Short Story Fiction
Mobile Sentinel Security
Scott A. Gese
Scott is given an assignment to meet with officials of a high tech security company bringing out a new product which could have sinister applications.
Michael Gaidi/UnsplashI had just walked up to my desk when my boss approached me.
“Don’t take off that jacket. I have a lead for you.”
“What have you got?” I tried to sound enthusiastic even though that can be difficult before my first cup of coffee.
“Have you ever heard of a company called Mobile Sentinel Security?”
“Nope, can’t say I have.”
“They’ve been under the radar for years developing high tech security stuff. They contacted me this morning. Seems they’ve developed an interesting new product and they’re about to take it public. They’ve asked us do do a write-up on it. Here’s the address. Bring me back something good.”
“We’re a print paper, why are they coming to us?” I asked.
“Not sure, but I wasn’t about to turn them down. My guess is they want to see how this new gadget of theirs plays out on a smaller audience. If it goes well they’ll release the news on a wider scale. In any case, here's the address.”
The boss handed me the contact information and I headed for the door.
My first stop would be the coffee kiosk down the road.
~~~~
It was a short drive. I still had a half a cup of coffee when I reached my destination. It was a nondescript building with no name on the door. Just an address over the header. I finished my coffee and went in. I walked up to the front counter. “Is this Mobile Sentinel Security?” I asked as I introduced myself to the receptionist. She was a younger woman. Blond hair and from what I could see, a gorgeous body.
She cocked her head slightly as she gave me a quizzical look. At first I thought she may have somehow recognized me, or maybe she was trying to recall something.
When it finally hit her she responded with a broad smile. “Why yes, it is. You must be Scott from the Daily News.” She came around the desk and shook my hand.
I was right. She was gorgeous. She held it a little longer than normal. If I didn't know better I would have thought she was coming on to me. She eventually let loose. “You’re expected. We have high security here, you’ll have to sign in and put on this name badge.”
“This doesn’t seem like high security to me,” I thought.
I gave her my signature, put on the badge and followed her.
“Is that Paul Sebastian after shave you’re wearing?” She asked as we walked down the hall.
“Yes it is, you have a good sense of smell.”
“Yes, I do,” she replied without a hint of modesty.
We entered a conference room where two men introduced themselves as Jack Robinson and Paul Basco. Paul asked me to take a seat.
“Scott, you’ve been invited here today because it’s time for MSS to go public with our newest security product. It’s been under development for the past ten years. We believe it’s the most sophisticated high tech security product in the world. What we’re about to show you goes well beyond anything the general public is aware of. That’s about to change.”
“So what’s the product?” I asked.
Basco continued. “It’ll be unveiled to you in a minute. First let me tell you what it’s capable of.
“From the moment you walked in the front door you’ve gone through a sophisticated series of security clearances. They include a face recognition scan, retina scan, voice scan, fingerprint scan, smell detection scan, sound scan and a detailed background check. We can also do a full blood workup, and DNA scan just from the moisture on your skin. But don't concern yourself with that. We may have the capability but we still have to follow the law.
“We’ve learned more about you in the past twenty minutes than those who’ve known you for the past twenty years.”
“How’s that possible?” I asked. “All I did was sign in and put on this badge. That doesn’t seem like State of the art security to me?”
Jack, who had been sitting quietly suddenly spoke up. “Scott, you’re right. The badge has nothing to do with the security protocol you’ve gone through. Let me introduce you to our newest product. This is Paul Basco. You were introduced to him, but you’ve never really met him.”
“I’m not sure I understand?” I replied.
Jack walked over to Paul and asked him to turn around, which he did. Jack removed Paul’s scalp and opened the back of his head revealing an array of sophisticated electronics revealing the fact that for the past fifteen minutes I’d been interacting with a robot.
To say I was amazed would be an understatement. “Do you mean to tell me all the while I’ve been sitting here this robot has been scanning me?”
“We prefer to call then androids,” replied Jack. “The answer to your question is no. We had total access to your information before you entered the room. It was all done by Haley, our android receptionist.”
“Haley is an android? I would have never guessed.” I was almost embarrassed about what I had been thinking about her. My meeting just got very interesting.
After talking with Jack And Paul for close to an hour, Jack walked me to the door. I stopped at Haley’s desk and had a short chat with her.
Before I stepped out I turned to Jack. “I’m curious, Paul and Haley are both androids. What about you? Have I met a real person here today?
With a sly smile and a slight uptick of his brow he replied. “We can’t give away all of our secrets now, can we?”
I suppose no one will ever know for sure about Jack Robinson, but that’s okay. It had been quite a day and even without that answer I had one hell of a story.
© Copyright 2023 by Scott A. Gese All Rights Reserved.
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