Project: "Tord"

Ch. 17 - Stuff Is Way

April 2024, Norway

My heart was beating fast.

Excitement? Fear? Who knew.
But it bloody well bothered me.

I could feel it everywhere, echoing in those corridors so clean and blue with artificial lights.
It looked more like a huge hospital than a military base, but considering Tord's state of health, it made sense. The whole base could have been fulfilled to health care.

I was walking in those corridors together with two soldiers, the same ones from the previous day.
Yes, i stayed the night.
As soon as we entered the base, Tom had joined us and taken me into custody.
Seeing him again had been a shot of hope.

He walked me toward my room and explained that the Leader would meet me at lunch the next day for "psychophysical convenience reasons".

At the moment this had infuriated me, but then I thought a little rest would help me calm down and mentally prepare for the meeting.

On the way I tried to interact with Tom, sending him coded signals to seek his cooperation, but the boy had ignored me.
Just as well, he certainly knows all the security systems and cameras, maybe that wasn't the best time.

Maybe we were being watched.

In any case I plan to talk to him secretly before I leave.

How to leave? Good question.

Effectively not knowing Tord's intentions, I could not know if he would simply release me or if I would have to fight.

That guy was unpredictable. And I had reconfirmed this once I entered the room he had prepared for me.

I didn't know what to expect, certainly anything but what I saw...

My room was an exact copy of my old room in London, the one in the house I had taken with the boys after the fight with Tord.
The house I left behind when things in London started to change and become unsettling.

Every tiny detail had been painstakingly reconstructed.

But what was even more disturbing was the question:

How did Tord know in minute detail about a room he had never seen?
He had left years before.

The only plausible answer:
he had been watching us.

For how long? I don't know.

And apparently he also had an accurate floor plan of my room, maybe the whole house. Disturbing.

If i have to think that all this time I was being watched and studied... I get chills.

He must have had cameras set up, but how? And when did that happened?

Maybe he went by in person to study the house after i left it, or there were other explanations that I couldn't understand now with the information I had.

The thought that Tord had really gone insane was beginning to become real in my head.

As I walked, I watched every tiny detail of the hallways.
Every door, every camera, looking for a plan.

Damn that place looked like a hospital...

A strange feeling of sorrow began to grow in my stomach.

He must have been really sick.

To reduce himself like that, secretly spying on us, studying my house...

He must have been such a lonely person not to be able to get over what had happened between us.

Maybe his obsession was a way of coping? I have no idea...

But the closer we got to the dining room, the more the anger I had cultivated over the years gave way to a dim empathy for him.

I hope he's ok...

I cannot in the least imagine how I would react knowing that I was dying of a disease with no cure.

Alone.
Far away from society.

God i hope he's ok... Is it too late to care about it?

At one point the seemingly endless corridor, ended.
And a large, ornate and elegant doorway had appeared before us.

The two soldiers lined the sides of the door, and behind me I heard a metallic ticking approaching.

I slowly turned around and was confronted by a kind of robotic spider with a monitor for a face; it was slightly taller than me.

The robot squared me from head to toe by scanning my body and then reciting in a deep, monotone tone:

"Mr. Edd, we have been waiting for you with pleasure."

I was silent for a moment, only to realize what I was looking at.

''Wait ... don't tell me ...''

''Automatically filling in the question you are asking.
Answer: Affirmative.
I am the Assistant A.i. program, in operation since 2004 with the purpose of assisting and executing to perfection every order entered by the Leader.''

"Oh my... yes I remember!
You are the little program that Tord had on his watch when we were kids.

Amazingly, he built you a body!
Well, it's Tord we are talking about anyway."

"Affirmative Mr. Edd.
I am currently at your service at the behest of the Leader, Mr. Edd.
For any needs, barring filters imposed by the Leader, I am at your complete disposal."

Perhaps my fear had been a bit catastrophic.
Tord might not have meant me any harm if he had given me this treatment.

"But look at you. How much have you... grown?
Can that be said for robots as well?"

"Affirmative.
The robotic support you are currently observing is A.i. 2.0, active as of today to assist you.
It is a 1:1 version adapted to interact with humanoids, sir.
While to your right you can observe A.i. 1.0, the previous model active since 2016."

I turned around to find at my side a similar but smaller and simpler little robot, smiling at me with the same smile as the big one, it was creepy but oddly cute.
It must have been about the size of a medium-sized dog.

"Oh, I didn't hear him approaching.
So...did Tord send you to take me in?
Are you understaffed here at the base?"

"Negative sir."

This time it was the smaller one who spoke.
It's ''voice'' was always monotone but a few tones higher, appropriate for the size.

"The Leader is currently arriving at the destination, leg time to go:
2 minutes and 34 seconds"

"Your pace is faster than we had ascertained, you are early Mr. Edd."

After the room thing, I was not surprised that Tord had analyzed my pace as well. It was still disturbing and made me uncomfortable, but I would get a chance to tell him in person in a few minutes.

"Well, yes, I walk faster when I'm nervous.
But maybe I should relax more.
it's just... I expected a different kind of...
I don't know"

"Status Data Updated: Nervous.
You can have a seat in the room now, Mr. Edd."

I didn't have time to say another word that the two little robots pawed away and the soldiers opened the door, leaving me surprised for a moment.

Silence fell again.

I turned slowly toward the room, waiting a moment before entering.

I knew very well that once I entered that room, I would never have a chance to go back.

I did not know what to expect.
That treatment had confused me again.

Did he just want to chat?
Did he want to kill me?
Did he want to apologize?

I didn't know anything.

And for that very reason, I decided to take the first step inside the place.

I needed answers.

Unluckly for me, I wasn't the only one who wanted them,
but I couldn't know that yet.