chapter 42
TEAM 3, YEAR: 2095
Time Remaining: 4 Days
After three solid weeks of evenings spent toiling in the Neural Programming lab, Spencer felt an indebtedness to his coworkers that he knew would take several lifetimes to repay. He was equally moved by their unquestioning, unwavering belief in him. Without their hard work, he would never have finished programming the additional 157 detailed scenarios with enough time to allow for testing. Each of his carefully crafted tests contained a scripted scenario to force each Personality Application to experience the full gamut of human emotions—everything from joy to sympathy, helplessness to jealousy and blind rage to fear.
Having just finished programming Spencer’s enhanced scenarios into the Real Life Simulator, Erik, Kalen and Lisa hovered anxiously behind Spencer, waiting for him to initiate the program. Seeing their excitement and knowing they were nearly as emotionally invested as he was meant more to him than he could let on.
Spencer noticed his coworkers had started to show physical signs of overwork similar to the ones that he had been exhibiting for months already. Kalen yawned nonstop. Dark circles had grown under Erik’s eyes and Lisa, who ordinarily took great care in her appearance, had traded in her pantsuit for yoga pants and her spiky high heels for comfortable runners.
“Here goes nothing.” Spencer initiated the Real Life Simulator and the screen darkened. After a few moments, a progress monitor box appeared on the screen.
Personality 001 :: Tests Run: 0/157 Tests passed: 0. Tests failed: 0.
After several minutes, the numbers began to update.
Personality 001 :: Tests Run: 5/157 Tests passed: 5. Tests failed: 0.
Then,
Personality 001 :: Tests Run: 23/157 Tests passed: 23. Tests failed: 0.
The group stood in silence and watched the numbers climb.
“Looking good so far,” said Lisa.
“I should hope so,” Erik laughed. “The first thirty tests were pretty easy. If one of these personalities lost their marbles when playing with puppies, the person whose personality it was probably would’ve raised some flags during the screening process. I hope.”
“Now let’s get the hell out of here,” said Kalen. She grabbed Spencer’s hand and gave him a hug. “I’m taking this guy on a date.”
Time Remaining: 3 Days
Spencer cringed at the thought of another night in the Neural Programming lab. He usually preferred to work in the lab—the bland space was distraction-free, allowing him to stay focused on the task at hand. It also lent itself well to collaborative teamwork, as the lab’s size and resources were ideal. However, after spending as much time there as he and his coworkers had, a change of atmosphere was an absolute necessity.
“This was a great idea, Spence,” said Lisa, setting her chopsticks down on her plate. She picked up her glass of Chardonnay and leaned back on the sofa. “I couldn’t spend another minute in that lab. I don’t know how you can work in there as much as you do and stay motivated.”
Erik stacked the empty sushi trays and carried them into Spencer’s kitchen, his mouth still aflame from the spicy tuna. “Don’t get me wrong,” he called back as he crammed the cardboard trays into the recycling bot. “I love my job, but if I spent any more time in the Neural Programming lab, I was going to go mental.”
Spencer set his CI on the coffee table and powered it up. When the screen appeared, his stomach jumped with anticipation. He expanded the screen so everyone would be able to see the results easily. He found the folder that contained the twenty-two individual report files—one for each personality.
“First up is Brad Jamison,” Spencer opened up the first file called Personality 001.
“Right, the CEO,” said Kalen. “He was really nice. It’ll be so interesting to see how he translates into a digital personality.”
Brad Jamison personified success after building a highly successful business consulting firm from scratch. He also created a clothing line for men and opened three successful restaurants. He bought, resuscitated and flipped many failing businesses. He was greatly respected not only in business, but also at the community level. His signature graced the bottom of many generous cheques for community initiatives and scholarships.
Spencer knew from reviewing Brad’s responses to the initial questionnaire that his early youth had been anything but easy. Raised by a single mother in a rundown mobile home, he endured merciless bullying for most of his elementary school years. High school changed his life considerably when he shot up ten inches and found he could launch a rocketball farther than anyone in the school’s division. At seventeen, professional rocketball teams offered to sign him but his mother forced him to stay in school. Without an education to fall back on, he would be sunk should he suffer a career-ending injury. Begrudgingly, Brad agreed and continued life as a normal teenager.
Brad graduated from high school with a full university scholarship where he found his true love—business. Brad attributed his success in life to the scholarship he had won, knowing that without it, university would have only been a dream. Brad believed in higher education, and it was important to him to give others like him the same opportunity.
Spencer expected the test to flag some unrepaired emotional damage stemming from Brad’s elementary school years, but what he read in the results shocked him to the core. The results revealed that the brilliant, confident businessman Spencer had met in the interview room all those months ago was a very different person on the inside than he was on the outside.
Real Life Simulator :: Test Results Summary
Personality 001: Bradley Jamison
Summary of Desirable Behaviour:
• Very strong work ethic. Not afraid of hard work and strives to continually learn. Thrives on accomplishment and continual improvement.
• Highly intelligent with unconventional ideas. Shows elevated potential for advanced innovation and invention.
• Good moral structure and is nonviolent.
• Able to tolerate unusually high amounts of stress and risk in business.
Summary of Undesirable Behaviour:
• Low tolerance for personal rejection or criticism. Does not forgive easily and holds grudges.
• Amicable on the surface but is suspicious of others’ intentions. Fears compliments are veiled criticisms and suspects gestures of goodwill are devices to trap and manipulate him.
• Exhibits paranoid tendencies. Could lead to problems interacting and building relationships with humans and other robots.
Does not like to be instructed, would prefer to set own rules and boundaries.
Number of Scenario-Based Tests Run: 157
Passed: 87 Failed: 70
Summary: Stress tests at all four levels, Low, Mid, High and Extreme, revealed the personality could handle nearly any amount of stress pertaining to business. Tests involving personal stress yielded exemplary results in all Low and some of the Mid level tests. Most High and Extreme tests were failed. High and Extreme tests resulted in significant mental trauma and resulting behaviour was consistent with being unable to function as a stable, contributing member of society.
Unstable behaviour included extremely aggressive interactions with others, delusion, fear and, at times, reclusiveness. Though generally nonviolent, when under extreme personal stress, the personality became violent for purposes of self-preservation. This personality carries significant paranoid tendencies and would require close monitoring to ensure its behaviour continually fell within a socially tolerable range.
While this personality possesses many characteristics ideal for a robot, the potential safety risks outweigh its positive contributions. If left unchecked, there is a high probability that this personality will become unstable and will lead to behaviour falling well outside the tolerable range.
At the end of the summary in bright red blinking text, the program gave its final verdict.
PERSONALITY
001: FAIL
Kalen, Erik and Lisa were taken aback by the results, so drastically different from what they had expected. Spencer smiled inwardly, relieved to finally have concrete proof to back the concerns he had been raising for months.
“Wow.” Erik broke the silence, his tone as perplexed as the look on his face.
“I can’t believe it,” said Kalen. “He seemed like an ideal candidate.”
“Well, they can’t all be bad. Who’s next?” asked Lisa.
Spencer closed Brad’s file and opened the next. “Dustin Rodriguez,” replied Spencer.
“Ah, Trusty Dusty,” said Erik. He chuckled. “I can’t wait to see how a politician’s personality measures up in these tests.”
Dustin Rodriguez was a prominent political figure in Tricity for nearly four decades. His wild popularity left him unchallenged in the last several elections. Dusty built his success on listening to the people he represented and standing up for what they believed in, even if that left him in his party’s doghouse.
When Dusty had been approached to donate his personality for the pilot project, he quipped that no one in their right mind would want to work with a robot featuring a politician’s personality. Nonetheless, he was more than happy to participate.
Real Life Simulator :: Test Results Summary
Personality 002: Dustin Rodriguez
Summary of Desirable Behaviour:
• Good leader, able to bring people together to inspire and increase morale.
• Possesses high levels of persistence and perseverance.
• Adapts to new situations with ease.
• Charismatic and entertaining; people will be naturally drawn to this personality.
Summary of Undesirable Behaviour:
• Avoids personal conflict as much as possible.
• Charismatic qualities can be used to manipulate people’s views and behaviour, taking advantage of people’s good natures. Is not always forthcoming with the truth.
• Shows very low self-control. Susceptible to bribery and corruption if untraceable.
• Values reputation above all else and guards with ferocity. Will take action against any person he believes may tarnish his reputation.
• Is not physically violent but will consort with others who are.
Number of Scenario-Based Tests Run: 157
Passed: 103 Failed: 54
Summary: Personality performed well in all four levels of stress testing when scenarios had no effect on the personality directly; any failures were reasonable and reactions fell well within limits of acceptable behaviour.
Many Low and Mid level tests were failed, as were all High and Extreme-level tests if the subject of the scenario affected the personality directly. Personality does not handle personal stress well and behaves unpredictably when threatened. Highly susceptible to corruption, should not be placed in a position of trust. Will go to great lengths to protect reputation.
WARNING: Personality too comfortable with others whose behaviour falls outside acceptable social tolerances. Will use various means including verbal threats, blackmail and extortion to protect himself and his reputation or to achieve its goals. Personality is incapable of performing violent, physical acts but is willing to outsource to someone who will.
This personality contains many positive attributes; however, any propensity for criminal activity is intolerable.
PERSONALITY 002: FAIL
Even Spencer was shocked by these results.
“Oh my gosh,” exclaimed Lisa. “The white lies I think we all kind of assumed, but willing to outsource violent physical acts?”
Kalen shook her head as she scanned the summary again. “Wow. I’m glad you pushed ahead with this testing Spence. Can you imagine what the world would be like if thousands of these were released into society?”
Spencer looked at her and smiled. Yes. Yes, I can, he thought.
The next summary showed the results for a personality donated by a professional hockey player—a local hometown hero. He acted as a spokesperson for drug awareness programs and leveraged his status to connect with kids about the virtues of staying in school and away from alcohol and drugs.
Real Life Simulator :: Test Results Summary
Personality 003: Damon Roberts
Summary of Desirable Behaviour:
• Possesses uncharacteristically high ability to focus under pressure, performs extremely well with single tasks.
• A competitive high achiever, strives to be the best at every task it undertakes.
• Outstanding performance for work in groups.
• Extremely friendly and good-natured.
Summary of Undesirable Behaviour:
• Does not handle failure well, becomes depressed and angry.
• Experiences chronic, low-level anger with frequent spikes.
• Unable to manage feelings of anger. Cannot control temper effectively and is prone to outbursts, is sometimes violent.
• Becomes violent with little provocation.
Number of Scenario-Based Tests Run: 157
Passed: 83 Failed: 74
Summary: Personality exhibits significant anger control issues. Should not work with children or the elderly. Several Low level stress scenarios agitated the personality for inexplicable reasons and many Mid level scenarios induced verbal outbursts. Many High level scenarios caused the personality to become violent toward himself or inanimate objects as a venting mechanism. In most Extreme tests, displayed violent tendencies toward others.
PERSONALITY 003: FAIL
Without speaking, they flipped to the next summary. Another city hero, a police officer who went undercover for seven years to bring down one of the biggest crime rings in the city. After returning to the force as a regular officer, she acted a spokesperson for the police force and organized many community-building events.
Real Life Simulator :: Test Results Summary
Personality 004: Chelsea Springwater
Summary of Desirable Behaviour:
• Very dedicated. Fast thinker.
• Extremely resourceful, able to come up with innovative solutions to solve problems.
• Enjoys working independently and adapts to new situations well.
Summary of Undesirable Behaviour:
• Very comfortable with, and adept at lying.
• Comfortable with grey area social behaviour bordering on the line of acceptable behaviour. Prone to other grey area activities, particularly light drug use and activities that could endanger herself and potentially others.
• Frequently dishonest and not always forthcoming. If pushed, will use methods that deviate from unacceptable behaviour.
Number of Scenario-Based Tests Run: 157
Passed: 98 Failed: 59
Summary: Low and Mid level tests found the personality to be well-rounded and positive. Many High level tests were failed or yielded inconsistent results. Reran 37 tests due to inconsistent results. When placed in similar situations with minor details changed, the behaviour contradicted the results of the comparable tests. Personality too unpredictable.
PERSONALITY 004: FAIL
Spencer closed the file and opened the next one.
“Oh, look!” said Kalen. “This one doesn’t seem too bad.”
“Who is it?” asked Spencer.
“It’s Lily. She was that sweet little ninety-two-year-old woman.”
Real Life Simulator :: Test Results Summary
Personality 005—Lily Hendricksen
Summary of Desirable Behaviour:
• High level of patience; nurturing and caring.
• Very strong work ethic, high moral standards.
• Would be well-suited to positions interacting with children or the elderly.
• Will advocate for those who cannot.
Summary of Undesirable Behaviour:
• After prolonged high-stress situatio
ns, becomes depressed.
Sometimes forgetful; shows beginning signs of dementia.
• Mild to medium conflict avoidance, will advocate for others, but not herself.
Number of Scenario-Based Tests Run: 157
Passed: 151 Failed: 6
Summary: This personality passed most tests with exemplary results; however, when continually exposed to high-stress, exhibited exhaustion and depression. At no point did this personality become violent or aggressive. Ideal for work with the disabled, children and the elderly. Note, personality seems to be exhibiting signs of late-onset dementia.
PERSONALITY 005—PASS
“We finally got one!” Spencer tried to inject some positivity back into his troops. “She’s a little forgetful, but look,” he pointed at the screen, “‘ideal for work with children.’”
“This is depressing. So far the only viable personality is a ninety-two-year-old woman who can’t remember her own name?” Erik leaned back on the couch and stared out the window, his expression stony.
“Who’s next?” asked Kalen.
As the group read through the remaining summaries, the mood in the room grew increasingly subdued. Even though Spencer had seen firsthand the terror the robots inspired and the havoc they wreaked, he never imagined the results would be this poor.
Lisa rubbed her eyes. “Well, that was depressing. I can’t believe how bad those results were.”
“Me too,” said Spencer. He set his wine glass on the coffee table and opened the final summary. “And after my experiences with Ian, I worry that this will be the scariest of them all.”
Real Life Simulator :: Test Results Summary
Personality 022: Ian Turner
Summary of Desirable Behaviour:
• Ambitious, highly dedicated and hard working. Extremely intelligent, has exceptional mind for small details.
• Charismatic and charming. Good motivator, resourceful. Innovative thinker.
• Great leader, enjoys being in charge.
Summary of Undesirable Behaviour:
• Level of arrogance exceeds acceptable levels. Has an over-heightened sense of self-worth. Seeks success to prove superiority over others.
• Harbours anger and resentment toward people who he feels oppose him, or are withholding something it desires. Can become violent.
• Shows signs of self-delusion; even if confronted with proof, will justify reasons to discount it.
• Values his reputation and perception in the eyes of others and will protect it at any cost.
Number of Scenario-Based Tests Run: 157
Passed: 81 Failed: 76
Summary: Personality displays an exceptional aptitude for highly technical tasks and passed all technical tests. Passed most Low level stress tests and many Mid level tests. Personality yielded unpredictable and unstable results in most High and Extreme scenarios. When confronted with a difficult situation, the personality defaults to bullying and threats. Most High and all Extreme level stress scenarios ended in behaviour well outside of the normal operating tolerances. Personality is highly dangerous and can become unstable.
PERSONALITY 022: FAIL
Shivers raced down Spencer’s back. He knew first hand that working with Ian could lead to “bullying and threats”, “self-delusion” and “justifying reasons to discount proof.” After the confrontation at the car, Spencer learned that Ian would go to lengths to remove obstacles but he never expected this. His coworkers stared at him, anxious to hear Spencer’s feedback. Lisa nervously chewed at the tip of her black ponytail.
“Okay, Spence,” said Kalen. “I don’t normally make demands or tell you what to do, but under no circumstance do I want you alone with that guy.”
“No kidding,” agreed Erik. “If you get hauled into a meeting, I’ll go with you. Or how about that Delaney chick? You said she supported you in that last meeting so that wouldn’t look unusual. Plus, I’m pretty sure she could kick Ian’s ass.”
Spencer felt these requests were quite reasonable and had no plan to argue. He had no interest in further run-ins with Ian even before reading this summary. He thought back to the confrontation at his car and felt nauseated at the thought of what it could have become.
The gravity of their discovery dampened the spirits of Spencer’s coworkers. Having experienced the robots’ heinous behaviour in 2097, the results brought Spencer some much-needed relief. For his coworkers, the results confirmed what had only been an unlikely theoretical possibility. Seeing the results in black and white came as a major disappointment, and it tarnished the project into which they had poured their hearts.
“This is a good thing you guys,” he told the group. He tried to look lively for his defeated team. “We caught all of this in advance. We’ve got evidence. There’s no way Ian can deny this data.”
“Yeah,” Erik chuckled, “no matter how mentally unstable he is.”
“This isn’t funny, Erik,” snapped Lisa, exhaustion and defeat shortening her temper. The night had become late and she fought to keep her eyes open. “We’ve got serious problems here. You saw those results. There’s a good chance that Ian isn’t going to listen to a damn thing Spencer says. ”
“And even if he did, there’s no way he’s going to allow us to modify the personality applications,” said Kalen. She yawned, pull her legs to her chest and hugged them. “If we alter the personalities in any way, Ian won’t buy it as true AEI. He’ll see it as programmed responses and not genuine human emotions. Just another robot following ‘if’ statements from a predefined script.”
“Surely he’s smarter than that,” said Erik. “The personalities will still feel and react based on emotions. They just won’t experience acute levels of whatever emotion it is that causes them to react in extremes.”
“We know that,” said Spencer, “but it’s Ian’s perception that’s the problem.” His coworkers nodded silently in tired agreement.
“We’ll need to apply for an extension,” said Erik.
Lisa agreed. “The presentation is Monday. There’s no way we’ll have all the personality applications modified and installed in the prototypes in four days.”
Inwardly Spencer agreed, however, an extension was out of the question. Monday’s presentation of the demo robots and their personalities tied directly to the success of Operation TimeShift. Spencer shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but Kalen beat him.
“An extension isn’t going to help,” said Kalen. “It will only draw attention to the fact something is wrong and then Spencer’ll have every director on the project scrutinizing his work.”
Spencer was moved by Kalen’s unconditional support; however, an extension was the only conclusion any logical person would come to.
“We all know Ian’s unstable and there is no way we’re going to get any kind of buy-in from him,” said Spencer. “We need to go over his head and present the modified personalities at the demo. When everyone sees the robots are still very much human-like with the altered personalities, their concerns will vanish. I’ll modify the personalities this weekend. And Monday afternoon, I’ll install a modified Personality App onto each of the demo robots.”
“Spencer,” said Lisa, “first of all, you’re not doing this alone. We’ll all help. But still, even if all four of us worked all weekend, there’s no way we’ll get all of the personalities modified, retested and ready for install. It’s impossible.”
Spencer knew Lisa was right, but it was all he had to work with. “Let’s just hammer away at it. We’ll get done what we can and maybe if we can just…”
A knock at the door interrupted Spencer. He looked at his watch and walked to the door, surprised that someone would be visiting this late.
“Delaney?” Spencer was unable to hide his surprise. He expected Logan to be in tow, but only she entered. “Come in, please. Where’s Logan? Is everything alright?”
Delaney saw Spencer had company and felt silly for dropping by unannounced. H
er eyes darted around the room nervously. “Spencer, I was hoping to talk to you, but I can come back when you don’t have company.”
“We were just finishing up here,” said Kalen, smiling warmly as she walked to the closet and grabbed her jacket. Seeing Erik and Lisa’s confused expressions, she added, “I’m sure you guys have lots of director stuff to discuss.” Comprehension dawned on Erik and Lisa’s face and they, too, joined Kalen at the door.
Delaney smiled at Kalen gratefully for the cover and not outing her relationship with Logan. “Yes. Lots of tedious director details.”
Spencer closed the door behind his departed coworkers and took Delaney’s jacket. He noticed her hand shook as he took her leather jacket and he immediately thought of Logan. She declined his offer of a drink and sat down rigidly on the couch. Her body language said business but something in her worried expression and darting eyes said otherwise.
“Is everything alright? Is Logan alright?”
Delaney side-stepped his question. “When Logan and I dropped off your dry-cleaning a couple weeks back, I hung your clothes in your closet.” She paused to let him piece together what she was saying but his expression remained expectant as if waiting for her to finish her sentence. She spoke again, this time more slowly. “I hung your clothes in your closet and I stumbled across a very unique, yet familiar, backpack.”
Immediately, the colour drained from Spencer’s face. His mouth opened, but no words came out.
“I haven’t said anything to Logan, or anyone else for that matter, and I don’t intend to. I know you’re here on a mission of some kind and that you can’t technically disclose anything, but I need to know what’s going on.”
Spencer’s heart pounded like a jackhammer against his ribcage. He felt unprepared, having not planned for this scenario. He quickly processed his options; unsure if he should say nothing or make something up. To say something would violate the terms of the operation and breach the time travel rules, but he had no other option. Delaney was too smart for excuses or distraction tactics. He knew he would need to be truthful with her.
Spencer exhaled deeply. His shoulders fell and he met her eyes. “Yes. I am here from the future,” he said. The words sounded corny, like a line from an old science fiction movie. “But not far in the future, about…”
“Two and a half years?” she cut in.
“How much do you know?”
“Nothing officially. I’ve put some theories together, which is why I haven’t gone to Ian.”
Delaney summarized her suspicions. Her intelligence and perception amazed Spencer. They talked for over an hour and he confirmed her theories and filled her in where she had gaps.
“I try not to dwell on it, but that’s the severity of the situation when we left. The robots’ behaviour has completely degraded. They have no regard for human life and their only interest is growing their species.”
“Is Jim involved in this? Was the ski accident just a cover?”
“No, Jim’s not involved in any way. That was just a weird coincidence… In more ways than one, because when I did this project the first time, he didn’t have that accident. He only took that trip because I was so ahead of schedule in my work and the department was up to date. In hindsight, it worked out really well, actually. Well, not for Jim I guess, but you know what I mean.”
Spencer thought he would be angry at himself for being so sloppy as to leave evidence around for someone to discover, but instead, he felt relief at sharing the burden.
Delaney had many more questions to ask, but she could go no further without asking the one question burning in her mind.
“The twins are in on this too, right?” she asked, quietly. “Logan, my…this Logan, the one here right now is not the real…” She trailed off.
Delaney’s rigid posture broke and her eyes welled. Spencer now understood why she looked so haggard. She must be feeling a tidal wave of emotions—hurt, deceived and angry. He knew Delaney would respect the gravity and legitimacy of the operation, despite its origins of a different time, and would adhere to the rules that bound it, including its secrecy. The complication for her revolved around Logan. Spencer had seen them together only a few times but it was enough to know that what they had was special. He knew better than anyone that finding that special person was life-changing, and he guessed that for Delaney, this was where black and white blended into shades of grey.
“Both twins are here with me as well.”
A tear fell onto her cheek. She wiped it away quickly and her posture again became rigid. She looked out the window.
Spencer reached out and took her hand. “Delaney, he’s been agonizing over this for months. He thought he should break it off with you because it didn’t feel fair to you, but he couldn’t. It’s tearing him up. I’ve never seen him in love before.”
Delaney closed her eyes and another tear rolled down her cheek. Instead of wiping it away, she covered her face with her hands and broke into heavy sobs.
“I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve said too much.” He sat beside her and took her in his arms as she sobbed. “I’m in the same situation with Kalen, and it kills me every time I see her. I feel like I’ve stepped over some moral line—like I’m being dishonest on so many different levels. I feel like I’m going to be abandoning her, as if I’m leaving her with a stranger, even though it’s still me. At the same time, I feel guilty, like I’m having an affair with another man’s girlfriend, who isn’t even aware that he’s got a girlfriend. It’s like I’m cheating on the 2095 version of myself.”
Delaney nodded and chuckled at the absurdity of his words. Even more absurd to her was that in some unexplainable, convoluted way, it was the truth. Knowing that Logan shared Spencer’s appreciation for the situation she and Kalen were in, eased a small part of the pain. The only difference for Kalen was that she was blissfully unaware.
Spencer went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water and handed it to Delaney. He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before returning to his seat.
“The only reason I can sleep at night is knowing that in 2095, I was in love with Kalen just about as much as I am now.”
Delaney drank half of the water and set the glass on the coffee table.
“Please don’t tell Logan that I know. I need to process this. I mean, I understand why he didn’t say anything; I’m not angry about that. I would have done the same. Regardless, the end result is still the same. It’s entirely likely that when he goes back, our relationship will be over. The 2095 Logan won’t even know we’ve been dating and probably won’t care.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I can’t even think about that right now. It’s too screwed up to even wrap my mind around.”
Spencer let the silence hang between them while she processed the bizarre situation. As Logan had put it so eloquently the night of Asher’s party, it was “the most fucked up situation he’d ever been in.”
Delaney drank the rest of the water and smiled. “I bet you didn’t have a plan for this.”
Spencer laughed and shook his head. “Nope.”
“I’ll take that glass of that wine now. I think I need it.”
Spencer returned from the kitchen with two wine glasses and a new bottle of Chardonnay. He poured two glasses and handed one to Delaney. She drank half then stared absently as she swirled the remaining golden liquid around the glass.
She gave Spencer an awkward smile. “Well, this is a clusterfuck.”
Spencer chuckled. “You have no idea. It’s like a bad nightmare. None of us knows what it will be like when we go back. For all we know our family could be gone. The world could be an entirely different place. Granted, it really can’t get much worse.”
“I can’t even imagine,” she said. “Well, the good news is I can help you now that I know. I’ll try and chip away at Ian from the other side.”
“Thanks,” said Spencer. He ran his hand through his hair. “To be quite honest, I’m running out of time and I’ve given
up trying to get through to him.” He retrieved his CI from the dining room table and set it on the coffee table in front of them. “These are the results of the tests I developed and ran on the personalities.” He felt it may be best to keep his coworkers names out of it. He opened up the summary of Brad Jamison. “As you can see, there are a lot of good qualities, but there are a lot of problems.”
“May I?” Delaney asked, wanting to control his CI.
Spencer opened the Settings menu on his CI. He saw that his device had detected her Icomm contacts. He opened up a generic “Guest” profile so she could control his CI without requiring the proper retinal authorization. “By all means.”
Delaney scanned the first five report summaries he and his coworkers had read earlier that evening.
“Well, I think I’ve seen enough.” She closed the document.
“Actually, I don’t think you have.” Spencer opened the file labelled “Personality 022”, the file containing the summary of the tests run on Ian’s Personality Application.