by Gary Starta
“Excuse me judge, but how do we know you’re not being unfairly sympathetic to the robots? You’re an AI, for God sake. And you were created from a holographic program used by Steven who just happens to be in love with space gadgets.”
“Enough Mr. Sanderson. I am no space gadget. However, I am a computer program designed to be completely impartial. Now this court is in recess for 24 hours. Ms. Dougherty you will be responsible for providing security during Mr. Ciprelli’s examination of the evidence.
The remaining androids will still be confined within the parameters of the force field. I suggest everybody else—including the prosecution— get some rest during this interim. I expect a long trial awaits us.”
Sanderson then bowed his head in dismay. “I bet someday they’ll come up with a way to fit us with an off switch,” he remarked to Marisa who was still preoccupied with staring into space.
Chapter 3: Window of Opportunity
The android known as Peter Ciprelli immediately went to work after the holographic judge ordered a 24 hour recess. The android’s first task was to examine the holo models Mikola Petrovsky had allegedly used against the scientists. The superior processing abilities of the automaton were put to the test. Petrovsky had seemingly invented new technology according to the android who presented his initial findings to Linda and Matt Dougherty in the municipal building’s first floor laboratory.
“I have tested the transmitter which was most likely used to infect Joyce Starkman’s brain. I believe Petrovsky employed virtual memory to transfer data to her artificial brain. I also surmise that this procedure could have only been conducted during the automaton’s sleep cycle. Our power levels are at their lowest during this dormant state. I would surmise that Petrovsky used that time window to get past our virus protection.”
“How was that possible? Don’t you have safeguards?” Matt asked the android with disbelief.
“Petrovsky was accessing a non-critical part of our brains. The area he sabotaged was only designed to be used for memory storage. Our creator probably wanted that space to be easily accessible in case memory needed to be transferred there in an emergency. Essentially, the engineer utilized dead space which was not protected. He invented a way for us to dream.”
“I hazard to guess these dreams weren’t about fairies and castles,” Matt commented.
“I have no idea as to what the exact nature the dreams were about,” Ciprelli answered without recognizing the facetious nature of Matt’s supposition.
“I do believe one could use this technology to make fantasy seem like reality. Petrovsky most likely planted subliminal messages into our brains to get us to do whatever he wanted. I feel certain that negative suggestions were fed into my programming. However, I cannot prove that.”
“That’s what we call gut instinct,” Linda said with a grin. However, the smile on Linda’s lips quickly faded like sunlight behind a passing cloud. The counselor realized they were still up against the clock. “Please continue your research, Peter.” She then hesitated a moment before placing her hand on the android’s shoulder. Excuse me, but it is it all right if we call you Peter for now?” she asked uneasily.
“If calling someone Peter means I’m a friend, then by all means, please do.”
Both Matt and Linda suppressed a wave of guilt brought on by the android’s sincerity. The android was certainly more trusting than either of them. “If our species was on trial for its life, would we be so accommodating to our accusers?” Linda asked Matt.
“I’m not sure I could if you want an honest answer,” Matt replied. “I just hope our new friend can save his species.”
Chapter 4: Motivated
“We need to come back to the trial with something that can’t be refuted,” Jon Sanderson told Marisa Perez over a data net communication. The two colonists spoke to each other from their own dwellings. It had been nearly four hours since the court adjourned. Perez and Sanderson initially agreed to follow the holographic judge’s advice and take a nap, however Sanderson’s fear of sharing a planet with androids compelled him to rise early.
“We just can’t lie back and hope things turn out all right,” Sanderson continued. Marisa fought back a yawn brought on by her premature awakening.
“How can I think straight now that you woke me up?” she complained. “I find it highly unlikely that Linda will be able to prove the android’s weren’t behind the technical manipulation. Therefore, the android will pay for his crimes,” Marisa answered.
“I’m not just looking to punish this Petrovsky android, Marisa. I want all these things turned off.”
For a brief instant, Sanderson’s rantings reminded her of Petrovsky.
“He called them things also,” she remembered.
She then shuddered at the memory of her abduction.
“What’s wrong?” Sanderson asked.
“Just an after shock,” Marisa explained.
“I know you need this android to be brought to justice more than anybody, Marisa,” Jon responded. That’s why I’m pushing so hard for the conviction.”
However, Marisa did not believe the plastic surgeon cared about anybody else other than himself. In that way, he reminded her again of Petrovsky. But was her attacker really being represented at the trial as Sanderson was charging? Marisa pondered this question as the android’s behavior at the trial was completely rational. “Petrovsky was fanatical,” she thought to herself before Sanderson once again interrupted her.
“How about we argue that federation law must be upheld in this circumstance? We know it’s illegal to manufacture sentient androids. Therefore, how can these androids be subject to anything else but deactivation?” Sanderson argued.
“I will start amassing as much data as I can concerning these laws,” Marisa proposed. “Now please leave me alone to complete my task.”
Sanderson was put off by Marisa’s abrupt closure. “Well, she’s probably still angry about being attacked,” he concluded. “I just hope she uses her bitterness to our advantage.” It would have been more accurate for Sanderson to say my advantage.
Chapter 5: Real Brain
Linda and Matt were just about to fall asleep when a chime rang requesting their presence. The pair had spent the last three hours monitoring the androids (with the exception of Ciprelli) who were still confined to a force field that held them captive to the municipal building’s basement. However, the android’s total lack of protest made this task tedious. The couple initially kept watch on their feet. Eventually, they laid against a wall in a seated position. This proved too comfortable for Linda who nestled her head onto Matt’s shoulder. In another five minutes, the Dougherty’s would have been sound asleep if not for Ciprelli’s interruption. The couple’s data net indicated that Peter was ready to provide them with an update. The couple made their way to the laboratory on the municipal building’s first floor which had been dedicated to holographic design. Ciprelli was working by himself in this room which was guarded by Daryl White. Sentry duty was not necessary; but Daryl did not trust the force field to contain the android. He also did not trust androids—period. However, Peter never even gave the idea of escape the slightest consideration. He was hard at work trying to prove Linda’s theory. It was the best and only hope he and his kind had to win their freedom in an honorable manner.
Linda gave Daryl a dirty look as she passed by. The guard had another phaser rifle in his possession.
“Don’t you see they mean us no harm?” she asked Daryl in a tone that made him feel ignorant. White’s face would have been flushed but his brown complexion concealed the combination of anger and embarrassment he was experiencing. To save face, Daryl tried to turn the tables on Linda. “I just hope you didn’t leave the rest of them alone. I saw what one of those things was capable of.”
Apparently, some tables can’t be budged as Linda brushed past him without acknowledging his comments. Matt did not immediately follow his wife into the lab. Instead, he took the opportunity to glance
down at White’s weapon. Dougherty refrained from speaking for a moment and then shook his head with disgust. “We didn’t come here to live like this my friend,” Dougherty reminded White. The door to the lab then swung shut in Daryl’s face as Matt joined his wife.
“I didn’t come here to live like this either,” Daryl spoke aloud to himself in a hushed tone. He would not admit this regret to anyone but the steel door in front of him.
Inside the lab, Peter did not wait for the Dougherty’s to inquire about his findings. The android immediately launched into an explanation of the holo technology which was too complex for the Dougherty’s to comprehend.
“Can you possibly give us an explanation in lay man’s terms?” Matt asked.
“I’m sorry for my husband’s bewilderment,” Linda added. “What we need is a non-technical explanation, Peter.”
“I will try to accommodate you in that case,” Ciprelli said without a hint of annoyance.
“The holo model I have been studying basically captured both organic and artificial signals in its transmission matrix. The firing of artificial synapses left encoded impressions in the transmission log. All other markings contain traces of the chemical seratonin which tells us human DNA was present. I theorize that Dr. McElroy used seratonin to control the amount of information the human engrams were feeding into our neurons at any one time. I detect only a slight presence of seratonin in the transmitter’s matrix; however, it is enough to confirm that the impression was taken from a hybrid being. The next step we need to take is to test all android brains for the presence of seratonin. If there are no chemical traces now, then there is no human DNA present.”
“Can we do this without disassembling you or your friends?” Linda asked Peter.
“Yes. I propose that all the androids be allowed to enter a sleep state. I will then probe their minds with Petrovsky’s device. I believe it will prove that there is no organic presence.”
“You mean it will prove there are no more human engrams in your processors,” Matt interrupted.
“Yes. I believe that is exactly what I just said,” Peter responded. Linda believed she could detect a hint of anger in the android’s tone. “He was offended,” she thought to herself. “Dr. McElroy was a genius.”
Chapter 6: Bugged
“So, does anybody have any objections?”
Linda Dougherty posed this question to the captive androids after Peter Ciprelli explained that he would test their bodies for the presence of human engrams. The androids would all go into a sleep state during this analysis. Their minds would then be probed by Petrovsky’s holo transmitter in an effort to capture an imprint of their brains. If the imprint revealed there were no traces of seratonin, then the androids would no longer be under the influence of the engrams. Ciprelli explained this analysis would help “set them free.”
Dougherty scanned the faces of the androids known as Joyce and Aaron Starkman, Anna Ciprelli, Karen and Akira Hiroshi and Nadia and Mikola Petrovsky. There were no dissenters. The androids clearly stood united in their cause to prove they were no threat to the colonists. They would all freely volunteer to undergo the examinations. Dougherty wondered if this peaceful allegiance was due to McElroy’s programming. “Are these beings capable of showing such nobility on their own? If so, they are clearly superior.”
Dougherty did not express these feelings out loud. Right now, she wanted to keep everyone’s feelings on an even keel. She knew solid proof was what the skeptical colonists needed. It was now in the hands of the androids to provide that proof.
When all the androids were settled into beds, Ciprelli began to power up the holo transmitters. Just as he did, a loud thumping noise penetrated the room. Linda looked towards the window of the basement where she saw Ruby the bug fluttering about.
“He wants to get in,” Joyce explained while assuming an upright position. “Can we please let my pet in to join us?”
“I don’t see why not. Will it pose a problem for your study, Peter?” Linda asked.
“I have no objections to its presence. I hear Ruby displayed quite a bit of bravery in its attempt to protect Joyce from her attacker,” Peter commented. If Ciprelli harbored any resentment for the human Petrovsky’s less than divine intervention he did not show it. His tone was entirely non-judgmental.
Linda then went to disengage the holographic window so Ruby could enter.
Ruby quickly hopped up onto Joyce Starkman’s lap. He frantically began emitting signals from the ridges above his eyes. A stream of blue neon light flickered on and off making the basement resemble some sort of decadent nightclub.
“Well, I guess he really missed you, Joyce,” Linda remarked.
“I don’t believe that’s it. He’s attempting to communicate with me. I believe he’s using a code signal.”
“It looks like he’s requesting S.O.S.,” Aaron theorized.
Ruby then pounced upon a holo transmitter. When Peter tried to remove him, the bug fastened itself onto the device like a leech.
“I think he’s trying to help us. Don’t remove him,” Joyce cautioned.
“How could he help us?” Ciprelli wondered aloud with a look of fascination. “I’m open to any suggestions that will aid our cause.”
“This is very hard for me to talk about. But I must,” Joyce began tentatively.
“We all know my artificial brain had been infected by Petrovsky’s holographic transmitter. Ruby attempted to disrupt its link so my organic brain—I mean, Joyce Starkman’s organic brain—could take over. I have vague memories of feeling like I was having a seizure during the struggle in the field. I believe Ruby may have telepathically linked himself to my android brain if only for an instant. Unfortunately, I can no longer recall how I was influenced or what images I may have been subjected to during Petrovsky’s violation. However, Ruby may have seen what Petrovsky was programming into me.”
“Are you saying the bug can provide evidence of Petrovsky’s brainwashing?” Matt asked.
“I don’t know exactly what brainwashing means; but the bug may be witness to how Petrovsky was controlling me,” Joyce theorized.
“Controlling is brainwashing,” Matt explained. “I’m sorry, but the human language is filled with derogatory expressions which try to explain our negative actions.”
“We may have words for these acts; however, I don’t believe we’ll ever understand why these behaviors need to exist,” Linda pointed out.
“Maybe we can help you,” Peter responded with the innocence of a child.
“I’m sure all of you will,” the morale counselor remarked to the androids.
Peter then began to theorize out loud. “I can try to engage the bug’s brain with the transmitter—that is, if Ruby is willing. If Ruby does indeed possess a visual memory—I can attempt to have it transferred to my brain through virtual memory.”
“Will you then be able to present this visual record to the court?” Linda inquired.
“I will have to work on that part. Right now, me and my fellow androids need to enter into a sleep state to allow the holo transmitter the chance to link to our brains.”
A faint humming sound then emanated from the bug interrupting Peter’s train of thought.
“I believe he’s transmitting a frequency I can use to link his mind with the device. This is truly remarkable. However, I must caution that there’s no guarantee this will work.”
“Will Ruby be harmed in any way?” Joyce asked.
“I can’t guarantee that either. My research so far seems to indicate the holo transmitter can only create a link with an artificial mind. I am unsure how, or even if a link can be established with an organic mind.”
“All bets are off as far Ceres goes,” Linda countered. “Ruby may possess an intelligence that is neither organic nor mechanical for all we know.”
“Well Ruby,” as Linda asked before: “Do you have any objections?” Ruby did not budge from his position.
“Then I’ll take that as an affirma
tive. Everybody please assume sleeping positions. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.” Peter then powered up the rest of the transmitters. Each holo transmitter had been pre-programmed to match the unique frequency of the android brain it would link to. For the first two hours, there was no indication the test would work. However, during the third hour each transmitter began casting a blue beam of light which surreptitiously snaked its way towards the appropriate android body.
“It’s working,” Linda spoke in an excited whisper.
“Yes, but what about Ruby?” Matt asked anxiously.
Before Linda could respond, another wave of blue light began to link itself with the bug’s brain. The light penetrated Ruby’s mind for half an hour before turning off. The transmitter automatically switched frequencies thanks to Peter’s pre-programming. The same device was now emitting a signal to Ciprelli. Linda was elated with what was transpiring until she saw Peter’s body twitch. “We’ve got to cut the link!” she cried.
Matt Dougherty demanded no one interfere with the link that made Peter Ciprelli’s artificial body spasm. Despite his wife’s protests, Dougherty maintained that his orders must be followed. “I am still acting captain, here,” he reminded Linda. “And I say this experiment must be completed.” He placed his hand around his wife’s waist to deter him from rushing to Peter’s aid.
The only other person in the basement besides Linda was Steven— who immediately sided with Matt.
“The information obtained from this link may be vital for proving the android’s innocence. If we don’t obtain this evidence, we may have no way of saving the androids from deactivation. In that event, it won’t matter if they’re damaged from the link or not,” Steven pointed out in an effort to console Linda.
“All right. I won’t interfere,” Linda acquiesced. “You may remove your hand from my waist now.” Matt released his grip on his wife while trying to conceal the embarrassment he felt. “You always have a way of making me feel bad even when I win the argument,” he said in reference to his “hands on approach.”