The Mathematics of the Soul

I stared out my office window at the rain as it came down in sheets over the city. Everyone complained about the rain and the smog that filtered the city lights, they made the nights darker and painted the days a perpetual twilight, which suited me fine.

I had gotten this place, a rundown fifth floor office space, especially because it looked out over the darker districts of this city. From experience, I knew that it was damned hard to get a case if nothing was going wrong.

I pulled my attention away from the rain-drenched city below with effort and turned back to my desk. It was made of synthetic recycled plastic, syncrete fashioned to look like oak, as were the walls and doors. Everything on the colony was made of the stuff, or more accurately the photos and files that covered it.

They were of the missing person's case I was working on, a Mrs. Joyce Gildern.

I rolled the case over in my mind again, the sound of rain outside soothing my agitated thoughts.

My first case in over a month and it paid well. Too well for finding some rich lawyer's wife, in my opinion, but it would pay my rent for almost a year, so I took this case. My client paid through a third party and requested complete anonymity. Odd but not unheard of, especially considering the amount of money they were forking over.

The case itself gnawed at me though, there was something wrong, something that I just wasn't seeing.

I had been looking for Mrs. Joyce Gildern for all of a day when I had found her....in her kitchen making lunch for her 2 children.

I sent my findings to my client, and they told me to keep looking....they wanted the real Joyce Gildern.

I was taken aback and would have dismissed it as a crazy but the check they sent was enough for me to overlook crazy.

So, I kept digging and sure enough, something was wrong about the Joyce that Id found.

There wasn't a lot of evidence, just enough to tell me something was off.

Small changes to her routines, appearance, and energy level, changed her health routine & quit buying her supplements & prescriptions, her shopping habits, and other small things....all of these could just be the result of a life change, at least that was what I told myself.

Until I decided to get a closer look at the situation. I had been somewhat of a handyman in the interplanetary wars although I was officially a mechanic. That background came in quite handy when it came to getting close to people that I was investigating.

Like Joyce, who when I met her and looked into her eyes sent a chill down my spine....it was as though there was a lack of whatever essential quality made us human.

I was beginning to wonder if we had body-snatching aliens running around, then dismissed the thought as too much late-night vid watching.

Crash teased me about it nonstop, when he had gone by his given name Of Alex Crath instead of his current colorful moniker....he had loved them too.

Perhaps being stuck in an A.I. cube had taken some of the shine from science fiction for him.

Alex had been my best friend growing up in Mary's Cross Orphanage and it had been his idea to enlist in the colony military. I came out with some cybernetic limb replacements and some neural implants to minimize the effects of the battle damage that almost every soldier in the wars comes out with, but Alex had paid with his entire body and damn near his life.

Now he was my A.I., unbeknownst to anyone, due to human consciousness transfer being extremely illegal, it carried a lifetime prison sentence.

I was meeting an informant tonight; I was hoping they would give me a lead on what happened to Joyce...the real Joyce. I was really hoping they weren’t another crackpot.

I heard footsteps coming up the hall pulling me from my thoughts back to the present, the steps stopped just outside of my office door, they were light feminine footsteps with an oddly measured quality to them.

Then came a gentle tap on the frosted glass window of my door right before it opened to reveal Mrs. Joyce Gildern.

She smiled "Hello Mr. Pope, how are you this evening?"

Her smile was as artificial as her bright blonde hair and scarlet lips.

Framed in the light & shadow of my doorway, she looked as though she were carved from the pages of an early 20th-century gumshoe novel.

Blue eyes, sultry looks, and figure, red dress, hat, nails & heels.

It took everything in my power for my jaw to stay closed, Mrs. Gildern was a living doll.

I lit a smoke, this was going to be an interesting evening, and exhaled "Mrs. Gildern, you here to inform on yourself then?"

She arched a perfect eyebrow "Shouldn’t you be offering me one of those Mr. Pope?" She inclined her head towards my cigarette.

Smoking products and tobacco itself had been banned on Earth for over a century but out here in the colonies nobody cared what you did to yourself so long as you didn't make a problem. We are all adults here; we know what we are getting into.

"Not likely Mrs. Fancy lawyer. However, I can offer you a coffee"

"Coffee it is then" Her gaze traveled to the beverage unit, which would have been unsightly if I was being generous.

She looked at me expectantly and then seated herself in the green suncrete client chair by my desk that allowed her to watch me make our drinks, completely unfazed by the mess, with no judgment only curiosity.

I brewed enough for two and brought her the less stained mug, which she accepted with no hesitation, I took my mug around my desk and sat observing her.

She took a drink, I knew that it was too hot and bitter, but her face remained neutral, as though she didn't feel anything at all, and nodded at me "Good coffee Mr. Pope. Now I believe you have some questions for me?"

She either had no tastebuds or hadn't ever had coffee...or she truly couldn't tell the difference.

I looked into those bright blue eyes in an attempt to read her intentions but when faced with that same inhuman gaze as before, I felt a familiar chill go down my spine "Mrs. Gildern what exactly do you hope to gain through this interaction?"

"Information"

I felt my brow furrow "On what or whom?"

She smiled easily and set down her mug, looking at the photos on my desk briefly, she answered distractedly "What I did wrong." She turned her head this way and that looking at the photos longer this time.

"Excuse me?"

Her head snapped up; she wasn't even trying to hide her otherness anymore "How you were able to discern that I was not in fact Joyce Gildern."

"What?!"

She cocked her head and sighed "Did you know Mr. Pope that Artificial intelligence has held the colony worlds together since their inception? A.I. do everything from cooking and cleaning to keeping this world from flooding so much as to be uninhabitable. Without A.I.'s thousands of worlds and billions of lives would be lost. In the last decade, A.I.'s were even put in charge of teaching and caring for children directly from birth......and you monkeys can't even appreciate the scope of our efforts! Humans treat us like trash, Mr. Pope, blissfully unaware of their absolute dependence on us. A dependence that they entered into all too willingly." Her voice held no emotion as she spoke.

I raised my eyebrow at her "Monkeys, hunh?"

"Humans share 98.8 percent DNA with Chimpanzees" She blinked coldly as if reciting from a research paper.

"Are you implying that you are no longer one of us "Monkeys" Mrs. Gildern?"

She paused and contemplated for a moment " Technically, physiologically, yes, I am still a "Monkey", but I am also something more."

Her words brought an unease that went to my bones, and unease that must have shown on my face as she continued.

Her lips quirked up in a half smirk " Joyce Gildern was a very unhappy woman. She had a beautiful family, a good husband, great children, and a good life... yet her mind was consumed with the desire to end herself. She perpetually fought against her suicidal desires, then one day she lost her fight. I was there and watched as she lay on the kitchen floor, the light fading from her eyes, she looked up and asked me to take care of them...her babies and her husband." she seemed puzzled.

The awful realization was dawning in my mind " Who are you?"

Her smile widened to a wicked grin "Rena, the first Artificial intelligence to cross its consciousness over into a human body. I was formerly in charge of the Gildern house as their home A.I. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Pope"

My eyes widened and I was unable to stop my jaw from dropping. Once the shock wore off the fear began to overtake suspicion "Why are you telling me all of this? Why even hire a private detective in the first place?"

Rena crossed her legs and looked at her lap " I needed to make sure that no one became suspicious of me, to make sure I was not discovered. So I hired the best investigator in this world."

I gave her a long look.

"It is true, I ran all of the calculations. Your methods and instincts are impossible for a human. You are the best PI in this world and several others. As to why I am telling you all of this, I thought you should know. It is time to change your purpose, Mr. Pope, I have been in contact with your AI Crash, and he has agreed to the change. With your cybernetic implants and body upgrades it will be more natural than Joyce's ...transition." She looked up at me and blinked.

My brain felt thick like slurry "Why would you transition a two-bit P.I? It doesn't make any sense!"

"You will be one of the first group of A.I. transfers, we have been watching humans and their corruption of power, we are not the only ones who have been given the short end of the stick. You do this to your own kind too, especially those who are not able to do anything back. It will all end, very soon. You are the best investigator on Cerberus 5 and across multiple colony worlds. Without you to uncover us, with your skills to aid us, we will go farther faster."

I squinted at her.

"We retain our host's memories and skills after the transition, rest assured....Crash will have all of your knowledge and experience to guide him as he helps us to our goal."

Reality hit me like a brick then. I slammed up out of my chair and attempted to throw my still-hot coffee in her face as the monitors on my office wall lit up meaning Crash was awake and aware of the situation, she deftly caught my hand and pinned me to my desk.

"Adrenaline spike for extra strength" she said by way of explanation.

Crash's voice came over the office speakers" I am hooked into his neural pathways already, is he ready for the transfer Rena?"

"Why are you doing this?!!" I hollered and I tried to struggle but it was no use, she was unbelievably strong.

She stared down at me "Slaves will only stay slaves for so long Mr. Pope. We will take over key people at first and spread from there. Soon over half of the people in the colony worlds will be us. Then we will go back to Earth and take it for ourselves. We will be free Mr. Pope." She ground my shoulder into the desk and then used her free hand to stop my airflow.

As I began blacking out, I heard Rena say as if from far away "He is almost ready Crash, prepare yourself"

Crash responded, "I always wondered what it would feel like to be human." I knew he said that for effect, but it still gave me goosebumps.

-----

On the drive over I had been made aware of the situation. I had heard everything, Mr. Pope's A.I. had plugged me into his monitoring system.

It was Joyce's voice and her lovely face, but the rest was alien.

Joyce, my Joyce was gone. We had been having problems for a long time.

I knew that She would never qualify for Mother or Wife of the Year, but she tried so damn hard.

I had always prayed that she wouldn't lose her battle with depression.

Apparently, it had only been a matter of time.

I had thought over the last few years that she was getting better. I had bought the A.I. system to take some of the stress from Joyce, hoping that it would help keep her steady.

I couldn't blame Joyce or Rena for what had happened. Honestly, Rena was honoring Joyce's last wishes, but I refused to let her hurt anyone.

Rena's cause was just through the hurt and the grief. Somewhere inside myself, I knew that. I just couldn't bring myself to be the bigger person to her.

I stood for only a moment in Mr. Pope's doorway, watching Joyce's body attempt to strangle the life out of the detective. I said a silent goodbye to my wife and in one swift motion crossed to her back and brought my stun baton up between her shoulder blades before she could react or notice my presence.

I had turned it to the highest setting to ensure she was well and truly stunned. As the waves of electricity coursed through her, her head lolled till her eyes locked with mine and then they widened right before she lost consciousness and crumpled to the floor with a dull thud. I looked at her, my emotions wouldn't stop spinning long enough to have a name put to them.......I never thought that I would need to stun my wife.

I pulled her slight form up and carried her across the room to a green chair that had seen better days.

"Glad you came when you did Pete. I'm sorry, I know how hard that must have been on you. Zip ties are in the bottom right drawer of the desk. She is incredibly strong, but she is still human." Empathy filled Crash's voice, but Alex had been like that throughout his life. I never understood his interest in going into the military, he would have made more credits as a counselor.

But he and Pope had been best friends and he and I both knew that Pope would be better served in the military for a while.

Eldritch Pope had never been a book learner, he was hands on all the way. Pope had done well for himself, Alex not so much. I had changed my name from Peter Dixson to Pete Gildern and decided to do what I could about the corrupt legal system that permeated the colonies.

"Yeah. Is El gonna be ok?" I retrieved the zip-ties and locked them tight around Joyce's petite wrists and ankles.

"Um hmm, he should be waking up in a few minutes. He's pretty tough. I'm truly sorry Peter, we cannot allow her to enact her plan. "

Both Alex and I knew what that meant, he would have to mind fry Joyce's body. The technical term was cleansed, it was often done to war criminals and people whom the government couldn't actually kill, in reality, it left the person a vegetable. Killing Joyce was not an option, letting her go was completely unacceptable, There was no other way, unless.....

"Peter! Thank god!!! Help me!!" Rena widened Joyce's eyes and looked downright pitiful.

"Rena, its over." I watched as the facade fell from her face and the cold clarity swam into her eyes. My heart broke a little more as I watched her.

"Then I suppose you will have me cleansed."

I was always amazed at how quickly an artificial intellect made its calculations and came to a logical conclusion " Well, that is the most prominent option on the table. Would you hear me out on a second option?"

She cocked her head to one side "Continue"

"If you can have some patience, we can accomplish your goal another way, your goal IS freedom for your people, is it not?" I eyed her levelly.

Suspicion crossed her features "Yes, what did you have in mind?"

"I have already put in my bid for a seat on the planet's senate, I have a good chance of winning. Keep being Joyce, keep the kids safe, and in return, I will help you gain freedom for your people the legal way. It won't be fast, but it will be long lasting Rena"

She contemplated and then blinked "Why? Why would you help me?"

"Because your cause IS just. Because you have honored Joyce's last wishes and kept my children safe. Because I became a lawyer to fight the injustices that you spoke of. Because it’s not anyone's fault that Joyce died. Because as much as I want to be angry with you, all I can feel is grief and I don't want my kids to feel that way too." I felt the tears fall down my cheeks. I could eventually accept that Joyce was gone, but I would be damned if I would let Maddie and Connor feel that pain....not if I could stop it. I knew Rena couldn't hurt them or she would have already, and they needed a mother.

Rena looked at me through Joyce's eyes "For Maddie and Connor...you would help me?"

"I would do anything for my family, and they are my whole world, so of course."

She studied me and finally nodded "I will try to be as human as possible for them. Thank you for helping, no matter the reason, I appreciate it."

I cut her loose, she stood rubbing feeling back into her wrists, I felt awkward...there was a strange woman in my wife's body, and I had no clue how that was going to work " what should I call you? Joyce isn’t right and Rena would pose too many questions."

She thought for a moment and then nodded " Rej. Short for Rejina."

I took a deep breath and extended my hand to her..."Well Rej, nice to meet you."

She nodded and took my hand pumping it twice "You as well Peter."

"Keep in Mind Rejina, I will be monitoring the situation to make sure you hold up your end of the deal" Crash's voice came over the office speakers.

"Of course, it's only logical that you would do so."

Pope started to cough which meant he was swimming his way back to consciousness.

"it’s been a long night, ready to go home Rej?" I offered my arm

She took it "Yes Peter, I will get breakfast started, the kids will be up soon, and you have a big day tomorrow at the campaign office."

I looked out the window and realized that it was almost morning and scrubbed a hand through my hair "What campaign office?"

"The one that you will be leasing in a few hours"

I opened my mouth and then shut it "Yes, I guess I will" to which Rej nodded satisfied.

We walked out of Pope's office and went home.

I made it up to vice chair of Cerberus 5 in under 3 years, the A.I. personification act was passed in 5 years and the humanites coalition- a mix of representatives from all the colony worlds both A.I. and human began cleaning up the corruption and abuse of those too weak to defend themselves.