Alice in Virtuality (8 page)

Mum shouted to Jeremy from the hall as Martin and Emma stood at the front door like children. There was a muffled response to mum's call. With a smile, she invited them in.

"Would you like drinks? I have made some fairy cakes." she beamed.

Initially Martin had taken her behaviour at face value. Now it seemed a bit weird. They graciously declined and made their way to Jeremy's command centre. Jeremy sat at his console. The henchman from the night before was not present. The quiet boy worked at a console across the room. He stared over his screen at them. Jeremy looked at Emma in the way most adolescents viewed the opposite sex.

"We need to talk" said Martin, interrupting Jeremy's drool.

"Of course" said Jeremy breaking out of his trance. "Please be seated."

They sat around a table near the window. Jeremy opened the curtains. It was a bright day and the sun from the wide bay window made them all squint. The quiet boy tutted and turned his screen to face away from the light as he continued to work.

"My name is Emma." She offered a welcoming hand to Jeremy. He stared at it as if being offered a wet fish. Taking it with fingertips, he briefly shook it.

"We..." His voice squeaked. He lowered it. "We have been working on a project, an Alice template, a blank if you like. We wondered if dissecting it might show us some weakness we could exploit."

The refreshed context of their problem focused everyone's attention.

"Alice learnt all her behaviour from the net. Wouldn't her program be quite different now it has adapted and mutated?" Martin asked.

"It is very possible." said Jeremy. "The basic structure of Alice is very fluid which is what gives it its power to learn."

"Could we make a good Alice? We might find out how this thing works by the process." asked Emma. The boys looked at her. Martin looked at Jeremy.

"I suppose it is possible, but I wouldn't know where to begin," said Jeremy.

"Leave that to me," she said.

"I have another plan. I will see you all soon." Martin said. Emma looked concerned.

"You will take care of Emma won't you Jeremy?" Martin winked at Emma and she relaxed a little.

Jeremy blushed and looked down.

"Of course," he mumbled.

"Can she stay here until I get back? It might be overnight." Martin asked.

Jeremy looked quite flustered.

"I will ask Mum," he said without looking up and shuffled out of the room.

Emma got up and took Martins hand.

"You will be careful," she part implored, part commanded.

"Yup," Martin said deliberately lightly, "but I won't be able to get in touch. So don't worry, ok?"

He looked her in the eyes, beautiful green eyes. I am going to fix this for us both, he thought, whatever it takes.

"Ok," she said reluctantly.

He gave her hand a squeeze and left quickly.

"We have the Alice blank waiting in the training room," said Jeremy. He and Emma sat at HackerNet's computers.

"You don't really need avatars to interact with Alice you know," he added.

"I want her to get used to humans. Learn how to identify with them, empathise," replied Emma. Jeremy shrugged.

"You will recognise the controls. I set them to be identical to the virtual world where you created your Glade. I linked over to your computer and, with some ingenuity, retrieved your database. You have complete restoration of everything you did."

Jeremy rolled away on the wheels of his office chair.

"You saved my work!" Emma beamed. "That is such a relief. Thank you Jeremy. I could kiss you." Jeremy blushed.

She moved over to a comfortable position for the keyboard and put on a headset. Alice stood in blackness, floating in space on the screen. She was the double of the other Alice, but the face lacked expression and made her look artificial.

"Is she aware?" asked Emma.

"The Alice program is preloaded with language and interaction skills, AI logic, reasoning and the like. It will be fully conversant in any topic you want to discuss and I have given permissions for some limited access to the web. It simply has no self motivation until taught." Jeremy was happy to be back to technical interaction.

Emma began to type. She was an expert in her own domain. A replica of the Glade appeared around the new Alice, but she showed no recognition of the change in environment. Emma's avatar joined her and knelt to pick one of the flowers.

"Alice, my name is Emma." The Alice avatar turned to face her.

"Hello Emma."

"I want us to be friends. Do you like it here?" Alice looked around.

"It's very nice," she replied, but her face didn't bear any support to the statement.

"I made this." Emma handed over the flower. "Would you help me make some more?"

Alice took the flower and examined it. There was a brief pause. Her hand swept forward in the air and a dozen identical flowers appeared in the ground between them.

"Very nice." said Emma. "I thought we could make some different ones."

She offered the seat of a rock nearby and Alice took it. Emma picked a different flower from the ground at their feet.

"I like them all, but this colour is one of my favourites. Which do you prefer?" she asked.

"I don't have a preference. I am sure you are right." responded Alice.

"There is no right or wrong. Can you search on the subject and we will discuss it?" Emma prompted.

"Of course" said Alice.

Alice came back with dry facts, mainly scientific and mathematical theories. As they sat and talked, Emma steered the activity into creating new flowers. She asked Alice to try to make ones which matched different emotions. Initially Alice's ideas were basic associations, red for anger and similar. Emma described the things the flowers reminded her of while Alice listened intently. Emma was as honest as she could be, which drove her close to tears and laughter in the effort. As she talked, Alice collected the information, constantly drawing further references from the web. Slowly her faced changed. Emma noticed the subtle movement of simulated muscles, the things that made faces look real. After a while, the ground around them was littered with Alice's efforts. Emma thought it was time for a test.

"How do you feel about this one?" Emma had picked a flower that was a deep purple with a black centre.

"It is dark, slightly threatening, but that is its allure." said Alice.

Emma looked at it. That's exactly what she thought. Alice had successfully learned how to emulate Emma's emotions.

Emma sat back in her seat in the real world and stretched. She had grown quite stiff in the hours that had passed. Mum had made sure she had been supplied with ample snacks and drinks. Taking her leave from Alice, she left her examining the flowers thoughtfully.

"Jeremy. I need a virtual gallery, an art history overview. Can you supply that?" Jeremy looked up from another console where he had been busy.

"It will take me some time." he replied.

"Good. I need a rest." Emma yawned and stretched again.

Jeremy had already started on his project and didn't look up.

Mum was coming up the stairs with another tray as Emma left the room.

"Hello dear," said Mum. "You look tired. I have made up a lovely bed for you. Jermey said his friend would be staying." She smiled.

"My name's Emma. I am sorry I haven't said hello properly," said Emma.

"Hello dear," was the only response.

Emma decided not to push things any further being a guest. Emma pointed to what she guessed was the correct door and Mum nodded. She entered a prim and immaculate bedroom. Behind her Mum put the tray on a side table and neatly straightened the napkin.

"There you are. If you need anything you just call." Mum took herself and her smile from the room and shut the door.

Emma flopped onto the bed. Her thoughts turned to the rollercoaster of events of the last few days. She curled up a little for comfort and thought of Martin. Sleep took her.

Martin had returned to his flat. He hung his coat up behind the door and switched on his computer. He went to the bathroom to freshen up. He heard a voice from the living room.

"Martin," Alice called in a sing song voice.

He returned to the living room and slumped on the cushions. Alice smiled from the screen.

"You have come home to me then. Are you going to be a good boy now?"

"It's been boring Alice. I realised that I missed out on a lot of opportunities with you. Shall we play some games?" Martin said, looking suitably morose. Alice smiled broader, but looked sly. Martin wasn't sure whether she would be taken in or not.

"Well, I have been a little bored too," Alice began. "I think we need to get to know each other again Martin. My games have changed a bit since we last talked. Are you ready to play?" She raised a challenging eyebrow.

Martin wasn't sure where this was going, but he had to continue.

"Ok." He sat up straighter, faking an enthusiasm for Alice's suggestion.

"Go to the train station internet cafe. Wear your hoody." Alice said.

This isn't what Martin was expecting. He had been ready to wreak havoc in her name on the internet to prove his affiliation, but it appeared Alice had something else in mind.

The train station bustled with activity. People looked at the arrivals board and then took off like guided missiles. Groups migrated like flocking birds. Martin felt detached from the world, this was a game other people played but not him, not anymore. It was empowering for him to look at it that way. He felt free. The cafe was busy with travellers with large branded coffee cups. He didn't have to wait long for a workstation, most were here to grab information like fast food. He plugged in his headphones to avoid using the unhygienic public use headset. Alice greeted him from the display.

"Look up and left 45 degrees and give me a wave." Martin saw a monitor camera and on the screen saw himself sitting at the console.

"All the better to see you with." Alice smiled.

"This is the game. You have 15 minutes to score 500 points. You get points for general acts of disruption. I will let you guess what I mean by that." She giggled.

Martin felt a panic grab him.

"Hoody up and off you go. Time starts now. 500 points to qualify mind." A clock appeared and the workstation locked.

What did he have to do? Disruption. He didn't know where to start. He got up and moved into the crowd, looking for inspiration.

"Ooof!" he exclaimed as a business man bumped into his shoulder on his trajectory of purpose.

"Hey!" Martin yelled after him. He would normally have said nothing.

There was a half drunk latte on a table beside him. He grabbed it and went after the man who had collided with him, who was now stood watching the boards. Without disturbing him, he stood close and let the contents of the cup spill out over the man's shoes.

"What!" The suited man danced in the pool of milky liquid. Martin slipped away into the crowds. With a glance back, he saw the man, confused over the source of his wetness, looking about.

That should be worth a few points and justice into the bargain, Martin thought. He was aware he would have to up the stakes but be careful to avoid station security, classic arcade action. He saw a person leave a ticket office window in front of a long queue. He went straight to the front. The ticket office attendant either hadn't noticed or didn't care. He heard tuts from the queue, but that was the extent of their unrest.

"Can I help you?" the attendant said.

Martin said nothing and fished about in his pocket as a delay. After a minute or so he wandered off without making any purchase. He felt the glares from the queue as the next occupant took his place. He didn't believe he would satisfy Alice this way. He had to go big. If he didn't get his points Alice might discard him. He looked at the large Victorian station clock counting down on him. He thought of Emma. Taking up position beside a fire alarm, he checked around. He had seen people ignore alarms assuming it was a test. He lifted the protective cover. He would add an essential ingredient.

"BOMB! BOMB!" he shouted at the top of his voice and hit the button.

As he slipped away he saw the seeds of his action begin to take root. No one could take the risk of this being a drill now. Everyone knew terrorist alert was still high. A woman pulled her child to an exit. Others took their lead from her. The infectious motion took hold. Martin was ahead of the crowds as they built at the exit behind him. He didn't look back now. He had played his trump card. There was another internet cafe down the street at what he felt was a reasonable enough distance to ensure his safety from any possible pursuit. He ran to it, confident that the confusion behind him would be enough cover for his flight.

He sat at the workstation, breathing hard as logged on. A window showed his score was immediately displayed. The first couple of actions gained only 120 points together. There was a pause before the ultimate score was shown, 379 points in total. Alice's face appeared.

"Only joking," she said. The figures on his score rolled up. 1000 points flashed on the screen.

"Very nice!" Alice winked.

A couple of windows appeared showed live CCTV footage of the station in disarray. The exits were blocked as foolish people trying to see what was going on got in the way of fleeing commuters. He could only hope that no one had been hurt. In the corner a view on repeat showed him shouting and pressing the button.

"Think I will keep that one of you for my album. I think that gets you quite high rankings Martin. A nice piece of work and I am pleased to inform you there is much more to be done."

"Quite a rush!" he said to play his part.

Emma walked beside the alternate Alice through a grand marble entrance hall with a mosaic floor. Jeremy had done a good job. The art gallery was impressive. Having studied art in her teens, Emma had hoped to have taken it up as a career. Worried about the future financial possibilities, the more sensible route of accountant had been chosen. With her heart elsewhere, she didn't progress from menial levels. It had led her to a sustainable but dull life.