Chronometrics: Chapter 5

 
Chronometrics: Chapter 5

The female Dr. Chrono knew from the get-go that today was going to be busy.

Various “awakenings” were scheduled for today, and she was supposed to be present at several of them. A few were touchy cases that would require her expert intervention, and a few others she had used her clout to get in on just because she could. Every subject was interesting in some way as far as she was concerned, either due to the potential they showed prior to awakening or their new personalities upon awakening. Something was always there to catch her attention.

Alan held Dr. Chrono’s suitcase as she prepped a room for an awakening. Some would find the appearance of an awakening room surprisingly comfortable; some research had pointed to awakenings in laboratory environments having adverse effects on the newly-sapient being. While Dr. Chrono agreed with keeping a newly-awakened being comfortable, she didn’t think it made much of a difference where beings awakened. Some still screamed and tried to run when awareness sank in anyway.

After a while, Alan set the suitcase down. “Who’s on the schedule today? Anyone I might know?” he asked.

Dr. Chrono shrugged. “For this room, a pig and an AI,” she replied. “You’d be surprised how well uplifted pigs fare if they end up in the right place.”

Alan mimicked the shrug. “Must be an organic thing.” He paused, then came up with another topic. “Hey, is it possible to upload AI minds into organic bodies? I mean, I hear about humans uploading themselves into new bodies all the time.”

“They’ve tried,” Dr. Chrono said, checking the small displays lining the table where the pig to be uplifted would eventually be. “However, when a being that started out as an AI gets uploaded into a human body, there tends to be some strange incompatibilities. It’s as if the programming and the organic impulses don’t fit together, making the AI very uncomfortable in their own body.”

“Is that so?” Alan’s display blinked; his simulated face looked reflective. “I hear that happens even in totally organic beings, too. I think it’s called ‘dysphoria.’”

Dr. Chrono made a thoughtful noise. “It’s funny that you mention that. There has been talk of putting some kind of entry for ‘upload dysphoria’ in the psychological manuals. I’m not sure where they are in that process.” After a quick glance at the clock, she added, “What makes you mention this?”

“Well, sometimes I wonder what it’s like to do things like eat and sleep. And by sleep, I don’t mean going on standby. I mean, if humans can hop bodies so easily in this day and age, who’s to say that a robot can’t?” Alan folded his arms, clearly very fixed on the idea.

“There’s also some legal trouble surrounding uploading AIs into human bodies. Certain factions think that it would be possible to infinitely produce AIs until every human mind was replaced by an AI mind, but they don’t seem to realize that AI development is expensive, too.” Dr. Chrono sighed and shook her head. “It’s almost time for Tulip to come in. You might want to stand out of the way in case something goes wrong.”

Alan made an affirmative noise and went to the left side of the room, and shortly after, a junior scientist man entered with a potbelly pig following close behind. She didn’t need to be on a leash or otherwise led around, which Dr. Chrono considered a promising sign for her awakening. The intelligence boost seemed to have taken a good hold on her, and all she needed was the finishing touch.

The scientist picked Tulip the pig up and set her down on the table carefully. “You wouldn’t believe this still exists, but where I come from, I was really good at wrangling pigs on my farm.”

“I’m surprised anything rural enough to approach an old-fashioned farm exists,” Dr. Chrono mumbled, not entirely impressed. “I’ve got all the materials ready. Be on standby in case anything goes wrong.”

“Uh, why do you keep mentioning something going wrong?” Alan asked, looking a bit concerned.

“It happens,” Dr. Chrono said. “Even if this is the first awakening you’ve sat in on, you know that sometimes not everything goes as planned.”

“Not that you’ve told me the specifics of what doesn’t go as planned,” Alan groused.

“No sarcasm, please.” Dr. Chrono felt a “young man” on the tip of her tongue, but she held it back. For a variety of reasons, that label didn’t fit Alan.

“You brought your child to work today?” the other scientist asked.

With a quickness, Dr. Chrono snapped, “And no guff from you either.” She sighed and shook her head, muttering inaudibly as she began to swab the area where Tulip would be injected with the chemical that would complete her awakening. “Watch carefully. I can’t guarantee she’ll take it well at first. Almost none of them do.”

Dr. Chrono injected Tulip with the chemical, and immediately, the pig squealed in pain as her brain and body worked to accommodate the changes going on within her. She began to writhe in pain, but neither of the scientists in the room stepped back. This was to be expected from the first moment of awakening.

“Um,” Alan spoke, reaching forward, only to be shushed by Dr. Chrono.

“A sympathetic reaction to apparent suffering,” Dr. Chrono muttered at Alan. “Maybe you understand more about organics than you think,” she said.

It was a long-feeling few minutes, but eventually, Tulip calmed down, her breathing regulating. She laid down on the table, clearly exhausted from the ordeal. “I think she’s done,” Dr. Chrono said. “We’ll let her rest for a little while. Once she has recovered, we’ll see if she’s ready to talk.” With that, Dr. Chrono went to the exit of the room, beckoning Alan and the other scientist to follow her out.

“Talk?” Alan asked when they were all outside. “I thought most animals wouldn’t be able to approximate human speech.”

“We do a little work on that so they can assimilate well upon being uplifted,” Dr. Chrono said. “If speech devices can’t be implanted, some get used to typing, or pen and paper. You’d be surprised how open some uplifted beings are to modifications.”

“All things considered, I think Tulip will be okay,” the other scientist said.

“I agree.” Dr. Chrono looked back towards the door. “She always had had good potential, and now we’ve unlocked it. I look forward to getting her first insights of the world.”