Free The Phoenix Code by Catherine Asaro

human children."
    Their conclusions didn't surprise Megan. Some scientists believed autistic children suffered from a developmental disorder that interfered with their ability to model, understand, and predict the intentions or desires of other people. Developing AIs often shared that difficulty. Many of them used databases of rules in their models for human behavior. If they had too few rules or the wrong set, it limited their ability to respond.
    "I first saw it in his aloof behavior and lack of affect," Megan said. "Also in his need for everything to be the same, so he didn't have to make choices. He's coming out of that now, but if we force a personality on him instead of letting him develop naturally, it might make him dysfunctional."
    Kenrock glanced at Raj. "You've been quiet during all this. What do you think?"
    Raj regarded him with an unreadable gaze. "I don't know enough about Aris yet to offer an opinion."
    "You've read the same reports we have," Caitlin said.
    Raj just moved his hand, as if to say, "That doesn't matter."
    "Dr. Sundaram," Kenrock said. "Given the exorbitant fee MindSim is paying you, I would think you could come up with a more useful contribution than that."
    Ouch , Megan thought. She could almost feel Raj going on the defensive.
    "I already gave at the office," Raj said tightly.
    Megan understood his meaning, a play on "contribution" that also meant he had worked on the project in his office. She was almost certain he hadn't intended to insult Kenrock, but it came out sounding like a deliberate jab.
    "This isn't a game," Kenrock told him.
    Anger sparked on Raj's face, "well, shit. And here I thought it was."
    Kenrock stiffened. "Straighten up, Sundaram."
    "I'm not one of your flunkies," Raj said. "Back off."
    Megan cleared her throat. "Maybe we should decide what to do about Aris?"
    Taking a breath, Kenrock turned to her. "Of course."
    "Richard, give us more time," Megan said. "We've just started."
    Kenrock spoke to Caitlin and Mack. "What do you think?"
    To Megan's surprise, Mack said, "I agree."
    Caitlin nodded. "However, we should monitor the RS-4 at more frequent intervals."
    After studying Megan for a moment, the major said, "All right. We'll try it your way for now." He glanced at Raj, then back at her. "Let me know if any problems come up."
    "I will." Megan wanted to assure him they would have no trouble. She feared, though, that the problems had just begun.
 

    *6*
Jaguar
    Raj and Megan watched the elevator take Kenrock's car up to the desert. Raj had said nothing while Kenrock and his two lieutenants left, nor did he speak now. As he and Megan headed back to the base, he remained silent, lost in thought.
    After a while, Megan said, "The LPs delivered your luggage to your room in the residential section."
    Raj glanced up with a start. "Residential section?"
    "Level Two. My quarters are on Corridor B. You're in C, next to Aris."
    He turned his probing gaze on her. "Why did the LPs put me on a different corridor?"
    "I told them to choose a room near Aris." She hesitated, not wanting to start things off wrong. "You can move if you like."
    "I'm sure it will be fine." He had his full concentration on her now, which was more unsettling than his earlier preoccupation. "Why would you put me nearer to him than you put yourself?"
    "He needs new people to interact with, to expand his knowledge base."
    Raj suddenly grinned, like the blaze of a high-wattage bulb. "I'm new data?"
    Megan wondered why he smiled so rarely. It transformed his face like sunlight chasing away predawn shadows. "You're a new experience for him. He hasn't had many."
    "Does my being here make you uncomfortable?"
    This was a side of Raj she hadn't seen. Apparently he wasn't always oblique. "You don't mince words, do you?"
    "Should I?"
    "No." She rather liked his blunt questions.
    "You don't mince either." More to himself than her, he added, "But you somehow make it socially acceptable. I must study how you do that."
    "I think you