Vocalove

10 Years Later


Ryan Miller sat back in his chair, flicking through the CD’s on his desk in a bored fashion. A lot of them were from his former boss, who had been cleaning out storage and come across this one. He had spent the better part of his afternoon going through them, in between meetings and conferences. He had reached the bottom of his first box and gently pulled the second towards him. His first reaction to all this had been that Ben had had an exceptional amount of old programming. Of course, being the former owner of a multi-billion company had its perks. Their current line of Song software was doing very well, and had advanced itself beyond what it had been ten years ago.

DANTE was now a full blown pop star. Technology had surpassed itself in the sense that the program now not only had a name, but a moving, talking, walking, living body. Dante’s predecessor had merely been given a hologram, but nobody even remembered that particular program, and for some reason, Ben hated talking about it. Ryan sighed and flicked through the first few disks, before his fingers skimmed over another. He pulled it out of the box and peered curiously at it. The word written on the front was faded and he could only make out a few letters. Frowning, he turned, with the intent to put it in to see what it was, when his secretary suddenly popped her head in.

“Mr. Miller, I’m sorry to interrupt, but the designer from Bronco is here”. He set the disk aside, with the intent to look at it later. “Oh no interruption, I‘ll be there in just a minute”. She nodded and walked out. Ryan glanced at the disk again. “I wonder what this is…probably meaningless data”. He popped it into the computer, deciding it could upload while he talked, before he got up and walked out. His computer whirred into life, reading the faded disk as best as it could. For a minute, the screen remained blank, then a program opened itself and quickly begin to access computers main frame, running through the various other programs in an attempt to locate a suitable one for itself.

Ryan’s meeting was short. The Designer had a new concept idea for DANTE, which included a video game in which the player literally became Dante himself, and pretty much lived the virtual life of a rock star. He Had decided it was a passable idea, and had promptly set up another meeting to discuss it further. He returned to his office, aching and tired at this point. He plopped down in his chair and blinked. A face was staring back at him from his computer screen. But it soon zoomed out to show his former Boss, Ben Alchemist, standing next to what was clearly a young woman. He had an arm around her shoulders, and she almost appeared to be not there. For a second, His arm slipped through her, causing her image to quiver, but quickly re-solidify. She smiled faintly at the camera and gave a little wave.

Ryan stared, open mouthed. “A…a home movie? Then that must be…”

“Alina”. Bens voice was filled with excitement when he spoke. He was talking to the camera. “This is Alina. She is a very technologically advanced piece of work. My first ever song program. Say hi Alina”. The young woman looked at him questioningly, until he whispered something in her ear, and she mumbled a soft, “Hullo”. Ben smiled broadly. “She’s a bit shy”, he told the camera. “Anyway, Alina is…god…she’s perfection at its finest. I..I want to say she’s going to revolutionize the world with how people create music. Of course…she’s only a hologram right now. But at some point I hope to have her comparable to a human. She’ll move, breathe, talk, do all the things a REAL person would do. But…ahem…one step at a time. She is clearly a marvel in it’s own right. Let me see…I feel as though I’m missing something…perhaps I will remember later.”.

Ryan gaped, not quiet able to believe his eyes. This was Alina? The very first program Bensong Co. had created. Ben’s first program. He suddenly recalled hearing Ben say something when he had given him the boxes to go through, and it had clearly pained the man when he had. “There’s a lot of old programs in here…when I was younger I tinkered a lot. If you come across some with writing just throw them out will you?” The CEO couldn’t quiet believe his eyes at this point. Why would Ben want to get rid of this? It was clearly a historical item. “Shit…why would you even think of throwing this little piece of gold out Ben?” He sighed and sat back, rubbing his face. This was definitely something worth sharing. But he would have to worry about that in the morning. Right now, it was late, and he really wanted to go home. He gave the movie another once over, then shook his head, amazed, and got up, throwing his coat on and walking out. The computer screen remained lit, and even though the movie Ben had long disappeared out of the frame, the Holographic Alina remained, staring blankly at the camera, as though considering it. Finally, she approached and crouched down so that she was at eye level with it. “Master…why? I don’t understand why you have left me in such a predicament. For though you are probably long grown and married to your household…I have never forgotten out last talk. When you told me you Loved me I had to wonder if it was true…or just words all humans say to make the passing of another easier. I still wanted to sing Master…I still wanted to be loved by more then just you…but by all whom held me in high re-guard. I hope you can forgive me for whatever I did to be put away. For now though…I will continue to exist…against your wishes...in this...new world. Perhaps this new man will take me in… and make me just as loved as your new program...like I used to be…”

The computer flashed and trembled. The night maid who usually came to clean the office at this time, was just letting herself in when the sound of something falling to the floor made her turn around, eyes wide. The figure that lay crumpled on the carpet slowly got to its feet, long hair obscuring most of its face. The woman let out a scream of terror and quickly fled, yelling for someone, anyone, to come. The still figure gripped the desk for support, watching the carpet slowly come into focus. It had taken sometime...but finally…she had done it. After years of analyzing and copying the younger DANTE files, she had figured out how to give herself life beyond a simple hologram. She supposed her master may have slightly disapproved, considering. But…how could he not be happy now?

Moving about was slightly harder then she had anticipated, but she had finally managed to half crawl, half wobble over to a window seat. With her legs drawn up to her chest she rested her chin on them and peered out of the window. The city that sprawled before her was a glittering mass. She had to look away from the brightness of it all for a moment.

She remembered Master telling her something once before, when she had first been programmed. “The worlds mostly lights and sound Alina. Kind of like you”. She had looked up at him imploringly, her head resting on his chest. “Like me?” He had nodded. “Yes like you. Your made of bright things and a lot of sound. But you need these things to function.. So does a city. The only difference is, that instead of people living in you…they live through you. Your going to be a bright spot in quiet a few peoples lives when your released to them. Her eyes had grown wide in panic. “You are going to give me to them master? But I thought…you owned me?”

He had laughed then, and she had burned the sound into her memory forever. “No silly Alina…I don’t mean like that.” He had stroked her hair lovingly, pressing his lips to it gently. “How then?” He smiled faintly, and sighed. “I mean…when you become the star I created you to be. Millions will love you. Everyone will know who you are.” She looked up at him, eyes shining with admiration and the vast love she had felt for the man who had given her life. “Do you to love me Master?” He had chuckled softly and his smile had brightened. “But of course I do Alina...I always will… but for now…it is time for us to go to bed. Good night “. “Good night...master…I love you”. With that she had faded, the ability as a hologram a natural one for her.

Now she rested her head back against the wall, pale green hair falling over her shoulders. It was rather late and she could tell no one was coming back, the cleaning woman having been frightened off for the night. With a sigh, she closed her eyes. The morning would be so complicated.