Interview With Things

By Hugh C.N. Miller

In the year 2047, artificial intelligence with Androids segregated in massive domes manages a seemingly perfect world. In an apparent glitch in the Dome software, an Android discovers the essence of who he is was set for termination, a dark hidden secret that would threaten the stability of the entire human race as his relentless mission to find life, purpose, and freedom begins, plummeting David, a human journalist’s life into turmoil. In his quest to understand creation, evolution, free will, death, and faith, an unexpected new threat to humanity greater than the Androids emerge as the Federal Robotic Bureau hunts down this rogue robot in a breakneck chase.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hugh C.N. Miller
• Release date: Jun 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9780620913249

Hugh C.N. Miller

Hugh C.N. Miller is a South African Science Fiction Author, with his latest novel published and available on Amazon: “Interview with Things” He is a Graphic Designer and Web Developer at his own agency: HM Studio since 2011. He has over 30 years of extensive design and advertising experience.

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Hugh C.N. Miller

Interview With Things

First published by FutureVille Books 2021

Copyright © 2021 by Hugh C.N. Miller

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

A FutureVille Paperback

First published in South Africa 2023.

Printed by Print on Demand, Cape Town, South Africa

Copyright Hugh C.N.Miller © 2023Cover art by HM Studio. Image Source: www.123rf.com

Printed by Print on Demand, South Africa, Cape Town. 2023

ISBN issued by Print on Demand.

Book Trailer by HM Studio Productions

Animation by: ONE VIDEO MEDIA obtained from Envato.com. Envato Pty. Ltd. (ABN 11 119 159 741) PO Box 16122, Collins Street West, VIC 8007, Australia

Videos in trailers Copyright Pexels.com

Audio soundtrack: Jeffrey Peterson, Sky-Productions

Edited by: Charleen Dama and Reedsy.com

Typesetting and formatting: Reedsy Editor. https://reedsy.com/

Reference to the song: The Whole of the Moon, The Waterboys. From the album: This is the Sea. Copyright Island Records. 1985

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the author: Hugh C.N. Miller.

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www.interviewwiththings.com - 2021

First edition

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Dedicated to the Author of life.

Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase

Daniel 12:4

ONE

2047, London

Agents appeared from all exit points and their path looked difficult and blocked. A woman jumped in front of the human agents, all dressed in black bullet-proof vests with big bold ‘FRB’ letters on their backs.

You’re making a big mistake! Sabina, commander of the FRB, The Federal Robotic Bureau shouted towards David, a human and his companion, an artificial robot, standing next to each other, aiming to evade the agents that have surrounded the building corridor.

David, listen to me, she pleaded. He is not your friend. He is a machine and he is using you to accomplish a dangerous mission. He will harm you and other humans. For your own safety, stand down and surrender.

The robot swiftly moved towards David, protecting him from any harm as two agents moved closer to them, holding their weapons with both hands in a tight grip.

Arrest them, Sabina demanded, keeping her eye on David. I don’t want a single scratch on the robot! The aggression in her voice was like a deep cut into the flesh with a sharp knife.

The robot, by David’s side, had mechanical arms that were fast and precise. He moved swiftly towards them like he was on ice with faint motor-like sounds amplifying every movement he made. Small wheels loaded in the centre under the ball of his feet, allowing him to glide fast and smoothly.

The robot set himself sideways to the first agent coming his way. He tucked his mechanical hands and long fingers in close, his arm stretched straight out. In two strides, the android moved forward with immense power. He spun around, right leg coming up knee-first, hitting the first agent fully in the chest. The agents were human, dressed in police protective gear, in strong contrast to the robot next to the human that had a softer powder blue complexion and a lot of emotion in his facial features. He almost seemed more human.

The force of the impact hurled them both over the rail. The faint noises of the android’s motors echoed through the narrow staircase. A third agent appeared from behind, but with a whooshing thud, the android kicked him in the stomach. The agents seemed restrained, as they were not to harm the robot. In a split second, the robot smashed his metal fist into the next agent’s face.

They could hear a crushing sound as the force pushed him back against the wall. He clenched his jaw in agony as blood ran down his jawline. He surged to his feet and rushed back to the android with an energetic burst of fluid motion, hitting the robot’s right arm with the back of his heavy weapon.

The android slightly lost his balance with the force of the impact but quickly struck the agent upward, giving him a direct blow on the bridge of his nose, completely disorientating him as he broke it.

There was just one thought in David’s mind: keep moving. His heart beat faster and faster and a tiny frisson of fear was shooting through his body. They have to get away and move now. Another agent came from the staircase above them, gun up. The robot bent his knee as he straightened his mechanical leg and kicked the agent in the face. His mouth exploded in flares of blood as he slammed into the wall, sliding down as his legs gave way.

The air in the corridor staircase was gritty.

Sabina moved closer to David. Don’t do this, she pleaded impatiently. The robot grabbed David by his right arm and hurled him through the open door as they leapt up the emergency staircase. The agent stumbled slightly upwards on the stairs. David looked startled and frozen in shock as the events played out in front of him and as he felt driven forward by force, he knew there was nothing he could do but follow through.

Sabina clenched her fist as she grabbed her mobile phone, biting back her frustration, Damn it! Bring in the other units. They’re moving upwards, she said, glancing at the agents, suppressing her urge to scream out loud in frustration.

For the first time, David fully understood the magnitude of what it was they were undertaking. They were alone and isolated on that emergency exit staircase. David was white-faced and sweating, not used to violence so personal. His stomach clenched painfully.

Two flying crafts torpedoed low over the Thames river, rippling the water below as it made its way towards The Corniche Apartment towers, in Lambeth, in the heart of London. As it reached the tall glass-tone skyscraper building, the crafts lifted and levelled to the twenty-fourth floor. The outside of the craft was black and had FRB, Federal Robotic Bureau all over it, a familiar sight across the world since robots became more part of everyday life. The crafts had large round rotors spinning within the wings, allowing them to hover easily in mid-air. Virtually every device connected to the ‘Internet of Things’ and in certain sections, robots performed most of the hard and dangerous human tasks, from mining to hazardous environments. No human life got placed in harm. Most people pursued careers that had no physical risk. Artificial Intelligence monitored all the laws.

The FRB was no exception, being the dedicated agency tasked with the responsibility to ensure no AI threatened any human or human supremacy. They monitored any risk that could arise in any situation and various fail-safe systems were in place as set by the FRB to ensure human safety, hidden from the public and media for security reasons.

The inside of the craft was dark-lit with blue screens everywhere, with two agents per craft. AI stifled any cybercrime and threats by any public member. Crime across the world was super low and all financial systems used four cryptocurrencies. The days of cash heists were all over, yet the rise of cyber threats was ever-increasing. They kept AI robots and systems that performed critical world functions way out of human reach, in virtually impenetrable domes within each major city. The solar-powered craft moved closer to the windows of apartment 234 and zoomed into the spacious living room area. A few drones hovered next to it, sending video data to the FRB command centre.

The one agent leaned forward to his monitor and muttered in a slow and cold voice,

We have allocated their position. Please advise on our next move.

Sabina’s strong American voice rang over the systems, Send in the two units and retrieve the machine. Again, ensure it does not get a scratch on it, she warned. They’re heading for the roof towards the back of the building. They might aim for the tube on Vauxhall, she said, hinting towards the subway system.

And the human? one asked.

He is not important, Sabina muttered with little emotion, stopping the agent mid-sentence. The agents had no choice but to obey her instruction. She had her own plan to deal with David.

She had been in command of the FRB security unit for the past nine years and had been running it with a cold iron fist. For her, it seemed like it was the only thing in her life she could control. Her father was a hard man and he made it clear all throughout her childhood that he wanted a son. In her constant struggle with authority, she shaved her head in defiance and searched for acceptance and respect from the world around her. She focused all her energy on making her life a success and power seemed to be the answer. Conflict and emotional turmoil defined her childhood in America. Sabina was beautiful, but had a cold, machine-like look in her dark brown eyes, ruthless in her ambition. A career followed in police and combat training, FBI and MI6 until she finally earned the position of commander of the FRB. In her early thirties, she settled permanently in London, leaving her broken family ties behind her for good.

The FRB unit needed a leader with dedication, commitment and sharpness that helped ensure humans were safe from machines taking over the world. A system that worked and the entire world embraced AI without the usually expected anxiety over a robot revolution.

Sabina was facing the biggest challenge in her career as the world’s most valuable and powerful AI robot has gone rogue, a situation no one expected and even took her by surprise. This AI robot executed a cleverly orchestrated plan and she needed to resolve that swiftly before the world’s financial system got a whiff of the security breach. The biggest cyber risk to the Cryptocurrency system had taken place, a threat that could plummet the world into a financial crisis unheard of. Sabina knew very well that crime syndicates would soon learn about this robot running free in the streets of London and if he got into the wrong hands, they could use him for ransomware to take control of the financial system.

She had a potential PR nightmare on her hands and her entire career was at stake. AI was fully in charge of building trust within the cryptocurrency system, the only method of payment and this android managed all the trading, secret keys and mining. All under his supervision. With the immense complexity of this process, this robot needed to be immensely powerful, intelligent and constantly learn from trading mistakes until it achieved perfection. The entire world’s financial system depended on AI and thousands of systems and automation robots were under his control.

Now this very robot for some unknown reason, got out of the very secure dome in the city to pursue this human they are about to arrest - a seemingly unimportant human. A fairly successful journalist, but clearly very important to this robot. Whatever his plan was with this human will become her greatest challenge, as their relationship could threaten all of humanity.

TWO

3 days earlier.

At midday, David sat down in his favourite coffee shop. The hustle and bustle of London city life were all around him, engulfing him with the noise of people making their way to or from somewhere, sometimes wondering what drove people to keep going. Now and then a robot was cleaning the road or collecting something, replicating most human actions in an automated manner. Drones were everywhere, monitoring robots and humans alike.

David stared at another robot that came close to his table on roller wheels and simply zoomed past after collecting trash. His thought process got interrupted as a voice emanated from the table he was sitting at. David took his arm off the table as a display loaded, showing a variety of lunch and drink options.

What will it be today, David? the automated computer server asked as the sound came from the LED screen. The voice was in a pleasant female tone and sounded very persuasive.

David stared at the display on the table and gently replied, Just the usual tuna salad, thanks.

The sky was filled with drones flying low, always surveying people’s movements. One drone broke away from the swarm, flew towards David and stopped face height in front of him, almost so close he could have reached out and touched it. Its tiny cameras adjusted as it did a facial scan and then zoomed off. One could hear their propellers buzzing in the distance. David always sensed the eeriness of everyone being watched all the time. The table display was updated and showed David’s order.

Tuna salad coming right up, the computer server confirmed loading and displaying a tuna salad image with its price and an add-to-cart button. A pop-up flashed, waiting for David to press it.

Then the display suddenly changed and flipped to show a different dish.

According to our records and based on what you have ordered here in the past twelve months, tuna salad is not really your usual, the computerized ordering system had access to vast amounts of data and artificial algorithms to find patterns in patron behaviour.

David paused, then replied, Really? He felt the automated server was obnoxious, yet fully aware that all data was recorded. Always. Nothing was private.

The computer answered, Yes, in fact, you ordered chicken wings a hundred and twenty times in the past twelve months at this restaurant and a tuna salad only seventy-four times. Do you still want to state tuna salad as your usual?

Yes, David insisted.

Can I suggest a cold drink? the computer server asked.

Do I have a favourite? David asked sarcastically.

In fact-

Seriously? David thought to himself and