The Blur Between Man and Machine ~ Artificial Intelligence

A Day in the Life

August 7, 2115, 4:03 AM

Chloe Edward's blissful dreams were shattered by the ear-splitting scream of the emergency alarms in the fire station. She tumbled out of her bunk, regretting her decision to stay the night at work. The echo of the emergency alarms continued relentlessly, and Chloe practically crawled along the floor to the deactivation panel. She reached up, pressed her palm against the glass scanner, and moments later the alarms ceased.

"What time is it?" Chloe muttered, as she pulled herself to her feet and staggered over to the terminal.

The walls hummed to life and a soothing feminine voice spoke clearly, "Good morning, Ms. Edwards. It is 4:03 AM, Pacific Time. The emergency protocol has been activated. Also, I must notify that you have two new messages, and one of them is labeled emergency."

Chloe slowly walked up to the vast array of computer screens in the fire department's central chamber. She waved her palm over the expansive keyboard, her unique fingerprints instantly scanned and verified by mounted cameras. The screens lit up with detailed geographical maps, weather forecasts, and, more importantly, news reports.

Chloe snapped to attention and, hurriedly rubbing the sleep from her eyes, asked, "What's the emergency protocol?"

"This is emergency protocol number 03543, I'm bringing up footage of it now," the walls replied, as the screens fluctuated in the images they depicted.

"03543..." Chloe repeated. "Shit, that means..."

Her voice trailed off as the latest news reports rolled in. Fire, smoke billowing into the sky, and people being transported away by ambulance took her breath away. Chloe sifted through the vast amounts of information pouring in from all over the city, instead issuing an all-personnel emergency alert throughout the station.

"This is Chloe Edwards of the 3rd Sector Los Angeles Police Department," Chloe spoke into the microphone. "We have an emergency protocol number 03453 in motion and I require all available personnel to report to duty."

"Shall I open your emergency e-mail?" the walls asked.

Chloe stood up from the terminal and sprinted across the shiny floor, "Who's it from?"

"It appears it was from A.I. System 0231," the walls explained. "The message recording is as follows...."

"Wait, Leo?" Chloe stopped in her tracks and turned back to the terminal; the number corresponded to an old friend of hers.

"Initiating voice message," the walls started.

Instantly, the surround sound was filled with screams and the crackling of flames in the distance. A gruff, mechanical, voice echoed throughout the fire station:

"Chloe this is Leo, and I don't know where you are but we've got serious damage down here in the Industrial District. There appears to have been a power overload in one of the thermonuclear chambers. We've got Sectors 1 and 2 down here, but the fire's getting out of control! There's civilians trapped inside and--"

"Stop the recording," Chloe ordered, as the station surrounding her buzzed to life. "Send a message that I'm on my way, and I'm bringing the entire 3rd Sector."

"Already on it," answered the walls. "Shall I prep the vehicles?"

"All of them," ordered Chloe as she turned. "Bring up the casualty count."

"Casualties have already numbered over 250," the walls replied.

"That's it," stated Chloe. "Relay the message to all available Fire Departments in the region. I don't care if it's four in the morning."

"Okay," said the walls.

"Ms. Edwards!" someone called.

Chloe turned around as Ray Wilson, one of the new recruits, ran up to her. He breathed heavily, obviously baffled by all the excitement at four in the morning.

"Yes?" asked Chloe.

Ray looked at the monitors, "My God..."

"Get to your station," Chloe ordered, pushing past him. "We've already got a casualty count over 250. Prep for transport."

"Yes Ma'am," Ray replied, while he bustled off to join the rest of the crew.

"Ms. Edwards?" asked the walls.

Chloe looked up irritably, "What?"

"Shall I read the second message?"

Chloe thought for a moment, "What's the topic?"

"Save 20% on Clothes this Holiday Season."

"Damn advertisements," Chloe breathed. "Delete, and block all the others as spam."

"Yes ma'am," the walls answered.

Chloe sprinted over to the mounting terminal and stood inside the glass cylindrical chamber. The chamber closed and red lasers scanned her body, analyzing her structure and type for proper fitting.

"Scan complete," a thick, metallic voice, stated.

"Initialize sequence number 003, heavy-duty," Chloe spoke.

Machines began to buzz and whir as thick pieces of armor were attached to Chloe's outstretched appendages. Each segment of equipment locked onto her skin before extending outward with its various other trinkets of technology. Fire-proof pads, heat resistant equipment, and a safety visor all formatted themselves to Chloe's body. Finally, a thick fire-resistant helmet, that somewhat resembled a biker's helmet, was lowered onto her head and locked itself into place. She blinked as a retinal scan identified her and, because she was slightly near-sighted, formatted the visor to her visual specifications.

"Insert A.I." ordered Chloe. "Protocol P.L.A.T.O."

"Order accepted," the metallic voice answered. "Inserting A.I."

There was a click at the back of Chloe's visor and her visual interface changed somewhat.

"Good morning Miss Edwards," a friendly, British-accented, voice spoke.

"'Morning Plato," Chloe answered. "Before we elope here, troubleshoot any possible technical issues."

"Already on it," Plato responded. "Scan 100 percent complete. You are ready for deployment."

"Initialize," ordered Chloe.

The floor beneath shook and she began her decent downward into the underground garages. Everything went dark and the only light was illuminated from her glowing visor.

"Your heart rate is escalated," Plato observed. "Shall I play your Classical Music station to calm you?"

"Give me heavy metal," Chloe responded, with a slight smile. "Tonight's going to be, well, one of those nights."

"Very well Miss Edwards," Plato chuckled.

Chloe finished her decent and stepped out of the chamber elevator, ready for action.