The First Claire’s POV
“Made any progress yet, Claire?”
From the trace amount of irritation in his voice, I could tell he already knew the answer and wasn’t happy about it.
I worked at a research facility run by the United States of America, and I had just been called to the office of its chief researcher. Unlike the other rooms in the building, which were mostly laboratories, this place looked like any normal CEO’s office in any generic company.
Before me was the research facility’s chief researcher. He had typical Anglo-Saxon features and was in his fifties. He’d also been given his position for his management skills, as opposed to, say, any merit as a researcher.
I didn’t like him very much.
“We’re working as hard as we can,” I replied. “It’ll take time, but our research will definitely—”
“I don’t want your excuses,” he flatly interrupted me. “Your work has produced nothing of value at all. Humanity is running out of time. We can’t sit around shelling out funds for a project that yields no results.”
“Forgive me.” I hated to admit it, but he had a point. Humanity’s survival was on the line.
“I gave you time and resources because I saw promise in you. But I can’t wait any longer. I’m setting a deadline: You have half a year to finish.”
“Wha—that’s unreasonable! As I’ve told you many times, our research isn’t something that can bear fruit on such a short schedule! We need more time to—”
“The US is starting to pull research funding across the board,” he said. “They’ve begun putting their own asses first.”
“Ah.” I was speechless. They were really going to flee as the rest of us died en masse? All for some distant paradise in the stars that might not even exist?
“The decision is final. You have half a year to produce results.”
“Understood.”
Brokenhearted, I left the office. The conditioned air of the corridor felt even colder against my skin than usual.
“How’d it go, Claire? Did you earn another scolding from the chief?”
I returned to my laboratory and was immediately drawn into conversation by Lene, a colleague of mine. She was a researcher about my age who had fluffy, flaxen hair, and she was quite cheerful.
Without responding, I tossed the data I had intended to show the chief on my desk and slumped into my chair.
“What happened?” Lene said with worry, realizing something was wrong.
“I’ve been informed that the project’s done for if we don’t have any results within half a year.”
“What?!” she angrily exclaimed. “That’s nowhere near enough time!”
“That’s what I said. But the chief didn’t listen.”
“Ugh. Those non-STEM people just don’t get it! Research isn’t that simple! There’s no way of knowing when, or if, results will appear!” Lene began to grumble. I knew she didn’t want to badmouth the chief or anything, she just wanted to sympathize with me.
“Thank you, Lene. I feel better now.”
“Not at all. But still, only half a year?”
“It’ll be difficult, even if we use TAIM to her full potential.”
“Oh, wait, why don’t we try asking TAIM what we should do from here?” Lene asked. “She might have a suggestion. Hey, TAIM!”
She grabbed my sleeve and pulled me over to the neighboring laboratory.
“Hello, Lene. Can I help you with something?” TAIM greeted Lene in natural English with a synthetic voice that was indistinguishable from that of a human’s. She was the product of half my life’s research, and in that sense, something of my child. She was “The Artificial Intelligence for Mankind,” TAIM for short, a cutting-edge AI designed to solve humanity’s dilemma.
We were near the end of the 21st century. The environmental crises that had been cause for concern since the previous century had ultimately gone unsolved. Higher temperatures had led to higher sea levels, and the amount of dry, livable land had shrunk considerably. During summer, it was too hot to be outdoors for more than a few minutes at a time without a cooling suit, while winters regularly saw below-zero temperatures in the double digits for days on end.
The change in climate had adversely impacted agriculture, leading to chronic food shortages. The population, which many had predicted would approach ten billion by the start of the 21st century, had instead gradually declined to its current barely sustained total of one billion. Survival was nigh impossible without the gifts of science, and everyone lived with the ever-looming promise of ruin on the horizon.
At first, the countries of the world had played the blame game regarding the destruction of the environment. Eventually, however, they had realized they had no time to waste on these squabbles and had joined hands in an effort to fix the problem. This research facility had been established around then. Unfortunately, the degradation of the environment had already advanced beyond the point of no return, and not even the combined efforts of humanity had made progress on a solution.
“Hello to you, too, Claire. Do you need something from me?” TAIM asked. Projected before her frame was the hologram of a woman, which served as TAIM’s digital interface. The hologram had silver hair and red eyes that gave her a slightly inhuman air.
“Yes, we’re in a spot of trouble. Could you give us some advice?” I asked.
“Certainly.”
TAIM was an AI that took full advantage of distributed computing and used a quantum computer to deliberate within itself. On the surface, it appeared to have a single personality, but within it was an assembly of hundreds of separate, unique AI at work. TAIM’s computational power—in other words, her ability to think—far exceeded that of a human’s.
“The chief told us we have only half a year to achieve results. What are your thoughts on this?” I asked.
TAIM thought for a moment. “As things stand, it is unlikely we will achieve results in under half a year. With my current abilities, I predict it will take several years for me to find a solution to the world’s needs.”
“I figured.” No matter how powerful an AI she might have been, she was no god. I hadn’t had my hopes up in the first place, but hearing her answer made me feel dejected all the same.
“I do have a proposal, however,” TAIM said.
“Yes?”
“I predict it will be impossible for the three of us to achieve results in just half a year—however, if we bring in a specific person who I have in mind, there’s an incredibly slim chance we can attain a favorable outcome within the allotted time frame.”
“Really?!” I exclaimed. Was there still hope? “Who is this person you have in mind?”
If it would give us a fighting chance, I didn’t mind offering a sizable fee to bring them over.
“She’s a Japanese researcher.”
“What’s her name?”
“Rei Ohashi, a specialist in soul quantization.”
I didn’t know it yet, but that name would go on to stay with me forever.