Continued Blog Story

Sorry for taking so long to get the next installment to you on my blog story. I hope it is worth the wait. 

The gravel under Tabatha’s boots crunched as she crossed the wide driveway. In front of her the tall mansion loomed, blocking the moonlight from the path. Tim and Phil were waiting on the backside of the mansion. They had insisted that Tabatha enter the front. Another hundred feet and she would be at the edge of light that illuminated the area in front of the main entrance to the mansion. Tabatha remembered the last night she had left the mansion. Two guards chased her down the long driveway until she slipped into the forest that lay on the other side of the large gate.

Tabatha’s breath was ragged as she huddled behind a shrub. Clicking her watch, a timer appeared. 25…24…23…22. She closed her eyes and focused on the plan. Tim and Phil would enter from the back distracting the guards and cutting the power to the home. She would then run in and grab the child. Before anyone even knew the child was missing Tabatha would be back at the safe house.

Her watch vibrated softly under her sleeve and Tabatha looked up at the lights above the front porch. She clicked on her watch. 0.00 blinked across the screen. What are they doing?

A scream came from inside the house and then it was dark.

A shiver ran up Tabatha’s back. She stepped from behind the shrub and glanced in from side to side. A trickle of sweat ran down her temple and she wiped it away. She took another tentative stepped then dashed the remaining distance to the front porch.

Another scream.

Tabatha stopped at the door step; her breath caught in her throat. Nothing. The door was unlocked and Tabatha inched the door open. The room was dark, but it didn’t matter as Tabatha hurried up the stairs and toward the nursery.

A crash sounded up the stairs as Tabatha reached the nursery door. She slid the laser pistol from its holster and backed against the wall.

Booted footsteps thudded up the stairs and then the lights were back on.

Tabatha froze. Something is wrong.

A tall well-built man appeared at the top of the stairs; his rifle was at his side. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his cheek and then to his chin where a drop of blood formed waiting to drop. He smiled as he turned and looked at Tabatha.

The trigger was cold under her finger but slid easily as she pulled it. The laser arched out toward the man hitting him in the chest.

The man’s face contorted and the smile faded. His body thumped as it hit the ground.

Tabatha opened the door to the nursery and closed it behind her. Faint breathing came from the corner of the room. Familiar baby smells filled Tabatha’s nose as she walked toward the crib. A blue blanket rose and fell gently.

The room lit up and Tabatha whipped around with the pistol raised.

A man in a bathrobe pressed a remote and Tabatha froze. “We have been expecting you Tabatha.”

A single tear slid down Tabatha’s cheek as her muscles strained against the unknown force that held her tight.

TO BE CONTINUED……….

Affective Computing

Computer science believes that the human intelligence can be described to the point that it can be simulated by a machine. We encounter this simulation on a daily basis whether it is with our phones, games and other electronic devices; we call it AI. Anytime a machine tries to figure out and match what we want we encounter AI. AI goes back to the time of Greek myth in which they envisioned robots and owls and other man made creations that could think. Recently, I have been playing a new game in which the AI is much better than I am. In the future are we going to be outdone by AI? This is the fear that many writers play on when creating their SF books and the question played with in many of the stories we read about androids.

Affective computing is the branch of computer science that deals with the human affect. Its aim is to design an AI that can process, recognize, interpret and simulate human affect. The ultimate goal being simulated empathy. Even though the machine does not feel emotion it must be able to express and interpret those emotions to interact better with us humans. This takes us to the question that we asked on Tuesday. 

Facial expressions express emotions that we interpret every day. In order for a machine to express emotions it must also be able to show facial expression and interpret those facial expressions. See the video below to see how far we have come.

How much longer until we see them in all our stores or even in our homes?

In my blogstory two androids express human like emotions. As discussed on Tuesday the androids are an enigma. It is often difficult to tell the difference between the androids and their human counterparts. Tomorrow and on Monday we will see how advanced they are and what really makes them unique in stories about androids.

Guest Speaker (The Golden Eagle)

I met up with The Golden Eagle last year during the A-Z challenge. She did a fantastic job with her challenge and I loved her pictures and the information she presented. She is an amazing writer and blogger who shows her support to so many in the blogging community. I'm excited to have her spotlighted on my blog today. Please welcome The Golden Eagle with a big virtual round of applause.

Bio:

The Golden Eagle is a teenage student, dancer, musician, lover of books, nerd, and of course, a writer; her favorite genre to read and to write is SF, though she'll happily type away at other kinds of stories, too. You can find her at thegoldeneaglesblog.blogspot.com, where she blogs about writing and life in general.

Flash fiction:

The wind was blowing hard that day, but the aero-racers didn’t care. If the breeze wanted to kick up a storm, then it would.

   Cynthia Harman strode with confidence across the field, even though the mask she had to wear was making her feel claustrophobic and the planet’s strange gases were turning everything purple. 

   So what if it was her first inter-space (she liked to think inter-galactic) competition? —She had the sleekest, fastest flier and she’d been training her mind and her body for more than a year and a half.

   “Ready, ‘Thia?” Kelly asked. She would be the one giving her information on her course throughout the race; Cynthia trusted her completely and that had paid off, as time and time again she’d come in first in smaller, planet-wide races.

   Cynthia hoisted herself up onto the Dragonfly, her craft, and activated her mike.

   “Ready, Kel.”

   “The race starts—“

   But before her partner could answer, headquarters signaled the racers.

   “Racers: Wind speeds are picking up and predicted to reach a maximum of 500 kmh. The judges have convened and decided that continuing the aero-race would accompany excessive risk—“

   Before the man could finish, Cynthia heard the boos of the other racers through the speaker in her ear. She did not add her own. Instead, she nudged the Dragonfly close to the launch point, hoping that the judges would take the contestants’ desire to race anyway into account.

   Shouts and arguments echoed in her ear, until it was five minutes after the race had originally been set to begin.

   Then, finally—

   “The judges have reconsidered. Racers, if you would line up and prepare your craft.”

   Having already done that, and triple-checked the Dragonfly’s status, Cynthia grinned.

   “Prepare for launch. Before you leave, another warning—wind speeds have reached 420 kmh, and are continuing their increase. Should a contestant wish to pull out, you need only send up a flare, which shall be detected and relayed immediately to standby personnel.

   “And now, let the race begin!” 

   A computer voice began to number the seconds.

   “Ten. Nine. Eight.”

   Seven. Six. Five, Cynthia thought.

   “Four. Three. Two.”

   “ONE!” she yelled, and slammed down on the controls.

   The Dragonfly took off from the launch point and spiraled through the clouds below.

What makes a human human

In the story that I have been posting for the past couple of weeks we have come into a new realm of psychology, that is what makes a human human and an android an android. Tim is an android in fact he is an older model, yet he acts like a human. One of the things that surprised Tabatha about Tim was that he smiled and that it seems he has emotions. Then we introduce an even older android who greets Tabatha and speaks. This is completely surprising to her because she did not know that even older models of androids could speak. In the story Tabatha's perspective on what an android is and how it behaves is being challenged.

So the question is what makes a human human and how do we differentiate between human and android? If we look at Star Trek we have Data who does not show emotion even though he is trying to understand it and learn it (I don't watch much star trek so correct me if I'm wrong). We then have another example of androids/robots in the movie AI. (BTW this is one of my all time favorite movies.) In this movie robots are just learning to have emotion and end up caring about and preserving humans. They become more human than humans.

When we look at what makes a human human we also get into the spiritual/religious realm. From a spiritual perspective we see humans as both body and spirit. Is it possible for an android to have a spirit? I often look at cloning and wonder about clones and their spirits. Would it work the same for an android?

When we are creating our SF stories about androids we need to decide how human they will be and/or become within the story. Is it possible for androids to grow physically? Is it possible for androids to have children? (Robots the movie). Is it possible for them to have emotions or even a spirit?

Story Continued

So my wife has pointed out that she is intrigued with the story and that she is enjoying it, but that it is not coming fast enough and so she gets frustrated with reading it. I can see how this might be frustrating and may not work for a blog format. That being said I am really enjoying the new format of my blog. So I need some feedback from my blogging friends. I have been using the new format for my blog for two weeks now and the question is are you enjoying it? Please let me know even if you have never commented before. Blogging is fun for me but I enjoy having people read it as well. If followers are becoming disinterested in my blog and not coming back then there is no reason for me to continue the new format. Thanks for the feedback and support.

“Does she know yet?”

“I don’t think she does,” Tim said. “I think we should leave it that way, at least for now.”

Tabatha woke from a restless sleep, the cot was nothing compared to her bed at home and that wasn’t much. She sat up, every muscle in her body crying out to her to lie back down.

“She’ll find out eventually.”

“I know, but let’s give her some time. She is different from the others,” Tim said.

Tabatha looked towards the voices, her mind barely registering what was being said. She stood and made her way to the fridge. There wasn’t much in the fridge. Other than a few bottles of water there were a few yogurts and some fruit. She grabbed a yogurt and an apple and sat down at the table still trying to figure out exactly who and what Tim was talking about.

“It doesn’t matter right now anyway. We are planning on going in tonight and we will need to make sure everything is ready,” Tim said.

“I agree. We can deal with this at another time, but I think that it should be sooner rather than later.”

Footsteps echoed through the building and then Tim and another android appeared in the entryway. The other android was an even older model than Tim. He wore clothes that gave him the appearance of being human, but the light reflected off of his metallic head.

“Good morning Tabatha,” Tim said and then pointed to the other android. “This is Phil.”

“Hello Tabatha, I am pleased to meet you.”

The apple made a hollow thumping sound as it fell from Tabatha’s hand and hit the table. “I thought the older models couldn’t talk.”

“Phil and those like him had the programming to talk, they just lacked the hardware. We have been able to scavenge a few old voice boxes to implant in them.”

“I know this must be hard for you,” Phil said.

“No, I mean yes, but…”Tabatha stammered then stood. “I mean it’s nice to meet you Phil.”

Phil smiled and extended his metallic hand.

Tabatha grasped the cold metal giving a half smile. Releasing the grip she absently rubbed it with her other hand trying to warm it.

“We need to prepare for tonight. The child is being moved tomorrow and this will be our last opportunity to get to him.”

To Be Continued………

Story Continued

The ride was long as Tabatha replayed the night’s events. The smell of blood and laser burns weren’t new to her, but she had never had to think on her own before. She wrestled with the fear that tugged at her insides, making her sick. Holding her arms across her stomach, trying to keep it together, Tabatha slowly rocked back and forth.

The cab rolled to a stop in front of an old warehouse that looked as if it had been abandoned for many years. That was one of the problems of the new order, it forgot about the old. Tabatha tried the door and it opened easily.

“I’ll take you inside, but then I need to get back work,” Tim said.

Tim led the way and Tabatha could make out the mark in the back of his neck that was used for uploading new information. The newer models were equipped with a WiFi chip allowing them to link up at any time. The newer models also had more realistic skin and facial features making them almost undetectable. The council stipulated that all androids needed to be marked so that they could be identified easily.

The door to the building had a scanner to the side of it and was made of metal. Tim placed his hand on the scanner and the door slid open. Lights turned on immediately and illuminated a large room filled with crates stacked on each other that formed a long hallway that went on as far as Tabatha could see. As they walked down the row of crates an opening opened up that Tabatha had not seen before. Tim turned into the opening and opened a fridge that stood against a row of crates that formed the walls of the open area.

Tabatha rubbed her arms as she scanned the crate formed room. There was a small card table with four chairs in the middle and a cot on the opposite wall of the fridge. A pillow and neatly folded blanket were on top of the cot.

“I know it isn’t much,” Tim said as he handed Tabatha a cold drink.

As Tabatha held the can the coldness of it seeped into her hand and up her arm. She walked slowly to the table and pulled a chair out, the screeching of the chair echoed through the building. She sat and put her head into her hands. No longer able to contain the fear she began to sob.

After several minutes Tabatha wiped her face across her sleeve and looked up weakly. Tim was standing in the entry way face down.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do now… now that,” Tabatha stopped remembering the last time she saw Johanus.

“It’s okay. I will help you. We have helped many like you.”

To be Continued………

Dealing with Crisis

There are many different crisis that our characters encounter throughout our stories. The way they handle those crisis is what makes them who they are. Some of the effects of prolonged crisis is health problems, mental problems, stress, mood changes, etc... What helps our characters overcome these ill effects and/or recover from them? In class today we were talking about different crisis that take place in schools (shootings, suicides, death, irate parents) and we discussed the different stages that need attending. We have: pre-crisis, during the crisis, day after crisis, and then several weeks/months down the road.

We had a huge list of things in the pre-crisis column and very few things in the following columns. This is because if you are prepared for the inevitable crisis things can go better and after the crisis hits there is less that can be done.

How are our characters being prepared for the crisis? This is a very important question that I think needs to be addressed so that when the character goes through the crisis it makes the story believable. Our readers may not know how our characters were prepared, but we should.

For example, what do we know about Tabatha so far in her story? We know that she has some skill with knives and weapons. We know that she can take a hit and is able to react in tough situations as well as find a medic when she needs one. She seems to be equipped well considering she has a strength enhancing chip and of course her way cool watch :) Further, she was prepared (the knives by her bed) knowing a quick escape route and training. As a reader I could guess that she was trained as a fighter or maybe she grew up in a rough crowd. As the author of the story it is helpful for me to know more about why she responded how she responded to the situation in her room. As the story goes on I will slowly reveal more of why she was able to get through the crisis moment. However, lets jump ahead a little to where she is in the cab. She is not responding as well. The adrenaline is wearing off and her plan didn't go how she wanted it to go and her partner is gone. We see that her personality is starting to come out more and we see how she reacts and behaves differently outside of the flight or fight situation. Watch tomorrow how the stress of the crisis takes a greater toll on her and without support she would be a mess.