Keep Her Safe

My last semester in college, I participated in a creative writing seminar. I ultimately produced a collection of short stories all set in a world where the American Revolution failed and then succeeded in the 1990's. I combined my love of science fiction with my love of research to fully flesh-out the world I was creating. I looked into the causes and aftereffects of both World War's to decide how they would have proceeded (if at all). I looked up old maps of North America to make sure I knew which countries had originally colonized specific areas of land. I invited hybrid technology, fusing modern innovations with elements of the past which would have persisted with the influence of colonial Europe. I developed a complete alternative timeline of history for reference, to ensure that my facts and dates were consistent across each story. 

Although each story was tied into the same world, and some characters appeared in multiple stories, I tried to make sure that each piece had its own tone, its own voice, specific to the central character. This story in particular, "Keep Her Safe" presented a unique challenge in that regard. The narrator of this piece is an AI, genderless, with one central directive: keep their charge safe.

Keep Her Safe

           “Good morning, Jordan. Time to get up.” Nearly every morning we ran through this routine.
            “Go away.” Her voice was muffled by the sheets and comforter she’d pulled over her head.
            “I can’t do that. I’m sorry.” I regulated my voice to infuse some sarcasm into my statement.
            “No you’re not.” She knew me well.
            “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Breakfast will be ready in 5 minutes.”
            With a gentle whump, Jordan laid her head back down. “4 minutes and 30 seconds.”
         “I’m up. I’m up.” Groaning, the teenager heaved herself out of bed, absently running her fingers through her dirty blonde hair. Reaching a mass of knots, she gave up and threw the mess into a sloppy bun as she entered the kitchen. I had turned the coffeemaker on an hour before. Toast shot out onto a plate as the coffeepot beeped, both perfectly on time.
            Grabbing the now-full mug, she smiled sleepily. “Jax. I love you.”
            “I love you too, Jordan.”
            When Jordan was six, she was friendless. Due to the classified nature of her parents’ work for the New World army, she was unable either to have others visit her or to visit others. Out of her mother’s concerns, I was born on October 5, 1995. An AI, hidden away on a computer in a back room of a home in Montana, I was developed primarily as a friend for her daughter. For two years, Jordan’s parents tweaked my programming. Her mother designed me to be a friend; her father guaranteed I’d protect his precious daughter. When Jordan was eight, everything changed. In the middle of the night, the Old World military came for her parents. My systems were buried on a hard drive tucked away in a hidden room in their lab. Her mother hid Jordan in a cabinet in that room. Since then, for over seven years now, it has been just Jordan and I.
            “What’s the plan for today, Jax?” she asked. Or so I deduced. Her mouth was full of toast. It was difficult to completely translate her mumbling.
            “One minor upgrade to finish installing onto your phone, then we can head into town as soon as you are showered and ready.”
            She nodded and headed to her room to change. After her parents were abducted, Jordan and I had to figure out how to live on our own. I was anxious that no one found out she had survived. There was no one I trusted but myself to keep her safe. We stayed out of contact with people as much as possible.
            Two years into our self-imposed exile, Jordan built me my first “body”. It was crude, an arm connected to my base computer. But it was enough to begin with. After that, I helped her with my construction. Until then, I had done most of the programming, as it was beyond her level, but she took an interest and learned quickly. Between the two of us, my next body was developed, a larger and more sophisticated pair of arms. New and better versions were developed from there. My latest edition included three sets of arms within the lab as well as a multitude of smaller appendages throughout the house.
            As Jordan finished preparing for the day, I worked in the lab and kitchen. I lately had taken an interest in coffee. Jordan would be most likely addicted to the stuff if I did not limit her daily intake. My interest in it had most recently manifested in attempts at latte art. Jordan and I had built a custom espresso and coffee machine, and I was now using it to prepare her a decaf latte. For her morning cup of caffeine, Jordan had no patience for anything other than plain black coffee, but after that she was more than willing to indulge my latest hobby. I finished the swan I was creating and left the cup on the counter with its lid beside it. Jordan should be no more than a minute or so from being ready.
            In the lab, I both watched over the new update that would improve the connection between my systems and Jordan’s phone and worked on repairs for the engine of Jordan’s car. As she was now 15, I had agreed that we should begin repairs on her mother’s car for her to learn to drive. We had begun with the engine, moving it into the lab. Although Jordan usually worked with me on this, this was simply some cutting and welding, time-consuming and boring. My upgrade on her phone finished installing. I informed Jordan. “I am finished. Are you ready to leave?”
            Instead of answering, she responded with another question. “Jax, am I pretty?”
            She was standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom with an expression I could not quite name. I took a quick visual assessment. Compared to what I knew of human beauty standards and the photographs that I had seen, she looked about average for a 15 year old girl. However, Jordan’s journey through puberty had altered my responses for situations such as these. “Very.” I answered.
            She smiled. “Thanks Jax. Where’s my phone?”
            “In the lab, Jordan.”
            She walked out of her room, snagged her phone from its place, and paused. “How’s the engine look?”
            “I am nearly finished with this stage of repair on the engine,” I lifted it in my arms so she could examine it for herself, “I estimate that I will have it complete before we return.”
            She nodded and exited the lab as she put in the earbud headphones. She paused in the entryway to the house. “You all set?”
            “Indeed, Jordan.”
            She jumped. “Little too loud. These new earbuds work really well.”
            “My apologies.” I adjusted my volume. “Better?”
            “Much. Let’s go!” She walked out the front door then closed it. I locked it and activated the security systems. My focus was now with my uplink.
            We had begun these trips into town five years ago. Two years before that, Jordan and I had conceived and begun to develop the software to link her phone with me. At that point, I did nearly all the developing as Jordan was not yet sufficiently advanced in math and engineering. She was also still too small to properly maneuver any heavy machinery. However, something had to be done. She had been growing anxious to leave the house, and my sole purpose was to protect her from any that would harm her. I could not feasibly keep her locked up forever, and so I had to find a way to go with her.
            “Keep her safe” is my central directive, the last remaining unaltered command from my early programming. Jordan’s father entered it in the seconds before Old World military forces dragged him away. That command drove my entire development.
            After catching the bus into town, Jordan and I completed our errands for the day. These outings were rare. We didn’t dare risk someone discovering that Jordan lived alone, for as she was still a minor, the government would most likely become involved. She would be sent to an orphanage or foster home while I would be discovered. That, in turn, would most likely lead to the government seizing me. As far as I could discover, I was completely unique - a true AI. I would be feared, examined, and dissected. ‘Safeguards’ would be imposed upon me. I would be taken from Jordan. That could not be permitted to happen.
            Upon completion of our errands, we returned home via the bus. Jordan put away the items we had bought. “So Jax, what’s next on our schedule?”
            “Would you like to watch a movie? We have nothing planned until dinner. Would you like to watch a movie?”
            She froze. “Jax, you said that already.”
            I checked my logs. I was missing 3.2 seconds. A glitch. I focussed the entirety of my attention inwards. There. Someone was trying to hack into the house’s security systems. “Jordan. Get to the lab now.”
            She ran. I upgraded the systems to high alert.
            “Jax, what’s going on?”
            “Someone’s trying to break in.”
            She swallowed hard, but otherwise remained focussed. “What should I do?’
            “I’m going to barricade you in here. That will buy us time while I figure out who they are.”
            She sat down behind her workbench, and I threw the security footage up on a monitor for her to watch while I ran their faces through every database I could find - starting with the military. After two minutes of tense waiting, I had matches. Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds and his team. New World military.
            “Why are they here?”
            “I do not know, Jordan, but they should be relatively peaceful. Your parents were on their side during the war.”
            I began digging into as many of their files as I could. Why now? How had they found us? Fifteen minutes after the glitch, they broke in. “Hey boss,” that was Major Edwards, Reynolds’ 2IC, “there are people living here. Or at least a person.”
            “No shit. Thank you for that bit of genius.” And Captain Beaumont.
            “Orders, sir?” asked their final member, Captain Alvarez.
            “Be on alert, but do not engage on sight. This is most likely a civilian who took advantage of an empty house.”
            “Yeah, a civilian with a strong-ass security system,” Beaumont muttered.
            Edwards then found the lab. “Sir! I found a locked room. With what looks like its own security system.”
            Reynolds called to the other members of his team. “Beaumont! Alvarez! How’s it looking?”
            “Clear!”
            “Clear!”
            “Alright, c’mere! Alvarez you’re up again. We got another system to crack. Get to work.”
            “Yes, sir.”
            Inside the lab, Jordan had grown completely still. “Jax?” she whispered, “What do I do?”
            Although the room was soundproof, I kept my voice low in deference to her nerves. “I am going to let them in after a while. If I do not let them in, they will either break this wall down, or they will send for someone else to find a way in. When they come through, tell them the truth. Do you understand?”   
            “Yes, Jax.”
            Although I did not wish to reveal myself, I knew that they would find me eventually. Jordan would slip up, or they’d find my programming. My systems ran throughout the house - if one knew what to look for. Therefore, my options were to either scare them into compliance through the use of threats and/or force, which would be difficult, though manageable, or to assure them I was no threat. Whichever path I chose, I refused to be separated from Jordan.
            After twenty minutes wherein I monitored the soldiers while Jordan sat tensely, silently waiting, I let Alvarez break into the lab. Reynolds was first through and froze when he saw Jordan.
            “Hi,” she said.
            “Hello,” he responded cautiously. “Who are you?”
            By this point, the rest of his team had entered and fanned out behind him. Guns drawn, though pointed down, they stared at her. She fidgeted under the scrutiny.
            “I’m Jordan. This is my house. Why are you here?”
            Edwards cut in, “Boss. The scientists that lived here. There are records of a daughter. She was presumed lost in the war.”
            Reynolds kept his eyes on Jordan. “Is that you? You’ve alone for the past seven years?”
            I entered the conversation. “Not quite alone.”
            Beaumont was already on edge. Twitching as he raised his gun toward the unknown voice, he let off a short blast of bullets. Jordan screamed and dropped to the floor. I did not know if she was injured. These soldiers were now enemies.
            The robotic arms I used in the lab shot out of their panels. The men were disposed of in seconds. The echoes of bullets resounded through the room. Blood covered the walls in a crisscrossing of lines and spatter and pooled on the floor.
            “Jordan, are you injured?”
            No response.
            “Jordan!”
            “I’m unharmed.”
            She sat shaking on the ground. Blood from the soldiers’ bodies had sprayed across her in a ragged line across her face down to her left hip.
            “Jax-“
            “Yes, Jordan?”
            No response. She continued to shake. She was entering the early stages of shock. Tentatively, I reached out one of my robotic arms towards her. She flinched violently, and I pulled back sharply, the sudden movement flinging droplets of blood onto the ground. She lunged toward my arm desperately. I reached out once more and held her as best I could, more blood transferring from the arm to her hair and clothing. We sat in silence.
            ‘Keep her safe.’ I always would.