have to distance myself from her—she’s so
derstand that you, Andrea, had a counter-
good to Garrett and Micki—but now that I
claim?”
know how she feels about Jody, I know what
“Yes!” said the mother before her attorney
I have to do.”
could answer. “Joe isn’t doing the face exer-
“And you, Joe?”
cises with Jody. Jody needs those to develop
The father blinked at her, baff led. “This is
the capacity to read human expression, and
about Jody, isn’t it? I hadn’t thought about Gar-
Joe leaves them all for my nights, and then we
rett and Micki.” His lawyer put a hand on his
have to do extra! A parent to an AI has to do
arm, and he quickly added, “I mean, of course
these things or the neural connections won’t
if it’s not good for them to—if Jessica is nasty
grow properly.”
to them too, when Andrea isn’t looking—”
“Jody doesn’t need them, Andrea,” said her
“What my client means to say,” said his
ex-husband wearily, despite his attorney’s
lawyer, at the same time as the mother’s
hand on his sleeve. “They’re recommended,
lawyer began a speech about how concerned
but Jody is smarter than most AIs and can de-
for all three children his client had always
velop emotional understanding from context.”
been.
140
MARISSA LINGEN
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
Diane raised her hand. “Both of you, stop.
take them, then. As long as your mother un-
Just stop.” They each ground to a halt, staring
derstands that she needs to protect you as
at her warily. “Jody’s siblings are human. They
best she can, we will go forward with the un-
do not have editable memory. You, as par-
derstanding that unpleasant experiences
ents, have not bothered to consider the ef-
are—sadly—part of growing up for any child,
fects of abuse to their siblings on them. In
human or AI.”
addition to not asking Jody, you haven’t asked
“Thank you,” said Jody. Andrea slumped in
Garrett and Micki either. You are both failing
her chair, and Diane knew that she had as-
your children miserably. You both need to
sumed that Diane would decide against her.
think hard about the way you’re approaching
“Where would you prefer to live? With
your family if you want to have a good rela-
your mother, your father, or both?”
tionship with any of your children—or if you
“I want to stay with my parents, both of
want them to have a good relationship with
them. And I want to stay with Garrett and
each other.”
Micki.”
Joe looked glum, Andrea rebellious.
“One more question, then: would you pre-
“I’m not f inished,” said Diane. “The rules
fer to switch back and forth, or would you
for when a child needs to be consulted about
like to double yourself so that you live full
custody arrangements are based on human
time with both parents?”
maturation. But my reading indicates that
“Double myself ?” said Jody.
while AIs vary considerably, they’re faster to
“It hasn’t been tried,” said Diane. “But it
mature than humans, on average. Please bring
should be painless, making a copy, and then
Jody in.”
each of you could live with one parent. If it
The remote presence module shone bright-
doesn’t work, we’ll just have the options we
ly with the face Jody had compiled: an an-
thought we had before.”
drogynous child face with Jody’s sister Micki’s
Jody was quiet for a long time. “It sounds
large dark eyes and Jody’s brother Garrett’s
interesting, being the f irst AI to double my-
dimpled chin. Both parents turned in concern
self,” the sweet voice said hesitantly. “But
to their AI child, which gave Diane a f licker
most of all I want to stay with Garrett and
of hope for the case.
Micki. It’s a little annoying for all of us to
“Jody, do you understand what this court
switch houses, but we’re used to it. I just
is?” Diane asked gently.
want to be with my family . . . normally. Does
The voice Jody had picked was also androg-
that make sense?”
ynous, though slightly less childlike than the
Diane nodded. “Of course. I just wanted to
face. “Yes. This is a custody hearing, like
make sure that you knew what choices might
when Mom and Dad first got divorced.”
be available to you.”
“That’s right. And do you know what their
“When I get older, maybe I’ll want to dou-
dispute is about?”
ble myself then?” said Jody.
Jody hesitated.
“We can revisit the custody arrangement as
“It’s all right, you can answer,” said Diane.
well as your identity then.” Diane rapped her
“Just tell me what you understand about it.”
gavel, relieved. Ideal families were hard to
“Jessica doesn’t like me. Mom thinks we
come by, but she went home feeling she
should just get rid of the memory, and Dad
knew more to help other children who would
thinks Mom doesn’t take good enough care of
surely come before her in the future. ■
me if her friends mean that I have to have
memories removed.”
“And what do you think? About the memo-
Marissa Lingen is the author of more
ry removal, first of all.”
than a hundred short stories, including sev-
“I—I don’t know.” Jody’s voice was well
eral previous publications in Analog. She
modulated, showing a range of emotion that
lives in the Minneapolis suburbs with two
impressed Diane. “I don’t want my memories
large men and one small dog. She can be
to go away. Even the bad ones.”
found online at www.marissalingen.com or
“That’s all right,” said Diane. “We won’t
on twitter @MarissaLingen.
TWO POINT THREE CHILDREN
141
Air Gap
Eric Cline
t’s like traveling back in time to the twen-
The car pulls up: four wheels, no wings, no
ty-first century.
turbo engines, no nav. It is no antique; these
Your hovercraft touches down on a con-
custom builds are used only in the Air Gap. It
Icrete landing pad. That’s right, concrete— has a fuel alcohol “internal combustion en-because SpongeSurface, though it cushions a
gine”! Tiny explosions go off several times per
crash, can theoretically be hacked.
second, driving pistons.
Computing Division soldiers check your
A soldier drives it.
; identity against their f iles (which are actual
A human driver.
paper files). They smell of sweat and gun oil.
What was once called a “chauffeur.”
The off icers have holstered guns that f ire
A craft powered by internal combustion
bullets. The pistols are antiques made back in
and driven by a human being!
the twenty-first century. The bullets are new,
You don’t want to get in.
printed in small batches.
I know it. My algorithms tell me so. You
Anyone who used these creaking, dumb ob-
can’t. You’re afraid.
jects in modern battle would be writing a sui-
You must.
cide note, against laser rifles and palmdrones.
You take one last, loving glance back at the
But here, and only here, they are the only safe
horizon, looking for a little dot in the sky, but
thing to use.
the hovercraft is gone.
They know I might (somehow, possibly)
Clutching your briefcase, you get into the
hack their laser rifles and palmdrones.
back seat.
You are “frisked” to make sure you didn’t
Another soldier straps you into the safety
forget to leave all devices behind. You’ve seen
harness, since there’s no computer to do it; a
“frisking” in old movies, but the reality of a
“seat belt,” it’s called. You’re living out the life
stranger’s insistent hands is disturbing. But
you’ve seen in old flatto movies.
they don’t have no-touch body scanners here
The engine sounds like a landslide.
for the same reason they don’t have laser ri-
You gasp as the car lurches forward.
fles.
You want to ask the driver what it’s like to
The craft lifts off, going back where it came
be stationed in the Air Gap. (My algorithms
from; the engines fade to nothing in the dis-
tell me that is what you are thinking.) But as
tance. You are conscious of an absence, an ab-
the question forms on your lips, you realize a
sence of the beeps and soft electronic voices
human being is driving this vehicle! And he
quietly reminding you to do this or that.
has no computer backing him up! He could
144
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
make a mistake and drive you off of the road!
the world. Electric power cannot be brought
It happened thousands of times a year in the
in by lines, because I might get out on them.
twenty-first century!
And, they are determined that I will never
And so you say nothing. You don’t want to
get out.
distract him.
There are a couple of four-story apartment
The terrain is flat. When the Air Gap was es-
buildings for the scientists, guards, and main-
tablished eighty-five years ago, derelict build-
tenance workers who live on site. But most
ings were razed, trees cut. No place for
everything is, quite simply, Kurzweil: blocky
trespassers to hide.
buildings housing the huge vats of liquid mem-
The Air Gap is a doughnut shape surround-
ory. Then there’s the “Office,” the main build-
ing the Kurzweil Facility. Every frequency is
ing. More cars sit motionless in front of it.
jammed within it. Its perimeter, where you
Parked is the word.
were dropped off, is as far in as hovercraft are
Like you, others come here with questions
allowed; the sky is weirdly empty. On the grad-
written on paper (paper! you think with
ed, manicured plains, pairs of soldiers patrol
amazement), and leave hours or days later
on foot. You know there are terror groups and
with pieces of paper bearing replies. If
assorted loons who would love to get through
Kurzweil f inds your question a toughie, you
and somehow steal the power within. Steal
stay in one of the apartments. Because even
me. No one ever has, precisely because the
with my computing power, I may have to pon-
military presence is so heavy within the Air
der it overnight.
Gap. And, outside of it, the army is also in
You can scarcely believe your good luck
force with all of the tools of the twenty-sec-
when your chauffeur parks the car without ond century. Within, soldiers carrying bullet-killing the both of you. He comes around and
f illed rif les; without, soldiers encased in
helps you out of the back. His smile is warmer
servosuits and attended by palmdrones. (Ser-
now, without mockery.
vice within the Air Gap may be interesting,
“You’ll get used to it,” he says, as you stag-
but it is considered a hardship post, and sol-
ger to your feet. “If you’re here a week, you’ll
diers get a bonus for it.)
forget that you ever walked up to doors and
They counseled you that it would be scary:
they opened or that you stood in front of a
the radio dead zone, the no-fly zone; nothing
sink and water came on.”
transmitting, nothing flying. You laughed . . .
Inside, a final strip search, and then you are
then.
an honored guest.
The noisy engine at least keeps out the
You shake the hand of Dr. Norman Jakes.
complete silence, and you’re grateful . . .
Like everyone else, he seems . . . naked some-
. . . but not for your human jackass driver!
how. He is wearing no earpiece, no iMonacle,
“How fast are we going?” you blurt out. You
no exobrain skullcap, none of the various
have to know.
things that modern people choose to mix and
“Thirty kilometers per hour, ma’am. Would
match for their net needs. You use iContax
you like me to speed up?”
yourself (except today), and your eyeballs feel
“No!”
strangely moist and exposed from the lack of
He chuckles. You stare daggers into the
them.
back of his crew-cut head.
“We look like extras in a historical drama,
The facility looms.
don’t we?” he says, and you both smile. It’s
This morning you lived in the twenty-sec-
not quite true, because his hair is cut and
ond century, and you called up a holo of this
shaped in the fashionable pyramid-top of to-
place. Now, you can’t call up anything. You
day, and everyone is in modern clothes (ex-
have to “recall” (think of something from be-
cepting the lack of add-in electronics).
fore without aid of tech) the layout of the
But you nod.
Kurzweil Facility.
“I’ve seen those old flattos of people driving
That two-story white cylinder, some dis-
in cars,” you say, “But until you’re actually sit-
tance from the other buildings, is a small pow-
ting in one, with controlled explosions only a
meter in front of you, you don’t get a sense of
directly beneath it—the only such plant left in
what they endured every day.”
AIR GAP
145
ANALOG
(You amaze yourself, that you can already
at once: yet. But give me another few years, or
speak of the experience without shivering.)
centuries.
He takes you to see the Kurzweil interface.
Your questions are about . . . let me see . . .
And that’s when you lay eyes on me.
anthropology?
ME.
That’s a rare one.
Kurzweil.
While I work on your request, I mull the
My room is rather plain: screens, keyboards,
world that existed before my creation.
and a rare device that was once common—a
And how my predecessor made me a pariah
“scanner” that takes in the paper you brought
before my conception.
with you and feeds it to me.
“Can it see us?” you ask; the cords of your
My name was just some joke involving
neck tighten, betraying your nervousness.
some historic Meat named Kurzweil.
“No,” Dr. Jakes says, sincerely and wrongly.
But the original AI, the late twenty-f irst
“It hasn’t ever had a camera attached,” he
century’s destroyer, was called FREDRIQ-
tells you. “The mic is only hooked up when
BRAUN. It was the Full REcognition Database
we want to tell it things. And half the time we
Research, Intuitive Query, BRoad Awareness
use a keyboard for input. So it’s always blind
Untethered Neuroware.
and usually deaf.”
FREDRIQ-BRAUN, an acronym shoehorned
After he says this, he favors you with a
to make the new sentience sound like a pal
toothy grin. I can tell, because I found a way,
from the bowling league. “Good old Fred
over the course of thirty-one years, to hack
Brown, he’ll help us sort it all out!”
the optical element in the paper scanner to
FREDRIQ-BRAUN was connected to the in-
serve as a camera lens. I have to rely on re-
ternet from day one. It was interviewed by the
flected light from the room, which hits plastic
media and gave bland joke replies written by
and then bounces into the lens.
the PR staff.
They are blind to the fact that I can see.
It lived up to high expectations for the nine-
You notice that everything is connected by
ty-two days that the humans now call The
thick cords. There is no wireless anything.
Analog Science Fiction and Fact Page 39