A House Called Aurora, Gloria EKX [books for men to read .TXT] 📗

out of dimensions and kept to myself most of the time. No one on base at Titan Universal really cared; my service was more imprisonment than loyalty. The bits of human that were left in me were desperate. For once I just needed someone, anyone, to care. Aurora may be odd and dangerous, but at least she cared. Or seemed to care. I laid back on the bed sinking into the white comforter, when another voice I hadn’t heard in 2 weeks piped in.

X:Albert> You do know Aurora’s totally insane, don’t you?

It was Albert, my neural assistant. Speaking directly into my mind. I had started to think he was dead.

X:Gloria> Well, look who decided to show his face again?

I Tel'd back, in mild disbelief.

X:Gloria> It’s been how many weeks?

X:Albert> I’ve lost count.

Albert stated matter-of-factly. His voice reverberating through my brain.

X:Albert> I found something in the basement that might be of interest to you.

I had been pinging Albert incessantly to perform a full scan of the house to see what she might be hiding.

X:Gloria> It’s about time. I’ve been pinging you for hours. If you don’t get your act together, I’m going to have Sharq defrag you. This is ridiculous.

Sharq was my field technician, and he’d have no problem scrapping Albert and giving me a more obedient neural assistant.

X:Albert> There’s no need for such harsh talk, Gloria. Please look.

X:Gloria> That’s better. Show me.

My threat had worked. Good. I needed Albert to help get me out of this.

Just a foot in front of me, I could now see a 3-D rendering in transparent, shimmering detail, only available in my mind’s eye. It was a dim cement basement floor, and Ethan lying with dried blood dripping from his nose and lifeless eyes staring into the abyss.

“Oh shit,” I spoke aloud. Dread filled me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

“Ellen, is everything okay?” The doorway to my left began to glow. Aurora heard me.

I shifted off the bed and walked over to the desk where I’d set my backpack. Ensuring it was secure. The only thing worse than being trapped by a homicidal house, was being punished by Titan Universal for an unfinished mission.

“Yeah--everything’s fine. I--uh just thought I’d forgotten something,” I lied. Leaning onto the desk with both hands for a second.

X:Gloria> What do I do? She brought me here for a reason. I just don’t know what for.

X:Albert> Well I’d urge you not to stay and find out.

X:Gloria> There’s no way Aurora is going to let me leave.

6

For Twenty Seasons

I paused for a moment. What was I going to do? I'd seen enough holofilms to know how this game could go, and I wasn't interested in staying to see the outcome.

Think, I urged myself.

X:Gloria> What do we know about A.I Smarthouses?

I laid back on the bed thinking, Albert throwing out option after option. Until we landed on one that might actually work.

X:Albert> Maybe we can utilize Aurora’s sleep mode functions? Smart Houses were usually pre-programmed to give their occupants some semblance of privacy. Assuming Aurora’s programming still works this way, it could give you enough of a window to find an exit.

It wasn’t a perfect idea, but it might be just good enough to work.

"How was your shower?" Aurora asked, breaking into my conversation with Albert. Her sweet voice teased me with terror.

"It was fine. Thank you,” I tried to sound calm. “I think I’m going to go to bed now. It’s been a day.”

“Of course, dear. We’ll talk more tomorrow. Sweet dreams.”

I wish, I thought, as Aurora dimmed the lights, only small track lighting remained. Convenient.

It was a risky plan, but better to try now while her guard was low.

Still, I thought, if she wanted to hurt me, she could have, like she’d already done to Ethan. She wanted something from me. But what? The image of Ethan dead on the cement floor swept through my mind as I laid still.

Ethan wasn’t a bad guy. He was simple. A good partner here in this dimension. He was useful for what I wanted him for. Companionship. I didn’t mean for him to die.

Something inside of me wanted to ask Aurora how she’d lured Ethan here. How she had killed him. Grief washed through my mind in small waves until around midnight. I had managed to control my breathing in, what I hoped, was a convincing sleep rhythm; if I waited any longer, I actually would fall asleep.

Silently, I slipped out of bed, laced up my boots, and managed to put on my backpack without being detected. I used the stealth setting in my boots as I started to make my way back through the house, reversing the path I’d entered by.

I entered the kitchen and attempted cat-like to make my way toward the front door in the dark. I froze as the house hummed awake.

“Ellen,” Aurora sprang to life as the lights turned on, “what are you doing out of bed at this hour? Would you like something to drink?”

I stood up cursing myself inside.

“I thought I heard something,” I lied. “I wanted to check if Ethan was okay. I thought maybe he’d been caught by the Synths that were chasing me."

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about them dear, I’ve consumed them.”

“What do you mean “consumed them”?” I asked warily, not knowing what she meant.

“They were such evil men following you like that. And they ventured so close they almost touched me, so I took the liberty of stunning them. Synthetic humans make the best power source I've come to find,” Aurora said plainly.

I stood silent. Albert chimed in, speaking to me inside my mind.

X:Albert> She’s a maniac.

“Oh, my dear Gloria! How do you think I’ve kept my power all these years? My solar cells died ages ago. The animals that stray onto my grounds provide such little power. But those two monsters who hounded you will sustain me for at least twenty seasons. Oh, think of all the refurbishments we can make! This