489 The Flood, Ch. 2
The hotel is only a memory at this point, like so many things. The longer I stay in the Sunny algorithm, the more my old life disappears.
But the alternative is worse. I really, really don't want to go through that again. No one does. As bad as my prison is, survival is the solution.
Otherwise, I'll end up right back here.
No, my only option is to keep going. Survive the flood. Whenever it comes, wherever I am.
So for seventeen years, I've been getting ready. Learning the program. Finding opportunities. And getting better at hacking.
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Holding the keys in one hand and their leashes in the other, I walk the dogs out to the street from my studio. At each door, there is a hack.
The first door, just close. It locks automatically. The second, loosely hold everything, and tell Dozer it's ok. He always waits, which is excellent, considering he's a bot. Somehow, we got that right. The AI behind the dogs is remarkably real. Maybe because they have smaller brains, there was less to figure out. Or maybe it's because we're not that great at understanding them in the first place.
The third, juggle pulling the handle with one hand, then the key with the other. Never two hands on the door, always one hand for the leashes.
Then, climb the stairs to the street. These days, it's almost always empty. Still, I keep my head down and move quickly to the front entrance, the door that goes upstairs to our apartment. Getting caught up with the neighbors is a big no no. They're on to me.
Going up the stairs to our apartment, I try to clear my mind. Sunny will sniff out my agenda everytime, so it's best not to have one.
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