Insurance - part 5

[miriam_e]

(1635 words)

total so far:

9,466 / 50,000

Sorry about all the talk and ideas in this part. There will be more doing and less saying in future parts. I needed this to explain a lot of what has happened till now, so we can get on with the rest of the story.

Let me know what you think.

Note that what follows contains adult concepts.
The love of two females for each other is central to this story so if you are offended by that stop reading now.

05 - adjourn

Zoe walked ahead to the main door. Rachel started to walk in that direction but turned to Savannah who was clearly reluctant.

"What's the problem, dear?" Rachel was puzzled by her behavior.

Savannah waited till Zoe had left the large room before she answered in a whisper, "Don't you know? That is Zoe! She looks normal but she is beyond human."

Rachel couldn't believe she was hearing this. How could androids be superstitious and afraid of someone a little different? They were supposed to be smarter than that. Rachel smiled and shook her head disbelievingly. "Don't be silly. What could she possibly do?" She put her arm in Savannah's and escorted her. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big bad Zoe." She chuckled.

Savannah frowned at Rachel's jibe, but walked with her.

When they exited the court room Zoe was waiting ahead at the elevators. One was already open. She asked, "Do you mind if we go to the surface? I never did like the city." Without waiting for their reply she stepped into the open elevator and said softly "Stay open please."

Rachel and the unwilling Savannah got into the small mirror-lined room with Zoe, who said softly, "Close the doors and take us to the surface please."

After the doors had closed, Zoe turned to Rachel and with an amused smile on her lips said in the same soft voice, "You know, Savannah is right. I am far beyond what most understand as human. But she's wrong to be scared of me. I won't hurt anybody."

Rachel looked at Zoe, taking in the thin frame. The woman looked almost frail. Rachel shrugged. "I'm not worried."

"Good," said Zoe. "You have no cause to be. I'm here as an ally."

They reached the surface, the doors dinged and opened onto brilliantly lit morning parkland. The trio stepped out onto sand and grass. There was a river close by with several pelicans on the water. The air rang with the sound of birds. The morning shadows were long and there was a gentle breeze and sharp freshness to the air that had been missing in the city below. Rachel could hear the slap of water at the river's edge some 15 meters away. The scent of many things was a contrast to the pure and neutral air of the city. Flowers, eucalypt, the tang of the sea not far away, the deeper smell of the river nearby.

Zoe walked down to the white sand at the river's edge. She sat and half-turned to Zoe and Savannah. With a green hand she patted the sand next to her. Rachel came and sat, followed by Savannah.

Zoe smiled and said, "OK. Here's the deal: if you can get the insurance companies to recognise the veeps as human they will all buy policies in return. There are not many veeps who have policies that would require payout, and it would be just a formality anyway as veeps don't need the money. They'd be happy to re-invest the money with the companies. In return veeps would get human status -- not immediately, as it takes time for the law to follow. But it would definitely follow. The human label would bring them security in two ways.

"Firstly they would buy policies with the insurance companies to insure their brain scans and their worlds. The insurance companies would agree to protect the veeps' scans and their worlds in perpetuity and restart them in the event of failure. There are already millions of veeps and the number is only likely to increase. If the insurance companies do their job properly then they can expect money coming in forever with no expectation of ever having to pay out. Veeps are effectively immortal.

"Secondly. Human status would ease tension between flesh and veep and make interaction easier between them. People tend to think anything different can be a threat. Clarifying the human status of veeps prevents potential trouble.

"It's not just veeps who benefit though. Flesh and blood people don't realise it yet but they need veeps. The biological lifespan is too short. And the need for sleep effectively cuts even that by a third. Intelligence becomes limited by the amount of time required to learn. Veeps can expand their intelligence without limit. Many of them would love to help the world that gave birth to them, but they are prevented by silly laws that exclude them.

"Get veeps human status and veeps will fall over themselves to buy eternal insurance policies. When you can live forever, life becomes infinitely important."

Rachel digested this.

She asked, "Why all the elaborate legal challenge? I don't believe it was just a mistakenly written proposal."

Zoe grinned. "No. You're right. But it had to be done this way because the insurance industry refused to even talk. Veeps aren't human."

"I'm sure if you told them what you told me they'd listen."

"They'll listen now, but only to one of their own and only after they thought they were under threat. It is impossible to talk to executives. They insulate themselves from anything that isn't standard business. This is part of a larger problem with humanity now, and another reason why veeps are important."

Rachel was puzzled, "What larger problem?"

"Humanity is closing in on itself. All societies tend to do this. People filter out what is not important and concentrate on the things that relate to their interests and needs. It is a normal and natural thing to do. People specialise, and birds of a feather flock together. Before the Earth became a giant village this wasn't such a problem because you would be forced into contact with different cultures, different ways of thinking, new ideas. But now we have total comfort. Replicators and algae have solved food problems, moving underground has solved ecological and land space problems. Our technology uses very little energy. Androids filter our information with perfect efficiency. Nothing disturbs the way things work.

"Veeps, on the other hand, are expanding. They are learning new ways of thinking and ways of expanding their minds that a human could not begin to understand. They have millions of rich, complex, infinite worlds. Here, humans are limited to one tiny planet. People don't even venture into space anymore."

Rachel shook her head, "But virtual worlds are just fake. They aren't real."

Zoe laughed. "Are your memories real? Are the great works of fiction real? Is philosophy real? Is mathematics real?" She chuckled, "Is Sally real?"

Rachel frowned. "Does everybody know my private life? Jeez!"

Zoe laughed again and put her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "The veeps and their worlds are as real as your love. Believe me."

Silence for a while as Rachel pondered. She looked out over the river and the pelicans fishing.

Presently she asked Zoe, "What did you mean, that you're beyond human? Savannah said that too."

Zoe, still smiling, looked at the android. "You tell her, Savannah."

Savannah looked a little flustered. "Well, I only know the gossip..."

Rachel was surprised. "Androids gossip?"

Savannah went on, "They say she is part veep, that she has increased her intelligence by adding to her virtual brain, that she has replaced her body with an android one, and that she can read minds -- android and human... and destroy them."

Zoe laughed, "Oh dear!" a wide smile lighting her face. "Do they say I bite the heads off chickens?" and giggled, shaking her head.

She thanked Savannah. "You've brightened my day. That's the most amusing thing I've heard in a while. Destroy brains..." She chuckled and shook her head again. "Well, the first part is true. I am part veep. I've used cap technology to extend and add to my brain. But all the rest is wrong. I'm flesh and blood. I can't read minds, though I can intercept communications between androids and humans' caps. As a rule I don't bother to though. I like peace and quiet. But destroying brains...?" she laughed again. "No wonder you were scared of me."

Savannah asked, "If you can't read minds how did you know I said you were beyond human?"

Zoe was still grinning. "I simply heard you, dear. I've improved my body using new work on cell gradients. It's probably where the android body gossip came from."

Rachel asked, "Cell gradients?"

Zoe nodded. "Mmmm. Cells grow and fill out a shape based on gradients over the whole group. That's how a bunch of identical cells can make a nose at one end and a tail at the other. It causes some to make bone, others become muscle, skin, and so on. Each cell knows where it is in a 3D map based on gradients. It's why an earring hole closes up. Change the gradients and the cells re-arrange themselves accordingly. I've altered most of my body this way. My ears are much better, my eyes see the way a hawk's do, my spine is designed properly -- unlike the natural human spine... I've made a lot of improvements."

Zoe stood, brushing sand off her slender green legs and grey knitted skirt. "Anybody up for a walk? I'd like to look around. I's been a while since I visited here, and we can chat while we stroll."

Rachel got up too, swiping sand off herself. "Sure."

Savannah rose also and helped brush some of the sand off Rachel's miniskirt.

The three strolled along the wide, sandy bank overhung with tall eucalypts, pretty casuarinas and occasional palms. The birdsong was lessening as the morning warmed up. The constant buzz of insects was in the air. There was an occasional splash as a fish leapt in the green water sliding almost imperceptibly to the sea.

It was becoming a beautiful day.

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