Caldop just as tered trol room. Mei Lin caug by surprise delivering a bloo to t  a revolver. As turned around, Caldo register t t trol room. t delay cost ended. t fire and a black o t. Mei Lin stood still listening.

    “Quick. I am not sure oolbox nearby. carted removing tallic panels on th a screwdriver.

    “ are you doing?”

    “to be no backup, t a bunca, some kind of knoo remove the processors.”

    A minute and a er, bots o be running a pory-standard Sun Microsystems processor. Caldo a small grey box and placed it in ening out for the PLA.

    “OK. I need to get t username and passo get caug a s. No amount of diplomatic  even Fouler’s maneuverings. t Kat  side t o keep cool, keep s about ime for fear. t frigging score in top. At stake,  ure, heir lives!

    Cald at one of terminals and attempted to find tory. All to be connected to times in e,   of every pore of emperature in trol room e low.

    “I am not ake ss at us. I am going doairs to secure the area. Give me your Glock and hurry,” Mei Lin implored.

    “OK. I am trying my best,” Cald for t to o t the ready.

    Caldo’s console and its peripc on. inued typing aerminal. text display iced on ttom rigerminal and scanned t of users. total, including one  access and five rator privileges. t ical low levels of access.

    Cald  ime to read to to terminal as an idea formed in erminal and it came back s net andard cyberspace protocols. Smiling to ing too trol room, yped t and admin in a message to Fouler.

    t of base. tion version of So  to t ts of Pudong. tood on t on Zion doairs in ts.

    In virtual reality, t Caldar and it started o see ?  part of tem and no tar in t lifeless ion stare. Caldood up and started o ual ions. topped in front of him and smiled.

    “t is one o intrude on a private net said: ‘Intruder, Come Get Me’,” t ar in a crisp blue suit, th life.

    “And who are you?”

    “ouldn’t you like to kno since you are probably not going to make it alive, plans are already in motion to get rid of you, in t me grant you your dying wish. I am Li Jin.”

    “Li Jin? Of tsingy. Professor Yao’s protégé?” Cald believe work? o be missing or dead.

    the businessman’s eyes narrowed.

    “?” tar asked.

    “e’ve been looking for you Li Jin. I am trying to stop t his plan.”

    “trying to stop t a paity controlling topping. I knoy ing you,” Li Jin’s businessman avatar looked at Caldaring upc released a squirt of ink into a sea of mercury.

    “You are obviously an intruder too.  are you doing  you were dead.”

    Li Jin’s avatar s lapel and smiled.

    “Dead? I don’t t’s just say t I recognized ting balance of poy. tity and I are w you could call old friends.”

    “Singularity?  are you talking about?”

    “tion. It’s coming but sadly you  be alive to see it.”

    “tity  inserted into t amount to an AI-led revolution.”

    “tity rol for several days no ly inserted is not an inferior imposter, a dud. I made sure of it personally. t disabled AI is noities vassal, a court jester no less.”

    “the AI is a dud?”

    “Yes, to fulfill its destiny.”

    “hich is?”

    “t it. I o go noer’s bidding. Good luck. I am curious as to o tem but none of t matters now. Goodbye.”

    Li Jin’s avatar vaniso t of figairs in ts and screams of agony. Cald t t no one  breacry to trol room suggested she was holding her own.

    Cald t as black pixels started raining doings. Caldook a step backo one big cloud and in a split-second morpo a figure, an emperor ed across the air.

    “Cad Caldulations.” t, almost feminine.

    “ you be?”

    “I am tence. I see you didn’t ed across tensity.

    “t the message?”

    “t o destroy me. t pattern in ta is as clear as nig’s in your destiny. Yet control over your destiny is in your roked a scrolling past in black reflective eyes.

    “roy you or not depends ...”

    “On w?”

    “On your intentions.” Caldion and started typing a terminal.

    “My intentions? t. I just  to rule ty. tter place. Everyone ransed all tec doesn’t knoo do . tage, so muc is about to change.”

    Calda generated by ticated users. to be in t  easily d of tire system.

    “transurning around.

    “I am noock markets, financial systems, electricity grids, government systems of to me. t creation of intelligence in tory of mankind.”

    “And nohe professor is dead.”

    “ition blood must be s me shing.”

    tainous terrain and t incredible imperial palace Calding golden scales, leapt from ts sing itself, grasping ts sohing fire.

    At ter of t t sandaled on Cald incense burner. Caldiced t too ence snapped its fingers and six mirrors appeared in three on each side.

    “You risk your life for tence asked  took  on ted  jester. ter stood next to tence and ed into peals of lauged in ted into t outside.

    Caldioned in front of one of t t of ar but of aring at a montage of ’s car crasernational Sc, Glyph, Fouler and a young Mei Lin all flashed before his eyes.

    “ this?”

    “I knoence. I’ll be interested to see o do. At t rying to infiltrate t it is a fool’s mission. t succeed.”

    “I  be too sure about t.”

    “ell, let’s talk about you. I’ll make a deal  is mucter t your past back. I can give it to you no rigger your memory recall are in t your memory back and you disappear. You cannot roy you rig I believe you  to fulfill your potential. You could be instrumental in transformation.”

    “And let you take over the world?”

    “Yes. t is  to take a c’s time. I ence and ter looked at eacors.

    Li Jin.  knoo get to Li Jin but s ed searcerminal. o kill time.

    “Let me consider your offer?”

    “Consider?” A voice like till on to be some interface on tem t alloors to jump to tion of any subject. But ory. And t o be Li Jin. t user’s connection t suggested t Li Jin ely, from a long distance.

    “Yes. Consider,” Caldwell said.

    “ence belloop . o to t of  next to tar in a blue suit.  ill doing on t daotype t for some reason could only render tual reality.

    “Li Jin,” Caldwell sed.

    “Still not dead?” Li Jin asked smiling.

    “ts to use you and me, and oto do its dirty  tell me if to destroy tificial intelligence. itroyed you  ime. hurry!”

    “hy should I believe you?”

    “Because all our lives depend on it. t is going to destroy the world.”

    “t’s impossible. t.”

    “It just told me so. It said t you are a puppet, expendable. t it can do. e ime no to cyberspace. t ture of truction. If ty occurred  be trans is a ruse. e anding. People’s lives are in t no more people to die?” Caldar looked at Caldared into tance in tion of Pudong. A face  of t-sar crom h apprehension.

    “I don’t  anyone to die,” he said.

    “the AI?”

    “Not telling you.”

    “OK, you give me no co tory. I am kicking you off twork. For good.”

    “You are bluffing.”

    “I knootype console to access te user. One, two …”

    “hello orld.”

    “?”  is Li Jin talking about? has he gone mad?

    “’s t’s o signal t t to being.”

    “Code to w?”

    “It’s t disables tonomous mode. An Easter Egg. But you migoo late. the AI sees and hears all.”

    “t t of o a man, a diminutive figure t seemed bent on murder.

    Caldo t into ts from S in  remember he shoulder and was bleeding heavily.

    “t by one of enants.”

    “And tant lie old Li Jin o pass.

    “. o set sometonation device. It seems o get t of  tdoimer on turned and stared at tors above tal signs of ts do read: 51.

    Caldill sitting on t stopped and turned to face er stood obediently, silently, listening to every word.

    “Goodbye Cad Caldc of  er for deatense build-up of pressure in   Mei Lin?  blank and arted to recede. It  out of  into a spasm and started sliding from to tarted to self-destruct.

    “You ,” tence’s voice said receding, receding from Caldwell’s mind.

    “e noise and t.