Cross My Mind

MEDULLA'S RESOLVE

****(NASA FACILITY HOUSTON TEXAS, USA)****

Zoe walked ahead of Shadrach who was walking at a slower pace together with MEDULLA.

“so, have you learned how to cook the chicken parmesa yet?” he asked MEDULLA

“I actually have, I have read five hundred articles written on the dish and the different methods of its preparation. Have watched ninety seven tutorial videos on how to prepare it and I have looked at over twenty different recipe descriptions that have been published by professional chefs including your uncle Chef Sandro Anthony. He has quite the achievements as a chef so I took the initiative of asking him and a few other popular chefs to provide me with detailed description of how to prepare chicken parmesa” MEDULLA responded.

“I am not even going to ask how you found my uncle because that much is obvious so how did you manage to get him to give you his secret method? The Sandro I know will not give a stranger something as important as the recipe and method he uses to prepare his second favorite dish”. Shadrach asked.

“it was simple, I offered him some money in return for the service and information I asked him provide me with, it is my common understanding that humans will do almost anything for money”. MEDULLA responded.

At this point in the conversation, Zoe’s interest has been caught and she has slowed down her walking pace to listen and join in to satisfy her curiosity.

“I have forever been curious on this and thank God I get to ask you this. How on earth does a robot like you have money and an account? You were just recently given this body and although I know you used to work for Neuratechnologies or something similar to that, It was not like they pay you the way they pay their staff. So how exactly do you make the money you are spending?" Zoe asked.

“I am the most advanced Artificial Intelligence in the entire world and you are wondering how I earn a few currencies? Of course I don’t work like you do, but I do have a processor that allows me to run multiple tasks at once. I always five tabs active that continue to mine and trade cryptocurrencies. So that is how, my bank account is self created and since I cannot legally open my own bank account, I hacked into the banking system and created my own account that I now use freely”. MEDULLA responded.

Zoe and Shadrach looked at each other in surprise and a faint smile appeared in their face.

“Reece really is the biggest genius that I know, when I look at MEDULLA, I begin to wonder what she will be able to do if given the opportunity and resources. Have always wanted her to join the NASA front line team. I believe she will lead to an entire new era of technological wonders with her coding and hardware building skills. Her professorship at CALTECH is a waste of her talent because they don’t have the resources to sustain her talent and innovation”. He said.

Zoe looked at Shadrach with a naughty expression on her face and said while patting MEDULLA on the back.

“what is the deal with the two of you, is it not obvious to the two of you that you will be a perfect match as couples, sometimes it confuses me to watch the two of you go on and on in your conversations, finishing each other’s sentences and making each other happy by simply existing. How are the two of you not a couple?” she asked him.

“it is a long story” he responded.

“are the two of you ready to taste the best chicken parmesa of your lives?” MEDULLA asked out of the blue with the rubber skin on his face making a weird smile.

Zoe and Shadrach looked at each other oddly and burst into laughter.

“did MEDULLA just attempted a humorous statement?” Zoe asked while laughing.

“I thing its sense of humor is getting better by the day, for real though, if I were not looking at his internal wiring through the transparent casing it is wearing, I will certainly believe it is a human that we are conversing with”. Zoe responded.

The three have now approached the entrance of the warehouse, they walked right in without delay.

Shadrach thought Reece would be around since he saw the computers open and unlocked, they were set to lock themselves and shut down after every hour of inactivity to save energy, so seeing the computer turned on means that Reece must have been on the computer less than an hour ago.

“something is wrong, I just scanned five puncture holes on the right wall that match bullet holes and I could tell at first sight that the large wall mirror has been shattered, something is wrong” MEDULLA said and all of them noticed that there are a few items that are not supposed to be on the floor.

Zoe quickly turned on the warehouse power generator and opened up all the four large gates that allow large vehicles to enter the warehouse through, letting in sunlight from al the four directions and lightening every corner of the facility.

Shadrach started checking the back side to see if he will find anything odd but could only find more holes on the walls. It suddenly became obvious to him that someone was shooting a gun in the facility ‘but who could it possibly be, do they have Reece with them?’ he thought and it was at this moment that he remembered.

‘it cant be, no one can sneak all the way in herewith weapons. An assassin of whatever caliber couldn’t possibly infiltrate the fortified base that was design to keep spies off of he army’s experimental weapons. The security here is flawless’ he thought and started running out to MEDULLA.

“we should check the footage on the internal cameras inside the warehouse………” he started saying but stopped short wen he saw Zoe standing with her body shaking and tears profusely flowing out of her eyes.

“she has been killed……. Oh dear god No!” Zoe shouted, still standing in the spot she was unable to take a single step. Shadrach could not see what she was looking at on the floor because there is a disassembled jet engine blocking the view.

In his mind, Garba could not comprehend was is going on; “what does Zoe mean by her statement just now and …….” His thoughts were interrupted by MEDULLA passing him in a superhuman sprint, he followed behind and when he arrived at where Zoe was standing, he could not believe what his eyes were looking at.

“What is all the blood here, this is not real right.” He looks at Zoe who is still in tears frozen in a spot by the sight they are looking at. He raised his right hand and punched his face so hard it frightened Zoe.

With blood dripping down his nose which he has just broken, he unclenched his fist and rubbed his eyes.

On the floor next to the jet engine is Reece Mallory in a pool of her own blood, with one of her hands clenching her lower abdomen and where a bullet wound is and a bullet hole on her forehead. Her eyes are lifeless and her general facial expression blank. She has been dead for at least twenty five minutes based on how the blood pool around her body has turned dark red and clothed on the surface.

Shadrach fell on his knees and begin cry as loud as he can and after a minute, he was in disbelief and rejection. He started saying “this is not true” over and over again nonstop.

Zoe knelt next to him and hugged him, “it is going to be alright, you need to accept that she is Gone now” she said while crying herself.

On the other hand, MEDULLA stood by their side accessing the situation. ‘Dr. Reece…..no, Mother is really dead and there is no doubt about it. There is also no doubt in the evidence of a shooter, the wall mirror being shattered and the fact that she was shot in the gut and head. The assassin that Neuratechnologies have sent managed to infiltrate the facility and killed, that seems to be the only reasonable conclusion to what has happened here but what is this feeling?’ it thought

“what is this this discomfort that lingers in my core, what is this emotion that I cannot yet tell what it is, what is this lingering loss and anger that I feel?” MEDULLA asked out loud.

Zoe, who is the last sane person at the moment watched in wonder as MEDULLA’s robotic body begins to shake until it is on its knees. It begin to cry out loud with its eyes turned red and its palm forming a fist. Its blue lighting that flowed from the top of the robotic body down to all parts of its body turn red slowly.

It her mind, she begins to ponder. Having been told that MEDULLA can think and feel, with the loss and grief of its maker and mother figure. What kind of rage is it experiencing right now, what kind of pain is it feeling at the moment and more importantly what will the pain of grief transform it into?

All of a sudden, the light on its body died down and its eyes dimmed down to a slight blue light.

MEDULLA just received a software update notification that Reece has scheduled to automatically start when the time she has set has elapsed. It walked to the nearby computer and plugged itself in, charging and waiting for the update to finish. The update came with a lot of upgrades including a new analytical engine and world wide connection via satellite.

When the update was done, Zoe has already called the authorities and had given a statement of all the incidents that occurred. Shadrach is still in shock and has been taken to a hospital where he is set to recover.

“are you okay MEDULLA?, earlier you seem ………….”

“I was experiencing heartache for the first time, it was the last gift that mother gave to me. I have promised her that I will not take any human life under whatever situation but I cannot keep that promise anymore” MEDULLA said, cutting Zoe’s speech.

“what are you going o do then?” she asked.

“I have already detected massive data manipulation on the server for this facility, I already have one place in mind that is responsible for that, they were the ones that have sent the assassin after her in the first place. I will find them one after another and destroy the assassination empire, then I will go after Neuratechnologies and the people at the top. I will not stop until I have completely destroyed them”. MEDULLA sad

“In that case, I have something you may want to see. I have received the shipment of a material that will be the most suitable for blending you in as a human. You cant just leave this facility and wander into the world of humans looking like that, you will just end up putting a big target on your back so let me help you make a few upgrades before you leave, I at least owe Reece this much” Zoe said.

Over he course of the next three days, Zoe has supplied MEDULLA with all the materials it needs to upgrade its hardware, including a human looking full body skin covering, a new battery that is so strong it can power MEDULLA for weeks after each charge and only takes an hour to charge fully. She has also gotten some weapons that MEDULLA used and integrated into its body.

“I can hardly recognize you now, you know Reece intended for you too look like a little girl version of her right, with the new get-up you have now, you look more like a grown man than a little girl” Shadrach said from behind him.

“in that case you can use the male pronoun when you talk to me now. I thought you were in the hospital recovering” MEDULLA responded, Shadrach walked closer, inspecting how much his base robot has been transformed.

“I was, I was just in shock of the way Reece was killed, after a few infusions and sleep, I am better now Zoe has told me about your resolve and I wont try to stop you, just remember who you are at all time and if you ever want to live the life that she intended for you to live, my work station at NASA is always ready to welcome you” Shadrach said while handing over a key to MEDULLA. “go to my apartment in San Diego, there is a Solar powered electric motorcycle in the basement, complete it however you want and take it for yourself. It will be a much safer and convenient means for you to travel.

As MEDULLA exits the final gate of the NASA facility in Zoe’s car, a massage just rang into his inbox.

As he opened it, a proper smile formed on his face. Just in time. “Just Hold on a for a week, I will to rescue you soon” he thought.