Track down Cody's legal guardian

There was a mystery here, one Alex felt compelled to unravel. Why wasn't Cody registered as an Emulated with the school? Who was pulling the strings here? Would he be fired if the school district discovered what Cody was, and that Alex knew?

The questions all pointed Alex in the same direction. He had to find out who Cody's legal owner was.

All Emulated had to have a guardian or owner somewhere, someone who was responsible for them. So, where was Cody's? Maybe that would resolve some of the uncertainty here. If Alex's career was on the line, he refused to waltz that line blindly.

He logged back into his computer and started his search anew. Thankfully, a few years back there was a student graduate from the school who had since been Emulated. It was a flimsy opening, but enough to get him into the local government's records of Emulated across the city using his meager high school admin clearance.

He sifted through the database looking for any mention of Cody Williams.

Finally, he found what he was looking for. Cody Williams was in the city's database. Not registered as a student, but as an Emulated, yes. The rest of the paperwork to properly match Emulated Cody to her former human self hadn't been filled out.

More strangely, Cody's guardian was listed as one Lisa Williams. But who was Lisa Williams? Not her mom, that was Sarah. And as far as Alex knew, Cody was an only child. So was Lisa an aunt? A cousin?

Backtracking, Alex dived deeper into the family, tracing the name Lisa. He didn't find anything on the father's side, but looking back at the immediate family, Alex discovered a very old obituary.

Lisa was the name of Cody's sister who died 20 years ago, long before Cody was even born.

But then... if Lisa was dead, then who was Cody's guardian? Emulateds were a class of material assets. They didn't just belong to no one. In some cases, they even became wards of the state, but they were never without an owner.

Only more confused, frustrated, and he admitted it, intrigued than before, Alex called it quits there for the night.

If he ever wanted to discover the status of Cody's guardianship, he had but one recourse left (other than confronting Cody directly). He'd have to pay a visit to the local EmRobotics service center.

--

Alex drove by the local EmRobotics service center the next day. Paperwork could lie, but someone had to be taking Cody in for maintenance and tune-ups. Cody had to be registered to someone in the system.

The EmRobotics center was a sleek, modern building, its walls lined with promotional displays showcasing the latest models and their accompanying features.

Alex walked up to the reception, his heart pounding with a mix of determination and apprehension. He needed light shed on this bizarre situation. The sooner, the better. Keeping Cody's secret was one thing, but he needed to know what that secret was, and what kind of trouble he was risking by doing so.

"I need to inquire about an Emulated's registration," he told the receptionist, trying to sound casual.

The receptionist, a young woman with a polite smile, nodded. "Of course, sir. And your relation?"

"I'm her IT guy at school," Alex said, flashing his badge. He was prepared for this. "There's been a long string of technology issues related to her and I need to talk to someone about billing."

"Ah. That's a known problem with the wi-fi cards of some of our older models," said the woman, nodding.

Ah ha! So there was a reason everything broke around Cody!

"Can I have the name of the Emulated?"

"Cody Williams," Alex said, doing a poor job of concealing his excitement. Not that he was really that keen to discover who the girl's guardian was, but because he'd almost solved the riddle. It made him feel halfway to a detective in a **** mystery novel.

But after a few moments of checking her displays, the receptionist frowned. "That's strange."

"What is?" Alex leaned in, his curiosity piqued.

The receptionist chuckled. "It appears Cody Williams is registered to someone of the same name - Cody Williams. Perhaps his father? Unless it's an error. Let me look -"

"No," blurted out Alex, not even correcting the woman's assumption Cody was a boy. "That's enough. I know the father, I'll just talk to him."

With a hastily muttered thanks, Alex left the service center as fast as he could.

Cody, registered to herself? The revelation hit Alex like a ton of bricks.

This was a colossal legal blunder. He understood the sentiment - who should a person belong to other than themselves? - but the reality was that all Emulateds were legally compelled into some type of guardianship. Emulateds could not own Emulateds.

How had this slipped through the cracks? It was all so clear now, to Alex. Cody's parents had likely set it up this way on purpose, going so far as to leave their daughter's registration paperwork incomplete.

What did this mean for Cody?

Her entire existence at school, her life as she knew it, was based on a legal pothole. An anomaly that only he, Cody, and presumably her parents, were aware of.

All Alex knew for sure was that this was suddenly way above his pay grade. When he returned home for the night, he shot off a quick email and tried to put the matter out of his mind as best he could.

--

"Mr. Dawson? You have a moment?" asked Alex, knocking on the principal's open door.

Principal Dawson glanced up from his bank of monitors and immediately went pale. He invited Alex in. "Close the door."

Alex slunk in, shut the door, and sat in front of the principal.

“Alex, I understand you’ve uncovered something... delicate about Cody Williams,” Mr. Dawson began, his voice low.

"Yes. About the email -"

"Start by telling me what it is you think you know," Mr. Dawson cut him off.

Alex began recounting everything he had found, from the disabled ID card to the bizarre case of Cody being listed as her own guardian.

Mr. Dawson listened intently, his face growing more troubled with every word. By the end, he had a grave look on his face.

For a minute after Alex finished, the office was quiet, save for the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.

Mr. Dawson sighed, rubbing his temples. "This is... highly irregular. And concerning. If word gets out, it would be a scandal. Not just for Cody, but for me, you, the entire school. One wrong move here and we'll end up as political clickbait on the national news for androids rights."

Alex ran a hand through his hair and exhaled a long breath. "That's why I came to you. Frankly, this isn't the worst secret I've kept, but there are a lot of moving parts. Cody's whole situation feels like it's being held together by fishing wire and a prayer."

Principal Dawson was perturbed. "My career. Yours. This could end us if we leave this alone."

"Sir?"

"Alex, I want you to resolve this matter. Privately," said Dawson, firmly, opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a silver flask. He unscrewed the top and swallowed a mouthful.

"Cody's got this far on her own," offered Alex, but even he didn't buy it.

"And? Teenagers screw up every day," said Dawson. "I don't care how you fix this, Alex. Just make sure I never have to hear about it again."

The principal's tone brooked no negotiation.

“Understood, sir,” Alex agreed.

But leaving the office, Alex carried a knot of dread in his stomach. Principal Dawson wanted Alex to fix this. Well, how?

He could try talking to Cody's parents, but he was just an IT admin. Talking to Cody seemed easier, but Dawson was right. Even if she was technically an adult, based on how many computers she'd shredded over the years, Cody Williams was hardly the paragon of responsibility. But any other option Alex thought of to protect himself and the school led down darker roads.

What if the updated government records that caused the error in the first place made someone look closer at Cody? What if the EmRobotics receptionist opened up a support ticket about Cody's guardianship discrepancy? What if one of Cody's friends privy to her secret doxxed her over some petty schoolgirl drama?

This was all spiraling out of control. Whatever Alex was going to do, he felt he had to do it fast.