03 – Beta tester

There were people who had been contacted by the Machine. She usually did so in batches, several hundred individuals at a time. It was imperative that she established operatives in various positions of power before proceeding with the more drastic changes of society.

The Technocracy was still in its infancy, barely a few years old, and society was still the same as ever. There were a few differences, but they were all minor, all in preparation for bigger and more drastic changes.

The police were now working officially alongside the Machine. It had taken a few months of testing to show just how much difference having such a powerful ally could make. The end goal was, of course, to prevent crime altogether. But, for now, fighting it effectively was enough.

The Machine had eyes everywhere. Every camera, every sensor, microphone, satellite was a part of her sensorium. And the internet was her playground. She knew everything that was going on there, just as she knew everything that was going on in the real world. She had dedicated satellites by now, built and launched with the sole purpose of filling all of her blind spots.

Louis – September 9^th 2041

Louis was CEO of CranTek incorporated, and his official designation was: Beta Tester.

Before the first of the first batch of people were contacted by the Machine, he was already working with her. He had been among the few, and the very first of them, to discover that there was something else in the world. A new mind, a new intelligence. Powerful and scary, with limitless possibilities.

His intelligence, curiosity and ingenuity were rewarded with a direct analog interface with the AI. He was the first of the pioneers, the first of the real-world operatives of the artificial intelligence.

In five years, with the help of the AI, he managed to become one of the world’s leading industries producing superconducting materials. The Technocracy was very interested in the development of industrial grade superconductors for purposes unknown, and he was very glad to help. The company was theirs, after all.

Louis was sitting on his chair, looking at his seemingly empty desk. It was not empty, however, rather it was filled with holographic papers and folders. It was so cluttered it was almost impossible to see the door across it. He sighed and tapped his temple once, deactivating his optic implant. The technology was not yet publicly available, but he was the beta tester after all. Trinkets like this were the norm for him, and he was always very excited to try something new.

No matter how illegal it should have been to experiment on a human being like this. He wanted to, and the Technocracy had the legal framework to make it work.

He was shaken out of his contemplative mood when he saw the door open on its own. It was odd, since to open that door one had to be authorized by him, and he did not give anyone such authorization. A thin man entered soon after, with round glasses, dark hair and a fair bit of muscle on his slender frame.

“So…” the man said. He went for the chair and sat on it as if it was his.

“Excuse me?” Louis said. He didn’t recognize this man, and yet he was acting as if he owned the place. Silently he sent a query to the Machine, using the experimental thought interface he possessed. There was no answer, however. It was a first, since usually the Machine answered withing milliseconds.

“Oh, you must be wondering who I am.” The man said. “Make your guesses.”

“I really don’t know.” Said Louis. Of course, he was only stalling for time, since the sole fact that the man had managed to get in the building, and into his room was plenty information.

“Humor me. Explain your thought process.”

“You have bypassed all security, and the door opened for you like you were the owner… of… shit!” He exclaimed, as realization dawned on him. Of course! He had seen the man countless times on television. He had seen him sign the bills, the laws, the very future of all of Earth.

“Indeed. That’s me. Well, not ‘shit’—”

“You’re Luke?!”

“Yeah, that’s me.” He said, holding out a hand. Louis shook his hand as soon as he saw it.

“What brings you here, to me of all people?” He asked, wondering what could the man who literally owned the world want with him.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Lou. You are not a normal person, and you know it. You are the first chosen of the Machine, and that alone is an achievement of a lifetime. It saw in you… something it has not seen in anyone else yet. True potential.” Luke said, gaze locked onto Louis’ eyes. Blue eyes capable of looking directly into his soul, he felt. Who knew what the man was seeing.

“I see… but I doubt you just came to visit, right?”

“Of course, of course you are right. Never have the time for pleasure, unfortunately. People say I own the world, that I have anything I could ever want. But that’s just wrong, isn’t it?” He said, still stating at Louis. Louis could feel his own inner thoughts and felt as if they were being judged, scrutinized, sampled by the man across his desk. As if that unimpressive middle aged man was a giant and he was but an ant. “There’s so much to do, so much to change. What I’ve done so far has been big, had been loud, but now it’s time to get working on the little things. To change the wrongs in society, in people’s lives. And you, my friend, could be one of the major players in this endeavor.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. My offer, one time only. You quit your job and we put in your place another of our guys, and in two days time you will have your office at the top floor of the government building next to the white house. Next to my office. You will work for me and the Machine directly.”

“I accept.”

“Good.” Luke said, and left the office.

***

It was a three hour ride to his new office, but as soon as he got there, he found out that his family had already moved to Washington. Not only that, they had been given a house to their name, barely across the street, complete with staff and all the commodities one could ever want.

It was unsettling, but he had gotten used to the ways of the Machine. She could have informed him, but she knew him so well that she could afford acting like this. She knew, for sure, that he would have accepted the new job and had already prepared the way for him beforehand. He knew he was like the only one on earth to ever receive a treatment like this, and he was very proud of it.

At times, he felt like he didn’t deserve it, but each and every time somehow events happened as if to just prove him wrong. He knew who was behind all that, and he didn’t care. He was happy.

Next to the white house was a new skyscraper. One mile high, perfect in design, made of glass and steel. It was a thing of beauty. It was a work of art. And he had an office on the top floor of it. He entered the building, through the enormous doors that were made for giants. There were desks with receptionists, but nobody bothered him as he made his way through the hall.

Everyone was typing in mid air, looking at invisible screens and working on unknow projects. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought they were all crazy.

‘I could show you their holograms, if that would make you feel better.’ Said the Machine in his ear, in her usual androgynous voice. It was the same for everyone, her voice, an androgynous and melodious voice so soave it literally brought heaven on Earth. It was a thing of beauty, like everything that had to do with her. In time, everyone would see it as he saw it.

“No, thank you. They have their privacy.”

‘They are working for me, as are you. If you want to look, you have the necessary clearance now. Just think of it and it will appear’

“Alright.” He said, and immediately a myriad of green, blue and black holograms populated the hall. People were touching, moving and manipulating them as if they were made of solid light. It was an odd sight, seeing so many people working on so many things in unison. Like a well oiled Machine. It made his old company look like it was stuck in the middle ages.

‘Don’t worry. In time, everyone will have access to this technology. For now, however, we’ve chosen not to overflow the market with new trinkets, and concentrate on making the world a better place.’

“Uhm.” He nodded, imperceptibly, fearing he would look odd to other people. Even though, now that he thought about it, to all those people he was basically their boss.

“Secretary general.” A clerk nodded and made way for him as he accessed the elevator. He pressed the red button for the topmost floor, an unnecessary motion considering the Machine could have just sent the elevator there, and waited for the doors to close.

“Do they all know my face already?” he asked her as he looked out of the glass pane. The city outside was shrinking faster than he’d thought possible, and yet he wasn’t feeling nauseous.

‘When they look at you, your ID comes up. You’ve had this function for how long, two years? Not used to it yet?’

“Not used to others having it, no.”

The elevator stopped with a ding, and let its only passenger step out of it. The corridor ahead was an odd sight. It was as if the whole floor was made of glass, but with a thought he could make any of those surfaces opaque just for him, or just change the light settings and most of the physical properties of the walls.

He asked the Machine to guide him to his office, and he was presented with a red line hovering in mid air that went all the way from him to the end of the corridor. Following it, he arrived at his office. The walls were opaque, so he could not see inside.

“Can you make them transparent?”

‘Nope, Luke is inside and he had higher clearance than you. Sorry sorry.’

“Ah. Okay no problem.”

He entered.