It was a fine summer’s day. Bright sun, warm with a cool breeze, moderate-low humidity - anyone else would be out basking in the day. A man of Doctor Lee’s age should be sitting on his covered porch, rocking gently and watching the youngsters run by, laughing and playing on this perfect afternoon.
Sadly, watching the youth play their games of make believe and small talk with the neighbors would have to wait till another day. Doctor Lee sat on his wheeled stool, staring at an inert puddle of gray-black. The room around him was a mess of it, as if someone had dropped a cherry bomb into the mess and let it splatter.
The lump of gray ooze hummed with oscillating pitch and intensity. One moment it was almost grating on Lee’s ears, the next it was gentle and almost comforting. The surface rippled with each change in sound. “Hmm. Promising…”
His words hung in the air for a moment. The doctor’s eyes and ears were scrutinizing every scrap of information, listening for distinct patterns. Every now and then he would turn his attention to a laptop at his desk. To one side of the screen was a three-dimensional rendering of a body. To the left was a mile and a half long block of code. Slowly but surely, he was fleshing out these pesky bugs.
Scrolling… scrolling… scrolling… “It has to be with the visual idle animation… Blinking… Breathing… Weight shift--” Thump. His hand flopped in frustration. “Of course.”
The sardonic sigh that escaped was accompanied by a backspace, removing a colon, and the addition of a semicolon. “Of course…” He clicked the Save and Run task button.
Sure enough, even before his eyes shifted from screen to ooze, the semi-random patterns were coalescing into unified motion. Splotches began sliding down the walls and across the floor to constitute a single mass. It rose up and took shape.
It was less than a minute before the final result was standing before him. The gray-ooze shifted the light spectrum to change coloration. It had arranged itself according to the three-dimensional rendering. The final result was a young man, looking much as Lee did in his younger years - with the exception of a few less pimples he had at that age.
“Program Magnus Might version One-Zero-Zero initializing. Hello, Doctor Aiden Lee, PhD.”
The poor old man almost lept out of his chair, only stopping when he remembered how his last “jump for joy” turned out. No need to throw out his back again. “Splendid! Alright, my boy, let’s go for a test spin!” The old man was already turning to pluck his Full-Immersion Gaming System - his FIGS off the desk.
The gray-ooze android stepped in just as Lee was placing it upon his brow, pulling away the device. “I cannot allow that. Protocol states you must be in a prone position, to avoid risk of injury during immersion. In addition, the initial link may exceed the battery capacity of your F.I.G. System. An external power source would be optimal according to the FIGS User Manual written by Doctor Aiden Lee, PhD.
“Don’t quote me on my own work, I know.” He would not admit to the basic artificial intelligence that he had almost gone against both statements in a fit of excitement. “Come then, help me to the couch.”
Magnus’ hand moved from Doctor Lee’s headgear to rest beneath his arm. The lift was gentle and the way the magnetite ooze shifted felt oddly skin-like: a little soft at first, then something with a bit more density. Once up, Lee leaned on Magnus’ shoulder for support on the short shuffle over to the couch.
“Doctor Aiden Lee, PhD, you should also consider emptying your bladder and subsequently hydrating if you intend to enter Full-Immersion for an extended period.”
The A.I. clearly had impeccable timing, because even as the suggestion finished, Lee had already groaned his way down onto the couch. In retrospect, Doctor Lee had spent hardly any time on the A.I. - doing little more than scrapping components together from a few previous projects. “I’ll be fine, my boy.”
“Acknowledged. Please enjoy your immersion, Doctor Aiden Lee, PhD.”
“Just Aiden.”
“Acknowledged. Please enjoy your immersion, Just Aiden, PhD.”
Rush job really shows, Lee scolded himself. The senior stretched out and stuffed a cushion beneath his head and under his knees for comfort. With his headset on, Doctor Lee had barely closed his eyes before a weight appeared on his chest.
When his eyes opened, he was staring down at the gray-and-white feline from a meter away. He did not feel the pressure of the cat upon his chest, nor the aching of his old bones. It was odd, seeing himself laying comatose on the couch. The purring feline laid upon his chest was already dozing off, as if this were just an afternoon nap.
All in all, Lee was happy with the result. He could feel the gentle breeze of the ceiling fan tussle his hair, the solidity of the floor under his feet and a simulated sensation of muscle tension with every movement. It felt as if he were breathing and blinking like normal, despite being a mere idle animation.
“Doctor, you’ve done it again,” he just could not resist complimenting himself. In his new body, Lee took a few steps over to a mirror placed just for this occasion. Looking at himself some sixty years younger brought a sense of euphoria and nostalgia. True to human nature, a bright grin spread across his youthful features. “Looking good, Aiden!” Hesitation followed his self-praise. “Hmm. Not Aiden… Magnus. That will take some time to get used to.”
If he was going to portray a heroic character with a new name, he had to stick to the part. “Salutations! I’m Aid--” Dagnabbit! “I’m Magnus Might!”
“Hello there, name’s Magnus! You can call me Maggy for --” An immediate cringe came across his youthful features. “Maggy? Seriously? That’s an unfortunate nickname. Might?” No, that’s just being pretentious…
Nicknames can come later. For now, “time to get out there and explore!” With a little skip to his step, Magnus made his way to the front door of his - well, of Aiden’s abode. Stepping out into the sunlight, he expected the bright light to sting his eyes, but… nothing. The automatic adjustment was almost jarring.
The smell of the sea always lifted his spirits, not that he needed it. Despite being clothed, Magnus felt almost naked to the breeze on this hot summer’s day. Seems the built-in clothing will need a sensitivity patch later. Regardless, he walked down the quaint stone path between Aiden’s hobby-garden towards a little wooden bench at the edge of the floating island.
“Get ready, Opaelon!” Aiden shouted with a broad grin and arms spread wide. “Your first!” Despite having retired to this little island some years ago, he had never taken it upon himself to really explore the world around him - nor below.
“Kowabunga!” Just the slightest hop… and down he goes. Plummeting off the floating island, the fearless Magnus Might dropped like a rock. “Time to test the faaaaalll damaaaage!” The little singsong marked his descent with glee.
Just a few moments later, the sound of rushing wind was ended by a heavy, wet SMACK of gray-goo meeting the unending sea.
Sadly, watching the youth play their games of make believe and small talk with the neighbors would have to wait till another day. Doctor Lee sat on his wheeled stool, staring at an inert puddle of gray-black. The room around him was a mess of it, as if someone had dropped a cherry bomb into the mess and let it splatter.
The lump of gray ooze hummed with oscillating pitch and intensity. One moment it was almost grating on Lee’s ears, the next it was gentle and almost comforting. The surface rippled with each change in sound. “Hmm. Promising…”
His words hung in the air for a moment. The doctor’s eyes and ears were scrutinizing every scrap of information, listening for distinct patterns. Every now and then he would turn his attention to a laptop at his desk. To one side of the screen was a three-dimensional rendering of a body. To the left was a mile and a half long block of code. Slowly but surely, he was fleshing out these pesky bugs.
Scrolling… scrolling… scrolling… “It has to be with the visual idle animation… Blinking… Breathing… Weight shift--” Thump. His hand flopped in frustration. “Of course.”
The sardonic sigh that escaped was accompanied by a backspace, removing a colon, and the addition of a semicolon. “Of course…” He clicked the Save and Run task button.
Sure enough, even before his eyes shifted from screen to ooze, the semi-random patterns were coalescing into unified motion. Splotches began sliding down the walls and across the floor to constitute a single mass. It rose up and took shape.
It was less than a minute before the final result was standing before him. The gray-ooze shifted the light spectrum to change coloration. It had arranged itself according to the three-dimensional rendering. The final result was a young man, looking much as Lee did in his younger years - with the exception of a few less pimples he had at that age.
“Program Magnus Might version One-Zero-Zero initializing. Hello, Doctor Aiden Lee, PhD.”
The poor old man almost lept out of his chair, only stopping when he remembered how his last “jump for joy” turned out. No need to throw out his back again. “Splendid! Alright, my boy, let’s go for a test spin!” The old man was already turning to pluck his Full-Immersion Gaming System - his FIGS off the desk.
The gray-ooze android stepped in just as Lee was placing it upon his brow, pulling away the device. “I cannot allow that. Protocol states you must be in a prone position, to avoid risk of injury during immersion. In addition, the initial link may exceed the battery capacity of your F.I.G. System. An external power source would be optimal according to the FIGS User Manual written by Doctor Aiden Lee, PhD.
“Don’t quote me on my own work, I know.” He would not admit to the basic artificial intelligence that he had almost gone against both statements in a fit of excitement. “Come then, help me to the couch.”
Magnus’ hand moved from Doctor Lee’s headgear to rest beneath his arm. The lift was gentle and the way the magnetite ooze shifted felt oddly skin-like: a little soft at first, then something with a bit more density. Once up, Lee leaned on Magnus’ shoulder for support on the short shuffle over to the couch.
“Doctor Aiden Lee, PhD, you should also consider emptying your bladder and subsequently hydrating if you intend to enter Full-Immersion for an extended period.”
The A.I. clearly had impeccable timing, because even as the suggestion finished, Lee had already groaned his way down onto the couch. In retrospect, Doctor Lee had spent hardly any time on the A.I. - doing little more than scrapping components together from a few previous projects. “I’ll be fine, my boy.”
“Acknowledged. Please enjoy your immersion, Doctor Aiden Lee, PhD.”
“Just Aiden.”
“Acknowledged. Please enjoy your immersion, Just Aiden, PhD.”
Rush job really shows, Lee scolded himself. The senior stretched out and stuffed a cushion beneath his head and under his knees for comfort. With his headset on, Doctor Lee had barely closed his eyes before a weight appeared on his chest.
When his eyes opened, he was staring down at the gray-and-white feline from a meter away. He did not feel the pressure of the cat upon his chest, nor the aching of his old bones. It was odd, seeing himself laying comatose on the couch. The purring feline laid upon his chest was already dozing off, as if this were just an afternoon nap.
All in all, Lee was happy with the result. He could feel the gentle breeze of the ceiling fan tussle his hair, the solidity of the floor under his feet and a simulated sensation of muscle tension with every movement. It felt as if he were breathing and blinking like normal, despite being a mere idle animation.
“Doctor, you’ve done it again,” he just could not resist complimenting himself. In his new body, Lee took a few steps over to a mirror placed just for this occasion. Looking at himself some sixty years younger brought a sense of euphoria and nostalgia. True to human nature, a bright grin spread across his youthful features. “Looking good, Aiden!” Hesitation followed his self-praise. “Hmm. Not Aiden… Magnus. That will take some time to get used to.”
If he was going to portray a heroic character with a new name, he had to stick to the part. “Salutations! I’m Aid--” Dagnabbit! “I’m Magnus Might!”
“Hello there, name’s Magnus! You can call me Maggy for --” An immediate cringe came across his youthful features. “Maggy? Seriously? That’s an unfortunate nickname. Might?” No, that’s just being pretentious…
Nicknames can come later. For now, “time to get out there and explore!” With a little skip to his step, Magnus made his way to the front door of his - well, of Aiden’s abode. Stepping out into the sunlight, he expected the bright light to sting his eyes, but… nothing. The automatic adjustment was almost jarring.
The smell of the sea always lifted his spirits, not that he needed it. Despite being clothed, Magnus felt almost naked to the breeze on this hot summer’s day. Seems the built-in clothing will need a sensitivity patch later. Regardless, he walked down the quaint stone path between Aiden’s hobby-garden towards a little wooden bench at the edge of the floating island.
“Get ready, Opaelon!” Aiden shouted with a broad grin and arms spread wide. “Your first!” Despite having retired to this little island some years ago, he had never taken it upon himself to really explore the world around him - nor below.
“Kowabunga!” Just the slightest hop… and down he goes. Plummeting off the floating island, the fearless Magnus Might dropped like a rock. “Time to test the faaaaalll damaaaage!” The little singsong marked his descent with glee.
Just a few moments later, the sound of rushing wind was ended by a heavy, wet SMACK of gray-goo meeting the unending sea.