by Tony Corden
John apologised for the delay and quickly messaged Alinga but receiving no response he messaged his assistant Ryan Thompson. Now, Ryan was mid-dash to the toilet when he received the personal message:
Quickly Ryan retraced his steps and hurried to the Upload Centre only to find Alinga absent and the ready supply of unloaded Chips empty. He hurriedly sent the chief a message:
Running back to the booth Ryan got the key and the code from the Chief and then hurried to the Upload Centre. All the running was making his need all the more urgent, and he was feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Opening the locker Ryan found it hard to concentrate and struggled to find a supply of PAI compatible chips. Finally, he noticed a box of computer chips with a large N written on the outside; he assumed these were the Nascent chips. Grabbing one he hobbled to the data upload console, inserted the chip and rushed to the bathroom while instructing his AI to [Upload Nascent Personal AI] and then to progress all protocols and affirm all options.
Ryan exhaled deeply with his head raised, lips slightly parted, and eyes closed. His relief, however satisfying, caused him to miss the flurry of messages to which his AI faithfully responded in the affirmative.
[You have inserted a Neural Enhancement Chip]
[Do you wish to continue? Y/N]
[Y]
[Enter desired upload]
[Upload Nascent Personal AI]
[*Warning*]
[This Neural Enhancement Chip is not compatible with the Nascent Personal AI Upload]
[Do you wish to continue? Y/N]
[Y]
[*Warning*]
[This Neural Enhancement chip is not compatible with the Nascent Personal AI Upload]
[Are you sure you wish to continue? Y/N]
[Y]
[*Warning*]
[This upload will void all warranties and may damage the chip]
[Do you wish to continue? Y/N]
[Y]
[*Warning*]
[This upload may cause damage to the Nascent Personal AI]
[Do you wish to continue? Y/N]
[Y]
[Uploading]
…
[*Warning*]
[IEEE 754 Exception detected]
[Do you wish to use default exception handling values? Y/N]
[Y]
[Exception Report Generated]
[Do you wish to send this Exception Report to the manufacturer? Y/N]
[Y]
[Upload resumed]
…
[Upload complete]
[Your device may now be removed]
As Ryan rushed back into the room, he saw the chip ready to be removed, grabbing it, he signed the log and ran back to Booth Three where he handed both the key and the chip to the Chief. While Ryan had been getting the chip, John made a copy of Leah’s scans and watched her surreptitiously, continuing to imagine her in various scenarios. Leah having grown up in the Switch had recognised John as a scumbag immediately: predators were usually easy to identify. But he was just looking, and she was unaware of what he copied so she said, and did, nothing.
The actual AI insertion was automatic. John placed the AI chip, the disc containing Leah’s scans and her ID into their appropriate receptacles. Leah rested her head back into the machine and John locked it in place pressing the insert icon on the screen. Leah's ID and Scan information were copied to the chip. Leah felt a light spray on her skull, and upper neck, as the machine applied a local anaesthetic. She could feel pressure but there was no pain as the machine made several incisions into her scalp, it lifted the skin and used a laser to etch a rectangular chip-shaped cavity into the base of her skull. Another eight small incisions, at various points on her scalp and upper neck, were also made. Now, if John had been paying attention, he would have noticed that instead of the standard four incisions for an elementary PAI chip the machine made an additional four cuts, two on the upper neck and two further cuts on each side of Leah’s scalp.
A small hole was drilled through the width of the skull or vertebrae at the site of each of these eight incisions. Using data from Leah’s scans the drill precisely controlled the hole depth, so it went all the way through the bone and allowed direct access to both the brain and the spinal cord. The machine inserted hollow electrodes into each hole. Then a mixture of nanites and conductive building materials was injected through the electrodes to facilitate the formation of fine microfilaments in the brain to access specific nerve clusters. Meanwhile, small micro-laser drilling devices bored grooves on the surface of the skull to connect the chip to the inserted electrodes. Minute hollow carbon tubules filled with state of the art superconductive materials were threaded through the grooves and used to link the electrodes to the chip which was inserted and affixed with a medical epoxy into the cavity. The four regular electrodes provided close access to the primary sensory areas of the brain. The additional four incisions were unusual and only performed by the machine for specific Linked Resource AI and several neurological treatment pathways.
The chip that Ryan grabbed was not intended for AI but was used elsewhere in the Neurology Department for insertion into patients with various neuromuscular and neurological diseases and disorders. The chip required special programming which depended on the patient and the disorder. It was designed to enhance neural pathways by providing additional stimulus and by using specially designed nanites to extract materials from the body and over time to build alternative conductive paths where necessary. The combination of uploading errors caused Leah’s Neural Enhancement Chip to be assigned several unique values. One of these values, when combined with the data from Leah’s scans, resulted in electrodes extending into both her C1 and C2 vertebrae where they began to build additional pathways throughout her upper and lower nervous systems. This process was slow, and the nanites would take several weeks to absorb the necessary materials and construct the pathways. Another combination of values and data sent two electrodes into areas of the brain associated with time perception: the basal ganglia and the right parietal lobe. While this had been shown to be useful in treating severe cases of Parkinson’s Disease and ADHD, only time would tell the effect on Leah’s nervous system.
With the electrodes inserted, the nanites injected, and the connections complete, the machine cycled through a series of checks. When finished, an antibacterial medical glue sealed the cuts. The adhesive also provided ongoing local pain relief and would be slowly absorbed into the healing tissue. When the machine finished, it emitted a short tone, and the head restraint unlocked. It was all done. John returned Leah’s scans and her ID and pointed her to the exit where she found her clothes and a change room in which to get dressed. She then watched a short exit video which described the proper care her scalp would require over the next several days. It explained that the PAI(N) chip would take several hours to initialise and would conduct a self-test before interacting with Leah in a meaningful way. It warned that some people experienced strange sensations, sights, tastes and smells during the period of testing but that was normal.
Leah found herself outside the building slowly rubbing her scalp, feeling the edge of the chip at the back and tracing the connection lines with her fingers. It was done, and yet she felt the same. She wondered what the AI was testing at the moment and stood still for several minutes concentrating, trying to sense what was happening - but she felt nothing! She wondered if it worked.
There was nothing she could do so she made her way to the final stop of the day: The Federal Bureau of Education. Again, it was an automated process. Her ID, updated with the serial number for the AI, was sufficient to reserve access to a publicly funded SIM Pod Facility close to the Switch. It was ready immediately and reserved for Leah for up to three years, provided she was enrolled in a college program
and did not leave it unused for twenty-one successive days. She was given codes for the facility, the assigned room and the Pod. She had one week to enrol in a full-time course, or the Bureau would cancel all access.
Leah had to wait awhile for the next train home: she spent most of the time trying not to rub her scalp. She wished she had brought a scarf or a hat of some kind as the breeze felt strange and she kept wanting to touch her head. Leah found it hard though to concentrate on anything else. By the time she got to the Bundamba Transit Stop, it was just getting dark. Leah took a few slow deep breaths to refocus her mind: now was not the time to be distracted. She could protect herself, but no one wandered through the Stitch at night without being careful. Leah now wished she'd brought her sticks or her knives. Leaving the station, she saw a small shadow leaning against the outside wall of the transit centre. This slowly resolved into one of Jimmy Loo’s younger boys as she approached. The boy handed Leah a couple of fighting sticks.
“Jimmy thought you’d be late and sent you these. He just asked that you see me back safely. What’d you do to your head?”
“What’s he paying you?” Leah asked ignoring the question.
“Nothing! He said it was on you.”
“Wonderful! How long have you been waiting?”
“Just got here, maybe ten minutes.”
“All right, one lesson on sticks or one cup rice. Which do you want?”
“Rice please, family before fighting my mum says.”
“Rice it is! I’ll drop it to Jimmy’s tomorrow. Let’s go, no talking!”
The walk back took twice as long as in the morning. The route Leah took at night was different and designed to avoid some of the more troublesome areas. Although the streets were still full of people, Leah and the boy moved carefully, never letting themselves be surrounded. A few of groups showed an interest in Leah’s bald head, but a quick glance at the sticks she carried kept the interest verbal. Leah ignored most comments and only responded when she felt it was the safest option. The boy left her at the entrance to her apartment block; this was Jimmy’s domain, and he was safe to get home.
Leah started up the stairs. The closer she got to home the slower she climbed. What would they say? How would her mum respond? Would they still accept her? All these thoughts kept going around in her head over and over. She’d been fine walking in the dark; she’d been ready for anything, full of confidence. But here, safe and almost home, her courage slowly bled out of her until she found herself standing in front of her door, drained by the emotions of the day. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there just standing, just looking at the door. It was a door opening down the corridor that startled her and prompted her to put her key in the lock and move inside.
Inside, they were all waiting: her family, just sitting on the sofa, silent and watching her. Her dad smiled, rose and hugged her. Her mother joined him and smiled, mouth and eyes, then kissed her gently on each cheek.
“Hard luck finding a boyfriend with that ugly head.” Her brother said, grinning and jumping up. “Took your time, I’m starving. Let’s eat.”
Tears fell as all her fears evaporated, surrounded once more by her family.
Her brother couldn’t help himself, “Oi! Stop the girly stuff, you’re an adult now. Start acting like one.”
Together the family went in and celebrated Leah’s coming of age.
Diary - 17 November 2073
16 years old and suddenly an adult. What a day for the senses!
Smells: I woke to the smell of ginger and garlic, chicken and egg, it was a familiar scent, the smell of breakfast, the smell of congee, of Asia, of my mum: of her love for me. Then the oily, smoky scent of bacon and hash browns intruded, a birthday smell, forbidden and special, an extravagance that reeked of my father. Big, bold, and white. A smell of taking risks, of doing what you loved, come what may: this was his love for me.
Sounds: Dad’s voice booming through the walls. Able to be heard by the people next door. “Leah, breakfast is ready”. And my mother’s voice, much softer, but the rise and fall of her Mandarin still clearly heard through the thin wall. “Ling, come eat your congee, bring your brother”. Sometimes the two of them give me such a complex. Was I my father’s daughter? Atherleah Carroll, goddess of wisdom and war, the champion of valour, a mixture of Greek and Celt. Or was I Lin Mu-Ling? Child of the forest, a seeker, full of compassion and understanding: this was my mother’s dream.
Sights: I’d never been to the city before. It was clean but empty. I was used to the Switch, people everywhere, noise and bustle, hustle and movement. But in Bris, the people were all gone, all home in their pods: working and playing out of sight. The only people I saw were the staff who only moved when they had to, moving with a quiet efficiency that made me feel like a product on a production line, impersonal and unimportant. I loved the Switch but yearned to enter the other world. Was my mother right? Would I disappear too?
Taste: Gone is the pleasure of breakfast. It’s amazing how the medical scans left a taste in my mouth even when I didn’t swallow anything. The flavour of medicine, of radiation and chemicals, they cover my tongue. There’s a taste of ash that I’m sure is all in my mind as I think of the carbon-based nano-tubules slowly extruding into my brain. What was I thinking?
Touch: My head so smooth, all my hair, gone. I can feel every bump on my skull; I could feel every breeze, it was cold. I feel naked. Mum won't look at me properly: she is embarrassed. I can feel the new lines etched into it, all fanning out from the chip embedded in the back - like spider legs. It feels alien.
CHAPTER TWO
November 18, 2073 A
It was still dark when a slightly painful tingly feeling in her arms and legs intruded into Leah’s sleep. The sensation dulled as she woke and slowly faded away leaving only an echo for a few moments. She heard a synthetic sounding voice say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, I was testing the preliminary connections for the lower nervous system.”
Still not quite awake Leah reached down into the gap between her mattress and the wall and grabbed the knife she kept there. “Who’s there?” she asked.
“I am, AI 628B44CE81.”
Suddenly awake, Leah released the knife and sat up. “Can you talk softer?” she whispered, “I don’t want to wake my brother.”
“There is no sound. I am manipulating specific cortical areas to simulate speech.”
Leah nodded, she knew that and had been expecting it since the implant. If she remembered correctly, she was supposed to be able to communicate with the AI just be thinking something. She wondered if it worked. There was silence. The AI had not heard.
She whispered again, “Could you tell what I was thinking?”
“No. For me to hear you, you have to be specific and think the words you want me to hear. I monitor the Broca Area of your brain which is involved in the production of speech. If you think about saying something but don’t say it, I interpret this as speech. I then evaluate if you are reading silently, talking to yourself, or talking to me. The signals are similar. I will learn through experience to differentiate them.”
Leah tried again, this time she focussed on the words aimed at the AI without vocalising. “Can you hear this?”
“Affirmative! I can understand that.”
“What else can you do?” Leah thought
[I can overlay text and images into your vision]
Text appeared in front of Leah; it was bright in contrast to the darkened room.
“That’s amazing! Overlay a picture so I can see what that looks like.”
A picture of Leah’s naked body appeared in the room in front of her.
Leah started in embarrassment and exclaimed out loud “Stop that!”
The image disappeared, and Leah hurriedly thought, “Try something else, not me!”
“My ‘Image’ and ‘Motion’ databases are empty except for your scans.”
“So, if I give you access to the web, you can update your databases?”<
br />
“I can update and use images either from my experience or the web. I am unable to use images and motion that are under copyright unless you purchase them.”
“Ok, what else besides sight and sound?”
“I can interact with all your sensory functions, but most databases are empty. The key preloaded data I have available is speech and text, a complete electromagnetic neural manipulation database which includes your scans, a comprehensive database of neuromuscular and neurological medicine, a PAI SIM Pod security suite and a collection of designs for neural nano-machines.”
Leah thought for a moment and then sub-vocalised, “Some of that makes sense. It’s the minimum they could get away with. I don’t understand why you require the medical database or the nano-machines.”
“Those databases were preloaded on this chip. The security suite will require some adaptation to utilise these databases and the other additional features of your chip.”
“I don’t understand. What additional features? I have the Nascent PAI chip.”
“The chip I was uploaded onto, and which you had embedded, was not a Nascent PAI chip. Your chip is a Neural Enhancement Chip. A mistake was made in the uploading procedure. Would you like to view the log?”
Leah nodded slowly, but nothing happened. So she whispered, “Yes please.”
The log of the previous day’s installation slowly scrolled through her vision. Leah sat there for several long minutes, thinking through the day before. She could feel the fear starting to form and had to work hard to dampen that feeling. To stem the panic, she asked the AI some clarification questions.
“So. Are you or the chip damaged in any way?”
