a lighter from his pocket and graciously gave her a light. Tamura took a deep drag and exhaled a thin stream of smoke, which was immediately drawn into the ventilation nozzle.
– Did you get a personalized vent? – She asked, shaking off the ashes into a glass jar filled with cigarette butts and water.
– I smoke a lot. Especially lately. I can smoke three packs a day when I’m working late.
– Someday, Louis, it will kill you,» the witch said, took another deep drag, and put the cigarette out on the table. – I’ve recently learned an interesting fact, Louis,» she began, to my delight. – It turns out that you, Louis, were in charge of the voice assistant project!
– Thomas?! I was,» the man said with a smile. – Thomas had once been very popular with the staff. Thomas’s server handled several requests from witches at a time. – He sighed sadly. – Now it only tells the weather, radiation levels, and data from the Coven’s archives.
– Why isn’t the project moving forward?
– Thomas is a typical neural network whose synaptic connections have undergone all possible self-learning algorithms. Expressed in simple language, Thomas in its limited interface has reached perfection in development and does not develop further. And why is it not in demand? Because there are plenty of cloud-based voice assistants with a more developed technical architecture. Every resource on the web now has its own voice assistant. That’s what they’re using.
– I’m sorry, Louis. Listen, I was thinking. Is there any way I could customize it for me? Emotionalize it, humanize it, move it to a new server so it can evolve. I’m ready to take a very active part in this project.
– I think it’s possible. We just need to coordinate this procedure with the Coven leadership. I can make a request.
– No, don’t, Louis. I was just asking. I won’t interrupt you again. Get back to work. I’m gonna go. Can I have some tin and rosin?
Louis handed over a new pack of solder, and Tamura left the office.
Chapter 5
She pulled up to the gate of an apartment complex, got off the bike, took off her helmet and fastened it behind the seat. Then she placed the control fob in a special compartment on the dashboard, and the bike turned around and drove off on its own. The witch entered the wicket and walked towards the high-rise building.
– Batu! – She shouted, closing the door to the apartment behind her.
The young man appeared in the doorway leading to the living room.
– My boy, you’ve been waiting for me! – rejoiced the witch, taking off her boots and exoskeleton. At that moment, the sword caught on the frame of the exoskeleton, magnetized, and fell to the ceramic floor with a crash. – I can’t get used to having to unbuckle my katana before I can remove the amplifier,» Tamura smiled.
– I was brought here yesterday and told to wait. They said not to touch anything and that you would be here soon. I didn’t know what to do. So I just stood there at first, and then I got very tired and sat on the floor.
– What a nightmare! You must be very hungry?
– Yes, but I’m much more thirsty.
– What beasts! – commented the witch, tattoos of tears streaming down her face. She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water.
The guy greedily started drinking, gulping loudly.
– I still have some egg tart left somewhere and some milk. Here! – she handed Bat a plastic container and a bag of milk. – There’s a dining table over there in the kitchen. Sit down and eat in peace. But don’t be in a hurry. Give me some milk too. Get some glasses from the dishwasher. Should be clean if I remembered to turn it on. I’ll go to the bathroom, take off my robe and come to you. – She smiled and disappeared out the door.
Batu ate all the cake, drank the milk and poured himself some more. At that moment Tamura appeared without her overalls. Her entire lean body was tightly encased in a thin gray bodysuit with a silvery glow. On her feet were huge teddy bear-shaped slippers.
– Do you like me? – she smiled and, without waiting for an answer from the shocked young man with milk trickling down his chin, she said: – I’ll walk like this for now. Let the cobweb breathe. She’s very young. – Then she picked up her glass with milk and held it out to Batu: -It’s my birthday today, and I am very happy.
Batu obediently held out his glass and, stammering a little, replied:
– Congratulations!
– Look,“ Tamura sipped some milk and set the glass down. – „On a related note, there will be a celebration for the occasion at a restaurant today. The female employees are invited. And you’ll wait for me here, okay? You can watch TV. I’ll come in drunk and I’ll want a little extra. And we’ll have a drink. You’re 18, right? There’s a bar over there. In the fridge, cut up some appetizers. You already know where to find the dishes. In the meantime, I’ve got two hours and I’ve got some work to do. You want to come with me?
– Can I ask you a question? – the guy was clearly crumpled.
– Of course he was.
– What do I call you?
– That’s a good question, Batou! – she thought for a few seconds. – Lucy. You can call me Lucy. That’s what they called me when I was a little girl.
– Lucy, can I ask you something else?
– Go ahead, Batou. You can do a lot of things.
– Will I be old forever?
– You’re not old, Batou. Don’t worry. Mitsu injected a toxin that caused your adrenal glands to release a massive amount of cortisol into your bloodstream. Your body reacted to the tremendous instantaneous stress accordingly. Your hair turned gray and your face showed deep expression lines. Now you looked like a grown man. – She lowered her voice and, looking away, added: – Though usually one dies from this, and it looks very spectacular. It’s like the person instantly aged and died writhing in unspeakable horror. I have a couple clips of this spectacle on my channel. – She raised her head and smiled broadly. – But you, as you can see, are alive and well! In time, the wrinkles will smooth out, and the gray hair will go away with the growth of new hair. And you’ll look like a young man with a pretty face again. – She patted his cheek.
Batu turned to the small mirror hanging on the refrigerator and ran his fingers through his wrinkles and hair. He paused for a moment, looking at himself, and then asked:
– Where did you take the people yesterday? You know, the ones who were praying in the gym.
– That’s a bad question and obviously unnecessary. Batu, my little man, in this cruel but very fragile world, you will have to survive someday without me. Please make it a rule in life that curiosity is your greatest enemy. Curiosity is sometimes worse than any religion. But I’m gonna answer you. Those who weren’t killed in a raid were executed
