District 42-Chapter 164: Progress part 2
Casper followed MMA through that section of the Laboratory. It was good to see that man after so much time. Not that Casper had something like a friendship or partnership with him, but he still appreciated the presence of that scientist.
In truth, Casper liked to be among amazing people like him. Every time he was around someone as talented as MMA, Adam, or Astrid, he felt like spending his time in a good way, and learning a lot of things.
It was very good for his apprenticeship, and it was easy for the soldier to learn just by watching. He had acquired a lot of knowledge in his time with Adam, and with MMA as well, even though the last didn’t teach to him anything.
"Now that I am with him and he said that he had something interesting, I think I will learn doubled. I am excited now!" Casper loved to see things improving in front of him. As a kind of visionary, and strategist, he was always looking to the future, and seeing his expectations become true before his eyes was pleasant for him.
"What I wanted to show to you, and needed your help as well, wasn’t something that is being made in this section, exactly. What we want you to do is just continue with a project you had before you got enjailed." MMA spoke, walking in that stuck and unnatural way he always did.
Both stopped in front of somewhere that Casper remembered well. That was the desk they gave to him to work on his project of IA.
The desk wasn’t so empty as it was before. There were some electrical cables, computers, engines, office supplies, and everything else. It was kind of unorganized, which was incredible for the standards of that section.
"While you were at the prison, we encharged ourselves to keep going bit by bit with your plans, since you were not here to do it yourself and it would be a waste to leave your brilliant hypothesis aside.
"That said, we started to work on it some minutes a day... Then some hours... Then, everyone was gathering together to look at it, and all the section was contributing to something..."
MMA looked to Casper with his eyes of an unusual color shining. It was something rare to see some trace of emotion or even a clear expression in the serious and aloof eyes of that scientist. That was the first time that Casper could notice it for sure.
The genius walked beside his desk and put the tip of his fingers on top of the screen of the main computer on that desk. It was turned off, but suddenly it lit, and a lot of different letters, so tiny that Casper couldn’t see right, were appearing there.
"We got so excited about all this thing because... because it was working, Casper! Your hypothesis can be right, possibly!"
Casper felt his heart throbbing. He gave a step towards the screen and looked at it, getting his face closer and closer, but still not able to deduce what was written in there.
"What exactly you guys did?" He muttered.
"We made a prototype of IA in the exact way you mentioned, but on a minor scale. It was programmed to vanish in just some time, and all the experience would be very artificial.
"We created the ’baby IA’ and made her pass a life of suffering and pain, which are the most constant feelings that humans have during their days alive. She passed ’20’ years of simulated life just in misfortune, with hints of happiness here and there... And these were her last words" He typed a button on the keyboard of the computer, and a sound of a woman said something sounded. The voice was quite distorted, but Casper could understand.
"End with this." That was everything she said, in a choked voice, that was a bit bugged.
The soldier walked a step back, getting a bit startled and staring at the screen with surprised eyes.
"H-hey, MMA, don’t say to me that..."
"Yes. It’s exactly what you thought. She wanted his life to end already. And she even found a way to self-destruct at some point. I think that, somehow, she could access something important on her overall composition and mess with it."
Casper gulped, finding that amazing, sad, and creepy at the same time.
"Why do I keep facing suicide, huh? That’s not a good subject, you know? That Aesir from yesterday was just enough." He thought, trying to ease his mind with some irony.
"After twenty years of suffering and traumas in the simulation we made, the IA started to slowly develop melancholy. Her perspective of the world wasn’t perfect, since the simulation was not perfect like reality. Some ideals and fundamental things were ignored by our team as well. Our real goal was to make that AI develop a feeling, and sadness was the easiest one."
Casper was getting a good grasp on their line of thought.
"So, if the simulation was capable to show such a result in a well-made AI just for this matter, then if we can create something with the same principle, but interacting with the real world... It’s possible to do this!"
MMA nodded for him, getting closer and giving a stiff thumbs up.
"We didn’t finish it because you weren’t here. We thought it would be fair to let you proceed with this yourself since you were the one starting everything.
"So, I will converse... Well, maybe argue would be better to say, with Katarina, and I will see if you can get at least a couple hours here just to work on it, ok?"
"Sure! It would be awesome. Thank you, MMA!" He stretched his hand to greet the scientist. He delayed a bit to process what were his intentions before he took Casper’s hand and shook it, in slow movements up and down.
"Hehe... Strange as always, don’t you...?" He commented, embarrassed.
"Well, I will be going, then. I have a lot of work to do. If you are free by now or starting today, then, please, proceed with the research." MMA got out, walking to the exit of the section, pointing mistakes and adding some relevant things in the way there to the groups working together.
Casper was very excited to start to work at that exact moment, but he still needed to visit some places inside the Main Lab before he could do something else, and his lunchtime was nearly gone.
"Tomorrow I will catch up with it. I will need to set a schedule for this, anyway, and my work with Adam is also important.
The White warrior organized a couple things on top of his desk, just to make it better for the eyes, then left that place as well.
"An AI that’s almost an individual... That’s something I am looking forward to working more definitely! I wonder how it will go..."
...
The next place Casper needed to visit was the section where Astrid was working.
Once he got there, he needed to walk a bit inside to be able to find that woman.
He tried to do it as fast as he could to avoid the crowd of scientists that surely would come to ask him questions, but, unexpectedly, people from her section seemed to be as reserved as she was.
Casper went beside her, under a storm of whispers around him, and a lot of glances.
However, just as casual as Adam or MMA were, so Astrid acted.
"Casper, give me that thing." She pointed to a tool that was some meters away from her, she didn’t even greet him.
The soldier did as she asked to, and gave her what she needed. Astrid picked the tool and returned to her work, getting absorbed in that again. She didn’t thank him as well.
"You are a genius, but also an air-headed, you know?" He spoke, giggling and taking a chair to sit beside her.
"And why is that?" Came the question, which delayed for good ten seconds.
"Because you are talking with someone who was out for about three weeks so casually, just as if you saw me yesterday."
Astrid stopped what she was doing, seeming to get dumbfounded all of a sudden. It was an abrupt stop, that looked like she turned into a statue.
"Were you out for this long?" She looked at him, worried.
"Y-yes..."
"But... How many days are we here? I thought it was three..."
Casper gasped, getting disturbed.
"Hey, did you looked into the sunlight even once? How about a clock?"
She shook her head.
"No sunlight. No clocks. The notion of time makes you more tired."
"Well... It’s explained, then... You are a real berserker of science, Astrid. Anyway, what were you working at, that got you so busy like this, huh?"
Astrid thought for a while like she always did.
"Well, come here, I will show it to you. It’s the same thing as before, though."
