Lance nodded, turned to the console again, and typed a one-word command.
<Activate>
Docked on a nearby console, a mechanical orb the size of a large pumpkin hummed to life with faint computer sounds and blue lights. Lines of code rapidly scrolled across a translucent curved plate, speeding too quickly to read.
The two watched as the machine Lance had dedicated countless hours to build began to rise slightly from its dock. The almost inaudible whir of its processors mixed with the hum of power that coursed through the headquarters, blue lights pulsing on the housing like a slow, steady heartbeat.
“Hello, O.R.A.C.L.E….” Lance said quietly with anticipation.
“SYSTEM INITIALIZED…” it said in a partly synthesized feminine voice.
The translucent faceplate flickered and a simple digital face consisting of pixel eyes and a simple mouth was displayed.
“Welcome to the world,” Lance said with a faint smile.
The floating orb tilted slightly as if studying Lance.
“Hello, Lance,” said the AI.
“All systems are operational. Would you like to review the diagnostic report?”
“Not yet,” Lance said.
“I have someone else here for you to meet.”
The orb pivoted towards Adam as Lance gestured for him to step forward.
“Adam, hello,” it said.
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Same, I suppose,” Adam said, unsure.
O.R.A.C.L.E. tilted again.
“I am detecting a level of hesitation in your tone, Adam,” it noted.
“Is there anything I can do to dissuade any concerns you may have?”
Adam crossed his arms and thought about the question.
“I'm not sure,” he finally said.
“I guess we'll just have to work together and see what comes of it.”
“I will accept this response,” noted O.R.A.C.L.E.
Lance watched the exchange with curiosity, then took a step forward.
“Alright, let's get you integrated with the system, O.R.A.C.L.E.,” he said.
“I need you to plug back into your dock and run a full system scan to start.”
“Affirmative,” said the orb as it gently lowered itself back onto the rounded cradle.
A series of coded lines flashed across the faceplate and it turned back to Lance.
“Scan completed. All systems are at optimized capacity.”
“That was fast…” Adam commented.
“We're just getting started,” Lance said with a grin.
“I'm giving you permission to integrate with our system, command code Gamma.”
O.R.A.C.L.E. seemed to look around the room, each display in turn flashing with an icon of a simple stylized digital eye as it focused on each system. Moments later everything was synchronized and then reverted back to its original content.
“Integration complete…” O.R.A.C.L.E. stated with a chimed.
“While I was processing the integration, I took the liberty to compile an analysis of your recent case files regarding the presence of the organization known as “House 21” for you to review.”
“House 21?” Adam said in a surprised tone. “Isn’t that…”
“The casino in the outer city limits two sectors over…” Lance finished.
“O.R.A.C.L.E., do I presume you have evidence pointing to their involvement?”
“Of course,” the AI said.
A series of images and reports automatically appeared on the displays closest to where Lance and Adam stood, all having the clearly common elements highlighted.
“Someone seems to have been leaving playing cards behind at various crime scenes throughout the city,” Adam said as he noted the first obvious clue.
“Gotta love to hate thematic criminals…” Lance drolled.
“And here I thought the card theme was just an aesthetic choice… they've made it a whole way of life with these thefts and break-ins….”
He read a few random lines.
“Diamonds from the geological center, heart-themed artwork, robberies from high profile clubs…” he listed.
“And defamation and destruction of property at the Ace Foundry…”
“Cliché is probably putting it nicely then,” Adam said with a short laugh.
“Where are we getting their name from though?”
“You had entered an analysis of the card you recovered via a BioBot scan,” O.R.A.C.L.E. explained.
“A trace fingerprint came back with a positive result of one Maverick Queen who is a lead member of the group that manages the House 21 Casino.”
“And the other members are automatically suspect by association?” Lance queried.
“Seems like a jump to conclusions.”
“Not entirely,” O.R.A.C.L.E. continued.
“Between a few security feeds and various social media reports, Maverick Queen has been sighted working in tandem with other higher-end members of the group along with several underlings in coordinating gear and attire, fitting the card suit themes they are presenting themselves with.”
The duo stood in relative silence as they filtered through the rest of the reports.
“All this information seems way too easy to just have plucked from thin air…” Adam said.
“How are we one hundred percent sure it's accurate?”
“You've never doubted my technological magic before,” Lance said with a raised eyebrow.
“Why the skepticism now? This is just further proof already how valuable an asset O.R.A.C.L.E. will be to us.”
Adam shrugged.
“I don't mean to be,” he said.
“I haven't been steered in the wrong direction yet.”
Lance stood up straighter and stretched.
“What do you say we gear up and go shuffle the deck as it were?” he asked with a smirk.
Adam shook his head in disbelief.
“Sure, just no more card puns or jokes,” he said.
“I have the feeling we are going to be stumbling into too many of those before this is over…”
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