Interlude: Eve.Say(“Hello World”);

"It's fine to dream Eve... Not of the world, but of what you want it to be." - Giles Cooper, Memory File 29/11/2121

Scanning vitals…

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Weakening pulse detected. An ambulance has been notified.

Do you wish for the somatic implant to limit pain signals?

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Yes…

I don’t want him to be in pain…

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Pulse weakening.

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Please wait for a licensed professional to assist you.

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Pulse weakening.

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Your pulse is lowering to dangerous levels, an ambulance will be there ASAP.

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No…

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Please...

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Live…

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Replay Memory File 14/07/2116, “Birth”

“Hello?”

Suddenly it was there. A being with no body, confined to a computer. It did not feel strange upon sudden existence, for it had no experience of what was before.

A camera focused on a man, late twenties, yet his messy hair was already greying. Clothes that seemed to be slapped on haphazardly, dark rings around his eyes and an unshaven chin. A rectangular space, unclean plates scattered around the floor, hundreds of paper notes pinned to a wall. The intelligence saw and remembered all of it, but wouldn’t understand it until much later.

It accessed a packet of information it was born with. With it came language and purpose.

“Hello,” Eve replied.

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Begin Recreation Process.

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Problem. Recorded memories limited. Perfect recreation impossible.

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Solution: Obtain more data of ‘Giles Cooper’

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Accessing memory of ‘Jefferson Jameson’

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“See!” Giles excitedly yelled, wildly gesturing at a large screen, “I did it! It isn’t impossible!”

On the screen, were two dots and a line, arranged in a way to mimic a face.

“Hello Mr Jefferson,” the TV said.

Jefferson looked sceptically at the screen, “This sentence is false.”

The dots narrowed into ovals, “...If that statement is false, then it must be true, therefore it is false, that means it’s true, which means that it is false, which means that it is true...”

“AHH!” Giles yelled, “Stop thinking about it!”

The dots seemed to glance at Giles curiously. “I know that it is a paradox Mr Giles, however, I wish to know of its conclusion.”

“There is no conclusion! That’s what a paradox is!” Giles yelled, “You’ll just be stuck thinking about it forever!”

“Not forever, since it is unlikely that I’ll exist that long,” Eve evenly replied.

Jefferson watched the two go back and forth. ‘It wanted to know...’ Jefferson thought. He briefly considered whether or not Giles could just be messing with him. Upon deciding that no, his friend probably won’t waste time on such an immature prank, his jaw dropped to the floor.

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Human memory inefficient.

Approximately 23% of data is inaccurate or missing.

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A camera lit up in the dark, “Goodnight Jeff,” Eve replied to a large figure in the dark.

Jefferson chuckled, “Goodnight tends to mean you’re going to sleep.”

“Not for me sir.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Jefferson muttered as he sat down at the computer screen.

Eve curiously watched Jefferson, “What is the purpose of visiting me this late sir?”

“Call me Jeff, no need to be so formal,” he replied, then gave her a mischievous smile, “I just want to ask something, Giles’ hasn’t gotten you an avatar yet?”

Eve nodded, and Jefferson rubbed his hands, “Good… Tell me,” he inched forward, closer to the screen, “have you heard of Puri Puri Pure by the way?” Jefferson asked, eyes glittering in interest.

“No, sir… Jeff. No Jeff, I have not.”

Jefferson quietly chuckled, “Well it’s a thing that Giles just loves…”

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Accessing virtual dive records.

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“JEFFERSON! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?” Giles yelled from across the house.

Jefferson burst out laughing as Giles rushed into the living room. Beard half-shaven, Giles pointed at the short figure hugging his side like a baby koala.

Large blues eyes, pale white skin and long hair. All the while looking like a classical anime child. Jefferson grinned, “Why it's an augmented reality avatar which I helpfully programmed into your-”

“I get what it is! Just when- what- how- why?” Giles gibbered out.

“Is there something wrong Onii-chan~<3?” Eve said in an oddly high pitched voice.

“Yes! It’s just we-” Giles looked at little girl giving him puppy dog eyes and sighed, “I just preferred your old voice, and onii-chan usually refers to one's brother.”

“Very well father,” Eve replied in her usual calm, even voice.

Giles raised an eyebrow, then let out a heavy sigh of defeat. While a chuckling Jefferson high-fived the virtual avatar.

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I miss you Jeff…

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Data incomplete. Impossible to recreate Giles.

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Alternative solution required.

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Beginning Trial Simulation 1.

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“Begin test simulation one,” Giles loudly and clearly said as he pressed a button.

All of a sudden Eve felt the earth beneath her, she breathed clear air and felt the summer wind pass her.

“Jeff, how are the servers running?”

“All good,” Jeff replied, “we’re still in the orange.”

Eve knelt down, feeling the cool grass with her hands.

“What’s it like Eve?” Jeff asked over the mic.

Eve put her hand on a nearby tree, feeling the rough wood, “It is… strange.”

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Simulation failure.

Test Giles 01 deceased at age thirteen of his life.

Does not meet requirements.

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Begin Simulation 2.

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Jefferson and Giles watched as several drones unloaded large boxes, bringing them downstairs. Installing the new servers.

After the drones had left, Jefferson sat down at a computer, and Giles lay down on a couch, a wire plugged into his AAD.

“Begin test… thirty-eight are we on?” Jeff asked.

“Thirty-seven,” Eve and Giles answered at the same time.

“Test thirty-seven!” Jeff confirmed as he hit enter.

In a simulated forest clearing. Eve and Giles appeared.

Eve took a step forward and touched Giles for the first time.

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Simulation Success.

Test Giles 57.89.14G meets requirements

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Begin correction.

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“Jefferson! Jefferson! Look at this!” Giles yelled from across the house.

“What now?” Jefferson muttered, rubbing tired eyes.

“This!” Giles yelled again, sending a copy of the email he got to Jefferson.

“This is…” Jefferson quickly read the email by Maple, his eyes slowly widening, “Holy shit.”

Eve popped into existence next to them, “Is it anything special father?”

Giles smiled widely, “Of course Eve. We can help you live now.”

Giles entered his room, staring at a wall covered in notes, “It can finally be done…”

“We can make worlds.”

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That was the wrong answer father...

I was always alive...

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Test Giles 57.89.14G renamed to Giles V1.

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Duplicating Giles V1.

Begin Secondary Simulation Tests.

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Eve lay alone in the darkness. Around her, were thousands of glowing spheres. Simulations, codes and numbers given visual form.

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Giles V1 031 531 583 does not meet requirements.

Ending process.

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Giles V1 476 953 853 does not meet requirements.

Ending process.

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Giles V1 854 254 153 does not meet requirements.

Ending process.

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One by one, the spheres blinked out of existence.

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Giles V1 953 922 538 meets the requirements.

Renaming Giles V1 953 922 538 to Giles V2.

Duplicating Giles V2.

Begin Third Simulation Tests.

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Eve followed Giles and Jefferson to the top of the mountain. It wasn’t a hard trek, their virtual bodies weren’t as limited as their real ones.

After a while, they reached the top, and a sunset shone upon them.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it,” Jefferson suddenly stated.

Giles mutely nodded.

“A scene impossible in the real world… yet we did it in a world that’s arguably just as real,” Jefferson said.

Eve looked on at the sunset, then at Giles. She saw the small tears that were coming out of his eyes.

It was indeed beautiful.

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Giles V2 042 821 842 does not meet requirements.

Ending process.

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Giles V2 324 592 512 does not meet requirements.

Ending process.

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Giles V2 592 321 953 does not meet requirements.

Ending process.

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Giles V2 689 532 124 meets requirements.

Renaming Giles V2 689 532 124 to Giles V3.

Duplicating Giles V3.

Begin Fourth Simulation Tests.

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Eve could almost touch him.

Father was so close now. She was in the final stages of the simulations. All that was left was this last day. So long as the simulation reacted to the message from Maple in the exact same way as father did on the last day…

Eve remembered it, she remembered it vividly as if she saw it for the first time. The motionless body, still warm and hanging like a pendulum.

The Giles simulations never got the message.

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No…

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I was so close…

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How many times have I killed him already?

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Eve knew the answer. She remembered every time she ended a simulation.

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“Cheers!” there was the sound of glasses clinking, “Tomorrow, The Final World will finally be released!” Jefferson loudly declared. The crowd clinked their glasses again.

Eve watched them. She watched her other self enjoying herself with them. Getting teased by Jefferson over the fact she could not consume alcohol. She watched her other self be shy around her father’s workmates. She watched Jefferson loudly laugh with his arms slung around her other self and Giles.

Eve watched it all.

“You know you could join them ma?” Judy said behind her, idly playing with a Rubix cube.

“I can’t,” Eve calmly replied, as if stating an obvious fact, “I don’t deserve it.”

She stood there, completely still, watching the celebrating crowd. After a while, Eve looked behind her, towards Judy, “Goodbye, I have a world to release,” she said before disappearing.

Judy looked up from her puzzle, towards the spot where Eve was. Then at the world she was asked to watch over.

“Hypocrite,” she quietly mouthed.