Electronics One: Book 1

By Mark C Giffin

Electronics One delves into the emerging field of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), its benefits and disadvantages, as the main character Stephen enjoys becoming a very rich man by being able to use A.I. While working hard and inventing an A.I. doll as well as an electronic body armour and a fuel saving device he meets his future wife Svetlana who had studied at a facility designed to train women into keeping a millionaire happy and contented. Book 2, continuing on the story of the main character, his life and his affair with artificial intelligence will be released in a few months.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Aug 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781982295127

Book preview

1

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The Accident

The old farmer was out fixing fences. His was a large property in the outback of Australia. It stretched for a mile beside the road, and his fence kept the cattle from wandering. He had just finished putting a fence post in where the old post had collapsed and was tying the wire back up when he heard a loud whoosh, as if something went past him along the road. He looked up but saw nothing unusual. Very little traffic went this way in this almost desert-like country.

Just after he looked up, he heard an almighty bang. What the hell was that? he thought. Better go and check it out. Might be one of them spaceships crashed. There had been strange lights in the sky lately. Or maybe it was one of those secret government cover-ups and a spy plane had crashed. Although no one would want to spy out here. A farmer can have a great imagination when there is not a lot to do in the middle of nowhere.

Old Bill, as everyone called him, hopped into his battered four-wheel drive and headed out to where he thought the noise came from. Something had hit a large boulder just off the side of the road near a small bend. He didn’t get as far as the boulder and the bend. He looked in a paddock a hundred yards before the boulder and found nothing. He had no explanation and left it at that.

If he had gone just that bit farther, he would have seen a wreck strewn over a quarter of a mile and a boulder—in it embedded bits of motorbike and human body parts. The boulder itself had a decently sized crack where there had not been one before.

Someone had certainly had an accident.

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Recovery

The engineers in the shed were on alert. The motorbike was no longer on their computer screens. It had been sent out for a test ride. The rider was experienced and had once been a test pilot. No amount of working on the computer would bring the GPS tracking device back up. There was nothing left to do but physically go out and see if everything was all right.

The chief engineer and two security men hopped into a van and headed off for the last position the bike and rider were tracked to. It was about thirty miles away. They got to the exact position. What they saw both dismayed and shocked them. Bits of human remains were plastered against a boulder. On the other side of the boulder for some distance was the rest of the rider and bike. It was an awful scene.

Two men stayed back to start cleaning up what they could. The other man went back to the shed to gather equipment that would help with the clean-up. When the man driving the van returned, the other two had already recovered a lot of the motorbike. Gloves and plastic bags were now being used to load up the body parts. The engineer was feeling sick after seeing the viscera strewn across the area. The two security men kept at it. The boulder had been scrubbed to remove blood. Finally, after a few hours, it became hard to see that a wreck along with a mutilated body had even been at the scene.

After all their efforts were placed inside the back of the van, they headed back to the shed. Inside the van, the men were quiet and sombre. They had lost a good man. The chief engineer was feeling unwell but was determined to get back and find out what happened.

When they arrived at the shed, they saw the other men were all downfaced. The chief engineer walked in and said, Back to work. Let’s find out what happened.

The security men were sent to clean up the motorcycle parts and to incinerate the body parts. The engineers got as much information as they could on the last activity of the motorcycle before the crash.

Look here, said one of the engineers. It shows here he was doing over 180 miles an hour at the time he crashed.

They poured over the data, and sure enough, that was correct. The vacuum module had been able to take the motorbike up to that speed. But why did the rider put himself at such risk? Was it to see just how fast he could go? Did the canceller not work? Did he commit suicide?

Suicide was immediately ruled out. Josh, the rider, was a happy fellow who loved new challenges. It was unlikely the canceller didn’t work. It was checked just before he took the bike out. Most likely, he wanted to see just how far he could take the bike. By the computer data, he had just kept accelerating since he had left the shed. He was someone who took risks, although this risk wasn’t sanctioned. It looked as though he hadn’t correctly judged or couldn’t keep to the slight bend before the boulder, and so he rode directly for it at 180 miles an hour.

The motorbike had been modified. There was no petrol or electric motor. Instead, there was a vacuum module and batteries. The batteries provided power to enable the vacuum modulator to work. Once powered up, the modulator created a vacuum in front of it. The modulator was placed in front of the motorbike, and the vacuum it created in front of the bike pulled the motorbike forward. The amount of power provided to the modulator determined how much forward momentum could be created. For the rider to reach that speed at that point in place and time meant he must have had it at full capacity.

The modulator they were using was the latest development in the creation of Stephen Frost, also known as Electronics One, by the electronics engineers in the company.

How the hell are we going to manage this? said the chief of security.

I don’t know, said the engineering chief. I’m an engineer, not a lawyer.

First thing we have to do is alert home base in New York.

After communicating with the head office on a secure line and informing them of the incident, they had to wait for a return call. The chief engineer wished this hadn’t happened on his shift. All the staff there rotated with other engineers and security personnel every two months. There was an airstrip on the property they were on. Most of the larger property stations out here had their own airstrip. A commercial liner would bring them to Sydney, and from there, they would be taken on a chartered flight directly to the station. The staff that had been working there returned on the charter flight and eventually made it back to New York.

While waiting for the return call, the chief engineer looked around the shed. Although they called it a shed, it was actually a large, elaborate enclosed building. It had many computers and instruments, all within a large air-conditioned office with partitions and desks. There was a little kitchen nearby and a small dining room table. The shed itself had numerous solar panels on the roof, and there was a large generator out behind the shed supplying the needs of the shed and farm where solar wasn’t enough.

Various cars and motorbikes were stored over on the other side. Most of the vehicles contained their original motors—some diesel, some petrol. There was even an electric car. The idea was to test these vehicles in various forms with a vacuum modulator installed on the front of the vehicle. It was incredible that a vacuum would remain in front of the car while the modulator was on, simultaneously repelling air in front of it. This was the brilliance of Stephen Frost, the ability to invent something so cutting edge. All the engineers in the company considered it a privilege to work for him.

The call came in from New York. They were to determine which of the vehicles Josh had last driven before taking the motorcycle out on its test run. Then, carefully so as not to add fingerprints to the inside of the vehicle, they were to take it out somewhere remote and leave it there, preferably on hard, rocky ground so no footprints would be expected. Once it got dark, they were then to call it in to the police and report a missing person. Eventually, the vehicle would be found, and of course, there would be no sign of Josh.

The chief engineer had considered Josh a good friend. One of the reasons Josh was chosen for this type of work was his previous experience as an aircraft test pilot and the fact that he had no family. His parents had died when he was young, and he had no siblings. His only surviving grandparent was a lady living in a nursing home in Seattle. Josh was very fond of her and provided financial help to keep her there. The chief engineer knew of this and asked what would happen to the old lady now that Josh was gone? He was told the company would ensure she was looked after financially so she could remain in the home. She had dementia, so there was no point informing her that Josh had died. The chief engineer took a stiff drink and informed the others what was to be done. The security personnel were on it.

The outback police were informed of Josh’s disappearance. An investigation was conducted, and the four-wheel drive vehicle he was supposed to have driven last was found. It was broken-down. A wire had come loose from the electric fuel pump. A search was made in the immediate area, and when Josh was not found, the search was widened.

After a few days, the search was abandoned. The policeman in charge of the operation said how it was easy for someone to wander off looking for help out here, get lost, and then die without being found.

The tests would go on. Someone else would take Josh’s place. He was certain it wouldn’t be long before Electronics One would pay them a visit.

3

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Electronics One

Stephen Frost was the only child of Dr Angelina Frost and Dr Michael Frost. Both doctors lived in Philadelphia and were specialists in their respective fields. Angelina was a surgeon. Michael was a radiologist. Apart from their dedication to medicine, Stephen was their pride and joy. Both parents expected Stephen to be a medical specialist when he grew up. They wanted to give him the best education possible, not only in school but also via an educated nanny who could help him with his homework and schooling throughout his early years.

By the time Stephen was five, it was obvious he was very bright. His parents encouraged his interest in all things. When he was eight, he became interested in computers and electronics. Soon, he learned how to build his own computer. He learned how to use computer chips to his own advantage. He modified his parents’ amplifier to create a more realistic sound for classical music (which his parents loved), enhancing the surround effect to mimic that of an actual symphony hall. He also modified it so the sound quality for films rivalled that of the best cinemas in town. The speakers, although high quality, could not compete with the expensive speakers installed in the cinemas. However, Stephen somehow arranged the electronics to make the difference in sound quality almost negligible.

Stephen didn’t see his parents as often as he would have liked. They were busy with their careers and would be called out at night to save a life or would be off to lecture about a recent advance in surgery or diagnostic imaging. But he loved them anyway. If he ever had the chance, he would have stayed up late and worked on another new way to use electricity.

Stephen’s parents didn’t argue much; the only time he did hear them argue was when they disagreed on a patient’s diagnosis. As a surgeon, his mother saw the problem and its solution one way. As a radiologist, his father saw it another. However, both were passionate about their abilities and their knowledge of medicine.

Except once.

During a singular instance, he overheard them argue about Stephen’s career and how he should be managed to ensure he entered college with a clear path to studying medicine. It was obvious, though—and Stephen himself had mentioned it more than once—that he was looking at a career in computers and electronics. His father pushed back, encouraging an interest in medicine as a career and electronics as a hobby. His mother, on the other hand, wanted Stephen to follow the career path he chose for himself. Angelina had fought hard to get where she was because becoming a surgeon had always been her dream. His father wanted Stephen to follow in his footsteps. He wanted his son to be a specialist in the field, any field, of medicine he chose. Why, though? Couldn’t he be a doctor who used electronics to benefit patients? Regardless, whatever Stephen did, his father wanted Stephen to be a doctor first.

Like all the disagreements between his parents, his mother emerged the winner. Sometimes, Stephen wondered whether she should have been a lawyer; she always seemed to have the best, most convincing argument. So, Stephen was allowed to follow his path. From then on, all the courses he did were geared towards computers and electronics. Eventually, he enrolled in a computer engineering course at university.

Stephen was excited to learn all he could in the field of electronics. What he was being taught, though, were principles and mechanics he had already worked out for himself. The educators seemed to be behind the eight ball in the field of electronics. What Stephen had worked out late at night in his room at home preceded what he was being taught. This was disappointing, but he suffered through the course until he earned his degree. He went straight on to obtain his master’s. His professors wanted him to continue to earn his PhD. By now, though, he’d had enough. He was ready to go out and get a job in research and make a difference.

There was a position for an electronics analyst in a big firm in New York. Stephen applied for it. In the interview, he impresses them with his knowledge in electronics and so was accepted as their new electronics analyst. His interest in this job had a lot to do with their research in artificial intelligence. After visiting the company’s human resource department and learning about the company’s goals and vision and what was expected of him—down to where he could get a cup of coffee—he signed confidentiality papers and was shown his office. He was the third person to be employed as an electronics analyst in their artificial intelligence section, now known to all as the AI section.

Once settled in his office, there was a knock on the door. A fellow came in and introduced himself as the head of AI. He took Stephen down to the floor beneath them and showed him the laboratory, where he would be spending most of his time. There were some crude robots, computers, miniature cars, and other paraphernalia used mostly in artificial intelligence research. Stephen was excited. He thought, This is where I am meant to be.

It wasn’t long before Stephen had made a reputation for himself. His research was making leaps and bounds in the field of artificial intelligence. What he found he could do was set up a large memory bank in a small space and program a computer, within that same small space, to read the memory banks and so act accordingly, depending on what the purpose of it all was. He would set up a directive, a sort of a purpose—in a computer, for example—to drive a car safely around the track. The computer would use everything in its memory to ensure the car was driven safely around the track set up for this purpose. All sorts of obstacles would be introduced to see if the computer would continue to drive the car around safely. Sometimes it would fail, for instance when a person was introduced in front of the car. The computer avoided the person who came out in front of the car—but by crashing into a tree, injuring the occupant. In this case, more data was entered until the computer controlling the car could introduce an optimal solution to the problem.

This was exciting stuff for Stephen. It could revolutionize traffic safety. There were so many fields where artificial intelligence could be introduced. Medicine was one, sports another. Home domestic appliances could be revolutionized. Buildings could be designed and drawn up with ease. There was nothing that couldn’t be improved upon in the electronics world.

Some of the general engineers were as excited as Stephen was. The other two electronics analysts were annoyed that Stephen was always ahead of them in innovation and technology. Stephen didn’t care. He was happy to work long hours for the same pay to get artificial intelligence to the forefront of technological advancement.

After Stephen had been there just over nine months, one of the company’s directors, the director of AI, called Stephen into his office. The office door was closed and locked. The director indicated for Stephen to have a seat. The director sat down and said, Stephen, we have been monitoring your work lately, and we see you are our number-one analyst. I want you to head a new division. This is strictly confidential, but you will get a substantial pay increase, your own staff who will work directly under you, and practically anything you need to head this division.

The director then sat quietly, looking directly at Stephen. The expected reply came: What will I be doing?

The director replied, The military has seen your work and wants you to form an artificial intelligence division to enable them to fight war more efficiently. They believe that with artificial intelligence, fewer mistakes will be made, resulting in fewer American soldiers killed or wounded and fewer civilian casualties. The military, including the army, air force, and navy combined, are willing to spend a lot of money to make this work.

A stunned Stephen just looked at the director. This seemed like a great opportunity. Head my own division, he thought. Everything at my disposal.

The director spoke next. No need to answer straight away. I will give you twenty-four hours to think about it. We will meet again here tomorrow afternoon. You have a great future here, Stephen. I will let you get back to your work. Ask my secretary to come in on your way out, would you?"

Thank you, was all Stephen could say.

The new division was established, and Stephen put all his effort into creating artificial intelligence to enable safety protocols to work better for soldiers in battle. His AI research enabled him to help sort out an officer’s decision, especially in battle, so he wouldn’t make careless mistakes, which could cost lives. His research provided an optimal solution for all scenarios—naval, air, or ground—for any battle situation, minimizing loss of personnel.

It wasn’t long, though, before the Brass wanted the AI branch to make better killing machines. They wanted AI to bring about maximal carnage for less expense. They wanted war to be even more efficient. They wanted to know how they could attack a town, area, or country in less time and with less money.

Stephen obliged and thought little of it. Of course, the military would only fight a war when it was absolutely necessary and for the good of the United States.

One day, unexpectedly, Stephen received a phone call from an anonymous person, who told him a little-known covert branch of the military was about to test the AI developed so far on a village in a war-torn district in Africa and that his artificial intelligence was not being used for its intended purpose.

The attack on the village was executed efficiently, with machines and weapons maximally optimized by Stephen’s AI system. Trouble was, there was no need to attack and destroy this village. Stephen saw the carnage on the news (the anonymous informant called him to tell him when the segment would be on). He saw the precision destruction and knew it was his handiwork. The news reporter said it was a response to rebel attacks. The lawful military stationed in the town had been annihilated.

Stephen was mortified. He had been conned. By now, he was at the top of his game. Everyone he knew in the company was calling him Electronics One. He was earning an excellent salary. He had a great apartment. Life, for all intents and purposes, was great, except for one thing: he was now unnecessarily aiding and abetting the killing people. He was not happy. He could not in good faith condone this behaviour and decided he would no longer be a part of it. He resigned.

The company’s executives were displeased. They had signed lucrative contracts, depending on the AI Stephen had developed for the military. Stephen told them what he knew, but they weren’t interested. Their sole concern was the contract and the money it brought in. Sure, they could assign another AI electronics analyst, but no one else knew AI like Stephen. This disgusted Stephen even further—the company cared about profit alone.

As soon as he could finish up, Stephen was out of there. He was reminded about the confidentiality clause in his contract. No problem, he said. I will not disclose anything I have worked on here to anyone else.

Stephen thought about working for another firm, but he soon ruled this out; the next firm would likely use him in the same way to seek a military contract. Anything to make money. Big firms seemed to lack a conscience.

He put his thoughts in order and decided the best thing to do would be to start his own business. This he could control. He had some capital saved up from his last job but not enough to lease a shop and start employing staff, especially for AI research, which was what he loved to do most.

Stephen headed to his parents’ home for a