Dangerous Reality (3 page)

‘Wow!’ Liam breathed.

Me? I couldn’t say a word. I walked slowly over to the VIMS unit, taking my time and yet longing to get there. Now I could understand why Mum was so proud of her creation. It was
stunning
. There’s no other word for it. It was like something out of science fiction but it wasn’t fiction, it was fact. How to describe it … I’ll start from the bottom and work my way up! It was balanced on two metal tripods which had to be its version of feet. Attached to these, however, were wheels. I assumed that this was so that it could ‘walk’ on its tripod-like feet – or run on wheels. Above these, it had a number of short, jointed metal strips. We only have one joint in each of our legs – our knees – but the VIMS unit had four or five that I could see. They were all folded down, one on top of the other, with a number of cables and wires running along them. And sitting on these folded-up
‘legs’
was the main body of the thing. It was a cuboid in shape, rectangular and smaller than I expected. It had a monitor at the front along with a number of other buttons and circuits and lights. At each side of the box-like main body were ‘arms’ folded in on themselves just like its legs. At the end of each ‘arm’ were at least eight or nine ‘fingers’. Each finger was a tool slightly different from the others and the whole lot was mounted on a revolving disc. Its fingers were like the contents of a Swiss Army knife. And at the top of the box was a smoky-grey dome-like structure which had to be its head. It had a section running around the middle of the dome which looked like an elongated black visor. It looked bizarre and exciting and wonderful all at once.

‘Oh no! Quick!’

I hardly heard Liam. I carried on staring at the VIMS unit. Mum said VIMS was an artificial intelligence masterpiece and I believed her. I stood still watching it, wondering if it was switched on and watching me. Was it studying me? What did it make of me?

‘Dominic, come on. I can hear them coming.’ Liam grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the nearest set of filing cabinets. Only just in time too. The door opened the moment Liam and I ducked down behind the cabinets.

‘You moron! What’s the matter with you? D’you want us to get caught?’

‘Sorry. I was totally caught up in the VIMS unit,’ I whispered back.

‘I thought you said we had plenty of time before your mum came down here. Now what?’ Liam hissed at me.

‘Now we scarper.’ I had a quick look around, then pointed. ‘That way, towards the exit at the back there. That’ll take us into the corridor outside and then we can sneak back to the service lift.’

We crawled on our stomachs, commando-style, past boxes and crates which were good cover. But all at once the cover stopped. We had another eight or nine metres to go before we got to the next set of filing cabinets and there was absolutely nothing to hide us.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure you’re all as keen as I am to get right to it. So let’s start the demonstration right away,’ Mum announced.

I peeked out from behind my crate. Mum stood next to Jack with Abby, her assistant, on the other side of her. There were a number of men and women wearing suits and military uniforms standing behind Mum. The others on the VIMS project stood behind them. Mum had on her ‘I’m a serious scientist’ face. If she caught me in here, my life wouldn’t be worth living. Mum walked further into the testing area. Jack moved over to the control desk in one corner of the room.

‘I have every confidence that by the end of this
demonstration
, you will all see the potential of what we are trying to achieve here. The power of VIMS is only limited by our own imaginations. VIMS can do anything that we can do, only it can do it better, faster and more efficiently. For example’ – Mum nodded in Jack’s direction – ‘VIMS can make itself flat enough to work beneath cars to disarm a car bomb.’

At her words, VIMS unfurled like a flag and then rearranged its limbs and stretched out so that the whole thing was no higher than its main body.

‘There are a number of monitoring devices built into the unit so that we can see at all times just what the VIMS unit can see.’ Mum pointed to a large screen I hadn’t noticed before. There on the monitor was a blue-tinted image of Mum standing with the suits and uniforms. ‘VIMS also has infra-red detectors to allow it to move, see and assess any situation at night. VIMS can also grow to over three metres when the situation requires it.’ Once again, Mum nodded at Jack.

Liam and I watched, amazed, as VIMS’ limbs clicked and whirred and drew apart vertically like a telescope being pulled out to its maximum length. By the time the VIMS unit had finished it was at least three metres high. I mean, it was
huge
. I couldn’t believe that the little squat, shoebox-like thing we’d just seen could turn into something so big and overpowering. I looked at the crowd behind Mum. One or two of them were stepping
backwards
surreptitiously. Mum nodded at Jack again. He pressed another button. VIMS took a heavy step forward, then another and another. Only Mum and her staff didn’t move. The suits and uniforms were tripping over themselves trying to get away from the thing.

‘It’s perfectly OK.’ Mum smiled at them. She walked over to the VIMS unit and took hold of one of its hands. It towered over her like a Goliath. Anxiety flashed through me. And then reason took over. VIMS was perfectly safe.
Mum
had designed it. I knew that she hadn’t done it alone, not by any means, but in that moment, I was so proud of her. It was as if she was the first person from Earth to land on the moon. Or the first person on Earth to climb Mount Everest.

‘Good morning, VIMS! How are you today?’

‘I am fine, thank you.’

Liam and I weren’t the only ones to gasp at that point. I had no idea the thing could talk.

‘Everything functioning OK?’

‘Yes, thank you,’ VIMS repeated in its monotone. It sounded a bit like a woman with a deep voice trying to speak with her head in an empty bucket. VIMS folded in on itself then until it was down to its small, squat size.

‘Now then,’ Mum continued. ‘Let’s really get down to it.’

Chapter Four

The Demonstration

‘
WE’LL BEGIN BY
showing everyone just what you’re capable of.’ Mum walked over to the control panel and picked up what looked like sunglasses and a thick dark-coloured glove. She put them on as she walked back to her audience. ‘VIMS can be operated via the main control panel or by using these two virtual reality control units.’ Mum tapped her glasses and held up her gloved hand. ‘The glasses allow me to see what VIMS sees, almost as if I’m an actual part of the VIMS unit. And I can manipulate and manoeuvre it with this specially designed glove. Different finger movements and hand positions allow me to direct it and control it. A special microphone in my glasses also allows me voice communication over several hundred kilometres if necessary.’

‘That’s all very well,’ piped up a woman in a dark blue uniform with a lot of ribbons and stars on her jacket. ‘But what exactly do you have in mind for this … this contraption of yours?’

Mum smiled – which is more than I would’ve done if I’d been asked the same question in that sneering tone of voice.

‘I haven’t limited my thinking. VIMS can be used for anything you can imagine, from strong-arm work like pulverizing concrete to something as delicate as holding a baby.’

There were more than a few sceptical looks at that, but Mum continued.

‘I see no reason why by this time next year, VIMS shouldn’t be performing intricate surgery, undertaking rescue missions from earthquakes, underground caves, et cetera. The list is endless. That’s what we’ve designed it to do and that’s what it can do. Let me give you just a taste of what I mean. VIMS, there’s a suspect car over in the corner. Maximum caution is advised.’

‘Of course, Carol,’ VIMS replied.

The suits and uniforms shuffled a bit closer as VIMS rolled over to the red car. It rose up on its legs until it was about one metre high, then moved around the car very carefully without touching it, as if searching for something.

‘I’ve set up a smoke bomb in the car to simulate a car bomb. VIMS is programmed and equipped to disarm bombs …’

‘How can a machine disarm a bomb?’ a uniform asked dubiously.

‘VIMS has the most sophisticated artificial intelligence of any machine in the world,’ Mum told him. ‘I designed it myself. Not only is it programmed with information about different types of bombs and devices, but it can also think for itself, improvise and make decisions. That’s what’s so unique about our machine.’

I grinned at Liam. That was my mum, that was!

‘Device detected,’ VIMS reported.

All attention was back on the VIMS.

‘I shall attempt … I shall attempt …’ And then without warning, VIMS slammed into the car.

It made me jump.

A stunned silence echoed throughout the testing room. VIMS slammed into the bonnet again. And again. And again. There was a hiss and all of a sudden smoke started billowing out from beneath the car.

All the suits and uniforms started looking at each other.

‘Not much evidence of intelligence there, Dr Painter,’ a suit said with sarcasm.

I wanted to rush over to him and kick him in the shins.

‘I don’t …’ Mum made a fist with her gloved hand and then pulled it towards her chest. VIMS continued to slam into the car. She ran over to the control panel, where Jack was busily pressing buttons. Mum pushed
Jack
to one side as she studied the monitor before her. And still VIMS kept slamming into the car. Smoke was beginning to fill the testing area now. It was horrible. It was all going wrong. The suits and uniforms started coughing. Then VIMS stopped and returned to its normal size. Seconds later it rolled off in the direction of the suits and uniforms.

‘Intruder alert! Intruder alert!’

The suits and uniforms scattered to the four winds. There was yelling and screaming and smoke continued to billow out from the car.

‘INTRUDER ALERT! … INTRUDER ALERT!’

‘VIMS, what’re you talking about?’ I saw Mum stand in front of VIMS now. It was like looking at her through fog that was getting thicker by the second.

‘Dominic, we’d better get out of here,’ Liam hissed.

‘Desica International staff are as previously defined. Guests are as previously defined. Two unknown intruders. Do you require further details?’ VIMS asked Mum.

I sat back against the wall at once. Liam had the same idea. But we were too late. Our cover was blown.

‘Where are they?’ Mum asked quickly.

‘Let’s go,’ I said quickly.

‘How? We can’t.’ Liam’s voice was frantic. ‘I can’t see the exits any more.’

‘Over there.’ I pointed in the direction of what I hoped was the nearest exit.

There was a loud whirring noise and then I heard VIMS’ heavy footsteps, heading in our direction.

‘Run!’ Liam shouted.

And he sprang up and sprinted for the emergency door. I tried to stand but my bad leg chose that moment to give out from under me. I collapsed back down onto the floor. Pushing my hands against the floor, then the wall, I tried to stand again. Only by this time Mum was in front of me – and she was twenty shades of livid.

Chapter Five

Roasted

‘
DOMINIC, HOW COULD
you?’

‘Mum, if you’d just let me explain …’

‘Explain what? How you ruined my demonstration?’

‘That’s not fair.’

‘Not only is it fair, it’s also accurate,’ Mum insisted.

Liam had been sent home in disgrace after a tongue-lashing from Jack and my mum. I’d tried to tell them that it was my idea and my fault but that’d gone down like a lead balloon and Liam had still got it in the neck for following my lead. And now I was sitting in Mum’s office and it was my turn. I didn’t know what to do for the best. Should I bow my head and let Mum rage on at me, throwing in the occasional sorry whenever necessary, or should I try to defend myself? The mood Mum was in, one spoken word in my defence would probably have me grounded for the next millennium but at the same time, it wasn’t all my fault.

‘Do you realize how many months, how many years
of
hard work have possibly been ruined because of your reckless behaviour?’ Mum ranted. ‘We needed to get more funding from those people at the demonstration and now, thanks to you, they’ve gone away thinking that I’ve spent the last years of my life working on a talking pile of junk.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘What did you think you were doing?’

‘I just wanted to see VIMS in action,’ I muttered.

Mistake.

‘You had no right, Dominic. No right. This isn’t a game to me. This is my living. This is my career. This is my
life
you’re trying to ruin.’

‘That’s not fair either,’ I protested. ‘I’m not trying to ruin your career or your life. I’m sorry, OK?’

And I was sorry – except the words came out all flip and defensive. Because I was hurt. I know Mum didn’t mean it that way, but it was as if she was saying that VIMS was her life – and I wasn’t.

‘No, it’s not OK. It’s a long way from being OK!’ Mum yelled. ‘The VIMS project requires more money and thanks to your selfish behaviour, we are extremely unlikely to get it.’

‘It wasn’t all me.’ I tried to defend myself. ‘VIMS started slamming into that car before it even knew that Liam and I were in the room.’

‘No doubt you fiddled with the control panel
before
we arrived in the testing room,’ Mum sniffed.

‘I didn’t touch it,’ I said indignantly. ‘Neither did Liam.’

‘So you say.’ Mum didn’t believe me. ‘But you must’ve touched something you shouldn’t for VIMS to behave in that way.’

‘I’m telling you, we didn’t touch a thing. We’re not stupid. I knew you had a big demo on today. Liam and I just wanted a quick look at VIMS and then we were going to leave but you all arrived too soon.’

‘So it’s our fault, is it?’

‘I never said that,’ I sighed.

This was hard work, and the worst thing of all was, what if Mum was right? What if I had inadvertently blown her chances of getting further funding for her VIMS project. What if all those years of work were down the drain because of
me
? I’d only wanted to look at it. I hadn’t wanted all this to happen.