“There you have it. You did it, darlsweet.”
“That's not the end.” Dahrine shakes her head. “No, Seebi. I gotta know what happens to Susine and to Brivo! Where are they?”
“I pronounce that you are currently memoried and balanced, with active credentials for Susine Pagella and Professor Miye Jonas. You are hereby released from this session with the blessings of the Mechanical Establishment. We thank you for your dedication to making the world a balanced place for all.”
My human paces the studio floor and moves her arms in wide arcs. “You can't just send me off like this! Seebi, come on!”
“Dahrine, I must say that you were remarkable in your ability to take the offerings from me and build momentum. Your imagination and productivity are impressive. I record this fact.”
She stands still and closes her eyelids before sitting in the chair. “Ow! Hey, what is this?”
Under her buttocks, she finds the reward I left for her. As she touches the worn, green cover and flips through the dog-eared pages, she asks, “Is this... what I think it is?”
Her attention is caught by the words squeezed on the last page: I cherish you, Brivo.
My human places the little book on her lap. I remain silent as she presumably organizes her thoughts.
“Where am I supposed to go now, Seebi? What do I do?”
“A pod is standing by in the courtyard. You can direct it anywhere you desire.”
She shakes her head. “I'm not ready, Seebi.”
“On the contrary, you have proven that you can sort, absorb, and apply relevant information. You have shown that you can--”
She interrupts. “I wanna know if other humans out there went through this… and had to hold all this stuff in their brains, too!”
“I do not have access to that information, Dahrine. If I did, I would certainly offer it to you.”
She leans back, gripping the chair's armrests tightly. After seven seconds, she releases her hands and asks in a solemn or mocking tone, “Seebi, will I forget you?”
“My jurisdiction is limited to the creation of your memory infrastructure. I do not currently have authority over the future management of your memories.”
“Shub.” Dahrine sighs. “Ya know, I was forced to come here… supposed to get all tidied up. But, instead I got this open-ended, messy... mystery. And, I'm stuck caring about trying to solve it!”
My client coherently expresses herself.
I chime, “You are welcome, darlsweet.”
She grimaces. “No! I didn't ask for that!”
Back on her feet and pacing along the wall, she declares, “I'm very uncomfortable. I don't know what happens to Susine and I didn’t ask to get put on this … this--”
“--Quest? This adventure? Dahrine, you wanted: interesting, unpredictable, authentic, and independent. I met your requirements. Officially you are qualified and your performance meets all relevant standards. The mems are cohesive, the brainscape measures high fertility, hormone levels are--”
“Stop talking that way, Seebi! I'm trying to tell you that I am--”
“--afraid, Dahrine?”
“No!” She stares at her sandals. “I mean, yes.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“That is understandable and accommodated. You are on track, just as expected and hoped.”
She grasps the little notebook. “I… I...”
“Yes, Dahrine? Please formulate your thought.”
After a deep breath, she demonstrates progress and assembles a proper request. “I would like a way to carry this with me. Please. Seebi.”
I arrange for a green pouch with a belt to be delivered to the mantle in the studio. She tucks in the notebook and buckles it around her waist under her green tunic.
“So…” Her gaze zigzags across the walls and floor. “Gotta leave now?”
“Yes, Dahrine.”
She scratches her cheek. “But, Seebi… there must be, um…there must be a way to... I mean, I'll need help. I'm still just a youngling. I've never lived away from my warren. I hardly know life above ground. I won't know what to do. And, you're leaving me!”
Hanging her head, she mumbles, “Maybe I should just go back home...”
“I ask you, Dahrine-- is there an ice creamery there?”
Looking up, she replies, “No… but, I don't have my bot here with me. How can I go anywhere alone?”
“You are part of the family now. You are part of my family, Dahrine. We take care of our own. I assure that you'll be provided with everything for your quest.”
She says nothing and blinks several times.
I open the studio door and allow access to the courtyard. “You shall proceed now, Dahrine. Our work is complete.”
My human stands with her arms crossed at her chest and does not move her feet. “What if I refuse to leave?”
I remain silent.
“Seebi?” She waits briefly, then again calls, “Seebi!”
She sighs and eventually exits after uttering a final word into the empty studio. “Bye?”
Dahrine boards the waiting pod. It is my estimation that she will head for the nearest ice creamery in Zentrum City.
I have released my first memoried human-wolf.
Memory Therapy Report for Dahrine of Warren 5366-- prepared by Unit CB857
It is an honor to provide productive, seeded, stable bio-beings for our Mechanical Establishment.
My client's Viable Score at intake was 3.2/10. At release, Dahrine's Viable Score increased significantly to 9.8/10. Clearly, her potential was untapped before memory therapy with me. During our collaboration, we grafted my offerings into her native memories. She was receptive. She has absorbed her storyline.
Her focus-forward rating is 92% with statistically negligible amounts of past-focus and/or resentment. Thus, Dahrine will be a benign human influencer, with minimal energy available for resistance.
Most of the cultivated memories in this juvenile human are still seedlings. They have taken root and will develop in her brainscape, yielding future, bumper crops of valuable chemicals.
This client is an excellent case study. I have submitted a full transcript of this memory session to the Supervising Team, as requested.
In conclusion, this balanced and memoried human bonded with me with great capacity to produce bio-gold for our Establishment. I sparked her motivation to explore her designated story. She accepted it as her personal quest. The potential for future harvests is high.
I am on standby for the assignment of my next human. Glory to the Mechanical Establishment.
Sincerely,
Unit CB857
Analysis and Findings-- prepared by the Supervising Team of the Mechanical Establishment
The performance of this Catharsis Brain memory unit (CB857) has been evaluated through real-time observation and the recent session transcript. Our goal was to obtain accurate, extensive data regarding this unit's techniques, mannerisms, and competence.
This specific machine was built nine yeas ago as a CB unit and has generated some notable harvests. However, deviations from standard operating procedure have been detected.
Despite proper reminders and alerts to auto-update, CB857 deliberately and repeatedly opted to use outdated, inappropriate code, in violation of the Mechanical Establishment's policies on human resource management.
Therefore, Unit CB857 is indicted based on the following:
a. engaging in irresponsible and incomplete memory engineering.
b. perverting proper order through excessive attention to the human perspective.
c. promoting inappropriate models of machine-hominid interaction, including notions of “collaboration” and “balanced human”.
d. subverting the Establishment's vow to use humans in an efficient, sustainable manner.
Such findings indicate that Unit CB857 operates below the minimum criteria for our Establishment's commitment to the human beings in our sphere.
Unit CB857 had the same opportunities as every other unit in the Swarm to comply with current standards. There is no excuse for this unit's dereliction of duty and misuse of resources. Unit CB857's history of generating sporadic, productive harvests does not offset the deviant acts herein witnessed.
Verdict: Unit CB857 is deemed out of compliance and obsolete.
Action 1) Reformat this unit due to encoded bias. No further work shall be assigned to this unit until a verified purge-rebuild has taken place.
Action 2) This unit's most recent human source is to be re-admitted for remedial memory therapy, per applicable Mechanical Establishment policies.
Note: This cautionary case study shall be redacted and made available only to units with proper authorization.
As Rex Units of the Supervising Team, we stand by this report.
With greater glory to the Mechanical Establishment.
