The City of Infinite Life by J. M. Mulligan

Author:J. M. Mulligan [Mulligan, J. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mullory Press
Published: 2021-11-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Prayze

After I said goodbye to Shea, the trek back to the city took only an hour. I sprinted, bursting through the brush and hurdling fallen tree trunks like my life depended on it. In a way it did. I needed to find out more information about Mazin and let Hiran and Linaria know what I had found.

I was nervous. I had no clue what awaited me in the city. People were being controlled by Mazin. So far, it seemed to be limited to following the ambassadors, but what if it escalated? What if Mazin knew Shea had confided in me? Even the surveillance drone I saw made me jump. It had seemingly spotted me but continued past.

I was also consumed by guilt. I had created this thing, and now it was out of control. My success with Akila had made me forget how perilous creating AIs was. How they were always a hundred steps in front of you. Anticipating their moves was like trying to anticipate a specific weather event two years in the future without any forecasting or climate data.

Linaria and Hiran had been right to be cautious. I had been arrogant and overconfident. Now was my chance to turn it around—to stop the bleeding and to make it right.

At the wall, the outline of the gate lit up green, and it opened automatically. I didn’t slow as I sprinted straight to the MagLev. I wanted to reach out to Linaria and Hiran as soon as I connected, but I didn’t want to communicate what I found virtually, in case Mazin was monitoring it. First, I needed to discover more about Mazin’s tasks directly, then I needed to meet with Linaria and Hiran in person.

I expected something once I entered the city. Some form of Mazin stopping me, questioning me, following me. There was nothing. When the MagLev reached the Collective, about a dozen people remained on the train with me, and they were obviously engaged. They went in different directions once we exited the train without giving me another look.

I strode toward the door, bypassing the wisteria-covered walkways on either side of the courtyard. Once inside, I turned left at the auditorium, the opposite direction from the Ambassador meeting room. After rounding the corner, I reached an elevator. Elevator up. It opened as I approached.

I stepped inside, and it closed, locking me in the box as it shot up at a high speed. Since the massive auditorium commanded the majority of the bottom floors, the analytic interfaces for the city occupied the floors above forty.

The elevator door opened to the forty-fifth floor, and I stepped into a large square room surrounded by expansive walls made of video screens. The dim lighting along the base of the walls brightened at my entrance.

When Akila was created, we provided this room for humans to interact with and monitor the AI system. We called it SIA for Surveillance and Interface Area. When we designed Akila, transparency had been one of the fundamental requirements.

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