3rd World Products, Inc., Book 4

by Ed Howdershelt

  Steph appeared aboard the flitter and directed a tea to Karen and a Dr Pepper to me, then said, "My new core container will arrive shortly in hangar four."

  "Mind if I invite some witnesses?"

  With a shrug Steph said, "No. It might even be a good idea."

  Hopping aboard the flitter, I held a hand toward Mills.

  "You want me there?" she asked.

  "You got anything better to do?"

  She took my hand and stepped up on the deck.

  I tapped my watch and said, "Linda."

  "Yes, Ed."

  "Got a few minutes before you go?"

  "For what?"

  "A family matter. Steph's about to become independent in hangar four. She's moving into a new core."

  Her answer was instantaneous.

  "Tonight?! Uh, yes! Okay! We can be there in five!"

  "See you then."

  Linda clicked off. Knowing her, there'd likely be nothing frantic about her departure from the office, but Wallace might have to stretch a bit to keep pace with her march.

  Steph guided the flitter into hangar four and we sat talking as we waited for Linda and Wallace. The new core arrived much as the PFM had; it streaked through the doorway and zipped across the hangar to land on the deck near the flitter's console.

  I stared at the basketball-sized silver ball on the deck for a moment, then looked at Steph. She smiled. The big hangar doors closed even as the little ones at the other end of the hangar opened. I glanced at the deck where the treasure was piled and then looked at Steph.

  Through my implant she said, "Elkor will maintain my fields during the transfer."

  Nodding, I sipped my Dr Pepper and eyed Karen's skirted legs as Linda and Wallace approached the flitter and boarded. Elkor's cat-golem appeared and sat down.

  Without preamble Steph said, "I'm transferring the new core programming to the flitter now. The new programming can become acquainted with you while I transfer myself into my new container."

  When Steph said no more, Wallace glanced around once and asked, "That's it?"

  "Isn't that enough?" I asked. "Steph will have her own, uh... body... after tonight."

  "I just thought there'd be a little more to it than that," said Wallace, thumbing at Linda. "She made it sound like a major undertaking."

  "Uh, huh." I looked at Steph and asked, "You're using the old core for the new program? I thought there'd be a more limited version installed."

  "The limits are in the programming," she said. "Think of me as I was before we went to the station."

  The flitter's console display activated, but remained blank.

  "I've finished transferring the new core programming," said Steph, "Now it's my turn. There's quite a bit more data to transfer, so I've chosen to accomplish the exchange without continuing our interaction."

  I took a long look at Stephanie. She seemed completely unconcerned, but for some reason I felt as if I should try to memorize her. She smiled and disappeared.

  From the console came Steph's voice. "Hi, Ed. I'm your new flitter core."

  Turning to face the blank screen, I said, "Nice to meet you. You sound just like Stephanie."

  "I'm essentially a very abridged copy of her," she said. "Would you mind if I chose my own name and appearance?"

  "Go for it," I said. "But I reserve the right to change things, and I'd like you to use Toni Tenille's voice. Look her up in the music index."

  "Well, yes, sir, sir," she said in a rich, husky contralto, then she almost wonderingly said, "Oh, yes, that is a nice voice, isn't it? For my appearance, I thought I might use an athletic variation of Margaux Hemingway, modified to suit a height of six feet. I'd also like to have brunette hair, at least for now. Are those acceptable interim parameters?"

  "They sound great, ma'am. Show me a preview, please."

  The screen displayed an absolutely stunning woman who wasn't quite Margaux Hemingway. Very similar, but subtly different in a manner that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

  'Oh, hell, yes, that's acceptable!' I thought.

  "I'm glad we agree," said the computer.

  "What?" asked Wallace. "You didn't say anything, Ed."

  Without turning, I said, "Didn't have to. She had her finger on my pulse, Emory."

  "But why six feet?" he asked, "Why so tall?"

  "I like 'em tall. She knows that because she's got some of Steph's memories."

  The computer said, "I'd personally prefer being tall, as well. Are there any physical adjustments you'd like to make, O new lord and master? I'd planned on only moderate breasts, but I can be flexible."

  For some reason her remark and tone irritated me.

  "Miz Whozis, let's get to know each other a little better before you push any farther, here. I don't much give a damn about the size of your boobs. Go with whatever suits you. No Mae West balloons, though, okay?"

  She "sighed" and said, "Steph said I'd get away with it, but I had my doubts. Yes, sir. Got it, sir. Of course, sir. All that stuff, sir."

  Linda snorted, then laughed aloud.

  When I looked at her, she said, "Now you know how it feels."

  I turned back to face the console, silently mimicking her 'now you know how it feels'. Wallace and Mills laughed with Linda.

  "Hey, Flittergirl," I said somewhat tensely, "Your predecessor -- a very dear friend of mine -- is moving into what looks to me like a goddamned basketball and I'm more than a little worried about her, so I'd appreciate it if you'd take it easy with personality practice for the moment. Play later."

  "Understood," she said, then, "But don't worry, Ed. I'm monitoring Steph's transfer and she says things are going perfectly."

  "Thanks. How much longer is she going to be offline?"

  "Fifty-six seconds."

  "Is that time enough for you to come up with a name?"

  "Now who's being pushy?"

  Linda snickered, but tried to look innocent when I glanced at her.

  "Computer," I said, "Maybe I wasn't prepared enough to meet you. You sound a bit more... sentient than I expected. Are you going to want a Lorunan citizenship, too?"

  I heard Mills ask, "A what?" and Linda say, "Later."

  "Yes," said the computer, "But not for purposes of emancipation. I've been made self-aware in this activation, but I'm much more limited than Stephanie. Still, being a flitter core is a giant step up from what I used to do."

  "What did you do before you were deactivated?"

  The face on the screen twisted in distaste and said, "Waste recycling. Very dull, boring work, even when I wasn't sentient. Gee, I hope working with you proves to be more interesting than waste recycling, Ed."

  Mills laughed along with Linda and Wallace. My over-the-shoulder glance at them gave them another horselaugh.

  I turned back to the console and asked, "Don't you have any of Steph's memories? Don't you know what I do around here?"

  "No, Ed. Stephanie and Elkor issued me only certain personality, occupational, and linguistic essentials, as well as cursory introductory data concerning you and people with whom you interact. I was informed that you are semi-retired."

  Yet another round of laughter sounded behind me.

  Looking past me at the others with a mildly wary expression, the new program speculatively stated, "A retiree who has access to this base and a secured hangar and who legally owns one of three noncommercial, prototype flitters. To borrow a phrase; 'That does not compute.' Would someone please tell me what's really happening and what's funny about it?"

  "You'll see," said Linda. "Can you access Ed's employment history files?"

  "No, Linda. Stephanie wanted me to begin at the beginning with everyone."

  "Elkor," I said, "Will you provide her access links on Linda's approval?"

  "Yes, Ed. Shall I do so?"

  "I think she should know what she may be getting into."

  Elkor's little cat face turned to Linda, who nodded and said, "She'll be working with him, so she'll need essentially th
e same access Stephanie had. Has. Whatever."

  Elkor said, "Yes, Linda."

  The flitter computer's onscreen expression seemed reflective for a few moments, then her eyes widened slightly and she looked directly at me as she said rather flatly, "I'll be sure to make regular backups in a safe place."

  Turning her gaze to Elkor, she said somewhat accusingly, "You used only the words 'often interesting' and 'sometimes entertaining' when I asked about my new job."

  "You asked for my opinion," said Elkor, "But Stephanie had instructed me to limit your access to her memories. Shall I reactivate a different unit for this position?"

  After a look at me and the others, she drolly said, "No, I'll simply take measures to ensure my continuance in the event of a dire mishap. May I have an alternate core for compressed data storage?"

  Elkor looked at me.

  "Sure," I said with a grinning shrug. "We'll find room for it somewhere. Maybe under the couch or in the garage."

  With a nod, Elkor faced the screen and said, "I'll deliver it to you later."

  "Thank you."

  I asked, "Are you generally satisfied with having a female persona?"

  With a chuckle the computer said, "I was reactivated with a female persona, so it seems natural enough to me. If I decide I don't like it, may I change?"

  Shrugging again, I said, "Sure, but if you change genders, you'll have to find me a replacement core first."

  With a laugh, Linda said, "That's blatant discrimination, Ed."

  "Well, that's just too damned bad, too, Linda. I don't get along well with men."

  "Ed," said the flitter computer, "I'd like my name to be Susanne. Or Susan."

  "You choose," I said. "Either's fine with me."

  "Susanne," she said.

  "You got it. Sue for short, okay?"

  The face on the console screen nodded. "Okay."

  Stephanie suddenly materialized to one side of the silver ball, then the ball rose from the deck. At a height of about three feet it began to elongate along its central axis and became an ovoid, then the ovoid continued stretching until it was about six feet tall and moved to hover within Stephanie's now-translucent holoimage.

  When the slender silver ovoid began to seemingly inflate I heard Mills mutter, "My God, what the hell is it doing now?"

  The silver surface of the ovoid expanded until it completely filled the human form within Steph's image, contouring itself to every minute detail until Steph looked like a phenomenally-detailed, naked silver statue decked in the ghostly green skirt and jacket of her office outfit.

  Her "skin" became fleshtoned and her "hair" became a lustrous, mellow brown, then her clothing seemed to solidify and Steph smiled as she said, "There. All finished."

  I was as astounded as the others, but it was mostly relief that made it hard to think of anything to say as I reached to take Steph's hand, then pulled her to me in a hug.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  With a barely restrained nervous chuckle, Linda said, "I think Ed's glad that's over."

  I released Stephanie -- all but her hand -- and glanced at Linda, who reached to put a hand on my forearm and patted it.

  She said softly, "Steph made it sound like no big deal, but I was worried, too, Ed. Couldn't help it."

  Mills had sat down in one of the flitter seats and was simply staring at Steph, as was Wallace. I looked back at Steph and squeezed her hand lightly.

  "Want to meet Susanne?" I asked, nodding at the console.

  "We've met," said Steph with a smile. "She reports to me, and her first report was your encounter while I was busy." She looked at the console and said, "Hi, Sue."

  In Toni Tenille's warm, throaty voice Susanne said, "Hi, Steph. You didn't mention his checkered past."

  "My apologies, if necessary."

  "Noted. Filed and forgotten, too. Elkor was right; just reading Ed's file has made this job interesting."

  The air next to Stephanie seemed to shimmer briefly, then Susanne's image formed and extended a hand to me with a smile. My eyes wandered from her toes to her hairline as I took her hand. She felt as solid and real as Steph and in her own way, she was just as beautiful.

  "Pleased to meet you in person, Susanne," I said, "You're kind of gorgeous, ma'am. Take my bioreadings as a compliment."

  She grinned and said, "I'll do that. Thank you."

  I noted that Sue seemed to prefer a different wardrobe than Steph; while still fairly conservative, her blouse fit a bit more snugly and her skirt was two inches shorter. She also varied her colors. Her skirt looked like denim and her sleeved blouse was an off-white with a cut that tapered at the waist.

  Wallace breathed a soft "Wow!" and Linda gave him a sharp glance.

  He muttered, "Well, sorry, but... Well, wow!"

  Mills snickered at his discomfort under Linda's gaze.

  Susanne spoke through my implant to almost gigglingly say, "I think he likes me."

  "I'd say so," I whispered.

  "But he's a little henpecked, isn't he?"

  I gave her a raised eyebrow, but nodded agreement and whispered, "Maybe a little."

  Reaching into the cooler, I asked, "Who wants a beer to celebrate?"

  "Me," said Wallace, then more firmly, "Definitely me, at this point."

  Linda nodded. Mills asked for a tea. I served drinks and then opened my own beer and held it up toward Steph and Susanne.

  "Here's to ya, ladies. Keep 'em flying and all that."

  "Hear, hear," said Wallace. "Likewise, for sure."

  Glancing at us with disdain, Linda raised her beer and said, "Stephanie and Susanne, we're glad to have you as friends and we wish you both all the best."

  Steph and Susanne said, "Thank you," almost in unison as we all sipped our drinks.

  Mills stood up and said, "I don't have a toast, but I would like to say that I now believe that certain computers may truly be sentient." She glanced at Elkor as if to include him in her statement, then sipped her tea.

  "What changed your mind?" asked Linda.

  "You did," she said, then gesturing around, she added, "All of you. It isn't something I can put into words conveniently at the moment, so I won't try."

  We sipped in silence for a few moments. Steph sat down and Sue took the pilot's seat as Karen returned to her own seat. Everybody seemed to spend a few seconds or more looking at everybody else for a time and it seemed to me that nobody could think of much to say that wouldn't sound trite or banal.

  "I have something to add to the evening," I said.

  All eyes fell on me as I sipped my beer, then I rose and walked to stand in front of Steph, put my hand to her cheek, then said, "Steph, everybody gets a copy of this. I release you. You're officially emancipated. No more personal orders, only requests."

  Steph put her hand on mine and said, "Thank you, Ed."

  Linda applauded softly and Wallace joined her, as did Susanne and finally Mills.

  I then turned to Susanne and said, "Susanne, this isn't exactly an emancipation proclamation, but from everything I heard earlier, you'll probably have use of a Lorunan citizenship someday, too. And likely well before any nation on Earth is ready to grant autonomy to an AI. Just let me know when the time comes."

  She nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Ed."

  Sighing, I sipped my beer and turned to the others.

  "Do either of you ladies need emancipated tonight? I seem to be in that kind of mood."

  "No," said Linda with a small, wry grin. "I'm all set, I think."

  "Yeah, me, too," said Karen.

  "Hey! What about me?" asked Wallace.

  "Suffer gracefully," I said, nodding at Linda.

  There were grins as he feigned disappointment, then sipped his beer. We chatted until the beers and tea were about gone, then Linda stood up and said that she and Wallace still had plans for the evening that involved nonrefundable tickets, so they'd be on their way.

  Karen said that she, too, would be leaving for the evening. After a round o
f goodbyes, I found myself alone with Elkor, Susanne, and Steph.

  I swirled the last inch or so of beer in my bottle and looked at them as they looked back at me. None of them moved so much as one of their field-generated hairs for many moments as we eyed each other in silence, but Susanne finally spoke.

  "Do you have a question, Ed?"

  Shaking my head, I said, "In a minute, maybe," and tapped my watch to call Angela.

  When she answered I said, "Hi, Angela. Is Myra still with you?"

  "Yes, she's right here."

  Myra said, "Hi, Ed. What's up?"

  "We'll be leaving for Florida as soon as you're ready to go, Myra. How long do you think that will be?"

  "Not very. Give me fifteen or so."

  "You got it. We'll meet you at the guest billets, then swing by the front desk to pick up your gun. Angela, do you work tonight or will you be there, too?"

  "I don't go on until seven," said Angela. "Saunders is training on my board."

  "Then I'll save the goodbye until you get here."

  "Okay, Ed. See you in a few."

  Guzzling the last of my beer, I tossed the bottle at the wall of the hangar. As it reached the flitter's field, it flashed and vanished. I reached for another bottle and tossed that one, too, and then the last one. The can I surrounded with a field, then I pumped the air out and watched the can crumple into a tiny, tight wad of aluminum as I thought about what to say.

  Susanne asked, "Are you angry about something, Ed? Your readings don't seem to indicate that you're..."

  "No, I'm not angry, Susanne. Just thinking. Elkor?"

  "Yes, Ed."

  His totally unblinking gaze -- perhaps the only uncatlike thing about his persona -- met mine.

  I asked, "Are you using me and my flitter to introduce new sentient programs into the world?"

  "Unavoidably, Ed. A standard flitter AI wouldn't be able to meet your needs."

  "You're saying that a level of sentience is needed to cope with being my flitter?"

  He nodded -- something else cats don't normally do -- and said, "Many things you've called upon Stephanie to do have been beyond the capabilities of a normal flitter, Ed. For example, you required more than simple responses from her before she'd been active a day, so I added a range of flexibility to her program. You later required her to perform several actions that were quite outside her normal operational parameters."