It was going to be a relatively pain-free operation, but Karl was still nervous. They wanted to have it implanted before the weekend, so it felt like there was no time at all to brace for it. More than a few instances, the psychologist felt his anxiety get the best of him and allowed his vehicle’s automated systems to take over.
In order to implant the I.I. into Karl’s brain, a team of surgeons were going to place a new “slot” into his cerebral computer. Rather than plugging directly into the tissue, the I.I. would be able to communicate with its host best through some form of digital medium. Using delicate and tiny instruments, the surgeons would be able to insert a chip containing the I.I. into the slot. Then, it was anyone’s guess what was going to happen. They’d taken all of the precautions to minimize any risk to Karl himself, but there was always a bit of uncertainty when it came to new scientific endeavors.
Still, excitement trumped fear as Karl turned off onto the street leading to the lab. He increased the music on the radio and let the anticipation engulf him.
Karl’s head swam after only a half hour of briefing. The head surgeon wanted to go over every intricate step with the psychologist before he considered preparing him for the procedure. There were a number of visual aids they used, and even a few video clips of similar operations in order to desensitize Karl to the thought of having a small drill burrow into his skull. It didn’t work.
Then, Dr. Elfa entered the small surgeon’s office after its owner had departed.
“Excited?” she asked as she slid her tablet onto the desk.
“That’s one word for it,” Karl replied, trying his best to not sound legitimately afraid.
“I’m sure you’re also anxious to learn who we’re going to be putting in your head, yes?” she asked.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.”
The older woman sat down on the black office chair behind the desk and folded her fingers together.
“Well, we had a couple dozen candidates, all for various personality and brain types,” she started. “For you, we’ve chosen Dr. Maynard Batiste.”
“Maynard Batiste,” Karl echoed the name.
Dr. Elfa nodded. “He was an engineer who specialized in cybernetics, like myself,” she explained. “Dr. Batiste is credited with co-creating the hardware that became the first cerebral computer in the world. He worked extensively with artificial intelligences and, when they were invented, was one of the earliest proponents of installed-intelligence technology. He was working on a project identical to our own: to allow I.I.s to communicate directly with the human brain. His work, however, was tragically cut short by his death over thirty years ago.”
It was a lot of information to absorb at once, so Karl started with the immediate question. “How did he die?” he inquired.
Dr. Elfa’s wrinkles tightened in subtle discomfort. “It’s important for you to remember that you will be sharing your brain with another consciousness,” she replied. “It’s not like any other relationship you’ve ever had. You won’t be able to withhold information from Dr. Batiste, nor will you be able to lie. There will be no secrets he won’t know about. Therefore, due to the upsetting nature of his death, that information will have to remain unknown to you. For the time being, at least. We don’t want to give the I.I. any undue stress until we know the mindshare is a success.”
Karl’s uncertainty must have bled out onto his face, because Dr. Elfa added, “For the sake of the test, we’d prefer there to be no distractions.”
The psychologist nodded.
“Good,” Dr. Elfa said. “If there’s nothing you’d like to ask, we can go ahead and begin prepping you for the mindshare process.”
“Actually,” Karl began, stopping Dr. Elfa as she started rising from her seat, “I do have one question. If he can essentially read my mind and I can’t keep secrets from him, does that mean he can’t keep secrets from me?”
For a moment, it seemed like Dr. Elfa didn’t know how to respond. Then, as she gathered her tablet and stood away from the chair, she said, “That remains to be seen.”
The dreams that ebbed in and out of Karl’s unconscious mind were black and too thick to navigate through. It was only a strange, soundless dreamscape devoid of any color or light. All Karl could sense was a cool draft rushing over his body, picking at each individual hair. He couldn’t tell if he was moving through the air, floating in water, or neither. It was almost like his skin had lost circulation and was rapidly waking up.
Suddenly, a radiance sliced through the darkness. With a deafening screech, a doorway was opened, spilling stark light into Karl’s nothingness. He had to shield his eyes at the intense contrast between the black and white. It seemed to take eons for the door to open all the way, but once it had, the screeching ceased.
The silence buzzed around Karl’s ears. He felt a strange combination of fear and curiosity, while also being numb and apathetic. He wanted to see what happened next, but only as a spectator.
A low hiss slithered through the quiet and grew ever stronger in Karl’s head. A light misting of steam seeped out of the doorway like smoke from a dozing dragon’s nostril. Eventually, the cloud became so thick and large that it obscured the opening. After gazing at the thing with unblinking eyes for several minutes, a silhouette appeared behind the haze.
It was hard to tell what the shape belonged to, let alone who. The form took a few steps forward until it was just at the threshold of
