Naedra's Insights (Page 28)

~~~(POV: Dannon Mayer)~~~

~~~(Location: Umatilla County, Oregon)~~~

~~~(Date, Time, Year: May 24th, 1:44 PM PST, 2022)~~~

~~~(Current Age: 21 years)~~~

I lift my feet and place them on the console as I relax and lean back in the alien chair in Naedra's room within S-SS 919. She's been running algorithms and reviewing data from what happened earlier. I don't know how I'd go about this without her.

She'll never know how much this means to me. Someone targeted my mother, and I don't know who they are. That's enough to drive any son to murder. It's a dark thought for me. I know the world won't respond well if I took life.

"How much longer, Naedra? I've been waiting for over an hour, and you haven't said anything. Is it really that hard to find the person who did this?"

I'll admit I'm getting impatient—not like I can be blamed for it. I know there are people in the government who are already working on this, trying to figure things out themselves.

After I attempt to hurry Naedra up, she appears on the console, and her miniature holographic form places her hands on her hips. A raised eyebrow looks between my eyes and feet on top of the console.

A sigh leaves me as I remove my feet from the console and sit up straight. Naedra turns around and summons different holographic screens. 

"I've gone through all the camera recordings from the traffic intersection and any other cameras nearby. I wasn't able to find anyone connected to the dump truck."

It's disappointing that Naedra didn't find anyone that I can point to and say they're the ones who tried to hurt my mom, but based on Naedra's pleased expression. She did find something. She brings up a new screen, which is a string of data.

From what I know, it looks like radio waves and bootstrapped connections to the internet. She'll know exactly what it is since she's been spending so much time on the internet.

"This is a foreign and unrecognizable frequency. It was broadcast across the street in this coffee shop through the modem."

She brings up a screen next to it. Showing the coffee shop in question. This is when I stand up from my chair since she finally has something to give me.

"I could track the signal and connection through three million different modems. They went through China, Russia, and Europe. Finally, the original signal came from here."

A new screen appears, and I'm shown one of the largest mansions I've ever seen. The first thing that comes to my mind is, like in the comic books, that I'm going to have an uber-wealthy arch nemesis or something.

The government and other humans wouldn't have been able to find this out. Naedra is the only one who can track where this all came from.

"The property belongs to Steiner Incorporated. The land was bought under the company's name. The CEO and Founder of Steiner Inc. lived there. Terrence Reginald Steiner. Or commonly known as Terry Steiner."

Steiner Inc.

One of the largest corporations in the world, built from the ground up by Terrence Steiner. He's the only man in the world to have acquired 100 billion dollars in personal wealth before age 40.

The companies he's created and built collectively have an untold amount, but it's suggested to be in the tens of trillions.

"You're telling me that one of the wealthiest people in the world planned and orchestrated an attack on my mother?"

It goes without saying this man has way more connections than I do, and I doubt that some part of the government isn't aware of what's happening. Steiner Inc. has many deals with the US Military. It's looking like an inside job.

But why attack my mother? Why provoke me? I've never met Steiner, and I don't understand why he'd be doing something like this. It's bizarre.

It's not a comic book. My life. So why is a figure like Steiner appearing...

"That's not all. The dump truck that ran into the car is owned by a subsidiary of a subsidiary of Steiner Inc. There are no real connections that people can find, but I'm not held to the same limits. All leads head to Terrence Steiner."

Naedra turns around to look at me, waiting for my response. Instead of saying anything, I sit back down and think momentarily. There are many ways I can handle this. I could go to the mansion and confront him directly.

But I already see the headlines full of lies and accusations against me. Steiner Inc. owns several news outlets worldwide, including a piece of CNN. 

I'll have to play this game like Steiner, with shadows and subterfuge. Luckily, I have a secret weapon that no one on Earth has. Sure, I have superpowers, and I can do incredible things, but I'm limited in what I can do.

Naedra isn't. No one knows she exists except for mom. Knowing this, my eyes turn to Naedra. I see the small smile form on her holographic lips.

"I'll need you to order it."

The only one Naedra truly cares for and listens to is me. If it came down to it, she wouldn't even listen to Mom. Since I'm the last Celaxian in the Universe, I'm important to her, and she's important to me.

An authentic piece of what my people were capable of.

"I need you to find out everything Steiner plans to do to my mom or me. Interrupt his plans and anything that's targeting us. If it comes down to it, crash everything Steiner is connected to."

It'll cost the market billions, but Steiner must be kept in place. Only Naedra can do something like this.

"Of course, but you need to know that Steiner isn't the only person who'll try something like this. I've been in government systems, and they're currently trying to develop ways to kill you. What should I do about them?"

My life is really becoming like a comic book. Cyber-attacking the government is a completely different beast. As of now, Naedra has only been spying on them, something I wasn't even aware of until now.

I'm not upset about it because I know Naedra is doing it with my best interests in mind. She is doing her duty to protect me and prevent others from harming me.

"Keep your ears open, but talk to me before you do anything drastic. One thing you'll learn here on Earth is that the truth always comes out. What we're doing is included in that. It's best to keep that at bay for as long as we can."

I don't even want to imagine the heat the governments of the world would put me under if they learned I had a true hyperintelligent AI from Celaxia spying on them in regard to me.

She nods in understanding, and I stand up from my chair. I softly floated off the ground and eventually left the S-SS 919. When I made it back to the house, I heard Mom's familiar upset groans and shouts.

All of them are related to what Congress was discussing regarding me. As I enter the living room, all I can do is sit down on the couch and watch TV.

"We need to expedite the formation of the Dannon Mayer committee. Once it's formed, we can call Dannon and ask him questions. As of now, we're just standing still."

Many senators are vying for a position on the forming committee. I don't know what will happen when it's formed. 

"You make it sound like we can call Dannon in whenever and however we want to! We can just slap cuffs on him and arrest him. That won't work on Dannon."

The discussion on the Congress floor is starting to heat up considerably. Mom paces back and forth in front of the TV as they continue talking. She worries about me more than anyone in the world.

That reminds me of a text from Cass that I haven't responded to yet. I took my phone out of my pocket and saw the text again. She asked me if I was alright or if I needed to talk about anything. Honestly, it'd be nice to hang out with Nicole and Cass.

But given everything that's coming my way, it's best I keep them at a distance for now. I know there are eyes on Nicole and Cass now.

"Oh! C'mon!! He's not like that!!"

Mom turns to look at me.

"You're not like that!! How can they say such horrible things about you!! It's driving me CRAZY!!!"

She looks back at the TV with the emphasized C word. I'm not worried about what she's worried about. She does enough for both of us. If I add to that, it'll only make things worse. I return to my phone and take a second to text Cass.

I told her that I was alright and just relaxing at home. I informed her that if I needed anything, she'd be the first to know.

What is strange is I haven't gotten any texts from Nicole since the weekend vacation we were on. She's been quiet since then.

I'm a bit worried about her.