Page 35 of Atticus
Atticus doesn’t appear disappointed, hurt, or even confused by this. If anything, he’s calm, collected. Perhaps thoughtful, the way his gaze flits around my face. He resumes gently caressing my braids.
“If that’s truly what you want,” he replies. “We won’t. But I would still like to hold you, like this, if you’ll allow me.”
As though I could tear myself from him now. With a small nod, I rest my head against his shoulder once more. Exhausted, all the words I’d like to say die in my mouth as sleep finally takes me, tucked comfortably against Atticus’s body as rain begins to fall outside.
NEW CARNEGIE TIMES
OCTOBER 10, 2067
THE FUTURE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT: ANDROID SWORN IN TO THE NCPD AT DOWNTOWN PRECINCT
Within the past four years, BioNex Corporation has changed the landscape of many American institutions as we know it, from family life within the privacy of the American home to public schools with its Educator’s Assistant Program. At a press conference held this evening at the downtown precinct, on the 25thanniversary of his appointment, Chief of Police Eric Jacobs announced that the NCPD would be swearing in its very first bionic assistant to its current police force.
“We are excited,” Jacobs said to a crowd of reporters and photographers, “to introduce our very own android to our team. This is a working experiment for us here in law enforcement. There are many possible benefits to having artificial intelligence working alongside our officers, and Ezra going to be our guinea pig. If things go well, we may bring more androids onto the force in the future.”
When asked about the benefits of having an android on the force, Jacobs said, “Right now, Ezra is going to assist one of our senior homicide detectives. Androids can see things that we don’t, possibly target evidence the human eye might overlook. If all evidence can be gathered quickly and thoroughly, we may see faster arrests. We’ll also be assigning him to some of our outstanding cold cases.”
When asked what kind of future he envisions for the NCPD, Jacobs said, “In a perfect world, there would be no need for cops, my officers’ lives would never be in danger, and the lives of the public would never be at risk. Unfortunately, that is never the case. If everything goes well with Ezra, we could potentially be looking at a bionic assistant for every precinct, working alongside police as a buffer for the community and potentially reducing fatalities during arrests.”
Not every cop is thrilled about this new change. One in particular, who wishes to remain anonymous, disagrees with the appointment.
“First off, you have to swear in,” says the officer. “Robots can’t swear in. They don’t understand loyalty. Their loyalty is to whoever owns them at the time, not to the betterment and protection of the people. Secondly, this is a dangerous path the chief is treading. I don’t trust BioNex. I think this gives a corporation too much access to sensitive information, including active cases. And third, robots can’t feel, and being human is an important component to this job. Yes, police aren’t perfect and there are shady cops who make the rest of us look bad, but artificial intelligence isn’t the answer.”
4
Atticus
“Is Miss Warren here?”
I look up from the desk I’m currently sitting behind. The autumn rain hasn’t let up at all for the past two nights, and the students are stuck indoors after their lunch periods. The mood is sleepy and dreary, with many of the kids succumbing to the chill October weather and resting their heads on their desks. With that change in temperature comes illness, and Mr. Bryant hasn’t yet returned.
So, I share the workload with Lucy in overseeing his class. The current period is a resource hall—essentially for studying and asking questions, something the staff more easily entrusts me with.
“She’s covering another class right now.” I peer at the leatherbound book in Jack’s hand. “Is there something you need help with?”
I study his hands as his fingers tap the book a few times. He’s a nail-biter. “I wondered if I could borrow the next one.” He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, casting a furtive glance over his shoulder at the other students, but nobody seems to be paying him any mind. At least, not right now. He puts the book down on my desk.
Homer’sIliad. Lucy told me about their little bet. “Did you enjoy it?”
“It was kinda crazy, like she said,” Jack mutters, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I liked parts of it, but I thought they were kinda being unfair to the women in the book.”
“Why, do you think?”
He shrugs. “Just another dickhead blaming a girl for starting a war that probably would’ve happened anyway.”
Pearl’s gaze flits up from the open coursework on her tablet. She eyes Jack subtly.
“I’m sure Miss Warren would enjoy discussing aspects of that with you,” I agree, getting up and moving to her little library set up on the counter. I pull out a blue leatherbound book depicting waves and an ancient Greek ship. “Here you are.”
“The Odyssey,” Jack says. “This one’s about Odysseus, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.” I rest my hands behind my back.
“Do you read?” Jack asks.
“I can read, yes.” I tap my temple. “It only takes me a matter of seconds.”
“That’s sick. You remember everything too?”
