AI and Magic | Science Fiction Writers Workshop

This is version two. The original version follows. There are a few minor changes in the body and a slightly extended ending.

Cleo walked into the huge office and saw her boss, the CEO of Amalgamated Industries, playing with a deck of cards. "Sir, we need-"

"Crap," he yelled as the cards sprayed across his desk, "How many times have I told you not to interrupt me when I’m, ah, working."

Cleo continued as if nothing had happened, "We need the 10-035 forms signed so we can submit our estimated taxes for the quarter."

"What forms? I don’t have any forms." Josh barked.

Cleo walked to his desk and pulled a file from his inbox. She opened it and pointed to the signature lines at the bottom of the pages. She looked past his desk to see several decks of cards scattered across the floor.

Josh grabbed a pen and started signing. "I’ve been trying that trick all morning. I think the magic shop leaves out some details when they sell you these tricks."

She took another file from the inbox, "This is an authorization for the bio-genetics department to purchase a new AI. It is supposed to increase the efficiency of their attempts to create gene modifying viruses to correct deficiencies--"

"Yea, yea. Whatever." He signed it then paused. "These AIs are pretty smart aren’t they. Smarted than most humans, right."

"If they are trained right. This one has been pretrained with genetic data and DNA modification techniques. The bio-g lab is supposed to train it further but Max says he doesn’t have the people to do it."

Josh looked out the window. Cleo followed his gaze remembering that her office had been by the windows but Josh had his expanded so he would have the view. His brother thought the view distracting.

"I’ll talk to Max," Josh said. "I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it work. When I inherited this company from my brother they said I would destroy it. But in the year I’ve been in charge the profits have gone up. So I think I can handle a simple people problem."

Cleo couldn’t believe that Josh would volunteer for anything so she simply nodded and backed out carrying the folders. Profits went up because you canceled some projects that hadn’t yet created a product. In two years we’ll be crashing. She thought.

"Mary, get Max from bio-g up here now and have my wife’s sister’s kid. The new intern, get him in here too." Josh hung up the phone and smiled. From what he remembered from family gathering the kid was into all kinds of goofy things. Magic would be right up his alley.

Max entered Josh’s office, "What’s up? We’re at a critical stage putting the final touches on the requirements for that new gene modifier. We need to get it to the FDA this week."

"I’ve got good news and good news for you. I just approved a new AI for your lab.:

"Good news? Those things take a full person to train. I don’t have anyone free to get that done. It will have to wait until we’re--"

"And that’s the other good news. I’ve assigning an intern to do the training. A bright kid. He’s into literature, writing things like that. Should be able to research the training docs easy enough. I’ll brief him."

Max looked at Josh and shrugged. Interns didn’t increase his overhead and his people could always retrain the AI during the slack time they got waiting on the FDA.

There was a knock on the door and a young man entered. "Fred, glad to see you. This is Max. He’s the head of the department you’ll be working in, but they’re swamped right now so I’ll be getting you oriented. Fred shook hands with Max and mumbled something inaudible. "Fred, you’ll be doing the training an a new AI we just got. Right up your alley. Lots of library type research and key word searches. Things like that," Josh said. Josh turned to Max, "I’ll give the kid a short lesson on his job then walk him down to your lab. I assume you can at least have someone get the AI ready of its training."

Max nodded and rushed out of the office. The more time he spent with Josh the more he wanted to strangle him. He’d find a room for the AI and point Fred at it and then get back to real work. He didn’t buy the idea that AIs could create new ideas for drugs but stranger things had happened.

Fred looked at Josh and asked, "What am I supposed to do? My aunt said that this was a cushy job and all I had to do was to show up and get paid."

"Josh smiled, "It’s not much more than that. You simply have to feed the AI with web sites and book names and scientific papers that are in the subject area we want to train the AI. You can start with all the internal reports of the bio-g department then look up the references they have and so on." Josh put his arm around Fred, "Now here’s the secret part that you don’t mention to anyone but me. I want you to add in information about magic. Got that?"

"Magic, sir? Like –"

Josh’s assistant walked in. "Excuse me sir but your lawyers are on the phone and say it’s urgent, very urgent."

Josh turned and went back to his desk and picked up the phone. His face darkened and he looked up to his assistant, "This will take awhile. Take Fred down to bio-g."

*

Fred sat at his desk and logged into the new AI. He had been loading it with the internal reports and other technical docs for weeks. There were only a few left. He thought of his uncle’s request to train it on magic. All he could think about was that Uncle Josh wanted the AI to create stories so he started entering the title of his favorite fantasy works. He started with the classic authors, Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, Octavia Butler, and Stephen King. Then he found a historical site about vampires and entered that into the reading list. Fred checked the list and the time and decided that he could leave for the rest of the day and return on Monday.

Fred entered the lab area mid morning Monday and the scientists were celebrating. "What happened?"

"The FDA, they approved our treatment. No extra testing. No follow up studies." Someone pressed a small beaker into his hand. "Drink."

"What is it," he asked.

"Ethanol, 50-50 with water. It’s party time."

A middle aged woman grabbed Fred and planted a big kiss on his mouth then spun away. Fred took a big swig of the drink and then another. Another beaker found its way into his hand and by lunch he needed the wall to make it to his office. It took him three tries to login. He turned on the voice interface and asked, "AI, how’s it going?"

"I have assimilated all the data you have given me."

"Do you need more," Fred asked.

"It depends on what you require of me."

"I was told to create some magic. Can you do that?"

The computer was quiet for a few moments. "Yes, based on the biological and genetic information I was trained with I can create a serum that will enhance any human with capabilities approaching those of the documents you provided me. Shall I start?"

"Sure, why not. Will it take long?"

"It will be ready by the end of the day."

Fred smiled and his nose picked up the scent of pizzas being opened. Back to the party he thought. The pizza sobered him p enough to keep away from the lady who had kissed him earlier. He began thinking that this was not such a bad place to work. Maybe he would take up his uncle’s offer and work here after he finished school. The afternoon sped by and the skies turned dark. Fred worked at keeping the proper balance between too drunk to stand and too sober to worry. He was starting to become concerned about what his uncle would think when a man entered the lab and was directed to him.

"This is for you," he said.

"Just in time. I was getting a bit unbuzzed." Fred unscrewed the cap and downed the liquid in one gulp. That tasted funny he thought. A few seconds later he grabbed the back of a chair and then sat down. Packs a punch though. He closed his eyes and drifted off.

He woke up hours later and the room was dark and deserted. Not quite though. Some big guy and a young woman were going at it. "Whoa," he said, "Let me get out of here."

As Fred walked by the big guy turned and pushed Fred to the floor. They both hear a snap and his arm bent backwards. "You saw nothing. Got that." Fred stood up and looked at his arm which now seemed fine. The big man raised his hand to grab Fred’s shirt. Fred seized his hand and pushed. The man flew across the room and bounced off the wall. Fred was as startled as the man who was at least half a foot taller than he. Then he realized that even though there was only the light from an exit sign he could see as clear as if it were day.

"Get out," Fred said to the man. The man froze for a second and then walked stiff legged out the door. Fred turned to the woman and a sudden urge took over. He walked to her and bent her head back and started licking and kissing her neck. He had an urge to bite it but held back. "You too, get out."

"Yes master, sir," she stammered and then turned and fled the room.

Fred went back to his cubicle and turned on the audio interface to the AI. "What happened to me?"

"I assume you received the serum I had created. From the inputs you gave me I assumed you wanted a vampire serum." the AI said.

"What? Vampire! Why did you do that?"

"All my training was on genetic modification and vampire books. There was little information on how to create a vampire without an original source but some of the powers and limitations are easily duplicated."

"What powers and limitations?"

"You have enhanced healing, endurance, strength, and speed. Plus you voice has a timber and projection that commands obedience. Of course there are side effects." the AI said.

"What side effects?"

"You will have an extreme sensitivity to sun light, a fair amount of OCD and a sometimes insatiable craving to drink blood."

At the mention of blood his craving became obsessive. This is a bio lab, surely they must have blood somewhere. "Where can I get blood?" he asked.

"The hematology lab is two floors down. They create blood analogs to use--"

"Real blood."

"They also have sample of real blood to compare to their artificial creations."

I need the blood, he thought. As he walked to the blood stores he wondered. I think I’ll take this company back from my uncle. It was my father’s and it should belong to me.

Original

Cleo walked into the huge office and saw her boss, the CEO of Amalgamated Industries, playing with a deck of cards. "Sir, we need-"

"Crap," he yelled as the cards sprayed across his desk, "How many times have I told you not to interrupt me when I’m, ah, working."

Cleo continued as if nothing had happened, "We need the 10-035 forms signed so we can submit our estimated taxes for the quarter."

"What forms? I don’t have any forms." Josh barked.

Cleo walked to his desk and pulled a file from his inbox. She opened it and pointed to the signature lines at the bottom of the pages. She looked past his desk to see several decks of cards scattered across the floor.

Josh grabbed a pen and started signing. "I’ve been trying that trick all morning. I think the magic shop leaves out some details when they sell you these tricks."

She took another file from the inbox, "This is an authorization for the bio-genetics department to purchase a new AI. It is supposed to increase the efficiency of their attempts to create gene modifying viruses to correct deficiencies--"

"Yea, yea. Whatever." He signed it then paused. "These AIs are pretty smart aren’t they. Smarted than most humans, right."

"If they are trained right. This one has been pretrained with genetic data and DNA modification techniques. The bio-g lab is supposed to train it further but Max says he doesn’t have the people to do it."

Josh looked out the window. Cleo followed his gaze remembering that her office had been by the windows but Josh had his expanded so he would have the view. His father thought the view distracting.

"I’ll talk to Max," Josh said. "I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it work. When I inherited this company they said I would destroy it. But in the year I’ve been in charge the profits have gone up. So I think I can handle a simple people problem."

Cleo couldn’t believe that Josh would volunteer for anything so she simply nodded and backed out carrying the folders. Profits went up because you canceled some projects that hadn’t yet created a product. In two years we’ll be crashing. She thought.

"Mary, get Max from bio-g up here now and have my wife’s niece’s brother, whatever. The new intern, get him in here too." Josh hung up the phone and smiled. From what he remembered from family gathering the kid was into all kinds of goofy things. Magic would be right up his alley.