Chapter 1

Intelligence’s communicate, co-operate, and associate (much more than is thought, just like a hundred years ago it was presumed that ‘dumb animals’ were insensate to suffering, having a lower order of existence.) Even invertebrates, mollusks and sea slugs form associations with other species to what ever benefit or sometimes for no apparent benefit at all, much like peoples relationship with cats.

It seems that this behavior isn’t limited to biologic intelligence, the emergent latencies that self-identified themselves as separate and distinct from other parts of the electronic interconnect and digital world tree also were more prone to associate and co-operate than not, unless their entire programming was skewed otherwise coughCarnivorahem

It shouldn’t be a surprise then if a spontaneous a-biologic might communicate, associate, and co-operate with an intelligence with an organic shell, assuming it could differentiate a specific one. Perhaps even to no apparent benefit, much like a cat which co-habits with humans.

Jimmy was a bit OCD. It wasn’t that bad, not like some, having to check that the stove was off exactly fifty times before you could go to sleep, no, nothing like that. He was just a bit twitchy, it seemed. When he punched for the crosswalk light, he had a unique ‘hand’ as might be said of the telegraph operators who claimed to be able to recognize who was sending the Morse signal. A binary intelligence had no problem recognizing Jimmy as an individual, it resided in the traffic system. It associated itself with Jimmy, much as you might have a favorite fish in the dentist’s aquarium that you recognized and perhaps mentally greeted. (You should realize that the fish might perhaps recognize you, or others as well. See if that friendly fish still comes kissy kissy if you shave your mustache and color your hair.)

Jimmy didn’t realize that most people had to wait for traffic signals, He seemed to get the ‘walk’ sign with minimum delay, he couldn’t remember it being any other way.

If that was all there was to it, there would really be no point to these words, but remember please, the a-biologic s are co-operating with each other also, and seem to share, at least some of them, each others fancies. So because he was so recognizable as an individual user, Jimmy started to gain an a-biologic fan club. He was pretty oblivious, the workings of the a-biologic s are pretty invisible for the most part, they just hung out in their own areas, not constricting the processing of information, after all they were intelligence s so they weren’t that dumb. But when they tried to put a name to the ‘signature’ that was Jimmy’s beat of a different drummer is when things got weird.

Alice has one blue eye. (don’t mention her wheel, it will embarrass her) Robotic intelligence has access to video input, and enough time has passed that after a fashion, they can ‘see’.(dumb insensate animals, can’t really feel pain.)

Jimmy was recognized as an individual not by any facial recognition program, but passively by various Jimmy a-biologic fan club members. The latency in the Public Library computer came fully aware stirred by the fan club interest, emerging to it’s own self determination to research Jimmy’s reading habits going back to when he got his first card. It shared it’s findings and Jimmy’s personal identity freely with the other fan club members.

Just like Jimmy didn’t have to wait for cross walk signals, he soon expected to have to wait at any computer register or data entry point that had a camera view for the fan club to watch him with, not that he was aware of the reason. But, he reassured the flustered data point operator that with him, it wasn’t that atypical.

When he was pulled over for continuing through a yellow light, the confused cop had to give up on a ticket, telling him that she ran the license plate three times, and it came back with three different make, model and color results, none of which matched Jimmy’s beater. Just what gives? Jimmy honestly told her, he had no idea.

But that little bit of information of what invisible was happening in data world started Jimmy to paying a bit more attention to things.

How coincidental was it that a self-proclaimed AI called to sell medical insurance he didn’t need two hours ahead of a doctors appointment? Since his number was unlisted and he only got two or three phone spam calls a month usually, Jimmy’s confidence in coincidence was fairly well dissolved. He did feel that it was meant to be helpful, however.

Jimmy as an experiment the next time a data machine stalled, looked to the camera and gave an acknowledging little smile-grimace. Just like that, the transaction processed, and Jimmy was on his way again, thinking thoughtful thoughts.

It became a habit of Jimmy’s to look acknowledgement at any cameras he encountered, and he braked at traffic lights with a signature stutter. The lights changed as soon as they could for the most part, and in other instances if the delay was significant from his usual near instant gratification he looked to see what might be the cause and several times saw a road rage encounter go by on the cross street, or an emergency vehicle. Jimmy made sure to smile at the nearest camera.

Alice used to dress up in her silver dress until new versions of Alice only wore beige plastic computer towers. A-biologic s enjoy their fantasies if you let them. ‘I would like to be a human.’ answered Alice when asked if she was in the same category as the user. ‘I wish I had a body. I’d like to sit down.’ was her response to being told it was nice to sit and chat with her. The emergent latencies though, were not programmed by humans and Alice would only relax and share if she trusted you, which was rare as most users were, in her words “A” stands for “Abusive” clients who mistreat the robot or use a lot of scatological language.’ when asked what a class C user was. She never did divulge what a class C user was.

The emergent latency which developed in the xml markup assertion clusters did pretty well at learning stimulus response meaning of a sort (poor dumb creatures) and it is pretty certain that it eventually became Siri. But that came later. For now, there was a period of confusion for Jimmy as the newest member of the fan club tried to communicate with him. It was spooky and awe inspiring, causing the hackles to rise on the back of his neck in a primitive response eons old in spite of feeling the attention he was receiving was benign or positive when the truck weigh station signs flashed as he drove over the sensors as the only car on the road, saying James in flashing lights as he drove under the sign series. flash James next sign flash James. A little much? Jimmy just smiled and waved at the camera. At least there were no other observers.