Smartystan

Monitors displayed images of one burglar going into the house, grabbing a few items, and then darting out right before dispatching Dr. Strong’s synth Monica. The visuals looked amazing. As what usually happens, the crook had been ahead of the police department and had worn clothing that reflected against the thermal and infrared and high definition cameras mounted around the doctor’s home.

Belinda looked pissed. “Run it back again,” she commanded her staff member.

The learned machines designed to protect the Dr. had been disabled moments before the culprit had even entered the house. She saw a flash.

“Hold on. Run that back, please,” Belinda made plain.

Upon viewing the footage again, Belinda looked dead center at a piece of paper or something that looked brighter in the light.

“I know who that is,” she declared. She got on a video conference call with Dr. Strong.

“I think we’ve found something.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“This miscreant must’ve had some time to think about the suit that disrupted the camera system you have, but they didn’t think of the low-tech possibility of spotting a manifesto.” She zoomed in on the piece of paper and froze it on the screen.

“We’re going to work further with the police to ensure the handwriting is exactly who you think it is. It’s pretty sloppy work. There is no God, but thank God.”

Dr. Strong chuckled lightly. “Bel’, I thank you for doing this. I’m about to be relieved from this tension that has been brewing inside of me these past few days.”

“I know, Covey. I understand that you had Monica programmed to read people as well. Her central processing unit was severely damaged in the whole event. We can, however, retrieve as much information from her data center as possible.”

“That would satisfy me to no end. I feel a trust in you that I felt when we first devised this nation.”

“I’m doing this all for you in my own selfish way.”

Dr. Strong sensed the solemnity in her voice. “I want to make sure you get a raise as CTO of Delaseer.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m doing this because you are my friend. I’m doing this because it is a responsibility thrust on me with the utmost amount of care and comprehension.”

“Alright, I appreciate all that you’re doing. Thank you.”

Belinda straightened and almost gave a salute to the doctor. “Thank you, Covey. We’ll be right on this case.” She said it with force but almost whimpered at the end.

After the conference call, the engineers of the learned machine side came together with the synths to help the police with identifying the thief. Dr. Frampton stepped through the glass doors like an empress even though she never carried herself as such. Her focus remained on work and not prestige.

“What do we have, Bel’?” she asked, a calmness taking over her words despite the gravity of the situation.

“We’ve got something here that looks like a note, probably a manifesto.”

Dr. Frampton searched the monitors. The footage lasted for about a half a minute.

“Stop!” Belinda announced.

“I see it. If we get some forensics people to view it and decipher the right handwriting or typed statement, we might just have our suspect.”

Belinda smirked. She didn’t burst out laughing and neither did Dr. Frampton, although they wanted to do so. They wanted to show their near triumph.

Once the police got a hold of the footage from UltraSynths, they employed their own tactics in dealing with criminals. They used timestamps and markers that are a database of the handwriting syntax of various criminals over the past few years. They came up with a match…a female.

“Yes, Donyae Limpkin. Forty-seven. She had been a stalker of Dr. Strong’s who must’ve got frustrated when he wasn’t home and decided to break into his place. She had skills to distort her image and even disable the synth on the premises,” Lieutenant Philip Galbraith said.

Belinda took this news and sent it to Dr. Strong.

“I knew I could read that handwriting and the typed text seemed familiar as well,” Dr. Strong declared.

“All we have to do now is find her,” Galbraith noted.

At UltraSynths, Belinda and Dr. Frampton showed their enthusiasm for the latest news by simply sighing.

“It’s for Covey,” Dr. Frampton said. “We’re going to get more synth guards and learned machine security to protect his properties. It’s imperative that we do this as we have our head of our for-profit 501 (c)(3). The organization would be bereft of all idealism spouting forth with as much power as that man possesses.”

Belinda shook her head in agreement. “Yes, we’ve got to safeguard our own for our own selfish joy. We set out to create a country-state and we accomplished that. We’ve had naysayers and issues of all kinds, but we’re above all of that. Now that the good doctor’s home has been restored, we can look forward to watching our other friend…Vestin.”

“Is he still riding the horse?” Dr. Frampton asked.

“He is. Which is okay because of the technology that limits the drug shared by Chanda and him.”

“I’m just concerned as a biochemist about the damage the drug, although smart now, has on them both.”

“You need not worry, Keija. They’re responsible adults who know how to intake the substance.”

Dr. Frampton shrugged. “Alright.” She quickly shifted gears. “This is a monumental find. The sound in the doctor’s voice was all I needed to hear.”

“What we have to discover is the fact we’re trying to push for more tech that can save lives and protect property.”

“That sounds like our individual rights clause….”Dr. Frampton observed.

“Exactly. What we do today will create a system for all of our members to bask in the glow of knowing what time it is in this country-state.”

“We should be pumped to finally take into account the thought of making this the safest, cleanest, and most prosperous new nation in the history of the world.” Belinda brought her head down and then up again with a smile.