Wires and a Heart (Coffee-Tastic and Gladis)

[Coffee-Tastic]

 

 

Name: Kou Saito

Age: 18

Height: 5ft 8in

Hair: Black (He has short hair, but the lack of care of it is making it grow out a little longer)

Eyes: Lilac

Appearance: Kou doesn't take much though into his daily outfits, always taking up plaid and jeans, nor anything else that factors into his appearance. Sometimes he never bothers changing his clothes if he's too exhausted. Kou's hair is almost always in disarray.

Likes: Cats, take-out, technology, reading and being recognized for his intelligence

Dislikes: When his cat tries to step on his computer, loud places, Disney, and being bothered

Personality: He's a hard worker, but if he's told to do something he doesn't want to, he won't put any effort in it. This is why he's still in the 10th grade. Despite this, he is not teased in school for this, being an intellect that will probably make millions of dollars some day and he's also not that bad looking, nobody wishes to bother him intentionally. The only thing that does bother him is when people try to talk to him and take him out. Kou has no interest in making longtime friends or connecting with people.

 

 

 

---

 

Even before starting high school, Kou was already in partial development of his first, biggest project called A.C.E. Artificial Computing Entity Version 1.0... He had to admit, when he was first starting this, he was not able to produce what he needed, his resources were very limited for being a 13 years old at the time... But the school he went to was advanced and there, he was able to build up ACE and even get help from the tech professor. Years of working on this, years of neglecting other things, it actually got him a high title in the halls of his school... and stuck in the tenth grade as an eighteen year old. It didn't matter all to much because as soon as his AI was complete, he'd never have to attend school again.

 

Advanced brains were not needed in this time. What was needed were advanced brains that get things done. Kou was only eighteen and he was already nearly done creating an android with coded human emotions. What was something he saw on the television? A new mechanical dog with lifelike fur and teachable tricks. He knew the world would be blown away with this.

 

At home, he had his android, a birthday gift, sitting in a chair by his massive computer, it's keyboard and screen replaced with a touch screen with the light of it reflecting off his focused eyes, watching the loading screen of his AI being transferred to a chip. He was biting his lip and even sweat a bit with nervousness. There was no issue with the program being put onto a chip, but the real nerves came from the question of how his work will look like in the android once it was applied. On screen, the program was stable. When testing it's responses with text, it was normal.

 

"Let's see how you do, Ace..." he took a breath and took out the tiny, flat chip from the scanner once the load was complete and moved his chair to the blond, humanoid husk. The insert was at the neck and only appeared when the chip was close by. It opened up and Kou slipped it inside, pushing his rolling chair back slightly, waiting for it to boost up. With anticipation, he held his hands in his lap, staring at his creation. "A.C.E. process and load," he commanded it, "State the status of current functions."

[Gladis]

 

Can machines think as humans do?

 

Most would say not; machines can't think as humans do. A machine is different. But does that mean that a machine can't think at all? Anyone who has ever interacted with a computer would know the answer to that: machines can indeed think. They have been doing so for many decades now and with every passing year, brains built from copper and wire become smarter.

 

In theory, some of them could even simulate human behavior.

 

So if a computer were to look like a human, feel like a human and act like a human... could it not be considered human? What is it that defines a human being? A consciousness that understands and interacts with the world around it? A being that feels contentment when everything goes according to plan, and sadness when the world around them crumbles? A being with dreams and desires, fears and weaknesses?

 

Then are those who do not possess these qualities not human? Or is it the flesh and blood that dictates whether something should be referred to as human or not?

 

Scientifically speaking, our emotions are merely chemical reactions, controlled by the hormones in our bodies. Our thoughts and memories are nothing more than electric pulses surging through a network of synapses, much like data travels through a network of circuits. Essentially, the human brain is the most complex processor on earth.

 

So really, shouldn't we be asking ourselves what makes us different from machines, instead of what makes machines different from us?

 

When the lines between biology and technology are blurred, it may become impossible to tell what makes us human.

 

It was the very proof of that. The Artificial Computing Entity 1.0, or A.C.E. as it was called, sat hunched over on a chair. Its skin smooth and fair, unblemished, unmarred by the passage of time. A tousle of silky blond hair covered its scalp. Its body was fairly well shaped, neither too tall nor too short — too thick or too thin. At first glance, no one would be able to tell it apart from a human being. It looked like a perfectly normal, if not perhaps exceptionally beautiful, boy. Only its eyes... only its eyes did not appear human. Empty, lifeless, glassy; like a dolls. This being did not possess a soul. Perhaps that is how you differentiate a human from a machine. A machine can never possess a soul... can it?

 

The insert gave off a soft click as it closed around the chip, the line which indicated on opening barely visible to the human eye. There was a moment of delay, then its eyes began to glow in a faint jade green. It slowly sat up straight in the chair, moving his head from left to right and back again as it registered it's surroundings. Finally it's gaze settled on the only human in the room: Kou.

 

"Startup: Complete. Running system check."

 

There was a pause. Its voice was surprisingly gentle and sounded very much human — were it not for the staleness in his way of speech.

 

"System check: Complete. No errors to report."

 

There was another pause. Its expression remained unchanged, its body unmoving. In a way, it truly did resemble a doll. A doll that talked. A doll that processed data. A doll which could interact with the human

 

"How may I...assist you?" as though curious, it tilted its head to the side, never once taking its eyes off it's creator.

[Coffee-Tastic]

To contain most of his smile, he sucked on his bottom lip and took a deep breath. He must say, it was very exciting to hear it's voice, though stiff, and look his AI in it's eyes, though void of any natural life... Everything began from something and Kou was never expecting his technology to take this body and instantly take on the title of 'human'. That's what trials and tests were for, his Ace needed to experience lots of things now that it was off a screen.

 

Kou finally let himself smile just a bit as he shook his head a bit at his own silliness, "Your assistance is not needed at the moment, but things are going to be established," he got up from his chair, pushing it back into it's rightful place at his desk, "From now on you'll be in this form, your task has not changed however. This is an extension of the work we'll be doing. Do your best to process what you see, ask me questions and when I take you along with me outside, I always expect you to be at my side. I have copies of your program, but the body, I don't. I can't afford you getting lost, Ace. Any questions for now?"

 

When he asked the question, he moved back to Ace and casually touched his cheek and some of his hair, just now admiring all of the fine details of this android now that there was something inside of it.