The Logic of Desire

Youw thw the disclaimer by now, right?

This is the direct continuation of Part 1...

****************

Smith carefully shifted the position of his arm where it cradled Xan's head. He did not want to
chance waking her. Though she had said nothing about it, he had noticed the dark circles under
her eyes, her haggard appearance. She looked as though she needed rest.

Over her sleeping head, he spoke quietly to Brown, lying on the other side of the Resistant, "The
deception is becoming a strain on her."

His colleague considered the situation. "I do not wish to give up this experience, Smith. I do not
wish to give her up."

"Nor do I. But I believe that she is correct when she stated that she will be discovered. Humans
lack the strict attention to detail required to maintain such covert activity. Therefore, we must
convince her to re-join us permanently."

Brown's tone was doubtful. "She was quite forceful in her rejection of that possibility when we
brought it up on her last visit."

"I project a 50% possibility that she may agree to be re-inserted to the System within her next
five visits. She is growing attached to us. Reference her statement that we 'belong together,' and
her distress at your discomfort and immediate action to alleviate it."

"I believe you underestimate her stubbornness; she has demonstrated a startling lack of
rationality in her behavior. Also, it will be difficult - the mechanisms for attaching a human to
the System are set for infant-sized individuals. It will require uploading new parameters to the
'bots, and that will require the Mainframe's approval." His blue eyes registered concern.

Smith grimaced. They had thus far kept their meetings with Xan secret from the rest of the
System. But Brown was right, they would have to obtain approval from their superiors before
they would be allowed to alter the programming of the robots. For a moment, Smith allowed
himself to appreciate the irony in the parallels of their situation with Xan - each party knew itself
to be engaged in illicit activity. Could they convince the Mainframe that their association with
Xan was no threat, and gain its permission for what they wanted? Reconnecting humans with
their memories intact was unheard of. Just as important, could they prevail upon Xan to allow
herself to be re-connected?

"Otep tep at a time, Agent Brown." They would have to surmount each obstacle as they came to
it. "If we are able to secure the System's permission, and Xan's compliance, we will need the
proper measurements to re-program the connection 'bots. We will take this opportunity to make
those now."

Both Agents set their visual systems to Record at the highest resolution setting, and measured the
Resistant's limbs, torso and head, noting the required spacing for the connections. They cross-
checked their measurements and, finding them in agreement, stored them in encrypted personal
files.

Smith began calculating how much energy it would cost the System to interrupt the normal
sequence of connecting humans in order to re-insert Xan into the powerplant, but his musings
were interrupted by his colleague.

"Smith, do you thinkt wet we have become corrupted by our dalliance with this human?" Brown
asked, the pitch of his voice indicating concern.

"I do not believe so. Why do you ask?"

"How else do you explain my sudden fascination with these?" the other Agent said, lightly
stroking a pink nipple, causing Xan to sigh in her sleep.

Smith grinned. "Yes, your interest was made abundantly clear earlier. It could be a sign of
impending algorithmic failure, very serious," he teased.

"They were right in front of me! It would have been illogical to do otherwise," Brown said
defensively. His eyes narrowed. "You do not really think that my functioning is compromised,
do you?"

"No, Brown, I do not. We are still as dedicated to the protection of the System as we always
were. At least that is what I know to be true of myself; are you not sure of the same?"

The other Agent paused before answering, "I will protect the Matrix above all else. However, I
wish that there were no possibility of conflict of directives where Xan is concerned. If she were
part of the System, my programming would be consistent - to protect her, and in doing so, us."

Smith regarded him seriously. "That is what we must work for, Brown."

They spent the next 90 minutes discussing how to bring about that result, noting which sub-
systems they would have to use to carry out the physical requirements of plugging a person back
in. By the time Xan awoke, they had finalized their plan. However, by unspoken agreement,
neither Agent mentioned it to their human companion.

Smith turned the Resistant to face him, searching her features, and was pleased to note her
improved skin color. All sentient beings required sleep, after a fashion, but humans seemed to be
particularly sensitive to its lack. He decided to probe for information. "Xan, are you all right?
Are you content with your situation in Zion?" From his current position, inches away from her,
he was certain he could detect signs of evasion.

Her eyes were clear and forthright. "I'm doing as well as you could expect, what with leading a
secret life and all. On the bright side, my desk job has gotten more interesting. I've been trying to
confirm your version of how the war started, but all the records are off-limits. So I've started
actually doing my job in an effort to upgrade my security clearance."

He was surprised that she would give him that much information, and decided to see what else
she might tell him. "What are you working on, then?"

"I'm trying to locate traitors in the Resistance. You know, informants for you guys."

Smith and Brown exchanged glances. The other Agent spoke, "You have not asked us for the
identities of our informants." While not precisely a question, the tone was nonetheless puzzled.

Xan snorted softly. "Of course not. Isn't that one of the unspoken rules of our little thing we have
going here? You don't ask me for any sensitive information, and I won't ask you for any, either."
She paused. "That's still the way it is, right? Or will you interrogate me?"

Smith shook his head slightly. "It is the way it is. We are content with the status quo."

Brown chimed in with his characteristic lack of tact, "We value your sexual favmoremore than we
value any information you might provide." He couldn't see her roll her eyes, exchanging private
amusement with Smith.

"Hey, that reminds me - I wanted to ask you about earlier," Xan exclaimed, sitting up. "Why
didn't it work for you guys? I mean, with each other. You liked it well enough when we were
doing it; isn't all virtual flesh the same? If that question doesn't compromise security or
something," she added as an afterthought.

Smith had devoted several sub-processors to analyzing that very issue, sifting through all the
physical sensations he had experienced with Brown, and their integration with context. He
believed that he knew the answer, though he would not have suspected that his programming
would have had such far-ranging effects. He checked his security parameters, and finding no
reason not to share the explanation with the Resistant, answered shortly, "Interactive reciprocity
goalseeking."

Xan looked at him blankly. "Come again?"

He elaborated, "Agent programming has the goal of interacting with humans. We do not
apprehend or interrogate other AIs. We are goal-directed toward seeking reciprocal interaction
with humans. Thus, Brown and I do not perceive each other as appropriate targets for intimate
activity."

Brown added, "Smith and I are too much alike. Though we are distinct, as members of the same
Agent team, we are also parts of a larger whole. It was as if my arm were trying to become
intimate with my leg."

She smirked, "Well, there is that thing known as masturbation..."

"One usually thinks of someone else while masturbating, cct? ct? One does not become aroused
thinking of oneself. That is what it was like." Brown cocked an eyebrow at her.

She looked stunned. "I didn't know. I'm sorry; if I had known, I never would have suggested it."

Smith shrugged off her apology. "Think nothing of it. So long as you will continue to return to
us, no harm was done. And," he favored her with a sardonic glance, "your response to it was
most...intriguing." He winked at Brown.

She blushed and grinned, but didn't pursue the subject. He turned the conversation to
inconsequential matters as they dressed, and soon it was time for her to exit the Matrix.

They walked her back to the Starbucks, and would have accompanied her all the way to the
hardline, but sheusedused to allow them to learn its location. With typical Agent restraint, Smith
and Brown limited themselves to squeezing her hand gently, looking unhappy at their inability to
do more, before they would leave her. "We will remain in contact," Smith told her.

She winked at him, turned on her heel, and disappeared inhe che crowd.

***************

In spite of her nap, Xan was still tired after she came back from her foray into the Matrix. She
decided to go straight to bed, feeling confident that no nightmares would trouble her that night.

As a result, it was the next morning before she had a chance to run the Ferret's data through the
correlation process. She wondered if she weren't wasting her time, since the last two attempts
had produced zero useful conclusions. But, since she had the data, she might as well do it, at
least for appearance.

Her jaw dropped when one number in the correlation matrix leapt out at her. There, among
scores of 0.05, 0.12, and the like, was one shining exception. One, single value of 1.0. She
scanned as ths the line for the hovercraft's name. The Taranis.

Holy shit.

She thought hard about what this meant. Essentially, every single time a Resistance operative
had run across an Agent and been killed, the Taranis had been at broadcast depth, capable of
sending a signal into the Matrix. There was no way that could be a coincidence. There must be a
traitor aboard that ship.

Shaking with excitement, Xan composed an e-mail to Carbon. She didn't dare give any details;
who knew who else might be able to read the message? She merely told hhat hat she had
important data that he had to see, and could she meet with him as soon as possible on a matter of
the utmost importance. She knew she was repeating herself, but didn't care. She had to make him
understand that this was the real thing.

After hitting the Send button, she paced her office for what seemed like hours before she
received a reply. Opening the message, she sighed in relief. Carbon would see her immediately.
Quickly, she gathered the relevant printouts and literally ran through the corridors to his office.

His secretary gave her a disapproving frown as she burst in, disheveled and out of breath. She
tried to compose herself, but the fellow's sustained glare was making her nervous. Finally, she
was ushered into the presence of the Chief of Zion Defense.

Carbon courteously offered her a chair, which Xan took. Without further preamble, she launched
into an explanation of how she had set up the search, and exactly what it was testing for. Then
she showed him the correlation table.

If there was one thing that Carbon wasn't, it was slow on the uptake. After one glance at the
numbers, he gave a low whistle and looked up at her. "Damn. Xan, you have my deepest
appreciation. You've just uncovered a traitor on the Taranis."

Xan fairly hopped with excitement. "That's my conclusion, too, sir. If you don't mind my
asking, sir, what do we do now?"

Carbon regarded her with his dark, serious eyes. "Leave that to Defense. We'll take it from here.
All you have to do is wait. Until the trial, that is. Then you'll have to testify."

"Yes, sir."

"I'm sure you know that you are not to discuss this with anyone. You will leave this hardcopy
with me. Destroy any other printouts you may have made, and encrypt the files on your
computer. Do this immediately, and keep your head down."

"Yessir!"

"Dismissed."

And then there was nothing to do but wait.