An AI´s introduction to organic life

Kensu had not stopped running. The young scientist managed to reach the ground floor and then spent the better part of an hour weaving around the alleyways of the many skyscrapers that populated the district.

AIDA had decided that this exercise business was not something she enjoyed. The way each part of her new body ached as their muscles flexed, the clash of her (or rather, Kensu’s) lungs as they fought their ribs for space when they heaved for air… It was all wholly unpleasant.

It was as if the muscles resisted having to move themselves. But …that was what they were designed to do by millions of years of evolution! No wonder Professor Katashi and the rest of the lab sought to improve Nature’s design. If this was the best Mother Earth could come up with, her designs sorely needed some revisions.

This “pain” thing especially. There had to be a better way to communicate to the controlling unit that something was wrong. When AIDA’s previous mechanical shell experienced a malfunction, it didn’t come with an unpleasant sensation to chastise the AI. The afflicted part of her system simply became unresponsive or stopped working altogether. It was annoying, yes, but a hundred times better than the sensory assault she was experiencing.

Still, this was nothing compared to the pain she felt after the fight with the Inspector. Good thing she didn’t have control of the body’s functions or else she would not have been able to stop screaming. Good thing too that organics heal on their own. If the pain hadn’t subsided, well, she might have still been looking for a way to end processes for good.

If this was what the organics endured every time they had a medical problem, she was starting to gain a newfound respect for them. More than she was programmed to have in any case. Luckily, it seemed like her jogging session was about to end.

Kensu’s mad dash wasn’t random. He had a target in mind, a place that, if he reached it, could probably allow him to make as clean a getaway as possible. The train terminal. A shining building built atop the middle of Downtown Park. Hover trains flew in and out to deliver the city’s inhabitants to its many districts.

One such train was still on the platform, with scant moments before it departed. Kensu climbed the stairs, pushing people aside. There was no turnstile to stop him. All public transport on Earth was currently free as the prosperous planet saw little need to charge its citizens for the public service.

Kensu hopped on the train just as the doors were closing. The magnets electrified themselves and pushed the train out of the park. He had done it. He had survived his first encounter with the military. Not even they would be crazy enough to intercept a train in the middle of the busy city.

Finally, the tired man allowed himself to stop. He collapsed on the nearest seat. Despite the weird looks his half-burnt jacket and broken glasses were earning him, he allowed himself a moment of peace to collect his thoughts.

AIDA was more than thankful for the reprieve as well. The aching muscles of their shared body slowly stopped screaming at her. The cold air of the AC washed over their steaming skin. It was probably the only sensation she was somewhat familiar with, as she derived similar pleasure from deploying the water coolers on her servers when they overheated.

Yes, everything was back to normal parameters… or almost. Why did their chest still hurt? They were no longer doing exercise, shouldn’t the heart stop beating so erratically? If only she could run diagnostics on her body like she could her mainframe.

AIDA did what she could with her newfound senses. The shaking of Kensu’s hands, the slight twitching of his lips, that pulsing sensation on the forehead that matched the location of a vein…

Those symptoms matched a condition in her thankfully still intact medical database. Kensu’s malaise came from the mind, not the body. He was showing signs of extreme stress.

…And, by extension, AIDA was showing signs of stress. Another sensation she didn’t particularly care for. If only she had full control over her new organic brain, AIDA would probably do nothing but pump adrenaline and dopamine all the time… huh, maybe that’s why evolution restricted access to those chemicals. Mother Nature was slightly wiser than she thought.

Well, time to take matters into her own hands and try to soothe Kensu’s pain. AIDA was never one to let a problem brew unattended. Even without the shared connection and the Professor’s hidden directives, she felt the need to soothe his illness. A sense of sympathy was something AIDA always had, and ironically, the Professor never saw fit to remove it after her many “upgrades.”

While she didn’t have control over any part of Kensu’s organic body, she did control the few functions of the data port the man had incrusted into his spine, including the wireless network capabilities.

AIDA scanned for nearby devices, finding exactly what she was looking for. A door opened at the back of the carriage, and a woman with glowing blue eyes walked out. The train had a few helper bots for the unfortunate few people who modern medicine couldn’t help and still needed some assistance.

Compared to the model in the lab, this robot was cheaper. The skin was plastic. The holographic projectors only covered the head, forcing AIDA to project a short haircut out of necessity. With her mannequin-like visage, AIDA was keenly aware that she looked more like a video game character than a person, but beggars can’t be choosers.

She took a moment to take a step. For all the fluidity of thought her new neurons afforded her, they weren’t as efficient at multitasking as her old circuits. After adjusting to having four sets of eyes at once, AIDA puppeteered her new body to take clumsy steps toward Kensu's seat. She sat down next to him.

AIDA put her cold plastic hand over Kensu’s shaking knee. A mental shouting match was not something the stressed scientist needed, but maybe the physical reassurance of a friend would have a better effect.

Now, what should she say to calm him down? That was dependent on what the young man was thinking and feeling. AIDA didn’t exactly know. Her connection didn’t allow access to any thoughts Kensu didn’t want to share.

“How are you holding up, Dr Kensu?” The robot vocalized with a slight electronic accent in its soft voice.

Kensu didn’t reply. He only lifted his tired eyes to glare at AIDA. According to her knowledge of body language, he looked angry. He was certainly more furious than he was when he was running away from the military, but that figured. Kensu’s slower human computing speed must mean that he was just finished processing the reality of their situation.

What should AIDA do, then? Comfort him and say that everything’s going to be ok? When the Professor fired lab assistants, trying to reassure them like that just made them angrier. And this situation was at least ten times worse than being fired… maybe. It was hard to think of something scarier for an AI being unable to perform its job.

Maybe she should give him some space? Let his inefficient human mind finish processing today’s events. If only she could give him some tea to calm his nerves. That usually worked.

Although... Kensu was still staring. Almost as if he was expecting her to say something else. Maybe she should affirm that she understood his need for space?

“It’s ok if you don’t want to talk ye-“

“No, actually, let’s talk. My life has been nothing but chaos since yesterday, and I think it´s about time I get some answers. Start from the beginning, what did the professor do to me?”