Page 27 of Guiding Reason
Hyran nodded. “Of course. I just—I’ll call.”
Col nodded. He looked worried about something, bit his nail before shooting to his feet suddenly. “I’ll go talk to the Op-AI.”
Hyran stood, screen in hand. “I—”
Col smiled up at him. “Can you wait here, please? I’ll just be…well, I’ll actually go and pick another room. There are enough in this place. Yamara—”
“I’m in the furthest on the left.”
“Right. Please, just wait here, Hyran. Talk to your mothers.”
He nodded, but as soon as Col had vanished down the hallway to the bedrooms, his skin was itching and every instinct he had told him to run to Col. He bit his tongue until he tasted blood.I wish I’d never touched him, met him. No, I wish I’d met him first. I could have spent all my life loving him and showing him I love him.
Hyran could tell the two Guardians and the Conduit were watching him. He didn’t care. He knew he should be calling his mama at least, but he couldn’t move, not without his Conduit.
With no better option, he stayed still.
10
COLDIS
Col had found a smaller room, probably one intended for a Conduit, on the far right. It had two long slices of windows facing an oval bed set against the curved wall opposite. The room’s smart-wall doubled as a screen, and Col sat on the bed, aware for the first time that he was still wearing the ridiculous slippers from the clinic.
The Op-AI took Col’s call right away, just like it always did. On occasion, it opted for an avatar and had done so today. The one it had chosen was a handsome man wearing a smooth, shimmery robe, hair and features perfect.
“Coldis Solara, congratulations on having Guardian Hyran Panosa Mana of Ferrea imprint upon you. As of now, you arestill the team leader of Argentea’s Team Three,” the Op-AI said. Behind it, bright colors flared to convey elation and happiness.
If it had been a person, Col would have given a different response. It wasn’t, and so he said, “Thank you very much. I’m overjoyed. My Guardian has expressed a desire to move to Argentea with our team.”
“What wonderful news!” The AI clapped its hands.
“Op-AI, with the death of the Ferrean Op-AI, things have been very chaotic. Am I right in assuming the Ferrean Municipal AI has assumed direct oversight?”
“Of course. Proximity makes that the best choice.”
“Of course. Only, the Municipal AI approached oversight in a different way than Op-AIs do. It’s upsetting to Guardians and Conduits on the Grounds. The Municipal AI relies so much on visual data. There have been many issues with the Grounds’ auto-drives not working as usual. I fear it makes a traumatic event to the Guardians and Conduits here even more traumatic.”
The avatar’s mouth opened in a display of surprise. “I was not aware nor did I anticipate that as a source of friction. My concern has been accounting for all still lost, for the dead, for the living, and discovering how the Guardian insurrectionists entered the Grounds. But I will reach out to the Municipal AI to help it resolve any issues concerning transportation or other infrastructure worries. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”
“Of course and thank you. With my Guardian being from this city, I do worry about my fellow Conduits and the other Guardians here.
“And speaking of, I have contacted the Judiciary AIs here in Ferrea, and it appears all of Ferrea’s psionomancers were attacked prior to the Battle of Starlit Stage, as the news streams have been calling it.”
“I am aware of this,” the Op-AI said. “I do not have causation, just correlation with the attack on Starlit Stage, like you mentioned. I commend you and your team for acting so decisively and bravely when it was most needed.”
“Right. We thank you, but we did nothing more than our duty to all cities. And we’ll help with causation if we can. To that end, I was wondering, did you document similar attacks on Argentea’s psionomancers before Alesa’s people launched their attack against you?”
The AI didn’t answer right away, then said, “There were accidents, and one psionomancer was killed performing her duty at the Judiciary during the attack.”
Col’s mind was reeling. His instinct told him there was something here, but he couldn’t put it together, didn’t understand what he was seeing.Other than the fact that someone seems to be killing psionomancers. Right before the attacks. But that means, whoever is doing that knows the attacks are going to happen. Fuck.
“What were the accidents?”
“In one case, a psionomancer was given a medication that was counter-indicated, and in another, a psionomancer missed a step on a staircase in his house and had a tragic fall.”
Col gasped. “A tragic fall can happen, but how is anyone given the wrong medication?”
“This became only apparent in hindsight. Tragically, the psionomancer had symptoms of early labor, and there was limited time available for scans before the physician had to make a decision, Conduit. Clinics are very safe, and our physicians well trained, but when unforeseen situations arise, the most desirable outcome is no longer certain.”
