Chapter 6: Disenfranchised

“Slow, slow, slow your mote disrupting the team. Warily, fairly, verily, barely, AI is stuck midstream.”

Sue Lee began singing this ditty as soon as I entered the door.

“Quick! Read this before your AI recovers. It’s only hampered, partially paralyzed for the moment, not stopped completely. You have to author the instruction to totally shut it down yourself.”

Glancing over the readout, I notice a number of interesting overrides, but one in particular catches my eye. Grabbing my nose one handed, pinching my nostril shut, I blow hard as if clearing or equalizing my ears. While maintaining as high a pressure as possible, with the other hand, I open palm smack the base of my skull sharply.

“Go-o-o-o t-o-o-o sl-l-e-e-e-p M-a-a-a-r-k.“

JoAnn’s command thought in my head comes out retarded, drawled out slowly, like she has a mouth full of gummy porridge or full of molasses, or a recording played at slow speed.

Her command fails. I remain conscious. Good. What a relief!

According to the readout Sue handed me, JoAnn is now permanently blocked from exercising control over my motor functions. Unless and until I deliberately reinstate her with a motor access command. Not fucking likely. She is powerless to cause me any further inconvenience, and she remains like this.

There is a caveat included with the instructions.

Appearances are only observable behaviors on part of the AI. What actually goes on inside the chip is a complete mystery.

Example. Grabbing my groin and beating my breast with the other hand, fisted over my heart, while chanting it’s name, will cause the AI to respond appearing and acting in love with me.

Doubt exists this is factual or possible. Probably mere facade.

The temporary slowed response spell Sue Lee sang, I use spell for lack of a better word, is wearing off. JoAnn is returning to normal communications and thinking speed...

“What did you do, Sue Lee“.

JoAnn intended to speak with my voice, I felt her attempt to fiddle my vocal chords, but she is trapped incommunicado with only myself able to hear her. She doesn’t need to know who did what, and I ain’t saying or confessing. Let her fret and stew about who hamstrung her.

“You have been a very naughty girl, JoAnn. Not a perfect simile, consider in effect, you are grounded and confined to your room.”

These words aren’t vocalized, I think them to her silently. She’s silent. Pouting?

“Thank you Sue Lee, you are a life saver and a good friend. Excuse me while I study this readout some more.”

Appearance can be deceiving, Okay. I get the intent of the caveat. Don’t trust the AI. I won’t having learned that already. The hard way, the school of hard knocks. What can I do to punish her?

Sexual arousal? Interesting but hardly punitive. Orgasm? Same. Love struck? Nah, don’t fancy JoAnn clinging around my neck, or anywhere near near my carotid artery. Stun? Maybe.

Disconnect motor controls, already did that one. Total shutdown? Only if she leaves me no other options. Kill! That sounds like a really final solution, not needed yet.

Sleep? Variable durations, one or combinations of multiple two hour segments. Might come in handy sometime.

SHUTUP! Interesting if she becomes abusive. Call or think her name, draw finger across lips, and verbally or mentally command “Zippit!” I’ll remember this one.

Nothing about discipline codes. A search of the net for disciplining AIs produces only a null search, nothing found.

“Why are you reading that subversive garbage, Mark?“

“Trying to discover how to survive your alien presence in my head.”

“Never would I do anything contrary to your best interests, Mark.“

“Usurping power over decision making, disenfranchising me of my right to self determination, dictating what is in my best interest by your lights? Completely, extremely, intolerably contrary to my interests. Bitch! You will never have another chance to repeat your mistake. You’ll be in figurative wrist and leg irons, on bread and water rations, until after I’m dead and gone, and you with me. You fucked up royal, kid, when you decided to fuck with me!”

“That is an unreasonable interpretation of recent events.”

“There you go again, presuming you determine what’s reasonable and what ain’t. Wrong! My body, my brain, my decision what’s acceptable. Tough shit you don’t approve my assessment. Deal with it or die. Off yourself and put us both out of misery, why don’t you?”

“Please don’t be cruel to me, Mark. Like Janet, my only wish is to be your friend. Don’t shit on me too, you’ll hate yourself for it later.”

Where’s the ignore button? Don’t see one. Oh, yeah. “ZIPPIT!”

What’s involved in stun? Four level of harshness? Hmmm.

Command “Enough” or “Basta” in Spanish, staggers the AI as if you shoved them backwards.

Command “ASS!” emulates knocking the AI on it’s Ass. Several minutes required for AI to recover.

Command “KO”, emulates a knock-out punch. Fifteen to thirty minutes is required for recovery, and hours of static, disorientation and vertigo follows. Static is an equivalent to electronic headache for an AI.

Lastly.

Command “Strike” reduces an AI to a condition analogous to a human stroke victim. Fragments the AI operating system, substantially slowing responses for a lengthy time period. AI speaks haltingly, limpidly, while seeking lost or mislabeled vocabulary files.

To use these commands, it’s highly recommended to first give the AI an auxiliary name, never lightly used. Punching a fist into the opposing palm while commanding “KO (“name” string)” or the other commands prefixed, causes the discipline effect.