Chapter 1
The automated shuttle pulled up to the security gate as it had every morning for roughly two years. As usual, it paused long enough for Jake and Rachel to show their identification badges to the “Eye”. The gate opened as its voice welcomed them to the facility. “Welcome back, Dr. Isaac and Dr. Isaac. Have a nice day.”
They exchanged a silent glance to each other as the shuttle resumed its motion, and they began to get themselves together for arrival at the front entrance. The drive from the gate to the facility was a winding path surrounded by lush greenery, which helped to obscure the building from the main road. They had always enjoyed that part of the ride because it was the last bit of anything natural they would see for the next twelve hours. They took a deep breath of it, and reluctantly let it go as they pulled up to the main entrance. The shuttle door opened automatically to release them. Jake was the first one out, and he turned to help his wife get out. As Rachel ducked through the door, a well-worn pocket photograph slipped out of her grasp and fell to the walkway. Jake picked it up and tucked it away in the breast pocket of her jacket.
“Nice looking kid, Mrs. Isaac,” he said playfully.
“Takes after his father,” she replied back with a wry smile. “Shall we?”
“If we must, we may as well.” Their countenances shifted to work faces as they crossed the threshold to the Hybrid Intelligence Research Corporation. They were met at the security scan by Gant, who watched them pass through one at a time, waiting for the green lights with the same deadpan gaze that he had every morning. At the beginning of their collective employment, he had greeted them with typical polite banter, but after so many mornings it now seemed senseless.
They took the elevator down to their lab, glancing up at the cameras out of habit, sighing silently. When the doors opened, they stepped out into a sterile hallway and crossed directly to the lab door where Jake waved his badge at the sensor and was granted access. Inside, they breathed a little easier and relaxed a bit as they crossed the room to their respective work stations. The lab was a cold place, and they immediately slipped into their lab coats to prepare for their daily routine of going over the testing results reports from the previous night.
“Ready?” Jake asked, making a move to the high-tech acrylic screen.
“Sure,” Rachel replied as she moved to follow. They took their places in front of the screen and prepared to take some notes. Jake tapped the desktop, and the screen came to life with a tag, which labeled the video report.
Test subject R27, June 14, 2026, Dakota Facility
Test subject R27 was a young boy being interviewed by the testing monitor. “R27. Male. Age 11, orphaned at age 6. Education was a state school in Pierre. Assessment scores in the 11th percentile. IQ of 92 prior to the Epsilon 3 Implant.” The boy looked cold as he sat on a stool in front of a stark desk. All of the test subjects were cold. The studies had shown that cognitive functions were more active when ambient temperatures were kept in the sixty degree range, and the company wanted the test results to look as good as possible. The initial “control” interviews were done in a room that was closer to eighty degrees to make the results swing all the more in the company’s favor.
“How do you feel today?” continued the interviewer.
“Cold,” replied the boy.
“Does your head hurt?” she continued.
“A little itchy,” he said, twitching his head a little revealing the site of the implant.
Rachel took a note down about that, shaking her head slightly.
“Now, can you tell me what is the square root of 625?” the interviewer asked plainly.
“25,” came the answer. Rachel and Jake glanced to each other with mild enthusiasm.
“A shuttle moves at 53 kilometers per hour for 6.5 hours. How far has it moved?”
“344.5 kilometers,” the boy replied blankly after only a moment’s hesitation.
Jake raised an eyebrow. “That’s pretty good.”
“Solve for x. X squared plus 122x plus 77 equals 1000,” the interviewer continued.
“X equals 7. Can I have a coat? I’m cold,” the boy answered with a shiver.
“Wow. I think we might have a winner, Dr. Isaac,” Jake said with a nod of his head. They had seen some successes in previous implant test subjects, but this one seemed to be making some real progress. Each day they would review the tests and make subtle modifications in the ways their chips would communicate with the cerebrum in the delivery of knowledge. Math was considered a litmus test thus far in this process since it is a finite science, but the real test was more sensitive in nature, involving more areas of the brain working together.
“Let’s skip to the next one. Why do they have to freeze these kids? I hate that,” Rachel replied.
Jake tapped the desktop to skip to the next interview. Instantly, the next interview began.
Test subject M31, June 14, 2026, Dakota Facility
The interviewer began, “Test subject M31.Female. Age 10, orphaned at age 8. Education was a state school in Bismarck. Assessment scores in the 14th percentile. IQ of 87 prior to the Epsilon 3 implant.” The young girl sat at the same desk as the previous test subject and looked equally uncomfortable. “How do you feel today?” the interviewer asked as per usual.
“All right mostly,” the girl replied.
“Does your head hurt?” the interviewer continued.
“A little. Like something is pressing on me,” she said in a meek little voice.
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?” posed the interviewer.
“It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun and kill off the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou, her maid, art far more fair than she,” came the reply.
“How do you know that?” asked the interviewer in a slightly intrigued tone. She was not accustomed to such correct responses. Progress was being made, and she was the first to be witness to tiny victories in her job. But this was huge. She wondered if this could be a glimmer of hope in this long run of midnight interviews with these poor kids turned into test subjects, sitting on the cold stool.
“I don’t know how I know that. I just do. It’s Shakespeare, isn’t it?” said the timid test subject with eyes widening.
“It is. Have you ever read that? Or have anyone read it to you?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’m a little confused. What does it mean?” The young girl was getting anxious.
“It’s okay. No need to worry. You are doing very well,” the interviewer said calmly.
“No, what does it mean? I see all the words, but I don’t understand them,” she said with increasing concern.
“Pause it,” Rachel requested. Jake did. They turned to each other with a little joy and amazement in their faces. “She said she could ‘see’ the words. That’s new.”
“Okay, that is really significant. This kid could barely have read Dr. Seuss before the Epsilon 3. And we have successfully implanted a copy of Romeo and Juliet into her brain. And she could ‘read’ it. So, the hybrid intelligence is successfully integrated. The chip is working. Wow,” Jake marveled.
“Yes, but she doesn’t have any idea what it is,” Rachel retorted.
“Listen, Honey, first things first. We got the interface right. That was the main objective, right? Let’s just be happy with that right now. And besides, what 10 year old can understand Shakespeare? Most adults don’t get it either. We chose it because it was difficult, as a proof of concept,” Jake replied in earnest.
“You’re right. It is amazing. Congratulations, Dr. Isaac,” Rachel conceded. “Your brother is going to be happy,” she added. Jake’s older brother, Harry, was the Vice President of Hybrid Intelligence in charge of research and development. “Let’s go to the last interview; we can come back and watch the whole report after that.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jake tapped the desktop once more to skip ahead.
Test subject G15, June 14, 2026, Dakota Facility
Test subject G15 was another young boy. “G15. Male. Age 10, orphaned at age 3. Education was a state school in Duluth. Assessment scores in the 85th percentile. IQ of 122 prior to the Epsilon 3 Implant.”
Rachel’s face showed a little recognition. “Oh, yes. I remember this one. He’s one of the bright ones.” Since the goal of their project was to elevate intelligence levels of the average child, chipping a smarter subject was a ‘spectrum’ experiment, but necessary to the research. After all, the company’s investment in the new technology was based on the unexplained downward slide of intelligence levels throughout the entire population. If a company could possess a technology that could reverse the societal decline of the last decade, the investment could pay off beyond imagination.
The interviewer continued. “How do you feel today?”
“Weird,” replied the boy.
“In what way?”
“I don’t know. Just…I don’t know,” he said distractedly.
“Does your head hurt?”
“Yeah,” he said, reaching up to feel the implant behind his ear.
“Try not to mess with it. Who was the 16th president of the United States?”
“Abraham Lincoln,” he answered slowly.
“What is the scientific name of a house cat?”
“Felis Domesticus,” he responded, concentrating on how to say each syllable.
“Good. How many hours are there in a week?” she continued.
“Seven,” he responded.
“How many hours in a week?” she repeated.
“Seven,” he answered again.
“Hours.”
“Seven.”
“When was the Declaration of Independence signed?” she asked, forging ahead.
“Seven.”
“That’s not a date. When was the Declaration of Independence signed?”
“Seven. Seven. Seven!” he replied emphatically.
“Calm down. Who was the leader of the Nazi movement?” she continued.
“Seven. Seven. Seven!” he replied again, becoming extremely agitated.
“Pause it,” Rachel demanded.
“Oof. That’s not good,” Jake said, shaking his head.
“No, it isn’t. There is a serious problem here. The chip interface with this boy is causing a severe adverse reaction,” Rachel observed, taking notes.
“He’s fighting it,” Jake stated as a matter of fact.
“Because he’s smart?” Rachel asked.
“Maybe. We’ll put it into the report. Too bad. This morning started so well. Let’s go back and watch everything now. At least the highlights show some signs of hope,” Jake said as his enthusiasm waned slightly.
