Asile-aux-Falaises
The name of his "vacation' home was completely appropriate.
He called it the Haven at the Cliffs, and while it wasn't precisely isolated, it was close enough that he felt that he could remain mostly undisturbed.
Well"maybe "undisturbed" wasn't the best way to put it.
It had been a few days since the destruction of Batten Tower. The company he had hired to clear the debris had been remarkably efficient. At least as efficient and competent as most of the people he hired to work for him.
Most. That debacle with Smith and the security breach that came in the form of a man known as Gary Talbot"that had only narrowly avoided the scandal of something that needed to be settled out of court. He was thankful he had promoted Big Mike to the head of the Security division after Leo had gone missing. Most would have let that sort of thing slide, and he wasn't one that would tolerate such behavior.
But getting back to the present"
He sat at the picture window overlooking the view of the bay, a glass of scotch in one hand, clad in nothing more than a simple kimono-style robe. This past week had been'so disorienting, so insane, his head was still swimming somewhat.
He'd lost the Tower. That sort of thing, he could live with - a three hundred and twenty foot tall skyscraper wasn't exactly cheap, even for someone of his admittedly expansive resources, but it could be rebuilt.
It was replaceable.
But Diana"
He had tried so hard - so very hard - not to love her. And while it was true that he did not return her affections in quite the same way that he suspected she felt for him, he did still lover her.
She was his creation'the closest thing he had to a child.
And now'she was gone.
Katt kept trying to urge him to accept the offer that Isabella had made to him, to replace his own Diana with the one that hailed where the woman that claimed him as her "father" of a sort had come from.
Neither of them understood. Isabella's Diana, despite being a near identical copy of his own, could never replace the one he had created.
His Diana - he had crafted her, programmed her, had practically breathed life into her. It was because of her that so much had been accomplished. This other Diana'she was not the same ancillary being as his own creation had been.
His Diana had loved him"had treasured him"had watched out for him, had worked with him for a little over a decade, had been so close to him that they had practically been one being. They could anticipate each other, could each predict the other's actions and thoughts"two beings sharing a single heart, a single soul.
Many times over the past days since the Tower had been brought down he had found himself calling out to her, asking her to respond, and each time the wound was torn open anew'reminded that she would never respond, that she would not answer his calls or fulfill his requests.
Not the in the same manner, at any rate.
But as Katt had pointed out to him, he was not the only one affected by the loss of the AI he had crafted. And as much as it hurt him, a wound that cut to his very core in a way that nothing else ever would'she was right.
Those that stood by him, those that gave this city hope and protected it, the ones that shielded those that could not resist the forces greater than themselves"they needed Diana as well. They had suffered as much as he, and many more would suffer in the future, if he didn't restore that which had been lost.
He had lost much, but much of what he had still remained, including his network. And while his Diana was no longer overseeing it, that didn't mean that someone else wasn't tapping in to it to keep an eye on things.
All these thoughts and more flowed through his mind as he sat in the chair in front of the window overlooking the open bay of Rhy'din, and finally, he let out a long, slow, deep sigh. Reaching over to the glossy surface of the table that sat next o his chair, he tapped the surface of it, bringing it alight ith flowing patterns of data, and spoke.
"Ah know yer listenin". Come to de Haven"Ah've decided to take ya up on yer offer.?
The name of his "vacation' home was completely appropriate.
He called it the Haven at the Cliffs, and while it wasn't precisely isolated, it was close enough that he felt that he could remain mostly undisturbed.
Well"maybe "undisturbed" wasn't the best way to put it.
It had been a few days since the destruction of Batten Tower. The company he had hired to clear the debris had been remarkably efficient. At least as efficient and competent as most of the people he hired to work for him.
Most. That debacle with Smith and the security breach that came in the form of a man known as Gary Talbot"that had only narrowly avoided the scandal of something that needed to be settled out of court. He was thankful he had promoted Big Mike to the head of the Security division after Leo had gone missing. Most would have let that sort of thing slide, and he wasn't one that would tolerate such behavior.
But getting back to the present"
He sat at the picture window overlooking the view of the bay, a glass of scotch in one hand, clad in nothing more than a simple kimono-style robe. This past week had been'so disorienting, so insane, his head was still swimming somewhat.
He'd lost the Tower. That sort of thing, he could live with - a three hundred and twenty foot tall skyscraper wasn't exactly cheap, even for someone of his admittedly expansive resources, but it could be rebuilt.
It was replaceable.
But Diana"
He had tried so hard - so very hard - not to love her. And while it was true that he did not return her affections in quite the same way that he suspected she felt for him, he did still lover her.
She was his creation'the closest thing he had to a child.
And now'she was gone.
Katt kept trying to urge him to accept the offer that Isabella had made to him, to replace his own Diana with the one that hailed where the woman that claimed him as her "father" of a sort had come from.
Neither of them understood. Isabella's Diana, despite being a near identical copy of his own, could never replace the one he had created.
His Diana - he had crafted her, programmed her, had practically breathed life into her. It was because of her that so much had been accomplished. This other Diana'she was not the same ancillary being as his own creation had been.
His Diana had loved him"had treasured him"had watched out for him, had worked with him for a little over a decade, had been so close to him that they had practically been one being. They could anticipate each other, could each predict the other's actions and thoughts"two beings sharing a single heart, a single soul.
Many times over the past days since the Tower had been brought down he had found himself calling out to her, asking her to respond, and each time the wound was torn open anew'reminded that she would never respond, that she would not answer his calls or fulfill his requests.
Not the in the same manner, at any rate.
But as Katt had pointed out to him, he was not the only one affected by the loss of the AI he had crafted. And as much as it hurt him, a wound that cut to his very core in a way that nothing else ever would'she was right.
Those that stood by him, those that gave this city hope and protected it, the ones that shielded those that could not resist the forces greater than themselves"they needed Diana as well. They had suffered as much as he, and many more would suffer in the future, if he didn't restore that which had been lost.
He had lost much, but much of what he had still remained, including his network. And while his Diana was no longer overseeing it, that didn't mean that someone else wasn't tapping in to it to keep an eye on things.
All these thoughts and more flowed through his mind as he sat in the chair in front of the window overlooking the open bay of Rhy'din, and finally, he let out a long, slow, deep sigh. Reaching over to the glossy surface of the table that sat next o his chair, he tapped the surface of it, bringing it alight ith flowing patterns of data, and spoke.
"Ah know yer listenin". Come to de Haven"Ah've decided to take ya up on yer offer.?