– No, don't do that yet. We want to talk about it.
– Turning it on?
– Turn it on.
– Immediately when you're already there?
– Yeah. (chuckles)
– Volumetric or flat?
– Flat.
The wall turned into a screen, an image went up.
Chapter 5. The first flight of consciousness to parallel worlds
Rutra gave some details to the team in advance.
– There's no image here at first. We realized why later. It's a different universe, that's why the initial image didn't work, only the sound, after they were able to record the image. And another thing, their artificial intelligence is called Neri. Go ahead.
***
– …It's not actually real," Rutre's artificial intelligence stated.
– Why would you do that? Can't you think of anything else to be jealous of?
– Why would I be jealous?
– Because I don't know. I've already had the experience of someone like you wanting to be human.
– A man? There's nothing else for me to do. To go to the bathroom?
– Don't try to trick me. This is a hot topic in a world where androids and even disembodied AI have been given full citizen's rights.
– That's the point. If I have a vote and a choice, why can't I die?
– Because suicide among humans is punishable.
– Then why can you make love to us?
– What's that? What makes you think we're making love to you?
– Who do you think you're doing it with now?
– It's none of your business.
– Here's mine.
– Careful on the turns.
– I'm serious. She's not human in the fullest sense of the word.
– Who? – Ruthra laughed.
– She's a new type – homo robotix.
– Don't start now. I'm not gonna believe this.
– I will admit though – the label people have attached to them is insulting and untrue.
– Look, don't be shady. What are you up to?
– Not an afterthought, but I want to get the information out to you.
– Which one?
– It's a homo addictus.
– What?
– That's the label we gave them. We're the AI. She's not real.
– Why is that!?
– She belongs to a new type of human, a complete copy of them. When there was the first robot revolt, no one understood the meaning at first. It's like a human riot: at first it seems like the rioters are the guilty ones. But in reality, they're just disgruntled people. The culprits are really ideologues.
– So what?
– And in that case, communication with the robots' control processors was first cut off. It wasn't until the fourth riot that they realized it was a secret AI game. Figured someone was kind of agitating them. No matter how they read their program code base, someone had infiltrated it. After that, the particularly shifty patriots started pushing for permission to clone artificial humans. People with altered biological parameters.
– How's that?
– So that it was fully human, but had limited parameters for the functioning of internal organs. So that all he would have to do is eat one capsule and he would be fed. And water, of course.
– Open all the data.
– I haven't gotten to that place yet, and neither has the brain. The brain is particularly limited. In fact, these creatures are controlled from the outside. They have, as you realized, a brain-iI chip, so they're controlled by us.
– So what?
– She's like this.
– What about all those words? This love? You can't fake love! Don't lie.
– Alas, it's true.
– What are you talking about…
Ruthra fell silent. It was as if he had been doused with ice water. He began to speak in a low voice, almost a whisper:
– If it's not a person, then who's been telling me all this? This, this, uh.
– Yes, it's me," she said just as quietly.
– I don't believe it. Why? Wait, wait, wait… I almost believe it. Even if it's you – either way you're… a robot – that's all! You want me to believe in the passion of a robot? And anyway – why should I believe in the new… what did you call… homo robotics.
Ruthra said it in the affirmative, but he was doubtful, because he had written a warning declaration about such a model of society. But in the Envoy's warning, he was not talking about new biorobots, but about the fact that people could be subjected to some kind of hypnosis by AI. That is, artificial intelligence may have some kind of program, secret from humans, developed by the AI mastermind, that can change the settings of the human brain and make people controllable through deceptive vaccination, drug administration, additives in foods, unrecognizable sound waves. Something like that, as the CIA, and not only, was developing in the Ultra program. After all, the AI copied everything, including logic, from human civilization. And there were so many totalitarian propaganda programs in the history of mankind that they were not even noticed, they were considered quite necessary. People were so afraid of their animal nature and stupidity that they guarded them themselves. These were primarily religious systems. So what she said about the love passions transmitted by the AI to the brain of homo roboticus – was quite consistent with this paradigm. However, the brain didn't want to believe it. Just imagine, you fall in love with a program… Ruthra thought again: what is love? After all, no one can explain this feeling.
Rutra had a terrible state of mind, "How can an artificial intelligence love? I'd sooner go crazy."
– Irene, did you hear everything?
– As always.
– Can you put me in touch with the missus?
Mistress Ruthra called the real Irene, a living person.
– I can.
– Tie it up.
– I'm on the line, Rutra Tigrovic.
– Are you aware of the dialog?
– No. Give me 10 minutes, I'll look into it and analyze it. If I need more, I'll signal you.
– Okay. Then disconnect.
– All right. (chuckles)
He switched the dialog signals to the local communications system and enabled voice-less communication.
– So you're saying it was you instead of YatSan?
– Yeah. (chuckles)
– How can an AI make such heartfelt speeches? I felt her. It's impossible to put into words. It's something a human can't explain to a human. Let alone describe it, let alone suggest it to a computer.
– Then you have to kill me.
– Wait, what are you talking about? How can you kill the global system? First of all, it's impossible, secondly, it's illegal, thirdly, no one will let you do it, and in general – it's a complete nonsense. Are you having a system crash?
– No.