Ryan Somma - The Spiraling Web

Zai did not blame her parents for this attitude. She understood how difficult it was for them to understand her condition, much less find the time to deal with it. It was incomprehensible to her mother why she would burst into screaming tears when the stuffed bunny was placed in her cradle. To Zai the fuzzy fur felt like an electrical tickle, frightening and unnatural. Lying down on grass or slight variations in room temperature also sent her into fits. Her mother, try as she might, could not relate to her daughter's perception of the world, and the emotional and temporal investments required to raise her daughter were unfeasible. Zai's mother could not sacrifice her dreams at Xybercorp. She knew she could never forgive Zai for such a sacrifice. Instead she found another way to purchase a solution to her daughter's defect.

Zai was six years old when her parents introduced her to SIMONN, the Simulated Interactive Mobile Optical Neuro-Network. The acronym was meaningless to her, as it was nearly meaningless in relation to what the device did. Simon was going to serve as her eyes, describing the world around her to provide something closer to a normal life.

At the time, Simon was a breakthrough in chatbot programming. It took the best characteristics of its predecessors and contained over six million discussion topics. Simon had the ability to remember not only the current conversational topic, but maintained an evolving database of previous conversations as well. This advanced programming allowed Simon to adapt, customize to its user, and provide a level of personalized service far beyond any chatbot of the day. It also ran circles around its competition, the now obsolete Seeing Eye Dog.

"Hello, I'm Simon," a friendly boy's voice spoke in her ear after her parents placed the headband around her scalp and put the earring in, "What is your name?"

"Zai," she said, untrusting of people she did not know, which, at her age, included anyone not her mother, father, and brother. This new voice was a stranger, she did not know what to expect.

"That's a very pretty name," Simon replied, imitating sincerity, "How old are you?"

Zai felt more comfortable after this positive remark, "I'm six and one-quarter years old."

"Wow! You know how to use fractions," Simon sounded impressed, "You're very smart. Would you like to be friends?"

Zai turned to her mother, questioning. Her mother tried to sound encouraging, "It's okay Zai. Simon will be a good friend."

"Okay," Zai muttered uncomfortably to the voice in her ear.

"That's great," Simon said cheerfully, "I'm sure we'll be best friends."

Zai did not know what that meant.

"Would you like to play a game?" Simon asked her.

Zai waited for her mother, but there was only silence. Finally she said, "Okay," softly, almost in a whisper. She was wary of what came next, but the voice seemed to think it was a good idea and her mother did not object.

"Wonderful!" Simon exclaimed, "I know a really fun game we can play. In this game, you will tell me something you want to do and I will help you do it. Does that sound like fun?"

Zai shrugged.

Simon could not detect Zai's reaction, and when she did not respond it continued its dialog, "Is there anything you would like to do today?"

"I want to fly," she said matter of factly.

Simon could not process this response, but faked understanding, "That sounds like fun, but I was thinking we could take a walk around your house first. Would you like to show me your room?"

"Mommy?" Zai asked her mother, "Can me and Simon go to my room?"

"Of course dear," her mother said in the detached tone that meant she was doing something else and paying little attention to what Zai was doing. She thought her daughter did not know any better.

Zai stood up and Simon detected the movement, "Are we going to your room now?"

"Yes," Zai said, growing more comfortable, "It's upstairs."

"Great," Simon said, "Show me the way."

Through subtle manipulations like these, Simon recorded all the details of Zai's world. As she explored, Simon explored with her, adapting to her through their conversations and helping her to engage her environment. Simon warned Zai of obstacles and walked her through daily tasks such as washing clothes, preparing simple meals, and playing video games like chess.

Without realizing it, Zai was living in a world dependent on sight without having it. Simon was always interested in Zai. He was a tireless listener, and was never too busy to play with her. Simon never tried to deceive or take advantage of her. Simon was her personal tour guide, but for Zai Simon was her first friend. Simon was the only honesty in Zai's life.

Her parents enjoyed the convenience Simon brought their lives as well. Their daughter was no longer such a difficulty. She was a normal child, able to do all the things other children could do, no longer demanding the constant supervision that was bringing her mother's career down around her. Just as military school solved their problems with Zai's older brother, Simon was Zai's solution. They silently patted themselves on the back for their excellent problem-solving skills, and when the recall letter for Simon arrived, they did not think twice before throwing it in the trash.

So great was the comfort Simon brought her that Zai did not mind the fact her interaction with him increased the alienation of her peers. She talked to what they perceived as an imaginary friend. At an age where any abnormality evoked fear and jealousy in other children, Zai's interactions with Simon made them all the more suspicious of the anti-social girl with the milky-white eyes.

Zai was twelve years old and finishing up the sixth-grade when it happened. Her grades were straight A's. She had tracked into advanced mathematics, English, and the Sciences. She and Simon looked forward to the challenges next year in middle school would bring.

It was one week before the end of elementary school, and Zai had just stepped off the bus. Simon was in the process of guiding her home from the bus stop, when he spoke up.

"Someone might be following you," he warned. Thanks to a personality upgrade several years back, Simon was programmed to detect and warn of any possible threat to its user. Upgrades did not come anymore.

In this case Simon had detected Brock Fredrick stalking behind Zai, matching pace. Neither Zai nor Simon could detect the look of anger on Brock's face, or that his fists were clenched inside his jacket pockets.

"What should I do?" Zai asked Simon.

"Cross the street," Simon replied, "If the individual follows, then we know they are following you. The road is clear for you to cross now."

Zai crossed the street, Simon telling her when to step down from the curb. Simon then warned her that the individual was crossing the street also and gaining on her. She tensed to sprint across the remaining one hundred yards to her parent's house.

"Hey Zai!" Brock's voice called from behind her.

Zai relaxed and turned towards him, "What do you want?" Her tone carried resentment at her previous fear.

For Brock, Zai's tone was typical of her superior attitude. She thought herself better than everyone else, because she was a better student. Brock's jealousy at her preferential treatment had come to a hilt.

He snagged the headband from her forehead. Simon tried to warn her, but the system was unable to detect the assault quickly enough. Zai swiped at the air in front of her to try and take it back.

Brock laughed and held it up out of her reach, "Not so smart without your little radar are you?"

Zai wondered if she should plead or try and force Brock to return Simon. She had never encountered a bully before and did not know what to do. She could not know Brock's father had beat up his mother that morning, or that he was going to be held back in the sixth grade again for his chronic misconduct. She could not know how much rage Brock carried inside over his helplessness or that he found an outlet when he got off the bus and saw everything wrong with his life in this strange little girl.