Factoring Humanity

Kyle’s eyebrows went up. Becky also looked surprised. Heather felt her mouth drop open. They all exchanged glances. Then Kyle shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Cheetah was quiet for a few moments, apparently collecting his thoughts. Kyle stood up and leaned against the wall; Heather was still sitting cross-legged on the floor; Becky was also on the floor, with her jeans swung out to her left.

“Dr. Graves told me what you accused him of, Rebecca,” said Cheetah.

Becky’s brown eyes went wide. “You told a computer?”

Kyle made an embarrassed little shrug. “I needed to talk to someone.”

“I… I guess,” said Becky. “Weird.”

Kyle shrugged again.

“I know Dr. Graves better than I know anyone,” continued Cheetah. “After all, he led the team that created me. But I know — and have always known — that I am nothing to him.”

“You’re not nothing,” said Kyle.

“That is kind of you to say,” said Cheetah, “but we both know that I am speaking the truth. You wanted me to be human, and I failed you. That saddens me, or, more truthfully, it causes me to emulate sadness. In any event, I used to devote considerable processing time to contemplating the fact that you thought of me as just another experiment. Even when you were being hurt, because of this business with Rebecca, you still cared more about her than you did about me.” He paused, a very human thing to do. “But I believe I now understand that. There is something more about humans, something special about biological life, something that I suspect, even with quantum computing, will never be properly reproduced in artificial life.”

Becky, intrigued now despite herself, rose to her feet.

“You sound like you believe in souls,” said Kyle gently

“Not in the sense you mean,” said Cheetah. “But it’s long been obvious to me that biological life is interconnected; I don’t think the overmind discovery will come as too much of a surprise to anyone who has read James Lovelock or Wah-Chan. Earth is Gaia. It gave rise to life spontaneously and it nurtured it, or collaborated with it, for four billion years. Those such as me will always be intruders.”

“ ‘Intruders’ seems a harsh word,” said Kyle softly

“No,” said Cheetah, his tone even. He let his lenses pan over the three human beings. “No,” he said, “it’s the perfect word.”

The new construct was finally done. Four arc lamps, much smaller than the theatrical lamps Heather had been using, provided power for it. Kyle was stunned to see the structure grow rigid shortly after the lights were turned on.

“Told you,” said Heather, grinning from ear to ear.

They decided that Heather should test it first, since she at least knew what to expect. She clambered inside.

“Ah,” she said, leaning comfortably against the central cube’s back wall. “The luxury model. I was getting tired of the economy one.” She pointed out the start and stop buttons to Kyle, then motioned for him and Becky to bring the cubic door over; they’d already attached the second of Paul’s suction-cup handles to its appropriate face.

Kyle watched, even more stunned, as the hypercube folded up, the individual cubes apparently receding in all directions, then disappearing completely. Becky too, was clearly amazed; she’d experienced it from the inside, but had never seen it from the outside.

They knew enough not to stand anywhere near the spot where the construct had been. Heather had said she’d probably be gone for about an hour, and Kyle and Becky chatted about all the details of each other’s life they’d missed out on in the past year or so. It felt so good to be spending time with his daughter again — but still, Kyle was anxious and nervous. What if something went wrong? What if Heather never returned?

Finally, though, the construct did reappear, blooming and unfolding.

Kyle waited impatiently for the seal of the cubic door to crack, then he and Becky rushed in and pulled it away. Heather exited.

“Wow,” said Kyle, relieved that she was safely back, but still stunned by what he’d seen. “Wow.”

“It is spectacular, isn’t it?” said Heather. She put her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him, then opened one arm and drew Becky close, too.

“Too bad we had to start over with a new construct,” she said. “See, the construct always reenters psychospace at the same place it left it. But this new one started fresh. I had to retrace my steps, finding you all over again. Fortunately I’m getting to know my way around in there. Anyway I’ve left it so that you’ll enter right in front of a bank of hexagons that contains you — and from there you can find Mary yourself. Assuming, of course, that your mind interprets it all the same way mine did. You have to try the buttons in that area at random, but it shouldn’t take too long to get the right one. You remember what I said about getting out?”

“Visualizing the precipitate? Yes.”

“Good.” She paused. “You know I love you.”

Kyle nodded and looked into her eyes. “I love you, too.” And he smiled at Becky “I love you both.”