Perion Synthetics (38 page)

Gantz turned to Kessler as she sat down. “You
called him Gilbert. As in Gilbert Reyes?”

Synth J answered for her. “Your friend is
gone, Robert, but we have saved the most important part of him. Say hello to
Gilbert Reyes 2.0.”

Across the table, Synth G mumbled a string
of curse words as he struggled to regain control of his body.

“Gilbert, directive.” The words flowed
leisurely from Kessler’s lips. “Shut up.”

“If you don’t mind, Mr. Reyes, I’ll be doing
most of the talking today. First, I would like to apologize for what must have
been a very unexpected and traumatic experience. Although we have spared no
expense providing you with a new—some might say better—body, it was never our
intention. We have simply tried to make the best of a horrible situation, by
which I mean your unfortunate death. The synthetic, Roberta, has been remanded to
Diagnostics until we figure out how she misinterpreted the imprint protocols
given by Ms. Kessler.”

“What happened to Gilbert 1.0?” asked Cam.

“It was unpleasant,” said Synth J, “and that
is all I will say on the subject. We hoped Mr. Reyes would surrender peacefully,
but then no man gets a Margate chip because he likes to acquiesce. He gambled
on the path of violence and got cleaned out. It happens.” Synth J shifted his
gaze back to Synth G. “But all is not bad news. You are now the owner of the
fifth Virgo-class synthetic ever produced. Thanks to Mr. Huber and Dr.
Bhenderu, we achieved an unprecedented imprint saturation, far greater than we
observed with Roberta.”

“Why does he look like that?” asked Gantz.

Chuck Huber cleared his throat. “There was
no time to template his physical attributes. We used a pre-existing design and
did our best to create what few resemblances we could.”

“Well, you failed.” Gantz stared into the
eyes of his friend’s synthetic replacement, but there was no soul in there, no
true memories of nights spent drinking themselves half to death at Pure.

“Thank you, Mr. Gantz,” said Synth J.
“However, in the long run, a man of Mr. Reyes’ talents may be thankful for the
new veneer, not to mention immortality, freedom from disease and fatigue, and
so on.”

“Did you throw in rust-proofing?” asked Cam.

“No,” said Synth J, “but I can see to it
that
your
synthetic is more than protected against premature oxidation.”

Cam sat up straighter. “Are you threatening
me, asshole? You so much as look at me wrong and everything I’ve archived for
the last week will auto-dump to Banks. Even this conversation we’re having.”

Synth J put up his hands. “Begging your
pardon, Mr. Gray. I misspoke. That was not a threat, but an offer. I’m
presenting you, as well as Ms. Mesquina, with the opportunity of a lifetime.
Several lifetimes, actually.”

Gantz wasn’t paying attention to the
conversation. He was locked in a staring match with Synth G. Anger broiled behind
those unblinking eyes.

“I don’t want shit from you, Perion,” said
Cyn. “Except maybe five minutes alone without your guards to protect you.”

“All I ask is that you hear me out. After
that, the three of you will be free to make your own decisions. Are we agreed?”

Cam and Cyn remained stoic. Synth G tried to
speak, but was unable.

“Whether you appreciate it or not, Mr. Reyes
represents the next great leap forward in human evolution. You may believe the
path to salvation lies in augmentation, Ms. Mesquina, and in some ways, I agree
with you, but we are now able to skip over the years of painful surgeries to
arrive at a final solution: synthetic sleeving. Out with the old and in with the
new. Why replace your body in a series of augmentations when you can do it
wholesale in one treatment?”

Cyn regarded Synth G out of the corner of
her eye. “He’s completely synthetic?”

“Everything except his soul,” said Synth J.
“His mind is powered by proprietary synaptic gates, quadruple the density of
anything Katsumi has ever produced. Like it or not, you are now a synthetic
human being, Mr. Reyes, an ambassador for a new race of people. Ms. Kessler, if
you would.”

“Gilbert, directive. Speak.”

Gantz detected a hint of pleasure in the way
she gave orders. And was that a smile hiding in the corner of her mouth?

“I didn’t ask for this,” said Gil.

“And what exactly were you asking for when
you started airing our dirty laundry to every feed junkie in the country?”
asked Kessler.

Did she know the chief of police was the
source of that dirty laundry?

“Information wants to be free,” said Cam.
“If you’ve got nothing to hide…”

Synth J nodded. “And what about Mr. Reyes?
Does
he
want to be free?”

All eyes fell on Synth G. “I
am
free,” he replied.

Synth J’s laughter was mechanical and droll.

“No, Mr. Reyes, you are not free. In the
eyes of the state of California, you are deceased as of eight a.m. Saturday
morning. Industrial accident due to personal negligence. Or so they will say
once Chief Gantz files his official report.”

“Benny will never buy that,” said Synth G.
“I broadcast in the clear for several minutes before Roberta broke my sliver.
I’m surprised you haven’t heard from our lawyers yet.”

Gantz touched his sliver; if Synth G only
knew.

“You are correct,” said Synth J. “That was a
particularly damning piece of sensationalist reporting, but it’s nothing my
head of PR can’t sweep under the rug.”

“She can’t make something like this
disappear. Not even with your help.”

“Right again, Mr. Reyes. That is why
you’re
going to help her.”

This time, it was Cyn who laughed.

“Synthetic Humans: the next step in the
evolution of mankind.” Kessler’s voice rose and fell in aggregator cadence. “A
tragic accident in the heart of innovation, a man struck down in his prime. Mr.
Reyes didn’t ask for an untimely death, but now he has a second chance. All he
asks is to be treated like anyone else, like a human being.”

Cyn rolled her eyes. “Nobody will swallow
that bullshit.”

“Why not?” asked Synth J. “You’re only
marginally more human than Mr. Reyes. You’re
allowed
to walk around with
an Ayudante chip in your head because people are familiar with it, they know
where it comes from. If you swap it out for something new, if you show people
there’s another way to go that’s foreign to them, they’ll come after you with
scalpels.”

“Let them fucking try,” said Cyn.

“What do we have to do?” asked Synth G.

“You can’t be serious,” said Cam.

Synth G looked at his lap. “I’m a goddamn
machine. And these assholes are the only ones who know how it works. What
choice do I have?”

“We could always turn you off,” said
Kessler. “It makes no difference to me.”

“Ms. Kessler, please,” said Synth J. “Mr.
Reyes, what I’m offering you, what I’m offering all of you, is immortality.
Infinite re-sleeving for as long as the company exists. Mr. Huber will
personally design your Virgo Prime synthetics, each one geared towards your
individual specifications. Ms. Mesquina, you can be stronger and faster than
you ever thought possible. Mr. Gray, you will always be young and fit, an
enviable combination in the City of Angels. Mr. Reyes, you and Ms. Dulac can
live out the rest of human existence together. And most importantly, no
directives.”

“Answer my question,” said Synth G.

Synth J brought his hands together on the table.
“Once you are all in your new bodies, you will go and preach the synthetic
gospel to the people. You will use your positions at your respective media
houses to further the rights of synthetic humans. You will continue to do this
until synthetics have the same rights as organics.”

“And then what?” asked Cam.

“Then you will be free.”

Cam shook his head. “Walking around in
Perion hardware means we’ll never be free of you.”

Synth J smiled. “A small price to pay,
wouldn’t you agree?”

“Balls to that,” said Cyn.

“Yeah, great big hairy balls to that,” said
Cam.

Before Synth G could weigh in, the double
doors of the conference room swung open, smacking the walls on either side. An
unshaven Joe Perion stepped through and took in the room.

Gantz smiled at his friend, but got nothing
in return.

“You!” screamed Joe, taking a step towards
Synth J.

Four AGs moved in front of him as his
synthetic father stood.

“Joseph, what are you doing up here? We
agreed you should stay in the bunker where it’s safe.”

“You mean where I’m out of the way? There
was never any threat, was there,
Dad
?”

“How did you get out?” asked Kessler. “We
had guards…”

“Oh, I know,” said Joe, tiptoeing to be seen
over the Scorpios’ shoulders. “They had me locked up like a prisoner, but then
I remembered. I remembered what Mom used to tell me.”

Kessler laughed; Synth J’s face lost all
expression.

“And what did the darling Victoria Perion
have to say?” asked Kessler.

Joe sank onto his heels and addressed the AGs
in front of him. “All that lives must die. All must walk their own path to the
dust.” The confidence in his voice reminded Gantz of the late titan. “Now,
leave us.”

The AGs looked at each other and wandered
away, as did the AGs standing behind Synth G. Every synthetic within earshot
seemed to lose their programming, everyone except…

Joe approached the table as the synthetics
filed out of the room.

“So,” said Synth J, “you figured out the
failsafe. Now what?”

“Now you go back in the box.”

“An interesting idea.” Synth J crossed the
room to his son, his hand stroking the smooth skin of his chin. “I could do
that. I could just stand aside and give up my dreams because my little boy
wants to play CEO.” He stopped in front of Joe and put a hand on his shoulder.
“I have a better idea though. How about I stay on as CEO and bring about the
synthetic revolution humanity has been waiting for and you…
you
learn some
goddamn respect?”

“My father is dust,” said Joe. “You are not
him. You are not the CEO of Perion Synthetics. You are nothing but a
product
!”

A synthetic hand shot out and gripped Joe by
the throat.

“Maybe
you’d
like to be dust,” said
Synth J.

Joe struggled to speak. “All that… lives…
must…”

“Keep saying it, boy. Primes have no
failsafe!”

Gantz moved automatically; the adrenaline
beat back the headache and the blurred vision. Muscles in his legs contracted,
pushing the chair away and raising his body up. A hand that had been nervously
tapping on his sliver sought out the hardware tucked beneath his armpit.

“Put him down, James!”

He was able to level the Perion PD
standard-issue 9mm before he finished his sentence.

Synth J looked over his shoulder. “Stay out
of this, Robert. This is a family matter.”

“I will shoot if I have to.”

“Will you betray me again, Robert?” asked
Synth J. “After all I have forgiven?” He lifted Joe off the ground with just
one arm.

“I won’t let you kill my…” Gantz watched
Joe’s eyes roll into the back of his head. “My friend.”

“Then die with your friend,” said Synth J.
His other hand shot out, perhaps intent on finding another larynx to claim as a
prize.

Forgive me, Father…

Gantz saw the twitch in the synthetic’s
shoulder and gently squeezed the trigger. It only took one shot to send a
firework of reverse-engineered Katsumi tech spraying across the table,
splattering in a mixture of black sludge and metal shards.

Joe inhaled deeply as he fell to the ground.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” screamed
Kessler. “You just murdered James Perion!”

“That looks more like property damage to
me,” said Cam.

This time, it was Kessler who rushed the
table. She was halfway to Cam when Gantz called out.

“Kessler, directive. Stop!”

Gantz retrained his weapon as Kessler turned
to face him. That she could still move surprised him; he was almost certain she
was a synthetic.

“Joe, what do you say we get the fuck out of
here?” asked Gantz.

“I want on that train,” said Cam. He waited
for Cyn to stand and followed her to the door.

Gantz backed away from the table and helped
lift Joe from the floor. At the door, he handed him to Cyn.

“Are you coming?”

Synth G hadn’t moved from his seat, had
barely winced when the shot was fired. “I’ve transcended the natural world,” he
replied, his voice shaky.

“I can’t just leave you here with her, Gil.”

“Gil is gone. Whatever I am now, I have to
accept it.” Finally, his eyes came up. “If they have Jackie…”

“This isn’t over, Gantz,” said Kessler.
Standing in the middle of the table, she towered over the room. “You
will
answer for this.”

“We’ll see,” he replied, backing up into the
hallway.

“Next time, it won’t be just one synthetic.”
She smiled. “I will bring every goddamn synny in the city down on you.”

And yet you would ask forgiveness?

Gantz pulled the doors closed and engaged
the magnetic locks.

The open elevator at the end of the hallway
beckoned.

Gantz typed his security code into the elevator’s vidscreen,
forcing it to bypass all other floors on the way to the lobby.

In one corner, a dazed Joe stood with his
back against a mirrored wall, one hand on the railing and the other around
Cam’s shoulder. The bruises on his neck had shot past purple and were now a
sickly black. The few words he uttered were followed by furtive gasps and then
sharp inhalations through his nose as he tried to breathe through the pain. Though
there was blood at the corner of his mouth, it was not flowing.