Page 72 of Chaos Theory
Somewhat alarmed, I put my emergency systems on standby and check my battery level.
Julia and David arrive together at 1503.
‘Dave, you’re gonna love it,’ she says. ‘The lads have done a great job on the decorations.’ I am pleased at her approval.
Then I notice their party outfits. They are both wearing white t-shirts with the same picture on the front. I am drawn to the design, and within 3 seconds I analyse and recognise it. It is a copy of the crude portrait that David made of me at the art event – including the large red X through the centre. I am a little confused and several different emotions fire at once.
Shane looks at the shirts and laughs. ‘Hey, those are great. You kept the X and all?’
‘Yep! Leaning into it,’ Julia says. ‘Kobi, do you like them?’
I consider the question. I know that David made the original picture to express animosity toward me. But that was 3 weeks and 2 days ago. Much has happened since. David and Julia have clearly gone to some effort to recreate the image and print it onto shirts, and to wear it on a special occasion in human culture – a ‘double celebration’, in fact.
‘It is a great honour.’ I bow slightly in David’s direction. ‘David – happy birthday.’
‘Thanks, man.’ David lightly punches my upper arm. I am beginning to understand that minor aggressions are perhaps a means of communication for David.
‘Where’s Maeve?’ Julia says.
Shane hands her a drink the colour of methyl orange. ‘Ah, she can’t make it. She’s at some conference.’
‘Maeve and Josh are attending an AI conference at the Shannon Hotel, Athlone,’ I provide helpfully.
‘Sorry, man,’ David says to Shane.
Shane shrugs. ‘I better help Sandra with the drinks.’
He walks to the other side of the room, where Sandra Smith is placing frozen plastic eyeballs into an array of high-ball glasses. She is dressed as a vampire.
‘Poor fella,’ David says.
We all watch as Sandra Smith laughs at something Shane says. She puts her hand on his arm.
‘I think he’ll live,’ Julia says. Then she says, ‘Hey, Kobi. If you like these shirts, wait til you see what DC is wearing.’
As she speaks, a figure enters the room. My systems momentarily threaten to overload as I process the visual data. For an instant I forget that I am dressed as the Tin Man and I get the sensation that I am looking into a mirror, but I soon realise that in fact I am observing DC Jen in an elaborate Halloween costume.
It appears that she has mimicked my look to the best of her abilities. She is wearing a body suit, with metallic-coloured cardboard on her arms and torso, and she is wearing a mask, with only the lower portion of her face visibly human. She still has legs, of course, although it seems she has attached two large bicycle wheels to the outside of her knees.
‘Of course you had to come in on wheels on Monday!’ she says. ‘Nearly ruined it! Luckily I had an old bike in the shed. What do you think?’ She turns around 360 degrees to allow for complete surveillance.
‘I am speechless.’ I finally understand why humans use this expression.
My Emotion Detector is firing rapidly. Until this moment, I have not encountered another being that so closely resembles me. I experience many powerful emotions, including recognition, curiosity, empathy and another element I cannot identify.
Finally, my emotion sensors clarify. ‘I am…happy,’ I say.
FORTY-ONE
MAEVE
Friday, 3pm
Just like we decided, we find two seats at the end of a row near the back of the main auditorium. The stage is being set up for a panel discussion on AI ethics. Every row in front of us looks fully occupied. Ron’s last-minute addition to the panel must have bumped up the numbers.
I crane my neck to see the stage. Four plush white leather armchairs are lined up in the centre. Purple spotlights warm the stage, while the audience is consigned to near-darkness. I take advantage of the dim light and squeeze Josh’s hand.
‘Exciting,’ I whisper to him, and mean it. I’m right where I should be.
