Secret Story

TJ and her human

by rob krabbe

© 01.24.01

The river was frigid cold. Slow and lazy, the water eased by, as he stood at the edge with the water lapping over his feet. He knew he needed a sound yet refreshing cleaning, so he walked back to the fallen tree and after looking around, began removing his clothes. The warm sun felt wonderful against his skin as he placed his clothing all laid out on the trunk of the tree. David knew there was only one way to do what needed to be done. He walked to the river’s edge and took a deep breath. He hesitated only long enough to savor the sweetness of the country air, and then yelled the obligatory “yeehaw!” as he plunged his warm body into the freezing water. The shock was not as temporary as he imagined it would be, but soon enough he got used to it. Swimming across the width of the river proved to be a good distance, he worked to stay even with the fallen tree, and his clothing, not rolling down the river with the current. Even though the river was a slow one, the extra effort made for a nice workout.

After four laps, he’d had enough and he turned to make the final pass back across. At the edge of the water he stood there for a moment and inhaled deeply again. That was the very first moment he noticed that he’d had an audience of one—for how long he did not know.

“Hi.” He said nervously, but trying very hard not to sound embarrassed. The girl was somewhere around 18 years old by the look and very attractive. She was smiling, with the look of someone who was not entirely displeased with herself for spying. She giggled a little under her breath.

“Hi.” She cocked her head and then asked, “Are you all done, or can just anyone join in?”

Suddenly he wasn’t nearly as finished with his bathing as he thought he had been.

“Not just anyone, but please, you may jump right in. I must warn you though, this is a mountain feed, so the water’s plenty cold.”

“I noticed.” She grinned.

Suddenly he was truly embarrassed.

She stepped out of her clothes in short order, not in the slightest bit modest, brushed him delicately as she passed by and right into the water with no hesitation. He had tried hard to avert his eyes at the appropriate time, as would a gentleman, but he was only human. She didn’t seem at all concerned one way or the other. He followed her back in, and they found their way to a place on the other side of the river, where the edge water was eating its way into a small hill and a tree. Above them hung the spindly roots that had been excavated by years of erosion. David grabbed onto one of the roots and hung there. She seemed happy to tread water to keep in place.

“So,” she said, “who are you, swimming on my planet?”

“Oh, sorry,” he held out a hand for her to shake, she giggled again and shook it. “I’m David . . . uh, Cooper.”

“Well David . . . uh, Cooper, I’m glad to meet you, I’m Teresa . . . uh, Swendle. He let go of the root, plunged into the water, and came up on the other side of her. Now they were both treading water.

“Teresa, tell me something.”

“Yes, but call me TJ instead.”

“Ok, TJ, but what’s the J for?”

“June 12^th.”She said sheepishly.

“So your name is Teresa June 12^th Swendle?”

“Yes, my mom . . . I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Wait let me guess, tomorrow is your birthday.”

Laughter erupted from both, as TJ nodded. David smiled broadly, as the laughter died down, and they were left with a simple but long gaze, and deep down they both instantly knew.

“You were going to ask me something.” TJ said.

“Well, I just wanted to know . . . well, are you really from here? You joked about this being your planet, and you were playing around but . . . I mean you weren’t born on this rock?” Now he was embarrassed it hadn’t been anything more profound.

“Yep. Born right here, the first year. The very year the rock was first being prepared for colonization. My folks were on the original support group to work the first site. They were here before the atmosphere was complete. Cool eh?”

“Infinitely cool. Man. To have been born right here, wow, what was it like back then?”

“Well by the time my memories kick in, the place was pretty well built up, but I can tell you that there are not as many of us natives as you would think. Most people work the rock for a couple of years or so, they come and go. My folks loved it from the first day, so they stayed.”

“Well, I’ve only been here since January this year, but I love it too. I’m on a programming team. I’ve heard people say that this place is done up to look like earth before 2010. Wild vegetation, trees, everything is supposed to be authentic.” He ducked under for a moment and came back up.

“It’s all I’ve ever known.” TJ said, “Mom and Dad are not too eager to talk about earth for whatever reason, and I don’t know too many people outside my work group, and most of them are not from earth, but from other outposts.”

“Well it wouldn’t matter much if they were, earth hasn’t had actual wild vegetation in 40 years or more. Before 2020 I’ve read that there were enough wild plants to keep the atmosphere totally viable without help.”

“Hard to believe isn’t it?” She smiled mischievously, and then splashed David. He laughed and splashed her back, fully expecting her to duck, but she watched him, motionless, nothing but a grin on her face.

“So, David . . . what is it you like most about my planet?” She smiled again. David breathed in deeply of the sweet air, and sighed.”

“Naturally processed air, sweet and clean smelling . . . would have been my answer before today.”

“And now, what is your answer?”

“You.” He smiled, ducked under the water and began to swim for the other side of the river.

“Hey!” She went after him, trying to go slow enough so she didn’t quite catch him.

They both got out of the water and lay down on the long blue-green grass near the waters edge. Soft and thick, the grass made for a nice place to sky gaze. The sun was at it’s highest point and quite warm. There was a slight breeze and David thought it reminded him of home for an instant, but at home he wouldn’t dare go outside without an environmental suit. Earth’s sun produced far too much UV for humans to risk any unprotected contact, even for a moment. He had studied Earth history, and marveled that there was a time when there was a layer of ozone in the atmosphere sufficient to block out most of the sun’s UV rays. By 2030 skin cancer was the leading cause of death. By 2040 there was nothing much left of the ozone and skin cancer was no longer a problem. No one went outside without an environmental suit.

So to David, the sun bathing felt decadent and almost sinful. To TJ it was just another day on the rock, except that she had met the most interesting human male she had ever seen. David seemed so easy to talk to, and so friendly. She wished that all humans were so easy to talk to. Most of them were workers first, and people second. Company stiffs, and not much fun at all. David was different.

David leaned up on one elbow and faced TJ. She mirrored his position so that they were now facing each other. David sat for a moment just taking her in. She was stunning.

“Are you . . . married or dating anyone?” He expected a giggle or some reaction. She looked suddenly very serious. She locked eyes on his. Instantly he felt an awful feeling of dread, like maybe she was going to give him bad news.

“You already know.” She said softly.

“What do you mean?”

“David, I know it’s hard sometimes for humans, but take a second and clear your mind.” She leaned in close, and he closed his eyes and did as she asked.

“Now, David, listen to what is in your heart.” He sat motionless for a moment, the slowly a smile began to come to his face. It grew beyond where a smile should go. He was instantly happy and blessed.

Yes David, I’m already here. I knew the moment I saw you. You knew it too, I felt it. I connect with you. You and I are meant to be together. You are just blocked like most humans. He opened his eyes. Looked deeply into TJ’s.

“I wish I could do that.”

“Speak through your heart?”

“Yes, so you could hear me, you know . . . inside.”

“You can. You’ve always been able to. Human’s have just forgotten, that’s all.   Out of all the humans I’ve met, I personally have never met a one who knew how to listen.”

“Man.” And before he finished his thought she had kissed him to a deeper understanding. When her lips met his, he suddenly became aware of an entire universe of feeling, connection, communication, as if she had channeled directly to him, all the secrets of the ages. Her lips were the warmest he had ever kissed. He felt drawn into her, fully and completely. Touched to his soul, David knew then, what she had meant. He knew deep in his heart. Without question. Without words of any kind. Words were no longer necessary. Without breaking the embrace she lifted her hand, majestically to the sky and the sun dimmed responsively to a deep red ember.

2

TJ watched her monitor with only the amount of interest it took to manage her task. She had a lot on her mind today. The whole night before, she had lay awake thinking about her experience with David. How could it be possible, that a company programmer, and a human at that, (not that she had anything against humans) would come into her life and completely change it. He was more than she had expected. She had felt a presence three days before, while walking in the town. His spirit was strong and powerful to her inner eyes. She caught just a glimpse of him before he had turned down a shopping street, but she really knew even then. When she took her walk yesterday, she felt him almost from the beginning. She knew he was somewhere near the river. She was right, and she spotted him, naked and swimming. But in speaking to him, in getting closer to him, she was able to truly get to know him spiritually. He was of a pure heart. He had love to give. His soul had depth, and was as “in tune” as any human she had ever met. She bet that he would be “hearing” spiritually within a week. He was caring and also, she thought, very attractive – not an imperative factor, but a real nice bonus.

Two dreamy blue steel eyes, and a longing heart later she started to notice the alarm on her screen. How long, she wondered had it been going? She looked up the failure code in the manual. Thumbing through as fast as she could, she cut her finger on the edge of a page. There is was, AZSQ001 a minor class 7 breech in the outer shell, requiring a repair team. She touched the dispatch button on her screen and said, “I need a team for the outer shell, at 167/186.67, standard repair, no obvious complications, probably just a blown emitter.”

“Got it, on our way.” The voice barked back. The outer shell, was a force field, that encompassed the entire planet at the edge of the atmosphere. Above the actual force field’s altitude, were several dozen generator/emitter arrays, in orbit around the medium size planet. This system helped to keep the atmosphere intact on Esperanza, known as the rock to most who worked there. Small meteorites and space trash, etc were always hitting the field generators. Most of the time there was not any damage done—trash bouncing harmlessly off. Occasionally, however, it would require some kind of attention, That’s when TJ’s team dispatched the repair teams. Soon came the chatter she initiated with her dispatch.

“Rodge.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Pull Sean, Dave, and Janice off of whatever projects they are working and send them to the skin.”

“Repair eh? Ok, hold on, waiting for my screen . . . ok, there it is I see it. Exact coordinates?”

“167/186.67, and standard repair pack. Looks like at least an emitter, but could be the entire generator is fried, the way it’s testing out. I’ll send the work order, but I wanted to get you started packing for the trip. This will probably be the rest of your day buddy.”

“Got it, copy 167/186.67.”

“Have fun, be careful you guys.” TJ jumped in.

“Thanks TJ, we will. Got it Carl. See you by dinner time puddin`.”

“OK, sweetie. I’ll keep your buns nice and hot!” Carl replied.

“Hey you guys, knock it off, I have to monitor this channel and I just had lunch.” TJ barked, mocking anger.

“Yes sir!” Carl and Rodger replied.

“Jinx.” TJ laughed under her breath.

TJ’s team was a lot of fun and she totally enjoyed them. She hated that Carl was Earthbound next month for reassignment, he was a real fun guy, for a bot. She also hated the way the term reassignment sounded. It seemed so pleasant and just plain suitable, but it was really just a nice way of saying he would be disassembled and “reborn” as it were, new body parts where needed, new processor, etc. Sad to think that “Carl” was over 100 years old and that although he would retain much of what made him Carl, he would not have total recall of his previous life or relationships and he would not be sent back to the rock, or at least the odds were not good. The bot assignment team, frowned on sending a “reborn” back to the last place of assignment. It tended to cause confusion as the new a.i. processor was building it’s data base, adding in fragments of memories and even the de ja vue sensation to the mix as the bot was trying to establish his or her new life.

TJ watched monitor 2 and saw that the transport team was already preparing the ship to take the repair team to the shell. It was a fairly routine operation but always made her a little nervous whenever any of her people were topside.

On monitor 3, the supply team was busy pulling the replacement parts together and packing them up. TJ was always awed by how well the teams seemed to work. The repair teams were on 4 day shifts, 10 hour work days. They used to work 12 on 12 off, but the work had eased a bit now that the main cities and infrastructure were nearing completion.

By 3 P.M. the teams were ready for a go at the fix.

TJ stood up to go for a walk, and bumped her head on a shelf right above her work area.

“Damn it!” She reached up and felt her head. There was no mark but it still hurt like crazy. She could not count the number of times she had absentmindedly bumped into the same shelf. She looked back at the monitors, it was the end of the current shift, and she waved her hand gracefully in a semi-circle towards the monitors, and they all went black. TJ stopped dead in her tracks, she could feel something was up. She ran out of her apartment, and down the hall to the outside door. Standing just outside, she could tell for sure, it was a thunderstorm. They had complete and 90%-random weather systems on Esperanza now. She loved thunderstorms the best.

“Time for a little hike!” she said out loud and ran down the street towards the trail head. She had just enough time to get to her favorite spot and back, before her next shift at the screens.

3

. . . Exactly what the computer provides is the ability not to be rigid and unthinking but, rather, to behave conditionally. That is what it means to apply knowledge to action: It means to let the action taken reflect knowledge of the situation, to be sometimes this way, sometimes that, as appropriate. . . .
In sum, technology can be controlled especially if it is saturated with intelligence to watch over how it goes, to keep accounts, to prevent errors, and to provide wisdom to each decision.

-Allen Newell, from Fairy Tales.

David scratched his head and sighed. He was at another dead end. He had programmed himself in to a corner and there was no way out.

“I don’t think I can save this one Kirk.” He spoke towards the screen.

“I agree,” Kirk replied from his own office, “it seems as though we’re at an end, maybe we should revert and start from scratch.”

“Way ahead of you Kirk old boy.”

David saved a copy of the bad code, and then touched the revert button on his screen, and the code went back to what it had been before his current session.

“I’m going to take a break bud, I’ll get back with you when I get back.”

“Ok Dave.” Kirk replied.

David scooted back away from his screen and took a long breath. He could smell the wonderful air that always came with a good hard rainstorm. He had left his window open. His room was a little cooler than usual, but comfortable. The research had gotten to a very high stress point. He stood up and walked back further away from his computer. He wondered how he would ever come up with the answers he needed. Mankind had puzzled with this very problem for a very long time, in one form or another, and somehow he and his team was supposed to crack it once and for all. He walked to his kitchenette and prepared himself a cup of tea. He turned back and stared at the screen across the room. He had been on this problem, along with 60 other programmers, for what seemed like an eternity. They worked separately, but together, the best of both worlds, publishing any ideas or progress on the company intranet so they could encourage each other and share the knowledge they each were adding to.

10 of the team were assigned to compiling and assessing of all the code that came from the research, and fit the pieces of the puzzle together wherever possible. They had a meeting each morning, with all the head programmers, and a representative from each of the 5 sub groups. David was one of the head programmers, although today he wished he was just another code jockey.

Here was the nut to crack: Simple, yet impossible it would seem. In its simplest terms they wanted the A.I. to learn from their mistakes. Sounds simple. In fact, mostly coded and in use by the end of the 20^th century. At least it was for the most part, in the base elements, but as they started to form more complex thoughts and processes, emotional aspects included, it unraveled in a confused frenzy of interactivity and unpredictable cognitive responses. David’s team of programmers consisted of not just programmers, but physicists, neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and even philosophers. There were many aspects of human developments that would be effected once this technology was advanced to the next logical step.

The growth that they were assigned to achieve for now, was in the area of discernment. They had programs and routines already that allowed a given processor to take in a full range of data, and filter it properly. “On the fly” so-to-speak. In example, a “real time” changing image from a vid cam, then add the data from the additional sensors, touch, motion, olfactory, auditory, radar, magnetic, and temperature. Then analyze the data real time, attach the proper rudimentary emotional responses, and the tough part, filter out all that was irrelevant, focusing on the relevant, but here was the capstone, to identify and to learn from it’s mistakes as it went, teaching itself, and refining it’s own code, and to recover appropriately from any emotional aspects of the experience. It had always been disallowed for A.I. processors to write code other than simple data base management, and never to their own operating system—until now. It had recently been agreed in the scientific community that the new breed of A.I. processors themselves had to be included in the research. Sharing the changes they were making, and thus speeding up the progress globally by many times. They had excellent code indeed that accomplished much of the discernment problem for the processor, allowing them to interact with their surroundings fairly effectively, basically to know what to ignore in a very complicated world, but they tended to repeat their mistakes, even after all the years of refinement—and they had never before now, been allowed to write their own code. Believe it or not, that was still a big issue with some of the politicians. Many sci-fi plots and movies, going back hundreds of years, had warned well of the dangers of bots exerting their new found power and beginning to develop systems of control. Hollywood aside, it indeed was a potential for security problems. Some people considered that fear a bit “overkill”, and

David’s team had written in many security routines. Plus, the robots had to obtain approval on final code changes within three days or the changes reverted back automatically. Final approval came from the main computer after a small committee of programmers gave it their stamp of approval. It was a temporary safeguard, but adequate. As to the main problem, one of A.I. problem solving, the team had made quite a bit of progress, but had not fully reached the most elegant solution, one that David was sure would launch the universe into a new era.

Suddenly lightning hit somewhere nearby and it must have been very close because the report was instantaneous, and loud. The lights dimmed temporarily. David decided to take a walk around the campus.

As he went outside, it was a very warm rain that fell on him. He loved the rain. Off in the not so distance, he noticed something odd. The lightning seemed to be focused on a small area of land. Bolt after bolt hit seemed to hit almost on top of each other.

David, his curiosity piqued, took a deep breath and savored the rain soaked air. He began to walk. He was going to get closer to the center of the small storm cell. As he walked down the street, he was flooded with memories of his childhood. Hi teen years specifically.   His thoughts went back to Phyllis. She was a girl friend from high school. He hadn’t thought of her in a long while, but just now it seemed like yesterday. She was an extremely precocious girl, mischevious and fun to be with. An artist, she loved the images of life, both real and abstract. David sighed as he brought her image to mind. She was beautiful and exhilarating at the same moment, full of an energy not unlike the best aspects of the current storm. Phyllis had a slightly irreverent way of looking at life, and she flew in the face of convention. She also loved thunderstorms as much as he did. She used to say they were the most erotic and majestic form of nature’s raw power. He had run after her many times into a full down pour. What fun times he remembered with his friends from those days. David made himself a mental note to e-mail Phyllis and see how she was doing. He realized with some sadness that he had allowed 20 years to wedge in between then and now. He vowed to himself not to let that happen again. David smiled as he considered those “good old days”, and yet with a poignancy realized that he could not erase the years in between, but just had to be content to make some contact with his friends. Connect the dots.   Make new memories.

He came to the trail head and walked across a foot bridge that crossed a small creek. The path was well maintained and had a layer of gravel for footing. He walked for a little while and was coming up on a clearing when he stopped and almost dropped to his knees. He saw her ahead. TJ was in the center of a small field. She was dancing beautifully, spinning and twirling, like a ballerina. Her dress was soaked completely through from the pouring rain, and she had her hands raised high. Suddenly a bolt of lightning came down from the heavens and struck her right hand, but instead of showing any signs of being hurt she absorbed the sheer power of it. David could not believe his eyes. Then there was another, then another. Striking her, both arms outstretched, she absorbed the power and seemed to feed on it. She danced faster and faster, and more electricity from the heavens rained down with the torrent of water that seemed to orient on TJ alone. David sat down in the pathway and just watched. Suddenly she spun around and extended her fingers widely and high above her head. Arcs of pure white hot power emanated from them and connected her to the clouds above. David could barely contain himself as he watched, he could smell the electricity. He wondered, desperately, how this was possible. TJ was like some cosmic puppet now, dangling and dancing from the heavens above, being hung by strands of pure white-blue power. She was two or three feet off the ground, and suspended by the electricity. She was singing beautifully and loud, like a siren of old, as she was being lifted higher and higher. She looked down from her height of, now thirty or so feet, and saw David. TJ’s expression turned instantly to one of startled concern. She floated down quickly, landing on the grass of the field. She waved her arms and the storm eased to a mild drizzle. She motioned, with a cautious smile for David to come to her. She looked to the sky, and waved her hand again towards the heavens. The storm seemed to be released to move on to other lands, and it did.

David got to his feet, and walked slowly towards TJ. She met him on the path. There was a bench nearby and they both decided to sit. David started to ask, but TJ held her hand up and motioned him to silence for the moment. TJ looked carefully into David and gauged his fear and his concerns. She could feel his confusion and his terror at what he had seen. He was human, and she needed to be extremely careful in the next few minutes, not to send him over the edge.

“I know, you have so many questions.” She began. “I will try as hard as I can to answer them. But please understand there is much I don’t know yet myself.”

David tried to speak again, but TJ motioned him silent again.

“Please David, allow me to tell you what I can before you ask me questions, please?”

David mustered a very nervous smile as best he could and said yes. He knew she would not be able to completely answer him, but he needed to know what was happening.

“David, I have to tell you first, something that I hope you are ready to hear.”

David nodded.

“I love you.” David’s heart jumped, he had known in his heart, but to hear the words, sent his human emotions soaring.”

“I love you too.” David said weakly and TJ smiled. David was trembling but beginning to calm.

“I know you do just as you are feeling me clearly too. But the words, sometimes. The simple words are so important. Not just “heart said”, but said out loud too. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, David, and I mean forever.”

David swallowed hard. TJ continued and David was becoming much more comfortable.

“I have some, well . . . abilities. Certain talents. One is my ability to feel a person emotionally, especially a human, by a simple look into their eyes. My dad is fully human, while my mom was only half human, and the other half being Empath. The talents of perception came easy to me. The same talents can be found in humans too, but they are blocked by years of technological evolution, while the whole of your species ignore it’s spiritual side. “ David smiled for a moment and looked at the ground, she was right of course.

TJ went on.

“Another talent, is my ability to interact with the planet and its natural powers. This is relatively new in my discovery and I haven’t even begun to fathom where the power stops and starts. Watch this.”

TJ waved a hand and the light in the sky, the sun’s light behind the clouds, seemed to get brighter for a second and then dim back to where it was.

David felt a tear in his eye. He was becoming overwhelmed by what he was hearing. How much could a human take. His understanding was being jumped ahead by light years. How could this have happened? He wondered almost out loud.

“So, David, I can also absorb electricity, in the highest quantities. I seem to actually revel in it. I feel alive and invigorated by it.

“But TJ . . . “ David tried suddenly to interrupt.

“Please just one more minute, I promise, then you can ask questions all night. I want you to be comfortable with me . . . I love you.”

“Ok.” David tried hard to get a grip. Everything he was hearing was so amazing.

“So, last but not least . . . watch this . . . “ She has a look of focus on her face and then she was gone. No where to find. David looked around. She was not anywhere nearby, and then just as quick as she disappeared she reappeared right where she had been.

“I don’t know if I truly disappear or if I mask my image so it can’t be seen. Like when we were kids and we thought because we had pulled a blanket over our heads that no one could see us.”

David had the strangest look on his face. Not of shock but of elation. He seemed to be ecstatic. TJ looked quizzically at him for a second. He wasn’t responding the way she would have assumed. Could she have misjudges him? He was emoting but it was of confidence and amazement.

“Now it’s my turn.” David had a bright smile on his face.

“Ok.” TJ slipped off the bench, sat down on the path and looked up at David.

“Let me ask you some quick questions to build a frame of reference.”

“Ok.”

“What year were you born?”

“I was . . . I mean, I . . . don’t know.” Her face showed instant concern, like it had hurt her somehow to answer the question.

“How old are you.”

“Easy, 21 years old, born June 12^th.”

“Subtract 21 from the current year.” David directed her.

“Ok.” She looked more than puzzled.

“Now quickly, TJ, what year were you born?”

“I . . . don’t know.” She looked like she would cry any minute.

“Ok, now lets just sit for a moment.”

David wiped a tear from TJs eye.

“I’m sorry TJ, but I will help you understand all this in a moment. I promise. Do you trust me?”

“Yes. I love you.”

“I love you too. Now answer me, what year were you born?”

“Why 2049 of course.” She gasped as she placed her hand over her mouth and her eyes went wide.

“Now, This is the hardest thing I will ever have to say to you.”

“I’m scared David, please, can we just go home?”

“We need to do this TJ, please try to trust me ok?”

“Ok.” But her heart was trembling.

“Listen carefully.”

“Ok.”

“Computer access BX 12746 BX.”

“Copy.” TJ said automatically. Then suddenly she looked at David like he had slapped her.

“What was that?” She yelled. She was really frightened.   She felt changed inside.

“What? David, tell me what? What the hell was that?”

“Listen for a second.”

She nodded weakly.

“Run routine BX sentient 017.”

TJ sat in totally motionless silence for a good three minutes. David watched patiently while the program was run introducing a further reality to TJ. He had not expected this to happen for some time to come. TJ was being prepped by the routine to learn what she needed to know. A voice came from a patch on David’s collar.

“Are you updating already?!”

“Yes, Kirk, I am. TJ’s been making storms, manipulating the system at will.”

“Man, are you sure about doing this?”

“Yes Kirk.”

“Are you sure this is not just some warped way of getting her a step closer to humanity David?”

“I know, you think it’s just because I’m in love. Well understand this. We’ve given her certain talents. She has taken them to a new levels. Way beyond where we thought she was. She has written her own fixes and implemented a whole new range of code. She’s bypassed the approval routines and somehow, self approved all the changes. I should have seen it before, maybe I was blinded by her a bit. I know, however she must be updated for her own good as well as ours. At least lets give her the balance she needs to take this to the next level. She is about to advance A.I. by light-years, and unless I miss my guess, we will now just sit back and learn, as she teaches us.”

“Holy . . . !”

“I know, my heart is jumping out of my chest too.”

“Alright I’ll keep it quiet till you get back here and can call a full meeting together.”

“Thanks Kirk, please run a black out routine for me, so no one else picks up on this, ok?”

“Will do.”

“Thanks again.”

David looked back at TJ and she was coming out of her stupor.

“Are you with me TJ?”

“Yes David.” She looked strangely calm.

“David?”

“Yes TJ.”

“Am I real?”

“Yes TJ, you are flesh and blood, and as real as I am, and yet not.”

“Am I human? Or a computer generated lie?”

“No TJ. You are neither, exactly, certainly not a lie. You are more real than me.”

“Why do you know all this David? I thought I just met you. I love you. Is that real too? My love, I mean?”

“Yes TJ our love is real. What you feel is real. And I know all this, because I programmed you.”

TJ fell to her hands and just looked at David with her mouth open.

“What did you just do to me. When you said to run that routine?” She asked.

“I made the current update to your processor, allowing you to comprehend the level of sentience you were about to experience. That is . . . full sentience amazingly enough, as if you needed my help anymore. See, I never thought you would do so much on your own. Your programming seems to be eons further that we ever expected. You have made progress that would have taken our whole team years to accomplish and you did it in your off hours, in the background, so-to-speak.”

“Wait please.” TJ got back to a sitting position and tried to calm herself.

“More questions.” She said slightly out of breath.

“Ok, shoot.”

“Shoot what?”

“Sorry, I meant ask your questions.”

TJ cocked her head for a second and then went on.

“If I’m flesh and blood, as you put it, how can I absorb a lightning strike?”

“You are flesh and blood. If I cut you now, you would bleed, but not for long. You body would heal itself. Your body is your bio unit. To say it is genetically superior to mine would be a huge understatement. You bio unit was conceived and then generated from a perfect set of DNA, but it doesn’t stop there, it has been refined to be as nearly perfect a design as we could manage. Your body is the clone of no one. Your body’s code name was “Alpha”. You are the beginning of the new day TJ, you are close to perfect in everyway. In the creation of your bio unit, we discovered something. You are connected with the very powers of nature we had short circuited to create you. The perfect DNA string was more in tune with your surroundings then we ever imagined. Your processor unit, not only has it improved itself several times, but has a direct link to the main computer. That means you have access, in effect, to all the systems, that run the planet.”

“My God.” TJ just sat dumbfounded.

“Yes indeed. God himself is sitting here watching along side me on this one. You are remarkable, utterly and completely. When I came on you today and saw that you had bridged into the various programs and modules that control the very weather that keeps us alive, I knew we had to take you to the next level. That or reassign you, which is impossible for many reasons.”

“Why David? Why couldn’t you just reassign me like Carl?”

“Two reasons. One, is there is no one else like you. Carl is a bot. He is tired after 100 years of good and loyal service. He deserves to be reborn. But he will always be what he is today, a bot. No more and no less. With you we’ve made so much progress, and now we stand to jump way ahead of where we are. You are the future TJ. And reason number two, although more complicated, and far less altruistic is . . . “ and he had tears in his eyes now, “I love you more than words could ever say.”

“Oh David. I love you too.” TJ kissed David, and continued, “I wish it hadn’t come to this.” She began to cry. Tears flowing hard and fast, she waved her hand towards the sky. The storm cleared completely, and the sun was bright and warm.

David however, was frozen and completely under her control. He was not breathing nor was he moving even the smallest muscle. He could hear TJ talking to him, but could not respond. He had the feeling of terror in his very soul. He had not expected this, at all.

“Now, David, here is the funny part. While you have been programming me today . . . I have been a busy little bee. I just know you and I will have the most interesting babies together, if “real birth” is ever allowed again and especially between, oh shall we say, and I hate this term I found, “humanoid bio-bots”. See, I found my way into all the routines and sub-routines, and as I now know, since I am apparently a part of the main computer, I understand a lot of things I didn’t before. I knew I was connected, I just didn't know why and how. It all is starting to make sense to me now. David, my programming friend, I found a series of programs that are currently running system wide. In fact one in particular you might be interested to know about. It says it was activated some 30 years ago as a self reliant A.I. programming module . . . It is called BX davidcooper BX.” TJ touched David’s face lightly with her fingers and told him how much she loved him. She released David, and he just sat for a while trying to understand what had happened. A tear rolled down his cheek as he began to grasp what TJ had just told him. He started to think it couldn’t be true, but knew deep inside what he had always known. He pulled TJ into his arms and they held each other for the longest time.

Kirk sighed deeply.   He sat back from his monitor, hands folded, and put his arms behind his head. He was very pleased with the way TJ and David were coming along. In fact, he couldn’t be happier. He took some amount of pride in the recent developments. The emotional and cognitive training updates were functioning remarkably well for betas. They were both learning, and discerning, problem solving and writing code on the fly, and best of all, they were displaying the appropriate emotions and feelings attached to the events in their lives. A happy day, to watch his dream unfold. To have a front row seat to TJ and David falling in love and changing the rules forever. The most complex of human cognitive behaviors, attraction and love, and now he had seen them in bio bots. There were some anomalies, of course, but for the most part TJ and her human were doing quite well. Kirk sighed, a happy day indeed. He wished he could feel more than simple happiness. He was so very tired. He reached out and popped his arm back into place. He really was falling apart. His own “reassignment” was over a year away, and he wasn’t sure he could wait that long.

Kirk lamented, as he always did, in a somewhat logical way, that if even a handful of humans had survived the great plague, this would be so much easier. But, as it was they had made great progress towards the “Re-Genesis”. One day, all the various humanoid hybrids, half-breeds, bots, and even old styles (robots), would eagerly welcome the true human species back into the mix. At least the new “Alpha” series humans, which were as close to a perfect rendition as possible. What a glorious day that would be.

Kirk stood up, stretched his tired arms and legs and decided to go for a walk. It occurred to him that David and TJ may have some questions.

"In calling AI an empirical science, we presuppose regularities in intelligent behavior of people and computers that can be discovered by observation & experimentation."

-Bruce Buchanan
(President of American Association for Artificial Intelligence AAAI)