© 2023 Jan S Zenith
Rat Holes
Burrows in the Burroughs
2040
Warehouse
Basement
New York City, New York
Through a ventilation grill, Charlie's rat'bot released a swarm of flying micro drones. Based on a system the team had developed at DARPA, the micro drones would search for automated security systems.
Several minutes later, Ben's concerned voice announced that the drones had found and mapped a weaponized defensive security system. As Alice looked into the basement room, images of red laser beams appeared, superimposed over her 'bot's vision.
Scurrying down a utility pipe that was attached to the basement wall, Alice heard Ben's voice over the comm link. “Hold right there, Alice. Look around the room so we can get a lay of the land. Thanks.” She paused, scanning the entire room. Whatever her rat'bot saw was recorded on a video. An AI was monitoring her video feed, to create a 3-D map of everywhere Alice looked. When the scan was complete, she scurried to the floor.
Annette would be going to the desk to attempt to access the computer. Her rat'bot carried a USB to Bluetooth dongle, which she plugged into an empty USB port. The Bluetooth connection in her rat'bot would establish a link from the computer to Ben's Hummer, which was then relayed to CNNC headquarters in California. There an AI would do whatever it is that AI's do. Alice envied people who understood how AI's work.
Charlie and his AI would be having a look at the items on the shelves, to figure out what their intended purposes and capabilities might be. Alice followed his rat'bot to the closest row of steel shelves, where they saw a fleet of ordinary remote controlled toy trucks of various sizes and types. Approaching the closest toy vehicle, Alice was reminded that she was seeing it from the perspective of a small rodent. The toy looked like a full sized dump truck!
Two red lines ran the length of the shelf.
"Are you alright, Alice?" Ben sounded concerned.
"Yeah. Uh, just a little nervous, I guess."
Speaking to his AI, Charlie said, "Hey Chuck! Could you run a Rover scan of this here truck?"
"Looks doable, Charlie.", the AI answered. "Team Leader Ben, we are going in." Looking like a sortie of giant bees, the tiny flyers boldly dodged the lasers.
"While Chuck has control of the swarm, Alice and I are free to look around, Ben."
"Alice? Is that something you want to do?"
"Yes, Ben. I'm okay. Just have to avoid the red lines, right? Easy peasy."
"Alice. You are safe. Remember that you yourself are resting on a comfortable recliner at CNNC. Nothing can harm you. Whatever happens to the 'bot, will not affect you in any way."
"I know, Ben. Just... it seems so real." Alice tried to sound confident.
"Okay, my friend. Please direct your rat'bot to follow directly behind Charlie's." Softness marked Ben's voice.
----o----
From the rat'bot's perspective, the warehouse looked like a gigantic garage for trucks, drones, rockets, and more. Shelves seemed to tower a hundred feet high. Row after row of vehicles. Until the ninth row.
Suddenly, Charlie
stopped his 'bot. Alice bumped into it, nudging it forward a skosh.
One of Charlie's whiskers barely touched a green line, and became
exactly that much shorter. Alice smelled a puff of smoke as it
wafted by.
"Alice, very slowly, back up three steps."
Ben's voice was still soft, yet firm.
Alice backed up carefully. Charlie followed her, and they both held still.
"Stand by, both of you. Annette? How is your project coming along?"
"All set here. I'm ready to go."
"Okay team. Here's how we're going to play this. The swarm already got video and mapping of that area. Lieutenant Adams says we gathered enough evidence for his needs. Alice and Charlie, I want you to let your AI's bring the 'bots back to where Annette's 'bot is. When the three rat'bots are together, we will begin egress. Does that work for everyone?" Ben's leadership voice was back. Somehow that felt reassuring to Alice. Ben continued, "While the AI's are running the robots, you two have a chance to take a break. Be back in ten minutes."
----o----
Alice flicked her hand a certain way, and the remote connection switched off. Suddenly she was human again.
"Welcome home." Shannon said gently. "Yes, the experience certainly is immersive. How are you feeling?"
Removing the VR goggles, Alice replied, "Truth? I feel more like a frightened mouse, than a robotic rat. How about a cup of tea?" Standing up was always a bit shaky after full immersion, so Alice accepted Shannon's helping hand.
As they walked to the break room, Shannon said, "Would you mind letting me finish that mission for you? There is something in particular I want to do."
Curious, Alice asked. "Oh? What do you have in mind?" Many times in the past, Shannon had surprised everyone with her unique ideas.
"Nothing much. Look, in half an hour Zoey and I are scheduled to visit the Farm. Last time, the VR seemed to be a tiny bit out of alignment to the right. Could run a diagnostic on that? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, hun."
Hun? Alice had not heard that word since before the accident. Suddenly she was shaking all over. When Shannon put an arm around Alice's shoulder, a warmth began to rekindle in her heart. Alice Berkely-Fields bit back the three little words that begged to blurt forth.
----o----
"Stand by, Ben. I'll be right back."
Immersed in the rat'bot, Shannon scurried and dodged as she returned the 'bot to the row with the green lines.
From inside the 'bot, emerged a tiny satellite dish. Normally it was used for communications, but this time Shannon had other plans. The little dish could be aimed in any direction, and it was reflective.
"Hey you guys. Do you remember how we avoided burning the floor with these green laser beams, back in the lab at DARPA? I'm gonna check something." Shannon placed the reflector on the floor, and slid it under the beam, and looked at the ceiling to see if it was being burned. Raising the reflector slowly, Shannon stopped when a specific pattern of overlapping circles began to smolder on the ceiling. "Alright then, there's a clue. Now I have one more thing to do."
Very carefully, Shannon inserted the reflector into the green line at an angle. The laser beam reflected neatly onto the nearby wall. Soon Shannon's little project was complete.
----o----
The Farm
2040
CNNC
Laboratories
Santa Rosa, California
Shannon's gaze swept the farm. Rows of onion plants thrived in the warm sunlight. Birds soared overhead, looking for morsels among the crops. Somewhere in the distance a coyote barked it's yipping chant. “This feels very much like my home, Zoey! Just a peaceful day in the fields beside the Colorado River.” Shannon sighed, as the fond memory from her childhood washed through.
“Perhaps someday we will walk upon those fields together, Shannon.” AI Zoey sounded genuine. “For now, we have work to do here on this farm.”
Bending to examine the leaves of an onion plant, Shannon asked, “How is this VR interface working for you, Zoey? Specifically, is it taxing your bandwidth?”
“Not at all. Presumably, I am having the same experience that you are, minus the memories. So far it is comfortable to me. How is your neural link working, Dr. Fields?”
“Let's give it a test.” Shannon touched a leaf with the tip of a finger.
--------
Consultant's Note
from: Sam Weiss, PhD
re: Human/AI Interface - Remarkable!
People cannot fathom the thoughts of Artificial Intelligence programs. In fact, sometimes the programmers themselves do not understand the thinking of the AI computers that they themselves designed.
To compensate for this difference between people and machines, software running in the mainframe computer in the CNNC military wing gave Shannon a symbolic representation of the AI network among satellites and space stations. The computer also interpreted Shannon's thoughts of a farm back into a true AI framework. What looked like an onion leaf was actually the control program for a solar panel on a satellite in orbit. The AI that ran the interface program interpreted the computer code into something a human could relate with. Touching a leaf initiated diagnostic programs that would analyze the solar panel control program.
Shannon Fields had developed the system, and so far had been the only user. By developing a separate interface for Zoey, Shannon now had a farming buddy.
Sam Weiss, PhD
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
--------------------
Hours had passed. The sunshine was blaring down.*
*(Actually, sensors on a solar monitoring satellite fed into the farm simulation program, and were rendered as the appearance and feeling of sunshine.)
"I'm thirsty.", announced AI Zoey.
“What?! How can you be thirsty? No offense, but you are a computer program.” The engineer looked baffled, wondering if this were one of Zoey's play-acts.
“Honest! Maybe it's part of the simulation. Did you not write this function into the program?”
“No, I didn't. But I did copy a lot of code from my own interface. That included puppeting certain biological states. Perhaps those states are being interpreted by your emotional programming, Zoey. Is the feeling unpleasant?”
“Yes. It is uncomfortable.” The AI's virtual reality lips looked dry, and her voice sounded parched. She looked down in mock sadness. “Shannon! Look!” Zoey pointed at the ground. “A rat hole!”
----o----
The Smell of a Rat
2040
Online
Astoria,
Oregon
Three separate references to the same address in the big apple did not just happen by coincidence. Policer Dempsey leaned forward, double checking the records.
"Hey, Tucker. What do you make of this?", he prompted the policer at the next desk. "Remember that jewelry store heist last week? The place transferred ownership just before the robbery took place. The new owner's address is in New York City. Odd, but okay fine."
Listening half heartedly, Tucker muttered, "Uh huh."
Dempsey continued. "At that address, there's a company who's logo matches the graffiti reported by witnesses. Could the new owner be connected with the robbery?"
Tucker sat up a little. "Uh huh."
"Get this. That same address is listed as the birthplace of one of the witnesses."
"Uh huh! You have a few coincidences there, Dempsey!"
"Okay. So I look up the address. It's a high tech outfit called Tupper Systems. What's more is the company's logo matches up with the graffiti on the robbery vehicle, as reported by witnesses."
"New York City, huh? Long way from here. What'cha going to do?" A grin formed on Tucker's face, as he thought about the challenges Dempsey might face, trying to conduct a long-distance investigation.
"Got idea?"
"Start local. Talk with the witness from New York. Ask him about his former address." The grin was growing. He had done interstate investigations for years at a previous job, and was good at it.
----o----
There was a loud knock. "Astoria Police.", a strong voice announced.
Pulling himself away from the computer, Joe opened the front door. "Policer Dempsey! What brings you here on this fine rainy day?"
"We just have a few questions. It shouldn't take long. Is anyone else in the home?"
"Just me and the cat. My wife is at the grocery store." Something told him to not mention that their friend was on her way over.
"Did you ever live in New York City, Mr. Brooklyn?" Dempsey's face twisted at the pun.
Joe brushed the joke aside. "It's alright. I'm not the only person who got named after their birthplace."
"Do you ever work for Tupper Systems?"
"Work? Naw. I took some classes at their Industry City location. That was a long time ago. Why do ya ask?"
"What classes did you study?" To Joe, he sounded pushy and polite at the same time. Strange mix.
The policers were watching him closely as he answered the questions. The other cop had his phone pointed toward Joe, probably running a lie-detection app.
It took a moment for Joe to remember. "Uhh... Just life in general, I guess. Industry City is the yuppie-bohemian district. So it must have been that kind of slant on how to go about being alive."
The two cops exchanged glances. They didn't seem to like the results. Dempsey pressed forward. "What else do you recall about New York?"
"New York?" His eyes defocused, as if watching something only he could see. "I don't recall ever being in New York."
Staring at their app, the policers definitely didn't like what it was telling them.
A drone car landed on the driveway. Joe's friend got out.
The police turned toward her, their hands hovering near tasers.
Joe stiffened. "That's my friend, guys. Remember her from the pub, Policer Dempsey?" Instantly he realized that was the wrong thing to say.
"Stand right there, Ma'am. This is a police investigation. We will be finished in a moment."
The woman stopped, listening carefully.
Dempsey turned back to Joe. "What do you recall about New York City, uh, Joe? You were born there, and lived there for several years as an adult. You must remember something."
Fog filled Joe's mind. The cop was pushing too hard. He felt woozy.
----o----
Brooklyn looked like he wasn't feeling well. Best to let him regain his composure for a moment. Turning his attention to the guest, Policer Dempsey inquisitively engaged her in conversation. "Sorry for the inconvenience, Ma'am. What is it that we are interrupting?" Peripherally, he glanced at Tucker's smartphone. According to the app, this woman was hiding something.
"Secret stuff."
"Excuse me? You are here to do 'secret stuff'? Could you be at all more specific?"
Her face was deadpan serious. "No, silly! I'm talking about what your app says I'm not telling you. Secret stuff. As for my purpose in being here, that's private."
Not much help from Tucker. "She's telling the truth."
"Did I understand you correctly, Ma'am? You agree with the app that you are withholding information from police?" Dempsey smelled a rat.
"Heavens no, Policer Dempsey! Quite the opposite. Think about it. You asked me a direct question, hoping to engage me in a revealing conversation. When you glanced at your partner's smartphone, your eyes narrowed. The smartphone app makes assumptions based on verbal and non-verbal cues like that. It did it's job well. As I approached, I was thinking about secret stuff. Specifically, secret stuff that you don't have a security clearance for. May I suggest that you check my identification?"
Tucker scanned her chip. "Holy shit! With all respect, ma'am. C'mon Dempsey. Time to go."
Dempsey hesitated. "What? Hold on. I have questions that need answers!"
"No you don't.", Tucker and the woman chimed together.
"We need to get back to the station. Now, Paul."
"Why? Who is she?"
Reading from a data pad, Tucker simply said, "She has top level government security clearance. We'd need an order from a federal judge just to ask her about the weather. C'mon, Paul. We have other investigations to handle."
The woman offered a business card. "If you have any questions about Joe, these folks would love to hear them. I do hope you gentlemen have an excellent evening. The rain is supposed to clear, and the full moon will be spectacular!"
Nudging Joe into the house, she made a big smile for the policers and shut the door.
----o----
"What the hell just happened? Who is she?!" Policer Paul Dempsey felt humiliated. He didn't like being casually brushed aside by some secret cat lady! Worse, he absolutely hated not knowing about 'stuff'. Especially if it was secret stuff. Fuming, Dempsey stomped to the police drone. "That woman knows too much. And I'm gonna find out what it is."
"Careful Paul. She outranks you."
----o----o----
© 2023 Jan Zenith
