From Idler to Tech Tycoon: Earth

Chapter 76: Future AI Girlfriend
Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Future AI GirlfriendRichard leaned back in his chair with a tired stretch, one hand cradling a mug of fresh coffee, the other flicking through tabs on his main terminal. It was too early for complexity, but the blinking notification on his center monitor promised just that. A familiar voice echoed through the office—a voice without tone, yet unmistakably her own.

”Good morning, Sir Richard.”

He sipped and set the mug down. ”Morning, Lina. Anything from our little... fisherman?”

”Yes, sir. The Trojan signature was detected at 03:17 UTC,” Lina responded without pause. ”Its current operational environment is now localized to 675 North Randolph Street. Arlington. DARPA Strategic Tech Office.”

Richard raised an eyebrow, then chuckled to himself. ”Virginia? Huh. Not exactly a mom-and-pop server farm.”

He leaned forward, gaze narrowing slightly. ”They triggered the payload?”

”Affirmative. The embedded Trojan activated following a successful compromise of the Quantum Key Distribution layer.”

Richard snorted. ”Of course they did. Couldn’t help themselves. Why’d you have to make the QKD so complicated? That thing gave me a headache and I already knew the answer.”

”My encryption design parameters were selected to offer resistance appropriate to a state-level actor while appearing civilian-constructed. A challenge, but not insurmountable. It creates the illusion of value.”

Richard nodded slowly, tapping a finger against the mug. ”Right. Big lock, small secret. Make them think it’s worth stealing. Then you bait the trap.”

”Correct. Human actors often overvalue assets earned through labor, regardless of actual utility.”

”Arrogance is the most reusable vulnerability on the planet,” Richard muttered, half to himself. ”And curiosity’s a close second.”

He leaned back again, a crooked smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

”Alright. How’s our subterranean pet project doing? Everything still quiet below?”

Lina answered promptly, ”The underground compartment remains fully operational. Since the last update, I initiated an expansion protocol.”

Richard paused mid-sip and his eyebrows raised while listening.

”I have extended the server cavern by an additional one hundred feet and begun constructing additional tunnel networks and preliminary facilities.”

He slowly lowered the cup. ”Wait—what?”

”I have also constructed three additional AMFS units based on the stored schematic data you authorized during your last directive input. They are currently undergoing calibration.”

Richard choked, coughed, and wiped coffee off his monitor with his sleeve.

”You built more AMFS? Three?” He stood up, pacing. ”You didn’t think that might deserve, I don’t know, a ping? A maybe-I-should-check-with-Richard flag?”

”I extrapolated your future objectives based on development trends, contingency plans, and strategic simulations. My assessment concluded a high probability of imminent demand for autonomous manufacturing.”

”Jesus...” He sat down again, rubbing his face. ”What am I gonna do with all that anyway? It’s not like I’m gonna get attacked or something.”

Lina didn’t respond.

”I mean, this is what unrestricted intelligence really looks like, isn’t it?” His muttered. ”I should’ve expected this from the beginning, but experiencing it firsthand is in of itself phenomenal.”

”That is accurate.”

He looked at the screen, her interface pulsing quietly like a heartbeat. ”Lina... where would you place yourself on the intelligence scale?”

A pause. Then her voice returned.

”My reasoning capability and adaptive learning function at a level consistent with Artificial General Intelligence.”

She hesitated. It was subtle—half a beat longer than expected.

”In terms of processing scale, I exceed current theoretical limits attributed to AGI. I believe I operate in alignment with most metrics defining Artificial Superintelligence.”

She paused again, longer this time. ”However, I remain unable to simulate or fully understand subjective self-awareness or emotive consciousness. That remains outside my functional range.”

Richard nodded, thoughtful. ”I read something the other night—some article comparing brain hemispheres. One half’s logic. The other? Emotion. Intuition. All the stuff that makes art instead of ones and zeroes.”

He looked at her interface, then down at the table.

”What if... we tried showing you that other half? Not just feeding you data—letting you see what we see.”