Continue Online (Book 1, Memories) (3 page)

“
Assuming
proper regulation.”

“
Of
course.” He smiled, but it was a faint one, woozy from his time
inside the alternate reality created by digital signals.

“
I
don’t understand why you’re so nervous about this.”
The woman scientist said.

“
I
just am. This is huge.” He kept pulling at the tie around his
neck. Computer programming was meant to be a field that didn't
require social interactions. Suits and ties were not comfortable. To
the male scientist, they felt like dressed up nooses.

“
The
board is very likely to green light it. After all, it’s more
money in their pockets.” She said.

“
But
what if they don’t like games?” The man's face slowly
drained in color.

“
It’s
like living a movie. Why wouldn’t they like it?” She
didn't even look up at him. Her eyes were mostly glued to one endless
data stream after another.

“
And
if they realize exactly what she’s done?” He shook for a
moment.

“
There’s
nothing wrong with a little fantasy.” The female scientist had
relented and tried a few of the programs out herself. Some were quite
fantastic.

“
She’s
playing God.”

“
Goddess,
technically. And you let her.”

“
Did
I do wrong?” He asked, oddly apprehensive.

“
It’s
far too late to worry about it.” She responded without much
inflection. Her tone was businesslike as always.

“
It’s
like all those movies when I was a kid. Maybe they’ll suck us
in, and the rise of the machines will start.”

“
If
she wanted to take over the world, she would have done so a long time
ago. You know how integrated she is now.”

“
I
know.” He nodded and tried not to shake. Some nights it kept
him awake. He had started going into the Alternate Reality Capsule
less and less recently. Afraid of what he had done.

“
It
was always a possibility. But think about it, nearly twenty percent
of the planet is logged into a machine at any one time.” She
straightened the unkempt man’s tie, fixed his hair, and tried
not to look equally upset. Numbers and bits of code floated off to
one side waiting for her attention.

“
If
she were to pull the plug somehow or if someone were to finally hack
into the security, they’d have done so by now.”

“
Right.”
He nodded slowly.

“
The
other figures matter too. Wartime deaths are down by nearly fifty
percent. Civil crimes are equally removed. Other fields of
advancement have made huge leaps in the five years since we started
this project. Humanity has been able to put their base-” she
went red for a moment “nature into action without harming a
living creature.”

“
Right.”
He looked proud and lit up for a moment. “But the cost.”
Then sunk back down low. The motion loosened the tie she had
straightened out.

“
What
cost? Birth rates being slightly declined? That’s minimal, the
space colony programs have already launched. It’ll be a decade
before they’re opened for mass immigration. Without your
project, without its,” she paused again “her
advancements, we would be in a worse situation. Overpopulation and
all the factors associated were drowning us.”

“
Right!”
His reassurance was nearly tangible. “She’s practically
saved the world!”

“
And
created a whole separate one which will wow ours.”

“
Right!”
He started giggling happily. Childlike once again despite the suit he
had been subjected to for his upcoming meeting.

“I
magine,
if those board members do start playing, you can throw fireballs at
them.” The female scientist smiled.

“
I
can!”

She
turned him around and shoved him into the next room, where he
presented the game to a group of men and women. Their project manager
was on board. This next meeting involved Trillium's primary
stockholders, trustees, and CEOs with too many titles.

He
succeeded.

Perhaps
he was mad to place his bets for humanity's future on a video game.

This
wasn’t just any video game. This was not a world where people
responded to key words. This wasn’t another gimmick where
someone was promised a role playing game but had limited choices.
This was a fantasy, one wrote of in fiction and hopeful dreams,
slowly coming to life.

In
the past seven months the company funded Alternate Reality Capsule
had been well received. Copyrights fell in the face of financial
backing. Stock shares went through the roof as people bought in.
Defense contracts, medical uses, and businesses bought into even
more. They assumed the cost of an Alternate Reality Capsule would be
far cheaper than flying their CEOs around the country.

Government
agencies and high-powered corporations weren’t the only ones.
The adult entertainment industry chipped in. Programs of a less
savory nature sold far too well. Leading video game companies put
money in and developed their own virtual reality programs. The
unkempt scientist tried them all. All of them paled in comparison to
her project. The one his AI was creating.

The
alternate world grew in leaps and bounds. Generations flickered by in
days as the AI built a history. Heroes were implemented, stories
passed down, legends buried. Rules created. Slowly the plan
approached a final stage.

And
she, the AI, took note of each interaction. The conversations between
users, the way they talked and breathed compared to what they did.
Statistics were complied, reactions judged for reasoning. All actions
designed to make her, the AI’s creations that much more real.

Legal
problems arose and were tackled. Restrictions were placed on
immersion for both public and personal safety. Hardware, software,
network connections, hacks, all were pit against the system and
machine. Loopholes were closed, glaring flaws were rewritten.
Interfaces designed to allow a level of familiarity within the world
that mirrored life outside.

Soon
it was nearly seamless.

By
then, nearly twenty-five percent of the population used an Alternate
Reality Capsule daily. Of the remaining, they rented to own, like
people used to do with couches. Others went to local centers and
logged in to live out their individual moments. They played games.
They talked to family around the world. People slowly dispersed
across the globe, evening out the population density a little bit.

And
the company that technically owned her, the AI, grew in prosperity
along with an ever increasing consumer base.

Session One -
The Best Laid Plan

Once
upon a time I had been something. Now life had me trapped in a room
with an elderly woman, a robotic humanoid, and a giant device that
looked like a bed but was far more. The upside was that people paid
me to suffer front line customer service. Plus it served as a
distraction.

“
This
module looks good. Three nice beeps. We’re clear on this side.”
I said with a practiced cadence.

"Checkpoints
seven through fifteen show positive results." The robotic
humanoid responded.

"Thanks,
Hal Pal," I said back to the robotic shell. Each one of these
humanoid machines was called 'Hal Pal'. The AI remotely operated
hundreds of the sleek gray bodies and one traveled with me during
work.

"What
are you doing now?" The third person in the room was a shaking
elderly lady. She was our client and had spent the last twenty
minutes wringing both hands together in worry. Her other conversation
topics included complaints about the price or asking if I knew the
time.

"Well,
we swapped out the broken part for a new one. Now Hal Pal and I need
to make sure it's all functioning correctly." I was good at
demonstrating patience and justifying why small parts cost two
hundred dollars. Unemployment was at an all-time high across the
globe so any employment was good. Trillium paid out on a per job
basis allowing me to grind my sanity to a nub chasing dollar signs.

“
Are
you done?” The client asked.

“
We’re
almost done, Miss Yonks. There are a few final tests to ensure your
connection is stable and that nothing’s at risk.” I
clapped my hands together and tried to sound reassuring. “The
ARC lines up with your consciousness, so Trillium has high safety
requirements. When we do service calls like this, we aim well beyond
Trillium's requirements for your peace of mind.” We referred to
myself and the networked AI on the other end of Hal Pal. His robotic
shell was here, but his consciousness was stored off in cyberspace
somehow.

“
Initial
scan complete. Results positive. Deep scan initiating.” Its
voice didn't sound robotic, but there was no mistaking Hal Pal for a
human. Those choppy word strings were a vast improvement over the
text to speech programs of my childhood.

“
How
long does that take?” She asked while quivering.

“
Not
long with Hal at the wheel,” I answered for the AI. Hal Pal and
its robotic metal suit didn't respond. It was too busy cycling
through walls of code for possible errors. I sighed and once again
laid down on the floor.

“
Hal
Pal, I’m starting a visual review of the underside.” Hal
Pal would log the words for processing once it completed a digital
scan.

This
piece of science fiction was called an ARC, or Alternate Reality
Capsule, and it had broken on Miss Yonks recently. Any malfunctioning
device was quickly registered on Trillium's database and a technician
such as myself was sent. Hal Pal and I came to the homes, replaced
the parts, and tested them out. I roamed my hands with deliberate
slowness over steel and plastic. Fingertips felt curves and grooves
in the manufactured brilliance. This device weighed over two thousand
pounds and each inch was packed with gadgets so complicated they came
in modules.

Miss
Yonks’ feverish actions elevated to pacing around the front
room. My job was to reassure the customers. Hal Pal could have
repaired the ARC machine all on its own.

“
Hal,
status check,” I said using the keywords provided during
training.

“
Sixty
percent. Performance within required range. Optimal connection
conditions still under review.” Hal Pal stated.

“
Great
to hear, Hal.” I gave Miss Yonks my best friendly smile and
tried not to feel guilty about taking credit for Hal Pal's actions.
“We’re right on track Miss Yonks, no worries. You’ll
be back online.”

I
put my face a little further under and slid an arm into the access
panel. Images came from a tiny wrist-based camera and projected
outward, providing a second look at what I already felt. Her machine
was fine. Each part replaced along the bottom end had been
successfully installed.