Page 96 of The Dis-Graced
“Didn’t you date her?”
“Naw, Cassius did.”
“You know, I was wrong about you all. I mean, you’re all assholes, but you’re not evil assholes.”
Alistair lets out a chuckle. “Gee, thanks. You’re not so bad yerself, when you’re not creating evil AI tech.”
“We all have our regrets.”
“So, this girl Grace, you trust her?” Alistair asks.
“Absolutely. She’s not happy on account that her reputation is already in the tank, but she’s game.”
“Yeah, I saw the headline: Dis-Graced.”
“Thats…a sensitive subject.”
The corner of his lip cocks into a lopsided grin. “I have to admit, the headline gave me immense amusement. I couldn’t figure out why a hot woman at the pinnacle of her career would ever want to bang Brigger Steele. Have you smelt the guy? I swear he bathes in Bengay.”
“I haven’t had the pleasure.”
“You sounds sweet on her?”
“Well, if everything turns out okay, I am hoping that she kind of sticks around.”
Alistair casts me a knowing smile.
“So, are you seeing anyone?”
“Me and Meghan have gotten to know each other a bit.”
“Might be?”
“That’s the one.”
“Good for you,” I say. “She’s all kinds of hot.”
“Hey, I have to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Is there a chance we can just tell him? Tell Elliot that if he unleashes Evil ALAN, we’re dunzo?”
“When I was talking strategies with the FBI, that was one thing we discussed, just telling Elliot that ALAN was evil and by unleashing him, we’d enter a war unlike any we’ve ever fought before, but there were some concerns. The first is that we really don’t have any evidence on Elliot, therefore, he can’t be searched. Then there’s always the possibility that if he thought he was going down, he’d simply say, “Fuck it!” and doom the world. Finally, we may end up with a situation where we simply never know what happened with Evil ALAN. Might be he never gets unleashed. Might be Elliot pulls the trigger on his death bed. One-hundred-years after he dies, someone might find ALAN’s code on some secret program and accidentally unleash him. We’d never know, and that’s too great a risk to take.”
“So, you decided to bait it out of him. Make him think he’s getting a big payday to turn over the tech.”
“Yeah. I wish there were a better option.”
My phone buzzes with a text from Elliot. “Well, look who’s decided to arrive,” I say.
Alistair relaxes in his seat, fronting a casualness that is completely natural to him. “Game time.”
Elliot steps into my office, grim-faced and making no attempt to hide his annoyance.
“He’s here again?” Elliot snaps.
“Yes, he’s helping me roll out ALAN’s open source initiative.”
