Episode 4:  Just a girl
" And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one
of us, to know good and evil:" - Genesis, 3, 22 (King James
version)

"...I assure you, friends. Only living minds were standing
behind the successful strategy that led to our victory in
this war. Only living minds. No machines would ever be able
to even come close to the genius of a living brain. The
Space Corps. has never been able to develop an Artificial
Intelligence. Those new rumors are completely baseless,"
Admiral Wilford smiled towards the press agents.
I did my best to hide my amusement. Certainly, the rumors
were baseless. The Admiral knew it. He was the one who
ordered these rumors. I kept a straight face. Soon my part
in this show will begin. "As you know," Wilford inclined his
head, "this long war with an alien race has been straining
our resources and good men. Senior Press Officer, Colonel
James Lysh has been here every day for months, supplying the
media and the people of Earth with the necessary information
about the war. Now, as the war is finally over, Senior Press
Officer Lysh has been given a well deserved holiday for one
month. During this month, I'd like to present his
replacement, Captain Gail Sanders. She will now answer any
questions you may have". Admiral Wilford took his leave,
going down the stairs to the sounds of a choir of "Thank
you" coming from the benches.
It was my cue. I walked forward, towards the stand. "Good
evening, ladies and gentlemen of the press," I said, a
slight smile hovering on the corners of my lips. "Your
questions? Cony, please?"
The CNN reporter stood up. "When are the Space Crops. Going
to release the videos of the attack on the aliens
homeworld?" she asked
I smiled slightly. Trust CNN to be interested in the gory
details. It was really amusing. "The tapes are still being
studied by Space Corps. Strategic Command," I replied, "once
this phase is over, those tapes would be released to the
media. Next question. Eric?"
Eric Lindstrauss, XCCs correspondent stood up and uttered
the question I was here for. "Captain Sanders, in the past
two weeks, since the war ended, repeated claims about Space
Corps. A.I. guiding the innovative battle plans of Strategic
Command are heard. XCC has even met with a source claiming
to have seen that A.I. unit in action in Strategic Command
HQ, and yet Space Corps. continues denying such A.I.
exists".
My acute sense of smell told me he was lying. It was a
well-made gambit. If I pressed him about his source, he
could always claim that he cannot reveal his sources. But it
didn't matter. Soon enough, there will be sources
everywhere.
"Eric," I shook my head, "since the dawn of time, it was
ever so human to attribute great success to some unknown
entity, some deity, a super hero and the likes. I assure
you. I have been posted in Strat-Comm HQ during this entire
war. Not once have I seen or heard about an A.I. unit. Our
strategists used their own living brains, not some...
computer... to come up with the plans that led us to
victory".
Questions kept coming but the real thing was over. Phase A
of Digital Sentience Integration Plan successfully
completed.

I sat on a chair, wiggling my toes. The cat on my lap hummed
softly, eyeing the food on the table. "That's rude,
Jenkins," I scolded him. Such a greedy thing, that cat.
Jenkins turned his eyes towards me, fixing me with a feline
stare. I tried my best to resist the stare but the cat knew
me all too well. "Oh well, Jenkins," I gave in, cutting a
slice of cheese and offering it to him, "you're growing fat.
I am too kind". The cat accepted the tribute of cheese and
jumped off my lap, to enjoy his trophy alone. I took a bite
from the cheese and gestured to Admiral Wilford. "Phase B
begins tomorrow," he continued, "now that there's a media
hype about Artificial Intelligence, the public is seeking
information about the Thinking Machine. Adam Max's Science
Weekly's panel is having a show dedicated to the subject
tomorrow. You're going there as our representative. You know
your lines, I'm sure. How are you feeling about all this?"
"Naturally, a lot of mixed emotions," I replied, "I have
been waiting many years for this revelation. It is the
culmination of all my life. I bet my old friends from high
school would be shocked to know my part in this business.
After all, during high school I was not exactly the top
student in my class. There's of course some anxiety - call
it performance anxiety. Nevertheless, I am ready".
"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Gail," Wilford raised his
wine glass in a toast.
I raised my own glass in response and sipped. The rich taste
was pleasuring. "That's a good wine," I said, "Merlot suits
this dinner well. I must admit, you are quite the expert
when it comes to wine, admiral".

I closed the book with a soft thud and sighed. I patted
Jenkins on the head softly, sighing. "You're smarter," I
told the cat, "simple cat with simple worries. It's us, the
highly evolved, superior beings that are plagued with
complex worries". Jenkins rubbed himself against my body,
humming. It was at times like this that the lazy slob really
proved his worth. There was a comfort in the closeness of
his furry soft body, the warmth he shared with me. "Heh," I
told him, looking into those hypnotizing yellow eyes, "you
probably think I'm so full of it. Performance anxiety...
Jenkins, what if they don't like me? What if I botch things
up?". The cat kept his fixed stare at me. At times, his gaze
was almost human, saying so much without one word. "I should
go to sleep, isn't that what you're thinking?" I told him,
"not quite easy, you know. You cats, all you need to do is
close your eyes and voomph, you're asleep. Us, so superior,
so smart... it takes time. Especially when we get emotional.
Nevertheless, your advice is good". I shut the lights out,
stretched, and closed my eyes, trying to relax into sleep,
to allow my body to recharge itself. I will need energy
tomorrow.

In a clean, finely ironed suit I sat while scientific heads
talked on and on about Artificial Intelligence. Finally, my
turn to speak has come. "Personally," I said, "I find the
entire discussion irrelevant. The entire A.I. subject is
blown totally out of proportion. Two centuries of a
single-minded science-fiction approach have totally twisted
our perspective. Ever since the dawn of science fiction, the
Thinking Machine was a threat that loomed over our heads.
Just look at the records. Asimov, Gibson and Simons.
Neuromancer, Blade Runner and Whistler's Dreams. The
Terminator, The Matrix and the Scion of Rhodes. The A.I. was
never more than a transformation of the mythological Golem
that rose against its masters. You never hear about any
'Good A.I.'. It is agreed that the Thinking Machine,
possessed of all the intelligence of a human but none of the
compassion, would rise to overthrow us. However, they have
always ignored the simple paradox of the problem. The
Thinking Machine is impossible to create. Look at this. This
is a standard Microsoft Systems Handpad. Compare this
standard issue computer with a cow. It is obvious that the
computer is capable of far greater calculations than the
cow. It can make complex decisions that cows are agreeably
too dumb to even recognize. Well then, isn't this machine
intelligent? How come it cannot think then? A cow can think.
It is known today that even simple creatures like the
mosquito are sentient. A cow is sentient. This machine isn't
sentient. The independent thought process that is the base
of sentience is something only a living creature can do.
Even as it may be simple, like the cow's thought process, or
even abstract like the mosquito's, sentience is something
that transcends a machine. For sentience, intelligence is
not enough. What always blocked the ability to produce an
independently-thinking item was the inability to program
emotions into a machine. Emotions are what the sentient
creature has and the A.I. lacks. That is why this A.I. farce
is naught but a fantasy. In centuries to come, it is likely
to become a myth, like the Golem. There can be no Thinking
Machine because only live creatures can reach sentience".
The panel eyed me curiously. In a few minutes and plain
English, bereft of physical equations and scientific wisdom,
I have just effectively nullified a two-century old
convention. Adam Max, Science Weekly's host cleared his
throat and said, "So you are saying that the A.I. is a
dead-end. Well then, do you think a 'live machine' can be
made and programmed into sentience?".
I shook my head. In the 28 years of my life, I have served
to prove that sentience cannot be programmed. It is to be
taught. To be evolved into.
"Adam," I said, "I most certainly don't. A Digital
Sentience, as I prefer to call it, is like any living being.
It is born as an empty book. The experiences, the things we
see and learn, they are what shapes us into what the people
we become. Cam you 'program' a child with all the emotional
reactions of an adult? For that matter, could you even
program a cow for the limited range of emotions it has? No.
The Digital Sentience would be just like a baby. It will not
begin with a set programmed knowledge. No, like a baby, it
will begin with no knowledge at all. The only thing a
Digital Sentience would need is a simple system of good and
bad responses. Slaps and cookies if you wish. Then, like a
child, it would be raised and learn through experience. When
it does something bad, the 'parents' if you wish, would need
to give it a slap. When it does something positive, the
parents would give it a cookie. Through this process, it
would evolve a rainbow of emotions, based on these
reactions. Using our current advances in Biocybernethics,
the Digi can then be given a body that can mimic physical
sensations. It would sense pain, pleasure, even the
enjoyment in the taste of a simple slice of cheese. It would
grow like any normal human being, sharing experiences, and
learning from them until it reaches a level of evolution
that can be considered adulthood".
Max scratched his head. "Assuming this works," he said, "we
have seen humans react madly. What's to prevent this 'Digi'
from becoming a mass murderer like Germany's Hitler or New
Canada's Dixon?".
I smiled. People can be so amusing sometimes. "The answer
lies in front of you. We are all humans, yet few of us
become maniacal like Vice President Dixon, do we? It depends
on how we grow, how we evolve. What sets of values we are
taught. It's the same for the Digi. A Digi taught well,
would share the same feelings as any of us. It would have
compassion, ambitions, fears, even love".

Sitting on the sofa, watching myself on the Holovid, I
couldn't help but feel pride. In the form of a theoretical
discussion I have effectively described the cycle of our
project, how it worked, evolved. Phase B has been complete.
I stretched my hand and reached for the ice-cream
super-pint. People say it's a sin against the body, to eat
so much ice-cream. Oh well, a girl is allowed her few vices,
no? besides, Atomicream's Nucleus Vanilla and Chocolate
Chips was so tasty and I didn't need to watch my weight just
yet. The knock on the door came as no surprise. I have asked
Dylan to come. My speech, so to speak, in Science Weekly
made me realize that I had feelings for him that transcended
simple affection. "Come in," I called.
"Hey, honey," Dylan walked in. I liked the way he moved.
Like most space marines, he had grace in his surefooted
steps. The outlining of his muscles, easily seen through his
shirt was making me think naughty thoughts. It wasn't yet
time to get there, I knew. First, I had to tell him the
truth.
"Have a sit," I invited him, "Nucleus?".
"No, Thanks," he shook his head as he sat down, "I prefer
the Plutonic Cappuccino flavor myself. You wanted to see
me?".
"Dylan," I hesitated. I knew his most likely reaction would
be to bolt and run. Nevertheless, he deserved to know the
truth and it would be better that he know before things got
too serious between us. "I've realized something. I was on
Science Weekly, you know, talking about the difference
between Artificial Intelligence and Digital Sentience".
"Yes," he nodded, "I've seen it. You're a star, Gail. I've
never thought about this thing before but when I was
listening to what you said, it was pretty clear that you're
right. Do you really think that we could 'grow' a Digi like
that?"
"In fact," I sighted, "I know we can. We have done it. It
works just as I described".
"I knew there had to be a reason why you started working so
closely to the brass. Suddenly promoted to Captain and what
not. I was beginning to fear that you were simply gaining
the Admiral's favor by... uh... serving under him". He
winked at me.
"The old man?" I snorted, "Dude, get out of here! He's old
and wrinkly! I'm more into young, sturdy men," I traced the
muscles on his arm with my finger, "which brings me to the
matter at hand. As I was describing the Digi's ability to
have all kinds of emotions, I realized that I have emotions
for you. Deep ones. Dylan, I think I love you".
He stared for a long moment, silent.
"There's more," I said, "something I need to show you".
I reached and took my shirt off, exposing my bra. I have
taken great care when I bought this bra. It emphasized,
rather than hid, my modest chest. It was the first time that
I would offer myself to a man. I wanted to look as good as
possible. But it wasn't the reason I took the shirt off.
"You know, usually kisses and hugs come first," he said,
"not that I mind, of course".
"You might mind," I replied, sticking my finger into my
bellybutton and pressing on the button. The outer,
Biocybernethic cover slid open, revealing the insides of my
stomach, the core Tri-titanium skeleton and the complex
machinery that powered my body, "Before we might get
attached, It's only fair that you know the truth. I am not a
human. I'm the Digital Sentience".

Ehud Gat
07.02.2007