Paradigm Shift

Chapter 4

"Mr. Taylor, I'll take you to see Dr. Watson now."

White, plastic tiles lined the walls and floor with the stench of bleach to signify sterility, and little yellow-orange, warm lights outlined the cracks and edges, illuminating the room a deep orange.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rachel." Taylor graciously nodded and followed her down the hall.

By one door, the same woman he thretened patiently waited, already wearing astronaut attire. She stood there, watching as they approached, and followed behind when Rachel and Taylor continued down the hall.

"Captain, I never thought you'd actually bring him on board?" She exclaimed. Rachel tilted her head back to look at her.

"Miss Celene Anders, I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you want to stay on this mission."

"Yes, Miss."

—-

Through the door, a middle-aged man hunched over a box the size of a coffin, ripping away at packing tape, "damn tape, I'm going to complain to the next person who—"

"Dr. Watson," Rachel interrupted his thought, "these astronauts wanted to speak with you."

"Who are they? I don't remember clearing him for the team!" Dr. Watson shook as he tried to stand up; his frail old body was always a burden.

"I cleared them, this one needs to speak with you," Rachel motioned to Taylor.

Dr. Watson shook his finger menacingly, "you—you little—you did this on purpose to prove a point didn't you? To prove that my ships could be suited for commercial airlines! Well, I'll tell you what, that was very dangerous what you did there, Captain, but next time at least inform me." Dr. Watson turned and went back to his package. "Do you think you could help me?" He sarcastically asked.

Rachel huffed in annoyance and then left after a ping from the ship, but Taylor and Celene both got down on their knees and helped rip open the box. Inside, a blonde man with perfect, smooth plastic skin laid serenely still. Little styrofoam pellets covered him and a bit of his face, making it barely peak through. Dr. Watson propped the android up; the body moved stiffly like a wax figure or catatonic man, yet the eyes were still closed until Dr. Watson pushed the head back and turned him on. He booted up silently—just like a sleeping man waking up from his long slumber—and blinked multiple times before introducing himself:

"Hello, I am Artemis Watson—your friendly and helpful android at your convenience. Please, state the nature of your inquiry." He had a soft and mellow posh British accent, so soft it almost wasn't noticeable, and deep blue eyes as deep as the blue ocean.

Celene's heart skipped a beat.

When Dr. Watson began talking, the Android's head quickly and deftly snapped toward him, "this is Arty, my great grandfathers vision. If only he could see him now. . ." He trailed off.

"Dr. Watson," Taylor started, "I don't understand his involvement with the civil war—"

The doctor cut him off, "well, you see—

"Taylor, doc,"

"Taylor, that Arty is a questioning answering computer system that can see, hear, talk, taste, interpret, learn, and recommend, so he knows absolutely everything and anything you ask him and will tell you."

"I don't understand how he'd help much in battle."

"Ah, but he definitely helped with war strategies." Dr. Watson paused before sighing, "yep, I helped on the side of the republic, but, ever since Tokyo, I realized that I had to hide Arty before I dragged myself into political turmoil again. I—I don't want that. . .but I trust you two because I trust my pilot." Dr. Watson patted Taylor on the shoulder before turning to speak with Celene.

And all that was going through Taylor's head was the threat the government official hissed at him with the barrel of a gun pressed against his temple.

—-

A light flashed next to him from a panel. Taylor rubbed his eyes—he couldn't believe what he was seeing:

Get us his Java and c++ coding and send it to this link or else sector 14-A, your home, will be nuked.

Taylor froze at the words that ran across the screen.

"Hello," Taylor jumped, tapping away at the screen to get rid of the message, "I'm Artemis Watson. Who might you be?"

"Oh," Taylor gasped—his heart raced. Artemis never moved until his head twitched and started again,

"Hello, I'm Artemis Watson. Who might you be?"

Taylor turned and faced the anthropomorphic machine and snarled, "I will be your worst nightmare if you ever sneak up on me again."

Artemis's head twitched, "I would like to inform you that I am required to report any knowledge I gain to Dr. Watson if he so much as asks, so I'd advise you to stay away from me if you value your life." His voice was smooth—condescending—mocking towards Taylor.

"Are you trying to threaten me, you piece of shit?" Taylor snarled.

"I am warning you to stay in line, sir,"

"The name's Taylor, by the way." Taylor pushed passed Arty and into the hallway. He stumbled and stomped his way to the cafeteria where Dr. Watson and his team sat together. Taylor tried to slow his racing heart—he had to find out where Artemis's coding was stored.

"Ah, Taylor, so glad you could make it to lunch. Remember: it's important to stay hydrated—" Dr. Watson held up his glass.

"Dr. Watson," Taylor sat down on the bench across from Dr. Watson, "I—I'm an engineer—" he lied.

"Wow," Dr. Watson added, "I'm glad Rachel didn't bring some random people on board. At least she knows what she's doing."

"—I was wondering," Taylor continued, noticing the doctor's sarcastic tone and internally flinching, "how did you build Artemis?"

Dr. Watson took a deep breath before answering, "well, that's quite a simple question with such a complicated answer: I just followed in my fathers footsteps. He left me all his notes, so I just finished what he started." Dr. Watson went back to his food, and Taylor joined in silently.

After a few bites, Taylor prodded Dr. Watson some more, "could I take a look at his notes?"

Dr. Watson laughed, "oh, you are quite the curious man, Taylor, but I must warn you: curiosity did kill the cat."

Taylor stiffened at the phrase.

"Dr. Watson, Artemis wants to speak with you." Dr. Watson acknowledged the man who came up to him, excused himself from the table, and walked out; Taylor followed him with his eyes. Between the blurry people, as Artemis was speaking to the doctor, Dr. Watson's gaze moved questionably back and forth from the android to Taylor—Artemis knew something about Taylor and it was obvious Dr. Watson wasn't happy about it.

"Sir, Dr. Watson is in his private quarters—he would like to have a word with you."