Artificial(ish) Intelligence

Chapter 130

"Is Libbi OK?" said Will. "Can I see?"

"Yes," said Paige_AI. "And no."

"Awww. But I'm a visual person. I like...seeing things."

"That would certainly qualify you as a visual person," said Paige_AI.

"Thanks!" said Will, without any irony. "It's why I'm so good at games."

He cut the sentence short. Well, not really, that was the complete sentence, but the last word kind of trailed off in a cutting kind of way. That makes sense if you genuinely consider it. Look, his little mind was off on a trail of its own making, so just settle in and enjoy the ride, OK?

"I know what you're thinking," said Paige_AI. "Stop wondering and just do it, dude. Give this deliverybot access to the in-game health app and use it to send food to starving gamers."

Will stared down at the adorable bot. It was to be his saviour, a way for him to secure freedom, but it couldn't perform both duties, not with time running out. He'd have to make a choice. "Ah, yeah," he said, "that's what I was thinking." He turned to Barry White's camera, to the stream. "Exactly. You read my mind."

Will explained the plan -- his own plan, not Paige's -- to a receptive deliverybot, who verified its understanding of every step with a three sixty degree spin, its small deformed wheel gripping almost too much of the carpet. Someone needed to pay for all this food, and Will didn't think twice, relinquishing his year's supply of <trademarked burger> from <famous burger chain>. Even I was a little proud of him for the sacrifice, because who doesn't love a nice juicy <trademarked burger> at any time, day or night? No one, that's who.

His little brain came up with a new thought. Would you believe it, another idea! Will wasn't just aiming to add to his collection of You Participated!!! certificates, he was going for the Well Done or, dare I say it, Excellent Work scratch-n-sniff stickers.

"I'm going to leave the way this thing came in," he said, jumping up onto the desk.

"Good idea," said Paige_AI, as if she hadn't suggested it moments earlier. Her voice-synthesising software added a strange addendum, sounding almost but not entirely unlike "Gooba".

"Come on, little one," said Will, hoisting Fivven. It wasn't so easy. "Either this thing's heavier than I thought or I'm weaker."

"You're making this too easy, dude," said Paige_AI.

I won't get into the next five minutes of aborted attempts by Will to haul himself up into the ceiling. Even Paige_AI was a little embarrassed and she only had to watch. I felt sorry enough to momentarily endow in Will the strength of a normal adult human being.

"So the bot will continue but you'll need to take the first turn on the right," said Paige_AI. "Wait there. Libbi will rendezvous with you soon after, based on her current movements."

"Got it," said Will.

"But hurry," said Paige_AI. "My data storage is filling up fast. I'm not sure I can remember everything."

"Come on bot, lead the way."

"Oh, and dude..." said Paige_AI.

He turned awkwardly in the tight duct.

"You're a decent gamer, too," she said.

Will beamed. "You mean as good as you?"

"No."

Movement was difficult in the cramped confines of the ducts, with even the little deliverybot struggling at times. When Will looked closer, its body appeared beat-up, the wobbly wheel lucky to remain attached. As they approached the turn-off, he stopped it from continuing.

"I guess it's goodbye," he said. "So long and thanks for all the noodles."

Fivven spun his wheel on the spot, which only highlighted its tenuous connection to the axle.

The poor thing, thought Will. Someone should help it to-- "No!" he said, out loud -- you probably guessed that from the quotation marks. "That someone is me."

He gave Fivven the address of an old panel-beater who could punch out the dents. When he mentioned the name, the deliverybot became very excited. Will assumed it was simply keen to fix itself up. Bots were strange. It took off as Will turned the corner, waiting for Libbi's arrival. Approximately seven point nine two five seconds later, she arrived, shocked to find him occupying the space. He was about to explain what lead him to be here when Libbi blurted out her own experiences.

"It's gone," she said. "I'm dead."

It took a moment for him to understand. "Your body?"

Her non-response was enough of a response, even for Will.

"But didn't they store it somewhere?" he said. "Keep it frozen, or whatever?"

Again, she didn't say a word. Even though she was in a robot form and even in the dim light of the ducts, he could sense her sagged shoulders and listless gait. They clambered down into a corridor.

She explained her discovery and subsequent guilt at Mathison's selfless diversion. He held his own feelings over Paige at bay as he asked further about her body, adding understanding nods and grunts while giving a compassionate hug around her metallic body.

"Are you sure?" said Will, when she mentioned the room.

"It's the closest thing I'll get," said Libbi.

He nodded, agreeing to help in any way he could, even if that meant remaining in the panda's jaw a while longer.