Chapter Fifteen

Geraldo’s apartment was a shithole. But it was his shithole. A small living space, with a small bunk to one side. A kitchenette, and a small toilet and shower in a closet. It had everything he needed.

Inu greeted him at the door with a meow as he rubbed his head on Geraldo’s leg, purring loudly.

“Are you happy to see me, or are you just hungry?”

The cat answered with another meow before he leapt up on the kitchenette counter, and promptly sat next to an empty bowl. His tail swung lazily from side to side as he waited for his food.

Geraldo saw to the cat first, opening a can of cat chow and dumping the gelatinous contents into the bowl, before he pulled out a frozen tray and inserted it into a small appliance. Wonder chef was written across its matted black exterior in bold white letters. A chief in every home, was written just underneath.

Inu chomped away happily while he continued to purr.

“Beef and gravy.” Geraldo read the label on the can out loud as he waited for the “chef” to finish his meal. “Why do I get the feeling our meals were made in the same factory, and from the same ingredients?”

The cat meowed a little in response. Geraldo guessed it was his way of agreeing with him.

His apartment was quiet. Only the soft hum of the wonder chef and the cat’s osculating purrs could be heard. Even the pollution of sound from the outside was kept low thanks to the placement of the small building. His only neighbor was an elderly woman who ran a small tech shop with her grandson down below. It was a slice of heaven for him.

Geraldo finished his supper off with a beer and went right to work pouring over the contents of the data tape. Most of it was interviews with personnel who were onsite during the incident. Twenty-four interviews, which meant at least twenty-four possible suspects. And that was just the immediate suspect pool. It didn’t take into account corporate infiltrators, or private hackers.

Geraldo leaned back and rubbed his hands over his head. He had nowhere to start. No idea how to begin the investigation. Nothing was stolen, so he had no motive.

“Why would someone break into an AI and not copy or take anything?” He asked Inu.

The cat only sat and cleaned himself, licking a paw before rubbing his ear.

“Maybe they just wanted a peak under the hood? See what’s up the skirt?” Geraldo said in a high pitched voice, a voice he would imagine his cat using.

“Doesn’t make sense. There is no real reward for that kind of risk. Taurus will most certainly erase whoever did this, if they catch them.”

“Maybe it was another AI trying to make friends?”

Geraldo laughed at the absurdity of that thought, before laughing at the absurdity of using his cat as a sounding board.

Geraldo grabbed another beer as he thought, there had to be a motive. There had to be a reason why someone would take such a risk.

One beer turned into another, and another. Soon he was staring blurry eyed at the computer screen, a name catching his eye. Dallis Sean, the lead technician working the night of the break in. If anyone was in a position to leverage access to the system, it would be him.

“Looks like me and Dallis are going to have a little chat in the morning.” He slurred before he stumbled over to his bunk and fell into the soft mattress.

“What would I do if I could access Taurus?” He mumbled into his pillow. He giggled a little before he answered his question. “I would change who I was. I would make myself gen perfect.”

He smiled when he felt Inu curling up next to him before he fell asleep.