Free Artificial Absolutes (Jane Colt Book 1) by Mary Fan

Victor’s office beeped. “Devin Colt, requesting entry.”
    “Enter.”
    The door opened. Devin walked in, and the door closed behind him.
    Victor, still reclining in his chair, raised his eyebrows. “Well? What’s so urgent?”
    Devin’s eyes were attentive, but otherwise his face was expressionless. “I take it you’ve heard about what happened to Jane yesterday?”
    “Of course.”
    “What she described was real. There was a machine, a robot that—”
    Victor cut him off with a heavy sigh. “Devin, I understand you’re in denial about her mental health, but that will not help her recover. Have you been looking for a suitable mental health professional?”
    “She doesn’t need a doctor. Listen, she called me while she was being pursued, and I saw everything. I even recorded the conversation, but it was erased from my slate. Whoever sent the machine was careful to cover their tracks.”
    Victor frowned. One thing that never changed about Devin was that in his eyes, his sister could do no wrong. He’d always sided with her, no matter how imprudent her actions. It seemed she had Devin convinced her fantasy was real.
    “Suppose I believe you,” Victor said. “This powerful criminal who can design intelligent machines and falsify documents without detection, why would he expend all this effort on a nice seminary student whose only connection to anyone important is the fact that he is Jane’s friend? If this criminal planned to ask for ransom, why not take Jane herself?”
    Devin started to reply, then hesitated.
    Victor gave him a severe look. No doubt he saw how ridiculous his arguments were. “Devin, I know it’s difficult for you to accept, but the truth is that your sister suffered a disturbing psychotic episode. Now, I find it… touching… that you care about her enough to want to believe her.”
    Devin’s mouth firmed into a hard line. “I can see why you don’t believe me. Perhaps it would make more sense if I begin with what I found out about Sarah. Please hear me out. It will seem… strange.”
    What does Sarah have to do with any of this? Victor nodded, wondering where Devin was leading.
    “It began the day I proposed to her, about three weeks ago.” Devin paced as he spoke, his gaze fixed straight ahead. “Her reaction was… She froze. Completely. It was only for an instant, and she recovered as though nothing had happened, but there was something different about her. She seemed… cold. It wasn’t like her.”
    How is this relevant? “I see.”
    “My first thought was that something had her terrified, that she had been drugged or conditioned or otherwise mind-controlled.”
    Perhaps Jane isn’t the only one suffering from a form of paranoia. “That’s rather dramatic.”
    Devin stopped pacing and faced Victor. “With all due respect, sir, you didn’t see her. What she did was unnatural. So I began looking into her background to see if someone was threatening her. However, our efforts were often blocked by—”
    Victor held up a hand. “Stop. With whom were you working?”
    “I enlisted the help of a Netcrew.”
    Agitation jolted Victor. He bolted upright. “You mean to tell me that after everything that happened, after your mother was murdered , you still engage in these criminal activities? Cybergangs, demons, dangerous criminals—how dare you fall back in with them?”
    Devin’s expression was unreadable. “I haven’t. Please, sir, just let me finish.”

    Victor Colt was an important man. Zenevieva shouldn’t have been spying on him through the transparent walls of his office. But her desk was right next to it, and her view unobstructed. Was it her fault she was only human?
    Several minutes had passed since Devin Colt had walked in, looking uncharacteristically distracted. Zenevieva was glad Mr. Colt hadn’t lowered his shades. She wished she were capable of reading lips.
    What were they talking about? Was Devin reporting a coworker he disliked? She’d heard a