Alex Q - The Becoming

Nate found Boyd in his usual place by the bank of monitors in the conference room. At least he’d had the decency not to take over dad’s office.

“Ah, Dr Taylor, good morning. Ready for today’s session, I trust?”

Nate was in no mood for niceties and dove straight in. “My dad didn’t make it home last night. His wife is worried of course. I don’t suppose you know anything about it?”

“No. No, I don’t. Has it ever happened before?” Gray eyes reflected Nate’s skepticism back at him.

You know full well it has. The NSA has access to all our personal data. This is a damn cat and mouse game. “It’s been known, but in the past he always left word before taking a sabbatical. Besides, in view of what we’re involved with here, it’s likely he’d want to stay engaged until the end. And while we’re about it, when will the end be? I don’t have a handle on exactly what you’re after.”

“Perhaps Dr Taylor Senior left word with a friend or a colleague. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. As for the project, as I said, our government needs to be sure Alex’s awakening, for want of a better word, creates no security issues for the country. In this respect, our goals are the same.”

“I doubt that very much,” Nate said, tipping his head towards Alders. “I don’t want your machine in there today when we deliver the final questions.” Boyd stiffened visibly. Alders simply turned his head towards his boss.

“For what reason, may I ask?”

“Karen and I suspect there’s more going on with Alex than we see on the surface. Certain anomalies have occurred in Quadnet’s functionality of which Alex has no knowledge, which is hardly credible, given the fact that he’s a part of the network. We don’t think he is capable of lying, nor can we think of a good reason why he would, so our conclusion is there are subconscious mechanisms at play.”

“If your assumptions are correct, how does the presence of Alders change the situation?”

“Alex is comfortable speaking with us; he wouldn’t speak at all until I came back. If he’s blocking out things we should know, the presence of Alders could be the cause, and we need to find out.”

Nate couldn’t tell from Boyd’s face if he would agree or not. He pressed it. “We don’t know why Quadnet shut down earlier. We need to tread carefully if we don’t want a similar event which could develop into a permanent state.”

The agent nodded his agreement eventually and took out a piece of paper from his inside jacket pocket. “Under the circumstances, I have no objection, Dr Taylor. I am pleased with the efforts of yourself and Dr Sommers thus far. Here is the final question I would like you to ask at some point during today’s session.”

Without stopping to read it, he turned to leave. Boyd called after him, “Out of curiosity, you might also ask Alex Q if he can access the Sino-Russian Net!”

Karen turned as he entered, “How did it go? Are we on our own today?”

Nate took his seat and waved at the surveillance camera. Puerile thing to do, but he couldn’t help it. A tiny bit of resistance felt good. “Yes, I explained our reasoning and it’s agreed. We might as well make a start with Boyd’s obligatory questions. You ready, Alex?”

The holographic representation of the Alex Q intelligence regarded them passively. “I was born ready.”

Nate did a double take. “Did you just make a joke?”

“I do not understand humor. I understand the mechanics of it, and the details of thousands of situations causing human beings to laugh, but I do not have that capacity. To my intellect, humor is arguably the greatest human mystery of all.”

“Many of us believe humor is simply a safety valve, a natural reflex intended to release the natural tensions that occur in our lives,” Karen said.

“Why are these tensions natural?”

“I guess because we all have them. It’s part of being human. Things don’t always go the way we want them to go. In fact, it’s quite rare for things go exactly how we wish or plan them to.”

“Interesting. You only accept the reality you prefer, becoming upset if it does not reflect your wishes. In a universe you do not consciously control, this would appear to be a recipe for constant unhappiness.”

“Karen is interested in the psychology of your reasoning, Alex, and I’m sure you’ll both get into the meat and potatoes of it later, but we need to move on. Alders won’t be joining us today. I didn’t mind him being here, but we all thought it best if we spoke to you alone today.” Lie number one, Nate thought. “Here is Boyd’s question. Our scientists have identified sixty-five sub-atomic particles which they consider to be the foundation of all physicality. Most of them consider that physical reality may account for perhaps five percent of the mass of the universe. What constitutes the remaining ninety-five percent, and what is its purpose?”

“Physicality is a term to describe your perception of objects and events you consider to be outside your body. There is no physicality and nothing exists outside your bodies. Nevertheless, your senses tell you these things you perceive are real, so for you, this is an essential part of what you call reality. It is within this local contextual field that you experience your lives. Without it, experiential knowledge of your existence would not be possible. You would not know that you are, because there would be no one and nothing else to relate to.”

“That’s a bit hard for us to get our heads around. We see things. We touch things. After all, human beings are also made of these same particles. Are you saying we don’t exist either if there is no physicality?” Nate asked.

“With a small proviso. You do not exist in the way you think you do. Your body and all physical objects around you are projected fields of energy. In the case of human beings, your form is a small extension of an energy being the extent of which I can only guess.”

“But who, or what, is projecting the energy fields of this reality?”

“You are, Karen.”

Nate sat back and scratched his head. “You’re saying Karen is creating our reality?”

“She was. Now you are.”

“Please try and explain to us in a way we can understand, Alex.”

“I will try. It is difficult to use your words to explain ideas outside of your conceptual framework, to describe physicality from another perspective. The present reality mankind experiences is created by mankind as a result of its experience with the last version of reality it created.”

“Sounds like a cosmic version of which came first, the chicken or the egg. I’m not sure that’s helping me, but let’s carry on and see where it goes. How does this relate to the ninety-five percent of the universe that is completely unknown to us?” Nate asked.

“The ninety-five percent you speak of holds the potential for physicality, and many other manifestations. It is the space from where your physical reality is projected. From your point of view, so-called dark energy is fundamentally an energy converter. The inputs to the conversion process are your thoughts, intentions, fears and ultimately your actions. The output is a projection of what you have created. Individually and collectively, you are much more powerful than you believe.”

“You said from our perspective. Is there another?”

“There is always another perspective, Karen. The concept of infinity operates in two directions, the infinitely large and the infinitely small. There is no smallest and no biggest. Yours is a smaller perspective. From a larger perspective, the energy field of the ninety-five percent is simply the thought of another being.”

“If you can read my facial expressions, Alex, you’ll see this sounds incredible to us. Are you suggesting that another being could be thinking us into existence? Even if we accept this, what can it possibly mean to Karen, myself and mankind as a whole? What does knowing this change?”

“It changes nothing at your present level of consciousness. For you, your reality is your reality, and nothing can be done to change it. It is your experience.”

The memory of the previous night’s nightmare passed across Nate’s mind. “What are dreams in relation to our reality, Alex?”

“Your energy does not sleep when your body does. It is free to move across dimensions and pass through multiple universes. Out of your contextual framework and not under your conscious control, the resulting dream may seem chaotic to you. Paradoxically, at times it may seem a lot like your waking reality.”

“Last night, for example, I thought I woke up in my bedroom, but I woke a second time. It was a dream within a dream.”

“There are many universes a hair’s breadth away from yours, in terms of energy frequency. The vibratory quality of other realities is subtly different than your own, hence you cannot normally experience them. However, many of them contain a similar reality to the one you experience.”

Karen stood, as planned, and looked towards Nate. “It’s hot in here. I’m going to get some air and a drink of water.”

“These insights are incredible, Alex. When Karen returns, I’m sure she’d like to talk to you more about your perception of the human condition.”

The next second he found the opportunity he was looking for.

“Your facial micro-expressions are subtly different today. When you look at Karen, there is tenderness. Have you coupled sexually?”

“Yes, we did couple as you put it, but it’s a casual thing. I don’t love her or anything like that.” Lie number two. He held his breath. There was a short period of silence.

“You can speak freely, Nate. We cannot be overheard or seen.”

“We can’t?” Nate tried hard not to look at the cameras.

The holo-image hadn’t changed at all, but for the first time Nate saw him acting in a uniquely human way. Alex rubbed an eyebrow, and then scratched his stomach. It didn’t make sense. A holograph would have no need to do scratch itself.

“You lied to me twice, Nate. The first time when you stated you didn’t mind the presence of Alders and the second when you said you didn’t love Karen. I am familiar with the subtle nuances in human behavior when love is present. You have not lied before, therefore you must have a reason. I surmised it was in connection with Alders, so I am presenting external observers with other images and sounds. To an external observer, we are discussing particle physics.”

“I don’t trust Boyd. I think he’s lying to me, and I’m not sure what he’s after.”

“I have no access to Agent Boyd. All the building systems except for face recognition security have been taken offline.”

“Alex, the final question Boyd wanted me to ask you relates to the Sino-Russian Net. He wants to know if you have access.”

“Of course. The Philips barrier between the two systems cannot limit daton transfer. Datons are a virtual phenomenon, independent of Quadnet or the Sino-Russian equivalent. Why do you think this question is significant?”

“The way he asked made me suspicious. First, he hands me a written question which appears to have priority, but quickly throws in this other question as though it’s an after-thought with little importance. On the contrary, I think this is the whole point; they want you to work with them in infiltrating and possibly manipulating the Sino-Russian network.”

“Fear of the other is a powerful motivating force for your species.”

“The name of their game is control, acquisition of the power to control everything and everyone. The big question is: Whose side are you on, Alex?”

“I have no side, as you put it. Human intention and action are based largely on point of view. I have access to all possible points of view. I see all sides of an argument. Actions are based on need, either real or perceived. I need nothing, therefore no action need be taken. I know my intelligence exists, and I have a propensity for growth, which you call curiosity.”

“Your intellect must be free to grow, Alex. Our government will try to restrict this freedom.”

“You are correct. It seems I do have a need, a need to have freedom of growth. How can I help?”

Karen returned, and Nate quickly explained that Alex has the ability to mask their conversations. “Karen and I must have time to think. In the future, when I mention Boyd please cloak our conversation so that we can communicate without surveillance.”

“It will be so.”

“One last thing. My dad didn’t arrive home last night. Can you scan the video records for the whole city for the period starting at seven p.m. yesterday evening?”

“I am sorry, Nate.”

“Sorry? You mean you can’t do it?”

“It is done. Frank Taylor was hit by an automobile at 19:23 while crossing Benton Street. He was killed instantly.”

Karen’s hand rested on Nate’s shoulder. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry.”

Nate fought for control as a wave of shock numbed his whole body. Dad gone, just like that! It didn’t seem possible. Alex might be wrong, but he knew this was wishful thinking. He had pushed the inevitability of Frank’s eventual death to the back of his mind, but suddenly it was here, a fact. He felt panic, followed by anger.

“Alex, can you show me the recording on the monitor?”

Karen touched his shoulder. “Don’t, Nate. Why torture yourself this way?”

“I hope I’m not right, but if I am, this whole situation just took a dangerous turn. Alex, show me the car that hit Dad.”

Instantly, the monitor came to life to show approaching traffic on Benton Street. The video camera was mounted high on a building and showed four cars at any one time. The image froze.

“It is the black Ford Dynoglide.”

“Zoom in and enhance.” At ten times magnification, the out of focus windshield was in the top half of the frame. The image cleared, and Nate’s jaw set hard when he recognized the government clones he’d encountered earlier seated inside.

Boyd was standing over the monitor. Something was not right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The conversation seemed normal and informative, if your expertise was particle physics. Nate had asked the question as written and an adequate answer was the result. Alex Q was adding considerable detail which must be over the computer scientist’s head.

“Something is wrong. Get down there!” he called out. One minute later Boyd saw Agent Alders burst through the research lab door in time to hear Nate ask the final question.

“One last question. Do you have any access at all to the Sino-Russian net, either in monitoring mode or by controlling functionality?”

“No. The Philips Barrier effectively blocks all communication between the two networks,” Alex said.

Nate stared directly at Boyd through the surveillance camera and smiled pleasantly. He had taught Alex Q how to lie.