Identity Theft Read online

  And then Cassandra did the most astonishing thing. She'd had no compunctions about bending back his fingers with her bare hands. And she hadn't hesitated when it came to plunging her naked thumb into his eye. But now that she was going to hurt him down there, she seemed to want no direct contact. She started looking around the room; for a second, she was looking directly at the closet door. I scrunched back against the far wall, hoping she wouldn't see me. My heart was pounding.

  Finally, she found what she was looking for: a wrench, sitting on the floor. She picked it up, raised the wrench above her head and, and looked directly into Pickover’ one good eye—the other had closed as soon as she'd removed her thumb, and had never reopened as far as I could tell. “I'm going to smash your ball bearings into iron filings, unless..."

  He closed his other eye now, the plastic lid scrunching.

  "Count of three,” she said. “One."

  "I can't,” he said in that low volume that served as his whisper. “You'd ruin them, sell them off—"

  "Two."

  "Please! They belong to science! To all humanity!"

  "Three!"

  Her arm slammed down, a great arc slicing through the air, the silver wrench smashing into the plastic pouch that was Pickover's scrotum. He let out a scream greater than any I'd yet heard, so loud, indeed, that it hurt my ears despite the muffling of the partially closed closet door.

  She hauled her arm up again, but waited for the scream to devolve into a series of whimpers. “One more chance,” she said. “Count of three.” His whole body was shaking. I felt nauseous.

  "One."

  He turned his head to the side, as if by looking away he could make the torture stop.

  "Two."

  A whimper escaped his artificial throat.

  "Three!"

  I found myself looking away, too, unable to watch as—

  "All right!"

  It was Pickover's voice, shrill and mechanical, shouting.

  "All right!” he shouted again. I turned back to face the tableau: the human-looking woman with a wrench held up above her head, and the terrified mechanical-looking man strapped to the table. “All right,” he repeated once more, softly now. “I'll tell you what you want to know."

  "You'll tell me where the alpha deposit is?” asked Cassandra lowering her arm.

  "Yes,” he said. “Yes."

  "Where?

  Pickover was quiet."

  "Where?"

  "God forgive me...” he said softly.

  She began to raise her arm again. "Where?"

  "Sixteen-point-four kilometers south-southwest of Nili Patera,” he said. “The precise coordinates are...” and he spoke a string of numbers.

  "You better be telling the truth,” Cassandra said.

  "I am.” His voice was tiny. “To my infinite shame, I am."

  Cassandra nodded. “Maybe. But I'll leave you tied up here until I'm sure."

  "But I told you the truth! I told you everything you need to know."

  "Sure you did,” said Cassandra. “But I'll just confirm that."

  I stepped out the closet, my gun aimed directly at Cassandra's back. “Freeze,” I said.

  Cassandra spun around. “Lomax!"

  "Mrs. Wilkins,” I said, nodding. “I guess you don't need me to find your husband for you anymore, eh? Now that you've got the information he stole."

  "What? No, no. I still want you to find Joshua. Of course I do!"

  "So you can share the wealth with him?"

  "Wealth?” She looked over at the hapless Pickover. “Oh. Well, yes, there's a lot of money at stake.” She smiled. “So much so that I'd be happy to cut you in, Mr. Lomax—oh, you're a good man. I know you wouldn't hurt me!"

  I shook my head. “You'd betray me the first chance you got."

  "No, I wouldn't. I'll need protection; I understand that—what with all the money the fossils will bring. Having someone like you on my side only makes sense."

  I looked over at Pickover and shook my head. “You tortured that man."

  "That ‘man,’ as you call him, wouldn't have existed at all without me. And the real Pickover isn't inconvenienced in the slightest."

  "But ... torture,” I said. “It's inhuman."

  She jerked a contemptuous thumb at Pickover. “He's not human. Just some software running on some hardware."

  "That's what you are, too."

  "That's part of what I am,” Cassandra said. “But I'm also authorized. He's bootleg—and bootlegs have no rights."

  "I'm not going to argue philosophy with you."

  "Fine. But remember who works for whom, Mr. Lomax. I'm the client—and I'm going to be on my way now."

  I held my gun rock-steady. “No, you're not."

  She looked at me. “An interesting situation,” she said, her tone even. “I'm unarmed, and you've got a gun. Normally, that would put you in charge, wouldn't it? But your gun probably won't stop me. Shoot me in the head, and the bullet will just bounce off my metal skull. Shoot me in the chest, and at worst you might damage some components that I'll eventually have to get replaced—which I can, and at a discount, to boot.

  "Meanwhile,” she continued, “I have the strength of ten men; I could literally pull your limbs from their sockets, or crush your head between my hands, squeezing it until it pops like a melon and your brains, such as they are, squirt out. So, what's it going to be, Mr. Lomax? Are you going to let me walk out that door and be about my business? Or are you going to pull that trigger, and start something that's going to end with you dead?"

  I was used to a gun in my hand giving me a sense of power, of security. But just then, the Smith & Wesson felt like a lead weight. She was right: shooting her with it was likely to be no more useful than just throwing it at her. Of course, there were crucial components in an artificial body's makeup; I just didn't happen to know what they were, and, anyway, they probably varied from model to model. If I could be sure to drop her with one shot, I'd do it. I'd killed before in self-defense, but...

  But this wasn't self-defense. Not really. If I didn't start something, she was just going to walk out. Could I kill in cold ... well, not cold blood. But she was right: she was a person, even if Pickover wasn't. She was the one and only legal instantiation of Cassandra Wilkins. The cops might be corrupt here, and they might be lazy. But even they wouldn't turn a blind eye on attempted murder. If I shot her, and somehow got away, they'd hunt me down. And if I didn't get away, she would be attacking me in self-defense.

  "So,” she said, at last. “What's it going to be?"

  "You make a persuasive argument, Mrs. Wilkins,” I said in the most reasonable tone I could muster under the circumstances.

  And then, without changing my facial expression in the slightest, I pulled the trigger.

  I wondered if a transfer's time sense ever slows down, or if it is always perfectly quartz-crystal timed. Certainly, time seemed to attenuate for me then. I swear I could actually see the bullet as it followed its trajectory from my gun, covering the three meters between the barrel and—

  And not, of course, Cassandra's torso.

  Nor her head.

  She was right; I probably couldn't harm her that way.

  No, instead, I'd aimed past her, at the table on which the faux Pickover was lying on his back. Specifically, I'd aimed at the place where the thick nylon band that crossed over his torso, pinning his arms, was anchored on the right-hand side—the point where it made a taut diagonal line between where it was attached to the side of the table and the top of Pickover's arm.

  The bullet sliced through the band, cutting it in two. The long portion, freed of tension, flew up and over his torso like a snake that had just had forty thousand volts pumped through it.

  Cassandra's eyes went wide in astonishment that I'd missed her, and her head swung around. The report of the bullet was still ringing in my ears, of course, but I swear I could also hear the zzzzinnnng! of the restraining band snapping free. To be hypersensitive to pain
, I figured you'd have to have decent reaction times, and I hoped that Pickover had been smart enough to note in advance my slight deviation of aim before I fired it.

  And, indeed, no sooner were his arms free than he sat bolt upright—his legs were still restrained—and grabbed one of Cassandra's arms, pulling her toward him. I leapt in the meager Martian gravity. Most of Cassandra's body was made of lightweight composites and synthetic materials, but I was still good old flesh and blood: I outmassed her by at least thirty kilos. My impact propelled her backwards, and she slammed against the table's side. Pickover shot out his other arm, grabbing Cassandra's second arm, pinning her backside against the edge of the table. I struggled to regain a sure footing, then brought my gun up to her right temple.

  "All right, sweetheart,” I said. “Do you really want to test how strong your artificial skull is?"

  Cassandra's mouth was open; had she still been biological, she'd probably have been gasping for breath. But her heartless chest was perfectly still. “You can't just shoot me,” she said.

  "Why not? Pickover here will doubtless back me up when I say it was self-defense, won't you, Pickover?"

  He nodded. “Absolutely."

  "In fact,” I said, “you, me, this Pickover, and the other Pickover are the only ones who know where the alpha deposit is. I think the three of us would be better off without you on the scene anymore."

  "You won't get away with it,” said Cassandra. “You can't."

  "I've gotten away with plenty over the years,” I said. “I don't see an end to that in sight.” I cocked the hammer, just for fun.

  "Look,” she said, “there's no need for this. We can all share in the wealth. There's plenty to go around."

  "Except you don't have any rightful claim to it,” said Pickover. “You stole a copy of my mind, and tortured me. And you want to be rewarded for that?"

  "Pickover's right,” I said. “It's his treasure, not yours."

  "It's humanity's treasure,” corrected Pickover. “It belongs to all mankind."

  "But I'm your client,” Cassandra said to me.

  "So's he. At least, the legal version of him is."

  Cassandra sounded desperate. “But—but that's a conflict of interest!"

  "So sue me,” I said.

  She shook her head in disgust. “You're just in this for yourself!"

  I shrugged amiably, and then pressed the barrel even tighter against her artificial head. “Aren't we all?"

  "Shoot her,” said Pickover. I looked at him. He was still holding her upper arms, pressing them in close to her torso. If he'd been biological, the twisting of his torso to accommodate doing that probably would have been quite uncomfortable. Actually, now that I thought of it, given his heightened sensitivity to pain, even this artificial version was probably hurting from twisting that way. But apparently this was a pain he was happy to endure.

  "Do you really want me to do that?” I said. “I mean, I can understand, after what she did to you, but...” I didn't finish the thought; I just left it in the air for him to take or leave.

  "She tortured me,” he said. “She deserves to die."

  I frowned, unable to dispute his logic—but, at the same time, wondering if Pickover knew that he was as much on trial here as she was.

  "Can't say I blame you,” I said again, and then added another “but,” and once more left the thought incomplete.

  At last, Pickover nodded. “But maybe you're right. I can't offer her any compassion, but I don't need to see her dead."

  A look of plastic relief rippled over Cassandra's face. I nodded. “Good man,” I said. I'd killed before, but I never enjoyed it.

  "But, still,” said Pickover, “I would like some revenge."

  Cassandra's upper arms were still pinned by Pickover, but her lower arms were free. To my astonishment, they both moved. The movement startled me, and I looked down, just in time to see them jerking toward her groin, almost as if to protect...

  I found myself staggering backward; it took a second for me to regain my balance. "Oh, my God..."

  Cassandra had quickly moved her arms back to a neutral, hanging-down position—but it was too late. The damage had been done.

  "You...” I said. I normally was never at a loss for words, but I was just then. “You're..."

  Pickover had seen it, too; his torso had been twisted just enough to allow him to do so.

  "No woman...” he began slowly.

  Cassandra hadn't wanted to touch Pickover's groin—even though it was artificial—with her bare hands. And when Pickover had suggested exacting revenge for what had been done to him, Cassandra's hands had moved instinctively to protect—

  Jesus, why hadn't I see it before? The way she plunked herself down in a chair, the fact that she couldn't bring herself to wear makeup or jewelry in her new body; her discomfort at intimately touching or being intimately touched by men: it was obvious in retrospect.

  Cassandra's hands had moved instinctively to protect her own testicles.

  "You're not Cassandra Wilkins,” I said.

  "Of course I am,” said the female voice.

  "Not on the inside, you're not,” I said. “You're a man. Whatever mind has been transferred into that body is male."

  Cassandra twisted violently. God-damned Pickover, perhaps stunned by the revelation, had obviously loosened his grip, because she got free. I fired my gun again and the bullet went straight into her chest; a streamer of machine oil, like from a punctured can, shot out, but there was no sign that the bullet had slowed her down.

  "Don't let her get away!” shouted Pickover, in his rough mechanical voice. I swung my gun on him, and for a second I could see terror in his eyes, as if he thought I meant to off him for letting her twist away. But I aimed at the nylon strap restraining his legs and fired. This time, the bullet only partially severed the strap. I reach down and yanked at the remaining filaments, and so did Pickover. They finally broke and this strap, like the first, snapped free. Pickover swung his legs off the table, and immediately stood up. An artificial body had many advantages, among them not being woozy or dizzy after lying down for God-only-knew how many days.

  In the handful of seconds it had taken to free Pickover, Cassandra had made it out the door that I'd pried partway open, and was now running down the corridor in the darkness. I could hear splashing sounds, meaning she'd veered far enough off the corridor's centerline to end up in the water pooling along the starboard side, and I heard her actually bump into the wall at one point, although she immediately continued on. She didn't have her flashlight, and the only illumination in the corridor would have been what was spilling out of the room I was now in—a fading glow to her rear as she ran along, whatever shadow she herself was casting adding to the difficulty of seeing ahead.

  I squeezed out into the corridor. I still had my flashlight in my pocket; I fished it out and aimed it just in front of me; Cassandra wouldn't benefit much from the light it was giving off. Pickover, who, I noted, had now done his pants back up, had made his way through the half-open door and was now standing beside me. I started running, and he fell in next to me.

  Our footfalls now drowned out the sound of Cassandra's; I guessed she must be some thirty or forty meters ahead. Although it was almost pitch black, she presumably had the advantage of having come down this corridor several times before; neither Pickover nor I had ever gone in this direction.

  A rat scampered out of our way, squealing as it did so. My breathing was already ragged, but I managed to say, “How well can you guys see in the dark?"

  Pickover's voice, of course, showed no signs of exertion. “Only slightly better than biologicals can."

  I nodded, although he'd have to have had better vision than he'd just laid claim to in order to see it. My legs were a lot longer than Cassandra's, but I suspected she could pump them more rapidly. I swung the flashlight beam up, letting it lance out ahead of us for a moment. There she was, off in the distance. I dropped the beam back to the floor in front
of me.

  More splashing from up ahead; she'd veered off once more. I thought about firing a shot—more for the drama of it, than any serious hope of bringing her down—when I suddenly became aware that Pickover was passing me. His robotic legs were as long as my natural ones, and he could piston them up and down at least as quickly as Cassandra could.

  I tried to match his speed, but wasn't able to. Even in Martian gravity, running fast is hard work. I swung my flashlight up again, but Pickover's body, now in front of me, was obscuring everything further down the corridor; I had no idea how far ahead Cassandra was now—and the intervening form of Pickover prevented me from acting out my idle fantasy of squeezing off a shot.

  Pickover continued to pull ahead. I was passing open door after open door, black mouths gaping at me in the darkness. I heard more rats, and Pickover's footfalls, and—

  Suddenly, something jumped on my back from behind me. A hard arm was around my neck, pressing sharply down on my Adam's apple. I tried to call out to Pickover, but couldn't get enough breath out ... or in. I craned my neck as much as I could, and shone the flashlight beam up on the ceiling, so that some light reflected down onto my back from above.

  It was Cassandra! She'd ducked into one of the other rooms, and lain in wait for me. Pickover was no detective; he had completely missed the signs of his quarry no longer being in front of him—and I'd had Pickover's body blocking my vision, plus the echoing bangs of his footfalls to obscure my hearing. I could see my own chilled breath, but, of course, not hers.

  I tried again to call out to Pickover, but all I managed was a hoarse croak, doubtless lost on him amongst the noise of his own running. I was already oxygen-deprived from exertion, and the constricting of my throat was making things worse; despite the darkness I was now seeing white flashes in front of my eyes, a sure sign of asphyxiation. I only had a few seconds to act—