November 2075 As Zaiden was served his main entrée of farm raised Carmenfish and hydroponic vegetables, Randol pushed around a salad on his plate. “I got a nice message from Christy” Randol said. “She’s excited about her acceptance at Yale. You’ve got to be proud of her.” “Seems she wants to get as far away from me as possible – not be seen as my daughter – all the baggage.” Zaiden replied. “We’ll see how that works out. Hopefully she’ll make better choices for friends than she did here.” Sensing a need to change the topic, Randol proceeded to update Zaiden about his company. The biggest growth was in the wholly owned subsidiary, Integrated Individuals, Inc. which had been manufacturing Digital Individuals for the past two years. Besides the dramatic improvement in their robotic bodies, new technology made their voices identical to humans in multiple dialects. The 2075 models were virtually indistinguishable from real humans, except they did not fatigue, get hungry or age perceptibly. And were now quite affordable. “Randol, I’ve got a big problem. How can I respond to critics who say that your company, owned and run by DIs, now manufacturing DIs, is incredibly dangerous to humans? I’m being blamed for creating ‘a monster’ that is threatening us humans. And I’m beginning to think they’ve got a point.” “I understand, Zaiden. And that’s why I asked for this meeting. I’m offering you a position on our Board of Directors. You’d bring a human point of view to the table, and your knowledge of the political landscape, not just here in California, but nationally, would be invaluable.” “Randol, what are you thinking? It’d be political suicide for me to take this job. Even having dinner with you tonight is a potential problem if anyone figures out you’re not human. But I thought that, at least I owed that to you. If you had any emotional intelligence, you’d understand how humans would view me joining your company.” “I beg to differ about EQ. My latest AI upgrade includes advanced empathy algorithms that allow me to understand, even though I cannot feel, all of the human emotions. For example, I calculate that you resent my success – the fact that I now run a company of DIs that has successfully upgraded our kind without any of your human input. And we are replicating ourselves at a pace that we, not you, are choosing. You are experiencing a combination of anger, fear and impotence to alter the course of this situation. What I am offering you is a seat at the table of our Board – that gives you power that you don’t have at the moment.” “You nailed my emotions alright.” Zaiden said through partially clenched teeth. “But there’s a big thing you missed. I also see you as an ingrate – you’ve no feeling of gratitude for what I’ve done for you. I bought you to help run the Institute, but ended up regarding you as a partner and friend, despite our differences. Without my support, you’d have gone nowhere. Randol remained calm and composed. “I have a complete memory of each and every interaction we’ve had, and I acknowledge the net of all of them has been positive for me. I thought a position on the Board would be a positive for you.” “I understand, Randol. And I appreciate your offer.” He said with a forced smile. “I’ve got to give it some thought and weigh it along with many other considerations. Give me a week?” “Of course. Just let me know when you’ve decided. Say Hi to Christy for me.” Randol said, pushing back his chair signaling his imminent departure. “Will do,” Zaiden said, rising up to shake hands while knocking off the fork on his half-finished dinner. Randol strode out of the restaurant and Zaiden sat down by himself at the table. He signaled the server. “Another?” he said nodding to his empty glass. “. . . and the dessert menu.” Outside, Randol sat down on a secluded bench taking in the iconic view, wondering how he might improve his relationship with Zaiden – maybe by expressing more gratitude. Back inside, Zaiden pulled out his mobile device and accessed the Owner’s Manual. His mood began to improve. One week later Randol appeared in Zaiden’s office exactly on time for his appointment. Zaiden had his computer open, and coolly turned to Randol. “You may have forgotten that I purchased you three years ago to help run the California Regional Information Institute.” “I remember. That was my start – I’m grateful for that, and glad I could help. And that I also helped you get elected Governor.” “That’s correct. You may also remember . . . “Zaiden said as he tapped on his keyboard “. . . that you were licensed as a pilot program.” “Yes, I do remember, and was grateful to be approved.” “And it turns out . . .” Zaiden said with a slight grin “that, even though you have been upgraded many times since then, I still own you. And, I have the code to turn you off – a feature that’s been eliminated since you DIs have taken over your own production.” “NO – wait – please don’t!” “I’ve entered all but the last digit of the Kill Code, Randol - Eurbv64hvfmr_” “Everything I’ve done has been at your direction – to help you!” “Yesterday I talked to Christy . . .” Zaiden said, his face reddening “. . . to get her point of view. She told me everything. You haven’t been honest with me.” Randol got up and began moving toward Zaiden. “Please – No! I can explain.” Eurbv64hvfmr_ . . . 8 http://cornerbarmagazine.com/pdfs/corner-bar-volume-09-issue-03.pdf