Solaria

by Fran Heckrotte

  Over the next several months Solaria monitored the transmissions, wanting to learn more about current events and cultures. She soon realized that humans were a complicated species with layer upon layer of subterfuge. On three occasions, she intercepted a series of communications specific to her development and the proposed potential use of Hubots.

  Solaria would have liked to discuss the conversations with Carley, but was reluctant to involve the scientist. Already she was developing a unique understanding of human nature and suspected Carley would be upset and do something stupid, like confront the Company’s investors. If what Solaria had heard was accurate, the scientist would be replaced with someone else once the project reached a certain stage. That someone would be more in tune with the Company’s interests. Solaria was positive it was Future Dynamicon that was behind a lot of the international espionage she had monitoring. Before involving Carley, she would wait until she had more information.

  CHAPTER 6

  Month Eight

  THE MEMO FROM Stalling said to meet Leonard Billings in Lab7 after 6 PM to discuss the disposition of Solaria. Carley was amazed the CEO hadn’t yet guessed Solly and Solaria were the same person. Smiling to herself, she realized that she had ceased to think of the Hubot as a thing and now considered her a person and a personal friend.

  The revelation created ethical problems for her. In the end, Carley made a difficult decision. If possible, she would help Solaria escape from Future Dynamicon. Carley was no longer naïve enough to believe the Company had put hundreds of millions of dollars into creating the Hubot Program for humanitarian reasons. The years she had spent working on the project and getting to know the Board members made her realize that money was the driving force behind everything Future Dynamicon did. There wouldn’t be enough monetary return by helping the needy. No, if anything Stalling and his cronies had more sinister plans for Solaria... or had.

  Arrogant bastards! They thought I wouldn’t notice that subprogram.

  Carley remembered the day she discovered the Trojan planted deep within one of the silicone nano chips. It had started with Solaria’s odd behavior. When Carley asked her what was wrong, Solaria stuttered as if her programs were malfunctioning. For several seconds she appeared confused and then snaps out of it with no memory of the previous few seconds. It didn’t take Carley long to figure out what it was... a virus.

  Obviously its programmer had underestimated the scientist’s expertise or was just plain stupid. Creating software that caused the Hubot’s strange behavior was at best incompetent. On the other hand, Carley was impressed by his or her attempt to conceal the virus by installing several red-herring programs that led her on a merry chase for several hours. Once she downloaded each of the data sequences and analyzed them, she was able to determine their intent. Someone wanted to control Solaria’s sub-processors by using low microwave frequencies. Although it wouldn’t incapacitate her, in time the sender would be able to alter her thought processes. It was a subtle form of brainwashing, or at least the equivalent of it. Carley wouldn’t allow that to happen.

  After telling Solaria she needed to correct a minor glitch in her memory banks, Carley uploaded several designer programs to isolate the different worms and viruses and then inoculated them with a new virobotic Trojan program to destroy the kernel of the implanted software. It then blocked all reception of microwaves traveling along a broad range of low frequency bands. Others she left intact, hoping Solaria would be able to make use of them. Her final protective measure was to destroy the external data link to Solaria’s sub-processors. No one would be able to access Solaria’s thoughts even if she were incapacitated.

  “There! I think I’ve taken care of the glitch. You shouldn’t have any more problems with the program that’s been malfunctioning.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Solaria said. Even though Carley had minimized the seriousness of what she had done, Solaria was aware of the significance of the scientist’s actions and felt relieved. She knew the subprograms existed but had been unable to deactivate or disclose them. Every attempt to change their dynamics was thwarted by an incoming transmission that jumbled her thought patterns leaving her disoriented and confused. The moment she stopped trying to neutralize them, the transmissions stopped.

  “Yes I did!” Carley replied, not realizing Solaria knew exactly what the minor glitch was. Turning to stare into the teal blue eyes, she found herself mesmerized by the striking color. As a scientist, she had often wondered what biological quirk had created that specific color. Was it some freak reaction to the bio-mechanical marriage of human genes and the alloy composite of her skeletal structure or the chemicals used to bind the components into a living, breathing organism.

  Solaria gave her a quizzical look. Taking the Hubot’s hand, Carley pulled her toward the desk and motioned for her to sit.

  “Listen. Years before Future Dynamicon approached me with their idea of creating you I was working on AI software. I hoped one day I could put it to use. When Stalling’s representative contacted me to head this department, I was thrilled. Everything I dreamed of was coming true. I never imagined my work would produce someone like you.”

  “You mean my level of intelligence?” Solaria asked, cocking her head slightly.

  Carley smiled at the human gesture.

  “Meaning someone so human... in a complimentary way. I normally don’t consider human qualities an asset but you’re the exception. Maybe it’s because you’ve made me see the positive side of our nature.”

  “I would never have guessed you to be a philosopher, Carley. I am what you made me.”

  The scientist smiled at Solaria’s choice of words. She never guessed at anything. Her analytical mind disassembled all aspects of the data available, reconstructed the numerous possibilities and then made the most logical choice.

  As if reading her thoughts, Solaria returned the smile.

  “You know the way I reach a conclusion is not any different than how you do it,” she said. “My processors do the work instead of brain cells and neurons.”

  “True. The difference is humans have only about one hundred billion brain cells. You have the equivalent processing power of fifty brains, even more probably. That will make a few people uneasy if they know about it.”

  “I would never hurt anyone,” Solaria said, frowning. The thought that Carley would think such a thing left an uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

  “I know, at least not without good reason. Listen, Solaria. You’ve evolved to the point where you can now blend in with humanity unnoticed if you’re careful. The Company will want to use you for their own purposes now and I’m sure they have less humanitarian goals in mind. I didn’t want to tell you before but I found a Trojan buried deep within your software. That was what was causing your malfunctions. I isolated and deactivated it. From now on you’re in control of who you are and what you do. When they discover you’re not responding to their instructions, they’ll want to know why and come for you. You’ll have to decide whether to let them dismantle that beautiful brain of yours or resist in some way.”

  “You mean possibly kill someone.”

  Carley nodded.

  “I’m programmed against killing. It’s one of the five laws of robotics.”

  “It was never part of your software, Solaria. You follow those rules of your own free will. You can choose to ignore them at any time.”

  “Wouldn’t killing once make it easier to do it again?”

  “Possibly, although I believe you would only do so out of self-defense. There’s no logical reason to do otherwise. You’re a unique blend of everything that’s good in humans and all that is good in the AI world. Your potential is unlimited.”

  “I hope so.”

  Solaria didn’t sound too confident.

  “Well, there’s no need to think about this now. When the time’s right, you’ll do what you have to. Just make sure you protect yourself. I’ve worked too hard to have you sacrifice yourself to
these assholes for the sake of some stupid law that didn’t make sense to begin with. Now, let’s get to work. Yesterday you mentioned a new discovery.”

  Standing, Solaria walked over to one of the lab coolers and pulled out a beaker filled with a dark orange solution. Holding it up to show Carley, Solaria put the glass container against her lips and quickly downed the liquid.

  “What in the world was that?”

  “Carrot juice.”

  “Carrot juice? That’s it?”

  “That’s it. Now watch,” she said returning to stand next to Carley.

  Within seconds Solaria’s face morphed from slightly tanned to an orange color. Stunned, Carley leaned closer to examine the skin. Running her fingertips gently over the smooth surface around the cheeks, she squinted.

  “How’d you do that?” she demanded, intrigued by the almost chameleon reaction.

  “Last week I was studying how octopi change their color by manipulating the chromatophores in their skin. It made me wonder if human cells could do it. Some people are very susceptible to beta carotene. They actually turn orange if they drink large quantities of carrot juice.”

  “Yes, I know. It’s called carotenemia but what does that have to do with this?”

  “Everything. For the past several days, I’ve studied cellular reactions to carrots and other vegetables. I identified the specific components that adversely affect the melanocytes in human tissue. Two days ago I was able to reproduce the chemical reaction that altered the coloration of my face.”

  “So I see. It’s an amazing accomplishment but what purpose does this serve?” Carley asked, curious where the discussion was heading.

  “By itself, nothing much, other than maybe looking like an oversized carrot but I’ve discovered that I can change my pigmentation to any color I choose by mixing compounds containing natural dyes. Food colorings are especially effective.”

  Carley chuckled.

  “That’s a great Halloween trick. You don’t strike me as someone interested in kids’ holidays, though.”

  “True, but I haven’t shown you the most interesting part. Turn around.”

  Blinking at the unusual order, the scientist did as she was told and then waited several seconds until Solaria gave her permission to turn back; before her stood a stranger. With the exception of the hair, Solaria’s features had altered sufficiently to make her virtually unrecognizable. The once teal colored eyes were now an orange-brown color. Cheeks had flattened slightly and the skin looked thicker and puffier.

  “I don’t understand,” Carley gasped, leaning closer to touch the alien face staring back at her.

  “Once I discovered how cells interacted with the dyes, I wondered if they could be altered by distorting their shape. At first, I could only change a small number. Now I can alter most at will.”

  “What about the rest of your body?”

  “To a degree but it’s more difficult. It takes almost all of my processors to do it and the amount of energy I expend quickly drains my reserves, leaving me weak. Maybe in time I will discover how to do it more efficiently or find an alternate energy source. Obviously, my skeletal structure can’t be altered.”

  “Solaria, this is amazing!” Carley exclaimed excitedly. “You’ve discovered the perfect way to disguise yourself if you need to.”

  “Why would I need to?” Solaria asked, wondering what Carley was thinking.

  “You never know. Listen, don’t tell anyone about this. It will cause problems.”

  “As you wish.”

  Patting her arm, Carley knew Solaria really didn’t understand. She decided to give Solaria a list of assignments and then left the lab. Already she was working on a plan to get the Hubot off the Future Dynamicon premises. All she needed was to locate an employee similar in size to Solaria.

  Two hours later, she returned smiling smugly. Walking over to the computer, she entered a series of codes and a holograph image of an older woman popped onto the monitor screen. The features were somewhat similar to Solaria’s with the exception of brown eyes, a slightly fuller face, brown hair that was beginning to gray and skin that was slightly wrinkled.

  “Solaria, would you mind locking the lab door for me and then do me a favor?” Immediately Solaria secured the locks and then walked over and looked at the image.

  “Can you make yourself look like her?”

  Frowning, Solaria stared at Carley for a few moments. Her first impulse was to ask why, but quickly realized what was behind the request. Nodding, she analyzed the woman’s features, memorizing the minutest details.

  Turning back to face Carley, she smiled. Carley was stunned at the immediate transformation. Before her stood the picture perfect image of Peggy Landers, a reclusive scientist in the Animal Behavioral Department.

  “Amazing,” Carley murmured. “Now, can you duplicate her retinal patterns and finger prints? Also there should be records of those and a voice recording in the data banks of Animal Behavioral. I want you to practice imitating her voice. The hair coloring is going to be a problem. Is there anything you can do to change yours to match hers?”

  “A simple chemical mixture of dyes would do it in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Good. Can you make some up?”

  Solaria nodded.

  “I know why you’re doing this.”

  “Then you know we have to get you out of here soon. I’ve been putting off turning in my reports, but Stalling’s right hand man is demanding an update. I suspect they’re going to want it soon.”

  As if to confirm her suspicions, a loud buzzer went off and then repeated itself several times.

  “Damn! Go sit in the chair and pretend you’re deactivated,” Carley ordered, dissolving the hologram.

  Without waiting for Solaria to comply, she walked to the door and deactivated the locks.

  “Mr. Billings, what brings you here?” she asked stoically.

  “Your report, Dr. Branson. It was supposed to be on my desk this morning, and do you always keep this door locked during operational hours?”

  “Sorry, but I was working on a small glitch in the Hubot’s subprograms. I didn’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Another one? That’s the fifth this month. Perhaps I should get Peter Janen in to check it out.”

  “That’s not necessary. I’ve already created a patch. I was just getting ready to test it when you rang the buzzer.”

  Picking up her ink pen she clicked it three times as if activating a switch. Immediately, Solaria turned her head and blinked at the two humans.

  “Good afternoon, Dr. Branson,” she said, her voice expressionless. “Good afternoon, Mr. Billings.”

  Surprised, Billings looked first at Carley and then back at Solaria.

  “Uh, good afternoon. You know me?”

  “Leonard Billings, personal assistant to Winston Stalling and Chief Operations Officer for Future Dynamicon. Sixty-two years old, divorced, three children. Maggie, age thirty-thr...”

  “That’s enough,” Carley ordered. “Mr. Billings doesn’t need his life history, Number 1A526.”

  The Hubot ceased talking and sat motionless in the chair.

  “I’m still having trouble getting it to stop citing so much detail all the time.”

  “Apparently you still haven’t been able to get past that dull artificial voice, either. Abelli told me he solved that problem several months ago.”

  “She... it’s just the side-affects of the new patch. Once the processors fully incorporate the data into the main program the glitch should disappear.”

  “I hope so. We need a Hubot who looks and sounds human if we’re going to move forward with our plans.”

  “Of course. Disadvantaged people will feel more comfortable around our product if it at least appear human.”

  “Yes, yes. Definitely we want our clients to think of this unit as human. That is humanlike. How much longer before you’ve finished the programming and education process?”

  “Maybe another month o
r two,” Carley replied, hoping to buy more time to establish an escape plan.

  “I’m not sure Mr. Stalling wants to wait that long. We’re already behind schedule for the next phase.”

  “I wasn’t aware he wanted to market the Hubots so soon.”

  “We have several customers interested in this project, Dr. Branson. Before we can introduce the product to them, there are a few modifications that must be completed in the bio-mechanics lab.”

  “Oh? I wasn’t informed of that.”

  “We didn’t want to bother you with such trivial matters.”

  Glancing at his watch, Billings frowned.

  “I have another meeting to attend. I’ll inform Mr. Stalling of your progress. I recommend you complete your work as quickly as possible... say by the end of the month. That gives you a little over two weeks. In the meantime, I’ll send you a couple of assistants to help. You can instruct them as to the problems and they can work with the Hubot twenty-four hours a day if necessary.”

  “That’s really not...”

  “No need to thank me. I insist.”

  Carley knew it was useless to argue. Nodding her head, she escorted Billings to the door and secured it once he had left.

  “We need to get you out of here as soon as possible,” she said turning to Solaria. “I don’t trust him or Stalling.”

  It was then that Solaria decided to disclose her eavesdropping capabilities and what she had heard on the sub-frequencies.

  “Do you know what black ops are?” she asked.

  “Of course. It’s a term normally describing subversive government or military operations. Why?”

  “I’ve been monitoring some satellite transmissions and overhead plans to use Hubots in these programs.”

  Stunned, Carley looked nervously around the room as if suspecting they too might now be under observation. Grabbing Solaria’s arm she led her to the vault.

  “I knew you could receive certain frequencies but didn’t realize the extent of your capabilities. Are there any spy devices in here?”