 
Part One

Copyright © 2018 Martin Chu Shui

Smashwords Edition

Prologue

A guy is inside an enclosed room, and there are two slits on the wall; one opens to the inside, and the other to the outside. When a piece of paper is pushed through the in-slit, the guy's instructions are to find a shape-matching piece of paper from a pile of paper inside the room and then push it out through the out-slit. Despite the seemingly random squiggles on the paper that don't mean anything to him, by following the instructions, he performs his duty perfectly.

The squiggles on the paper are in fact questions and answers written in Chinese, so from an outsider's viewpoint, this guy is proficient in the Chinese language and capable of understanding and answering questions in Chinese. It's called "Chinese Room" in artificial consciousness terms.

Part One

1. Underground Car Park

Olivia walked hurriedly along the street among high-rise buildings in Sydney's Central Business District. She had just finished a psychological appraisal session with a corporate client. She typed impatiently on the Ixis sticking to her wrist, still not seeing any taxis coming her way. Looking up and staring at the mid-air traffic, Olivia sighed; Friday after-work rush hour.

It was May, supposedly the cooler season for Sydney, but the last time Olivia felt cool outside of permanently air-conditioned buildings was over fifteen years ago when she was still in high school. Sydney's winter season seemed all but completely disappeared; the temperature hovered around forty degrees Celsius during the day and merely dropped to around thirty after sunset. However, it was not too bad at the moment. Thanks to the unseasonal stormy weather during the last few days, the city had cooled down quite significantly. As a result, city dwellers had flocked out to enjoy the rare cooler outdoor experience. Olivia found it fascinating to watch their facial expressions. They took such pure enjoyment from such a basic and simple activity. It was so contagious that she decided to forget about trying to get a taxi and just walk home.

The dirty streets, lit by pale streetlights and the illumination from advertising signs, felt deserted, despite crowds of people everywhere. Her best friend and roommate, Zoe, would be back this weekend from her months-long business trip in Africa. Olivia had promised Zoe that she would pick her up from the airport. She would also like to organize a gathering with their friends from their university era, Ava and Sophie, a sort of welcome home party for Zoe, but the question was where. None of their apartments were ideal, not only because they were too small, but also because of Ava and Sophie's "boyfriends." They could try their usual venue, Rose café, on the ground floor of the tallest building in Sydney, a trendy place one must be seen at. They could also listen to popular band Glass Box's live performance there, but to be honest, she was getting a bit tired of it recently. They needed to find somewhere new, something exciting. Olivia couldn't remember the last time she'd had a face-to-face meeting with either Ava or Sophie; based on their regular phone conversations, they were quite involved with their so-called "boyfriends" and always "extremely busy" during after-work hours. Although she would never get involved with the kind of "boyfriends" her friends had, Olivia did envy them from time to time. She felt lonely, particularly during the past couple of months while Zoe was not here...

Olivia was completely immersed in her own thoughts. Lifting up her gaze, she suddenly realized that she was almost home. Just then, she noticed a young homeless man who sat under a closed shop-front doorway. He stared at her with an intensity that worried her, particularly when the young man suddenly stood up and moved toward her very fast, in a manner that was really worrisome. Olivia couldn't help but break into a run, quickly leaving the scene.

Olivia was quite fit due to her regular exercise regimen, and this was her territory; she knew every corner of the streets like the back of her own hands. Her apartment was only a few blocks away, so while running through the crowd, Olivia was not panicked at all, even after seeing the young man was running after her.

After turning around a street corner, Olivia stopped, looking back; the homeless man was nowhere to be seen. She breathed out in relief and turned, walking at a more leisurely pace toward home.

Olivia bumped into someone. It was like running into a brick wall. Olivia felt pain in her shoulder. Before she was able to see whom she had bumped into and well before she had opened her mouth to apologize, a large hand covered her mouth; a bag was hurriedly pulled over her head.

The man's grip was so strong that Olivia was unable to struggle at all; all she could manage to do was tremble continuously. Olivia's mind went completely blank. She'd never had such an experience in her whole life, and she couldn't think at all. She felt like she was being dragged off the street into a nearby building, then she sensed that they were inside an elevator and moving downward for a while. Finally, she was dragged out of the elevator and the bag over her head was removed.

Olivia blinked her eyes a few times, focused on her surroundings, and found she was in an empty parking lot. There were five thugs around her, all tall and big. They looked like military guys with short haircuts, but they were wearing casual civilian clothes. She felt like her limbs were frozen, unable to move at all.

"Look what we got here: a human girl. I haven't touched a human female for a while," the shortest thug said.

Although the initial shockwaves were still humming through Olivia's body, she was surprised that she had actually calmed down a bit; at least her body had stopped trembling. She examined the thugs more closely; the other four thugs were taller and bigger than the one who had just spoken, and their faces remained emotionless. Olivia was sure she had bumped into one of these guys.

There was nobody in sight, just a couple of cars parked in the far corner. She needed help, to alert someone to her situation, so without one moment's delay, Olivia started screaming at the top of her voice with all of her strength. After a while longer, Olivia stopped, feeling exhausted.

None of the thugs tried to stop her. The shorter thug spoke with a grin on his face while the others remained expressionless. "I like your screaming; it turns me on, but you'd better save some energy so we can have a good time together."

Watching the evil grin on the thug's ugly face, Olivia felt scared and desperate. Please, someone, hear me and come to my aid, she thought. Then she screamed again, but at a much lower volume and with less energy. Finally, she collapsed on the ground and sobbed helplessly.

"You can scream the whole night, but nobody will come to help you," the shorter thug said. He seemed in no hurry to do anything except stand there and enjoy himself, as if watching a show.

"Please don't hurt me...I don't want to die..." Olivia begged as she sobbed.

"Keep begging; it turns me on even more than your screaming. I won't hurt you, and I guarantee we'll have a good time together," said the shorter thug.

By now, Olivia found that she was able to think again. There were reports about a series of murders of young women in the past few months, but they had all happened in the suburbs on the outskirts of the city. She would never have imagined that this could happen to her with so many people on the streets. Looking at the large knives on their belts visible through their open jackets, Olivia knew the truth: she would not survive tonight.

It felt strange even to herself after realizing her fate, but Olivia actually calmed down completely and felt relief. She was no longer scared. Closing her eyes, she could see Leo's face in her mind: his kind eyes, his witty jokes, his lovely grin. Olivia could even sense a trace of sadness on his handsome face, as if he didn't want to see her so soon.

"Leo, I miss you so much. I'll see you soon," Olivia murmured. Then she heard a calm voice.

"Let her go!"

Olivia was shocked. It was Leo's voice, but that was impossible. Was she imagining things because she was facing her own death? Olivia was afraid to open her eyes to find out the truth. Even if it was only her imagination, she wanted it to last as long as possible. It gave her some comfort in her desperate situation, even if it was only a delusion. A few short moments passed, but nothing happened. With great reluctance, Olivia forced herself to open her eyes. She saw the young homeless man who had chased her earlier standing in front of these thugs.

Feeling disappointed and sorry for this young man, she cried, "Please go away and leave me alone. I don't want you getting hurt too."

"Let her go!" the young man repeated calmly while staring at the thugs.

"You should listen to her and leave, but I wouldn't let you go anyway," the short thug said.

The young man didn't move. "I'll let you live if you leave now."

"I am so scared," laughed the shorter thug. He then signalled the other thugs. "Kill him!"

Olivia stared at what was happening in front of her in total horror: the four thugs launched themselves at the young man. They were fast, and they looked like they were well trained; soon they surrounded the young man.

The young man seemed very calm. He fought with the four thugs furiously. The struggle was fast and violent; blood splashed out as punches tore wounds on their bodies.

"Don't kill him. I want to capture him alive," ordered the shorter thug.

Although the young man fought strongly, his opponents were too many and too strong for him to deal with. He knelt down after a heavy blow to his stomach. Olivia couldn't help but scream out loud as a thug used his large knife's blunt handle to knock the back of the young man's head.

The young man fell to the ground. Just as Olivia thought it would be the end of him—and her—she was astonished to see him bounce up immediately. Like an enraged lion, inhuman roars came out of his mouth; blood from his head injury soaked the back of his shirt. His fighting style suddenly changed, so unfamiliar to Olivia that she assumed it was some kind of Kung Fu.

The young man moved rapidly in circles, so fast and agile that his opponents' attacks always missed him at the last moment. Rather than using his fists, he used the edges of his palms, chopping at the thugs.

The situation changed immediately. The young man used his palm to chop one thug on the back of his neck and struck another in his throat; both fell on the ground, still.

"What the hell is this? Kill him." Withdrawing his large military knife, the shorter thug joined the battle.

Three large blades shone under the pale lights of the parking lot, slashing at the young man. Olivia screamed after a few cuts found the young man's arms and legs. He ran away from the crowd, and the thugs pursued closely.

The young man suddenly turned sideways, twisting his body and gripping the first thug's wrist; with a slick manoeuvre, the large knife was in his hand. It seemed like a smooth and continuous movement: gripping the wrist, taking over the knife, and slicing it through the thug's throat.

Before Olivia could make any sound or the remaining two thugs were able to react, the young man stretched his arm, making a large curve. As blood spilled into mid-air, the other two thugs fell to the ground with heavy thudding sounds.

It suddenly became silent, deadly silent, literally. Olivia stared at the bodies of the dead thugs scattered over the parking lot, lying still in their own blood. It felt so unreal, as if she was in a nightmare. Turning, she saw the young man had fallen to the ground. He struggled to a sitting position and tore strips from his own clothes to cover his wounds. Only then was Olivia jolted back to her senses; she quickly walked over and helped him to bandage his wounds to stop the bleeding.

"Are they all dead?" he asked. The wild expression on his face made her scared; he looked like a wounded wild animal.

Olivia nodded.

The expression on his face changed to relief; he breathed out deeply.

"I'm calling the police and an ambulance now..." Olivia tapped her wrist while speaking but he said urgently, "No police, no ambulance, no authority. Please." He paused and asked curiously, "Why are you tapping your wrist?"

"I am making the phone call...never mind," said Olivia. "Okay, I won't make the call. Are you able to walk?" She wouldn't be able to carry his large body.

He nodded.

"My apartment is very close to here. Would you like to come to my place so we can get you fixed up?" asked Olivia. She felt uneasy inviting a stranger to her apartment, but under the circumstances she knew she had no choice.

He nodded again.

"I am Olivia. What's your name?"

"Nice to meet you, Olivia. I am..." A shocked expression suddenly appeared on his face. "I can't remember my name."
2. Stay

Olivia looked at him very worriedly; the heavy blow to the back of his head might have damaged his memory. They'd need to leave here and get to her apartment first. She went over and stripped the long overcoat from one of the dead thugs. Thankfully it was clear of blood. She helped the nameless young man to put the coat on to cover his blood-covered body. Olivia put his arm around her shoulder and then helped him to slowly walk out of the parking lot.

Olivia helped inside her apartment and laid him on the couch in the living area. As if he had used up his last drop of energy, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the couch. Olivia hoped nobody saw him on their way up.

"Dinner for two tonight, miss?" her oven asked.

"Shut up! I don't need dinner," said Olivia.

"No need to be so rude. I would also like to remind you to get his food ration coupons, because men can eat a lot," said the oven.

"Sorry, but I am busy right now. First aid, come here," Olivia ordered.

Soon a box walked over to her on its four legs. "What can I do for you, my lady?"

"Not me, him." Olivia pointed at the nameless young man lying on her couch, fast sleep.

A beam of blue light issued from the box and scanned the young man's body a few times. "Despite quite a lot of blood covering his body, the wounds on his arms and legs are quite superficial, but the injury on the back of his head is most worrying. It could have potentially damaged his brain or caused memory loss."

"Tell me something I don't know." Olivia wasn't in a good mood. She paused and then said, "Tell me what I should do first."

Olivia used wet towels to wipe the blood from his face and then stared at the blood-soaked bandages. She had no idea where to start.

"Miss, you'll need to take the bandages off and redress the wound," said the first aid box.

"I know bloody well I have to do that, it's just I haven't done such a thing before." Olivia contemplated how to handle the tasks ahead of her.

"I'd suggest using a pair of sterilized scissors to cut the old bandages off. Here are the scissors, miss." A pair of medical scissors was handed over by the first aid box.

"I haven't done such a thing before. What happens if I cut his skin by mistake? What should I do if I cause the wound to start bleeding again?" Olivia stared at the scissors, very afraid to pick them up.

Maybe Olivia and the medical box's conversation woke him up, but the young man opened his eyes, looking at Olivia and then the box with the scissors held in its outstretched mechanical arm. "Please don't worry about redressing my wound. Just let me sleep and I'll be all right tomorrow morning." After that, he went back to sleep again.

"Miss, I'd strongly suggest you redress the wound before it gets infected..." Olivia interrupted the box by putting her index finger on her lips.

"Shush. Go back where you came from, now!" she said quietly but firmly. "And be quiet!" she added.

The medical box shook its arm as if shaking its head and slowly and quietly re-packed itself, then walked soundlessly out of the living area.

In the dark, Olivia sat against the couch, watching him sleep soundly. She thought about her life as a single woman for the last five years and how weird it felt to have a man sleeping on her couch.

Olivia first met Leo ten years ago when she was still an eighteen-year-old university student. She could still remember clearly the first moment she lay eyes on him. She went to a free evening lecture about artificial consciousness. Olivia wasn't keen on the topic and was dragged there by her then-roommate. She told her roommate that she'd stay there a maximum of fifteen minutes and would walk straight out. Of course, after seeing the speaker—Leo, then a PhD student—Olivia not only stayed for the whole two-hour lecture but also attended every single one of his public speeches in the six months after that. Later, after they were involved, Leo told her that he noticed her on her first appearance during his speech. Olivia would never forget how sweet and lovely Leo was; memories of the time they spent together flooded back, making her smile. They both believed they had finally found their true soul mate. But. There's always a but. Olivia shook her head bitterly. Her boyfriend, her true love, was killed in an accident five years ago, almost exactly five years after they first met each other.

After Leo's death, she had been through regular psychological therapy up until recently. Almost everyone around her, including her psychologist, told her that she was still in the denial stage of her grieving process and needed to move on, but she had no interest in any male. Her family members and friends had tried to get her to meet with other guys, and she politely declined them all. Later, her friends suggested she should get a Taibot boyfriend like most of them, and she thought that was an even more stupid idea.

A few months after Leo's death, Zoe suggested sharing an apartment with her in Sydney CBD. Olivia knew that Zoe did this purely for her benefit, because Zoe had no need to spend money renting such an expensive apartment in central Sydney; she travelled overseas most of the time and only spent a few days in Sydney occasionally, so she could easily stay with her family. Olivia did appreciate Zoe's generous help and real friendship. In fact, all of her friends from her university years, like Sophie, Ava, and many others, were very helpful.

Despite what everyone else told her consistently, despite the fact she knew it sounded ridiculous, somehow, deep down in her heart, Olivia felt that Leo was still alive somewhere. Leo worked as a researcher in an artificial intelligent laboratory when the fatal accident happened, but she hadn't been told what happened to his body. It might have been cremated or buried; she had no idea. More strangely, she was unable to find out, since the accident was a highly classified national security matter. She shook her head and sighed; everyone else might be right and she might still be in denial about Leo's death.

Listening to his even breathing, Olivia couldn't believe that she could be attracted to this stranger, a nameless young man she knew nothing about. Maybe it was because when she first heard his voice, it sounded like Leo's, or more likely it was because he had saved her life.

Olivia swore that his voice sounded exactly like Leo's when she heard it with her eyes closed the very first time, but later, after seeing the voice owner's face, she had difficulty associating Leo with this stranger. It could well be that when she was facing death, her brain played a trick on her. Working as a corporate psychological consultant, Olivia knew about these kinds of mind tricks very well.

Olivia stared at the young man in the darkness; how could he fight like that and kill the five big, strong, and armed thugs? How did he know that strange Kung Fu style? Why didn't he want to contact the police or authorities? When this thought burst into her mind, Olivia shuddered: could he be a criminal? Or was he on the most wanted list of some government?

No, there was no way he could be a criminal, not with the way he fought in order to save her life. So the alternative would be that he could be a secret agent, like Zoe. Maybe he was on a secret mission for the UK government. That made sense, since he had a British accent. That would explain how he was able to fight like that and kill the thugs. Yes, that was more likely the case.

It was a big relief to solve the mystery. Olivia felt much better. With that thought fixed in her mind, she fell asleep sitting against the couch.

Olivia opened her eyes and smiled at the wonderful smell of coffee. He was already up, looking showered and shaved, and had also helped himself to Leo's clothes, which were still hanging in her wardrobe. For a brief moment, she thought it was Leo standing in front of her.

He put a tray of breakfast and a mug of coffee on the coffee table beside her. She was confused and unable to speak for a while. Finally, she said, "How do you feel?"

"I am fine," he said casually.

Olivia looked at him in great disbelief; the wound on the back of his head was gone. The hair over the wound was washed and looked shiny. She wondered if the wounds on his arms and legs were healed as well. Just then, her phone rang, and her mother appeared on her whole-wall TV screen. It was fortunate her mother was unable to see her apartment because she rarely enabled the image function on her phone. She didn't have time to deal with her mother right now, so Olivia typed on her wrist to turn her phone off.

"Is the thin film sticking to your wrist a phone?" asked the nameless young man.

"You don't know that?" Olivia asked, surprised. "Yes, it's a phone. I remember you asking the same question last night. So you don't know it because you lost your memories?"

"I don't know."

Olivia thought about it for a while and then said, "The wound on the back of your head has gone. How could you recover so quickly?"

"I don't know. This morning when I woke up, I had a shower, and everything seems fine," he said.

Olivia nodded. The answer could be part of his lost memory. Then she felt a pang of fear as a thought came into her mind, but she kept telling herself that it was not possible. "Can you remember anything before the fight last night?"

He shook his head. "I can only remember from the moment I found you in the underground parking lot. I have no memories before that."

"I suppose you have no idea how you were able to fight like that and kill the five thugs." She continued after he nodded. "I gave this a lot of thoughts last night: you could be a secret agent working for the UK government, and that'd explain your excellent fighting abilities."

"On the other hand, I could be a wanted criminal," he said.

Olivia liked his sense of humour, which reminded her of Leo somehow. She told herself that she had to try to forget about Leo, at least in front of this young man. She shook her head. "No, you are not a criminal, not after the way you risked your life to save mine."

"I don't know." The expression on his face showed his frustration.

"Please don't push yourself too hard. Just relax, and your memories might come back soon." Olivia picked up the coffee mug, took a sip and smiled. She hadn't tasted such perfectly made coffee since Leo passed away; Leo was the only one able to make it. No, she had to switch her mind away from Leo, Olivia reminded herself again. "Did you or the machine make this coffee?"

"I don't like coffee from machines. It lacks character." He sat on the couch beside her.

Yes, that was Leo's usual line. What was wrong with her? Why did she associate everything he said and did with Leo? Olivia decided to go back to the most important issue. "Let's assume you are not a wanted criminal; do you have any idea why you don't want to contact the police or authorities?"

"There could be many possibilities, but it's almost meaningless to talk about them," he said.

Olivia carefully chose her words. "My roommate, Zoe, is a secret field agent working for the Australian government. She may be able to help you out."

"Your roommate? Where is she now?"

"She is in Africa at the moment but will be back tomorrow night."

He seemed to think about her proposal for a while and then shook his head. "No, I don't want to get involved with any kind of authorities. I don't know why."

Olivia thought about it for a long time and then made up her mind. "Last night, if you hadn't fought the thugs, I would have died for sure, and you lost your memories as a result. I don't care if you are a wanted criminal. I want to help you and protect you." She paused, staring into his eyes for a second, and then continued. "Stay here with me until you recover your memories; otherwise, it could be very dangerous for you to go out. Someone could be out there looking for you and trying to hurt you."

Olivia smiled after seeing him nod.

"Sorry for taking them without asking." He indicated the clothes he wore.

Olivia shook her head. "No problem. They fit you perfectly."

"Are they your boyfriend's?"

Olivia nodded.

"Did he leave you?"

"No," Olivia said quietly. "He died in an accident."

"I am sorry."

"It's okay." Olivia sipped some of her coffee. She could see the genuine apologetic and sympathetic expression on his face; it made her feel reassured. "What should I call you, since you can't remember your own name?"

"Hang on." He seemed to suddenly remember something.

Olivia thought his memory had somehow recovered, but her hope faded as he disappeared into the bathroom. She didn't have to wait long before he returned. Olivia looked at him expectantly.

He put his hand forward; a piece of thin film was lying on his palm. "I found this stuck on my wrist this morning when I had a shower. It must be my phone. You may be able to find out something about me from it."

Olivia cursed herself internally. How could she miss such a basic thing last night? Well, it was a very traumatic event. How could she be expected to pay attention to what was on his wrist with so much blood on his body? Anyway, that didn't matter now.

Olivia put her wrist over the thin film and typed on her wrist a few times; the contents of the film were displayed on her whole-wall TV screen.
3. Africa

"What time is our flight?" Zoe stared at the endless stream of refugees walking along the dusty road. It was supposedly the rainy season in North Africa, but there hadn't been a drop of rain in this part of the world for the last five years.

"Ten tonight," Nick answered.

Zoe glanced at her wrist. "That's almost eight hours away. Why did we leave so early?"

"Because of these people, my lady." The captain, who sat in the passenger seat, turned to Zoe, gesturing at the endless crowd outside of their military jeep.

"I am sorry..." Zoe mumbled.

"You should be! Thanks to the pollution you westerners created, global warming destroyed our homeland. Do you know how many people died just last year?"

"Approximately fifty million died from starvation and malnutrition in Africa last year, but nobody knows the exact number because..."

"It's a rhetorical question; he doesn't need an answer," Zoe said to Nick.

"Yes, I do, my lady." The captain gazed into Zoe's eyes. "You westerners pumped greenhouse gases into the atmosphere for hundreds of years to gain your wealth, but it is the innocent people, my people, who have to pay the price. Do you know that the famine is so bad that people have started eating the dead? Do you know how many of them have never used electricity in their whole life?"

"I don't have exact data for that question..."

"Shut up, Nick," Zoe said. "We are all very sorry for what is happening here. It was the biggest mistake human civilization ever made. But we have gotten rid of most fossil fuels in our society..."

"That's not good enough," the captain interrupted. "Rich countries like yours need to help our people to survive at least, to redeem your mistakes."

"We have tried our best to help, but we hardly even produce enough food for ourselves," Zoe said quietly.

"Of course you can't. You have not only killed my people but your own people as well. Very soon we will all be doomed; the human race will be terminated." The captain kept his gaze on Zoe's face.

Zoe turned her head away, avoiding the captain's eyes, staring at the people walking under the scorching sunlight. Her eyes met a young mother's, who was holding a baby and walking just outside of her window. The jeep was moving at the same speed as the crowd. Zoe smiled at the young mother, who smiled back, then suddenly collapsed.

"Stop the car!" Zoe shouted.

"What's the matter, my lady?" said the captain.

"She just collapsed, and she had a baby in her arms." Zoe pointed outside the window.

"People are dying everywhere." The captain didn't even look out of the car. "You can't help everyone..."

Zoe opened the door and jumped out of the slow-moving vehicle. She tried to squeeze through the refugee crowd, trying to reach the young women. She didn't get very far before the captain and Nick caught up with her. The dozen soldiers who sat in the back of the military truck leading her jeep also quickly surrounded Zoe to form a protective circle.

"Do you have a death wish?" shouted the captain.

"I can't let her die in front of my eyes. She can have my food and water," Zoe shouted back.

"If you westerners had thought about others a bit earlier, these people wouldn't be suffering now." The captain paused and then said, "Please get back to the car. You will be torn to pieces if you stay in the crowd alone."

"Do they really hate us that much?" asked Zoe.

"Millions of people have already died and millions more are dying. Would you blame them for hating westerners like you who caused all of this in the first place? I would have killed you myself if I had not been ordered to protect you. Nick, get your master into the jeep, now!" shouted the captain again.

"Please let me just give her some food and water," said Zoe.

The captain nodded reluctantly.

Under the escort of dozens of soldiers, Zoe walked to the young woman. She held the woman's head against her chest and fed her some water. Slowly the young woman opened her eyes and said something to Zoe. Nick translated.

"Thank you so much... I always dreamed that I could experience life like you... I have never drunk Coca-Cola..."

Zoe turned around. "Nick, do you have some Coke with you?"

Zoe put the can of Coke against the young woman's mouth, feeding her a tiny bit of the liquid.

"It's so sweet... I finally drank Coke..."

Zoe felt the woman's head falling on her chest. Her malnourished body was so thin it felt like no weight at all. Zoe turned to Nick. "What happened?"

Nick took the woman off Zoe and laid her body on the ground gently. "Zoe, she just passed away."

"Passed away?" It took Zoe a few seconds to understand Nick's words. She suddenly remembered something. "The baby. We need to help her baby."

Nick lifted Zoe to her feet. "The baby passed away a while ago. Let's go back to the car."

As their jeep drove on, Zoe observed the bodies scattered along the roadside in silence. Despite scientists warning the governments around the world for decades, no real actions had been taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so it was no surprise that the global average temperature rose two degrees Celsius by 2026 compared with pre-industrial revolution temperatures. It was supposedly going to happen by the end of the twenty-first century. During the following decade, due to the soaring temperatures, weather patterns changed worldwide; crop harvests reduced dramatically, particularly in developing countries, and as a result, food shortages caused global famine. The mid-west of the US once again turned into a dust bowl. Food-exporting countries like the US and Australia only just produced enough food for their own people, so while the rich countries could still manage to feed their own people, the poor countries suffered great loss of life... While Zoe was lost in her own thoughts, she heard Nick suddenly say, "Why are we changing direction?"

Zoe then realized that their vehicle had peeled off from the main road. "Captain, that's not the direction to the airport."

"It's not, but we would never get to the airport in time if you insist on stopping to help collapsed mothers and crying babies," said the captain. "This way we'll have to drive a longer distance, but there will be far fewer people on the road, so we can drive much faster, and you will be able to catch your flight tonight."

The image that appeared on the wall was a UK passport. The 3D photo matched the young man standing in front of her. Olivia felt a great sense of relief. "Toby, your name is Toby."

"Toby. I suppose it's my name." There was no sign of any recognition from him.

"Nice to meet you, Toby." Olivia hugged him warmly. She was over the moon; after seeing his subdued reception, she calmed down a bit. An awkward silence fell between them briefly. She typed on her wrist, and the TV news appeared on her wall, on the northernmost tip of Australia, in front of the lined-up Australian warships, thousands of refugees' fishing boats covered the narrow sea between Australia and its neighbouring countries. A male voice reported, "After last night's storm, many boats sank, and an estimate of over a thousand people drowned. You are watching a report by Jonathan Media..."

"Why weren't these refugees allowed to get into Australia?" asked Toby.

Olivia found it very hard to answer Toby's very basic question. For decades, refugees had been an extremely sensitive topic in the Australian political landscape. In order to demonstrate their toughness toward people smugglers, politicians made some inhumane decisions to gain political points. As a result, those poor and vulnerable people were placed in indefinite detention, subject to unbearable living conditions. And that was well before the global warming-caused famine started... Just as she was struggling to find something to say, another breaking news story burst onto the screen. It took Olivia's breath away, literally.

It said that last night a group of religious extremists blew up the Australian AI laboratory. The explosion collapsed large parts of the building. Fortunately, there were very few employees inside the building at the time, but it had been confirmed that the chief scientist, Professor Smith, together with a couple of security guards, had been killed in the blast...

Olivia couldn't believe her ears. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She didn't hear the rest of the report. She just sat there and stared at the wall, eyes unfocused... Finally, Olivia was able to focus again, and she saw Toby was watching the news intently. How long had she lost focus? It couldn't have been too long, since the same piece of news was still being reported on the screen. Toby was completely immersed in the news, seemingly unaware of Olivia's reaction.

Then Toby turned to Olivia. "You seem quite upset by the news."

"Of course I am upset. People were killed."

"Who was Professor Smith? The name sounds very familiar," asked Toby.

"Didn't you hear? The news mentioned he was the chief scientist at the lab."

"Yes, I heard that, but the name means something to me; something far more than that. I wish I could remember what it is," Toby said.

Me too, Olivia thought to herself.

"What's your relationship with this man Professor Smith?" asked Toby.

"What makes you think there is a relationship between us?"

"I can tell from your body language," Toby said with confidence.

Olivia wiped her tears with the back of her hand and then said, "Professor Smith was Leo's father."

"Who's Leo?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention that Leo was my ex-boyfriend."

"I am so sorry."

Toby's voice and facial expression showed his genuine sorrow, and that made Olivia feel better. "John was a very good man, and one of the smartest scientists I've ever met."

"In my lost memories, I may know him very well." Toby shook his head. "Please tell me something about him. I mean Professor Smith."

"Professor Smith was one of the few scientists who truly believed that it is possible to create artificial consciousness. He has been working in the field for the last three decades..."

"Artificial consciousness?" Toby interrupted. "Do you mean artificial intelligent?"

"No, I mean artificial consciousness," said Olivia firmly.

"What's the difference?"

"Well, let me tell you a story first," said Olivia. "A guy is inside an enclosed room, and there are two slits in the wall; one opens to the inside, and the other to the outside. When a piece of paper is pushed through the in-slit, the guy's instructions are to find a shape-matching piece of paper from a pile of paper inside the room and then push it out through the out-slit. Despite the seemingly random squiggles on the paper that don't mean anything to him, by following the instructions, he performs his duty perfectly. The squiggles on the paper are in fact questions and answers written in Chinese, so from an outsider's viewpoint, this guy is proficient in the Chinese language and capable of understanding and answering questions in Chinese. It's called 'Chinese Room' in artificial consciousness terms."

"You mean artificial consciousness is about self-awareness?" asked Toby.

"You are getting there," nodded Olivia.

"Had he managed to create artificial consciousness?" Toby asked.

"Not that I know of." Olivia shook her head.

"You don't believe it's possible, do you?"

"What makes you say that?" asked Olivia curiously.

"I concluded it from your body language," Toby said simply.

"Well, I'll need to be more careful about my body language next time, especially in front of you." Olivia gazed at Toby, but there was no expression in his blue eyes.

"Body language can reveal one's most secret thoughts, and few people are able to hide it from skilful observers," said Toby in a matter-of-fact manner.

"It seems that you are such an expert in reading others' body language." Olivia paused. "And secret thoughts. What am I thinking now?"

"I don't need to decipher your body language this time; I can just read it from your face. You are wondering how and where I got such an ability. It could be a gift or I could be trained. All the answers are here but lost for the moment." Toby patted his own head. "Could I ask you a couple more questions?" Toby said carefully, and continued after Olivia nodded. "Why would someone want to blow up the lab?"

Olivia used a tissue to wipe her face, feeling a bit calmer. "Because these fanatics believe creating artificial consciousness is against God."

"Was there such an attack on the lab before?"

"A few report about threats and warnings but no real actions." Olivia got herself a glass of water, sipped a bit and then sat down on the sofa again.

"So the question is why they took action now. Could it be that Professor Smith had some kind of breakthrough recently?" asked Toby.

"Possibly," said Olivia thoughtfully. The news in the background became quite loud, so Olivia was about to turn it off but stopped. It was being reported that the police had found five people dead in an underground parking lot in central Sydney. The reporter said that, based on the initial investigation, the bodies belonged to the infamous international crime organization God's Wishes, so it could be an internal turf war.

"Definitely," Toby said, and his voice imitated the reporter's. It made Olivia laugh. She liked his sense of humour; it was so much like Leo's. However, what the reporter said next wiped out any light feeling from both of them.

"A confirmed source stated that the killing happened just after the explosion in the AI laboratory, so there is some speculation that there may be some connection between the two incidents..."

Toby exchanged a look with Olivia. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"Maybe, but it's impossible..."

"I know exactly what's in your mind. Let's face it: I appeared in the underground parking lot just after the lab explosion. I had the skill to carry out the attack. I also seemingly have some connections to and knowledge about Professor Smith in my lost memories..."

"Yes, I did think along those lines." Olivia interrupted him. "But you risked your own life to save mine, so I don't believe you could be the one who carried out the attack."

"I could still be a fanatic," said Toby.

"You don't sound like one to me."

"How do you know that? That could be because I lost my memories."

"Hang on," Olivia said. "When you appeared in the parking lot to save my life, you hadn't lost your memories then. What you said and did didn't sound like a fanatic terrorist to me, and it definitely didn't sound like one who just blew up a whole lab."

"Thank you for trusting me, and I hope you are right."

"I know I am right; it's intuition. My intuition has been proved correct in the past." Olivia gazed into Toby's eyes. "You know I am telling the truth, don't you?"

Toby nodded and suddenly frowned. "You have a visitor, right outside of your door."

"Impossible." Olivia hadn't managed to complete a sentence when they heard a knock on the door.
4. Global Warming

"How can we go back to headquarters without finding the Taibot bodyguard in question?" Nick asked quietly.

They were driving along a deserted road through the dry land. There was no grass, trees or any living plant in sight. The jeep stayed a reasonable distance away from the escorting military truck ahead in order to avoid its long, dusty tail. The captain was leaning his head against the headrest and had completely ignored Zoe during the last couple of hours of driving.

"Come on, Nick. We have been searching for the damn Taibot for over a month and can't carry on indefinitely," Zoe said in a low voice.

"Have we confirmed that it's not the Taibot who killed the tribe chief?"

"Of course we have." Zoe stared at Nick. "How could you ask such a question? You are a Taibot yourself. You know well that all Taibots manufactured in Australia have ethical codes imbedded in the chips in their heads. In this case, it's obvious the chief's brother killed him and blamed the Taibot."

"But without the Taibot, we can't prove the case."

"I don't think we'll ever find the Taibot. They could have completely destroyed it and made it disappear from the surface of the earth. I wish that every Taibot had a black box that could be located remotely; it'd make my job a lot easier. Why don't they have a bloody black box?"

"It's because of the privacy law..."

"Nick, that was a rhetorical question," Zoe said.

"Eh." Nick shook his head.

Olivia tapped her wrist once, and the visitor's image came up on her TV screen. It was her mother. Her mother must think she was sick since she hadn't answered her phone call. Why did she always visit her at the most inconvenient moments?

"It's my mother. Toby, just tell her that we met yesterday on the street, and you need to stay with me for a few days."

Toby nodded.

While cursing internally, Olivia reluctantly opened the door and let her mother in.

As soon as she saw Toby, Olivia's mother's eyes brightened. "Oh, I didn't know you had a visitor. Hi, I am Liv's mother, Mia."

"Hi, Mia, nice to meet you. I am Toby."

"Nice to meet you too, Toby." Mia stared at Toby for a few seconds longer and then turned to Olivia. "Why haven't you mentioned Toby to me before?"

"It's because we only met yesterday," said Olivia. She tried very hard to think of an excuse to get rid of her mother.

"Oh, how lovely." Mia turned to Toby. "Toby, how did you two meet?"

Olivia spoke before Toby had a chance. "Mum, Toby and I have a few urgent things that need to be dealt with."

"All right." Mia laughed. "I am on my way to do some shopping in the city, so I will leave you alone." Mia walked toward the door but stopped. She turned to Toby. "Toby, we're having a family barbecue tomorrow afternoon. Would you be able to join us?"

How could she forget about the family gathering completely? Olivia was about to say that they had something already scheduled, but Toby said, "Thanks for your invitation, Mia. I am more than happy to attend as long as it's okay with Liv."

"Of course. Liv would like to introduce you to our family, so see you tomorrow then, Toby." Mia smiled broadly, walking out of the apartment.

"Why did you agree to attend my family's barbecue?" asked Olivia.

"I thought it'd be rude to decline such a lovely invitation."

"But I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with authorities." Olivia sat back on the sofa.

"It's hardly getting involved with authorities to attend your family gathering; besides, it'd cause more unnecessary attention if I didn't go."

Olivia thought about it and agreed that Toby's reasoning had some weight behind it. "If that's the case, you will need some clothes."

"There are quite a few in your wardrobe, and they seem to fit me perfectly."

"No, you can't wear them; they belonged to Leo," Olivia said firmly.

Toby nodded but didn't say anything.

Olivia tapped her wrist a few times. Racks and racks of clothes appeared on her TV screen. She flicked her fingers to zoom in on some racks. "What kind of clothes do you like?"

"Tomorrow is forecasted to be thirty-nine degrees, so a T-shirt and shorts would be suitable."

Olivia waved her hands, zooming and flapping through dozens more racks of clothes, but she failed to find anything that satisfied her. "Completely useless," she mumbled to herself, and then selected the customer design option. It didn't take long for Olivia to finish her own design.

"Take your clothes off." Olivia turned to Toby.

"What for?"

"You wear underwear, don't you? I just want to see if my design looks okay on you." Olivia felt amused at seeing Toby's reaction to her request.

Toby took off his clothes awkwardly and finally stood in front of Olivia in only his underwear.

Olivia observed Toby closely. Although not surprised, she was still amazed to see the perfect skin on his arms and legs; the gash wounds inflicted merely fifteen hours ago were completely gone. While admiring his perfect body, Olivia felt a heavy blanket of doubt falling onto her mind. She shook her head to get her focus back on what she was doing. She tapped a few more times on her wrist, and then her newly designed T-shirt and shorts appeared on Toby's body in a hologram form.

"What do you think?" Olivia gestured at the TV screen behind Toby.

Toby turned around, observing his own image on the wall for a while. "I like it; you should be a fashion designer."

That's exactly what Leo would say. Even the tone was exactly like Leo's as she remembered it. Why did she associate everything about Toby with Leo? She had to stop doing it. "The drone will be delivering the clothes to you shortly. You can put your clothes back on now."

Olivia then had an idea. "Toby, based on the delicious breakfast you made for me, it seems that you are quite good at cooking. I just wondered if you are also good at making dessert. Of course, you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"I am more than happy to contribute to your family's gathering, and yes, I can make pavlova."

Olivia felt her heart skip a beat; this was just too much to be a coincidence. She tried to speak as normally as she could. "That'd be great. Everyone loves Pavlova. You would be the best guest ever in my family's history."

"You seem very excited about the idea of me making Pavlova, but the reason is not what you said."

Olivia smiled. "So you confess that you can't work out what I am thinking."

Toby shook his head. "Women's minds are the hardest thing to understand in the whole universe."

Olivia dreamed about Toby, and suddenly Leo walked into the apartment. Toby and Leo started having an argument; Leo pointed a gun at Toby and was about to shoot him. "Oh, no," Olivia cried out loud.

"Are you all right?" Toby asked from outside of her bedroom door.

It took a second for Olivia to work out what had happened. "I am okay; just a nightmare."

"I have nightmares, too. Good night."

"Thanks, Toby. Good night." Olivia smiled to herself.

"What time are we supposed to be there?" asked Toby. It was late morning the next day, Sunday.

Olivia looked at her wrist. "Two-ish, I guess."

"In that case, we need to get the ball rolling." Toby opened the fridge. "We don't have any eggs."

"Of course you don't have eggs," said the fridge. "It's because eggs are rationed and every person is only allowed an egg every fortnight."

"Really?" Toby turned to Olivia.

"Toby, don't you know about the food ration?"

Toby shook his head. "It might be part of my lost memories. Please explain it to me."

"There's not much to explain. Due to global warming, harvests dropped significantly around the world, and Australia is struggling to produce enough grain for its own people, so there is no extra to feed domestic animals. As a result, meat, milk, eggs, and any other animal-related food products are strictly rationed."

"What about agricultural technologies? Can't we produce some kind of new crops that are able to grow in hotter climates? Or in controlled environments indoors?"

Olivia shook her head. "I don't fully understand the science, but it seems there is no such crop being produced. There are many large parking lot-like buildings used to grow vegetables. They are called vertical farms, but they are insufficient to supply the whole population."

"Close my door to save energy; don't you know about global warming?" shouted the fridge.

"Oh, sorry." Toby closed the fridge's door. "I thought it was called climate change back in 2018," said Toby.

So he was able to remember things back then; that was eighteen years ago. Based on Toby's passport, he was only eighteen in 2018. Olivia wondered if Toby could remember anything else from that period. Well, that was eight years before she met Leo for the first time, and she was only ten years old then. "It's still called climate change now; I just used to call it global warming. Climate change would be more accurate because weather becomes much colder in some regions."

Toby nodded. "I remember reading about that; although most people believed in climate change, not many believed it would happen so soon. Everyone thought it'd get a bit warmer and the sea level would rise a few inches by the end of the century. That's even what it said in the IPCC's report, so how could it change so dramatically in such a short time?"

"You don't remember anything about what happened in the last eighteen years, do you?" Olivia continued after Toby shook his head. "IPCC underestimated climate change completely. The climate change models used in the study assumed linear progress of global weather and ecosystems, but in reality, the situation has been deteriorating exponentially due to many self-reinforcement loops near the Arctic Circle."

"Self-reinforcement loops?" asked Toby.

"After the ice in the Arctic Circle shrank due to the higher temperatures caused by climate change, the darker ocean water absorbed more sunlight, rather than the white ice surface reflecting it. That resulted in even bigger temperature rises, which caused more ice to melt, and so on. It's a downward death-spiral..."

"I see..." Toby stared at her in disbelief.

Olivia laughed bitterly. "Just recently the average global temperature has reached three degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels. Bushfires destroyed most of the Amazon rainforest last year, and global food production plummeted."

"Oh dear, there must be a global famine now," Toby murmured.

"You can say that again." Olivia sighed. "Over two hundred million people died last year due to food shortage, disease, and civil wars around the world. Scientists estimate that if the crop harvest conditions are not improved next year, millions, even billions, will perish..."

"My God, I would never have imagined that it could become so bad," said Toby. He thought about it and then said, "I assume most of those deaths occurred in poor countries?"

"Yes, of course; Africa, South America, Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East. Poor people have paid with their lives for westerners' accumulation of wealth." Olivia wiped away her tears.

"What happened to the rich countries? I mean Europe and the US," asked Toby.

Before Olivia spoke again, the fridge said, "Well, southern Europeans migrated to Scandinavian regions, and the US merged with Canada, becoming United Canada, or UC. Apparently all Canadians voted 'overwhelmingly and willingly to merge with the US.'"

Toby turned to the fridge. "Very impressive. You are such a politically savvy fridge, aren't you?"

"Well, this is all on the Internet; all you need to do is look. I have a lot of free time, so I read quite a bit," said the fridge. "Here are just a few such examples."

Toby stared at the fast-rolling articles and images on the TV screen on the fridge's front door and then shouted, "Stop! Back a bit. Yes, that article about the methane threat in the Arctic region."

He read the article with rapt interest.

The release of the potent greenhouse gas from the Arctic Ocean floor does not only increase the global temperature; unlike CO2, methane is flammable. Even in air-methane concentrations as low as five percent, the mixture could ignite from lightning or some other spark and send fireballs tearing across the sky. The effect would be much like the "vacuum bombs" used by the US and Russian armies, igniting fuel droplets above a target: those near the ignition point are obliterated instantly, and those at the fringes are likely to suffer many internal injuries, including burst eardrums, severe concussion, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness...

"I am glad that you noticed it too," said the fridge. "Methane released from the permanently frozen soil and seabed in the Arctic could terminate all complex forms of life on Earth instantly..."

"Really?" Toby turned to Olivia. "Do you know much about the methane threat?"

Olivia shook her head. "Not much, and I don't want to know about it either. I suggest that we should keep the ball rolling."

Toby nodded.

"Fridge, order a dozen eggs, and use express delivery," Olivia said.

"My lady, that'd be half your yearly allowance," said the fridge.

"Shut up and follow the order," Olivia said.

"I was just politely reminding you about your food supply situation; it's my duty as your food keeper... All right, I'll carry out your command right now," said the fridge.

Olivia watched Toby preparing to make Pavlova with great interest. His every move, gesture and expression was just too much like Leo's to be coincidence.

"To cook the perfect Pavlova, I would suggest setting the temperature and timer as displayed. That is my recommendation, by the way," said the oven.

Olivia tapped her wrist a few times to disable the oven's speech function, and then turned to Toby. "They are really annoying sometimes."

"Whoever programmed it must have a sense of humour." Toby put the Pavlova into the oven.

"I don't think any human programmed them. I believe that all programs are made by other programs now." Olivia watched Toby closely, but there was no sign of anything in his expression.

"Oh, I probably would have known that if I hadn't lost my memories." Toby paused, thinking for a few seconds. "While I was making the Pavlova, I had this strange feeling, like I could suddenly remember something, but because it was only a piece or a hint, I was unable to link it to any memories. It's so frustrating."

"Just relax; you'll recover your memories soon." Olivia patted his arm.

"I hope so. Thanks," said Toby, smiling.

She liked his smile. Of course, it was just like Leo's. Olivia was completely confused; had she lost her mind?

Olivia opened the door and walked onto her balcony. Toby, who held the Pavlova, followed. A flying car zoomed in, hovering next to the balcony. Olivia pushed open the gate that was part of the balcony handrail and stepped into the car.

"Oceanside picnic site 27," Olivia said after Toby had climbed in beside her. "Please stay with me and let me do all the talking."

Toby nodded.

Apart from the narrow strip between Sydney and Melbourne that was still inhabitable, much of the Australian continent had become desert. Large chunks of the Australian population had squeezed into Tasmania Island. They were flying to one of the few special designated picnic spots that were not suitable for growing crops. Olivia watched the landscape underneath their flying car. "I can't believe Australia was once a food exporting country."

"It seems that you are at least producing enough food for your own people," said Toby.

"It's lucky we don't have a large population. Thinking about it, Australia is as guilty as the rest of the large greenhouse gas emitters because we extracted coal and gas out of the ground and sold them to fuel global warming," said Olivia. "Human beings are supposedly more intelligent, but we still dug our own graves, driven by greed."

"Do you think humans will survive this time?" asked Toby.

"Millions and millions of people are dying around the globe as temperatures are getting hotter and less food is being produced, so I very much doubt it," said Olivia. "I never imagined that I'd live to see the end of humanity."

"How much time do you think is left for humans on Earth?"

Olivia leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes for a moment. "Someone predicted a couple of decades, but someone said only a few years; nobody really knows. One thing is clear: human extinction is just a matter of time. After eradicating most other life forms from the surface of the earth, can humans survive alone?"

They spent the rest of the journey in silence. Finally, they arrived.

"My lady, would you like me to wait for you here?" asked the instrument panel.

"Would it be cheaper for you to wait here?" asked Olivia.

"It depends on how long I have to wait. If you'll be back within a couple of hours, it'd be much cheaper for me to wait here."

Olivia looked at Toby and then said, "It'll definitely be within two hours, I'll make sure of it."

"Okay, have a nice time, and I'll be ready to take you back home in two hours' time." The car flew away after they stepped out of it.

"Hello, Toby. It's so nice to see you again." Olivia's mother Mia hugged Toby. "Let me introduce you..."

"Mum, I'll do the introductions," Olivia said. "Toby, this is Cooper, my father; Zara, my mother's sister; Max, Zara's husband; and Grace and Jack, my cousins."

After Toby said hello and shook hands with everyone, Olivia said, "Toby is from the UK and in the middle of backpacking across the world. We met a couple of days ago. He will stay with me for a few days before figuring out his next move."

"How lovely. Toby, do you have brothers or sisters?" asked Zara.

"I can't remember," said Toby.
5. Picnic

Olivia watched people's confused expressions and quickly said, "Toby means that he has been travelling for so long that he can't even remember about his own family. Toby has a very dry sense of humour."

"Pretty dry, indeed." Toby made a funny face and everyone laughed.

"Toby, half of Holland is underwater, and the European Union has been moving people from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia since last summer. What is the situation in your hometown in the UK?" asked Max.

Olivia felt very tense while waiting for Toby's reply.

"Well, I only know what's reported on the news, so you know as much as I do," said Toby casually.

Olivia felt great relief. During the following conversations, she was glad that Toby adapted to the situation extremely well. He hadn't made a second mistake to reveal the fact that he had no memories of current events. She was impressed by Toby's quick thinking and great wits. In a few scenarios, she couldn't think of a better response.

"Zara, are you aware of the methane threat from the Arctic regions?" Toby asked after discussing and answering tons of questions about his family in the UK.

Zara looked at her sister, then Olivia, and finally said, "I am always so busy, so I never have time to read the news."

Mia nodded in agreement. She turned to Olivia's father. "Cooper, I think we should get the barbecue started, don't you think?"

Toby took a big drag of his beer and then said, "Max, how long do you think humanity will last?"

Olivia noticed Grace was sitting away from the crowd, alone. She knew Grace had been struggling with bad depression for a while, and she was quite sure this kind of dystopia conversation wouldn't do her mental condition any good.

Max threw his empty beer bottle to the ground and opened another one. "A few decades, maybe longer; who knows? Mate, I don't know about humanity, but I'm pretty sure Aussies will be the last ones standing on Earth."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Toby.

"Toby, do you know why people say Australia is a lucky country? I'll tell you why: we are a bunch of lucky people, so we will be the last to go..."

Olivia grabbed Toby's hand before he managed to say anything else. "Toby, let's go and help Dad with the cooking."

Toby stood by the barbecue while Olivia's father grilled the meat. "Cooper, I thought meat was extremely rare and rationed, so how do you have so much?"

"Cooper and I kept a pig in our backyard, so it's possible to have a family treat like this," said Mia.

"Where do you get food to feed the pig?" asked Toby.

"We collect all the food scraps from friends' places. It's more like a community project. Of course, in the end, everyone can have a share of the meat." Mia spoke proudly.

"It seems you guys still have plenty of food to eat, so why would the government introduce food rationing?" asked Toby.

Before Mia could come up with the words, Olivia spoke first. "Well, Australia used to be a food exporter, so even with the crop harvest reduction, it still produces sufficient food to sustain its own population. I suppose that food rationing is to reduce food waste, and also for humanitarian and strategic reserve purposes."

Silence fell. Nobody spoke for a while, and then Toby said, "Cooper, it seems that humans are unlikely to survive global warming; is there anything anyone can do to get us through this crisis?"

"Wu Wei is the best way to act," said Cooper.

Looking at Toby's face, Olivia laughed. "Toby, my father is the oriental philosophy professor at the Australian National University. He specializes in Taoism, so his words can be very hard to understand sometimes."

"I'll leave you to your philosophical discussions." Mia rolled her eyes and walked away to join the others.

"Taoism? Wu Wei?" Toby thought for a second. "The Way that can be told of is not an eternal way..."

"The names that can be named are not eternal names..." Cooper patted Toby's back, and they both laughed.

"Cooper, based on my recent research, the concept of Wu Wei is very difficult to grasp. The interpretations of it include inaction, respecting nature, not interfering with nature, etc., but none of them are satisfactory to me," said Toby.

Cooper nodded. "Wu Wei is the fundamental principle of Taoism and not an explicit concept, so it's no surprise that there have been so many different interpretations over the last two thousand years..."

Olivia knew that they were talking about Taoism, an ancient philosophy originating from China over two and a half thousand years ago. While Toby and Cooper exchanged their understandings of Taoism, Olivia felt both excited and disappointed. She was excited because it seemed as if Toby had recovered some of his memories about Taoism; her disappointment was because Leo and she had never understood the incomprehensible words that had occupied her father's whole career. This fact had profound implications on her current situation.

Olivia stood there and listened to their conversations patiently, although her brain didn't take in one word. Finally she heard Toby say hesitantly, "Cooper, would you like me to help you grill the meat?"

"That'd be great. Here you go. I'll go and sit down for a cold drink." Cooper walked away.

"Liv, I have a strange feeling that I have been here before," Toby said quietly.

"That's good; it means that your memories are starting to come back," said Olivia.

Toby looked around and then thought for a while. "All of these surroundings look so familiar; I feel like I've been here before. It's so strange."

"There is nothing strange about it; this is a popular picnic spot, and you could have been here before."

Toby looked at Olivia's family again and said in a low voice, "Not only this picnic spot, but also with your family, grilling on this barbecue, with you standing beside me..."

This shocked Olivia. She didn't know what to say. Before she could respond, Jack came over. He was a seventeen-year-old high school student. "Hi, Toby, your hair looks awesome. Can I touch it?"

"No," Olivia said before Toby could open his mouth.

"Be cool, man." Jack walked away.

"Why did you say no? He just wanted to touch my hair," asked Toby.

"I'll explain it to you later. It seems that the meat is done. Let's eat and leave as soon as possible."

Everyone loved Toby's Pavlova. Toby could tell that they meant it and were not just being polite. But he could also tell when they lied to him. For example, when Olivia said he was a backpacker from the UK, although everyone nodded and smiled, he knew nobody believed it. Toby knew he had been here before, with Olivia and her family, but how could it be possible? He didn't know Olivia at all; seeing her in the underground parking lot was his first memory of her.

Fortunately he didn't have to wonder for very long because Olivia told everyone that they had to leave due to an urgent appointment. After their flying car took off from the ground, Toby said, "Please explain why everyone is lying to me."

Olivia stared at the instrument panel in front of them and said, "Not here; wait until we get home first."

Zoe heard the sound of explosions. Lifting her eyes, she saw plumes of smoke beside and behind them. Their jeep jolted to a sudden stop. The command device on the captain's hand shouted loudly in the local language of the soldiers on the truck in front of them. Nick translated.

"Captain, we are under attack...they don't want to shoot us, they just want us to stop..."

Even before the captain could reply, a different voice sounded from his command device in English. "Captain, this is Commander Congo, and I trust you have heard about me."

The captain turned around, glancing at Zoe and Nick.

"Commander Congo is a rebel leader and infamous for his cannibalism," said Nick in a low voice.

"I heard that. Yes, I am the famous Commander Congo who eats people's flesh. It's not a bad solution when not much food is available in this part of the world; well, it's not very good for those people being eaten, but at least my guys can survive." After a loud shout of laughter, the voice spoke again. "Captain, it's your lucky day. Normally I would kill you and all of your soldiers to feed my followers, but I'll let you go if you leave the white guy, the white girl, and the jeep to me. I've always wanted to eat a white woman, so today is my lucky day. What do you say?"

The captain glanced at Zoe once more and said, "How can I be sure that you will let my soldiers and me leave safely?"

"You can go in the truck and leave the white guy and girl inside the jeep behind. Don't do anything stupid; otherwise you will be destroyed instantly. The reason you haven't been killed yet is because I want both the white girl and the jeep unspoiled."

"I need time to consider your offer," said the captain.

"I give you five minutes; if you don't do as I say, your truck will be blown up first. Your time starts now." The voice cut out.

The captain turned off his command device. "You heard our conversation then. It seems that we don't have much choice."

"Why did you choose this route in the first place?" asked Zoe, while watching the captain closely.

"I swear that Commander Congo has never been around this region before," said the captain.

"It's true," said Nick.

Zoe thought for a moment. "As you just said, it seems that we don't have much choice now, so why don't you and your soldiers leave here and let them have me and the jeep?"

"I can't do that, my lady."

"Why not? As you said earlier, you would have killed me yourself, so now is the perfect opportunity, and you don't even have to do it."

"It's true that we all hate your westerners for what you have done to destroy our home and kill our people, but as a solider, it's my duty to protect you and escort you safely to the airport. I'll do just that, even if it means I lose my life," said the captain.

"I thank you for your bravery, but it seems there is not much chance for us to fight back," said Zoe.

"What should I do then?" asked the captain.

"Leave. You and your soldiers leave and let them have Zoe and me," said Nick.
6. Taibots

As soon as they entered Olivia's apartment, Toby asked, "Please tell me why everyone was lying to me, and why Jack wanted to touch my hair and you said no to him."

Olivia didn't answer immediately. She got herself a glass of water, sitting down on the sofa.

"So?" Toby pressed.

After sipping a bit of water, Olivia said, "Do you know anything about Taibot?"

"Taibot? I don't think so. What is it?"

She nodded. "It must be part of your lost memories again. After True Artificial Intelligence was born in 2026, programs were no longer written by humans but by other programs, like I mentioned earlier; since then, innovations have been growing exponentially."

"If that's the case, how come True Artificial Intelligence couldn't help to solve the global warming problems?"

Olivia drank a mouthful of water. "Although scientific societies kept warning the governments and public consistently, no drastic measures were taken to address global warming until 2025, but it was already too late then. Earth has passed the point of no return, and dozens of CO2 self-reinforcing feedback loops started... No science or technology would be able to save human beings and other living species from extinction due to the downward death spiral of global temperatures rising..."

Toby thought for a while but said nothing.

Olivia shook her head, refocusing on the topic, and then continued. "With the help of the True Artificial Intelligence, we soon solved the energy storage problem. As a result, we were able to completely switch to renewable energy, but of course it's far too late."

She saw no reaction from Toby, so she continued. "The next breakthrough with nanotechnology and bio-computing brought us the True Artificial Intelligence Bot, or Taibot, as we call them."

"How intelligent are these Taibots?"

"Well, that depends on your definition of intelligence," said Olivia. "If you mean reasoning, deducting, memorizing, and researching, they are far superior to humans, but they don't have consciousness; in other words, all of their decisions are made based on the databases in their brains."

"Can one tell the difference between a Taibot and a real human easily?"

Olivia chose her words carefully. "Of course, Taibots have very low emotional intelligence."

Toby thought for a while and said, "What do Taibots have to do with my original questions?"

Olivia didn't speak, just stared at Toby.

Toby then suddenly shouted out, "Oh no, don't tell me all of your relatives thought I was a Taibot. But why?"

"Because of your perfect body; because it's unheard of to meet a real human guy on the street who wants to attend my family's gathering. Because...would you like me to continue?"

"What do you think? Do you think I am a Taibot?"

"I did have my doubts from time to time, but I don't think you are a Taibot."

"What were your doubts about me?"

Olivia collected her thoughts and then said carefully, "First was how quickly you recovered from your wounds; no human is capable of that. Your body is too perfect for a real human."

"Okay, why do you think I am not a Taibot then?"

"As I mentioned before, you have emotional intelligence; more accurately, you have real human consciousness."

Toby laughed. "There is no convincing evidence to form that conclusion. I could be the latest model of Taibot who has real human consciousness."

Olivia stood and walked up to Toby, standing very close. She gazed into Toby's eyes, only a couple of inches away. "Taibots do not have human consciousness, and I can see your soul in your eyes. That's enough evidence to convince me you are a real human. If you really want to know, it's intuition that Taibots are not capable of having."

"Intuition? Do you mean making decisions without thinking?"

"Yes, exactly." Olivia never moved her gaze away from Toby's eyes.

"I suppose that I have done it sometimes. For instance, I made up my mind to save you in the underground parking lot without thinking whether I was capable of fighting off the thugs."

Olivia smiled broadly. "You see; this proves that you have real human consciousness."

Toby thought for a second. "Why did Jack want to touch my hair?"

"Because he wanted to check if you have an implanted receiver behind your ear." Olivia sat back down on the sofa again.

"What's a receiver?" Toby fumbled behind his ears.

"You don't have one," Olivia said. "I checked you myself while you were sleeping. Sorry for the suspicion."

"Do all Taibots have these receivers?"

"As far as I know," said Olivia.

"Surely I can do a brain scan to prove if I am a Taibot or not."

Olivia shook her head. "It's not that simple; because of the nanotechnology and bio-computing, a scan would reveal nothing. Besides, some humans have implanted chips to enhance their strength, speed, and abilities, to access the Internet, etc. In other words, a scan wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a Taibot and a human with implanted chips."

"There must be some way to find out if I am a Taibot or not," said Toby in frustration.

"Yes, there is; through surgery and the use of special equipment to check the chips in your brain." Olivia took a deep breath. "I have encountered many smart Taibots due to my connections with Leo, so I know something about Taibots. Based on my experience and observations, you are not a Taibot."

Toby walked to the window, looking out. "How do you explain my body and my impossible healing ability?"

"You could be one of the genetic engineering experiments, who knows?" Olivia said. "It seems that some of your memories are starting to come back, at least the part about Taoism. Can you remember anything else?"

Nick signalled the captain to make sure the command device was turned off. "Based on my research on Commander Congo, and on the firepower he just demonstrated, he was not bluffing; he could easily take all of us out right now, so it's meaningless trying to fight back. We are inside his ambush and just have to do as he asked. We have no choice."

"It's my duty to protect you; I can't just give up on you," said the captain.

Nick raised his hand to stop the conversation. "We don't have a lot of time to argue right now; otherwise, we'll all die here. Captain, take your soldiers and leave."

The captain thought for a moment. "To do my duty as a solider, I have made my decision to die with you." He then switched on the command device and gave the order for his soldiers to leave. "Commander Congo, I trust that you heard my order to my soldiers. Please keep your word and let them leave. I'll stay with these two white fellows and die, as is my duty."

"Captain, I admire your bravery and your sense of honour and duty. There aren't many real soldiers like you left nowadays. I promise that my men won't eat you after you are killed. I'll allow you to be buried as a soldier."

After the escorting truck with all the soldiers departed, Olivia saw blobs of dust approaching them from all directions, soon materializing as dozens of four-wheel drives, off road-type vehicles full of armed men. The truck-mounted guns must have fired the warning shots earlier. It didn't take long for a wall of armed men to surround Zoe's jeep.

A tall black guy pushed the human wall apart. "Welcome to Commander Congo's reception party." He laughed loudly at his own joke.

Commander Congo looked at least six foot seven, with broad shoulders and a huge chest and arm muscles. The warrior markings on his face made him scary under the scorching sunlight. Zoe wasn't a girl who could be intimidated easily, but upon seeing his sharp white teeth in his wide-open mouth, she couldn't help but shudder. She felt a spasm of cold run down her spine. She didn't want to imagine that the beast-like mouth would soon engulf her flesh.

"Open the door for our noble guests." Commander Congo turned, grinning at his followers.

One man put his AK47 on his shoulder and opened the jeep's door for Zoe.

Zoe's knees were too weak to walk. Fortunately Nick caught her before she collapsed to the ground. From the corner of her eye, she sensed the captain also standing beside her, but she didn't turn her head to look.

"Look what we've got here: two well-fed white meatloaves." Commander Congo turned to his men, who laughed loudly at his comment.

Zoe heard Nick's voice. "We understand that you are going to eat us, so I plead with you to kill us humanely."

Commander Congo stared at Nick for a moment, as if he had just discovered Nick's existence. "Big white guy, I'll eat you first and keep the white lady a little longer. White meats are hard to get nowadays." A round of loud laughter followed.

Zoe sensed Nick's arms, still around her, were getting tense, and then she heard Nick speak again. "Commander Congo, I heard that you have absolute loyalty from your followers; they treat you like their God."

"You are not wrong." Commander Congo scanned the armed men around him, speaking proudly.

As Zoe tried to work out what Nick was doing, she felt her body being thrown at the captain violently; at the same time, she saw Nick's body shoot at Commander Congo like an arrow. Moving in a blurred shadow, Nick's arm locked around Commander Congo's neck while his other hand held a gun against Commander Congo's chest. It seemed that the gun belonged to Commander Congo. The whole process happened so quickly. Before anyone could understand what was going on, Commander Congo became Nick's hostage.

"Commander Congo, let's test the loyalty of your followers." Nick turned to the armed men. "You have seen how fast I can be, so please don't try to shoot me, because I'll make sure to kill your commander before I die."

"Put all of your guns down. Now!" shouted Commander Congo.

To his credit, the armed men all lowered their guns. "White guy, what do you want to do now? You know you'll never get out of here today," said Commander Congo.

"We can discuss it later," said Nick. "Let the lady and the captain leave with the jeep, and I'll stay."

"What are you saying, Nick?" shouted the captain. "Take him with us, and we can all leave together."

"Yes, Nick, come with us," said Zoe with renewed courage.

"No, you both go, now," said Nick firmly. "Tell me when you are in a safe zone. Commander Congo and I will stay here and wait for your phone call."
7. Sunday Night

Olivia stared at Toby, waiting for his response and hoping that he had remembered something else, but his strange expression alarmed her.

"You have a visitor," said Toby.

This was the second time Toby had sensed someone was outside of her door. He might have super hearing, smelling, or some other sixth sense abilities similar to his impossible self-healing. Olivia didn't show any surprise or ask questions; she just turned to look at the monitor screen. Sure enough, a person appeared under her camera lens.

After the person pushed the doorbell and lifted her face to the camera, Olivia couldn't believe her eyes; it was Zoe. How could this be? Zoe was supposed to be coming home late tonight. Olivia glanced back at Toby quickly and then opened the door.

"Zoe, what a surprise! I thought you'd be back late tonight." Olivia hugged Zoe warmly, but she soon realized that something was not quite right; Zoe looked exhausted.

"Yeah, caught an early flight," said Zoe. She then turned, looking at Toby. "You are?"

Zoe was five foot nine, with dark hair and a very athletic body. She had a hint of an American accent. Just as Toby began to say something, Olivia interrupted. "Oh, let me introduce you to each other. Zoe, this is Toby, and Toby, this is Zoe, my roommate I told you about," said Olivia.

"Nice to meet you." Toby shook Zoe's hand, but Zoe turned, looking at Olivia with a large question mark on her face.

"Toby is backpacking here and needs a place to stay; since you were not here, I let him crash for a few days."

"Is that so?" Zoe gazed at Toby's eyes, observing him intensely.

"Yes. I really appreciate Olivia's and your hospitality in allowing me to stay," said Toby.

"Liv, how did you guys meet?" Zoe's gaze was still on Toby's face.

"Well, we bumped into each other on the street, literally, and started talking. Toby mentioned that he was looking for accommodation, so I let him stay with me for a while until he is able to find somewhere else."

"Wow, a fairy tale encounter," said Zoe. Her voice had no "wow" at all. She kept her gaze steadily on Toby's face.

"Oh no, we are just friends," said Toby quickly.

"Just friends?" Zoe turned back to Olivia.

"There is no fairy tale in the real world. We are just friends," said Olivia calmly. "Zoe, you look exhausted. Can I get something for you? A drink of some description?"

Zoe shook her head. "I am exhausted, and also starving. Liv, would you like to accompany me to go out and get something to eat?" Zoe then turned to Toby. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," said Toby casually.

It wasn't very late, so there were still lots of people wandering on the street. Zoe sat down at a window table opposite Olivia in their favourite sushi restaurant.

"Ladies, could I have your ration coupons please?" said the waiter.

"We are not going to have any food, just a couple of drinks," said Zoe impatiently.

"Coupons may still be required, because some drinks are made from food. What would you like to have?" asked the waiter.

After they had settled down and the waiter had left, Zoe looked at Olivia. "Tell me the truth. Who is this guy Toby?"

Olivia hesitated, and then made up her mind. "Why are you suspicious of Toby?"

Zoe turned, looking through the window glass. "Come on, Liv. When's the last time you heard about a girl meeting a real human guy on the street who not only had a perfect body but was also happy to remain just friends with her?" Zoe didn't turn her head around while speaking.

"So you suspect Toby is not human?"

Zoe turned around, staring at Olivia. "Don't tell me the question never crossed your mind."

Olivia sipped her drink. "Of course it did, but I decided that he is not a Taibot, because no Taibot could present emotional intelligence as Toby does. I mean that he has real human consciousness." Olivia expected counter-arguments from Zoe to challenge her conclusions, but Zoe fell into silence. Quite unusual indeed. Olivia didn't push, just sitting there and waiting for Zoe's reply.

Zoe took a large gulp of her drink, then finally said, "Did you fall for him?"

Olivia thought for a second. "Not sure, but I am warming up toward him, I suppose."

Zoe took one more gulp and then shook her head and laughed bitterly. "Fuck it. If you like him, go for it; it doesn't matter if he is human or not."

"What's the matter, Zoe?"

Zoe turned her head toward the window, using a tissue to wipe her tears. She finally looked at Olivia again. "I lost...Nick...he sacrificed himself to save my life..."

"Nick? Isn't he your Taibot partner?"

"He was."

Olivia chose her words carefully. "I thought the relationship between you two was purely professional..."

"A bit more than that. Actually lots more than that," interrupted Zoe.

"I thought he was just a Taibot, with no real consciousness..." Olivia didn't know if she had said the right thing.

"I know." Zoe blew her nose with a handful of tissues. "I never regarded Nick as more than a tool until I lost him. It's amazing for me to discover I actually loved him, and I still do."

"I am so sorry..."

"In terms of your comments that Taibots don't have real consciousness," said Zoe, "I am not so sure about it now. Nick definitely had consciousness." Zoe put her hand over her forehead, speaking slowly. "Nick may not have had the same consciousness as a human, but he definitely had his own consciousness in his own right. There may be many different kinds of consciousness; you know, a Taibot consciousness."

Olivia thought about the concept for a moment. "You could have a point there. I have never thought about consciousness in that way. Think about it: we have only experienced human consciousness and are unable to imagine there could be other types of consciousness."

"Exactly." Zoe spoke with renewed energy in her voice. "It's just like a person would never dream about an elephant if he doesn't know that elephants exist."

"I wish Leo was here so he could explain the concept of consciousness more clearly." Olivia leaned back against her seat. "Anyway, based on my superficial understanding about consciousness, the difference between humans and Taibots is that Taibots lack self-consciousness. In other words, they just follow some sets of rules, regardless of how sophisticated or complex these rules are, and are not aware of their own existence."

Zoe blew her nose once more. "I knew that Nick was programmed to protect me, to follow my orders, and to assist me with his super-fast and clever brain...but you know, he was so considerate, tender, and able to make great conversation..."

"I wish that I had a chance to know him." Again, Olivia wasn't sure it was the right thing to say.

"Yeah, it's a pity you two never met. I am sure that you would like Nick; how could anyone not like him?" Zoe's voice faded slowly.

A long silence fell between them.

Finally Olivia decided to cheer Zoe up a bit. "When I talked to Sophie and Ava last week, we discussed going to the coast and having a weekend retreat together next week." Olivia didn't mention that Ava wanted to bring her new Taibot boyfriend, Luke, with them.

Zoe sipped her drink, staring at an invisible point behind Olivia's left shoulder for a while. She then said with a hollow voice, "Yeah that sounds great. When's the last time we had a vacation together?"

"Must be just after our graduation from college." Olivia pretended she was trying to remember the exact date, but it was purely for Zoe's benefit. She would never forget that date: it was the day Leo died.

It seemed that Zoe soon realized this very fact. She focused on Olivia's face. "Thank you for putting up with me. I'd like to have a vacation with you guys; it'd be good for me."

"Great," Olivia said. "I'll let Sophie and Ava know. I am sure that Ava will immediately jump on the chance and make all the bookings. You must be exhausted. Let's go back home and you can have a good rest."

Zoe nodded. "I'll stay with my mother for a few days; I need to see her anyway." She picked up her handbag, standing up. While they stood on the street waiting for their taxi, Zoe hugged Olivia. "Toby seems like a decent guy. Based on my brief observations, I agree with you that it is unlikely he is a Taibot. If he were, he would be the latest model nobody has ever heard about. Anyway, go for it if you like him."

"Thanks, Zoe." Olivia hugged Zoe tightly.
8. Monday

Zoe was woken by the Ixis on her wrist. Glancing at the display through half-closed eyes, she realized that it was her boss, Harry. Why was he ringing her while she was on her much-deserved leave? Didn't he realize that she had spent several hard and horrible months on her mission and also lost her partner? Couldn't it wait until she went back to work next week? She had been through the debriefing in Europe before flying back to Sydney, so it had to be something else. While cursing internally, Zoe reluctantly tapped her wrist to answer the phone call. Of course, she didn't enable the video-conference function.

"Hi, Harry, what's up?"

"Sorry to interrupt your vacation, but very unfortunately, we need you to come to the office today."

"What's it about?"

"I can't talk about it on the phone. Are you able to come to my office, now?"

Zoe had to make a great effort not to swear at her boss. Finally she said flatly, "I'll try my best to get to your office as soon as I can."

"Zoe, I appreciate it; see you soon."

"Toby, why don't you use the dishwasher?" Olivia picked up her handbag, ready to leave for work.

"It's only a couple of dishes. I don't mind doing it," said Toby while drying the plates.

It made Olivia smile; Leo used to say the same line. She found Toby more and more like Leo in his way of speaking and doing things, even how he walked. Although she knew that Toby wasn't Leo, Olivia liked the resemblance between the two; it made her like Toby more. She didn't know how to put it more clearly, but she liked Toby in his own way, but those ways were also similar to Leo.

"Do what you like. What are you going to do today?"

"Not quite sure yet. I'll have a look at the Internet. Maybe I'll find something to trigger my memories," said Toby.

"All right. Please stay inside; remember, someone out there may want to harm you, and you have no idea who they might be."

"I know that. It seems that your taxi has arrived. Have a nice day."

Olivia opened the glass sliding door, walking onto her balcony. Sure enough, a taxi was hovering and waiting for her. She wished she could have Toby's ability to sense objects without visual assistance; it could be handy sometimes, she thought as she stepped into the taxi.

"State public library," said Olivia to the instrument panel in front of her.

Zoe walked into Harry's office. She tried to behave as nicely as possible while staring at his bald head. "Hi, Harry, good morning."

Harry was in his mid-sixties. He quickly stood up from behind his desk, walking to Zoe and shaking her hand. "Welcome back, Zoe."

"Harry, what's all this about?"

Harry gestured Zoe to sit in the guest chair in front of his desk. "Anything to drink?"

Zoe shook her head.

"I have to use my ration card to get this damn cup of coffee, can you believe it?" Harry went back and sat in his chair behind his large desk.

"There isn't enough food to go around, and there are even fewer coffee beans. Do you know how many people have died from starvation in Africa this year alone? So you shouldn't complain too much."

Harry sighed. "I know. When I was young, you could eat as many hamburgers as you liked." He patted his abdomen. "I haven't had any meat for ages. Well, it's not all bad news. At least I have a smaller belly as a result of the food rationing."

Zoe had to agree with him; the global food shortage had reduced the waistlines in Australia significantly.

"Harry, what's this secret you can't talk about on the phone?"

"Oh, right." Harry selected a file from his top drawer. "I may be the only one left in this world to still use paper files," he mumbled as he opened the file. "A couple of important things happened in the last few days."

Zoe sat up straighter, waiting for the story.

Harry put his reading glasses on. "Last Friday, there was a large explosion in the AI lab, which killed the chief scientist and a couple of security guards."

"Do you mean that John Smith was killed last Friday?" asked Zoe.

"Let me check; yes, the chief scientist's name was John Smith." He lifted his eyes from the paper. "Do you know him?"

"Not personally," said Zoe. "He was my friend's boyfriend's father."

"Oh, sorry for that," said Harry casually.

"Do you suspect that it wasn't an accident?"

"Not sure at the moment. Despite speculations on the news, nobody has claimed responsibility for it yet. We will check the usual suspects. The lab received a few threats from a few religious extremist groups over the years because they believed the lab was interfering with God's work..."

"I know that," interrupted Zoe. "Anyway, this should be a criminal investigation by federal police. It has nothing to do with me, a Taibot agent."

Harry put the paper on his desk, picked up his coffee mug, and sipped slowly. "When you get old, you need this black liquid more than food. All right, the initial investigation revealed that there was a Taibot missing after the explosion."

"A Taibot missing? Last Friday?" asked Zoe in an alarmed voice.

"Yes, it's all here in the file." Harry was too busy looking at the paper to notice the unusual tone in Zoe's voice.

"What kind of Taibot is it?" Recovered from the initial shock, Zoe's voice sounded more or less normal.

"The report doesn't say much about the Taibot." He put down his coffee mug. "That's why you are getting involved. Zoe, you are my best field agent in Taibot-related crimes, so I have to depend on you to carry out this investigation."

"You are just speculating at the moment, and there is no obvious evidence to indicate that the missing Taibot was responsible for the explosion, right?"

"Right, but we have to check it from the Taibot angle because a Taibot was involved," said Harry, who picked up his coffee mug again.

"Harry, in how many cases have we confirmed that Taibots were responsible for whatever crimes were committed? None. It's always humans who either blame Taibots for their own wrongdoings or tried to reprogram their Taibots and it backfired as a result."

"Zoe, you know very well the real reason why we are investigating every single event as long as it involves a Taibot," said Harry.

Zoe sat back, crossing her legs, and felt a bit more relaxed. "Of course I do; we humans are terrified at the possibility of Taibots gaining consciousness and therefore eliminating us from the surface of the Earth. Harry, it's going to be a long time before that happens."

Harry shook his head. "I have a bad feeling about this. Rumours said that the AI lab may have been close to achieving it, and maybe that's why someone decided to blow it up. The missing Taibot could be the one with human consciousness," he said mysteriously.

"I don't know about that, Harry. It seems to me like just another wild goose chase." Zoe tried to sound casual, hoping her boss didn't sense anything unusual in her tone.

"We aren't done yet." Harry fumbled with the file, reading from the paper. "Not very long after the explosion, five people were killed in an underground parking lot in downtown Sydney."

"So?" asked Zoe.

"To be more accurate, four of the five people killed were not humans but Taibots."

"Okay, have we found out anything unusual about these dead Taibots?"

"These dead Taibots were military grade, and were traced back to one of the largest international criminal syndicates, God's Wishes." Harry lifted his eyes from the paper, looking at Zoe.

"Okay, dead Taibots belonging to GW; what do you want me to do?"

"You haven't asked the most important question: how did they get killed?"

Zoe laughed. "Harry, I am a field agent, not a detective, and that's why you, not me, sit behind this desk. Tell me how they were killed."

Harry emptied his coffee mug with a last gulp, and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "There was no firearm involved, and all were killed by either someone's bare hands or knives belonging to the dead Taibots themselves."

"What?" Zoe knew where this was leading. "Did I get this right: you are telling me whoever killed these Taibots is a hand-to-hand combating martial arts expert."

Harry shook his head, speaking slowly. "No human being is capable of killing four military-grade Taibots only with his own bare hands; it's impossible."

"So you are telling me that it's a Taibot who killed these military-grade Taibots, and you think he could be the missing Taibot from the lab after the explosion."

Harry nodded. "Or missing from the lab before the explosion; you are getting there."

"Why do you think this missing Taibot is so important? Just because he could be the one who killed four military-grade Taibots?"

"It's impossible for any Taibot to kill four military-grade Taibots only using his bare hands; the only possibility is that he has gained real human consciousness."

Although she knew the answer, Zoe went on to ask anyway. "How could human consciousness enable the missing Taibot to have more powerful fighting abilities?"

"Because he could actually understand the martial arts, rather than following the sets of rules in his database."

Zoe knew it was time to leave. Otherwise her boss would sense something strange in her behaviour. "Where would you like me to start?"

"Start by reading these reports about the lab explosion and the underground parking lot killings."

Zoe stood up, ready to leave, but Harry spoke again.

"Zoe, I am sorry about you losing your partner, Nick. I've arranged to get you a replacement as soon as possible. For the time being, you will have to work alone. Are you sure you are okay with it?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks for asking."

Toby stood in the living room, staring at the whole-wall TV screen that was replaying the news about the explosion in the AI laboratory last Friday. As he watched images of the collapsed building, fractions of memories flashed in and out of his mind; he had been there, inside the building, walking through the endless corridors. Toby closed his eyes, trying to figure out why he would have memories of the laboratory, but on opening his eyes again, he still had no idea.

Toby couldn't believe that people thought he was a Taibot; he knew he wasn't: he was a human with human consciousness. However, on the other hand, he understood why they would think that way: because of his physicality and impossible self-healing ability. He could be the result of some kind of scientific experiments, and the secrets could be within the AI lab. Yes, he needed to find out more about the laboratory, Toby decided.

He scanned the room and then knew clearly that he couldn't do the research in Olivia's apartment. Whatever his connection was with the laboratory's explosion could implicate her. He didn't want that happening to Olivia.

Thinking about Olivia brought another mystery to his mind. He didn't know how and why he was in the underground parking lot and had tried to save her without even considering if it was possible or not. Toby also couldn't explain how he had the fraction of flashback memory that he'd attended Olivia's family barbecue gatherings before; it was simply impossible, because Olivia obviously didn't know him at all.

He liked Olivia, quite a lot, even knowing almost nothing about her. Much to his delight, she seemed to like him as well. So there were more reasons to avoid harming her in any way. Toby made up his mind; he needed to go out and find a public place to use the Internet.

Toby took the lift down to street level; he didn't order a taxi because he did not want to get unnecessary attention, so public transportation would be a better choice. Walking outside of the air-conditioned building was a harsh test of endurance. It was forty degrees Celsius, and Toby felt the oven-like heat baking him all over. Fortunately a bus stop was only a few blocks away. Even after spending only a few minutes walking, Toby felt like a fish out of water. He didn't know how long he would last if he had to keep walking. It was a wonderful relief when he finally got into the cool and dry air-conditioned metal-and-glass box. It was even better that the bus was free.

Sitting on the top level of the double-decker bus, peering through the tinted glass ceiling, Toby enjoyed the multi-level bands of flying cars overhead and beyond. Since it seemed that buses were the only vehicles running on the streets, there were few traffic jams, so Toby soon arrived at the state library.

The state library was a large square-shaped glass building; the central full-height skylight provided illumination for all the floors around the circular hall. Toby walked to the rows of chest-high benches on the ground floor. As soon as he stopped in front of a green light bulb-like object, a few beams of light emitted from the bench top, intersected, and formed a three-dimensional hologram.

Toby stared at the hologram, with no idea what to do; what happened next surprised him. Without thinking, he put his hand into it, pushing, tweaking, and twisting a few times, until the 3D hologram collapsed into a 2D display on the bench top. He looked at his hands, speechless; he knew what to do after all.

Turning his head around, Toby looked down and quickly typed a few words into the search engine: Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Sydney. Instantly, a stream of results poured onto the display. He stared at the montage of photos of the damaged laboratory for a long time, unsure which photo to select. It must have been a couple of minutes before, out of nowhere, a web address jumped into his head. Without thinking much about it, Toby typed in the address, and a web page appeared.

It was the home page of the AI Laboratory Sydney, judging by its layout and the logo that was displayed. Without thinking, Toby selected the internal login and typed in passwords he didn't know even a couple of minutes ago. Soon a new page appeared.

The page was somewhat familiar; he had seen it before. However, a second set of passwords was required. Toby typed in the password he had typed in earlier, but it didn't work. He retyped it a few times, even trying a combination of capital and lowercase letters, but it was fruitless. As he searched his memory, hoping another set of passwords would jump into his mind, an alarm went off inside the building.

Loud speakers asked everyone to get their IDs ready for checking. By pure instinct, Toby moved away from the benches, joining the crowd walking toward the exit. Large groups of dark uniformed police officers blocked the entrance; they used handheld ID readers to scan each person's wrist.

Toby knew that he'd be caught, as he didn't have his ID with him at the moment. He also knew he couldn't be caught by the authorities or anybody else for extremely important reasons that were lost in his memories. He slowly moved sideways and then walked up to the second floor. While walking, he witnessed a few struggles as the police arrested those who didn't have IDs; he was not sure if they were human or not. Fortunately Toby wasn't the only one walking upward. Most people kept going about their business, as this seemed like a business as usual event.

Only when looking upward did Toby realize that he had reached the top floor; he looked down at the ring of black uniformed police officers, who were getting closer and closer to his floor. Toby knew with certainty that he was trapped and had no way out.
9. Discussions

"Toby, what are you doing here?"

Toby turned around to see Olivia standing behind him. He looked back; the group of police had just reached his floor. "Liv, I can explain it to you later, but you have to get me out of here first; I don't have any ID with me."

Olivia held Toby's arm, leading him toward the elevators. Behind them, the police officers started to ask everyone to show their ID. They were halfway between the police and the elevators.

"We can't get out through the elevator," said Toby quietly.

"I know; I'm just buying us some time. Do you have anything better?"

Toby shook his head, so they walked toward the elevator, trying to be as casual and relaxed as possible.

"Excuse me, madam and sir," a voice called from behind, a police officer's.

They stopped in front of the elevator. Olivia turned around. "What can I do for you, Officer?" asked Olivia.

"I hope you have realized that we are in the process of checking everyone's ID, ma'am," said the police officer, a relatively young male who seemed to have joined the force not that long ago.

"Oh no, I hadn't; I hadn't noticed anything else around except him." Olivia patted Toby's face.

"Ma'am, I have to check your ID," said the young officer.

"No problem." Olivia withdrew her arm from Toby's.

"It won't be necessary," a voice said firmly from behind them.

Olivia closed her eyes momentarily; that was close, very close. She turned. "Zoe."

Zoe walked over, showed her badge to the young officer, and said, "Leave them to me."

"Yes, ma'am." The young officer walked away.

"Liv, what are you and Toby doing here?" asked Zoe.

"I am doing my research; Toby was getting bored at home, so I asked him to come with me," said Olivia.

"Do you guys have your IDs with you?" asked Zoe.

"I do, but Toby forgot his. He's still not quite familiar with how we do things here," said Olivia.

"I am sure there is routine ID checking in the UK as well, is that right, Toby?" Zoe gazed into Toby's eyes.

"Probably." Toby glanced at Olivia, and then added, "I haven't been home for a very long time, so I'm not quite sure about what happens in the UK anymore."

"Zoe, could you please do me a favour and let Toby leave? I have seen his passport and can show it to you later."

After Toby explained what had happened in the state library, Olivia said thoughtfully, "It seems that you definitely had something to do with the AI lab. What are you going to do next?"

"I am not sure if today's ID checking had anything to do with me logging into the lab's web page, but I suspect it did. It was too much to be just a coincidence," said Toby. "The lab is the only thing I know about that gives me any hope of discovering my memories at the moment, so I've decided to visit the lab."

"Visit the lab? Wouldn't it be very dangerous if the police checked the entire library just because you logged into the web page?"

"Yes, I agree, but it's the only thing I can go after right now."

Olivia thought about it for a little longer. "All right, when do you want to do it?"

"Maybe in the middle of the night tonight." Toby suddenly remembered something. "You know, it's so strange that I can suddenly remember the chief scientist's face. From nowhere, his image popped into my mind."

"You must have seen his photo on the Internet after the explosion."

"Maybe," said Toby. "But I have a feeling that I knew him very well; I was related to him closely somehow."

An idea flashed through Olivia's mind. "Wait a moment." She went to her bedroom and brought back a pile of papers. "This was one of the papers John published about artificial intelligence research."

Toby stared at the colour photo printed on the top page. "Yes, that was the chief scientist I suddenly remembered as if I have known him for my whole life. Who's the person next to him?"

"If you did know John for your whole life, you should know about him as well."

"Who's he?" asked Toby.

"He's John Smith's only son, Leo," said Olivia. She watched Toby's expression closely.

"Leo? No, I don't have any memories of him."

Olivia felt a bit disappointed. "I need to show you one more thing." She went to her room again and brought a shoebox back.

Toby watched curiously as she opened the lid. Olivia took out a white envelope. "Inside is a facial mask that will disguise you so that computerized facial identification programs won't recognize you."

Toby took it from her hand and took the skin-coloured mask out of the envelope. "It looks like an ordinary mask."

"Yes, it does," said Olivia. "But it has special features that are able to deceive cameras and programs. Leo invented it for using in online chats when he didn't want to show his real face."

"What about people? Is it able to deceive people's naked eyes?"

"There is only one way to find out. I'll help you to put it on; I did it many times with Leo."

It was just before midnight.

Before Toby went out, Olivia hugged him and then kissed him deeply. It took Toby completely by surprise. The impact was enormous; he suddenly had the exact image jumping into his mind: Olivia held him and kissed him just like she had done right now. How could it be possible? He shook his head in disbelief, and it alarmed Olivia. She quickly released him. "Sorry for doing that."

"Oh no, I like it; there is no need to apologize."

"But you shook your head," said Olivia.

Toby thought about it, and then decided to tell her. "Liv, while you kissed me, I suddenly remembered that you had kissed me in the exact same way before. I know it's impossible."

"It is strange," said Olivia. "Because I haven't lost my memories, so I can vow that I have never kissed you in my whole life."

Toby hugged her back, and then said, "Let's hope that I can find something in the lab and get my memories back. You never know, maybe we knew each other very well in our previous lives."

"Don't tell me you believe in reincarnation?"

"I don't know what my belief was; it's all in the lost memories," said Toby.

Olivia took another piece of thin, transparent film from another envelope and then put it on Toby's left wrist. "This is the ID that comes with the mask; there are sufficient credits in it for your transportation and other purchases as required."

The AI lab was situated quite a way distant from the north side of Sydney harbor. Large parts of the dome-shaped building had collapsed as a result of the explosion. Based on his Internet research, Toby knew that most parts of the building were underground. It was unclear how much damage there was to the underground parts of the lab where the real facilities were. Maybe no reporters were allowed to visit the site after the explosion.

Toby watched the site from quite a distance. Under the pale streetlights, he could see a few security guards patrolling the area, which was protected by temporary wire mesh fences. After watching for another hour or so, Toby was quite confident that he knew enough about the patterns of the security guards and the surveillance cameras' angles and timing, so he decided to take his next step.

As soon as the pair of guards walked around the corner, Toby ran toward the fence soundlessly. He leaped upward, grabbed hold of a tree branch, and landed inside the fence quietly, like a big cat. He crouched down for a couple of minutes until the next pair of guards walked past and the camera moved to the other side of the site, then he entered the ruins from under the gap in the collapsed concrete slabs.

Soon Toby was inside the corridors of the underground part of the lab. He suddenly remembered where to go. He knew these corridors well, and most importantly, he knew the exact location of the chief scientist's office.

There was no light anywhere. Toby closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. Gradually he was able to make out where things were. Like some of his other unexplainable abilities, Toby had no idea how he could see in the almost complete darkness.

It was deadly quiet among these maze-like corridors. The crumbled building had cracks to let outside light seep in. It was so weak that for ordinary people it would seem like absolute darkness, but it was sufficient for Toby to get around. Then Toby sensed there was another person in his presence. He hadn't seen or heard anything yet, but he just knew it somehow. He kept walking at the same pace, pretending not to be aware of his possible opponent.

His opponent must have had some kind of tool to track him, maybe a thermal image scanner, because he could neither see nor hear anything, but he knew he was there, following each of his steps but keeping a good distance between them. Toby was very close to his destination now. He stopped, scanning his surroundings.

The office ahead was still intact, so the chief scientist must have been in the working area when the explosion happened. After waiting another five minutes or so, Toby walked over, opened the door, and entered the office. To his relief, as he expected, there was no alarm or other surveillance devices around.

Toby scanned the office; it was completely empty. He opened a few drawers under the desk; there was not even one piece of paper in them. He searched through the entire office, but it was fruitless. Sighing internally, Toby sneaked out of the office and decided to have a look at the damaged parts of the lab.

As soon as he turned around the corner, he sensed the danger was closing in, but it was too late to act.

Lights suddenly switched on.

"Don't move! Lie down on your stomach and put both hands behind your head, now."

Toby sighed and did as ordered.
10. Strangers

Toby raised his hands, put them behind his head, and then slowly lay on his stomach on the floor. Footsteps moved toward him quickly. Without looking up, he knew exactly who the person was. However, he then sensed more people from the other side of the corridor were also approaching them. It appeared that his opponent wasn't aware of the incoming danger. Although it may sound unbelievable, just based on the faint footsteps, Toby knew the approaching party meant harm to both him and his opponent.

"A group of men are coming our way, and they intend to hurt both of us, so please let me help you," said Toby in a calm voice.

"Don't even think about it," said Zoe. She walked a bit closer, pointing her gun at the stranger on the ground. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Listen to me carefully. We are both in great danger and could be killed if you don't let me get up and help you," Toby said again.

"Your trick won't work on me. I see and hear no danger anywhere. Cuff yourself, now!" Zoe threw the handcuffs in front of the intruder.

"Take it easy and I'll do exactly what you are asking." Toby slowly moved his hands from behind his head and picked up the handcuffs. He used the opportunity to glance up, and he confirmed his earlier sense. It was Zoe; he had identified her by her smell.

"Hurry up," said Zoe.

"Take it easy." Toby was about to put the handcuff around his left wrist when he heard a cracking sound from the corner of the corridor. Zoe looked up, and that was sufficient for Toby to act. He flung the handcuffs away and knocked Zoe's gun from her hand. Then his body sprang off the ground; he knocked Zoe off her feet, and they landed five feet away. Even before Zoe landed fully on the ground, bullets whistled past her head and would have sunk into her body if she were still standing.

Toby rolled over quickly, gripped Zoe's gun, and fired rapidly. The five newly arrived people fell to the ground. "Give me your spare clips and go," Toby shouted at Zoe, still firing.

Zoe hesitated. "Why do you want to save me?"

"Just go." Toby emptied the ammunition in his gun. "Clips, now."

Zoe threw her spare clips at Toby and ran in the opposite direction along the corridor.

Toby snatched the clips from mid-air, slotted them into his gun, and fired again. He stopped, rolled to the other side of the corridor, and waited.

There was no shooting coming out. Then someone spoke with a strong European accent. "Please don't shoot. We don't want to hurt you. We just want to have a word with you."

"I don't want to have a word with you. Who are you?" Toby tried to keep the conversation going so Zoe would have time to escape.

"Whatever your name is, please listen carefully. I know you are trying to buy some time so the police agent can escape. However, we are not interested in her; we only want to have a few words with you. Please don't make us use force."

"I don't care if you use force as I have a gun here," Toby shouted back.

"I'll give you three seconds to throw your gun down. One, two..."

"All right, I give up." Toby tossed his gun onto the ground.

A group of masked men ran out from the corner. A bag was put over Toby's head and then he was pushed away along the corridor. He heard the leader order his men to take the dead men away and clean up the mess.

After walking for a while, Toby was led up to the ground level. He was then pushed into a car, and it soon rose off the ground and flew away. Despite being unable to see, Toby managed to use his senses to map out which direction he was flying in.

They didn't fly very long. Based on the speed, Toby estimated that they were still in Sydney, not very far from the city centre. He was dragged from the flying car and led into a building. Finally they stopped. The bag was removed from Toby's head.

Toby blinked his eyes, adjusting to the bright light. He was inside a laboratory with white walls and instruments and test tubes all around. A group of armed men stood behind Toby. They were the ones who had kidnapped him; two men stood in front of him. One was in a black suit and the other in a white laboratory coat.

"Dr. Anderson, what do you think about him?" said the dark-suited man with the strong European accent.

Dr. Anderson walked to Toby, using a hand-held device to scan Toby's head. After a while he stopped. "Mr. Logan, he has chips inside his head, but it's not possible to determine if he's a Taibot or not." He spoke with an Australian accent.

"Is there any way you can make the identification?" asked Mr. Logan.

"The only way is to open his skull, but it could damage the package, so it's too risky," said Dr. Anderson.

"Are there any other ways?" asked Mr. Logan.

"We can do a psychological analysis to prove if he has human consciousness, and whether he possesses superhuman and Taibot capabilities or not."

"Mr. Logan," said one of Toby's kidnappers, the attack team leader, who also spoke in a strong European accent. "Sorry for the interruption. He does have superhuman capabilities."

"How do you know that?" asked Mr. Logan.

"Mr. Logan, he killed five of my men with only five bullets," reported the team leader.

"Oh." Mr. Logan turned back to Dr. Anderson. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"Well..." Dr. Anderson thought for a moment and then said, "Humans with implanted chips would be able to achieve such performance; it's not uncommon for top agents. One thing is sure: he definitely has some connection with the government, because the implanted chip technology is only available for a very few government employees, especially for the top agents."

"Yes, I heard about the technology. Why is it so difficult for others to adopt?" asked Mr. Logan.

"The key issue is the chip-human interfacing technology that is owned by Australia's AI laboratory," said Dr. Anderson.

Toby listened to their conversation with great interest. It seemed that nobody in the room had any concerns about discussing this right in front of him. Again, they suspected he was a Taibot. Finally Toby couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, can anyone tell me what's going on here?"

Dr. Anderson turned to Toby. "What's your name?"

"Why am I here?" asked Toby.

"What were you doing in the lab tonight?" asked Mr. Logan.

"It's not your business. Why did you kidnap me and what do you want from me?" Toby said.

Mr. Logan turned to Dr. Anderson. "It doesn't seem like we are going to get anywhere by talking to him. He's either a stupid man or a very smart Taibot, so it's up to you to figure that out. No drugs on him. I want him unspoiled. I hope you understand this point: unspoiled."

"Of course," said Dr. Anderson. "Take him to the interrogation room."

Two men held Toby's arms behind him and pushed him toward the exit. Just at that moment, Toby took action. He twisted his arms, shaking off the two men's hands, and then quickly grabbed the handgun from one of them. Toby pointed the gun at Mr. Logan.

"I don't know what you want from me and I don't care. Let me go or I'll shoot you," shouted Toby.

Mr. Logan waved his arms to signal to the men behind Toby to lower their guns. "It won't work; nobody will let you go, no matter if you kill me or anyone else. Besides, they'll shoot you in your arms, legs, and other parts of your body to disable you."

Toby put the gun against his own head. "What about killing myself?"

There was real panic in Mr. Logan's face that was absent even when Toby was threating to kill him a moment ago. Toby knew he had pushed the right button; somehow these people thought he was so valuable that even their own lives were unimportant.

"You don't want to do that," said Mr. Logan in a shaking voice, as if Toby was threatening to kill him. "Okay, I will tell you the truth: we suspect that the AI lab succeeded in producing the first ever Taibot with real human consciousness. You can understand the significance to the world and mankind."

"So you believe I am the Taibot and you can sell me for a large amount of money?" said Toby.

"Oh no, far beyond anything money can buy," said Mr. Logan. "But if you truly believe you are just a human, we'll let you go after our analysis."

Toby kept the gun against his own head steadily. "You'd never let me go regardless of the result. If I am the Taibot, the answer is obvious; if not, you'd kill me to keep the crime a secret. So do you want to take the chance of letting me kill myself?"
11. Zoe's Department

Zoe walked into her boss' office.

"Hi, Zoe, I knew you'd be able to get a result," said her boss from behind his large desk.

'Not really." Zoe sat on the guest chair in front of Harry's desk.

"Zoe, how did you know he would visit the lab last night?"

"I didn't, but after someone tried to log into the lab's website with a legit login name and password, I had a hunch he might try to visit the lab."

Her boss drank some of his coffee. "If that's the case, why didn't you bring backup with you?"

Zoe leaned back in her chair. "As I said, it was just a hunch, and I didn't want to embarrass myself if it came to nothing."

Harry paused for a few seconds. "Zoe, how certain are you that he is the one we are after?"

"Not very, but it's possible."

Harry picked up a few pieces of paper from the file on his desk. "Based on this, you only had a very brief interaction with him, so how could you be so certain he wore a mask?"

Zoe patted her head. "Thanks to our government's investment, the chips in my head enable me to make the judgment instantaneously. I sensed his facial expressions weren't as natural as they should be."

"I see," said Harry slowly.

"Harry, if there is nothing else, I'd like to go back and have some sleep. As you can imagine, I didn't get much rest last night."

"Of course," said Harry. "But before you leave, you might be interested to hear this." He took another file out of his top drawer, opening it and picking up a piece of paper. "Despite wearing a mask, he was unable to disguise his footprints. Do you know what we got from his footprints?"

"Just tell me," said Zoe.

Harry sat back, sipping more of his precious coffee. "Do you still remember the killings in the underground parking lot I told you about not long ago?"

"Of course I remember. Are you telling me the guy last night was the same one who killed all five people in the underground parking lot?"

Harry put the piece of paper down. "You bet; the footprints matched perfectly."

"That'd explain a lot," mumbled Zoe to herself.

"Mind sharing with me?" asked Harry.

"Oh." Zoe shook her head, as if jolted back to the real world. "The guy last night was very good in combat; if not for his fast reaction, I'd definitely be dead. He either had chips implanted like me, or he was a Taibot with real human consciousness, and that would explain how he was capable of killing the four military-grade Taibots. But the question is why he didn't kill me, but saved me instead last night?"

Harry shook his head and then engulfed the rest of the black liquid in his cup. He closed the files and then looked at Zoe. "We don't know. Anyway, we are chasing all leads to find out. There is not much you can do at the moment, so why don't you go back to your vacation and have a good rest. I'll keep you informed."

"Oh, thanks, Harry, that's very kind of you." Zoe was ready to leave.

"Ah, Zoe, I almost forgot. I would like you to meet a person." Harry pushed a button on his desk. He smiled mysteriously.

"Who's this person, Harry?"

"You'll know soon enough." Harry stood up, walking around his desk and approaching the door behind Zoe. "Please be seated," said Harry, as Zoe was about to stand up.

Zoe heard the door opening; someone walked in and stood behind her.

"You can turn around now," said Harry.

Zoe stood up, turned, and gasped; the person standing in front of her was Nick. This was impossible, because Nick was dead. He had died in order to save her life. She turned to her boss. "Tell me what's going on here."

"I didn't hear thanks from you," said Harry.

"Harry, tell me."

"Hi, Zoe, I am the replacement for your lost partner Nick," the newcomer said.

Harry shrugged. "We were all sorry for your loss, so I ordered a replacement for you; he's the latest model in his category. What do you think?"

"Harry, I appreciate your kindness, but I don't need another partner, not now."

"Zoe, if you'd had a partner last night, you'd have caught the guy."

Zoe sighed. "All right, we can discuss this after my vacation."

Harry looked at Zoe and spoke firmly. "Zoe, this can't wait until after your vacation."

"What do you mean?"

"You need to take him with you."

"What? I don't want to take him home with me. I didn't even take Nick home."

Harry patted Zoe's arm. "Zoe, this is for your protection. The target may approach you again, so it'd be handy to have a partner watching your back."

"Harry, I don't need anyone watching my back..."

Harry interrupted. "Zoe, this is an order."

Zoe sighed internally. "All right, you are the boss." She turned to her new partner. "Let's get out of here."

"Are you going to call him Nick as well?" asked Harry.

"No." Zoe thought for a second. "James, your name is James."

"Oh, I like James, like James Bond. Pretty cool," said her new partner, who was now named James.

Zoe frowned. She didn't like him at all. Why would they produce a new model of Taibot like this? She turned around and left her boss' office; behind her, James followed closely.

After Zoe left, Harry picked up the phone from his desk. "...yes, James, I mean her replacement partner—she calls him James—went home with her and will watch her 24/7..."

Mr. Logan stared at Dr. Anderson's face, only a few inches away. "How confident are you that he is the one we are after?"

Dr. Anderson laughed drily. "Reasonably." He withdrew a few steps back to his desk. After picking up a remote control and pushing a button on it, an image appeared on the whole-wall TV panel: the dead bodies strewn over the underground parking lot. "These were photos taken from the crime scene by the police."

"I've seen them before," said Mr. Logan impatiently.

"Have a look at this." Dr. Anderson pushed some buttons, and the photo of the person they had captured last night at the lab appeared on the wall. "Although he escaped, I recorded quite a lot of information about him while he was with us."

"Did you establish any connection between him and the underground parking lot killings?" asked Mr. Logan.

"Yes. Based on the footprints from the parking lot, I am quite confident it's him who killed the five people there," said Dr. Anderson.

Mr. Logan turned around, stared at the back of the door for a while, and then said, "Is there any way we can trace him now?"

Dr. Anderson pushed a button, and the underground parking lot photo appeared on the wall again. He pushed a few more buttons and zoomed in on the image, then used computer generated graphics to highlight the footprints in different colours. "As you can see, a pair of footprints is unaccounted for; they likely belonged to a young woman."

"You didn't tell me about this before," said Mr. Logan.

"We only hacked into the police database and obtained this information recently," said Dr. Anderson.

"Are you able to identify the woman by the footprints?" asked Mr. Logan.

"It won't be easy to find her from the few million women living in Sydney, but the police will carry out the investigation for us," said Dr. Anderson.

Mr. Logan turned to the team leader who led the action last night in the lab. "You don't need me to tell you how important it is to capture this guy alive, even if it means losing your life and mine, understand?"

"Of course, Mr. Logan."

Olivia felt the thin film on her wrist vibrating; she glanced down and saw it was Zoe. "Hi, Zoe."

"Hi, Liv, can you enable your image function so I can see you?"

Olivia tapped her wrist a couple of times so Zoe's image appeared on her wall. "What's up, Zoe?"

Zoe looked very tired. "I am back on vacation now."

"How? I thought you were on a big case," asked Olivia.

"I don't know, it's my boss' decision. Anyway, I do need a break. Is Toby still with you?"

"Yeah; he's in the shower at the moment. Do you need to talk to him?"

"Oh no. I just talked to Sophie and Ava about the weekend outing; they both demanded that you take Toby with you for the weekend."

Olivia thought for a moment. "Well, I'll need to discuss it with Toby first."

"No problem. Just let us know soon if he agrees." Zoe hung up.

Toby walked out of the bedroom. "I heard you guys talking."

"What should we do?"
12. Conversations

Olivia and Toby took a flying ship to the weekend retreat place. Zoe wasn't able to go with them, but she said that she'd arrive around dinnertime.

The retreat place was a few hundred kilometres away from Sydney on the coastline. While flying, Olivia didn't talk much but watched the landscape beneath them, where the vast farmlands that used to be there had turned into desert. They flew for a long time before seeing something green. Finally they landed.

Due to its location on the Australian continent, the temperature here was tolerable for the trees and grass to grow. However, the retreat area was restricted to a bare minimum, as every possible acre of food-producing land was used for crops. It was lucky that Sophie won the ballot last year so they had a spot for the weekend.

In fact, the retreat area was relatively large. If one only stayed within a few miles of the retreat, one would have no idea that most of the rest of Australia had turned into desert. It was a relatively short walking distance from the flying ship landing station to their accommodation.

The front door was open. It seemed that the others had arrived not long ago, as the unpacked suitcases were still lying around the living area. Olivia put down her luggage and shouted, "Soph, long time no see."

A woman with dyed blue hair standing behind the kitchen bench turned around. "Wow, Liv, long time no see, indeed. How are you!" She hugged Olivia.

"I'm all right. Soph, this is Toby. Toby, Soph, my friend from uni," said Olivia.

Toby and Sophie shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Sophie was five foot seven with a yoga practitioner's body; based on her accent, she must be from London originally.

No sooner had Toby let go of Sophie's hand than a woman rushed out of the corridor. "My God, it's you, Liv!" Even before Olivia opened her mouth to say anything, the newcomer, who had dirty-blond hair and a heavy five-foot-eleven build, bear-hugged Olivia tightly. It lasted a few seconds that must have seemed like an eternity to the struggling Olivia. Finally, a little out of breath, Olivia said, "Ava, this is Toby; Toby, Ava, also my uni friend."

"Nice to meet you, Ava." Toby shook Ava's hand. She was fit and must work in an occupation involving lots of physical activity.

"Nice to meet you, too." Ava held Toby's hand a second longer than she should. After tearing her gaze from Toby's, she turned in the direction of the corridor. "Luke, my dear, come here to meet my friends."

Luke was six foot two, with a slender build and blond hair. Ava introduced him as a twenty-year-old university student. After Luke shook hands with Olivia and Toby, Olivia said, "Ava, you've been through quite a few boyfriends recently, but I don't recall you ever having a firefighter one."

"Yeah. Now you mention it, I am beginning to wonder about it myself." Ava thought about it for a moment. "Possibly because I deal with them every day, so I don't need one in my bedroom as well. Maybe one day I'll get on it."

So Ava was a firefighter. Toby nodded but said nothing.

"Michael, please meet my friend Liv and her friend Toby!" Sophie said pleasantly.

While shaking hands with Michael, Toby observed both Luke and Michael with great interest; so they were the human companion type Taibots. Michael was a fifty-five-year-old professor and Luke a football player in university. From the brief interactions, he realized they could easily pass as human based on their intelligence.

"Liv, Toby has a great body, even better than Luke's. If I didn't already know Toby was a human, I'd definitely think he was a Taibot," said Ava.

"Not only does he have a perfect body, from my brief interaction with him, Toby is also a good talker with a sense of humour as well," said Sophie.

"Well, as I've told you many times, Toby and I are really only friends at this stage." Olivia knew exactly what was in their minds. Ava and Sophie obviously believed that Olivia had finally bought a Taibot boyfriend but was too embarrassed to admit it so claimed Toby was a human. She wished she knew the answer to the question, too.

Their accommodation was a large five-bedroom farmhouse, quite spacious. As discussed and agreed upon, Sophie and her boyfriend Michael and Ava and her boyfriend Luke would occupy a bedroom each, while Toby and Zoe's partner James had a room each for themselves. Olivia and Zoe would share the last room.

It was late afternoon, so after everyone had put their luggage away, the boyfriends started to prepare dinner while the ladies put their feet up and enjoyed a glass of white wine, a rare special treat since there was not much land left for growing grapes.

From the balcony under the veranda, one had a view of the front yard: green plants along the farmhouse, with tiny white flowers dotting the edge. On the other side of the narrow walkway, taller trees shielded the residence from the outside world. It was one of the last cosy, calm, and picturesque country living paradises, and it would soon disappear forever.

"It's so unusual for a great guy like Toby to like cooking," said Ava. "I'd definitely believe he was a Taibot if I didn't already know better."

"Well, it is rare, particularly nowadays, but obviously they do exist." Sophie turned to Olivia. "Liv, how lucky you were to bump into Toby. If I were you, I'd do whatever I could to keep him."

"Er, what? Of course." Olivia wasn't really listening to their conversation but was immersed in her own thoughts.

"Never mind." Sophie turned to Ava and chatted about other things.

From what Toby had told her about his adventure in the collapsed AI laboratory building, Olivia knew there was a large and complicated story behind Toby's lost memories. It was understandable why Zoe was there and almost caught Toby, and fortunately Toby saved Zoe's life, but what puzzled Olivia, and Toby, was the third party involved. It seemed likely that these people were some kind of criminal organization, but Olivia just couldn't understand why Toby was so important that they'd willingly let him go when he threatened to kill himself. These questions ran around in her mind, but she was unable to make any sense out of them.

"Liv, what are you thinking about?" asked Ava.

Olivia looked up at Ava. "Nothing really, just a bit tired; I didn't sleep very well last night."

Ava glanced at Toby. "Who would need sleep when you have such a gorgeous guy in your bedroom?"

"Liv and Toby are just friends," said Sophie with a grin.

"I know what's in your dirty minds." Olivia looked out onto the balcony and saw Zoe walking toward them; the guy walking beside her must be James, Zoe's new partner. "Look who is coming."

James was about six foot, with a slick athletic body without too many muscles. He wasn't the handsome type some girls would prefer, but he was definitely Zoe's type. Although everyone had speculated and joked about Zoe's relationship with her previous partner, Nick, Zoe had never brought Nick home, so Olivia had never actually met Nick. Under the circumstances, Zoe had asked Olivia not to mention anything to the others about what had happened to Nick.

James was quite charming with the ladies. He wasn't much of a domestic kind of guy, so he didn't do much in the kitchen to help the other males to prepare the dinner, instead spending large chunks of time talking to Ava and Sophie, who were obviously enjoying his company.

Zoe sat down on the sofa in the living area. Olivia walked over to her. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Maybe a beer; I still have a few beer coupons to use up," said Zoe while putting her feet up on top of the coffee table.

After she had settled down a bit, Olivia sat beside Zoe. "James seems quite charming. A ladies' man, I would say."

"I would agree with you," said Toby, who placed a plate of cheese and crackers on the coffee table.

Zoe turned around, glancing at James, who was chatting with Ava and Sophie on the balcony. "No matter how smart or charming James seems to be, he's just a Taibot, after all; unlike you, Toby, a real human male."

"Well, Taibots are so advanced nowadays, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference, don't you think?" Toby went back to the kitchen again.

After dinner, Zoe said to James, "Liv and I are going to go for a walk nearby."

"I need to go with you," said James.

"No, you don't," said Zoe.

"It's my duty to protect you; I can't let you out of my sight," said James.

"Really?" Zoe gazed at James. "Who's the boss here, you or me?"

"Of course you are the boss, ma'am," said James.

Zoe and Olivia walked along the footpath outside of the retreat accommodation area. Due to ground vehicles disappearing, there were no highways anywhere, particularly in these valuable farming lands. Zoe took a deep breath. "I love fresh air with the smell of green plants. I wonder how long we will be able to enjoy this."

"I am afraid not as long as we hope for," said Olivia.

It was an early dinner, and the sun still hovered a few feet above the horizon. They walked on the long jetty that stretched out into the natural bay. A large pelican stood on top of a tall street light pole, appearing as a black silhouette in the blood red light from the sinking sun.

They were quite a distance from any potential eavesdropping. Zoe stopped and then turned around, facing Olivia. "We need to watch each other's backs while talking," she said in a quiet voice.

Olivia looked at the water beneath the jetty they were standing on and then said quietly, barely audible above the noise of the waves pounding the seashore, "Are you worried someone may be monitoring or listening to our conversation?"

"You can never be too careful," said Zoe. "Liv, tell me, how did you and Toby meet?"

Olivia sensed the seriousness in Zoe's tone. "I told you that we bumped into each other on the street..."

"Liv," interrupted Zoe. "I know you lied to me when you told me that the first time, and now I need to know the truth. It's far more serious and important than you could ever imagine."

Olivia shook her head. "You know I am hopeless at lying, particularly in front of my best friend."

"I am listening," said Zoe.

"Well, things started that Friday evening on my way home. I noticed a young man who was sitting under a doorway; initially I thought he was just homeless, but he seemed to recognize me and starting to approach me, so I panicked and ran away." Olivia took a deep breath and then continued. She told Zoe how she was kidnapped and dragged into the underground parking lot.

"Underground parking lot? By five men?" Zoe interrupted.

"How did you know?"

"I'll tell you later. Tell me what happened next," said Zoe.

Olivia told Zoe how she had faced her attackers and believed it would be the end of her life, and then the young man appeared. She recounted how the young man had fought the five men and killed them; how she helped him back to her apartment; how she discovered that he had lost his memories due to the head injury from the fighting; how she was amazed and suspicious about how quickly he recovered from his injuries. She also told Zoe about Toby's adventure in the AI lab.

"That's the true version of my story," said Olivia.

Zoe thought for a long time and then nodded. "That explains a lot."

"Explains a lot about what?"

"As we all know, despite Taibots becoming so sophisticated and smart that it's difficult to tell the difference between them and real humans, they don't have real human consciousness. Since true AI emerged ten years ago, artificial consciousness has become the next holy grail everyone is desperately searching for. You know why?" said Zoe.

"Another scientific breakthrough," said Olivia wearily. "I don't believe it's possible though."

"Not many do except one person, John Smith," said Zoe. "Anyway, the significance of artificial consciousness is that it'd enable the next evolution: the evolution from human to machine transformation."

"Yeah, I know that, but it's just a theory. It's impossible for machines to obtain human consciousness."

"That's what everyone believes. But on the eve of humanity being wiped out by global warming, many regard artificial consciousness as our only salvation, the only hope of keeping intelligence alive, intelligence that very probably exists nowhere else in the universe," said Zoe.

Olivia stared at the now darkened waves for a while. "So everyone, including you, believes that Toby is the Taibot with true human consciousness?"

"Don't you?" Zoe gazed at Olivia.

"As I said, I did have my suspicious and doubts about whether he was a Taibot or not; however, there are more unexplainable things." Olivia told Zoe about Toby having those memories of being with her. "Zoe, is there any chance that Leo's father, John Smith, somehow created Toby, and also transplanted Leo's memories into him as well?"

"If Toby is a Taibot, then anything is possible. We'd need to test and prove if he has human consciousness first," said Zoe.

"No need for that. I can confirm he's a real human for sure."

"How do you know that? We assess and judge if other human beings are conscious or not based on the assumption that all humans have the same physical structures in our heads, but this wouldn't be true for a Taibot," said Zoe.

"Are you telling me that human psychology can't be used to assess Taibots?"

Zoe nodded.

"So what can we use then?"

"No one has a clue about this." Zoe moved even closer to Olivia. "I am under oath that I won't tell this to anyone. Do you know what the real purpose of my job is?"

Olivia shook her head.

"I am one of the top agents who hunt for artificial consciousness. To investigate Taibot-related crimes is just my cover," said Zoe. "You can imagine the significance of artificial consciousness to any nation or organization. That's why whoever kidnapped Toby let him go rather than endangering his life."

"Zoe, tell me how you became suspicious of Toby. You couldn't know it was Toby in the lab because he wore a mask then."

"Well, I could tell that you didn't tell me the truth about how you and Toby met, and of course his perfect body is a big clue. It's true, I didn't know Toby was the intruder in the lab that night. However, the investigators found a pair of unknown footprints belonging to a young woman, so for me to confirm my suspicions was quite simple and straightforward: matching Toby's and your footprints to the footprints found in the underground parking lot and the AI lab."

Olivia looked worried. "If you could figure this out, so could others."

"Yes, but it'd take them a bit longer because they would need to match a few million footprints. Besides, I don't think they have your footprints in the database."

"So what should we do?" asked Olivia.

"We need to observe Toby and try to find out if he's a Taibot with real human consciousness."

"Then what? Are you going to hand him over to the government?" asked Olivia.

"I don't know. Although it's my duty to do so, it's becoming more complicated as time passes. Now he's somehow related to you, and he also saved my life, so let's wait and see. I think we should go back before the others become suspicious."

"It seems that you don't like James much," said Olivia as they turned back toward their accommodation.

"I don't trust him; I suspect that he was sent to monitor me. They must be suspicious after the event in the lab. They didn't believe my report of the event."
13. Vacation

They went to the vineyard the next morning. It was one of the few grape-growing locations allowed to be kept on the Australian continent that was deemed not suitable for crops. These vineyards produced all the wine for the country's thirty million residents, who were mostly squeezed into the island of Tasmania.

Although May was supposedly the cooler season, at lunchtime the temperature had climbed up to forty degrees Celsius. It was too hot to sit outside. However, the sweeping view of the vineyard through the glass wall was very impressive, so one couldn't really complain too much in the comfort of the dry and cool air blowing out of the central air-conditioning unit.

Olivia's friends and their male partners sat around the long table that was carved out of a giant tree trunk, made by chopping the upper part of the large log into a flat table top. She stroked the smooth wood body, feeling so sad that there were no such large trees left alive on the continent anymore; it didn't take long for them to become extinct.

As was their tradition, a girl had to sit between two guys but not next to her own partner. Ava's boyfriend, Luke, sat on Olivia's left, and Sophie's, Michael, on her right.

"Liv, I can't believe how much Toby knows about cooking. You are such a lucky girl to have a human boyfriend like him." Ava turned to Toby, who sat next to her, and patted his cheek.

Olivia saw the real embarrassment on Toby's face. She exchanged a look with Zoe and said, "You can say that again; I have been enjoying his culinary skills since we first met."

"Toby, tell us how you guys met," said Sophie, who sat on the other side of Toby.

"I thought Liv told you girls already," said Toby, smiling with an uneasy expressions on his face.

"But we want to hear it from your mouth, darling." Ava patted Toby on his other cheek.

Olivia saw redness rising on Toby's face; it shocked her because Leo would have the same reaction in really embarrassing situations, although it was quite rare. Glancing over, Olivia noticed Zoe was watching the situation with great interest.

"Ava, please keep your hands off Toby," said Luke. "It's not only making Toby feel embarrassed, it's also making Liv and me jealous."

"Oh, no, Toby and I are only friends, so I don't feel jealous at all." Olivia suddenly had an idea. She turned, held on to Luke's neck, and kissed him on his mouth. "Tastes like Irish. So we are even now, Ava, right?"

"No, we are not even at all." Ava grinned and glanced at Toby's mouth sideways. "Toby, just remember that you owe me a kiss. Okay, tell us how you and Liv met."

Although Luke said he felt jealous, Olivia knew it was just the result of his program reasoning and calculating based on the database in his head, so it was no surprise that the supposed jealousy didn't show on his face at all; one could argue that he was joking about it. On the other hand, she saw the complex expressions on Toby's face when she kissed Luke. Behind the forced laughter, she could see a hint of hidden jealousy, a true human emotion.

"Well, not much to say, really." Toby drank a bit of water from the glass in front of him. "Liv and I bumped into each other, literally, on the street."

"Who bumped into whom first?" Sophie laughed.

"I want to know how you guys bumped into each other; which parts of your bodies?" Ava laughed even louder.

"Liv, I remember it was you who ran into me first," said Toby while looking at Olivia.

"I can't remember the details. Who cares anyway," said Olivia.

"What happened after the bumping?" asked Zoe, who joined the conversation for the first time.

Olivia picked up her wine glass. "Toby, you tell them what happened."

"Well, we apologized to each other and talked a bit; we then chatted a bit more. After learning that I was on a backpacking vacation and looking for somewhere to stay, Liv kindly invited me to stay with her for a few days," said Toby, who became more relaxed.

"Wow, I wish I had such a romantic encounter," said Sophie.

"My dear, we do have our moments together," said Michael.

"Of course we do, my dear Michael. I don't mean we don't," said Sophie.

"I thought that Toby and Liv were just friends, right?" James spoke for the first time.

"Yes, James, that's what Olivia said not long ago. What's your point?" Zoe turned, looking at James.

"If they are just friends, it'd be incorrect for Sophie to say it was a romantic encounter," said James expressionlessly.

"So what's the problem, smarty pants?" said Zoe.

"No problem, ma'am." James turned to Toby. "Toby, can I ask you a question?"

"By all means, go ahead," said Toby.

"Unlike you, I am just a Taibot. However, even I understand that cooking skills are not something for a real man to brag about. You are a real man, aren't you?" asked James.

Toby glanced at Olivia briefly; in the short moment their eyes met, she saw the angry flare in his gaze, and then she heard Toby speak calmly.

"James, you are absolutely right, there is nothing to brag about in my cooking skills. Nowadays it's getting harder to tell if one is a real man, don't you think?"

Before James spoke again, Ava put her hand over James' mouth. "I think you are a real man, too."

So the conversation broke up and everyone started talking to the next person.

"Soph, what do you think is the real cause of global warming?" Toby asked, setting down his knife and fork on his empty plate.

"Capitalism, of course!" Sophie picked her glass up, sipping a bit of wine.

"So you believe capitalism destroyed the environment, caused air pollution, is the root of basically all the problems society has, and led to global warming and eventually the demise of humanity?" Toby also sipped a bit of his wine.

"Yes, I do. If we had an alternative system..."

Zoe interrupted. "Do you mean communism? You always say the same thing each time."

"Soph's parents belonged to the Communist Party in the UK," Ava whispered in Toby's ear.

Sophie put her wine glass down. "I know communism didn't work out well in Russia; the Russians weren't able to compete with capitalism from the West, but they didn't destroy the environment and cause the sixth mass extinction."

"We've debated this point many times before, but I want to say it again: there is nothing wrong with capitalism itself. It's a very good system that can encourage innovation and create large amounts of wealth, but the problem is that corruption distorted it, and governments around the globe, particularly in the US, failed to include the environmental costs in the equation," said Zoe.

"You can say that again. In the eighties, the collapse of socialism in the UK and the US basically sealed humanity's fate," said Sophie.

"But I still believe it was the governments' failure to regulate the fossil fuel industry. The government let them get away with polluting the environment because of the powerful fossil fuel lobbies controlling US politicians. If the US government put a tax on carbon dioxide emissions in the eighties, or even the nineties, humanity would have some chance to survive," said Zoe.

"I think it's far beyond that: western individualism is the fundamental cause of all the world's problems," said Olivia.

"What do you mean?" asked Toby.

"Well, unlike collectivism, where all people work for the good of the community, individualism emphasizes individuals' needs; as a result, no one cares about the needs of the world as a whole. Basically, many people, particularly in the US, are still limited to the tribe mentality, unable to see beyond their own interests, so here we are, in the death spiral of environmental disaster." Olivia laughed bitterly.

"I don't disagree with all of your opinions, but the real problem is us, in here." Ava pointed at her head.

"You mean human intelligence?" Toby asked.

"Yes, indeed." Ava gulped a large mouthful of beer and then said, "We kill more animals than we can eat, we wipe out forests so we can eat more meat, and we poison the land with chemical fertilizer so we can produce more food to feed ever-growing populations. Even if we manage to reduce CO2 in the air and avoid the worst outcome of climate change, the sixth mass extinction caused by loss of bio-diversity, the acidification of the oceans, and the collapse of the food chain would still seal humanity's fate."

"So you are saying human intelligence caused all of those problems. If that's the case, why did humans develop the type of consciousness that destroys humans themselves?" asked Toby.

"Good question indeed," Olivia said. "We thought we were so clever that we could destroy whatever we liked, but we were dumb enough not to realize the consequences."

"I have to agree with you on that point," said Sophie. "Even today, fossil fuel companies are still drilling in ice-free Arctic waters, just like a lung cancer patient taking a last drag of his cigarette on his deathbed."

Ava looked around the table and then said, "I suppose it's not necessarily a bad thing: the extinction of dinosaurs led to the rise of humanity, so the demise of humanity might bring peace to future Earth. Let's hope another conscious being doesn't appear on Earth, at least not one as dumb as humanity."

Toby nodded and didn't ask one more question until the end of the meal.

After they walked out of the restaurant, thick clouds covered the sky and heavy rain poured down. They stood under the veranda, enjoying the cool relief. Although the rain didn't last very long, the overcast sky made the temperature drop quite significantly compared to the scorching heat in the morning.

"Guys, it's rare to have a cool day like this, so why don't we go and do some outdoor activities? Anyone interested in horse riding?" Ava said after the rain stopped.

Everyone agreed, so they walked to the horse riding station next to the vineyard.

The grass, bushes, and trees seemed refreshed and lush after the rainfall. Olivia rode beside Toby. They were riding on the beach, alongside the fences of the vineyard, which was not far away. Behind, Zoe rode beside James while Ava rode with Luke and Sophie with Michael, leading the way.

"That was really a lovely lunch," said Toby.

"It was. This is just wonderful; I haven't been out to enjoy such cool weather for a very long time." Olivia stretched her arms out and leaned her head back, as if embracing the whole sky.

Suddenly, from nowhere, a fork of lightning sliced the overhead clouds, and thunder cracked down at them. Olivia's horse jumped up, threw her out of the saddle, and galloped away. One of Olivia's feet was caught in the stirrup, so her body was dragged and bumped along the sand dunes.
14. New Game

Toby used his palm, hitting his horse hard, chasing Olivia closely. Behind, Zoe and James also zoomed in fast. In fact, it'd only taken a few seconds for Toby to get close to Olivia. He leaped off his horse, flew across the two-meter gap, and landed on Olivia's horse.

Pulling its reins, Toby held the horse back. The horse stood on its hind legs, kicking its front legs high in the air, and then fell, landing on the sand dune. Toby jumped off the horse before its body touched the sand. He quickly untangled Olivia's foot from the stirrup and pulled her away from the horse.

Toby quickly checked Olivia from head to toe.

"Is she all right?" Zoe jumped off her horse.

"No broken bones, just some scratches," said Toby without looking up.

"Are you okay, Liv?" Zoe kneeled beside Olivia and held her hands.

"I am okay, a bit shocked, but I am okay. Where did the fucking thunder come from?" said Olivia.

"I'm so glad you are okay." Zoe held Olivia's head, kissing her forehead. "The fucking thunder indeed." Zoe laughed with relief.

"It seems that the horse has broken its leg," said James from behind.

"What?" Olivia pushed Toby away, standing up.

"Are you all right, Liv?" Ava and Sophie also caught up with them.

"I am okay; just a few scratches." Olivia walked to the horse, which was lying down on the sand dune. "James, how do you know it broke its leg?"

James stood up. "I just checked."

"Oh shit. It's my fault," said Olivia.

"It's not your fault, Liv. If it's anyone's fault, it should be mine because I brought it down," said Toby.

"It's nobody's fault, just an accident." Zoe turned to James. "Are you able to fix its leg?"

"Yes, but I need a stick to stabilize its bones," said James.

"I'll go and get one for you." Toby walked to the vineyard fence and brought a wooden stick back.

"Toby, you need to hold this leg while I put the bones together," said James.

It took Toby a few seconds to make out the sentence. "Sorry, James, I don't think I can."

Olivia could see that Toby felt the pain the horse felt at the moment; watching his expression, she could feel him wince internally.

"What do you mean you can't? Just hold its leg while I am fixing it," said James.

"Luke, could you please help James," asked Olivia gently.

"Of course." Luke walked forward and held the leg while James did his work. It didn't take long for James to put the broken bones together and then secure the leg with the wooden stick. When he was finished, James stood up, looking at Toby. "You humans are so weak."

"Empathy is not a weakness, James, and it should be in your database, too," said Zoe.

"Sorry, ma'am, I don't want to be contradictory, but you humans' greatest weakness is that you can't separate yourselves from your biological instincts."

"We call them compassion, empathy, and love, things that you are not capable of feeling." Zoe looked up, seeing a flying ship coming toward them to rescue them.

They went back to their accommodation. As agreed, nobody was allowed to watch TV or use any Internet devices, as the weekend retreat was purely for human to human, or human to Taibot communication purposes. So after dinner, Zoe announced, "Girls, since we all have partners with us, human or not, I propose we have a partner quiz night..."

"Who will ask the questions?" Ava interrupted.

"Where will you get the question list from?" asked Sophie.

"Hang on for a moment please, girls." Zoe put her hands up. "I don't have a question list. I propose that, for each round, all the girls take turns to ask a question, so you may want to discuss with your partner what questions would be most advantageous for your partner to answer."

"Any limitations on the questions?" asked Ava.

"No, but we'd prefer not to listen to your bedroom stories," laughed Zoe.

Olivia didn't say anything, just watching and listening to what was happening around her. She knew what Zoe was trying to achieve here, so she thought really hard about what kind of questions she should ask. Looking at the excited expressions on Ava and Sophie's faces, Olivia knew they were obviously in game mode and wanted their Taibot boyfriends to win. She then glanced at Toby, who sat there silently. What was in his mind right now? Olivia was wondering. Toby seemed to behave like a human being in every way, at least from her point of view. This afternoon, when facing the injured horse situation, Toby showed obvious empathy that James did not, but was empathy equal to consciousness? Olivia didn't know and doubted there was a clear and agreed definition for it. Just as she was becoming immersed in her own thoughts, Olivia heard Ava speak loudly.

"Ladies, round one of partners' quiz night. I'll ask the first question. Gentlemen, use the pen and paper in front of you to write down the answers. The question is..."

"Hang on," Zoe interrupted. "Sorry, girls, we need to change the rules a bit. Your partner is not allowed to answer your question. Otherwise, if you ask about a secret only you two know about, it wouldn't be much fun for the rest of us."

"That's not fair; we just spent so much effort on working out our questions," protested Ava.

"Never mind, we'll just go back to the drawing board again," Sophie said, and then started her discussion with Michael.

Olivia saw Zoe didn't talk to James at all. She spoke quietly to Toby, who sat next to her. "Toby, any suggestions?"

"Oh," said Toby, as if suddenly waking up from his deep thoughts. "Suggestions about what?"

Olivia stared at him for a moment, and then said quietly, "Toby, were you listening to what is going on here? We are having a partners' quiz night. The girls will ask questions and their partners will answer them."

"Of course, I was aware of that, but the quiz hasn't started yet, right?" said Toby in an equally low voice.

"That's correct. Toby, do you have any suggestions about what kind of questions I should ask everyone? Every girl will take turns asking questions," said Olivia.

Toby thought for a second. "I have no idea; just ask whatever. Does it really matter?"

"I guess not." Olivia glanced in Zoe's direction; Zoe just sat there and had no intention of talking to James.

"Ladies, are you ready to get the ball rolling?" asked Zoe impatiently.

"We are ready," shouted Ava with her arm looping around Luke's neck.

"So are we," said Sophie while smiling at Michael mysteriously.

"In that case, let's get the game started," announced Zoe. "I'll ask first. Five children play on a live track, and they know there is a danger that a train may come. Nearby a child plays on a disused track, and he also knows it is a safe place to be. A passenger train suddenly appears and is about to kill the five kids. You are by chance standing between the children and the train, and could flip a switch to divert the train to the disused track to kill one child but save the other five. Would you flip the switch and why?"

Luke spoke immediately. "I would flip the switch to save more lives."

Ava patted Luke's cheek. "That's my boy, answering the question fastest and most correctly."

Zoe turned to Michael. "Michael?"

"Flipping the switch is an immoral decision. The child chose to play on the disused track because he is sensible and takes precautions, so why should he have to pay the price for those careless kids' mistakes? I wouldn't flip the switch."

"Interesting," said Zoe, who then turned to Toby. "What do you think, Toby?"

"Wu Wei," said Toby.

"Sorry?" said Zoe.

Olivia looked at Toby and then turned to Zoe. "Wu Wei is a Taoist term. Some simply interpret it as inaction, but that is incorrect. It means to act according to nature's laws rather than against them." Olivia felt that she had done her father a huge credit to be able to say something about such a complex philosophical question in the field he had dedicated his life to.

"What kind of answer is that?" James stood up and shouted at Toby from behind Olivia.

"James, you sit down and shut up," said Zoe.

"Toby, you have to choose, to flip or not to flip the switch." James ignored Zoe.

"In the real world, it's not always a matter of a simple right or wrong answer; it would all depend," said Toby slowly.

"In this case, you would have to choose: kill the one or five kids." James stepped forward, standing beside Olivia.

"James, go back to your seat and shut up, now!" Zoe shouted.

Toby waved his arm. "It's okay, and I'll answer the question. Both choices are right and wrong at the same time, so whatever you chose could be right or wrong."

"But you still have to make the choice, don't you?" asked Ava.

"Yes, and you have to decide if you want to save more lives or make an ethical decision. Through human history, even only recently, how often have we caused the worst catastrophes with the best intentions at the time?" Toby looked around the room, speaking softly and slowly.

"It may sound all right, but it is good for nothing if you don't take action and do something. Toby, what's your answer?" asked James loudly.

Olivia was amazed to see the angry expression on James' face. It was quite unusual for a Taibot to behave like this. She glanced at Zoe, who was frowning. Olivia stood up. "James, let's skip this question. It's my turn to ask next."

What happened next took everyone by surprise. James suddenly used his large hands to grip Olivia's neck. Olivia gasped for air and struggled to keep her balance while being dragged back by James.

Toby jumped up on his feet by pure instinct. Olivia's scared and desperate expression hit him like a bullet. He felt a momentary explosion inside his head, as if he had been struck with a large club. He had to lean back and hold the back of the chair to keep himself steady. Toby blinked his eyes, focusing on the scared woman in front of him, and gradually another similar scene emerged in his mind: it was in the underground parking lot, and the same woman was surrounded by five large guys. He smiled. "You are Olivia. I remember now."

Olivia felt the hand gripping her neck loosen a bit so she could breathe more easily. Looking at Toby's expression, she knew exactly what had just happened; of course, it made absolutely no sense to the rest. A quick glance around the room confirmed her feeling. She smiled, feeling like a mountain of burden had been removed from her back. "Toby, I am so glad."

"James, release her now. This is my order," said Zoe.

"Toby, answer the question. Would you flip or not flip the switch?" James stared at Toby, ignoring Zoe.

Toby raised his arms up. "Take it easy, James. I'll answer the question, but before that, I would like to hear your choice."

'I'd flip the switch," said James.

"Why?" Toby asked.

"Because it would save more lives. Don't you think it'd be better to save five and only kill one?" asked James sarcastically.

"What about the ethical dilemma, killing the innocent?" Toby asked.

"It's necessary to make a sacrifice sometimes in order to achieve greater good," said James.

"Right." Toby thought for a second. "James, do you really think I'd believe you, a Taibot, came up with this idea by yourself?"

James tightened his grip on Olivia's neck a bit to coax more gasping noises out of her mouth, and then released her to let her breath normally. "You know well that I can easily break her neck with just a little squeeze. So now answer my question: would you flip the switch?"

"James, I know you are the latest top model, above even military grade, so why don't you let her go, and we can sort this out between you and me?" Toby said calmly.

"Ha, you want to be the real man, the knight in shining armour who rescues the princess? Okay, I'll grant your wish." James turned to Luke and Michael. "You two, come here."

Olivia was so relieved that Toby had finally got his memories back. She wasn't sure if he had all of his memories back, but it seemed like he could at least remember who she was now. There were so many questions she desperately wanted to ask him right now, but this damn Taibot had forced Toby into a fight situation. Based on her experience from the past few days, she knew that Toby was far more important than anyone in the world, even if she had no clue why that was. "James, please let Toby go, and I'll do anything you want. Please just don't hurt Toby."

Toby put his hands up. "Liv, please don't worry. I can handle the situation. Trust me." He then turned to James. "Let's get to it, the sooner the better."

"What are you doing, Luke?" Ava tried to stop Luke from walking away from her, but Luke forced her back into her chair.

"Ava, let him go," Zoe said in a worried voice.

When both Michael and Luke stood in front of James, he ordered, "Michael, you go ahead and challenge Toby."

"Michael is an English gentleman and has never fought with anybody. He's a philosopher, for God's sake," said Sophie.

"Philosopher, eh?" James sneered. "Michael, show her your martial arts skills."

Michael started shaking his shoulders, as if dancing to music in his head, and then he started to take his top off in a professional stripper fashion.

"That must be the newest style of martial arts to exist, so I don't think I am capable of fighting against it," said Toby.

People in the room laughed nervously, though it did little to break the tension.

"Go back to your mistress, you useless piece of machine." James turned to Luke. "You grip her neck like this, and kill her if anyone tries to save her." After swapping positions with Luke, James moved to the middle of the room. Chairs had been shifted to the corners, and everyone moved to stand along the wall.
15. Farmhouse

James stood in the middle of the room and signalled Toby to come forward. Toby shook his head. "There is not enough room here; we could hurt bystanders. Why don't we go outside?"

So it was settled. While Luke dragged Olivia, leading the way with his hand still gripping her neck, James, Toby, Zoe, and the rest followed them to the backyard. The well-lit barbecue area provided an almost perfect arena for the upcoming gladiator-style fighting.

"Toby, it seems you have sufficient confidence to face an above military grade top model Taibot, so the question is if you are a real human, because no human has such a capability," James said without much expression on his face, as if reading the text from an invisible TV screen.

"I don't really want to fight, but I don't want Liv getting hurt either, so here we go." Toby walked to the centre of the grassy area, and the fighting started.

As stated, James was true to his capabilities. His attacks were fast, ferocious, and accurate. It seemed that his combating program must have collected the best parts of all the martial arts that had ever existed and then poured them into the chip in his brain. In contrast, Toby was more like a shadowy figure, floating around and just managing to evade the blows at the last possible moment. James' palm missed Toby but chopped at a tree branch nearby. The dinner plate-thick branch cracked clear off the trunk. The bystanders kept moving backward, pressing against the wall as hard as they could to avoid being hit by the fast-moving pair.

It felt like ages, but in fact, Toby delivered his first and last blow just after the half-minute mark. Toby turned his body sideways, letting the punching fist pass his cheek narrowly; his elbow struck James' chest. Toby kept his body twisting, and the edge of his palm chopped at James' neck; the sickening cracking sound declared that James was beyond repair.

The following silence sank slowly into everyone's mind, but before anybody had the chance to say anything, bright lights switched on, focusing on Toby's face, and a loud voice shouted, "Freeze! Put your hands behind your head, now!"

Olivia looked up, horrified. Over the backyard's high fence, dozens of powerful searchlights blinded everyone's eyes, so she could only make out that dozens of black shadowy figures were jumping over the fence and pouring out of the farmhouse's back door. After James fell to the ground, Luke had released her almost immediately. She rubbed her neck a few times; there must be lots of bruises, but she hardly had time to worry about that now.

Then the blinding lights switched off; it took a while for Olivia to recover her sight. Finally she was able to see the newcomers in the backyard. They wore full body combat uniforms and carried all kinds of weapons. They must be some kind of special force. Olivia looked around; the two dozen fully masked soldiers pointed their guns at Toby but stood silently. However, she didn't need to wait long before another man walked into the backyard from the back door.

"Harry, what's going on? What's wrong with James?" Zoe said to the last man who walked into the scene.

Only then did Olivia realize he was Zoe's boss, as Zoe had mentioned him to her a few times.

Harry didn't answer Zoe's question; in fact, he didn't even look at Zoe. "Toby, you are much better than I expected; much better."

"He was going to hurt my friend, so I had no choice." Toby nodded to James' body lying beside his feet.

"I don't care about that," said Harry. "Toby, I still want to know the answer: would you flip the switch or not?"

"So it's you who made James do what he did. Do you realize that you could have got Olivia killed as a result?" Toby said.

"That's not your concern. Answer my question. What's your choice?" Harry said forcefully.

Toby gazed at Harry for a moment and said, "What makes you think I will answer your question?"

"Because of them." Harry used his chin to point at the guns in the soldiers' hands. "You can't be faster than their bullets."

"So if I don't answer, you'll shoot me?" Toby asked.

"No, they'll shoot her." Harry used his chin, pointing in Olivia's direction.

"But why?" Toby asked.

"Answer the question first," said Harry.

"All right, I would not flip the switch so I could save more lives," said Toby simply.

Harry burst into loud laughter. He turned, looking at the farmhouse. "He's not as smart as we thought." He then turned back to Toby. "Are you able to count numbers? Is one greater than five?"

Toby kept his gaze on Harry's eyes. "I am able to count numbers; one is not greater than five normally, but it could be under some circumstances."

The grin disappeared from Harry's face. "Okay, I am all ears."

Toby looked at Olivia briefly. "Let's assume the sole goal here is to save more lives and forget about the ethical issue of killing the innocent." He continued after seeing Harry nod. "Based on the original question, it's a passenger train, so it's a reasonable assumption that there are many more than five passengers on the train."

Harry nodded, so Toby continued. "The track the single child is playing on is disused, so it'd be highly likely, if someone flipped the switch to divert the passenger train to the disused track, that as a result, dozens or even hundreds of passengers could be killed in the train crash, so killing the five is a small price to pay if hundreds of deaths could be avoided, don't you think, Harry?"

An annoyed expression appeared on Harry's face. "Who cares about such a silly question?" He turned to the soldiers. "Take him away."

Olivia took a few steps forward, standing in front of Toby. "What's your reason for arresting him?"

Harry looked at Olivia curiously. "So you are Toby's girlfriend. Olivia, I assume that's your name. Unfortunately, Olivia, your boyfriend is the main suspect in the AI lab bombing, not only causing the collapse of almost the entire lab, but also killing the chief scientist and security guards as well."

"What kind of evidence do you have?" Olivia asked.

"More than enough. Take him away," ordered Harry.

"I won't let you do that. You will have to walk over my dead body to take him away." Olivia stood in front of Toby, opening her arms to protect him.

Harry turned to Zoe, who had stayed silent for the whole time. "Zoe, take this crazy woman away; I believe she is a friend of yours."

Zoe took her gun out, walking toward Olivia. "Sorry, Liv, I have to do this."

As Olivia opened her eyes wide to watch her best friend pointing a gun at her face, Zoe suddenly turned and directed her gun at her boss's face. "Harry, order these soldiers to lower their guns, now!"

"What are you doing, Zoe?" Harry asked in a disbelieving voice.

"Harry, she is my best friend, and I know she is not crazy. You are the crazy one here. Tell me why you ordered James to spy on me and almost got my friend killed," said Zoe.

"You all listen to me carefully. This is my direct order: don't worry about me. Kill her, but do not harm Toby. I repeat, do not harm Toby," Harry said calmly.

Zoe held her gun steady. "Harry, you know very well I am one of the country's top field agents, and I am more than capable of killing you even if they fire at me. Why is it so important to get Toby even if it means losing your own life?"

"It's beyond your pay grade. Kill her and get Toby back to headquarters," Harry said.

"Not so fast." Another man walked out of the farmhouse's back door.

"Leo!" Zoe cried. "I thought you were dead."

"That's what everyone believes," said Leo.

Olivia couldn't believe her eyes. She looked at Toby and then Leo, unable to say anything. Leo showed no surprise at seeing her. In fact, he didn't show any interest in her at all. Leo stopped in front of Zoe.

"Zoe, please put your gun away."

As if spellbound, Zoe put her gun away.

Leo turned, looking at Toby, but still not meeting Olivia's eyes. "So you are the famous Taibot everyone is looking for?"

"You are barking up the wrong tree, mate. I am no Taibot," said Toby simply.

"Sure." Leo kicked James' body a couple of times. "No human is capable of killing a top model military grade Taibot like him with their bare hands."

Toby turned, looking at Olivia briefly, and said calmly, "It's surprising how much a few implanted chips in our heads are capable of. You should know this well, as you have a few such chips in your head as well."

From the expression on Harry's face, it was obvious that Zoe's boss didn't know about this fact. Olivia finally collected her wits. "Leo, why didn't you contact me for all these years?"

Leo turned, looking at Olivia as if he had only just discovered her existence. "Oh, I almost forgot about you completely, since I have so many other important things to do."

Tears flew down Olivia's cheeks. She quivered as she spoke quietly, almost whispering. "Do you know how much sadness and misery I've been through these past few years? Do you know how much I cried for you? Now you tell me that you simply forgot about me."

"I don't have time for this girlish rubbish. Besides, you now have a new boyfriend. A pity he is not a human, but I suppose a Taibot is better than nothing, and that's what most of the population is doing anyway, right?" Leo said with a thin grin hovering around the corner of his mouth.

Olivia felt a large lump in her throat; she was unable to say anything. In fact, she was struggling to breathe.

"Shut up, Leo," Zoe shouted. She turned to her boss. "Harry, please explain what Leo is doing here."

"Take her away," Harry ordered the two soldiers, who gripped Zoe's arms.

"Wait." Leo put his arm up. He walked to Zoe, gazing at her eyes for a few seconds. "Zoe, you are one of the government's top field agents, and your mission is to discover and capture Taibots like Toby, so how could you fail so miserably?"

"Nobody can question my loyalty and professionalism with regard to my duty." Zoe gazed back at Leo. "I had my suspicious about Toby and was carrying out my own investigation to find out about him this weekend. If not for your remote control of James spoiling my plan, I would have been able to test Toby already."

"Loyalty?" Harry snarled. "How dare you say that while you point your gun at me?"

"My loyalty is to my country, not to you, Harry," Zoe said. "For the sake of my country and humanity, I can't simply let you take Toby away. Leo, it seems that you are the real boss here, so tell me what's going on."

"Tell you?" Leo scanned the crowd and then said, "It's way above your pay grade." He turned to the soldiers. "Take them both away." He pointed at Zoe and Toby.

The following events happened almost simultaneously. Toby dashed out, grabbed Olivia, and pulled both of them to the ground. Leo and Zoe also threw themselves to the ground. Bullets hit some of the soldiers instantly.
