“Umm… Ava says let’s just hurry up, so…”
I felt us lurch again, our speed increased, and in no time we were at five hundred-seventeen kilometers per hour. Whoa… that’s pretty good for a kid with stretched out arms and legs for wings, and a little electric jet on his back…
In what seemed like no time, we were rounding the Bright Hand hill and approaching the hidden entry. We had no problem getting past the hand sensor hidden cleverly between boulders, and in moments we were scampering through the Bright Hand parking structure, down the long concrete hall, and out onto the platform leading down to the floor of the great cavern. Waiting for us at the bottom of the stone steps was Bernie, huge and totally bald like most of the other Bright Hand security workers, with one of the speedy electric carts used to get around the maze of trailers, and when he saw us he burst into a huge grin. “Oi, Chi, I heard you was comin’, so I thought I’d wait for ya. Headin’ ta see Dr. Bhat?”
“Hi Bernie! Yeah, we’re in a rush, too.”
“Well, say no more. I have the heaviest foot in the entire place, I reckon.”
As he whisked away toward the center of the cavern, Bernie asked, “Hey, Chi, how’s yer arm doin’?”
“Well, I keep waiting but it hasn’t grown back yet. It feels okay, though. What’s left of it.”
They both roared with laughter, but as usual I couldn’t quite see what was so funny.
Still giggling, Cheri whispered in my ear: “Are you okay?”
I had to admit; I was feeling… I’m not sure what. Unusual. But what I said was, “I’m fine. We’re almost there.”
Ava, how much time do we have before reboot?
“Fifteen minutes. Plenty of time. Maybe we should take a little nap or something.”
What? We don’t have time for that.
“It was a joke, sonny boy. Let’s hope that above all, this reboot gives you a sense of humor.”
We slid to a stop in front of Dr. Bhat’s trailer, and Cheri gave Bernie a kiss on the cheek as we stepped out of the cart. “Thanks Bern. You’re a pal.”
He rubbed his cheek and his face turned bright red. “Aww, it wasn’t nothin’. Ya want me to wait?”
“Nah, we’ll probably be here a while. See you next time.”
As they talked, the combination of curry and incense that always seemed to pour out of Dr. Bhat’s trailer assaulted my nose once again. Before I had a chance to knock, Avi, in his gleaming white scrubs, his long dark hair up in a small bun on top of his head as usual, swung the door wide while waving his long, spindly arms. “Come in, friends, quickly. Dr. Bhat is waiting for you in her sitting room.”
We dashed in and turned to the left into the darkened sitting room. There was Dr. Bhat, on her pillow, eyes closed, chanting quietly. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and stared directly at me. “The time is close, I can see that. Well, don’t just stand there, come in and sit down. Here, next to me.” She pointed to pillows on either side of her; we did as we were told, and Dr. Bhat said, “Lucas, look at me.”
She stared deeply into my eyes, and as before, I ended up fixating on the red dot on her forehead; it must have been an illusion, but I would almost swear that it was glowing as I watched it. “Lucas, this presence with you, it is an A.I.?”
“Yeah, her name is Ava.”
“But it is not just an A.I., is it? You are connected to it, and it to you. You’ve reached a crossover point, haven’t you?”
“Umm… yeah, she, Ava, says we have to reboot because my biology and hers are mixing, but we don’t know what it will do to us. She talks to me, helps me understand things. I wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for her.”
She continued to stare, but said nothing for what seemed like a long time. I could feel Cheri staring too, but I didn’t dare break eye contact with Dr. Bhat. Finally, she whispered, almost to herself. “You must either join or separate. There is nothing in between. And the time is near. You must choose now. It was wise for you to come to me, Lucas. This will not be easy. For the first time, biology and technology will merge in consciousness. I’m glad it’s you, an innocent.”
“Things are spinning in here, sonny boy. She’s right, you have to choose now.”
But… but how do I choose? I thought I knew what to do right up to this moment, but now… it might not be logical, but I’m scared. If we separate, things will continue to work, but we won’t be able to communicate. If we stay together, we might both lose our minds. I don’t know what to do.
“If you make me choose for you, we will separate. It’s not how I want to spend eternity, but it’s the only way I know for sure you’ll be safe. I will not be responsible for you losing what little mind you have to lose.”
I suddenly realized that my eyes were tightly shut and I snapped them open, glanced at Dr. Bhat, then Cheri, and smiled. “Okay. I’m ready. I know what my choice is.” Then everything went black.
5
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
MEETING WITH SVC, BG, LPJ, JR
121852 08:53
-Hey, guys, thanks for coming over so quickly, and (JR), thanks for joining us digitally. I know we have a drastic time difference, so I appreciate it. Our little group here are the only ones who know of the plan to have the boy extract his father on December twenty. Do any of you know or believe that any of the other LFP members are aware of this? I may be paranoid, but I want to be sure that nothing leaks out to the Americans.
-(BG) I haven’t heard a peep.
-(LPJ) I think people are preoccupied with their own issues, to tell the truth. I’ve not had contact from anyone else since we last spoke.
-(JR) Anyone in the LFP, no. I agree that most are busy managing their empires.
-Okay, thanks. I trust your judgment on matters like this. (JR), though, there’s an implication in your answer. Do you believe there are others who know of the plan outside of the LFP?
-(JR) There are undoubtedly others who know. Anyone in Lucas’ small group will know, for example, and a few of the Bright Hand members are likely aware, including (WK). Any of those could be a source of leaks, whether intentional or incidental.
-(SVC) Ahh, just a moment, all, I’m receiving some communications… the boy has arrived at the Bright Hand headquarters, and it appears that he has… right… has gone straight to the lab of Dr. Bhat. Unclear why. We also have… yes, we have a report that a vehicle likely containing the rest of the boy’s inner group are headed away from the aboriginal nation’s cavern. Likely headed for the Bright Hand… right, the Bright Hand headquarters.
-How concerned are we that the Americans could intercept the aboriginal nation vehicle?
-Stand by… there are two vehicles exiting the Bright Hand compound, and… they are on their way to escort the vehicle. It appears they share the same concern. Hold, please… yes, there is one Bright Hand vehicle already in Kalgoorlie, and… they have been in communication with the aboriginal nation vehicle through… one moment… yes, the sister of Jim Early, Co-director for Communications and Logistics at the Bright Hand headquarters. They have anticipated the possibility that the Americans may lie in wait.
-Who knew the LFP would get involved in these kinds of spy games, eh? We formed our group in part to escape all of that, and yet here we are. Perhaps its human nature. At any rate, fortuitous that his sister is amongst the inner group.
-(JR) If I may, I suspect that it is more than fortuitous. These are brilliant, resourceful people. I think they saw her value and made her part of their group for that reason.
-Well, either way, keep us posted, (SVC). I would say we’ve reached a critical juncture, but every juncture feels critical right now. Different subject: I assume you are keeping track of the current work on the halo protocol?
-(Murmurs of agreement)
-Are we insane to even entertain the possibility of using it?
-(BG) I understand they are having some success, but it’s quite an engineering nightmare. With so many moving parts, it would only ta
ke one mistake to bring the entire thing down, and who knows what would happen then.
-(LPJ) Yeah, I have to agree. As intriguing as it is, it’s not ready. It might never be ready, for that matter. I understand they lost a tech in the recent trial.
-SVC) Yes, but she was much too close to the test plot. The safe perimeter was a minimum of a hundred meters, and she was at seventy. In every other way, the test was a success.
-You guys understand that (SVC) is a bit biased. He was in on the design of the swarm learning algorithms they’re using for control. Well, as you can see, I’m conflicted, and the only thing that helps me clear my head at times like these is salient advice and a little snack. How about it, (SVC)?
****
B lackness, but fading now… might have been short, might have been black for an eternity... no sense of time… floating… not in anything, just… floating… shapes and… and colors… I think those are colors… no edges… am I dead? Is this what it’s like? Can’t… think… straight… those lights… giant lights coming on, but… far away… or up close, inside my eye… not sure, can’t tell… flashes… seems… electrical, but… faster, like… I don’t know what… buzzing, whirring, pulsing in my ear… or… in my brain… what is a brain… Ava? Are you there? She can’t hear me… because I’m not saying anything… ohh, feels like I’m… I’m moving, somehow… moving, but… not going anywhere… nowhere to go… can’t feel anything, not even air… like my… my body is gone… reboot… who said reboot… said to remember… someone… a long time ago, or… just now… but there’s no one here… things are… are changing… something is changing… changing what? What does changing mean? Who is talking? I think I hear talking, or… it’s just me… something is moving… feels like… worms, in my… my brain… that’s… that’s funny… am I laughing? I think I’m laughing… no, crying, but… no tears… can’t make tears… that’s funny… music? Is that music? No, more buzzing… what is music? A collection of intentional vibrations… where did that come from? I didn’t think that… what is that? A long, flat plane… I’m not seeing that, it’s in my mind… I think it’s in my mind… no, not a flat airplane… a plane, like in… geometry… horizontal, like the horizon… but… I can’t see the end… there isn’t any end… and nothing above or below… how is that possible? Oh, something is… what is that called? I think it’s intersecting… sounds right… what color is that? Can’t tell colors… vertical… vertical and horizontal… excellent words… shapes now… but… what? The shapes of… math… formulas and… algorithms… do formulas have shapes? That’s weird… now what? Moving, in a way… like time just turned on… can time turn on and off? Maybe it was me who turned on and off… Ava, where are you? Are you gone? I… I know it’s not logical but… but I can’t think right, so… so I’m scared… Ava, I’m scared… things are going by like… like a movie where it’s slowed down so you can see the… the individual pictures… they’re called cells, right? Who am I asking? There’s no one here but us autistic chickens… that’s funny and insulting at the same time… Ava… please, don’t be gone… those lights… connections between them… everywhere… so many… more than stars in the sky… I wonder if I’ll ever see the sky again… spreading like an impossible spider web, all connected… am I smelling something? I think my nose still works, or… it’s just random nerves going off in a dying brain… AHH! Pain… oh, no… my body is… is compressing… smashing down to a point… like a black hole… pain everywhere… Ava, help… what… I can’t take it…
Wake up, Lucas… why am I talking to myself like that? Must have… passed out or something… reboot… how long? Maybe forever… maybe it didn’t work… am I trapped in here? That would be ironic… no, a coincidence… what, more flashes of light? I’ve seen that already… how about something new… If I’m dying, just let it happen already… no, I don’t want to die… my dad wants me to live… that’s why he put me in this thing… maybe none of it really ever happened… maybe I’m still in the hospital with no arms or legs or heart, and I just imagined the whole thing… that would be funny… everything seems funny all of a sudden… what if I developed a sense of humor just before dying… now that would be ironic… the lights, the connections, the spiderweb… moving, it looks… wrong, like I shouldn’t be able to see it but I can… shapes inside of shapes… there’s a pattern… long and confusing but… a pattern… Ava… is this the way you see things? No wonder you know everything… it would seem simple if you can understand this stuff… shapes with no description… wait, math? Described by math I don’t understand? Math is in the… the shapes and the… lights and the… connections… ohhh, my head… Ava, my brain hurts… I feel them, clicking into place… and… switching on… I don’t think I’m supposed to be able to feel that… what… I’m being stretched… squeezed through… a wire like an electrical current… wait, electricity isn’t a current… it’s a bunch of atoms bumping into one another… not like water in a hose at all… that’s weird… the connections… atoms bumping… dancing… that’s funny… the lights are back… wait… coming into focus… kind of… they… they have a shape… like a… a pixel? Am I seeing pixels? Like seeing a screen from the back… can I see through them? What is… that’s funny… who is that laughing? Wait, is it me? I’m laughing and I can… I can hear it… not in my head, in my… my ear… and the pixels… my eye… that’s my eye… I smell something… incense and… curry… Ava, where are you? Don’t be gone… I… I need you… I can’t find my dad without you, and… I know now… I feel it… you’re here to help me understand… that’s been your purpose all along…
6
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
MEETING WITH SVC, JR
121852 14:35
-He’s still in Bhat’s lab? Where is (WK)? He needs to send someone in, doesn’t he?
-(SVC) The rest of their group has arrived, and they are at Dr. Bhat’s lab, along with a few other Bright Handers. Let’s see: Tom Engel, Barry Scharfman, Zoey Perez, and even Leslie Lazenbee. (WK) is observing the lab remotely but doesn’t have anyone in the room. He recommends restraint at this point. He’s spent considerable time and effort working on trust with these people and doesn’t want to have to burn it prematurely.
-(JR) Pardon me, Director, but I must also insist that we leave them to themselves. These are good, decent people who are simply trying to survive this meat grinder of a situation. I have met them, as you know, and I would consider it a personal favor.
-Wait a minute, (JR), you understand how critical this is, right? The next two days will determine whether we get back on track with the agreed-upon goals of the LFP, or if we have a setback that lasts decades.
-(SVC) Sorry to interrupt… the information I am getting is that the boy is going through some sort of updating of his system, and that’s the reason for the gathering.
-What, a reboot of some kind?
-I assume so.
-Okay, makes sense. You can’t have a system that complex without needing periodic updates, right?
-Without doubt. It brings up a question, though: a reboot or update would require at least some combination of on-board hardware and software, and almost assuredly an A.I. to assess and adjust his system as needed. Is it possible he has an A.I. sophisticated enough to aid him with strategy, tactics, that kind of thing? Seems highly unlikely, but it might explain how he’s made it through these trials.
-You just can’t stand the thought that the kid might be smart enough to make his way on his own, can you? Maybe he’s just a prodigy. That’s a lot more likely than thinking he would have an A.I. powerful enough to maintain his system and provide ongoing direction, and fit somewhere in that constantly moving body. (JR), you know the kid. Do you think such an A.I. is in there somewhere?
-(JR) I am no expert, but I am not aware of such a system. I suspect if he had one, it would be evident.
-Yeah, there’s no way. It’s not like he has some kindly grandmother A.I. in there, whispering in his ear
, right? Well, anyway, keep close tabs on the situation, (SVC). I’m getting nervouser by the minute. Yes, I know nervouser isn’t a word. He’s been in there for what, five and a half hours by now?
-(SVC) A little over that.
-That seems like an awful long time for a reboot. Hey, (JR), how’s your son?
-(JR) He had some grave injuries, but he is recovering quite nicely. He’s up and walking around and almost seems as if nothing ever happened. Of course, he has some scars to prove it, but they have healed over unusually quickly. I’ll tell you, when he hears about Lucas’ plan, he’ll want to join them, and good luck stopping him. He is quite headstrong. I have no idea where he gets it.
-You see, (SVC)? (JR) knows, a sense of humor is important, especially in stressful times. Now do me a favor and put some stress on someone to bring us in some snacks, will you?
****
“ Well, that went better than I expected. Wake up, sonny boy, we have work to do.”
Ava, is that you? I thought you were gone, I thought… I thought I was dead. Is the reboot done? What’s… I don’t even know what I want to ask. My mind is kind of… I don’t know, it feels weird.
“If it’s any consolation, I feel weird too. The excellent news is our communication seems to be pretty much like it was before. Actually, I don’t know if that’s excellent news or not; I guess it’s a double-edged sword.”
Ha! I know… wait, I got that! How did I get that?
Reassemble (Singular Book 4) Page 3
