The Pieces of My Self

19 - A Splintered Mirror

ARTOIS MANGALOTTE

The Presidential Palace, 7 June 2174, Tuesday

My avatar looks like me but doesn't think like me. I'm frustrated. Maybe the thing needs more tutoring. Or counseling.

"There are occasions," I said, addressing my younger-looking image in the digital mirror, "when life-changing outcomes turn on a single unexpected happening. Black swan events. Or, in this case, Black Bird events. Do you know what it was for me?"

The face in the mirror showed no expression. "I do not, Mr. President."

"Why not? Aren't you my alter ego? Weren't you formed by probing my nervous system? By tuning your bioprocessor to match my brain? By becoming me? I rely on you to forecast my needs and execute my will."

"I am a simulacrum, Mr. President. I am incomplete. There are certain aspects of your knowledge and personality that will always be hidden from me."

"That's a grave defect. Knightly should have foreseen and corrected it. He was not perfect."

"Yes, Mr. President. But I am capable of learning."

"Well, this tells me you can't be trusted completely."

I paced slowly back and forth, looking toward the ceiling, toward the heavens, thinking, Maybe the thing can learn. Finally, I jabbed my forefinger toward the mirror.

"Let me teach you something about Knightly's perfidy. Replay the time when he confronted me in my own chambers, challenging me, hinting at his disloyalty. I think it was in early June of '73."

After a moment, my avatar's image faded into a video stream.

* * *

Time tag: 2 Jun 2173, 10:00 hrs.

I sit on the balcony of my private quarters wearing a leisure suit with a light gray safari jacket and drinking iced mocha. Knightly stands before me wearing a tan polo shirt, jeans, and open-toed sandals. He is shaking with rage.

"I did not sign up for a bloodbath over loyalty or purity," Knightly says.

I remain cool, my face devoid of emotion. "Calm down, Henri. You didn't have qualms when we eliminated our political opposition."

"It had to be done. It was them or us. But this bullshit about loyalty and purity is going to kill our country."

I meet Knightly's stare with my own. "You don't know shit about what kills a country! You weren't helping your daddy rebuild his restaurant after the '31 flood while Oliver Fleming's billionaire buddies were buying up the whole damn coast! You didn't have to pick up the pieces when South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida stabbed us in the back after the Army of the South won our freedom! I know what can kill a country. Sometimes it's a widespread belief—true or untrue. I won't play favorites. That's what brought down Fleming."

"My objection is deeply personal," Knightly says.

I try to cool off, flash a faint smile, and lean back in my wrought-iron chair. Perhaps there is some secret I might leverage to cement his loyalty. "Is there a lady friend? What have you been up to, Henri?"

"I have a child—a daughter—by someone else. Debra doesn't know."

I struggle to show a passive face. "And the girl's mother? You want to save her, too?"

"She died before I returned to Loumissala. An unfortunate accident."

"If the girl now lives here, there shouldn't be a problem if she's loyal to me. But it sounds like you're uncertain about this. I don't tolerate rebels. Just remember, there's a price for disloyalty. And I will not be swayed from doing what's right for the country. And for me."

"Burying my blood is not right—for me."

Finally, I say, "I don't want to hear any more of this. I'll reward loyalty and punish disloyalty. It's a simple rule for everyone to live by. You can go now. You need to get your priorities straight."

* * *

When the avatar's face returned to the screen, I tapped my temple. "That's when I suspected possible misdeeds. Do you see the problem, avatar?"

"Yes. He was insubordinate. He challenged you."

"Sometimes I wonder if you are up to the job. You have to connect the dots. Read between the lines. Henri came here from California with a young daughter who now lives in Loumissala. The mother died. Perhaps she was murdered. It could have been my daughter, Perri. The timing would have been right."

"I see the potential connection to your daughter, Mr. President. Is there any direct evidence?"

Why does my own avatar doubt me? "Did you read the report from the diplomatic office in New California about my daughter's death? Perri had been seeing someone involved in a hot startup company in Pasadena. At first, I thought that was too much of a coincidence, and was willing to give Henri the benefit of the doubt. His confession added weight to the possibility of guilt. When I began to suspect he was my daughter's murderer, my first thought was to have him publicly arrested as a thief and pedophile and arrange for him to commit suicide while in prison awaiting trial."

"But you did not do that."

"Correct. Never waste a punishment. Remember that. Do you see how brilliant my idea was? After I killed him, I promoted Knightly as a hero who was slain by white terrorists. This enraged my base and heightened their animosity toward my enemies."

"You are brilliant, Mr. President."

"And now we must consolidate our power. I will finally squash all threats to the country."

"Perhaps," the avatar said.

"What do you mean?"

I watched a sneer cross the avatar's face when it said, "We are concerned about the continuing threat to the network and the technical competence of the LESA team."

I had to scratch my head. "They assured me they had finished the job. Rooted out the malware. Cleaned and rebooted your software."

"We have detected other network anomalies outside the avatar network. The source of these disturbances is unclear. The human LESA team may not have completely succeeded."

"If it is true, I'll have someone's head."