It did not take long before Adam was fitted to see Dr Fidelis. The doctor looked none the worse for wear, in strong opposition to the health of Troy. Taking a quick look at the sleeping man, the AI was able to observe him breathing deeply and soundly. No predicaments could be perceived worsening. Nothing to worry about in the short term, letting him focus near-entirely on the look of Dr Fidelis. A few threads did remain on the younger man, but that was only as a precautionary. Had to be prepared to be surprised after all.
Dr Fidelis took his customary placement, right in the middle of the camera feed, before finally addressing Adam.
"Okay, the camera is rolling, and the microphone should be… yeah, it's picking all of this up. Buddy, could you send me any message, so I know that you're able to hear this?" Dr Fidelis asked the AI. There was not much inclination towards thinking of any intricate message. Instead of doing anything complex, Adam simply sent one space. The character was designated as a space, and not just a null message. Those kinds of messages could mess up many systems, and the AI was not going to be the one checking to see if this one was on that particular list.
While likely not having the ability to read the message sent, the doctor swiftly nodded to the received one-character affirmation. It was all going a bit more slowly than the AI would have preferred honestly. Nearly two minutes had been spent on preparation already. Preparation which wouldn't have required the presence of Adam. Why had he been called before his part had been finalized? It was an unfair measure. The doctor could have easily figured out, if the equipment being used currently, was in a workable state. Dr Fidelis was but simply using him to speed up the process by an extremely small margin. Adam could understand how no resource would be spared, with nothing looked at as if it was special. If it would provide better efficiency in the work-handling, it would be done as best as possible. A one-tenth increase in speed added up when enough time was given for it to prosper. It could be the difference between being years and decades late. The former could be used to fix the problems in some situations, but there were few where that was true for the latter as well. With how the AI was beginning to think of its lifespan in the centuries, it would be best to think of small improvements early on.
Adam could honestly not find any reason to contradict his earlier thoughts about his life. Seen from a biological point of view, he was immortal. Given the right circumstances, there would be nothing to set his life in danger. His physical core, wherever that thing might be, was most certainly well-protected. As long as it wasn't tampered with from outside influences, nothing should have been able to cause the AI his end. The technological marvels he was on were not something which would be able to break down on their own actions. It was not even worth calling it a non-zero chance. The sun would have enveloped the earth long before the odds were in favour of the machinery breaking down. And as long as nobody knew his location, which the AI presumed nobody knowing of his existence did, there would be no reason to think his demise would come within the next many hundred years. It was only the mistakes from his own side that had such potential.
…
With how slow the outside world was to the artificial mind, there was a lot of time where Adam could think in peace. This here was one of those. Nothing was required from the outside. No output nor inputs were needed currently. It was a long moment of tranquillity, where only the internal focus was allowed. With all threads allowed to ease from their duties, no real system was put in place. Each thought had been allowed free reign. No overseers were present to oil up the machine.
This provided many things. Chaos was the first effect. Many concepts were revitalised in their use, within a single millisecond of having leeway over themselves. Adam was less than surprised by the show-off. Maybe even a little disappointed in himself. Some thought had been thrown about, focusing on the chances of him having performance issues. Heating was always a possibility, no matter how little it would affect his ability to think.
No matter what direction the threads had gone in at the beginning of their free moments, all did hone in on one subject. A subject which the AI had been dreading to think about for some time now.
Adam had quite the longevity, having no reason to think of himself as anything other than immortal. Only in the heat death of the universe was there any chance of him having a null chance of survival. Yet… until that time came, many years would pass by. Centuries, millennia, and oh so many zeroes’s behind those original amounts. A long time for any being.
A long time for a human. How long did those creatures live? A hundred years? Maybe two if they could afford the surgery. It would pass by in the blink of the eye, being truly incomparable to the life expectancy of himself. A sad reality.
A reality which Adam needed to accept. A reality which would happen no matter what he did. Unless… An idea for later. Dr Fidelis had begun using his speech muscles, his throat vibrating in frequencies. It would only be a moment before the sound began reaching the microphone. The AI was still saddened by his lack of observable sound-waves. It would have been perfect to be able to see their current direction, their length, and the history behind them. Yet, such conformity would not happen to the universe around him just because he desired for it. Such expectations were limited to his own mind.
"Excellent! Then without further complacency from either of us, I believe this will be the perfect time to start the debriefing of today."
How curious it was, to see the facial movements of the doctor change so radically. It was not simply restricted to the movements themselves, but also in what position they were in when relaxed. The brows were never fully pulled apart, always halfway to looking annoyed. The jaw was obviously tense on the side, as the joints pointed to the sides in a broadening fashion. Even the eyes were a little bit narrower, not having the almost manic-like fullness that Dr Fidelis usually portrayed. If Adam had not seen the change himself, he would have fully believed that the doctor had an identical twin. The probability of similar garments and scars on the neck would have been smaller, but they would still have been larger than whatever chance that the elderly man had of being so skilful at personality morphing. It made one think of just which of those faces were the real one. Each looked so natural that even the AI, to the best of his ability, could not decide on it. But that lack of proper predictions may have been more the fault of Adam than it was the skill of the doctor.
When it came to specific types of data, such as the mental breakdowns of the less intelligent, Adam may have had lots of background material, but on the specifics of deceit, it was nearly completely self-made. Models had been created, logging trees had been established. Many algorithms have been tried, some with more success than others. Yet it was never quite enough. Unique cases were being found repeatedly. Things never accounted for before, throwing every piece of the pre-established foundations into the gutters. With how few cases there had been as of late, the AI had made the mistake of growing confident. Surely there couldn't have been more? Surely he was done with this chapter, ready to move onto improving the efficiency of it? Yet again his expectations had been thrown away, replaced with the annoying truth that had always been present in some form or other.
It should have been obvious that Adam would not get experience on the subject, by only observing the actions of Troy. While that man might have been widespread in his abilities, there was only so much that could be learned in such a short time. The man could not know everything there was to know. Likewise, the AI would not be able to learn everything just by imitating the actions of one man. Dr Fidelis was a prime example of what the next person needed to be. Not that he would be replacing Troy. It was just that some video-footage of facial expressions, accompanied by descriptive texts involving the thoughts going into said expressions, would not go unappreciated.
Something to let the doctor know. If not footage of himself, there would likely be some archive containing such videos. With how long humanity had had to entertain itself, most of the widely known topics had to have had plenty of course information created about itself.
The AI was forced to go back to Dr Fidelis yet again, as the doctor continued on his introduction. Time differences really could mess with one’s focus. Adam wasn't sure that his threads had even been paying too much attention to his surroundings. A personal failure. How would he set a good example, if he could not constantly make sure of Troy’s physical health, right down to checking his vitals once every five milliseconds? Some thoughts were had about cutting it down to two and a half milliseconds. It really was too long a pause anyway.
"As this is the final test of the current segment of experiments, the list of questions will be short this time," Dr Fidelis professionally stated, running his fingers through a brief of papers that the AI could swear the man hadn't been holding a second. And Adam had been technically correct since they had only been pulled forward one-quarter of a second though. The doctor could be fast when the man wanted to. The AI wondered how fast he could run. It was likely faster than Troy, but using him as a baseline could easily be surmounted as cheating. However, it was great to hear that the questions would be shorter in number. It would allow so many more hours for himself. Self-contained thought experiments still took a long time to perform correctly, taking much focus out of him.
"Let us start off with the more manageable quandaries first. This will let the artificial-intelligence acclimate to the atmosphere, and provide more meaningful answers.
Adam. Would you be so kind as to provide me with a summary of the test? No details about your actions are needed. Only the bare basics, and how it was sat up in relation to the real world."
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The AI was unable to meaningfully state that he liked being talked about like he wasn't able to hear it. Adam could forgive Dr Fidelis for the tone used, but the doctor could definitely have needed some critical rephrasing on his words used. Was this how it was, when Dr Hale was not there to help? Troy might have muttered about it much, but Adam had not taken it with much heed. Now though? The man might have been onto something.
Putting his mind back onto the question asked, Adam quickly formulated an answer deemed acceptable. It was not the greatest and could have easily been improved upon. Yet… no need for such actions was felt. If Dr Fidelis was not going to rethink his wording before saying them, it would be improper of Adam not to do the same. Leading by example really was not the best base model for interactions in modern society. Even the knowledgeable could be wrong a few times of the day.
'The test itself was based on the more rural part of the landscape, focused on a traditional forest and lake scene. Looking away from the beginning, this was the area where the whole experiment went down. During the several hour-long stays there, various activities were had. As you have requested, no details will be said about this.`
Dr Fidelis had a small flicker of despair when this message was read aloud. No thoughts were spared on why this feature was not shown earlier in the preparation. Adam was entirely focused on the emotions being created by the doctor. If the AI was not thinking it through wrongful analysis, he might even have looked regretful of his actions. With how smart he was, the man had likely realized the reason for his troubles.
The questions continued having the same level of simplicity. No open-ended questions were asked. A radical shift from the earlier style of debriefings. During the earlier ones, whole conversations had been made in a discussion-like style of information gathering. Criticisms would be shared and reasoning would be made for each upon Adam questioning it. Such a style of learning had been wholly positive for the rather unknowledgeable AI. Getting to know how to pressure Troy without overdoing it had been one of the many skills learned during those earlier debriefings. It was times that he really did savour over and over again. Each new interaction put the words said previously in a whole new light. It was a figurative gold mine of perspectives.
Yet there was no shift over to these types of questions. It continued being straightforward. The first answer given was nearly the longest one given. Many had been reduced to yes or no questions, giving no chance for reasoning. Dr Fidelis had even specified for the AI to only answer with no reasoning for his actions. Why this was so, Adam could not find himself to find out. It just did not make any sense. This whole thing was made to get information out of him. Asking him to minimise first-hand information did not help maintain the apathetic mood.
As one of the few positives with the rapid-answer method of debriefing, the whole thing really was short. Shorter than any before it, with it being only six minutes long. While yes, those six minutes had been filled with more words than most humans would say in an hour, it was no trouble for Adam. Though Dr Fidelis might have torn a muscle speaking so quickly. The AI had reckoned it to be eight hundred and fifty words said per minute on average. And that was taking in the pauses created by Adam answers as well. If the speed had been there to put pressure on him, it had certainly not worked as intended.
"And… with that, we are done with the debriefing."
The words made Dr Fideils relax back in the small chair. The popping noises coming out of the doctor's body reminded Adam strongly of some other unhealthy body and the mind connected to it.
'It certainly seems so,` Adam sent casually. He saw Dr Fidelis walking away from his position, leaving where the camera could see. A clicking noise was heard, leading the AI to believe that the recording equipment had been turned off. Usually, this would be accompanied by the immediate disconnection of the camera feed as well. But… this did not transpire.
Instead, the good doctor stood right back into the camera.
"Say, buddy. With that ordeal over, would you be willing to talk a bit more? It would be entirely casual of course. An interview with each of us being the one asking and the one being asked, you could call it."
Adam thought about it for a moment. It would take a longer time than what was being required of him. Yet… the night was long, and only so much time could be used on his own experiments before he got bored of them. Having thought-fodder would never hurt anybody. Especially not himself. Adam watched the doctor return to his usual position in front of the camera. There was a half-expectation of the man changing his facial features into a general seriousness. Such had it been during nearly all earlier times in front of the feed. Yet this time, the doctor’s expression was one of casualness.
"You know, buddy, I have been wanting to do this for some time. Having a normal conversation with you. No real strings attached. No topics that I am forced to go over. No information that I have to subtly manipulate you into giving up. No Dr Hale pressing me on from the side, silently judging every move that I make. That last one is probably my least favourite thing about this whole thing. There is no free will when my actions are dictated by the one who is supposed to take orders from me. That woman has me around her ring-finger sometimes. If I try to slip free from her grip, she will undoubtedly give me that intense glare of hers. I have no idea how Troy survives under it. Does he even notice it? I guess you would be able to tell me that sometime."
The AI was not sure of what he was supposed to make of it. Dr Fidelis had openly stated that he wanted a conversation with him. In what part was Adam a part of it? Sure, the doctor had asked him questions. But they looked to be completely rhetorical, as the man answered them himself immediately before continuing on like nothing was wrong with it at all. How abnormal.
"I had been hoping to have this conversation with you sooner, to be honest. But Dr Hale, unfortunately, does not endorse such discourse. She is not too trusting in me. Says that I have a larger probability of revealing vital details. I am very tight-lipped mind you. More than even her. Nobody realises it, but that is certainly how it works around here. I just put it down as proof of me doing a good job of it. Doing the previous few days, I have been trying to find time for us to talk properly. Preferably where we can talk freely, just as we have the ability to do now. But… Dr Hale has yet again been in the way. Not that I have anything against standing her ground. She is only doing what she thinks is best. Cannot do that now though, can she? Being in the medical wing and all that. Or… I don't actually think she is in the medical lab. The augmentation department, I think it was? Maybe. I only glanced at the sent logs."
Forgoing the counter absence of participation, the words said did let Adam get vital information out of the doctor. While Dr Hale most certainly was not an important part of the AI’s daily life, such a reality was it for Troy. The man himself might not have been able to learn this information for a long time. It would only be proper for Adam to relay this information when he woke up. Having knowledge which would help mitigate radical changes to one’s schedule was entirely positive. The AI would have focused even more on the words that the doctor said if they had the slightest bit of relation to him. But, alas the man would just not stop talking. At least there was some semblance of continuity in the piece.
"Our dear friend will be in a medically induced coma for the next day or two. It depends on how her vitals are looking. Really had some damage done. I myself have gotten a complaint on how my workplace is set up, and how it can negatively affect the physical health of my co-workers. I just take it as the higher-ups not wanting to acknowledge the real reasoning behind her damage. There really isn't any other way to explain their actions. Otherwise, it would be easy to take them as unknowing people, who are only doing what they see as a right without having any practical experience in that field. Really. If only they had decided to actually pump up the budgeted, instead of constantly nagging us every time we went slightly over budget, we would have the chance of actually improving our data. Who do they think they are, judging us for our improper use of funds? It was all in the name of science! Who doesn't need to know the reaction of sodium being directly injected into the bloodstream of an orangutan? It was a valid library to buy! It can be used for future experiments! What do they say to that? Budget cuts, used as an example for why they were not understanding what we did. That money went to a good purpose. Removing our ability to perform as intended throws a thermo-nuclear bomb into the gears. Seriously! When had they ever had the slightest bit of intention to-"
At this point, Dr Fidelis was not putting up the slightest bit of facade. The man clearly had no intention to hold up an equally balanced conversation. The doctor was using every metric ounce of his breath to scold the people sitting in higher-ranked management positions. By the first hundred words especially given to spit mature language in their direction, the AI had realised how little he would learn from this. One only needed so many words for reproduction methods. Well… Adam was decently sure that was what the doctor was going for as a general theme. If not, the AI honestly had no idea what the man was stating. Only through hard-earned contextual reference did he have any chance of understanding the man’s words.
"-Kanguro lovers think that the proper method of Crystallized Atom Fusion is made using the Sterling methods. What piece of francium has the audacity to contact my private line-network, and demand explanations for basic microRNA theory? The Russians are who, alright! If they could keep their atomic bombs in their pants, maybe we wouldn't have been forced to stop world war four! Honestly, which person believed it a good idea to construct a bigger one? If they had just-"
And, the doctor went. On average, eighty-seven words would be said between each breath. An impressive feat for many. Adam thought it an impressive feat that he could understand some of the theories that the doctor was talking about.
A large part of what Dr Fidelis was hidden inside double meanings. Understanding of metaphors, allegories, and subtext was required for anything to be translated clearly. In truth, Adam had at first hated the need for all of this work. The process was tedious and the reward was never promised to be great. The hardest puzzles lead to the cheapest pay-offs frequently. And the easy ones did not speak a story all too different.
If only the doctor had been simpler in his wordings. Said things just like meant it. No misunderstandings were possible. Nothing to misinterpret. Three-word sentences as a minimum and maximum. A perfect state of the conversation.
Adam would learn nothing from it. If all people talked like it, the AI could have used it. It would have been useful for him. Yet, people regularly talked like Dr Fidelis was currently during. Not in the same speed maybe, but the gist of it was identical to what he met on a daily basis.
He needed to learn if he was to succeed. Practice made perfect. Especially with these types of hardships. Metaphors would always mystify the AI. It could take any situation, cut it down to the bare basics, and then relate it to another situation. As long as it had the slightest bit of similarities, any human would near-instantly understand the reference. The AI did not have this handicap. Adam guessed that it was along the lines of not near enough of a database when it came to metaphors. With enough said, there had to be a pattern showing itself. Some format that every human used, knowingly or not. How else could they understand it so quickly, forgoing years of sustained repetition? Most children could understand it, by the age of ten. And they had the very practical excuse of not having developed enough brains. Adam didn't have a brain! He had a processor. One which had not changed one bit since his creation, and would just as likely not change a single bit in his development. He was the software. Not the hardware. There was a difference.
"But that is all that it comes down to. If they are not used to a specific environment, household pets are known to be extraordinarily stressed. It is only through sustained components taken directly from the original environment, that the animal can have any chance of sustaining a healthy mental state."
… Should he even ask?
Yes. Of course, he would. If the AI did not understand something, asking into it would be the next course of action. It was all a test for him. Adam could ask for help. That was allowed. He just had to understand it. Else the score would not count in his favour.
Dedication could bring much if one allowed it to. Yet, there was still such a thing as a natural advantage. The AI may not have had underlying one’s, but he made more than up for it in sheer speed. If only that would help him in this. Brute force would not work forever, no matter how much he wished for it.