Spheria (7 page)

“Hello,” he said. “I’m Max. Sorry I’m late. I had some issues… with the elevator.” He held out his hand.

The woman put down her magazine and stood up. She had short black hair and thick black-rimmed glasses. She grasped Max’s hand and shook it. “I’m Min. I hate elevators, they’re always bringing me down.” By the way she winced at herself, even she thought that was dorky. But Max liked that she made the joke anyway. “I haven’t been waiting long,” she recovered.

“Nice to meet you, Min. I can already tell you'll be perfect. Let’s talk in my office and then I’ll show you around.”

#

Max entered Dana’s office. It was larger than his. In addition to the desk, it had a separate round table for holding meetings, a mini fridge, and two small bookcases. It was also on the first floor and in Building 20, which was the name for the government grant wing of the UConn Health Center. This location allowed her to work with administrative staff directly, but didn’t prevent her from collaborating with the team. Her workstation had a direct fiber link into Spheria’s computer system. Max pulled one of the table’s chairs over and placed Min’s resume on the desk.

“This is the one,” he proclaimed.

Dana picked up the resume and began to read through it.

Max glanced out Dana’s window at the view of the Farmington Valley beyond the parking lot. This reminded him what an odd location a medical facility was for an A.I. project like Spheria. He’d debated it with Graham, but apparently the dean owed him a favor or two for funding some research here previously. So their space was generous and economical, and utilities were free. Also, the location in Connecticut assured they could attract talent from either Boston or New York City.

 
“She looks good on paper. You’re sure she can take your twisted management style?” Dana asked.

“What do you mean? Everyone loves my management style. I have some of the best talent available.”

“I can’t argue with that.” She looked at the resume again. “Her name. Min? Seems ironically appropriate. Maybe this one can handle the stress.”

“Stress? There is no stress! This is pure fun. We’re paid to basically play all day in a big sandbox. What more could any researcher want?”

“Tell that to Olivia.”

Max frowned and slumped his shoulders. “That’s still a mystery to me. Olivia was finding some intriguing trends in the data, work that she loved. She was all smiles every day. I don’t get it. What would’ve pushed her over the edge?”

Dana glared at Max. “That’s a rather poor choice of words, don’t you think?”

“Right. Not my intention.”

“Anyway, I agree. I don’t get why she’d commit suicide. She was on a great project, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, working with some amazingly talented people. She even seemed to cope well with your style. As you say, you’re paid to play all day.”

“Yep.”

Dana handed the resume back to Max and glanced at a printout on her desk.

“We have a problem, Max.”

“What?”

“The paid part. The initial funding for this project is drying up. You've spent too much too fast. I know things cost more than you expected, and you increased the scope of the project somewhat. But we’re going to need more, especially if you keep bringing on new people.”

“Hey, we’re stable with staffing now. Min is a replacement, not a new person.”

“Even so, we’re running out of money. We need to write some grant applications for round two funding.”

“What about Graham?”

“I already asked him for more. He was standoffish and wouldn’t commit to anything. He said he's going to stop by in a few weeks for a checkup, so you need to wow him. But even if he gives us more, it’ll only buy us some time. To keep this project viable, we need more irons in the fire. It’s not good to have only one source of funding.”

“Agreed. So how do we do this?”

“I will show you. Take a few days to get Min settled. Then you and I need to focus on getting us some more money.”

“Understood.”

Chapter 7 - The Interview

“If you're having fun being yourself and filming something that you would watch yourself, it becomes contagious for other people to watch, too.” - Zoe Sugg

Min entered her apartment. Sheila, her roommate, was sitting on the couch painting her toes. She was a knockout, from Australia even, which made her name more than appropriate.

“Hey babe,” Sheila said. “How’d it go?”

“Pretty good… I think. Actually, super good if I get it. The project is amazing, one of the best things I've ever seen. This is like a computer science major’s dream internship.”

“Tell me more, your geekiness.” Sheila was a medical student at the UConn Health Center. On the cafeteria bulletin board, she saw the ad posted for an internship and told Min about it. She didn’t like computers and didn’t understand Min’s fascination with them. But other than that one difference, they got along smashingly.

“I'd be helping out a bunch of scientists to watch this virtual world. They’ve built a complete ecosystem and have created a bunch of brand new creatures, and a…”

“Hold it! ‘Built creatures?’ What is this, Frankenstein’s family?”

“No,” Min chuckled. “Not real creatures. Computer creatures. Like things living inside the computer. They call them Spherians because they exist inside a Sphere. There are a bunch of types of Spherians, but the extra intelligent ones are called Polyans.”

“Huh? You lost me.”

“It’s like earthlings and humans. Spherians and Polyans.”

“Okay, I get the names, but how’s this inside a computer?” Sheila asked.

Min puckered up her lips, searching for the words to describe it. She wasn't adept at speaking ‘layman.’

“Listen, why don’t I just show you? I filmed the interview.”

Her roommate was used to this. Min was a gadget freak, and her ‘spy glasses’ were her favorite. She picked them up years ago from spygear.com and had been wearing them ever since. They looked like ordinary thick-rimmed glasses, which just happened to be in style these days. But hidden in the frame on one side was a miniature camera capable of filming up to two hours of compressed video footage.
 

Min took off her glasses, plugged a cable into them, and hooked the other end to the TV. She put the glasses back on and sat facing the screen. It looked like her head was wired to the television, and she was about to do a brain dump, revealing her inner thoughts to the world. She picked up the remote and changed to input one. Then she pressed a concealed button on the inside of the frame of her glasses.

The screen showed a small windowless office with a plain wooden desk. Behind the desk sat a lean man with chiseled features and short curly dark hair. To one side, only half in view, stood a tall bookcase filled with imposing looking books and a shelf of blurry knickknacks. On the wall over the man hung posters of Carl Sagan, Bill Nye, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Sheila didn’t recognize any of them.

“So what attracted you to this position?” asked the man, with a slight accent. Probably French, but Sheila wasn’t sure.

“That’s Max,” said the real Min to Sheila.

“I've always loved computers,” answered Min in the video. “I especially like working with data. Not structured data like in databases, but seemingly random data like activity feeds. I love looking for patterns in the randomness, like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“That’s exactly what we need. What did you think of my write-up of the project?”

“Fascinating,” Min replied.

“Fascinating!” Sheila interjected. “You're such a nerd. Who are you, a chick from the planet Spock?”

“The planet Vulcan, jeez. Get your facts straight.”

Max was saying. “…is going to give us insights into how cultures develop that were before now unachievable. Sure, we’ve visited primitive cultures, and even watched them for long periods of time. In many cases we’ve seen how civilization has influenced them, changed them. But real life moves too slowly, and the sample size is too small, to draw many conclusions. This simulation allows us to see firsthand how cultures can form; how social structures are created; how good must win against evil, or maybe evil
can
win. Regardless, this experiment will provide insight and knowledge about the human condition that nothing else has ever provided. It’s evolutionary, er, revolutionary.”

Sheila shook her head. “I have no idea what this guy is saying, but he sure sounds passionate. And he’s kind of hot. I can see you two together, same color hair.”

“Sheila! This isn't about how hot he is. I’m not in this to find a boyfriend. I’m interested in this work because it’s the coolest thing ever and can change the world.”

“Okay yeah, I got that out of what he said, right. Gotcha. He’s still hot. I would date him. Even if I worked with him.”

“Jeez.”

“Actually, maybe not. He sounds French. They can be intense. Watch yourself with him.”

“That’s sooo racist. I didn’t think you were like that.”

“No, it’s not racist. It’s culturalist. Like
he
was saying. Maybe I do understand this stuff.”

Max continued. “…was invented by me. It’s the heart of the operation.” On the video, he handed Min a small chunk of glass. She held it up to her eyes and it filled the screen. At this magnification, it sparkled like a prism made of diamond and had layers of defects inside. “We call it a Qube, which stands for Quantum Uncertainty Binary Engine. I know it’s kind of a cheesy name, but I picked the acronym first and had to come up with something for it to mean. Anyway, whatever it’s called, this is what gives the inhabitants of our world their brains. No, that’s the wrong analogy; their brains have more data than these can hold. It’s more like their soul. There’s enough informational state in one of these to govern their tendencies to make a choice in any given situation, to be their… personality, if you will. Their actual memories are stored in traditional hard drives. Does any of this make sense?”

“Totally!” exclaimed Min without hesitation. “This is the coolest thing I've heard in a long time. It’s like science fiction, but in real life.”

“That’s what I was hoping you'd say. We’re breaking new ground here, and everyone on my team needs passion. I was impressed by the analysis you emailed to me. You came up with some clever solutions to my exercises. Not bad for a student at CCSU. So…”

“Hey, it’s a great school! They teach practical knowledge. Because I'm a numbers geek, I’m just trying to finish up all the required computer science classes to graduate. Statistics is my focus, but to get a degree in Data Analytics requires that you be able to code also, though it’s not my favorite thing.”

“Well, we need your skills specifically. I already have great coders on the team. Anyway, as I was about to ask, are you interested in the job?”

“Totally!”

“At least you're consistent.” He cracked a smile. “I agree you're a great fit. I just have to get final approval from the project sponsor and will let you know soon. Let me show you the coolest part on the way out.”

“Thanks,” Min replied.

“Follow me,” Max said. He got up and left the office. The camera rose and followed him out.

The real Min pressed another button on the frame of her glasses. The video skipped ahead at quadruple speed. Max was weaving between cubicles and down a hallway like The Flash.

“The most amazing thing you'll ever see is about to happen,” real Min said.

“Seeing him smile is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!” Sheila quipped.

“Stop it!” Min ordered.

“Wait. Play it normal.” Min pressed a button and the video returned to real time.

The camera focused on Max as he walked up to a large metal door.

“Yes, that confirms it. He’s got an amazing ass. That’s prime eye candy.”

“I mean it!” said Min.

Max typed a code into a keypad near the door and it clicked. He turned the handle and pushed it open. The light from the room was blinding. The TV went completely white with over-saturation until the camera exposure compensated. Then walls on both sides of the room came into view. They emitted a massive amount of blue light interspersed with speckles of red. Max and Min entered what was shaped like a large walk-in closet, about fifteen feet long by eight feet wide.

“I can see from your expression you're confused,” Max said. “Rightfully so. This is like nothing you've ever seen before. It’s not typical, but it’s our server room.”

“I've seen server rooms before. They’re usually darker.”

“Yeah, that’s what I mean. See that Qube in your hand?” Min opened her palm, not even realizing that she’d carried it from his office. “When those are powered up, they glow. These walls are covered with them. There are thousands. These are the core of the computer array.”

The camera panned across the scene, and Min (and Sheila) could see that there were rectangular panels along the walls forming layers. They were like shutters, or shingles, or the flip panels at department stores displaying posters for sale. In fact, these were virtually identical to those, and Max began flipping them.

“See, this setup allows us to pack in many more of these in this tight space and still gain access to them all. Each panel is three feet tall by one foot wide, and thus holds 300 Qubes. We have eight panels, four on each side, holding a total of 2,400 active Qubes. That’s how many thinking creatures we currently can have in our world at one time. But each Qube costs a lot to make, so this was all quite expensive. Luckily we were funded by an eccentric billionaire.”