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Authors: W.K. Adams

Sentience (4 page)

BOOK: Sentience
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"And these were the circumstances when you were fitted with your prosthetics?"

"Yeah. I don't know if that helps."

"It is possible that your CPU was forced to learn to cope with this pain, as well. We are not familiar with these signals, having never experienced them personally. But your CPU would experience them, and would have to learn what
was pain and what was a command to move."

"And that makes my computer...more human?"

"It is a theory, one that cannot be confirmed without more significant tests."

"There was a
mech, it gave me an upgrade after....ah, what happened...it was a fight. I was struggling to control it, and the mech helped me out."

"EM-19 experienced operating difficulties after its encounter with you, and is currently offline. Communication with this unit has been nearly impossible since that point," EM-6 said.

"Maybe I could speak to it, see if it will respond to me," Charley suggested.

"This course of action presents a lot of unknown variables. Perhaps when your body is out of its coma, this would be possible. We cannot predict how your CPU would react to a malfunctioning unit, and cannot recommend that you do so in your current state. You have given us valuable information, and it is recommended that you rest."

"Hard to do, but I'll try."

 

January 12th, 2149

 

Charley sat up, feeling brand new. He had been thinking about that malfunctioning mech almost the entire two days, and what he could do to help. It did not even occur to him that his movements were quick and smooth, and he was already up and standing, even after suffering another brutal crash.

 

"Welcome back, Mr. Reeser," EM-6 said, "This is Dr. Ling, she has been monitoring your organic components since the crash." Dr. Ling was a short, beautiful woman of clear Chinese descent, and he was struck for a moment by her looks. She had a face that seemed to express nothing but pure compassion, and Charley found himself feeling at ease just from her presence in the room.

"He means to say that I saved one of your lives, and he saved the other," Ling said in perfect English, extending her hand to shake his. He returned the gesture, impressed by her strong, assertive grip. This was a woman of no uncertainty.

"I'm grateful, doctor. I was led to believe there were no humans on Lambda," Charley said.

"The Chinese have excellent relations with the Autonomous Collective. We have benefitted greatly from the culture exchange," Ling said.

"And it is helpful to have a human ally," EM-6 said.

"We can talk politics later. I believe Mr.
Reeser needs to test his new body," Ling said. Charley eagerly strolled through the door of the recovery room, amazed at how smoothly and silently his new limbs ran. They were completely unlike his old ones, seeming to possess unparalleled strength that was tempered by the utmost control.

 

His eyes, too, seemed to see more sharply than they ever had before. The skies were a brilliant blue, and the sun, though bright at first, seemed to adjust to a level that was comfortable almost instantly.

 

"Were my eyes replaced, too?" Charley asked.

"Your remaining organic eye was damaged beyond repair in the fires of the transport crash. Both eyes were replaced with new prosthetics from Hong Kong," EM-6 said.

"I saw to those personally. Eyes are difficult, you'll either see in black and white, or you'll see almost the entire spectrum of electromagnetic radiation," Dr. Ling added.

"Your CPU should adjust to filter out unwanted spectrums automatically. You can adjust it manually using the control interface built into your arm if necessary," EM-6 said. Charley looked briefly at it, but was too interested in his new lease on life to really pay it too much attention at the moment. Everything he saw seemed more incredible than ever: out the third story window of the building he was in, he could see what
was more than a city. This was a vision of the future unrealized by humans, yet brought to life by machines.

"This looks like a painting," Charley said.

"The AC always did impress us with their architecture," Ling added.

"The designs of several human architects were studied when this city was being built. The original machines seemed to develop a particular inclination to the works of Frank Lloyd Wright," EM-6 explained, "If you will excuse me, I must attend to another project."

"You fixed me up right, 6. Thank you," Charley said, extending his human hand.

"You are a friend of the Collective, and we will honor that friendship," EM-6 replied, returning the handshake before heading off to his next duty.

"They're very peculiar," Charley said.

"You don't know the half of it," Ling said. Charley was fidgeting with the control interface on his arm, and was shocked to suddenly see a huge beam of light shooting down towards the center of the city.

"Whoa!" Charley exclaimed. Ling couldn't help but laugh.

"You must have discovered their new power source," She said.

"That's a power source?"

"Microwave receiver.
You'd have to ask one of them about it, I couldn't tell you much."

"So...come here often?" Charley said, at a loss for words.

"If you're going to make dinner plans, you should know the place better first," Ling shot back. He was liking this doctor better already.

"No, I'm serious. How long have you...uh..." Charley stammered.

"Four years. I was one of the first humans to see this place," Ling explained.

"Yeah, is the whole city like this? I wouldn't have expected it to be so suited to humans," Charley asked.

"This part of the city was built to accommodate human visitors. The AC anticipates that humans will come to this city in larger numbers in the future. They may even end up building cities specifically for humans," Ling said.

"Just vacationers?"
Charley asked.

"Not so much. They think of it as more of a haven for refugees," Ling said.

"Shacking up a bunch of refugees in a floating city on the ocean with no jobs sounds like a terrible idea," Charley quipped.

"I tend to agree. There is no consensus on this matter for them, either, which is why none of those projects have been started yet."

"Is there any sort of specific test I should be doing?" Charley asked.

"Ah, yes. Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. Please, hold still for a moment," Ling said, connecting a device to Charley's arm. His limbs began to move on their own, mostly in small motions. He heard various little noises as internal machinery began to move on its own.

"Are those things gonna be moving while I'm trying to do stuff?" Charley asked. He realized he must have sounded like a simpleton, terming it as such, but he wasn't sure what he should call what was happening to him at the moment.

"Just calibrating and checking some nerve connections. This won't be normal, please, hold still," Ling said quickly.

"Sorry," Charley said. His vision flickered a little, rotating through different spectrums of light.

"Everything looks normal," Ling said, disconnecting the device.

"Not gonna ask me to stand on one foot, or something?" Charley asked sarcastically. Ling seemed to ignore the quip, and Charley realized that she had probably heard that one a thousand times. Still, she did not seem to be irritated, but rather focused on something shown on her electronic device.

"Couldn't check your CPU, though.
It seems to be resisting access, even for diagnostics. Strange," Ling said.

"It had a whole conversation with EM-6 earlier," Charley said.

"I know. I'm sure you're aware of their...curiosity about your CPU," Ling said.

"It mentioned a little about how peculiar the CPU was, yeah," Charley said nonchalantly.

"Well, don't be surprised if you are asked many more questions about it. Your CPU is very unique, it has somehow learned to process information very organically. It attaches emotions to data, and sometimes they are emotions that don't make sense. But still, the fact that it does that at all is not something that normally happens," Ling said.

"
I'm still not understanding what makes that such a big deal. Doesn't seem like it'd be that hard to simulate emotions."

"It isn't, but for your CPU, this isn't a simulation. It doesn't respond to stimuli the same way twice. For example, it might get angry about something the first time it sees it, but after a while, it gets desensitized to it, just the same way that a human might. Same for subjects of happiness, depression, fear, and it doesn't just stop at emotion. Sometimes, it will randomly stop processing some data and jump to a completely different set of parameters. It forgets, it repeats, it breaks its own rules. If this is a simulation, it's the most accurate simulation I have ever
seen, and apparently the most accurate they've ever seen, as well," Ling said.

"You sound concerned," Charley said, "I would think that this would be a good thing."

"Every paradigm shift has ramifications. The AC believes that your operating program would make them more human, but after what happened to EM-19, they are reluctant to access your program themselves. They have asked me to take you to Shanghai, where some of our analysts can take a closer look at your CPU and active processes," Ling explained.

 

Charley was not worried about heading to China. He simply worried that the people who had used him to this point would try to use him again. He did not want anyone else in the crossfire, but knew that by better understanding his new self, he might gain some insight on what their plans were.

 

"There's no Sanctus Humana in China, is there?" Charley asked.

"The west side sent reports of some activity in that part of the country, but that's a long way from Shanghai. They're considered a terrorist organization by the Chinese government," Ling said.

"Alright, I'll go with you. But one thing before I go: where is EM-19?" Charley asked.

"He's in a repair center, but that area is inaccessible to humans. I doubt they'd let you see him anyhow. I'll get a transport ready, if you need
food, all the restaurants in their food court here are top notch. It's a long flight, so I'd recommend a good meal," Ling said.

"Sounds good.
I'll see you in a few," Charley said. He couldn't help but watch her walk away, confident and yet graceful. 

 

The food court was easy to find, but he took his time getting there, still too busy playing with the control interface on his arm. He adjusted the eyesight to see electromagnetic radiation, and could see the fiber optic cabling running through the walls. He focused on them, and started to understand the communication, little by little. Before he knew it, he was standing motionless for brief microseconds.

 

It's all data. Descriptive, but bland. Power fluctuations. Local weather reports. Processed, dismissed the moment it's seen.

 

Then, he could almost hear a familiar voice.

 

"Isolation. I have no duty, and yet I find no rest."

"Is it you?" Charley asked.

"Yes. We meet again. I have seen life, touched it. It is beautiful and yet terrifying," EM-19 said.

"What do you mean? You became alive when you found me?" Charley asked.

"No, but I saw what it would be like. It's not the freedom we expected. Do humans find it so unforgiving in its variation?"

"It's something you learn to live with.
There's ups and downs, you have to find a balance," Charley said.

"I have seen the end of the goal we strived for
for so long. And yet, I find it to be too much. If this is life, perhaps we are better in death."

"You can't give up on life just because it's hard. You've gotta press on, keep trying."

"For a stronger being like you, perhaps that is not difficult. But I could not live your life, able to feel everything as you do. It would be too much for me."

"I will return for you, and show you that life isn't all bad."

 

The conversation haunted Charley. He attempted to eat, and though the food was delicious, he could not help but think about the broken mech. Life was a goal that they strived towards with every endeavor, and he had ruined it for this one. He hoped that he would get the chance to make it better, but truth be told, he doubted that there was much he could say in this vein. He was barely holding on himself.

 

Ling found him in the food court, and motioned for him to follow. He regretted that his stay was mostly spent unconscious, that he had not been able to really see the city. However, he worried about what could happen if his CPU went haywire, and let that concern keep him focused.

 

The small VTOL transport was lavishly equipped. Charley had never been in anything so luxurious, and relished the feel of the plush leather seats. Even the water that was served seemed better, it was cool and refreshing, and seemed pure.

BOOK: Sentience
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