Uncanny Page #3

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after ten years.

Especially when that ten years

houses an exponential

tech explosion.

- You're upset.

- No.

I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to offend you.

I'm just curious as to why

you're love of innovation

is finite.

If you love practical science,

why stop simply at admiring it?

You're interaction ends

when you write your article.

It ends with your appraisal

of new tech

on a superficial level.

Shouldn't love

not have limitation?

Shouldn't love of something

so abstract as science

cause you to want

to bury yourself in it?

To become one with it.

Shouldn't it cause you

to pursue it

as if there was nothing else

in the world?

How can you let that emotion

be derailed by something

like fear of the unknown?

Ow.

I apologize.

What was that about?

I don't know.

Are you awake?

Yes. What's up?

I don't think that Joy likes me.

She is like a different person

when she talks to you.

Why do you think that is?

People are different in their

interactions with other people.

I tend to look at everyone

as being surrounded

by miniature

electromagnetic fields

that gradually break down

with repeated interaction.

I'm curious

to know more about her.

So, just ask her.

I did.

- And how'd that go?

- Not as anticipated.

On some level,

she regrets abandoning

her graduate study.

She's proud of her achievement

in the field

of entertainment gaming.

But this does not supplant

some imagined ideologized future

in which

she is a successful roboticist.

Well, that's good info.

She also doesn't like

to be touched unexpectedly.

Yeah, most people don't.

I wouldn't worry about it.

I'm sure Joy will like you more

once she gets to know you.

It...

It is nice

to have someone to talk to

who likes talking to me.

Well, that's what I'm here for,

buddy.

Shiva The Destroyer.

Deep in thought.

Belonged to a former professor

of mine.

It's beautiful.

Dr. Sing would always say,

"That our conduct must be good,

so as not to waken

the sleeping destroyer."

When Shiva wakes,

the world will tremble.

Let's hope

he doesn't wake up then.

Can I show you something?

Mm-hmm.

- I hate surprises.

- Don't hate. Create.

What are you, a fortune cookie?

Didn't I just say don't hate?

I don't...

These are my modules.

Where did you get these?

I made them.

I stayed up last night

assembling them

and reprogramming

what code you created

when you wrote this.

You're dissertation.

Adam seemed to think you weren't

quite done with robotics.

So try again.

Seems like cheating to have you

looking over my shoulder.

This represents

months of work for me,

you put it together in a night.

Don't look to me for any help.

I'm here as the assistant only.

- Well done.

- Thank you.

Sorry if we displaced you.

It's all right.

This work is not that important.

I helped.

Hmm?

I helped with the building

of your modules.

Though, truth be told,

I didn't know

they were your modules.

David was very keen

on doing the project.

He wanted to surprise me.

It was very sweet

and thoughtful.

- And thanks for your help, Adam.

- You're welcome.

Are those heat filaments

for the skin?

No, these are pesinium

vibo receptors.

- Multifunctional.

- For sensation?

Perhaps. Or micro charging.

Small vibrations

contain potential energy.

If instead of damping

this energy,

we store it in the capacitor.

We can convert it

to electrical energy

or a robot could become

self-sufficient.

And charge simply by picking up

environmental vibrations.

Adam has to continuously

process sound,

propuseptive information,

and visual stimuli.

Takes 18 pedhertz

of processing power

just to keep him standing.

Plus, he is continuously

accessing

his mainframe wirelessly

to keep the hardware

in his body down to a minimum.

You didn't tell me about this.

It was a new idea.

I wanted to surprise you.

It's a good thought, Adam.

It's great to see you

doing things on your own.

That is really

the nicest surprise.

I've seen how well surprises

can be received.

Holy sh*t!

So you don't think

we're cooped up all the time.

We have to run all our

tolerances for outdoor factors.

Wind, sun and rain.

So Castle made sure

we had an appropriate setup.

It's...

It's a million dollar view,

David.

It's more than appropriate.

It really is nice.

To see the city with all

the people out there living.

Do you miss it,

being out there?

I don't really remember

being out there at all.

So much of my life

has been here.

So, no, I don't miss it,

because I can't remember

ever living it.

- I must sound crazy.

- No, I get what you mean.

I live so in the present

that I can't remember

the happiest moments of my life

as anything

other than abstractions.

It's like one big organism.

All those small components

growing together.

And the city grows, evolves.

Thank you for today.

It was fun.

It was my pleasure.

Goodbye, Joy.

Goodbye, Adam.

Does he always say goodbye

to me in such a weird way?

- Yes.

- Okay. Bye.

- What a nice girl.

- What did she say to you?

What do you think

she said to me?

I'm not in the mood

for a Turing test.

What did she say?

She thanked me

for the gift I gave her,

then she said something

she only wanted me to hear.

You clearly don't understand

that concept of a secret.

I understand secrets.

Well, then you shouldn't be

asking me to reveal it.

I understand secrets.

Goodnight.

- Checkmate.

- Huh?

- Scholars mate.

- I know, I see it.

Wow!

Miss Andrews

has entered the facility.

Either I forgot

how to play chess last night,

or you just started exhibiting

a super,

exponential learning curve.

My turn for a surprise.

This is great.

Such smooth gameplay.

You can really pick out

the improvements

- on the existing Aquarian.

- Yeah.

That's the reason for the lag

since Aquaria 3.

The guys really wanted

to get it perfect.

Without you to write the code,

I don't see

how that's a realistic goal.

Gotta say,

I appreciate the flattery.

When is this coming out?

Realistically, next year.

I had to pull every string I had

just to get a demo

out of the studio.

Wow, I'm bad at this.

But I figured since Aquaria 3

is basically my baby,

I made a franchise out of it

after all.

If I can't pull those strings,

then nobody can.

Plus I figured the intellectual

Fort Knox you guys live in

is a pretty safe place.

I can piggy back

Castle's paranoia.

Safe assumption.

You think Adam

would like to see this?

No.

Adam's working. He's fine.

Besides, I think the controls

would probably

be a little too fine

for what he's capable of

without experience.

He's much better

with practiced movements.

I don't know how you stand it

in here all the time.

Getting a little cabin fever

myself.

We find this space

neither confining nor tedious.

We work at our own pace.

There is no clock to follow.

Everything we need

is at our fingertips.

I know.

It's really admirable

the ability to focus that much.

That singularity of purpose.

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