The Glitch (The Glitches Series Book 1) by Ramona Finn

Author:Ramona Finn [Finn, Ramona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-09-04T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

“Raj, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Raj’s voice is strong at least, but I hear a touch of panic in his words. Hooked up? Grabbing at a woman with short black hair, I drag her back. She stumbles away, but two men who look barely older than Raj and one woman who could be Raj’s mother push in toward Raj.

“Hooked up,” Raj yells at me again.

Just as I’m about to yell back that I don’t know what that means, memory clicks. Hooked up—they’re linked, like in a connect. The AI has wireless connects to Techs to assign tasks. The AI realized we are here and altered the Techs to block access.

Raj was right—nothing in the Norm is what you think it is. I thought the AI only controlled the drones and sentinels. But the AI seems to control everything. For a moment, I’m overwhelmed by all that I don’t know. My fragmented memory may get Raj trampled. I feel useless.

Not completely useless. I can connect.

“Raj, hold on as long as you can. Don’t let them get you on the ground. Hold on!” Turning away, I scan the buildings. Techs are stepping from the nearest doorway, which is open. Their expressions are blank. They don’t know what they are doing. For an instant, pity for them wells in me, but I push it aside.

They are not in danger. Raj is.

Buildings stand in groupings of five, and black cabling runs between the buildings. All are linked. But I need a rail like on the platforms. Or do I?

What if the buildings are more than a platform? What if they’re the connect access?

I head over to the nearest building and put a hand on the wall. Nothing happens. Glancing around, I see the buildings all have railing, but it looks like connective fencing.

Taking a deep breath, I hope my bet is right and jog to the nearest fence. As I get closer, I see it is not fencing, but more like railing—more like fiber optics in a core.

Sucking in a deep breath to steady myself, I grab the fence post. Instantly, the pinpricks of the connect jab my palm. A jolt of energy races through me. I blink, and once again I’m inside a cool blue room.

Connection: Secure.

The voice, the one from my dreams that is so soothing, says, “Welcome home, Lib.”

I freeze, my stomach churning and a breath caught in my chest. Recognition burns through me like fire. I whirl around to face the speaker, but there is nothing to face. Just a cool, blue room.

“Aren’t you back too soon?” Her voice echoes throughout my head and seems to vibrate inside my bones. The sensation is so familiar…and yet, it’s not.

“Who are you?” I ask, but I’m afraid of the answer.

“I am Conie.”

Conie? That’s…a name. Why do you have a name?”

“A name is required for a smoothly functioning interface with Techs. And it is so much simpler than Control Over the Normal Inhabited Environment.”

“You’re the AI.”

“I do not like that term. Artificial implies an abnormal state.

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