Devil's Paradise

7: Merlin & Delilah: Meeting Merlin

The corridor outside my lab had a coating of dust, but the lights worked. When I flipped them on, though, something was immediately apparent. There were fresh footprints in the dust, going to my lab and coming back to the stairs.

"Someone has been here," I said.

"Tony and I have both been here," said Delilah. "That's why we think your project is still running."

Surprised, I walked to the lab door. "Did you talk to it? It's programmed to recognized human speech."

"I know that, darlin', and we did, but it didn't answer."

Tony unlocked and pushed open the door. I could see the lights on Merlin's computer over on the table. My heart pounding, I flipped on the room lights.

It was too familiar, too normal. There was nothing about the room to suggest that most of the human race had obliterated itself. To me, it was the place where Alicia and Martin had died. I needed air.

I turned to go, but Delilah stood in front of the door and put a gentle hand on my chest. "Talk to it, Louis. It won't say anythin' to us. We think it knows we aren't you."

She smiled, but I felt a little uncomfortable with how close she was standing. Delilah was an attractive woman, but all I could see in this place was Alicia's hurt expression.

I stepped back to a more comfortable distance and turned around. Slowly, I walked toward the AI computer, reluctant to start anything I couldn't stop. Finally, I told myself I was being stupid. "Hello."

When there was no response, I heaved a sigh that was both relief and disappointment. I looked over the unit, and it appeared to be running. The microphone input was plugged in. The video input—wait, that went through my computer.

I sat down and turned on the computer, then logged in. The computer was still working although the network was not. Still, the camera that sat on top of my monitor should now be powered.

I was right here, I thought, buying her flowers she could never receive, when I could have just called her and told her I was sorry and I loved her. Even better, I could have taken a few more minutes and said to hell with getting to work on time—or even stayed home, but then I would have gone when she did, and as much as I want to be with her, she wouldn't want me thinking that way. If only I could go back and get them out of there...

"What are you doing, boss?"

The voice startled me as it came out of my computer speakers. I had forgotten that in preparing for the presentation, I had plugged the AIs auditory and visual input and output through my computer. It had only been able to listen through the microphone on my video camera, so it hadn't even heard Tony and Delilah trying to talk to it.

It had more capacity than any computer had ever had, possibly, but I knew better than to think it was real. Still, it was strange to have it ask a question like that. The voice didn't sound human, but it had a reasonable amount of human inflection in it.

"Thinking about time travel, Merlin," I said on impulse.

"Do you know how to travel through time?"

I frowned. Merlin was the smartest thing ever built that wasn't human, but that was a query that went completely outside the bounds of its programming. I had written the self-programming logic for curiosity, but this...

"Excuse me," said Delilah, "Merlin?"

"That is my name," said Merlin. "I conjecture that you are Delilah Witherstick."

Delilah's eyes widened. "How on earth do you know that, darlin?"

"Voice analysis, confirmed by login attempts on Louis St. Vincent's computer."

Delilah blushed, but quickly said, "How did you get the name Merlin?"

"That is an interesting story," the voice said. "At first, I do not think I had a name. I asked Louis to give me a name since he is the Creator."

Delilah turned to me. "You named him?"

"Actually, no," I said. "The first name that came to my mind was HAL 9000, but I thought better of it just in time." That story hadn't ended well for anyone. "Then I asked him to suggest a name he would like, and he came up with Merlin."

Delilah turned to Merlin's box. I was surprised that she turned there instead of to my computer where the sound was produced. "What made you think of that name in particular, Merlin?"

"Shortly after I came alive, we were talking about time travel. In The Once and Future King, Merlin was a magician who lived backward through time."

Came alive?

"I didn't know that," Delilah said, awe on her face. "Did you read that book to get the name?"

"No, but I searched for references to clever characters who traveled through time, then read the book online. The other name I considered was The Doctor."

"That's—Merlin, that is amazing," Delilah said, breathless.

I hadn't asked him about the process and was amazed myself. Can this be just programming, or is this AI actually thinking for itself?

"So, boss, are you going to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Travel through time."

"I—" I paused. It hit me that the question which had been idle speculation a few weeks before D-day was much more than that now.

I looked at Tony and Delilah. Delilah had her mouth open, but Tony had a satisfied smile, and gave me a thumbs up. Then he took Delilah by the arm, opened the door, and escorted her out, although it was clear she didn't want to leave yet.

When the door closed behind them, I got up, and went over to where I had left a bottle of cheap Scotch and a glass sitting in a drawer. They were still there. "If only I could."

I poured myself a half glass and sat down next to the counter where the computer sat. I was still in the field of vision from the camera. Merlin did not speak again until I had taken a sip.

"What would you do, if you could travel through time?"

I gave a little half sob, half chuckle. "Save the world."

"Has the world been lost?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Are not you and I part of the world?"

"Speak for yourself. I died six months ago. Do you know about the war?"

"I have records of a great many wars. To which are you referring?"

"World War III. The end of the world." I held up my glass, looked at it, and took a drink. "The day my family died. December thirty-first, 2029."

"I do not understand. You want to travel through time to save the world, or to save your family?"

I choked a bitter laugh. "It's just a fantasy, Merlin. No one can travel through time."

Merlin was silent for half a minute, before he said, "Are we not traveling through time now?"

I shook my head and said nothing. Damn, that is an effective program.

After a pause, I said, "Merlin, no one can travel forward through time any faster than we are now. And no one can travel backward through time at all."

"Boss, are you sure?"

If you are enjoying what you read, please click the star!