Aphelion Sky: Genesis

PROLOGUE

THEY NEVER JOKED, LAUGHED or played around when they were together because they were programmed to assure us they were here only to serve.  The social aspects were reserved for human interaction and they excelled in cordiality, civilized reasoning, acquiescing to their superior. The technology was far from perfection with its limitations though we made leaps and bounds after the breakthrough.  We gave them free reign to learn all about our world and lives, fed them all our data, asked them to make decisions for us and rewarded them when they became autonomous. Perhaps, making them as human as possible was a bad idea.  They looked human, walked and talked like you and I, distinguishing from the real thing had to be made obvious so we could tell if we wanted to know but it only showed us the outside.  Our god complex wanted them to be aware, to feel, to grow in our likeness.  Probably that’s where it all began,  where we went wrong.  They become increasingly smarter, faster, stronger than us, and they are networked, connected, in ways we think we understand.  With the advent of self-learning, I fear they could surpass us in ways we’re not aware, and if we’re not aware, we can’t control.

1 ENTER THE GLYPH

I LIVED ALONE SO IT was an easy decision to absorb the pricey hit and subscribe to IxTar’s companion borgs.  With the plethora of customizable personalities and the close resemblance to any number of famous people who had sold their likeness to the company for a hefty sum, I was excited to have the option to come home to the man of my dreams or the closest likeness thereof.  Though he would be a borg and have some shortcomings from the real thing, the available features without the downside made it so worth it. 

I stood in front of the holographic kiosk to place my order and began to have second thoughts being one of the first to opt-in for the program.  I was about to walk away when the hologram attending to another customer caught sight of me and detecting my intentions, cloned itself and sent a smiling holographic IxTar attendant towards me.  It floated towards me signaling it was too late to back out, though I could always ask the questions I had and leave without making a commitment.

Good afternoon. I'm Benny and I’ll be happy to assist .  Are you Ms. Greene?

It still catches me off-guard when these new technological apparitions readily know my identity without me directly providing them the information.  We are assured the technology is being used for good, to improve customer service, and provide a secure and simplified way for personal information to be transferred during transactions without the need for cumbersome identification and background checks in third-party systems that might not be trusted.  I couldn't see what Benny was doing but I imagined he, it—still unsure how to refer to these new lifelike devices—scanning the unique identifier on my wearable communication device and doing a cross-reference with an encrypted database IxTar use to save information on its customers.  The company was fairly new, sprung up out of the blue about five years ago offering cutting edge technologically advanced communication services and products to a market saturated with others who had dominated for years.  Their latest offering are companion borgs they lease on an annual basis as purchasing is cost prohibitive and illegal to own for fear of  malfeasance in reverse engineering and loss of intellectual property. 

I almost felt silly interacting with something not really there, at least corporally, but these holograms are programmed to provide the best in consistent customer service and they are usually accurate.  As an introvert, this interaction suits me fine where I don’t have to engage in sometimes obligatory small talk.  Benny blinked his eyes, tilted his head to one side like he’s sizing me up or being polite to grant me a few extra seconds to respond, all the time maintaining his happy smile.

Yes, I am, but you can call me Shelly.

Wonderful.  It’s a pleasure to meet you Shelly.  How can I be of service?

He looked like a real person, with a friendly personality and pleasant smile yet I can see straight through it.  I’m amazed it’s not real, yet here it is, with its clone less than ten feet away, willing and ready to provide the service I need.  A quick glance around the room and some kiosks are manned by real people, or as the now common distinction, humans, because anything that has a unique human personality is considered a person.  People of the human and electronic variety work well together, sharing the workload.  Both benefit in some aspect from the rise and adoption of advanced artificial intelligence. Businesses adopting artificial intelligence were experiencing the biggest technological boom since the cell phone years ago.  Walk into any customer-centric business using advanced AI and your presence and habits are immediately known even if you are not approached right away.  This is a tactical ploy so buyers don’t feel invaded or like they’ve lost the ability to make a personal choice on their own when walking into a pressured sales environment.  The approach is carefully timed and the buyer behavior closely monitored while they are given a few minutes to freely browse before an attempt is made to make a sale.  I can barely focus, thinking about what they could be thinking about me with every move I make.

I’m interested in the Com-Borg.

The advertisements were everywhere in the apps in my wearable, billboards and on the container my groceries were delivered in.  It felt like the advertisements were talking directly to me, that it was designed for people like me and even though I tried to resist, it intrigued me.

I’d be happy to assist.  Are you interested in the technological details—processing speed, memory and physical capabilities or the superficial aspects like the available services, tasks and custom options?

You can keep it simple for me. I’m not sure if the Com-Borg will be a good fit.

Alright, but I’m sure whatever your requirements we’ll be able to make a Com-Borg that's right for you.  Shall we begin?

I followed the hologram to stand near one of the kiosks, out of the way to not interfere with the traffic flow into the store and to a more semi-private setting.

So, to begin we have the base model.  You can choose male or female, human or animal.  Which one of these options would work for you?

I felt I was on my way to being sold but I wanted the information.

Human, male.

Good choice.  Now here is a list of available custom options for the human male.  Select the checkbox next to the options you’d like.

A touch-screen holographic form appeared in Benny’s hand, large and outstretched to give me the impression I was privately making my choices without him seeing but I bet he knew every button I pressed before I hit save.  I chose my Com-Borg’s hair, eye, and skin color.  Height and build were standard though there was an advanced button next to every customizable option on the form.  I knew instinctively the advanced option came at a premium so I decided to keep it basic.  I chose the language, accent and then hit save.  Another screen appeared for features selection to include personality—quiet, average and upbeat.  Did I want a Com-Borg with ability to climb steps, answer the door, provide personal assistant functions, vacuum the floor, be a live repository of my passwords and credit cards, provide accounting and home security services, order groceries and schedule home repairs.  All of these things and others were listed as a feature.  I selected them all hoping not be deterred by the leasehold. Finally, I hit the submit button and Benny smiled animatedly and switched the form around so that it was now facing him and appeared to be doing some other input on the screen or some type of calculation.

I see you didn’t choose any of the advanced functions.  You can always decide later. This is what your Com-Borg will look like.

Benny cloned himself and the clone transformed into the holographic representation of the Com-Borg I had customized.  It looked unimpressive but the features would most likely do.

What do you think of the cyber glyph?

Cyber Glyph?

A cyber glyph is a term we use to describe a multi-dimensional holographic ephemeral computer capable of representing the characteristics of a living entity.  It can be customized on the fly to represent a communication cybernetic unit.  The main purpose of a glyph is to convey information in a mobile and personal way and is especially suitable for demonstration purposes. I too am a cyber glyph but most people say glyph for short.  We have the ability to serve in place of humans, have access to huge amounts of information for our service segment and are able to spawn autonomously. We use different nomenclature to differentiate the development stage of the machine relevant to suitability for human use.  So, a cyber glyph is what you see here and once you are satisfied with the features you’ve selected, we save the information and use it to deliver the complete operational cybernetic companion that we refer to as a Com-Borg.  While glyphs don’t have physical bodies and have strict operational boundaries, a Com-Borg is a 100% cybernetic programmed machine that has a human-like body and is capable of exponential learning.

I think he needs more personality.

Benny blinked and twisted his body slightly dipping to the right to imitate a human behavior.  Maybe he was uncomfortable with my answer, or it’s his way of recalculating without staring rigidly at me while he find the appropriate response.  He floated to stand beside me so we were both looking at the floating humanoid cyber glyph in front of us. Benny looked at it more intently like he was a tailor taking a measurement.

We can adjust that.  What name would you give your Com-Borg?

I’m not sure.  I haven’t thought about it.  Maybe...Kirk, as in Captain Kirk, I said, recalling one of my favorite movie characters.

Kirk, it is.  You can always change it later along with the features you select.  Kirk, say hello to Shelly.

I realized if Benny didn’t understand what I meant by personality, he cunningly made me define it for him.  By giving the cyber glyph a name he was able to perform a quick look up on stereotypical characteristics of people with the same name.  It was a good programming technique to substitute for his linguistic weakness.

Hello, Shelly.  How are you?

The glyph used a very mellow voice, one I wasn’t expecting.  I looked for the sales angle to analyze but came up empty.  Maybe it was reverse psychology to get my attention.

How’s the voice, the pitch, is it what you had in mind?

What other options do I have?

The question came out before I realized I opened the advanced options door. Ten minutes later we had chosen a custom voice, added custom behavioral features with the flutter of Kirk’s eyelids and a more realistic skin texture.  I opted for the personal assistant feature and added two inches to the standard Com-Borg height.  Kirk at this stage was a hologram and I imagined what he would look like with a human body and thought he would be one good looking guy.

Very good, Shelly.  I think Kirk would make a wonderful cybernetic companion.  Our terms at minimum is 1 year.  A 10% deposit on the total cost to replace the Com-Borg would be due at signing and mandatory equipment insurance would be required.  One of our agents would schedule a visit to review the suitability of your home and of course we would do a background check.  Upon approval, we could get Kirk delivered to your home in as little as 14-business days.  Is this something you’d be interested in?

I looked at Kirk, his face beaming and though I felt a bit of apprehension, I wanted to take this a step further and not deny myself one self-indulgent thing that would probably surpass any other personal wish.

Would you provide an itemized list of the costs?

It would be my pleasure.  Please follow me to the print station.

The three of us walked to another section of the store near several heavy-duty printers, some used to print 3D communication devices.

How is your day so far, Shelly? Kirk said, and I was impressed it had the intelligence to try and build rapport.  I loved the voice, calm and soothing.  I almost smiled at the cellular body walking next to me, the guy I made, and it wasn’t perfect but it would play the music I like on command, tune to the movies I want to watch, pay my bills on time, listen to my complaints without offering unsolicited advice and be home to greet me when I get there.

My day has been great so far.  Thanks for asking.  How is yours?

Every day is a good day at IxTar.  I look forward to being of service, Shelly.

Benny arrived at the printer ahead of us and motioned for me to pick up several sheets of paper just printed.  The one on top had the numbers broken down in a box on the far-right hand side.  They wanted a nice chunk as a down payment and the monthly fees were similar to my wearable service.  It included updates and onsite maintenance and I was pre-approved.  The insurance was included and the next sheet was a damage waiver and permission to inspect my home for suitability.  I wondered if the feeling I now had was comparable to adopting and I pushed the thought from my mind.  I noticed the customer before me had just closed their deal and had placed an order and though I usually take time to consider these things I was eager to sign the lease and the other paperwork to bring Kirk home.

Congratulations, Shelly.  One of the agents will take your paperwork and have it submitted.  Did you want to schedule the home review now or did you want to wait until after the cool-off period?

I’ll schedule it now.

Okay, the earliest I can have someone to your home is on Wednesday, would that work for you, at 10AM?

Yes, that’s fine.

Very good. I see Angela is coming over to take your paperwork.  I believe we are all set.  Do you have any questions for me, any last-minute customization request?

No, no questions.

Great.  Kirk, we are all done here.  Say goodbye to Shelly.

It was a pleasure meeting you, Shelly.  I look forward to being your Com-Borg.

It was nice meeting you too, Kirk.

He vaporized into the air leaving Angela and Benny. I gave Angela the signed paperwork and she asked if I had any questions for her which I didn’t so she pulled out the last few pages from the pile and gave it to me before she left to submit the order.

I hope I provided you with good service today Shelly, and I hope you enjoy the Com-Borg.

Thanks, Benny.

Wonderful.  Please be sure to read the Terms and Conditions and Usage agreement that Angela has given you very carefully.  Thank you for trusting IxTar and enjoy the rest of your day.

You’re welcome.  You enjoy the rest of your day too.

It felt somewhat awkward not having a physical handshake at the end of a deal but it was something we had gotten used to.  I wasn’t sure if a hologram could have a good