CHAPTER 17


 

BETTA SAT motionless as she watched the young woman pacing back and forth. Her short cropped hair had been bleached white, although the roots remained dark. Her faded blue jeans were ripped at the knees giving her a punk look. It was obvious the Sheik's daughter was rebelling against her culture. It was a logical human reaction... one accepted as normal from all she had read and observed.

"Why do you waste your energy?" Betta's voice was low and monotone.

"I'm bored!" the woman exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"Until it is safe for you to go home."

"You keep telling me that. Who are you? Some kind of warrior named Helga?" It was a phrase Reina loved to use whenever she challenged someone. When the woman and three men had stopped her on the way to the airport, she wasn't sure what to think. Only after they had addressed her as Princess Reina, did she relax. Everyone in the States knew her as Joanie, an identity she had assumed in order to attend the university. Other than her father and a few trusted officials, no one knew her assumed identity or where she was. Joanie liked it that way.

"You know I am called Betta," the woman said, her voice reflecting no emotion.

Rolling her eyes, Joanie sighed.

"You're impossible. Listen, I want to go home. My father can protect me. He's rich and powerful. I don't need a bodyguard."

"If he could protect you, why are you here now?"

"I'm here because you made me come and won't let me contact Daddy. Don't get me wrong. You've been real nice and everything but I'm bored."

"Boredom is a state of mind. It will not harm you. You are safer here. Your father was not capable of protecting you. My employers were aware of that and removed you from danger because your father's security is inadequate."

"So why don't your employers, whoever they are, just take me back home and offer their services to him?"

"I have no answer to that question. It is not my place to question them. My assignment is to protect you until they determine it is safe to return you to your father."

"Well, I think this is bullshit! I'm tired of being cooped up! It's time to break out of here and do something exciting."

"We can go outside if you want," Betta offered.

"I don't want to just go outside. I want to do something adventurous. You know, like ride the great white rhino across the tundra. Now that would be fun."

"There are no great white rhinos in tundras," Betta pointed out logically. "It would be too cold for them. Besides, they would sink..."

"Geez, Betta. It's just a metaphor! Lighten up!" Exasperated, Joanie spun around in circles a few times until she was dizzy. "Don't you ever want to step outside of that somber shell of yours and have fun?"

"No!"

"Figures! Have you always been a stick in the mud?"

"I believe a stick in..."

"Never mind! I'd almost swear you weren't human. Nothing you say makes sense half the time... and why do you always talk like that? I swear you are the weirdest person I've ever met."

"Is there a problem with the way I speak?" Betta asked. Her processors quickly scanned her data banks for language anomalies in her speech patterns and found none.

"You've got to be kidding. You sound freaky! No one talks like you do."

"I believe my grammar is correct."

"I didn't say it wasn't. Oh never mind. Obviously, you're a foreigner. You sure as hell aren't from these parts."

Betta's programming required that she appear as human as possible. If her language made her appear differently, she had missed something in her linguistic research. She would have to adjust her speech patterns.

"You are correct. I am not from this country. I will work at sounding more native."

Joanie rolled her eyes and sighed. Betta was definitely different. Rubbing the back of her head with her hand, she screwed her face up in frustration.

"Oh, don't pay any attention to me. You just speak English a little too perfectly, that's all."

"I do not understand. Is that not what I am supposed to do?"

"Yes, of course. Look, never mind. You're sidetracking me. Why don't you just tell me the truth about why I'm here? I find it hard to believe Daddy would agree to this."

"I do not lie, Joanie. This is what I have been told and I must follow my orders."

"Yeah, right!" Joanie said kicking at the small trash can near the bed.

Betta knew Joanie's reasoning was sound but had no reason to question the Company. Her programming didn't permit her to challenge their directives. Still... A sudden disorientation caused her to go rigid and grunt. Betta knew it was associated with the small doubt she was having and quickly isolated the nano-processor containing it from the rest of her processors. It was the only way to reset her systems to optimum operation.

"Are you alright?" Joanie asked, walking over to the dark haired woman sitting in the chair by the door. As much as she hated being held captive, she held no animosity toward Betta. In fact, she sort of liked her. The woman treated her well, although she rarely talked. Joanie could leave the hotel whenever she wanted as long as Betta was with her. It was like having a bodyguard, except Joanie wasn't in control. As long as she didn't discuss who she was with other people, she could talk to anyone about anything else, go shopping and take in a movie or restaurant. It was all very bizarre.

"I am fine. I suffered a moment of disorientation."

"Disorientation? You mean dizzy-like?"

"Yes, dizzy... like."

"Maybe you should lie down. You never seem to sleep."

"I shutdown all functions as needed," Betta replied, stoically.

"Shutdown all functions...You sound like you're talking about a machine," Joanie teased.

She had noticed the woman's strange way of speaking at times and assumed it was because English wasn't Betta's first language.

"I am sorry. I meant sleep. I need little sleep."

"I wish I could say that. Without a good eight hours I'm a zombie."

"Zombie. Walking dead! This is a metaphor."

Joanie giggled.

"Yes. Now lie down and rest."

"I cannot. My assignment is to make..."

"I know; I know. Make sure I'm watched at all times. Listen. I promise to stay right here, if you promise to rest. How's that?"

Betta stared at the young woman, trying to decide if she could be trusted. Humans were notorious for their skills at deception. Deciding she could shutdown six of her eight processors and still remain alert enough to monitor Joanie's activities, she reluctantly agreed. Her body needed the down time to replenish her energy. Her processors were operating at sixty-three percent capacity due to the power depletion resulting from her inability to send her bio-system into sleep mode. Eventually, she would begin to make serious errors in calculation which could compromise her mission.

"I will rest," she agreed, reluctantly.

"Good. I'll just watch some television but I'll turn it down."

"That is not necessary. I can shut... sleep with it on."

Standing, she walked to the bed and lay near the edge. Placing her hands on her stomach, Betta closed her eyes and deactivated six processors. The two remaining were slowed to seventy percent operational mode. Immediately, the Hubot's body relaxed, her chest barely moving.

"Wow!" Joanie whispered, leaning over to examine Betta's face. "I wish I could fall asleep that quickly. You must have been exhausted."

The temptation to touch the sleeping woman was irresistible. Hesitantly, she ran a finger down Betta's cheek, barely making contact with the soft skin. Aware of the girl's action, the Hubot determined her intent was nothing more than curiosity and decided to ignore it.

Seconds later, not wanting to chance waking up Betta, Joanie pulled away, turned on the television and scanned the channels until she found a news station. Leaning back against the pillow, she listened somewhat disinterestedly to the reports until the picture of a well-known scientist appeared on screen. Turning the volume up slightly, she leaned forward to stare at the screen.

"Internationally known scientist, Dr. Carley Branson, has been awarded posthumously the Nobel Prize for her advancement in the field of artificial intelligence. Dr. Branson received several awards throughout her career recognizing her contributions to science. Employed by Future Dynamicon, she was highly respected by her fellow associates. At the time of her death, Mr. Winston Stalling, the CEO of Future Dynamicon, reported that Dr. Branson's suicide was a complete surprise but hinted that she had been deeply disappointed by several setbacks in her attempts at creating a computer comparable to the human brain. Her death last month was a great loss."

"That sucks!" Joanie muttered. "Professor Simms said she might be a guest speaker this coming fall... not that I'd be there anyway from the looks of things."

Sighing, she tried to find something else interesting to watch. Finding nothing, she turned the television off, scooted down next to Betta and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was sound asleep, unaware that she had wrapped her arm around Betta's waist. The Hubot was very much aware of the unusual embrace and tried to ignore it. Tried!