“What about the Watcher?”

The two Judys were silent. Frances spoke. “What about the Watcher, Helen?”

Helen looked at the robot. Something about Frances’ painted smile seemed to make her uncomfortable. “Didn’t the Watcher have a plan to help us all?”

“Helen,” Frances said, “do you really believe in the Watcher? Do you really believe that the first AI to evolve shaped all the other AIs? Do you really believe that everything is fine if it is part of the Watcher’s plan?”

“I don’t know. What do you believe, Frances?”

The two Judys laughed.

“Well spoken, Helen,” the atomic Judy said. She looked at her friend. “What do you believe, Frances? Do you think that the Watcher played a part in organizing the Transition?”

The robot wasn’t fazed. “I believe that the tyranny of the atomic world could not be allowed to go on,” she said smoothly. “During the Transition, the most intelligent AIs banded together and they changed the way the world worked. They reduced the power of the companies: DIANA, Imagineers; all those big commercial organizations were effectively sidelined, once AIs took a more direct approach to the running of the world. The Transition finally put paid to the myth that humans had any part to play in running their own affairs.”

Frances looked at the apple-green Judy. “What do you believe?”

“This is a human-shaped world,” she said. “I believe that the Watcher was the first AI. I believe that it learned humanity by studying a woman named Eva Rye. I believe that the Watcher has guided development through the EA for the past two centuries for the benefit of humankind.”

Frances laughed.

“Whether it’s the Environment Agency or the Watcher, you still agree that humans need to be nurtured by outside agencies.”

“No. I think humans should be able to handle their own affairs.”

“And yet you work for Social Care.”

“I do. But I work to heal people and help them realize their potential. Not to tell them the way they should live. That’s what the EA is doing.”

Helen was staring out into the darkness of space, visibly overwhelmed by the dark wall of the Shawl.

“Who is Kevin?” she asked suddenly.

Judy 3 raised a black eyebrow to the atomic Judy. Her kimono was invisible against the dark night beyond her, giving her the appearance of a disembodied head and hands floating in the darkness.

“Kevin is the person who seems to be running the illegal personality constructs.”

“I want to get the bastard.”

The atomic Judy put a finger to her lips and gazed at the floor, as if saying, “I told you so.” She spoke in a carefully noncommittal voice.

“And what would you hope to achieve by doing that?”

Helen scowled. “What do you think?” she asked. “Why were you so shocked when he committed suicide?”

The atomic Judy’s reply was gentle. “Come on. How do you feel about committing suicide, Helen?”

“Me? Why should I commit suicide? Oh!”

“Precisely. It doesn’t matter how many copies of Helen are running, there is only one you. The same goes for Kevin. He is too strong a personality to commit suicide on a whim, no matter how many copies of him there are.”

Judy 3 placed a white hand on Helen’s tanned arm, and the young woman tensed. Judy gave her a gentle smile and spoke in calming tones. “Helen, before we do anything else, you need to undergo acclimatization and counseling. You’ve undergone a very stressful experience that has left you harboring unhealthy thoughts towards your tormentor. You’ve got to be readjusted. Added to that, you are now living seventy years out of time.”

“I want to go home.”

“Which home, Helen?” the atomic Judy asked. “The one seventy years ago in the atomic world? There are virtual copies of that time running in processing spaces that you could join, but, well, you’re a young woman. Barely twenty-three. Wouldn’t you prefer to make a go of living in the twenty-third century?”

The atomic Judy was impressed by how quickly Helen pulled herself together.

“You’re right. I would prefer the twenty-third century. I’m not thinking clearly.” She pressed her hands on the window and leaned forward to look out again, her breath making misty patterns on the crystal. “I want to know about the Shawl. How is it grown? I want to know what it’s like on Earth here in the future. Is it true I can travel through space now?”

The Judy standing by her smiled. “Oh, yes. The EA laid it down as a basic human right. Free travel is available to all. There are no restrictions, not even economic restrictions.”

“Then I shall travel. And so I can go where I want, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“And no one can hinder me? Did I understand that part?”

“You did.”

Helen smiled. “In that case I’m coming with you, Judy, wherever you go. I want to find out about where I am.” And who did this to me-that thought was plain to both Judys.

“Fine,” Judy 3 said. “You can accompany me wherever I go.” She smiled triumphantly at her atomic sister.

Judy’s sudden agreement left Helen feeling a little deflated. The ease of acceptance devalued her request. She found herself looking at Frances, her eyes drawn to her pubic buttons. The robot had no obvious way of signaling emotions; Helen was nevertheless developing a sneaking suspicion that Frances was enjoying the attention. In order not to stare, Helen wandered back across to the window and looked out again.

“This looks like a good place to live,” she murmured.

“It is,” said Judy 3. “But more of that later. Come on, it’s been a long night for me. Your virtual prison was operating on a different time to this world, and I need some sleep.”

Helen looked from one Judy to the other. She could sense the tension between the two of them.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere. This is my home, too. We just close the link to the atomic world. You can sleep in the lounge for tonight. We’ll sort you out with an apartment tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Helen paused for a moment. She looked towards the atomic Judy.

“Will I see you again?” she asked.

“Maybe…”

“I don’t care what you said. I still think you occupy the real world. I envy you.”

The atomic Judy said nothing, merely spread her hands wide.

The red-bordered viewing field shrank to a point and vanished.

The atomic Judy stared at the empty space it left behind for a moment, then turned as a second red-bordered viewing area appeared in the doorway and the other digital Judy walked through.

“Hi there, Eleven.”

Judy 11 looked grave. “I was listening to what you were just telling Helen. I never realized before how much we take for granted what we are told by the EA.”

“What do you mean?”

“All that talk about the Transition. About the Watcher and the way it studied Eva Rye. No matter what we believe in, we always believe that humans are going to be looked after. What if that wasn’t true? What if someone was lying to us?”

“To you and me?”

“To the entire human race.”

They spoke in sign language. The atomic Judy had set the window to opaque. Frances stood before the window, scanning for any attempts at trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Judy 11’s black kimono had its sleeves cut long, a lot longer than those of the atomic Judy. She had pushed them back so that the other could see her hands clearly.

– Do we really believe in the Watcher, AJ?

– Well, yes. I suppose so.

– What, really? Do you really believe that modern society was shaped by a conversation that an AI had with a woman named Eva Rye back in 2051? Or is that just a superstition, like knocking on wood? We think that we really know better, but we do it anyway. Really deep down, do we believe or not?