Daniel Suarez - Influx

“You’re very rare, Jon. No nonbiological computer has ever had the ability to make intuitive leaps on the scale of an Einstein, a Tesla, or other great minds. You provide us a rare chance to understand the true nature of creative perception in action.”

He emotionally pulled back. “So that you can copy it.”

“Our goal is to improve the human mind. At present the most powerful quantum supercomputers are capable of massively parallel computations; AIs based on this processing can improve existing data, find patterns, and extend the reach of mathematics. However, they cannot truly innovate. The intuitive leaps that the human mind makes have so far not been reproduced by machine intelligence. It’s believed, however, that truly innovative supercomputers can be biologically built, greatly expanding the power of human perception. I need you to help us if we hope to accomplish that.”

“You want to mass-produce minds.”

“Mass production of biological intellects is already possible. However, they are by definition self-governing and are therefore of limited use. Our research intends to separate free will from intellect to optimize system design.”

“I’m not going to help you do that.”

The music ended suddenly.

“The next generation of biological quantum supercomputers will be biological yet devoid of free will. Capable of intuitive leaps like those of Einstein, Tesla… or yourself.”

“To hell with that. I refuse to help you turn brains into farm animals.”

“It would be more accurate to say that innovation will be converted into an industrial process.”

Grady started pacing around the circular cell. “I will never let you subsume my mind into some slave fugue.”

“Our goal is not to alter your mind but to build new minds based on the research conducted here.”

It finally dawned on him. For a supposed genius he suddenly felt pretty stupid. “Hibernity is a research laboratory. It’s not a prison. And what happens to me during this research?”

“We will conduct an ongoing series of tests to map every function of your brain, and then we will make minor adjustments to see how those changes affect the whole.”

A flash of fear swept through him. “Adjustments? What kind of adjustments?”

“Minor adjustments. Eventually your mind might become too damaged to continue in the research program—at which point your genetic material will be archived for future reference. However, that is many years away.”

Grady lashed out as he tried to run up the wall as far as he could. His feet slipped immediately, and he fell to the ground. “Fuck you! Fuck you, whoever you are! Fuck you, evil pricks!”

“Let’s begin. For your own safety, I need you to lie down on the examination table.”

Instead, Grady collapsed on the smooth, clean floor, huddled against the wall—curled up in a fetal position. “No!”

“For your own safety, I need you to lie down on the examination table.”

“I said no!”

“For your own safety, I need you to lie down on the examination table.”

He didn’t respond.

The AI repeated its demand for several minutes. Finally it said, “If you refuse to comply, then I will help you.”

Grady frowned. He felt dizziness spread through his head and felt compelled to sit up. “Oh my God…” He started breathing fitfully, panting. It felt as though someone were rummaging through his mind with boxing gloves. “Oh my God…”

He sat there, rocked by waves of emotion—random mood swings. He felt fleeting spikes of fear, joy, confidence—all wrapped in a background of horror. He was losing himself.

“For your own safety, I need you to lie down on the examination table.”

“Fuck you!” He started hugging himself and rocking back and forth. Resisting a compulsion to get up.

“You will want to get off of the floor. It will be dangerous to remain on the floor.”

Suddenly narrow slots opened at four compass points in the round wall, and what appeared to be spiders a foot in diameter scurried out. There were dozens of them, and they raised their forelegs and bared fangs at him in warning. He could see their black eyes glistening in the light. Hear their legs clicking on the floor.

“Oh my God.” He sprang to his feet as the spiders continued to pour into the room. They were each nearly half a foot tall, scurrying about. Adrenaline coursed through his bloodstream.

“For your own safety, I need you to lie down on the examination table.”

Grady circled in place, staring out at the horrors that still issued into the room. “No. No, this makes no sense.”

“For your own safety, I need you to lie down on the examination table.”

“This isn’t real.” He watched as a frighteningly real spider scurried toward him and wrapped itself around his bare ankle—sinking fangs into his calf. “Aaahhh!” He tried to knock it off with his hands, but its spiked forelegs drew blood as well. Other spiders started biting and clawing at him. He smashed several with his bare feet, but their carapaces cut his feet as their innards spurted out across the floor in yellow jets.

“For your own safety, I need you to lie down on the examination table.”

“Aaahhh!” He shouted at the ceiling as the piercing bites and stings of climbing spider legs writhed over him. “I don’t believe this. It makes no sense!”

He threw himself down onto the floor. Spiders were crawling all over him now. “Aaahhh!” His heart hammered in his chest. He was covered in sweat as the spiders bit and clawed at him.

“Am I to believe… you’re raising spiders in the walls? How do the logistics of that work?”

“For your own safety, I need you to lie down on the examination table.”

“No! You’re fucking with my mind! You’re creating these.” He closed his eyes. The spiders were all over him now. His terror had now begun to overwhelm him. “No! No!” But still he refused to get up.

Suddenly everything stopped. He opened his eyes, and all the spiders were gone. There was no trace that they’d ever been there. He felt all over his body for the punctures he’d seen moments before, but they weren’t there. There was only a shiny patina of sweat all over him. He was still panting, his heart pounding.

“For your own safety, get on the examination table.”

Grady started laughing, slowly at first, but then he started howling. “This isn’t magic. You’re a fucking machine. And you’re goddamned right the human brain is powerful, motherfucker.”

“Your brain’s ability to parse reality from low-level sensory input is impressive, Jon. I have much to learn from you.”

“And I’m not going to teach you a fucking thing!”

Suddenly tentacle-like appendages whipped out through an opening that appeared in the domed ceiling. They grabbed him savagely, feeling like leather whips as they wrapped around his torso, arms, and legs. They whirled him around and slammed him down onto the examination table. He heard a bone in his face crack and pain seared into his mind. The tentacles flipped him over and yanked his arms and legs into a taut spread-eagle position—tearing a muscle in his left arm in the process. The agony was intense. “Aaahhh!”

“For your own safety, you should mount the examination table when instructed to do so. Physical manipulation of research subjects is an unsafe operating condition.”

Blood flowed from his nose as he looked up and saw another leathery tentacle descend from the dark opening far above him at the apex of the domed ceiling. This tentacle had a hose-like nozzle at its tip. “Oh my God.”