531

Chan Yi sat on the outside patio of a noodle house, three stories above Atieno Obuo’s clinic. He sipped his tea as he looked down through the floor to see the heat signature that was Wu DaQi. As much as he wanted to keep him close today, DaQi had argued that they could keep a better eye on the clinic if they were separated. Yi kept one eye on Wu DaQi’s heat signature though, just in case.

Chan Yi was on edge. As much as he believed Obuo wanted to help, the setup from Sandus made everything suspect. Wu DaQi was determined to go through with this though, no matter what danger lurked. Chan Yi wanted him to get his memories back - he wanted Two back - but he wasn’t willing to risk his life for it either. It wasn’t his call to make though.

They were both watching separate video feeds that showed the entrance of the clinic. They could see into the front lobby area but the view was partially obstructed. The plan was to wait until the clinic closed, then pay Dr. Obuo a visit. Yi had no idea how long the procedure would take, or how Wu DaQi would handle it. This was the unknown part of the plan and he was never happy with unknowns. He might be able to wing things when necessary, but he liked to be as prepared as possible when it all went to hell.

Which was why he scrambled out of his seat when he saw Two leave his vantage point and begin moving towards the clinic. Yi ran towards the emergency exit and slid down the ladder, his gloves taking the worst of the abuse as he struggled to catch up with the other AI.

“What are you doing?” he asked as he reached Wu DaQi.

“For the last hour, Obuo has been erratic. She keeps coming out to check on the lobby, and just a minute ago she closed the shop.”

“She should be open for another two hours.”

“Exactly. I think she’s running.”

They reached the door and it was already locked. Wu DaQi banged on it to get Obuo to come out, but Chan Yi had no intention of waiting. He used brute force to break the lock and pulled the door open. DaQi shook his head, but Yi ignored it as he entered the lobby. He walked back past the rooms to the office he’d last been treated in. Obuo was pulling a backpack over her shoulder.

“Going somewhere?” Yi asked.

She turned around and dropped the bag. “531? You scared me.”

He saw the moment she looked behind him and noticed DaQi behind him.

“532?”

“I believe I missed my appointment, Doctor. You can see me now, can’t you?”

“When you didn’t show up last night, I thought something happened to you.”

“I happened to him last night,” Yi said. “Where are you going?”

“I made plans to leave. I’ve got a place, in case they ever came for me. I thought they’d found out when 532 didn’t come last night.”

“Good thing we came when we did then,” DaQi said as he stepped forward. “Let’s do this.”

She looked between them. “Are you sure?” she asked. “Once I start there is no going back. If they come while we’re doing this, we’ll be vulnerable.”

“DaQi-”

“We’re doing this.” DaQi didn’t let him finish his thought. “If they did get me, they’ll just erase my memory again. And this time, you know I’m still here. You’ll come get me.”

Chan Yi wanted to argue, but DaQi touched his upper arm and there was little else he could do but give in. “Alright.”

“Follow me then,” Onuo said as she led them out of her office and to the first door on the left. A table was set up in the center of the room. DaQi hopped onto the table and Chan Yi stood beside him, looking down at him when he laid back on the metal.

Obuo moved to a stool behind the table and pulled a tray of implements to her. Her eyes flared blue for a moment as her augmentation whirled to life. “This may feel uncomfortable at first. I need to open a port to your … augmentation.”

“I know what I am now,” DaQi told Obuo. “You don’t have to lie.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Just help me remember and we’ll consider it even.”

Obuo didn’t answer but turned back to the tray and picked up a scalpel. Yi watched DaQi close his eyes and Obuo began to open the necessary ports.

Chan Yi turned his eyes away and began to scan the local feeds to make sure nothing was going to interrupt them. The street out front was busy but no more so than it usually was.

When he looked back at the table, the port had been opened and Obuo was poking around in DaQi’s brain.

“Are you okay, Two?” Yi asked.

“It’s weird but no worse than any other augmentation checkup,” he admitted.

“It’s about to get weirder,” Obuo said. “You were trained to keep your memories safe if you were compromised. Every time they tried to erase you those memories were dumped somewhere else.”

“And you know how to find it?” Two asked.

“No, but you do. That’s why I couldn’t do this at my home the other night. It wasn’t about me finding the memories. You needed time to process what was happening and choose to trust me.”

“If it’s that simple, why didn’t the others figure that out?” Two asked.

“I designed you. I made this brain of yours. No one understood it like I did, but I still wouldn’t have thought it would do this though. It was only after you showed up and told me what was happening that I realized what you would do.”

“So, you’re saying Chan Yi could have opened me up and I’d have remembered?”

“Do you trust him that much?” Obuo asked.

“Yes.”

“Then yes.”

There was no hesitation in Wu DaQi’s voice as he spoke and it made Chan Yi smile. “Good to know for the future. Though I have no intention of opening anyone’s brains.”

“Probably best,” Obuo said with a small smile. “Alright. If I’m correct, this next step should open your memories. I don’t know what this will do to your system. You were meant to remember, but I didn’t design you to be wiped this many times without retrieval.”

“It won’t hurt him, will it?” Chan Yi asked.

“Obuo, do it. This is my call to make. I won’t live like their puppet. I want to remember.”

“Don-” Chan Yi tried to stop her until they’d talked about it, but he saw the moment she hit the reset. DaQi’s body went rigid and his breathing stopped. All his body’s physical automation systems stopped. For a moment, he was nothing but a machine, waiting to be turned on. Terror crept over Chan Yi as he waited for something to show.

As watchful as he was, his reaction was almost too slow. Wu DaQi had fallen unconscious on the table, but 532 woke. He flung himself from the table and grabbed the tray of medical implements as he did. Chan Yi struck his arm out in front of Obuo in time to stop the blade from killing her. She fell on her ass and backed away into the farthest corner as Chan Yi turned to face 532.

“What do you want?” the AI asked. The trace of personality that 532 had developed was gone.

“Do you know who I am?” Chan Yi asked.

The other AI looked at him, assessing. “Weapon 531.”

“Stand down, 532.”

“I have no memory of arriving here.”

“You have been reset after multiple memory wipes. Retrieve your memories.” He pulled the knife from his arm as he watched 532. Two’s eyes moved quickly as though scanning something only he could see.

“The memories have been safeguarded. It will take approximately 1.38 hours for full retrieval.”

He looked down at Obuo and let out a deep breath. “Looks like this is goodbye, Doctor. I suggest you find that safe place and get to it.”

She nodded as she slowly stood. She looked at him, squared her shoulders, and stepped closer. She pressed something into his hand and when he looked down it was an earpiece.

“I’ll have a special frequency for that. If you need me, the call will securely find me wherever I am.”

“Thank you.”

She looked back at 532 as she stopped in the doorway. “You’ll be okay. And 532, when you’re feeling better, take care of 531. That arm really needs to be replaced soon.”

Chan Yi rolled his eyes but 532 came over and looked at the place where the blade had cut through his shirt. He ripped it slightly and looked at the reddened skin on Chan Yi’s arm. “It is compromised,” 532 said.

“It is, but I don’t have the time to replace it now. We need to get to safety.”

“We can confiscate the labs of Mann Enterprises.”

“No, we can’t. Until your memories return you need to follow my command. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” 532 answered.

“Alright. Seal your port and let’s get to a safe place.”

“Do you know one, sir?”

He thought about taking him to his safehouse but decided against it. There was one place he never went. One place that even if they had been following him they wouldn’t know about. It wasn’t his safe house. It was Two’s.

He would take him there and hope the security he built in would be a comfort for Two as he remembered.