Page 47 of Artificial Moon

“Exactly.”

“Is there a picture of the missing surgeon?”

“Yeah, hold on. I just read the article earlier today...” She pauses, swiping through her oversized phone. “Here he is. Good-looking guy.”

“Can you get a read onhim, Allie?”

“Trying now, hold on...”

I sip my wine, acutely aware that it doesn’t do anything for me, and if I’m being honest, I don’t love the taste of it. So, why do I bother? It’s a social thing. Allie loves it, and it most definitely does something to her. That’s enough for me to share a bottle with her.

“Sorry, Sam. Nothing.”

I shake my head, impressed by the cyborg. “He really did think of everything.”

“You’re thinking he covered him up in a silver suit, too?”

“Yeah,” I say. “What other conclusion can I draw?”

“They could have killed him.”

“I highly doubt Norm would kill one of the few people who truly understands this procedure.”

“On the off chance he might be needed again?”

“Exactly,” I say.

“Bummer,” says Allie, sitting back in her chair and holding her glass of wine with both hands. “I really thought we had something there.”

“Same,” I say.

We sit like that for another ten minutes, quiet and contemplative, while a cyborg is out there plotting the demise of the human race—or, at least, the destruction of Southern California.

“Hold up, Sam... something just popped through.” She sits up, sets her wine glass down on the table. Some of it sloshes over the rim, spills. “It’s coming in flashes.” She shakes her head a little, as if trying to get a clear signal.

“What are you seeing?”

“Not sure, but it’s coming in stronger. Let me zoom out a little. I have no clue what’s going on...”

I’m tempted to take a peek into her mind, but if she doesn’t know what’s going on, I probably won’t either.

She next covers her mouth. “Sam, someone is doing surgery on Norm—brain surgery, I think. A small section of his head is exposed. That’s what I’m getting a read on, a tiny fragment of Norm—Sam, I can see part of his brain! So gross!”

“Can you see where he’sat?”

“Hold on, let me pull back some more. There got it. Wanna take a peek?”

I do just that. Whoa, it’s a log cabin, surrounded by trees. It appears to be in the mountains somewhere. Unfortunately for Norm, I get a lock on the home, having seen enough to make the jump.

“Wait, Sam. He’s undergoing some type of surgery. There are wires attached to his head. Oh, shit.”

“Oh, shit, what?”

“The wires are going to some kind of computer. Sam, I think he’s downloading himself into a computer!”

“Seems like a very Norm thing to do.”

“Sam, hold on! He’s surrounded by people. Men and women.”

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