Cross My Mind

INFILTRATION

……

Agent stone was briefed later on how the new approach to his mission will go. There is a supervisor called Simon James who is a senior engineer at NASA and has just been made a supervisor, Simon is supposed to supervise the warehouse at the facility Reece is hiding with Shadrach.

However, Simon James has been kidnapped, tortured into giving all the information about his supervision and killed off two days ago. What Agent stone is looking at inside a briefcase he found in the basement are all of the documents that Simon was supposed to use for his clearance into the facility which is heavily guarded. Aside the documents, he was also given a well kept wig, a fake nose, and a beard that he would need to wear, not only to look the part when he pose as Simon, but to also hide his face under s that Reece wont recognize him right away.

After rehearsing all of the passcodes and protocols that he would need to follow through to get in the facility, Agent stone also checked all the weapons he was left in the basement just to be sure everything is in order. He has always insisted on using his own weapons when he goes on his missions but this time around, the mission is not the usual type. He had a few exchanges with the mysterious person that is accessing his phone and giving him directives.

“you will need to go through the most sensitive metal detectors and scanners in Texas so your regular weapons cannot get through without being found. I have taken the liberty of getting you just the right type of weapon for the job. In the second compartment of the bag, there are some specially made guns that no metal detector in the world can find and they re invisible to any scanner. The weapons are made of experimental glass and plastic materials so be sure not to lose them after the mission. Early morning tomorrow, you will be sent a ride which will take you to the facility. Don’t be late”. The massage on Agent Stone’s phone said.

He finished his rehearsals and preparation and went to bed. The next morning he woke up and made a sandwich and ate it. He took his bath and walked into the basement where he dressed up in preparation for the mission. He wore the fake nose, wig and beards perfectly well and when he looked in the mirror, he was sure that not just Reece, no one who knows his face will recognize him at all.

“The disguise will work perfectly fine” he told himself.

As he finishes the final adjustments in his disguise and packed all the identification cards and documents that he needs, he heard the arrival of a vehicle and almost immediately, his phone pinged with a massage telling him that his ride to the NASA facility is outside. He picked the briefcase containing his documents and walked outside the house. He had expected the same red sports looking electric car with the flying butterfly doors, but to his surprise it was a different vehicle.

This time it is a black version of the same type of electric car, however the inside of the car is not the same with the one that brought him to the house. This one has a large dashboard display screen and no steering wheel at all and the seats are covered in polished brown leather, unlike the one yesterday which has red silk seats.

He stepped into the car and sit down, the doors slide shut and the car started to drive him away from the house. The dashboard screen came on and just to his side where the glove compartment is usually located, a cover popped open and revealed a micro transmission ear bud pieces and a tiny spy camera the size and shape of a shirt button. On the dashboard screen, a glitchy computer generated face appeared on the screen and below it a massage said.

“put the micro buds in your ear and place the camera on the topmost button on your shirt”

Agent stone did as he was told and all of a sudden, the face on the screen stated to blink and move its eyes in all directions on the screen,

“we can finally talk Stone, I want you to listen to me very carefully. Rule number one, do not ask me any questions and I will only tell you what I am about to tell you once. Do you understand?” a very deep male voice said in his ears.

“affirmative” he responded.

“Good, keep the transmission buds and button camera on at all times, I will be giving you active hints an cues on what you are supposed to do at all times. Right now you are being taken to the facility and will asked many questions that can be confusing. I do not trust the human mind very well so I will keep this connection open until the mission is complete.” The voice said.

“what does he means by he doesn’t trust the human mind, just who on earth are these people and why do I have a very bad feeling about this?” Agent stone thought.

An hour later, the car arrived at a gate surrounded by a tall fence which is about four times the height of any normal fence, on its top the fence is surrounded by labels of warning the danger of electric shock and being shot if caught tress-passing. The car approaches the gate slowly and flashed its headlight five times and turned on its parking light. After some seconds the humongous gate swing open, revealing an even bigger ad sturdier looking second gate about a hundred feet into the first gate.

The car drove inwards slowly and parked at a checkpoint where a man in military uniform stood with his gun to the side watching what is happening and having been to the Military himself, Agent Stone needed not to be told that the soldier watching him would take aim and shoot at him without hesitation should he has the need to.

“Remove the Identity card around your neck and place it on the machine to your side” The deep voice from his ear buds said.

He immediately removed the Identity card and placed it right on the machine and after a few seconds of scanning, it blinked green light and printed an instant Visitors pass for him. As he picked the Visitors card from the machine through the window of his car, he can see how the soldier by his side lowers his gun and let it hang on its strap around his shoulder.

“Good job, now bring out the green paper from the briefcase as we approach the second gate, say exactly what I tell you” the voice said to him.

He opened the briefcase and picked out the green paper which is some sort of NASA protocol he reckon. The car drove him slowly to the next checkpoint in front of the second gate and stopped. A man in white uniform was seated in the checkpoint cubicle.

“state your name, rank and purpose of visitation please”. The man asked in a very professional voice.

Following what the deep voice in his ear is telling him, Agent Stone went on.

“Senior astronomical engineer Simon James, here to supervise and perform the yearly periodic inspection of hanger six seven two and warehouses one through to sixteen. Request code Six, six, seven, five.” Agent stone responded.

The man in the cubicle collected the greet paper and pressed a few buttons before finally picking a telephone and saying. “Personnel cleared, open the gates”. Right after he puts down the phone, the gates in front of Agent Stone slowly swing open.

The car drive through the gate and continued on a road for twenty minutes until it arrived at a large parking lot next to a complex of warehouses and building in its wake. The car automatically parked itself and opened the door for Agent stone to get out and proceeded to the complex’s entrance where he was scanned thoroughly for weapons before he was allowed in”.

A few buildings away, Dr. Reece Mallory and Shadrach have just finished impressing Zoe by feeding her the most delicious food she has eaten all week long and the mind blowing part is that MEDULLA cooked it after watching a tutorial video of how to make it a few minutes earlier.

“how is it able to do so?” Zoe asked after eating the food.

“The robotic body design is the closest it can get to with regards to the human body. For you and I, we need weeks, months if not years of practice to adjust out bodies to the precision of mastering a particular skill, but this doesn’t apply to MEDULLA because with enough Data and its own predictive accuracy, it can master a skill within minutes although it would have taken a human being a long time to master it.

Throughout the last two and half week, MEDULLA has learned a bunch of skills it has found on the internet ranging from gymnastic tricks, cooking, crafting and even parts repair of different machines. However the most exciting skill that it has learnt is cooking.

“I really cant believe that MEDULLA would beat me to a cooking contest of the one food I know I am good at, I was taught how to prepare this specific dish by my uncle, a great Italian chef by the way”. Shadrach said.

“I seriously don’t believe it can beat a human with many years of experience n cooking, no matter how good a Robot it s or how good the AI is”. Agreed Zoe.

“No. you guys don’t get it yet, you are still thinking that MEDULLA is some high end artificial intelligence but it is more than that. If you think what makes you human is the intricacy of your mind, your thoughts, self consciousness and your behavior then it will be correct to call MEDULLA a human as well. You are forgetting that MEDULLA is now a sentient being that posses the most advanced humanoid body on the face of the planet. You only need as long as it takes you to master a skill because it takes your body and brain some time to get used to it but MEDULLA doesn’t need that long”. Reece fired back at them.

“you flatter me too much mother, but that would be correct. I have a much higher processing power than humans and my body was made to perform better than that of a human. I feel no fatigue and have no physical limiters so in a way, I am the better version of humans” MEDULLA responded to Reece and the two others.

“I still don’t believe MEDULLA would beat me in cooking what I am best at” Shadrach fired back in disagreement.

“and what exactly are you best at cooking?” Reece quickly asked.

“chicken parmesa, it is a home Italian dish that is complicated to make and I am very good at preparing it”. He responded.

“if you are that sure of your skills in preparing the meal, how about you and MEDULLA both prepare it then. If MEDULLA does less than you do, then I will agree with you”. Reece challenged Shadrach.

“I accept your challenge. The only problem is that with that is we do not have the ingredients to make it in stock and the closest grocery store is four miles away from this base” Shadrach pointed out

“then we go buy them” Reece said.

“I’ll drive you in my Jeep. We can go get it” Zoe offered.

The three of them together with MEDULLA stood and were about to head towards the exit of the warehouse when MEDULLA suddenly stopped.

“you cant come with us” it said, looing at Reece.

“what do you mean I cant come with you” she asked.

MEDULLA opened its hands and projected an image of Reece in a newspaper.

“you are still a wanted person of interest by the California Police department and although no criminal charges have been pinned against you, your arrest has been advised to properly investigate two murders and cases of arson. Neuratechnologies still wants you dead so even if the police do not arrest you, the assassins may still be after you. Stay here until we come back”.

“I agree with MEDULLA” Shadrach added.

The three went on ahead and Reece headed back to the workstation inside the warehouse to check a few more software updates she can do on MEDULLA.

Outside the complex, Agent stone passes two people walking a humanoid robot heading to the parking lot while he is going in the direction they came from, he did not look at them properly because he wants to avoid being recognized when he is making his way out after his job is done, he simply took one glance at them and once he was sure none of them was his target he lowered his head and moved on.

As Shadrach and Zoe reached the parking lot, they passed a dark car sports car which they both admired.

“Nice car, this is the most current Tesla limited edition R23 of the R-Series” MEDULLA said and both Shadrach and Zoe’s minds were blown by the fact that it took one look and can already tell which model it is.

A few minutes after he passed the checkpoint where he was scanned and checked for weapons, Agent Stone has been told by the man with the deep voice to check the warehouse that Shadrach keeps his research materials which is the one by the leftmost part of the warehouse complex with the name W23GK written in bold at the front of the entrance.

He walked a few minutes into the warehouse complex and just when he could see the the warehouse he is looking for, a man in a Blue overall approached him and demanded his attention.

"Excuse me sir, but are you by any chance Inspector Simon James, i have just been notified that he just checked into the facility and i am supposed to be his guide while he is here" the man said to Agent Stone.

"I will advise you hear him out first, then decide how to go about once you get all the pieces you want from him" the man with the deep voice said in his ear.

Agent Stone turned and looked at the man.

"yes i am Simon James, what is your name?" he asked.

"i am Donald, we talked through mail a week ago. please follow me so i can make up for the lack of warm welcome, i have prepared your accommodation while you are here with us".

"actually, i intend to finish up and leave today, can we just get to the warehouses, how about that one?" Agent Stone insisted.

the man led him to the warehouse and as they were about to enter, Agent Stone murmured something and Donald asked him what was the matter, he said he forgot his phone on his car.

"quickly run to the parking lot and go straight for a black Tesla R-23, you will see an iPhone on the roof of the car, bring it to me" he said and the young man ran straight towards the parking lot direction after shouting a frank "yes Sir".

as Donald ran in the opposite Direction, Agent Stone started walking to the warehouse with his mind set on finishing his original mission.

find Reece Mallory and terminate her!