Иван Перепелятник
The Before Short Story Series. Part 1
‘Mummy, I’m done!’ Hiromi looked at her daughter, ‘How could it be?!’ but showed not a thing.
‘That’s great, Ayaka! please tell me what you have read.’
‘So apparently the operation of artificial intelligence on the basis of a distributed quantum computer system, PAX, was started back in the middle of the last century, in 2053. The main developer of the system, Jordan Bensock, is a genius programmer and engineer from the U.S. He is still alive. Today Bensock is the richest man on the planet. His personal fortune exceeds one trillion dollars. Can you imagine, Mummy, Mr Bensock could help make refurbishments in Grandma Yano’s flat! Mummy, let’s write him about Grandma, let’s ask him to help her!
‘We will discuss this a little later, Ayaka. Have you understood, what is— well, how the PAX actually works?’
‘Yes, Mummy. It works just like our brain, like a human brain. Just that when PAX artificial intelligence is operating, it’s more like many many people would be friends.’
‘Sorry, and why friends?’
‘Because when we are friends, we always do things together. When PAX is working, it’s almost like many people—many minds—work together on a same task.’
‘Very well, Ayaka. Do you remember, why we are going to the capital today?’
‘Sure, Mummy. We are going to the Destiny house to learn what I will be doing in the future.’
‘Let me please tell you how everything worked earlier, how your grandparents lived.
The traditions and the culture of our country, Ayaka, are such that for our society the concept of mutual respect—to each other, to the family, to those older than you—is crucially important. In our country it is important to understand that the work that we all do, everyone’s work, is important for everyone. We all are constantly making a contribution to the common good—to the common success of us all—and that we are creating new opportunities for the society—for us all. Before, when people were choosing their life path, they would mostly seek inspiration in their families’ history—so that, usually, the children would continue their parents’ job. A family owning a textile manufacture over tens—or even hundreds—of years, a small grocery, a publishing house, a dynasty of doctors or journalists, and a whole lot of other similar examples—children would often follow in their parents’ steps. And it is not because that was simpler or easier to get going: the problem had many sides to it. A human life used to be much shorter before. Now we live to two hundred years, and before only singular people would reach an age of one hundred years. People had to start developing the skills they would later use for work from a very early age so that they could potentially reach something in this short period of active life. The right to make a mistake—and to be able to start anew afterwards—used to be a privilege of a very limited group of people, and these people did pursue self-fulfillment indeed, not held hostages by everyday life problems. The majority of people, however, had to make a decision as soon as possible in their youth—to find themselves, they would say—as early as they could. And if life had it such that the choice, made some time ago, did not bring about the expected result—if the person did not succeed in life—it would often already be too late to begin anything new. In a competitive world as it was, it was very hard to make your way through. And sometimes there were families that tried to program their children’s lives since the very early age. For instance, some parents would send their children to a tennis school at the age of 5, hoping that it might turn them successful at some tennis tournament some fifteen years later. And sometimes it did work—the children would become prominent tennis players, or golfers, or such.’
Hiromi looked at her daughter, ‘Ayaka, do you understand what I am talking about?’
‘Mummy, as far as I get it, before people would die much earlier and they didn’t have enough time to do their job the right way.’
‘Because?’
’They didn’t always make the right choice when they were children.’
‘So it is, Ayaka.’
‘So Grandma started breaking her back when she was born in our family?’
‘Grandma took on her father’s job, being a rice farmer in the fields that used to belong to our family.’
‘Daddy says Grandma would break her back from morning to evening.’
‘Ayaka, Daddy meant that Grandma worked a lot—in the field as well—helping to harvest the crops.’
‘Mummy, is it that Grandma also made a mistake when making her decision?’
‘No, dear. Our grandparents did not have the kind of possibilities that we have today with the PAX. Grandma was helping her family, taking on her father’s job, her grandfather’s, and so on. Grandma didn’t have a choice there, Ayaka. But you do have a choice. The PAX prepares high-probability scenarios to forecast in which fields you have the most chances to succeed and to do the most for the society—having access to the entirety of the world’s knowledge, and also having studied carefully your possibilities and intellectual potential. Do you see it, Ayaka?’
‘Yes, I do. The PAX will tell me what to do.’
‘The PAX will give you options. It will suggest you the fields in which you could do your best. It knows who, when, and where is doing whichever job. It also knows what issues are important now and which ones will be so in the future—by analysing the datasets it has—and it creates and carefully studies your personal profile. By getting all this information together into a strictly structured picture, into a single system of interdependencies, the computer is able to offer you a precise answer to one of the crucial questions in our lives—the one of why we are here in this world.
Hiromi was looking at her daughter, ‘I wonder if she understands what I am trying to tell her…’
‘But the final decision is up to you. Whatever you will do in your life, whichever way you will choose, the choice is yours, and yours alone, Ayaka.’
Pax
‘Look Beg, there’s one more thing that I’ve been thinking about,’ Jordan was going on with a weekly meeting on current issues. ‘I would like to work from home for a couple of weeks, so I don’t think I will be there in the office. I feel the solution is already at my fingertips, you see? I just need a little more to reach it. It is nearly there in my hands, so I don’t want to be distracted by quarrels with coworkers. And the other guys here will feel easier in my absence. At least for a while’
‘I think it is a good idea, Jo. A short break in the “Jordan Benson and Co.” team will totally benefit everyone. I am “for”, my friend.’
‘You might have held it at least a little bit,’ they both smiled, ‘or like this it even is a bit offensive.’
‘Right, right. Anything else you’d like to discuss?’
‘Yeah. I will send you a list of what I need to work at home, here to the lab.’
‘Sure, we’ll do everything.’
‘Then that’s all. Or well— please tell the guys I am very sorry for having burst like that. Will you?’
‘Yeah, sure, Jo. I guess they understand you anyway though.’
‘And make sure to tell them that doesn’t make them any less dumb idiots!’
‘Oh Jo, I nearly forgot.’
‘Right, please go on.’
‘On Wednesday we have a video-call planned with a big investor from the East Coast.’
‘And?’
‘Jo, we need you there. No-one can represent our project as well as you do. And they will be flattered by seeing you there.’
‘You know though just how much I like all these rounds and finance issues.’
‘I do, Jo. But you do understand it’s the right thing to do, don’t you?’
‘Sure. I’ll see what I can do. Please send me the details.’
‘I will! Let’s keep in touch.’
Ozzie was lying in her favourite spot, on a leather couch near by the window, and from time to time she was checking whether her master was still there.
‘Jordan, you ask us for one billion more. Would you please tell us about the current stage of the project?’ The participants’ glances were carefully studying Jordan from a big panel in his study.
‘First of all, gentlemen, we were never intending to ask anything from you,’ continued Jordan. ‘Not me, that’s for sure. What we are ready to offer you is to take part in our project. It will—I shall not be afraid to sound trivial—allow you to become infinitely richer. If you want to—please invest your money. If you don’t—that’s fine: I don’t believe we will get troubles with funding either way. Next, even if I do start telling you how our working process is organized, what we do, how we do, and what purpose exactly each stage serves, you will understand nothing in it—and this includes the so-called experts you hired. So please allow me to give you some advice—get rid of them. It will only benefit you financially.’
‘The idea that Jordan is trying to get across, gentlemen, is the following:’ Beg turned his microphone on. ‘We are interested in working on with your foundation and sure enough we are ready to inform you on the current stage of the project from time to time. Isn’t this the very reason of our meeting here today. However, the field in which our company specializes is too specific for us to be able to present our work to you in a precise fashion. That’s why we will have to limit ourselves to some general information, not going into excessive details—I agree with Jordan, they will clarify nothing at all.’
The foundation representative continued after a brief pause, ‘No-one on our side is expecting friendly meet-ups with you. But we would still like to insist on staying within certain limits while communicating. Furthermore, we are talking about significant investment, and so I hope you will agree, gentlemen, that we are well in our right to understand what we are investing in and what for. Jordan, would you please tell us the general information on the project in such a way that would let even us understand what it all is about.
‘No problem! Beg and our team have prepared a couple of slides which we are ready to demonstrate,’ Jordan began the shared presentation for the meeting participants.
A video appeared on the screen, showing a lab in the main campus of the IQC. There was a big black cube in the middle of the room, and on each of its faces there was a brilliant shiny IQC logo. The camera was showing the cube from all sides, flying around it.
‘Here, please, have a look at our prototype of a fully functional quantum computer,’ Jordan extended his hand toward the screen and stopped in that position.
‘That’s just amazing, Jordan! my congratulations! what a success!’ noted the representative after another pause, not even attempting to hide his being sarcastic. ‘You keep having fun, Jordan—at the very least I am very happy that you are in such a good mood today. Yet, what is all this about? What is this cube? What stage is the project at? Let’s get to business.’
‘Dear colleagues, this precisely is the very business we have!’ Jordan went to the next slide.
A silhouette of the planet Earth was seen on a background of deep-space black and the uncountable stars of the Milky Way.
‘So, Jordan, what is this slide supposed to mean? are you trying to suggest that we tackle the processor block cooling problem by using quantum computers in space?’
‘I owe you an apology. Your structural understanding of quantum computers—wide exceeding my expectations—does have a serious foundation,’ Jordan burst into laughter.
‘Your attention flatters me, Jordan. Thank you very much. But would you please still tell me what the idea is here?’ The investor, understanding that this hopelessly libertine genius engineer could only be dealt with by paying attention to the meaning of his words only—and disregarding their external shape altogether—was surprised with his own readiness to overcome his pride.
‘I want to say,’ Jordan went on, ‘that we can do everything. That’s my recommendation to you—an investment strategy where one simply cannot lose—and, moreover, I am ready to uncover it to you free of whatsoever charge. So please, whichever sum that your foundation decides to invest into the company’s development, whichever! will give you at least a multiple profit—make your decision, dear gentlemen.’
After yet another awkward pause Jordan summed up, ‘Gentlemen, if you have no further questions, I would like to continue my work. Thank you very much for your attention. Beg, thank you and see you.’
Jordan pressed the red button and disconnected from the video call.
‘What a bunch of greedy morons! don’t you agree, Ozzie dear?’ The dog reacted to her master’s voice by leaping down from the couch and running up to Jordan, happily wagging her tail. ‘Let’s go for a walk, shall we? a walk!’
Before: Journey
‘Good afternoon, Ms Vega. Welcome aboard. Your seat is on the right near the window, row eleven, please.’
‘Hello. Thank you.’
Elena walked down the narrow aisle between the seats occupied by passengers. Next to her window seat, there was a young guy sitting, an African American, in a black cap with some letters embroidered on it, in a silver leather jacket.
‘Good afternoon. May I pass, please’, pointing to her place near the window, Elena turned to the young man.
‘Hi’, not looking at her, the guy got up and stepped out into the aisle, bending his head so as not to hit himself.
Elena barely reached up to his chest, no higher. ‘My God, how tall and skinny … Maybe he's a basketball player,’ making her way to her seat, Elena felt a rather strong smell of toilet water. ‘And it will be like that all the way long…’
Despite a large distance between the rows, the guy's knees almost rested on the back of the front seat when he took his place.
‘Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome on board the United Boeing-7000 airliner. We are glad that you have chosen United for your trip. According to the results of the annual independent survey, United ranks first among American air carriers in flight safety over the last 25 years. The safety of our passengers is the first priority for our team.
In fifteen minutes our plane will head towards the runway. The flight from Madrid–Barajas International Airport to Washington–Dulles International Airport will take one hour and thirty minutes.
Please make sure that all your hand luggage is on the shelf above your seat. We ask you to check that your seat belt is fastened and tightened up to fit. We ask you not to leave your seats during the entire flight unless you need to and remain fastened during the entire flight. In a few minutes we will offer you some refreshments. We wish you a pleasant flight.’
Having listened to the announcement of the airliner staff, Elena took another look at her fellow passenger:
‘My name is Elena Vega,’ she held out her hand to the neighbor, inviting him to get acquainted. ‘Bosch Yunken,’ he said, not hiding his disappointment with being distracted from playing on the communicator.
‘Oh, I'm sorry, I'm distracting you.’
‘Well, yes. But now it doesn’t matter already.’
‘Coming back home, Bosch?’
‘What makes you think so?’
‘The translator,’ Elena pointed to the headphones in her ears. ‘They don't translate, they only broadcast your voice.’
‘Ah. Well, yes, home.’
‘And I'm going on holidays.’
‘Yeah, congrats. And what are you going to do on the east coast?’
‘Your country, Bosch, has such a rich history. I don't think I'll be bored.’
‘Ah, got it. That is, are you a specialist in museums or something?’
‘You could say that. My main goal is Baltimore.’
‘Well, and what have you forgotten in the middle of nowhere?’
‘The life of the great poet and writer Edgar Poe suddenly ended in Baltimore.’
‘Who is this? Doesn’t ring a bell.’
‘He lived a long time ago, Bosch. No wonder you haven't heard of him.’
‘Ah. Well, okay.’
‘I'm a big fan of Poe. I am planning to visit his grave, the places he used frequented. I would like to see for myself where it all happened.’
‘What happened?’
‘You know, there are some inconsistencies in the versions of why he actually died. And not all of them flatter him as a person. So I'm planning—rather, I hope to clarify something about what end his hard lot brought him to.’
‘Was he a member of some kind of group or something? Some kind of a gangster?’
‘Not at all. He lived in the nineteenth century. His literary career and personal life were quite ambiguous. Things were difficult for him…'
‘Yes. Well, good luck to you, Elena.’
‘Thank you, Bosch! What were you doing in Madrid?’ Bosch looked at Elena with a kind of detachment. ‘I'm sorry, Bosch. I won't distract you anymore.’
‘OK.’ Bosch continued playing with the communicator.
Looking at the endless blue of the ocean in the window, her eyes not setting on anything, Elena noticed Bosch returning to his seat.
‘Bosch, I'm sorry, may I ask you for advice, please. Do you mind?’
‘Come on.’
‘I didn't order a transfer to the hotel. I thought I'd get there on my own. Can you tell me the best way to get to Baltimore from the airport?’
‘I can. It will be better and faster on the shuttle. 5 minutes on the road.’
‘Oh, I see. That’s great. I booked a room in a hotel in the city center, on the Patapsco. The station is in the center of the city. Do I get it right, Bosch?’
‘Yes, as far as I remember.’
‘Yeah. And that is just what I do. I'll take your advice and go by shuttle. Thanks, Bosch.’
‘Anyway, I live there nearby. I can give you a lift to the hotel.’
‘Oh, come on, Bosch. I'm sorry to have bothered you. I don't want to be a burden.’
‘I wouldn't offer it if you were a burden.’ Bosch was looking at Elena with the same blank or perhaps a little bit stiff expression on his face.
‘I'd really appreciate it, Bosch.’
‘OK.’
Elena came up to the automated security and customs control desks, where she had to answer a number of standard questions:
‘What is the purpose of your visit to the United States of America?’
‘Tourism.’
‘Please give some details on the specific purpose of your visit.’
‘I am planning to visit a number of historical sites related to Edgar Poe’s life in Baltimore—this is my main goal. And, of course, my program includes a trip to Washington. I hope to see all the iconic sights in the capital, from the White House to the National Gallery of Arts.’
‘How long are you planning to stay in the U.S.?’
‘One week. I have a return ticket for Friday, end next week.’
The frame around the perimeter of the rack lit up green,
‘Welcome to the U.S. You may pass on.’
Elena noticed a tall black man in a silver jacket in the airport lounge.
‘I started worrying that you'd changed your mind, Bosch. You have such a remarkable appearance, it helps.’ Elena looked at the braids. ‘You are very tall. One can easily find you in such a crowd.’
‘Can we make it less formal. Eh?’
‘Good. I'm for it,’ Elena smiled. ‘Could we have lunch together? I'm a little hungry. And you?’
‘OK.’
‘Are you in no hurry now?’
‘There is time for lunch. Don’t you worry, Elena. If I was in a hurry, I wouldn't be here anymore.’
‘Great.’
‘So anyway, Bosch, may I ask you what you were doing in Spain?’
‘I have a factory near Madrid. Met with new leather suppliers. I had to check on the samples and see my managers.’
‘What's the leather for, Bosch?’
‘My company specializes in leather jackets.’
‘Wow, that's great! I see, your jacket is very cool!’
‘Well, at least, it’s different. It's important to me. To make my things different. And what do you do for a living?’
‘I am an accountant in a small manufacturing company. The factory does plastic windows, doors and the like.’
‘Sounds boring.’
‘I love my job, Bosch.’
‘It's important. I agree.’
‘How's your burger?’
‘Delicious, Elena. Thanks for asking.’
Sitting in a restaurant on the first floor of the airport, Elena and Bosch slowly continued with their lunch, moving on to desserts and coffee, paying no attention to a series of service announcements lost in the infinitely large international terminal of Dulles Airport. Everyone around was hurrying on business. Parents with restless children were obviously aiming at a resort vacation, judging by the bright shorts and the same cheerful shirts the whole family was wearing, which did not quite fit the beginning of the autumn season in any way. Formal business suits, whether of businessmen, lawyers, or maybe politicians, were supposed to emphasize their important social status and gave an unambiguous answer to everyone around—we are busy people, we should not be distracted by any trifles. A couple of young girls, carefree and not hiding fatigue, sailed towards the exit from the airport, seemingly after a long flight.
‘Are you ready, Bosch? Let's go to the hotel?’ Elena blushed.
Bosch looked at her:
‘Well, let's go.’
Bosch's personal capsule took passengers to downtown Baltimore via an underground highway in ten minutes. After walking around the city, the couple finally arrived at a hotel on the Patapsco River.
‘Will you come up?’ Elena asked without apparent embarrassment.
‘OK.’
The Bell
‘Hi! You are looking great, honey! Well? Tell me! I can’t wait to hear your story,’ entering the factory office, Susan began to question her friend straight from the doorstep.
‘I don't even know where to start, Sue’, smiling broadly, Elena handed her friend a small box wrapped in a stars-and-stripes paper.
‘What is it, dear?
‘A gift for you. A small souvenir from America.’
‘Wow! We love some surprises,’ Susan shook the box. ‘What is it there? Tell me!?’
‘Open it and have a look.’
‘Well, okay, then’, the friend started tearing up the package.
Having dealt with the box finally, Susan almost screamed.
‘Ah-ah!, isn’t it charming! Oh my God! What a beauty!’
‘Quiet, please! We’re going to be fired straight away!’ hushed her Elena.
‘Not both of us together! Someone has to do the job! Ah? That's it!’ reasonably objected Susan, carefully examining a small bell.
‘It's from the Washington Cathedral.’
‘Elly, thank you so much! It’s so beautiful! My collection will soon deserve a personal exhibition—“Bells from Cathedrals of the World”! Would you come?’
‘Well, of course. For sure. Just get me, Sue, dear.’
‘I got it that everything was fine with the cultural program’, Susan carefully put the bell down on the table. ‘Is there anything else you could tell me?’
‘I’d say so, you also need to use the services of this travel agency. Su-san, this is something unimaginable. I had never ever had such impressions from trips…’
‘Elena, Susan, good afternoon,’ greeting the ladies, a tall dark-skinned man dressed in a business suit and tie entered the office. ‘What’s the status of the report? Elena, I see you've had a good holiday. I am very happy for you. Now, as they say, recharged and back to work. The report for September will be ready, as I expect it, today.’
‘Good afternoon, Gustavo. Thanks. Yes, I am very happy with my holiday.’
‘I'm glad, Elena. Very good. What about the report? I’d like to have some more information, please.’
‘We plan to finish the work this week, Gustavo.’
‘I need a final version, not a draft, by Friday. Early next week, we report on the results to the council, so, ladies, I ask you not to let me down. Agreed?’
‘Of course, we will do everything by Thursday.’
‘Good. If there are any problems, I’ll be in touch. It is an important matter. So if…’
‘Got it, Gustavo. Thanks.’
‘Well, that's done! Back to work then!’
V-Tours
‘Good afternoon. Please come in. How can I help you?’
‘Hello. A friend recommended your agency to me,’ Susan handed the manager a business card that Elena gave her.
‘Ah! Of course! Are you Susan? Elena Vega told about you.’
‘Yes, that's right. I just wanted to understand first of all how your company works. Which destinations you may offer then. But for some reason I couldn’t find any information on the internet.’
‘Susan, please come in. Make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you water, tea or coffee? Maybe you prefer fresh juice?’
‘Thanks. Water, no gas, please.’
‘Of course. Just a minute.’
‘You are right, Susan, given the unique profile of V-Tours, the experience that we offer to our clients, we really do not advertise our services widely. V-Tours relies on the feedback of those customers who have already experienced our service and are ready to share it with their friends and acquaintances. This is the way we develop our business, put up the number of our customers. In simple words, recommendations of our customers drive our development. So, as you can see, the reputation of our company is much more than just the budget spent on an advertising campaign. We are glad that your friend recommended V-Tours opportunities to you.’
‘I got it. Good. But which way, in such a case, can one still understand in detail what exactly the specifics of your agency's work are? Why it is unique, as you are saying? Elena said that you will tell and show me everything.’
‘Of course. After all, that's why you came to us.’
The manager handed Susan something like a motorcycle helmet—except that there was no recess, no cutout for the eyes. The front part of the white cast helmet ended, apparently, somewhere at the level of the nose. At the same time, it was very light. The interior upholstery stood out with a bright blue fabric.
‘What is it?’ Susan asked, turning the helmet in every direction
‘A working prototype of a neuro-communicative interface. To some extent, its functionality is similar to a virtual reality headset. Only in our case, virtual reality will seem nothing more than a primitive children's game from the last century. To understand what we are offering, you can put on a headset and we will give you a presentation. Make yourself comfortable in this chair. The entire presentation will take no more than two minutes. It will be more than enough to understand the capabilities and potential of this device. As they say, seeing is believing.’
The silent grandeur of the Grand Canyon in Arizona was there, right in front of Susan. The bright sun was dazzling. Susan took her sunglasses out of her bag. The sky, so deep that one plunged into it in an endless and free fall. She was almost off the ground. Deep chipped channels reliably testified to the violence of the elements that once dominated there millions of years ago. But like everything with a seemingly infinite energy of life, the height originally taken in the battle with time, was given in. The inevitable and irrevocable course of time is truly determined by only one key law: the transformation and connectivity of everything. At the starting point the end of it is set up. Descendants should draw a conclusion from another lesson presented by nature—everything changes, and everything has a limit, regardless of our ambitions.
Susan shuddered—the silence was cut by the call of a faithful predatory guardian assigned to keep order in the canyon gorges. Looking around, disoriented by the flow of her own emotions, the newborn tourist noticed a bird soaring high in the streams of warm air rising from the crevices. Stepping back from the glass fence on the stone ridge, she turned her gaze to the bright brown observation deck. The morning sun, generously flooding everything with its rays, has already heated the rocky surface. Susan was alone on the observation deck. In the distance, a little lower, there was one capsule in the parking lot which apparently brought her there. She turned back towards the canyon, trying to memorize everything in all the detail and absorb every little aspect. Coming closer to the glass barrier, Susan looked down over the fence. The earth began to rapidly approach …
As though waking up, Susan got back to her senses. Around her was nothing. Void. All black. Realizing that the headset was still on, she carefully took it off.
‘Oh dear… What is it… What's it?’ Susan looked around, trying to get over it. ‘I… where am I?’, Susan turned her head in complete confusion.
‘Susan, it's all right. Look at me. You're safe. It's all good. You're right where you were. It's only been a few minutes. We are in the office of V-Tours. Here, take it, please… Drink some water.’
‘This is something amazing. I can't describe my feelings. I was there! In the Grand Canyon in Arizona! I was there physically, feeling with my skin what was happening, breathing in the air…’
‘Yes, it's a fantastic experience. And on the other hand—what do you remember? It's like you've just been to Arizona in the Grand Canyon. Like a tourist who reached his destination on the journey. It was perfectly natural. You were just there.’
Susan burst into laughter:
‘I can't believe it! How did you do it?!’
’It's just… a revolution in travelling… Perhaps not only travelling. In short, Susan, thanks to the recommendation of your friend, you have experienced a new development that will change the world beyond recognition. Soon, it won’t be long till we live in a somewhat different world. We don't even know how. We yet haven't realized the full potential of this technology.’
‘My God! This is some kind of fiction! I was there!’
‘The system of neuro-communicators built into the headset scans the biorhythms of your brain, makes an electromagnetic connection and puts you in a state similar to stasis. This is when your body is in a complete blackout. Your sense of reality, all your receptors are completely blocked, but the brain activity is as high as ever. At this moment, our system works in such a way that you, your brain cannot distinguish the real from the unreal, being in a state of pseudo-stasis. It would take you one day to get to the Grand Canyon from Madrid. Not to mention how much effort and time it would have taken earlier. Now all what is needed from you today is to sit in a chair with a headset on. I cannot but note that this development would not have been possible without the defining role of the PAX artificial intelligence. And all the calculations and assessment of what you have seen is done in the cloud by the power of the system.’
‘Some kind of virtual reality!’
‘I would say, Susan, this is a new reality or, at least, an alternative reality.’
‘It's getting a little scary. I'll tell you what.’
‘This is partially the reason why we are in no hurry to make our capabilities known widely. It is already obvious that this stage of active testing is coming to completion. And it will be pretty soon. Let me get down to business anyway. Where would you like to spend your holidays, Susan? What are your preferences?’
