ORPHEUS - A.I.

Chapter Five : A Motley Crew

The next day all of the four recruits were given a tour of the office premises. They woke up early – around 6 a.m. and had a wholesome breakfast and were now following Serena as she showed them around the huge building complex. It was then that they realised that there were around one hundred employees working day and night in various departments. The whole complex looked like a big university with its huge lawns and gardens, recreational areas, swimming pools and canteens and even a tennis court. Every employee had the same dress code- which looked like something out of a star-trek movie – navy blue shirts and light blue pants for the men while the women wore a blue top and a matching blue skirt. They all had one thing in common- a small O-shaped badge on their chests. These people were the core employees of the company and everyone of them worked like robots in their own offices until their shifts were over. Serena showed them around enthusiastically – explaining to the four of them how each one of them worked, she thought it was necessary as they would be staying here for a few weeks. 

Megan observed everything closely and the more she saw , she felt a sense of uneasiness in her heart. The mere devotion of the people working with such dedication seemed to her as if they were indeed robots programmed to obey every command of their bosses. Hex was awestruck – he always wanted to see these offices– he kept asking Serena about the various facilities and services in the offices while Timothy and Andre were equally excited and kept talking to each other in their native tongue – mostly arguing and mocking each other. 

Serena received a text on her phone and she immediately asked the new recruits to follow her into their new office. They were shown into a beautiful room with sound proof glass walls and beautiful furniture. There were four laptops on the side table and a central workstation with three LED monitors and a brightly lit transparent CPU at the bottom. Timothy’s jaw dropped as he approached the workstation.

“This is the best and the most updated computer in the entire country- you can use it for your project …”, said Serena with a smile.

“Oh great… awesome…” , chuckled Timothy as he turned on the computer 

“OS 20? Damn…this is the most expensive rig that I’ve ever worked on…”

“I’m glad you like it…” , Serena said typing something on her phone.

A man entered the room with a four files in his hand.

“Ah.. here are your project files…you all are given specific tasks and the estimated time to complete your project…”, said Serena handing out the files yo each of them.

“Miss Megan , here’s yours…I hope you will enjoy your time here guys … lunch is at 1 pm…if you need anything just press that button on the right …see you!”, said Serena as she walked out hastily.

Megan and Hex sat down on the sofa and started to read their files while Timothy and Andre kept looking at the computer trying to assess its strength and power.

“So… where do we start?”, asked Hex trying to break the ice with Megan.

“I say we start with the psychology part- its all about dealing with people’s problems and then you guys can design the application around that idea…” , replied Megan.

“Huh.. ok … let’s get to the drawing board then…”, said Hex.

For the next few days and nights the four of them worked hard trying to complete the project on time. They argued and challenged each other but always ended up doing something fruitful at the end of the day.Megan always reminded Hex not to forget about the human angle in the application while Hex and the others kept writing and editing hundreds of lines of codes. They soon realised that it was not as simple as coding any other software. This one had to respond to its users correctly and it had to base its decisions on its user’s every online activity- from their browser searches, social media accounts and even texts and phone calls not to mention GPS data. One faulty line of code and it would crash.

This went on for two weeks, with the guys working 10 hours a day, barely taking any breaks accept for their supper after which they went to sleep only to start the whole routine again. Megan made notes on how the human psyche behaves during depression and what measures could be taken to overcome such problems. These notes acted as guidelines for Hex and the others who designed the software to behave as a counselor or a friend for the users. 

Mr. Devonshire sat in his office monitoring their activities through a hidden spy camera in their workstation. Serena walked into the office –

“They’re working hard…I think it will be ready in a few days…” , said Serena to her father.

“Well they’re as I have expected them to be but you know that this goes beyond a simple user friendly app…you know what’s to come next…” , replied Devonshire gravely.

Serena realised what her father was talking about –

“I do but father is there no other way?”

“Do not question my plans young lady, you know well enough about what I’ve been through all these years…I expect you to do as your told and check on Cerberus.” , said Devonshire in a commanding voice.

“Yes father”, replied Serena and walked out of the office.

Devonshire then started to type on his keyboard and a dark coloured software appeared on the screen-

“Welcome Mr. Devonshire…” - a voice echoed through the speakers.

“Hello ORCA… please check re-integration protocols “, ordered Devonshire.

“Checking… “-replied the voice and thousands of lines of code flowed down the screen.

“Reintegration protocols in place Sir…”, replied the voice.

Devonshire smiled and relaxed on his chair.

Meanwhile in the workstation, the guys had finished their work for the day and were turning off the computers. Megan arranged her notes and was about to retire to her room when Hex approached her –

“Hey…so the boys and I are planning to hit the bar…would you like to come?”, asked Hex

“Ah..I don’t drink…”, replied Megan reluctantly.

“You could have a soda instead… come on our work here is almost over…”, said Hex begging Megan to come along.

“Um fine… “ , Megan agreed and went with them towards the bar.

The four of them sat on a bar while the bartender served them drinks. It was 11 pm and the entire building was empty except for the guards and a few other employees working on their night shifts. Hex had a glass of whiskey while Timothy and Andre had a martini each . Megan just asked for a coke.

“It’s been a tough few days..huh..” said Hex starting the conversation. Timothy and Andre sat down the bar counter on the other end talking and arguing over something on a laptop.

“Never understood what these guys are talking about ..”, said Megan looking at them.

“Well at least we have some  entertaining people with us…the entire office seems like a giant robot factory to me…”, said Hex jokingly.

“Right? You noticed it too… I just wonder why so much security and privacy for a software company…” , replied Megan easing up a little bit.

“Maybe they’re into something shady… planning to take over the world…”, chuckled Hex. 

Megan smiled- she hasn’t smiled in a long time- being with this motley crew of weird geniuses helped her forget about her past.

Suddenly Timothy cheered in excitement. Megan and Hex looked at him- he was patting and hugging Andre.

“Everything okay there fellas?”, asked Hex taking a sip of his drink.

“Eyy…Mr Hex …come, come look… Andre and I have made something cool..”, replied Timothy.

“What? What is it…” , asked Megan approaching them.

“It’s a game that we both made – it’s based on the software we’re working on… look..”, said Timothy placing the laptop on the bar counter.

Hex and Megan looked at the screen curiously as Andre showed them a 2d game based on the Orpheus project.

“The game is about survival… you are asked to face your past by this A.I. Any wrong you’ve done in the past will reappear in the game. The characters have to complete certain tasks and survive the jungle…”, explained Timothy.

“Let’s say this character here was involved in a bank robbery – the AI makes him pay back the amount he stole…the character has to search through the forests for hidden amounts of money, while defending against wild animals and assassins…” said Timothy.

“Well can’t he just decline to obey the tasks?”, asked Megan.

Timothy replied-

“He can try but the drones will find him and end him…See here…This little guy wakes up in the jungle one day and on his phone there’s a notification-

“Orpheus activated, proceed to the nearest location and await further instructions!!”

“Then he goes to this old shack here…and oh it’s a multiplayer game so others can join you too …and now you receive your instructions ..there …and now he has 2 hours to complete his task…pretty cool huh?”

Timothy presented a walkthrough of the game while Megan observed attentively.

Hex was both amazed and annoyed at the same time –

“And you guys made this in two weeks?”, he asked finishing his drink.

“Well we already had the designs ready before we came here.. we just added the concept when during our breaks… to be honest this software making business is way too easy … game development is much better and pays more!”, replied Timothy proud of their accomplishment.

“And maybe Mr. Devonshire will pay you extra for this…”, added Megan.

“Of course that’s why we made this… hey c’mon let’s show it to him now…” , said Timothy.

“Yeah …no … you guys go I need to rest…”, replied Hex picking up his laptop.

“Yeah..I need to get some sleep too.. good night guys…” , said Megan picking up her things and walking out of the bar.

Both Hex and Megan walked towards their rooms while Timothy and Andre went looking for Devonshire.

The moon was crescent and the night was silent. Security guards patrolled the compound with their dogs. Serena watched from her room on the top floor as Tim and Andre walked towards Devonshire’s office. She turned off her lights and drew a long breath. Her laptop was still on –

“Checking database for Timothy Bjork now...” – it read on the screen...