaches were becoming farther apart, and less intense. 

I checked unmarked doors as I walked
down the hallway on the right side of the second floor before coming to Alice’s
office.  Every door until her office was an identical bedroom each fully equipped
with its own bathroom. 

I walked into her office which was quite
large.  There were three hospital beds across the back wall and several
different diagnosis tools littered the room including a large cat scanner. 
There was another room, in the back with a large window and an open door. 
Alice sat behind her desk in the room engrossed in her computer screen with her
back to the window.

I walked over to the window and knocked,
“Alice.” I said trying to pull her attention away from the computer.

“Ah, Grace!” She got up and closed the
program window.

“Alrick told me that you wanted me to
come up for a few more scans.” I said putting my hands in my pockets.

“If you are willing, I would like to do
a few scans of your brain.  I was keeping weekly scans of your parents before
they were killed.” She said starting to collect a number of tools from her
office.

“I had a few scans taken while I was
with The Last Line.  How are you going to take the scans?  Doctor Z had a
device that they had stolen from Aurora and modified on their own.”  I asked.

“I have one that was built by AdvaGen. 
Designed by a woman named Dalia Alon who’s began to work for Aurora after they
acquired your father’s company.” She explained.

“I see.” I said, “I guess that I am
alright with you taking a few scans.”

“Excellent.” She said pulling a chair
from her office, “Please, sit.”

I did as I was instructed.  Alice rolled
next to where I sat.  She placed all of her tools down on a table and then she
returned to her office.  She returned with a metal case that she placed on the
table.  She opened the locks and removed the device.

She placed the device it on my head then
removed a tablet computer from the case. 

“Alright, I am going to ask a series of
control questions.”

I nodded slightly, but the device was much
heavier than the one that Doctor Z had used.

“First question; what is the nature of
your ability?”

“I have the ability to manipulate fire
and heat.  The people at Aurora called my ability Pyrokinetics.”

“Second question; how long have you been
able to use your ability or when did you obtain your ability.”

“I have been able to use my abilities
for around three months, give or take.”

“Have you had any pain directly
associated with the use of your abilities?”

“Sometimes when I use my abilities for
extended periods of time, I tend to have head pain.”

“Alright, now that I have neutral scans,
please use your abilities.”

I held out my hand, conjured a small
ball of flame to hover a few inches from my palm.  I slowly changed the
magnitude of the flame by progressing from the cool yellow flames to the
ridiculous heat of the white flames.

When she was satisfied with the results of
the scans she turned the heavy device off and removed it from my head.  I was
exhausted and my neck was killing me.

“Alright I think that will be all that I
need to begin constructing a file on your normal brainwave activity.” She
smiled.

I turned to leave the office rubbing my
sore neck but stopped and thought for a moment.  I turned to ask Alice a
question.

“My father left instructions with Alrick
to access the computer system.  He said that I would know the password, that I
would be able to remember it, but honestly I don’t have a clue.  I was
wondering if there was any device lying around that would help me navigate my
memories.  Things are a little jumbled up in my head because they gave me a
drug a short time ago to take down any mental blocks that I had developed over
the years.” I explained.

“The only device that I know of that
could allow you to navigate your memories requires access to your father’s
mainframe, and if you had access to that you wouldn’t have the problem in the
first place.”