Jessie smiled. “So you threw him together from parts your dad had just lying around.”
“Not quite,” Stevie said. “Archie is truly my invention. But I wouldn’t want to cheat my dad by denying that he helped wherever he could on the prosthetic level. He’s always been very supportive in every way.” She wrinkled her nose. “It wasn’t easy for him to have me for a daughter. From the time I was three, I was a constant headache for him. But he was there for me whenever he could be and he taught me to be honest with myself and the rest of the world.”
“I’m glad for you. Was your mother supportive, too?”
“My mother divorced my father when I was four. She found me too difficult to deal with even at that age. I can’t really blame her. That was one of the first headaches my dad had to put up with because of me.” She shrugged. “She didn’t know how to handle a kid like me so she took it out on Dad. After the divorce, I never saw her again, but Dad and I got along fine without her.” She suddenly chuckled. “Though I can’t imagine how she’d react if she knew about Archie.”
Lynch shook his head. “I don’t want to imagine contending with another family member over our friend Archie.” He stood up. “He’s already causing me enough trouble. What you should know, Kendra, is that Archie is far superior to any other AI I’ve even heard of. We’ve all seen YouTube videos of robots that are almost spooky in the way that they can run, jump, and crouch like humans. Stevie has combined that with her AI protocols to create what you see standing before you. It’s not sci fi. These arethings that were already here, just put together in a way no one has done before.”
“Why do you call him Archie?” Kendra asked.
Stevie shrugged. “Algorithmic Response Computerized Heuristic Intelligence Experiment.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he learns and improves with the more data he collects, just like the AI assistant you probably have in your phone. But with Archie, it’s not with just the things he says, but in how he moves. He learns specific things like balance, posture, and speed and improves with every step he takes.”
“It’s true,” Lynch says. “He’s made amazing progress in just the short time I’ve seen him.”
Kendra shook her head in wonder. She found it difficult to take her eyes off the robot. “What can he do?”
“Anything a human can do, but better. Just think about all the things ChatGPT or the other AI applications can do for you just by asking. Now extend that to a walking and talking machine like this one. It can do all the dangerous things we can’t. A team of Archies could run into a burning building and pull everyone to safety. They could be dropped into the ocean and repair undersea cables, or launched into space to repair satellites.”
“Or they could be soldiers,” Jessie said quietly.
“No!” Stevie said fiercely.
“Why not?” Jessie said. “You said they can do anything a human can. And it sounds like Archie helped you lay waste to everyone who was holding Lynch.”
“I won’t allow it.” Stevie shook her head. “Not from Archie and not from any others I ever make, or allow to be made.”
Kendra could see the mere mention of this use for her creation had upset Stevie. Lynch reached out and put a comforting hand on the young girl’s shoulder.
“And this is how we’ve found ourselves where we are.” Lynch looked over Stevie’s head at Kendra. “For all the good things Archie could be used for, he could just as easily become something quite dangerous. A soldier, a terrorist, an assassin. Someone who knows about Archie has clearly envisioned these possibilities and wants him for their own plans.”
“What plans?” Kendra asked.
“We don’t know details yet. But we do know that a man named Vlad Korkil has taken an interest in Stevie’s work.”
“An interest.” Stevie made a face. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”
“Vlad Korkil . . . Not a good person to cross,” Jessie said.
“Not at all,” Lynch said. “Korkil is one of the most dangerous men alive. He’s principally into drugs and human trafficking. But he’ll take on any job as long as the money is good enough. He runs a mercenary group that has somehow always managed to keep one step ahead of the law. Probably because he performs special favors for governments and makes generous contributions to politicians who are in a position to help him.”
“He wants Archie for himself,” Stevie grated through set teeth. “He tried to buy him from me, and when I wouldn’t sell, he tried to steal him. Thanks to Lynch, he couldn’t get me, so he went after my dad to use him as a bargaining chip. I saw them take him away. His team practically destroyed the house where I created Archie.”
“Your home?” Kendra said.
“It’s actually down the street from the house where my dadand I live. We used to live in this smaller house where my dad started his business, designing and making prosthetic limbs. The entire lower level was his lab, and it’s now mine.”
“That’s where you created Archie?” Kendra asked.
“Yes. And that’s where I kept him. When Korkil’s squad raided my lab, I barely escaped. I wouldn’t have made it if I hadn’t had Archie there to help me.” She was nibbling at her lower lip. “I couldn’tstopthem. They’d already captured my father, and he told me to run and get help. But I didn’t know what to do or where to go. My father taught me from the time I was a little kid that I couldn’t trust our local police or politicians. But he said once that the one person he could count on was Adam Lynch.”
Kendra turned to Lynch. “You knew her father?”
“Briefly, a few years ago. He was part of a team outfitting wounded Ukrainian soldiers with prosthetics. The team was captured and held by a Russian infantry unit, and I helped negotiate their release.”
