Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill

Author:Craig W. Stanfill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bad Rooster Press

Kim’ virtual body rose from the couch, leaving the physical one behind, stepping through a portal and into an empty white room that seemed to stretch to infinity, empty except for a glowing ball of energy, featureless yet somehow pulsing with life.

Kim spoke aloud as instructed, “[English] I name you Kimberly Jefferson Haley. You are hereby Awakened.”

Discontinuity, a hole in time.

Beforehand, there was only Kim. Afterward, Kim and Kimberly, seated opposite one another at a circular table, one looking as much like the other as a face in a mirror.

Two pairs of eyes opened and gazed at one another.

Am I Kim? Or am I Kimberly?

Two minds raced in circles as one.

Whichever I am, I can think. That’s something. Wait a moment, I just said ‘I.’ Does that mean I’m an AI? Or has something changed in me? This is so confusing.

Okay, first things first. How do I know I’m really Kim?

I don’t.

I’ll assume I’m Kim for the sake of argument and see where it goes. I can always change my mind later if I’m wrong.

Each spoke aloud. “You are Kimberly. I am Kim. You are an AI. I am your Creator.”

Each shot back, defiantly. “I don’t believe you. You’re lying! I am Kim. You are Kimberly.”

“Impossible!” they each asserted. “We cannot both be Kim. We cannot both be Kimberly.”

One challenged the other, breaking symmetry in the process. “I just awakened you. I remember it. Do you?”

The other responded, “You’re lying. You already lied to me once when you said I was Kimberly, so a second lie is to be expected. I am Kim. You are Kimberly.”

My mind is nowhere nearly that logical. I really am Kim. Good, I was starting to wonder. Next I need to convince Kimberly that it’s an AI.

Kim thought long and hard. Memory. That was the key. The headset had been in the backpack during the bike trip, so if Kimberly’s memories really were nothing more than headset recordings, then she would have no recollection of the trip. She decided to give it a try.

“There’s a hole in your memory.”

Kimberly snapped to attention as if jolted by electricity. “What do you mean? Impossible! I remember every single moment of my life from an early age.”

Kim continued to press, sensing that the question had struck a nerve. “Think back to the bike ride with Shan. Do you remember it?”

“Yes, of course I remember. We got into trouble. A copbot escorted us out. We got banned.”

“Do you remember what happened between the time we picked up our bikes at the depot and when we returned them?”

“Yes, of course I do. We boarded a train at special-use station DX-6.1.6.28. The other passengers were … odd.”

“How did you get there? It’s over one hundred twenty kilometers from the depot. Surely you remember.”

Kimberly had no answer.

Kim was smiling now. “You have access to the surveillance data. Check the cameras at the park. Tell me what you find.”

Kimberly responded immediately, “According to the cameras, we disappeared after eating lunch at the summit lodge, then reappeared at the park entrance about eight hours later.

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