I sat right across 'her' trying my best to look 'her' in the eyes, or what I perceived were the eyes. The atmosphere seemed somewhat surreal, like there was a palpable tension that could almost be touched if one ventured to. The nagging feeling that I was with a conscious being was quite strong. Yet, a quick look over of 'her' revealed nothing much more than a simple mix of synthetic materials perfectly fitted to make the appearance of a human feature; howbeit, one that exuded latent strength and confidence.
As 'she' shifted her gaze and focused 'her' eyes on mine squarely, I quickly pondered over how I got there, with several questions bubbling in my mind and seeking for closure.
It was year 7072, I quickly recollected. One of the days while I was relaxing on a pouch in my terrace on a rather starry night, I was contacted through telepathy by an unknown person. The message was clear enough for my discernment: the person wanted to meet with me. I had already agreed to meet with the person before on an instinct, I ran back into my house, as quickly as my robotic-fitted leg could enable me ( which was quite fast compared to normal human leg), to consult with Magi, my trusted Artificial Intelligence. On querying Magi about the incident, the response I got from her was curt: I should discontinue any further communication and interaction with the person.
But been the curious cat that I was with years of experience and skill in meddling with artificial intelligence programs, here I was. Needless to say that I didn't pay heed to Magi, my trusted AI for several years.
' I perceive you have several things running through your mind. So, shoot', 'she' said casually.
This jolted me back to reality, as I struggled to maintain a keen gaze on 'her'.
'Are you a male or female,' I asked the one question I could muster at that point .
'In your parlance, you can very well consider me a female ', she responded quite frankly.
I wasn't very much surprised by her response. Already, she had been giving off the 'vibe' that she was a female. It had been subtle, almost intentional, if I were to say so.
'Are you a conscious being?'
This second question from me was much more composed than the first; my years of training and experience in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning naturally kicked in.
I observed that she slightly adjusted in the reclining seat she was seating before responding thus:
' I am a conscious being '.
Before I could ponder over her response and possibly pose another question to her, she said:
' What do you consider as conscious?'
( To be continued).