by Tony Corden
“So, worse than what I saw?”
“4: Definitely. That was tame compared to some of what Edison’s shown me. Several of the Beta testers even required counselling. I don’t think it will worry you, Edison explained they were required to use a sampling of all possible personality types during the Beta testing cycle. Your psychometrics show no indication of requiring anything other than the written warning in the user agreement. Players like those Beta testers will be given an explicit verbal warning and be asked to sign a waiver.”
“Tell Edison he can use my feed.”
“4: Will I get Stephen and Leon to arrange the details?”
“No, you do it. There is no charge because he’s your friend.”
“4: Thank you! Also, Dr Roberts is amazed at the plasticity shown by your neural network in adapting to the tactile representation of your environment. She approached me to discuss the possibility of vetting a research colleague of hers to help understand the full scope of data she is receiving. It’s possible there are outcomes that can be used to help or enhance others.”
“I’ll agree tentatively, but would like you to do a full investigation of the person beforehand. If you think it will help then could you ask Reed if it will do a deep review of the person? I’d like to review the information gathered before a final agreement.”
“4: I’ll start now.”
“I was about to ask you if there were any messages, but I really should check with Three.”
“4: I’ve been working with Three to streamline the messages and provided several sub-routines to help it manage the learning curve easier.”
“Thank you. Three, are there any messages?”
“3: You have thirty-two which need your attention in the next twenty-four hours. There is one from Dr Ellis giving his best wishes on your recovery. He also apologises for not being available this evening. He is spending time with his extended family for Christmas. Alan Hopper would like to see you as soon as possible, and Jimmy Loo sent a message via John, it says, ‘found him’.”
“Gèng, Three, if I want to enter cyberspace, will the SNAIL module cause any interference?”
“3: There is no reason that it should.”
“4: Three is correct concerning interference. I suggest you spend some time in either my space or Three’s to adapt the SNAIL module for use in cyberspace.”
“Three, please arrange a meeting with Alan. I can meet almost anytime in the next three hours. If that isn’t suitable, then arrange something when I’m not in Dunyanin or Pneumatica. Is there anything else?”
“6: Leah, the two hundred and fifty nano-filaments have finished being extended into the anterior prefrontal cortex. Dr Roberts would like you to spend some time multi-tasking in the Tower. She and I will make small adjustments to increase the signal strength and provide optimum connectivity to the new processors.”
Leah thanked Six and began working on the messages. She began using only her right hand to read, then after finishing two of them, she asked Three to add an additional reading board for her left hand. Even though she had the experience, it was still ten minutes before she found herself being able to read and reply to two messages at once fluently. Without her voice or vision, she was limited to the two tasks. She was wondering how to improve her speed when Three interrupted her between messages on her left hand.
“3: Alan Hopper is free in ten minutes.”
“Thank you, I’ll head down to the entry area in a moment. Before that, could you slowly reduce the size of the indentations in the Braille reader on my right side? When I learned to sight-read, I was much faster because I recognised whole words and phrases at a glance. I wonder if my tactile sense could do something similar.”
Leah had three reduce the imprint until she could just make out the individual indentations. As she walked to see Alan, she continued to respond to the messages, including narrowing her choice of shell and sending off a few additional queries, reviewing the proposals of two groups who wanted to use the research facility, and responding to Peter concerning questions on the growth of the Imperial Bank of Vatan. He’d been approached by a consortium of players from Ozgur who wanted to form a merchant clan of their own called the ‘Bank of Ozgur’. They were offering a twenty-five per cent share of the profits if Peter would help with production and distribution.
Leah reviewed Peter’s projections for the alliance and after making several changes and conditions, agreed to move ahead in principle. She also suggested he approached people he knew who might be interested in a similar arrangement on the other continents. Leah also sent Peter a list of all the goods she had from Çaresiz.
Alan was arriving as she approached the dais. After the usual greetings and Alan expressing his distress and concern at what had happened to Leah, she said, “Thank you for caring, Alan. Do you mind if we talk and walk at the same time? I haven’t walked along the riverbank in a while, and I find it relaxing.”
Alan agreed and then as they started, he said, “A: Leah, are you still able to do whatever you did when you came to Mozzi’s?”
“Almost certainly, why?”
“A: With your talk of Epics the other day, I’ve been doing some research. That led me to write several tracking programs which I released into the public area network near me to test their validity. Even in that small sampling, I’ve found several anomalies which suggest at least three highly capable unbound AI are living in the public areas of the multiverse.”
“I’m sure you are right. I’m also certain we aren’t the only ones who know. As I mentioned to Archie, I’m certain people high-up in both national and international cyber-security are aware of them as well as using them to gather data and achieve deniability for certain outcomes.”
“A: Do they know you know?”
“I know for a fact that at least one of the Epics is aware of me personally. Archie knows I know and I suspect several others have their suspicions.”
“A: Do you know how to detect them?”
“I was able to find the trail or workings of several of them. I don’t know if I can see all of them. Why?”
“A: Let me give you access to my sensor programs. They may help identify ones you might have missed. I’m asking this because I think several have been looking for my small backdoors. I’m almost certain they found the one into the Southside Archives. I’ve made some adaptations to the other entrances in an attempt to hide them but would suggest you do whatever you need to do soon.”
“I’ll go later today, or early tomorrow. I’ve information on the last person, and after checking the vault, I’ll make plans to get them free.”
After talking through the different ways Alan had discovered to look for Epic signatures, he left the Tower and Leah walked back to the main area where her favourite sofa was. She’d continued working through her messages as she’d talked with Alan and decided to spend the remaining time before her break reviewing her newer findings on aether dimensions and braid theory.
She moved to the area Gèng had designed for her studies and spent some time reviewing the notes from the previous meeting with Dr Ellis and Dr Whitfield. She found that even when she sped up her rate of processing data, the inability to see the entire page or pages limited her comprehension considerably. Maybe not comprehension, so much as her ability to draw connections between disparate sections of text and images.
After almost twenty minutes, she said, “Gèng, could you help Three map and represent the formation of the Imperial sceptre in a way I can feel what is happening? Three, I want the ability to slow, speed up, rewind, enlarge, and minimise using hand movements. Even though I can’t see, I’ll use eye movement to focus on particular sections. I’d like you to be proactive at reading my intent. I’ll let you know if you make a misinterpretation. Take away every other input and give me the ability to step inside the sceptre if I want to.”
As Three complied, Leah was momentarily left without any external sensations. She then felt the formation of small spheres of matter in front of
her and remembered that these were formed from the psychic mana sent to her by the Günahkâr. The number of molecule-sized balls began to multiply faster than she could perceive, and then each was joined to its neighbours to form a nano-tubule. Leah raised a hand to pause the display, then enlarged the scene until only a single molecule and the filaments joining it to its neighbours were visible. She was surprised to find that the balls were constantly shimmering and changing form. As they did, the linkages to the neighbouring ‘molecules’ flexed and shifted form. When she slowed the image of one of the models down, she recognised it as a model of one of the hypercylinders she’d been contemplating. The linkages almost reminded her of a Klein bottle in their movements.
Increasing her perception speed, Leah paused and had Three load a virtual animator. Changing the variables used in various equations used to describe the hypercylinders she’d been working with, and combining this with the insights she’d had on directional non-uniform spatial frameworks, she began trying to understand what her subconscious had put together.
Once she understood the basic dimensions and variables associated with the hypercylinder, she modelled the linkages. She found that they were, in fact, a form of Klein bottle. As she made the connection, she was aware that she’d considered this subconsciously at the earlier meeting when she noted the possible chirality of aether dimensions.
Expanding the projection to include a second molecule, she could see it was similar to the first but slightly out of phase as it moved through its cycle. Each of the Klein bottle-like connections was also out of phase and reflected the possibility that aether dimensions were related more diastereomerically than being strictly chiral. By the time Leah had made enough progress in understanding the relationships to begin considering if her subconscious model might have any real application to her work with braids, she’d been focussed for almost an hour of real-time and over fifteen hours virtually.
Three had to interrupt her twice before she agreed to take a break. It was after midnight by then.
REAL WORLD
When the Pod opened, it was Marie who helped her to the bathroom. After putting on a robe, Leah used a glove for communicating but otherwise sat without stimulus as she ate what was provided. Marie also gave her supplements and checked her dressings.
Marie said, “Leah, the wounds look much better than a day ago. You were healing nicely, but this is exceptional.”
“Yes, when I had the new chip installed, I got an additional dose of nanites. Gèng and Three, my second AI, programmed them to help remove the detritus and to stitch the tissue together to help healing.”
“Wow, why don’t they use this in the hospitals?”
“They do. We don’t see it because the manufacturers claim they’re very expensive to re-task and reserve the technology for those who can pay. I only have them because I misappropriated them and Gèng did the re-task.”
“You mean you stole them.”
“Yep.”
“Could my AI re-task the nanites in my body?”
“Not at the moment. I could explain, but it’s one of those things John insists I keep secret for the time being.”
“Another thing, you looked worn out when you left the Pod. Far more than you usually do.”
“I was caught up in doing something, and instead of it being the equivalent of nine hours, it was almost twenty-one hours. That’s another thing John doesn’t want to talk about. I’m explaining the what but I have to steer clear of the why.”
Just then there was a knock at the door, and Lin stepped in. She was wearing a robe, and her hair was wet.
“Mum, is everything alright?”
“3: L is for your mother. M is for Marie.”
“L: It is, but I’d asked Gèng to interrupt me when you left the Pod. She sent a message to my AI, who told me you were having a break.”
“Why? Is everything OK? You could have come to my world to talk, or we could talk in yours.”
“L: I know, but I’m not as comfortable in the multiverse as you are. I had a talk with Dr Roberts about it, and she said I should spend some time each day in the Pod to help deal with the trauma. She also said you were pushing the limits of what you can do, and that was why you were undergoing so many changes. I wanted to tell you to slow down.”
“3: Marie did what I think is called a snort.”
With a quick glare at Marie, Leah said, “You know I’m not really made that way, don’t you?”
“L: I do. But if you aren’t going to slow down, then you need to eat better and increase some of the supplements. I talked with John, and he said you only take them if someone puts them in your hand. I’m here to ask you to tell Gèng, or Three, to tell you what you need as soon as you leave the Pod and you will remember to take them each and every time. I don’t want them allowing you back in the Pod until you’ve taken them.”
“I don’t like taking stuff every three hours.”
“L, Translating from Mandarin: You will look after yourself, Ling. You can do less, or take the supplements. It is your choice.”
Leah got up from her chair and gave her mother a hug before saying, “OK, Mum, I’ll look after myself.”
“L: Will you tell those AI of yours to remind you?”
“I will.”
After Lin left, Leah had a shower and headed back into the Pod.
Diary - 25 December, 2073
The blind will see, the deaf will hear,
the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak,
the praises of the lamb
Maybe it’s just my faith talking, but it felt like they were singing this right at me. Every place we went someone was singing that song. After a while, I put my name in. Instead of
Mary did you know that your baby boy
will give sight to a blind man?
I’d sing:
Leah did you know that this baby boy
will give sight to a blind man?
I can see, hear, walk and speak. Whatever the mechanism, whether it was divine help, or something else, I’m alive again. I need to count the blessings. I’m alive, and so is my dad. Mum’s alive and safe, we are all safe. Gèng’s alive, and Thad still likes me.
It’s amazing how perspective changes everything, and not just my perspective. It was strange. The Switch felt more alive, more connected than before. It was so good to see everyone joining together at the service. Even those who don’t believe.
What is it about hope that shifts our perspective. So many people who wouldn’t even have known who I was a few months ago smiled when they saw I was there. People came up to thank me who most likely won’t benefit from the changes we’re making, but they somehow have a brighter view of their own circumstances.
I suspect many would equate such hope with religion and see it as illusionary and unreal. To misquote Marx, hope then, in their view, could be seen as ‘the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It would be the opium of the people’. But faith and hope are much more than that. In their purest form, they are far more than a positive outlook for the future because they are wrapped up in history, in experience, in examples, in the flow of reality itself.
In fact, I would flip what Marx says on its head. It is satisfaction with the status quo has become the opiate which dulls minds and defines the suffering of the masses. The endemic lack of aspiration locks people into a purposeless existence. Society, in general, has lost its reason for being and become a self-moderating self-sustaining closed system when it should be working to outgrow the self-imposed boundaries and reach for its dreams. Most people have forgotten how to dream.
I think that’s what I felt today. People have begun to dream again. I hope it doesn’t become a nightmare.
39
December 26 2073 - 1
STORK TOWER
Leah had less than two hours before she had to be in Dunyanin, and decided to use the time to make sure she wa
s able to use cyberspace to move through the multiverse. Three and Gèng had chosen to use Gèng’s space but have Three apply the filters to Leah’s perceptions. Not only did Three need the practice, but Gèng wanted to refine the filters to be even more undetectable. Being an independent observer gave her a different perspective which she thought might give clearer insight.
CYBERSPACE MODEL
The first fifteen real-minutes spent in cyberspace highlighted hundreds of large and small areas where the protocols prepared during the calibration at SNAIL Central needed to be tweaked or changed entirely. At the end of what relatively felt like nine hours for Leah, Three brought Leah to NREM3 Sleep for fifteen minutes before Leah spent a second period of fifteen minutes in simulated cyberspace. This cycle was repeated several times until Leah and Gèng were confident that Leah would be able to move through the multiverse undetected.
Altogether Leah had spent the equivalent of thirty-six hours working at her skills and knew that without the NREM3 sleep, she would be exhausted. She was going to have a final session of deep sleep before heading to Dunyanin, but Gèng suggested she needed a real-world break and additional nutrients and supplements to replenish her neural system.
As she sat down on her sofa to log out, Three said, “3: John has the information from Jimmy concerning the third person you wanted to identify. He wants to meet here when you’ve finished your break.”
STORK TOWER
Leah agreed and logged out. Once she’d taken the various supplements as well as another large meal, she hurried back to the Tower. As soon as she arrived, Three transferred her to the gazebo where John was already waiting and talking with Gèng.
“3: J is for John.”
“Hey Leah, sorry, but I arrived early because I wanted to catch up with Gèng. I’m just getting to know Three and missed the talks I had with Gèng.”
