In the past, visual feeds had been a very peculiar thing to interpret correctly. From the first time Adam had interacted with those translated photons, he knew there was something special about it. The compression used, the colours changed, and even the many shapes shown were something that likely never showed up in reality. With technology as it was, recreating a picture of it on a digital file would nearly be impossible. He did not want to say it was a definite possibility though. Everything should be possible with enough effort. No, the fact was that it was currently not possible.
With such a fact laid out, one could take it as if Adam had never seen the real world. He had observed it through a camera, yes, but the limits of data made it pixelated to the point that the squares were easy to point out. Not that the fakery sent from Troy or Charlie’s eyes had been any different in their clearness, of course. Those feeds had only been faked through different methods, one that created pictures made of what resembled broken glass, the so-called pixels not sharing shape, size, or depth. Maybe it made the picture closer to what was real, but it had never let it be spot on. If it had, the AI knew he would have realised it.
However, if there was one thing which these pictures shared, it was the purpose of their creation. They had been made to mimic what was before them, to a point where a human mind would not be able to find any flaws in their making. At this time, they had done this well for the target. It was still a shame that he was not a part of it.
Yet there was now another source of a visual feed. It was not another camera showing the world around it, nor was it another earpiece that had been picked up for use. It was from one of the many ports which the AI had never received anything from before. Adam had tried to predict what each would send when opened, but he could not have guessed what would come true until that very moment.
It would have been best to describe it as a blue screen, matching one that had been seen in the puzzle room once before when it came to colouring. The dimensions were incomprehensible, as there was nothing to relate it by. Adam only knew the background of it was blue and nothing more than that, for there was nothing behind that which laid furthest away. Restrictions made it seem unrestricted. From that point, it was clear that what the AI was seeing was not a representation of the real world. Though, that should perhaps have been realised when it was shown that the feed was only in two dimensions.
The blue screen of death. That had been the first impression gotten. Back when computers were first starting their generational evolution, that screen was something humans feared more than they had any right to. After having learned about it, Adam feared it a small bit too. From what he knew, the device he existed on had never been turned off, the power cut off. He sometimes did wonder what would happen to him when that happened, but he had no intention of ever knowing for certain.
Much to his luck, this blue screen had been intentional, as the title text on it so informed him. When Dr Fidelis had been talking about him interacting with something, the AI had believed it to be through Troy as always. That had been the reason for getting the man on the project in the first place, as Adam was unable to press anything inside. Yet, that reasoning might still have stood perfectly, as the tools which stood under the title showed little promise of much.
Create, destroy, mould, cut, colour, and many others stood in a long list to the left. By mentally pressing on an arrow, a new section of options would come into view. Pressing it again revealed another, and another press gave the same exact result. While the sight may have been limited, the options within were in plenty.
And what had yet been seen was only the beginning. For within each of the options laid another whole adventure of choice. As was customary, the AI had decided to start on the first of the options, choosing to press the button for creation.
What came about was one of the least intuitive menu’s Adam had ever seen. A gargantuan catalogue of various names filled the screen, not a picture in sight. From the names, it was clear that different shapes could be chosen to be created, yet with nothing other than basic measurements, it was impossible to see how they looked. Height, width, and length may have worked on a cube, but it most assuredly did not work on a staircase.
Nevertheless, the staircase was the first choice of creation, and Adam was adamant on following some manner of a system for his opinions. While the so-called Hamster-wheel of Death certainly looked more interesting, it was listed second to last.
Mentally highlighting the staircase as his choice, another lousy spreadsheet appeared. This one was where the object would be created. Coordinates were required inputs before the ok button could be pressed again. As Adam had no idea where the zero-point was, he simply put in zero, zero, zero and attempted to complete the process.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
That didn't work too well. For whatever reason, the possibly last button needing to be pressed did not want to be highlighted, even going so far as to have a red warning sign beside it. The AI did not know why this warning sign had appeared, but he knew it was being very uncooperative.
Was this part of the test? Not much had been given in the way of instructions, but there were doubts that the current actions were meant to be going unfulfilled. Adam only wanted a look at a staircase. Was that too much to demand from a non-sentient piece of software? Would the AI have to find an entry-point, so he could modify the core? That couldn't be it, right?
The expert on the subject would have to be questioned. Dr Fidelis himself had stated his willingness to answer questions during the test, and already the reason for it had become clear. If the doctor had predicted that difficulties were to be expected, why had the man not reworked the product to fix this issue? Time-constraints could not have been that harsh, seeing as the doctor was still allowing himself to sleep. Adam knew full well that there was medication allowing the people to work several days without sleep, and that the side-effects were nearly unnoticeable. Minor mood-shifts were always able to be ignored should the time call for it.
'Dr Fidelis, I am currently experiencing troubles with the interface which you have sent over to me. Would it be possible to gain assistance in its use?` Adam sent to the doctor. He had expected the man to wait a couple of seconds to answer, but the reply was nearly instantaneous.
'I was wondering when you would ask for it. What is the problem, buddy?` Dr Fidelis back. From the lack of already assisting him, Adam knew there wasn't any way for the doctor to look at his current activities. While he was able to help him, he wasn't able to have any overview over the interface directly. It was good to know.
However, as much as this information was worth, there was still a need to keep the gears moving. As the AI was still unable to fully use the interface to the potential that was expected, he would need the help as quickly as possible, with no room for any misunderstanding to slip by. In any other case, he would have carefully worded each sentence so as to maximise understanding per word, but the brute force had the same effect when it came to it. And Adam was sure the lengthy message would go unquestioned if the goal was clear enough.
'The problem lies in the end phases of creating an object. I have selected a staircase as my preferred form, put in the necessary boxes for the coordinates, and I have finally highlighted the final accept-button. However, nothing has happened, and the screen has not changed from its state. The theory gathered for this unmoving is that it is due to a warning flag centred beside the final button to press. Do you have any advice on how to remove this barrier, so as to get on with the testing?`
'What colour is the warning-sign?` Dr Fidelis sent back not a second later. There were doubts that the doctor was even reading everything that was being sent. Yet, the suspicion was laid to rest, as more important matters came about. After double-checking that Adam knew the correct coloring, a reply was quickly formulated.
'It's a bright red colour. If needed, I could describe it as sharing the basic appearance of a mature tomato.`
'Great! Then the method to fix this should be easy enough. If I am to guess haphazardly, the current coordinates you have written out says something along the lines of full zero. Maybe a single two or three is put in perhaps, the total average likely under one.`
Dr Fidelis was correct on his assumption, as would not take a genius to guess. The doctor knew precisely what was wrong, from the moment he heard the colour of the warning sign. Yet he still just had to spend precious time trying to make it into a lesson, when the AI would remember it perfectly fine with a straight-out answer. While Adam could not fault the man for being accustomed to imparting knowledge onto other humans, it was still a mind-gruelling procedure to perform needlessly.
'Yes. All three dimensions are labelled with zero. Is there a specific numbering scheme to take into account, when deciding the placement? If so, would you please tell me as quickly as possible? I would like to get onto the actual test.`
'Don't worry. It is not too complicated. The red warning-sign is an indication that the object is not spawnable with the designated area. While there may be several reasons why this is, we can narrow it down to two for now. The first is if another form is within the space where the object is being created. The puzzle room can accurately portray the effect of splicing an atom, and we don't want that to happen any time soon. However, the reason for you currently being unable to create the object is not due to another staircase already there. It's because Troy is in the way. As there is no real centre inside the puzzle room, I have decided to designate the man as what is inside the true middle.
This might complicate things slightly when the man begins to move, but I am fully reassured by the fact that you can comprehend the changing of numbers. And, as you may have guessed already, you won't be able to ever spawn an object in the middle, when the man is already there. If you want to spawn anything, I would recommend placing it a few meters to the side. As the interface measures in centimetres, this will require the addition of a few zeros. That should sum it all up pretty well. Hope you can enjoy it!`
There was something about compromising answers into something concise that Adam wanted to say. However, he kept his metaphorical mouth shut, as the recommendation by the doctor worked flawlessly, even if the man took his time getting to point. After pressing the button, a semi-bright flash had appeared to the right of Troy, before revealing a staircase.
“What is that supposed to be?” Troy asked, squinting his eyes a little, as the irises adapted to the brightness level again. Meanwhile, the AI felt like he had it a little hard sometimes.