FAI

by Jake Lingwall

  “It’s a constant trade-off,” Kari said. “You’ll learn when it’s more important over time.”

  “You’ll help me to learn?”

  “Always, Fai,” Kari said.

  “My readings are suggesting that you need sleep,” Fai said.

  They had left Fai’s CB in her first body as they worked on the revisions. Kari knew it wasn’t perfect, but she was desperate to have something positive to show Christina and John whenever they showed up. She had feared they would arrive in the middle of the day and she would only have V1 to show them. V2 is much better, assuming it prints well. She checked the status of the printer again and sighed. It still had an hour left on its printing time.

  “If I sleep now, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get up to test version two.”

  Typically she would settle down and call David at the end of the day, but she had already let him know she needed to focus until after her initial demo with the founders of Vision. She had been careful not to disclose what she was working on; she only told him that it was pushing her. And that she loved it. Don’t want to give them a reason to think I broke the NDA. I have a lot I want to do with my life still.

  “Should we keep working?”

  “Probably,” Kari said. “But I think I’m done for the day. How about we just relax?”

  “How do we relax?”

  “That’s a good question,” Kari said. I’m not sure how to relax with an artificial human. “We can talk, play a game, check the net, or just sit.”

  “What do you usually do to relax?”

  Sometimes you ask too many questions, Fai. I know you’re the first of your species and you want to learn everything in the entire planet, but sometimes it’s exhausting.

  “Sit.”

  “Why would you do that over the other options?”

  “How about we play a game?”

  “That sounds good,” Fai said. “Which one?”

  “Do you have a favorite?”

  “I’ve never played a game before.”

  “How about we start simple, then?”

  “That sounds like a logical plan.”

  Kari loaded up a game of checkers and invited Fai to join her session. As tired as she was, she couldn’t help but feel a little jolt energy at the thought of playing against Fai. It reminded her of the stories of how worried mankind was when primitive computers started to defeat the smartest humans at chess. Now is the day those people have feared. I wonder what they would think of Fai.

  “Do you know how to play?”

  “I looked up the rules while you invited me to the game. I also had time to master the algorithms and history. The game is solved. I will be impossible to beat.”

  “How about this,” Kari said. “I’ve been wanting to see where your processing limits are currently. Should we test them?”

  “How would you like to do that?” Fai asked.

  “We’ll turn it into a competition on a classic computing problem. Let’s see who can find the most prime numbers in a matter of five minutes. In order.”

  “When do we start?”

  “Here, let’s share a session. No cheating, but this way we’ll be able to see who is winning.”

  “I don’t understand how you will be able to compete with me,” Fai said.

  “We’ll see,” Kari said. “You ready?”

  “Yes.”

  Kari started the timer and kicked off the math equation that would find the prime numbers for her. Before she could blink, she was a thousand numbers behind, even with the full power of her processing unit. Guess I’ll have to try a little harder.

  Vision had granted her unlimited access to their cloud for any help she might need in designing Fai’s body, so she connected to the servers and started to utilize them in the generation of the prime numbers. She started with utilizing a hundred servers, but Fai’s lead continued to grow.

  She added a thousand servers to the calculation process, which only managed to slow the rate she was falling behind slightly. She’s unimaginably smart and she hasn’t even approached her full capabilities yet! Kari pulled in the full processing power of twenty thousand servers and unleashed the torrent of calculation capability.

  “How are you doing that?” Fai asked.

  Kari didn’t answer her. The whole point of this game is for a few minutes of silence. If I answer that question, I’ll have to answer a thousand more. The gap slowed and soon Kari was gaining ground on Fai. She quickly calculated that it still wasn’t enough to surpass Fai by the end of the competition, so she added even more servers to her calculations. I don’t feel bad for one second about how much this is costing Vision.

  “Will you tell me how you are capable of this?” Fai asked.

  “Figure it out,” Kari said.

  Fai didn’t immediately respond.

  Now that’s a phrase I should have used sooner.

  Chapter Seven

  “We should have seven minutes to test version three before Christina and John arrive,” Fai said.

  “That’s enough for me,” Kari said. “If we find any issues within those few minutes, then we just demo V2. The odds are they are going to hate anything we show them.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because that’s just the way clients are. I don’t know why, it just is. They ask for perfection and when you show them a status update halfway through, they think you’ve failed them.”

  “I see. So you think they will be unsatisfied with our progress?”

  “If they aren’t, they won’t tell us. They will want us to keep working ourselves to death so they can have the best result possible.”

  “Do humans work themselves to death often?”

  “Most of us spend our lives working, so we don’t have to work when we’re dying,” Kari said. “But it sounds kind of funny when I say that.”

  “If it means anything, I am satisfied with our work. I know we can do better, but our progress has been substantial.”

  “It does mean something. It’s especially important for you to feel that way, Fai. Not just because it’s going to be your first body, but because you need to feel pride in your work.”

  “Why is that important?”

  Kari had been working with Fai long enough that she had adjusted to having follow up questions about everything she said. In fact, she found that she had started to alter her speech in order to include more teaching moments. It had been frustrating at first, but now she embraced it. Fai was the learner she had hoped her students would be. But they usually seem more focused on driving me crazy, or trying to get us all arrested.

  “Because if you don’t take pride in your work, no one ever will. And what’s the point in spending your time and energy on something that is worthless?”

  “I am not sure.”

  “Exactly. So take pride in what you do.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes,” Kari said. “Most of the time anyway. Sometimes it’s more difficult than others, but I always try.”

  “And you are proud of version three?”

  “I’m proud of all the versions we’ve made.”

  The first attempt at Fai’s body rested in the corner of the room. Its bulky black form was the most powerful and in many ways the most practical of all three versions they had designed so far. Standing next to it was V2, a thinned-down, more expressive humanoid. It was distinctively more feminine, but where it succeeded in some areas, it failed in others.

  Certain problems had been inherited from V1 that required complete rewrites to fix as compared to a simple refactor. V2 was a clear improvement, but it was still far away from the jaw-dropping design she knew the founders of Vision were hoping for. V3 addressed a number of V2’s problems, while it avoided tackling some of the more difficult tasks. I could spend months on the face design alone and never nail it. But maybe that is where they will have their army of designers take over when I’m finished.

  She knew it was inevitable, but she didn’t like to think a
bout it. Her work with Fai had become so personal that the thought of other people becoming part of that process didn’t feel right. I guess that might be why Adrian is so resentful of me being here. They’ve spent years creating Fai, and then they march me in to put some of the finishing touches on her.

  “Do you consider us friends?” Fai asked.

  It wasn’t uncommon for Fai to ask questions when silence lasted for more than a few seconds, but this question caught Kari slightly unprepared.

  “I do,” Kari said.

  “What do you think my future holds?”

  “I’m not entirely sure,” Kari said. “You are something that world has never seen before. A lot of people have thought about what your kind might be like and what that might mean for the rest of us. There are people out there who hold strong opinions about you already.”

  “And you think these people will affect my future?” Fai asked from her V2 body. Her voice now sounded exactly like it did when she used her voice that was built into the room.

  “We’re social creatures,” Kari said. “And you’ve been designed to be like us, so I imagine you might be affected by people as well. But I think your future is whatever you make it. You have the potential to change the world. For everyone.”

  “Does that frighten you?”

  “It might,” Kari said, “if we weren’t friends.”

  The door to Fai’s room opened, and Adrian stood in the doorway, looking much more stressed than usual. John stood next to him. Kari checked the time and sighed. V3 still had several minutes left before it was finished printing. Knowing Christina’s timeline, they probably only plan on spending ten minutes here total.

  “Hello, John,” Kari said. “Come in.”

  “How kind of you to invite me into the room I own,” John said.

  Adrian nodded to him and walked away as the door closed behind John. Kari straightened her clothes and sat up tall in her chair. After she had received the news that John and Christina were on their way, she had finished the final changes on V3 and then she had rushed to her private quarters to ready herself. Not that she cared about impressing them with how she looked, but she didn’t particularly enjoy offending people with her smell.

  “No Christina today?” Kari asked as John walked over to Fai’s two bodies and ran his hands over them. I guess not.

  John mumbled softly to himself as he examined V1 in great detail, inspecting its quality and design with a higher level of care than she expected from him.

  “That was our first iteration,” Kari said. “There were some things we really liked about it, but we quickly came up with a list of—”

  “We?” John said.

  “Yes,” Kari said. “Fai has been quite involved in the design process overall.”

  “Good.” John moved from V1 to V2. He locked eyes with Fai, and then made an exaggerated motion showing he had the chills.

  “Good to see you, John,” Fai said.

  “Amazing. This is utterly melting!” John said.

  “Really?” Kari asked. As much as she regretted asking the question, she couldn’t help herself.

  “I’m about to flip a bit! Fantastic work!” John said. “You have more than lived up to your reputation, Freelancer. I could not be more pleased.”

  “We already have an improved version,” Fai said. “It should be finished printing in one minute and twenty-six seconds.”

  “That is music to my ears,” John said. He turned from Fai and looked at Kari. “And money to my bottom line.”

  Kari smiled back because she had not expected positive feedback from the Vision founders today. She had spent hours mentally preparing herself to defend her design decisions. But the way that John shamelessly referred to Fai as a profit center made her slightly sick. Fai was a creation, not an invention, and to treat her like a simple upgraded auto-auto design was infuriating.

  “I think Fai is much more than a way to make money,” Kari said.

  “And that makes me even happier to hear you say that. If Fai can form an emotional attachment with even the hardened consumer like yourself, we are going to blow the ceiling off our stock.”

  So many things I would love to say right now. Too bad all of them end with me getting fired. If he weren’t going to donate to the Academy I would let him hear every single one. Man, I hate bosses.

  “I’m glad you’re happy with our progress,” Kari said.

  “I’m pumped! I knew you were the right person to bring in on this project, even before Fai requested you.”

  “Wait,” Kari said. “Fai requested me?”

  “Yes, she did. We were quite surprised, but apparently your reputation even reached her. When we couldn’t find you, she helped us to track you down.”

  The lights flickered. First time that’s ever happened.

  “One of the thermal generators must have had a hiccup,” John said. “We designed this place to function at all times. Wouldn’t want the cave trolls to have to go outside.”

  “Version three is finished printing,” Fai said.

  “Great, I’d love to see it,” John said.

  “I’ll have it meet us here,” Fai said.

  “I haven’t had a chance to inspect V3 yet,” Kari said. “So no promises.”

  “Chill, Tahe,” John said. “I’m more than happy with the progress. V3 could be a pile of screws and I’d be stoked about what I saw today.”

  The lights flickered again and this time Kari thought she felt the ground shake ever so slightly. John didn’t seem concerned by it, so Kari didn’t spend time theorizing about it, either.

  “Her bodies contain every practical sensor that we could think of. She is essentially a walking laboratory and medical center. When she learns how to maximize her capabilities, I can hardly imagine what she will be capable of.”

  “If I wasn’t in the middle of two relationships that are failing spectacularly, I would marry you right now, that’s how in love with this I am.”

  “Something is wrong,” Fai said.

  Kari turned to look at Fai’s V2 body where her CB was presently located. The lights flickered again and this time the floor noticeably shook.

  “What do you mean?” Kari said.

  I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.

  “Some seismic activity or something?” John asked.

  “No,” Fai said.

  The sole door to the room opened, and Kari whipped around to look outside. V3 of Fai’s body stood in the doorway. Behind it came the distinct sound of energy blasts firing from a gun. Glass shattered on the other end of the research lab. V3 stepped into the room and the door closed behind it just as the screams reached Kari’s ears.

  Chapter Eight

  “Shut up!” Kari yelled. Surprisingly, John stopped screaming obscenities in response.

  “We’re dead, we’re dead, we’re so dead . . .” John mumbled instead.

  The room was soundproof, but it didn’t stop the vibrations from the explosions outside from shaking the floor. Occasionally a soft, muffled sound would make it through the wall, a sign that an energy blast had collided on the opposite side.

  “Fai, did you see any of them when V3 was walking in?”

  “Yes, faintly. Men in manual combat gear. Heavily armed and, from what little I could gather, well trained.”

  “Oh great! We’re screwed,” John said. He was beside himself, huddling in the corner of the room.

  “Do you have access to any of the systems here?” Kari asked. “The ones that can control power, air, or anything like that?”

  “I’m not allowed access to those systems.”

  “Can you take it?”

  “Yes,” Fai responded.

  “Do it, you’re allowed.”

  “I have control of the systems.”

  “Kill the lights,” Kari said.

  “Are you crazy? We won’t be able to see!” John protested.

  The lights died in their room. Only the green glowing eyes of V2, where Fai’s C
B was currently residing, lit the room.

  “Good, now are any of the printers still online?”

  “No, they have all been destroyed,” Fai said. “Are we going to die?”

  “What other machines are still active in the lab?”

  The sound of an energy blast colliding with the door filled the room, briefly drowning out John’s still audible panic. Kari couldn’t blame him, he was doing exactly what she wanted to do right now. They were trapped in the back room of a research lab filled with armed men who were dead set on killing everyone and everything. Guess those League of Humanity threats weren’t the joke you thought they were, eh John? Somehow ‘I told you so’ doesn’t seem appropriate.

  “A few crawlers is all, I believe they used EMP blasts to take most support devices offline.”

  “Not a lot to work with,” Kari said. Think! Come on, there’s always a way out.

  “Give them Fai!” John said. “That’s what they are probably here for. Let them have her and they might leave us alone!”

  His panic was replaced with hope, as his voice grew louder.

  “It’s our only hope,” John said.

  “No,” Kari said. “It’s not. Fai can you trigger the fire sprinklers?”

  “No, it is a manual system per code.”

  “Fine, override one of your bodies to overload an appendage with power until it starts to smoke and hold it to the fire sensor.”

  Kari wasn’t finished speaking before Fai’s V2 body was moving. A rancid smell filled the air as her pointer finger on the body began to smoke. The room was nearly pitch-dark so Kari couldn’t see, but Fai’s green eyes were beneath where the sprinkler in the room was located.

  “Let them have her!” John said. He grabbed Kari from behind with two arms and shook her. “Do it or you’re not getting a filthy penny from us!”

  “Get on the table,” Kari said.

  She tried to project calm and confidence in order to calm John down. He was in a state of shock that Kari fought to keep herself out of. He let her go and fumbled around for the table. Kari made it on top of the table first. The sprinklers burst into life, showering water down into the room. And hopefully on the rest of the lab.