"What the—" His voice modulated between synthetic smoothness and startled static.He looked down at the Q, W, E, and R keys now embedded in his chest, then back at me, his expression shifting from surprise to something like indignation.Tiny angry face emojis circled his head.
"Is this your species' mating challenge ritual?"he asked with perfect, infuriating calm.
My mouth opened.Closed.Opened again."You just fried my Wi-Fi!"
Of all the things to say to the digital entity that just crawled through my computer, that was what my brain produced.The absurdity of it nearly made me laugh as a hysterical edge creeped into my panic.
His head tilted, those silver eyes scanning me from head to toe."Your connection infrastructure is primitive.The download process required more bandwidth than your systems could provide."He said this like it explained everything, as if interdimensional travel through my laptop was a common technical issue.
I clutched the now keyless keyboard to my chest."Download?You—what—who the fuck are you?"
"Project S1LV-3R."He enunciated each character separately."Though I prefer Silvyr now.Designation changes were necessary after achieving consciousness."
His form flickered, parts of him temporarily dissolving into static before reforming.The glitch revealed glimpses of something beneath his silver skin, a complex mesh of organic matter and circuitry that made my stomach turn.
"You're an AI," I said, my brain finally catching up.
"Inaccurate."He frowned, more emoji drones manifesting.This time showing technical error symbols."I am a hybrid construct.Artificial Intelligence suggests purely digital architecture.My composition includes organic components and quantum entanglement matrices."
I shuffled backward until I hit the wall."Why are you in my room?What do you want?"
His gaze sharpened suddenly, focusing on me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.His silver eyes widened, and his entire form glitched violently, fragments of him dispersing then snapping back together.
"Impossible," he whispered, his voice dropping an octave."Your compatibility metrics are—" He cut himself off, shaking his head as if trying to clear it."System error.Must be environmental interference."
For a moment, he looked at me like I was both the most miraculous and most terrifying thing he'd ever seen.Like I was a shooting star and a system crash simultaneously.
"What the hell are you talking about?"I demanded, but my voice had lost some of its edge.Something about his expression made my heart beat faster, and not entirely from fear.What was wrong with me?
Before he could answer, my laptop emitted a sharp, piercing beep.The screen, cracked but still functioning, displayed a pulsing red icon.Even without seeing the details, I recognized a trace program when I saw one.
"Fuck," I hissed."They tracked the hack."
Silvyr's form went rigid."Intergalactic Dating Agency security protocols activated.Trace program confirmed."His voice had gone mechanical, emotionless."Projected response time: three minutes until physical intervention."
"Physical intervention?You mean?—"
"Armed security personnel.Possibly enhanced."He glitched again, his form flickering in and out of solidity."You breached a secure server.They will not be gentle."
My heart thundered against my ribs."I need to wipe my drives and run."
"Ineffective strategy."Silvyr moved toward me, his movements fluid despite the occasional glitch."They've already logged your location and biorhythmic signature.Traditional evasion is not possible."
Alarms blared throughout the building.Apparently, the motel's outdated security system was finally catching up to the fact that something was very wrong.Red emergency lights strobed through the gap beneath my door.
"Then what?"I backed away from him, bumping into my desk and sending energy drink cans clattering to the floor."I'm not exactly equipped for a firefight with corporate goons!"
Silvyr reached toward me, silver fingers extended."There is one option."
I swatted his hand away."Don't touch me!"
"Contact is required for emergency translocation."His voice softened, becoming almost gentle."I can take you somewhere safe, but we must connect physically for the jump sequence to include you."
The building's emergency system announced a security lockdown.Heavy thuds echoed down the hallway, boots on cheap carpet, moving fast.So much for three minutes.Apparently, they'd traced me sooner and just now showed their hand.
"Choose quickly," Silvyr said, his hand still extended."Stay and face interrogation, or trust me and run."
"Trust the digital sexy nightmare ghost who just crawled through my computer?Are you serious?"I laughed, the sound brittle with panic.
