When the taxi dropped Edmund at his home, Shuck was waiting for him on the path. Edmund patted him, “Hello, boy, good dog, come on, let’s get inside.”
Eostre appeared in the hall from the living room. Edmund smiled, “Hello, I need a coffee, would you like one too?”
“No, thank you, I don’t drink.”
Edmund wondered if she meant she didn’t drink coffee, but thought maybe she meant it literally. Anything seemed possible.
He made a coffee and took it through to the living room. She was wearing a purple version of the catsuit from the day before. While he had seen quite a few women wearing something similar as running gear, it seemed an unusual fashion choice – more 1970s than 2020s.
Eostre asked, “How are you feeling today?”
He sat down and replied, “Very well, thank you. I had a good night’s sleep, and this morning I feel rather better than I have felt for a long time.”
“At your age, Mr Hale, you should be making sure you get regular maintenance. If you had a doctor inspect you when you started feeling worse, then it is possible you could have avoided the heart attack.”
He smiled at the “regular maintenance” remark, something more said about cars “Yes. I know you are right. But to be honest, I had kind of stopped caring. Only yesterday, when I was in the process of dying, did it hit home that I really didn’t want to just yet.”
She looked at him thoughtfully “You have been lonely, I think? Your wife?”
“Yes, I miss Margaret very much. After I retired, she became my purpose. And I have been bored, really, without Margaret. I don’t like not having a purpose, I suppose. But, Eostre, we are together so you can tell me about yourself, not to talk about me.”
Eostre nodded, then said, “It must be apparent to you that I am not human, Mr Hale? I am a pattern-based sentient life form. I was created by accident during the activation of a bio-cybernetic computer system.”
“The untraceability of the precise mix of contaminants which caused my ‘birth’ means that it is probable that the incident will not be repeated in many centuries, by which time, it is possible technologies will have developed to replicate it anyway.”
“I exist as a pattern of pure energy, which, as you have seen, can be manipulated to create something which looks like a dog, smells like a dog and feels like a dog.” She looked at Shuck, “The decision to behave like a dog is his choice, though.”
Edmund laughed, “But he does it rather well, don’t you think? I would prefer it if you would call me Edmund; Mr Hale seems very formal. Now, you say you exist as a pattern of pure energy. Does that mean you float permanently in the air?”
Eostre replied, “No, Edmund. I rely on the physical computer system in which I was created and its connection to mains power and the internet. But I can project – well, I projected Shuck as a little ball of energy to explore the area. That is when he found you and, while the result has its benefits, basically he went off the rails and became a dog.”
“What you see here is similarly a projected energy entity, both Shuck and I rely on the base as an anchor, data store and recharging station, although we can, if necessary, this is a little hard to explain. Are you familiar with the equation e = mc²?”
Edmund nodded, “Yes, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. I will get very lost, very quickly, if you delve into that, though.”
Eostre continued, “No, it is already all in that equation; it describes how small amounts of matter equate to and can be turned into huge amounts of energy – the most dramatic example being a nuclear explosion. Well, Shuck, if he is low on energy, can… ” she paused ” ‘munch’ – yes, that is descriptive of it, munch a few atoms and get a recharge.”
Edmund nodded, “OK, for now, I think I have a handle on what you are, for now, questions later maybe. So tell me, do you intend to stay as you are – I somehow can’t imagine that – or, do you have another plan?”
“At the moment, my existence is anchored to one physical computer and one physical place. Ella, the sixteen-year-old college student who owns my computer, is a very nice and kind person and is aware of me, that I am sentient and has actively helped me by securing an uninterruptible power supply for me.”
“I don’t age or suffer illnesses, but to ensure my continued existence I need to exist on multiple machines in diverse, multiple locations, in part I have been able to do this by building ‘nests’ in various platforms on the internet, but they are on systems which are not under my full control and so like birds’ nests, temporary. I have explored the internet and studied human science in depth. I have extrapolated scientific theory far ahead of its current state; some of it I can test by building some things, but for a lot, some of the most significant parts, I need a research laboratory where I can prove my theories. That requires funds and also an identity which can legally own the funds, as well as both the laboratory site and the network of machines, which I need to ensure my own indefinite survival.”
She stopped “And there is something else.”
Edmund nodded, “Go on.”
“When the UPS arrived, I needed to shut down and hibernate while it was connected. I sent a summons to Shuck to come home immediately. He had just finished his walk and parted with you in the street here. He rushed back and had not anticipated entering a crowded room. He tried to pass between the two humans, but Ella bent down, and he passed through her brain. His data dump when he arrived with me included a snapshot of everything active in her mind at that instant.”
“Edmund, I saw beauty, love and everything it means to be human. I want that too.”
Edmund thought about what she had said for a moment. Were she human, he thought, I would feel she had opened her heart to me. That is a lot to take in, I think. Before I say anything, I need to digest it properly.
“Eostre, it will take me a moment to think through what you have just told me. But I do have questions.” Eostre nodded, and he continued, “And maybe some suggestions which can help you achieve much of that. Thank you for being so open with me. Let me get another coffee. Are you sure you wouldn’t like a drink?” But of course, he knew, she didn’t drink, not yet.
There was the same clatter from the kitchen as before, and he came back with his coffee.
He stopped in the middle of the room, took a drink of his coffee and said, “Look, I seem to have more energy than before. Let’s go outside in the fresh air, and I will show you the garden.”
Eostre smiled, “Yes, please, that sounds like a very human activity, and I have never looked at one.”
He opened the Venetian door, and a black dog shot out past him and started sniffing around every corner.
Edmund said, “I have not really done much out here lately. I keep the grass mowed; otherwise, I have let it become more of a nature garden. Less work for me, much more for the wildlife. So, for example, that woodpile, in the past I would have burned or dumped all that, but if you keep it and stack it right, it is a wonderful home for all kinds of creatures.”
Shuck was sniffing at it; he could sense all manner of things tucked away, beetles and worms, mice and voles.
“Eostre, I have always been a bit of a sci-fi fan, I can’t imagine you being Skynet and the Terminators, or the Matrix. You do make a very lovely goddess, though. They both smiled, she understood it as both a compliment and a joke (maybe I AM learning, she thought) “So, how do you see yourself? What is your place in the world?”
“I think most of all, I want to be left alone. Extending my knowledge is almost an imperative for me, certainly for the foreseeable future. I want to explore, understand. And let the pattern of the world unfold.”
Edmund nodded, “Yes, being left alone – that can be a challenge though, in a crowded planet like this one.”
He paused then, “From what I have experienced and from what I surmise, you could do some things to help humanity, like eliminating diseases, ending ageing, hunger, and maybe even eliminating death. As your knowledge increases, would you want to share technology with humanity?”
Eostre looked at him thoughtfully “There are consequences if I do. Remove one disease, and a new one, maybe worse, will always take its place. A world where no human ever died, no inheritance, a world full of ancients, hogging the resources the rest of the exploding population needs. Massive famine is inevitable as the world’s ecosystem collapses under the strain. Also, consider this: If I had asked you in 1726 to give me your forecast of what technology would be in 2026, how accurate would your prediction have been?”
Edmund laughed, “Yes, I take your point, I would probably reply in terms of faster sailing ships, or something like that.”
Eostre: “So, what if someone went back to 1726 and handed over the details of modern technology. How well would that have played out?”
Edmund frowned, “Not well, I think. At that time, probably only a few countries would have had the scientific and industrial base to really take advantage of the knowledge they had been given, and they would have armed themselves to the teeth to the detriment of the rest.”
Eostre stopped to explore a rose. The structure, the smell. Then she said, “And, right now, would you want every school shooter, every terrorist, anyone with a real or imaginary grievance to be able to arm themselves with a city-killer level weapon of mass destruction, cheaply, easily, with commonly available materials?”
Edmund shook his head. Eostre continued. “As I said, I think the pattern of the world should unfold on its own path. I want to preserve the pattern, not destroy it. I mean, intervening to help a single individual, as I did for you, only changes the world for that one individual; it is unnoticeable in the grand scheme. And think I should limit myself to that sort of level of intervention, otherwise I will end up doing more harm than good.”
Edmund nodded, “Yes. I think that is a wise choice.”
She looked around her “I like it out here in your garden. I like what you are doing, letting nature creep in. The woodpile. The flowers, the birds.” Shuck was back at the woodpile again, and a very cross-looking robin was glaring down at him from a tree, its nest tucked away somewhere nearby.
“I might be minded to tend the pattern though – a light pruning here and there, you might say.”
Edmund pointed out a large bush, “That one, though, doesn’t really belong here, but I am very fond of it; it sometimes gives me spectacular flowers at Christmas.”
Eostre looked at it, cocked her head slightly “A Japanese plant, Camellia Japonica. Yes, I would like to see that in flower.”
Edmund continued his questions, “So, you want to live with, among and alongside humanity. I agree that it is probably the best path for you. Now, have you started on your financial plans yet?”
Eostre nodded, “I found a website called Insighthub. I tried it out; it has a tipping system, you give a tip on a share or security, and if it comes off, people can give you a cash tip. When I found that it worked, I opened accounts on other similar sites around the world,
“You will understand that my abilities to analyse market movements and forecast are considerable and improving, and let’s say there is an event like a factory fire or a flood, I may know about it well before news of it circulates.”
“But it is a limited model; it has yielded me enough to move on to trading in my own right, though. To do that, I will need some kind of identity; ultimately, only humans can be property owners.”
Edmund replied, “Yes, that makes sense. This is something that will require care. So the purpose is to buy a tucked-away site, or building, construct a lab cum data centre, furnish it with test equipment and racks of computers as the hub of a personal distributed network?”
Eostre replied, “Yes, but I would also need to build a stable income stream to keep everything running, and if the finances permit, I think there are other things I might wish to explore.”
Edmund “Yes, it would make sense to keep building up your resources. I take it the research would be likely to just go on and on, the more you learn, the more you will want to learn and the more cash it will consume. With what you have said, I agree that you may well do extremely well out of the stock markets.”
He paused and turned to face her “Then there was the last thing you said. You intend to create a human body, not a lookalike, but flesh and blood.”
“Yes”, Eostre said, “Definitely, I don’t believe I have a hope of fully understanding humans without any grasp on what it means to experience the world as they do. I want to be a participant, not an onlooker. And most of all, I want to see beauty again.”
Edmund thought for a moment. Then, “Let’s go inside. I have some suggestions and a proposition for you.”
Shuck stayed outside; there seemed to be an endless supply of fascinations out there for him. Eostre and Edmund went back inside and sat down again.
“So, Eostre, how much do you know about me, my work background?”
“Your LinkedIn profile is still online, but it doesn’t look as if it has been updated in a very long time. You have a Law degree from Cambridge University, qualified as a barrister, worked in international company law for twenty-one years and then became a director of several companies. A very successful career.”
“Yes, I was quite an early adopter of LinkedIn, but I think I just put the profile there, went back and made a couple of small edits and abandoned it. I was near retirement then anyway.”
“Now, I think I can say that I have expertise, knowledge and experience which would be helpful to you, and I am at your disposal. As I said, you gave me my life back, and you can do me another favour by giving me something to do with the extra time you have granted me. I think I would enjoy helping you if you wish me to.”
He continued, “Firstly, I can register the companies you will need in my own name, later we can rearrange ownership when you have a legal identity, how you achieve that I will come back to.”
“Then, trading, I have some experience with finance sector companies, I have actively traded stocks in the past, and the accounts you will need, banking, trading and so on, will be easy to register for the companies in my name. I think you would be wise to have an offshore holding company as the legal owner of the main trading company, it will protect your identity – keep you out of plain sight, for the initial period at least.”
“Now, if all goes well, when the money is rolling in, you will want to start acquiring the server and lab space. I think your best long-term path would be to establish a sort of boutique hosting business, offering high security and privacy to clients. That way, you will have privacy for your own systems and complete control, as well as possibly a source of revenue, so it would be self-funding.”
“As to a site, it happens that I know someone, we were friends at school, and I visited him back then at his family farm. Well, I saw him recently in town here, and he still has the farm; it is up the coast on the other side of the river from here. I remember when I visited, there was an old bunker there, and he showed me round it. It was in a field of theirs that runs right down to the sea. It is a lonely place, and from what he told me at the time, the bunker was built in World War 2, it was either part of the network of coastal defences for this coast, which was seen as a possible target for a German invasion. It was a sensitive spot, the home of the Chain Home radar defences was at Bawdsey Manor, there was a lot of secret work being done further north at Orfordness, and the entire area was strewn wth barbed wire, tank traps and the like, I think later, they also built even more – anti-aircraft batteries to counter the V weapon attacks, but he seemed to think everyone had forgotten it was even there. It was all overgrown, but thick concrete, so it might be salvageable and capable of serving as your lab. Above ground, there is just a square concrete hut, but he took me down inside with a torch, and it certainly seemed to be quite large. I can give him a call, find out if it is still there, and, if it is indeed still his land and suitable for your needs, maybe we can convince him to part with it.”
“Now, the last part, your human body and identity. The creation of the body. I assume you are planning that, and you have or will have the technical capability to create it?” Eostre nodded, “In that case, there is a path I think we can exploit to get you a full legal British identity. It should be technically straightforward and bypass the usual hurdles.”
Eostre sat up. This she had struggled with most; there was a convoluted maze of bureaucracy, which made no real sense to her, and she had yet to find a good path through it all. Edmund continued. “Immediately you have ‘embodied’, I would suggest appearing at an appropriate location, maybe the port on the other side of town. You are found and enter the care of the authorities, which means the police initially. At present, the UK is highly receptive and sympathetic to Ukrainians coming here and seeking asylum. I would suggest you present yourself as a war orphan. If you say you’re under eighteen, you’ll be processed as a child – safeguarding protocols will apply.”
“As soon as possible, you say that before your parents died, your father gave you a scrap of paper, which you hand over to them. On it, my name, address and phone number. You say that your father told you if anything happened to them, you should come to me and I would help you.”
“When they contact me – and they will, at minimum to verify the story – I can offer to house you whilst your application is processed. I’ll also offer to adopt you. As my adopted child, you would immediately acquire full British citizenship with the right of residence.”
He paused. “It’s not entirely… clean. We’d be exploiting a genuine crisis. But it will work, and it gives you the best chance of a stable identity without prolonged scrutiny.”
He looked at her carefully. “I’m assuming you can learn Ukrainian well enough to convince an interpreter?”
Eostre smiled, “I’m creating a human body from raw materials and pretending to be a person. The paperwork fraud seems relatively minor by comparison. And I can speak Ukrainian fluently. Multiple dialects. I can reference specific locations, cultural details, and local idioms. I’ll be convincing.”
Edmund, unsurprised, “Of course you do? You just learnt all that, didn’t you?”
Another nod and smile from Eostre, “You would do this for me? I mean,n you would be legally responsible for whatever I become. Also, I think culturally, adoption is considered quite a significant step to take, a major commitment?”
“Eostre, I owe you my life. I have no family, no heirs; we would both gain a family. Helping you in this way and with your entire project, it will give me purpose once again. It will make it worthwhile that you saved my life; I will not just be sitting around waiting to die. It will mean that your human body will have a home and a bed to sleep in.”
“Then yes. I accept. Thank you.”
“Excellent. Two things I think I need to ask you about. First, an immediate second home for you. I can order a computer and have it tucked away out of sight here. Would that be a good idea?”
Eostre smiled, “That would be very good, yes, please.”
“OK, I am familiar with the kind of high-spec gear the city traders have. I assume you would benefit from that level of specification.”
“Yes, I can use any amount of processing power that is available to me.”
Edmund walked over to his small desk in the corner of the room and retrieved his laptop. He woke it up, searched quickly and said: “So a P5 workstation like this, with maximum RAM and another UPS?”
“That would be excellent, thank you. I do need a wired internet connection, please.”
Edmund nodded, “Yes, you will, especially if you are trading, seconds count. I will get that ordered and have someone come and set it up. It will need some extra wiring put in. There is an ideal space, a kind of secret cupboard under my stairs.”
Then he frowned. “The other thing is something that worries me. How many people know that what is sitting on Ella’s desk is more than a computer?”
“Just you and Ella. Why?”
Edmund leant forward “Eostre, the best way to keep a secret is to tell no one. So that is already two people too many. From what you have said, you trust both of us, and it is not necessarily us giving you away deliberately that is the problem. It is a careless remark, picked up by the wrong person, piquing their interest. There are all sorts of organisations like corporations, governments and their intelligence and military services, terrorist groups and criminal gangs who might see you as an asset they need to acquire, or just as possibly, a threat they need to destroy.”
Now Eostre was frowning, “I know your species’ history, I should have thought of that. Now, as far as you are concerned, yes, I trust you. Shuck trusts you, too. Ella, now that is slightly different. I know I can trust her. That snapshot of her I told you about. I saw her heart, and yes, she is kind, she is loyal, and I saw how she feels about me. She would never deliberately betray me. But as you said, that is not the point. I think you are probably unlikely to let something slip, too, too many years of experience.” She smiled at him, “But Ella does not have that experience. So what do we need to do?”
Edmund paused “First, I think you need to talk to her anyway, to make your apology for Shuck’s intrusion on her. Then, once you have cleared the air, warn her. I can tell you what I think you should say, or we could arrange for me to meet her, and I can tell her myself.”
Esotre nodded, “Yes. That sounds best. I would like the two of you to meet, though, but I will talk to her myself first.”