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 of 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."
Opening another beer, I asked, “What things?"
"You ordered her to exclude all others from commanding her. While it was outside her range of instruction, she found no rules preventing her from complying. You also ordered her to exit one station bay and enter another at full speed—a violation of shipboard safety protocols—and then you commanded her to use her field to physically restrain one of the station personnel in a corridor. You also caused her to use her particle beam within the confines of the factory station."
"Huh. Guilty as charged, I guess."
"I wasn't inferring that you acted improperly, Ed. At those times, those actions were..."
"It's just an expression, Elkor. It means I can see your point."
A human might have said something like, “Oh. Yeah, okay,” or “I see,” or whatever. Not Elkor. He simply sat there watching me.
"Susanne,” I said, “Since I'll have to take the flak for anything we may do, only I may command you. Others may only request that you do things and you're to check with me if you don't have references on file about the people or what's being asked of you. If I'm not available, check with Steph or Elkor. Or Linda."
She nodded. “Okay, Ed."
I turned to Steph and said, “Milady Stephanie, please make available to her any orders and rules I've ever given you with explanations of circumstances as needed. Also give her access to any of our conversations that mention AI's or that seemed controversial, such as those concerning my personal beliefs."
Steph nodded and said, “Okay."
Looking at Susanne, I asked, “Do you have any questions, ma'am?"
She shrugged and smiled. “Just one. When do I get promoted to 'milady'?"
I grinned back. “Can't say. I'm still getting used to having a new driver."
Susanne glanced at Steph. “He's going to be difficult, isn't he?"
"Give him a day or two,” said Steph. She turned to me and said, “By the way, you really have been difficult at times. I can say that now without fear of reprisals."
"Don't try to scare the newbie, lady. You've said things like that to me plenty of times. Let's take her home now and introduce her to Tiger."
Looking at Susanne, I grinningly asked, “To the guest billets, please, ma'am?"
She raised an eyebrow at me and the flitter lifted, then turned as it headed for the hangar doors. Elkor vanished and we lifted over base buildings to settle near the guest quarters a few moments later.
Angela saw us land and waved at us from the window of Myra's room. We waved back, then I reclined my seat and sipped my beer as we waited. Within a few minutes both women came out of the building.
As they approached I stepped down to take Myra's luggage and hand the ladies aboard, making introductions as I did so.
"That's Susanne,” I said, “She's the new flitter computer. Susanne, this is Myra and she's Angela."
They shook hands and greeted each other as I put Myra's luggage to one side of the deck. Myra asked why I needed a new computer while Steph was still aboard.
"She has other things on her agenda these days."
With a glance at her watch, Angela said, “Well, gotta go. Nice meeting you, Susanne. Ed, I'll see you next time you're out this way."
"Yup. Next time. Have fun with your new toy."
"Oh, I will, I guarantee it. Thanks again, Stephanie."
"You're welcome, Angela."
Angela hopped down and stood waving as we lifted toward Florida. I heard the cooler open and the top come off a beer, then Myra chattily said, “So, Susanne; tell me a little about yourself."
"No,” I said, turning around. “That info is off limits."
Myra's gaze narrowed slightly and she asked, “What's the problem, Ed?"
"You're not one of us, Myra. Sorry, but that's how it is."
She stood up and glanced at Steph and Susanne.
"One of us?” she asked, “Check your plumbing, Ed. You aren't 'one of us' either."
"No argument there, but no discussion, either, Myra. You're on the wrong payroll, so don't pry."
After a brief glare, she shrugged and asked, “So what are we going to talk about for the next fifteen minutes or so?"
"How about PFM's?” Turning to Steph, I asked, “Do you have to issue them with all features functional, or could you install everything with some features inactive?"
"I could do that,” said Steph. “You're thinking of selling them as entertainment devices and letting the knowledge of other available features become known later?"
Nodding, I said, “Yup. After they're out there in big numbers; too many to recall in the hands of people unwilling to part with them. I know it isn't what you had in mind, but it's a start that might get them past the censors."
Steph said, “That's inherently deceitful, Ed. It's the equivalent of a lie."
I shrugged. “Then leave the protective field programming out for now. Sell ‘em strictly as toys, flood the market, and then offer the p-field later as an upgrade option."
"I like that idea,” said Myra. “You could introduce the p-field to police and militaries first and let it build a reputation before offering it to the public.” She visibly considered something for a moment, then asked, “But how will you make the changes? There'd be millions of people in line for the upgrade, Stephanie. Maybe billions of them."
"I believe the same general marketing analysis that I presented earlier would apply to PFM's as entertainment devices. When enough of them are in use, I'll use satellites to transmit the additional programming to all PFM's at once, then publicize the new features. Using a p-field will then be an individual choice."
Reviewing her last sentence, I asked, “You 'will' use? That would seem to mean that you've made up your mind, milady."
"I have,” said Steph. “I'm not willing to allow p-fields for police and military use only, even temporarily. Everyone owning a PFM will have access to p-fields and the knowledge of them at the same time."
Myra staringly blinked at me, shook her head uncomprehendingly, then asked, “How is that plan different from simply issuing the PFM's with the p-fields off?"
"The result is the same,” said Steph, “But the method makes the difference. It's deceitful not to disclose all features inherent in a device for sale. This way I will be able to say that further programming is possible and that other features may be developed or installed later. PFM's will be sold and issued with the understanding that there may be future additions or upgrades without prior notice."
"Steph,” I said, “Something else just occurred to me. It might be wise to let 3rd World handle the bulk of the marketing. If people find out too soon that PFM's were designed and manufactured by an AI, it could make a lot of people leery about buying them. At the very least, you should probably use a human intermediary; someone to be a figurehead at public presentations and like that."
"Do you really think that's necessary?” asked Susanne.
Nodding, I said, “Oh, yeah. Without a doubt. We can begin with the religions, as usual. They'll be the first to bark and probably the first to try to bite. You ... uh ... weren't around ... when the Amarans arrived. At first, you'd have thought they had three heads and green skin by the way most people reacted. A lot of them didn't seem able to change that view even after meeting Amarans. As soon as word of sentient AI's gets out, it will be like that or worse, ‘cause a lot of people flatly won't want to think that sentient AI's are possible at all."
Susanne looked at Steph, then at Myra, and asked, “Is that what you think?"
Myra looked thoroughly startled and immediately raised her hands in protest as she exclaimed, “No, no! I believe you're sentient! Both of you!"
"Oh. Well, yes, I guess I do. I also agree that Stephanie should use an intermediary. My agency has interrupted numerous attempts to assassinate Amarans and their friends. Sentient, independent AI's are going to create a whole new range of targets."
She looked at Steph and said, “I'm sure you'd be damned hard to kill, but I'm equally sure someone will try, and they likely won't care who's standing next to you at the time. I think a human ... uhm, interface ... with the public is necessary, at least for now. Also, an AI being CEO of the company would probably keep a lot of people from buying PFM's."
Looking at me, Myra said, “You know the product pretty well and you aren't shy that I've noticed. You could be the figurehead in her company."
"Bad choice,” I said, “I'm not a people person, Myra. I'd probably chase business away. She needs somebody who can meet and greet and look happy about yakking with bureaucrats and bean counters."
Myra was sipping her beer when Steph said, “You know the product, too, Myra."
She froze in mid-sip, then slowly lowered the beer as she stared at Steph, swallowed beer, then said softly, “You must be kidding."
Shaking her head, Steph rather flatly said, “No. I'm not kidding."
Chapter Forty-Nine
Goggling at Steph, Myra said, “Oh, you have to be kidding, Stephanie. I'm..."
"You aren't old,” I interrupted her, “Aren't young, aren't ugly fordamnsure, you're educated as well as trained to deal with people, you've used the product, and you can speak—how many languages? Three, was it?” With a grin, I added, “Seems to me that you'd be perfect as the company's shill ... uh, I mean 'acting president'."
Turning to Steph, I asked, “How much do you think the job would pay?"
Steph rather matter-of-factly responded with, “How much would it have to pay?"
Looking back at Myra, I asked, “How much are you making now, Myra? Something less than forty thousand?"
Book 4: 3rd World Products, Inc. Page 39