Something glinted above our heads and I ducked, only to stare at a long, metal arm sliding along hidden rails in the ceiling. It went to a distant counter, and I flinched in surprise when a box seemed to rise from the surface. The arm wasted no time removing things from the box. Groceries.
“Is … is that where my deliveries would go?” Sebastian asked, watching in subdued shock.
“Yes,” Alex replied, biting into a pear.
I looked between them in confusion. “What?”
“When I did deliveries, I’d guide my boat into a cave under the castle,” Sebastian said. “There were elevators down there. One for groceries, one for business stuff, one for medical stuff … I didn’t know they came up like this.”
“Each elevator goes to where its items will be stored,” Alex said. “TAI, bring unknown item to me.”
The metal arm, which had been frozen with a large bag in its clutches, now slid over to Alex.
He chuckled as he took the bag from it and placed it on the counter. “I never order marshmallows. TAI doesn’t have them in its database so it doesn’t know where to store them.”
“Does … does TAI do everything for you?” I asked.
“The routine chores, yes. Though if I have time, I do enjoy cooking and checking in on the greenhouse myself.”
“Gregor said he cooked and cleaned and did everything.”
“Gregor liked to exaggerate his duties,” Alex said, finishing off his pear and dumping the core in a hole in the counter.
“Why’d he tell me I’d be cleaning then?” Sebastian asked.
“As a fresh hire within the castle, yes, you’d be assigned simple chores until you earned further clearance to … excuse me.” He touched his earpiece. “Good evening, Tamiko … … yes, I’m aware … … Tamiko, please don’t be afraid to speak your mind.”
As Alex spoke to whoever Tamiko was, he began walking out of the kitchen, and Sebastian and I glanced at each other. Alex seemed serious about not wanting to hurt us, so we ran after him, but not before I grabbed the bag of marshmallows. With it being my preferred comfort food, and with me being in dire need of comfort, I ripped it open and shoved a few in my mouth. Sebastian did the same as he called out to Shirley.
Alex observed us with a raised eyebrow, one eye amused, the other still briskly unfocused. One of the entrance walls opened, revealing an elevator, and he stepped in and held the door open. After a glance of shared deliberation, Sebastian and I followed him, Shirley trotting in right after.
“Thank you for your vigilance, Tamiko, you’ll find your efforts reflected in your wage. Have a good evening.” Alex touched TAI again and looked at us. “Marshmallows for breakfast?”
“Where are we going now?” I asked, ignoring his question as I ate another marshmallow.
“To my office.”
“We want access to TAI,” Sebastian said.
“And that’s where I can give you that.”
“You’re really going to give us access?” I asked.
“Yes, as promised. But not for everything.”
“Your eye is creeping me out. Do you have to do that when you’re talking to us?”
He chuckled. “I apologize, but I’m quite behind on my obligations.”
“If you’re helping improve the world, why haven’t you shared TAI with everyone?”
“The world is not quite ready for its capabilities, but I’m slowly leaking the technology to my network.”
We exited the elevator on the fifteenth floor, ending up in a small hallway with only one door. After asking TAI to unlock room A, we walked in after Alex, and half-chewed marshmallows sat in my mouth as I looked around, my jaw agape. There was an amazing view outside the window, and the room barely had any furniture in it, but those weren’t what shocked me. It was the myriad of floating screens taking up every inch of the walls.
Some showed texts scrolling rapidly, some showed videos or security cameras, some showed what looked like meetings, some showed various maps with different areas lighting up, and some even showed laboratories and medical operations.
Shirley, attracted to the moving images, barked and ran up to one of the walls. Sebastian and I gasped and dashed after him, only for us to stop and stare as Shirley’s snout and paws went right through the screens.
“These aren’t real?” I asked, sticking my own hand through a map and watching it reflect on my skin.
“You can think of them as fluid projections,” Alex said, pulling a black glove on his uninjured hand with his teeth. “I can control them with this glove.”
He turned to one of the maps, and my eyes widened in surprise as he pulled it out of the wall, turning it three-dimensional. I watched in awe as he shifted it around and gave TAI a few commands I couldn’t understand.
“Is all this what you’re seeing in your contact lens?” I asked.
“A fair amount of it,” he replied, walking through the three-dimensional map.
“How do you keep track of everything?”
“Experience, my dear, though I owe a lot to the rituals’ mental augmentation.” He rolled over a table that had two briefcases on it. “I had TAI download a beginners manual for business and administration on these laptops. For today, I’d like you to study so that you may have an understanding of the basics when I begin training you.”
“What about TAI?” Sebastian asked, tearing his eyes away from the hectic screens to take his briefcase. “You said you’d give us access!”
Alex smiled. “In your briefcases, you’ll each find an earpiece and a contact lens. I’ve already unlocked the necessary permissions. In your laptops, there’s a manual on how to program TAI to your voices as well as a list of commands you’re authorized to give. I suggest you program them one at a time, or in separate rooms, to allow for clear voice recognition.”
He gestured towards the door. “You’re free to study in any accessible area of the castle and island. And maybe I suggest a nice shower and breakfast?”
My face heated up as I remembered how horrible we must look and smell after living in the wild for over a week, but Sebastian wasn’t that ready to give in.
“How do we know you won’t start ordering donors to be delivered?”
“As I’ve mentioned before, I have a few experiments I’d like to try with the blood of twins that could supersede the current ritual and eradicate donor death,” Alex said. “My hope is that you two would volunteer and make this goal a reality.”
“So you’re only keeping us around for that? Hoping we’d let you experiment on us?”
“I don’t want to experiment on you, but on your blood, and if you’re disinclined, I do have plenty of other twins I could present the offer to in exchange for certain benefits.”
My stomach grumbled and I placed a hand over it. I was tired of all this distrust and uncertainty. We tried, but Alex was too advanced for us to even think of overpowering him. His sophisticated system had been running for centuries, and we were lucky he found us worthy enough to train. I just wanted a safe place to live and a chance to help others. And that was what he was offering.
“You do what you want, Sebastian, but I’m tired and hungry and I feel gross,” I said. “I’m going to my room to shower, then I’m going to the kitchen to eat and set up TAI and study.”
“That’s a wise plan, my dear,” Alex said. “I ordered outfits for you and your brother, TAI placed yours in your closet.”
I nodded and left his office, one hand gripping the briefcase, the other cradling the bag of marshmallows as I trekked down the stairs. My thoughts tumbled between excitement at finally getting access to TAI and nervousness at our new responsibilities. I had no idea how Sebastian and I were going to get the hang of everything, especially without the rituals’ “mental augmentation”.
I found myself hoping Alex’s experiments were a success, because at least his renewed eternal life would give us more time to learn. And he’d be less inclined to kill us. With a sigh, I pushed my restless thoughts aside as I threw off my clothes, relieved myself, and stepped under the rain shower, scrubbing away the dirt and sweat.
Wrapped in a towel, I opened the closet, and I gawked at the variety of clothes within. Why on Earth would he order this much stuff? I threw on something summery, gave my hair a quick towel dry, and grabbed the briefcase, my excitement returning as I ran to the kitchen.
To my surprise, I found Sebastian sitting on one of the stools, freshly bathed, clean-shaven, his laptop open, a sandwich in his hands, another sandwich in a plate across from him. He smiled when he saw me and nodded at the plate.
“I told TAI to make us breakfast! It’s squeezing fresh orange juice for us now.”
“No way! It worked?” I ran up and jumped on my stool. “You already programmed it? Show me your ear!”
He turned his head, and I grinned. “That’s amazing! I want to do mine now! Was it hard?”
“No, you just have to say a bunch of stuff over and over so it gets used to your voice. Go ahead! I’ll be quiet.”
I rummaged inside my briefcase, pulling out the laptop and a small case. My hands shook with anxious eagerness as I opened both. I put the earpiece and contact lens in, and I followed the directions in the manual step by step, afraid of making a mistake and ruining everything.
I said our names, the alphabet, the numbers from zero to nine, the types of locations, and multiple commands that we were authorized to give, including lock, unlock, bring, take, make, call, and show. After repeating everything almost a million times, TAI chimed, indicating the programming was complete.
“You done?” Sebastian asked, drinking the fresh juice TAI had placed on the table.
I nodded, grinning. “I want to tell it to do something!”
“You should read the whole thing, there’s a lot we can make it do and show us, and we can even talk to each other from across the island! But sometimes we have to touch it, so read up so you don’t mess up.”
I nodded and grabbed my sandwich, wolfing it down as I studied the manual. When it got to the part about viewing other areas of the castle and island, I couldn’t help but test it out.
“Where’s Shirley?” I asked Sebastian.
“He’s outside.”
“TAI, show Shirley.”
Nothing happened, and Sebastian said, “That won’t work, you need to ask to see a place. Or ask it to show the cameras that have movement.” He turned my laptop towards him and scrolled a bit. “There, read this part.”
As I read, Sebastian ate in silence before he sighed. I glanced at him, and he gave me an uncertain smile.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“What do you think about the experiment stuff?”
I shrugged. “I want him to try.”
“Would you volunteer?”
“It’ll only work if we both do it.”
“I’d do it if you do.”
I sat up, surprised. “Really? So you finally believe he’s 921 years old? Was it the video of mom?”
Sebastian looked away. “No, she could’ve been thanking any Alex. But after seeing him in his office, no one can do that so easily at his age, or at any age. It’s like, superhuman. His memory, his ability to read a bunch of things at once and grasp all the info … after you left I stayed and watched, and, yea, I believe.” He sighed again, rubbing the back of his neck. “But now I’m having trouble putting things in their place.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s killed people, threatened them, and shocked Shirley twice. And now he’s giving us all this. It feels … wrong to be on his side, even though I know we’re going to do good.”
“Remember when I told you it’s not about the bad stuff you’ve done, it’s about realizing them, changing, and trying to make up for them?”
He nodded, realization growing in his eyes.
“Alex has a plan to fix the world and we made him see it can be better. So he’s trying to change and he made the choice to have us help. And that’s a good sign. We’ll all make up for all the bad he’s done and help him see there’s more to it than strict control.”
He nodded again in contemplative silence, and I gave him an encouraging smile before I went back to reading and eating.
After finishing the section Sebastian pointed out, I said, “TAI, show motion detection.”
I gasped in elation as my right eye showed me Alex in his office, bustling around between his screens. The view then switched to us, sitting in the kitchen. Then it showed the ballroom where the cleaning robots were fixing the mess I’d made over a week ago. Right after, it showed Shirley, chasing butterflies outside, before it switched to the greenhouse where a bunch of robotic arms whizzed around. After that, it switched back to Alex.
“This is so cool!”
Sebastian stifled a laugh. “We’re going to need to practice to not look weird doing this.”
I shifted my focus to him, feeling a bit dizzy as the videos kept playing. “What do you mean?”
“You’re cross-eyed.”
I threw a crumb at him and he ducked, chuckling. “Hey, just saying.”
“Even Alex looks weird doing this,” I said, chuckling along. “And I don’t care how stupid we look, this is amazing!” TAI scrolled to the greenhouse again. “What’s happening in the greenhouse?”
“I don’t know, let me see.”
Now it was my turn to stifle a laugh when Sebastian’s eyes crossed as he tried to focus.
“I think robots are watering the plants?” he said.
“Do we have authority to unlock it?”
He scrolled through his manual. “Yes.”
“TAI, unlock greenhouse!”
“Why?”
“I want to see what it looks like inside! I’ve never been in one!” I jumped up. “You coming?”
He stuffed the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth and stood up. “Yup.”
The greenhouse was more than anything I could’ve imagined, a humid, glass palace sprawling with perfectly aligned plants, each one glistening with a fresh mist. We walked down the aisles, and I ran my hand across the different surfaces, waxy leaves, fuzzy stems, thorny branches. I had no idea this many plants existed, let alone edible ones.
“This is incredible,” I whispered. “Don’t you think?”
I turned to Sebastian and found him standing at the door, blocking Shirley from galloping inside. To avoid any mishaps, I walked out and ordered TAI to lock the greenhouse. After accepting Shirley’s slobbery greeting, I followed Sebastian’s gaze towards the water treatment and power plant.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I unlocked it, and I’d like to see what it looks like inside.” He gave me a playful smile. “I’m more interested in those types of plants.”
I chuckled. “Then let’s go check it out!”
The three of us walked across the metal bridge that led to the plant’s entrance, squinting as the sun reflected off the gleaming surface. Once inside, I staggered blindly, blinking a few times as my eyes tried to adjust to the dimmer light. It smelled bad in here, which made sense since it not only desalinated ocean water but treated sewage as well. A constant droning echoed around us, but I could still hear Shirley’s nails clicking on the metal, slow at first before they sped up and ran further inside the plant.
“Shit, Shirley, no!” Sebastian yelled, rushing after him.
I had no idea what was inside a plant, but it couldn’t be safe to run around in.
“Be careful!” I yelled, following them.
As my eyes adjusted, I realized we were on a grated, steel platform above what looked like different types of tanks. At the far end, Shirley had flung half his body over the railing, ready to dive right in, and Sebastian had grabbed him, attempting to pull him back. But Shirley’s weight was off balance in the wrong direction, and to my horror, both of them teetered over instead.
Without thinking, I ran over and grabbed Sebastian’s shirt, and my stomach slammed into the railing before I tipped over and fell right after them. My scream choked in my throat as we hit the water, and I flailed as I swam up to the surface, coughing. Shirley was paddling beside me, whining as his eyes scanned the depths.
Sebastian was still under.
My stomach clenched and I grabbed the edge of the tank and looked down, searching for his green shirt, my heart stuttering. We’d thankfully fallen in water and not sewage, but the dimness, bubbles, and movement still made it difficult to see. There he was, at the bottom, and my panic spiked when I saw a red cloud around him.
Taking a deep breath, I dove down, grabbing his shirt as I tried to pull him up. He was stuck, his blood swirling around me. I pulled myself closer to his face, my fretful heart hammering. His eyes were closed. He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t!
I swam back to the surface, gasping back a sob as I yelled, “TAI, call Alex!”
Nothing happened, and my heart sank when I reached for my ear. The earpiece had fallen out. The contact lens wasn’t in my eye either.
I knew there were cameras in here, so I splashed and waved, hoping Alex could see me as I called his name. The soft droning became loud clanging and grating screeches, and I strained my ears as I tried to hear if Alex would respond. Shirley whined as he swam around me, the water getting redder by the second as my tears fell.
Why wasn’t Alex answering me? Maybe he didn’t care about saving us. Maybe all this was still entertainment for him. He did say we were like dogs, and if we died, he had other twins who could provide blood for his experiments and take our place.
We had no one to help us.
My panic reaching a crescendo, I took a desperate breath and dove back down, grabbing Sebastian for stability as I ran my hands all over him. The blood was coming from his head, and his shirt was hooked on one of the pipes running along the bottom of the tank. With fearful hope, I jostled him free and grabbed his arms as I used my feet to push us up.
Sebastian was heavier than I expected. I thought humans floated? Did this mean he swallowed water? Breathed it in? He’d been too long without oxygen, and my frantic heart ached as I struggled to lift him up. I wasn’t going to let him die!
My lungs burned but I refused to let my brother go, the surface rippling just a few inches away. We could make it, Shirley’s paddling legs were so close. I growled, my heart spasming as my ears rang. Blotchy darkness swam through the stars in my vision as my muscles shook, straining towards the surface. Almost there, almost there …
…
A repetitive beeping broke through my restless dreams and I opened my eyes, jolting up as my memories returned. I was in a bed in a strange room, wearing a blue gown. I turned towards the beeping, and my heart flipped when I saw Sebastian in another bed beside me.
I flung off the covers and ran to his side, grabbing his hand. He was unconscious, with bandages around his head, tubes in his nose and mouth, and wires on his chest. But he was alive. He was alive!
What happened? I didn’t remember reaching the surface. Did Alex come through for us? My stomach dropped. Where was Shirley?
“Alex!” I yelled at the ceiling.
“Yes, my dear,” his voice replied.
“Where’s Shirley?”
“The dog is eating in the kitchen.” I jumped as Alex walked into the room. “I had a feeling you two would neglect your homework, but the next time you want to go for a swim, may I suggest the beach or the heated pool on the roof of the East tower.”
“It was an accident! We fell trying to stop Shirley from jumping in!”
“I know, I had TAI replay the footage.”
“I called your name! You didn’t answer!”
“Because I was in the process of telling TAI to shut down the plant and drain the particular tank you fell in.”
“Oh …” I turned to Sebastian. “Is he okay?”
“His head wound is superficial and scans show no internal bleeding. The swelling should gradually decrease over the next few days. Head trauma and oxygen deprivation can cause serious damage, but I’ll do my best to make sure he regains consciousness with minimal side effects.”
He pulled a yellow pen from his pocket and I tensed up. “What’s that?”
“It boosts the healing process. I’ve been using it for my injuries as well.”
I watched him inject Sebastian in the arm, my emotions churning. “Why did you save us?”
He gave me his usual smile as he pocketed the pen. “What do you mean?”
“You said you can find other twins for the experiments, and you have TAI doing everything for you, so you don’t need us. You said you see us like dogs, so is this all for fun?”
His amusement grew. “If you saw a dog drowning, wouldn’t you save it?”
“Yes, but I love dogs.”
“Then there’s your answer.”
I frowned. “What answer? Are you saying you love us?”
He chuckled. “Perhaps love is too strong a word. Let’s say it’s a fondness. You’ve elevated my perception of much that I’ve taken for granted, and I’ve started to appreciate your presence in my life.”
“I’d save anyone and anything from drowning, though, even if I didn’t love them. Even if they didn’t do anything for me. I care about all living things.”
“That’s a very admirable quality that not many possess. It won’t get you far in life, but a soul like yours is an asset when attempting to save the world, which is our goal.”
My emotions continued to roil, and I turned back to Sebastian, squeezing his hand. He didn’t squeeze back. I wiped my nose on my arm and looked up at Alex.
“When will he wake up?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“We must be patient. You’re free to stay here with him, but I must be getting back to work. I can have TAI bring you up some soup, tea, and almond croissants.”
“You told it to make almond croissants?”
“I made them myself.” He smiled. “If you end up liking them, that’ll be another twin point you can add to your tally.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, wiping a tear as I looked back at Sebastian. “I’d like to try them, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, my dear.”
He walked towards the door and I called out to him. “Alex, um … if you want to use our blood, you can. Me and Sebastian talked about it.”
“Yes, I heard your conversation in the kitchen. He said he’d agree if you did, but I did hear your explicit consent.”
“I consent. And I hope the experiments work. I don’t want you to die before he wakes up.”
“Thank you, my dear. And I’ll do my best to make sure your brother recovers soundly no matter the results of the experiments.”
…
“Are you two ready?” Alex asked, walking down the massive, swooping staircase towards the entrance.
Sebastian and I nodded as we stood at the bottom, each of us with a small suitcase at our feet.
“Candace, my dear, I understand you’re enjoying the dental transformation, but please don’t run your tongue over your teeth.”
“Sorry,” I said. “They just feel really nice. I won’t do it when we’re in front of others, I promise.”
“Very well. Is there a reason you went with that makeup?”
“Oh, um, it’s the only way I’ve been taught,” I said, embarrassed. “Is it bad?”
“It’s kind of … a lot,” Sebastian said.
Alex walked up to me, pulling out a handkerchief. “May I?”
I nodded, flinching as he gently held my jaw and began wiping off my blush. “How do you know so much about makeup?” I asked.
“I know a lot about many things. When you have forever to learn, nothing is out of bounds. Please close your eyes.”
I did as I was told, flinching again as he wiped my eyeshadow. “Did I put too much?”
“Yes, you have your mother’s bone structure and my eyes, you should enhance them, not hide them.”
“I was trying to cover my scars and stuff.”
“They’re nothing to be ashamed of. And after a few more dermal sessions with TAI, they’ll be less pronounced. Please press your lips on the handkerchief.”
I did as he asked, and he stepped back and studied me. “Beautiful.”
Sebastian nodded, smiling. “The makeup is a lot better this way. You really look a lot like mom.”
I felt my face heat up as I smiled back. “Thank you.”
After adjusting his cufflinks, Alex walked up to Sebastian and straightened his tie. “Alright, I believe we’re set to go. Please follow me.”
We hustled after Alex, dragging our suitcases while Shirley trotted beside us.
“Are we taking the yacht?” Sebastian asked.
“No, my son.”
“The helicopter?” I asked as we stepped into the elevator.
“No, my dear.”
“Then how are we going?”
Alex smiled. “You’ll see.”
We exited on a lower floor and walked down a long hall before reaching a large metal door.
“TAI, unlock hangar,” Alex said.
My mouth fell open as the door slid up, revealing a huge area filled with gleaming airplanes. Sebastian and I stumbled inside, our heads swiveling as we gawked in all directions, Shirley’s excited barks echoing against the grey walls.
“You didn’t tell us you had planes!” Sebastian said.
“There’s still a lot I haven’t told you. Thankfully, I have eternity to do so, and if you decide to follow in my footsteps, you’ll have eternity to learn.”
“You can pilot all of these?”
“Yes.” Alex walked over to a rumbling plane in the center of the room, its door open and stairs down. “This aircraft is my most environmentally—”
Shirley interrupted him as he attempted to scramble on board, and Alex grabbed his collar. “Your dog must stay behind.”
“No, I’m not leaving him alone for three days!” Sebastian said. “Look, I even made him wear a bowtie to match with us.”
“Yes, I see. The trail of drool dangling from his mouth really adds to his dapper affectation. But he’ll be fine, I programmed his feeding schedule into TAI.”
“It’s not that, he’ll get lonely.”
“We’re going to be in meetings the majority of the time. He’ll end up in the hotel by himself.”
“So? At least he’ll be with us at night!”
Alex sighed and let go of the collar, ascending the stairs after Shirley. “I’ll arrange for a dog walker at the hotel. Come in and make yourselves comfortable, we take off in fifteen minutes.”
Sebastian and I grinned and ran up after him. I’d never been in a plane before, let alone a fancy one like this. After Sebastian helped me put my bag away, we sat across from each other and put our seatbelts on. Shirley tried to sit on Sebastian’s lap, but he pushed him down and leashed him to a handle.
“Shirley, sit.”
Shirley plopped to the floor, yawning, and I let out a shaky chuckle before I looked out of the window. I’d been excited at first, but now my stomach was twisting with anxiety as my heart thudded against my chest. Trembling with nervous anticipation, I rubbed my clammy hands against my pantsuit, chewing on the inside of my lip as my thoughts turned dark.
“Are you okay?” Sebastian asked.
I gave him a tight smile. “I’ve never flown before. Um, planes don’t crash a lot, do they?”
Sebastian got up and sat beside me, buckling up before he held out his hand with a smile. “No, they don’t. And don’t worry, I’m here with you. Anything you feel weird about or want to know more about, just ask me.”
Grateful, I held his hand. “Thank you.”
He squeezed. I squeezed back.
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Part 1 - Part 2
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