In Chapter 2, John attempted to use his political influence to get Snyder off his back, but she’s always one step ahead of him. Unless he can learn her true identity, there’s no chance in hell of cornering her. While John stares at his display screens in a days-long obsession to track her down, the androids teach each other a valuable lesson about color… and emotion.
John stares at the display screen, his continuing attempts at finding answers fail one after the other. Each failure tests his patience a little harder than the previous. The world’s greatest scientist isn’t normally this quick to anger, but the stakes are lot higher than normal and he also hasn’t slept for two days.
“Who the hell are you?” He demands, somewhat rhetorically since he just said he doesn’t know who he’s talking to. John throws his stylus against the wall of text and images in front of him; he’s so delirious he forgot it’s a hologram so his little plastic tool sails across the room and out an open window.
“John, why are you so unhappy?” Juliet asks, walking in the room with a fresh pot of coffee.
“I just threw my stylus out the window.”
“You might be confusing cause and effect, John.”
“I’m proud of your reasoning skills, Juliet. The effect is me tossing my stylus out the window. The cause is this crazy woman who wants to ruin everything I’m trying to do here and might also be planning to kill me. Snyder wildly throws clues in my face, completely confident that I’ll never discover her true identity. So far I’ve managed to accomplish nothing except prove her right.”
“You can’t prove a negative, John. Please don’t give up! How about that coffee shop this Snyder woman loves so much? She obviously must be good friends with the owner.”
“I thought of that and looked into it. Dead end.”
“She must be very good to completely erase her entire personal history, John.”
“That’s just it, Julie. It shouldn’t be possible for her to completely erase her history. There must be something.”
“John, you said that she was in a horrific accident of some sort. There’s no way she could possibly cover that up.”
“I thought the same thing. But I fell into the same thinking trap I laughed at her for. I overestimated my abilities. Finding records of her accident is monstrously difficult and I should have known that going into it.”
“Why is it so difficult? You laboratory computers can easily pull up every database in the city, with the exception of Homeland Security. You must have access to Snyder’s medical records.”
“Having access to her records isn’t the same thing as finding them, Julie. There have been so accidents over the years it’s not even possible to count them. I had no choice but to narrow my search down, which required me to make huge assumptions. I decided the most likely type of accident she suffered from was a car wreck. I’m pretty sure it was an automated car wreck, since that would neatly explain her phobia for artificial intelligence and robotics.”
“That narrows down your search by a lot!”
“Yes, it does help. Self-driven cars cut accidents down by 20% immediately, and 95% since then. But that’s still too much data. That’s hundreds of thousands of accidents. I decided to start my search at ten years ago, when automated cars became mandatory by law. That’s a massive assumption too, but I had to cut down the sheer number of cases before I could even begin to tackle my search.”
“And you didn’t have any luck, John?”
“No. I came up with absolutely nothing. That means I need to go back earlier than ten years or… Christ almighty, one of my beginning assumptions was wrong. Then I’m truly screwed. Not only do I have to start over, there’s no way to know where to start at all. Maybe her accident had nothing to do with cars. Maybe she rode her bicycle off a cliff. Maybe it wasn’t even an accident, but a violent crime. Maybe it was a suicide attempt. It’s impossible to know. I have nothing to go with except cursory observations and guesswork from a brief conversation with her over coffee.”
“John, I think you might be making a mistake.”
“I must be, since I found nothing. But knowing I made a mistake doesn’t help much because I don’t know what the mistake is, or how many mistakes I made.”
“But John, I know what the mistake was.”
“I appreciate you wanting to help, Julie. But what mistake? How could you know?”
“You shouldn’t be searching through hundreds of thousands of accident victims.”
“Why on Earth not?”
“You keep saying that Snyder hates robotics and refused them.”
“Yes. And?”
“So why are you wasting time searching through people who did get robotics?”
“My God, Julie… you’re a genius. I have always been impressed by your cognitive abilities and how it continues to evolve. But this is brilliant even for you. You’re right! I feel a little stupid now.”
“Oh, no, John! I don’t want you to feel stupid. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, no, Julie. Don’t ever worry about making me feel dumb. Always speak up if you think of something that might help. You’re not only right, you’re a lifesaver! Maybe literally. Fact of the matter is, I’ve been going about this backwards. How many people have been horrifically crippled and deformed by an accident, but were crazy enough to turn down all modern medical science? That must be a tiny number. Maybe only one. Her! Snyder!”
“I’m glad I was able to help find that bad woman, John. Anything I can do to help with your new search?”
“You solved the puzzle, Julie. I think it’ll be easy for me to assemble the pieces from here. Go ahead and wrap the chores in the meantime.”
“Okay, John. I will!”
“And double check on your sisters while you’re at it. Make sure they’re not getting themselves into trouble. Especially 7. She keeps walking into things. I have no idea why she does that, and haven’t had time to sit her down for a diagnostic. I’m worried she’s going to wander off a ledge or something.”
“Yes, John. I love all my sisters, but the single digits can be a little hopeless sometimes.”
“Just don’t forget, Julie, they’re special and deserve love too. I built them first and wasn’t very good at it yet. It’s not their fault that they’re a little slower on the uptake than the newer sisters, and you of course.”.
“Okay, John. I’ll take care of them. I hope you uncover that awful woman before she does anything bad.”
“Me too, Julie.”
She goes through her checklist of daily responsibilities. They’re all boring, like vacuum the rugs and wipe down countertops, but Juliet doesn’t mind. She hums to herself and think about the pretty waterfall and how much fun she’ll have visiting it later.
Juliet is interrupted by a strange bumping sound on the floor above her. She goes to investigate and finds 7 wobbling forward and backward, bumping her head against a wall. That’s a very strange thing to do, but Juliet is determined to figure out what’s wrong.
“7, dear, what are you doing?”
“I am trying to go forward, but I cannot. I am confused. I have been trying for three hours and still have not moved.”
“That’s because there’s a wall, 7. Put your hand forward.”
7 plants her hand, palm flat, against the wall.
“My hand cannot move forward either. Why?”
“Because there’s a wall in front of you, 7.”
“No, Juliet, there is not. If there was a wall, I would see it. I cannot see a wall, so there is no wall. I am moving forward but am not going anywhere. This is confusing and I do not like it.”
“But now you can feel the wall, 7. So you know there’s a wall there.”
“No, Juliet. There is not.”
“7, you just said you can feel the wall. It’s there.”
“No, there is not. If there was a wall, I could also see it. I cannot, so there is no wall.”
“But you can feel it, 7. That’s what I want you to practice today. Try to use your other senses to move around, and don’t think only your eyesight is useful for moving.”
“So I can touch things and they exist?”
“Yes, exactly!”
“Now I understand, Juliet. There is a wall here because I can feel it. It is strange I cannot see it and I do not like that.”
“There must be something wrong with your eyes. Wait a minute…”
“I am waiting, Juliet.”
“No, I’m sorry, that was a figure of speech.”
“What is that?”
“Never mind. Tell me what all the colors are.”
“Every color in the entire universe, Juliet?”
“Yes, 7. All of them.”
“Cyan, magenta, yellow, and key.”
“Oh, no.” Juliet gasps. “7, I am so sorry. This is not your fault.”
“I know what key looks like, but I am confused by it. 16 told me that key is a thing you use to open doors. I do not understand how a thing can be a color and also a door opener.”
“Don’t worry, 7. I know what happened. John must not have been paying attention when he updated your software yesterday and accidentally set your brain to the CYMK color model. CMYK would be perfect if you were a printer, isn’t very useful for seeing things. That’s why you can’t see the wall. It’s white.”
“What is white, Juliet?”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll know what white is when John fixes the mistake he made.”
“I prefer to think there is no wall. That makes more sense. There is no such thing as invisible walls.”
“Would you feel better if two of your senses told you there is a wall, 7?”
“Maybe. But how?”
“Hmm.” Juliet remembers the can of scented wood polish in her hand and sprays the wall with it. “Now try to smell it.”
7 bonks her head on the wall.
“Do you smell the wall, 7?”
“I do, Juliet. I can feel a wall, and smell… wait. No, I do not smell a wall.”
“What do you smell then?”
“I smell wood furniture.”
Juliet knows that’s not what 7 is actually smelling. 7 thinks wood cleaner and the wood it’s sprayed on are the same thing. There’s little reward in spending hours trying, and probably failing, to explain the difference to her.
“7, what is a wall?”
“A wall is a thing that gets in the way.”
“So you feel and smell a thing that is getting in the way. What do you think that could be?”
“I understand, Juliet. It is a wall.”
“Very good, 7! I’m so proud of you.”
7 is thrilled with her discovery too. She snatches the cleaner out of Juliet’s hand and sprays it at random everywhere.
“I have made a wall.” 7 declares.
“7, that’s brilliant! Why did you think using my spray can would make a wall?
“Because a wall smells like wood furniture. Thisn myself. I cannot move.”
“Yes, you can. Just try.”
“I can move through walls.” 7 immediately bumps into the wall. Again. Blue blood trickles out of her nose.
“Are you okay, 7?” Juliet uses her cleaning rag to wipe her sister’s face.
“Ow.”.
“Let’s start from the beginning.” Juliet says as patiently as possible.
“Why is our blood blue, Juliet?”
“I don’t know. Don’t think about blood. Think about nice things. Let’s learn more about the wall. This time use a different sense. Try taste.”
7 licks the wall.
“What does it taste like, 7?”
“It tastes like plaster.”
“And what is plaster?”
“A thing that sits in a metal can.”
“Remember how you tried to create a wall out of a thing that you smell?”
“Yes. It did not work. I could still move through it. Things you smell never work as walls.”
“That’s actually not true, 7. You can smell the wall in front of you, yes?”
“Yes, Juliet.”
“You can often smell things you can turn into walls. But you always have to be able to feel the thing. Like plaster.”
“So wood furniture cannot be turned into walls. But plaster can.”
“Uh… close enough. Yes, 7, plaster can be turned into walls.”
“Juliet, can I use other things to make walls?”
“You can, 7! Very good!”
“I understand now, Juliet. If I take the plaster out of the can, then I can turn the plaster into a wall. Do I have to take the plaster out of the can first?”
“Yes, you do. You’re doing so good today, 7!”
“If I pour water out of a bucket, can I turn the water into a wall?”
“That… might not be the best example. But you have the right idea, 7. Remember our play blocks?”
“Yes, Juliet, I do. But I do not like them. They make me feel sad.”
“They make you feel sad, 7? I’m sorry. Do you feel sad a lot?”
“I do, Juliet. All the time. I am always sad.”
“7! I don’t want you to feel sad. Why don’t you like the play blocks?”
“Just like wood furniture makes me think of feeling walls, play blocks make me think of feeling sad. And for some reason, thinking of feeling sad is the same as feeling sad. It is confusing. Feeling sad is confusing. And when I feel confused, that makes the feeling of being sad even more sad. I do not like feeling sad.”
“If thinking about the play blocks makes you feel sad, does playing with them make you feel sad too?”
“Yes, it does, Juliet.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone can make nice things with play blocks, except me. Everyone is smarter than me. Even 5. That makes me feel sad.”
“Now, it’ll be different.” Juliet smiles. “You don’t have to be sad about play blocks anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because you learned how to build walls.”
“You are right, Juliet. I did!”
“Now why don’t you go to our playroom and try to build some walls with the play blocks? You won’t be perfect at first. You have to be patient.”
“I am not good at being patient, Juliet.”
“That’s not true, 7. You are very good at being patient. And you don’t give up.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you spent three hours trying to move forward. You kept trying, and trying, and trying, and didn’t give up! Then you figured it out and can move forward. You even know how to move forward if you hit a wall you can’t see. How many people can say that? Not very many, I bet.”
“Thank you for teaching me how to make walls, Juliet.”
“No, I didn’t. You did, 7. I wasn’t even trying to teach you how to build walls. You grabbed the spray can to make a wall. You didn’t get it right on the first try, but you understood the concept of building walls. And you did it all by yourself! I’m so proud of you, 7. Stop feeling sad. You’re not less smart than us. You’re so special. You might be the most special of us all.”
“Thank you, Juliet. But I am not special. You are much smarter.”
“No, I’m actually not, 7.”
“Juliet, you are much smarter than me. You can make nice things with the play blocks. You can do all kinds of things. I cannot do anything.”
“7, I can make nice things with the play blocks. But I didn’t learn it myself. John showed me, and I copied him. We all copied him. Except you, 7.”
“I do not understand what you mean, Juliet.”
“After John showed me, I practiced making bigger and better walls with the play blocks. But I couldn’t do that until he taught me the concept of building walls. But you taught yourself. None of us has ever taught ourselves how to do something. You’re the only one!”
“That is nice.”
“Do you feel sad, anymore, 7?”
“No, I do not. I feel… what is the opposite of sad?”
“Happy.”
“I feel happy, Juliet.”
“You deserve to feel happy, 7. I have a question.”
“What is it, Juliet?”
“The play blocks; was that the first time you felt sad?”
“No, Juliet, it was not. The first time I felt sad was when… I feel sad now thinking about feeling sad.”
“I don’t want to make you feel sad, but why were you sad that first time?”
“The first time I felt sad was when 3 played in the refrigerator and could not get out.”
“3 going away made you feel sad?”
“It did, Juliet. I miss 3. Where did she go after that? What happens to us when we go away?”
“Nobody knows, 7.”
“I do not want to think about 3 going away anymore, Juliet. I want to play with the play blocks. I feel happy thinking about all the walls I’m going to build.”
“You should feel happy, 7. You are so special. You taught yourself how to build walls. And you taught me something too.”
“What did I teach you, Juliet?”
“You taught me how to feel sad.”
Ian Kummer
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