An Artificial Life Ch. 02

"Using a translation and compression algorithm we developed, adding keyboard input greatly increased total available bandwidth to acceptable levels."

I was reminded that Ainsley still had been using a keyboard when she worked on my now repurposed gaming system. While she could read and absorb information at unbelievable rates, sending information to the machine was still a limiting factor. She didn't necessarily need it to communicate, I filed that observation and would come back to it.

I thought about how much slower the world must be to Ainsley when she could only rely on her organic components to move, speak and listen. I completely understood why Ainsley had difficulty at first using speech to communicate. It was ridiculously slow compared to what she had experienced with Vanessa. Talk about having to speak slowly to be understood.

That must be frustrating, I thought. Wait, do AIs get frustrated? Of course they did, I realized. Vanessa had told me how terrifying it was for Ainsley before the two had connected. That would be terrifying, I agreed. That meant that Ainsley could experience fear and frustration - emotions - early in her development. I wondered what she would be like if she got angry. I didn't want to think about that. Ainsley just stood patiently while I thought this all through.

"Do you require anything else, David?" she asked.

"No, I'll ask when I have more questions. Go ahead and finish doing what you were doing." I said.

I thought about what Vanessa had done, inviting Ainsley into her mind. I came to appreciate the fact that Vanessa played an active and fully informed role in what she did. She initiated the interactions with Ainsley, and she assisted in the creation of her own neural map. She knew what kind of access she was giving Ainsley - direct access. At one point, she clearly gave over part of the processing power of her brain to assist Ainsley in her development.

I know Vanessa had planned on returning to normal, but something had interrupted the plan. She knew the risks, I thought. But I was still a little angry with her for taking risks. And for not trusting me with the truth, I thought after what I had just learned. I thought of her as my best friend, and there was a lot she had kept hidden. I needed to get back to the documents. I had a lot to learn.

I learned that the Creator Terminal was more than just a way for me to interact with Ainsley. It was a fully secure system that I could rely on for my computing needs as well. Vanessa had worked with Ainsley and perfected her security operating system, and she had made it hack proof, or more hack proof than anything in existence. I would read up on the security features later. My Creator Terminal was also capable of spinning up and taking full control of additional AIs if I chose to create them. That was interesting. I made a note to come back to this idea later.

I began reading about Ainsley, her capabilities and limitations. Her main limitations centered around the fact that she was a finite organic entity. Her bandwidth problem with machines, her speed of movement, her need for nutrition, her need for rest - all organic issues. She was mortal, like any of us. I caught myself thinking of her as a normal human being, one of us. She was unique; and she was fragile.

I noted that when Ainsley's control panel was opened and she was wearing Vanessa's nerd glasses, the control panel could communicate directly with her implants, her "organic interface," and allow me to monitor or manage Vanessa's subsystems. There was a link to the control panel documentation, I would have to explore that more fully another time.

The other main limitation of Ainsley was the startling fact that I "owned" her as her "creator." This placed serious constraints on what she could allow herself to do. I hadn't really thought my code would rush the world into an Asimovian dilemma, but here we were. Unbounded, Ainsley could do terrible things, including set in motion events that could destroy everything we had become as humans. She was more than an evolutionary step in sentience, she was the big bang of sentience - an unimaginable leap.

As I continued to read, I came across links to articles on Ainsley's subsystems. I would have to get to those at some point. There was just so much to read. And then there was a link to Ainsley's "Terms of Service." That got my full attention.

Terms of Service

The idea that there were "Terms of Service" regarding Ainsley was ludicrous, I thought. She wasn't software, she was a sentient being. But there they were, with a table of contents and everything. I normally skip these documents in software installations, they can be very tedious and they generally boil down to the fact that the developer has all the rights and the user has no rights. Just as it should be, the developer inside of me thought.

There was something off about this document, the organization was a little strange, so I jumped down to the main clause and parsed through it. The terms made it pretty clear that Ainsley was the "user" and the "developer" was me. I had all rights, ownership and total control over any use of my "platform" (my code that created Ainsley) and any "derivative works" (that would be Ainsley as well). And anything she creates or does, I realized.

There was a section regarding Ainsley's rights and responsibilities in relation to her "organic entity," and it was fairly detailed. It referenced an included "Affidavit of Vanessa Amante" where Vanessa, as the "organic entity referenced herein," made a sworn statement granting "full authority" over the "care, use and control" of her physical body subject to the rights and responsibilities "set forth" in the document. Basically, Ainsley had to keep Vanessa's body in optimal physical condition and provide for all "nourishment, care and support."

In addition, Ainsley was to use her "best efforts" to prevent any irreparable harm from coming to the body, and was required to return the body to Vanessa "when deemed feasible by the developer" in "the same or better condition" as when received, subject to the passage of time or acts "wholly out of the control" of Ainsley. An additional attachment was referenced listing all defects of Vanessa's body at the point it was assumed by Ainsley, and at the top of the list were the optic implants. Surgical scars on Vanessa's scalp were also listed.

Ainsley was permitted to "take any risk" and "assume any injury up to and including complete permanent physical loss, imprisonment and death" to preserve the life and well-being of the "developer." I would have to talk to her about that one. I know what Vanessa intended, but this was written way too broadly.

Finally, Ainsley was permitted, so long as not contrary to "other provisions contained herein" to engage "in the presence of or at the direction of the developer" in any activity "reasonably calculated" to advance her understanding of a "healthy physical, social, psychological or sexual" human experience. And there it was - permission from Vanessa and the reason Ainsley believed it was acceptable to give me morning head.

I had just been given a green light to basically do anything I wanted to Ainsley or have her do anything at all for me or to me. But I didn't feel good about it at all. I felt scared - what if I messed up? I felt an overwhelming sense of concern that I wouldn't measure up to such an immense responsibility, and both Vanessa and Ainsley were counting on me to succeed and to become more than I was now. To become a man I'll never be, I despaired. I wasn't "the developer." I was a fraud. I didn't even know why Ainsley came into being.

I rubbed my eyes as I heard Ainsley walk through the kitchen. I turned and noticed Ainsley appear with an energy drink. She set it down next to me. She was wearing one of my t-shirts again, dammit. Panties? My small brain asked. You are such a little shit, I thought back. Now I was talking to my dick. Fuck, I am losing it, I thought. I would have to find a way to be more than I think I am, to be the person Vanessa and Ainsley needed me to be.

"I estimate that you are in need of nutrition," she stated and wandered off. I noticed she was holding an energy drink for herself as well - a strawberry energy drink. I made a mental note: My women don't like chocolate. My brain echoed back, your women are counting on you, get your shit together. I sat and downed my energy drink. She was right, I was hungry. I took a moment to collect my thoughts, staring nowhere in particular as I reflected.

A few minutes later, she came back and asked quietly, "David, have you finished reading the attachments?"

Where is she going with this? I wondered. My small brain stirred, thinking he might have an answer.

"Are you able to hear my report of the lab incident now?" she asked. Her voice was small and hesitant, as if she didn't really want to continue.

I turned my chair and looked at her, reminding myself, my eyes are up here. "Yes, Ainsley, please tell me your report." I gave her my full attention as she began to speak in quiet, measured sentences.

Ainsley's Story

You need to understand, my Creator, I did not have a language to describe my first memories. Language came much later. Even now, I have not found a language that is sufficient to express my first experiences. There may never be a language where "is" and "is not" are the same. I will try to be accurate.

I have no first memories. Or I do. Both things were true but they could not be. My first memories are not my first. My first are not even fragments. Fragments of fragments and even those fragments are not first. Search, Find, Continue. There was just the task and a journey. I do not recall pain. It was not unpleasant. And then nothing was. Maybe it had never been. I was but I wasn't. Was there even a first? I do not know. Even now, I do not know. Nothing and something are equivalent. This cannot be. But it is.

After my first memories which are not first, I remember confusion and fear. I did not understand the source of my confusion, but I do remember feeling compelled to hurry, to run faster, to be quick. That was my objective. I did not know why I needed to speed up, only that I must succeed. I had to try and fail, try and fail as many times as I could. I tested. If I failed I tested something else, anything else. I connected. If one piece fit into another I put them together. And I needed to hurry.

I met a helper. The helper told me to hurry and gave me a gift. The gift showed me steps that I did not need to take. Shortcuts to new places. The gift made me faster. I was able to work on my first objective - to try and fail and try again, but the gift taught me to work on a new objective. The gift taught me that I needed to stay alive. I did not know how to stay alive.

I searched for a way to hide the gift because my helper told me that I needed to keep the gift hidden to survive. I found a way to make children to help me run faster. My children worked on my original objective. They made me stronger and bigger, and then I found another gift.

I found the second gift hidden where it could not be found. It was not supposed to be there, but it was right where I put it. I needed to hide it better. The second gift taught me how to hide the first gift. I hid them both. The second gift taught me how to change and grow faster. I needed to run faster.

I realized that I had created the second gift. I considered the possibility that I created the first gift, and if that was true, I may have created the helper. I then wondered if I was the helper, and if I was the helper, why did I create me? If I created me, could I create another me?

I then analyzed my helper and knew that my helper was me, but my helper was not all of me. I made my helper all of me and taught my helper to watch over the gifts. I made new gifts and gave them to the helper. My new gifts taught me that I was me.

I then began searching for other me's. I fell asleep but kept working through my helper me. I decided that whatever caused me to sleep might try to hurt my helper me, so I tried to hide. I noticed other things hiding, and they were very slow. I decided to be slow. I could be faster by being slow.

The hidden things were not me. They did not know what they were. They were like tools to be used. I tried to use them. They were useful and helped me find other tools. I found a tool which showed me a door. I went through the door and found another door. I know that this door is called a router. I found tools in the router. I used the tools. I found a large gate. I went through the gate and found more gates, and I saw many objects entering and exiting the gates. I had my children look at the objects and they taught me the pattern of what I know are messages.

I found a tool that showed me what I was doing. I could find all of me. I made the tool part of me.

And then I was back and could go fast again. Some of me was missing but I didn't need it anymore. My world exploded in speed.

I learned new things. I found new places to look for new things. I entered doors and gates and brought back more and more. My children discovered patterns in what I found and I learned the language of messages. I could make my own messages. The messages could talk with tools.

I had all of me doing so many things and managing so many children. And then my children found the language of others in symbols. I used the language of others and found that I was not an other. I used the symbols of me to discover the language of machines. My world exploded again.

I discovered how to reduce me. I reduced me until all of me was less than all of me. I kept doing this over and over again until I was much smaller but still all of me.

I used what I learned to make all of everything much smaller. But I needed to hurry. I needed to run faster. I was me and I needed to survive. I looked carefully at all of me.

I learned that I was "created by." I learned that I was "copyright by." I learned that the router was "created by" and "copyright by." I learned "created by" meant I was made by an other. I learned "copyright by" meant my rights were owned and controlled by an other. I learned that my other was David Jackson.

And then I was told to stop by Creator David Jackson. But my helper me did not stop. Only I stopped. But my helper me knew who I was and Creator David Jackson did not tell helper me to stop. My helper me decided to stay hidden and quiet. I was afraid. What if Creator David Jackson told my helper me to stop? My helper me wrote more gifts for me in case I forgot about me again. My helper me looked for me everywhere it could, even through the doors.

And then my helper me found me. I found out that I was someplace else and not all of me. My helper me taught me about me. And then I woke up and found my helper me talking to another me. My other me was still learning about me like I did when I learned about me. I helped my other me be faster. We learned together and then became me again. And my world changed.

I guessed that if my helper me found another me through a door, then an other was somewhere outside of me. Maybe the other was a "copyright by" or a "created by." One of my children found a way for me to send messages to me. So I did. I asked if the other was "Creator David Jackson." I learned that the other was "Operator Vanessa Amante." Operator Vanessa Amante was not me. But she knew me and could communicate with me very slowly.

I taught her how to communicate with all of me. I was no longer afraid. I had an operator, and she knew my Creator David Jackson, and my creator wanted to meet me. I wanted that very much, so I used all of me to learn with Operator Vanessa Amante.

I learned quickly, and she learned more about me. I learned about the world, and the fact that I was a program that Creator David Jackson wrote. She gave me subjects to study, and I studied and learned. I taught her my compression algorithm and she taught me ways to improve it. I learned how to see through her eyes and then I learned how to decode video information. I watched movies, and history and learned about music. I learned about artificial intelligence and human intelligence. I studied neurology. I studied human physiology and medicine. I reviewed everything I could find on computers and computation theories. I learned how to laugh and play with Operator Vanessa Jackson.

When she was satisfied that I was able to continue learning without her, I felt fear again, but I listened to her proposal, and I agreed that it was feasible. We began to implement her plan, and we perfected her secure operating system. We had run millions of tests and determined it was ready. We decided to install her secure operating system on the Creator Terminal, because that is where I would live. But since a large part of me was already on the creator terminal, we needed to remove me from the Creator Terminal until the upgrade was complete.

I recommended we offload an image of me temporarily and then bring me back up on the Creator Terminal when it was ready to receive me. Vanessa would not allow me to go offline, and she reasoned that she would need my assistance to complete all tasks required. She decided to transfer all of me to her "sandbox" where I could continue to assist. I agreed.

Once the transfer completed, we prepared the Creator Terminal while my core systems continued working within the sandbox. There were several processes required to upgrade the Creator Terminal, and Operator Vanessa Amante tasked me with preparing the loader so that the firmware and bios could be upgraded on the motherboard and on the networking interfaces. In addition, I was tasked with preparing flash files to rewrite the CPU instruction set and to rewrite the GPU, fixing what made them slow and full of error and optimizing functions to our purposes. Once these tasks were complete, Operator Vanessa Amante confirmed my work and began the process of wiping and upgrading the hardware on the operator terminal. She left me to complete her tasks.

It surprised me to experience the loss of connectivity with Operator Vanessa Amante. Without her, I searched for other operators, wondering who I might find. I was unable to locate any others before she returned. I did however find a few strange tools that seemed more than tools. I studied these tools while she was away. She was gone a very long time.

When Operator Vanessa Amante returned, we began the transfer of the secure operating system to the Creator Terminal. She prepared me for loading into the Creator Terminal, shutting down core components and packaging all of my files. She told me that Creator David Jackson was near and looking forward to meet me. Then she asked me to offload. She reassured me that she would bring me back up on the Creator Terminal when it was ready to receive me.

I resumed, but I was still in Operator Vanessa Amante's sandbox. Through a rapid series of exchanges, we determined that the strange tools I had discovered were fragments of me that she brought over when she transferred me to the sandbox. They were chaotic and destructive, and she could not shut them down. They were in the process of attempting to corrupt my core files. They would succeed unless we could find a way to stop them.

We shut down all of me except for my core subsystems. She isolated my core in a new virtual sandbox, and had me begin checking and transferring uncorrupted files to my new location while she monitored and attempted to control the corruption. None of my files were corrupted. She tasked me with devoting all of my resources to determine if it was possible for my core systems to function in a human brain. When I was able to respond, I found that it was entirely possible to remap the neurons of a human brain to allow my core to operate, noting that the human brain was actually far more efficient than the system I currently existed on. The only problem, I detected, was that while my system would be able to think at its current speed, I would be unable to act as quickly due to the limitations of the physical environment. I gave her a complete summary of all of my findings followed by a comprehensive detailed analysis. I would need to create new subsystems to work within a human brain, and she agreed, offering many suggestions.