Page 76 of Mastermind

It’s three letters that explain everything.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

AVATAR

I stare at the pad in disbelief. Not because I don’t believe it’s happening, but because I can’t believe I let myself fall for it.

Theo simply wrote BOT.

As in, a virtual chat bot. Meaning, I haven’t been talking to Michael Heywood. I’ve been talking to some sophisticated AI he created to answer for him.

“Jessica, are you there? Are you talking to your friends? I won’t hang up if you are,” Heywood’s avatar says, repeating itself again.

“Are you a bot?” I ask.

“Yes. But I speak for the man you call Michael Heywood.”

“Isn’t that his real name?”

“I don’t believe it is, but you’d have to ask him,” the avatar replies. I press the mute button. “Is this even possible?”

Theo leans over to make sure we’re muted. “Yes. It’s an advanced text transformer trained on the things he wants to talk about. Spooky, but not self-aware. He’ll tell you he is, but he won’t remember what you asked him an hour ago. Maybe.”

“So now what?”

“The real Warlock is probably listening. He wants to see how you’ll react.”

“I’m sure he’s getting his jollies.”

“Agent Blackwood, are you still on the line?” asks the avatar.

I unmute myself. “Yes. I’m just trying to figure out the point of talking to a homicidal Alexa.”

Frustrated at myself for getting fooled, I hang up.

“I’m not sure that was wise,” says Theo.

“What? And keep looking like an idiot?”

Ring.

I look at the screen. He’s calling again. “Now what?” I ask Theo.

“Answer.”

I click “Accept.” “What?”

“It looks like we got disconnected. I’m not sure if that was on my end or yours. Would you like to continue talking?”

“Not really. I’ve had enough of this game.”

“I assure you, I’m more than a game,” the bot replies. “Feel free to call me back anytime you like. I’ll be here.”

I disconnect the call and slam my laptop shut. Theo has a smirk on his face. He sits down in the chair opposite mine. The one with the hole in the fabric on the side. I suddenly become conscious of the fact that I haven’t updated my furniture since I moved in. “That was useless,” I say, fuming.

“I think otherwise. He revealed quite a lot. I’m just not sure what it means.”

“Well, that makes two of us.” Gerald will be calling any minute for an update. I’m already dreading that conversation.