Extinction Code by James D. Prescott

Author:James D. Prescott [Prescott, James D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-08T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 30

After Armoni inputted the new binary parameters into the BreakerAlt algorithm, she ran it again. Up came the progress bar as the computer began crunching through the data.

Ollie yawned. “Coffee, anyone?”

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” Mia said.

He looked at Armoni.

“Grab me a Soylent, would you?” Armoni asked.

Ollie shook his head. “Is that all you ever have? I’ve known you for a few hours and I’m already worried about your health.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Armoni joked, turning back to the safety of her computer screens.

“So what’s your deal?” Mia asked as soon as Ollie left the room.

The hacker shrugged her shoulders. Never one to be brushed off, Mia pressed her again.

“Look, Mia, you’re nice and all, but I’m not exactly looking to make new friends.”

“I can respect that. But what are you interested in? I mean, how does a runaway become a world-famous hacker?”

“I never said I was a runaway.”

“You didn’t need to.”

Armoni fiddled with the mouse, minimizing the GeneMark program and pretending to sort through open folders. “I did what I needed to survive.”

“How’s that?”

“Your old man ever sneak into your room at night and when you tell your mom she accuses you of lying?” Armoni asked, pain and anger flaring in her eyes. Her lips had become a thin line of tension.

Mia felt the emotion in Armoni’s voice surge through her. “No, I can’t say that they did. My parents hated one another, but there was no abuse, not of the physical variety at least. They did what was expected in those days—they stayed together. They didn’t want to set a bad example for me and my sister. Till death do us part. That’s what they believed.”

“So I take it you’re married then?”

Mia let out a humorless little laugh. “I was once.” She tried shooing away the pain. She had hoped that working for the WHO would put her on a track toward stability and a life that included Zoey once again. But ever since leaving the States, things had only gone from bad to worse. She came back to the little girl trapped inside of her. “I suppose after watching my parents verbally peck away at each other all those years, the lesson I took away had nothing to do with commitment or thick and thin. The real lesson I learned was that marriages aren’t supposed to be happy.”

Armoni’s expression didn’t change. “That sounds rather hopeless, don’t you think?” the hacker asked her in a soft voice.

“I’m not saying that’s what I consciously believe. If I took a psych test I’m sure you’d find I’m as optimistic as the next person. But then take a look at the men in my life and you’ll find something far different.”

“I guess on some level we’re all a little messed in the head.”

“The human mind is a tremendous learning machine, unmatched by any computer we’ve ever made or ever will make. What we try to teach people, however, and what they come away with are often two different things.”

Ollie returned juggling two steaming mugs of coffee and a bottle of Soylent.

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