Upload

by Chris Gladstone

  "Don't worry, Kiera. You won't be involved in anything to do with this particular line."

  "So because I'm not involved, I'm just supposed to ignore it am I?" Kiera frowned.

  "As I said, sex androids are already being made, but ours are far more sophisticated. We cater for the upper end of the market. They fulfil a need. I'm sure you would agree that it's better than real women having to work as prostitutes. It's certainly healthier. I'm sorry if I've shocked you." He turned to Luke. "Have you recovered now?"

  Luke's face took on a sheepish expression, but his eyes were alert and he had lost the stupid grin. He glanced at Kiera. "I'm fine, but it was a bit of an experience. Whatever you are using—it's super strong, I mean I felt like…umm…perhaps I'd better not go into details." He brushed a strand of red hair out of his eyes and concentrated on the floor as his face flushed bright red.

  "All right," Williamson said, "Let's move on."

  "Do you make other androids here as well as prototypes?" Kiera asked, changing the subject completely, aware he had evaded answering her question.

  "Only prototypes, we buy in the basic chassis for the majority of our work unless we're doing a complete redesign. Once we have perfected the entire unit, assembly is contracted out to companies like Androids-R-Us and Classicbots."

  "I thought you had your own company." Kiera raised her eyebrows.

  "Sentioids Inc. is ours, but we supply prototype models to the other two companies as well. The market is highly competitive, and it is imperative that we maintain our leading edge. Our androids are top of the range and our standards are high. I work my people hard, but I'm sure you are aware the salary reflects that. Fooling around and time wasting will not be tolerated. Excuse me one moment."

  With the lecture finished, he strode over to the flustered worker still hovering around the Asian android. "I will deal with you later, Carlson," he hissed, before marching off.

  Luke raised his eyebrows, but Kiera ignored him. She turned and hastened to catch Williamson, who was now standing by the airlock motioning impatiently.

  They finished the tour by going into VR in a dedicated presentation lounge. It reminded Kiera of the VR tour into the innards of the Large Hadron Collider Mark Four that she'd seen during her course at UWA.

  She and Luke virtualed through 3-D printers and arrays of robots performing tasks at impossible speeds. The presentation included a VR journey into the sealed plants housing nano-bots manufacturing Quantum chips.

  The tour complete, Luke and Kiera were ushered into Williamson's office where they were presented with their contracts and confidentiality agreements. Kiera sat and read hers before signing.

  Luke gave the documents a cursory glance before scrawling a flamboyant signature at the bottom of each.

  Once Kiera had finished signing hers, Williamson escorted them to security for their iris scans and voice code templates. After the formalities were taken care of, he showed them to their offices. Thankfully, they were some distance down the passage from Williamson's and next door to one another.

  "Here are the electronic keys." He handed them to Luke. "They're only temporary; your security passes will be ready in a few days. You will need to swipe them over the entry pad and say your name to open your door. The same goes for the building's entrance, except once you're inside you'll need to do an iris scan to be admitted to the building proper. The keys must be returned to the Greetbot, it retains them in case of an emergency." Williamson stepped back. "I'll leave you to settle in. I think you'll find that your needs have been adequately provided for, but if there's anything else you require please let me know. I'll be back in half an hour to take you to morning tea."

  "See you in half an hour," Luke said.

  Once Williamson had disappeared into his office, Luke, dangled a key from each hand. "Which hand would you like Kiera?"

  She stared into his blue eyes. "Tell me, what did it feel like?"

  Luke's face flushed. He focused on the floor and mumbled, "I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind."

  "Okay, I'll take the left one." She could see she'd made him uncomfortable.

  As an expression of relief tracked across his face, he sighed and handed her the key. "Let's see what we've got to play with." He inspected the tag, stepped over to the appropriate door, and pressed the button on the remote key. With a faint click the door unlocked. Luke turned the handle and pushed it open. His expression transformed into awe. "Great Universe! I'm impressed."

  Kiera peered inside. "My God, this is absolutely zinging! I never expected anything as sophisticated as this. It's state-of-the-art." She stood transfixed. She imagined someone as high profile as Williamson would never tolerate substandard equipment; he probably updated it every other month.

  Luke, like her, stood gaping at the array of technology spread out in front of him. The desk held an embedded touch screen. As Luke ventured in, a gallery of motion sensing screens, located on the wall opposite the desk, illuminated. He dumped his bag onto the luxurious beige carpet and gazed around.

  Kiera smiled to herself as she watched him. He radiated wild enthusiasm like a child let loose in a toyshop just before Christmas. She found it intoxicating.

  "Great Universe!" Luke sat down and began swinging the chair from side to side with his legs. "It's like—" he hesitated, groping for words, "It's like everything I've ever wanted." He jumped up. "Let's have a look at your room, Kiera." In his rush he almost bumped into her as she turned to go out the door.

  Kiera's office appeared identical to Luke's, apart from her chair. It glowed a bright cherry red. "I didn't have anything nearly as flash as this at any of my previous jobs," Kiera said, enjoying the sensation of running her hands over the plush velvet chair.

  "I didn't either." Luke slipped out her door adding, "The red chair suits you."

  "Your chair matches your shirt," Kiera called after him.

  "So it does," Luke called back before she heard him shut his door.

  Half an hour later, they were seated at an oval, stainless steel table in the tea room along with Williamson and several other staff members. Superficially, the tech staff seemed friendly enough. But Kiera noticed they all had a kind of reserved defensiveness about them.

  She regarded the bare white walls and suppressed a shiver. Everywhere, apart from her room, felt cold, and the place had a colourless, clinical atmosphere. Even in here, no effort had been made to make the place friendly. Perhaps that was the idea so people wouldn't linger too long. Maybe it reflected Williamson's attitude; the staff appeared to be frightened of him for some reason. Well, he's not going to frighten me.

  Luke, draped comfortably in a chair, appeared to be engaged in an intense discussion with a blonde thirty-something who had chosen to sit next to him before Kiera had had the chance.

  Williamson, seated immediately opposite, looked up from his coffee. He fixed his dark, mysterious stare on her, and to her surprise reached across and placed his hand over hers.

  "I hope you'll be happy here. If there's anything you need please don't hesitate to ask."

  His hand lingered, so Kiera extracted hers and placed it on her lap. She glanced at Luke. He gave her a quizzical look before he turned back to the blonde, who was clearly engaged in a monologue. Kiera picked up her cup and gulped down the remains of her tea. She excused herself, stood up and bolted.

   Chapter 4

  "Sorry Melanie, I've got to go. Nice to meet you." Luke ignored the disappointed look and hurried out of the tea room. He jogged to catch up with Kiera. They walked side by side back towards their offices. The tea room, handily located, lay around the corner and a little way down another long hallway. Because it was staffed by androids, they could eat or drink at any hour of the day or night.

  "Was Williamson coming on to you?" Luke became aware of his clenched fists. A familiar feeling began to rise from the pit of his stomach. He wouldn't, no, he couldn't just ignore it. He couldn't let it happen again.

  "I'm not sure."
Kiera screwed up her face. "But I'll let it go for now. If it happens again, I'll deal with it."

  He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. "Is that wise? I mean shouldn't you…"

  Kiera cut in before he could finish. "It could have been innocent. I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, for the time being." They came to a halt and Kiera stepped back, out of his reach.

  Luke let his hand fall, uncertain of what to do next.

  Kiera glared at him. "Look, I'm quite capable of dealing with it. You don't need to wade in for me, Luke. I can look after myself, and I don't want to get you into trouble."

  "I can handle it." Luke flipped a strand of hair out of his eyes. "I just wanted you to know that you have backup. Okay?" And he added silently, sometimes you need other people to take a stand. His heart thumped in his ears, and his chest had tightened making it difficult to breathe. They walked on in silence until they came to a standstill outside her door.

  "I just wanted…" Luke tried again.

  "I will deal with it if, and when I need to," Kiera's voice rose. "I don't need you to be a bloody White Knight." She took out her key and opened her door. Once inside, she slammed it hard, leaving him standing alone in the hallway. Shocked, he just stood there trying to collect his thoughts. With a mental effort, he unclenched his fists and took a series of deep breaths, the way he'd been taught. After several minutes his breathing became relatively normal. He went over to his door.

  What had made Kiera so angry? He unlocked his door and stepped inside. Well, I'm off to a great start on all counts. I've made a bad impression on the boss, almost abandoned myself to an android in front of everyone, and now I appear to have trodden on Kiera's toes. Zark! Oh well, let's see if I can stuff up my toys for good measure.

  Late in the afternoon he heard Kiera's door close. Zark! He had wanted to catch her before she went home. He'd worked well past knockoff time. He'd gone into a time-warp and lost himself in programs and manuals. Oh well, it was his first day in a new job after all.

  He'd try and make good with Kiera tomorrow, he promised himself, as he closed down and logged off. He stood up and stretched stiffness out of his arms and legs. Too much time spent poring over screens. He needed to take better care of himself––to take more breaks.

  #

  The next morning, when he came around the corner, Luke spotted Kiera turning away from his door. She must have decided to come in early as well. He waved and quickened his pace. To his relief, she waved back and smiled.

  "Hi Kiera." He flashed her a smile. "I was hoping to catch you before you started work. I'm sorry if I upset you yesterday." I hope I look suitably remorseful. He held his breath momentarily.

  "That's okay." Kiera's expression became apologetic. "I overreacted. Sometimes anger just gets the better of me, but I wasn't angry at you."

  "That's a relief. I was beginning to think I'd pissed off everybody on my first day."

  "It would take more than that to piss me off." She touched his arm.

  "I'll see you at teatime, then?" Luke opened his door.

  "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to talk with the blonde?"

  "Melanie? Great Universe! Please spare me from that again." He held his hands up to his chest, feigned distress and pretended to pray.

  "See you later," Kiera said, laughing.

  Chapter 5

  Three weeks later, Luke and Kiera were sitting together in the tea room.

  Oh God, Melanie was ogling Luke again, in spite of the fact he had ignored her since that first day. Mind you, she enjoyed watching him too. Kiera focused back on Luke. He was hoeing into a sugared doughnut.

  "You look like you're really enjoying that."

  "Doughnuts are one of my weaknesses." Luke wiped the sugar from around his mouth. "They're really good, why don't you have one?

  Kiera smiled to herself. "I never eat between meals."

  "Is that discipline, or don't you get hungry?" Luke loaded three teaspoons of sugar into his coffee.

  "Discipline, otherwise I'd be the size of a house." She giggled.

  "I'm not coming to your place, I'd probably starve to death." Luke stirred his coffee vigorously, managing to slop it onto the table.

  Kiera grabbed a serviette and began mopping up the spill. "Who says I'm going to invite you?" Their daily tea room banter had become an established ritual between the two of them. She enjoyed it immensely and looked forward to it.

  "I'm working on it, but maybe I'll BYO my own food." He pushed his chair out and stood up.

  She watched, as he helped himself to another doughnut. She caught his eye and shook her head, but Luke simply shrugged. He scanned the doughnut's barcode, tagged his wrist chip and started back to her. But before he could sit down again, Williamson slid into Luke's seat and pushed his cup aside.

  Kiera bristled as Williamson leaned over.

  "Kiera, I'm glad I caught you. I want you to come to my office after you've finished your tea. There's something I need to discuss with you."

  As she moved her chair away from him, Luke sat down on the other side of Williamson. Judging by the angry expression on his face, she knew he'd overheard what Williamson had said. Oh God, I hope he's not going to create a scene.

  "I've just organised a discussion with Kiera, after tea," Luke said, as he brushed hair out of his eyes and fixed Williamson with a solemn look.

  "No, you haven't. Your discussion can wait, Luke. I need to talk to Kiera, now." Williamson's tone dripped with malice.

  Williamson had his back to her, so Kiera gave Luke a warning shake of her head and said, "It's okay, Luke. We can talk later."

  Luke stuffed the remains of the doughnut into his mouth, guzzled down the rest of his coffee and stood up so abruptly his chair nearly toppled. Without a word he stalked off.

  "How rude," Williamson commented.

  Kiera gulped the rest of her tea and got up.

  Williamson jumped to his feet and rushed to usher her to the door. She tensed when he placed his hand on her back to guide her through.

  When they reached his office, he held the door open for her and indicated the chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit down, Kiera."

  "I prefer to stand, thank you."

  Williamson sat down and locked eyes with her.

  She stepped forward and placed both hands on his desk. "Please don't treat me like a child." A flicker of fury flashed across Williamson's face––one blink and she'd have missed it. A nanosecond later, his face transformed into a mask of contrition. "I think we should treat one another with mutual respect. I found it humiliating to be ordered around in front of other staff, and there was no need to be rude to Luke. She deliberately put her hands on her hips.

  Williamson's mouth opened, but Kiera put her hands up to head him off. "Please let me finish. I think it's in both our interests to keep our relationship professional." She paused, and dropped her hands. "Otherwise, I'll be forced to resign." She became aware of her own heavy breathing, and she could feel herself trembling.

  Williamson stood up and opened his arms wide. With a shocked look, he said, "Kiera, Kiera. I can assure you I have nothing but respect for you. I'm sorry if you thought otherwise. I was just trying to create a friendly atmosphere. You are a brilliant young lady and a joy to work with." His face radiated contriteness. "Please accept my sincere apologies." He placed his hands, palms together, in the centre of his chest and gave a slight bow. "Please, let's sit down and chat about your future."

  Kiera sucked in a deep breath. Why did she get the feeling this was all a ruse? Calm down, Kiera. Calm down. With effort, she managed to slow her breathing.

  "All right, I accept your apology, but please, don't touch me again."

  "You have my word. Now, can we get down to business? I have something important to discuss with you. Please," he said, indicating the chair again.

  Kiera sat. She clasped her hands and attempted to look composed. Her breathing had almost returned to normal.

  "I've
had a chance to observe your work and I'm impressed. I'd like to offer you your own project. I feel you would do a superior job to Luke." Williamson held up his hands with his palms out. "Now, because I don't want any feeling of competition or jealousy to arise between you two, our discussion has to remain secret. We wouldn't want Luke to know your work is of a higher standard than his, would we?" He put his hands on the desk and surveyed her with gleaming eyes.

  Kiera worked hard to remain stony-faced. Inside, her mind whirled like a dust storm on Mars, as she wondered what he was going to say next. She waited in silence.

  "So, what I'm going to share with you now remains our secret. I need your assurance you won't discuss it with anyone."

  "Absolutely," Kiera said, holding her face in a mask of seriousness.

  "My current focus, Kiera, centres on developing a program to enable the uploading of the human consciousness into a computer. The ultimate goal, of course, is to upload consciousness into an android."

  Kiera sat stunned. It was so unexpected, revolutionary and exciting. Oh my God, and he was going to ask her to be involved? "Wow, I had no idea."

  Williamson smiled. "Now you know my secret, your discretion is of the upmost importance."

  "I understand."

  "Good." He leant back in his chair. "My engineers and tech people are well advanced with the design of a specialised machine to carry out the physical task. Basically, it incorporates a designed-for-purpose computer along with the physical apparatus necessary."

  "So, how would I be involved?" She only barely managed to contain herself. Any minute now, she'd float to the ceiling and bob around like a helium balloon.

  "We are having some difficulty with the algorithms, and I think involving you in the project would perhaps give us some fresh insight and new ideas." He paused. "So, Kiera, are you interested?"

  Interested? Good God. He was talking about accomplishing the Holy Grail. She was just about bouncing to the moon and back. She cleared her throat. "Yes, I would consider it a privilege."