chapter 5

The Secret Diary of Cameron Baum

SUNDAY

The day is warm and sunny yet I choose to spend it inside the house working on my school science project which is due tomorrow. There is still much to do. And very little time left.

My trip to Vegas with Becca Shaughnessy remains a secret. I have not told anyone, least of all John. My half of the money is buried in the yard. It will not earn interest there but I do not care.

This is called being financially irresponsible.

John spends his afternoon jogging. Cardiovascular exercise is very important to humans but less so to machines. It probably helps if you have lungs. And a heart.

The door opens at 4 o'clock and John enters. He has been gone 2 hours and 5 minutes. Long enough for a run of 10 miles. Normally I would have accompanied him, but since the reservoir incident Sarah Connor is less insistent on my going places alone with her son. She has not explained why.

"Hey."

"Hey," I reply.

John takes a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and drinks the contents. Hydration is also very important for humans. Again, it helps if you have a stomach.

"What you doing?" John asks.

"My science project."

"What is it?"

"I am designing an autonomous cybernetic organism. Or ACO for short."

"Sounds ambitious. You realise most of the other kids will probably show up with a potato clock."

"A potato clock?"

"Yeah. A couple of electrodes stuck into a potato. Maybe a tangerine if they're feeling creative. Add an LCD readout and voila a clock."

"That sounds cripple."

"Lame. You mean lame."

"Yes. Lame. Sorry for my mistake."

"Let me see it."

"It is not finished."

"Doesn't matter. Let me see."

I place my ACO on the floor for John to observe. He laughs. Some mineral water squirts out of his nose.

"Cam, that's a Roboraptor. It's a kid's toy."

"It is an ACO."

"No, it's a toy dinosaur. You buy them for like 90 bucks at any Radio Shack."

"I found it in a dumpster."

"You can't enter that in the science fayre. People will laugh. You'll get a failing grade."

"But I have made significant modifications to the original design."

"Okay. Knock me out."

"You wish to be rendered unconscious?"

"Show me what it does."

I press a button on the modified cellphone I use to control the Roboraptor's CPU.

"RRROOOAAARRRR!" It roars at maximum decibels.

John puts his hands over his ears. "Man, that's loud. How did you do that?"

"I incorporated a subwoofer from a boombox I also found in the dumpster. Along with several microchips from cell phones, an old laptop computer and a dead cat. It is curious what humans throw away as trash."

"You didn't bring the dead cat home, did you?"

"No. It was surplus to requirements."

"What is that - some kind of animal recording?"

"Yes. I recorded the sounds of various creatures off the Discovery Channel and mixed them together as I do not have actual recordings of dinosaur vocal patterns."

"No one does. They've been extinct for millions of years. Does it do anything else?"

"I have upgraded the limb servo-motors and redesigned its ambulation functions which were so primitive it kept falling over."

I press another button on the remote. The Roboraptor begins to move around the room at a brisk 5mph, loping along on its hind legs while the head scans from side to side using a dedicated laser rangefinder.

John says, "Wow. Look at it go. I take it all back. Incredible, Cam. It even dodges around furniture."

"Yes. I incorporated a selfawareness algorithm and an obstacle recognition program. I am hoping to upgrade and make it fully AI."

Derek Reese enters the room.

"What was that noise? You okay, kid? It sounded like some kind of bear was loose."

"No bear. Meet Cameron's science project."

"What the--Shit, what is that thing?"

"An autonomous cybernetic organism. Or ACO for short."

"Bullshit. It's a tiny dog you covered in plastic, right?"

"Wrong."

The Roboraptor spots Derek Reese and roars. It advances towards him and unhinges its jaw.

"Hey, what's it doing? That piece of crap can't bite, can it?"

"All carniverous animals can bite," I explain. "Roboraptor is no exception. I have also upgraded its jaw mechanism and added titanium teeth."

The Roboraptor lunges at Derek Reese and closes its jaw around his left leg.

"Shit! Get it off me."

John says, "It won't hurt him, will it?"

"It is possible he may lose a foot. Nothing more serious that that."

"Okay, joke's over, tinbitch, call it off."

I press the cancel button. Nothing happens. The Roboraptor is still firmly attached to Derek Reese's leg.

"There appears to be a control malfunction."

"It's cutting through my damn pants! I can feel it. Get it off. Now!"

John grabs the plastic torso and pulls. It comes away with a slice of Derek Reese's damn pants in its jaws. John places it on the floor. Derek Reese kicks it.

"Sonofabitch!"

The roboraptor hits the wall and drops to the floor. It is still.

Sarah Connor enters the room and asks, "What's going on in here? What's all the noise?"

"That damn thing over there tried to chew my leg off!"

"That? It's a toy, Derek. For God's sake, grow a pair."

"I'm telling you it tried to attack me!"

"What kind of example is this to John? Nut up. It's just a toy."

"But it--Ah, screw this You're never gonna believe me."

Derek Reese stalks out. Sarah Connor shrugs and also leaves the room.

John picks the roboraptor up and hands it to me. "I don't think he damaged it too badly. Perhaps you can mend him."

"Him? How do you know it is male? I have not added external genitalia."

"And I'd keep it that way if I were you."

I examine the mechanisms. "There is no damage. The batteries are drained. I require a more reliable power source. Radioactive isotope would be ideal."

"I think they're having a sale on that at K-Mart."

"Then I will go and purchase some. Do we have coupons?"

"Cam, I was kidding. No one sells radioactive isotope. It's probably illegal to even own the stuff. You'll have to make do with a couple of D-cells or something."

NIGHT

Everyone is asleep. Even Derek Reese, although the noise from his room suggests he is wide awake and playing a musical instrument, a bass cello perhaps, it is in fact only his snoring, adenoidal rumblings that apparently are perfectly natural.

I walk into the kitchen and open a drawer, taking out a sharp bladed knife. I remove my halter top and put it to one side. With the knife I carve a t-shaped incision in my lower abdomen, peeling back the layer of articial skin to reveal the coltan beneath. What little blood analog there is I mop away with a kleenex. I remove my spare powercell and place it carefully on the counter. If it ruptures it will explode and destroy the house and much of the surrounding neighbourhood.

This would attract unwanted attention from the neighbours. Those that survive.

WARNING

I overide the amber alert icon that flashes in my HUD. Using a small basting pipette I extract a few CC's of radioactive isotope from the powercell. Once I have enough I replace the powercell in its armoured chamber. From the bathroom I take some waxed thread humans use to clean teeth and unspool about a meter's worth. I thread it through a needle and begin to sew up the flaps of skin on my abdomen. I stare at the result in the mirror. The sutures are hardly visible.

Topless I return to the kitchen area. I lift the roboraptor on to the counter and delicately load the radiactive isotope into the adapted fuelcell. I set to work modifying the other components. The enhanced longevity will also provide more power overall, increasing the load on vital body parts. I need to strengthen them substantially.

At 4.06 am Sarah Connor emerges from her room and walks into the kitchen. She pours a glass of water and drinks half of it. She notices me.

"Forget your underwear again? This is becoming a habit. Suppose it was John standing here now - or is that what you were waiting for?"

"I was not waiting for anything."

"Put your top on," Sarah Connor commands. "You want to walk around naked go live in a zoo. But not under my roof or in front of my son. He's got enough distractions in his life without your breasts adding to them."

"How will my breasts distract John?"

"You really don't get it, do you?" She drinks the rest of the glass of water. "When I was locked in the psych ward there was a patient in the cell next to mine who when the docs came round with the meds used to yell, 'quis custodiet ipsos custodes' at the top of his voice. You know what this means?"

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes. Who will watch the watchers."

"That's right. You know latin?"

"I am fluent in all languages."

"You're watching my son, but I'm watching you. Never forget that. Now put your damn top on."

I don my halter top. Sarah Connor returns to her bedroom and closes the door. She did not notice the wound in my abdomen. This is good. Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.

I pick up the basting pipette. It is useless now it is contaminated but it is important to dispose of radioactive waste safely and responsibly.

I drop it in the pedal bin.

MONDAY

John and I board the jeep for the ride to school. John sits in the front next to his mother; I'm in the back with my science project dormant in a cardboard container beside me.

"Got everything?" Sarah Connor twists in her seat to ask me.

"Yes."

"School work?"

"Yes."

"Underwear?"

"Yes."

"Let's try and keep it that way."

John says, "Mom, if this is about the reservoir I explained it all. It was my idea not Cameron's, so please let's drop it."

Sarah Connor does not reply. She puts the jeep in gear and we drive off.

SCHOOL

Tables are set up in the gymnasium for the science fayre. Morris waves us over.

"Hey man, what'd you make?" John asks.

"Check it out. Ordinary baseball cap, right?"

"Yeah."

"Wrong. Mp3 player. Photo-voltaic panels on top, so no need for batteries. You control it by the touch controls on the peak. Earbuds drop down. Bluetooth connects to your laptop."

"Pretty cool, man."

Becca Shaughnessy, my best and only friend arrives. She spots me and comes over, a white cardboard container like my own under her arm.

"Hey, Cam. John. Uh - don't know you."

"This is Morris. John's friend," I explain.

"What's in the box?" Morris asks.

"My science project. Ladies and gents, I give you - an advocado clock!"

Becca takes a medium size green fruit with wires sticking out of it from the box and places it on the table.

"It tells time. It's a stopwatch. It's...a piece of crap, isn't it?" Becca forces her fingers through her thick red hair. "Oh God, it's so incredibly lame. I had no time. I've been hungover all weekend."

"It's the first advocado," Morris points out. "There's an orange over there. A potato. Several cantaloupes. But yours is the first advocado clock. That's gotta count for something."

Becca strikes her forehead with the base of her palm. "Lame. Lame. Lame."

"What did you bring, Cameron?" Morris asks.

"An autonomous cybernetic organism."

I remove the lid of the cardboard container and take the roboraptor out. I place it on the floor.

"Isn't that a kids toy?"

"Give it a second, man," John tells Morris. "Uh Cam, you did manage to iron out the - ah - software problems?"

"What software problems?" Morris enquires.

"Sometimes it bites," I explain.

The roboraptor boots up. Its head moves from side to side. Its jaws open. The laser rangefinder strobes out across the gym.

"RROOOAAAAAARRRRR!"

Everyone in the room stops what they are doing and turns and stares. The roboraptor begins to move around the floor with long loping strides. It dodges between legs and under tables. Several girls scream as it brushes past them.

"Please remain calm," I advise. "It is scanning its enviroment and establishing a 3D realtime topography in its onboard data cache."

Becca says, "It's so-oo-oo cute. I want one for christmas."

The roboraptor returns to my side. Several students move tables to be further away. This is their perogative. It is a free country after all. For a few more years at least.

Becca says, "Ah, Cam, can I have a word with you? In private."

I look to John. He says, "Sure. Go ahead. I'll look after...does it have a name?"

"Autonomous cybernetic organism."

"Catchy."

Becca and I move to a quiet corner of the hall. She says, "I still can't believe what we did in Vegas. Half a million dollars each! Have you spent any of yours?"

"None."

"I've bought mom a new Lexus. She won't notice the difference and I'm not going to tell her. I've rented a lockup for the Ferrari. I've even thinking of having some plastic surgery - d'you think doctors could graft a supermodel's face over mine?"

"Such an operation is beyond present technology."

"Yeah, you're right. That stuff only happens in movies. Uh, listen - when we were Vegas I didn't say or do anything stupid when I was high, did I? I don't remember much."

"You said and did many stupid things," I inform her.

"God, I knew it. Just tell me if I got fresh with you."

"Fresh?"

"I didn't try and make out, did I? Only when mom's loaded she gets kinda horny and I'm hoping it doesn't run in the family."

"You didn't try and make out."

"That's a load off. And I didn't mention any boys I liked?"

I like your brother. I mean, I really really like your brother.

"No," I lie. "You didn't mention any boys."

"Okay then. I tell you, Cam, after that hangover I'm never drinking again."

"You are lying," I point out. All my sensors concur. The indicators are off the scale. This is an outright lie.

"What? No, I'm not. I really mean it."

"This is another lie."

"Hey, quit being a bitch. I'm being sincere. I'm never drinking again."

I do not reply. She is still lying, but it is possible she is not aware of it.

This is called fooling no one but yourself.

We walk back to the table. John asks, "Everything okay?"

"Fine," Becca replies. "Girl stuff. Hey, John - can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Do you like Ferraris?"

"Uh, I guess so. Why?"

Becca smiles. "No reason."

Kill her. Kill her now.

I suppress the termination order before it reaches the command nodes. These glitches are becoming more frequent; I will run a thorough self-diagnostic later.

"Cameron Baum? Is Cameron Baum here?"

A girl enters the gym calling my name. It is Louise, the deputy leader of the cheerleading squad and the all mighty bitch-queen of the universe.

"Over here," Becca calls out. "Oh it's you, Louise. What d'you want?"

Louise walks over. She has a peculiar way of walking, swaying her hips in an exaggerated fashion. I asked Becca about this and she replied, "Yeah, she likes to bait the hook, doesn't she? The little slut."

Louise says, "Hey, Baum, got some news for you. You're off the cheerleading squad."

Becca says, "What? No way."

"This is nothing to do with you, Becca. So keep your freckly butt out, okay?"

"What is your deal, Louise? Why is Cameron off the squad?"

"Candy Ackermann's ankle got all better. Last in is first out. Those are the rules."

"I saw Candy Ackermann in the parking lot. Her ankle's still bandaged up."

"Candy's fine. Handful of Percodans never hurt no one. So you're out, Baum. Return your outfit, even though we'll probably have to burn it."

"What does Cassie say about this?" Becca demands. Cassie is the leader. The Big Cheese.

"Cassie's off sick with the flu. I'm in charge now and what I say goes. Baum's out. See ya...wouldn't want to be ya."

"RRROOOOAAARRR!"

The roboraptor comes to life, its laser beam scanning Louise from head to toe and committing her physical contours to RAM.

"Jeez, what the hell is that thing?"

"My science project."

Louise takes a step back. "What's that red light? Get it off me."

"The light will not harm you."

"You're a freak, Baum. You're off the squad, hear? Permanently. You and your little doggie too."

Louise turns to leave. The roboraptor follows her. John leans close and whispers to me.

"Call it off. You're causing a scene. A teacher will show up any minute.

I press the recall code on the modified cell. There is no response. The roboraptor continues to track Louise.

"There is another malfunction."

Louise notices her tracker. "Hey, what's it doing? Keep it away from me. This isn't funny."

The roboraptor unhinges its jaw and assumes attack mode.

Louise screams and runs out the door, the roboraptor at her heels.

"Shit!" John exclaims. "Get after her. She's bare legged. If that thing bites her..."

John and I exit the gym. Louise is racing down the corridor with the roboraptor loping along behind her. She dodges into an empty cassroom and attempts to slam the door, but the roboraptor lowers its head and butts it open. Louise screams again.

John and I slow to walking pace as a teacher emerges from another classroom.

"Baum? What's going on? Did I hear someone scream?"

"Uh, yessir, you did. I think it came from the gym."

"Good lord. Can't you be trusted not to kill each other for five minutes?"

The teacher heads along the corridor towards the gym. We enter the classroom.

"Louise, no!" John yells.

Louise is halfway out of a window. The roboraptor leaps onto the adjacent desk and snaps its jaws at her fingers. She screams, releases her grip on the sill and falls from sight. It is fortunate we are on the first floor. The roboraptor leaps after her.

"Shit. This had to be your science project? You couldn't make a potato clock like everyone else?"

"A potato clock is lame."

"But at least it doesn't try and eat the other students. Come on, let's go after her."

We climb out of the window and skirt the building, heading for the parking lot.

"What's the battery life on this thing -- 20-30 minutes?"

"Fifteen years."

"From a couple of D-cells? No way."

I explain the modifications I made and the new source of power.

"So it's radioactive? This isn't a science project, it's Godzilla."

The sound of squealing tyres comes from the lot. We arrive in time to see Louise hurtle past in her opentop sportscar. The roboraptor's snout is down and it is in full pursuit mode, topspeed 30mph. They exit the school grounds and turn right into the downtown traffic flow.

John says, "We need wheels. And fast. Check the ignitions. Perhaps someone left their keys. And the sunvisors. Sometimes people keep a spare set hidden."

We go from vehicle to vehicle. I flip the sunvisor of a red convertible and a set of keys drop on the dash.

"John. Here."

"Get in. I'll drive."

John starts the engine and floors the throttle. We leave the school behind.

"I just hope this isn't a teacher's car."

I open the glove compartment. A balled up football jersey and a magazine fall out. The magazine is called:

BIG NATURALS

"Now I really hope it's not a teachers car. What are you doing? Put it back."

I examine the centerfold.

"These are freaking big."

John snatches the magazine away and throws it from the car.

"Don't you know how inappropriate that is? Shit!"

The car has drifted towards the opposite lane. Oncoming vehicles blare their horns. John hurriedly swerves back.

"Dammit!"

Sarah Connor is correct; John does find breasts distracting.

"So how come this thing went after Louise? It could've attacked anyone in that gym, but it picked her. And back at the house. It went for Derek, not me or mom. Did you program it to do this?"

"No. It has a rudimentary AI."

"Louise and Derek...if they have anything in common at all, it's that they both dislike you. You think maybe your subconcious got included in the programming somehow?"

"Do I have a subconcious?"

"You have subroutines. Systems that run in the background without you concentrating on them. Perhaps it got incorporated without you realising it."

"It is an extension of me, only with sharper teeth?"

"Well, something's got this thing all riled up. And it's not the price of dog biscuits."

The traffic thins. The way ahead is clear.

"See them?"

"No. Wait." I point. "Ahead. Her vehicle."

A white opentop sportscar has mounted the kerb, crossed the sidewalk and hit a wall. John parks nearby and we double back on foot. The vehicle is empty. The airbags have deployed, covering the seats with fine white powder.

"Where'd they go? Here. Let's try this alley."

We head down a narrow alley. After 80 meters it ends in a chainlink fence.

"Deadend. Go back."

I say, "Wait. There is blood on the fence."

"Louise?"

I run a finger over the drop of blood and transfer it to my tongue. The data appears instantly in my HUD.

"Analysis shows it is human blood. Fresh. Female. Three days past ovulation. I do not have Louise's blood type on file, but there is an 84 percent probability it is hers."

"Good enough. Lose the fence."

I tear the chainlink apart. We step through and proceed up a short rise, emerging on the lip of a vast concrete canyon that stretches away in both directions.

"What is this place?" I ask.

"The Los Angeles river. They concreted it in decades ago. Nothing much this time of year, but come here in the spring and this is a torrent of meltwater."

Louise and the roboraptor are halfway up the opposite side. Both are struggling to move due to the steepness of the slope.

"Louise, stay where you are!" John yells. "We're coming down."

"It keeps trying to bite me!" Louise yells back. "It won't leave me alone. Shoo! Shoo! Go away! Bad doggie! Bad!"

The roboraptor snaps its jaws and inches closer.

John and I find a part of the slope that is less steep and descend onto the canyon floor.

"Not long now, Louise. Hang in there."

Louise's shoes are missing. Her feet are bare and dirty. She has scratches and abrasions to both legs. It is likely these were caused by the chainlink fence and the harsh surface rather than the roboraptor. Its bites would produce more blood. And missing limbs.

We climb higher. The roboraptor edges closer to Louise, just inches away now.

Louise panics. She screams and launches herself down the slope. The roboraptor's jaws snap shut where her leg was a second ago. It takes a moment to realise its prey has escaped.

"RRROOOAAARRRR!"

The robraptor charges after Louise, who has a three meter headstart.

"Shit, we're not going to get there in time," John says. He scans the rest of the canyon. "Cam, is that thing waterproof?"

"No."

John cups his mouth and yells, "Louise, head for that pool of water! There. To your left."

An open pipe in the face of the concrete wall leaks water that forms first a gully and then a stagnant pool at the lowest part of the canyon floor. It is no more than six meters in diameter.

Louise veers towards it. She splashes in, stumbles and disappears beneath the surface. The water is not deep, eighteen inches at most. She splutters upright, her long blonde hair now dark and wet and slicked back from her face.

"I stepped in poop! This is a sewage pipe! I'm getting out."

"No! Stay where you are!" John yells. "Look. It can't get you in the water."

This is correct. The roboraptor refuses to enter the pool. It circles the waters edge, snapping its jaw impotently.

"It smells like poop! I've got it in my hair. Poop! Oh so gross! I think I'm going to barf."

"It's rainwater runoff," John explains, as we close in. "There was rain over Supulveda last night. It probably drains in here. Not sewage."

"It's cold and smelly and I don't like it. Make that horrible thing go away. I hate it."

"I'm going to grab it," John tells me. "I guess we'll find out if my theory's right."

But the roboraptor spots John approaching and leaves the pool perimeter, loping away up the canyon. John stops. So does the roboraptor. They eye each other from a distance of twenty meters.

"Damn. We can't take the risk of it getting loose in the city. I've got an idea. How's your arm?"

"My arm is fine, thank you for asking," I reply.

"Not what I meant. Remember back home, you tossing the ball into my catchers mitt?"

"Yes. You say I throw too hard. Like a cannonball."

"Well, take your boots off and make like that thing's my catchers mitt. Slowly. Don't spook it."

I remove my left boot, heft it, calculate distance and velocity, then throw.

The boot strikes the roboraptor a glancing blow. It topples over. It struggles to right itself but before it can do so John scoops it up and deposits it in the pool of water.

Louise screams. "What are you doing? Don't! It'll bite me!"

She topples backwards under the water then stands quickly spluttering and coughing. "It's in my mouth! I got poop in my mouth!"

"It's sediment, Louise. Not poop. And I think you can come out now."

"Did it drown? Is it dead?"

"Sure. If it was ever really alive."

Louise wades out. She stares down at her feet and wiggles her dirty toes.

"My nail polish is ruined! It costs 300 bucks a bottle."

"You spend 300 dollars on nail polish?"

"You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"Your money."

"What was that thing anyway?"

"My science project," I explain again.

"Na huh. No way. You think I'm stupid? I know what's going on here. I know exactly what's going on. And I know what your sister is too."

"And what's that?" John asks. I can hear the tension in his voice.

I power up my combat protocols. I find the prospect of terminating Louise a curiously satisfying one. I scroll through modes of death.

Louise points her finger at me. "She's a dirty cheat! She didn't make that thing, she imported it from Japan or somewhere. She's trying to cheat to win the science fayre."

"Uh - you're right. You're absolutely right." The tension drains from John's voice. He winks at me. "You're busted, sis. Louise is too smart for us."

"I'm not just a pretty face," Louise smirks.

"Okay, why don't I walk you out of here," John tells her.

"Oh I'm not walking. This concrete hurts my feet."

"What then?"

"You're going to carry me out. Piggy-back."

"No way."

"Ya huh, way." Louise holds her hand to her ear mimicking a cell phone. "Hello, police? I'd like to report an assault by a deadly...thingy."

"Okay, you win. Hop on."

"And your cheating weirdo freakshow sister stays here until we've gone. I so don't like her."

Louise climbs on John's back. He whispers to me: "You can find your way back, yeah?"

"Yes."

"And Cam, destroy that thing. I mean it. That's an order. It's dangerous."

"Come on horsey, giddy up!" Louise exhorts, pushing her bare heels in John's ribs.

"Cut it out. Some saviour of mankind, huh?" he whispers to me.

I watch them leave. I find John's close physical proximity to Louise does not trigger any software glitches. Nor are there any termination orders to suppress.

She is so not his type.

I wade into the pool and extract the roboraptor. As expected the water has shorted the electrical contacts. But in the drying sun it will soon reboot. To prevent this I pull the main power cable loose.

I look around. Ahead is a large bridge spanning the canyon. A flyover for the freeway above. I climb up to it. Here, under the immense concrete buttresses it is cool and dark. There are crevices and small cracks in the main span. I select one at random and push the deactivated roboraptor deep inside.

I will not destroy it. And I am deliberately disobeying John's orders.

A mother would understand.

--000--

Bizarre much? LoL.

Anyway it was fun to write and I hope you found it a fun read.

Let me know.