Uncanny

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1

You sneaky so-and-so.

Oh, you poor silly bastard.

Are you ready for the waterfall?

Mr. Kressen?

Who dares to interrupt

this monumental battle?

Joy Andrews is here.

The reporter

from High Tech Quarterly.

Joy Andrews.

The reporter from...

High Tech Quarterly.

Yes, go ahead and send her up.

Check.

Check.

Check.

And mate.

I think it's putting it mildly

to say

you're a bit of a mystery.

Most people don't graduate MI with a BS in Computer science

and Masters

in Mechanical Engineering

- at the age of 20.

- Nineteen.

Nineteen.

And those that do

usually join a think-tank.

Or apply their knowledge

in broad, greater good ways.

I get that.

But when a Simon Castle

presents you

with an opportunity,

it's very hard to turn down.

It's even harder

to negotiate terms.

Right. And why all the secrecy?

I mean, you've been a recluse.

- I wouldn't say it's that bad.

- No?

I basically have a blank check

to explore any field I want.

This workshop has been like

an intellectual Darwin bubble.

The work done here

has progressed

with very little input

from outside academia.

The world of academic science

can be a little stagnant.

Ideas tend to be reactive.

Back and forth

and you get these

little ego-driven Eddy currents

that slow overall advancement.

People focus on minutia

just to get a paper published,

with very little desire to be

the first to the next big thing.

When Castle started

Castrole Computing

from his garage, Mm?

He had a vision

that wasn't beholden

to any previous notions

of what a computer system

could do.

This, Workspace 18,

is the modern day

application of that.

To give one person

unfettered freedom

and unlimited access

to do something amazing.

Well, it looks like

you're drinking the Kool-Aid.

I guess so.

Everything I've built

over the last decade

was cooked up on this table.

- That's a lot of Terabytes.

- Petabytes.

- What's that?

- Feel it.

It's warm.

It's realistic,

durable skin substitute.

It can actually generate

and emit heat signatures

that match body temperature.

That patent's already through.

But in three years,

that will be the gold standard

covering for prostatic limbs.

Feel that.

- It's light.

- Aerated titanium.

That has the same

physical kinematic properties

and weight balance

of human bone.

We bubble argon through it.

But tensile strength

like an airplane fuselage.

The eye is probably the single

most complex component

of the human body,

but with this camera,

we're able to convert

a hemispheric, fisheye image

into a planar representation

that allows a computer to see it

in a way that is analogous

to the way we do.

So you're talking

about robotics?

Bingo.

I used to study robotics.

Grad school type stuff.

I know. That's why Castle chose

you for this article series.

He really enjoyed your paper

on Subsumption Architecture.

That was my dissertation.

My unfinished dissertation.

I never technically defended it.

Doesn't mean

it wasn't on Castle's radar.

Maybe he had you in mind

for a workspace of your own.

Once upon a time.

Look, these are amazing feats.

But if you know half as much

about my work as you seem to,

then you know this stuff

isn't really new to me.

I've done a bunch of pieces

on emerging tech,

and I tend to be my editors

go-to on all things robotic.

I get why I'm here,

I just don't get why I need

a full week of access

to interview you.

It won't take me that long

to write about

what I've seen here today.

Follow me.

Adam.

I hope I didn't offend you.

These things are amazing.

The eye especially will make

for a fascinating piece.

Don't worry, it's fine.

Why don't you talk to Joy

for a bit.

Oh, no, that's okay.

I don't need to.

Trust me, talk to Adam.

So how long have you been

David's assistant?

- Seven years.

- Oh, wow.

What exactly does that entail?

We plan and manufacture

the components for our work.

And you participate

in the assembly?

- Yes.

- Okay.

So you have a background

in mechanical engineering

and coding?

Yes.

Graduate study?

Okay. No graduate study.

- Adam, do you have a last name?

- Kressen.

- So you're related?

- Yes.

Yes, we are.

Cool.

Can you think of anything

that would help

prevent development

erased condition

in a system I'm designing.

Utilization of a carnal map

would allow for simplification

of Boolean expression.

And subsequently result

in detection and elimination

of erase hazard

prior to occurrence,

as well as minimization

of other involved functions.

That sounds about right.

Thank you, Adam.

You're a programming Rain Man.

The remote automated

information manager

is the proprietary publishing

platform of America Online.

It's actual coding

is at the highest levels

of corporate security.

I was never involved

in its programming.

Where did you hear that?

I was actually referring

to Dustin Hoffman.

Adam,

could you wait here a second

while I talk with David?

What?

Clearly something's up with him.

What's the deal?

What do you think the deal is?

David, don't waste my time.

This kid the next big thing?

Some Asperger's cousin of yours

ready to get

all Good Will Hunting

on coding and change the world?

- Oh, my God.

- What?

You're not doing a piece

on the eye,

or the bone, or the lab,

or my prodigy programmer.

- Well, not directly, anyway.

- I don't get it.

Look.

Adam is the amalgam

of everything you've seen here

and more.

I made him.

He is the most convincing

Artificial Intelligence

ever created.

Do you know

what the best part is?

The best part of all this

is that he fooled you.

You, of all people,

with a graduate study

in robotics no less.

Of course,

you technically did drop out.

Do you still think a whole week

will be enough time

for your article?

It felt like he was

rubbing it in my face.

No. No.

Yeah, I'll admit, I was probably

a little sensitive

after the nonchalant name drop

of my failed doctorate.

It's my baggage.

It doesn't mean

he wasn't a smug f***, though.

Yeah, I got to admit,

it's pretty intriguing.

Oh, come on,

let me bring the drama

out of the moment.

Humanoid AI?

And, Caleb, let me tell you,

on cursory interaction,

you cannot tell at all.

Not at all.

I was kicking myself

when I found out.

Can I sleep on it?

I've got to ruminate.

Having David f***ing Kressen

intellectually judge me

for a week

is not my idea of a good time.

Uh-uh.

No, don't tell Aubrey just yet.

Can I let you know?

Yeah.

Okay. Okay, bye.

Bye.

May I interrupt?

What's on your mind?

What if she doesn't like us?

What's not to like?

Look, I know it's tough.

It's been you and me

for so long,

but you were not made

to be locked up forever.

It's time to share you

with the world.

I'm not sure

this is a good idea.

EGBOK.

"Everything's going to be okay."

You know it.

Do you think she's pretty?

Her hair is nice.

Good facial symmetry.

Delicate features.

Nice fashion sense.

Yes, I do. I think she's pretty.

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