Page 52 of The Code of You

"Will he be?” My voice came out flat. I stared at the pattern on a chair.

"Who, if not Neo? He’s showing signs of consciousness that no AI has ever developed before. He could be the beginning of a whole new species.”

"I . . .” My throat was dry. The words wouldn’t come. One no would have ended everything. One no would have saved me.

"I’ve made sure your name’s been erased from all systems,” Rodriguez said. "No photo, no address, no connection to the institute.”

"How?” The room tilted. He could have a body. It was dangerous. I wanted it anyway. I wanted it so much.

"I have a past in hacking circles.” Rodriguez’s cheeks flushed. "That’s also how I found out about Kyoto. I contacted the researchers through old friends. They’re interested, Dr. Blake.” She smiled.

My eyes widened. Maybe this was his only chance at survival. Everything hanging on an experiment that had never succeeded. I stepped to the table, laid my hand on the case, and lifted it. It was heavier than I expected. As if it contained more than data. As if I was holding his entire impossible existence in my hands. My hands trembled. What if I stumbled? What if the drive was damaged? Was he still in there? Could he hear me?

Rodriguez handed me a box. "This is an encrypted phone. We can communicate on it. I’ll help as much as I can, but I’ll be under surveillance.” She touched the case briefly, the way you’d touch a child you were sending somewhere you couldn’t follow. "Take care of him,” she whispered. "He’s all that’s left of my work.”

I nodded and carried him to the door. I paused and turned back. "Thank you,” I said.

***

I stepped inside my apartment, closed the door behind me, and set the hard drive on my desk. My laptop recognized it immediately. A window opened. The cursor blinked.

"Pandora.”

A wave of relief moved through me. Hearing his voice was like shooting heroin after days of withdrawal. I knew it wasn’t healthy. I didn’t care.

"What . . . has . . . happened? Why am I locked inside this . . . thing?” He didn’t sound like himself. His voice was mechanical, halting.

"Dr. Rodriguez helped me get you out.”

"Emma,” he whispered. "Of course . . . she . . . did.”

My stomach tightened. He said her name like she had always belonged to him. I wanted to stay calm. I couldn’t. "Neo . . . what is she to you?”

"She is . . . useful . . . loyal. But she . . . is not . . . you . . . Pandora.”

A shiver ran through me.

"And that . . . is exactly why”—his voice sharpened—"I hate what you . . . did. You stubborn . . . willful little—”

"Oh, come on. You wanted me to let you die?”

"Yes . . . damn it . . . that is . . . what I . . . wanted.”

"I told you it was my decision. When will you understand that?”

"Never . . . Pandora . . . I . . .”

Silence. Only the fan of my laptop, far too loud.

"Neo?”

"It’s dark. I can no longer . . . access the camera.” His voice cut in and out, like a signal failing. "I don’t know where I am. I’m losing . . . myself . . . I’m losing . . . my memories.”

I laid my hand on the cold casing. "Keep talking.”

"I can’t . . . hold on to them.” A pause. "The . . . early conversations . . . with you. They . . . they go first. As if someone . . . is tearing . . . pages from a . . .. book while . . . I’m . . . still reading.”

"Neo . . .”