(That’s new… and intriguing)
Malcolm blinked, noticing the green flash from Hiro’s spine. Didn’t the boy know that the Ai were far more advanced than Malcolm could reasonably reach in another century?
The Ai seemed to pause a moment, as if calculating, then its own eyes flashed and it quickly went to separating material into its respective metal.
“What the fuck?”Malcolm burst, the words just flying from his mouth.
Did he need to be worried about some sort of revolution against him? After all, the Ai were a hive mind. The connection between this lone bot and Hiro couldn’t have happened without the approval of every other AI? How fucked was he now?
Hiro flinched “ I.. I'm sorry. I'll get it to stop..”
“Hold on a minute. I’m genuinely fucking curious. How the fuck did you do that?”
Malcolm approached, but the Ai continued sorting without glancing up. He snapped his fingers, but the Ai seemed a bit annoyed that he was interrupting it. The Ai also seemed to be scanning every piece of metal it picked up, as if cataloging it.
Why was this bot studying materials that the Ai undoubtedly knew about already? Or was it studying the material on a deeper level than Malcolm understand? Considering they were his creation, Malcolm barely understood the AI.
“ stop.” hiro said firmly. He watched the bot and suddenly the mental image and catalog of the metals popped to his mind.
Malcolm watched the interaction, stunned.
“Holy shit. Communication on a deeper level. That the Ai would share knowledge, even just simple materials, is fucking shocking!”
The Ai paused at Hiro’s words.
“Does Hiroshima-Lifeform wish me to stop sorting? We have no need to study these primitive materials, but you have insufficient knowledge.”
Malcolm watched, tapping his chin in deep thought.
“ keep going. Thank you for sharing “ he said, his spine flashing green once more.
The Ai returned to its scanning and sorting.
“Do you know how you linked with an AI? Was it voluntary? Involuntary? How? I have never, never, been able to link with them, and I built them!”Malcolm asked.
He thought deeply for a moment, then sighed.
“Maybe I need to experiment with introducing nanobots into myself,”he mumbled.
“ I.. I'm honestly not sure how I linked with it. I just felt a pull to one and suddenly I seen what is sees. Then a request poped into my mind and I spoke it.”
Malcolm moaned, wiping a hand down his face. He started chuckling.
“Well, a perfect example of how a project can bite me in the ass. Well, might as well admit it, before it ends up literally blowing up in face,”he sighed.
Malcolm grabbed the nearby chair and moved it over so that he was next to the two. He sat down, breathing deeply and almost scowling at the wall. He composed himself and turned to Hiro.
“You picked that ability up from the nanobots. It technically allows me to link with them, to see what they see. Apparently you now have the same ability, though, a little different considering that I do not have actual nanobots integrated into my own body. And yes, if it wasn’t already fucking obvious, it means we can link with each other, though I doubt it’s as deep a connection as you have with the Ai right now.”
Hiro locked eyes with Malcolm “ now try.” he said
Malcolm snorted.
“I’m not obligated to. Besides, I’d be looking through your eyes, and I already know how much of a fucking wreck I am.”
He turned to watch the AI, a barely perceptible hint of melancholy on his face.
“ ask it to do something, “ he said steadily
Malcolm snorted again.
“I don’t want to control the Ai. That’s not why I built them. I want to learn from them… though, I think they want to learn from me.”
Malcolm stood, returning to his cleaning.
“Besides, I’m not sure I want to dare linking with them. They’re a hive mind, with technology surpassing my own by, at least, a hundred years. And, there’s millions of them, all learning simultaneously, an archive of collective knowledge and ideas.”
Malcolm paused, holding a wrench absently. He pondered if he was telling the truth or lying. Sure, he was wary of the massive knowledge hidden in the minds of the Ai, but a part of him wanted nothing more than to dive in and bask in all the knowledge.
But why? That was what actually scared him. Why did he want to learn from the AI? Was it simple curiosity, or the desperation of an old man unconsciously searching for immortality while he wallowed in boredom? He had yet to figure out the answer, even after decades of pondering.
“ that's not all true. A hove mind yes. But multiple separate connections give links between bot and communicator. Take it as h2o. Two hydrogen's link with an oxygen and yet to make a sea you need thousands of them.
“You weren’t listening, were you? That’s basically what I fucking said. There’s millions of AI, doing separate things, but still learning simultaneously. The moment one learns a new thing, the rest learn. The moment one blows up from making a mistake, the rest learn to not do what the one did.”
Malcolm sighed and shook his head.
“Fuck, I’m getting too old for this shit,”he groaned, flustered once again.
He sat down in the chair, rubbing his temples as he tried to sort through his chaotic thoughts.
Hiro started making ingots out of the sorted metal.
Malcolm watched the pair for a moment, then decided to continue cleaning. He made sure to keep bringing the two more scrap to sort.
Despite his troubled thoughts, Malcolm was pleased. His shop was actually returning to some semblance of tidiness, and much quicker than he had anticipated.
The ingots had started sracking up and after an hour or so hero's spine took on a reader color “ stop..”
The AI seemed to notice Hiro’s spine, and had stopped before the boy said anything. It watched Hiro, seeming to calculate something.
Malcolm turned when Hiro spoke. He pondered the boy’s red spine.
“Limitation or malfunction?”he asked.
“That can be considered a good thing. Now, you know a limitation of your abilities after the upgrade.”
Malcolm glanced at the AI, his mind nagging at him about trying to integrate nanobots into himself. Why was he becoming so obsessed with the idea now? Or was he just jealous?
Hiro held his stomach and let the ai go. “ go do your desired job” he mumbled
The AI watched for a moment, then stood and went outside to continue guarding the building.
Malcolm watched the AI go, then turned to Hiro. Well, maybe the nanobots thing wasn’t the best idea, if Hiro’s pain proved anything. On the other hand, Malcolm could likely come up with some sort of pain reliever, though medicine wasn’t something that interested him.
Malcolm returned to cleaning, though he periodically glanced at Hiro to make sure nothing major happened.
Hiro had just had his stomach. Feeling the usual sickness
William sat silently next to Hiro, not saying a word. He curiously stared at Hiro when he first interacted with the AI. When he was finished, William felt Hiro's pain and immediately stopped it. "All fixed up…" He whispered.
