A Time For Change

Chapter 3

The screen disappeared and Mari took this as her cue to continue.
"As part of his social activities, I asked him to join in with a game of soccer, along with the other children at his school."
"And how did he feel about this?"
Again, another odd question - But relevant nonetheless.
"He was very nervous at first and took some coaxing to agree to it."
There was a slight pause before the professor asked.
"How did you convince him?"
"I explained the rules to him." Replied Mari. "The idea of the game and the objective. You see, it is within our own embedded arrogance that we assume that those we speak to know exactly what we are talking about."
"Arrogance?"
"Indeed. Just because you are aware of the rules, doesn't mean that I am."
"The rules of soccer?" Said the professor.
"The rules to life." Replied Mari. "Day to day living. The reason why somethings are wrong and others are right can become massive contradictions to those with autism."
"So you broke down the game into logical parts of interconnectable information."
"Exactly."Smiled Mari.
"And this led you to see something that two hundred years of study had missed?"
Another pause.
"I believe so." Said Mari quietly. "He looked at the ball and then looked at the other players on the field." An unexpected tear rolled down Mari's cheek as she remembered the day. "He took the ball from one end of the field to the other, avoiding the other players and passing by them as if they were not there." Mari looked up at the professor. "He had worked out where they would be in relation to his own body movements you see, and had compensated. He even scored a goal." She added with a smile.
"Precognitive?" Asked professor Garett.
"Almost." Agreed Mari. "But more of a working of probable cause and effect, and then using that information to his advantage."

The professor placed his pen and notepad on the table and stood up. He went over to the large window that looked out over the campus fields. One of the lecturers, a woman by the name of Alexis, looked up and smiled. She executed a small half wave to which the professor reciprocated. A small flush reddened the woman's cheeks as she put her head down and carried on with her day. He briefly wondered if she knew of his state of existence - Or even if she cared.
"That sounds like programming to me." He said.
"Which leads me on to my conclusion.' Replied Mari.
The professor carried on looking out of his window. Information was being drawn from every available source. Facts and figures being examined, used or discarded as necessary. The term 'As necessary' hung in the air.
"What do you think?" Asked Mari.
"Billions of things." Replied the professor. "And that is the point." He turned to face Mari.
"I have a suppression cap. A restrictive program that filters out what it deemed to be junk."
"Your point." Said Mari.
"My point is." Came his reply. " Is that without that filter, I would be unable to function as an approximation of sentience. My systems would become overloaded."
"Hulk smash." Smiled Mari.
"Exactly." Replied the professor. He walked back to the sofa and picked up the paper. "Do you know why I put my name to the more important papers and ideas that are submitted?" He asked.
"Plagiarism?" Said Mari, with a note of sarcasm in her tone.
The professor laughed.
"Is that what people think?" He said.
"It's a source of perturbation, yes."
"No. I decide what is needed and put my name to it so that the ideas are heard and acted upon. Those who had a hand in my design, and the people they answer to, will take note of what I have to say, where a lesser known academic..." He gestured to Mari. "...Such as yourself, would be ignored." He picked up the paper. "At great loss it would seem."
"So you think I'm onto something?" Asked Mari enthusiastically.
"Possibly. But if, as your paper suggests, the human genome is reprogramming itself, evolving into the next phase of existence, then the implications and ramifications of such an idea would have far reaching consequences."
"Such as?" Asked Mari.