Virus
Chapter Six

I stared at my arm in shock. I remembered getting bruises, scratches and scrapes, but the sight before my eyes caused me to ruminate whether that was a lie. Where the knife had penetrated my skin, instead of a gash, instead of pain, I saw a myriad of circuits- yes, circuits- instead of ordinary blood of bone. As I watched, I noticed that the wires had not broken, and instead parted and stretched around the knife, and the skin was now connecting back together. In a couple more seconds, I was in perfect condition yet again. The experiment was conducted on my legs as well, to the same results. I simply was not human. Then what was I? my body was clearly synthetic, and yet I had successfully passed as human for the last fifteen years, fooling even myself into believing that I was a member of the Homo Sapiens. And yet… I wasn’t. I remembered looking at one of Kira’s thick volumes about technology, reading about robots. So, I was a robot, then. And yet, I had cognitive function. Perhaps an intelligence? It did seem to fit. -Therefore, I was not human, and not quite robotic either- I was an artificial intelligence, which floated somewhere in between, but belonged nowhere. Then came the voice in my head. Hello, it remarked. Engaging Code Artemisia. A myriad of images flooded into my head- my façade of being human may have been convincing, but it was over. Downloading…please wait… the voice continued. Wait? I chuckled. The one occasion I didn’t have time was when I needed it most. I swung myself off the bed, slowly backing away from the other occupants of the room, who were stalking towards me with alarming speed. The room was small, and I desperately searched for any means to escape what was looking to be sudden death. Suddenly, the voice reappeared. Hello, it remarked. I am your personal assistant. You seem to have found yourself in a potentially dangerous situation. Would you like me to help you in extricating yourself from this potentially fatal encounter?

Of course, I thought back. Suddenly, the world around me seemed to slow down. I tried to move my body but found that I couldn’t.

Increasing motor outputs, the voice stated. Suddenly, my body began to move at a regular pace, compared to my slowed-down companions. The voice piloted by body out of the room, and I started to run out of the false hospital. However, when I reached the door, it was locked. The voice again took over my body, and I watched in a mix of horror and fascination as my hand morphed- yes, morphed- into a cannon. A cannon. The barrel started to hum with a blue light, and suddenly a beam of energy shot out, shattering the glass. Again, regaining control of my motor functions, I dashed out into the streets, everything still seeming to be slowed down. Frantically looking around me, I sprinted to the bus stop, where I sat in the booth, expecting the deranged doctors to jump in any seconds. As the bus pulled up, the world seemed to resume to its normal pace, and again in hopped in. The half-hour ride back to my house gave me time to ruminate over my present condition. Although this was not true in books, I knew that I as a person hadn’t changed, only my perception of my character. However, that didn’t explain the sudden voice in my head. As the dark, gray streets surrounded me, I decided I would negotiate with the creature in my head. Are you there? I called out into the darkness of my mind.

Greetings, the voice responded. I am here to assist you- I am your tutor, your mentor in the ways of synthetics… Ah, you do not know what you are? An artificial intelligence was a good guess, but incorrect. You are a synthetic, a human in a robot body. I would tell you more, but my memory banks have been wiped… I still know the ways of the robot, which I will pass on to you… We shall begin soon, when there is time…

Okay, I thought back. But you still need a name…

A name? the voice replied, and I could hear-think- a hint of curiosity in its tone. Why would I need a name?

You remarked yourself we are still humans. Humans have names. And even if you argue against it, I will give you a name and refuse to abandon it. Even robots need a reminder of their own humanity.

You state good points, Eva… What shall my name be?

I had to think about this for a while- once I gave the voice a name, I would be acknowledging its existence, but not acknowledging it was just as dull, as it was clearly there. The name had to be perfect, as well. Although part of me wanted to name it Jarvis, just like Iron Man’s AI, the name didn’t quite fit. Neither did Iko, a character from Marissa Meyer’s the Lunar Chronicles. You are A.V.A, I thought. Advanced Virtual… Accomplice.

The newly named A.V.A seemed to take the name without complaint, which I interpreted and a sign of approval. Or it could simply be that A.V.A had no willpower to argue, or programing blockades, or… But it seemed like A.V.A approved. Your training will begin when we reach your home. There, I will show you how to access the Vnet, and your instruction will begin in full. After all, there is much for you to learn if you are to defeat the Amalgamation.

The Amalga-what? I cried. Great. Now I had the Amalga-whatever to deal with, along with my parents.

Don’t worry, the two are connected to each other much closer than you think… A.V.A responded, just as the bus pulled into my stop.

I ran home, locked the door, closed the windows, and in general made it impossible for anyone- or anything, for that matter, to see into my house, at the same time making it look inconspicuous. I had written letters to school, talking about how I had gotten sick and might take a week of bed rest- this ailment was a bad one- to recover. Franklin was already reeling from the low fundraiser returns, and a missing student was not high on their list of priorities. I had two hours until school was over. That should be enough time, especially if you increase your time sensitivity… then those two hours can seem like ten. However, I must warn you, this will have an extended drain on your power supply. You gain your power from translating kinetic energy into electricity and then store it. You also gain energy from solar means, as well as from the charging cord you will replace is stored in your head. Ejecting it now…

I heard a small hum, and a power cord dropped from my hair. Yet another sign that I was not human. Wouldn’t this provide only a small amount of energy.

Yes, but you have energy amplifiers built into you. This technology is far more advanced than what scientists have achieved, and maybe will ever achieve. One electron enters the amplifier, and yet an entire ten exit, amplifying the energy you gain tenfold. No one knows where the energy is taken- perhaps from natural resources around the world. One thing is for certain- this is a great gift, and you should use it wisely. Another boon is of your kinetic processors- the more you move, perhaps in combat, increases your energy intake.

Wow… I breathed. There was so much to learn… I didn’t know if I would ever have enough time to discover the secrets I now possessed. A.V.A… make it twelve hours instead of ten. Surely, I have enough energy stored up from the escape from the doctors…

As you wish, she replied. Uploading you to the Vnet as we speak…

Suddenly, my surroundings became darker and darker, until finally they faded to various shades of gray and black. Disconnecting… I heard someone say. And then the world disappeared completely.