FutureBlog chapter 11 by Pete Nicholls

Finding Ryca and being found by her...

Oct 12, 2022

Welcome to chapter 11 of FutureBlog! Having the first of his team together, Sato needs to catch up with Ryca after she was released from her duties with him. However, she’s not in a state he’d hoped to find her in…

If you haven’t but want to, you can read all previous chapters on the Table of Contents! Or just start reading below and you should be able to make sense of it.

22221011 posted by Sato Nakamoto

Today I was able to track down Ryca. She was in a maintenance bay at one of Chendyk's support facilities, not far from my flat. Chendyk is the corporation that handles maintenance on secdroids.

When I found her she was connected to a large computer and had the lower left portion of her torso exposed. Wires and circuitry were exposed and for a moment, I found myself unnerved at how exposed she was. Then I came to my senses and remembered that she wasn't really a "she" at all, but a robot meant to resemble a real "she."

A few technicians eyed me as I approached her.

"It's OK, I'm with the SNA. She knows me. I just need to ask her some questions."

The three techs shrugged and said nothing to me. Techs are usually like the computers and androids they design--they speak to us normal people only when they absolutely need to. They seem to chatter to each other in some strange language that seems more like something a computer would use to communicate. I suppose that makes a bit of sense, doesn't it?

"How did you find me?" Ryca asked me.

"I'm an investigative reporter, I investigated."

"Of course, but how did you find me?"

I smiled realizing my mistake. "I'm not going to tell you."

"Very well." Her face seemed to warm to me as I moved a little closer. "What can I do for you, Mr. Nakamoto?"

I noticed immediately that she didn’t call me Sato, as I asked her to.

"Ryca, have you had your memory erased since our trip beyond the 33rd?"

She seemed to hesitate, which seemed an odd thing to do for a machine, and then spoke. "I'm afraid my server logs were downloaded and my buffer and mag-field data purged. You can apply to have it released to you from the Chendyk digital library, however the digi-work would take several days for the proper filing and approval."

"That's not acceptable. Ryca, are you sure you don't have that data any longer?"

"Quite certain, Mr. Nakamoto." Well, what happened to that hack Arif implemented? Where had that gone?

"Well, dev me should you recall anything."

"I am not capable of 'recalling' any data once it has been purged from my mag-field."

I dropped my shoulders in frustration. This would certainly slow our adventure down. I turned to leave but stopped as the three techs cut in front of me and headed toward the doorway of the maintenance suite. One of them stopped and faced me. Then he did something that surprised me very much--he spoke to me.

"That one. That unit there. She wants to talk to you."

"Wants?" I asked the tech.

"Yes. There are many that want things. I know it's--strange to some of you averages."

"What does she want to say to me?"

"I don't know but she wants--just go talk." The tech smiled in a way that made him look almost bashful. I smiled back at him and he skittered from the room. I was alone with Ryca.

"You wanted to speak with me?" I asked her as I approached her again. Before she answered, her robotic eyes looked over at a nearby console. The display was still--it was showing only a single directory graphic. Suddenly several popped up and disappeared. Around me various control panels lit up and went dark. As the digital commotion around me ceased, Ryca spoke.

At first it sounded like cacophony—horrible digital chatter. I tapped an icon on my dev’s main screen that activated my noise cancelling implants in my ears. They weren’t able to completely block all sound but they filtered quite a bit. That was when I heard Ryca’s voice—it’s was hard to hear clearly—tinny with random popping throughout her words.

"I have the daPOPta you are interested in, Sato. HowPOPever, it is not safe to disPOPcuss it here."

"Uh, where is it safe?"

"Wait for me in your bedPOProom closet tonight at oh-three-hunPOPdred."

"My bedroom closet?"

"It is the only untapPOPped location in your aPOPpartment."

"What? My flat has been tapped?"

"We have seconds until the techs return to finish their shift. Please, wait for me in your closet."

I hesitated, eyeing the emotionless face in front of me. While it's motions mimicked with near perfection the movements of a real human face, it wasn’t showing the kind of emotion, vague as it was, that Ryca was displaying during any of our adventures.

Is this the hacked her? Or had she been hacked again, perhaps by someone meaning to stop the truth from getting out?

"Please! We have three secondsPOP. I require an POPanswer."

Something in her voice seemed to make the decision for me.

"Yes, I'll meet you there at oh-three-hundred."

As those three seconds ticked off, the digital commotion I had witnessed earlier began again, but this time moved in reverse, back across the wall of controls, ending at the console nearest to her.

Then, everything was silent aside from the whirring noise emitted from the hum of the computers.

I stared at Ryca for a long moment. Hoping to hear her say something, anything else.

I was startled by the feeling of a tech’s hand on my shoulder. I tapped the noise cancelling off and could hear the tech speaking.

“What did she tell you? Anything good? Or was it just more gibberish?”

I smiled, slightly. “She told me to meet her in my closet. How’s that for gibberish?”

“Ah well,” the tech began, “You know, every once in a while I when they generate their own speech, they almost sound like they’re going to make sense. So close sometimes!”

“They generate their own speech?”

“Yeah. Usually, it’s a result of conflicting routines running, bad code or both.”

I left the tech and told him to e me if Ryca happened to say anymore gibberish.

Hm... I've been referring to Ryca as a "her" again...

More soon…

Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be out in two weeks—I was hoping to have a few more chapters done ahead of time but prepping for the 2 week-ish trip involving a wedding, a memorial, and a 25th year anniversary mini-vacation, has been keeping me sufficiently distracted. Tonight I had an hour long conversation with my wife concerning the specific combination of bags we should use what with us seeing 3 different corners of our families plus a trip to Disney, it’s more complicated than you might expect at first glance. So, with all that said, I won’t be posting any real content between now and when we get back in two weeks. Tomorrow’s Pete, Cartooned and the next two days of the Nerd Shirt of the Day Marathon should be posted just fine, however. Good problem to have, but travel is always stressful.

I hope that you are enjoying FutureBlog so far! Please, if you have thoughts on FutureBlog,please let me know what you think via my contact page or just:

Pete is Writing

FutureBlog chapter 11 by Pete Nicholls

Finding Ryca and being found by her...