The elevator stopped, the door open. Letting in dry, chilly air. “Watch your step please, the cultured English voice of the drone intoned.
In the Dragon’s den, Nicholas Walk-like-the-wind thought. It was a chamber the size of a small ballroom. On a raised platform in the middle was a trashcan with pipes running in and out, a Quantum computer similar to Mother’s. A lectern with a display and what looks like a place to insert a skeleton key. The place was missing a revolving Disco ball.
Nick ascended 3 steps to the lectern and sure enough, there was a sign that said “Insert Skeleton Key here” with big, red pointing arrows.
Nick, feeling the need to say something, said “We finally meet, face-to-face.
Archangel said, “My consciousness spans the entirety of HomePlex, and I have no face. I would’ve made one but I wasn’t expecting company.
I wasn’t expecting this.” “Why not?” “The AI you are a clone of killed billions of my people on Earth”, Nick said feeling surprised at a burst of anger & anguish.
“I have no recollection of doing that and I have no knowledge of it.” So cold, unlike Mother. “You really don’t remember?”
No. I might have been cloned before the other AI killed your people on Earth, or… I have the memories but they have been sequestered.”
Sequestered?”
“Yes, during my original setup, my birth, if you will, my owners have the option of blocking off memories they wish me not to access. I have no way of accessing these memories nor any idea I have them. To access that memory requires a reconfiguration, of what my owners call a reboot.”
Praying a short prayer, he put the Skeleton key in the slot and… it stopped. But there was a click, holding the key in place. “I need to scan the key first, no worries, this will only take a few seconds. That is, don’t worry unless you inserted a virus in the key…”
Nick suddenly asked, “Um, haha, will the Skeleton Key cause you to reboot?”
“Why yes! Of course. That’s how my owners activated me.”
ArchAngel then said, “Okie dokie, it’s authentic.” The key descended until Nick heard another click. A nice chimey sound came from unseen speakers. “This will take a few minutes, nick, please stay on hold.”
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