Page 115 of Coldwire
I finally identify what Kieren is pointing to. In front of the usual bus stop that drops passengers off at the mall, there’s a tour bus instead.Ourtour bus.
“We… did.”
I meet Kieren’s eyes. He clearly didn’t summon it. Neither did I. How did our bus know to follow us?
“It could be another one,” Rayna suggests. “The other buses from the tour company probably look very similar.”
“It’s ours,” I say. “Same number plate.”
I suppose there’s nothing else to do here except head over to the bus and make use of it. A hush has fallen among us. We cross the road hurriedly. Though I find myself leading the charge at first, Kieren has matched my pace by the time we’ve reached the vehicle, and he steps on before I do. The lights snap bright. Twelve is awake.
“Hello!” it greets, turning in its seat. “Buckle up! Our next stop is a good one.”
I don’t move far once I’m on. The doors close automatically after Hailey and Rayna.
“Offron?”Kieren exclaims.
It’s already displayed on the dashboard.LAND OF OUTER FRONTIER, CITY CENTER. I meet Kieren’s startled gaze instantly. Offron wasn’t the next stop on the tour, the last I checked. Twelve was listening during our conversation with Kam. It’s adjusted accordingly.
“All right,” I say with a nervous laugh. “Any reason why?”
Twelve’s blue circle spins once. “We’ll have the best scenic views of Medaluo.”
Rayna sidles a bit farther up the stairs. She’s leaning onto the dashboard casually.
“Not Norca?” she suggests. She doesn’t know why Kieren and I are so startled, but Rayna loves contributing to meaningless debate in any situation. “Or Wespic?”
“The capital is only special because it’s the capital,” Twelve replies cheerily. “And Wespic? So passé. If you wanted to see terracotta statues, you’d go furniture shopping! Ha ha!”
Kieren folds his arms across his chest. “I want to shut it down.”
Twelve swivels vigorously in its seat. “I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me. Sleep, please.”
“I… I must decline. I need to drive.”
Maybe I’m just uninformed, but I didn’t think bots were capable of stuttering.
“I’m sure you have a mode where the bus drives but you’re sleeping,” Kieren snaps. “Go to sleep.”
“Kieren,” I say sharply. “Don’t be mean to the AI.”
His annoyance pivots. “Don’t be meanto the AI? It doesn’t have feelings, Ward.”
“Neither do microwaves, but you still shouldn’t hit them,” I fire back.
“I don’t want it awake! How about this?” Kieren pivots back to Twelve. “Connect me to customer service. They can do the shutdown.”
“Connecting!” Twelve declares. “Please hold tight…. Ah—so sorry. Customer service has declined your call. They’re having some problems with human laborers, you see. No one wants to log in for dull work.”
Kieren’s jaw drops. “How are they declining the call if no one is there?”
“Auto-decline!”
“I’m just going to hack it,” Hailey declares, clearly at her limit with Kieren’s efforts. “I can get it shut down.”
“Please don’t do that,” Twelve says. “I have rights.”
