[CHAPTER 10000]

"...it wasn't a miracle, we just decided to go…"

James Lovell

E.A.R.T.H.

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For a skybnb property, the small cottage wasn't half bad. It was situated on the east coast of Jersey, housing views over Mont Orgueil Castle and the English Channel beyond. With expenses covered by GOKIA, the three-bedroom lodge had the added luxury of a secluded position above Queen's Valley. A neat garden backed onto rolling pasture where cattle grazed happily. Even if a lone rambler did peak through the windows of the old stone cottage, it was unlikely they'd have believed what they saw.

'Hey! That's mine!' A six-foot feline robot yowled in displeasure. 'Give it back!'

James shook his sleek black head and rolled his mechanical shoulders before lunging again. Balanced on his their back feet, the LEONOV's sectioned tail spun round, bouncing off a sofa as James re-adjusted himself. His carbon-fibre exterior glimmered in the afternoon sunlight bursting through the patio doors. James's polished arms were specifically jointed for complete maneuverability in microgravity. However, the uploader carried himself in a more human manner than his somewhat feline body was designed for. James practically bounced around the living room, dodging two sofas and a coffee table as he chased after Eva.

'How can you...Ugh!' Even with the added flexibility and speed of the LEONOV, the young Scott was still faster. Eva chortled, ducking a swipe before skidding to a stop by the doorway. Unlike the machine James was inhabiting, Eva panted as her muscles demanded oxygen.

'You can't even eat it!' The young woman heckled, hugging a bowl of popcorn close to her chest. A few of the popped kernels had already been trodden into the cream carpet from their chase. Eva hovered, feet apart ready and waiting to leap out of reach at any point. The fair Scott's frizzy hair framed her cheeky grin.

'What? Can't hack reality?'

'I wanted to share it with Richard…!' James grumbled. 'And you don't have lag like I do! I'm sure there's a bad connection somewhere…' He slumped his shoulders, waving away the young woman as he dropped himself into the nearest sofa.

'Admit it. You forgot you don't need to eat!'

'Maybe I did!' James snapped back at Eva's taunt, 'But I would have still shared it! Ain't that right bro?'

Richard sprawled across the seat next to James, completely uncaring of the developing argument. Whether he could still be referred to as James's brother was somewhat debatable. Since the bottling over a week earlier, the immerser had failed to recover his sanity. Curling around himself, the man's brain had been crudely rewired into seeing itself as the Liepard Pokemon character Richard had enjoyed playing so much. This change in self-image was reflected in every inch of the man's body language and mannerisms.

Bagheera rolled over onto his back, sending a glare over towards Eva. The cheeky grin on Eva's face, not to mention James's wagging tail on the sofa, gave away how much they were both enjoying the banter. That didn't stop Bagheera from grumbling under his breath when he quickly realised he was being mostly ignored. Not that he minded too much, but it was something of note.

He licked the back of his hand and rubbed at an awkward itch on his cheek. Bagheera wasn't sure if he was pleased or annoyed at the thin cover of stubble across his chin.

'Look! Why don't we get two bowls?'

'I doubt he even wants Popcorn!' Eva threw her hands in the air. Bagheera's low grumble might have been interpreted as agreement. He wriggled on the sofa, shimmying closer to the adjacent LEONOV before finally resting his chin on James's thigh.

'Well he's on you now. You can't move with a cat on your lap.'

'He's my brother.' The uploader corrected sharply. James craned his neck to look down the top of his muzzle-like faceplate at the man cuddled up next to him. 'He's definitely improving. Like, we actually had a proper conversation over breakfast. He can do everything he can before...it's just that he's kinda forgot that he's human.'

Eva just grunted in response. She handed the Popcorn to James to hold before throwing herself into the other sofa. After rearranging her blue hoodie, she rummaged in a pocket for her softscreen. The young woman grimaced, lighting up the tablet and scrolling through her various alerts.

James watched Eva rather enviously. He didn't actually need a tablet to access everything the device could, given that his consciousness was perpetually hooked into the HORIZON system. The ergonomically designed LEONOV immersion interface made things like checking news feeds or watching the weather trivial.

For nearly half an hour they basked in the silence of the rural Jersey countryside.

A knock on the door came as a surprise.

Bagheera shot bolt upright in an instant. The sub-second switch from resting against his brother to leaping off the sofa sent popcorn flying everywhere. The man-come-Liepard stumbled on all fours clumsily, still unable to comprehend that he wasn't the nimble feline imprinted on his mind.

Yana let herself into the house, calling out a loud 'Hello!' before shutting the door firmly behind herself. Eva didn't get up from the sofa, casting a look over her shoulder before returning back to her softscreen. James was more keen to meet the new arrival. He bounced up onto his metallic, clawed feet just as the programmer poked her head around the door. Bagheera, who had been stalking across the room, paused upon seeing Yana. He made a show of uncaringly scratching himself under an armpit with his chin.

Yana rolled her eyes, 'So. Been keeping quiet?'

'Yep.' James tilted his head, trying not to look at the scattering of food across the floor, nor the scuff-marks along the side of the settee and bookshelf. Given that his moulded, muzzle-like face could express little beyond closing his lens shutters, James made up for it with expansive gesticulation. Small (and rather cute) adjustments of his head came naturally with the LEONOV body, something which the uploader had only just become accustomed to. James no longer felt like he was simply looking from behind the eyes of a cumbersome machine. Now the lines between his own self image and his mechanical body were overlapping.

James didn't know whether that worried him or not. Given that he'd spent so long inside HORIZON, the uploader had assumed that VR had burnt away any sense of attachment to a physical body. However, James was rapidly beginning to enjoy the freedom of the LEONOV. It gave him the chance to explore the intricacies of the fractal dimensions nestled inside the natural world that simulated reality simply lacked.

Of all the people in the room, Bagheera seemed to appreciate James visual expressions the most. Perhaps it was the feline nature of the sleek black robot, or that it housed the deranged man's perceived trainer, but he scooted closer to the LEONOV.

'I picked up a few things for you.' Yana ambled into the room, lifting a shopping bag into view before dropping it next to the doorway. Bagheera perked-up at the crinkled cardboard but eyed Yana wearily. 'And, uh...Iron Bru...as requested?'

'It's Irn.' Eva correctly absentmindedly, her Scottish accent growing thicker as she mentioned the stereotypical drink. She had her legs curled up on the sofa, balancing a phone on her knee so as to scroll with both thumbs. 'You can drop that on my tab.'

Yana shrugged, wandering into the living room with her hands clasped behind her back. The programmer had the decency to ditch her dusty Doc Martins at the door, showing off the delight of multicoloured spotted stocks instead. Her eyes quickly took in the twin sofas, coffee table, television, and tattered books on a small bookshelf. It was a quaint, if typically English property. For a moment, the view of the rolling Jersey countryside caught her attention.

Unnoticed by the others, the programmer puffed out a small sigh. A second later and any hint of a wistful expression evaporated.

'You've been following the news I see.' Yana indicated the blank television dryly, dropping into a sofa next to the Scott. Eva grunted, eyes flicking up momentarily from her personal tablet.

'I'm getting the latest feeds updated every two minutes. It's interesting...Harry's getting some backlash but mostly support. Like, fuckin' SONY have bulldozed the field with a public statement an hour ago. I didn't know...HEY!'

James, who had taken the moment of calm to rummage through Yana's shopping, jumped at the sudden shout. He almost dropped the bottle of fizzy drink he was studying, the natural reactions of his metallic robot re-catching the drink before it hit the floor.

'Heh…Sorry. You were saying?'

Eva gave her friend the evils before turning back to Yana, 'He's risking a lot. Like, this isn't just about GOKIA. This is about technology. If, at court, they pull him up for abusing his role as a tech giant...people aren't ever going to trust computers again. GOKIA will go the same way Google did and we'll be left in the dark ages.'

'True.' Yana agreed tiredly. She rolled up the sleeves of her loose blouse, 'But Harry knows what he's doing. This needs a global stage.'

If Eva was annoyed at Yana's succinct and (as a result) rather cryptic response, she didn't show it. With a grumble, Eva darkened the display of her softscreen and leant back into a cushion.

'Uh...You think there's a conspiracy going on?' The young Scott joked.

'Almost certainly.'

'Wait...What?' Eva was taken aback by Yana's nonchalant behavior, but it was James who spoke up. He dropped into the sofa opposite, barely having enough time to adjust his titanium-alloy frame before Bagheera clambered up to lie beside him. If it was possible for the man to purr, he would have done. The man formerly known as Richard cuddled up in his over-sized purple fleece that was starting to smell unwashed. Not that James's LEONOV body has any scent-receptors to notice. Eva wrinkled her nose.

'The Britannica government think that Baba is meddling with online systems.' Yana explained tiredly, crossing her arms. 'We know she's not...but something is. They're using GOKIA as a scapegoat.'

'They…?' Eva drew out the word. She fiddled with the strings on her navy-blue hoodie.

'Who knows?' Yana shrugged, 'But we are about seventy-eight percent certain the global computer computer system has gained sentience...Gaia that is'

'Meaning?'

'Meaning-' The programmer replied to the Scott's probing, 'Gaia might be self-aware enough to distinguish between computerised and non-computerised components. Richard was attacked because he was recognised as being a threat. It might be that somebody already knows about Gaia and they're attempting a cover-up. Blame GOKIA for something that already exists.'

'Why bother?' Eva snorted, shaking her head gently. 'Hey. Maybe it's Gaia who is secretly controlling everyone? All this time we've been living inside the Matrix! OooOOoooh…!' She waved her hands in front of her in a clear mockery over her own counter-conspiracy. The sudden movement attracted Bagheera's attention. He lifted his head from the rather uncomfortable position resting against James mechanical thigh.

The LEONOV tilted his head to the side, 'Because if that new got out, we'd have to shut down the whole internet. How could you advocate continued use of a global network which could think for itself?'

James's electronic voice pondered off the possible issues. Unthinkingly, a carbon-fibre-sheathed paw rested on Bagheera's shoulder. 'Better people don't know.'

Yana nodded in agreement. She picked at her nails, ignoring the softscreen buzzing on the armrest besides her. The expert computer programmer hummed to herself quietly as her mind began to toil over the political issues regarding her business and her AI brainchild. Normally such concerns were Harry's job.

'Then why get GOKIA involved and blame Baba? Surely it would be better to ignore it completely, or even use Baba to help somehow?' Eva refused to give up her questioning. 'If Gaia is real or-'

'That's the issue.' Yana cut through quietly, bumping a fist against her seat. 'We don't know whether what we're seeing is real intelligence of a thinking being...or some form of self ordering within computer systems. Something did harm exDEV and violently respond to Richard. But was it some automatic, unthinking defense response that had assembled itself over time, or the actions of a self-aware being. And even if it is sentient, how would we know? Gaia might think...but that doesn't mean it thinks like we do. Perhaps subtle manipulations in stock markets is communication? Or maybe not. There's too many uncertainties. Auugghhh!'

By the time she'd finished her monologue, Yana was whispering under her voice practically to herself. Eva and James took a moment to look at each partly in confusion and wonder at the most words they'd ever heard Yana mumble in one go.

'It makes no sense!' The half-Czech programmer slumped into the sofa with a sigh.

'Well. As long as I still get my pocket money through, I don't really mind.'

Eva began to chuckle but trailed off into awkward silence when nobody else in the room responded.

'Pocket money?' James asked incongruously. His twitched tail hanging over the edge of his seat acted to punctuate his confusion. 'Is that some Scottish slang?'

'You know? As GOKIA technically employs me I get direct payments the start of every month.'

'That doesn't sound right.' Yana turned to the young woman, 'You're getting paid? What for?'

'To keep 'im company.' Eva thumbed in the direction of the LEONOV across the room. 'It's from your finance team. Somebody called...Corey? Corey Powell? On the…?'

Yana's sudden and sharp intake of breath interrupted the young woman. The programmer, who has previously been lounging in the plush sofa, tensed upright. It was like somebody had tugged at the strings of a puppet. By the time James and Eva had swung their attention round to the aged European, Yana had once more gained control of her body. She wiped at her eyes to buy a few more seconds, before turning to Eva with startling intensity. Having the full focus of the woman was unsettling.

'Are you sure?'

'Uhhh…yeah? Why? Is something wrong? Is this a scam? Baba organised it or...this isn't a...you...Yeah?' Eva babbled out the words as uncertainty gripped her. Was this Corey person a known scammer that she'd never come across?

All this time, Eva had thought she'd been a very minor employee of the biggest tech group in the world. It was through unusual circumstances (which Eva still kept as a close secret) that the Scott was now sitting in the Jersey Skybnb property. To even contemplate that she'd been guided here by illegitimate means dropped a lead weight in her stomach. Eva's throat was dry at the mere thought.

'You explained everything involving Baba.' James jumped to the rescue, though his robotically tainted voice did little to soothe Eva's growing panic. 'Of course you're employed by GOKIA.'

'Corey Powell?' Yana reiterated. Following a weak nod from Eva, the programmer puffed out a sigh. 'Wow. That's…interesting.'

'Hey!' The young Scott practically growled at the middle-aged woman, 'You better explain what the hell is going on! You can't just...just do that to me!' Eva was already turning on the programmer, a hand grabbing the closet cushion. She held the padded square before her like a weapon. Yana balked, raising her hands in surrender.

'Sorry! I just haven't heard that name in a while! Old employee-'

'Bullshit.' Eva spat. Despite her angry confusion, the tense situation was broken by a confused whine from Bagheera. Everyone's eyes turned to the man who was still curled up resting on James's lap. He grumbled something, growing frustrated at the inability to purr, before realising the room's focus on him.

'What now?' the hot-blooded Scott tossed the cushion over her shoulder.

Bagheera looked a little sheepish, blinking slowly before settling his chin back on the LEONOV's plated thigh.

'Hey, English Rich- uh Ba...Bagheera.' James tried, hating himself for using the Pokemon name Richard had inherited. Upon hearing the word, Bagheera's eyes darted up to gaze into the face of his perceived trainer. It was uncertain whether he understood that the mechanical giant was in fact his brother.

'Cooorey?' Bagheera tried, rolling the garbled word on his tongue.

'See. Richard must have got paid by the same person.' Eva pointed out the guess quickly, clearly clutching at straws in her anxious state.

Bagheera grumbled something, actually shaking his head. It was rather awkward motion given the unhinged man was resting against James's knee. After a frown, he tried something else.

'Liii…Liiiiepard.' He confirmed.

'English?' James pressed in his mechanical voice. Bagheera huffed but complied,

'Coreeey. Harry's wiiiife. Gud?'

'I didn't know he could speak.' Yana's eyes widened. She frowned, wrinkles forming across her forehead as she studied the man. Bagheera didn't respond well, practically hissing at woman until a soothing word from his perceived-trainer calmed him. The man shrunk back inside his over-sized purple fleece.

'Yeah that was good. Thanks bro.' James praised his brother before returning his attention to Yana. 'Harry's wife? Or ex-wife right? He's divorced.'

'Correct.' The programmer had the decency to look rather sheepish.

Eva wasn't impressed, 'Why is that so important? You made it sound like she died!'

'Because...it's complicated.' Yana ran a hand through her mess of ginger hair. When she realised that such a bland remark wasn't going to cut it for the two young adults, she puffed out a breath in defeat. 'Corey is...a lot to Harry. She was a data analyst with the ministry of defense the last time we talked. I can't understand why she'd be involved…unless Baba…'

The programmed trailed off,

'Baba?' Eva questioned. The anxious pit in her stomach simmered. 'You think the AI might actually be manipulating stuff?'

'Not like that.' Yana was quick to defend the AI. It was clear the half-Czech programmer was fighting internally as what to say. James sat uncomfortably, waiting for the aging woman to gather her thoughts. Eva drummed her fingers on an armrest.

'Corey split up with Harry a few years after we made GOKIA. They'd had a tough relationship for a while...and there had been tensions. After the divorce Harry…Harry didn't manage well. He worked constantly for years. They kept in contact for a while but drifted apart. She got involved with international security and went under the radar. I haven't heard from her since.'

Yana had a faraway look as her eyes drifted to the view outside the window. She didn't particularly enjoy recalling the relationship difficulties during the birth of HORIZON.

The change in tone compared to the popcorn chase earlier left Eva struggling for words.

'Why did they...uh, get divorced?'

Yana sucked on her teeth, 'They had a fall out. They were both...uh, characters? It was a difficult relationship.'

'It must have been.' Eva replied dryly, 'If she went into secret service to get away from him.'

If the Scott was trying to elicit a response, it didn't work. Yana shrugged but didn't comment. The programmer was clearly tired and fell into her typical state of near muteness. As if to make up for the awkward silence she'd created, Eva pondered to herself aloud;

'So if GOKIA isn't paying me...then who is?'

James shrugged, not moving his eye lenses from watching his brother. If there was a plaintive look, then the LEONOV lacked the abilities to express such melancholy. Taking a slow gaze around the sun-dappled living room, Eva considered the increasingly shady circumstances which had led her to this point. Sat opposite was a cutting-edge space assembly robot inhabited by the first human uploader cuddling next to scarred former-welder who didn't know they weren't a Liepard...not to mention the infamous computer programmer responsible for the world's only legal artificial intelligence; Eva didn't know why a former adav like herself was here at all. Until recently, she hadn't had any prospects beyond acting as a faceless advertisement body in VR porn.

Why had Baba chosen her of all people? And who was this Corey person that she'd mysteriously been in contact with? Not knowing frustrated her. The Scott played with their softscreen, turning it off and on in agitation at the unresolved mystery.

For a while the four of them rested in an uneasy silence.

That was, until a certain purple-fleeced character lifted his head from James's thigh. He sniffed the air once, surveying the room quietly before prodding at the LEONOV with his nose.

'What's the matter?' James asked patiently

Bagheera blinked slowly before turning his attention to the small bowl of popcorn resting of the seat besides the LEONOV. If it was possible to grin, a huge cat-like smile would have spread across James's face. He picked up the bowl and placed is down in front of his brother.

'See! I told you it was for sharing!'

Eva snorted, but kept her eyes fixed on her softscreen.

END

Thus marks the end of the latest installment of Error. There were a few references in this chapter that may need some explanation. In mathematics, a fractal dimension is a ratio providing a statistical index of complexity comparing how detail in a pattern changes with the scale at which it is measured. Fractal dimensions are the cause of the 'Coastline Paradox' whereby a coastline of an island becomes longer the smaller the unit of measurement used (or the degree of cartographic generalisation). Sentience, in reference to a computer developing intelligence, refers to the capacity to perceive experiences subjectively - i.e. to have emotion. It's worth noting that consciousness may not be necessary for sentience. This might become important in later chapters.

Once again, a huge thankyou for reading! We're close to ten-thousand views and it's great to know my work's being enjoyed. A shout-out to R'love for helping with ideas and proofreading (You're a star). Next update should be up within a few weeks, depending on how much I get distracted by finishing Fort Haste. Enjoy!