Page 12 of Artificial Moon

He nods, seemingly tickled. “Very apropos, Samantha.”

“So, what the heck did you bring me out here for? Feats of strength?”

“That’s a line fromThe Princess Bride.”

“Damn straight it is.”

“Good movie.”

I nod. “The best.”

Admittedly, the billionaire sitting next to me is cute as a button, well, cute for a billionaire button. But I’m not interested in him. I choose my beefy, hairy wolfman.

After a minute or two of what I consider to be uncomfortable silence, he taps his head. He seemed perfectly comfortable with the silence, having sat back and smiling up at the sun. “I am only the fifth human implanted with the micro-neura.”

“Micro-neura?”

“Yes. Have you heard of it?”

“Maybe. Not sure. I take it that it’s implanted in your... brain.”

“It is, yes.”

“And what, exactly, is it doing for you?”

“Think of it as a second, easily accessible brain.”

“I will, but why is it there?”

“In my case, I use it to aid my work. Nothing is forgotten, no one is forgotten. My implant remembers everything and everyone. I can access its information easily. In fact, far more easily than I thought.”

“It’s an AI?”

“Not quite, but it’s on its way to becoming one.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that in a few years, I expect it to be fully autonomous.”

“Sounds a bit like possession.”

“Is that something you’re familiar with?” he asks me.

“I am, as are a lot of immortals.”

“Is it so bad?”

“It’s not something I would recommend.”

“Why not?” he asks me, tilting his head. This ishimwanting the information. Not the computer in his brain, which, as he suggests, is not a self-thinking AI, and thus, still very much in his control.

“Losing control of one’s actions is not a nice feeling, though I personally never did, not really.” Pretty sure Elizabeth never took me over. That would have been terrible. Mr. Money Bags here doesn’t need to know everything about me, and so I leave it at that.

“I believe that,” he says.

“The entity that possessed me is long gone.” I stop there, and he nods.

“Okay, I can see that this isn’t something you want to talk about.”

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