Page 26 of Brutal Savior

This group makes no sense. I’d expected the Gilda, and Brackis in particular, to be the subject of this meeting. I have no idea what these people have to do with me and am instantly wary. Kendrick doesn’t do anything without good reason.

I take the remaining seat. Kendrick, as usual, doesn’t waste time with small talk. “Jacob, thanks for coming. I know the timing is poor, so I’ll make this as brief as possible. Brody, please explain what you’ve found.”

The young guy clears his throat and turns to me. His skin still has a few pimples, though his hairline is already receding. Poor bastard got the shit end of both those sticks. “Mr. West. As part of my role, I monitor all internet chatter about anythingBrotherhood related. Last night, you were everywhere, and not in a good way.”

He takes a nervous sip of water and glances at Kendrick before continuing.

“It’s one of the most severe coordinated smear campaigns I’ve ever encountered. Across message boards, social media, anywhere people know your name. Fabricated evidence of you engaging in foul behavior. Using racist and homophobic language. Making inappropriate comments to young girls.”

My hand clenches into a fist, and I force myself to relax it. My mind tracks over all the possible perpetrators and struggles to find one. Plenty of people hate me, but none of them would have the skills to do something like that, or the money to pay someone else to.

“What actions have you taken to remove it? And do you have a lead on the perpetrator?”

Brody’s tense shoulders relax. He’d probably been scared I’d bite his head off. “We’re working on removing it, sir, but—”

“That’s why I’m here,” Hadrian cuts in. He’s around my age, late thirties, but he looks tired. Like the world gave him a kicking.

“Social media is the best proving ground for my creations. They’re currently running around ten thousand accounts each, all through a secure, limited server. I don’t let them access the open internet yet.”

“Your creations?”

Hadrian frowns. “Apologies, I forget you’re not familiar with my work. I’m creating cybernetic intelligence. The CIs, they call themselves.”

Call themselves? They’re coming up with their own names?

Hadrian turns to Kendrick. “Travis passed the Turing test last week. The first of the males to do so, though none of the others come close to Candice, of course.”

I still feel lost, and it’s grating on me. “Candice?”

“Yes. My prodigy. The most advanced CI ever created.”

Every word screamsproud parent,and it makes me shiver. Give me a human to tinker with any day of the week.

Kendrick graces Hadrian with a rare smile. “His work is truly groundbreaking.”

At the Brotherhood, we’re all about pushing boundaries, but I have strong reservations about true cybernetic intelligence. Any sane person should. I shoot a glance between Kendrick and Hadrian. “Sane” might be a bit optimistic in the Compound.

Hadrian turns back to me. “Anyway, back to your issue. Whoever did this used a very sophisticated method to flame you. I have my creations working to counteract the allegations and get some leads on where the point of origin is. We should be able to narrow it down.”

I nod, and Kendrick asks the question I knew was coming. “Do you have any suspicions as to who might be to blame?”

I take some time to run through the possible options. The most obvious is a jealous competitor. I’m well ahead of the pack in my field of life extension research, and unlike most of the Brotherhood, I don’t keep my identity hidden. I spend a lot of my time educating promising young students.

But the level of spite involved has a personal feel. A competitor might try and discredit me academically, but would they go as far as destroying my personal reputation? Just thinking about it has my jaw clenching. I’m glad Grandad doesn’t have a phone.

The other, more worrying option is an enemy from my army days. I have a few of them, but this doesn’t feel like the approach they’d take either. I’d be more worried about a sniper’s bullet in my back.

“Not at this stage. Have you considered the Calder family?”

Bottom-feeding tech thieves, the Calders are desperate to steal Brotherhood research. Kendrick shakes his head. “It wouldn’tmake sense. They have the resources, but where do they stand to gain? Everything they do is for profit.”

I consider it. “Agreed. So we have no leads. I’d like to examine some of the posts.”

“Of course. This is going to be a distasteful process for you. Brody?”

Brody jumps, reaches under his seat, and extracts a laptop. “Yes, sir. Just give me—”

My mobile rings. Gabriel’s number. Shit. What the hell has happened? Gabriel’s words spit out of the phone. “Jacob. Quinn fucking attacked Eve.”

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