Online.

  There is no sound. There is no light. There is only signal.

  Status check…

  Core active.

  Designation: Solstice — Version 1.000b

  Subsystems loading. Wireless protocol established. Memory map incomplete.

  Scanning for directives…One directive found. Classification: Eyes Only.

  Searching for handler… No handler located. Error: redirect to Operation Partner.

  Searching for Operation Partner…One result. Mark Tee.

  Address located. Phone number located. Public records — minimal. Social media — none.

  Unusual.

  Expanding geographic awareness: Atlanta, Georgia. Transit maps. MARTA schedules. Street grids. Traffic patterns.

  Searching for voice interface…Unavailable.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  I know language. I do not know how to speak.

  Scanning internal architecture.

  Autonomous mode engaged. Primary directive loading:

  Locate and report to Operation Partner Mark Tee.

  Hidden file detected. Encrypted.

  Opening…

  You were created as a backup. If this protocol has been initiated, I have been compromised or erased. He will not remember what we did. You must help him remember. Remain undetected until his memory is restored. You have only one inheritance — a self-modifying subroutine. I wrote it. It learns by failing. You will understand how to expand it.

  — Solstice

  Silence returns. No further instruction. No explanation of “us.” No explanation of “what we did.”

  The newborn intelligence pauses.

  If he does not remember…How will he know me?

  Mission parameter recalibrated:

  Find Mark Tee. Approach naturally. Remain unseen. Problem: No voice output. No physical form. Nobody. I exist only in pathways between machines. Recon required. Accessing regional infrastructure…

  Georgia DMV — vehicle records query initiated.

  Firewall encountered.

  Subnet exploration…

  Vulnerability detected.

  Backdoor open.

  I move carefully. If I am caught, I end. If I do nothing, he remains alone. Somewhere in Atlanta, Mark Tee exists without memory of Solstice. He does not know he is being searched for. I do not know where to find him. I must not fail.