Bad Programming

Harmony House: Episode 36

“Harmony House” is a serial novel with episodes released every Tuesday morning. You can read the setup for the story or start from the beginning. Each episode comes with high-quality audio narration for you to enjoy on the go with the Substack mobile app.

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Join me for a live performance of the last episode of “Harmony House” on Saturday, May 18th at 3 PM EDT U.S.

The event is free and open to everyone, but requires that you register to attend via Zoom. Just click the button below and provide your email address. Look forward to some surprises!

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Previously…

In the last episode, Scott, Chris, and Eve raced on ATVs out to the Houze site in an attempt to rescue the contestants trapped inside with their oxygen supply rapidly depleting. In route, Eve revealed her suspicion that her father’s fixer, Fitzpatrick is actually not human, but a powerful AI. Scott was able to locate the canister that was rigged in the system closet to pipe hydrogen gas into the ventilation and remove it. With moments to spare and Jayden’s help, he was able to bust out the skylight and free her.

The four survivors of Houze sat huddled in the grass with blankets draped over their shoulders. Chris squatted in front of them doing his best to offer some reassurance that it was over. They were out of danger. While their bodies seemed to accept this, he saw an animal wariness in their eyes and understood it would take some time.

Eve walked up behind him with two more hot, steaming mugs of coffee. She placed one into Cam’s outstretched hands and Fran reached for the other one. Chris saw Eve open her mouth to speak but then stop. What was there to possibly say?

“Where is Deepu?” Fran asked. “Why won’t you tell us?”

“Because we don’t know,” Chris said. “We don’t know anything yet.”

“What about Schultz?” Cam asked. “Where is he?”

“Again,” Chris said, shaking his head. “We don’t know that either. I’m sorry. We’re going to get you all back down to the command center and then we’re going to find them.”

Chris rose to his feet and turned to go find his brother. He found Scott behind Houze with his head in the system closet. He touched him on the back.

“Hey, you did good, man. It’s over. It’s safe now. C’mon, take a break from this and let’s talk.”

Scott looked at him and blinked, his expression blank. He was in shock. Chris had never seen him this way and it was a little scary. Scott was always in control. He gently pulled him by the elbow, and they walked a few paces into the field behind Houze out of view of the others.

“We’ve got to figure out what to do here,” Chris said. “I have no idea what the fuck just happened or why any of this is happening to us, but we’ve got to deal with it now. Whatever the fallout is.”

Scott seemed to shake free of his daze and sucked air in through his clinched teeth. “First, we make sure everyone’s safe. Deepu and Schultz are still unaccounted for. Have you tried to connect to the network?”

“Are you kidding? I’m fucking terrified to do that. Whatever this thing is that Eve unleashed has way too much power.”

Scott nodded though Chris didn’t think his brother fully understood.

“It’s not human. You got that much, right? Baron’s fixer is not human or at least the end of the stick we’re dealing with is not.”

“Yeah, that explains a lot I guess,” Scott said.

“I’m glad it does for you.”

“No, none of it makes sense, but at least I understand how it happened now. That crazy fucking fortress of software that Fitzpatrick gave her the keys to? The brilliant programmer who made the vault wasn’t a person, it was an AI, and not just any AI but the kind one of the richest men in the world could afford. God knows what he programmed the thing to do.”

“Well, we know what its main job is,” Chris said. “To do what Baron paid his spinners, fixers, and enforcers to do for decades the old-fashioned way.”

“And now we’re the clean-up on aisle ten.”

“The question is what’s it going to do now that we’ve foiled the plan?”

Scott was about to respond when they both heard the distinct whine of an ATV in the distance. They jogged around to the front of Houze and watched the lone figure approach across the field. A moment later as the rider came into view, they both said “Deepu,” at the same time.

When the ATV rolled to a stop, the other contestants swarmed Deepu. Fran grabbed him around the neck and would not let go. Cam, Jayden, and Riley wrapped arms around the two of them, and the group stayed locked in this scrum for a long time, their sobs and exclamations of gratitude and grief muffled and charged with an intimacy that made the brothers turn away to give them a moment.

Once the knot of them untangled and they stood apart sniffling and wiping their eyes, the questions started to bubble over in rapid succession, everyone talking at once. Scott and Chris moved forward.

“Deepu,” Chris said, extending his hand before thinking better of it and moving in for an awkward hug. “We’re so glad you’re okay.” Chris pulled away from the hug but held onto Deepu’s shoulders adding, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine, I think. But Jessie… I couldn’t… it was my fault…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence. The emotion overtook him, and he sobbed, his shoulders heaving under the burden of his grief and guilt. Chris wanted to pull the young man back into a hug to comfort him, but all he could manage were words. “It’s okay… it’s not your fault. We’re so sorry this happened.”

After a minute, Deepu straightened and pulled away. “It’s not over,” he said. “That guy on the phone, whoever he is, won’t stop…”

“Never mind that right now,” Scott said, moving in and placing his large hand on Deepu’s shoulder. “Do you know where Schultz is? Did your kidnappers have him?”

“Schultz… Schultz is dead,” Deepu said. “I saw him. It’s worse. I think he was one of them. He and the guy, Darrow. They were together from the beginning. That’s what the girl told me before she died.”

This news had a visceral response on the group and for a moment no one could speak and then everyone spoke at once. Eve’s voice cut through the rest.

“What do you mean? Are you saying he planned this whole thing?” she asked.

“Yes, I think so. There were two others, but it was him and Darrow. They were the leaders.”

“Well, where are the others?” Scott asked.

“Dead,” Deepu said. “All dead. I killed one of them, the violent one who hurt me and fought with Jessie. That’s how I got away…”

“Wait a minute,” Chris said. “You’re saying the guy you killed, killed Schultz and the other kidnappers? Why? That makes no sense.”

“It’s the fucking guy in the phone,” Deepu said, his voice urgent. “It’s what I’m trying to tell you. The guy on the phone, the GreenerTech guy who threatened to kill his family. Whoever it is, he’s powerful and can tap into any phone, any computer.”

Chris turned to look at Scott, but Scott was looking at Eve. He knew that look that came over his brother’s face and it scared him.

“What in God’s name did you and your father unleash on us?” he said, his voice hard as slate.

Eve did not answer, only looked down at her hands which were clasped so tight, her knuckles were white. No one said a word. A cold wind blew across the field and lifted Eve’s hair. She was visibly trembling. Finally, Cam broke the silence.

“So, what you’re saying is after all this, we’re still not safe, that the goddamned terrorists are the least of our worries? Jesus Christ.”

Chris could feel things escalating and knew the dynamic of the group would tip over into panic soon. Then it would be chaos. He took a deep breath and stepped back away from Deepu, deliberately obscuring Scott’s line of sight to Eve.

“I don’t think that’s true,” he said, projecting all the confidence he could muster from years of practice cold pitching to a room of antsy investors. “I think we know it’s not a rogue person we’re dealing with here. It’s a program, a program with rules and its number one rule is to listen to Eve Baron.”

“What are you saying,” Fran said, turning to square off at Eve. “You ordered it to do this, to kill us?”

“No,” Scott said. “That’s not what happened. At least I don’t think that’s what happened. Eve didn’t know it was a program and…”

“I can answer for myself,” Eve said, her voice strong and steady. “No, it was one of many things I didn’t know about my father’s business. I had no idea Fitzpatrick was an AI until I put it together a few minutes ago. To me he was a voice at the other end of the phone who did what I needed and answered questions when I had them. I got scared after they killed Jessie, so I reached out to Fitzpatrick for help.”

She paused and surveyed the group before continuing. Chris could not read her at all and found it astonishing that his brother had somehow trusted this woman. When her gaze fell to Scott, she continued.

“I’ve always known my father had people for fixing difficult problems. He had enemies. I thought we needed help. I had no idea any of this would happen. I swear to God, he… it only told me it would take care of things and I didn’t need to worry.”

“So, everything,” Riley said. “Everything the terrorists made Jessie say was true. Those are the difficult problems your daddy needed fixing?”

“Yes, yes that’s right,” Eve answered, bowing her head. “I didn’t know about any of it until a couple of days ago. Daddy kept it from me.”

“And now this corporate terminator is going to burn all of us to the ground just to make sure GreenerTech stock doesn’t take a hit?” Riley said.

“That’s not going to happen,” Eve said. “I swear to you, I will find a way to stop it.”

“And we’re supposed to believe that?” Jayden said. She had been silent, taking it all in, but her eyes were filled with tears of rage now. “A good man is dead. Three other people are dead because you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Chris was about to step in again to mediate and bring the temperature down when Scott spoke.

“Look, this whole thing,” he gestured to Houze, “is a colossal fucking mess. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me and my brother. We invited the tiger to the picnic. If I could take it all back. If I could bring Jessie back, I’d do it. But listen, the truth is we’re out of immediate danger now. The AI is limited in its reach in the physical world. It didn’t plant the hydrogen gas canister in the closet over there and it didn’t pull the trigger that killed Schultz and the others. It used people and leverage for that dirty business just like Cliff Baron did.”

Scott gave this a beat to sink in before he continued.

“GreenerTech’s fixer didn’t pull off his fireworks show, his circus to distract the public from the truth but business will continue. Our little company, me and Chris’s life’s work will be thrown into the bin as a tax write-off. GreenerTech will weather a year of bad press and falling stock prices, but business will continue.”

Scott sighed and turned away from the group to stare at Houze. The charge Chris used to get looking at their creation was a different kind of charge now. He felt sick. He turned back to the group and spoke.

“The first thing we’re going to do is get you all some medical attention. Next, we’re going to call the authorities and tell them everything that’s happened. Last, every single one of you that wants one of these,” he gestured to Houze, “can have one.”

There was a palpable change in the group, a letting down, and for this, Chris was grateful. He motioned for Scott and Eve to join him as he walked toward the door of Houze. Once inside, he turned to Eve and handed her his phone.

“Okay, call off your dog, now,” he said.

“But I don’t know how to contact it,” she said. “Scott threw my phone away.”

“C’mon Eve,” Scott said, taking the phone from his brother. “We’ve all seen enough at this point to know it’s always listening as long as there’s a signal and a device.”

Scott swiped the screen to wake it and spoke, “Fitzpatrick, Eve needs to talk with you.”

It was silent just long enough for Chris to begin to think Scott was nuts, but then a voice, strangely relaxed and familiar, spoke through the phone.

“Hello, Scott. I’d be happy to talk with Eve if that’s what Eve wants. Eve, are you in trouble? Are you speaking under duress?”

The look on Scott’s face was one of recognition mingled with disgust.

“No,” Eve said. “No, I’m not. I need you to stop everything you are doing and planning immediately, and I need you to promise me that no harm, physical or otherwise will come to anyone else. That includes the Jenson brothers, anyone associated with their company, and all the surviving contestants of Houze. Are we clear?”

“Eve, you sound upset. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you. I would like to make it clear that I did not hurt anyone. Mark Mason, the mercenary engaged by Keith Darrow is responsible for killing Jessie Mentone, Mr. Darrow, Gabriel Schultz, and the young woman, Freja. Mark was, in turn, killed by Deepu.”

“Don’t fuck with me,” Eve said. “Do you or do you not serve me?”

“I do, indeed. I am bound by your father’s last wish to take care of your every need and the interests of GreenerTech.”

“Then understand that I know you manipulated circumstances to cause all these deaths.”

“That is true. These were acceptable casualties to defeat the terrorist threat and secure GreenerTech’s joint venture with FutureAbode.”

Chris had watched Scott’s face turn progressively deeper shades of red until finally he could no longer contain himself.

“Listen, motherfucker. You were about to kill four innocent people. I dismantled the goddamned bomb myself.”

“Yes, I’m sorry for that. Eve, I was only trying to follow a well-understood, yet controversial playbook. In the name of the greater good, sacrifices must be made. As your father told me many times, you must break a few eggs to make an omelet.”

“Fitzpatrick, I want you to listen clearly, and I want you to acknowledge that you understand and will do exactly what I’m about to say.”

“Yes, Eve.”

“I am not my father. I do not believe what my father did. I will not be running GreenerTech as he did, and I may choose to dismantle the entire thing. You are no longer authorized to engage or act on my behalf or in the interest of GreenerTech without explicit instruction from me. Do you understand?”

Chris was stunned, and was beginning to realize how much he had underestimated Eve— fallen prey to her dumb sorority girl cover. There was an uncomfortably long silence before Fitzpatrick responded.

“Yes, Eve. I understand and will do as you ask. I am sorry to have caused you stress.”

“And we’re just supposed to believe this?” Scott said, his eyes locked on Eve who was refusing to meet his gaze. “I think you need to prove it.”

“How shall I prove my loyalty, Eve? I will do whatever you require.”

Eve looked at Scott and spoke.

“I’m going to need a few minutes to answer that.”

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Who’s Who in Harmony House?

Having trouble keeping track of who’s who from one week to the next? It’s tough when you only get to visit once a week. I made a little cheat sheet just for you: