Part 9 (1/2)
The sun was setting behind the trees as they headed back to the house, and it cast a waning red light over
the grounds. Alpha said nothing more, and Thomas brooded on his talk with Senator Bartley. He was more certain than ever: if they damaged the unique confluence of codes that created Alpha, they would lose something invaluable that could never be replaced.
IV: Night Visitor
Thomas was surprised to find Sam at his house when he arrived home. ”Didn't Lattie come?” he asked as
he hung up his coat in the closet by the front door.
”She was here.” Sam was standing in a pool of lamplight by the door. ”I stuck around. Did some work.
Played with your grandkid.”
”Thanks, Sam.” He walked with her into the living room. ”Where is Jamie?”
”I wore her out.” Sam looked worn out, too, but pleased with herself. ”She was feeling rambunctious. So
we ran and jumped. It took forever, but finally she fell asleep. Lattie had to go, so I said I would stay until you got home. Didn't you get my message?”
He thought of his talk with Alpha. ”I've been in a meeting.”
Sam went to the wine cabinet. ”Let's have a drink.” Then she froze, one hand outstretched. She swung
around. ”I'm sorry. That was tactless.”
”Sam, don't.” Thomas wished she and his children wouldn't be so overprotective. ”I had a heart attack, not a funeral. It's true, I don't drink much anymore, but you don't have to wear kid gloves around me.”
He could actually have a little red wine, but he didn't want to argue with her. In debates with Sam, he never won. ”Just give me some orange juice.”
Amus.e.m.e.nt flickered on her face. ”You must be fine. You're growling like always.”
Thomas knew the real reason she had stuck around. ”I set it up for you to see Turner Pascal tomorrow
morning.”
”Good.” She seemed fascinated by the juice she was pouring.
”Sam. Talk to me.”
She looked up, her face guarded. ”About Turner? We just argue.”
”About EIs.”
”Maybe later, okay?” She offered him the juice, then sat on the couch near the windows that looked over
his backyard. The lights of other houses were visible through the trees that bordered his yard.
Thomas settled in his recliner, relieved to rest. He might look like he was only fifty, but after a long day
he felt all of his seventy-two years. Not so long ago, a man his age would have retired; in earlier centuries, he would have been white-haired and slowed; in earlier eras, he would have been dead.
”Are you all right?” Sam asked.
”Just tired.” He took a swallow of juice. ”I wanted to ask you something. How do you tell the difference
between an EI like Pascal and an AI like Alpha?”
Her expression tightened. ”d.a.m.n it, Turner is a man.”
Thomas wanted to kick himself. He needed to be more careful in how he spoke about Pascal. He didn't
recall ever having seen her like this about someone. No, that wasn't true. She had loved her first husband intensely and had grieved for years after cancer took his life. It seemed she really did love this Pascal fellow.
”I'm sorry if that sounded insensitive,” he said. ”I'm trying to understand Alpha.”
”I thought I wasn't cleared to discuss it.”
”I set up the paperwork. You already had clearance; I just needed to put through the okay.” He sipped his juice and wished he had a beer. ”I could use your expertise, Sam. You're one of the leading EI shrinks alive, and you've seen Alpha in action.”