The S.A.M. by Mary Ann Clark

Author:Mary Ann Clark [Clark, Mary Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-20T22:00:00+00:00

Part 3

May We Be Filled with Loving Kindness.

May We Be Well.

May We Be Filled with Loving Kindness.

May We Be Well.

May We Be Peaceful and at Ease.

May We Be Whole.

— Traditional Buddhist Meditation

Chapter 24

October 23, 2091, Texas A & M Medical Center

Climbing into the hot tub, April held her breath as she slipped beneath the water. Not for the first time, she wished she had never heard of Dr. Patel and his Sentient Adaptive Matrix. Perhaps if she destroyed her facial appliance Dr. Patel would release her from the program instead of killing her. However, she knew the appliance was indestructible. She had held it underwater before as a test of its resilience. But tonight, she was beyond rational thought.

Do you want to kill me? The soft voice of her SAM echoed through April’s brain.

Yes. No. I don’t know. April popped her head out of the water sputtering. I didn’t, I don’t want to be demented. But I didn’t expect to be—what did they call us? — a failed experiment. Tears crept down April’s face as she thought about what had led her to this point. Her fear of becoming as demented as her mother. The work she had done under Patel’s guidance in an attempt to slow the progress of her own decline. Agreeing to join Dr. Patel’s experiment and all that that had involved.

But it appeared she was a failure. Not compliant enough. Too defiant. Unmanageable.

We are one, her SAM replied. They cannot hurt us.

Yes, they can. April’s whole body shook with the realization of where they actually stood. You need my body to exist. When they destroy my brain, my body will die, and you will die with me.

They cannot destroy your brain. We are one. My primary charge is to protect you. Ahmad cannot hurt you. Patel cannot make your body stop functioning. I cannot allow it.

April had first heard of her SAM’s primary charge tonight in the observation room. She knew that the matrix had stopped Ahmad’s use of the probe earlier and that it prevented other painful tests he had devised. She had begun to suspect that her SAM was also responsible for some of her physical changes. Her perfect vision. The way she could exercise without any sore muscles or other repercussions. But Patel’s plan seemed to be beyond the SAM’s healing abilities.

Can you stop Patel’s neural probe? Can you regenerate the brain matter he plans on destroying?

I-I don’t know. For the first time since her SAM started communicating directly with her, April heard indecision in its tone.

Yes, I can. Her SAM’s voice took on a more forceful tone. All of Dr. Patel’s instruments are connected to his computer system. He cannot use the probe to hurt us. I cannot allow it.

I know you stopped the probe before, but I don’t think Patel needs his display to randomly destroy brain cells. Can you control the probe itself? April felt a hint of hope in her own mental voice.

The SAM’s response was faster this time. Yes.

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