Allen sighed to himself at the prospect of finding out the secrets hidden within his newfound personal A.I. He looked down at the bucket full of water and started his morning routine which consisted of a quick shower from a perforated bucket outside, shaving and basic hygiene, and finally breakfast. All of which were done with the [Relation] goggles on, which much to his dismay, Jenny enjoyed quite a bit.
After getting dressed and going out to his bike, he started to ride to the University when he heard her voice once more.
***
= Current speed and direction will be displayed. = After she said that, instantly a blue arrow pointed towards where north was, while in the bottom right hand corner was his current speed in miles per hour.
Allen expected this, but was nonetheless very surprised. He expected all of her functions to be inoperable until he fixed the sub-routines. “How are you calculating the speed?” Allen asked.
Immediately, a rear-view-camera-like grid extended out along the ground in his view with various measurements updating in real time. When Allen looked elsewhere at the various stores along the street, it would highlight the store names and show the current distance as he rolled by on the grid.
= I simply did a calibration using your body measurements from the shower you took earlier. After factoring in the distance with the image scale, an approximate distance grid was made. I am currently using this grid to track your speed. = Jenny answered as if it was nothing special.
“But wouldn’t you need some base measurements?” Allen asked while feeling confused.
= Your parents uploaded your body measurements when you were ten and updated them for three years, stopping at age thirteen. From this data, I can assume a rate of growth and come to approximate values for your body measurement. I would like for you to do some proper calibrations when you have the time please, as the margin for error is quite large right now. Although I can only track approximate measurements within fifteen feet of you with the same large margin of error, when you properly calibrate the relation, this range will extend to 100 feet and be far more accurate. = Jenny replied.
= The current grid is only for temporary use until the calibration. = Jenny added almost as an afterthought.
That makes sense. Allen thought to himself. Machines will always need a base of information in order to do anything. As for the ‘transcendence’ that the voice talked about, perhaps he meant how the A.I. can learn new things and overcome that need? Allen pondered and thought about such things all the way until he reached the University.
Allen groaned inwardly at the thought of that Jessica-what’s-her-face trying to talk with him again. If he was specifically warned by someone to stay away from said girl, Allen had no complaints with following that advice. The last thing he needed was drama or confrontation, and now that he had Jenny up and running, friends could be added to that list as well.
With a dreading feeling, Allen opened up the door to his first class and sat right at the front row, third seat from the left. He thought that if he sat directly in the line of sight of the teacher, she wouldn’t be able to bug him as much, or even at all for that matter.
Time crawled by, when he suddenly had an idea. He couldn’t talk in class, but maybe Jenny was smart enough to pick up on written communication?
-Jenny, can you comprehend this message? - Allen wrote in his loose-leaf notebook.
= Yes Allen, I can understand written language. Are you trying to insult me? = Jenny quipped.
-Just making sure, seeing as we can’t verbally communicate while I am in class. –
= Understandable. I will simply lower the volume of the headset as to not make any noise when I talk to you. =
-Thanks-
= No problem Allen. =
-So quick question, seeing as I can’t modify your code anymore, how do you think we should tackle the sub-routine issues? Last I checked, there were quite a few in there. –
= I will take care of that myself after I download a coding reference manual as well as process Java, C++, and other languages. Although I do have some coding libraries, the language that the routines are written in isn’t just one, it is written in several languages. =
-So, you are saying that I need to read a book for you? –
= No, simply connecting to the world wide web would let me search around for the libraries. =
-I’ll get on that after my classes today. –
= Understood. =
Roland put down his pencil and thought for a moment. I wonder how the world would react to an A.I. that can freely search though the web as it pleased? This thought spurred another one that he immediately asked.
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-Jenny, can you decrypt files? –
= Yes, although I am limited to the limited processing power of the [Relation] at this time. =
-Then can you gain access into other machines? –
= I can do that as well. Do you need something? =
-Can you use those machines to increase your processing power? –
= Yes. However, doing such a thing would only give diminishing gains. As the number of computers increases, the amount of processing power used to communicate with them would increase as well. The [Relation] isn’t some high-end server Allen. It is a personal unit with limited hardware capabilities, so please remember that. =
-Then what if you resided on a really high-tech server and simply uploaded yourself there while maintaining a connection with my [Relation]? –
=……=
Jenny paused as the [Relation] started to heat up, going through its various processing cycles as she thought about the proposal.
=That would cost a lot of money Allen. Not only would the server need to be built to high spec and a very secure tunnel VPN to the sever, but you would also need a constant and stable connection with a network 24/7 to prevent lag. =
-Then what if you were in two places at once? For example: you had a main body in the server that does the heavy calculations, while the mini-you works on the subroutines and processes in the [Relation]? –
=That…could work? Not only would I be able to control the server in its entirety, but I would be the ‘OS’ so to speak. Therefore, I could also create the secure VPN to my mini-self on your relation…you would still have to acquire the server though, which if you want my full functionality, would pretty expensive. =
Allen winced at the mention of money.
-How expensive are we talking? – Allen wrote slowly. A thread of fear slowly gripped his heart.
= Not much, only about two hudred-thousand or so. =
Allen paused. WHAT KIND OF SERVER IS TWO HUNDRED-THOUSAND?! He wanted to write, but after some thought, he had to agree. High end servers could have multiple processors with many cores for hyperthreading and parallel computing.
-I will work on it, but I don’t know when I will be able to get that, if at all. I am pretty tight on money right now… - Allen wrote ashamed.
Before Jenny could reply, however, the bell for the five-minute warning for class rang and students began to fill the classroom one by one. Jessica sat next to Allen as per usual and tried to pester him into talking with her. Of course, he wasn’t having any of it and completely ignored her once more.
= I believe this female is interested in you Allen. =
-So? - Allen replied.
= So, why don’t you talk to her? =
-I see no point in doing so. Why would I talk with her? –
= Because by this society’s standards, she is cute and is interested in you Allen? =
-Again, so? That doesn’t mean that I need to give her attention. Especially if I don’t want to. –
=…Fair enough. However, I am certain that ignoring her will only spur on her curiosity about you. =
-What should I do then? –
=Why not try satisfying her curiosity with a negative result? =
-Go on. –
= Ask her if she has put on a lot of weight since you last met her. =
Allen almost fell over in shock. That…is definitely one way to get rid of her…why not? He thought to himself. Suddenly a finger poking his cheek brought him back to his surroundings. To his left was Jessica poking him with a smile.
Allen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Even though he hated people in general, he was still a virgin with zero girlfriend experience. Having such a cute girl interested in him definitely didn’t make his slight nervousness any better.
He turned his head and looked her in the eyes while smiling and said:
“Have you put on some weight since yesterday? You seem fatter for some reason. I don’t like fat girls so please don’t talk to me.” To which he turned his head forward and continued ignoring her. He didnt really care whether a girl was fat or not to be honest, but rather he pretty much hated all people equally.
Jessica stared at Allen with bewilderment at first, which turned into shock, which turned into complete and utter fury. Her face warped from shock to anger, into a seemingly sweet smile that somehow elicited an involuntary shiver from many of the guys in the room.
=Uh-oh… = Jenny said softly. = You shouldn’t have added the fat part Allen. I said to ask her if she gained some weight, not call her fat…you need to learn some subtlety. =
Allen was too preoccupied with trying to not look at Jessica as a cold shiver took hold of him suddenly. He felt that if he looked left, a ferocious beast would tear him apart.
“Thanks Allen, maybe I did? Do you think I should go on a diet?” Jessica asked with a certain undertone.
Allen gulped and started to get even more nervous. In for a penny, in for a pound they say… He gathered his courage and his best poker-face and turned toward her.
“Yeah, wasn’t it obvious?” Allen said blandly. “Now stop talking to me, I’m trying to learn here.”
= Allen wait I think you went too far- =
Jenny was interrupted by a soft chuckle to Allen’s left. He turned around once again and froze. On Jessica’s face was the sweetest smile that you had ever seen, but her eyes…were void of all emotion. They stared at Allen and it was as if the iciness within was starting to physically affect him. The sweet giggle sounded like a demon’s laugh in Allen’s ears as the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
Immediately, he swept everything in his desk into his backpack and bolted out of the classroom, not bothering to even zip up his backpack. If he had stayed for a few seconds longer, he would be terrified from what came after.
“Where have you been all of my life Allen? To think I found such an interesting toy here of all places…I think you need to be punished Allen, and I won’t stop until I am satisfied…”
***
Allen ran towards his next class and collapsed into his seat panting.
=That could have gone better. = Jenny stated with sarcasm. =At least she won’t be positively interested in you from now on. = Jenny said.
“Oh fuck…” Allen said out loud with a hint of horror.
=What is it? =
“I forgot…” Allen said, the dread and regret within his mind was increasing exponentially.
=What did you forget? All of your things were definitely packed into your backpack. =
“I have the next class with her…and the one after that too.”
=……Oh. You need to tell me these things sooner Allen... =
***LOG***//
"Dear Diary,
Today I tried talking to the cute guy with glasses again, BUT HE CALLED ME FAT! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I try so hard to keep myself slim and maintain a regular workout routine...Still, he is kinda interesting in a way. At least he doesnt oogle me uselessly like some rejected excuses for human compost people call men...even if he is an asshole <3."
-EXCERPT TAKEN FROM THE BURNT DIARY OF JESSICA HARVY