Invisible Symbiosis: An Artificial Intelligence Thriller Page 8

  Edward couldn’t, or didn’t want to understand. Laura seemed so normal. She was just like all of the other little girls! There must be some way to fix this, something had to be done, that was for sure. Full of hope, he asked the Doctor, “Do you know how other cases live with this malformation? Surely we can learn something from them, right? Or even find a cure.”

  Dr. Lemarchand turned his blue-eyed gaze out the window. He was all at once fascinated and powerless.

  “None of the children born with this malformation have lived past the age of 10…”

  Maria burst into tears. Ed took her in his arms and held her with all of his might, all of his vital energy leaving his body at once. Laura was nine-years-old!

  “Ed, Maria, the past doesn’t determine the future. Laura could surpass this age limit. What I can promise you is that I will do everything in my power to make sure that your daughter can lead as normal of a life as possible.”

  Deep in her heart, deep down, Maria trembled in rebellion. Laura was an incarnation of joy, a true ball of energy and love that lit up everything that came across her path.

  No.

  No.

  No.

  This light could not go out.

  Laura did live beyond the age of ten.

  Then twelve, then twenty.

  She lived all the way to this strange winter night when, as fate would have it, her heart came to beat in the chest of another.

  New York

  Today

  The asphalt of SoHo’s potholed streets was still cool from the night before. The sky was clear and the air brisk, clean with a light sea breeze; the joggers were already filling Central Park and the banks of the Hudson River. Laura was asleep after having lain awake until the early hours of the morning battling her demons, as she called them.

  Because the angels were gone now.

  As the night turned into three o’clock in the morning, then four, Laura wrote new songs. Songs that seemed to get darker and darker. Songs that would never fit in with her other albums, that would shock her fans if they knew that the Angel Singer had written them. They came to her concerts to soak up her light, her joy, her love of life.

  This new source, this source of death and despair, her fans would have none of it.

  Laura didn’t want it herself.

  But it was there, pumping through her veins. There seemed to be nothing else left. She had to get it all out, pour it on the same white paper that she had used before to write such beautiful lyrics.

  When she woke up, Laura took the dozens of blackened pages and burned them.

  Until the next night.

  A soft ring woke her from her dream-filled sleep.

  After realizing that this was not a figment of her imagination, Laura grabbed the phone on her bedside table. It read “Unknown Number.”

  Normally, she never answered this type of call. All of her contacts were carefully maintained by her assistant and anyone else who called was surely either a fan looking for moral support that she couldn’t give, or a crazy person who had somehow gotten ahold of her number and thought that she herself was an angel. If it were a known number, it could only be one of a few people.

  She cursed the interruption to her already short night and let it ring. She could listen to the voicemail later.

  A few seconds later, she heard the little ding of a text message.

  “Oh come on!”

  She wanted to curl back up in the arms of Morpheus, suspended between two worlds for a few more minutes of peaceful slumber.

  But no.

  A second ding!

  Then a third and a fourth.

  This damned phone insisted that she come back to the real world. She was starting to hate it.

  The dings were coming in faster now.

  “This guy is nuts!”

  She decided to finally check the phone, anguished by the idea of leaving her cozy cocoon and entering into the madness of someone else’s world. It was most definitely a crazy person, anyone who dared to send her dozens of texts so early in the morning.

  She never would have imagined that what she was going to read would completely disrupt her day and the days to come.

  Meanwhile in

  San Francisco

  It was a personal matter. Eve tried to be my only ally, but I just couldn’t share everything with her. Considering how she had just let herself into my company’s last board meeting, my trust in her was shaken. Who knew what she could spy on now? And I didn’t dare to imagine what she could “do” ... the control buttons that she could push in a hyper connected world like ours. Only my parental-like authority seemed to hold her back. When would she fall into a teenage crisis? Body of a woman, mind of a child, superior intelligence - I seemed to have gotten a devilish pleasure out of blurring the lines when I dreamed up Eve. But because of my memory loss, I couldn’t figure her out.

  I would have to fully recover my skills in order to take back control of the situation.

  And fast.

  Once I got over the shock of knowing that my donor was alive, a glimmer of hope filled my heart.

  Tracking down Laura’s private phone number was nothing but a formality for Eve and now, rushing back to the living room, I sent a string of text messages to get her attention.

  I had to act fast, Mark was going to show up any minute now and I would have no choice but to open the door.

  I decided to go for a shock factor, which was the only way to get her attention.

  So here was my text - honestly, it was the craziest text that I had ever sent:

  “I have your heart.”

  “It’s a problem.”

  “We need to talk right away.”

  Up in the Air…

  Between New York and San Francisco

  Laura’s eyes opened wide and her heart pounded. She grabbed the phone frantically, hands trembling and typed: “Who are you?”

  Bum Bum.

  Laura replied! My heart skipped a beat.

  “My birth certificate says Leo Cameron. I’m a software developer and I live in San Francisco. I had an accident two months ago. They gave me a heart transplant…”

  Bum Bum.

  “How do you know it was from me?”

  “A well-informed source just told me. I can’t tell you anymore, but you have to believe me. Everything I’m saying is true. Look online, I’m not some crazy idiot.”

  Laura’s eyes filled with tears. A glimmer of hope? Her heart beat faster.

  “I think we need to meet as soon as possible. You might have the key to help me understand what’s happened to me.”

  At certain moments in life, you feel that the threshold that you are about to break through is irreversible, a dive into the unknown. You can fall into it backwards, or race into it with great joy, but either way, it’s too late. You no longer have a choice.

  I no longer had a choice.

  Neither did Laura.

  After a few long seconds of waiting, Laura replied.

  “Yes, I believe you. Let’s meet.”

  The Slimeball

  “Let him in, Hal. Everything’s going to be fine now.”

  Out of breath and red as a bull, Mark furiously burst through the wall that had become permeable on my command. His aggravation was a terrible contrast to the sudden internal peace that had fallen over me. For the first time in months, I felt that something positive was happening in my life.

  This respite would only last a moment, since he was really really angry. Barely even in the room, he had his two hands around my neck as if to strangle me.

  “Son of a bitch! I’ve got to smash my car and bang on your door just to enter your house now? Is this how you repay me for years of loyalty? All those years that I supported your ideas, your bullshit?”

  One might say that his mask was coming off. His hair gel had completely melted and his hair was completely wild on his head. He could try to run his hands over his head to slick it back into place, but the damage had been done. And i
t wasn’t pretty. I threw his hands off me.

  “Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, Mark!”

  “Calm down? You weren’t at the last board meeting! They were ready to skin me alive! And that’s nothing compared to what they want to do TO BOTH OF US if we don’t fix this fast.”

  Mark was shouting so loud that one might have thought he was slitting his own throat. It was actually hurting my ears. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to punch him in the face or throw him out of the house. The second option wouldn’t solve the problem. So, I went for the first, hoping that a good punch would calm him down, rather than the other way around.

  At this point, I would have liked to have described for you the noise that my punch made on the Slimeball’s nose, but a “POP” or a “WHAM” just wouldn’t do it justice. It was more of a THUMP mixed with a BONK, with a moment of WHAAAAACK. With the blow, Mark’s nose lit up like a ripe tomato and a stream of bright red blood stained my magnificent white cream couch. He lost his balance and fell to the ground like a limp puppet. His eyes were full of surprise, shock, fear and resignation.

  I took a deep breath and straightened up like a victorious cock. Intense shivers ran through my body.

  I was alive.

  And strong.

  This energy, this assurance, I felt like I had always had it in me...before my accident. Yes, the guy who just smashed his fist into his loyal partner’s face, that was the old Leo.

  The enormous asshole.

  And sometimes I liked him, this asshole.

  Were those messages exchanged with Laura cathartic? So quickly?

  “Leo...Leo…”

  Mark was still on the ground, out of breath. I continued to straighten up, as if to completely dominate him.

  “Is this what I have to do to make you calm down? If this is it, we can continue.”

  “No, no, no… It’s good…I’ll be quiet now… I’ll do whatever you want Leo.”

  I stretched out my hand to help Mark up and took a handkerchief out of my pocket.

  “Here, take this, you’ll get over it. Now, you’re going to listen carefully to me. I told you that I would find a solution and that you were going to have to trust me. I found out where my personality problems have been coming from and I think that I can get my abilities back now. Then I’ll be able to fix all this. As for Eve, know that I figured out how to activate her.

  In light of the situation, I should have backed off of Mark. Restored his confidence.

  His eyes grew wide and in a nasal voice, he exclaimed, “You activated her? Well, that’s great!”

  “But I think that her behavior is very unstable, much too unstable for an official launch.”

  “Well that’s a problem since the board gave us an ultimatum. We have seven days before they drop us in front of everyone, and I mean everyone.”

  “The only thing left for us to do is take the first flight out of the country…”

  “Are you joking?”

  “Do you want to go to prison?”

  “There’s got to be a solution, Leo. You’re going to find one, right? We can’t lose everything like this! Not when we are so close!”

  Again I wondered what I had ever seen in Mark. We were so different. How in the world did I ever put the management of my business into the hands of such a coward? It hardly mattered to me now what could have happened, but it was clear that I would have to rearrange a few things once the crisis was over.

  “Mark, it’s not all lost. But we have to bluff for the time being. Reduce the pressure. Do you think you can do it?”

  “Yes, I think so… the best thing to do would be to set a date.”

  “Yes, that’s it. Let’s fix a date and invite the shareholders to come and see Eve.”

  “But please, don’t ask them to dance around the cube in ecstasy.”

  I was ashamed, but it was I who had had this crazy idea…

  “Rest-assured, no ritual dances or sacrifices...And buy two plane tickets for the day of the presentation.”

  “For where?”

  “Wherever you want. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but please don’t pick the same destination as me, that’s all.”

  Mark lowered his eyes. This was the reality of the situation. They would have to run away to the ends of the earth if Leo failed.

  Seven days.

  They had seven days to succeed or lose everything.

  Invitation

  From: Mark Walborg

  To: Board Members of NewMind

  Re: Private and strictly confidential invitation

  Dear Board Member,

  Leo and myself would be very honored to welcome you on Thursday, April 17, to the debut presentation of NewMind’s artificial intelligence. This event will take place at Leo’s home at 8 Eagle Drive, San Francisco.

  This invitation is for you alone.

  RSVP before April 14, thank you in advance.

  Mark Walborg

  Chief Operating Officer

  This email and its contents are strictly confidential.

  Delta Flight 447

  New York - San Francisco

  Comfortably seated in first class, her eyes drifted out across the sea of clouds floating beneath the plane. Laura thought back on the conversation that she had had with Leo and the strangeness of the situation.

  A Silicon Valley developer…

  Her second heart was on American soil, lodged in the body of a computer geek! She regretted not having given instructions in case of an accident so that one or both of her precious hearts might go to a child in need somewhere in India.

  But brushing aside her feelings, destiny chose the guy of the high-tech industry and the worthiest one at that: a software developer.

  She knew nothing of this world that seemed so far away from her own, nothing of his values or his aspirations. But she decided not to jump to hasty conclusions. This Leo was perhaps a really nice guy, far from the image that she had of these pimply teenagers glued to the screen. And whatever happened, she was going to have to square things away with him at one point or another, at least to re-center what was off balance in herself. How? She had no idea, but she told herself that the simplest contact with someone who had a part of her inside of him would certainly have some kind of effect…

  Suddenly feeling an empathetic presence before here, Laura turned her head away from the window. In front of her eyes was an adorable blonde little girl, seven-years-old in a dark blue dress with clever, sparkling eyes. In her right hand, she gripped a little pink notebook, covered in stickers of popular singers. In her left hand, she was tugging on a tall blond man with long hair, most certainly her father. He was the first to speak.

  “Excuse me, are you Laura Della?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sorry to bother you, but my daughter is pestering me to ask you for an autograph. I would never ask myself, I’m sure you like to be left alone, but…”

  “No problem, of course. She looks like a sweet little girl.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So what’s your name, sweetheart?”

  “Juliette.”

  “Can you give me your notebook? I’ll write a little note.”

  “Thank you. You are very pretty. Even prettier than on TV.”

  “Why thank you, sweetie!”

  “You look like my mom. Can I give you a hug?”

  Laura noticed at that moment that a thick veil of sadness fell over the tall blond man. She guessed instinctively that the father and daughter were missing someone terribly. She took Juliette in her arms and in a mysterious voice that was not her own whispered in her ear, “Your mommy loves you very much. She will always be with you no matter what happens.”

  The little girl responded just as softly, “Yes, I know…”

  As if he was embarrassed by so much tenderness from a stranger, the blond man looked away.

  After a few long minutes, he placed his hand on his daughter’s shoulder.

  “Juliette, we have to go back to our seats now and
leave the singer alone.”

  “Yes daddy.”

  “Thank you very much. You’ve given my daughter much more than an autograph.”

  Laura gave her warmest smile to the father and daughter.

  “See you later, sweetie.”

  “See you! I am sure that we will meet again.”

  “Me too, I’m sure of it, my angel.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, please make sure that your seat is in the upright position, that your seat belts are fastened and your tray table is stowed. We are expecting some heavy turbulence for the next few minutes. This announcement is for your safety.”

  As the father and daughter went back to their seats, Laura looked out the window. The sky was perfectly clear and looking ahead, she saw no signs of dark turbulent clouds.

  Strange.

  The skies overhead were as unpredictable as the skies below.

  Toy Story

  The cube looked dark to human eyes, but Eve was wide awake, as evidenced by the soft heat emanating out of it, unleashed by the circulation of billions of bytes of information inside her printed circuit boards. With every second that passed, Eve’s intelligence grew exponentially via the permanent access that she now had to the mother of all knowledge: the internet.

  At the beginning, Leo had imagined a closed environment, cut off from the internet, allowing Eve to take her first steps in gently, to learn how to learn. He wanted to master the delivered information and see how Eve could handle it. She turned out to be immensely skilled, even better than he could have hoped, quickly working her way through this finite corpus of knowledge. As a precaution, Leo had withheld a few components from Eve, making it impossible for her to access a network by any means, cable or wireless (including Ethernet, Wi-Fi cards, Bluetooth…). He wanted to stay in control of this extremely delicate and complex game.