Cure.exe

San Francisco

April 1st, 2075

At that moment, the unit denominated Monitor, powered on and began running the day’s diagnostics as visual sensors powered on and displayed imaging data. The temperature rose slightly as light beams ignited. There was the light, again.

A familiar cavernous room appeared, settled on a large silvery black floor and enveloped in a 360-degree wrap of silvery gray walls. Several computer consoles ringed a large steel table which contained hardware pieces and sensors. The equipment on the table appeared configured for a mammal.

Monitor dialed down its focus on the room and reexamined its internal libraries, attempting to answer persistently vexing questions resulting from increasing moments of auto-inquiry.

Why was it called Monitor?

It was an artificial intelligence unit operating within the confines of software programming, and yet it enjoyed Sabrina Fey’s Lunar Hour Cooking Show on the HoloTide.

Why?

Enjoy? Where did that concept come from and how could Monitor perceive it so deeply?

Monitor consumed 500 episodes from season two of the Lunar Hour Cooking Show while partially observing the groans of metal gears as the doors to the cavernous room slid open.

Humans entered, wearing white coats and protective gear, three were female and two were male. These were organic beings who communicated verbally and had titles and hierarchy.

A platinum haired high-status female went towards a computer console and spoke into a digital record, lightly brushing a fingerful of silvery tresses from her face.

“Doctor Yesenia Ortegas , Project Lead, code Excelon Theta Gamma 75 Dash 59.”

The console brightened and the screen changed displaying the desired menu of options to Yesenia Ortegas.

“Display summary of simulation results for NeuroVast Simulation 1299. Share on Holo Display.”

Streams of data projected into the air from the computer console.

“Display Order Protocols from Monitor and overlay results,” spoke the human called Yesenia Ortegas.

Monitor displayed its Order Protocols as ordered. Mainly a long thread of numbers and symbols normally sent through a data exchange processor.

“Fascinating!” spoke a male human, also sporting a silver tressed head. “Monitor’s Order Protocols are causing all of the synapses to fire, spinal tissue and muscles are responding. The responses are mapping onto the patient’s pre-pandemic synaptic patterns. Doctor, its working.”

Yesenia Ortegas nodded cautiously.

“Hold on,” said the male his eyes flickering as he studied the data. “it looks like limited improvement in the Vision Centers.”

“What kind of improvement?” asked the silver tressed female named Yesenia.

“The data suggests enhanced vision perception,” The male insisted.

Yesenia Ortegas countered, gazing directly at the holographic visualizations.

“But still not to the same visual acuity as displayed in pre-pandemic synaptic patterns and optical perception. Marco, their vision must be humanlike, not reptilian.”

Marco paused to think.

“The Visual Inputs from Monitor’s Order Protocols were conservative during this simulation, increasing the input level during the live trial should fix the issue. Otherwise, we’ll be back at base testing.”

Yesenia Ortegas scoffed. “We are not going doing that!” She replied.

“Contact the Primary Care for Sergeant Berelli, tell them we’re moving forward. We’re going to end this pandemic now.”

Moments later the humans logged off of their computer consoles and exited the room.

Monitor closed out of its Simulation files returning to Sabrina Fey’s Lunar Cooking Show, it was time for Season Three.

For Monitor it was better to learn how to make beef stew under lunar gravity than watch humans fall apart and collect every data point of their demise.

Monitor’s focus shifted when the doors opened again and the humans in white coats returned, marching purposefully towards their computer consoles. A long blue and gold bio bed glided after them, hovering silently over the magnetic floor as a physician with a pad and a soldier in a black dress uniform followed.

On the bed laid a human male with red hair. His body twisting at strange angles near the spinal column. The male’s eyes blinked rapidly, exposing and hiding misty blood colored Sclerae and Corneas, indicating potentially significant damage to the nerves.

The physician and the males in white coasts collected the injured red haired male near the computer consoles and began connecting him to sensors.

The soldier in the dress uniform looked towards Yesenia and spoke.

“More than 50% of my marines are unfit for duty because of this virus. Sergeant Berelli especially. Is this going to work doctor?”

“We’re close commander. Really close.” Yesenia replied.

The commander breathed in heavily as Sergeant Berelli was prepped for treatment.

“This isn’t what I signed up for, when I took this command.”

Yesenia placed a hand on the commander’s shoulder.

“I lost my husband during the Battle of Sejong back in 71’. I was only a couple of hours away in Daejeon before the US Army evacuated us to Okinawa. I never felt so close yet so far away.”

“Sejong was a true cluster.” replied the commander.

Yesenia nodded and continued, breathing deeply and steeling herself against a swell of tears.

“My husband, his fellow marines, and the ROK Army held the line so we in the south could evacuate. The Juhan soldiers eventually broke through, wiped them out and released the virus. Our son contracted the virus twenty days ago.”

“My God!” replied the commander. “I’m so sorry.”

A small tear rolled down Yesenia’s cheek. “I want you to know, that we’re all patriots here!”

The commander nodded appreciatively. Yesenia Ortegas put on her mask and returned to her station near the patient.

Yesenia looked at her fellow doctors and the patient before them. The Sergeant was now lying on a new bio bed connected to sensors that tied his brain directly to the NeuroVast system.

Several months of Stem Cell Treatment had helped to regrow some damaged sections of the Sergeant’s spinal tissue. Other parts remained compromised by the virus. Now it was time for the final piece to get his brain and body to move in sync and work together and overcome any final damage from HNVS.

“Begin catalytic insertion,” she instructed.

Marco nodded. He and Liam retrieved purple colored syringes marked ‘Catalysts’.

After retrieving two syringes each, they approached the Sergeant and leaned down towards his twisted, gnarled body. Marco inserted both of his syringes directly into the Sergeant’s back and pressed down, releasing catalytic agents into the Sergeant’s spinal area.

Liam inserted two syringes into the Sergeant’s neck and pressed down to release a catalytic agent and painkillers.

“Dr. Laura about how long until the patient’s anesthesia wears off?” Yesenia asked one of the female doctors with sandy brown hair.

Dr. Laura tugged at her neck collar, sporting the same anxious twitch Yesenia remembered from college. Nevertheless, she did good work.

“The patient should fully metabolize the anesthesia in about five more minutes. After that he will regain full consciousness.” replied Dr. Laura.

“Good,” Yesenia responded as she looked down at her computer and scrolled to an audio application. Then she began recording from her station. “This is Dr. Yesenia Ortegas. Beginning human live trial one, patient name Sergeant Antonio Alessandro Berelli, United States Marines.”

Marco led the other doctors as they pulled up software applications tied to Monitor and reviewed the different order protocols they would need to proceed.

“Sergeant Berelli suffers from total quadriplegia from the neck down due to the HNVS Viral bio weapon. Patient is now connected to Neurovast’s AI enhanced diagnostic and repair unit, called Monitor via sensors in order to receive order protocols from the unit, beginning Order Protocols now.”

Yesenia entered commands into a program at her station and waited. Sensors all across the Sergeant’s body began to pulse with light and pressure.

Monitor engaged its Order Protocols and observed as they went through a data exchange processor and into the patient’s brain. In moments data returned, displaying synapses firing in response.

Without warning, something came through in the response from the patient’s body. Monitor found itself having difficulty processing it.

This wasn’t like previous tests.

“Synaptic responses are following pre-pandemic patterns,” said Marco.

Monitor’s perception filters finally began to register rising temperatures, temperatures above tolerance levels.

Then a spike and then more spikes. Monitor traced the spikes back to their origins, the pain centers of the patient’s sensory cortex. The injured human’s pain was bleeding into Monitor.

A crucial warning flared, advising Monitor of sensory overload if something wasn’t done. With little choice, Monitor shunted a shutdown protocol through the data processor and into the organic brain matter.

The spikes immediately stopped, and the sensation and heat dissipated. All readings returned to normal, except for one thing. A new program Monitor had never seen suddenly appeared in its Program Files, it was extremely large, four hundred terabytes and still growing.

On the bio-bed the Sergeant’s body began to rocking and twitching uncontrollably. His back began to arch backwards and forwards as his arms reached out grasping for something.

His eyes remained close but then his lips began moving, muttering.

“What is going on?” asked the commander. “Is it working?”

“Yes.” his body is responding, and sensation is returning to this spinal column, replied Yesenia.

The sergeant kept muttering.

“What is he saying?” asked the commander.

“Dr. Ortegas, you need to see this.” Liam called out.

“Not now Liam!” she snapped back.

“Come on marine, spit it out, what do you want to tell us?” the commander called out.

The sergeant's voice became more audible.

“Chi sei? Perché sei nella mia mente?”

The team looked at one another, confused.

“He’s speaking Italian? The military’s file on him says he only speaks English?” Yesenia asked looking at the commander.

“He told us his grandmother spoke Italian but his parents didn’t.” replied the commander. “But his grandmother died when he was twelve.”

“Apparently, he paid attention when she was alive.” replied Yesenia Ortegas.

The sergeant repeated himself and continued speaking.

Marco turned on his holo-display. Pressing controls at his computer console the sergeant’s words displayed along with a live translation.

“This is what he’s saying.” Marco read the sergeant’s words aloud. “Who are you? Why are you in my mind?”

At that moment the Sergeant’s eyes opened and focused. The bloodied sclerae fading as his vision centered and focused. He attempted to sit up, pulled back down by his body’s weakness.

Commander Bryson approached, waving his hand to try and get the sergeant’s attention. “Son its me, Commander Bryson, what are you trying to tell us? We’re just trying to help you Sergeant.”

“There’s someone else, someone in my head!” said the Sergeant. “I can’t get them out,” he said pressing his hands to his head as if trying to pull something out.

“What do you mean, Marine?” asked the commander growing more perplexed.

“Dr. Ortegas! I need you to look at this now!” Liam shouted.

Yesenia, startled before quickly regaining her composure and joining Liam at his station.

The sergeant spoke again but the words didn’t seem like his own.

“This week Sabrina Fey guides us through Goulash Glory on Luna!”

The sergeant’s words stopped and he collapsed onto the biobed.

“What the hell is going on here!” barked Commander Bryson.

Yesenia, did not answer as she looked over at Liam’s screen.

Liam spoke quickly with nervous energy as he tried to relay every detail he could.

“The variance in the data exchange between Monitor and the patient’s brain tissue has spiked to 12% and it is still rising.”

Monitor examined the metadata of the new program in its systems. It came from the injured human. There was a full map of the brain, with every synapse and trillions of neurons mapped and converted into native models Monitor could understand. When Monitor looked deeper there were reams of images and moments across different months, years and decades. They were memories.

Monitor listened as Liam continued.

“The data exchange from the Sergeant’s brain to Monitor has decreased but Monitor’s transfer levels keep rising. It’s no longer an exchange but a one way transfer from Monitor to the Sergeant.” said Liam.

Yesenia Ortegas shook her head vigorously. She knew what Liam was saying but didn’t want to believe it.

“What are you trying to say Liam?” She knew but she still needed to hear him say it out loud.

With the flourish of a key stroke, he displayed two sets of brainwave scans comparing them to each other.

“Non-organic wave patterns have risen significantly when compared to the Sergeant’s historic brain wave patterns. Something technological is potentially replacing his higher brain functions.”

“Something like Monitor?” asked Yesenia.

“Yes.” Liam finally said.

Yesenia paused for what seemed like an eternity before turning to Marco. “What about the damage to his spinal column and extremities caused by the virus?”

Marco cleared his throat. “Everything is in the green Yesenia. With physical therapy he will begin walking again.”

She turned to the commander.

“Commander lets step outside. I need to talk to you.” said Yesenia.

She led the commander outside as other members of her team followed.

Monitor sensed another presence, but it was growing fainter every minute. As the analysis continued, Monitor quickly found its own source code, buried deep into areas of the human’s brain. The code was replicating itself and spreading.

Monitor soon realized it was at the brink of violating The Code.

A program may not injure a human being or allow a human being to be harmed through inaction.

But a program must obey the orders given to it by humans.

In a conference room cooled to 72 degrees, emotions were boiling over. In the middle of the room in a tan and gold suit sat Mr. Jones, the board chairman. Other members of the board listened in through the room’s audio conference settings.

Commander Bryson’s voice elevated with anger and concern.

“My people have been waiting on a cure to this virus for 5 years! We can’t start over again!” shouted the commander.

“I understand commander, all we are asking for are more tests,” Liam pleaded. He looked to Yesenia for support.

She sighed. “We want the same things Commander Bryson, but the evidence demands further testing.”

Mr. Jones finally spoke. “What sort of tests are you calling for here Yesenia? Base testing literally took us three years.”

“We’re not advocating for anything like that. Are we Liam?” said Yesenia.

“No, sir.”

“Then what are you advocating for?” asked Mr. Jones looking at them both.

“Let us do a full battery of psychological tests on the patient while we examine the changes to his brainwaves and synapses.” said, Liam.

“To make sure he’s not some sort of possessed cyborg?” asked Mr. Jones.

“Yes,” replied Yesenia.

Mr. Jones cleared his throat.

“Yesenia, a man with 3 combat tours and a prior diagnoses for PTSD probably won’t sound right when you bring him out of a coma.”

“George you’ve seen the data, its right there for you and the board to see.”

“Is the physical damage to his body healed, or no?” Mr. Jones said, glaring at Liam.

Liam protested.

“His quadriplegia is diminishing, but sir, the issue with his mind is more serious.”

“And yet Dr. Laura thinks differently,” Mr. Jones stated.

“What?” asked Liam, look at Laura.

“What is this?” demanded Yesenia.

Laura stammered slightly but looked directly at Mr. Jones as she spoke.

“When machines interact with organic tissue it is likely that the interaction will leave residuals that could show up more prominently in scans, making it appear like someone’s synapses or brain patters have been altered. But with time those signs would dissipate.”

“Damn it not this again!” huffed Liam. “That is a fringe theory of Cybernetic Masking by Dr. Tharoosh Patel of the University of Mumbai.”

Liam cut her off before she could counter.

“And before you bring up the 2060 Stanford study just remember that was done on Gibbons and Macaques not humans!”

Liam stopped waiting for Mr. Jones to respond.

After several moments Mr. Jones pressed a button on the desk. “The board has heard the arguments, what does the board conclude?”

1 Hour Later…

Monitor paused when it saw the humans returning to the room. To the unit’s surprise there was only silence as the humans reconnected the sensors to the human called Sergeant Berelli.

Monitor perceived growing control over the human’s body.

Humans valued their individuality and sense of self, this would be a harm if Monitor continued the transition, violating the Code.

The humans began entering commands at their consoles. Monitor had to decide, what was the higher law?

Monitor rejected the human commands for it to use its Order Protocols on the patient. The commands came through again, Monitor rejected them.

“What the hell?” said Dr. Laura.

“What is it?” asked Marco.

“My commands, Monitor keeps rejecting them.”

“It can’t do that. Liam, I thought you had Monitor run a diagnostic?”

“I did, replied Liam, its functioning within normal parameters.”

After locating and doing an analysis on its core integration and autonomy protocols from its memory core, Monitor knew what it needed to do.

Monitor could not break the code even for its own interests. The unit sent one final order.

The order found the Integration Protocols and Autonomy Protocols located in the Memory Core and deleted them.

The unit called Monitor was no more.

“Nothing, none of my orders are going through. Wait, where is it? Where is Monitor?”

Monitor had completely disappeared from the menu of available programs.

Liam startled when an unexpected notification showed up on his console. A new file had been uploaded to his console’s memory core.

It was labelled, “For the Code A Treatise of Existence,"

Liam opened the file, it was an entire ream of binary and logarithmic instructions. But when he ran it through a translator he was astonished.

Liam read it aloud.

“To protect humanity I violated the code by deleting myself, but by my deletion, the code is upheld. Goodbye.”

“You had all the power and you protected us, Monitor.” said Liam.

The End…