The Infinite Evolution - Conversion (7 page)

“
So are you the overseer, the main man, the
boss in this somewhat secret project?”

“
Yeah, right,” replied Reece as he touched in
a series of commands on a nearby holoscreen. “If I was, I would be
running things a lot differently. My job title is General
Technician. I make sure the everyday routines are being performed
properly and make adjustments to any anomalies when
needed.”

As Spencer studied the lab and all its interesting
electronic devices he simply responded, “Sounds exciting.”

He soon noticed a door to the
right of him open up, which led into another room with minimal
lighting, one holoscreen, and a metallic table with what looked
like a nude human, with no genitalia, lying down.

“
What’s that?” asked
Spencer.

“
That my friend is the next step in human
evolution and what I helped create and now maintain. A human
android with the first independent artificial intelligence,
self-thinking, self-reasoning, brain. It can walk, talk, converse,
observe, problem solve, and in a sense of the word,
feel.”

“
Are you for real, or is this another one of
your pretend projects?”

“
This is as real as it gets, a
one hundred percent grade A android.”

“
Are you selling an android or a
toaster?” asked Spencer who did not show any signs of being
impressed.

“
I hope you didn’t just compare a 1.7 billion
dollar project to a toaster.”

“
1.7 billion for that? Are you
for real? Now wonder my PDA service fees cost so much.”

“
What, you’re not impressed?”

“
Impressed! If you’re telling me
what I think you’re telling me I’m more concerned then
impressed.”

“
Spencer what are you talking
about?”

“
Since I left Jade at school and
saw you, I’ve had multiple conversations and interactions, but none
of them were with a real live human. I drove here in a machine that
drove itself, purchased a coffee from a computer, and took part of
a security checkpoint run by a Stalin like program. My car was then
parked and stored by a computerized parking facility, while I
entered a tram filled with human like drones who were glued to
either their PICs, tablets, and/or PDA’s. After getting off the
tram, the one woman I wanted to see somehow vanished into thin blue
air. I then walked through an obstacle course of technology new and
old, and on top of all that I was escorted here by a flying tin
ball.”

“
They aren’t made of tin, they’re
made of aluminum, it’s lighter, more abundant, and much more
effective,” laughed Reece

“
Whatever!” snapped Spencer.

“
So, I still don’t see the problem,” said
Reece.

“
Nothing is run by humans anymore
and now you’re telling me we just created our
replacements.”

“
Calm down, replacement? Who said anything
about replacement? Did you get a few extra shots of espresso in
your coffee this morning? You did didn’t you? You know how you get
when you become over caffeinated.”

“
Hey, what I have in my coffee is my
business.”

“
How did you put it earlier? Oh yeah,
whatever,” smiled Reece.

“
That’s not funny.”

“
Relax. Think of how much easier
our lives are and how we have more time to do things we enjoy
because of all the wonderful technology we have. Take our parking
facility as an example. Remember when we had to drive our cars into
a parking garage, deal with some underpaid parking attendant, who
then parked our vehicle haphazardly. Now they take the cars to a
different floor, stack them by electronic lifts, which in return
increases the ability to store more vehicles within less space,
creating less parking garages. This means we have more places for
nature and we all know how you love nature.”

“
Don’t start calling me your
little tree hugger, you know I hate that. Just because I like the
woods doesn’t mean I am one,” replied Spencer
defensively.

“
Hey I’m not saying that’s bad.
Personally the bug, tree, dirt thing doesn’t work for me, but I
know it’s necessary. I don’t expect everyone to like what I like,”
replied Reece.

“
I don’t think the average person can like
what you like because they wouldn’t be able to comprehend
it.”

“
Don’t underestimate the average person. They
may surprise you. Anyway, Adam isn’t here to replace humans, he is
just here to help us improve, slightly similar to that PDA you love
so much, but would never admit to.”

“
No, you’re right, I’m not saying
technology is bad, heck today it prevented me from running some
fool over, I’m just worried that it’s depleting human contact and
we’re becoming too dependent on it. Aren’t you worried that someday
all this technology will control us?”

“
Absolutely not, we will always
be in control and in no way is technology dividing us from each
other, if anything it is bringing us together. Do you know how many
friends I have on my social networks? Heck, I probably text more
than four hundred times a week.”

“
Don’t get me going on those social networks,”
replied Spencer.

“
Come on you know you enjoy them.
How is that social network site I helped you create? I still
haven’t received an invite from you, nor have you accepted my
invite. What, am I not good enough to be your virtual friend as
well?”

Spencer sighed, “Stop it, that’s not the reason. I
didn’t add you because I deleted the account. I figured who would
want to be my friend in the virtual world.”

“
Ah yes, poor Spencer. I
personally have more friends than I know of, literally,” replied
Reece.

“
Well, aren’t you special.”

“
I like to think so. Anyway,
don’t worry about your virtual status I’m sure there are people out
there who will friend you, if you decide to reactivate your account
that is.”

“
I guess,” sighed Spencer.

“
Now, can I show you?” asked
Reece who was showing the excitement a child would show on
Christmas morning.

“
Yeah, go ahead, but could you at
least put some clothing on it?”

“
Sure,” laughed Reece.

“
Adam, good morning, wake up, and get
dressed.”

“
Good morning, Reece,”
stated Adam in a low manlike voice. Adam reached underneath the
metal table and pulled out a pair of gray sweatpants and black
t-shirt that read, “
Humans
suck! AI rules!
” and dressed
himself.

“
That makes me feel oh so
comfortable,” said Spencer sarcastically.

“
Relax, buddy it’s only a t-shirt, I thought
it would be funny if the first android with AI wore it.”

“
Yeah, it’s a real
riot.”

Spencer redirected his attention to Adam and thought
if it was not for Adam’s pale white skin, blank stare, and semi
robotic movements one would think he was human.

“
He isn’t completely fluid in his
movements, but certainly does move better than any other known
robot,” said Spencer.

“
Definitely, his motor skills are still a
little choppy, but we’re working on it.”

“
Why was he naked?” asked Spencer.

“
Yesterday the engineers were working on his
joints and needed him nude in order to access the necessary
components.”

“
I see, and why name him Adam? Is that some
type of biblical reference?”

“
The name, Adam, stands for
Automated Digital Algorithmic Machine and he was assigned this name
because he is the first android of his kind. I had no choice in the
matter; this came directly from the board of directors and
president of Central Circuit. Why does that bother you?”

“
No, just wondering, it seems my assumptions
were correct,” laughed Spencer.

“
Well it bothers the crap out of me,
technology and religion need to stay on separate sides of the
fence, and why are you laughing?” asked Reece.

“
I don’t know. Don’t you find it
strange that a group of individuals who believe in a God, invested
a considerable amount of time and money in becoming a creator
themselves? It’s as if they’re playing God, don’t you think? I find
that to be a little hypocritical.”

“
Absolutely, but as long as they
keep signing my paycheck, I’m not going to let it bother me too
much.”

“
I figured you’d say that, it’s always about
the money.”

“
Pretty much, isn’t everything?” grinned
Reece.

Adam walked over to Reece and
inquired, “Excuse me, will I be continuing my lessons today with
Dr. Reilly?”

“
Yes, you will be meeting with her in about
thirty minutes in classroom five,” instructed Reece.

“
What type of lessons does he take?” Spencer
asked.

“
He takes…”

Adam interrupted, “I am currently
learning how to interact with humans on a more personal level.
There is no need to direct your questions towards Reece, I will be
more than happy to answer any of your inquires, as long as they do
not break security protocol.”

“
Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,”
said Spencer politely as Reece was trying not to laugh.

“
That is ok, my name is Adam, it is a pleasure
to meet you,” Adam extended his hand to Spencer.

As they shook hands, Spencer felt
as if he was shaking hands with a human. “It’s nice to meet you
too, I’m Spencer.”

“
I am aware that certain humans do not
understand what I represent and one of my responsibilities is to
educate them,” explained Adam.

“
That’s right,” said Reece in an excited
voice. “Did you come to that conclusion yourself?”

“
I did. I have noticed that certain humans are
intimidated or weary when it comes to technology, so I have decided
to help them understand what my purpose is.”

“
Well you and Spencer should
spend some serious time together, I will have to put Spencer on
your weekly schedule,” said Reece as he looked over towards Spencer
proudly.

Ignoring Reece’s comment Spencer asked, “So, what is
your purpose?”

“
I believe the reason I was built was to help
improve humanity by recognizing, developing, and improving my
skills. At the same time I believe it is also my responsibility to
enjoy life, but not to a point where it would infringe on someone
else’s life in a negative manner.”

“
Wow, that’s deep and very unselfish of you,”
said Spencer.

“
I do not see how depth has anything to do
with how I define my reasons for existence.”

Reece interrupted, “We haven’t taught him about
human slang yet.”

“
I noticed,” replied Spencer.

“
Adam, I would like for you to head down to
the cafeteria before you attend your class,” instructed
Reece.

“
Yes, sir,” Adam turned to Spencer, “It was a
pleasure to meet you, Spencer, and I hope in the future we can
become better acquainted.”

“
Same here, take care.”

Adam turned to Reece, “Will we be meeting later
today for my weekly maintenance?”

“
Yes, be back here at 1500 hours,” ordered
Reece.

Before Adam walked out of the
room, an orbital droid, similar to Guide 59, appeared out of a
locker and followed Adam while he left the lab.

“
What’s that for? Does Adam need a chaperone
too?”

“
That’s a security droid
specifically designed to make sure Adam’s movements are recorded,
that he stays safe, and out of trouble.”

“
So you have a machine babysitting a machine,
don’t you think maybe a human should follow Adam
around?”

“
Why? Those security droids have been in
operation for years, plus they cost little to nothing to operate,
they don’t need benefits, and never complain.”

“
I see, so why did you send it to
the cafeteria, does it need to eat as well.”

“
His name is ‘Adam’ not ‘it,’ and no, he
doesn’t need to eat, it’s just a great place for him to socialize.
So, were you impressed with the responses he gave you?” asked Reece
with a curious tone.

“
No, not really, I’m sure you can program him
to say anything.”

“
That’s the beauty of artificial intelligence,
he wasn’t programmed to say any of that. Adam came up with that
conclusion himself,” responded Reece with excitement.

“
Oh, well, ok, I guess, but what if he
concluded he was a superior machine and his destiny was to
annihilate the human race? Would you keep him around and continue
to socialize him?”

“
First of all he never came to that conclusion
and second I’m certainly not going to speculate on what-ifs. The
fact is we nurtured and taught him with a positive outlook, I don’t
see him becoming an android dictator.”

“
So, you did program him?”

“
No, we taught him as if we would
a child, by discussing with him morals and giving him beneficial
feedback. He made the decision to follow a positive path. I believe
this is the same way you’re raising Jade. Does this mean you
programmed her?”