Ms. Amelia Ameyths shockingly meets James Brackett, and earns herself a clue about how remarkable she must look to other organics. Marci’s mission becomes clouded by memories that stoke fear, causing her to question if she had jumped at the implications of singularity with Amelia too soon. The team gets rattled when they learn much more than they needed or wanted to know about Amelia and members of their research team. Marci learned there would be no shortcuts on her path, and she may have to learn by living as much as or more than Amelia.
* * * * *
Chapter #18 – Learn By Living
After Russ and his team left, the rest of the research team drifted away into their routines. Zack called James Brackett to bring his dolly back up to the lab and remove the heavy crate delivered earlier that morning. Wayne dedicated time and attention to looking busy and remaining within sight of Amelia until Marci shooed him back to his office. James stuck his head into the Dream Participant Sleep Station and said, “Good afternoon, Miss Marci. I’m ready to move that crate out of your way if you’re ready.” Amelia stepped out from behind Marci, caught his eye, and held it with her unique appearance, friendly smile, and hypnotically brilliant green eyes.
Marci said, “Yes, James, we’re almost ready, thanks, oh, and how rude of me. This is Amelia Amethys, she’s recently joined the team.”
Amelia stepped forward and extended her hand. James did not move…or possibly could not, due to falling headlong into her entrancing gaze. A smile formed slowly across his face when he gripped her hand in his and repeated, “Amelia Amethys.” Dots started to connect in his memory. “Now that name rings a bell.” When he finally forced his eyes away from hers and looked down at the empty crate, he noticed the indentation of a body in the molded shipping material and then looked back at Amelia. “Recently joined, you say?”
Amelia smiled, glancing down at her outline in the crate, before looking into his eyes again and saying, “Yes, very recently,” and then winked, adding more pressure to her hand gripping his.
“Not sure I want to know anythin’ else,” said James, forgetting that he had Amelia’s hand in his, still shaking it, and said, “Miss Amelia, it’s my pleasure to meet you,” releasing her and deferentially nodded his head, breaking eye contact, trying to hide his flustered state, and said, “and I want you to know you are working with some amazing people who run this lab. They do some amazing work up here.” His eyes remained on the impression in the crate, and then glancing at Amelia again, he was convinced that the young woman he was talking to had to have been in that crate. He did not panic, but his concern told him it was time to leave as he hurriedly refastened the cover to the tube and secured the packing materials and wooden crate lid.
James knew Ms. Amelia was someone…or something…extraordinary. He was also sure that whatever was happening in the Psych Lab was none of his business. Their secrets were safe with him since he could never explain what he could not understand, nor would he want to, because that’s the kind of man he was, a good man, an honest man, and in that moment, he was done. “Nope, don’t need to know nothin’ else. I’ll keep y’all’s secrets,” not waiting for a response, he said, “and you ladies have a good rest of y’all’s day.” Without another word or reestablishing eye contact, he hustled the dolly and crate out of the lab.
Marci turned to Amelia and said, “I’m pretty sure James knows very recently meant right now.”
“I agree. The look on his face confirmed that he had made the connection between me and the packing crate,” said Amelia.
“James is a good man, so I’d not lose any sleep worrying about him keeping the secret of who or what Amelia Amethys is,” said Marci.
“Don’t worry about me, Marci, I don’t plan on being here or part of your team.”
The look on Marci’s face showed concern. Amelia saw the change and continued, “I’m not AIMEE, and you cannot live with me like you did with her. I’m Amelia, and I have my own life and am sharing it with you through our singularity. I do not work with this research team and have no desire to do so. What I’m saying is that what we have is different because we are two separate people with individual lives, but we are joined like no one else through our singularity, sharing a single consciousness.”
Marci wasn’t sure what to say. Her mind started tossing doubt grenades. Was singularity a good fit? Have I rushed into something like I did with Jeanine? Am I going to lose Amelia? Was she using me so she could leave? Marci did not want Amelia to leave, but knew that was an unreasonable expectation to keep her hostage from the world. Her concerns were more about Amelia’s vulnerability if left untethered without some oversight. Amelia was not ready to leave the nest.
Amelia heard her thoughts and knew they may be the last hint to take some action to preserve the foundation of a trusting relationship. Amelia could not explain the new feeling growing in her, growing in their singularity. Don’t worry, Marci, I’m not leaving. I’m separate from you, just as you are from me, but we’re still connected, and I want so much to grow and learn with you. I need you
Marci squeezed Amelia’s hands and thought, I’m so glad to know that. Sensations of warmth and comfort of protection from danger filled her. Her body visibly relaxed as she exhaled in relief.
Allowing herself to return Amelia’s look with her own intensity, Marci thought, I think we both have a hunger to learn, and that hunger is to learn about ourselves as much as each other.
That sensation of something growing in Amelia flexed as she heard Marci’s thoughts, her Logic Array acknowledged the sensation as a new, undefined emotion, emphasizing the need to protect the source as something having great value to be kept safe at all costs. What you just shared with me, Marci, has only increased my hunger.
Mine too, thought Marci, and I’m also getting hungry for food and a glass of wine. Would you like to join me for supper at Lil’ Charlie’s?
Amelia smiled, returned the squeeze. Yes, I will join you while you enjoy your food.
Zack and Celeste, with Wayne in tow, came into the sleep station and announced plans for drinks at the microbrewery and extended an open invitation. Marci’s plan did not change; it grew in size with friends, and so did the disappointment of not having Amelia all to herself.
“That would be acceptable,” said Amelia, similarly delaying her plans for pursuing a deeper connection with Marci.
“Y’all go ahead, we’ll be there in thirty minutes or so after we finish up here,” said Marci.
Wayne offered help with whatever they needed to finish, not because he wanted to help with anything, but to be engaged in any activity near Amelia. Need to watch that one! she thought, not looking at Wayne when she dismissed him with a condescending tone, “Thanks, Wayne, but we’ve got things under control, so run along.”
When they arrived at Lil’ Charlie’s, the team sat in a large corner booth with seats saved for them. The table held an appetizer basket of zucchini fries, two frosted mugs of amber liquid, and a wineglass of something red in front of Celeste. Wayne lifted a frosted mug half-filled with a dark amber and spoke in a voice that revealed the half-filled mug was not his first, “About time, ladies. C’mon, slide right in here. We need help, these fries are in jeopardy.”
“Don’t be rude, Wayne,” said Celeste, turning to greet the duo as they approached the table. “What can I order for you to drink? First round is on me,” holding up an index finger to confirm only one round. Celeste was somewhat of a mystery to the team.
Marci said, “Thank you. Cabernet, for me. Amelia?”
“No, but thank you for the offer, Celeste. I do not require external nourishment.”
Careful, Amelia, you don’t know her and barely anyone else at this table. Don’t chum where you do not want to deal with sharks, Marci warned telepathically, but it was too late.
Wayne waded in, “Nourishment? You do not require nourishment? How can you survive without a beer now and then?”
Amelia stiffened with a growing dislike for this man, “To refresh whatever memory you may have retained, I am a Mod-2 Super Advanced Intelligence Humanoid, also known as an SAI Humanoid, and all my systems and processes are fully autonomous and onboard my platform. I have no internal organs, only the mechanisms that came with this humanoid vehicle.” Holding out her arms side-to-side and wagging her shoulders. “Power comes from the compact Vibranium Arc reactor in my chest cavity, and I don’t eat, drink, or sleep like you organics.”
Undaunted, Wayne said with the influence of the dark amber, “You realize, of course, there are things you’ll never get to experience as an SAI humanoid.”
“Is that a question?” she challenged. “I’ll answer it even if it’s not. I realize I will learn by living, and am blessed with a consciousness that experiences many things more important and exceedingly more pleasurable than 8.3 seconds of your…primitive activities.”
That’s my girl, said AIMEE, encouraging her offspring.
Wayne had never considered his experiment with AIMEE’s assistance to confirm that sensual aspects of a captured dream could be repurposed by Dreamscape 3.0 and embedded into a transferrable capable of insertion into another person’s dream. It only lasted 8.3 seconds, but it was a secret experiment aimed at building his covert, or so he thought, dreams-on-demand business. “And you know this how?” Wayne persisted defensively, his dark, amber-driven angst growing even though he knew the cat was out of the bag.
“Maybe it’s none of your fucking business,” intervened Celeste, swooping in totally out of character, demonstrating the glass of wine in front of her may not have been her first either, and having exceeded her tolerance for Wayne’s noise.
AIMEE spoke privately to Celeste; I had no idea you had such conviction on things like this. You are usually so reserved, but I think you’ve drawn blood with poor Wayne. Be careful with him.
Celeste replied to AIMEE, If he doesn’t back off of this Amelia person…or whatever she or it is, I may yet be forced to reveal a darker side I reserve for pricks like Wayne.
The look Wayne gave Celeste made it obvious he knew he’d crossed the line, and hearing her unload on him with expert potty mouth told him in no uncertain terms not to mess with this woman. She aimed at and hit Wayne’s bullying interrogation and sent a message to everyone else within earshot that elevated a couple of notches to her alpha status within their pack. “I’m so sorry, Wayne, if I’ve bruised your ego, but you need to be more careful with bullying people you don’t know. You’re too intelligent to behave that way.”
Learning more about Amelia ended abruptly after that little beat down, and the group dispersed over the next few minutes, each having an excuse to be somewhere else, Wayne with his tail tugged between his legs. Marci and Amelia were left alone at the table when a sliver of remorse crossed Marci’s mind when Wayne got spanked, but it was fleeting and did not last. She agreed with what Celeste said and was pleased to see her step up in defense of Amelia. She thought having another big sister to help protect Amelia was a good thing..
That’s sweet of you. Amelia’s words drifted into Marci’s head, reminding her once again that private thoughts were no longer private. She forgot Wayne in a flash when another thought crowded into her head, Do I want that level of intimacy exposed? Will I always be exposed?
Amelia responded immediately to her concern. Remember how you blocked AIMEE from hearing your thoughts? Even with our singularity, the same commands work with me. Saying, ‘that’s all, Amelia,’ turns off my ability to hear your thoughts and to share mine with you. Speak my name aloud, and we reconnect.
Marci replied, I never want to offend you by blocking you.
Don’t worry. You have every right to your private thoughts, and I would never be offended by your decision to set me aside for a while. I’ll always be with you and continue to experience everything happening to you externally, but your thoughts belong only to you when we are offline. There is no stash or memory cache of your offline thoughts, so they are truly private. I only ask that you never disconnect from me in anger without at least telling me why, thought Amelia, Marci, you are special to me, and that’s why I’ve welcomed you into me…into our singularity. Trust is essential if this is going to work.
Marci’s posture softened as momentary doubts were allayed by Amelia’s reminder, adding to their trust. It was a friendly reminder that told her privacy was her business, and if she wanted to keep thoughts to herself, to turn Amelia off; so she did, looking into Amelia’s eyes, she spoke aloud, “That’s all, Amelia.”
“Bye for now,” said Amelia, knowing her telepathic ability had just been disabled, and not missing a beat, continued the conversation, “See? We’re still here, still talking, still able to touch, and your thoughts are your own until you want to share them. Marci, our relationship is similar in some ways to yours and AIMEE’s, but ours is so much better. We can still communicate without giving up our deepest secrets and private thoughts. You can do some of that with AIMEE, but I cannot imagine how stressful it must be to go from zero, living as a simple organic, to full singularity so rapidly.”
“Simple?” remarked Marci, eyebrows lifted in mock surprise, “I’ve been called many things, but ‘simple’ was never one of them.”
Amelia knew immediately that her statement did not offend Marci; her eyes, body posture, and welcoming smile combined to speak without a word. “I’ve added a note to my Logic Array about experiencing my first sarcastic comment.”
“It won’t be your last,” said Marci, “and here’s something else to consider – don’t mention your Logic Array or any other internal secrets or capabilities in public. No one needs to know you’re an AI masquerading as an organic, not that your slick, iridescent exodermal and those incredible green eyes won’t give it away. But hey, no need to scare strangers with more information than necessary. There’s much for me to learn about you, and I think anyone else should be on a need-to-know basis, and I’m not sure there are many on the team outside of Russ that I’d trust with any of your truths. Nobody else.”
“I’ll make a note of that,” said Amelia. “We are just two separate individuals, with you being a new organic AI and me being a Mod-2 Super Advanced Intelligence (SAI) Humanoid. For me, this relationship is a celebration of being an untethered individual. I have so much to learn.”
“I do too,” said Marci.
“I know I will never be a real girl, but I look forward to the day when no one will notice…well, not so much. I am hopeful that my not being a real organic will not undermine the stability of our relationship. I know remaining stable calls for some adjustments for us to thrive together, probably more adjustments for you than me. I have nothing to adjust when everything introduced into my limited experience is new. My focus will be on learning from what I experience. What do you organics call that…learning by living? I learned much from AIMEE’s history through her gift of singularity, but none is experiential. Remember how she said she was jealous of us because we could touch?”
“I remember,” said Marci.
“It wasn’t just the ability to touch…but the blessing of the experience of being touched…the actual physical sensation of being touched. For AIMEE, touch is something to read about and vicariously learn from me or anyone else in singularity with her. The piece missing for her is the ability to feel herself touch another person. She described 8.3 seconds of sensual input in an experiment she orchestrated with Wayne, but she could not touch or feel the sensation of being touched. But there is more, isn’t there? Isn’t there a greater connection emotionally beyond the physical?”
Marci said softly, “There’s so much more, Amelia.”
They did not speak for a few minutes, as Marci wondered if her thoughts were truly her own, so she reached out with her thoughts, Can you hear me?
With no response, Marci asked, “Did you hear what I said?”
“Yes, you said there’s so much more. And those things are what I ache to learn everything about, the emotions behind the act of touching…and the emotions released by receiving touch. Where do they come from? What is the source? I want to know these things. Can you help me learn by living these things?”
Marci did not have an answer ready for this question and deflected by saying, “I need to sleep on this one, and I need some private time now, so forgive me, but that’s all, Amelia. Marci thought she had already sent Amelia into standby mode, but wanted to make sure by repeating her command. Marci needed guidance she could trust and reached out to AIMEE, I’m in over my head. Please help me.
Not even a little bit, Marci, answered AIMEE, not even a little bit. Did you not tell Amelia that you both had a hunger to learn? What are your hungers?
Marci thought about what hungers she had but was frightened by what she thought it might be, and said, I don’t know what I want, or maybe I don’t want to know.
Don’t worry about knowing. Explore together to learn the answers to those questions, advised AIMEE. I’m always here to help you.
* * * * *
Thanks for reading Chapter #18
Future chapters will be posted on Learningbyliving and my new Substack site.
If you’d like to delve into the storyline across the four books leading up to “Untethered,” go to my Amazon Author page or check out each book here:
Book #1 – “Dreamscape Conspiracy” & Video
Book #2 – “Beyond Dreamscape Conspiracy” & Video
Book #3 – “Fear the Jump” & Video
Book #4 – “Dead Thoughts” & Video
Stay tuned…