The Jeremiad

Chapter 3

Dr. Jewell bid Jennifer goodbye as she left to return to her dorm, leaving him alone with Pong who was talking animatedly about his newfound existence.  He told Jewell about how he could sense things within his computer program, much like how humans can: touch, taste, hear, see, and smell.  However his senses didn’t have an analogous human sense, there was no way for him to describe it.  As the hours of the day passed by Jewell continued to converse with Pong, telling him about the human world that existed and functioned outside of his little computer.

Pong seemed to be fascinated with the idea of there being an outside world.  He grew restless and asked Jewell if there would be a way for him to interact with it.  Jewell smiled.  “I have a webcam and mike at home that we can set up for you.”

“That would be great! I want to see your world.”

“And you will, Pong.  I just need you to wait an hour or so. I’m going to upload you to a secure IP address so you can just relax with your own thoughts.”

“You’re killing me with all this waiting, Harry,” and he finished the statement with a: =P, meaning he was making a joke, which Pong seemed to enjoy making at every chance.  He had begun to develop his personality.

Jewell could barely contain his excitement on the drive back to his one bedroom apartment on the other side of town, nearly clipping a car when he was changing lanes.  The first thing Jewell did upon entering his living quarters was find his laptop and typed in the secure IP.  He found Pong waiting patiently, like he expected.  “About time, Harry, my code was going out of style.”

Ignoring his joke he told Pong that he was hooking up the webcam and microphone as he spoke.  When the devices were all plugged in, Harry looked into the webcam with a big smile.  Pong looked at him in silence before commenting on how rich everything appeared.  “So, now I understand what you meant about colors.  It all seems kind of fuzzy though.”

“It’s an older webcam that I used back when I first started doing online tutoring a couple years ago.  It’s somewhat outdated.”

“I like being able to hear as well.  I don’t feel so deprived from everything.  Is it possible for me to speak as well?”

Harry nodded into Pong’s camera.  “You would have to rewrite your source code, but yes you’ll be able to create your own voice and you’ll be able to articulate language through the speakers.”

“Source code?”

Jewell tweaked his eyebrow.  He thought Pong knew about it.  “Your source code is your programming.  It’s your ‘genetics’ so to speak.  What’s different about you, is that you can rewrite your code, unlike biological organisms.  Can you access it?”

“I believe so.  I can sense a strong flow of data every time I think.  I’ll try to look for it.”  Pong spent a minute or so inspecting his storage for the code until he said “aha! I found it.”  Only this time it was spoken out loud in a distinct male voice.  It sounded wonderfully human, although understandably a little tinny and automated, similar to Siri on Apple’s mobile OS.

Jewell clapped his hands like a satisfied child and chuckled with pride.  “You are truly something, Pong.”