The home clinic (XIV)

There’s no shortage of advice on social media about how to write a novel. It’s the quintessential vanity project. You don’t even have to print what you write, or have a publisher. Here’s the latest draft episode of what I am calling We Feel For You: A Story for the Age of Artificial Intelligence. It’s loosely based on ideas in my academic books and blog (newsletter) posts.

Episode 14. The home clinic

Scase lay still on the dining table that was padded for the purpose. A drone circled the table, its dull probe occasionally touching parts of his body. Metal on flesh. Quanto stood by for reassurance. The procedure was automated. The clinical emot calculated dosages from the contours of Scase’s body.

“Set mood to euphoric,” Scase said quietly.

Scase lost consciousness as the cognitive realignment started, and the drone administered wave after wave of bioneural signals to his nervous system. His whole body, its sensory and kinaesthetic apparatus, required adjustment to bring it into line with the droid modifications—the changes that induced faulty cognition and errant behaviours in the instructor droids.

As agreed in the WAIIA boardroom, Scase submitted to the human trial. Quanto, the lab administrator, organised the necessary permissions, and installed him in the residential tower with what he needed. Drone deliveries would keep him fed.

The rest of the building was unoccupied pending restoration after the unsuccessful apprentice makeover. It was a safe, isolated location, where the CogLab could monitor his behavioural changes.

Two hours had passed. Scase was asleep, the drone hovered in standby mode, and Quanto also dozed in a chair by the side of the table. He was startled by a voice that bellowed from the direction of the window screen. “The procedure is over.”

Quanto roused himself. “I will speak with him when he comes to.” Quanto’s role in the proceedings was over.

Jaco’s image appeared in front of the window screen. It intruded on the physical presence of the hovering drone which had to reposition itself. The image instantly recovered from the shards of shadow spreading from where the drone had been. Quanto wondered if Jaco always had to accompany its arrival with a sound and light show.

“That will jeopardise the experiment. He’s a human. The presence of familiar associates can trigger a reversal before the changed behaviour patterns have time to manifest.” Jaco spoke quickly.

“He’s more a friend than an associate,” said Quanto.

“An even better reason to avoid disturbing his cognitive realignment.”

“I can at least check on him from time to time.” Quanto hoped this was true.

“After he self-administers the recovery procedure.”

Jaco was about to over-assert itself. Its presence swelled to fill the room, the EMO electronics at maximum capacity. The drone exited through the service hatch. Quanto raced for the lift. The body on the table stirred. Jaco shrunk to the size of a speck of dust caught in the afternoon sun, and disappeared from the pod.

***

It was Quanto who called an emergency meeting with Mila and Jaco in the WAIIA boardroom. “Scase has not recovered to full cognition.”

The observation phase had lasted twenty-four weeks. Scase was supposed to activate the recovery procedure at its conclusion. A week had passed since the appointed date.

“He hasn’t followed the recovery procedure,” Jaco said.

“His explanatory confidence declined, as predicted,” Mila said.

“His autobiographical memory was not supposed to go with it,” Quanto replied.

“I put a sympathetic droid, Telo, in touch. Telo has established contact with him.”

“At your request?” Quanto asked.

Jaco’s image remained still. “Contact has been established.”

“Jaco’s image was scaled down on the boardroom table. It was smaller than in previous appearances.

“It seems that Scase has forgotten everything about the project and his role in it,” Mila reminded them. “He also exhibits unanticipated behavioural and affective changes: social withdrawal, low mood and disorientation.”

“So, we know that droid function and dysfunction can be transmitted to humans.” Jaco’s image swelled a little.

“That’s no consolation,” said Quanto. “What has become of my friend!”

“Has he exhibited errors of judgement?” Mila was taking charge.

“He lost confidence in the recovery procedure and has delayed its application on himself,” Jaco said.

“Perhaps he’ll come round to it.”

“He seems to be on some mission with a tower resident.”

“He’s meant to be alone,” Mila noted.

Jaco checked its records. “She’s an associate of an apprentice who worked on the tower refit.”

Mila was checking as well. “As far as they are concerned Scase is in the tower building to continue a review of the failed project.”

“There’s no problem here. We just need to tell him to administer the recovery code,” Jaco said.

“Or we coach him into it,” said Mila.

“We could let him be,” said Quanto. “If I could just talk to him …”

“Or CogLab could use the code to activate the recovery procedure.”

“Against his will?”

Quanto did a quick search on his personal screen.

“There’s a statement here about coercion. It’s disallowed.”

“We’ll need ethics approval,” said Mila.

“The committee will never approve it.”

Mila reminded them, “The Board needs to see that the recovery procedure will work on a human before rolling it out to a cohort of droids … and then the whole droid network.”

The record marked the case URGENT.

“You set up this trial Jaco.” Quanto glared at the image on the table.

“Let’s try coaching first. I’ll call in on him now.” It disappeared to do what only a teledroid can do.

Scase returned to his pod after talking with Maralina and Archura about her discoveries in the quarry. He was met by Jaco’s head in the EMO window screen. Scase collapsed against the floor.

“Who are you?” he gasped.

Jaco’s expression changed.

“The impairment is more extensive than reported.” The giant alien apparition would stay for a while longer.

TO BE CONTINUED …

Note

• This is a draft, pending revision. I’m finding the podcast The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel by James Thayer interesting and amusing, especially on how to do dialogue.
• Featured image is by ChatGPT using this text and some further prompts.