New Eden

by Kishore Tipirneni

  “I wouldn’t feel exploited by using my brain,” Seth replied, “but what’s card counting anyway?”

  “It’s keeping track of the numbers on each card in what’s called a deck,” Vinod replied, “It’s definitely your game. Card counting is nothing more than using one’s memory—hardly cheating, in my opinion—and you’ve got one hell of a memory.”

  “I’m down with it,” Seth said.

  “We’re not going to do it,” Rachael replied. “No way.”

  “You two are the killing the party,” Vinod replied. “It’s Vegas, for cryin’ out loud! We gotta have some fun. How about a game of random chance like roulette or craps, where he doesn’t have an advantage? You party poopers okay with that?”

  Joshua glanced at Rachael before answering. “I guess that’d be okay.”

  “Fine,” Rachael replied, donning sunglasses even though it was night. “I can’t stand the gazillion lights, so let’s get off the strip and do something.”

  Joshua parked the Impala, and they walked into a casino crowded with people. The main floor was lined with several dozen rows of slot machines, most of which emitted various electronic and musical sounds as their tumblers spun. A few people wore surgical masks, a result of the expanding concern regarding the Ebola outbreak even though no cases had been reported close to Las Vegas. The security team followed behind inconspicuously, although an acute observer would have noticed the deadpan expressions on their faces. No one paid any attention to the group that included an African American with dreds, sunglasses, and gold chains around his neck.

  “Man, Seth’s disguise is working great,” Vinod commented. “No one recognizes him here.”

  “Small wonder,” Joshua said, staring at cowboys in jeans, women in evening dresses, men in tuxedos, and old men in Bermuda shorts. “It’s more bizarre than the Star Wars cantina.”

  As they progressed farther into the casino, Seth took in the sights: throngs of people crowded around gambling tables as they played poker, blackjack, roulette, and craps. Seth walked with swagger as a cheer erupted directly in front of them.

  “What up with the cheering?” Seth asked.

  “It’s a craps table,” Vinod replied. “Maybe it’s getting hot, so let’s check it out.”

  They arrived at the table, and fortunately there were four empty spaces available. Seth stood at the end of the table, with Rachael and Joshua to his right, Vinod to his left. Joshua, Rachael, and Vinod bought chips, some of which they gave to Seth.

  “Start thinking of something else to do,” Joshua told Rachael. “The house always wins, so we may end up at a show after all.”

  “What this game?” Seth asked, surveying the markings of the table while using his best rap jargon. “How it work?”

  “It’s a game of chance,” Rachael answered with a sweeping gesture of her arm. “One of many.”

  “Don’t worry, dude,” Vinod said. “I’ll explain it as we go along since the rules are endless.”

  The group made small bets, which they promptly lost as the dice made their way to Joshua. Vinod had Seth place a ten-dollar bet on the pass line, and Joshua rolled a six, which became the point. He then immediately rolled a seven, causing them to lose their bets, the stickman sweeping away the chips in one fluid motion.

  “Nice job, dude,” Vinod remarked sarcastically. “Worst roll ever.”

  “I don’t get why the homeys like this game,” Seth remarked. “Ain’t no fun losin’ bread.”

  Rachael passed on her turn with the dice. “I don’t like losing the homeys’ bread neither,” she said, giving Seth a nod. “Some people become addicted to games of chance. It’s an adrenaline rush for them.”

  The stickman at the table passed five dice to Seth.

  “What I do?” Seth asked, his eyes concealed behind large, dark glasses.

  “Don’t worry, man,” Vinod replied. “First, put ten dollars on the pass line and then pick any two of the five dice.”

  Seth picked up two of the dice and felt them in his hand, just as he’d seen other rollers do.

  Vinod continued his on-the-fly tutoring. “Now you have to throw the dice to the other end of the table. You want to throw them in such a way so that when the dots on top of the dice are added up, they total a specific number.”

  “Which number?” Seth asked.

  “It really doesn’t matter too much on the come-out roll, but you want to avoid a two, three, or twelve. We lose with those.”

  “What number we win with?” Seth asked.

  “On this roll, we win with a seven or eleven.”

  Seth took one die in each hand, threw them in the air, and caught them. He then rubbed his hand on the surface and edges of the table and tapped them gently.

  “Come on!” shouted someone at the other end of the table. “Hurry up and roll.”

  “Cool it!” Vinod said. “It’s his first time rolling. Seth, when you roll, make sure that both dice hit the raised back of the table before they come to a stop.”

  Seth placed the dice on the table in a specific orientation before picking them up with his right hand and throwing them with a sidearm motion. The dice rolled, bounced off the far side, and stopped, showing a four and three on top.

  “Seven, winner,” the stickman said.

  Joshua, Rachael, and Vinod looked at Seth. Their heads moved in a smooth, simultaneous motion that almost appeared choreographed.

  “It’s what you wanted, right?” he asked.

  “Yup,” Vinod replied. “The dude definitely is lucky.”

  The dice were passed back to Seth. “Want a seven again?” he asked

  “Naw,” Vinod replied. “Let’s make a point this time. Try to roll a four, five, six, eight, nine, or ten. Doesn’t matter which one.”

  Seth threw the dice, which came up three and one.

  “Four!” the stickman shouted. “Four’s the point.”

  Those around the table placed their bets, quickly glancing at the new shooter and then the surface of the table, waiting for the roll.

  “Should I add more dough?” Seth asked as he turned to Vinod. “Mo, bro?”

  “Looks like that urban dictionary is getting some heavy usage tonight,” Rachael commented with a sigh. “And hey, we don’t need to have Seth lose money.”

  “I suspect it’s part of the persona,” Joshua said in her ear. “He is, after all, a rich rapper, right?”

  “Just keep your bet on the pass line,” Vinod advised, leaning close to Seth. “Leave the big betting to us. You have to roll a four again before you roll a seven.”

  “Another four?” Seth said. “Now?”

  “Now would be good,” Vinod replied, patting Seth on the back.

  Seth threw the dice, which came up two and two, causing cheers to erupt from the gathering crowd.

  “Four, winner,” the stickman proclaimed.

  “How can you possibly do that?” Rachael asked Seth.

  “Do what?” Seth asked.

  “Are you able to make the numbers come up like that on purpose?” She now suspected that craps was not a mere game of chance for Seth.

  “Sure,” Seth replied. “It’s simple physics.”

  Rachael, Joshua, and Vinod stared at Seth in awe.

  “Rachael,” Vinod said, his eyes still staring at Seth, “don’t disturb the physicist. He’s on a roll.”

  On roll after roll, Seth hit the numbers Vinod fed him. An even larger crowd had drifted to the table, which erupted in louder cries of enthusiasm with each new roll. Vinod made sure to change the numbers up so as not to cause suspicion. Not surprisingly, however, the pit boss decided to observe the table and had the stickman change the dice on Seth numerous times, but to no avail. Seth’s winning streak continued, stacks of chips piled high in front of each player at the table. A majority of casino patrons gravitated to the craps table, pressing against each other to see what all the commotion was about.

  Vinod noticed that the pit boss was talking on his phone, after which an i
nconspicuous-looking man came up and stood beside Seth.

  “Looks like they brought in a cooler,” Vinod whispered to his friends.

  “What a cooler?” Seth asked.

  “A guy brought in by the casino who’s supposed to throw you off your game,” Vinod explained. “It’s usually a stranger who attempts to break your concentration by his mere presence.”

  The cooler had no effect on Seth, however. He continued to hit roll after roll.

  “I’ve never seen a roll like this,” the pit boss stated in a businesslike manner devoid of the enthusiasm shared among the other observers.

  A waitress brought free drinks to the players, which Joshua, Rachael, and Vinod gladly accepted. They were on their third round of drinks when Vinod remarked, “I can’t believe this man. I think I’ve got over a hundred grand here.”

  “I still don’t get this game,” Seth remarked. “Why the casino giving y’all all them chips?”

  “Don’t worry, dude,” Vinod replied, clearly buzzed. “I’ll explain it later. You just keep doing your physics.”

  The remark caused the pit boss to stare long and hard at Vinod and the lucky rapper who claimed not to understand the very game he was using to crush the house.

  Seth cleared another point, after which Vinod announced, “I gotta take a leak. Josh, watch my chips and tell Seth what to roll.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Rachael said.

  The two left the table and headed towards the restrooms.

  The stickman handed Seth the dice, who picked them up and prepared to roll. Joshua, also buzzed from the comps, suddenly had a disturbing thought. Looking in the direction in which Vinod and Rachael had disappeared, he shouted, “Vinod, Rachael—come back!”

  It was too late. The electronic tether with Seth had been broken since there were less than two tether watches in range of the android. Seth’s body stopped in mid-motion while throwing the dice, as if frozen. Off balance, he fell backwards onto the floor with a dull thud, causing his wig and sunglasses to fly off and land on the carpet. A dozen people rushed to his side, one of them shouting, “Oh, my God! It’s that alien! It’s Seth!”

  Some patrons applauded, while others shrieked in alarm.

  The security crew, flashing badges to both the gamblers and the pit boss, quickly ran in and cleared the crowd away from Seth’s immobile body. His lifeless eyes were fixed on the ceiling.

  Rachael and Vinod returned to the crowd gathered around Seth, Joshua kneeling by his side.

  “What happened?” Vinod asked.

  “We screwed up,” Joshua replied. “We forgot about his tether. You two left, and he got deactivated.”

  “Is he okay?” Rachael asked.

  “I hope so,” Joshua replied. “He didn’t fall that far. Let’s reactivate him.”

  Joshua and Vinod entered the activation signal on their Apple watches. Seth started to move his eyes and saw the faces above him. “What happened? I was about to make another point.”

  “Your tether got activated when both Rachael and Vinod left together,” Joshua answered.

  Seth got up from the floor to a round of applause. The pit boss from the table came up to the group. “I need to have a word with you.”

  The group walked around the casino, the throng held back by the security detail.

  “No more incognito, I guess.” Vinod said looking at the throng behind them.

  “Josh, we should get Seth to a more private place,” Rachael said. “This crowd looks like it’s growing by the minute.”

  Exiting the casino, the group passed a club which was having karaoke night. Someone was singing “The Waiting” from Tom Petty.

  “Great song,” Vinod commented.

  “What is that place?” Seth asked.

  “It’s karaoke,” Vinod replied. “It’s where ordinary people try to sing famous songs.”

  Seth was intrigued. “Can I try?” The crowd behind them had heard the request and erupted in applause. Vinod looked towards Joshua and Rachael.

  “Why not?” Joshua commented. “His disguise is blown at this point.”

  The group went into the bar and took a table. The previously half-full establishment became standing room only as the crowd entered waiting to see Seth on stage.

  “What should I sing?” Seth asked Vinod.

  “It’s Vegas,” Vinod replied, “how about something from Elvis?”

  “Can I hear the song before I sing it?”

  Vinod took his phone out of his pocket and showed Seth a video of Elvis performing a song. After the song had finished, he asked Seth, “All set?”

  “Ready to rock.”

  Seth walked up onto the stage as the crowd let out a cheer. He looked over the crowd and pointed at Rachael and Joshua. “This song goes out to my two friends who have a burning love between them.”

  Seth started singing “Burning Love” with a voice that no one could distinguish from Elvis himself. His movements also mirrored those of the famous rock star better than any impersonator. Many in the crowd recorded videos of the performance on their phones, videos that would go viral over the following days. The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause as he finished the song.

  “It’s official,” Vinod shouted to Rachael and Joshua over the cheers of the crowd. “He’s a rock star.”

  The foursome sat around a table in the penthouse of the casino, eating food ordered from room service. Two-story high floor-to-ceiling windows offered them a birds-eye view of the Vegas strip as lights strobed, blinked, or scrolled the names of famous landmarks. Seth, minus his disguise, watched as the other three ate.

  “Elvis lives again, but it sucks that the casino wouldn’t let us keep our winnings,” Vinod remarked. “The whole craps table came up snake eyes.”

  “Yeah,” Rachael said. “At least the other people at the table got to keep theirs, and it’s nice that the casino gave us this penthouse for the night.”

  “But it’s still bogus,” Vinod replied. “It’s not like we were cheating.”

  “Weren’t we though?” Rachael asked.

  “Look, it’s not our fault that Seth has a supercomputer for a brain,” Vinod said.

  “I’m not a gambler,” Rachael said, “but even I know that casinos don’t allow players to use computers or other electronic devices while playing any more than they allow card counters. Most don’t even allow players to check their smart phones when playing.”

  “Seth,” Joshua remarked, “the number of calculations you had to perform in order to do what you did at the craps table is remarkable.”

  “It wasn’t just me,” Seth replied. “I recruited some extra petrins in the collective during my calculations.”

  “Wait—you can instantaneously recruit their resources for any purpose, even gambling?” Vinod asked.

  “Yes,” Seth replied. “It’s one of the benefits of being a collective.”

  “Amazing,” Vinod remarked. “Automatic parallel processing. So the larger the collective grows, the larger the ultimate computing power?”

  “That’s true. As for rolling the dice, we noted that each of the die didn’t weigh the same even though the differences would have been undetectable by the casino. Also, force vectors were involved when throwing the dice, which dictated the angle, speed, and distance I threw them. We performed several billion calculations per second.”

  “Lucky you’re a well-known alien or we’d be in jail instead of a penthouse,” Joshua said.

  Rachael looked at Seth. “So what do you want to explore next? You’ve seen some animals and one of Earth’s many natural habitats—if you can call this a habitat. What do you want to do tomorrow?”

  “I was thinking of exploring more of the flora of the planet,” Seth replied.

  “Flora?” Joshua asked. “Like a forest?”

  “Sure,” Seth replied.

  Rachael was excited at the thought. “How about we take Seth hiking? I’m sure there are some great hiking trails in the forests surrounding th
e mountains around Vegas.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Joshua replied. “We’re going to have to rent a car, though. I don’t think the convertible would be too happy climbing mountain roads.”

  30

  The Body Electric

  The next morning, Joshua and Rachael sat in the front seat of a rented Jeep Wrangler hard top while Seth sat in the back.

  “Where the hell is Vinod?” Joshua asked, impatiently looking at his watch.

  “I don’t know,” Rachael answered. “He said he had to pick up a few things and that he’d meet us here at the car.” She glanced at Joshua. “Hey, you want me to drive? You drove all the way to Vegas. Need a break?”

  “No, I got it,” Joshua answered.

  Vinod sauntered up to the car carrying a large duffel bag over his shoulder. He was wearing a rock tee shirt as usual. It was Van Halen with a cover from their Diver Down album.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Joshua asked. “And what’s with the bag?”

  “I was at an outfitter store,” Vinod answered. “Picked up some rock-climbing gear. I found some killer assents online close to the hiking trail Rachael chose.”

  Vinod opened the hatch, placed the gear inside, and sat in the back next to Seth.

  “I hope you’re planning on climbing by yourself,” Joshua commented as he checked the directions to their destination on his phone.

  “No way,” Vinod replied. “I thought we’d all go. I’m sure Seth would love it.”

  Joshua tilted his head and looked at Vinod out the corner of his eye. “Are you out of your mind? There’s no way Seth’s going rock climbing. He falls, and it may be the end of the sphere.”

  “The sphere is encased in a protective cavity that’s been drop-tested,” Vinod pointed out.

  “I know, but I’m not going to tempt fate,” Joshua said. “Even if the sphere were preserved during an accident, we might end up trashing a sixty-million-dollar android. Porter would eviscerate us.”

  “I’m sure that I can physically make the climb,” Seth boasted. “You’ve already seen how I can handle physics, and my dexterity and stamina are superior. I think I’ll be safe as long as I remain tethered.”