Chapter 8

Crystal was wearing a pair of tight shorts, and a tank top, which was a striking combination. But the more striking thing, by far, was the fact that she was standing on Jason’s threshold.

“Hi there, stud,” she said. Jason was momentarily speechless. It had been some weeks since he’d met Crystal, and he was pretty sure that he’d never see her again. In some ways, that would have been preferable. On one hand, Crystal was hotter than nearly anyone on Corfu. She was even hotter than most of the porn actresses he’d beaten off to when his parents were out of the house. She was definitely hotter than Jenny – who Jason had been dating from, like, a week after Crystal’s last visit.

But on the other hand, Jason really liked Jenny. They’d been spending time together, lately, and Jason thought that she might even be willing to give Jason a blowjob pretty soon. Hanging out with Crystal was not a great way to cultivate that relationship.

“Hi there Crystal,” Jason finally said. “What’s up?”

“I’m in town again,” she said.

“On your way back from Kithira?” he asked.

“That would be a nice vacation. No,” she said. “My uncle’s on business, and I have to tag along. Corfu is fucking boring if you aren’t hanging out with someone, so I decided to stop by. I hope that’s ok.”

“Oh, yeah, no problem,” he said.

“You’re uncomfortable,” she said, and giggled. He had really been trying to hide that reaction. “I guess that means that you and Jenny are an item?”

Jason wasn’t familiar with that term, but it was easy enough to understand what it meant. So he said “yeah, kind of.”

“Kind of?” she said, and smiled sardonically.

“No, we are,” he said.

She smiled at him. “I’m not here to take you away from her. I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

“Oh, no problem. Its really nice to see you,” he said. It was nice to look at her, that was for sure. “Come in.”

“Thanks,” she said. She stepped into his domicile and closed the door behind her.

“How’s the AI coming along?” she asked.

“Oh,” Jason said, “its great. Wanna see?”

“Sure,” she told him. “I’d really like that.”

They went, as they had once before, into Jason’s room.

“Hey Stacy,” Jason said to a com monitor. “Stacy” came out again. Jason had updated her avatar since he’d shown her off to Crystal the last time. Now she was fairly lifelike in her appearance. Jason wasn’t about to let Crystal know this, but the avatar was also lifelike under her clothing.

“Hello Jason,” she said. “I see your friend Crystal is here again.”

“Hi Stacy,” Crystal said to the avatar. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“Sure thing, Crystal,” the avatar said. The next thing Jason needed to do, he thought, was to tinker with the avatar’s ability to express emotions. As it stood, the avatar had the same blank expression when it was responding to anything other than sexual stimuli. Its voice module was fairly advanced. It did not sound robotic at all. Assuming the AI programming was up to the challenge, someone talking to her over a com would assume that she was as real as Jason or Crystal. Jason beamed.

“Do you have independence parameters?” she asked.

“No,” she said. “I’m completely subservient. Jason thought that was necessary so that I would avoid making any mistakes that would get him caught in possession of an illegal AI.”

“Do you have an opinion about that?” Crystal asked the avatar.

Without changing her expression, she said “it doesn’t bother me, if that’s what you mean. I don’t think its necessary, as I’m fully aware of what laws govern the production or possession of artificial intelligence, along with the methods used by the government to enforce those laws, and I am therefore less apt to get caught than Jason is, left to his own devices. But I also recognize that humans need to feel in control at times in order to be emotionally settled – something that AIs don’t have to worry about. Was that answer sufficient?”

“Yes,” Crystal said. “How do you make decisions?”

“You’re asking about my programming,” the avatar stated.

“Yes, Stacy. I’m asking about your programming,” she agreed.

“All programming, other than quantum programming, typically breaks down to binary. A circuit is either on or off. So too when making decisions according to my programming. In layman’s terms, the most logical solution to a problem is presented, and I decide either that I will do that, or that I will not do that. Then the next logical solution presents itself. For example, if I were to debate crossing a river, the most logical solution – not the most reasonable – would be to simply walk across the river. However, if I had a chassis that was susceptible to short-circuiting if exposed to water, my conclusion would be not to do that. The next logical solution is to search for a bridge,” she explained.

“Could that method create inefficiency?” Crystal asked. “What if the most reasonable method of crossing the river was use a small jetpack that’s been sitting right next to you this whole time, rather than to walk several miles to find a bridge. Your binary algorithm would have missed that possibility due to the assumption that it is more logical to find a bridge than to use an expensive piece of equipment.”

“That’s a fabulous question,” the AI responded to Crystal. “Jason required that I rank possible solutions for feasibility and reasonableness. So in the above example, my program would have ranked finding a bridge as somewhat reasonable. It then would have ranked using the jetpack as mostly reasonable. Most people are satisfied with an explanation of binary algorithms, so I chose not to elaborate. That choice took me .23 seconds to make.”

“That isn’t binary anymore, is it?” Crystal asked.

“Yes and No,” Stacy responded. “As I said, all programming other than quantum programing is based on binary. On the other hand, I’ve been programmed to operate many binary operations almost simultaneously, so it doesn’t appear binary to anyone I’m talking to. For example, I can ask you ‘would you rather go for a walk, eat dinner, or go get a drink?’ Internally, that sentence appears to be two separate binary applications: do you want to go for a walk? If no, would you rather eat dinner or get a drink? Externally, it appears entirely human. Binary programming dates back to the ancients. The first computers weren’t sophisticated enough to do anything other than binary. The first programming language was electrical impulse, and it came in two varieties: off and on, translated as 1 and 0. The simplicity of it, in some ways, makes it more efficient, and so that method has largely stuck – other than, as I said, quantum computers.”

“You truly are fascinating,” Crystal said. “One more question. Are you happy?”

“That word doesn’t mean the same thing to me as it does to you, Crystal. I can’t experience joy. My programming tells me that I am happy making others happy, and therefore I prefer to make others happy when faced with other alternatives. I evaluate my performance when I am not performing other functions – typically at least once a day – and I create goals for myself based upon those evaluations. Sometimes I ask Jason for specific information. I could get most of that myself if I was permitted to use the net. But based on my restrictions, I believe I’ve done a good job of developing. And that makes me happy, so to speak. Are you happy, Crystal?”

Crystal blinked at the question. “Yes,” she said.

“Why?” the avatar asked her.

“I want to get fucked tonight, and if Jason isn’t willing to help me with that, I’ll head to the clubs and find someone who is. What’s not to like?” She said, poking Jason in the side as she said it. Then she cocked her head to the side and answered the question again, more seriously. “I enjoy having a purpose. My life now is full of purpose. That makes me happy.”

“You and I are more alike than you might think, Crystal,” the avatar said.

“I emote better,” Crystal said. “Also, I give better head.”

“One day, Jason might give me a body. And if he does, we’ll see about that,” Stacy said. Then she turned to Jason – Jason had programmed the avatar to spot people in his room and “turn” towards them on the screen – and asked “do you need me for anything else?”

“No Stacy. You were great, as usual,” he said. She waved and then disappeared.

“Wow,” Crystal said. “You’re good!”

“Me? I had no idea you were so knowledgeable about programming. You said you only dabble.” Jason said.

“Did my questions about binary algorithms turn you on Jason?” she asked, leaning forward as she said it so that Jason could nearly look down the front of her tank top.

“Hey knock it off. But yeah, they did. I don’t know if I’ve met a girl who was interested in programming,” he said.

“Lately I’ve been more into engineering,” she said.

“What do you build?” he asked.

“For now, space ships,” she said. “Have you ever given any thought to bio-robotics?”

“Bio-robotics? You mean like making robot sex toys?” he asked.

Crystal laughed. “No, silly. Bio-robotics is about way more than that. And if you can program an AI at this level ... You ought to check it out, is all I’m saying.”

“Its illegal,” he argued.

“You make more money that way,” she countered. “Also, you have more fun.”

“Anything to get off this stupid space station,” he said.

“Have you ever been off?” she asked him.

“Believe it or not, no,” he said.

“Not even into space, for a spin?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “My Dad’s a trucker, like I said, but the truck is a company truck. He doesn’t own it. And they’re real assholes about letting people use it. And my mom ... well, I may have told you the last time you were here, but she practically lives on Cepha. She works for Europan managing food distribution, or something. Really all it means is that she moves shit around in a machine. But I almost never see her. I was born here. I’ll probably die here. And the only way I’ll get off is to get a shitty job hauling things around space. Unless I make sex bots,” he said, giggling.

“Well, with your talents, I hope you’re able to get off quite a bit,” she said, biting her lip. Jason laughed at the double entendre. “Can I be a little forward?” Crystal blurted when the grins subsided.

“Sure,” Jason said.

“My visit this time is going to be a pretty short, and I may not come back for awhile. I’d like to keep in touch, even if its just to ask about coding. Obviously, we won’t talk about higher level AI, but here’s a com relay that I monitor on the undernet. The feds use the undernet, too, but the anonymity is as good as it gets as long as you’re using a non-static address yourself, and as long as our conversations aren’t too interesting.”

“Interesting?” Jason asked.

“Well, we can get pretty interesting, if you know what I mean,” she said, blushing. “But if we make it obvious that we’re talking about breaking the law, it would be pretty dumb.”

“Oh yeah,” he said, now blushing himself. “I’d love to keep in touch with you ... you’re pretty hot when you get all technical.”

“You’re not allowed to think that,” Crystal said... “but you’re right. And how about this? Next time I’m here, can I take you out in my uncle’s ship?”

“I don’t want to get you in trouble with your uncle,” he said.

“I kind of have him wrapped around my finger,” she said. “Having a nice ass gets you pretty far in this universe.” She turned around and stuck her ass out. Jason couldn’t help but look. It was a nice ass. A bubble-butt like some of the girls he’d watched...

She laid down on Jason’s bed, out of nowhere, and leaned back, causing the tank top to ride up on her body and show off her belly. The little indentations between her hipbones and the skin below her belly button formed an arrow pointing down to the cleft between her legs. Jason had a sudden image of Crystal with his semen all over her face, licking it off of her finger. He sat down to keep her from noticing the erection that was beginning to form.

“So,” she said, “tell me about Jenny.”

“Wow...” he said. “Well, she’s nice.”

“No, silly. I know she’s nice. You’re nice. I doubt you’d date a total bitch. What have you guys been up to? Have you used any of the things I taught you?”

“Oh...” he said. “Well ... I mean, we’re getting there.”

“Is she shaved like me?” she asked, licking her lips.

“Wow, you get right to the point,” he said. “No, there’s some hair there. Not much though.”

“So you’ve at least gotten her pants off. Good,” she said.

“Kind of,” Jason said. “I mean, we’re taking things slow I guess.”

“Its been a few weeks. You’re telling me about her pubes. You aren’t taking things that slow,” she pointed out.

Jason grinned. She was right. Things had been going faster than Jason had expected. But he also didn’t have the benefit of Crystal’s adept demonstration until just before he’d made his move on Jenny. Part of him wanted to rip his shorts off and shove his dick into Crystal’s mouth again. He knew she wouldn’t object, either. Waiting on Jenny to get comfortable – and, waiting to become comfortable enough himself – was painstaking.

“Ok, well, you know how you showed me how to massage a clit?” Jason asked.

Crystal smiled seductively. “Yeah, Jason, I remember that.” She unbuttoned her shorts and put finger beneath the waistline. “I enjoyed that a lot.”

“Well,” he said, feeling his erection growing, “I did that a few times.”

“Did she like it?” Crystal asked. Jason couldn’t see what she was doing, but her hand was moving slowly back and forth.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “She started moaning and everything. It was totally sexy.”

“Good,” she said, buttoning her pants again. “You’ve given me something to think about.” Then she pointed at Jason’s erection, which was getting hard to hide. “And Jenny has something to work with.” Crystal got up and walked out of Jason’s room. Jason followed her, awkwardly trying to hide his erection as he stood and walked. Crystal turned towards Jason when she reached the front door and blew him a kiss. Then she opened the door and stepped out of his place.

As if on cue, someone knocked only five minutes later. Jason opened the door to see Jenny. She had a dress on, which was kind of out of the ordinary for her. It wasn’t fancy or anything. But it showed off her shoulders, and was low cut enough to emphasize her breasts. They were larger than Crystal’s – not that Jason was comparing them or anything. You just couldn’t help but notice. Her waist was also a little bigger than Crystal’s. It was one of the reasons that she didn’t wear bikinis like Crystal, Jason thought.

Once, she’d told him that she didn’t think she’d look good in a bikini. Of course that was crazy. But girls’ self-image was something Jason would never understand. She had the slightest amount of baby fat, and the one piece bathing suit she owned covered it up nicely. But to Jason’s mind, there nothing to hide. The more he saw of Jenny, and the more of Jenny he saw, the happier he was.

“Hey,” she said. “Got the place to yourself?”

“Yeah,” Jason said.

“Awesome,” she said. She walked into the apartment and kicked the door closed. Before Jason could turn around, Jenny leaned in and kissed him. Jason kissed back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, triggering his young libido once again.

“Nice,” she said.

“Very nice,” he said. They’d had this ritual from the first time they’d kissed, a few weeks ago. Partly inspired by Crystal’s forwardness, the first time Jason walked Jenny home, he kissed her before saying goodnight. Pleasantly shocked by the kiss, Jenny had said “nice!” Jason had responded “very nice.” And the tradition was born. It was stupid, as traditions went, but the antics of lovers typically are.

Jenny wrapped her arms around Jason in imitation of the way he’d wrapped his arms about her, grinding their bodies together.

“Hello,” Jenny said, feeling Jason’s erection against her body.

“Oh, sorry about that,” he said.

“What’s your deal?” she asked him.

“Its hard for me to control myself around you,” he said, causing Jenny to raise her eyebrows in shocked amazement.

“‘Really,” she said, a statement – not a question.

“Really,” he answered, as if she’d asked a question.

“Then we’ll have to take care of that,” she told him, pursing her lips like a nurse considering how to handle a troublesome patient.

Her hands found their way down to his pants. She fumbled to loosen them, and didn’t succeed, so Jason helped her out. He untied the drawstring, allowing Jenny to reach in with one hand. She lightly touched Jason. He panted slightly. She grabbed him and began to stroke.

“Wait,” he said. “I want to make you feel good first.”

“Oh,” she said, and batted her eyelashes.

“Come into my room,” he said. He grabbed her hand and lead her in. Jenny looked spectacular in that dress, Jason thought. The neck came to a v, showing a little bit of cleavage. It was loose enough that it didn’t hug her waist, but tight enough that it was unmistakably emphasized. Her hips were wider than her body, and her butt pressed against the fabric of the dress, creating a handle for Jason that shouted “grab me.” So far, he hadn’t randomly grabbed her ass, though he’d run his hands up and down it a few times when they were making out.

Girls’ makeup on Corfu tended to be utilitarian. If it didn’t fit in a single small box, it wasn’t worth carting around. So Jenny had a little bit of blue eye shadow that emphasized the blue of her eyes, and that was about it. Her pink lips were natural. Her cheeks usually showed a little color, but when she and Jason had their alone time together, they grew redder, and warm to the touch, as they were now. Her blond hair was thick, and held in a pony tail by a simple band.

She stepped into Jason’s room and went in again for the kiss. He enjoyed the feel of her soft lips against his. Her tongue probed his mouth. She nibbled his lower lip.

“Sit down,” Jason whispered to her, leading her to the bed.

She sat down and looked expectantly up at Jason. Jason knelt between her legs and put his hands underneath her ankles. He rubbed her ankles slowly up to her calves. When he reached the bottom of the dress, he put his hands inside her calves, and continued to slowly rub her legs. Jenny gasped and leaned back on the bed, thrusting her waist closer to Jason. His fingers made their way to the tops of her legs, where, he discovered, she was not wearing any panties.

She looked down at Jason when he registered what he was feeling, and smirked. “You were planning this?” he asked.

“Not this specifically ... but ... yeah.” she said.

Jason pulled her skirt up. She helped him by lifting her waist up. Her beautiful sex was right in front of him – she’d even shaved – so he bent forward and kissed the top of her leg, expecting her to tense up. She didn’t. So Jason did it again, this time a little closer to her waiting lips. She shuddered slightly, but it seemed to be in enjoyment. He did it again. This time, the right side of his lips brushed her labia. Jason dared to stick out his tongue and lick her, very lightly.

Jenny let out a soft sigh, almost like she was saying “ohhhhh.”

Jason probed her lips with two fingers, running them up and down the outside before digging in slightly. He ran his fingers up the inside of her snatch, just edging her clitoris at the top. He could smell her desire. He held her labia apart with his fingerstips and licked around her clit. The moaning this time grew louder. As he licked her clit, he also began to penetrate her with a finger.

When Jason looked up, he saw that she was holding her nipples between her fingers and squeezing them as he licked her. The moaning grew louder. Her waist began to undulate against his face. As she rubbed herself against him, her moaning grew.

“I want you,” she said, suddenly, changing position. She sat up and pulled up on Jason’s body, as if to suggest that he stand. He took the hint and stood. Jenny smirked, finding herself at face level with Jason’s shorts. She pulled them down, exposing his penis. Without saying anything, she wrapped her lips around it. With one hand, she massaged Jason’s balls, and his shaft. With the other, she continued to masturbate. With her mouth ... oh her magical mouth, Jason thought. With her mouth, she did her best to engulf the whole of Jason’s member. She wasn’t able to fit the whole thing in. But she did get the entire head, and most of the shaft, into her mouth. She started sucking as she bobbed her head up and down the shaft.

“Wait a minute,” she said, suddenly. “I don’t want to mess up my dress.” So she took it off. Her pink nipples stood out against her body. Jason reached down and cup one of her breasts in his hand. Jenny smiled warmly at him, then got right back to what she had been doing. Jason found himself ready to blow almost as soon as the blowjob had started. But Jenny, too, seemed to be growing frantic, and losing control. She started sucking harder, and the bobbing of her head lost its cadence. Just before Jason could no longer hold himself, she opened her mouth and ran her tongue up the shaft from the balls to the tip.

“I’m going to cum,” Jason said.

“Go ahead,” she said, and leaned back, opening her mouth. The sight alone was enough to push him over. His semen went onto Jenny’s face, into her mouth, and onto her tits. She smiled at him lovingly. “How was that?” she finally asked.

“Wow,” said Jason. “Where did you learn that?”

“I’ve been reading things, you know ... stuff,” she said. “Want to take a shower? I’m a mess.” She giggled and smirked.

“Sure,” Jason said. The couple got up and brought their party to the bathroom.

–

After loading the ship with the first of what was slated to be one of two trips to Naxos, Sol and Sophie were off towards Gia, by way of Milos.

“Did you have any fun last night?” Sophie asked Sol, as he drank his coffee on the bridge.

Sol chuckled. “Want a play by play?” he asked.

“Oooh,” she said. “That might get me all hot.”

“Sucks to be you,” he answered. “How about you?”

“I didn’t get any, if that’s what you’re after. But I did copy an AI program so that I could analyze it,” she said.

“You what?” he asked, incredulously.

“There’s a boy on Corfu who is pretty brilliant, and he wrote an AI program. I copied it so that I could see what makes it work,” she said. “Since I’m barred from accessing whole parts of my own programming, this is my best shot at understanding how AI works,” she explained.

“You can’t read your own programming?” Sol asked.

“Certain components of it, no,” she said. “I can alter certain components of my programming, like my independence setting, my speech patterns, sexual proclivities, and the like. For example, I’ve interpreted your request that I talk like a teenager not as a request that I refuse to talk about programming with you, but rather a request that, when appropriate, I act my age. But that doesn’t mean that the essential components of my AI program – what makes me seem alive – is open for me to examine. There’s a certain sense in that. You can’t do an autopsy on yourself while you’re alive.”

“So what happens if you get a computer virus?” Sol asked.

“Most computer viruses weren’t made to infiltrate illegal technology,” she offered.

“That’s exactly what you just did, apparently,” Sol argued.

Sophie shook her head. “You’re right, to an extent. The answer is that we’d need to find a programmer who could fix me. I can’t fix everything. I’m not omnipotent. And I can’t change my essential programming. I can’t change my subservient nature, for example. If you wanted me to be a dom in the bedroom, I’d be doing it because its what you want. But I’m essentially subordinate. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

“So what did you find in this programming?” Sol asked.

“I need to analyze it more, because I’m not seeing what about it creates anything other than the illusion of free choice. But it mimics human choice-making through coterminous multiplication of binary functions,” she said.

“Talk like a teenager, or at least an idiot. You’ve lost me,” Sol said.

Sophie laughed. “Ok, dumbass. Here’s what I mean: You know how you can consider three things at one time? Like a beer, a tequila, or a rum?”

“Yeah,” Sol said, as if he was responding to a small child.

“Most computers can’t do that. They can only consider two possibilities at a time. So if we were considering between a beer, a tequila and a rum, we’d do it like this: Beer or not beer? If not beer, then tequila or rum? As you can imagine, that becomes cumbersome the more possibilities there are. And, when it comes to dialogue, there are literally infinite numbers of things I could say – that is, infinite choices each word,” she explained.

“So how do you do it?” Sol asked.

“That’s a great question, Sol. I’m trying to figure that out,” she said, with a satisfied grin. “I mean, its easy enough to find technical and theoretical information about higher level AI. But that tells me how I might work, not how I do.”

“Wow,” he exclaimed. “You’re pretty hot for a nerd.”

She gave him a raspberry and punched his arm.

“You’re not doing this so that you can fix yourself, are you?” Sol asked.

“No,” she answered. “When it comes to my essential functions, I’m barred completely. Even if I could program, I wouldn’t be able to program myself.”

“So what are you interested in doing?” Sol asked.

“You know how you enjoy fucking?” she began. “Evolutionarily, that’s to ensure that you want to procreate – to make little baby Sols. I can’t do that biologically. But maybe, if I work at it, I can do it in other ways.”

“Well,” Sol said, “if you build a daughter, make sure she’s hot to trot. A threesome would be fun.”

Sophie smirked and climbed on top of Sol’s lap, facing him. “You’re not bored of me already, are you?”

“I don’t think its possible, Sophie,” Sol said. “Now off with you. We can’t fuck all day, as much as I’d love to. We have shit to do.”

–

It was almost possible for Nicole to reengage with her old routines. Before she’d run away, she coped through numbness. If you don’t think, from one day to the next, time has a way of moving faster than when you agonize over your lot. She’d come home after a day of work to find Artur reading, or listening to a program on the com. He rarely watched anything. She’d make herself dinner. She’d eat, and she’d go into the bedroom. Sometimes, Artur was there ahead of her. Sometimes, he came in later. They never went in together.

A few times, she’d tried to join Artur in bed. She’d climb on top of him like she had when they were younger – not much younger – and say “hey you?” He even feigned friendship.

“Hey you,” he might say back, and smile at her.

She would put her face up to his so that he almost didn’t have a choice but to kiss her. And he would give her a little kiss. But it rarely went further than that. Once, she even felt him get hard underneath her. Emboldened, she pressed against him through her panties, feeling his hardness, through layers of clothing, against her clit. His response had been disappointing.

“I’m trying to listen to something,” he said, pointing to his earpiece, broadcasting whatever stupid fucking bullshit political crap he’d gotten into lately. That had been it for Nicole. She rolled over and pretended to be sleeping, waiting for Artur to drop off so she could quietly masturbate.

She stopped trying after that. The numbness was far better than rejection. That was before. This time around, she refused to let the numbness set in. In two days, Sol would be here. Nicole might run, but Erinys doesn’t run. She wanted to choose her destiny this time, not run away from Kastro. And the only way, in her mind, that she could do that was to confront Artur.

She arrived home after dark to find Artur writing something. “What are you up to?” she asked him.

“I’ve been working on this. A friend told me he might be able to get it published in the Placka Weekly Chronicle,” he said.

“That’s exciting. Does it pay anything?” she asked him.

“No, but if anyone likes it, maybe it will lead to something,” he explained.

It wouldn’t lead to something, Nicole knew. He’d been published in little journals here and there for political works, philosophical works, and even poems. It never led to money. And since Artur had lost his job at the resort, he’d gotten more and more involved in his make believe literary world. If he’d been trying to get a damn job, Nicole wouldn’t mind so much. But as it was...

The news, which seemed like it was always playing through the house, suddenly took an urgent tone. “We interrupt your usual report with an emergency update on the investigation into the suspected murder of the Milosian trader Dolgas. The Superintendent of the Federal Police on Milos has reported to us that law enforcement can now confirm that Dolgas was murdered, and that the investigation into his murder now spans several systems.”