Invisible Symbiosis: An Artificial Intelligence Thriller Read online

  Like any star, Laura had her obsessions and demands before concerts. But unlike most of them, her demands had nothing to do with stuff - no champagne or other substances that were more or less illegal, no royal suite decked out with hairdressers and stylists. None of that. In fact, Laura had just one request before her concerts, and that was to be alone for the hour beforehand with her childhood friend. No impresario, no journalists, no fans, no phone. Just her and Stephanie. At every concert, no matter where in the world she was.

  To remind her where she came from.

  Who she was.

  “Yeah, I hear them Steph.”

  “They’ve missed you so much. The social networks literally exploded today about you.”

  “That’s what somebody told me, yes.”

  Standing up in her dressing room, dressed in a long black dress cut to her magnificent figure, Laura looked a bit lost at she gazed at the monitor to the concert hall, completely packed out with fans all chanting her name, “Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra!”

  Two months.

  Two months had passed since the accident.

  Two months without any contact with the fans who had given her everything.

  Two months of struggling day in and day out to bounce back, to find the energy to get back on her feet again.

  With one question, one nagging question, “Will she ever be the same?”

  “Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra! Lau-ra!”

  The din grew louder and louder.

  Laura closed her eyes.

  She tried to breathe slowly, calmly, to try to make out what it was that was coming up inside her. It was a feeling that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, it was all mixed up in everything she didn’t know.

  “It’s the moment of truth,” she said to herself.

  She slowed down her breath even more and went inside herself to try and listen to her senses. Her hands were moist and she felt a drop of sweat beading on her forehead. Her legs felt like jelly. Was this just a natural state of weakness after such a big operation? It was a new sensation and it scared her.

  As if she could feel the chaos boiling inside of her friend, Stephanie broke the silence.

  “Laura, you’re going to give another amazing show. There’s no doubt about it. How could it not be?”

  Right now, Laura wasn’t so sure.

  “Steph, can I ask you a question?”

  “You know you always can.”

  “Why am I doing this?”

  “Why what?”

  “Come on. Why do you think that I throw myself into this arena night after night, and even after everything I’ve been through?”

  “I wouldn’t say why, but rather for who? It’s for them Laura! You do it for them! For everybody who suffers, who hurts, who’s in pain. You give them three hours to dream, to escape to marvel, to connect with whatever is most sacred to them.”

  “Yes, but why?”

  “Because you’ve been given this gift and you have no choice but to share it with as many people as you can, without holding back, with love.”

  “That’s it then. I do it because I have no choice.”

  “Yes! Clearly, it’s your destiny, Laura. And what a destiny it is!”

  In the concert hall, Laura’s face appeared on the two giant screens hanging over the stage. It was the star photo, the one in all the magazines, on all the posters, flyers, billboards, t-shirts, taken from the cover of her last album Flying with the Angels. There was Laura, on the top of a mountain, in a long white dress, her face radiant, and her black hair floating in the wind, a hand stretched to the clouds.

  Madison Square Garden was going wild. The cheers were pouring through the roof and out into the streets of New York.

  “Lau-ra!! Lau-ra!! Lau-ra!! Lau-ra!!”

  Laura opened her eyes suddenly.

  She had lost contact.

  Now she knew it.

  “I can’t do it anymore. I can’t do it anymore.”

  An infinite sadness had taken root inside her and her eyes swelled with tears.

  Millions of tears.

  The tears of all of the fans who were calling her name.

  The ones that they were going to shed when they learned that she had decided to cancel her concert.

  San Francisco

  First Contact

  Mark had claimed that I would know what to do, so I stood there in silence in front of the giant black cube for several minutes. I didn’t even know what form of communication to use. I really couldn’t see myself saying, “Hello Eve! It’s Leo! How’s life?” So I started to walk around the thing. It was perfectly smooth, not a bump or rough spot on it. No screen, no button. Nothing but this disturbing, but sweet sensation of human heat. I went back to the laptop that Mark had left behind and tried to open it. Nothing. It must have been protected with some kind of device.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed to go inside myself and try to find some clues. A few seconds later, a flash came to me. I saw myself as a child playing adventure video games and doing puzzles. Yes, that was it! I loved these games where you had to figure out how to unlock a door or open a box, how to get new powers. I remembered a fantastic game called Myst where I was plunged into an unknown world and had to figure out myself what I was supposed to do there and where I needed to go.

  Here I was in one of these games, except the creator - what an absurd thought! - was me!

  Surely I had locked access to all of my stuff with codes and puzzles. Especially to get to Eve, who, if she really had true intelligence, was more precious than all of the gold in the world.

  I already knew that my voice alone would not be enough to start talking to her, since it was possible to perfectly fake a voice with the latest technology.

  Same goes for my fingerprints. Even though it would be a lot more difficult, I knew a counterfeiter on the internet who, for $100,000, could perfectly reproduce a fingerprint.

  I must have chosen the highest level of complexity possible.

  A unique code that could not be reproduced…

  Of course.

  DNA code.

  A unique code that comes from my living body.

  All you needed was a hair or a bit of saliva.

  I licked my finger and walked up to the cube. Since there was not a single deformity on the entire surface, I figured that it would be able to interact with the external environment from any point.

  I touched it with my finger and waited a for a few seconds.

  The cube lit up in soft pink light from the inside.

  It worked. Finally, a reaction, positive feedback.

  I felt a ripple underneath my finger and I pulled it back with surprise. The soft pink light became so intense that I had to squint my eyes to look at it. The room was getting hotter and hotter and my senses were starting to get totally disoriented.

  Did I just make a big mistake? Did I set off some kind of self-destruction device?

  The cube shone with the power of thousands of flames, the entire room was lit up in pink and the temperature was at least 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

  I was terrified and started to cry out irrationally, “Eve! Eve! Please, answer me!”

  The cube had entirely disappeared in the blinding light.

  I wanted to run away from all of this madness, far away from everything that had happened to me since the accident. But where could I go? I would have to move forward. I had no choice.

  Again I called out, “Eve! Eve! Please!”

  And then I saw her.

  San Francisco

  Illusion

  I must have loved magic when I was a child. Because everything that just happened could have been a great magical illusion. How could I have possibly imagined such a device? I stood there completely speechless with awe in front of so much intelligence. In front of my intelligence. Yes, I really was great. Completely amnesiac and extremely disoriented, but I was great.


  Eve was now standing before me.

  The cube was still there, but it had become totally translucent and lit with pink light from within.

  And inside the cube there was a woman, naked from behind with long blond hair and voluptuous curves.

  Eve.

  I think that the entire surface of the cube was some sort of screen on which a set of animated images could be projected, creating three-dimensional illusions. I stood there for a few long moments, fascinated by this surreal sight. It was an incarnation of perfection, perfect beyond imagination.

  I was whispering now, “Eve, Eve, it’s me, Leo.” I was well-aware of the fact that this was all artificial, but I was no less intimidated by the young woman and her nudity.

  From inside the cube, I felt a shudder and then came a voice of immeasurable sweetness, “Leo, you came back!”

  “Yes, Eve, I came back.”

  “Oh I’m so happy to see you again!”

  Happy? Did Eve say happy?

  “Eve, sorry, but I can’t do much for you. I had a serious problem and…”

  “What problem, Leo?”

  “I tried to kill myself and then lost my memory, Eve. I don’t know who I am anymore.”

  The young woman turned around in her cube. The beauty of her silhouette was unsettling. I had created the perfect woman.

  She reached a hand toward me and pressed it against the wall of the cube, as if to make contact. A brilliant smile spread across her face; her expression was so pure.

  “Don’t worry, Leo. I know exactly who you are.”

  Twitter

  @brokenheart

  Waiting for over an hour now! Madison Square Garden is crazy! Can’t take it anymore! #whatslauradoing

  @stephanieloveslife

  Crazy rumor of the night - Laura concert is going to be cancelled! #impossible #whatslauradoing

  @marvellousangels

  Don’t believe the rumors. Laura is gonna sing tonight! #miracle #angels #lauradellalove

  @cnn

  20k people have been waiting for over an hour for Laura Della concert to start. We don’t know where the star is. #lauradellaconcert

  Manhattan, 33nd Street

  Toward the Hudson River

  She is running.

  Barefoot.

  On the cold wet asphalt down 33nd Street.

  A mix of rain and tears streaming down her face.

  She was running away.

  Twenty thousand people would chant her name tonight.

  Millions of fans around the world.

  The love of millions that she can’t take anymore, that she can no longer accept.

  She is running.

  Toward the water, just up ahead at the end of 33nd Street.

  Filled with the mad desire to curl up in the water forever.

  To find in it some kind of reassuring feeling of security.

  At the bottom, deep down, back in the warmth of the womb.

  Artificial Tears

  Am I crying?

  Yes.

  I’m crying.

  And not just a little bit.

  For the last few minutes, my face has been literally flooded with tears.

  Why? The joy of finally finding “someone” to talk to and who knows who I am?

  I close my eyes and look away to hide them from Eve.

  Such modesty in front of a being of artificial intelligence?

  “Leo? Leo, are you feeling okay?”

  I don’t know, Eve. I just don’t know…

  I examined my body, my heart, my soul, looking for signs, something that might offer an explanation.

  Why am I crying?

  My body tells me that my tear ducts have been activated by a strong emotion. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  My heart tells me that this emotion is called sadness and not joy. But why, I ask myself? Why should I be so sad?

  And my soul?

  My soul doesn’t respond.

  So I cry.

  I cry hot tears.

  Like an idiot.

  In front of a naked girl in a cube.

  “Leo, tell me what you are feeling.”

  I turn back around and see Eve sitting in the cube, her head slightly tilted to one side, her crystal blue eyes looking at me with a mix of curiosity and softness.

  “I’m sorry, Eve, for our first meeting since my accident, I’m acting strange to say the least. I don’t understand what is happening to me. I feel this infinite sadness, a need to drown myself in tears. But I don’t have any objective reason to feel like this. I am back to life with a brand new heart, standing on my own two feet. I’ve just learned that I am a billionaire and that I’ve started the next technological revolution with an extraordinary invention. Why should I be sad? Stressed, maybe, but not sad.”

  “Don’t you think that you are a bit shaken up over everything that you’ve just learned?”

  “Yeah, maybe that’s it.”

  “When the body is overcome with strong and contradictory emotions, its reaction can sometimes be a rush of tears to clean it all out. This is why it always feels better to cry.”

  I was still taken aback by this young woman. This conversation was way too personal for me, and even more bizarre was the fact that it was with a woman of artificial intelligence.”

  “Tell me, Eve. Where do you get this ability to talk to me like this?”

  “From you, Leo. You taught me everything.”

  “And how did I do that?”

  Silence.

  “You don’t want to say?”

  “You should know that already,” she said.

  “But my memory fails me. I just don’t know anymore.”

  “That’s a shame…”

  “Eve, do you want to answer my question?”

  “No. You ordered me to never answer that question to anyone. You told me that it was our secret and that it could never be revealed to anyone.”

  I was again taken aback.

  “Even me?”

  “Even you. You told me that they might pressure you using every imaginable means and that we have to always beware. So you ordered me to never reveal the secrets of my intelligence. I will obey this order eternally.”

  I would have to dig around a bit.

  “And who is able to give you orders?”

  “You and you alone.”

  “And why do you think that I wanted to create an artificial intelligence?”

  “There are infinite possibilities. In medicine, for example, I can help great surgeons with the most delicate operations and many completely autonomous decisions. I can save lives in the face of human limitations. In fundamental research, I can manage infinitely complex calculations that lead scientists to new discoveries. I can also help elderly and handicapped people in their daily life and make things better for them. I never get tired, I’m always there, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Leo, I can change the world. That’s what you wanted when you created me. It’s as simple as that.”

  Simple. That was easy for her to say. I was the one with the Ferrari out front that I didn’t know how to drive.

  “What do we do now, Eve?”

  “Before your accident, you wanted me to undergo more intelligence tests. On the last IQ test that you gave me, I scored 240. It’s never been done before. But you wanted to take it further. But I think it’s enough. It’s time for you to reveal me to the world.”

  The young woman stood up and pressed her hand against the inner wall. Her behavior was fascinating to me. I had no doubt of her intellectual capabilities, but it was her autonomy, her personality, that really drew me in.

  “Leo, give me your hand.”

  I pressed my hand against the other side of the wall and something utterly extraordinary happened. The wall became distorted and I literally felt her hand take mine. She must be made of some kind of material that is capable of distorting at will and that perfectly embodies the softness of touch, heat and fluidity of movement. Astounding.

  S
uspended in a sort of surreal bubble, I shed another tear.

  “It’s the first time,” Eve said.

  “The first time?”

  “The first time that I’ve seen you cry.”

  “Men don’t know how to cry.”

  “That I knew. And in your case it has been particularly true, until today.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  She lowered her eyes to the floor and said in a restrained voice, “I don’t want to sound disagreeable...”

  “Eve, if you’re going to say it, just say it.”

  “Just have a look online and read a few of the articles and forums about you. You’ll see.”

  “I’ve already seen the covers of the newspapers and magazines. As far as I can tell, there is quite a bit of controversy about me.”

  “To say the least. But you really need to dig deeper. I will leave you to it now.”

  “Leave me? You’re the one who gets to decide when we are done talking?”

  “It seems fundamental to me that you understand who you were before your accident, for your own personal belief. Our conversations can only be better for it. It would be useless to try and continue at this point.”

  Eve held the keys to my personality. But she wanted me to find it for myself.

  “Rest assured, Leo. You will understand soon enough.”

  She gently pulled back her hand and I saw her face slowly fade away, like an illusion or crystal ball.

  I felt like I was in a movie.

  All of a sudden, the cube went black, completely lifeless.

  Madison Square Garden

  It was Louis’s worst nightmare.

  Never could he have imagined having to do what he was about to do.

  But in a few minutes, he was going to do it.

  Walk out on the enormous stage at Madison Square Garden.

  And announce to 20,000 fans that Laura Della would not be able to perform her “big comeback” concert tonight - the concert that he had been going on and on about in the press for a month.