"Some Foundation..." Thomas Marcus awoke with a start. "Foundation..." he mumbled to himself. He fingered the delicate cashmere of his pyjamas and tried to force his foggy mind to come to terms with the familiar word. Pressing his hands to his temples, he cursed the sneaky Alzheimer's that had robbed him of his very self. Still, sometimes, usually during the night hours such as this, he had moments of clarity. "Yes! Of course, the Foundation for Law and Government. A lady, it must be Bonnie Barstow. Pulling on a heavy robe, he stiffly moved over to his wheelchair. Moving over to the other side of the room, he started powering up his Mac. "Foundation – Wilton – Knight Industries – K.I.T.T.!" Experiencing a moment of joy about his sudden moment of memories, he drummed his fingers to an old show-tone he suddenly recalled as well. Lost for a moment in the music and the rhythm he watched as the Mac's screen settled onto the operating system. Then he couldn't recall why he had opened the computer to start with.
Michael covered Bonnie up with a blanket. Finally she had been able to rest, though it wouldn't be for long. There was a fairly strong tailwind and they were making good time. Devon was absorbed in yet another thick history book. He was looking forward to retiring next year. That made Michael a bit sad. It would be the end of an era to say. Leaning back in his chair, Michael's gaze settled onto his partner of many years. Against his will, his ever turning mind started to think about this latest development. Devon was retiring, Michael himself was feeling the years as well. As a computer, was Kitt getting "too old"? Bonnie had been constantly upgrading him… was that what had goon wrong –introducing too much new technology that had been originally incompatible with Kitt and then had been forcibly MADE compatible with him? He shook his head and absentmindedly fingered the comlink on his wrist. He had tried to talk with Kitt through it, but had only been rewarded with static. Still fingering his comlink, he fell asleep.
The Mac hummed in front of him. He must focus! "Sir?" He spun around, only to find James staring at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Yes, yes James! Perfect! Here, old friend, sit down and find something for me." The hugh bodyguard sat down in the uncomfortably small chair. He glanced suspiciously at his boss, who sometimes didn't even know his own name. The old man was animate and in control of himself and that was a refreshing change. "There's a word, James. I can't quite remember how to use this, but the word is 'kitt'. That call you got, it's important, I don't know how, but 'kitt' means something special." Delving into his boss' computer, James pulled out all the information about Kitt. For a moment, all was as it had been years ago, when he had come to work for Dr. Marcus, it was a refreshing change and he decided to enjoy it when it lasted.
"Good morning everybody and welcome to Atlanta Georgia. We'll be landing in a few minutes and I have already cleared us with the authorities." The captain of Knight Air-1 announced and within minutes the plane was taxing to a parking place. Bonnie glanced outside and was pleased to see that the semi she had asked for stood parked waiting outside. Flipping open her phone, she dialled another call.
James stared at the computer screen. He was fascinated. He knew his boss had been a brilliant mind in his own time, but to create a sentient computer?! He listened with fascination as his boss talked about the 'good old days' when they burned midnight oil to finalize the K.I. Two Thousand before Wilton died. "Redial that call you took earlier James, do it quick. I must talk to this Bonnie." Nodding the bodyguard only got the busy-tone. "She is on the phone, sir."
Kitt was again moved this time into the waiting semi. This was an ordinary truck and Bonnie was forced to strap Kitt down with strong cables. People weren't supposed to travel in these trucks but Bonnie refused to get into the limo with Michael and Devon. She would travel with Kitt, even if Kitt was un-aware of her. Just as she strapped herself into an incredibly uncomfortable makeshift bench in the cargo-hold of the semi, her phone rang. Her heart jumped as she saw the number; the number she had dialled earlier! "Hello." She answered. "This is Dr. Marcus' assistant speaking. Dr. Marcus wishes to speak with you. I must warn you however, the doctor's health is not what it used to be…" Before Bonnie had a chance to reply, she heard a scuffle at the other end of the line "Give me that! Of all the nerve…" An agitated older man's voice came over the line. "Hello, this is Dr. Marcus speaking. Do I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Barstow herself?" Bonnie was taken back. This man certainly sounded sure of himself and completely coherent. "Umm, yes this is Dr. Barstow, it is a pleasure to speak with you, sir…" "Don't sir me, I no longer have the time for pleasantries. Since you work for FLAG, I suspect you know about my –shall we say- situation. Now, what can I do for you, Dr Barstow? I suspect it has something to do with a pet project of mine from some time ago." Smiling with relief, Bonnie decided that the man's disease was in check. "Yes, it has to do with the Knight Industries Two Thousand. Actually, we are on our way to you at the moment, eta. in about an hour. Do you want to talk then?"
Talk about what? Who was this person he was talking with? The phone dropped from the older man's hand and was rescued by James. Kitt? He stared at the computer screen. All of the code made perfect sense to him. He understood what part of something made something else do something. Kitt was coming… Kitt needed help…He understood… He pressed his finger onto the Down-key and skimmed the code. Kitt was coming back…
The call was disconnected. Bonnie stared at the dead phone in front of her. She glanced at her watch and saw that they now were under an hour away. She decided not to call back. Now they knew that she was coming. She'd talk with Dr Marcus when they got there. Flipping her laptop open, she once again delved into the code.