“If he asks me something directly that I don’t have an answer for, should I lie?”
Kaden was silent for a long moment. “He’s not going to believe you if you tell the truth.”
“I know, but I feel bad lying.”
Kaden exhaled. “Stick to what you’ve already said and if questions are asked that require different answers, we’ll deal with them.”
“You think Harris is okay?”
“Part of me doesn’t care but I’ll call him tomorrow and find out.”
Joe found himself pulled into Kaden’s side.
“Are you okay about everything?” Joe whispered.
“Getting there.”
That had to be enough. For now.
18
Kaden left Joe sleeping the next morning. He was due at the Tate Modern by ten and he needed to get his head straight before he arrived. He’d told Joe he was ‘getting there’ with all this and he was, but he was still overwhelmed. One moment he was excited, the next scared. He was the only person in the world who knew about Joe, that he’d crash landed on Earth in an alien spaceship that was now at the bottom of a river. At least he thought he was the only one who knew.
Joe already felt more human than Kaden imagined he could have managed in such a short time. But when he’d been inside him, he’d consumed a huge amount of data. Now he was learning through experience. Joe didn’t know everything. How could he? He’d thought an actual little bird had talked to Kaden’s landlord, which made Kaden smile. Then not smile when he knew it had to be Harris’ work.
He felt sick when he thought of Harris having two aliens inside him. If they did breed… Maybe he’d have to tell the truth if that happened. Kaden had to stop thinking about it. With a bit of luck, Marmite would have done the trick.
He’d started to see the world through Joe’s eyes through his attitude to food, emotions, pets, nature… Joe’s wonder at what Kaden had long taken for granted had almost made him jealous of Joe’s appreciation and enjoyment. But he worried. It was too dangerous for anyone to find out where Joe had come from. Kaden could never tell anyone. So just as Joe had been a protector and had protected Kaden, Kaden now felt that same instinct to protect Joe.
By the time he walked into the museum, he felt a little more settled. He’d always wanted a grand adventure and now he was having one. He wondered what his mother would think. She’dprobably be thrilled. Seemed strange to think he’d have likely told her if she’d been alive but he was unwilling to tell his dad.
When Kaden returned just after lunch, he handed Joe a phone and a wallet.
Joe gasped. “For me?”
“It’s just a cheap phone but I want to know that we can contact each other.”And reassure myself that you’re safe.“I’ll show you how to use it later.” He whispered the last sentence.
“Thank you.”
“Like a coffee?” Alistair called.
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll make them,” Joe said.
“What was the exhibition like?” Alistair asked.
“Amazing and disturbing. The name says it all.Who Makes Art After Us?”
“Aren’t we on the verge of that with advances in AI?” Alistair said.
Kaden nodded. “This exhibition’s going to make people think. It’s huge and immersive, looking at the effects on art, culture and identity after AI has taken over.” He sighed. “Assuming itdoestake over, but the whole thing is really well done. I was impressed with the final exhibit. The Turbine Hall’s been filled with hundreds of thousands of illuminated fibre optic threads to represent a giant neural network. In other words, a living digital brain. It pulses in time with global internet traffic and every now and again, it goes silent as if that had been the final transmission. It was thought provoking.”
“It sounds it.”
Joe brought the coffees over.
“Thanks.” Kaden smiled at him. “What have you been up to this morning?”
