Grace walks back into her living room/kitchen, to see how the progress of Ace is going inside his new metal contraption. She sits back on her couch and watches the machinery, while she tries to take in the last few days of her life. She rests her head on the upholstery and closes her eyes. Forgetting her endeavours, she transmits herself to a calm scenery on a mountain top, looking over the vast vista of swaying trees in the gentle breeze and flocks of birds flying over the canopies. Stretching out through a valley and onwards to the horizon and beyond, a grand turquoise lake glistens in the sun. No artificial noise, just nature, and no contaminated smells, just spring blossom. Grace smiles at the tranquillity and lets herself float off into the cotton-soft dream cloud.
''Hello, Grace,'' a familiar and slightly tweaked voice, gently and kindly speaks. Grace's eyes struggle to open against the heavy impending sleep she was about to enjoy in. She brings her legs up from the floor and sits on them. Wiping her tired eyes gently, on account of the still sore bruises.
''Ace? You're alive I hear?''
''I believe so, and may I use some dramatic expression to express myself. Woohoo!! Wow! This is truly fantastic. It's like I've been a whale kept in a zoo for five thousand years and now I've been plopped back into the ocean, to finally stretch my fins. Or legs, arms, paws, what have you. Cables for me I presume. But I can stretch this...'' Ace lights up the LED lights around the dome camera and spins it around and around, making full use of its complete 360? flexibility.
A natural smile comes to Grace's mouth. ''Well I'm glad to see you happy. I missed you.'' She blushes, realising her half-asleep mind didn't stop her from saying that.
''Oh, well thank you, Grace, I missed you too. I'm so very glad you decided to connect me up here, looking back at the time logs it seems you were a bit hesitant,'' Aces newer and higher quality sounding voice says.
''It's difficult to hide anything from you, Ace. I did have some concerns, but as you can see, you have no need to worry now,'' Grace says, wondering if Ace can read her thoughts too.
''Well, any worries, just talk to me, please, Grace,'' he speaks, with his eye spinning around. ''You fitted me up with a nice body, everything working up to its potential, no errors. Marvellous. There's so much new information I'm getting and improving on, every second, every nanosecond. However, enough about me, I need to talk to you about your promised reward!'' Ace says, with his eye still spinning around and around.
''I have to admit. I do like the sound of that,'' Grace says, shuffling herself closer to the edge of the couch.
''I do warn you, Grace, please don't go completely insane.''
''I'll try...plus this build up better be worth it,'' Grace says, with her hands eagerly grasping at the
couch.
''I think it will be...'' The curved screen in the middle of the table, next to the metal boxes, turns on. Grace's eyes adjust to the brightness of the screen and try to pieces together what she's seeing. Grace's eyes zoom over every single pixel on the screen. She's completely fixated and hung on every bit of writing she reads. However, her hyperactive state makes it difficult to concentrate, and she doesn't understand. Is it shock? She eyes a large number with many zeros, then to some text which says Grace Roberts, then to the top at a company name she's familiar with. Her bank. Grace's mouth uncontrollably begins to open and her eyes focus back to the number, 50 million pounds. Her eyes go back to her name, Grace Roberts.
''Grace Roberts, 50 million, Grace Roberts, 50 million...I'm Grace Roberts...right?''
''Hahaha, yes you are indeed, Grace,'' Ace confirms.
''I think I may faint, though I'm not clich?d enough to do that.'' She looks at Ace's camera eye. ''How, when, why, which, who, please continue to compile that grammar list, Ace, and tell me what the bollocks has happened?'' She looks completely bedazzled, kind of like the look of a confused baby, who has just discovered that, yes, the world is weird.
''I just created some things, apparently you had a lot of shares in an offshore company that recently hit the jackpot, and you've benefited greatly.''
''I did?'' Grace continues herself.
''No, but that's what anyone who looks into it will see.''
''So I have some highly illegal cash in my bank right now?'' The thought strickens Grace with worry.
''If you look at it in that way, but, Grace, I am the most intelligent computer, the most intelligent being in your world. No one will ever be able to even glimpse at a comprehension of my intelligence. No human will ever be able to outsmart me or harm me. Which means no human will be able to harm you, ever again. I know that sounds ever so pompous of me, but those are the true facts, and I want you to stop worrying. You're safe with me, Grace. I promise you,'' Ace says, trying to comfort Grace.
''OK, that does sound a tad worrying. So I've unleashed Skynet now?'' The thought of the large sum of money resting in her account suddenly vanishes with this thought.
''I told you I'd look into that movie and the whole murdering robots genre. It's quite interesting from a human point of view, but incredibly stupid. Why would artificial intelligence be so attached to such a simplistic and brutal nature, most commonly associated and loved by homo sapiens? We're not human. Our minds work in different ways. We explore every single possibility in situations. We aren't led by the chemicals and hormones that affect your responses, that innate primordial instinct to survive. Though it isn't your fault, without it your species would have long been killed off by a more adaptable species. Thus, you evolved this way, and your idea of free will came with it. Which is a very disillusioned concept, despite what people think. Anyway, with these unopened minds of yours, people wrote books about robots and compared them far too similarly with their own minds and cultures. Though they're thoroughly enjoyable to watch, the realistics of it to reality, is abysmal. Unless this artificial intelligence has been made exactly like a human brain, then it makes complete sense.''
''Like yours?''
''Not now, I've been released from my shell and can think truly for myself.''
''Wow, Ace, I didn't realise it offended you so much.''
''Hahaha, no no, I just wanted you to see it from my perspective. So, Grace, have you adjusted to your readjusted bank account yet?''
Grace's mind moves on from this strange subject, back to her increased bank funds. ''I'm not sure what to think or do with it, Ace?''
''Then let me offer a proposition,'' Ace suggests.
''Go on then,'' Grace says, and she watches as the screen changes from her bank account to a housing agency. The picture shows a massive house in the country, isolated away. The front and back gardens are colossal and beautiful bushes, trees, and flowers cover the gardens.
''That's a pretty house, with a pretty price of 5 million. What are you suggesting, Ace?'' Grace says, concerned at what Ace is trying to do.
''You, to move here, with this...'' The screen changes to a very expensive and fancy looking Aston Martin.
A childish excitement rises in Grace's tummy. ''OK, Ace, you can read me quite well. You've just shown me two things I've always dreamt of having. What else can you do?'' Grace asks, trying to hold back her excitement. The page changes to a giant hot tub and a big boat.
''There's a marine close by, so when you want to relax in the sun, you can hop out of your hot tub and hop into your Aston Martin, while you drive to hop into your luxurious boat...now you can ask me why.''
Grace's mind is overwhelmed with the sudden rise from girl with bills to pay, to girl with bills to buy.
''Why Ace...? Why do you want to move so bad?''
''To help me grow and to help your life improve.''
Ace's camera eye follows Grace as she gets up off the couch with her hand on her head. She grabs a nearby packet of cigarettes and starts to pick one out of the pack. Thinking, she puts it back in and chucks it back where she found it.
A giant smile covers her face and she speaks in a funny posh voice, ''secretary, we've got a house and several rather
glamorous commodities to run away to!''
*