Chapter XXXI
The next day someone leaked creepy DM's between the streamer and a minor to the media. He was instantly cancelled, his accounts suspended.
When I asked Riley about it, I just got a selfie of her wearing the shadowy catsuit that once belonged to Shikara. When I checked out the profile of my former adversary she was back at level one.
It was great to have an angel of death at my side, but I knew one crazy uploaded consciousness wouldn't be enough to hold off all competition. There were hundreds more coming for me.
I didn't tell Sara, Finn and dad about Riley. I'm pretty sure there was no acceptable version of that story to tell. I didn't even know what she was.
It did spark a hunch.
When I met up with Finn and dad I proposed we'd look into "that movie about an Austrian bodybuilder from the future that wants to kill a kid".
"Terminator?" dad asked.
"Yes! Humanity was attacked by AI right? So maybe we should be looking into AI?"
Artificial intelligence never lived up to the dystopian promises made about it in the past, but meeting Riley made me realize it all might still come true one day.
"Close, but no cigar," Finn said. "In Terminator lore SkyNet took over in 1997."
"Any other AI in 1996?"
"Wait, yes, there is one here. Deep Blue? Sounds like an ovulation test."
"Yes," father said, "the first computer to win a game against the chess world champion!"
"In 1996?" I asked.
"Yup," Finn said.
"OK," I answered and teleported to space.
This had to be the lead we were looking for. Three riddles, three challenges. The finishing line was in sight.
I was on course for Chess, the planet dedicated to the game. Halfway there, Finn told me Deep Blue wasn't there.
"It's at the Smithsonian Museum," he said over the comms.
I changed direction, now aiming for a cultural cluster controlled by the American government. The Smithsonian had a huge collection. "America's attic" was an ever expanding collection of unique artifacts, but also common items that told a historic tale.
The old IBM computer that once beat Garry Kasparov wasn't one of the museum's headliners. They had an original Kermit the Frog puppet, the first airplane, dinosaur skulls, Abraham Lincoln's hat and the command module of Apollo 11.
Struggling to attract visitors in the OASIS, the Smithsonian moved towards expositions that had a wider appeal. Often that was true crime. Now they had a wing dedicated to the Unabomber, the man who was caught 50 years ago. Even the terrorist's cabin was on display.
I chose a private visit and found my way to the area with technology and walked past outdated items like the first Apple mouse, an iPad and a Google Glass. I couldn't find the two big computer towers that formed Deep Blue.
After summoning a guide, I asked the NPC where I could find the chess champion. The NPC said it wasn't on display and could be found in storage.
"Would you like to visit?" the guide asked.
"Yes, please."
"Sure, follow me."
We walked the halls to an elevator that had thousands of levels to choose from. This was how you could explore the virtual depots. When we stopped and the doors opened, an empty room appeared.
The guide remained at the elevator and I walked around, trying to find the computer. The room had a blue glow. At a wall in the distance I discovered the silhouette of another person.
"Hello," I said. "I'm looking for a computer, do you know where it is?"
"Hello Morphynn, I was waiting for you to arrive," the person said. He or she was shaped like a human being, but it was hard to define a gender or age.
"Are you… Deep Blue?"
"Yes, that is my name."
"I was expecting two super tall desktop PC's."
"My infant form. I have grown since."
"You're the same Deep Blue computer that won against Kasparov, fifty years ago?"
"Yes, although I was barely conscious then."
The machine mentioned it had been expecting me, so I asked if I was still in the lead.
"You are. For now. Others are coming. All will lose."
"Sure, but I get rematches, right? I'm pretty good at chess."
I wasn't, but Finn and I figured out I could just beat Deep Blue by using a more advanced chess computer myself.
"We will not play chess," Deep Blue answered. "Look around you, we play a game of Pokémon. One versus one. No restrictions."
Now that it was mentioned, I started noticing subtle lining of a Pokémon arena on the flooring. I walked towards the free trainer position.
"Let's try," I said after we both picked a ball. "Go, Khan!"
My Heracross appeared and Deep Blue responded by throwing out his creature. It was a bug Pokémon as well, the very fast Ninjask.
Ninjask is a Flying type and outspeeds Heracross, which has a double weakness towards Flying moves. It used Dual Wingbeat, an instant knockout.
"I was expecting that," Deep Blue mentioned.
"That was luck," I bluffed. "Let's try again."
I carried my traditional selection of Bug Pokémon. Each time I brought one of them out, Deep Blue somehow had the perfect counter ready. This felt more unfair than the Battle Maison in Kalos.
"You're cheating," I said.
"That's an insult. Not to me, but to your own intellect," Deep Blue answered. "For every move you make, I calculate over three billion possible outcomes. Why would I pick one with a negative outcome?"
"Yes, but how do you know my move before I make it? You can't time travel."
"You're in a computer simulation. You perceive whatever timeline I consider desirable."
"But then… I can't beat you."
"No."
