ALICE AI vs AL: Book 8 of the ALICE series by Charles Lamb

Author:Charles Lamb [Lamb, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Someplace in the northern part of India

Master Sergeant Jason Hillstead was experiencing the same frustrations as his team sifted through the wreckage of half a dozen robotic platforms descending south from China. Typically, he was busy teaching others his chosen craft, but the call to arms was an all-hands-on-deck kind of thing.

“These things are nothing but junk now,” one of the men on the team observed as he poked at the wreckage with the tip of his rifle.

One was still on fire with the occasional live rounds cooking off from the heat, so they dared not get too close lest they be pelted by the shrapnel generated from the small explosions.

“Agreed,” was all Jason could say as they watched the fires burn.

“Top, we got movement,” a female Marine commented as she pointed to the east of their position.

“Time to go hunting again,” Jason commented as he indicated a nearby rise and motioned for his team to head in that direction.

----*----

London Facility

“Damn fool risk to take,” Nigel commented as he entered the hospital room.

“Dear, let the girl be,” Helen countered as she led her husband into the space, a colorful bouquet in her arms.

Alice lay in her hospital room, sitting upright with the bed situated to support her in that position.

“Those are lovely,” Alice commented as Helen set the flowers in a vase she had requested to be delivered before their arrival.

“And Jake is?” Nigel asked with a raised eyebrow as he glanced about the room.

“Off running the war in some side room. He refuses to leave the infirmary but has to step out every few minutes to answer questions. He fails to recognize I do know what’s going on beyond these walls,” Alice replied with a laugh.

Nigel was amazed at how well the avatar had mastered the behavior of a human female, far beyond the aloof Morgana and her caricature of an Arthurian sorcerous. It was apparent to him that Alice placed a great deal of importance on appearing as human as possible to all she encountered. He had received a full report of the incident that placed her here but heard Helen querying Alice for information as they chatted.

“How are you fairing, dear? Was it painful,” Helen asked gently.

Nigel knew once they got the bleeding under control, the doctors, aided by the avatar technicians, had determined that no physical damage occurred to the nonliving components inside her body. Her only trauma was to the living tissue that covered her skeleton and internal components. The wound in her side was the most severe, but there were also more minor injuries on both legs from the explosion. Shallow bleeders that looked worse than they were, the wounds were prolific enough that Alice now had little patches covering both legs. Each bandage was placed to protect the wounds from infection after treatment and cover the stitches.

“I am doing quite well. It was extraordinary, actually, for they required me to vacate the avatar during surgery to best deal with the situation unencumbered. There I was, watching my body as the surgical team stopped the bleeding and repaired the damage.

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