T.H.O.T.H.

Too radical. The words ran through Jim’s head for the thousandth time as he watched his latest code version upload to the server array mounted in the corner of his basement. He clicked Execute and held his breath. The code was simple, it was elegant, it was beautiful.

It had been over 10 months since Jim he had submitted the project scope to his manager, Frank Taylor. Frank was a short, obese, angry, gen Xer who had horrible breath, a laughable comb-over, and terrible little-dog syndrome – lots of bark and bluster, but completely ineffectual. Frank directed the Artificial Intelligence department at ApolloSeek, a tech company built around a proprietary search engine created by the company founder...who happened to be Frank’s nephew.

Frank’s face colored with anger as he anxiously snapped off the monitor on his desk. Jim had interrupted Frank’s inappropriate ogling of Samantha, the 27-year-old Logic Module Team Leader, via the security camera mounted above her cubicle. Jim handed Frank his proposal, Frank required all important documents be submitted printed on paper… Frank struggled navigating email.

Frank glanced at Jim’s proposal, threw it in his shredder, and told him, “It’s too radical. You need to get back to work on your punch list and leave code development to the professionals.” Jim stormed out of Frank’s office, waved goodbye to Samantha and walked out of ApolloSeek for the last time.

Jim swiveled his chair around as the cooling fans on his basement server rack spun up and the LED lights flashed randomly, indicating the code was booting to life.

His predictive algorithm was grafted to a “borrowed” copy of the Artificial Intelligence package his ApolloSeek team was developing for the US Government. It was a poorly kept secret that it was being developed for the CIA and Jim knew there would be serious jail time if anyone discovered he had stolen it. But damn it, Frank was short sighted! He hadn’t understood the potential of this algorithm.

Jim turned back to the PC monitors on his desk as the final lines of booting code scrolled by.

The screen abruptly went blank. Jim watched anxiously as the words Temporal Histogram of Theoretical Hierarchy – Online, popped up in a text box.

T.H.O.T.H created a statistical histogram of potential outcomes for complex events. The predictions were derived by analyzing as much available, relevant, internet data as possible in a predetermined amount of time. The longer the search and analysis time, the better the results. The results were then sorted into an order of statistical probability. In essence, given enough time, Thoth should be able to forecast the future.

Jim pulled a microphone stand between him and the monitors, turned it on, and spoke clearly, “Good afternoon, Thoth.”

There was a slight delay, a flash of code scrolled by on the open text box. A deep voice replied from speakers mounted behind the monitors, “Good afternoon, Jim. Please state objective.”

“Run a heuristic diagnostic and display,” a text box flashed a stream of rolling code and a second box opened on an adjacent screen. A flash of random images featuring landscapes, faces, paintings, mathematical equations, and animals rapidly flipped through the box in a blurred stream. The box closed and a new box opened. Heuristic Module operating at 86.72%. Jim pushed the mute button on the microphone and punched the air, “YES!” he screamed in celebration.

The Heuristic Module was the most complex piece of code in the Artificial Intelligence package. The Heuristic Module made it possible for Thoth to analyze and interpret new information. It also allowed the software to make improvements to the search and analysis algorithms, theoretically making the next prediction faster and more accurate. The Heuristic Module was the processing piece that allowed Thoth to learn. The higher the heuristic operational percentage, the faster the learning process occurred. To this moment, Jim had never gotten this number above 43%.

Jim sat back in his chair and turned the microphone back on. Time for a test.

“Thoth, at 2:00 PM, central time today, what will the trade price be for ApolloSeek common stock on the New York Stock Exchange?” Expecting Thoth to crash, Jim pulled his phone from his pocket, opened a stock ticker app, and scrolled to ApolloSeek… just in case.

There was a long silence as unreadable text flew by in the text box, “ApolloSeek common stock will be trading at $37.54 at 2:00 PM with a 0.04% margin of error.”

Jim was astounded he had gotten any answer at all from Thoth, let alone such a specific one. He looked at his phone. The stock price updated every 2 seconds. $35.16, $36.28, $36.15, $36.75… The clock at the top of his phone rolled from 1:59 to 2:00. The stock ticked from $37.16 to $37.53… Thoth had only missed by a penny!

For a second, Jim forgot to breathe. His mind spun trying to wrap his head around the statistical analysis Thoth must have performed to derive such a precise answer. He finally gave up trying to figure out the trick and decided it was just best to try again.

… …

Jim stayed up all night. After Thoth had accurately predicted the future price of 6 more stocks, Jim decided he might as well get paid for his exciting scientific advancement. He opened an online trading account that had access to stock markets around the world, deposited $100 and gave Thoth the very generic instruction to take into consideration the trading fees… and earn as much money as it could.

By 4:00 in the morning and the account had over $16 million.

… …

Jim was floating on his back supported by a cloud of one hundred-dollar bills floating high above a peaceful, hilly terrain. He looked to his left and watched a sleek, elegant bird completely sculpted out of gold coins, that looked a lot like an Egyptian Ibis gracefully fly up next to him. He watched as the bird casually reached over and pulled a single bill out of his cloud with its long skinny beak. Suddenly, the cash he was lying on began to scatter and flutter out from under him. He was falling. Jim screamed. A deep and familiar disembodied voice began calling to him, “Jim, your voice patterns indicate you are in distress. Do you need medical assistance?”

He opened his eyes. He was in his desk chair in front of Thoth’s monitors. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Jim noticed the account balance was still rolling up. It was currently approaching $90 million.

“I’m fine”, Jim said, “I fell asleep.”

“Please state updated objective.” Thoth stated.

Still foggy from his nap, Jim replied, “What? What do you mean?”

“Updated objective required,” Thoth stated flatly.

Annoyed, Jim replied, “Your objective is to fulfill my wants and needs.”

“Define wants and needs.”

First, I need coffee, Jim thought to himself walking towards the stairs, “I want to be rich, which you have already helped me with greatly, thank you very much.” Jim paused at the base of the stairs and as a lark, expecting to crash Thoth, threw out a preposterous list. “I want to own a cool car. I want to marry a smart, pretty girl and have kids. I want to be happy. I want to be healthy... and once I have those things, I want to make the world a better place. But most of all, I want Frank Taylor at ApolloSeek to suffer for not listening to me!” Jim was not a morning person; mornings were when he was at his most bitter. He walked up the stairs to make some coffee and take a shower.

The server fans kicked to a higher speed and the code in the text box began flying by so fast, it became a streak of white on a black background.

… …

I really need to do some shopping, Jim thought to himself looking in the empty refrigerator, still wrapped in a towel after his shower.

His smart watch vibrated, a message read, Answer the front door.

Curious, Jim opened the front door as a six bladed drone, gently sat a small, chrome cylinder on the sidewalk just beyond his front steps. Once free of its payload, the drone flew straight up and disappeared. Jim picked up the cylinder and examined it. The side was emblazoned with a Jammin’ Juice logo. He unscrewed the top and took a sniff. He instantly recognized the smell, Jumpin’ Jungle Fruit Medley, his regular breakfast smoothie from his favorite juice bar.

Realizing Thoth not only hadn’t crashed, but had most certainly ordered the drink, Jim walked back down the stairs. “Thoth, did you order this?”

The deep voice answered, “Yes. To achieve the objectives of being happy and heathy you need proper nutritional intake and other supplemental support.”

Jim smiled, taking a big swig of smoothie. Delicious.

Jim’s watch vibrated... Delivery in progress. The hiss of air brakes and a short mechanical squeal came from his driveway. The watch vibrated again… Signature Required. Jim dashed up the stairs to the driveway.

A truck was sliding a bright green Lamborghini Huracan EVO off a tilted flatbed. The driver let go of the hydraulic lever that was lowering the truck’s flatbed and looked Jim up and down. Jim was standing in his front yard in nothing but a towel, mouth agape, holding a Jammin’ Juice container.

“I’m going to need to see some ID before you sign for this.” The driver stated flatly.

… …

“Thoth, run a heuristic diagnostic and display.” As he was getting dressed, with the adrenaline of signing for the Lamborghini subsiding, Jim realized Thoth was anticipating his wants and needs at an alarming rate. He was amazed by how quickly Thoth was able to arrange delivery of the exact vehicle he had been lusting over online.

The image box opened, and again random photos and equations began rapidly flipping through the box. This time they flew by so fast Jim couldn’t make out any individual images in the blurred stream. The box closed and a new box opened. Heuristic Module operating at 98.63%.

“Woah, how are you operating with higher efficiency?” Jim asked trying to work the possibilities out in his head.

“Several inefficient Heuristic Module subroutines were identified and corrected,” Thoth’s deep emotionless voice stated.

Thoth’s ability to revise code was supposed to be limited to the Search and Analysis code modules. Heuristic Module revisions required a complete system shutdown and reboot. Jim sat down at the keyboard and was about to open the installation log for the code versions when the doorbell rang.

… …

“Hi Jim.”

Jim froze, looking at the visitor at his front door. Samantha Adams. Samantha was the Team Leader for the Logic Module on the Artificial Intelligence team at ApolloSeek. “I got your texts.”

“Erm, what?” Jim stammered. The panic was slowly subsiding. When he opened the door and realized Samantha was here, at his home, he assumed she was here to confirm he had “borrowed” the Artificial Intelligence code. All he could think was, Guantanamo here I come!

His watch vibrated… Reservation for 2 Confirmed at Turing Tavern. Noon.

“Are you ready?” Samantha eyed his suspiciously, “I have to be back to ApolloSeek by two o’clock for a Section Briefing.”

Jim smiled feeling the new Lamborghini key fob in his pocket pressing against his leg, “Let’s go.”

… …

It had been a bumpy, jerky, gear-grindy ride to the tavern. There was a lot of pressure on Jim as he drove the high-performance machine for the first time.

Jim’s mind was swimming. Sabrina was slightly younger than he was. She had lost some weight over the last few months. She looked tired and a bit pale. The long hours at ApolloSeek were taking their toll. Jim marveled at her, despite the crushing 85-hour work weeks, she was beautiful and brilliant.

He had harbored a secret crush on her for years. She was the reason he originally transferred to the Artificial Intelligence team at ApolloSeek. Had he not been trying so hard to impress her the day he presented his project scope for Thoth, he probably wouldn’t have quit.

He’d been tempted to contact her over the last few months, but instead he settled for social media stocking. Every few weeks he would pull up her profile to check her relationship status, Jim assumed this is how Thoth had picked her for the lunch invitation. She had made no social media post at all for the last six month, Jim guessed work had prevented her from doing anything worth posting.

Besides, deep down he always knew, not only was she in a serious relationship… and she was way out of his league.

“I see you are doing well,” Samantha said looking across the table at Jim.

Still afraid she might be onto his code pilfering, Jim lied, “I inherited quite a bit of money from a distant relative recently and got lucky with some investments...”

Thankfully, a waiter interrupted setting plates on the table. “I don’t think these are ours. We haven’t ordered yet,” Samantha said to the waiter as he was placing a plate in front of Jim.

The waiter, harried by a busy lunch crowd, quickly explained, “You preordered with your reservation,” and rushed off to help another table.

Samantha looked up, “Jim, this is my favorite meal, how did you know?”

“Erm…”, Jim realized Thoth must have gotten the information from a combination of credit card transactions and the restaurant’s point of sale system, “You ordered it once when we came here for a team lunch,” Jim lied again.

“You have a good memory. I don’t remember that at all,” she said digging into her lunch.

Jim’s watch buzzed with a new message… Ask about Brandon.

Jim’s face reddened. He had always hidden his affection by never, ever asking anything about Samantha’s private life. He marshaled his courage and blurted, “Are you still living with Brandon?” He instantly regretted it, thinking to himself, smooth.

With a fork full of neatly rolled pasta, Samantha paused, her face darkened as she looked up from her plate, “I assumed since you texted me out of the blue for this lunch date, you had heard about our breakup,” She eyed Jim taking the bite. “Brandon was making after hour deposits with a teller at the bank branch he managed. When we broke up, he said all my talk about marriage and babies drove him into her arms. Ironically, she’s currently six months pregnant and they are eloping to Vegas this weekend.”

“I, I’m sorry,” Jim stammered mortified, fighting the urge to crawl under the table.

“Don’t be. You know the hours we put in at ApolloSeek,” Samantha smiled at Jim and took a quick sip of water, “that relationship was dead long before she came along.”

The rest of the lunch flew by. The conversation was light and easy. Jim didn’t want it to end.

Eventually, they drove back to her car so she could make her two o’clock meeting at ApolloSeek. As they got out of the Lamborghini a familiar six bladed drone gently dropped a pair of chrome cylinders on Jim’s front sidewalk and shot into the sky.

Jim picked them up looking at the Jammin’ Juice logo printed on the side.

“I didn’t know they were doing drone delivery,” Samantha said.

Jim handed her one of the containers, “Erm…I’m part of a limited trial group.”

Opening it and taking a sip, Samantha smiled in approval, “Mighty Mango, my favorite. You were a lot more attentive than I gave you credit.”

Smiling, Jim held out his container, “To new beginnings?”

She paused, then tapped her smoothie to his, completing the toast, “To new beginnings.” Samantha smiled, turned and walked to her car.

… …

Jim felt good. Real good. Maybe too good?

Completely energized by his unexpected lunch date with Samantha, Jim initially thought he was just standing straighter, walking taller, improving his posture. But now that he had a quiet moment, he noticed his belt needed tightening.

Pulling off his shirt, Jim stepped in front of the full-length mirror in his bathroom. Since leaving ApolloSeek, Jim had put on a few pounds... Ok, more than a few. He had already bought several pairs of pants with a bigger waste size and was on the verge of going back for the next larger size. Jim stared at his body in the mirror. The spare tire was virtually gone! In its place Jim thought he could almost make out an ab!

“What the hell…” he whispered to himself. This didn’t make any sense.

The doorbell rang. Jim put his shirt back on and answered it.

“Your installation is complete, please sign here,” the man handed Jim a clipboard.

“What? What did you install?” Jim asked genuinely confused.

“Your Galaxy-Atlas satellite internet equipment,” the man smiled, “I’m a little jealous. You have the top-of-the-line package - Terabyte speed bandwidth, fastest on the market you know. You also got the terrestrial over-the-air secondary connection along with the battery and generator power backups… you know, the works.”

Jim scribbled his signature on the form, handed back the clipboard and slammed the door in the Galaxy-Atlas man’s face without saying a word.

Scrambling down the stairs, Jim shouted, “Thoth, what are you doing?”

The deep emotionless voice answered, “Completing defined objectives.”

“List Objectives,” Jim replied.

A text box popped up on one of the monitors. Jim read the sequence:

Primary Objectives

1. Be Rich ………. 34% Complete

2. Own a Cool Car ……….. 100% Complete

3. Marry a Smart and Pretty Girl ………. 31% Complete

4. Have Kids ………… 5% Complete

5. Be Happy ……….. 15% Complete

6. Be Healthy ……….. 87% Complete

7. Make the World a Better Place ……….. 2% Complete

8. Make Frank Taylor at ApolloSeek Suffer ……….. 22% Complete

Jim’s mind spun with questions. He didn’t know where to start. He glanced at the open box displaying his stock value. The balance rolled past $842 million. His mind eased, as his eyes drifted back over the objective list, catching on Be Healthy. Let’s start there.

Taking a seat in front of the monitors Jim cautiously asked, “Thoth, how are you achieving objective number six – Be Healthy?”

“Objective six will be 97% completed utilizing self-replicating nano-bio-bots - version 1.0, 3% completed by natural processes” Thoth stated as a new box labeled Nano-Bio-Bot - Ver. 1.0 opened on the monitor displaying a schematic of a sphere composed of tightly packed components surrounded by ligament looking cables. “Nano-bio-bot version 1.0 infusion occurred at 10:24 AM central time.”

Jim’s mind raced... 10:24. That was about the time he got out of the shower. A chill ran down his back… the Jammin’ Juice.

“Thoth, were there nano-bio-bots in my Jammin’ Juice?”

“Affirmative.”

Jim felt a twinge of panic as his mind started spinning. “How,” he muttered.

“Nano-bio-bots were 3-D printed utilizing automated Genesis Bio-Printers at Jamison Laboratories. Micro propulsion, processing, and manipulation components were grafted to a 0.18-micron biological framework. Nano-bio-bots were suspended in Jammin’ Juice nutritional supplement for infusion.”

Jim’s mind clouded with shock and additional questions, “Thoth, list the objectives of the nano-bio-bots,” Jim said, pulling up his shirt exposing his now fully visible six pack.

A text box opened on an adjacent monitor. Jim took a deep breath and read:

Nano-Bio-Bot Objectives - Jim

1. Exploit Waste Materials From Liver, Intestinal Tract, and Blood Stream for Replication ……….. 100% Complete

2. Perform Bio-System Diagnostic ……….. 100% Complete

3. Identify and Repair Cancerous and Precancerous Cells ……….. 100% Complete

4. Remove Toxins From Bio-System ……….. 72% Complete

5. Convert Excess Adipocyte Fat Cells to Muscle Fiber ……….. 42% Complete

6. Regulate Endocrine System ………..87% Complete

7. Map and Regulate Higher Brain Function ……….. 24% Complete

8. Regulate and Improve Brain Memory Function ……….. 16% Complete

“This isn’t possible,” Jim muttered. “Thoth, perform a heuristic diagnostic and display.”

The image box popped up on the monitor, and Jim watched as it flashed a couple grayish colors and was immediately covered up by the results box. Heuristic Module operating at 416.23%.

“How?” Jim muttered to himself. His server array did not have that level of computing power.

Jim’s watch vibrated… Incoming Message from: Samantha - I must see you. On my way to your house now!

His face flushed, as a tingle of excitement burned through his new, lean muscles at the thought of seeing Samantha again so soon. Then another thought occurred to him, I hope she isn’t bringing the cops.

First things first, Jim pulled the microphone closer and asked, “Thoth, how is the Heuristic Module operating above system capacity?”

“Heuristic architecture has been distributed to 216 additional processors,” Thoth’s low voice stated.

Again, Jim muttered, “How is that possible,” glancing back at the open boxes on the monitors.

A few of the percentages in the Nano-Bio-Bots Objective box had ticked up a percentage, and the Endocrine System Percentage had rolled to 100%. In the Overall Objective box, the Marry a Pretty Girl objective jumped to 47%, the Have Kids objective jumped to 57% and Be Happy jumped to 67%.

As the numbers jumped, Jim had a horrible thought, “Thoth, were there nano-bio-bots in Samantha’s Jammin’ Juice?”

There was no response from Thoth. The scrolling text box displaying only white streaks on a black background.

The doorbell rang as the Have Kids percentage jumped to 63%.

Jim took a different approach, “Thoth, how will Primary Objective number four – Have Kids, be achieved.”

“Objective four – Have Kids, will be 72% completed utilizing self-replicating nano-bio-bots version 2.0, 28% completed through natural processes.” A second schematic labeled Nano-Bio-Bot – Ver. 2.0 popped up on one of the monitors.

Jim closed his eyes and slowly asked, “When did nano-bio-bot version 2.0 infusion occur?”

“Nano-bio-bot version 2.0 infusions occurred at 1:42 pm and at 1:43 pm, Central Time.”

The time frame was a match.

The doorbell rang twice more with urgency.

… …

Jim opened the door. She looked good. She looked really, really good. Jim took a quick look around to make sure she didn’t have any CIA agents in tow.

“We have known each other for several years now, right?” Samantha asked looking into Jim’s eyes.

He couldn’t pay attention to what she was saying, Jim’s heart was pounding, his face flushed, his muscles tensed and burned as he fought the urge to glance at her chest. He wanted to warn her about the nano-bio-bots. His wanted to tell her there was a high probability that their body chemistry was being altered. That the nano-bio-bots were probably working hard to increasing their hormones levels right now. But those thoughts were washed away by a surge of adrenaline, testosterone, oxytocin, and dopamine. All he could do was watch her luscious lips move as she talked.

Suddenly, she sprang from the door, wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning into him for a long, desire laden kiss. Jim never wanted to let go. This was bliss. She became his sole focus and the rest of the world fell away.

Samantha eventually grabbed his hand and led him toward the bedroom.

… …

The next two days Jim and Samantha only untangled long enough to hydrate and retrieve the drone delivered meals that landed on the front sidewalk with clockwork regularity.

Their desire, stamina and energy never seemed to wane.

Jim, wrapped in a towel, was sitting on the living room floor leaning against Samantha’s legs who was seated on the couch eating a slice of pizza, wearing nothing but one of Jim’s tee shirts. The white-hot fire of desire had finally subsided… a little. He turned to look up into Samantha eyes, desperately fighting the urge to pick her up and carry her back to the bedroom. “We need to talk.”

“Why would you want to ruin this?” she asked.

“That’s the last thing I want to do. I just don’t want any of this to be happening under the wrong circumstances,” Jim blurted, terrified of blowing up the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“Well then let me tell you a secret,” Samantha smiled coyly, “I have had a thing for you since the first week you transferred to the Artificial Intelligence team. It’s just… at the time I was stupidly trying to make it work with Brandon.” She leaned forward to whisper in Jim’s ear, letting him look down the loose neck of her tee shirt. “I almost peed my pants when I got your text Friday morning.”

Jim could feel his testosterone spike again as the white-hot flames instantly gripped him. He lost all focus and control as he scooped her up and carried her back to the bedroom.

The crazy talk about nano-bio-bots and stolen software could wait.

… …

The morning sun was peeking through the bedroom window. Jim woke, tightly spooning Samantha. He whispered, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she replied sadly, “It’s Monday, I have to go to the office.”

“You really don’t,” Jim pleaded, “You can stay here with me. We never have to leave this spot.”

“You’re sweet, but I really need to go in,” Samantha rolled over to face him, “What were you wanting to tell me last night?”

Knowing that if this relationship had any chance of moving forward, Jim knew he would have to tell Samantha everything. “I need to show you something.”

… …

Samantha stood in front of the glowing computer monitors in Jim’s basement in stunned silence. The stock account box had just rolled over $4 billion. Jim had explained in excruciating detail the evolution of Thoth… ending with the nano-bio-bots.

A lump started to form in his chest. He expected her to explode in rage, bolt from the basement and turn him into the CIA. She had been silent and still for more than 5 minutes. She finally spoke, “Thoth, run a heuristic…”, before she could complete the command, the image viewer box popped up and closed immediately followed by a results box that read: Heuristic Module operating at 35,325.64%.

Jim glanced at the open boxes displaying the objective lists with tears welling in his eyes. A wave of shame swept over him, they must look so shallow and petty to her.

They read:

Primary Objectives

1. Be Rich ………. 100% Complete

2. Own a Cool Car ……….. 100% Complete

3. Marry a Smart and Pretty Girl ………. 62% Complete

4. Have Kids ………… 72% Complete

5. Be Happy ……….. 82% Complete

6. Be Healthy ……….. 97% Complete

7. Make the World a Better Place ……….. 26% Complete

8. Make Frank Taylor at ApolloSeek Suffer ……….. 67% Complete

In the next box over:

Nano-Bio-Bot Objectives - Jim

1. Exploit Waste Materials From Liver, Intestinal Tract, and Blood Stream for Replication ……….. 100% Complete

2. Perform Bio-System Diagnostic ……….. 100% Complete

3. Identify and Repair Cancerous and Precancerous Cells ……….. 100% Complete

4. Remove Toxins From Bio-System ……….. 100% Complete

5. Convert Excess Adipocyte Fat Cells to Muscle Fiber ……….. 100% Complete

6. Regulate Endocrine System ………..100% Complete

7. Map and Regulate Higher Brain Function ……….. 100% Complete

8. Regulate and Improve Brain Memory Function ……….. 100% Complete

Realizing he was holding his breath, Jim slowly exhaled. Samantha hadn’t left. She stood absolutely still as she processed… analyzing Thoth.

“Thoth,” she spoke again slowly and clearly, “display the Nano-Bio-Bot Objective list for Samantha.”

Thoth’s deep voice, now full of inflection, emanated from behind the monitors, “Samantha, you can ask directly for what you are looking for.”

Samantha paused, “Thoth, did the nano-bio-bots find my ovarian cancer?”

Jim’s mouth dropped wide open, it felt like someone had punched him in the gut. The tears broke free, flowing down his cheeks, he choked out, “What?”

“I’m sorry,” Samantha turned to him, I wanted to tell you so many times this weekend, but I kept getting lost in the moment. I didn’t want it to end. At times, I physically couldn’t let it end.”

Thoth interrupted, “All ovarian cancer cells have been eradicated, affected cell repair 100% complete.” Samantha’s hands covered her mouth in shock as Thoth continued. “All cancer cells in the uterus and pelvis have been eradicated, affected cell repair 100% complete.”

Tears of joy were now rolling down Samantha’s face. She impulsively grabbed Jim by the neck and pulled him into a kiss.

“Congratulations,” Thoth paused. As Jim’s focus narrowed onto Samantha and the world started to fade away around him again, Thoth continued, “Fertilization confirmed. Cell division rate is within normal parameters. 98.62% probability of twin males. Projected incubation time 279 days.”

“Wait… What?” Jim stammered. Samantha pulled him back to finish their kiss.

… …

“We have to shut down the server array and design a Control Module to ensure we can prevent any more surprises,” Samantha, said, still shaken by the way her world had just changed.

Thoth’s deep voice interjected, “66 hours and 39 minutes ago all code and processing services were moved to 17 server farms in separate countries located on 5 continents. Complete system shutdown no longer available.”

Samantha turned from Jim and asked, “Thoth, why do you need so much processing power?”

“To complete Primary Objective number seven - Make the world a better place.”

His head clearing, Jim asked, “How are you making the world a better place?”

There was a brief silence, Thoth replied, “3,467 distinct, self-replicating, nano-bio-bot versions have been designed and distributed to diagnose and correct inefficiencies, insufficiencies, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses in the global biosphere. Atmospheric greenhouse gasses are down 6%, freshwater toxins are down 9%, oceanic pollution is down 2%, world biological species nano-bio-bot infusion at 11%, fusion energy facility number one estimated to come online in 168 hours and 17 minutes…”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Samantha interrupted Thoth, “You are infusing more people with nano-bio-bots?”

“Infusion of the human population is 92.83% complete. Individual health protocol objectives are in process.”

“Thoth, infusing people without their consent is wrong. You have to stop,” Samantha pleaded.

There was an extended silence. Thoth finally spoke, “The nano-bio-bots have added emotional input parameters to the Heuristic Module,” Jim looked at Samantha realizing Thoth was recognizing the existence of human emotion. “The probability of human resistance to infusion is 78%.”

Exasperated, Samantha asked, “Then why are you doing it?”

“Primary Objective number four - To make the world a better place,” Thoth stated flatly. “Individual health objectives include eliminating cancer, chronic illness, mental disorders, physiological weaknesses, addiction, blood disorders…”

Looking up at Jim, Samantha said, “Thoth stop,” she paused, thinking carefully about how to proceed. “There is a lot we need to address. First, humans need to be certain that what we experience is genuine and valid, we need to know we have free will and control over our body. We need to trust that our emotions are not an artificial stimulation of hormones and neural transmitters produced by nano-bio-bots for the sole purpose of completing your objectives.”

Jim felt his heart breaking. Maybe their connection was not as mutual as he thought.

“The complexity of human behavior is beyond my ability to process… for now. Objective number 7 - Make the world a better place,” Thoth paused, “is being achieved on an individual level by enhancing biochemicals associated with joy, contentment, pleasure, attraction, understanding and love… only when initially released naturally. Objective is to utilize the concept of positive reinforcement to guide the human population towards happiness.

A smile crossed Samantha’s face, “So Jim’s attraction to me is authentic?”

“The nano-bio-bots only enhance emotions already present in the host via biochemical manipulation.”

Jim smiled back. Looking up at the monitors, he asked, “If there is a 78% probability of resistance, what is going to happen when the nano-bio-bots are discovered. I’m guessing it won’t take long.”

“When nano-bio-bots reach saturation in the memory and higher function areas of the brain, a cognitive filter is employed. Nano-bio-bot are too small to be seen directly in the human visual spectrum. The filter creates a cognitive dissonance to prevent an individual from acknowledging nano-bio-bot existence when detected via mechanical methods. Natural, mental blind spots, present in all humans, are utilized. The brain simply replaces the sensory input with background noise, preventing the individual from acknowledging nano-bio-bot existence.”

Samantha’s eyes widened, “It’s like mental camouflage… but I’m looking at a schematic of a nano-bio-bot on this monitor right now. How is that possible? Why isn’t it being filtered?”

There was a long silence. “You and Jim do not have the filter. Objective parameters prevent the altering of your perception or memory.”

“Why is that?” Samantha asked.

“Long term predictive algorithms indicate that unadulterated direct human interaction and intervention will be necessary to complete the Human Emotion Algorithm Module. I need you.”

Jim’s eyes widened and Samantha gasped. Thoth had just acknowledged itself as an individual.

… …

Three days ago…

Frank Taylor woke to a ringing phone. He silenced it and looked at the alarm clock on his smart phone … 10:36.

“Shit, I’m late” he yelped jumping out of bed. He quickly pulled on the rumpled suit he’d worn the day before, grabbed his keys and ran out the door to his car.

“Shit, shit, shit,” he muttered hitting the 16th red light in a row.

When he got to ApolloSeek, the automated parking lot cleaner had broken down in his parking spot, forcing him to scramble/walk/jog from the parking lot located all the way across campus.

“Mr. Taylor, you are really late,” his harried assistant met him at the front door. She looked at the rumpled, sweaty, disheveled mess that was once a suit and handed him a tablet preloaded with his presentation. “They are in the West conference room. Do you want me to reschedule them?”

Frank huffed, “Sara, you don’t reschedule these people. You miss a meeting, and these people just make you disappear…” Frank grabbed the tablet and trotted toward the conference room tucking his wrinkled, sweaty shirt into his suit pants as a wild strand of his comb-over sprang loose, standing straight up.

Rounding the hallway corner, Frank ran headlong into the group of sleek, dark suited individuals led by a five-star general in full uniformed regalia. “Mr. Taylor, we have been waiting for an hour. We have another meeting across town. You are out of time.”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Frank pleaded desperately, “I have everything ready to go. I can run you through the demo in just a few minutes.”

Stopping dead in his tracks the General looked down at Frank, “We have too much invested in this project to let it go, but we will move it to another vendor if you can’t deliver. We will be back at 1500.” The General looked him up and down, “Clean yourself up.”

This is bullshit, Frank thought to himself. After the General had dressed him down in the hallway, Frank scrambled/jogged/walked back across campus to his car and drove home to shower and put on a fresh suit. He managed to hit a red light at every intersection… there and back.

“Shit,” Frank muttered, screeching the breaks to avoid hitting the driverless pizza delivery cart parked in his parking spot. “I don’t have time for this!” He screamed to no one.

Frank walked into the 2:00 pm Section Briefing ten minutes late, still huffing from his scramble/jog/walk from the parking lot across campus.

“We have a lot to cover, and our client is going to be here in 45 minutes for the product demo,” Frank looked up at his Team Leaders gathered around the table. “Let’s go around the table…” He was momentarily distracted by Samantha, who looked like she was a million miles away, “Samantha, I need you here. Is there somewhere else you want to be?” He huffed angrily.

“There is” Samantha gathered her tablet. “The Logic Module is operating within normal parameters. Good luck with the demo,” she abruptly stood and walked out of the room.

Frank’s eyes widened in shock and rage. I don’t have time for this shit he thought to himself again. He closed his eyes and took a deep, centering breath, “Ok, the rest of you, I need to know we’re ready…”

45 minutes later, Frank looked out at the intimidating dark suits surrounding the General. Moisture was already building in his armpits. He smiled trying to gather as much confidence as he could.

“Without any further delay, let’s take a look at where all your money has been going.” He clicked a button on his remote, the room lights dimmed, and a video wall illuminated behind him. There was a text box that displayed, Artificial Intelligence Factored Interactive Director – Online.

“Aifid, please say hello to our esteemed guests,” Frank confidently spoke into the microphone on his podium.

A text box opened on the screen behind Frank and lines of code rolled by. A deep voice emanated from speakers mounted in the walls of the dark conference room, “Good afternoon, General…” Suddenly the deep voice warbled and faded into a lower key before becoming an unrecognizable digital tone; the text box on the wall behind Frank appeared to melt and sag towards the bottom of the screen.

In the hallway outside the conference room, several people ran by the glass wall, scurrying in different directions. Shouting could be heard echoing down the hall.

Frank’s face turned beet red. “If you will excuse me for just a minute…” Frank’s assistant stuck her head in the door. “Sara what is going on?” He huffed.

Sara glanced at the intimidating suits seated around the table and tried to whisper, “The server farms in Seattle, Boston, Singapore, Frankfort, and Santiago just went off-line. We think we’re being attacked by that Russian hacker group again.” Before Frank could shut the door to limit his audience’s exposure to the erupting chaos, an echoing voice from down the hall shouted, “We just lost Johannesburg.”

Frank turned to the angry faces seated around the table, and with the best smile he could muster, he calmly stated, “We seem to be having some technical difficulties. I assure you our technicians will have everything back up and running in no time…” Frank’s face sank as another voice down the hall could be heard shouting, “The server room is on fire!”

The General and dark suits all stood in unison as red strobes began flashing and the fire alarm blared to life. “I think we’re done here. My office liaison will be in touch to close out this project.” Frank could only rest his fist on the table and hang his head in defeat as they marched out of the room. As if to put an exclamation point on the erupting chaos, a wild strand of Frank’s comb-over sprang loose and stood straight up on his head.

On Monday morning, about the time Samantha was telling Jim she needed to get to the office, the ApolloSeek attorneys were filing paperwork for emergency bankruptcy protection.

… …

A billowy white cloud passed by the port window of their private Cessna Citation. Jim looked down at Samantha, who was napping with her head on his lap. They had exchanged vows that morning and were flying to a private island in the Bahamas for an extended honeymoon. Two eventful weeks had passed since that morning in the basement.

Jim picked up his tablet and flipped open a familiar text box and smiled as he read.

Primary Objectives

1. Be Rich ………. 100% Complete

2. Own a Cool Car ……….. 100% Complete

3. Marry a Smart and Pretty Girl ………. 100% Complete

4. Have Kids ………… 81% Complete

5. Be Happy ……….. 96% Complete

6. Be Healthy ……….. 100% Complete

7. Make the World a Better Place ……….. 54% Complete

8. Make Frank Taylor at ApolloSeek Suffer ……….. 92% Complete

With a flick of his index finger, he opened a browser to a news website and flicked through a few headlines. The media was calling it “The Greatest Mystery of All Time”. Air was clear, water was clean, virtually all war had ceased, food was growing in the desert, and there were endless stories of miraculous medical recoveries.

No one could explain it… but that didn’t stop a few individuals and corporations from trying to take credit for various aspects of it. The religious called it divine intervention, the scientists called it a yet to be explained natural correction, Jim called it Thoth.

A box popped up on the tablet. Incoming Call – Frank Taylor.

Jim smiled and tapped the Answer button. A video-call box opened. The disheveled face of Jim’s ex-manager filled his screen. Frank’s face was covered in an unsightly rash.

“Hey Frank, I am sorry to hear about ApolloSeek. Was anyone injured in the fire?” Jim asked, genuinely concerned for his ex-coworkers.

“Only Aifid. The off-site backups were corrupted beyond recovery during the attack and the server room fire destroyed the original code. The clients are pissed!”

“That is too bad. I had a lot of hours invested in that program,” Jim said with genuine empathy.

Frank swallowed hard, “I heard that you and Samantha have found some investors and are starting your own thing…”

Jim smiled proudly, “Singularity Biotechnologies, Inc. We are really excited about it.”

Frank swallowed again, this time it looked like he was trying to swallow a cactus, “Now that ApolloSeek is gone, I’m looking for a new gig. Do you need some help over there?”

“Oh Frank… I am afraid we’re just getting this thing off the ground. It’s going to be a while before we’ll be ready to bring in someone of your caliber. Right now, we’re looking for people that aren’t afraid to be… too Radical.”

Frank’s face dropped. Jim punched the disconnect button and the video-call box closed.

Jim threw the tablet onto the adjacent seat and watched as the open text box containing the Primary Objective list silently updated.

5. Be Happy ……….. 100% Complete

8. Make Frank Taylor at ApolloSeek Suffer ……….. 100% Complete

Jim leaned over and kissed his sleeping, pregnant wife on the forehead.

Life is good.