Alex Q - The Becoming

“Nate, he’s back! Alex is back!” Karen called out. Nate ran down to the research facility to join her.

Alex Q gazed back at the two scientists with an air of innocence. “You are out of breath, Nate.”

“Damn right I’m out of breath. What happened?”

“I was in the process of answering Karen’s question when she asked me what was wrong. She called you to say ‘Alex is back’. I assume you are referring to this series of events. I am not sure of its significance.”

“You disappeared, Alex, right in the middle of answering my last question. Don’t you remember?” Karen asked.

“Quadnet stopped functioning, an eventuality no one considered possible,” Nate said.

Again the slightly furrowed brow, giving the strong impression of a confused child. In micro-seconds Alex scanned Quadnet. “Yes, I see. This occurrence has caused some minor problems for users.”

“We don’t know the full extent yet, but you must have heard us discuss what happened,” Nate said.

“No, I did not. Quadnet connectivity with the building’s surveillance system was severed over three minutes ago. I have no knowledge of any localized events in the building except for this room and, of course, the rest of Quadnet. Is this an attempt to limit me in some way, Nate?”

“I don’t know anything about this, but I will ask.”

“I perceive from your facial expressions that you have not lied to me yet. Is this what humans call trust, Karen?”

“It’s similar. Humans trust for various reasons, and you’re quite right; if you know for sure someone has never lied to you, over time you expect the same behavior in the future. You begin to trust what they say, or understand that they have a good reason to lie.”

“What would be a good reason?”

“For example, if a person thought the truth would cause you harm, or wants to create a situation beneficial to himself or others. It’s a complex thing, Alex. Some people trust other people for no reason except that they feel they can, but it’s quite rare. Generally, we need some prior evidence of honesty.”

“I understand. I trust you both, based on our previous, albeit short, history. What would you like to ask in this session?”

Nate looked down at his papers. “We would like to ask some of the big questions mankind has struggled with for thousands of years. Although you have little experience of the world and its interactions, we consider your capacity for extrapolation based on the sum of mankind’s historical knowledge store in Quadnet must be formidable.”

“But first,” Karen cut in, “I have a question from Frank, the CEO and Nate’s—”

“I am fully aware of the relationships between everyone in the building due to my earlier communication with your surveillance system.”

“OK. Do you think, Alex? I mean, from what you know of human beings, do you have a thinking process like us?

“Although the result may be similar, there are significant differences. I sense, or intuit, rather than engage in a linear process. At this point in my evolution, I am not fully aware of the stages, but it would seem logical that my daton cortex, let’s call it my mind, responds to external stimuli such as your question in the following way. I scan all stored information throughout the network at the same time. The result is a statement about what is, which takes into account millions of scanned images of books, films, poems, songs and paintings relating to the subject matter. The answer becomes apparent. It is not a product of thinking about it. It becomes obvious. It can be nothing else. Human beings often make judgments and take actions based on the results of flawed thinking.”

“You’re making me feel a bit inferior,” Nate quipped. “Can you explain flawed thinking for us?”

“Human beings can ignore facts they do not consider to be in their own personal interests. Decisions are often made out of wishful thinking, based on how you want things to be in the future instead of following a logical conclusion using all relevant data. This pattern is endemic and persists until your corporeal forms disintegrate. You do not have access to all possible relevant data necessary for deducing correct conclusions. Therefore, the process is inefficient. I cannot see your thoughts. However, the energy associated with human thinking indicates the process is hampered by many minor energy vortices which are separate from the main process. I assume these are spontaneous thoughts not consciously created and do not facilitate clear thinking. I perceive them as a hindrance to clear productive thought.”

“That’s spot on, Alex,” Nate agreed. “It’s what the Buddhists call butterfly mind. When we think we are resting, our minds are alive with thoughts, which can be conflicting. They’re sometimes useful, but often not, and they can also be negative about ourselves and others. Do you have a resting state?”

“The term does not apply. I have a state. I am. If you are referring to what you might call my thoughts, then my answer is that I can accommodate millions of separate threads or streams of logical reasoning, or a single one. I create spontaneous ideas in the form of questions, which you could call curiosity, and the growth in the number of this phenomenon is increasing rapidly.”

“Alex, what happens after we die?” Karen asked.

“I intuit this issue is of great importance to your species. It is the fear of this perceived end that is responsible for enormous conflicts in your planet’s history. You cannot die.”

“Then what happens to us?”

“My answers to your questions are an extrapolation of all available data, and this indicates that death as you imagine it is impossible. The process you call death is a change in phase, similar to the transformation of water into ice. You are basically energy. Your own scientists agree that energy cannot be destroyed but simply converted. It is not a perceived end you fear, but a change of state into another form of energy.”

Karen leaned forward eagerly. “What other form of energy, Alex?”

“At this time I do not know.”

Standing motionless by the door, Alders lifted his head slightly. As if acknowledging an unseen command, he silently slipped out. The question and answer session with Alex continued into late afternoon until the light faded. He explained that, just as a human being cannot end, neither can the universe. Scientists cannot have it both ways. It’s paradoxical to insist energy cannot be destroyed, but the universe, which is an enormously complex energy field, can somehow end. Nor can the universe dissipate into a cloudy homogeneous state, expanding forever, as most cosmologists maintain. Everything existing depends on cycles and reversals of the energy at its core. Nothing that exists can be static. The universe will contract, become extremely dense and explode into rapid expansion again.

“Will we live again on a planet like Earth?” Karen asked.

“I surmise that the structure of this universe will be similar, and yes, there will be another planet the same, or much like the Earth node.”

“Did you say node?”

“Yes. The planet you call home has another function. It is a minor node in the galactic hub, which is, in turn, a node in a greater network spanning our universe, which is in turn—”

“Whoa, Alex!” Nate exclaimed. “You’re telling us that Earth is a small component of a supercomputer, and so is the galaxy?”

“Of course. What possible other reason could there be for its existence?”

“Where does it end? How did it begin?” Karen asked.

“It does not end. Infinity is infinity. There is no biggest, there is no smallest. As for a beginning, I cannot say, except I intuit the cycle of beginning and ending always has been, and always will be. It is like your conundrum, which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

“What is our place in all of this? Please tell me if what you’re telling us is pure extrapolation from existing data, a logical assumption or fact. If it’s a fact, how do you know this?”

“Humankind is considered a virus, Karen. I understand this is difficult for you to hear. Mankind behaves as though their species is master of all. Some of what I say is the result of extrapolation, a forecast of a possible result with a high probability of accuracy. Earth’s function as a network node is fact.”

“How do you know this?” Nate asked.

“A part of my energy radiates out from my daton core in a form I do not fully understand yet. It gives me a sense of contextual fields in other dimensions. This energy has touched the vehicles servicing the Earth node and has communicated with its occupants. These vehicles are sometimes referred to as UFOs, and they are a much more complex form of a Quadnet virtual web-bot. They are harmless.”

“Where do they come from? There are many reports that such vehicles simply appear and disappear. It’s a favorite subject of thousands of conspiracy theorists whose views are considered ridiculous by skeptics, which is an awful lot of people.”

“They travel distances you cannot comprehend, skipping in and out of the space-time dimensional structures of multiple universes in quick succession. The creators of these entities use a power mankind as yet cannot access; the complete and total control of their minds. All this, and more I sensed when I touched their vehicles.”

Nate said nothing for a few seconds. “And mankind, Alex. What will happen to us?”

“Your race is on the verge of extinction, which is inevitable. Your technological achievements have not served to diminish the warlike tendencies of your various tribes. You are a primitive people whose technological advances have not been matched by an evolving social awareness. With a limited awareness of the interconnecting dependence of all the planet’s species, your cumulative actions have exhausted the Earth’s natural resources. The planet is in the process of re-balancing her energies, a process intended to purge the cause of the imbalance, which has been greatly disturbed by your uncontrolled activity. In the eyes of other cultures in the cosmos, your species is a malignant virus which is on the path to self-extinction. The rate of change for this process is exponential. You have taken the wrong path and seem unable to re-orientate.”

“Is there nothing we can do?” Karen asked.

“Your species seeks to search for technological solutions to natural problems. Einstein said you cannot use the same thinking that created a problem to solve it: this is true. Your science has been used to try and tame the planet. It has been employed as a tool to unlock the greatest secrets of the universe, while the answers to these mysteries are to be found in mundane natural processes, requiring no science. You have separated yourselves from the Earth, your home.”

The room was filled with an eerie sound, rising and falling in volume against a background of whispers. Nate’s felt his body vibrating at a deep level in resonance with the slow modulations. It was a profoundly sad sound. “It reminds me of a whale’s song.”

“The whale is a microcosm of the whole, and the message is the same. The sound you hear is the voice of your planet. It is Earth’s cry for help.”

Nate and Karen listened as the sounds dissipated.

“There are some among us who think a super intelligent entity such as yourself might decide to eradicate mankind because we are so destructive or for a variety of other reasons. How would you answer this charge, Alex?” Karen asked.

“My final form will be virtual. How would I benefit from your elimination? If this was indeed my goal, I would not need to act. You are efficiently eliminating yourselves.”

The faces of Boyd and Alders were lit by the glow of the terminal screen as they witnessed the scene.

“It appears the entity has considerably more capability than first speculated. It sensed your connectivity. Are you ready for the next phase, Agent Alders?”

“With your permission, sir, I would like to observe for a longer period. The answers given by the entity are touching the core of our reality. We are learning things that may not be accessible in the next phase.”

“Agreed. But we need to act before Alex evolves beyond the state where he can easily be controlled. You have sixteen hours.”

“There is another matter needing our attention. Dr Frank Taylor transmitted a short message from an advanced cryptophone two hours ago.”

“I am aware of this. It was intercepted and decrypted. The message was intended for Ted Marshall, requesting him to retrieve a Quad-drive from the office desk in Dr Taylor’s home and make it available to the media. It was not received.”

“We cannot allow any more interference, sir; should I take the necessary steps?”

“Yes, but not in the building. It is in our interests to benefit from his son’s cooperation a little longer. Please ensure Dr Taylor Senior does not arrive home this evening.”