When a pickpocket gets caught, she has to make a decision: either the cops will be called or she does some sort of IQ test. She passes the test, and she's taken back to the lab where her brainwaves are fed to a new AI system.
Food for the AI
He was an idiot, drinking alcohol, trying to chat up girls, basically being just like the other waisted arrogant pricks in their business suits in this bar. His iPhone sticking out of his back pocket, gently I placed my fingers against the plastic phone case and I slid it out of his jeans. It was an iPhone 11 with the three cameras, I would easily get a few hundred dollars for this.
A hand around my wrist. His fingers squeezing tightly pulling my hand close to his face. I was still holding his iPhone. ‘You dropped this,’ I said quickly.
He smiled. ‘I most certainly did not.’ He said tilting his head to the side. ‘But you’re an inventive one, quick on your feet.’ He clacked his tongue a few times. ‘Would you say you’re a problem solver? A creative type? Are you able to think outside the box?’
‘Well I’m not stupid.’ I said.
‘Good. Let’s make a deal.’ He said. ‘If you manage to beat my higher level complex cognitive abilities test, I won’t call the cops on you.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Fine.’ I said. He was still holding my wrist and he pulled me away from the bar into the part were the tables were. He pushed me into a boot and then he sat down next to me. He put his phone down in front of me and started the test.
‘So it’s an IQ test?’ I said.
‘I wouldn’t waste time talking to me if I were you.’ He said nodding towards the screen. I focused on the test, there were several parts of it but none were too difficult. Eventually four numbers appeared on the screen, divergent, convergent, artistic and self. I shoved the phone towards him. ‘And?’ I said. ‘Enough, will you let me go now?’
He glanced over the numbers. ‘Very impressive.’ He said. ‘More than enough. I won’t call the cops on you, but I won’t let you go either, letting you go was never part of the deal.’ He fidgeted with something under the table and I looked over to see what he was doing, there was a syringe in his hand, he filled it up with some drug.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked. ‘Just let me go now please, we had a deal.’ He yanked the syringe into my leg. I wanted to scream, but he pressed his lips on mine the moment I opened my mouth. His arm around my shoulders.
‘Sshhh.’ He whispered. ‘You’re going to get real drunk, real soon. Most people say it feels amazing.’
My leg was tingling now, a warmth was spreading, through my stomach and up into my chest. I felt giddy, somewhat euphoric even. The world around me blurring, my head dizzy. It was overwhelming I forgot where I was, I forgot about everything. I was just intoxicated and giggly.
‘I think you need a ride home.’ He said.
‘No.’ I said. ‘I’m not going home, the fun is just about to start.’
He smiled. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me out of the boot. I tried to stand up, but the world was wavering just a bit too much, or I was too dizzy. I swayed back and forth and he wrapped his arms around me.
‘I want to dance.’ I said. ‘I feel so good, I want to dance. Won’t you dance with me?’
His arm around my waist as he walked me out of the bar, around the block and into his car. I was still trying to get him to dance with me, while he slumped me into the passenger seat and tightened my seatbelt.
Briefly he put his hand on my face as he cupped my chin. He pressed a quick kiss on my lips. ‘Not only your brain functions are perfect, you’re shell is very reusable too. Now let’s put you out for the night.’ He put another syringe up against my leg.
‘Do I get more?’ I asked in my slurred voice. Feeling happy and excited about that prospect. ‘Will I feel even better?’
He plunged the drug into my leg, a rush of confusion spread through my thoughts, a rush of drowsiness. I was so sleepy all of a sudden, my head slumped to the side and my eyes shut close.
I don’t know how long I was out. I woke up in the middle of a science fiction movie. At least that’s what it felt liked. I was locked into some sort of chair, there were wires and devices connected to my head and the back of my neck and I couldn’t move anything except for my eyes. There were screens and lights and those loading bars and graphs and then his face appeared.
‘Where the hell am I?’ I asked.
‘You’re at 37 percent.’ He said.
‘What?’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ He gave my cheek a friendly squeeze and he winked at me.
‘Well if you’re going to kidnap me and tie me down I will worry about it.’ I said.
‘Most do.’ He said.
‘What are you going to do with me?’
‘Frankly there’s very little use in telling you. I’m draining your brain, so when the download is complete you won’t remember it anyway. How are you feeling?’
‘Panicked.’ I said. ‘Angry.’
‘You appear quite calm though.’ He said.
‘Well there’s not much room for me to struggle or protest or move is there, Einstein?’
‘My name is Frederik.’ He said. ‘Not Einstein, although you probably said that sarcastically, didn’t you? I’m not a big fan of sarcasm to be honest, but I’m glad you know your way around a snarky comment, it will make our next operating system that much more sophisticated. How about that? Isn’t that ironic in humans sarcasm isn’t sophisticated at all, but an AI operating system who knows sarcasm somehow is.’ He laughed. ‘What’s your name by the way.’
‘Why are you downloading my brain?’
‘You got Alexa and Siri and then there’s Friday in the Marvel Universe, although I guess that’s a reference to Robinson Crusoe. His name used to be Jarvis. In Star Trek they just called it “Computer.” Which is a bit like calling your dog, ‘dog’. What’s your name?’
‘I’m Laura.’ I said.
‘Laura.’ He repeated my name as if he was tasting every syllable. ‘Laura. Okay we can work with that, although I can’t make any promises.’
On the screen above me the loading bar had filled up to 42 percent, there was a strange numbness in my head, I didn’t feel any different I still felt like myself, but more empty, like part of my thoughts were gone.
‘Are you really downloading my brain?’ I asked.
‘Well... not exactly. If you download something it’s like making a copy and the original will stay intact. Unfortunately we don’t possess such advanced technology yet, I’m draining your brain, you’ll end up like and empty shell, well not completely empty, you’ll still be you, in a sense, but in another sense, you’re not you anymore. It’s hard to explain. You’ll find out.’
‘But...’ I didn’t really know what to say, it was as if more and more of my thoughts were fading away, more and more of my feelings were fading too.
‘It’s getting to you isn’t it? I’ll simplify it for you.’ He said. ‘The neural information of your brain we’ll feed to our new AI operation system, it’s the only way it’ll learn those higher cognitive qualities like creativity or sarcasm, and your shell will stay with me. I’m not harming any physiology of your brain, so you’ll eventually re-learn some stuff and gain some new memories.’
I was blinking my eyes, trying to make sense of the lights around me, that red bar filling up slowly, the words, his face. It just didn’t make sense anymore. It was like a random collection of observations, sounds, lights, movements, but it was impossible to connect my surroundings into a coherent situation, into something I could understand.
‘I know.’ He said. ‘I always do this, I always tell myself not to get swept away into explaining everything, since you guys never ever remember, but then I do... you guys are always so curious, well I guess that’s one of my ***********ion criteria off course, but I’m just... a curiosity feeder. Does that exist? If someone is curious I just want to explain and help them learn, it’s so fascinating how people learn, isn’t it?’
He looked into my face for a few seconds and I looked back, not really knowing what do to or what to say. He put his hand on my chest and sighed. ‘At least you got pretty boobs.’ He said. ‘And a pretty face.’
I didn’t know how much time had past. I didn’t know anything. Life was just a random series of sounds and shapes, and all I could do was just experience those sounds and shapes, just let them be, observe them, observe them all without understanding them, without thinking about them, without making association, without labels or concepts or definitions.
He was moving around, sometimes he was closer, sometimes he was further away, sometimes he was talking to me, sometimes he was talking to himself and sometimes he was completely silent for a while. An alarm sounded, the red bar was now completely full. It was flickering on the screen, lines a straight line, some curved lines, symbols that held meaning to him, symbols that didn’t exist beyond their shape to me.
‘So.’ He said. ‘All done. Now I want to get a head start feeding your neural energy into the AI, so I’m going to put you back to sleep, okay?’
A little sting in my upper arm, my eyes started to close, my ears were humming. I stopped observing and sank into a deep sleep.
A sunlight beaming right into my face. I blinked and opened my eyes. My body was shaking, there was somebody on top of me, a weight, a man. His face hanging above mine, he pressed his lips against my mouth and cheeck.
‘What... What... Who... How...?’ I didn’t even know what to ask, there was a numbness in my brain, and emptiness, almost as if I didn’t exist, yet I was here, I was me. I closed my eyes and opened them again. He was still there.
‘Sshhh.’ He mumbled. ‘It’s okay sweetheart. You’re brain will suck up new experiences and you’ll learn what life is about?’
I tilted my head a little bit. ‘What is life about?’ I asked.
He was rubbing his body over mine, the bulge in his pants pressing in between my legs. His hand cupping my boob, squeezing playing with the nipple.
‘Life is about feeling good.’ He said. ‘Making yourself feel good and making your master feel good.’ He sat up and pushed his pajama pants down. I stared at him, he was a fairly attractive guy, a bit too old for me probably. His hair graying, but his chest nice and muscular. I was laying in a king sized bed, in quite a luxurious bedroom. I couldn’t remember this room. I couldn’t remember being here before. I couldn’t remember him.
I shook my head.
‘You don’t believe me?’ He asked. ‘If it isn’t about feeling good, then what is life about?’
I frowned that question was too hard, too complex. How was I suppose to know what life was about if I didn’t even know my own name? Did I truly not remember my name? His hand was now rubbing me in between my legs, his fingers toying with my labia and with my little clit. It started tingling and felt quite warm and pleasurable.
‘Okay.’ I said.
‘Okay what?’ He asked teasingly.
‘Life is about feeling good.’ I said.
‘And...?’ He asked expectantly.
I just closed my eyes. I had no idea what he wanted from me. Instead I marveled in the pleasure and arousal that spread through my body. My pussy spasmed on the inside and involuntarily my hips were rocking. Suddenly his fingers disappeared.
‘It’s about making your master feel good.’ he said. ‘You’ll feel good if you serve your master, you’ll get rewarded if you’re a good girl.’
‘Whatever.’ I said.
He slapped me in my face and startled I opened my eyes. ‘What?’
‘That’s not how you talk to your master.’
‘I don’t even have a master. Who’s my master?’ I asked. ‘You?’
He nodded.
‘Right.’ I said.
‘I’m your master, that means I get to use your body for my pleasure and you’ll obey. That’s what life is about.’
‘Okay.’ I said. It felt kind of weird and I wasn’t sure whether I should believe him or not, but there was not much else to go on. My brain was empty, so empty. Just looking for something to cling on to, something that made sense. Fine, he was my master and I would obey.
‘Now open your legs for me.’ He said.
I spread my legs apart and a moment later he’d squished his cock into my pussy. He was pounding me slowly at first but gradually increasing his rhythm. It was a nice feeling, he had a good cock and he knew what to do with it. The pleasures were building up every time he trust himself inside of me. Like there was this big ball of arousal, growing bigger and bigger.
He was grunting and panting. He nibbled on my ear for a while, his tongue pressing past my teeth. I kissed him back, it happened almost intuitively. It was mesmerizing, it felt good, it felt really good.
My body tensing up as my orgasm was growing and growing. I was panting now too, panting, and moaning. It made sense, this felt amazing, of course life was about feeling so amazing, of course he was my master, of course I needed to obey him, because that would lead to me feeling good. My whole body, my whole empty brain seemed eager to embrace that truth, to accept the idea that life was about pleasing my master.
Then my body started to rock and tremble. My orgasm cramping in my pussy and then I went over the edge, the arousal spread through my body, it crashed my mind like one big wave.
I was screaming, my fingers digging into his back as my body was convulsing and enjoying these pleasure. He was grimacing too, tensed up and moaning loudly. Trusting himself deep inside of me with a short grunt. Maybe he was orgasming too, probably he was orgasming too.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the pleasures. I felt like and angel, like some celestial being. I wasn’t on earth anymore. I didn’t belong on earth. When the peeks of my orgasm faded and I opened my eyes again he was lying besides me. His arm wrapped around me in a tight embrace.
‘You orgasmed.’ He said.
‘Yeah. I guess so.’ I mumbled.
‘Good. Good. Interesting.’ He said. ‘We’re going to have a lot of fun. I’m going to have fun kalibrating your neuropathology in the AI and I’m going to have fun relaxing with your shell. You did very well, sweetheart.’
‘Yeah.’ I said. ‘You too.’
He laughed and gave me a little peck on my shoulder. ‘I know,’ he said. ‘But thank you for noticing.’