Page 90 of Coldwire
“Maybe we go unconventional.” Hailey points at the aquarium we’re passing. “The back rooms where they clean the fish.”
“This is why I don’t go to you for advice.”
While I’ve been hovering over my display for so long, the system tries to offer me suggestions, noting that I’m at an impasse. It suggests searching sunset times for the week. Messaging Rayna Ward, not realizing Rayna is right beside me. Checking my spam folder, because I’ve been receiving an unprecedented number of messages there.
I sigh, swiping it all away one by one. I’ve been keeping watch on my spam folder—before my eyes, the number grows from498to514. A lack of privacy restrictions in Medaluo also means the adware works overtime.
Though I intend to close out from spam, my display has noticed me lingering, and it floats previews up at me. I pause. As tempted as I am by the restaurant bargains for spicy soup, that’s not what suddenly has my attention.
THE GRANDEST BUS EXPERIENCE!!! Leaving from Upsie’s port at 20:00.
COME ONE, COME ALL. The AI tour guide you’ve been seeking.
WE’VE GOT TO STOP MEETING LIKE THIS… at the edge of Medaluo! Follow us across the cities.
“Hey,” I say, interrupting the insults Kieren and Hailey are throwing at each other. “I’ve got an idea.”
The bus is waiting at the northern end of Upsie’s embankment,LIGHTNING SMART TOURSplastered across its side. There’s no one else boarding. It’ll drive on a loop regardless of how many tourists it picks up, andit’ll perform its entire tour as well, even if it’s to empty seats. No one uses AI-guided services anymore despite their initial boom during upcountry’s invention. At first it seemed like tour guides and schoolteachers and sport coaches could be automated, just as accountants and insurance brokers were. Then it turned out AI tour guides freaked people out too much.
Fortunately, though, AI buses are private companies. Our IDs aren’t logged when we board, so no one is going to know we’re here. Most of the companies running these tours are also at the brink of bankruptcy from a lack of customers. I doubt any of them are staffing their headquarters well enough to answer the calls from Medan authorities.
The four of us look among one another upon the embankment, all daring someone else to step onto the bus first. Its door is wide open. It would be welcoming if it weren’t for the dead silence and darkness inside.
I take a deep breath, making the first move. As soon as I grab the handrail and enter the bus, the lights flicker on. A bot jerks to attention in the driver’s seat. Its chest beams blue; its faceless silver head swivels fast in my direction.
“HELLO!” it bellows in Atahuan.
My hand flies to my heart. “Oh my—”
“Welcome, welcome, so sorry for the fright,” the bot says, lowering its loud volume. Maybe it’s been so long since it spoke that it needed to run an adjustment. “Please, take a seat. Is it the four of you?”
I’m patting my collarbone rapidly, trying to ease my pulse back into its resting state. “Um. Yes. Yes, four people.”
“Great!” Clearly the volume adjustment isn’t the issue—it’s the enthusiasm meter. “We’re setting off on the adventure of a lifetime in ten minutes. Remember you are safe here!”
I grimace, starting into the aisle. It’s a wonder these things haven’t all been discontinued, but I suppose I can’t complain when it’s benefiting us now.
Kieren climbs onto the bus next, though he pauses by the bot, staring at it awhile. I don’t walk far, sliding into the left side of the second row.After a thorough inspection, Kieren comes to my row and gestures for me to shuffle over to the window seat, and he plops down beside me. When Hailey and Rayna board, they both choose rows farther back.
“My name is Twelve,” the bot says from the driver’s seat. It reminds me of a particularly short puppet. It’s got arms, and legs, and it could probably walk around if it wanted, but something about the way it sits in that seat makes it seem like someone’s got their arm up through its body. “We will depart in approximately four minutes. Did you know ‘Upsie’ stands for ‘Land of the Upper Sea’? The names across Medaluo are long and hard to parse for tongues used to Atahuan, so literal translations were made.”
Twelve isn’t expecting a response. Its light pulses again at its chest, and it reaches up to adjust its mirrors. Somehow, though it has no eyes on its smooth face, I sense that it is checking the rear window view.
“Ward,” Kieren whispers, getting my attention. He leans in, pressed right to my ear so that the bot won’t hear him. A shiver dances down my neck. “This thing gives me the creeps.”
“What are we going to do about that?” I whisper back. “Do you want to shut it down and drive instead?”
“No,” Kieren grumbles.
“It’s just a bot. It’ll get us where we need to go.”
Kieren falls silent, which I take as his agreement to proceed. A few minutes later, Twelve bellows, “It’s time to depart!” and the bus begins to drive without any impediments. A tinny tune plays from the speakers while the large vehicle makes a turn off the embankment, clunking onto the road. “With an evening departure, our first stop is—”
“Let’s skip the first few stops,” Kieren calls forward. “We want to go to Threto. And no need for any guide description at the moment.”
There’s a long pause. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Rayna going back to sleep, her head drooping against the seat.
“Hm!” Twelve chirps. “Why is that?”
