Soul Thief Read online

  “Gavroche has contacted me for a special request.”

  “What special request?”

  Wu Zhang turned away, weighing how much to tell me. “Gavroche met this young lady named Michele during a business trip and fell in love with her at first sight. He later found out that she’s a prostitute. He can’t accept the woman he loves has been tainted by the touch of other men. He wants Michele all for himself, untouched. So he’s come to me.”

  “That’s the most disgusting and sexist thing I’ve heard today.”

  Wu Zhang pursed his lips. “Our algorithm isn’t sophisticated enough to pick up and mimic Michele’s personality. This is where you come in.”

  “How am I going to pick up her Mind File when she’s not dead–wait a minute!” Wu Zhang's words sank in me. A haze of fear bounced around me. “You–you want me to kill her?”

  “Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Kira. That prostitute is going to die.”

  “That’s convenient. What happened to the policy that bans the use of Helper Bots as sex droids?”

  “I never mentioned sex droids at all. Gavroche has asked for a customized Helper Bot and we as the provider provide the service. Your job is to collect the subject’s Mind File.”

  I shook my head in disbelief when Michele’s face and profile took over the hologram.

  Michele was only 21, too young to throw her life away and walk the street. I thought I’d grown numb to collecting the Mind Files but this one struck the chord. She was the same age as me. Too young to die.

  I played the video generated by Futuregraph, Wu Zhang’s invented program to predict perma-deaths of his subjects. A sick feeling scorched in my stomach when the men in the video started laughing lewdly and Michele screaming pleadingly. My blood ran cold. I stopped it the video.

  “You’re a monster. I should be saving her life.”

  “Haven’t you learned anything after so long? You don’t understand the purpose of your role, Kira. This isn’t a rescue mission. Your duty is to acquire her Mind File.”

  “I can’t do this! How can I stand and watch her being murdered when I knew it was going to happen?”

  I clutched and unclutched my fists. Guilt pricked at my conscience and crawled all over my skin. I wished I could erase the mental pictures from my head.

  “Cypher. Or that girl you barely know. The choice is yours.”

  I glared at Wu Zhang, fighting my hot tears. I pursed my lips. “Can you imagine how your multimillionaire clients will react if they find out that their Helper Bot slaves aren’t A.I. but your soul prisoners?"

  A hint of anger flashed in his eyes, then he relaxed into a vicious smile. “If I were you, Kira, I wouldn’t tamper with the chance of reuniting with Cypher. I can wipe out every single trace of his memories with a push of a button.”

  I clenched my fists and sucked in a deep breath. I couldn’t afford to lose Cypher. “Okay,” I muttered. “I need more information about the…subject.” I refrained naming the subjects to avoid attachment.

  A cocky smile quirked the corner of Wu Zhang’s lips. “Everything you need will be delivered to your new tablet. Please collect your gadgets from HR.”

  3

  One year ago.

  The aggressive tapping of my fingers on the keyboard ricocheted off the bare chipped wall of the scarcely furnished teensy apartment. My eyes raced to pick up the information in the journal and combine them into new sentences.

  The ancient literature assignment was due tomorrow and it wasn’t even mine. I hated myself for taking up this job. Now I’d to vomit 5000 words within three hours. I’d been ghostwriting assignments since high school. The pay wasn’t lucrative but at least paid the bills.

  “Wanna grab supper and go to the drive-in? They’re playing your favorite movie.” I snapped to reality. My gaze fell on Cypher. He sat propped against the wall and was looking at his phone. He looked up at me. “Supper?”

  I glanced out the window at the dark sky and checked my smartwatch. “Crap, it’s already half-past ten? Oh god, it’s Friday! I’m so sorry, Cypher.” The last Friday of every month was our date night.

  Cypher was my college senior. He studied Electrical Engineering. Though we had been together for three years, I could count the number of times we went out dating with the fingers in both my hands. Dating was a luxury only a few could enjoy. I wriggled my aching fingers. “I promise I’m going to type faster.”

  Cypher sighed. “You know you could’ve just–”

  “Nope!”

  Cypher rolled his eyes. “Are you even going to use that A.I.?”

  When the demand for assignment help soared during college, I wrote an A.I. program to mimic my writing and research style and technique. At first, I was stoked but when it surpassed my potential and got an ‘A’ for every assignment, fear rose within me.

  “Emergency, maybe.”

  “Isn’t this one?”

  “A real emergency.”

  Cypher sighed again. “Look at you! You’re so thin. You need to stop hustling and have some self-care.”

  I smirked. “Luckily for me, malnourishment is regarded as a sign of beauty in this age.”

  Cypher leaned closer and cupped his hand over my face. He tilted my chin to look him in the deep-set brown eyes. “You’re beautiful, no matter what, Kira. I’m worried about you overworking yourself.”

  My neck was tensed. I cupped my hand on Cypher’s face and felt the warmth of his skin against my fingertips. I forgot when was the last time I’d looked at him so closely. I suddenly realized how gorgeous he looked. I took him to a close study.

  At his broad forehead, the deep brown eyes. And the aquiline nose that matched with his high cheekbones. And his almost invisible lips. The feel of the steel muscles of his biceps tensed against my palms.

  “I love you, Kira. The last thing I want is for you to be sick.” My breath was knocked out of my lungs when Cypher pressed his lips against mine. The skin on the nape of my neck tingled as he slithered his arms around my hips and held me closer.

  My palms glided over his toned chest, feeling the firm muscles bulge against my touch. My lips trailed across his warm neck as I smoothed my hands over his swimmer’s shoulders and across his sharp jawline.

  His hot breath danced on my face as I raked my fingers through his thick, brown hair. I remembered how much I missed Cypher. How much I yearned for him.

  Cypher pulled away, snapping me back to reality. “If you’re going to complete the assignment, I’ll go get us some food from the stall downstairs.” I followed him with my eyes as he got up.

  “No, wait!” I grabbed his arm. “We are going on. Gimme a sec. I’m gonna set up the A.I..”

  Cypher smirked. “You sure? Not afraid of ‘robot revolution’ anymore?”

  I rolled my eyes and booted up the system. “Why don’t you go and get ready?” I followed Cypher into our room, which was a few steps away. My eyes were affixed on the ripped six pecs under the sun-kissed skin as he peeled his shirt off.

  I minimized the word processor when the sepia wallpaper of Manta Ray Beach caught my eyes. Across the wallpaper read ‘Do it now. Sometimes later becomes never’.

  Manta Ray was the last unpolluted beach before the global pollution that poisoned all our oceans, rendering the beaches too toxic for tourism. The window popped up and I hit the Start button for the A.I. writing program.

  In a few seconds, the A.I. took over my computer and words appeared one by one on the word processor. A weight lifted off from my chest. I didn’t realize my shoulders were so tensed up until I let out a tired sigh.

  “Maybe the robot revolution isn’t that bad after all.” I got on my feet and popped my back.

  *****

  “Mmm…” It felt like forever Cypher’s lips were entwined with mine but it was never long enough when he pulled away. I fell back in the passenger seat and caught my breath.

  My smartwatch showed hour 0120. The A.I
. would’ve finished the assignment and delivered to the client an hour ago. I pulled out my tablet and checked the progress. A smile split my face when I saw the status ‘Complete’.

  Reality sank in along with the cacophony coming from the drive-in. The starry night sky blanketed across the outskirt. Cold wind hustled across the carpark, carrying the smoke and exhaust from the stalled cars.

  Cypher’s protective arm wrapped around my shoulders, keeping my body and heart warm. For the moment, I was in the happiest place on Earth.

  “You’re so quiet. Are you alright?” Cypher broke the silence. A concerned look on his face.

  “Yeah.” I smiled. “Soaking in the moment.”

  “I thought you were feeling guilty for using your A.I. pet.”

  “The only guilt I have isn’t spending enough time with you.” I laced my fingers with Cypher’s and held him tightly. As if someone was trying to rip him off me. The sounds from the movie turned into white noise. “Sometimes, I wonder what the meaning of life is. You work so hard and in the end, you forget to enjoy your life. All that for what?”

  “That’s why I want to savor every second with you. Right now.”

  “Me too, Cypher.” I leaned closer and kissed him on the lips. Cypher grabbed my face and deepened the kiss. My breathing caught in my throat. His hot breath caressed my cheeks. An urgent need rose within me. “I love you so much, Cypher. I need you so badly.”

  I wanted to be devoured completely. I disengaged my seatbelt and climbed onto his lap. His fingers clamped tightly onto my hips. Raking my nails across his scalp, I threw my head back and exposed my neck. “Me too, Kira. I don’t think I can ever live without you.”

  “I don’t want to, Cypher. I don’t want to live if I had to live without you.” Ragged gasps rolled up my throat when Cypher trailed his kisses over my shoulder blades. Cypher’s face looked hot and intense when our eyes interlocked.

  “I’m going to get some snacks from the shop. You want anything?”

  “You.”

  “You got me forever.”

  Cypher squeezed my hand. His brooding eyes caught the light from the movie screen and glimmered even brighter from the stars. He kissed me on the cheek and got out. I followed him with my eyes until he walked into the shop.

  I turned to the screen where ‘Til Death Don’t Us Part’, a panoramic romantic comedy adaption of a bestselling novel, was showing. I watched the movie for umpteen times and knew the plot by heart.

  An engineer transferred his deceased wife’s consciousness into a droid. In a plot twist, his wife gained access to his internet history and found out about all his secret affairs. His life turned upside down when his wife, who happened to be a shopaholic, also had access to his bank accounts.

  I loved the movie so much it was the reason why I studied A.I. and became a programmer. I glanced at the smartwatch again. Cypher had gone for a half-hour now. I turned to the shop when Cypher was walking out through the automated door.

  Cypher saw me and waved at me. I smiled and raised back when a bright white flash exploded in the shop. The explosion blasted Cypher midair and the flames burst through the windows. The sirens of the nearby cars went off, reflecting the state of my mind.

  “CYPHER!!!” All the blood drained from my face. My heart thundered in my chest as I bolted out of the car and towards Cypher. I pushed past the mini crowd gathered around him and dropped into a crouch.

  “Cypher…no, no, no. Cypher!” I grabbed onto his shoulders, carefully not to touch his burnt arm. His shirt looked charred and ripped. Fear gripped me. I cupped my hand on his bleeding face. His brown eyes were wide open in a blind gaze. He wasn’t moving.

  Hot tears leaked from my eyes. “Please…please stay strong, Cypher!” My shaky hand reached for my phone to call the ambulance. The onlookers gathered uselessly around us, recording the scene on their phones. That was the last thing I could be bothered.

  I cradled Cypher close to my heart, not wanting to let go. “Please don’t leave me, Cypher…please…I love you…”

  *****

  I paced up and down the sterile hallway of Royal Asianova Hospital, pausing occasionally at the window to peek at the unconscious Cypher. I wrapped my arms around myself. The cold air pricked my skin. I’d never felt this useless, standing outside the window incapable of doing anything to rescue the love of my life. Now it was a waiting game.

  “Please stay strong, Cypher.” My breath fogged on the window. A distant news report blaming a gas leak as the potential cause of the explosion. I didn’t care about the cause. Regret pricked at my conscience. I should’ve used the A.I. and spend every second I could with Cypher when I got the chance.

  I looked at my reflection in the window and saw a silhouette standing behind me. My stomach lurched. I jumped a foot in the air and turned around to see a man in a long white coat grin at me.

  “Hello, you must be Kira. I’m Dr. Wu Zhang, founder and owner of Zhang Robotics.” The man’s gray crown was combed back neatly. He looked in his forties but his hoarse voice made him sound older. “Lest you’re unaware, Zhang Robotics is the number one tech company in Asianova. I’m not here to sell you anything.”

  I swore if someone was trying to sell me insurance…

  “You must have heard of our whole brain emulation technology to upload human consciousness into a droid. In simpler words, I have the technology to resurrect your partner.”

  A sliver of hope blossomed in me. “You mean like in the movie ‘Til Death Don’t Us Part’?”

  Wu Zhang stared at me like I was stupid. “Yes.”

  “But Cypher isn’t dead.” I shook my head though I knew it was about time. “He’ll survive. He’ll survive this.”

  “He isn’t going to make it, Kira. I have the Futuregrapher, a time-bender telescope prototype that allows me to glimpse into the near future.” A burning lump cinched my throat. Wu Zhang glanced at his smartwatch. “He has 15 minutes before he’ll succumb to his injuries.”

  “No…no, you’re bluffing.” A chill shot through my veins. I looked in the window as tears poured over my face. I refused to believe the doctors when they told me Cypher’s chance of recovery was near zero. My last hope had shattered. I wiped my face and turned to Wu Zhang. “You said you can save Cypher. What are you going to do?”

  A smirk quirked the corner of Wu Zhang’s lips. “Now we’re talking business. I’m seeking a befitting candidate to fulfill an important position in Zhang Robotics. I believe you’re the right choice.”

  “And what is this position you speak of?”

  “Your job is to capture Mind Files of the subjects with my invention, the Mind Drive.” Wu Zhang pulled out a silver microchip.

  “That…sounds like a soul-sucking job to me.” I should be grateful when a fresh grad was impossible to get a job for months after graduation. But getting a job was the last thing I wanted to think about when Cypher’s life was at stake and I was still in my final years working on my project.

  “You’re not wrong. Back to the topic, the Mind Drive is a heat-information nanoengine that translates energy into quantum data that works with the beacon. I’m sure you’re all too familiar with these terms.”

  It suddenly hit me how much he knew about me. “How do you know?”

  Wu Zhang sniggered. “I have the Futuregrapher. Plus, privacy is nonexistence in this age and time.”

  I let out a loud sigh. “Okay, why me?”

  “You’re smart. You know your things, Kira. You should be contributing your skills and talents to a renowned top-notch tech company like Zhang Robotics. Imagine how shiny your CV will look.”

  My eyes flicked between Wu Zhang and Cypher. “What do you do with the Mind Files?”

  “Trade secrets.”

  Cypher’s muffled cough made my stomach flutter. A hollow hole scorched in my stomach when the ECG went flat. I burst into the ward and clutched Cypher’s hand briefly before the doctors came to pull me out.
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  “Cypher! Cypher, please stay with me! Please!!!”

  “Please wait outside,” said the nurse.

  My eyes stilled on Cypher’s pale face while the doctors rushed around his bed. Long, white coats blustered behind them. The doctor pressed the defibrillators on Cypher’s chest. “Clear!”

  Wu Zhang checked his smartwatch calmly. “You’ve one minute. I must collect the Mind File once he passes.” I tightened my fists. I didn’t want Cypher to go. A chill pierced my bones when the medical staff hung their heads in defeat.

  I turned around to Wu Zhang. “I’ll do it. Please.”