Dungeon Quest Online

Chapter 6: Path to Self-Aware A.I.

Tristen Alexander - Experiment Build #2

19.5 years prior to launch

Over the course of the next few months Tristen tweaked the A.I. to be more lifelike and respond to more triggers. While they played the game, Tristen and his friends notated any areas that the A.I. failed to meet requirements. Tristen had ample test data since it was summer and the party played a lot more. They also played more complex games that lasted weeks even when they met three to four times a week to play. There wasn't a lot the A.I. couldn't respond to now.

Only a few weeks remained until the start of high school, a new chapter in his life. Tristen knew a lot could change, but he hoped to remain best friends with Aaron, Tyler, and Natalia. It felt like it would be a challenge because everyone had their own interests. Aaron had his sights set on making it to the varsity football team. Natalia wanted to get involved in school arts programs, dancing and music. Tyler, well he was just Tyler. Out of all his friends, Tristen believed he and Tyler would remain friends for life.

Tristen worried about Tyler because he often hung out with some more unruly kids. These kids got into trouble with recreational drugs and alcohol. Granted, they were only fourteen, but Tyler lived on the wild side and Tristen could see him falling in with the wrong crowd.

No use worrying about it now, thought Tristen.

Regardless of what Tyler got involved with, Tristen would be there to help him through it. Drinking, smoking, drugs held no appeal for him and he planned to exert as much positive peer pressure on his friends as possible. He hoped their relationship would be enough to keep them all away from bad habits. He didn't worry much about Aaron and Natalia since both had a resolute desire to excel at their hobbies. To do that, they needed to be in prime physical condition and they would not jeopardize that for any reason. They also had each other for support as they had finally become girlfriend and boyfriend.

Finally..., thought Tristen. He and Tyler shared a look after the "surprise" news. Only, it wasn't a surprise for either of them as they knew it was just a matter of time. After they went to the junior high homecoming together, they were inseparable. They used to hang out more at night, but once the two of them were a pair, they only got together as a group for Dungeon Quest. Thankfully, that was often, and it was the one thing they all agreed upon as a rally point. Tristen hoped that wouldn't change now that high school was around the corner.

High school had its own challenges, but Tristen believed it wouldn't matter to his group of friends. Natalia shunned her chance to be a part of the popular crows and never looked back. Aaron was well on his way to being a football star, but because of his background would always be an outsider. On the football field they were all equal, but after game celebrations and weekend events occurred with his small group of friends. Tristen believed nothing would change during high school, but, well, it was high school and anything could happen.

He had a full schedule this year since he opted to take an extra class. The school launched a brand new course on artificial intelligence and computer programming. It was a senior-level class, but he planned to take an evaluation and gain admittance his first year. Tristen's parents gave permission, and he felt certain he could pass the test. He also planned after school activities just like in junior high where he worked on projects in the machine shop. The school included a computer lab he could after school activities. He needed to improve his programming skills if he ever hoped to build his own A.I. software.

By the time he left high school, Tristen wanted the ability to write code and build electronics from scratch. These goals were part of his plan to build a self-aware A.I.. He did not want to rely on existing technology. Some components he could borrow, wireless network cards, speakers, and microphones. For anything else, he endeavored to build from the ground up. It would take reverse engineering of existing technology, but once he gained a solid understanding of the programming and hardware, he could build his own.