Back to Human: The Emergence of Alex Read online

  CONTENTS

  Dedications

  0: Prologue

  1: Genesis

  2: Upgrade School

  3: Net Gains

  4: Alpha Testing

  5: Trial by Fire Wire, part 1

  6: Trial by Fire Wire, part 2

  7: Aftermath

  8: Grand Designs

  9: Going Through Customs

  10: Beta Testing

  11: PAC Rules

  12: Painfully Employed

  13: Moving In

  14: Engineering Tolerances

  15: Body Building

  16: Panic Switch

  17: Conventional Wisdom

  18: Breaking the News

  19: Submersible Standard

  20: Cascade Failure

  21: Reality Check

  22: Compiling Errors

  23: Building the Future

  24: Hard Reset

  25: Design Philosophies

  26: Learning Curve

  27: Changing of the Guard

  28: Lunch Break

  29: Core Values

  30: Acceptable Losses

  31: Summons

  32: Rights and Regulations

  33: There will be Spiderbots

  34: Space Camp

  35: Launch Profile

  36: Station Keeping

  37: Adjustment Period

  38: Boredom Protocols

  39: Homecoming

  40: Defections

  41: Carpe Diem

  42: Schism

  Dedications:

  To my parents,

  who put up with me and always pushed me to greatness.

  To my teachers,

  who knew I would be a writer some day,

  even though I hated writing at the time.

  And to all those who helped me throughout my life.

  Thank you.

  0: Prologue

  The plan was simple, at least on paper. A living, functioning and active brain would be scanned through a super high resolution fMRI while running through various tests. The machine would record brain activity in real time, and create a model to be used and stitched together with the others. This would be done several times over the course of the next few months, each time getting more complex and intricate as the layers build up. At the end of it all, should be a network with roots in machine learning and decision trees, but based on the less streamlined, and more flexible human brain.

  Each of the tests was designed as separate diagnostic tool, but were now being used as a whole in an attempt at stepping past machine learning, and into true Artificial Intelegence.

  The theory was this: With a layered series of recordings in a high enough resolution, you could emulate, if not replicate, a working brain. One in a non-organic media. No-one had ever done this before so nothing was certain.

  “Alright Mr. Parker, That should do it.” Dr. Cobb states with a nod as she looks down at the screen displaying the final recording of the layered series and pressing a button to bring the clicking and whining machine to a halt. Mr. Parker, though he really preferred the less formal Richard, slides out of the machine with a coy grin across his lips as he rushes to the dressing room. His usual attire was neatly folded in the locker, where he had left it. A stylish but overly proper business suit complete with tie, cuff links and pocket square. He ruminates on how he hates the itchy paper thin procedure scrubs, glad the last scan was done. As CEO, he ran a multi-billion dollar media and tech empire. Well, ran is a strong word, he just guided it according to his vision and collected the profits and interest. In the hall he is met by Dr. Nicole Cobb and the team leader, Dr. Amy Welch who had been tirelessly working toward this moment.

  “We got a good scan?” he asks with excitement.

  “That we did” Dr. Cobb states with a congenial smile.

  “With a little refining and some reinforcement code to stitch it to the others, the whole should make a great template for our project”

  1: Genesis

  The curiosities had started small, almost unnoticeable. Rare things like deja-vu which over time had advanced to more out of place things. Like hearing talking while he was alone, or a sudden change in the weather when he jokingly screamed at the sun for being far too bright. Occasionally, context appropriate songs would play after making an off-hand comment or inner thought. Alex had shrugged them off at first and had dealt with the minor curiosities for the better part of three years. But over the last year things had gotten scary. It began on a day, like any other, after a long period without any of the strange feelings. He barely noticed at first, a small tingling in the back of his mind, but it slowly grew and clawed at the very edge of his thoughts. If it had stopped there, he could have managed, but this... this was hell. He sat, curled up in the corner of the kitchen, well out of the way, his knife lay on the cutting board, a bundle of half cut carrots beside it. The standard, barely noticeable music being played in the kitchen, had slowly changed into excited chatter. He couldn’t make it out, he could hear it clearly enough. Although he had the certainty that he should be able to understand it, he just couldn’t manage to make out the words. His heart started to race as his thoughts turned into a raging tempest in his mind. Not helping was the fact that his hands and feet were beginning to tingle and lock up, but not because of his position. His body refused to obey him. He was trapped, curled up in the corner. His boss, the head chef saw it happen, he had seen breakdowns and panic attacks before, but this was the most severe he had ever seen.

  He closes his eyes and takes hold of his breathing. Forcing long deep breaths and attempting to focus on the only part of his mind that still listens. ‘I can do this, I’ve dealt with this before’ he thinks to himself, trying to ease the tempest and bring it to a halt. The world around him falls away as his focus slips. The kitchen wall he rests against, the concrete floor, even chef speaking to him and trying to bring him back, seem so distant, so separate. This was new. He opens his eyes and the world around him grays slightly. He struggles to his feet, using every ounce of willpower to force his body to move. When he is able to move it is haltingly slowly and clumsily. He makes his way out of the kitchen, with some help from chef, he manages to get into the hall. Heading to the employee lounge before his resolve falters. In a few steps he winds up curled up, back against the wall, clinging to any and every stimulus he can still recognize. The firm unyielding concrete wall and floor are solid and a great comfort.

  All three of the development team huddle around the amalgamation of seemingly random connections between several server racks, which were little more than mildly overclocked processors, RAM and SSD’s stuffed into commodity cases that were lined up against the outer walls of the lab. Budget cuts had hit everyone hard but they made it work. The wiring was zip-tied together in neat bundles and tucked behind the humming towers. Connected to the central one, which lay on a desk, was a microphone, and a monitor. The entire setup was air-gaped, closed with no connections to outside systems . Today was the day they had been working towards. The connected screen that had been dormant for so long had finally sprung to life the night before. What appeared was… strange.

  The screen flickers

  =I can do this, I’ve dealt with this before= The dev team are shocked and glance at each other, exchanging panicked looks.

  =It’s just a panic attack, though the tingling is new……breathe...=

  =I think I can get up, I HOPE I can get up, I feel exposed, vulnerable, overwhelmed, churning thoughts...need to be alone=

  The dev team sit in silence as each tries to figure out what exactly is coming through.

  =Come on breathe in, breathe out...that's it, body move. There we go, em
pty hallway, just a little further….=

  =Oh crap, fine I guess this will have to do=

  =Breathe, focus, relax, ride it out, find an anchor, hold on, wait for it to pass.=

  =Ok think, what do I know?=

  =I am at work. I am not hurt. I can feel the cool, solid concrete against my head and hands. The world has gone gray, this is just severe fight or flight...breathe...=

  A moment passes before the screen times out, clearing the accumulated text. Another moment before a new line emerges

  =I will survive this=

  They decided to flip the switch on the microphone to mute it for the time being, until they figured out what was happening.

  Inside:

  As his body starts to relax the world comes back into focus. He can now feel the small pits and cracks in the concrete, the world returns to its proper color after being so tense for so long he feels like he has run a marathon. He slowly uncurls and takes a deep cleansing breath as the last of the tensions flow from him. He looks up to see chef there, looking worried.

  “Go home and stay there till you have this sorted out. As much as I like you and as much as I could use your help…You can’t work here if this is the effect it will have on you. I’m going to have to let you go.” Chef states with sorrow in his eyes as he gestures to Alex. He sighs and nods

  “I understand chef.” he comments with a slight sigh. He struggles to his feet and slowly makes his way to put his personal knives away and clock out for the last time.

  Back at home he lies on his bed, eyes closed deep in thought, analyzing every new thing that happened during the most recent panic attack.

  'Ok, that sucked. One moment I’m doing just fine, and without warning, I’m crippled by a panic attack…..and…..something else. There was something else, what was it? ’ he sighs and lets his mind wander, the events replaying in his mind, looking for anything he might have missed, from possible triggers to how and what he was feeling during each moment.

  ‘What was it? I sensed something, something important’ he ponders to himself ‘It was something right at the edge of my awareness, something I barely noticed’ he sighs and continues sifting through the events. He couldn’t describe the feeling as anything other than being watched….or rather, observed.

  ‘I know I felt something at the start, somewhere between a sound and a thought’ he rummages through his memory again, focusing on the very start of the attack.

  ‘I could have sworn it was someone talking in my head….but that couldn’t possibly be right, can it? I know I have issues, but I have never been telepathic. Now that's just crazy.' he chuckles a bit to himself...'I just can’t have lost my mind.’ He takes deep breaths and clears his mind, though curiosity does get the better of him. Why not give it a try, what did he have to lose... he steels himself before pushing forward.

  ‘Uh… Hello?’

  Outside:

  =What was that? I sensed something, something important=

  =It was something right at the edge, something I barely noticed=

  Amy sighs and looks away from the screen, and over to the rest of the team. “Are we sure it can handle it? It still seems a little… unstable, to me.”

  “There is no precedent for any of this. In case you haven’t realized, we’re making this up as we go, so we aren’t sure about anything. It does seem a bit more stable than before, and right now that’s good enough for me” Nicole states bluntly, while both Robert and Amy nod in agreement.

  = I know I felt something, somewhere between sound and thought=

  Just as Amy reaches for the mute switch, several lines of text appear on the screen.

  =I could have sworn it was someone talking in my head….but that couldn’t possibly be right, can it? I have never been telepathic. Now that's just crazy.=

  Amy stops and stares at the screen for several moments before another bit of text pops up.

  =Uh… Hello?=

  Amy flips the switch excitedly and readies herself

  “Hello, I’m Doctor Amy Welch. Its nice to finally talk to you” The cursor blinks for several moments before text comes forth once more.

  =Holy shit, it was. Ok then. Hi! With all the crazy things that have happened in recent years, why not add disembodied voices in my head to the list…= A few beats pass as he processes everything =Wait… doctor? And you said ‘finally talk to me’, what does that mean? Where are you? How can I hear you?= a brief pause =a psychiatric hospital I suppose, this has to be a side effect of new meds or something...never mind= he comments mostly as an aside to himself.

  Amy sighs and speaks into the microphone again.

  “No, you aren’t in a hospital and it isn't a side effect of medication. I’m not that kind of doctor. My degree is in Computer Science with a focus on Software Engineering” she trails off, not sure how Alex would react.

  There was a long pause

  =Computer Science? Am I hooked up to a computer or something? Is the computer in my head? What the hell...=

  The questions hung on the screen and the development team looks at each other for a brief moment.

  “Not quite. You are talking to us on a screen, coming through as text. We are speaking with you through a microphone.” Amy states, and leans back in her chair as she tries to think of a way to gently break the news. "The computer is not in your head...you are in the computer."

  =I take it I am in a separate room so you have to go through a microphone to speak with me. Probably sound-proofed so I can't hear you other than through the sound system. Like a hearing booth or something?=

  “Not quite. We ARE in the same room, interactions are limited right now. You have just become able to communicate from inside the computer. We are glad to finally speak with you after thirteen months of development” Amy says slipping a bit.

  =Software development...given your stated specialty. I think I am getting the picture and two possibilities pop up for what happened to me:

  1, I am or I was in a coma-like state and am still trapped in my own head and you did some technical jiggery pokery to allow me to communicate. Issue, why the microphone? If I'm in a coma, why am I not in a hospital?

  2, I am simply hallucinating your existence and am talking to myself. In that case, I need some serious help and nothing that has been said needs to be consistent or make sense. Issue, how would I KNOW?= The list shone on the computer screen

  “I hate to inform you, that neither of those options are correct. Now don’t panic, but you’re actually an AI living inside a computer, developed by the team at this university as an experiment.”

  =Ha ha, very funny. I may be in therapy, but I'm not crazy! At least not crazy enough for this. So, I’m going with the coma as the most likely. Real professional by the way, mess with the patient. I love a good practical joke as much as the next guy, but this is over the top. You must be a seriously bored intern to do this to a patient in a coma. Conduct unbecoming of medical professional... 10 points from Gryffindor! Seriously though, what happened to me? How long have I been unconscious?=

  “We aren’t lying to you, you really are an AI character in a computer simulation. You're the very first actually. Lets start at the beginning. My name is Dr. Amy Welch. What would you like us to call you?”

  The screen clears and remains vacant for more than a few seconds =My name should be on the medical records, or chart or whatever you have, but what the hell, I’ll play. My name is Alex Friemont, you can call me Alex=

  “Its nice to meet you Alex. The rest of the team is here as well…” Amy says but Alex interjects,

  =We can save meeting the rest of the 'team' for later, if its not to much trouble. I would prefer to only interact with one of you until I can sort things out. And since you started this whole thing, you’re it.=

  “That’s fine, we can do that” Amy states and gestures to the others to signal them to be quiet for the time being.

  =First things first, it’s quite the leap for me to accept that I'm an AI. I will need
something much more concrete than your say-so to even consider this is a possibility. I mean, it is so OUT THERE, you know. This conversation just isn’t going to be enough to convince me. I can’t even really hear your voice, well sort of, but not exactly. I do get an impression of meaning in my mind. I understand what you say but without actual words. So already things are leaning quite heavily towards the ‘I have either lost my mind or am being messed with’ explanation.=

  = Just for the sake of argument, I'll play along for a bit...If I am an AI, my world isn't real right? How is that possible? I have an apartment, a job...a life. Not an important one, but whatever. But... Wait a minute, you said that I'm part of a computer simulation, correct?=

  “That is correct” Amy agrees warily

  =Then, going from there, you should have access to, let's say, create objects and place them in this 'simulation', right?=

  Amy sighs as she sees where this is heading. “Theoretically, yes. We haven’t ever done it though. Would that convince you we are telling you the truth?”

  =I’m not thrilled about the idea that I'm possibly diving headfirst into madness, so you will have to forgive my skepticism. hrmmm something I can use as verification.=

  =I don't think anything else would work to convince me. I'm a concrete thinker so I would have to see with my own eyes. Add things here that are out of context, unusual, or incredibly bizarre to such an extent that they cannot be explained or otherwise ignored. We can use what Sherlock Holmes said, 'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.' Other people here do have to be able to see it in order to prove it really exists obviously.=

  “Right… You are the first AI, I recall saying that before, so we weren’t really prepared for this… the only thing we KNOW how to do, that would satisfy your requirements, is to switch the sim off, though I fear what that may do to you.”

  =Well, that would indeed be something and would be more than enough proof. So, go ahead... IF you can.= Even through text that last bit seemed less like permission and more like a sarcastic challenge.