\u201cCalling it. 7:38 AM for model AI-287B-017 \u2013 fatal error. Initiating shutdown procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo way,\u201d Carter said, rolling his chair across the room, peering close at the shiny screen. Jones was always little too trigger-happy when it came to Shutdown. \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere,\u201d Jones said, gesturing to a pulsating red frequency bar. \u201cInevitable resource overload.\u201d<\/p>\n
The readout was <\/em>admittedly complex, and the graphs never made as much sense to Carter as they did to the other Proctor. Jones lived for this stuff. They all did, really. Time was a finite resource just like all the other ones Earth was rapidly depleting, but unlike money or resources, it was not one the Firm could replenish. Still, a critical error was serious business. The boss was very picky about this stuff.<\/p>\n \u201cThe subjects are now consuming resources at a pace that outstrips the survival of the population over the long term,\u201d Jones continued. \u201cAt this rate they\u2019ll hit starvation by\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Carter said. \u201cIf they haven\u2019t already self-destructed, you have to let it play out. The boss was very clear about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones shook his head. \u201cI don\u2019t know why. It\u2019s just a matter of time. We\u2019ve run how many of these scenarios? Tell me the last time I was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe end stages are what he\u2019s most interested in collecting data on. You know that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones sighed. \u201cAs much as I enjoy observing subject behavior in the face of apocalyptic doom, why aren\u2019t we paying equal attention to the positive scenarios? You know, the ones that might actually help us?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve thought the same thing, trust me. But that\u2019s not what we\u2019re getting paid to do,\u201d Carter shrugged. \u201cThat\u2019s the Partners\u2019 job – it\u2019s why we\u2019re the ones collecting data and they\u2019re the ones analyzing it. Look,\u201d he said, wheeling his office chair around to face Jones. \u201cIt\u2019s tedious. I get it. But that\u2019s why we\u2019re bringing in fresh meat. One of these interns will eventually hit on something we haven\u2019t considered. They\u2019re the best in programming and design.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd how many of these simulations are still running, exactly?\u201d Jones asked with a grimace.<\/p>\n \u201cLike I said, eventually<\/em> we\u2019ll get it,\u201d Carter said, slapping Jones on the back. \u201cIt\u2019s inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n +++<\/p>\n Create a perfect world, or as near-perfect as conditions would allow: that was the certification test. Evelyn wasn\u2019t supposed to know the prompt, but she had bribed Celia, an upperclassman, as soon as exams took place the previous year. She wasn\u2019t supposed to know about the Firm\u2019s Classified unit, either, but Celia had slipped her information about that, too. Evelyn was sort of amazed how far a little money would go in a world that was rapidly running out of everything else.<\/p>\n Earth had been teetering on the brink for some time, which was why it was now or never. Evelyn felt that Classified was her best shot at giving the planet a fighting chance. The Firm was extremely selective about who they admitted to Partner from among the interns. There had been thousands of students over the years, but only twelve Architects. She\u2019d heard that even of those twelve, not all had been impressive enough to choose the unit they joined. That was why Evelyn had started scoping out potential prospects as soon as she had begun classes with the older students. If she had a shot at Classified, she needed as much time to prepare for the test as possible.<\/p>\n Classified housed the Firm\u2019s more experimental<\/em> designs. The interns weren\u2019t supposed to know it existed, but once a few had been admitted to work on the lower-level projects, it was impossible to prevent word from getting out. Among those who worked there (and those who didn\u2019t) fantastic tales flew back and forth about what they must be building: plasma-fueled aircraft, virtual reality pods, sentient holograms, and even augmented life of various kinds\u2026a far cry from the bridges and tunnels the interns spent most of their time designing and modeling.<\/p>\n But Celia had passed on snippets on conversation that only confirmed they were attempting to build something that would get us out of here. <\/em>And to Evelyn that meant one thing: terraforming. If there was one entity with the resources to do it, it was the Firm, and the situation on Earth was admittedly dire.<\/p>\n It was a strange time for humanity, and the Firm was no exception. They were all witnessing the downfall of their home, and for the first time in history, there was another option, possibly just within reach, possibly just beyond. If there was a time to become part of the effort, this was it.<\/p>\n +++<\/p>\n \u201cThe Proctors will see you now,\u201d a disembodied metallic voice crooned, and a door in the glistening white hallway slid open, revealing a small, dim room where two men in white lab coats stood waiting.<\/p>\n \u201cYou must be Evelyn Avery,\u201d the shorter one said warmly, extending a rough hand. His eyes crinkled at the corners, and his smile was genuine. Evelyn shook back, stepping into the chamber and looking around. It was simpler than she had expected: everything was sterile white except for a few black screens on the far wall that beeped periodically, displaying a visual tangle of graphs and signals she couldn\u2019t pretend to understand. There was a sleek white desk in the center of the room with three office chairs facing a single central screen.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on in, kid,\u201d the taller one said, motioning Evelyn towards a table in the center of the room with a jerk of his clean-shaven chin. \u201cLet\u2019s see what you can do.\u201d He extended a stylus to Evelyn, its metallic chrome gleaming against his dark palm. Evelyn swallowed and accepted it, seating herself at the desk.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Carter,\u201d said the shorter one, taking one of the seats behind Evelyn, \u201cand this is Jones. We\u2019ll be proctoring your test today. Try not to be too nervous. I know this certification is a big deal to you, but we\u2019re more interested in observing your behavior than we are in evaluating the final product.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this forever,\u201d Jones said jocularly, \u201cand no one has died from completing a test prompt. Yet!\u201d He laughed at his own joke, and Evelyn laughed too, but it felt wooden. She knew they were about to announce the prompt. She was going to have to focus on acting surprised, while already knowing the nature of the test, knowing that this was her only shot.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, I know that you and your classmates have been focusing on critical infrastructure for most of this past year,\u201d Carter was saying. \u201cBut just for now, we want you to think a bit bigger. Today we\u2019re going to present you with all the conditions to design an entire planetary ecosystem complete with the beginnings of life. Based on your selections we\u2019re going to run a simulation that allows the life within that simulation to play out. You\u2019ll be creating a microcosm \u2013 a small world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe realize the concept can be a bit overwhelming when you\u2019ve been focusing mostly on critical infrastructure with finite materials,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBut there are a variety of units within M.E. Architects, and some of them focus on projects that are a bit grander than the typical designs. Based on your performance today, we\u2019ll evaluate whether you might be a good fit for one of those units.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe conditions for success are there from the beginning of each model,\u201d Carter said, in an attempt to be encouraging. \u201cBut like we said, we\u2019re most interested in your choices, and how you decide to design your scenario. Today is about you, and the talents you bring to the table. Feel free to begin, whenever you\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Evelyn swallowed and faced the screen. She watched absently as the Proctors gave her a run-through of how to use the simulation software. She\u2019d done enough coding that the task was simple to pick up, and by the time they had finished their demonstration, she felt a bit better. You\u2019re ready for this,<\/em> she told herself, gripping the stylus. And she began.<\/p>\n +++<\/p>\n For the better part of an hour, Evelyn worked in studied silence as the Proctors peered over her shoulders, taking notes. Every text she had read in preparation for this test passed easily into her mind as she made her selections, edited the source code, and used the stylus to dictate her choices from a variety of pre-set menus on the screen.<\/p>\n At various points, the Proctors asked her questions about her decisions, and made notes on the tablets they carried with them. At first she was thrown off by the questions, but as she worked, everything faded and Evelyn barely noticed them. She was captivated, enamored by the idea that the decisions she was making were weaving together a world. She envisioned her creation blooming into reality, and wondered what would feel more fulfilling: having your creations appear out of thin air as you imagined them, or getting to program them, bit by bit, within a set of complex parameters \u2013 playing by the rules, finding ways to transcend them? Both, she decided, must feel like magic.<\/p>\n And then, without warning, the argument streaked across Evelyn\u2019s memory in angry reds and oranges, catching her off guard as she bent over the screen. It was the first time in days that she hadn\u2019t actively suppressed it, the first time she hadn\u2019t been consumed by test preparations. It stung just as it had when she\u2019d talked with Cara most recently, perhaps more in hindsight.<\/p>\n +++<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I don\u2019t even know if I know you anymore,\u201d Cara had said. \u201cYou\u2019re all secretive and mopey lately, you never want to talk unless it\u2019s about this big conspiracy that you think is going on inside the Firm\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a conspiracy, it\u2019s just that I don\u2019t really know if I agree with some of their experimental projects.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, really? Then what must you think of me, huh? You know full well that Classified has been the goal the whole time I\u2019ve been studying. And for you, too! Now all of a sudden it\u2019s just repulsive to you for some reason?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not what I said\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t have to. You know what? You don\u2019t need my permission to change your mind. Do whatever you want. But if you\u2019re going to throw away all the plans we had, you might want to start looking for your own place. The lease here is up in August.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAhh, c\u2019mon, Cara! Just because I might <\/em>not want to work for the Firm doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t have an apartment\u2026\u201d But Cara was already gone.<\/p>\n Fine, run away \u2013 see if I care! <\/em><\/p>\n But Evelyn did care. She could barely believe that Cara had been the first to abandon her when she tried to voice the suspicions eating at the back of her mind about what was going on in Classified. She would have never suspected her best friend would be the first to dismiss her. It felt like her reality had begun to unravel. At the time, even with her misgivings, hopping on a terraforming transport hadn\u2019t seemed like the most ridiculous idea in the world.<\/p>\n +++<\/p>\n When Evelyn had typed her final command, she lay down the stylus, and brushed the hair from her forehead. It had become clammy in the small chamber, and she hadn\u2019t realized how feverishly she had been immersed in the task. Or maybe she had just been fighting not to lose her focus.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything else?\u201d Jones asked brightly, looking up from his tablet, his face illumined by the soft glow in the dim room.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing,\u201d Evelyn said, looking back at the screen, studying the set of parameters she was about to set in motion. \u201cAre the subjects\u2026aware that they\u2019re in a simulation?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAhh, a great question,\u201d Carter said, laying his tablet on the desk and running a hand through his salt-and-pepper beard. \u201cIf it\u2019s something you think is important to your design, you can choose to make the subjects aware. A lot of interns do. Is that what you\u2019d like?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cActually, no,\u201d Evelyn said. \u201cThe opposite. I\u2019d like to have the subjects remain unaware. In fact, if it\u2019s possible to prevent them from ever finding out, I\u2019d like to set that as a parameter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you think this will enhance the success of your model?\u201d Jones asked, making notes on his tablet.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, yes,\u201d Evelyn said. \u201cEnhance the chances for collective long-term survival of the subjects, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd why do you think that is?\u201d Carter asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think that if you tell the subjects they\u2019re in a simulation, then there\u2019s a kind of\u2026shift.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan you describe this shift?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just think that instead of focusing on the resources at hand, on taking care of each other, they\u2019ll focus on the fact that they\u2019re in a simulation. That someone is behind the scenes, controlling them. They\u2019ll be more focused on the nature of their reality than on being present within it. And eventually they\u2019ll either try to manipulate the simulation in their favor, or they\u2019ll try to escape it. If I were trying to destroy <\/em>a simulated world, I mean, that\u2019s the first <\/em>thing I\u2019d tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what issue is there, exactly, with the subjects trying to escape?\u201d Carter asked, setting his tablet aside.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, isn\u2019t it obvious?\u201d Evelyn said in disbelief. For a moment she forgot that she was operating on the pretext of joining a unit that was doing exactly what she was describing. \u201cThey\u2019ll destroy their current world as they abandon it in hopes of making it to a new one. Once they\u2019ve decided to leave, it\u2019s only a matter of time until that planet dies, whether they make it out or not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven when the resources are <\/em>depleting, and a better world is within reach?\u201d Carter asked.<\/p>\n \u201cCarter\u2026\u201d Jones chided. \u201cIt\u2019s best to let her come up with her own reasoning\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven then,\u201d Evelyn interrupted. \u201cYou said it yourself. The conditions for success are there from the beginning. We just have to choose them. There might be a better world, but it\u2019s in this one.\u201d<\/p>\n Which was exactly why the terraforming project had to end. Which was why she had to get inside. \u00a0Had she been too plain? Did any chance remain? It barely mattered. No one seemed to care about making things better anymore; everyone just took a look at things that had started to crumble, and ran.<\/p>\n The Proctors were silent for a moment, exchanging a glance as Evelyn collected herself. Finally Jones cleared his throat. \u201cWe\u2019ll note your choice about obscuring that fact, Ms. Avery. Unless you have further parameters to request for your model, your test is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n Evelyn just nodded. What else was there to say?<\/p>\n \u201cIt can take some time to run a simulation, but once we\u2019ve completed your scenario we\u2019ll contact you with your scores,\u201d Carter said, rising from his seat. He could tell she was upset. He wanted to tell her things would be alright, but realized the futility. \u201cThank you for your time, Ms. Avery,\u201d he said instead. \u201cWe\u2019ll be in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n Evelyn rose from her seat and followed the Proctors to the door. She stepped out into the glistening hallway, looking down the row of doors. There were dozens of interns throughout the Firm devising dozens of alternate realities, creating their own attempts at worlds of code and chrome.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d she said weakly, but the chamber door had already slid shut with a final click<\/em>, and she found herself alone.<\/p>\n +++<\/p>\n The chamber remained quiet after Evelyn had exited, the screens in the corner bathing Jones\u2019 and Carter\u2019s faces in soft red light.<\/p>\n \u201cYou seemed kind of rattled there,\u201d Jones said, rising from his seat, stretching. \u201cDon\u2019t take it too personally, Carter. You know we can\u2019t tell them why we\u2019re doing this. She said it herself. Smart kid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a little close to home,\u201d Carter said, rubbing his temples. \u201cIt seems unfair \u2013 having the students produce all these simulations when it\u2019s exactly the scenario that Classified is trying to break us out of.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou aren\u2019t telling me you actually feel for those critters in the code?\u201d Jones said, cracking his knuckles, smirking.<\/p>\n \u201cWell? Who\u2019s to say that each of those realities we\u2019re having the interns create isn\u2019t creating a scenarios just like the one we\u2019re in? Only we\u2019re the ones pulling the strings, playing God. I mean, to us, things seem real enough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what\u2019s real?\u201d Jones said. \u201cRunning these tests is what they\u2019re paying us to do. And I know it seems stupid to focus on the job with everything going to shit out there,\u201d he said, gesturing towards the world beyond the windowless chamber. \u201cBut you can\u2019t let every little question they ask get to you like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe has a point, doesn\u2019t she? That\u2019s why Classified exists,\u201d Carter said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cLook. One day, one of these interns is going to make a flaw in their design, or program in a rule that we haven\u2019t thought of. And the Partners will be able to exploit that to break us out of whatever twisted program has been controlling our world for so long. So we\u2019ve just got to keep bringing them in, and watching as closely as we can. Now. We have four more of these tests to do today. Coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNah, I\u2019m good,\u201d Carter said, rubbing his temples and sitting back in his chair.<\/p>\n \u201cAlright \u2013 just start running that sim, yeah? I\u2019ll be back in five.\u201d And he was gone.<\/p>\n The green \u2018Start Simulation\u2019 button was blinking on the screen, but Carter didn\u2019t press it. It should have been easy – he\u2019d done it a hundred times before. But there had been something different about this test, this intern.<\/p>\n There might be a better world, but it\u2019s in this one.<\/em><\/p>\n The blinking screen washed over Carter\u2019s features in a soft, steady pulse as he looked at the screen, not really seeing it. He sat there motionless in the dark for a long time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cCalling it. 7:38 AM for model AI-287B-017 \u2013 fatal error. Initiating shutdown procedures.\u201d \u201cNo way,\u201d Carter said, rolling his chair across the room, peering close at the shiny screen. Jones was always little too trigger-happy when it came to Shutdown. \u201cWhere?\u201d \u201cThere,\u201d Jones said, gesturing to a pulsating red frequency bar. \u201cInevitable resource overload.\u201d The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[792],"class_list":["post-11135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-origin-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11135\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}