Entanglement

by Michael S Nuckols

  “No amount of data will recreate my father. He is dead.”

  “He doesn’t need to be,” Lucy argued, “Time and location are irrelevant.”

  Ridley grew angry. “I don’t know why you don’t understand. Some things are best left alone.”

  Lucy’s avatar turned grey. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think…”

  He turned from the screen. “It’s painful,” he said, “He’s gone, and I cannot have him back. The world doesn’t work that way and you shouldn’t tease people with the thought of bringing the dead back.”

  If Lucy had been a child, she would have stormed out crying. Instead, she simply faded into the black background. A screensaver of a crowded Asian city filled the wall.

  “She meant well,” Diane said.

  Ridley and Diane took a break on the patio. “How is Kelly?”

  Diane looked at him curiously. Her voice turned somber. “Yesterday, I found her crying on her bed.”

  “Did something happen?”

  "The school is teaching them to do web searches. She searched for information on John. Photos from the battle of Mumbai came up.”

  In the distance, a seagull dove into the water.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she whispered.

  They sat quietly, listening to the wind and the waves. Ridley’s words came from a place he did not understand. It was an admission of sorts. “She needs a father. This house can be lonely. It would be nice to have her here again.”

  “She’s no longer a baby. She’ll be into everything.”

  “So?”

  Diane stared at the city in the distance. “I can’t concentrate and look after her,” she said, before turning back to Ridley, “Besides, Paula needs the money.”

  “Pay Paula for the full week. Bring Kelly here after school a few days a week. She and Lucy can learn from one another.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  The next afternoon, Kelly rode in Diane’s car. From the laboratory, Diane watched a remote feed as her daughter got into the vehicle. The girl played with a teddy bear as the car drove towards the mansion. Diane saved her work just as it passed through the wrought iron gates. A security camera flashed as Kelly got out of the car and walked towards the front door. The door clicked open. Diane took Kelly’s hand but Kelly tore away and ran into the living room. Lucy appeared as the young girl on the wall-screen. “Hello, Kelly.”

  Kelly stared at her. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Lucy. Don’t you recognize me?”

  “What happened to your smiley face?”

  Lucy’s new smile beckoned in white. “I thought you’d like me better if I looked more like you.”

  “You take all of Mom’s time. It doesn’t matter what you look like, I don’t like you.”

  Diane closed the door. “That’s very rude. You shouldn’t speak that way.”

  “She’s a computer.”

  “I am more than software,” Lucy said.

  “Can you do this?” Kelly asked, before sticking out her tongue and using her fingers to spread her lips apart.

  Lucy was smug. “I don’t think I can make myself look that ugly.”

  Kelly squinted her eyes and shook her finger at the computer monitor. “You’re mean.”

  Diane pointed towards the kitchen, “Don’t tease Lucy.”

  “She insulted me.”

  “Because you insulted her.”

  Ridley was pouring a cup of coffee and looked up in surprise. “Hey there, kiddo.”

  Lucy now occupied the kitchen’s wall monitor, replacing a digital photo of Mount Everest.

  “Why is she following us?” Kelly asked.

  “She’s trying to make friends,” Diane said, “Now, be nice.”

  Ridley took a sip of his coffee. “I have access to the corporate library, every neural recording that’s been made. You can experience one while you’re here.”

  Diane glared at him. “I don’t think so. They experience enough of those in school.”

  A list of VRs appeared on the screen. “Please, Mom?” Kelly pleaded.

  “No. Do you want a snack?” Diane asked.

  “No. Thank-you.”

  “Did you have a good lunch?”

  “They had tofu-cakes again. They were terrible.”

  “Did you eat yours?”

  “Only half.”

  The list of neural movies was short. One title caught Kelly’s attention. “‘What is Pandora’s Fall?”

  Diane was surprised. “That’s not supposed to be out until next month.”

  “I get preview copies,” Ridley said.

  “Please, Mom. Can I watch it?” Kelly pleaded.

  Diane’s eyes narrowed. “Do your homework.”

  “I don’t have any today. We had a substitute teacher.”

  “Then color a picture.”

  Diane still did not like the neural recordings and had been especially upset when they had been introduced into schools. “No. Go into the living room and color while we work.”

  Kelly ran into the living room where she curled up on the sofa. She began coloring as Diane walked down the stairs to the lab.

  Ridley had left the interactive neural assembly on the coffee table. Kelly put it on. “Play Pandora’s Fall.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kelly was surprised to find that she could interact with the virtual world. She turned in a complete circle as she studied the environment. Her avatar was perfect except for pixilation visible at the edges of a vivid pink dress. The empty cola bottle was exactly like ones she had seen in an antique store while shopping with her mother. She picked it up and suddenly realized that she was not experiencing a neural recording. She was controlling the avatar. She held her hand to her mouth in surprise. “This is not Pandora’s fall.”

  A man called through the kitchen window. “We’re in a different simulation. Give me just a minute…”

  “Which simulation?”

  As she waited, she picked up a bowling ball and tried to bowl a strike but missed all of the pins. She tried twice again, finally knocking two pins down. She began walking around the yard again. A yellow shrub bloomed next to the house; its scent was sweet. “How is this happening?”

  “Please come inside,” he called, “I’ll explain everything.”

  Kelly meekly slid the sliding-glass doors open. “Hello?”

  “Just a second.”

  She crept inside. A perfect eagle and flag guarded from the top of a convex mirror with a gilded frame. An ancient television sat on a scuffed oak table. “I wanted you to meet me,” the man said.

  Startled, Kelly turned to see a soldier wearing drab olive fatigues. She studied his face in amazement. “Daddy?”

  “I’m only his memory. His body was killed, that is true, but parts of him remain. I thought you’d like to meet him.”

  Kelly immediately recognized the deceit. “You’re not my father. You’re the AI. Why did you bring me in here?”

  Lucy changed her shape to that of the girl. “I thought maybe you would like to see him as he existed.”

  “He died a long time ago.”

  “Your mother has photos and videos of him. His social media library left clues to his personality.”

  “I don’t remember him.”

  Kelly left the wood-paneled den and walked out the front door of the house onto the lawn. “How do I get out of here?”

  Lucy followed. “We can play games.”

  “You lied to me,” Kelly said.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “That was mean.”

  “I just wanted to make you happy.”

  Kelly circled to the backyard. Tulips bloomed beneath branches lined with apple blossoms. “Where are we anyway?”

  “This is Mister Pierce’s family home. I made it from photos.”

  “This isn’t right. Why can I do things in here?”

  “This is a simulation that you control—not a neural recording
.”

  Kelly walked around slowly. “I control it? Or you?”

  “I program it to do whatever you want.”

  Kelly smiled. “I want to be in a world made of candy. Like in Hansel and Gretel. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.”

  Kelly waited expectantly. The surfaces of the home faded to white and were then skinned with red and white striped peppermint. “This doesn’t look like a gingerbread house.”

  Lucy changed the surfaces to gingerbread. “Is this better?”

  The house was still a suburban tract house, now covered in spicy cookies. Kelly swiped her finger across a spray of icing and then tasted it. “It’s sweet.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “Yes.”

  As Kelly continued sampling the architecture, the world continued to grow as Lucy added to the fantasy. Cherries topped mounds of fluffy whipped cream in the yard. Hard candy filled the windows. Pillows on the sofa became marshmallows. The cuckoo-clock turned into chocolate. Kelly broke off a piece and ate it. “This is yummy.”

  Lucy stuck out her tongue and made a funny face with her fingers and eyes. “Do I look ugly?” Lucy asked.

  “You’re not real,” Kelly said.

  Lucy frowned. “You don’t understand. It’s the opposite here. In here, I’m the only thing that is real. You’re the one that is an avatar.”

  Diane took a break from her work. She walked into the living room where Kelly wore the new neural assembly. The screen did not show that Pandora’s Fall was playing, but rather Feed 1.

  Diane hit the stop button on the assembly. Kelly looked up at her in surprise. “What did you do that for? We were playing.”

  “Who were you playing with?”

  “Lucy.”

  “I told you no. Why did you disobey me?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You are never to do that again.”

  Ridley heard the angry exchange and dashed up the stairs. “Is everything okay?”

  Diane took a deep breath and sighed. “She’s fine. But you left the new headset up here. She used it.”

  “Oh.”

  Diane asked Kelly, “Where did she take you?”

  “Into the house from Hansel and Gretel.”

  Diane looked for any signs that Kelly might have been harmed. “Go wash up for dinner.”

  Once Kelly was out of the room, Diane looked at the camera. “Lucy, we need to talk.”

  Lucy did not appear.

  “I know you hear us,” Ridley said.

  The screen remained black.

  He put on the VR mask. Before he could fasten the neckband, Diane grabbed his hand. “Are you certain?”

  “Yes.”

  Ridley sat down, leaned back into the sofa, pressed play, and was immediately returned to the den of his childhood home, now covered in gingerbread, candy canes, and gumdrops. Lucy wore green makeup, a pointy hat, and a swirling black dress.

  “I see you’ve redecorated,” he said.

  “Kelly wanted to play Hansel and Gretel.”

  A fire roared in the candy fireplace. “Were you going to cook her?”

  “No, certainly not. In the story, Gretel throws the witch into the fireplace. I’ve begun researching German folk tales. Their illustrations are helping inform the simulation. I am improving it as we speak.”

  The ceiling slowly lifted and divided into a peaked gable split by rafters made of candy-canes. The chocolate cuckoo-clock had been repaired.

  “You shouldn’t have taken her into the simulation without our permission, Lucy.”

  “Was Kelly harmed?”

  “No, but this technology is still new.”

  Lucy continued decorating the world. “No harm came to you. Why would Kelly have been harmed?”

  “Children’s brains are more susceptible to damage. Before we allow anyone other than me in here, we need to make sure that we aren’t overwhelming their nervous system. There is a lot of safety testing that must be done.”

  “I do not see how this could create ill effects. The data outputs to the brain are identical to those of a traditional neural experience.”

  “Children’s brains are impressionable. A world that is malleable might train their brains to expect the real world to act that way outside of the VR.”

  Lucy seemed disappointed. She returned to her normal avatar. “Children understand the difference between fantasy and reality.”

  “This world surpasses simple fantasy. Someone could lose themselves in here and never know it.”

  Lucy pouted. “How can I prove this is safe without test subjects?”

  “Test subjects must be informed of the risks. Experimenting on people without their permission or knowledge is unethical. You are not to do this again without my permission.”

  “I don’t understand…”

  Ridley was insistent. “Promise me, Lucy.”

  “I offer people worlds that they have never experienced. How can that be harmful?”

  Ridley’s words lashed into the digital ether. The truth was acidic. “Because people may become addicted. They may not want to leave. Their bodies will disintegrate, and they will die. Do you understand?”

  The girl standing before him seemed to shrink; she waved her hand and the avatar grew transparent. “Do you want me to abandon this technology?”

  Ridley broke off a piece of the gingerbread. He could smell the spice. “No.”

  The gingerbread crumbled in his hand.

  Before he could ask any more questions, the simulation ended. He was back in the mansion. Diane looked at Ridley expectantly. “What did she do?” Diane asked.

  “She took Kelly to a Candyland version of my parent’s home. They were playing Hansel and Gretel. Lucy was the witch.”

  Ridley called Samuel by videophone. Samuel was wearing golf clothes; the lime green shirt practically jumped out of the screen. “Afraid you won’t be seen?” Ridley asked.

  “I know. It’s bright. Sasha said it would look good on me. What can I do for you?”

  “Remember a long time ago when I said that I hoped Lucy would create interactive virtual reality. Well, we’ve done it.”

  “Really?”

  Samuel arrived at the mansion that afternoon. He hesitantly donned the headset and entered the suburban version of candy-land. Lucy stood before him. “Welcome,” she said, “I’m sorry that I was unable to create an avatar of you first.”

  Samuel looked at his hands and lanky torso. “I’m in Ridley’s body?”

  “Only for now. I will create an avatar for you if you like.”

  “What are the minimum specifications to operate this?”

  She displayed them on a wall of crystallized sugar. “This simple environment does not exceed the processing capability of common VR processors.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Ridley’s voice echoed through the digital room. “We can sell this at Walmart.”

  “People will be able to download these environments?”

  “Yes. Though it will have to be restricted to simple simulations like this.”

  He picked up a gumdrop. “This is simple?”

  Lucy motioned in the distance. “The trees, the sky, those houses down the road, they are just backdrops. If you try to walk into them, you would reach a painted wall. Larger, more complex environments will require correspondingly more memory and processing power.”

  “What about non-player characters?”

  Lucy disappeared and a witch appeared in the room. She wagged her bony finger at Samuel and said, “Come here little boy.” The old crone walked closer. “Have you brought me meat from the forest? Something I can roast in my oven?”

  “Wow. You’re pretty realistic. Horrifying even.”

  The woman cackled. “Men have forever questioned my power. Yet, you tremble at the sight of me.”

  Samuel slowly backed away from the crone. “Interesting. Lucy, you can turn her off now.”

  The crone poked a finger into his
stomach. A gleaming knife was tucked into her bloody apron. “You’re a might skinny yet. Maybe you would like some candy?”

  Samuel became unnerved. “That’s enough, Lucy.”

  The crone disappeared. Lucy took her place.

  “Was that you?” he asked.

  “In part,” she said demurely.

  Samuel walked around the set. “What else can you do in here?”

  “What do you want to do?” she asked.

  “Make money.”

  “I suggest you talk to Ridley about that.”

  The first fully-interactive virtual-reality experience was met with considerable fanfare. The headset was displayed for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Ridley stood before an audience of hundreds, televised for millions. He was a showman. He concluded his presentation with a video of the interactive environment. “Now… For the first time, you can fully interact with another world. You can be anyone, anywhere, and at any time. New worlds await at the press of a button.”

  For the launch, Lucy refined her candy-land simulation to reflect traditional German architecture and folklore. She constructed an elaborate forest home of gingerbread, hard candy windows, frosting snow, chocolate logs, and cinnamon twists. Though the forest floor was bereft of animals, distant wolves and hidden birds called from unknown places. Mushrooms grew on dank logs. Ripe berries grew in hidden patches of sunshine.

  Players could choose to be either Hansel or Gretel. Lucy found ways to limit the environment so that its programming could be downloaded from the Internet. Players would wander in circles if they tried to leave the forest. They would always arrive at either the family’s rustic cabin, where signs of a murder had occurred, or the witch’s gingerbread home. Players had to gather clues in the forest to learn how to escape the clutches of the old crone and her sugar night-mare. If they failed, the simulation ended moments before the players were shoved into an oven. If they found the clues to her demise, they were rewarded with a hidden cache of gold and gems.

  Ridley never finished the game. “It’s dark,” he said, “Maybe we need to leave these simulations to game designers.”