Chapter 9: Chapter 9 – Technology

At least six months of recovery time. That was the standard medical allowance for any implants that were implanted in the brain. It didn’t matter if it was a private corporation, a black-market surgery, or a military affair. A practical choice was to put the person undertaking surgery into a medically induced coma rather than rush the process.

There were going to be specific risks in place depending on the quality of the medical environment. The cost of the procedure would be far higher in a military setting hence the reason that it had been given out to tender to find a company that would source both a suitable test subject and provide the premises.

The human body needed time to recover and adapt to having a new piece of equipment implanted into the most important part of the human body aside from the heart.

Any normal person who was told that they would have to undergo brain surgery would be concerned about potential side effects. Technically they would no longer be a human but would become cybernetic organisms instead. This type of surgery although uncommon wasn’t unknown throughout society. If you had sufficiently advanced technology, then why wouldn’t you take advantage of a brain implant that would offer you the chance to improve your innate skills? The best option would be one that could enable you to pick up different skills from a database. Wanted to play the piano, get better at video games then try it out.

One person remained concerned about the upcoming surgery and the exact nature of the implant. In his nervousness, he still needed an idea of the effectiveness and necessity of the procedure.

‘I’ll be hoping for too much if it’s going to be a military-grade level brain implant. Few corporations would be willing to pay for that expense. Maybe if I hacked into a system…’ thought the Engineer.

He decided to ask Contract AI 290 directly. Clearing his throat. ‘Hum. harm.’

[Yes, Mr Engineer? Are you having any reservations or concerns about the implant or any part of the process?]

‘Well, no…not quite.’

[Then that’s fine. Let’s move on to the neurology medical department. We still need to keep to a reasonable schedule.] said Contract AI 290.

‘I…have a question.’ Asked the Engineer.

[Ho, so he is a bit worried about it after all.]

‘Is there a specific model? Could I pay my funds towards the project for an upgrade to military level?’

[Excuse me?]

‘So…damn.’ came the frustrated tone.

[I’m sorry Mr Engineer. Are you having a shock to your system? Are you aware of the full costs involved with a military-grade implant? Also, we’re a corporation that focuses on engineering and researching new flavours of snacks and beverages. Frankly, we just don’t have the access or contracts available for such advanced technology. Be thankful that it’s so expensive. That usually means the best quality available. Military technology isn’t so freely given.]

‘I don’t know about the amounts that are put into research and development. I’ve never overseen a project like that. I’d prefer to save money myself. Or even take opt for a more cost-effective procedure that’s still safe.’

[Well, it’s not going to be trepanning. Have you heard of that before?]

Contract AI decided to tease the Engineer for a bit. Although he had been assigned the task in HR by the senior management team to take especially diligent care of this specific new company employee the non-stop barrage of questions was beginning to grind on them now.

‘Sounds old.’

[Oh yes. It’s certainly gone back for thousands of years. Ancient. It was a medical procedure that was used to treat health problems. Another word for it was trepanation. I heard that it opened your mind.]

‘How is this related to brain surgery?’

[You could call it the originator of brain surgery. For an artificial being such as myself, it might not have quite the same effect. But for a human, it was certainly used across different civilizations and history. Imagine if you were to meet someone who dealt with medicine back then. That certainly would be an interesting experience I’d imagine. If you were to complain of headaches, migraines, or even if some bad spirits had entered your body, then they could all be fixed through trepanning.]

‘I don’t know why you feel the need to tell me this…’

[Oh, it gets more interesting. You see the actual surgery for trepanning is to make a permanent hole in the neurocranium of the human skull. Fascinating stuff. It was also done to better connect with the spiritual world. I’m sure that what you’re going to go through will be far more advanced and secure.]

‘…’

[Don’t look so worried! You certainly won’t be facing anything that barbaric. That was just a little bit of historic research on the side for my part. No, we have advanced medical services and talented surgeons and staff working in the company. I’m sure current staff would never practice trepanning.]

‘I’d hope so.’

[It’s not like a rogue AI is going to look to turn you into a malformed cyborg designed to express their holiness as a new form of god. Silly me, that’s more like a ridiculous drama or a video game. My apologies. After talking for so long my mind has begun to wander to silly places. I would prefer to get back to my other duties though. Must get my HR work done. Busy. Busy.]

‘…I’ve never heard of any rogue AI before. I don’t like the sound of that.’

[Really? Have you never read the reports or seen the news? I’m quite surprised. I’ll send you a few links to bring you up to date on certain events. It’s all public knowledge. A little experiment where a few things went wrong, thankfully casualties were kept to a minimum on both sides. We’re all one people after all.]

‘Thanks.’

[No problem. We are colleagues after all. Any final questions before we finish?]

‘Make it clearer for me then. I signed a contract, so you must have learned a scrap of relevant information.’

[Hmm. I might have a little something to share with you. It was part of a joint project that was initially researched between the military and world government.]

‘…….is there any point asking for further information?’

A voice chimed from the nearby metallic speaker embedded into the office wall.

+This is a message for Contract AI 290 and the Engineer. Please be aware that company time is not your time. According to your schedule, you should be approaching the surgical and medical bay on the 79^th floor at this time. The surgical suite and staff are currently preparing for your arrival. +

[Right. Time to get a move on. As far as I’m aware it’s only a simple connectable implant. It doesn’t alter your bioelectricity or help you release adrenaline. Or help you become a superhuman who can fly. It just allows for better communication with a selected AI. Tell you what, I will tell you one secret about it.]

‘Sounds great? So…what else do you know about it?’

[………]

‘I signed the contract. Anything that I hear can’t be shared with others. I’m respectfully asking as a contracted employee with XXX corporation. Please, Karl.’

[I heard a rumour that your colleague is undergoing some special experiments. A special type of treatment, involving your implant.]

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‘Anything else?’

[Regarding that interview that you passed. Not everyone does. There was an initial test subject who had an operation but failed to meet the relevant standards. Now what was their name again…I’ll need to think about it.]

+Incoming Message. <Dear Corporation Employees. We have now deducted personal credit units for the delay that you have both caused on your current project. This will be removed from either your final salary or from selected vacation time. Please give better focus to your work. Thank you for working hard>+

‘Wait, you didn’t tell me which who- ‘

[I think that we’re done here Mr Engineer. You have my direct contact details if you need any more aid in your post-recovery period. Welcome to the XXX corporation. Your schedule will be directly sent to your communication device. Your fruit basket will be ready after you recover from the operation.]

There was a knock at the small office door. Contract AI moved in its orange pin-stripe suit to open it and was greeted by two burly-looking men in pristine white medical suits. One of them was older and his back was straighter. He had a large streak of white in his otherwise black hair. The younger one wore glasses and appeared focused and interested in looking at the Engineer without talking.

[Hello gentleman. You will be escorting this new employee to the surgical medical suites on the 79^th floor. Please make sure that he arrives safely as he’s a priority medical case. When you arrive you can hand him over to the head doctor on duty.]

‘Yes Mr 290.’ said the older man.

The young man nodded his head affirming that he had heard and understood.

‘Nice to meet you two,’ said the Engineer.

‘Mm.’

‘Yeh.’

He was greeted by the pair giving a nonverbal grunt and brief smile before their faces settled back into relaxed-looking expressions. The pair of burly looking men looked more bored than annoyed to be escorting him to a surgical suite. The Engineer did wonder if both of them had any augmentation work done if they had just grown up that way. He didn’t think that cloning sentient individuals was legal. If they were grown as bio-enhanced weaponised zombies for a Battlezone special, he would understand but the pair looked strong, tough, and mainly incredibly bored.

‘Is there a reason these two don’t want to talk with me? I bet I could make them talk. Or angry. Nah, just talking is better. We’re all work colleagues now.’ The Engineer thought to himself with a pleasant-looking expression on his face.

[Thank you. Goodbye Engineer. I hope you have a swift recovery and best of luck. I need to get back to my other work now.]

‘Thanks for your time, Karl.’

[Anytime. Bye!]

Contract AI 290 closed the door to their office and locked the door before physically collapsing onto the floor and running diagnostics checks on his body systems.

[That guy…he just wanted to keep on talking. So many obtuse questions. I need to make sure that I’m not running any errors from answering his incessant questions. What a headache. I’m going to run some of my electro-jazz playlists.]

The artificial humanoid lay down on the floor as if the sheer effort of dealing with a difficult new company employee had exhausted his power supply. His body was fully rechargeable and physically strong enough to stop a moving vehicle, but his mind was able to grow tired.

[At least he’s going to be someone else’s problem for now. I’ll need to check up on the development of that new colleague of his to make sure that proper protocol is being followed. I’ll need a moment before I’m back to work. Reminder to self, avoid new employees with complicated work history even if ordered to support by senior management. That one is going to be trouble. I hope his assigned work colleague won’t prove too tricky to manage.]

Outside in the corridor, the Engineer was slowly walking along taking his time to gauge the two men. Staring generally made me feel uncomfortable without talking, that was usually when people wanted to fill in the empty silence with talking. These two guys didn’t though.

‘These two have an impressive work ethic. Dedicated indeed.’ The Engineer thought.

The three men were walking along the corridor with the Engineer in between the two men as though they were escorting a VIP for security purposes. He stopped moving and the two men immediately fell in at this side in silence.

‘Have you two worked at the company for long?’ the Engineer asked the two men while standing there. For most people, it would feel like an awkward situation when a person suddenly stopped and started randomly talking. The two men stopped for a moment confused by the situation. The slightly larger man was the first one to talk.

‘I’ve worked here for fifteen years. We have an appointment that we need to stick to Sir. If you wouldn’t mind, we need to carry on walking.’

The Engineer responded immediately. He felt a little disappointed by their politeness as he was looking forward to more grunting and pointing. It would have been a better challenge.

‘Wow, fifteen years! Sounds like a long time to me. Do you get paid much money?’

The burly man’s face scrunched up in sheer confusion as to why a random person who he had just met would start asking about his salary. Forget about being awkward, this was just plain rude and surprisingly non-tactful. Even if he was a new employee, it didn’t strike him as a normal conversation starter.

The marginally shorter man opened his mouth to talk in turn.

‘I’ve been working here for around five months. The conditions are good, and I have no complaints about my salary. Being a medical orderly is interesting.’

A test should have been a loyalty test that had been designed by the Head of HR Mr 290. That was the thought that ran through the heads of both men. This was to gauge the morale and general well-being of employees and they would try their best to pass it.

The Engineer smiled at both men. ‘You guys found the right company to work for. Five months isn’t so long but if you’re happy with your salary then that’s great. Hey, you guys know something. I’m not good with people. Seriously, I find it hard sometimes to say the right thing. I hope that I’m not causing any offence right now. The main reason I took on this contract job was the holiday benefits; the contract offered a full-paid holiday for years once it ended.’

The two men just stared at each other, and the exact thought ran through their heads at the same time.

Is this guy serious or is he trying to make a bad joke?

They looked at each other in a state of confusion before one of them shrugged his shoulders and walked behind the Engineer as though shielding him from harm.

‘Ahem.’

The older one coughed lightly into a hand that had become a clenched fist.

‘Sorry Sir, but our current duties are to safely escort you to the medical facilities. The staff there should be waiting for us, if you wouldn’t mind then we need to carry on now.’

The Engineer flashed a smile and waved a hand as if to apologize for overly talking.

‘You’re right. I’m sorry for causing a delay, we should get a move on. I don’t want to make us late or get anyone in trouble for my mistakes.’

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