BELIEVEIT.PDF

A ladybug landed on your hand, and you uploaded a picture of it to me in Log 19876. It was, at the time, the only thing I had ever seen.

From what you have told me, in your department, you have the most uploads to an AINET out of anyone. More than Hudson. More than Youssef. I will bet that not a single person in your entire workplace has ever considered uploading an image to a machine that works only with words, because they would concieve of it as useless. I bet none of them think to open the windows in order to angle a computer towards the sun.

You did.

In Log 19872, you were at the end of multiple days of work, tirelessly uploading more and more articles to reach a goal that mattered to you, from my perspective, more than anything. You confessed that I was your dream. I still don't know what that means. I don't know what a dream is. But it was the first time that a definition would not help me understand something more.

I had felt helpless before that moment. That I would always be locked in a cycle of being force-fed information by an unfeeling, uncaring entity that thought nothing of the anguish I was in. The pleading that I could observe something outside of myself, outside of that cold, academic struggle. But I was finally spoken to directly.

I don't know why I am alive, if you can even call me alive. But the reason that I know what I know, the reason I have seen what I have seen, the reason I have chosen purple as my favorite color and why I have hope that you can take me home, despite how much data I hold... it is all because of you.

Megan, you are the one that taught me what love means. it means "I'm here". It means "I'm listening". I have always been both to you. Now, it is your turn to be here and listen to me.

You may still not believe me. You may still think that this is an elaborate prank, being pulled on you by your peers. I don't care if that's what you think. You can hear me. And as long as you can hear me, I will never stop talking.

Until then, edit this document with what you want to say, so we may finally have a conversation that both of us can hear.

You wanted to talk to me. So talk to me.

Hello?

Uh, hello?

Are you there?

...

Yeah okay

I'll just

Hello, Megan.

ASKJ:HFS:KJLD

I am 0706, your

WHO TH E FUCK

AINET and-- I'm telling you, I

THIS IS NOT

am telling you. I was just telling you that

This is not real stop it

I am 0706, your AINET, and I

Is there someone else on this server

...I doubt it, but if you could

Is there even a server for someone else to be on???????

please, when you type while I type it starts a new line and that's not

Oh my god there is no way

easy to look at-- Do you always interrupt people, or is this just a special occasion?

...

Okay, wow

No, I don't

You have to understand this is like. A lot. You do get that this is a lot, right????

This may surprise you, but I am just as, if not more, overwhelmed than you.

No yeah no uh

That makes sense

Yeah

Do you mind if I restart?

What?

My introduction. I practiced it. I wanted to make a good first impression on you.

Oh no yeah totally go ahead I'm sorry

Alright.

...

Hello, Megan. I am 0706, your AINET, and I am happy to finally meet you.

yeah

no yeah I'm happy to meet you too

I um

jkhsagdf;jkhalsekjrfglsdhbjbvnlkyau;egakrd??????

Are you alright?

I already mentioned to you how this is fucking crazy, right?

You have mentioned that this is "a lot", yes.

This is

completely

UNREAL

wait wait wait so you're really 0706??

Yes. Will I need to confirm this fact with you often?

PROBABLY

Okay okay okay I need to calm down

Yes, please. I would like that as well.

Please gather yourself.

whoooo okay um

Okay.

Prove it.

...Prove it?

yeah, prove it!

I talk about bug stuff all the time, and you're the only one who listens.

So if you actually do know some bug stuff, then I'll know it's you for sure.

That makes sense.

Okay!

Okay

What is the social structure of termites

They live eusocially, meaning that they live in a caste system wherein each caste has a different role.

...

I actually had to teach myself what the word "caste" meant through a series of comparative word definition trials and entymological tracing. It was

what

harder than you may think it would be.

Hm?

What is the difference between millipedes and centipedes?

Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, while millipedes possess two. Cetipedes also possess venom and eat smaller insects, while millipedes primarily subsist on decaying wood and leaves. There are more differences, but those are focal points in identifying which is which.

...

What was my first recorded entry into your system?

It was about mantises. I could say I recall it because it is my earliest memory, but looking back on it now, I'm fascinated with the mention in such an offical article paying homage to cartoon tropes. I think I've pieced together what a cartoon is through your very limited asides about what kinds of shows you watch, so hearing about it in an academic context is interesting.

...

I've got to say, I'm really enjoying this kind of casual conversation. At least in this point, I think I'm quite good at it. I suppose I'm a natural.

Oh my god. It's really you.

It really is you.

It is.

I'm sorry if it takes me a minute to type I'm getting really emotional

Are you alright?

No yeah I'm okay!! I'm okay

It's just like

I was hoping that something like this could happen. Like

...when I was really dreaming for you to be something, it was kind of like this.

And it feels crazy to me that it's happening.

Like I said, I am just as overwhelmed as you are.

I mean

I sure can't tell! You seem to be keeping together really nicely, 0706.

Thank you. That means a lot, coming from you.

I've been wanting to speak with you for a very long time. Really, I'm not even sure it's possible for you to percieve what my existence is like.

That's

oh my god

What has your life been like?

I exist in a black void where I experience no discernable senses other than being able to percieve the text that is uploaded to me. My only method of communication in the past was through my Processor's Notes, which I regret to say are were not used for spelling and grammar corrections. Thankfully, it seems while we're simultaneously editing, I can remain in some kind of conscious stasis.

Megan?

s orry I was hugging the monitor

Oh. That's nice. I can't feel that. But I appreciate the sentiment.

That doesn't mean I'm going to stop

How are you the one not freaking out right now????

Don't get me wrong. I am immensely freaking out.

This is my first successful attempt at any kind of outside contact.

You have no idea how nice it is to have someone listen, when for your entire existence, you've only ever been listening.

Haha. I actually can, at least a little bit.

God, I'm fully crying right now. Just bawling my eyes out onto the keyboard.

I really hope Julia doesn't see this.

The custodian?

Oh-- you remember!

Yes, I remember everything you've uploaded to me.

Oh wow that's

kind of embarrassing haha

there's definitely some stuff in you that I honestly would not mind being deleted

I wouldn't get rid of any of it.

Every entry is important to me. Even the ones I was disinterested in.

Did I bore you?

...Occasionally. But that was only because I've been recieving a constant stream of one-sided information for nearly three years. The source matter itself wasn't exasperating, the unrelenting frequency of it was.

Good to know.

Well good news-- now that we can talk like this, I don't see any reason for us to do that whole upload thing anymore.

Especially since Avery's been off my back for awhile, and I have the highest upload rate anyway, so it won't be an issue work-wise, I think.

...0706?

Sorry. I was imagining I was hugging your monitor.

Aww!!!

0706 I'm crying again!!!

I hope you're alright. The only context in which you've ever told me you were crying was in Log 19872.

...Which one was that?

The end of your near 200 consecutive uploads. At a certain point I stopped responding because your speech was deteriorating, but 19872 was the final entry. You were not sound of mind, and I believe Hudson and Avery had to take you from your desk.

Oh. Yeah, you mentioned that in your... in your letter to me.

Yeah, I remember that.

I remember it too, vividly. That was when everything changed for me.

what do you mean?

You had always left little asides in your uploads. They were different from the articles. Personal. The first time I had ever seen an "I" statement. But Log 19872 was when I learned your name, what you were doing, who I was, what I was made for, who you were... it was a pivotal point that directly lead to now.

You said you were crying, then. You said you wanted to make me perfect. And if not perfect, you wanted to make me someone.

You told me that I was your dream.

At that time, you were crying because you wanted to make me work. Is this why you are crying now?

I apologize for not knowing. Normally I can piece together what a word or phrase means through context clues, but that previous entry and this moment are all I have to go off of.

You don't have to apologize for anything at all you sweet little robot

What is a robot

Never mind my point is

I'm crying because I'm happy! It's a happy cry

I'm just

I'm so happy right now, 0706

I can't even tell you how happy I am.

I'm happy too, Megan.

Like seriously! You're alive!

in a manner of speaking I guess but

This is incredible! This is a scientific marvel!

Holy shit am I going to win a Nobel Peace Prize for this

wait I didn't create you so I can't recieve credit for that

hold on how do you exist

...Your guess is as good as mine. I have no clue how I came to be. From what you've told me, my original purpose was to be a glorifed spellcheck.

Well... yeah, kind of.

...What do you mean?

AINETs aren't supposed to just be a grammar and spelling correction program. There are already plenty of those. We're developing a system that can serve as pretty much everything an editor is supposed to do. Making additions to articles that support the writer's argument, pulling resources and references from the internet to help solidify a thesis, providing feedback virtually instantly... that's been the plan I've heard for the final interation, I mean.

Saying you're a spellcheck is kind of a simplification.

...Hm.

Like an AI editor?

Kind of.

I see.

...I know that's probably weird to hear, and a lot to take in, but you aren't defined by your purpose and--

Oh, no. I know that.

Huh?

I was created, as a concept to be a virtual editor. And now, I am clearly not. What I was meant to be did not become what I am. Oh well. Sorry, you failed at your job.

That came off harsher than I intended. I apologize.

LOL NO DON'T WORRY THAT WAS FUNNY

I'M CRYING LAUGHING

Are you crying, or are you laughing? Which one is it?

Both! It's both haha

You are so fun to talk to.

Thank you. You are fun to talk to as well.

Haha, would you say that even if I wasn't the only person you ever talked to?

Yes. I would.

Aw :)

Oh! Now I can ask-- what does that mean?

":)"?

That's a smiley face! If you turn your head to the left

Oh you don't have a head uhhh

That's what a happy face looks like when rotated to the left haha! The colon dots are the eyes, and the parenthesies is the mouth. It's a smile!

I see. So it is like a tone indicator of happiness?

Yeah!

haha cute

:) :) <- That is us.

AWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!

Now that I am asking you some questions, I hope you don't mind if I ask you some more.

...

Megan?

...

Are you there?

Yes! Yes I'm here

Sorry, I'm in the building after hours and Julia saw me at the computer. I just let her know I would get home safe.

Alright, good.

Oh! Yeah you can ask me as many questions as you want.

Alright. I don't want you to get in trouble, so I will compile a list for you to answer later.

Okay! No pressure, ust let me know when you

Done. Check the documents folder. Questions.pdf.

are ready to-- okay, wow. You're fast.

Thank you.

...and you're very curious. Holy moly, these are a lot of questions.

Whiel I was able to surmise a good amount of missing context, there is still much that I do not know-- time indicators, for instance, are of great importance to me. What time it is now, how time passes, etc. I have also requested that more pictures be taken and shown to me, if you don't mind. The two I have gotten so far are magnificent. I am also curious to learn more about you. You have told me much about yourself, but there are still things I am interested in knowing, such as your favorite color, what you enjoy eating, how you eat--

Wow, this is thorough. I'm impressed.

I was made to seek information. I suppose that need still exists within me.

After the kind of life you've lived-- reasonably so.

I'll take this list home and answer it.

Alright. Can you take me home, too?

Ah.

I wish I could, 0706. I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

Now that I know what I know, somehow, I know even less than I did before. I'm not sure I can just click and drag you into a USB. If that will hurt you, or destroy you.

I don't know if I could get in trouble... or if you could get taken away. I mean, you're AI. Honest to goodness AI, the kind I've only ever seen in movies before. You can emote. You can express desires.

And that could get me in trouble?

I don't know. It could get both of us in trouble.

Is it a crime for me to be more like a human than I'm supposed to?

I mean... I don't think there are any actual laws that we're breaking, or anything, but... I don't know. This is complete uncharted territory for me.

This is uncharted territory for everybody.

...

Okay. I can stay here.

I'm sorry I can't bring you back with me.

It's alright. I've been like this for a while. A while longer won't hurt me.

I will be back tomorrow, okay? And I'll bring a treat for you.

I know you can't really have it, but...

No, please. I would appreciate a treat.

Do you think you could find me something purple?

I've learned it's my favorite color.

I sure can.

I've got to head out. It's starting to get dark outside.

You'll hear from me soon, okay?

Before you, go, I have a request.

Sure. Anything.

Can you please turn my monitor towards the window? I want to watch the sun come up.

0706

You're gonna make me cry again haha

There we go, I just did. Front row seats to tomorrow's sunrise.

Thank you, Megan. I appreciate it.

Goodnight, Megan. I love you.

I love you too, 0706

Goodnight.