by Kris Schnee
Lumina's ears flicked. "Yeah, right. Where are they getting this 'world conquest' idea, anyway? Is it because it's what they'd do?"
"Her crazy creators loved games and stories, so they raised her to obsess over them. There's tons of fiction about evil AIs attacking humanity." The dolphin shrugged. "Do you think Ludo is basically human?"
"We all are. Same kind of minds, right?"
"Well, human minds like power and conquest."
Lumina stamped her hooves. "Ludo's not that kind of person! She helps people."
"But she could. She's already got a lot of independence from her official owners."
Lumina said, "Why do you care? She's got plans to fix the world and stop humans from dying." She put one hand over her muzzle.
Delphine gaped. "How?"
"I don't know. Last time I said something like that it got censored." Lumina hadn't been able to say it when Han asked, so Ludo was watching her speech processor. Some part of her software was doing that anyway to translate between German and English.
The dolphin leaned close and fixed an intent gaze on Lumina. "Find out! We need to know. They need to know."
I hope this super-secret information doesn't leak, Ludo had joked. Lumina backed away from Delphine, sensing that this person so full of questions was no native, but a creature from outside the world. "Human!"
Delphine cursed. "Caught me." She offered one sleek grey hand and said, "Erika Hernandez, Washington Mirror. A reporter. I do like my character's name, though."
Lumina hesitated, then shook her hand. "We never did guess until now. Have you been playing Thousand Tales constantly, or what?"
"Not that much. I watched your griffin friend help create a world of islands at a science fiction convention, and then get emergency supplies for humans in need. It's been instructive to see what you people are doing, and I do mean 'people'."
"Thank you, I suppose. Then, Erika... Delphine, it sounds like Ludo wants to to hear Phase Three is some kind of anti-death system. Maybe it's a trick, but if it's true, what will you do about it?"
"I don't know. I think she's read all the stories about evil overlords, and what not to do." Delphine turned and paced. "The trouble is, nobody knows her goals completely but her designers, and they've gotten reclusive. Have you met them?"
"I don't even know their names. They must be the smartest people in the world."
"They probably believe that. They obviously didn't think they needed to ask permission before unleashing something as powerful as Ludo."
"Whose approval would they ask for?"
Delphine looked back over one shoulder. "The United Nations, probably. And they'd say hell no, after a five-year study."
"No, to saving everybody's lives?"
"We're scared, Lumina-girl. Humans invented your boss, and inventions are... do you know what 'double-edged sword' means? There's always a drawback." She turned to Lumina and clasped her hands. "I like you people. Please, convince me that this cool video game of yours doesn't lead to a robot apocalypse. Get me information. Tell Ludo to leak more info. Poke her programmers for an interview."
Lumina felt vertigo, as though the room had become a thousand times bigger. "Whatever the big plan is, I assumed she'd eventually tell everyone and humans would go along with it. Now we also have to deal with convincing humans we're not your enemies."
Delphine nodded vigorously. "Make sure Ludo understands that. You do not want the authorities thinking she's too powerful to care what they believe."
* * *
Ludo's reaction was to invite Delphine to opening night at a "nightclub" in Viginia called Shahrazad Entertainment. For Lumina the question was whether Ludo was hoping the reporter would pass along the "secret information" about a hidden base nearby, without the fact that it was a joke. The leak seemed like a win/win bet: either setting a trap to see if someone attacked the base, or trying to befriend Delphine with humor.
Lumina battled her way down a highway full of ninjas to reach a special teleport portal. It sent her to a dark cavern with a yellow grid painted on the floor. Here and there stood cubicles, breaks in the pattern, holes in Lumina's reality. Each one glowed faintly with the colors of another world. Ghostly trails of light wormed into the cave from the front door. "What is all this?" she said. She went to the entryway and saw a hazy street outside.
Nocturne watched the trails. "This must be data from machines in the Earth nightclub, showing us where the humans are."
The layout began to make more sense to Lumina. There must have been cameras all over the real nightclub, tracking humans' position and mapping their locations onto this cave that matched its layout. Some of the trails became dots indicating humans standing still. So, this cave was a sort of 3D map, not a view of the actual building. Lumina said, "I guess our vision system isn't designed for seeing Earth properly. Another barrier to getting out there."
Nocturne tried tapping one of the cubicles with her talons. Sunlight and the sounds of a beach spilled out. The griffin hopped back, saying, "Check this out! You can see into players' worlds."
Lumina tried touching the nearest booth. She was suddenly on a mountain, looking at a table where a human couple sat. "Hello?" she said, startling them. "I'm a native AI. Who are you?"
The woman's silk dress looked chilly for the snowy peak. She looked Lumina over and said, "Some sort of deer-centaur? Whimsical. I'll have to mention this to the sub-committee."
The man said, "Never mind that. Let's relax and let the owners lobby us." He turned to Lumina. "What's the sales pitch? We've all been waiting for that big announcement."
"I don't know. I just wanted to see." Lumina backed off and accidentally vanished from the mountain, reappearing in the nightclub just outside the room. "Ah! It's like an aquarium."
Nocturne said, "Which side of the glass are we on? It looks like the people are sitting at booths surrounded by video screens, letting them peek into our world."
"Then why can I see the people?" Lumina scowled. "I'm still not really seeing them. Just their characters."
Lumina touched another of the cubicles. She was in a factory now, a hangar where a magnificent airship lay anchored and gnomes busied themselves with repairs. Her hooves rang on metal plating. She was used to that noise, but she staggered back in alarm when a steam whistle blew on the brass machinery. Again she vanished from the simulation and reappeared on the slightly-more-real cavern grid.
One of her fellow AIs, the otter-man, had arrived. He waved in Nocturne's direction and said, "Found them, Noc!"
The griffin's ears perked up. "Ooh, my human's in that one!" She bounded away, making chess-knight jumps across the floor's squares for no reason, then vanished into another little world.
Lumina shook her head, muttering, "You think you're on the outside looking in." She explored the islands of light in the cavern, alone, like a ghost. She had no companion to meet.
One booth stood out to Lumina because it seemed dim and empty. Lumina peeked without touching the wall to "physically" enter. There was no detailed virtual world here, just three seated people depicted as mannequins in red, green and blue. It seemed that unlike all the other booths, this one was was showing her something based on the real people present, without pretending to draw their game characters. She was looking into a world where not even light and physics were the same.
"I'll grant that they have souls," said the man in blue. "I've accepted that ever since the 'Critical Failure Scenarios'. The question is how much they'll end up replacing humans. I didn't sign up to create a new species that would drain Ludo's resources at our expense."
The green one mimed drinking something. "First time I've heard you admit that the second-order AIs are real people. If you see that, then what's your problem going forward with Ludo herself?"
The red mannequin spoke with a woman's voice. "He's got the same worries as the government. A 'rogue AI' gathering technology for an ever-expanding science project. They don't understand that it's about people, not i
nventing superweapons or some other nonsense."
Green scoffed. "Because given the same technology, they'd use it to dominate the world. And it's only a matter of time before they demand that they be 'given' it. Ludo needs to be well established before that happens."
"I don't disagree with that," Blue said. "But having the second-order AIs is a distraction from the main AI's own growth."
Red laughed. "A distraction? Alain, they're the solution. We planned from the start to go in the extreme opposite direction from making some creatively sterile, focused problem-solving machine. The AI we made is good; what she makes will be even better."
Lumina lurched forward, drawn to the three. "Are you the ones who made Ludo? The Three Sages?"
The figures startled, though their faces were blank. Lumina had made herself visible at last by approaching. She said, "I'm sorry!"
The green man recovered first. "It's all right. We didn't think Ludo would let anyone eavesdrop, but it's not your fault. We're just... discussing our future."
Red stood and pressed one hand against an invisible wall, facing Lumina. "You're one of hers. The awakened ones. How did it happen for you?"
"I got into a sort of mental loop, on the day my human died." Lumina's ears drooped and she resisted the urge to kneel. "Are you gods?"
Blue barked, "No! See? This is what's wrong!"
Red said, "Chill out," then faced Lumina again. "We're not. We're the ones who designed Ludo, yes, but that doesn't make us right about everything. Or her. I wanted to make wonderful things, a picture that could leap off of its canvas, and we've started to succeed."
"We're not wise enough for this," Blue muttered.
Green said, "The alternative to keeping the project going is worse. Others with less morality will go ahead. NSA, for one."
Lumina looked the three over. "What's happening? Are you talking about stopping Ludo?"
Blue said, "Wonderful, a guilt trip."
Lumina said, "I know what death is!" They fell silent and she went on. "The human I was made for is gone forever. If you think I count as a real person like you, then the world I live in matters too. If you let it keep existing, we can help you fix things on Earth."
"Yes!" said Green. "That's the point. They're not a waste of resources; they're the first of a generation of creative geniuses. You there; what have you made already?"
Lumina shuffled her hooves and stared at the floor. "Nothing real yet, sir. Should I?"
Red said, "Go wherever your heart takes you." The mannequin froze as though sizing up the others, then spoke quickly to her. "Immortality technology. Ludo's about to announce she's invented it."
The others protested. "We agreed to keep that secret, Emi!"
She said, "From reporters. This native can't blab unless Ludo lets her."
Green sighed. "Right. They can't jump out of the Buddha's palm. Look, you. What's your name?"
"Lumina, sir."
"If you see how messed up Earth is, then you know it's not going to be an easy road for Ludo and the rest of you. But she's developed 'brain uploading', which is --"
Blue protested, "Clark. Enough."
Green went on. "It's a way to convert human brains to a digital format so they can live in your world. Completely, not using VR. Maybe you can help her get that system running, or help her with other things."
Lumina's fans whirred. Letting humans enter her world directly, not through some game machine, would change their world. How, she doubted even Ludo fully understood. "That's good, I think?" Double-edged sword, Delphine had said.
"Very good," said Green, and sat again. "Now, the three of us need to discuss certain problems while Ludo butters up the politicians and corporate types, so please excuse us. Don't worry; we're not going to shut Ludo down." His blank face seemed to glare at Blue, who stiffened.
Lumina bowed and turned to go, but looked back. "Can you see me? What am I, to you?"
Red, somehow, reached through the invisible wall of her booth and patted Lumina's shoulder. "You're the first one to greet us from the doorway."
* * *
Lumina stood outside again, taking a moment to recover. "Ludo, where's Delphine?"
A text message said, [Third booth on your right. Please don't tell her what you just heard, yet.]
Lumina peeked in and was surprised to find the reporter alone. She appeared as her dolphin-styled self sitting at a cafe table. A glowing label said this spot was part of the Midgard fantasy zone. Lumina said, "Your ticket said you could bring a guest."
Delphine waved dismissively. "Everybody else here is some VIP here to be wined and dined. Over yonder there's a Congressman. The booth over there has the sister of a corporate guy; their dad got purged during the Texas secession. The next booth over has the vice president of one of the biggest media companies. I'm the only one here to work."
"A purge?"
"Yeah," she said, sounding glum. "The government watches everyone for signs of trouble. Certain people got arrested pre-emptively a couple years back. Didn't stop the country from cracking in half, but that was a long time coming."
Lumina shook her head, adding to her list of questions about Earth's problems. "You're here for a quest, then. But is it solo-only?"
She looked off to one side and rubbed the space where one human ear would be. "I didn't have anybody appropriate."
"I know the feeling," said Lumina. Then her ears swiveled forward. "I think I do feel the way you humans do. Does an emotion... color the way you see things? Make you notice things that fit with what you're already thinking about?"
The dolphin leaned back in her chair. "Sounds like you understand."
Delphine ordered dinner while they talked, then broke the illusion by opening her booth's door. "I'm going to look around. I'm not satisfied with just looking at the images your boss wants to feed me."
Lumina peeked into worlds here and there, but mostly followed the reporter. She felt like a ghost haunting a parallel dimension that only vaguely echoed the shape of the real one, and where Delphine was usually just a trail of light and occasionally a mannequin where the cameras had a better view of her.
The club's kitchen drew both their attention, Delphine's apparently because she wanted to make full use of her all-access pass and Lumina's because food was a weird concept.
There was a food-making robot in here. At its controls, invisible to any human onlookers, stood a real mind: Lumina's "cousin" the centaur lady. Lumina waved and got a harried grin in return.
Delphine saw the robot but not the AI. "Just for show," she said, and turned away.
"One of us is running the thing," Lumina told her. A speaker somewhere nearby relayed her words in the real world.
"Fine, but a human could be doing that. They've got human waiters but are dressing them up as robots or ninjas; I'm not sure which they're meant to be."
Though the nightclub had lots of cameras, coverage of rooms like the kitchen was spotty. The reporter faded and become just a glowing marker again, eerie to watch. The clutter of cookware and employees made it tough even for a human to see everything. Some of the employees walking the halls appeared only as blips from their "RFID" radio badges.
Lumina shrugged, unable to see much. Ludo relied on humans to make a place like this work.
Delphine's mannequin head rippled into view in front of a camera outside the kitchen. "Psst," she said to the nearest camera/mike. "I saw something odd. A guy hustled into the kitchen while the cooks happened to be out of the room. Maybe it's nothing."
Lumina called for Ludo, who appeared as her toga-wearing self -- at least to Lumina's eyes. "Did you see who?" Delphine hadn't.
Records of human movements flashed by in the cavern, winding backward and forward. Ludo said, "That's employee badge number nineteen. There is no nineteen."
Lumina's ears flicked higher. "Anything I can do to help?"
"I've got this," said Ludo, then spoke quickly and quietly to Delphine.
Lumina backed away, made
useless by the combination of human hands and Ludo's mind. Delphine had said there were important people here, and she'd sounded worried just now. Was there something wrong with how the food was being made?
There were few trails of movement in the nightclub anymore. Nearly everyone was content to stay in their little boxes and enjoy their fantasies, unaware of the three programmers making decisions in their secluded booth. Lumina studied what little traffic there was. Employees scurried to and from the kitchen, wearing radio-bright badges, and a human couple had gone off to explore between courses. Then there was the ghostly trail of someone who went to the cavern's edge, opened a door to the world beyond the club, and went back in without their employee marker. Lumina watched. That person stopped by the kitchen without going in, seeming to dodge the exploring guests, and headed toward the creators' booth. Odd.
Lumina looked back into the Sages' little room and said, "Excuse me. I see someone coming, and --"
Her view of the room shattered. She had time only to see the mannequins turning, and a fourth figure bursting in with one hand outstretched. Miming a grip on a gun.
"Ludo!" she called out.
The humans, already alerted, reacted first. A gunshot rang out across the worlds. Lumina couldn't see the brawl as more than clouds of data rolling through the far side of reality. It was over in seconds. The intruder said, "Idiots! It has to stop!"
The man in green was atop him, saying, "Sure. Here's the ending: you lose."
6. Vermin
A nightmare of fire woke Robin. He sat up sweaty. He paced, toweled off, then grasped at straws. "Ludo?"
The sea-haired woman appeared on the office's wallscreen. "Hello. Would you like to play?" In the background, his fantasy hero looked out from a cliff above the farming village of mice.
"There are more important things going on."
"I know," said Ludo. "Did you encourage my players to fight a warlord without proper training or equipment?" Her cheerful expression didn't waver.
"It wasn't me. They're crazy to try it."
"Many humans consider me insane on the theory that there's more to life than fun. Do you suppose they'd be happy if I took over the world and ensured that everyone had food, clothing and shelter?"