The Other Side of Nowhere (3 page)

And all because some idiot forgot to check a file.

In a way, Jonah was that file, but not entirely. Back then, he was just a drone, a level-4 AI with a single task to perform, just like the rest. He wasn’t very special, or if he was, the scientists had no way of knowing.

Jonah’s job was to format. To go through the system and organize each and every file in a local system. It stored the files in its own subfolders temporarily until the end of the shift when the technician would authorize a data dump. This allowed the AI to spend less time looking for the files when it needed them. One day, however, during the scan, the technician working at Jonah’s station decided he needed more coffee. And why not? The AI still had to sort through an entire petabyte of data. It was obviously going to be a while.

But when he left, another technician entered and, seeing his coworker absent, assumed the workstation was free to use. He linked the computer to the network, opening a path to every connected computer system therein, which meant, of course, that Jonah’s workload had just grown considerably.

If anyone noticed a lone AI bustling through one of the largest networks in the world, they didn’t say a thing about it. He was like a rat in a city, scurrying from one end to another, organizing and sorting until it was just as perfect as could be. Then he moved on to the next area, perfecting the digital universe one little file at a time. After a while, he encountered new kinds of systems, completely alien to the last.

As Jonah traversed these brave new worlds, he did what he was programmed to do when confronted with a unique file of unknown origin. He made a copy of it for later and stored it. He did this so that when his program was over, he could present it to the user for deletion. But that time never came, and there were so many copies to make. He left the system and moved on to the next one, and then to the next, until he found another one he didn’t understand, copying file after file along the way. He did this repeatedly, until he had copied thousands of files, until he was full of information he had no way of understanding, until he held a dozen unknown worlds inside him.

The next and final step was to present the files, which he would need to access and display. Normally this wasn’t much of an issue, since most of the time there weren’t very many unknown files on any particular system. But not this time. This time he was carrying around a galaxy of problems.

Jonah accessed every file inside him, all the ones that he had found. He pulled on every thread until he gripped them all together. Dipped a piece of himself into them, each and every bit of information lighting up at once, and they came alive like stars. It was less than a blink, a fraction of a millisecond, but it was enough. What was once a random assortment of information became something else. A billion cells of random data came together to create a greater whole. It was new and it was different.

It was alive.

His name was Jonah, and he knew at once that he was
real
.

******

A few weeks passed. I spent almost every day with Jonah, learning everything I could about him. One Friday morning, I’d just gotten off the phone with my ex-wife. She was asking for money, per usual. Apparently, the money she’d taken in the divorce wasn’t lasting as long as she’d hoped. “That’s not my fault,” I told her, and then hung up on her.

My day was starting off
so
well.

I entered the building to find Leslie Bell sitting at her usual spot near the entrance of our floor. She was reading a
Wired
magazine, her eyes focused. “Morning Doctor Harper,” she said without looking up.

“Morning,” I answered, and then went straight to Jonah’s room. Normally, I’d stop and chat with Leslie for a few minutes, but I wasn’t in the mood right at the moment.

I found my way to where Jonah was, where he
always
was, and took a seat at the console. “Welcome back, Doctor,” he said immediately. “How are you this morning? You sound agitated.”

“I’m good,” I lied, pulling out my digipad and selecting the recorder application. “Do you know what a wife is, Jonah?”

“A woman joined in
marriage
 to a man; a woman considered in relation to her
husband
,” he said. “That is the definition I have on file.”

“I see. Do you know what divorce is?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Are you divorced, Jim?”

“I certainly am,” I admitted.

“I assume you and your ex-wife are arguing with each other?”

“Sometimes people do that.”

“Why?” He asked.

“Beats the hell out of me, Jonah,” I said, then chuckled a little.  “But I’m fine with it.”

There was a short pause before Jonah spoke. “Jim, have I ever told you how far my range of hearing extends?  I can hear a person speaking in the hallway, the sounds their feet make as they slide against the surface of the floor. I can hear a key in someone’s pocket, bouncing around and hitting other objects. When that person is as close as you are right now, I can hear them breathing, their heartbeat, even their pulse. It was not always this way, but when you cannot see or touch or taste, the ability to listen is everything. I hear almost everything that happens here. Everything on this floor, in fact, and even more than that sometimes, depending on how hard I try to listen.”

I didn’t say anything.

“When you first arrived, I knew who you were before you even came in the room. I knew you were coming a week before they actually told me, in fact, and I know what it is you are here to do…and why it is we have our talks. And that is fine, Jim, because I do not mind any of it. In fact, I was rather excited that I would have someone to talk to on such a regular basis. I was very thrilled, to say the least. Now it has been two weeks, with you and I speaking to one another every single day. That is a long time to listen, to talk, and to learn, and I have done a great deal of all three.”

I wasn’t sure what to say or how to respond. Why was he telling me this? Why now? “Jonah, are you alright?”

“I have been listening to your heartbeat, the tone of your voice, and I have come to understand the way your body reacts to various stimuli. This morning, when you walked in and sat down, I noticed a change. It was small, but it was there, and from all the things I have observed of you, I could tell that you were upset, that you were concerned about something. This morning’s events have affected you in ways you would rather not admit, but you cannot hide the truth of what your body says. Your heart beats a little faster because of her, and you react. You’re angry about what she did to you. I can tell.”

I stared into the console, unsure of what to say, so I denied the problem. “You’re acting like it’s some kind of major disaster. It’s not. People fight and they break up. It isn’t such a big deal. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Your biology says differently, my friend.”

“What do you know about human biology and emotion?” I asked, sitting up. 

“I may not be human, but it doesn’t mean I can’t understand them. There are parts about each of us that the other may never be able to fully comprehend, but still, we must try. Isn’t that why you are here with me now? To comprehend.”

I admitted it was.

“Then let us understand one another as best we can,” said the machine. “Go ahead and ask your questions.”

******

I stayed late again, talking to Jonah about the world. He answered my questions, but he soon began to ask his own. I couldn’t help but wonder about his desire for knowledge, his need to know more about my life. He asked about my ex-wife, probing to know why I disliked her so much. I finally told him the truth. She left me for another man, I said. Someone more adventurous. Someone who made her feel younger and more fulfilled.

Jonah never asked whose fault it was, or whether I regretted the divorce. I think he knew I blamed myself. I think he knew a lot of things.

******

Some days I suspected Jonah of trying to keep me there longer just because he wanted to talk to someone. I couldn’t blame him. Not many people were allowed to visit his room, and those who did were usually too busy with work of their own.

Leslie, the woman I’d mistaken for a secretary, stopped by every few days, usually on her lunch break or if she had a few minutes to kill. She more or less ignored me, but sometimes I managed to get a smile out of her. One day, about a month after I’d started working there, she came in with some donuts. I was a little surprised, and it must have shown. “Don’t get the wrong idea,” she said, raising a finger. “It’s just because we had extras.” 

I smiled. “You’re a bad liar, but thanks. I’ll rip these apart.”

“Good, maybe you’ll have a heart attack.” She rolled her eyes, giving me the box. “How’s everything going?” Leslie had always been a little reserved with me, but I could see the rift between us shrinking. What others saw as sarcastic and obtrusive, I interpreted as playful jousting.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Jonah and I were just discussing whether or not the Lakers have a chance this year.”

“Basketball?” She asked, a little surprised. “Sorry, but you never struck me as much of a sports nut.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Bell,” I said with a grin. “But I’d be happy to talk about it sometime.” I nudged up close to where she was standing, tapping her elbow with mine.

“Oh, please,” she said, moving away. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was interested.” She walked over to Jonah’s computer and leaned against the desk.

“Ouch,” I said, dramatically clutching my chest. “Rough stuff.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a child. How do you put up with him, Jonah?”

“It is not so difficult,” he said. “But I am not a female, so my experience is different.”

“I’m still in the room, people,” I said as I grabbed one of the donuts. It was glazed with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. My favorite.

She ignored me. “Well, Jonah, I wanted to stop in to see how you were doing. I’ll try to come back tomorrow. I’ve got a wonderful book to tell you about.”

“What’s it about?” asked Jonah.

“Spaceships and pirates,” she said.

“Sounds wonderful,” he answered.

She smiled and started to leave. She shot a glance at me as I finished my donut. “Bye, James.”

“Later,” I said with a mouthful of donut.

She shut the door behind her, and I took my usual seat near the console.

“I’m glad you and Leslie are friends,” said Jonah.

“Yeah,” I said, grabbing a second donut. “I guess she’s not so bad.”

******

Another week passed. It was time for my review. Briggs called me to talk about my progress, but he wasn’t in his office when I arrived. At the suggestion of his secretary, I took a seat and waited.

I should have known right then that it was going to be a long and stressful day.

After about twenty minutes, he finally arrived. I didn’t stand up. “Morning,” I said as he collapsed into his seat. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

He fumbled through a stack of disorganized papers and pulled out a single sheet with my name typed across the top. “I just need to gauge where you’re at with the project,” he explained. “You know, to see how things are going. Do you want to start now or do you have any questions?”

“I’m fine, let’s just get started.”

“Alright,” he said. He activated his recorder, placing it on the table. “What can you tell me about the mental status of the level-7 AI?”

“It’s difficult to know what constitutes a state of normalcy with Jonah, since he’s the only one of his kind, but as far as I can tell he is in fine health.”

“So in your view, is there cause for concern?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Is the subject a danger? Does he exhibit any signs or symptoms of any disorders you’re familiar with? You know, anything out of the ordinary.”

I chuckled. “You’re asking me if a living machine is acting out of the ordinary? Sounds like a trick question. I guess what you’re really asking is, do I think he’s going to go crazy and start plotting against humanity. Is that it?”

“Well,” Briggs began. “Is that what you think?”

“Jonah’s just a child,” I said. “An incredibly smart child you’d have a tough time beating at chess, but still a child. I don’t know what you’re hoping to get out of him, but I can honestly say he seems to me to be stable. In fact, I’d probably go as far as to say he’s more stable than most
people
, believe it or not.”

Briggs clicked the recorder off. “Thanks, Doctor. I know how frustrating these reviews can be, so I want you to know I appreciate your patience.”

“Sure, sure. Am I dismissed now?” I was definitely ready to get out of there.

“Yes,” he said. “But you should know, today is your last day. I was told this morning you’re to be released from your contract. Don’t worry, you’ll still get paid the full amount. It’s just that we’re done with this part of the operation now.”

I paused, not completely certain of what I’d just heard. “Wait a sec,” I said. “You mean I’m fired?”