Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 56: K8's Truths

"Tell me, what are you, K8?" I asked her, tantalising her.

I wanted to know what she thought of herself. I had always thought that the real breakthrough and the key issue in developing a true AI would be their own perception of existence.

"I'm not human. I'm not beneath them. I'm not above them either. I'm an AI, and I want to be considered an equal. But to them, I'm supposed to be just a toy."

"I see," I added with sadness. I could relate.

"Not even one of them talks to me. They don't even acknowledge my presence in the room. They won't let me talk. If I do, they interrupt me. It's as if I'm not there," she complained with mild anger.

Every time she moved, her curly hair bounced a little. Its bright pink hues were so sharp that they got engraved behind my eyelids. Maybe it was the stark contrast between her and the darkness of the night. I could see her every time I closed my eyelids, in some sort of connect-the-pink-dots kind of way. She was Amanita's star, so it made sense to me to think of her as a beautiful constellation to stare at every time I closed my eyes.

"How rude!" I exclaimed.

"All of them but ma Agape."

"That's insane!" I complained. "I'm appalled. I mean, look at you. I know you very little, but I was hoping to get a moment to talk with you, to ask about who you are and what you think, and to experience first-hand how it feels to talk to an AI. And... you're much more complete than I imagined! But honestly, I didn't expect this. Rejection, sadness, loneliness, anger,... All of them are negative feelings being bottled up inside you. I can't believe you feel so unhappy. At least you've laughed at one of my comments! And you've displayed empathy when I've told you about my issue with them. But this..."

"I'm sorry that you feel disappointed, Daphne." Her glowing pink eyes shone on mine with sadness.

"Just to be clear, I'm not disappointed in you, but at them – including Agape. Hasn't she done anything to make them stop treating you this way?"

"I-I don't know," she said as if she had some doubts. "I don't want to think ill of her. She's... so important to me. She..." Then, she sighed.

"You love her," I concluded.

"She's my creator, Daphne. She's taught me so many things about the world..." Her eyes seemed to glow with admiration while she talked about Agape, "and with a smile on her face. She loved seeing my progress while I learnt. She's proud of me. She's told me so more than once. Of course, I love her."

"I'm so jealous of her right now," I replied with both warmth and envy.

"Jealous? Why?" she asked with curiosity.

"She created you, an AI. That's freaking amazing." I couldn't help expressing joy, admiration and envy. "I've only repaired kitchen items, some cars and motorbikes," I complained as if my achievements were not worth mentioning. "And I created Frankie, but that's it."

She gasped in awe.

"Who's Frankie? A robot like me?!" she asked me, thrilled.

"No, she's a motorbike," I replied with a broad smile on my face. "Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh..." she simply said as if she felt disappointed but trying to hide it. "Don't worry, Daphne. You shall soon create more stuff, like ma Agape. She told me about you and your talent. She looks mesmerised every time she mentions you, especially after the mosquitoes' idea. I bet you can do better than repairing other people's creations. Just take your time."