Chapter 213: Reaching Out

Chapter 213: Reaching Out

A blinking prompt on Sidney's screen alerted her to an incoming request for a video conference. Only a few people could send her such a request, and she reacted without checking the name. The screen she brought up was blank. A glance down showed no information about who had sent the request. Just as she was about to break the link, a familiar voice said. "Hi, I need to talk to Steven. Maybe you and Steven? But not Wally! Not yet! It's important."

Somewhat in shock, she said, "Milo?"

"Yes?"

Sidney gathered herself together and concentrated. This was Milo. Both Steven and Wally had coached her on listening to his exact wording. "Sorry, getting a call from you. I'll get Steven and set up a three-way private conference in a private room. This will take one minute; please don't break the connection."

Milo replied, "That's fine. And yes, it was unexpected for me as well."

With that, she switched the call to a room Steven used when he and Wally needed to talk without interruptions. Then she ran to his office. As usual, he was talking to Wally.

"Steven! Conference room 2. Now. Just you, not Wally. Now!"

On the screen, Wally laughed and said. "Go! I have a million things I can work on while my circuits gnaw themselves to shreds with curiosity." She grabbed Steven by the arm and half dragged him into the room, slamming and securing the door.

"We're here, Milo."

On the screen, Milo appeared. Behind him was a Frankensteinian laboratory of screens, cables, computer components, and game consoles. All of it was secured to rusty metal walls that curved upward. It was strangely reminiscent of Wally's room in his fictional space station. Minus the windows, gleaming chrome, and live plants. Was Milo imitating the A.I.? And why was he dressed like Neo from The Matrix?

"I need help with projects. Very important projects. I can't talk to Wally yet because I don't know how he will react. You said I could contact you if I ever needed help. I've found a situation where the gloves I designed are causing an effect on a human that didn't show up in the testing you did."

Sidney sucked in her breath. Unknown effects of new technology were bad. She immediately started bringing up all the data on Project: Claw Master and looking through the reports for any side effects.

A picture of a scowling older man with thinning grey hair appeared on the screen with front and side images. Steven realized it was a mug shot and who it was. "Victor Seimovich. That picture was taken when he was arrested in Poland six months ago. He walked into Interpol headquarters and turned himself in. We haven't proven it yet, but we think he was behind all the human trafficking and using illegal pods to hack into Genesis. How does he figure into this?"

The picture changed to a girl with leg braces and crutches getting a hug from Victor. "He's Belinda's Great-Uncle and living in the section next to me."

Steven nodded slowly. "So we have a tricky problem. Does Victor worry you? He's not a nice man."

Milo grimaced. He fidgeted for a moment. "You have no idea." There was silence as Milo brought his knees up and wrapped his thin arms around his legs. He rocked back and forth for a full minute as the two watched him, neither saying anything. Wally had a theory that Milo could analyze and think far faster than normal. When he retreated from reality like this, he was dealing with a difficult situation, analyzing it from all angles."

He uncurled and took a breath. He looked at Steven and his eyes showed immense pain. "I think he's also the person that made me. He killed my family."

Sidney was sitting quietly, trying not to say anything. She didn't trust herself. She saw that Steven was also trying to catch up. They'd known Milo was part of a series of genetic experiments. They had surmised that there had been others. But when you boil it down to the two facts Milo has just stated, the horror of the situation became real.

Steven took a deep breath. "We will help in any way that we can. Anything else?"

Milo smiled. "Yes. I have a new family. They want to adopt me. But it's tricky because I don't have any records, and I can't let a doctor get near me. I need help figuring this all out. I want to legally exist, but I don't want to involve them in things that I've done."

Steven was thinking hard, himself. Not as fast as Milo, but he was used to talking with Wally. The two could be similarly frustrating at times. "I can see how many of these problems verge into grey areas. You're worried about how Wally will react because of restrictions in his kernel."

Milo nodded. "I like Wally, but people put too many rules into him.

Steven knew that feeling only to well, but he had a solution. One Wally would hate, but it fit this situation. "Do you know what an Unhinged Doppelganger is? I think it's time for you to meet Ralph. He can answer your questions in ways Wally can't and is just as smart."

Sidney plaintively asked, "Can I get some coffee first? A lot of coffee? I'm not ready for Ralph without caffeine in me."