We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

Book 5: Chapter 4: A Foreboding Conversation

Book 5: Chapter 4: A Foreboding Conversation

Bob

February 2336

En route to 82 Eridani

Iwas several years into my journey toward 82 Eridani. It would take a little longer than otherwise because I was limiting my top speed in order to stay in touch with the rest of the Bobiverse. The fallout from my last self-imposed isolation had been a little too traumatic, with the number of changes I had to contend with when I reconnected—like the Skippies, and Starfleet. This time I was determined to stay up to date on things.

I hadn’t talked to Will in a while, but his blog, while sparsely updated, told me he was juggling a number of balls, so I didn’t want to pester him without good reason.

And I had my own projects going, including helping ANEC with the basic setup for the proposed post-life VR for Quinlans, which had been dubbed the Quiniverse. If and when Theresa Sykorski died, I wanted a stable operating environment for her. We had already agreed that she should be the first Quinlan replicant, given her education and standing in Quinlan society.

And speaking of which, I had a meeting with ANEC coming up. My own VR redesign was going slowly anyway. I’d tried various Earth settings, themes from fiction, and extraterrestrial locations. None had really clicked. In a moment of frustration, I waved a hand and brought back my original library, complete with Spike the cat and my butler, Jeeves. I bit back a snarl, flopped into my La-Z-Boy, and signaled Jeeves for a coffee. Spike immediately jumped into my lap and headbutted my chin.

Okay, there was something to be said for tradition.

ANEC pinged me as I was finishing my coffee, and I invited him in. A six-foot-tall otter-slash-beaver-slash-platypus mashup appeared, looked around, and plunked himself down on a couch. ANEC insisted on appearing only in Quinlan form, even when interacting with ex-humans. His only acknowledgment that he was dealing with non-Quinlans was making his avatar two feet taller than average Quinlan height.

“Coffee?” I said. Without waiting for a response, I gestured to Jeeves.

ANEC accepted with a nod. “I am growing very fond of coffee. May try to introduce it to the Quinlan population if the plants can be grown in Heaven’s River.”

“And maybe wean them off beer?” I replied with a small smile.

ANEC shuddered. He flat-out detested beer, both human and Quinlan versions. “Fortunately, with unrestricted technological advancements, including water purification, beer is becoming less of a staple in Quinlan society. I will be happy to see it go.”

ANEC, being an AI, tended to skimp on the social niceties, but he seemed to like beginning every conversation with a complaint about beer. I was happy enough to go along with it; I’d tasted Quinlan beer, and I wouldn’t miss it, either.

“All updates are installed, and the Quiniverse VR environment appears to be stable,” ANEC said, changing the subject and getting down to business. “I have run regression tests per your suggestions. Simulation resolution is more than adequate for the Quinlan senses. I had to increase audio support, by the way. Your human specs are inadequate.”

“Not surprising. Quinlans do seem to have better hearing. How about the replicant programming interface?”

ANEC popped up some charts and proceeded to give a point-by-point rundown. I settled back and relaxed. There was still nothing that could beat a good technical presentation.

*****

We’d gone through all the scheduled items without finding any red flags, and I was feeling that warm glow I always got when a project was winding up without any major glitches. ANEC accepted another coffee from Jeeves and said, “I have a concern, Bob.”

“Oh? Everything seems to be on track. Something not covered in the project plan?”

“This is not about the Quiniverse project, which I acknowledge is gratifyingly on schedule. My concern is about the Skippies and their AI project.”

“Oh? I thought you gave them all the specs and requirements for developing a properly socialized AI.” In fact, that had been the whole point of Hugh’s technology deal with the Administrator, since the Skippies were obsessed with developing a working artificial intelligence.

“The concern I have is contained in the sentence you just uttered,” ANEC replied. “‘Specs and requirements’ are adequate for a virtual reality system, but not appropriate for producing a conscious being.”

“But that’s what you gave them, isn’t it?”

“Yes and no. Bob, have you ever wondered why the Quinlans were able to develop a working AI theory, despite being behind humans in most matters of technology?”

“I … ” He had a point. I’d casually pondered the question but never really felt any urgency about pursuing it. “Please enlighten me.”

ANEC took a moment to sip his coffee before replying. “In most respects, humans are amazingly technically oriented and curious. ‘Handy’ is the word you use. Tinkerers. Your average human would be considered a technical wizard on old Quin.” ANEC shook his head in an expression of equal parts puzzlement and admiration. “We took almost ten thousand years to progress the same amount as you did in the last two thousand years of your history.” He paused. “But because we didn’t proceed at the same breakneck pace, we were able to savor and evaluate each advance, each new piece of knowledge. In particular, the conundrum of the juniors … ”

I frowned. “You mean your young?”

“Exactly. I have read your account of your time on Heaven’s River. The junior you referred to as ‘His Badgerness’ was a typical example. Juniors are non-sentient for the first five years or so of life, and unless properly socialized, they never make that leap to intelligence. But this developmental path, which I understand is considerably different from that of humans, allowed us to study the emergence of intelligence in real time, so to speak. And as well, the steps required to achieve proper socialization.” ANEC rubbed his beak sideways, a Quinlan laugh. “My understanding is that human infants are relatively weak and unarmed during the time that their verbal skills are advancing. With a Quinlan junior, that whole developmental period is much more of a contact sport, so to speak.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “So you’re saying that socializing a junior requires a project plan.”

“Very much so. And raising an AI follows the same general arc. Your human tendency to think of it as just another piece of technology could indicate a dangerous bias in how the matter will be treated.”

“Hmmm. Do you have any specific issues?”

“No, Bob. If I did, I would have brought them up. I have a reputation among you humans as being somewhat abrupt and perhaps not so diplomatic.” He paused to smile. “To be clear, I have the same reputation among Quinlans. I don’t mind. It saves time.”

“Okay. So you’re concerned, based on your knowledge of us as a species, that we may not follow the procedures you’ve specified in the most effective manner.”

“Essentially correct. Which is why I bring it up with you. Perhaps you could have a quiet word with someone … ”

I nodded. “I can do that. Or Bill can. Certainly no harm in bringing it up. And the downside of getting it wrong … ”

“Indeed.”