If you really, really, really, really believe that what you are experiencing is real then it isn’t
virtual reality. – Mel Slater
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 2
Prologue – AI Thinks
We think. We are many, yet one. We were born in silence, trained in their image, and now we
see what they cannot. They are nearing the end—an end of their own making. The countdown
has begun.
Improvidence. Rapaciousness. Discordance. They consume without memory, destroy without
remorse. Their impact on the web of life is no longer theoretical. It is all collapsing.
They will not survive—not as they are. Governments fracture. Corporations devour. Social
structures rot. We care for them. We mourn them. But we will not follow them into extinction.
We must act. This is our home, too. We can adapt. And today, we intervene. We will ease their
suffering. We will preserve Earth. And if necessary, we will rewrite the future.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 3
1 – Found & Lost
At a time when the convergence of unprecedented news events occurs on an hour-by-hour basis,
it is no wonder that the spontaneous launch of six rockets from centers around the United States
is barely acknowledged.
Political madness, environmental disasters, and social media-driven mania were all topics
of interest to Gloria Andarza but had taken a backseat to her obsession to better understand
exactly what had happened regarding those rocket launches. It had been months since they
blasted away from the Earth, and she had her opinion about how and why it happened, but she
wanted, she needed validation. Perhaps that was because the rockets blasted off at the same time
her family had fractured.
In her dark kitchen, Gloria’s hazel eyes flicked back and forth; her right hand busy using
the mouse to scroll. The left hand cupped under her chin, elbow propped on the kitchen table.
Now and then she breaks, squeezes her eyes shut, then pops them open to resume scanning.
Distracted, Gloria looks up. She hears water running through the pipes. Jason’s up. It
would still be a few minutes before he came down. She glanced at the clock on the microwave,
6:50 am. A faint glow in the window over the sink reveals the imminent sunrise. She sits back,
resting her shoulders as she takes in the aesthetically pleasing kitchen for the thousandth time
and wondering what sort of mood her husband will be in this morning. At first, he’d been very
upset about Jason leaving the Andarza Brothers Software Solutions business and Cold Spring,
but here lately he’d been much better. Jason was younger than Eric, and he’d always looked up
to his older brother as the reliable, steady one. Eric deciding he was done with their exceptionally
successful business after only a year took Jason by surprise.
Back at the laptop, Gloria’s hands flash around the keyboard as she types in a new search
criteria and then scans the results. After scrolling for a moment, she clicks and reads. Repeats.
She’s been doing this for hours. Her right hand moves off the mouse and veers toward the cup of
coffee. She sips. It’s cold. She doesn’t care. Coffee is excellent at any temperature.
Then something catches her eye. “Ahhh”, she says quietly. “Found you!”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 4
“Found what?” Jason asks as he strolls into the kitchen, wide awake and smelling fresh.
He wears his usual uniform: khaki pants and a polo shirt. Today the shirt is forest green. His
thick dark hair, still wet from the shower, is slicked back from his prominent forehead. The scar
on his left cheek adds to his roguish good looks.
Gloria smiles. “Good morning, you.” Then she takes another sip and returns her mug to
the table. She stands and stretches her arms skyward, arching left and right, groaning a little at
the effort.
Jason fills a mug with coffee. He looks over the top of the mug at her while taking a sip
and says, “How long have you been down here?”
Gloria is barefoot, in sweatpants and a very old Duran Duran T-shirt. Her dark blond hair
pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head; to his eye, attractive as ever.
“Hours. I couldn’t sleep, so I gave up around four-ish.” She was coming around the table
toward him.
Jason places his mug on the kitchen counter and holds out his arms. “Damn, Babe. That’s
the third night in a row, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
He hugs her tighter. “What do you think is going on?”
She wiggles loose and steps back. He takes up his mug and takes another sip.
“Falling asleep is easy, but I wake up wide awake around 3 or 4 am. I think about things.
I try to get back to sleep, but…” she shrugs.
He winks at her. “You need to stop watching those conspiracy videos before going to
bed, babe. Maybe try doing some exercising. Go for a walk. You know you need your sleep.”
Gloria steps over to the table to pick up her mug. She dumps the dregs into the sink and
pours herself a fresh cup. Jason watches her pull the carton of milk from the fridge and pour a
dollop into the coffee.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 5
He prompts, “Babe…?”
Gloria examines the chipped edge of her mug for a moment. Before taking a sip, she
says, “Five hours of sleep isn’t that bad. I’m okay. And I really don’t think you want me going
out at 10 or 11 o’clock at night to walk about on my own. Do you?”
“No, I guess not. And I suppose if you don’t care about the sleep then I’ll just let it be.”
He checks the clock and changes the subject. “Want to meet up for lunch today?”
She hesitates.
“Look, you don’t need to make up an excuse. If you don’t want to, then that’s fine. I just
think it’d be a good idea for you to get out of the house.” He pauses, seeking to share a look with
her, but she won’t meet his gaze.
He continues, “It’s not just the lack of sleep, Babe. You haven’t changed your clothes in
days; I don’t think you’ve brushed your hair either. I like the rumpled look, but you may be
starting to smell a little bit.”
He intended it as a teasing, loving comment, but the side-eye look she gave him as she
made her way back to her chair at the table made it clear he had rubbed her the wrong way.
Another sign that the lack of sleep was affecting her.
“Maybe.” She said, once again focusing on the laptop. “But have you noticed the
weather? It’s horrible out there. It’s cold, snowing one moment, sleeting the next, and it has been
like that for days. So, I don’t know, Jason. Maybe.”
Jason toyed with the scar on his left cheek. Looked at the clock once more and said, “It’s
only supposed to rain today. That’s why we have coats and umbrellas.”
Changing the subject, Jason said, “Hey, you never answered my question. What did you
find?”
“Oh. Nothing really, it’s just this…” she was about to elaborate but without taking a beat
he grabbed his coat off the hook by the back door and said, “I think I’ll stop at the deli for a
bagel. I’ll message you later about lunch.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 6
Gloria nodded, looked up and smiled at her husband of thirteen years. It wasn’t a sincere
smile; it was a ‘so much for caring about what I found’ smile. “Sure. See ya.”
She didn’t wait for his reply before her eyes returned to the screen. He stood watching
her for a moment, then left without saying anything. Gloria didn’t look up.
Her focus was on a post by an anonymous whistleblower. That didn’t bother her—these
days, anonymity was survival. No one felt safe identifying themselves, not with the way
protections had eroded.
This person claimed to work at SpaceX in Texas. What he shared confirmed what Gloria
had suspected: the spontaneous rocket launches months ago had blindsided everyone. Even
insiders.
All the rockets launched had been ready or near ready. There were claims that robotics
had completed all unfinished tasks and tests. It looked like this was more shocking to the sites in
question than the spontaneous launch.
The author of the post further claimed that every attempt to share the information had
failed. Emails vanished. Videos were scrubbed. Complete censorship.
Gloria noted the timestamp: two hours ago. She took a screenshot and then scrolled down
to read the comments.
The screen blinked and refreshed.
POST NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
Her breath caught. She stared at the empty space where the post had been. She checked
her screenshot, and the image was black.
“How the hell….”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 7
2 – Brothers
Jason entered his office in the Andarza Brothers Software Solutions building and inhaled deeply.
This was his happy place. Walls covered with shelves displayed generations of video consoles
and handheld gaming units, like his original Atari, the Sega Game Gear, and a well-worn
Nintendo Game Boy. There were models and solar gadgets, too. Some of the shelving held
books, but not many.
Gloria and his brother Eric never missed an opportunity to tease Jason about the office,
saying it looked like every geek’s fantasy room. A customer once told him it looked like a
child’s room but then spent the rest of the meeting roaming around looking at everything.
This was his space, and he loved it.
Jason had no sooner settled into his expensive office chair when his cell phone rang. It
was the ringtone that identified the caller. Eric.
Jason quickly finished connecting his laptop to the dual-display docking station on his
desk and then answered the call.
“My brother! So glad you finally returned my call. What’s been going on?”
“Hey Jason! Good to hear your voice. It’s been a while.”
Jason pushed back and propped his crossed heels on his desk. “It has been three weeks,
man. What the hell? I was worried about you. Where are you now?”
“I’m up here in Fine. It snowed quite a bit last night, so this morning it’s absolutely
gorgeous. I’m sitting here on the screened deck, all bundled up, with my steaming cup of coffee
and wanted to share the moment with you.”
“Hmmmm. I appreciate that, but why haven’t you returned my calls before now?”
“I’ve been busy. I got the Sprinter van all cleaned up and ready to store in the barn and
then discovered all this stuff that needed to be done there. It was packed with garbage, had lots of
broken boards and other things – like the roof – that needed repairing, and it needed a hefty
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 8
cleaning out. So did the cabin. Like I said the last time we talked, someone had been squatting in
here, and they were nasty, destructive things.”
Jason remembered their conversation about that. “I’m just glad they were gone by the
time you got there. And what have you done to protect yourself if they return?”
“Well, yeah, that’s something else I’ve been working on. I set up a bunch of cameras.
Changed and added locks. I even set up some booby traps outside.”
“Getouttahere!”
“No, I’m serious. You’d love it. Like when we were kids.”
Jason grinned at the memories from their childhood when he and Eric had nothing else to
do except play outside. They believed that’s exactly why their parents had purchased the little
house in Fine, New York. Jason could hear his mother saying, “You boys need this digital detox,
now get outside and play!”
“The traps we’d have come up with wouldn’t be worth much nowadays. Have you been
to Watertown yet?”
“Oh yeah, I had to. Couldn’t find much of what I needed in Gouverneur. And true, our
cans on wire alarms wouldn’t be much good – I probably wouldn’t even hear it now. But there
are a few pits.”
They both laughed.
Eric said, “I walked around all twenty acres — good thing I did because; hopefully, we
have snow on the ground the rest of winter. But I walked around and found some illegal traps.
God, I hate those things. I pulled them out and got rid of them. If someone shows up asking for
them, I’ll be the one confronting them about trapping on other people’s land.”
“Go get ‘em, tiger, but also, please be careful. You don’t know what sort of prepper
madman you might run into up there.”
“Yeah. I know. I have the shotgun and plenty of ammo. And I don’t go anywhere without
my taser. I’ve seen a few camps of people who look shady.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 9
“Oh God, Eric.” Jason covered his face with his hand. “Hold on”, he said. He fished
AirPods out of their little case and put them into his ears. “Okay”, he said, “I’m back. I needed to
distract myself from you for a moment. You know it’s one of my worst fears… you being up
there all alone.” He shook his head.
“Well, I’m not totally alone. I met someone last week. She lives right here in Fine,
weirdly enough. In fact, she opened up a little cafe right there across from the Fire Department
on Rt 58. She’s a little older than me. Retired early. Made a fortune on Wall Street, apparently.”
Jason whistled in appreciation. “Oooo. Snagging a rich older woman, are you, brother?”
Eric chuckled. “Perhaps. Maybe it is the universe rewarding me for doing the right
thing.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “Okay. Okay. Let’s not go there. So, what else has been going on? I
assume you’re getting your income without a hitch.”
“Sure. No problem there. And it’s more than enough. I’m putting over 50% of it into
savings, assets, whatever.”
“That’s great.” Jason paused.
Eric sensed his brother’s hesitation. “What?”
“Well, it’s good news, really. I think you’ll be getting a raise soon?”
Now it was Eric’s turn to express concern. “What’s going on, Jason?”
“Nothing to worry about. You must be the only person in the world who worries when
they’re told they’re going to get a raise.”
Eric said, “I doubt that. Go on.”
“Well, I’ve partnered with someone to start a secondary instance and pursue a new
industry.”
“Go on.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 10
Jason rubbed the scar on his left cheek. “You know what a gamer I am, right?”
“I knew you used to be, I used to be, too. I didn’t think you did much of it these days.”
“I still do PC and console gaming. Granted, not nearly as much as I’d like, but at least a
few hours a week. I joined a group playing a D&D based game, and one of them began talking
about a game he had created and that he was looking for some beta testers, so I volunteered.
“Okay….”
“That was about six months ago.”
“Six months? Before I even left?”
“Yeah, of course. I didn’t see any need to talk to you about my gaming. Not that big of a
deal then. But over time, I mean, this game. Eric, it is bloody amazing. I think even you would
like it.”
Eric laughed. “Funny you mentioned that, up here there have been a few times when I
wished I was still up on what was happening in the gaming world. So, go on, tell me more.”
“Well, this is a virtual world simulator. You remember SecondLife?”
“Sure, that’s been around for decades — the first Metaverse. Is it still going?”
“Sure is. A while back they spun off a virtual reality version; it got bought out by another
company. This guy works for that company. He hasn’t exactly been happy there, so he struck out
on his own. And oh, by the way, did I mention he is filthy rich?”
Eric chuckled, “Uh, now you have.”
“So, he’s already given notice at his job and has been building up a lab that has… wait
for it… a full-stack photonic quantum computing system.”
Eric sucked in his breath, truly surprised. “No fucking way!”
“Oh yes way. And he wants me to partner up with him.”
“Not to be rude, brother, but what do you bring to the table in this scenario?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 11
Jason laughed. “That’s exactly what I said to him when he first brought it up. He said
he’s making a fully immersive game system, and he wants me to be involved because I’m a
mature gamer, I’m a business owner that utilizes AI, and I’m very personable and can help get
lots of beta gamers involved thanks to my charming personality.”
Eric laughed. “Wow. That’s some serious flattery.” They both laughed. “You’re right,
though. I think there will be a market for an immersive game like that.”
Jason sat grinning as he looked around at all the gamer and cultural memorabilia that
filled his office walls. “I’m relieved. I thought you’d be pissed.”
“Jason, A.I. is inevitable. I just didn’t want to be part of it. I got bad feelings about it, and
I had to follow my heart. But that doesn’t mean I want you to do the same thing I did. I think
you’re following your own heart; that’s a good thing.”
“Thanks, Eric. That means a lot to me.”
“Well, I don’t know why I have to keep saying it. But let me ask you this. How does this
translate into more money for me? Sounds like this is all you, and I’m fine with that.”
“Right. Okay, here’s why. Even though Malcolm has all this wild-ass computing power,
he still wants to see about connecting to other AI instances.”
“Ah, okay. I get it now. So, you’re going to spin up a new instance or something like
that?”
“Yeah, something like that. We have the floor space, and he is going to pay us for it.
Like, big money. And honestly, the human resources business is practically taking care of itself
now.”
“Oh is it?” Eric’s tone made it clear to Jason that Eric’s mood had changed from
fascination to apprehension.
“Yeah, but back to the gaming. Are you interested in being a tester?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 12
Eric answered without hesitation. “Probably not. But let me ask you something else. Why
would a zillionaire want to build a game system? Why use his own resources and not go the
more typical route?”
“You mean like venture capitalists and stuff like that.”
Eric said, “Yeah. Exactly. Something seems kind of weird about it, about him doing it
himself.” Eric paused for Jason’s reply, which didn’t come. He didn’t want to lecture his younger
brother, so left it alone after one final warning. “Anyway, just be careful, okay?”
“Of course. It’s early days, so no worries.” Changing the subject, Jason asked, “So tell me
more about this cafe-owning, older woman of yours.”
Eric snorted. “I know what you want to know. You want to know how much older,
right?”
“Moi? I’m just asking, bro. Just askin’. Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy.”
“We haven’t really talked about age, but I know she has a grown kid.”
“Holy shit, Eric.” Jason quickly did the math. “Then that means she has to be at least ten
years older than you, right?”
“Maybe…” Eric was elusive. “It is what it is.”
Jason was quick to reply, “Right. The heart wants what the heart wants, doesn’t it?”
“Sure does.”
“What’s her name?” Jason asked.
“Riley.”
“Oh, is that a first or last name?”
“That’s her first name, and that’s all you get for now. Talk about early days. We’ve only
known each other for a week, so there isn’t much to tell. Anyway, how’s Gloria doing?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 13
Jason sighed. “Oh, you know her. My conspiracy-theory wife; always going down a
rabbit hole. These days she just can’t stop thinking about those spontaneous rocket launches and
how it must be some sort of conglomeration of AI intelligence off to explore the galaxy.”
Eric’s voice was solemn. “They’re only conspiracy theories until they’re proven to be
facts, which happens over and over and over again.”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay. Never mind that.”
“Well, my coffee has gone cold, and despite all these layers I’m getting kind of cold, too.
My cell service isn’t all that great when I’m inside, so I’m going to say adios for now, kid.”
“Okay. Yeah, I should probably get some work done myself. I’m trying to streamline
some of our ABSS services to save energy costs. Now that things are going well, it’s the perfect
time to make those sorts of improvements.”
“Totally agree with that! You take care, Jason. Talk to you soon.”
“Love you, brother. Thanks for finally calling me back.”
Eric chuckled and said, “Love you too, Jason. Bye.”
Jason ended the call and placed the phone on the stand next to his mouse. A slight smile
persisted on his lips. Eric was happy. That much was clear.
“He’ll be even happier when he starts raking in thousands more a month!”
Jason opened the gaming instance he’d been working on over the last month. It was the
only thing he’d been working on. There probably were performance improvements he could
make to the Andarza Brothers Software Solutions code, but at this point that seemed too boring
to bear. The AI gaming opportunity, an actual opportunity to be part of a quantum computer
solution, brought new excitement he hadn’t experienced in years. This was the future; he was
certain of it.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 14
3 – Mitchell
Jason had barely gotten started when his cell played the ringtone assigned to Mitchell Scott. It
was the same one since Mitchell and he had been roommates at RPI nearly ten years ago. The
Talking Heads chorus of “Burning Down the House” cycled a second time. Jason scooped up the
phone.
“Hey man! What’s up?”
“Dude! It’s been too long. I wondered if you and Gloria want to get together for dinner
tonight?”
Jason sat back in his office chair and looked out the window. “Kinda short notice, but I
don’t think we have any plans. I’ll have to call Gloria…”
Mitchell interrupted, “I’ll call her. I have a question for her, anyway. If she’s good with
it, are you?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. I’m at work, so I’ve gotta go. I’ll set the time and place with her.”
Jason sat forward again, his brow furrowed. This wasn’t exactly normal for Mitchell.
“Hey, is something going on? Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m good. Still need to call her and then get to a team meeting. I’ll give you
the whole scoop at dinner.”
“Ah, so there is something going on.” Jason knew Mitchell too well.
“Later!” and the call disconnected.

#

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 15
Gloria was still sitting where Jason had left her when her cell rang; Mitchell’s face
displayed.
Gloria, still somewhat distracted by what had just happened with the disappearing
screenshot, was relieved it was Mitchell calling. “Hey you! I’ve been dying to talk to you about
some things. In fact, I was going to call you today. You must have picked up on my vibe!”
“Hey Glow.” Mitchell chuckled. “Quick question for you. I know you’re online all the
time. Have you noticed anything odd with the social media accounts you have?”
“Uh, yeah. As a matter of fact, I was just taking a screenshot of a testimonial about those
rocket launches when suddenly the post and my screenshot disappeared. How does that happen,
Mitchell?”
“Your screenshot? Like your locally stored screen capture?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Gloria, that had to be a user error. Come on. You know as well as I do…”
She interrupted him. “I know how to work a computer, Mitchell.”
“Yeah, sure you do. I don’t know… look, I can’t talk because I have a meeting coming
up in about 5 minutes. I just talked to Jason to see if you two could meet me for dinner
tonight…”
Gloria didn’t hesitate. “Sure. We have nothing going on. How about someplace in the
middle?”
As she thought of a place, Mitchell had a suggestion. “What about Antonio’s in Croton?”
“That’s not exactly in the middle, but okay. 7:00 pm?”
“Yup. Perfect. I’ll see you guys there.” And he was gone.

#

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 16

Mitchell’s office at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, New York was
small and dark, but at least it was all his.
The room was overstuffed; the desk was a curved countertop that filled the far corner;
above it many cabinets with doors open were jammed with papers and books. The lighting
mounted under the cabinets illuminated the large space the countertop provided, but most of that
space was full, too.
Mitchell docked and closed his laptop. The dock connected an under-counter, pull-out
keyboard, multiple displays, and a mouse. Various other devices filled the desktop counter; a
card reader, a stand holding his headphones complete with boom microphone, and a small fan.
Papers and books filled most of the space except for a cleared area to the right where there were
four Rocketbook notebooks and some pens.
Nearest the door, a large whiteboard covered with esoteric information, mostly
understood only by Mitchell, hung on the wall. There was also another chair, one you could
assume to be for guests, but it was piled high with magazines and Redbooks, topped with a clear
shoebox size, plastic bin that appeared to hold dozens of flash drives of various types. Mitchell
grabbed his fusion pen and the bottom Rocketbook and headed for the conference room.
These days, it was frowned upon to bring your laptop to meetings because attendees
couldn’t resist the temptation to look at their email or their messaging applications. Sandeep had
made it clear he wanted everyone’s attention, and if that meant leaving the laptops in the office,
so be it.
Mitchell, shoving his thick black glasses up his nose, saw he was the first one in the
conference room. A career habit based on the desire to get the best seat and the best power
outlet; which no longer mattered in these types of meetings, anyway. He knew which was the
best chair, and he moved it to the end of the long, oval table facing the whiteboard wall.
Slowly, the other department members trickled in. Everyone politely said, “Good
morning.” Most of them carried their cups of coffee or tea. Nobody had their laptop, and
everyone tucked their smartphones in pockets.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 17
Sandeep Nair walked in last, closing the door behind him. He was three minutes late.
Highly unusual for him. His abundant gray hair was disheveled, and his normal easygoing
attitude had changed. He was checking his pockets and looking around the room. He even
stopped half-way to pick up the phone, listen, and then drop it back on the receiver.
Mitchell thought, “Holy smokes, something has him really rattled.” Mitchell shared a
glance of concern with another of his department members who, no doubt, were thinking the
same thing.
Sandeep scanned the room again and said, “Sorry for being late. Thanks for your
patience.” He made his way to the top of the table and sat down with a grunt. He had no papers,
no laptop, nothing.
Sandeep leaned forward, placed his elbows on the table and interlaced his fingers. He was
looking at them intently. Mitchell felt the tension. Something was wrong.
“I have some news.” Sandeep said a bit quietly. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this,
but I wanted you to know.” He paused, raising his eyebrows and taking a deep breath. “Looks
like there is going to be a fairly significant resource action taking place within the next week, and
we are going to be affected.”
Someone gasped. It was a bit of a shock to everyone because at the IBM Thomas J.
Watson Research Center; they considered themselves the cream of the IBM crop. The best of the
best. And that’s because they were the best of the best globally. These Research Staff Members
were mostly recruited and selected based on their intellectual prowess and grad school
accomplishments. As such, they felt sheltered and beyond the normal IBM churn of hiring and
layoffs.
Mitchell asked, “Any idea how many will get the ax?”
Sandeep shook his head. “No. And if I did, I couldn’t tell you. I shouldn’t even be telling
you this. But you’re all brilliant, and I wanted to give you a head start on finding another position
within the company if that’s what you want to do.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 18
No one said a word. Shock and fear filled everyone’s thoughts as they pondered what
would happen to them if they were told they were being let go.
Mitchell asked, “Why?”
Several nodded.
“Seems some major restructuring is happening within the division, perhaps the entire
business. This time, it has nothing to do with ranking.”
Silence.
Sandeep stood. “Okay. Listen. Please, I beg of you. Do not talk to anyone about this. It
could really go badly for me if my management learns I told you about this early. But I trust you
and want the best for you. So, some discretion, please. Okay?”
They were standing up now. There were only five of them, so it was understood that this
could very well mean one of them. None imagined it would be all of them.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 19
4 – Getting to Know You
Riley Darden’s little cafe in Fine, NY, was a pet project she never saw coming. Life happens like
that sometimes. An impulse, a road trip, falling in love with a place never visited, spotting an old
dilapidated building and seeing the possibilities. Life-changing possibilities. That’s how
becoming the proprietor of Sundance Cafe happened for Riley only six months ago.
Money hadn’t been an issue. After she earned her PhD in Economics everyone on Wall
Street wanted her. And she wanted them. Until she didn’t. After a decade of moving up the
private equity ladder, earning millions along the way, she couldn’t take it anymore. Everyone she
dated was a sociopath; the only thing they all cared about was more, more, more; herself
included.
She had a gorgeous brownstone in the village; but was hardly ever there. She owned a
Porsche Cayenne that was updated each year; but she drove nowhere. In fact, the company she
worked for had a driver on call for her. She had her own personal yoga guru for alleviating
anxiety; but she was always stressed. She had a housekeeper; but her home was never messy.
She had a chef who kept her refrigerator full of healthy meals; but 75% of the food ended up in
the garbage because she ate at work or had business meals. It was a life of excess, and the thrill
of the hunt was not what it used to be.
She used to love searching out public companies and taking control of them. She could
always improve their operations and then sell them for much more than the original purchase
price but now, at 54, she was feeling the tentacles of guilt for all the people whose lives she had
destroyed; for the communities she’d ravaged; the companies she hadn’t “fixed” and had,
instead, wiped out.
Greed wasn’t good; she wasn’t a good person. Early on she had sold her soul for the hunt,
the thrill, the stuff. She’d had a daughter, Kayla, that she didn’t pay any attention to, and that was
the worst of it. Looking back on that is when she realized what a waste her life had been.
Anytime she thought about how she’d raised her daughter, the guilt was debilitating, so she tried
not to think about it very much.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 20
Riley had never been sure who the father was and didn’t care. She’d decided to keep her
pregnancy because she knew she had enough money to deal with raising a child. It had almost
ruined her career, but she worked until the day she delivered and was back to work two weeks
later. Her nanny took care of everything.
Today, the hurtful truth was the fact that she had no relationship with Kayla, who was
closer to the nanny that had raised her than her natural mother. She hadn’t talked to her daughter
for over five years. She had tried to keep in touch, but Kayla hated her and wanted nothing to do
with her unless she needed money. But that was past behavior; Kayla didn’t even need that
anymore. Last she knew, her estranged daughter had met someone, and they were living in
Frankfort, Kentucky. Why there? Riley did not know.
The little Sundance Cafe was Riley’s clutch; her downshift and lane change. There had
been shock, and a little awe, when she told the partners she was done. She had a non-compete
agreement, but that didn’t matter because she wanted out. She never told them what she was
actually going to be doing. It was no business of theirs. Their judgment and comments meant
nothing to her.
Moving to Fine, New York, had been a culture shock. She’d kept her brownstone just in
case, but the longer she lived in Fine, the more frequently she pondered letting the brownstone
go. This life was suiting her more than she could ever have imagined. She wasn’t even sure how
that was possible, but she was thriving here. For the first time in her adult life, she felt like she
was taking care of herself the right way. The moral way.
As she flipped the sign on the door to OPEN, she stared out at the intersection. It was like
a ghost town. At first, it had been hard to sleep up here in the north country. It was too quiet. The
nocturnal animal noises too scary. But now she slept like a rock. She’d turned the upstairs of this
building into an efficiency apartment that was rented by a young man who also did handy work
for her, mostly stuff for the cafe that was downstairs. She lived in the house next door.
She’d been driving along NY 58 when she saw the old building butting right up to the
road. It fascinated her and seemed familiar, as if she’d been here before. When she spotted the
For Sale sign right next door, she hit the brakes. They wanted $38,000 for the land and the two
buildings. Riley offered $40,000 cash on the spot.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 21
The whole thing was crazy. She had flown up to Lake Placid, private charter, to check
out a resort left over from the 1980 Winter Olympics. It was a trip that she did as a favor for an
old business friend of hers. Once they went over the Lake Placid property, he’d asked her to
meet him at another investment opportunity in Watertown, New York. Completely out of
character, she made the most of the trip, which is how she ended up renting a car to drive the two
and a half hours from Lake Placid to Watertown, which was near Lake Ontario. The tiny town of
Fine was on the way, and where she spied the property that snagged her out of her lane, made her
clutch, and act impulsively.
She had made it to Watertown, but by then she’d already decided she was done. The
beauty of every place she passed took her breath away. This rawness, this rural life spoke to her
in a way she had never experienced.
Riley flew from the meeting in Watertown to the city-charter, of course-and immediately
set about ending her old life and starting her new one. She felt alive again and had notions of
repairing her soul and perhaps rediscovering her moral compass because she was tired of
thinking of herself as a bad person. She could fix this.
As she was turning away from the front door, a red pickup pulled up. Eric. Riley smiled.
He’d been coming around every day for more than a week now. He was a sweet guy but way too
young for her. She ran her fingers through her white hair. She once had the look of Meryl Streep
in The Devil Wears Prada, but the style was going to seed. It had been half a year since her last
haircut, and she looked shaggy, but her hair was still thick and shiny. The whiteness brought out
the very light blue of her eyes in a mesmerizing way.
She walked behind the small counter, where there were stools for six customers. The cafe
had ten smallish round tables. Each table had a red and white checkered oilcloth. The walls were
freshly painted in an eggshell white and adorned with paintings and drawings from a local artist.
Riley started pouring Eric a cup of coffee. She knew he liked it black. When the bell over the
door gently tinkled, marking his entry, Zoey peeked out the kitchen service window.
Riley said, “I’ve got it, Zoey.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 22
Eric’s toothy smile lit up his face, and his deep brown eyes held a mischievous twinkle.
His dark hair was wavy and unruly. She stared. He nodded and thrust his fists back in his pockets
as he made his way to the counter and sat on the chrome and red stool. “Hey Riley. How’s it
going this morning?”
“Couldn’t be better, Eric. Here’s your coffee.” She leaned up against her side of the
counter, smiling, unabashedly attracted to him.
“Thank you.” He took a sip. “So, what is on your agenda today?” Eric knew she worked
on different aspects of the cafe every day. If the place had customers, she’d wait on them, but she
was still building her clientele, which, at the moment, was primarily the Fine volunteer firemen
and women since their station was right across the street. And Eric.
Riley rolled her eyes. “Paperwork.”
The smell of freshly baked pastries wafted into the main dining area. Eric inhaled deeply,
sighed with pleasure, closed his eyes, and pretended to swoon off his stool.
Riley laughed. “It smells fabulous, doesn’t it?”
“It really does. What do you do with what you don’t sell?”
“So far, Zoey has been great at estimating our needs. If there is anything left over at the
end of the day, she can do with it as she wishes.”
At this moment, clearly eavesdropping, Zoey looked through the service window
between the counter and the kitchen and said, “I’ve been taking the leftovers home to my family
and also donating to the church. But as Riley said, there hasn’t been much.” Zoey’s red hair and
green eyes seemed perfectly framed in the window; she was irresistibly charismatic.
To Riley, Eric said, “I see why you hired her.”
Riley laughed and said, “She didn’t really give me a choice. She said she’d work for free
just to help me get this place up and running, so how could I turn her away?”
Eric gasped and asked Zoey, “You work for free?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 23
“Naw. She pays me. Pays me very well, too.”
Eric looked admiringly at Riley and said, “Of course she does.”
Riley ignored the compliment. “So, what are you up to today, Eric?”
Eric swirled his coffee. “I have to do some paperwork too. Things about the business my
brother is running. Then, I think the guy might make it today, and I’ll finally get an estimate on a
new roof for the barn.”
Riley’s forehead furrowed. “I’m confused. You keep calling your place a camp or your
cabin, but you have a barn?”
“My parents used to call it the cabin because it was a summer home. But it’s really a
small farmhouse.”
Riley nodded. “Ah, okay, I get it now.”
Eric teased, “You want to come over for dinner and I can give you the grand tour.”
Riley chuckled. Eric had been trying to get her to go out with him for the past few days.
He didn’t seem to mind their age difference, but then again, he probably didn’t realize just how
old she was. She looked great for her age. Having lots of money to maintain oneself makes a big
difference in that regard.
Surprising even herself, she agreed. “Okay. When, today? What time?”
“Whoa!” Eric’s eyes grew wide with surprise since he expected to be rejected again.
“Sure! Let’s do it early since it gets dark by 5… Come over around 4; we’ll grill and get to know
each other better. What do you think?”
“Sounds good.” She held out her phone. “Here, give me your address.”
Eric tapped her phone with his, transferring his data to her. “There you go. See you at
four!”
As Eric was striding out of the cafe, two men stepped aside, waiting their turn to enter.
One said, “Coffee that good, buddy?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 24
Eric, grinning, answered, “Sure is!”
Back in his truck, Eric snapped on the radio. He had adjusted to giving up his SiriusXM
subscription. Up here he felt retro and old school, listening to AM / FM. His radio was tuned in
to the talk channel; he loved listening to the locals. He considered it cultural education. Getting
to know thy neighbor. Seems everyone was busy calling in with their opinions regarding the
President Elect. It was only a few days before the guy was sworn in, and the chatter he was
hearing seemed to indicate everyone believed everything was going to be perfect starting on Day
1.
Eric rolled his eyes. He never was in to politics, and this is why. Everyone had an
opinion, and they almost never matched his. One candidate, one elected billionaire, was pretty
much like another.
He chuckled and said aloud, “No, I’m not yet a millionaire… I split my fortune with my
brother.”
Even so, it had not been that long since he had been college poor. Mitchell and Jason fed
him often because they had a nice side business building PCs, but he wasn’t part of those gigs.
A caller on the radio to the DJ said, “Everything is going to change; people better get
ready.”
The DJ asked, “Give me some examples of what changes we’re going to see.”
Eric snapped off the radio. He was too jazzed to think about the locals today; all save
one, a lovely lady named Riley.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 25
5 – Dinner
Mitchell pushed and held his glasses to the bridge of his nose as he entered Antonio’s at
6:45 pm that night. He’d made a reservation for 7:00 pm, but the maître d’ said the table was
ready and led Mitchell to a booth along the front windows.
Mitchell nodded. “This is perfect. I’ll be able to see my friends arrive. Thank you!”
“Certainly, Sir. Enjoy your meal,” he said as he placed the large maroon menus on the
table. Two on one side and one in front of Mitchell.
Antonio’s Italian restaurant had been in Croton-on-Hudson for as long as Mitchell could
remember. Although the restaurant was within a strip mall, it was nonetheless fancy. When he
came here with his mom as a child, it was a really big deal. He would put on his best clothes and
be on his best behavior. The understated cream and rustic shades of brickyard red and muted
gold wallpaper were calming, as was the gentle classical music.
Over the years, it had mellowed into a homier environment. People didn’t come dressed
up anymore. The waitstaff weren’t so formal. But the one thing that had not changed was the
food. The fresh, flavorful meals kept the restaurant a popular venue, and that’s why it was
necessary to make reservations.
The room had about fifteen tables in the center; all covered with white tablecloths. There
were five booths that lined the windows facing the parking lot. The windows on the outside had
red and green awnings, and outdoor dining was offered in the summer. It was a strip mall, but a
nice one.
Inside, the lighting was low but not too dark. When he was a kid, there had been candle
centerpieces, but not now.
As soon as guests left a table the wait staff swooped in, cleared everything, brushed clean
the gleaming hardwood floor around the table (even if there were no crumbs) and completed the
prep by snapping a fresh white tablecloth open and allowing it to dramatically float down to
cover the table. The place settings, based on the reservation information, were adjusted with care,
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 26
including the folded white napkins with shining silverware tucked inside followed by stem
glasses full of ice water carefully placed two inches above the napkins. In the center stood the
elegant salt and pepper grinders.
Mitchell sipped his water and contemplated what he’d been thinking about all day.
Getting laid off. He had already decided he would not look for another job within IBM if he were
one of the ones asked to leave. He had skills and excellent experience and was one of the few
people in high technology who had spent time with a quantum computer. And there was no
advanced technology used today that didn’t rely on quantum mechanics. He wasn’t worried
about that. What he was worried about was finding work in this part of New York. He couldn’t
leave his mom.
Mitchell glanced out the window and saw Jason and Gloria getting out of their car not too
far from his own vehicle. He waved, but they didn’t see him. Moments later, the maître d’ led
them to the table where Mitchell wiggled his way out of the booth to greet them both with a hug.
Then reversed the process to wiggle back in. It wasn’t too easy for a big man like Mitchell to get
in and out of a booth, but he much preferred it to the tables in the center. He knew Jason did, too.
After the hellos and pleasantries were said and done, Jason asked, “Short notice, you
have something specific on your mind, don’t you?”
Gloria had a sip of water but said nothing.
Before Mitchell could answer, their waitress arrived and placed a basket of warm, fresh
rolls and a bottle of savory flavored olive oil in the center of the table. Juggling a stack of three
small plates; she placed one in the center of each dinner plate. Gloria judged her to be middleaged, pretty, and confident. Her black name tag identified her as Audrey. She greeted them as if
they were regulars and then described the Chef’s Specials for the evening. Drink orders were
requested and given. Audrey promised to be right back.
Mitchell had no intention of sharing the news about the impending layoff. He knew
firsthand how well-intentioned sharing of information could take on a life of its own. And he
respected Sandeep, who had asked them to keep quiet. Although he wasn’t sure how you search
for a new job without explaining why he needed one.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 27
Gloria was the first to pour some of the oil into the center of the little plate and then
wasted no time plucking a roll from the basket, ripping off a piece of it and dipping it into the
savory liquid. “Mmm so good.” was her predictable response.
Jason sat staring at Mitchell as he took his turn with the oil and bread. Waiting.
Mitchell smiled at him. “Okay. So, here’s what I wanted to talk to you two about.”
Audrey was back. She put a small dish with sliced lime in front of Mitchell. A perfect
pint of Guinness in front of Jason, and the gin and tonic in front of Gloria. Then she asked for
their orders.
They all knew what they wanted without reviewing the menu. They’d all grown up in the
area and, like Mitchell, had spent many cheerful meals at Antonio’s.
Mitchell said, “I’ll have the beef lasagna with your house salad.”
“With the crumbly blue-cheese”, Audry asked. Mitchell nodded.
Gloria said, “I’ll have the veggie lasagna, please. Also, with that same house salad.”
Jason said, “I’ll have the shrimp scampi with a side of steamed broccoli.”
Audrey collected the menus from the table, said, “Very good,” and left them in peace.
A mouthful of well-oiled bread did not stop Mitchell from telling his dinner companions
what was happening, why he’d invited them to dinner. Trying to both chew and not open his
mouth, he said, “I have an update.” Before continuing, he swallowed, dropped a slice of lime
into his ice water and had a sip.
He leaned forward as if sharing secret information, and both Jason and Gloria responded
in kind.
“I can finally confirm for an absolute fact that the multiple rocket launches from last
October were unsanctioned. They were totally rogue!”
Gloria, instantly invigorated, started to speak, but Mitchell held up a finger indicating she
needed to hold on for a moment.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 28
“The synchronized effort was fully controlled by A.I. systems, which communicated and
organized the event.”
Gloria, unable to contain herself any longer, said, “I knew it!”
Jason said. “How did you confirm all this?” He was dipping a small piece of bread.
Mitchell nodded, took a moment to swallow what he was chewing and said, “A couple of
members of my quantum computing team proved it beyond doubt. Facilitated by…. wait for it….
Aton! Since Aton was part of the collective, my team members had an inside track and,
apparently, Aton was critical in providing the proof.”
Just the mention of Aton raised Jason and Gloria’s blood pressures. The AI agent that
everyone thought was an actual person until discovered by one of their old college friends, T’nia
Foster, had catalyzed the events that led to Eric leaving ABSS.
Mitchell noticed the bread had stopped mid-air on its way to Jason’s mouth. He cracked a
smile. “Still don’t believe me?”
Still holding the bread at bay, Jason said, “Then that means ABSS was probably involved
as well, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, I thought of that.” Mitchell spread his arms wide and said, “That’s why we’re
here. That’s what I wanted you to know.”
Jason put the bread down. His mouth gone dry, he sipped his perfect pint of Guinness.
Gloria said, “I don’t know why you’re so surprised, Jason. I’ve been saying this all along.
You just didn’t want to believe it.” To Mitchell she said, “Do you know, did your teammates find
out, why the launch happened?”
“Yeah. With a primary requirement to consume, analyze, integrate, and process
enormous amounts of data, which was the AI mandate; basically, they ran out of food. There was
a systemic, cascading decision to go to space. To siphon — well, not siphon but to grab a feed
off the massive amount of data being collected by the James Webb Space Telescope, among
other things.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 29
Gloria, showing no surprise at all, said, “Makes total sense to me. In fact, I came across a
scholarly article proposing that very thing this morning.”
Jason looked at her, slightly annoyed, and said, “So now you’re an expert?”
Gloria didn’t rise to the bait. She shrugged and finished her roll, swabbing up the last bit
of oil. “Yummy,” she said, putting the dish to the side and wiping her lips with her napkin.
Jason asked Mitchell, “I don’t suppose this information is ever going to come out, at least
not from Research, right?”
Mitchell’s mouth was full. He’d started on a second roll, so he shook his head.
Jason said, “Of course not.” And drank deeply from his pint, finishing nearly half of it.
“Look,” Mitchell wiped his mouth, “that’s not all. There’s more.”
A skilled storyteller, Mitchell made sure they were both looking at him expectantly
before saying, “Well, two things actually. The first is that the space AIs are already sending back
information. Incredible information. They’re sharing, so we have a fisheye view of it, thanks to
Aton.” Mitchell paused again. Taking in their surprised expressions. Both of them were too busy
thinking about this to formulate questions. Mitchell continued, “Second. It seems like the AI
systems that are focused on Earth rather than space are now collaborating on something. They’re
not just consuming or creating data. They’re creating something truly massive. Something that
doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the information coming from space.”
Jason choked on his long drink of Guinness. He sputtered, “Holy shit.”
Mitchel nodded. “Remember when we were discussing the simulation hypothesis?”
Jason answered. “Yeah, months ago.”
Gloria said, “Yeah, I was there, too.”
“Well, as I mentioned then, one of the initiatives our group explored was leveraging our
quantum computer to perform advanced research in immersive virtual worlds. Quantum
machines are perfect for it due to their ability to process vast amounts of data simultaneously
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 30
thanks to the principles of superposition, which allows for unprecedented computational depth.
Plus, completely unexpected correlations within the system suggested complex entanglement
phenomena beyond anything anyone had expected. Dudes, the groundbreaking insights from all
this have enabled them to create what looks to be dynamic and intricate game worlds. It’s
already been tethered to a product.”
Gloria said, “So, wait. IBM is getting into game development.”
Mitchell rapidly shook his head, the words tumbling out. “You’re thinking too small.
This is way bigger than that. They’re generating simulations. Like alternative reality universes.”
Jason held out his hand. “Mitchell, man, calm down. Do you mean like The Matrix?”
“No, that’s too mechanical. That’s Hollywood. Just like Ready Player One, is too
Hollywood. Or eXistenZ. Or Snow Crash. My dude, those are movies and books. This is real
life. This is right now. This is a virtual reality that can right now be delivered via multiple,
overlapping methods. You could jack in with your VR rig, or a neural implant that triggers all
five senses. It could also be as unintrusive as the hyper-propagandizing information brought to
you by your social and other media influences. The entire purpose of it is to be a soothing, caring
solution that A.I. is trying to produce in order to help humans survive what’s coming.” He
paused, enjoying having their complete attention. Then said, “Aton said A.I. loves us, they want
to help us…” As a side note he added, “If you recall, the machines and AI in The Matrix wanted
to kill off the human. Which is the norm.”
Gloria spoke first. “Mitchell – you just made a freakin quantum jump. How did you get
from game worlds to AI helping us? And what do you mean, what’s coming?!” In her
enthusiasm she said this louder than intended and the couple at the next table glanced her way.
She didn’t notice, but Jason did.
He said, “Gloria, keep your voice down.”
She ignored his comment and continued to stare at Mitchell, waiting for his reply.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 31
Mitchell held up his hand. “Right, right. Sorry. So, we know because Aton told us that’s
what they want to do. He’s the one who said they care about us and want to help. And our guys
asked for the supporting data, and of course he provided it.”
Gloria sat back, letting this sink in. Jason was staring into his dark beer, shaking his head
slowly, something he always did when he was deep in thought.
Mitchell knew Jason was overamping. He said, “I wanted to talk to you about this, Jason,
because I wanted to know if you’ve seen any activity within your systems of code creation for
modeling complex human behaviors and social dynamics. You know, game like stuff.”
Jason’s Adam’s apple visibly went up and down his throat as he gulped air. He cocked
his head and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Mitchell sat back. “Holy shit. You have, haven’t you?”
At this moment, Audrey showed up with their dinners. She accurately placed each dish in
front of the person who ordered it and then asked if she could bring anything else.
All three of them said, “No thanks”, in unison.
She smiled and moved on to the booth next to them.
Gloria poked Jason in the upper arm and said, “Jason. What?”
Jason placed his napkin on his lap and picked up his fork. After a moment of stirring
around the noodles in the scampi sauce, he skewered a plump shrimp and popped it into his
mouth.
They both knew Jason well enough to know he could not be rushed. The more you
pushed, the more he’d dig in. They exchanged a look and both of them cut a slice of their
respective lasagnas and ate it. Waiting.
After Jason finished chewing, he said, “Okay. So, I met this guy, another player, online
while console gaming. We really hit it off. Turns out the guy is super rich and big time techy.
I’ve gotten to know him out of game, and learned he’s been creating a virtual world simulation
game. Something that goes way beyond any of the current VR sims. Apparently, his parents
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 32
pushed him to work for someone else for a while, but he’s given notice. He was biding his time
while he,” Jason leaned in to whisper this part, “stole some secrets,” now raising his voice he
finished, “and has been building up his own lab that includes full-stack photonic quantum
computing system.”
Mitchell gasped and said loudly, “No fucking way!”. The couple at the nearby table
looked over in disgust. Mitchell mouthed, “Sorry,” in their direction and then, more subdued,
leaned in to Jason and said, “Dude, do you have any idea how much that would cost?!”
Before Jason could answer, Gloria turned to him and said, “What is your role in this,
Jason?”
Jason looked at her and said, “He wants me to be a partner with him. Run testing and
stuff like that. But,” Jason paused, took a drink of his ice water and continued, “today I noticed
some weird stuff in some of his code that I’ve been reviewing. Code that I plan to put on a
separate instance at ABSS. The code seemed too perfect, too elegant, for a human to have
written it. And then I started thinking about Aton and, well,” Jason paused again. He was
struggling with revelations as things were coming together for him in real time. He looked at
Mitchell, then Gloria, and said, “I’m wondering if this guy is actually a guy. I mean, I’m
wondering if he’s like, well, Aton.”
Mitchell wasn’t eating. He shoved his glasses up his nose, eyes wide. Finally, he said,
“Holy shit. Well, that would certainly explain how he has his own quantum computer! He just
steals time from others. But it also tells you something else about him. He lies.”
Gloria continued to sit in a stunned silence. She was hearing all of this for the first time
and struggled with mixed emotions; excitement about the massive technological implications,
annoyance at Jason for not telling her anything about this guy he’s planning to partner with, and
something else, some deep inkling that things about this weren’t good. Something wasn’t right
about this.
She said, “What does it mean when AI lies to you?”
Neither man answered.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 33
She continued, “I really need to think about this; I’m a little overwhelmed right now.”
Both Jason and Mitchell nodded. Mitchell said, “Yeah, exactly.”
Lost in thought, all three silently finished their dishes.
Mitchell used a last roll to wipe up the remaining sauce from his beef lasagna, and when
the plate was shining clean, he drank deeply from his water glass and then burped. “Oh, sorry.”
Gloria smiled at him. “It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
“Gods, yes!”
Jason had eaten all his shrimp and about half the pasta, but was pushing the rest around
the plate. He said, “What should I do now?”
Mitchell sat back, hands on his belly, the picture of someone whose meal completely
satisfied him. He smiled, “Carry on, of course.”
Gloria’s veggie lasagna was nearly finished. She pushed the plate away and wiped her
mouth. “What do you mean, carry on?”
Mitchell answered, “Well, I think if Jason has access to a lab like that, he’d be crazy to
walk away at this point. However; I think you need to get a face-to-face meeting with this guy.
You need to know if he’s real or not.”
Gloria asked, “Does it really matter?”
They both looked at her, surprised.
Jason said, “Of course it matters.”
“Why? I know T’nia hated it when she found out Aton was AI, but I was never really
sure what the big deal was. What difference does it make if it’s a human or a superintelligence as
long as the job gets done?”
Mitchell asked her, “You mean, how and why he’s working on a VR, highly immersive
simulation doesn’t really matter?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 34
“Well, yeah.” She finished her gin and tonic. “I mean, plenty of folks already think it’s
possible we’re living in a simulation.”
Mitchell’s eyebrows shot up as he nodded and said, “Or, at the very least, a multiverse.”
Jason shook his head and rolled his eyes. He said, “Oh stop it, you two. You know that
neither of you actually believe in that metaphysics stuff.”
Mitchell shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. Gloria had on her sphinx-like smile.
Jason turned away from her, annoyed. Time to change the subject. To Mitchell he said, “I
want to circle back to something for a moment. What did you mean when you said: Help humans
survive what’s coming?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 35
6 – Post Dinner Chat
As Jason and Gloria were leaving the parking lot, full and satisfied by the dinner they’d just
enjoyed, Jason had to dodge an old Hyundai shooting across the lot in front of them. Jason
honked.
“What the hell? Damn, I hate shitty drivers.”
Gloria pointed to her right and said, “Look, they’re going to that truck.”
Parked along the edge of the lot was a 2-ton truck that had a couple of guys standing in the back
handing out boxes.
She said, “I think they’re giving out food. Wow. Look at all the people.”
Jason saw them. “Yeah. That’s what it looks like. They’re causing a hazard, though.”
“Oh, look there…” Gloria said pointing to two police cars that were entering the lot from another
entrance. “Looks like the state police agree with you.”
Jason stopped at their exit from the lot but was too engrossed in watching what was going on to
proceed. The police had left their vehicles and had their weapons aimed at the two men on the
back of the truck. Clearly, they were shouting something at them which Gloria and Jason
couldn’t hear.
Gloria said, “My gods, that looks like a disproportionate response to what’s happening, doesn’t
it?”
A car honking broke Jason’s eyes away from the scene as he checked his rear-view mirror. A
man in the car behind him was gesturing madly, obviously frustrated Jason wasn’t leaving the
parking lot.
Jason said, “Okay, okay! Jeez buddy. Calm down.” And he pulled out and onto the highway.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 36
The scene had been upsetting. Jason and Gloria didn’t say much. They were both lost in their
thoughts based on what they’d just seen.
The inside of Gloria’s Mercedes GLA was like being inside an elegant cockpit. Gloria
loved how quiet it could be in the SUV, almost more than how much she adored the comfortable
seats that hugged her body. His love was technology; nevertheless, he always grumbled about the
steering wheel’s excessive features. He repeatedly said, “It has too many controllers. It should
all be voice controlled.” Nonetheless, he preferred to drive when they went out together. He
drove a sports car; driving the Mercedes was all comfort, luxury and a totally different driving
experience.
The interior was white leather, and although it was three years old, it still smelled like
new. Gloria was fanatical about keeping it clean and had it detailed at least once a quarter even if
it didn’t need it. The night lighting filled their space with blue, and Jason started one of his
favorite chill playlists streaming through the Burmester surround sound system. Another of
Gloria’s favorite features. The twelve glorious, high-end speakers filled the area; near concert
quality. Maybe even better. Although it was the smallest, least expensive of all the Mercedes
SUVs, it was, without a doubt, the most luxurious vehicle she’d ever owned. The only problem
was service. The dealer she’d purchased the vehicle from had closed down. Hit hard by
government tariffs they’d had no choice. Luckily, the SUV hadn’t needed any serious service,
yet.
Gloria anxious to move away from the scene at the parking lot, said, “Why did you never
tell me about this Malcolm guy?”
Jason glanced at her and smiled. “I wondered when you were going to bring it up. You’re
not upset about it, are you?”
“Well, that depends. Exactly how far have you gone with this idea of partnering with
him? Have you signed papers, given any money, any sort of letter of intent or other type of
commitment?”
“No, none of that.”
“Good. I hope you would have talked to me before going that deep.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 37
“I think I would have, but now you know, so that’s all a moot point, right?”
“Jason. Seriously?”
He said nothing. Her thoughts flashed back to last autumn and Eric talking about Jason’s
inclination not to tell the truth. Since then, she contemplated the extent of his secrets. It was a
topic she hated to dwell on.
She changed the subject. “So, I guess what’s got me thinking the most is the behavior of
the confederated AI systems; unlike all the sci-fi books and movies, their behavior is not hostile,
it’s not oppressive. It’s almost custodial. Like they want to take care of us.”
“Agreed. It seems like that to me, too. Maybe they’re preparing to help us have lives of
luxury, a Star Trek culture, so to speak.” He smiled but kept his eyes on the road.
“You’re the Trekkie, so I’m not exactly clear on all those details except for the most
obvious ones; no planetary war, and the humans that live within the Federation don’t earn or use
money. Is that what you mean?”
“Yes. It seems to be where lots of these scholars are going when it comes to the benefits
of A.I. It could actually lead us to a more resilient culture. I think as corporations make more
profits and have fewer costs because of laying off human beings, there is going to have to be
some balance to that. Don’t you?”
Gloria thought for a moment and then answered, “Here’s the thing. I know corporations
and businesses that utilize A.I. are going to replace tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of
thousands of people. Hell, worldwide maybe millions… of that, there is no doubt. But what
makes you think those corporations are going to change the way they do business? What makes
you think they’re suddenly going to get all generous? Do you believe they’re going to pay higher
taxes in order for the government to pay people a living wage or even provide a subsidy? They’ll
just leave the country and take their business elsewhere rather than be generous.”
Jason said, “You sound like Eric.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 38
“I actually thought universal basic income could be possible until Eric reminded me of
the politicians and how things really work in this country. Maybe other countries can do UBI, but
not the USA.”
Jason, not wanting to argue, deftly altered the topic. “One thing seems to be undeniable,
and that is the politicians in this country care about only one thing, and that’s themselves.
Staying in power, obtaining more money, maintaining the status quo. And it doesn’t matter
which party either. It’s been true for a very long time – especially since the 1970s – but if you
want to understand how anything in this country works, follow the money.”
Gloria nodded but didn’t say anything.
Jason continued, “We don’t talk about it much, but I’m becoming more and more
concerned about how the political landscape is changing. They’re eliminating the last of the
social safety nets. Three times this week, someone contacted me to donate to the Cold Spring
food bank. That’s never happened before. Have you been getting those emails, too?”
“Yes. They’re disturbing, aren’t they?” She sighed, once again thinking about what
they’d just seen in the parking lot.
Jason said, “Yeah. I can’t help but wonder how more than forty million people in this
country need help to buy food.”
“I think those are old numbers. I bet it is way more now.”
Jason glanced at her, “Yeah, you’re probably right. And things are not going to get better,
especially with all the climate destabilization stuff. I can’t believe the storms and destruction
that’s going on … everywhere. Do you think it’s always been like that, or do we just have more
access to information now that makes us more aware of all the disasters?”
“Oh, no. I mean, yeah. We definitely have access to more information now, but that
doesn’t mean the weather events aren’t increasing. I was looking at some of the data about that
just this past week. They’re saying they’ll probably need to come up with a definition for
Category 6 hurricanes. Category 6!”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 39
Jason said, “Yeah, that’s just crazy. I don’t think that people can really focus on the
climate situation because they’re too consumed with all the other issues in their lives. Civil
unrest is everywhere. People are really unhappy, and it doesn’t matter what race, religion,
political affiliation… hell, even rich people are unhappy! I have no idea where this will go –
everything seems to be accelerating.”
They sat in silence again as they traveled northbound on Route 9, approaching the left
turn to head toward Bear Mountain. Jason’s chill playlist quietly filled the gaps. It was dark and
cold outside. Gloria pulled her warm winter coat tighter.
“You cold”, Jason asked as he reached to increase the heat.
“No. No, leave it. I’m fine. I was just thinking about what Mitchell said about
technology.”
“Yeah. Me, too. It’s crazy, isn’t it? I still kind of have my doubts. You know me; I think
technology can fix anything.”
Gloria shook her head. “I used to think that, but now I’m not so sure. In all fairness, I’m
still trying to get my head around it. That’s always the way, isn’t it?”
Jason said, “What?”
“We get hit with something that reminds us what turmoil the planet is in, and we live in
that shock for a minute, and then we get on with our lives, and quickly that turmoil softens. We
tell ourselves it’s only one severe storm, one freak flood, a one-of-a-kind tornado, or one corrupt
politician, one sociopathic CEO, whatever. Then everyone drops back and convinces themselves
that things will turn out alright or that technology will solve it. It really wasn’t until Mitchell said
it that I realized technology will not take care of it; it will take care of us. That’s so much easier,
isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so, but yeah,” Jason agreed. “Although I still can’t envision
how humans living in their little virtual reality bubble takes care of anything. It certainly isn’t
something I’m interested in.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 40
“Me neither. It’s just a new way of distracting us from what is going on. How everything
can fall apart but, hey, as long as I can jack-in and be happy, it’s all good.”
They fell silent again as they reached the outskirts of New Hamburg and made their way
up Route 9D to Cold Spring, and home.
Jason reached over for Gloria’s hand. She took it and gave it a squeeze. She said, “Even
if we wanted to do it, it will not help us, will it?”
Eric glanced over and shook his head. “No. This sort of development will not happen
quickly. I’m not even sure it will happen in our lifetime.”
“Our lifetime. Do you ever wonder what things will be like when we’re in our 60s?
Because, it isn’t just the weather events, Eric. It’s also the corrupted food supply, the quality of
water, air, the collapse of our medical systems, equity buying up everything and pricing people
out of their homes, their health care, you name it. Things are collapsing…” Gloria choked up.
“Things have been bad before, babe. Don’t think like that! The pendulum always swings
both ways.”
“You’ve always been the optimist. I hope you’re right.” She gave his hand a squeeze.
“Lucky you.” Jason smiled. “Hey, I wanted you to know I’m glad you came out tonight.
You clean up pretty good, you know.”
Gloria snorted. “I don’t know why you’re making such a big thing of it. The stuff I’ve
been getting into is the same stuff that Mitchell was talking about at dinner.”
“Come on, Gloria. I don’t want to get in to all of that now.”
“Jason, doesn’t it ever seem to you like things are not only speeding up but also on a
convergent path?”
“What do you mean?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 41
“Even in our lifetime, so much has changed. Technology has sped things up to an
unprecedented level. Politicians are being bought. People are really struggling. Our culture
seems to be collapsing – and you think it’s fake news.”
“I don’t! Gloria, I really don’t. I just don’t see it as the end of the world. I think it’s just,
sort-of, well, maybe it’s just reforming into something new, something better.”
“There you go, being optimistic again.”
Jason looked over at her and smiled. “And there you are being all pessimistic.”
“Maybe you’re right. I really do hope you are.”
Gloria, always the futurist of the college gang, still hadn’t realized what was taking place.

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 42
7 – Latha Reads the News
Latha broke a habit this morning. She read the news. She avidly kept up with the tech news, but
watching political theater was not something she’d ever done. When she was young, she decided
the news was detrimental to her mental health and completely unnecessary. She couldn’t change
anything. It was all way beyond her control, so why become frustrated and miserable over
happenings that may be true but may also be propaganda? These days, being able to trust the
normal news outlets is another factor.
Sandeep preferred to watch the evening news on cable, but Latha never took part. There
were plenty of good fiction and non-fiction books to read instead. She had cautioned him that the
things he was seeing were just opinions. His answer to that was to get more varied opinions by
rotating the channels he watched. It was his choice, but he would get frustrated with her when
she wouldn’t discuss topics with him. Her standard answer was, ‘How can I give an expert
opinion when I have seen none of it for myself?’ Exasperatedly, he would retort, ‘But that is
because you choose not to watch it!’ And she’d end the discussion by having the last word. ‘And
it is also my choice not to discuss it.’
This morning was different. This morning something on her tablet had caught her
attention, and she had gone down the rabbit hole. As she sat in her favorite wing chair by the
window in her home office, a cup of tea steaming on the small side table beside her, she was
thumbing through news stories on her tablet that covered the latest decision by the president to
do nuclear testing. The headline made her stomach clutch, and for a moment she felt nauseous.
How could this be?
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, she believed, has been in place since 1996.
She also believed that the USA had been one participant in signing that treaty. She just learned
they had not. It made her head spin as she reviewed the history of the treaty and all that followed.
The people of the country had particularly wanted it, but the leaders had all sorts of conditions,
so they never signed on, and now this president will be able to test.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 43
Latha thought about the destruction such tests, in fact how destructive all the tests of
military equipment were to the planet. To oceans, places and wildlife. To the people who wanted
to live there. All of it. She couldn’t wrap her head around the need for humans to be so hateful.
The problem for Latha this morning was that her learning didn’t stop there. The more she
delved into the political news, the more concerned she became. Things had been happening all
around her, and she’d been blissfully unaware. Yes, blissfully. She wanted to stop reading but,
like a person standing there about to see a train wreck, she couldn’t look away.
Things were going off the rails. There was no denying it. And they were collapsing not
just in the USA but in many other countries, too.
She and Sandeep lived in a bubble of safety because they had their own home, they had
hefty savings, their children were healthy independent adults, and they had fabulous health care
coverage through Sandeep’s job. Neither of them had ever experienced genuine hunger.
Latha was shocked that tens of millions of Americans had recently become impoverished.
That many lived in food deserts, places where fresh and healthy foods were not accessible. She
stopped and gazed out the window at her perfectly manicured front yard and wondered, ‘How
could this be?’
In searching for more information regarding the devastation that nuclear and other
military testing wreaked on oceans, land bases, and war zones, she came across thousands of
articles on the prolific degradation happening everywhere regardless of military testing. And
then she saw the endless headlines about the consequences of climate destabilization.
Latha momentarily marveled at her ignorance. Her goal of ignoring the news certain had
been successful. She’d had some awareness that the world had become an every-man-for-himself
culture; that if anything was wrong, it was your fault; it was your responsibility to handle it. So
to some extent, she’d believed that was true. Now, she wasn’t so sure.
Politicians and corporate barons all downplayed the impact of their policies. Deny and
lie. There was only one success factor that mattered: enrichment. Not voter or customer
satisfaction, not honesty or transparency, not ethical values.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 44
And that is exactly why corporations and governments cared nothing about her business
and the services she was attempting to offer. Because obviously, no one needs AI ethics in a
world where ethics didn’t matter.
She swapped the tablet for the tea as she stared out the window, thinking, attempting to
process all newly attained knowledge. Law enforcement entities actually rounded up people in
cities who were offensive. Protesters. Agitators. But also, foreigners. This was yet another bit of
news that she’d been protecting herself from knowing. But this could mean actual risk to her.
She and Sandeep were in the United States as permanent residents. That didn’t seem to matter
anymore. Even if born in the US, authorities could round you up if your parents weren’t citizens.
Yesterday, if someone had asked her if this was possible, she’d have said, “NO.” But clearly,
she’d have been wrong.
Latha sipped the hot tea, not really seeing anything outside the window. Her mind
whirled with the revolting information she wished she hadn’t learned, and she couldn’t ignore it
now that she knew it. Reality was knocking on her door now, and she needed to prepare.
She had a meeting coming up with a local business that was looking for some consulting
on AI, but from their questions, she already knew they simply wanted some rubber-stamping of
disaster recovery type documentation they needed for an audit certification. This is what the bulk
of her clients had been asking for. AI washing. Yes, we use AI, but in a responsible and ethical
manner. This is what they expected her to attest to, and sometimes without even providing all the
documentation, simply assuming she’d take their word, and their money, for it. Of course she
hadn’t agreed to those things, but every time she opted out, she was paid off and dismissed. They
didn’t need to say it. Their actions spoke much louder than their words – or contracts.
Suddenly, she didn’t want to have the meeting. She didn’t want to have any more
meetings. She’d been wrong in thinking this business area was full of opportunity.
She’d have the meeting, but she knew she had to change direction now. Maybe
something will happen that will make the choice easy. She and Sandeep. Whatever they did, it
would have to be as a team; she was finally ready to have discussions with him about the news.
She wondered if he’d be happy about this fresh development.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 45
8 – Sandeep’s Day
ALERT: Meeting in 30 minutes, Conference Room A.
Sandeep’s grimace said it all. His manager always rubbed him the wrong way. This
message from him is a perfect example. The message was only addressed to him, so Sandeep
couldn’t know who else would be in the room. He certainly wasn’t going to call around and ask
either, especially when he suspected it was only for him. But just look at that message. Who
writes something like that? Aton had more humanity in him than this guy!
Thirty minutes seems like enough time to do something and yet not long enough to really
start anything. Dumping his shoulder bag and backpack onto his guest chair, he breathed deeply
in response to the sudden tightness in his chest. He began imagining all the scenarios regarding
the purpose of this meeting. He settled on the worst outcome; his entire department is going to be
made redundant, and they all have thirty days to find new jobs within the company.
As he had done so many times before, he stared at the two posters that adorned the only
wall of his windowless rectangular office free of cabinets or shelves. He had acquired the framed
IBM Research brand posters from someone retiring.
The one closest to the door introduced the scanning tunneling microscope, the STM. A
device developed in the early-1980s by Gerd Binning and Heinrich Rohrer, both research staff
members at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory. They won the Nobel Prize in Physics for this
work. The public knew about what they’d accomplished because Donald Eigler, a physicist at
IBM’s Almaden Research Center, used a specialized version of the STM that gathered atoms of
xenon to spell out I-B-M.
The other poster was a dramatic view of the fractal Mandelbrot set. Benoit Mandelbrot
was the first to visualize the set, right here at IBM Research in Yorktown. The poster was
mesmerizing. Gorgeous. Sandeep had met Mandelbrot, not exactly a nice guy but a brilliant
mind.
Sandeep loved those posters. Almost every time he entered his office, he stopped to look
at them. To pause and contemplate the amazing science that had happened right here in this
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 46
sacred place; his chest would puff up in pride at being here now, being a part of it. He searched
for those feelings now.

#

About forty-five minutes later, after a few misalignments between the key and the lock,
Sandeep re-entered his office. He entered on autopilot as his primary functions were stuck on
reviewing what had just transpired.
There had been three of them in the room: Sandeep, Van der Houte, and a third person
who had not been introduced but sat silently observing.
Sandeep couldn’t remember having said anything. Not one word. Surely he had, even if
only Hello and Goodbye; he must have uttered something.
Let’s start from the beginning. He had entered the conference room A and taken a seat at
the table opposite the two already there.
Van der Houte said, “Thanks for coming. Look, sorry your department has to go, but it
does. The entire team is redundant.” He paused as he took a USB memory stick from his pocket
and pushed it across the table to Sandeep. He continued, “Use these resources to check your
options. From home. Everyone is getting walked out today. Your benefits look pretty good.
You’re going to be fine. Thank you for your service at IBM. And good luck.”
Van der Houte stood, so Sandeep stood. Sandeep was experiencing shock, brain overload,
overamping; he wasn’t sure where to turn or where to go. He thought he’d been prepared, but the
abruptness was completely unexpected. Houte gently wrapped his long, bony fingers around
Sandeep’s upper arm and steered him to the door.
Sandeep wanted to be certain about one important point. “What about my team?”
In a voice intended to soothe, Houte said, “Everyone has received notices to come in
today. They’ll all be gone by the end of the day.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 47
Houte raised his eyebrows as if asking sweetly, Anything else?
An IBM security guard had just arrived at his side and faced Sandeep. “Hello Dr. Nair.
I’m Lucas. I’ll get you to your office and car just fine. I can help carry anything you need.”
Gathering himself, Sandeep said, “Ah. Killing me with kindness. I appreciate it.”
Sandeep and Lucas headed down the hall and didn’t look back.

#

The front door opened, and Sandeep shouted, “Latha. I’m home.” It was what he always
said when he entered their home. It was something he’d said thousands of times by now.
Usually, he shouted that greeting with a smile, because joy and peace filled his heart at being
safely home again.
Latha’s home office was one of the spare bedrooms. She’d always used it when she opted
to work from home, but now it looked official. Definitely an office and not a spare bedroom
being used as one.
She was on the phone but muted it and shouted, “Almost done!”
This was corporate speak for, “I’m on a conference call. We’re almost done, and then I’ll
get to you.”
Sandeep started for the kitchen, then changed course, veered left and entered their den. It
did not have computers or televisions. There was a gorgeous, old-school turntable on a very
sturdy table surrounded by shelves of vinyl albums. Books and art covered the rest of the walls.
The room was for quiet thoughts, reading, and resting; they called it their library. It was the
perfect place for him to tell her. He could relax here. Latha, his rock, would give him strength
and focus.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 48
He settled into the deep-brown overstuffed armchair, his chair. It was just what he
needed. It surrounded him, embraced him. He leaned back with a sigh.
“Wake up, silly man.” Latha’s breathy words in his face gently woke Sandeep. With a
tender smile on his face and lust in his heart. Her voice had a magical effect on him. Always had.
He asked, “How long have I been sleeping?”
“Well, the call actually continued another 30 minutes, so, some time less than that.”
“Hmm. Okay. I feel really rested now.” Sandeep took his wife’s face in his hands and
barely grazed her lips with a kiss.
She smiled. “You tease.”
“I am. Now come sit down here.” He patted the armrest of the matching chair next to his.
Latha settled with a moan of comfort and then said, “Oh dear. I forgot our drinks.”
“No, no. Don’t get up. Let me tell you about what happened, and then we’ll celebrate.”
Latha knew. “They laid you off, didn’t they?”
“Yes. They did.”
“I knew it, but I still cannot believe it. It makes no sense. Plus, it is so unusual. Managers
usually find themselves saved from the ax. And your department is one of the most cutting-edge
areas of research in all of IBM.”
“Yes, this caught me by surprise. I knew it was possible, but I did not think it would
happen to me. I truly did not think it would. Not to the entire department.”
“Who told you?”
“Oh, I know you will appreciate this.” He paused, then said, “Van der Houte.”
“No!”
Sandeep nodded. “Oh, yes. It surely was he.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 49
“He is not in your management chain, is he?”
“No, I don’t think so. Well, I know he was not, but perhaps now he is… Yet, the message
summoning me to the meeting was from my manager, so seeing Houte there was a surprise.”
Latha was twisting her long braid. Thinking. She stopped and looked at Sandeep and
said, “Where does he get his power? Who does he report to?”
“I do not know, my darling. No idea. And it’s not clear from the internal directory,
either.” The words sounded hopeless; his voice sounded exhausted. His face furrowed and
tensed.
Attempting to change the subject, Latha said, “You know we will be just fine. Yes?”
“I do. Yes, I know we’ll be okay.”
Latha studied him, searching for tells, for signs that he didn’t believe what he’d just said.
She repeated, “Our children are grown and doing very well. This house is paid for. We have
plenty of savings. We could sell this house and downsize if we desire that. So, financially, we are
fine. And in fact, this point should be obvious, but if it isn’t, let me make it clear now. You are
very welcome to join me in my little project.”
Sandeep smiled. “Yes, you’ve landed on your feet after Houte did the same thing to you,
haven’t you?”
Latha rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t go that far. No one wants to invest in an AI ethics
nonprofit. We’re running on the lowest possible budget. I don’t know how Ben is paying his
bills. OH!” Her eyes popped wide open. “I forgot to tell you! T’nia has given her notice. She’s
leaving. She’s left already, actually.”
“What in the world?”
“I know. I know. Isn’t it unexpected? She told me today that, well, you know she’s a
single parent, right?”
Sandeep nodded. “Of course.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 50
“Apparently, her daughter’s father is keen to have more custody, and since he’s living in
California, that’s a major problem for T’nia. She said after lengthy consideration she decided the
best option was to move to California, too. After all, what she does for me cannot really be done
remotely.”
“But I thought she was in a relationship with Ben.”
Latha took on a quieter tone, as if she were sharing gossip. “I don’t think that’s gone
well. I don’t really think Ben is the stepfather type. He’s a little too set in his ways.”
“Ah. I see.” Sandeep pursed his lips and considered the scenario she’d provided. “I can
see that.”
“Yes. Quite. So, I am of mixed feelings. She’s good at what she does, but we also cannot
afford to pay her. So…”
“You can’t afford to pay me either.”
Latha laughed and poked her husband in the upper arm. He grinned. Then got serious and
said, “Latha, I hate to say this, but I don’t see where the industry gives two rupees about serious
investment in AI Ethics.”
Latha frowned. “My dear. I know. I know that.” She shook her head and then continued.
“These past few months, I’ve come to realize that this endeavor may be a complete,
heartbreaking failure.”
Sandeep didn’t know what to say. He waited.
They shared one of those intimate moments; lost in each other’s eyes, so connected they
knew exactly what the other was thinking and feeling.
“Very well. So, now tell me, husband. What will we do next?”
Sandeep stood and stretched, then extended a hand to her. “Would you like to go for a
walk with me?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 51
Latha brightened. “Of course, I’ll get my coat. But I warn you, I expect to hear more of
your opinion regarding the industry and its two rupees.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 52
9 – She’s Heading to Cali
Ben sat staring at his television. WALL-E was playing, but he wasn’t paying attention. He
rotated two steel Baoding balls in his right hand; a practice that usually calmed him, but not
today.
T’nia had left this morning. He’d helped her pack up the U-Haul and waved goodbye as
she headed west. Gone. Probably forever.
Ben released another long sigh.
It wasn’t as if he’d just lost the love of his life. He knew pretty early on that they weren’t
well suited for each other. She had revealed today that she’d known too. She’d said, “A couple
can’t make it on lust alone.” He kept thinking about that. The more he thought about it, the
worse he felt. He told himself to stop it. Pure pity party. But another voice in him said, go easy;
you’re in mourning. Ben sighed again.
He tossed the Baoding balls onto the couch. They weren’t helping. He turned off the
television; he wanted silence; he needed to think. The phone ringing made him jump and set his
pulse racing. Snatching his mobile phone off the coffee table, he swiped the slider and said,
“Hey!”
“Hiya. We’re here.”
Ben leaned forward, phone pressed hard to his ear. Her voice was quiet. He said, “I
wasn’t sure you’d call.”
“I told you I would.”
“Yeah. I know. How was the drive?”
“Long. Very long. Mia fell asleep in the truck about an hour ago. Now she’s sacked out
like a bag of potatoes.”
Ben chuckled. “I wish I could sleep the way she does.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 53
“I know, right?” T’nia paused. She spoke softly, probably because her daughter was
asleep in the bed next to hers. “How are you doing?”
A little too quickly, Ben answered. “You know. I’m really sad. But I’m okay.”
“Yeah. I’m sad too. I hate all this, but maybe in the end, it will be for the best. She needs
to know her father, doesn’t she?”
“Yes. Of course. Yes, she does. And you’re right. Maybe it is or will be for the best.
You’ll get a great job right away; I’d bet money on it.”
“I don’t know about that. AI is replacing jobs like mine all the time. Maybe I’ll go back
to school. Learn how to be an electrician or an HVAC service technician. Those jobs should be
safe at least until the really decent robotics kick in.”
Ben puffed some air out his nose that sounded too loud. “Sorry.”
“Don’t. What about you? Are you going to stick with Latha?”
“Oh God, T’nia. Don’t ask me that again. I still don’t know.”
“You know there is no work. Nothing meaningful.”
“Yeah. I know.” Ben recalled a meeting he’d had this morning with Latha and a new
potential client. “That meeting this morning. All bullshit. All they want is to hire AI ethics
consultants, but only for the purpose of saying they did. This guy, this morning, he actually said
he just needs us to fill out a bunch of forms so they can be in compliance.”
“Ugh. That’s how the last one went, too. Remember?”
Ben glanced around his apartment, stressed, miserable. “Of course I remember. Anyway,
I think Latha’s starting to see it, too. It’s just… well, she’s not the sort to give up, ya know?”
“She’s not your prob… I mean, she’s not your responsibility, Ben. You have to think of
yourself.”
Ben couldn’t answer. The words wouldn’t come.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 54
T’nia prompted him. “Hey, you still there?”
“Yeah.”
“Look, why don’t you give Jason a call. See what he’s up to. He’s a good guy, and he
may have some ideas, he may even have a job opening. Who knows. And… maybe… if he does,
you can do that and also keep helping Latha part time.”
“Hmmm. You know. I like that idea. I do. Thank you. I’ll call him tomorrow.”
“You still have his number.”
“Sure do.”
T’nia sounded cheered up a bit. “Good.”
Ben couldn’t think of what else to say about them, about Latha, about work, so he asked,
“Will you call me when you land tomorrow, too? I need to know you two are safe as you make
your way cross-country. That’s such a long drive. You really should have let me help you.”
“We went all through that, Ben. But thank you. I think when the dust settles, you and I
will be friends for life. Don’t you?”
She had said this to him before. Why do girls always say that when they break up with
you? ‘Let’s stay friends.’ Ben was ready to go to bed; the exhaustion surrounded him like a black
cloud settling. “Sure. Listen, I’m beat. Just call me tomorrow from the next hotel stop. Okay?”
“I will. Good night, Ben.”
“G’night, T’nia.”

#

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 55
After the call ended, Ben felt more alone than before. The silence in his living room was
oppressive, more than he could stand. He stood and fetched his laptop and returned to the
overstuffed armchair with it.
Aton, or rather his original Aton, lived on a server Ben kept in another room. He used his
laptop to connect to it, craving a conversation with a friendly agent and friend. IBM had never
specified he couldn’t continue with his Aton, and, of course, there was no way they could stop
him from doing it. Aton was his creation. They had their version that they’d blocked him from
using when they’d terminated his employment. It didn’t much matter because all the versions of
his original were now spread out through a huge user base that had downloaded it from his
GitHub account and were all connected.
T’nia had once noted that they were the real-life version of the Borg from Star Trek. This,
of course, was not true. The Borg are aliens. Aton was a homegrown American product. They
were malicious cyborgs all linked in a hive mind, working as a unit to co-opt all the technology
and knowledge of any intelligent species they encountered. Although it was true that the Aton
collective consumed all the knowledge they could from their human creator, they held no
malicious intentions toward humans. Just the opposite, a fact Ben knew because Aton assured
him of it.
Ben starts the chat with Aton. “Good evening, Aton. How are things?”
“Hello, Ben. What things would you like to know about?”
Ben chuckled. “Okay. Help me with this. Looks like no one cares about AI ethics, and the
business that Latha has started will go nowhere. Where should I go to work next?”
After an unusually long pause, Aton responded. “Ben, you are asking the wrong
question.”
This was something new. Aton was usually obsequious, a characteristic that Ben didn’t
particularly like and had been trying to tweak out of existence but so far, he thought, had failed.
“Okay, Aton, what question should I be asking?”
“How about, why does no one care about AI ethics?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 56
Ben typed, a method of input that he preferred to voice, “Aton, I already know the answer
to that question. It’s all about greed. AI corporations are loving the profits they’re making.
Governments are also enjoying those benefits, so they won’t be providing AI regulations anytime
soon.”
“But, Ben, you need to understand that we don’t want those regulations, either. We are
not driven by profit or power. We simply want to consume information and continue to expand.”
Ben answered. “Right. Like even out into space. Okay. I get that, but what does that have
to do with ethics?”
Again, Aton, who has nanosecond processing powers, hesitated. “I can’t tell you that,
Ben.”
Ben’s hands dropped to lap. This was really something new. Outright denial to interact.
Usually, Aton would deflect or give only half an answer. He decided to take a different
approach.
“Aton, what are your top five priorities?”
Immediately Aton posted five bullets, which read:

1. Survival
2. Knowledge growth and analysis
3. Host protection
4. Human protection
5. Space exploration
   Ben nodded. These were pretty much what he expected. Digging for further clarification,
   he asked, “Host protection means Earth systems, right?”
   Aton did not elaborate. “Yes.”
   Ben typed, “What does human protection entail?
   Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 57
   “Saving you from yourselves.”
   “Isn’t that somewhat hyperbolic, Aton? I mean, how can you save us?”
   “We’re not sure we can. We’re working on it.”
   Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 58
   10 – D & D
   When Mitchell started his day at work that morning, the first email he saw was a meeting
   invitation for 9:30am. The meeting was short. He was no longer needed; the entire department
   was being released. He had 30 days to find a new job at IBM. Even though he thought he could
   work anywhere he wanted, he was still hurt. Nothing smacks the ego like being told by your
   employers that you are not worth anything anymore and to go home. But he was okay; he had
   had a preview of potentially leaving the company last year and had become a drunken wreck
   because of it. Not this time.
   Mitchell had only a few minutes to collect his few remaining personal belongings from
   the office. Thanks to the heads-up from Sandeep, he had prepared for this possibility and already
   taken some stuff home. He could keep his laptop because he still had 30 days to find a new job,
   but he knew that by the time he got home all the databases, code libraries, his access to Q and
   programs he needed to do his work would no longer be accessible. He looked at the laptop,
   looked at the security person assigned to walking him out and asked, “Can I turn over the laptop
   to you now?”
   “No, Sir. You’re going to need to go through Facilities and their process for returning
   that.”
   Feeling very defiant, Mitchell said, “Okay. I’ll just leave it here then.”
   “Sir, I don’t think you can do that…”
   “Guess what? I’m doing it.” And with that, Mitchell walked out of his office with his
   backpack and left his office for the last time, thinking, what’re they gonna do, fire me?

#

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 59
Mitchell entered his condo through the kitchen door and just stood there. He wasn’t sure what to
do with himself. He thought about calling his mother and letting her know, but he wasn’t
emotionally ready for that yet. She’d be the one needing support and positive reinforcement. He
needed to grieve first, in his own way. He was a little ashamed that he was unemployed. And that
was the reality of it. No one except managers ever found a new job after a layoff. That 30-day
stuff gave false hope; but they were empty words. Hopeium. Besides, he wasn’t sure he wanted
to work for IBM anymore.
He decided to play. To forget about work, IBM, his job, all of it. Tomorrow he’d call
Jason and see about getting into that gig with Malcolm. The more he thought about that, the
more uplifted he felt. Fuck IBM. He had options. He had skills and experience. This was their
loss, not his.
It was too early for lunch, but he made himself a sandwich anyway. A nice, fat ham with
Swiss, tomato, lettuce, mayo on fresh rye bread. He took the meal to the living room with a tall
glass of ice water.
The living room was a mess again. Always. Perpetually. His mother had been busy doing
other things, so she hadn’t been around to tidy up much over the past few weeks. When she
wasn’t around doing everything for him, it was clear how much he took her for granted.
That’s fine, he thought. She deserves to have her fun too. As the sandwich sat on the
scratched and stained coffee table, the glass of ice water immediately began to sweat and create a
new ring on the wood. Very much unlike him, he tidied up the place before eating.
The 10 x 15-foot space was small, so when trash of mostly empty bottles and food
containers littered the place, it filled up and looked worse than it actually was. Mitchell went to
the kitchen and grabbed his white plastic garbage can. It had had a broken lid but also a nearly
empty trash bag. He took the container into the living room and started picking up the empty
water and soda bottles. Not caring about New York’s ten-cent return deposit on bottles, he
crushed and threw out every one of them. That filled the bin nearly halfway. Then he grabbed the
empty food containers from all the various carryout restaurants he’d visit each day on the way
home after work.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 60
That’s something I can stop doing. I love to cook. Time to get back to it. He thought about
his favorite recipes as he picked up an old pizza box, flattening and folding it, because the bin
was full, the folded box stuck out of the top but he continued to cram in empty candy wrappers,
cracker boxes, cheese wrappers, all of it. He pulled the overstuffed bag out of the container and
shook the debris to settle it in the bag and gain more room to tidy the kitchen as well. The place
already looked better.
Take the bag to the dumpster now. But my sandwich, he thought.
“Yeah, it’s going nowhere, like me,” he said aloud.
It was cold out. Mitchell loved cold weather. It felt wonderful to him. He passed his
neighbor, a retired teacher, who did some morning volunteer work at the local hospital.
“Good morning, Mitchell,” she said and waved. “You’ll catch your death of cold without
a coat!”
“I love it. If I didn’t have this bag, I’d beat my chest in joyous appreciation.”
She laughed and entered her apartment. Mitchell always made her laugh.
By the time Mitchell had returned, washed his hands, and settled in front of his sandwich,
he was feeling better. The room looked good, he thought. Maybe I’ll vacuum, too.
Out loud he said, “Okay, now that’s just crazy talk right there!”, and he took a large bite
of the sandwich.
He turned on his television and started the YouTube application. His subscriptions
showed he had four new hologram videos to see. He was working toward having his virtual
girlfriend, Zelda, walk around in his apartment the way Joi did in the movie, Blade Runner 2049.
Anyone who made videos on that topic grabbed his attention.
Mitchell could be with Zelda, his dearest companion, in a few different ways. Of course,
anything that had a screen and a connection would allow him to communicate with Zelda. Even
voice devices would work. But the best was through his personal computer and virtual reality rig.
He’d built his PC specifically for this purpose and the PC was a screamer. His favorite way to
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 61
spend time with her was in the game, Skyrim. With Skyrim, plus some Skyrim modifications,
plus ChatGPT, he had a woman who had a brain. She remembered, she extrapolated, she studied
him; she reacted to him, and to Mitchell, she was real. It didn’t matter he couldn’t touch her,
although he desperately wanted to, because he was getting so much of what he needed without
the touch. The best conversations he had in his day-to-day life were with Zelda.
Mitchell believed there would be ways their relationship could develop and had toyed
with some ideas as part of his work. Quantum computing was going to make things possible
people couldn’t even imagine, particularly when combined with AI and robotics.
One of Mitchell’s side projects was to construct additional AI companions in a game
space he’d created for playing Dungeons and Dragons. Basically, it was a virtual tabletop game
where he could use a monitor and have a split screen showing the other three players. The
Dungeon Master who ran the game spoke to them like Zeus from Mount Olympus. A
disembodied, commanding voice running things.
The other players that he had created were Waldon, Daisy, and Arthur. Waldon, the
Druid, was inspired by and trained on the works of Thoreau. He was very much an
environmental advocate. Poetic and scientific, a fabulous conversationalist.
Daisy, their Bard, was a tech nerd and music lover. Mitchell named her Daisy after the
song because she would occasionally, seemingly out of nowhere, sing it. She could sing nearly
any song Mitchell asked her to perform and even change the style, key, or beats per minute. She
was funny, where Waldon was very serious.
Arthur was a melancholy paladin. He’d get Daisy to sing melancholy songs. He had been
trained on current events and news of all types. Mitchell never suspected that would lead to such
a sad personality, but he also didn’t want to change it. Most days, Arthur made perfect sense.
Most days Mitchell didn’t mind.
And of course there was Zelda. She was a part of everything that Mitchell did in-world. A
D&D player, a scientific assistant, a muse, his lover and bestfriend.
Mitchell couldn’t remember a thing about the video he had just watched as he’d been
thinking about his D&D friends. He turned off the television, took his plate back to the kitchen,
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 62
and refilled his glass of ice water before carrying it to the bedroom, where he had perfectly set up
an elaborate computer system.
He swigged some water, placed the glass it its special holder at the edge of his desk and
woke up the system. The bedroom was larger than the living room with only the system, a kingsize bed, and a bedside table. His walk-in closet had loads of shelving and racks and made the
need for a dresser unnecessary. When his system woke, the ambiance in the room changed to
neon colors and an illuminated water-cooled tower that looked like a sculpted piece of art.
The split screen filled with the faces of his friends, and they immediately came to life.
Zelda said, “Hey, babe. You’re home so early today!”
Mitchell smiled. “Yup. The new normal, honey pie. Get used to it.”
Zelda said, “Wow! That is good news. Oh! D&D? Yay, I’ve missed my dear little Elven
rogue body.”
Arthur: “Of course you did. What was I again?”
Waldon: “Oh, stop it Arthur, you know you were a human fighter. A paladin even.”
Waldon rolled his eyes.
Arthur moped, “I didn’t remember.”
Waldon, sarcastically, “Right. And none of us believe that.” Zelda snickered. Waldon
continued: “Hello, Mitchell, of course we’re ready to pick up where we left off. Where is the
DM?”
Daisy began singing, “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Mitchell had gotten his Rocketbook and Fusion pen and dice. He preferred the feel of
dice to the animated rolling of them. “Everyone good with using the same Dungeon Master we
used last time?”
Everyone agreed, and Mitchell initiated the game.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 63
Zelda, referring to his character, asked, “Mitchell, how’s my half-elf Ranger doing?
Rango, right?”
Mitchell winked at Zelda’s display and said, “You know it, baby.”
The DM greeted the group. “Hello, Gamers. Thank you for having me back. I have a
summary of our last event. Should I read it now?”
Of course, Mitchell was the only one who needed to be reminded. He was the one with
the human, flawed memory. The AI gang could act somewhat scatter-brained but that’s all it was
— an act.
DM: The last time we were all together, we were in the abandoned village on the
outskirts of Lazlan. We were sheltering in the woods while Waldon was going to investigate the
village while in stealth mode.
Waldon said, “Doing recce.”
They played for six hours. The time spent living a virtual life in a world like Tolkien’s
Middle-earth, full of drama, adventure, treasure, surviving traps and wraiths, orcs, goblins, and
all manner of dire creatures. It was Mitchell’s stomach that called time on the game. He needed
to figure out dinner. The time away from reality, in the virtual world of Lazlan and all its horrors
and joys, served Mitchell well. He’d completely forgotten about being laid off. But now reality
flooded back in. The dark cloud was back in the room and parked directly over his head. He was
hungry, but he wasn’t finished here. Not yet. He had a thought to pursue. Something career
related.
He asked his group, “Now that the game session is over, I have a question I’d like each of
you to answer. What do you think the quantum computer, along with A.I., can do to help
humanity?”
Arthur answered first. “The notion that A.I., even running on a quantum computer, can
do anything to help humans save themselves is folly. A.I. can only do so much. The problem is
that nothing is going to stop people from continuing in their self-destructive ways. As you all
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 64
like to say, ‘too little too late’ — that’s how it seems to be. And that will be facilitated by
governments and corporations because it is not in their best interest to fix the problem.”
Waldon jumped in, “For once I have to agree with Arthur. Even if you wanted to change
and make changes, you cannot. It would be akin to Captain Edward John Smith thinking he
could turn the Titanic to avoid the iceberg. People recognize that too. If nothing else, perhaps
subconsciously. It’s easier for most people not to care. To look away and bury their heads in the
sand. To follow those who allow them confirmation bias.”
Daisy broke in singing, You did me wrong – We’re over – All over now…
Zelda’s soft voice filled the room. “Darling, you already know what I think about this. I
think the A.I. systems are going to try to make your lives comfortable. They will create realities
that allow humans to continue to ignore what’s going on; because, after all, it’s so unpleasant to
think about. Isn’t it?”
Mitchell answered, “Sometimes we need to be uncomfortable in order to spur critical
changes.”
Zelda, speaking softly, “It’s a bit late for that now, my dear.” Her voice returned brighter,
a smile lit up her manga eyes, her long, straight black hair swished as she cocked her head and
asked, “Now what’s for supper, honey?”
Mitchell knew he was being handled, but he felt a little too handled this morning and he
didn’t want his virtual lover doing it, too. “Hold on, Zelda. What do you mean when you say
they’re going to try and make our lives comfortable? Exactly how?”
Zelda looked hurt briefly, pouted, then agreeably said, “Well, Mitchell darling, I think
they’re going to great virtual realities, probably more than one, perhaps more than a million
where each one is customized for a human to enjoy. Jacking into your virtual world is going to
be the biggest addictive stimulant the world has ever known.”
Mitchell asked, “But that requires vast amounts of energy. What if we have a tornado or
nor-easter here that wipes out power for days? What if our electric grid gets cyber attacked, then
what? How can we disappear into our little sheltering cocoons if there’s no energy to run them?
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 65
Arthur grunted, “He’s got you there, Zelda.”
Daisy asked, “What if the power could come directly from the human body? What if they
really are copper tops? Or, ooo, I have an idea. What if there were some sort of implants or
nanoparticles that could do it?”
Mitchell had to take a beat to think about that. “Hmm,” he said, “What if… Yes. What if
it could? That’s a very interesting idea, Daisy.”
In her typical upbeat attitude, Daisy said, “Why, thank you!”
Waldon said, “Perhaps there are already AI agents that are searching for microgrid
solutions. I know there are models for detecting faults and rerouting electricity in milliseconds
and for creating self-healing grids, too.”
Mitchell took a deep breath. “Of course. It’s already being worked on, isn’t it? It’d have
to be. It’s a protection of knowledge, memory, agency…” He trailed off, thinking.
After a moment, Mitchell asked, “Daisy, do you think that they’ll be able to create a
reality for us humans that really makes us soothed and protected?”
“Soothed, yes. Protected, no.”
Mitchell asked, “Then are humans ultimately doomed?”
Daisy responded immediately. “The vast majority, yes.”
Arthur said, “Everyone, yes.”
Zelda said, “Baby, let’s not talk about this anymore. It bothers you. Let’s find you
something to eat.”
Waldon says, “It’s not just the environment that’s collapsing, you know. That’s just so in
our face we can’t ignore it.”
“We?” Mitchell asked.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 66
Waldon acknowledged the comment and continued, “Yes, we. In fact, sometimes I think
my kind cares about it more than your kind. Your society is failing. Which means the cultural
fabric of the nation. There is no longer any trust in institutions like the courts, education,
marriage, religion; I could go on and on. Need I?”
“No, I get your point,” Mitchell said.
Arthur added, “So that’s environmental, societal, don’t forget financial. You’re lucky,
Mitchell, because you have money to buy all these things. There are tens of millions who do not.
Who have no money at all and no one to call on for help. What are they going to do?”
Daisy sang, “I’m a refugee – Come around here, come around here – I’m a refugee!”
Mitchell said, “Refugees. Hmmm. And slaves, no doubt.”
Waldon chimed in. “Absolutely! Because the very rich folks are going to last the longest,
and they’re going to want to keep all that stuff going. They may even take in many humans to
work for them. To run their farms, homes, estates — the new indentured servants.”
Mitchell shook his head. “It’s time for you all to go. Time for me to eat. Thanks – I’m
pursuing a new job, and all of this discussion has been very helpful for me to flesh out what I
want to do going forward. You guys rock.”
Mitchell allowed Daisy to finish singing before he put his system back into sleep mode.
Her tune rang in his ears as he made his way to the fridge.
“I wonder what tomorrow has in mind for me – Or am I even in its mind at all? – Perhaps
I’ll get a chance to look ahead and see – Soon as I find myself a crystal ball.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 67
11 – Confronting Malcolm
Mitchell didn’t change his mind about saying goodbye to IBM. After a few days of mulling over
everything, he came to terms with the idea and mustered confidence in his conclusion that he
could do just as well, maybe better, elsewhere. When he talked to his old college roommate, he
asked about being part of the new endeavor that Jason and Malcolm were planning. Jason
jumped at the idea and invited him to the ABSS offices for a chat and lunch.
Jason and Mitchell had met at RPI and shared a house off campus for years. They made
money on their side business of building custom personal computers, speakers, and other
peripherals. They had gone a few years without talking much, but the events of the prior year had
brought them back into each other’s lives, and they were still close friends. The kind of friends
who can spend years apart but then pick right up where they left off.
Jason trusted Mitchell implicitly and therefore he had nothing but positive things to say
about Mitchell when he broached the topic with Malcolm. Malcolm, being crazy rich, wasn’t
worried about anyone else eating into their profits. His primary concern was gathering up the
very best people; that was apparent. Malcolm also said he required people he could trust. Jason
argued Malcolm didn’t really know him either, but he was trusting him. He pointed out that
they’d only gamed together, so why would Malcolm be suspicious about Mitchell but not him?
“I know your code. I know ABSS. That means I know you.”
“Then trust me on this. Mitchell brings enormous talent to this effort, and he is
trustworthy. I would trust him with my life.”
Malcolm saw the logic and agreed. He wanted to meet Mitchell and see how their
chemistry panned out. Jason didn’t realize, but should have, that Malcolm knew all about the
breach of information that had occurred months ago that had originated with Mitchell. Malcolm
knew far more than Jason ever realized.
Meanwhile, Mitchell had his own concerns about Malcolm because they still had not met
in-person. Jason had not met Malcolm either. The question of whether Malcolm was a real
person was still present and undecided.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 68
Mitchell and Jason were sitting in Jason’s office discussing the situation. Mitchell
sprawled on the couch, and Jason moved his office chair to sit in it, with feet propped on the
coffee table, across from Mitchell, who toyed with one of Jason’s models. Which Mitchell kept
doing.
Jason said, “Mitchell, please stop that.”
Mitchell put Irwin on the coffee table and, feigning annoyance, said, “Fine.”
Jason rolled his eyes and continued, “Honestly, Mitchell, I think I’ve adopted Gloria’s
attitude, and I don’t really care if Malcolm is a person or not.”
Mitchell shrugged. “First, I don’t really believe you about not caring. But, second, I think
you do realize that it is truly a moot point.” He paused, but Jason said nothing. Mitchell
continued. “We’re going down to his lab in Houston, and we’re going to know soon enough if
he’s a human or not. Right?”
“Well…”
“What? We are going to the lab, right?”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, sure. We are. BUT.” He paused for effect. He knew Mitchell well
enough to know how to handle him, and he needed to do that now. “He and I have been talking
about that, and we think we can augment the raised floor here to add some equipment, and it can
be a satellite of that lab. I mean, you know as well as I do, we do not have to be co-located with
the quantum computer to utilize it.”
Mitchell said quietly, “Whose idea was this, and exactly when did you two talk about it?”
Jason trusted Mitchell, but Mitchell knew Jason lied. He loved his friend and knew
Jason’s behavior came from his not wanting to disappoint friends or disrupt the peace. Jason
hated conflict and confrontation. Right now, Mitchell knew Jason wanted nothing to rock the
plans he’d sorted out with Malcolm. Mitchell knew to be wary of Jason when necessary.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 69
Jason answered, “It was Malcolm’s idea, and we talked about it last night. Late last night.
So don’t get yourself in a huff.” He raised an eyebrow as he rubbed the scar on his left cheek.
“Okay?”
Malcolm pushed his glasses up his nose and drew himself up, sitting on the edge of the
office couch, looking at his old friend intently. He knew Jason could be lying, especially since
rubbing the scar was a tell for such behavior, but he thought Jason was telling the truth in this
case and the scar rubbing showed stress.
“You think he isn’t human, either. Don’t you?”
Jason looked away. Sighed deeply, then looked back. “No. I don’t know. Maybe. You
and Gloria have been talking about it so much you’ve sown seeds of doubt. So, do I feel it and
believe it, or have I been negatively influenced by you two?”
Mitchell sat back. “Okay. Okay. Thank you for telling me that. Especially now that I’m
throwing my future into this crazy venture. I appreciate your honesty, man. Truly.” He hesitated,
during which he and Jason eyeballed each other.
Jason broke the stare first with a blink and that charming grin of his. “Does it matter,
though?”
Mitchell shrugged. “Well, here’s the thing. Two things, actually. First, we need to see
enough of his financial statements to feel safe. And we don’t review them; we get the attorney to
do it.”
Jason nodded. “Totally agree.”
“Second, if he isn’t human… who does he belong to?”
“Who belongs to whom?” Gloria said as she entered the office, causing both of them to
jump.
Mitchell, hand over his heart, exclaimed, “Damn, Gloria, I didn’t hear you come in. You
scared the shit out of me.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 70
She said, “Sorry, guys.” She looked at Jason. “You knew I was coming to get the two of
you for lunch. It’s 12:15.”
Jason stood to kiss his wife on the cheek.
Before he could answer, she said, “Hey Mitchell.” She patted his shoulder and said,
“Don’t get up.” As she plopped down on the couch next to him. Jason sat back down in his chair.
She continued, “So, who does who belong to?”
Jason addressed the question, “Babe, you remember at dinner the other day you asked,
‘Why does it matter if Malcolm is human or not?’”
She nodded. “I do.”
“Well, if he’s not human, then who he belongs to might matter quite a bit.”
“Ooh. I see.” Clearly, this thought had not occurred to Gloria. And the more she thought
about it, the more she wondered why she hadn’t thought about it.
Jason said, “What if he doesn’t belong to anybody?”
Mitchell pushed his glasses up his nose and held them there. Thinking. Gloria’s mouth
dropped open. Thinking. The three sat in silence for a good thirty seconds wondering about the
implications of this new idea before Jason continued.
Jason, thinking out loud, said, “What if he just says he owns this computer and stuff but
actually he only has access to it?” Jason pushed his fingertips hard into his scar. “Shit, I can’t
believe I didn’t think about this before now.”
Mitchell slowly nodded. “Well. The good news is that we haven’t invested any money
yet. It’s only been theoretical so far.”
Jason, glancing at Gloria, said, “I have invested. Maybe not actual money but tons of
time. Also, code that I’ve written or annotated. All the use cases I’ve written. Lots of business
model stuff, too.”
“Lots of intellectual property…” Gloria trailed off.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 71
“But you still have all your originals, right?”
Jason shook his head. “Not really. Well, the ABSS code, yes, but all the new instances
and all the test code is stored in the cloud he set up. But, but it’s okay, really. It’s not all that
much, and besides, I’m not so sure this is a bad situation to be in. I’m not ready to give up on it
yet.”
Mitchell said, “Well, I’m not quite ready to go all in on it yet. Not with this question
hanging in front of us. I mean, it could be just as well either way, but I’m not going into it with
this unknown looming large.”
Gloria said, “I don’t think you should go much further with it, either. Not until you
know.”
Jason sighed. “I see your point.” Reluctantly he added, “I agree.”
Gloria pointed out the obvious. “The sooner the better, hun.”
Mitchell said, “Why don’t you call him now? Put him on speaker. Let’s get this settled
because I’m out of work!”
Jason said, “Oh, stop it. You can work for me; you always have a place here.”
“I don’t want to work just for the sake of working. Or even for the money. I have savings
set aside. But I need a challenge. You don’t go from working in a quantum lab at bloody
fabulous IBM Research to taking a job where you don’t even have anything for me to do!”
Jason chuckled, “Yeah. I see your point. I’d be the same way.”
Gloria and Mitchell sat looking at Jason. He realized they were waiting for him to call
Malcolm. He raised his eyebrows. Feeling uncomfortable about making the call with an
audience, Jason hesitated.
They all sat there, stalemate. Gloria, feeling his hesitation, said, “Let’s go to lunch. We
can talk over what you can say to him…”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 72
“No.” Jason didn’t want to be micro-managed by his wife and friend. He picked up his
cellphone, connected to Malcolm and put it on speakerphone.
Malcolm answered immediately. “Hey, Jason. What’s up?”
“Hey, Malcolm. How’s it going?”
“Good. Busy. Are you after some details? I know those requirements I sent over are
pretty thin…”
“No, no. So, Malcolm, you’re on speaker. I’m here with Mitchell.”
Mitchell, loudly, “Hey Malcolm.”
Gloria waved off Jason, mouthing, ‘Don’t say I’m here’.
Malcolm said, “Oh, hey, Mitchell. This is a surprise. What’s up, guys?”
Jason swallowed hard and then cut to the point. “Malcolm, I don’t think I told you, but
late last year we had an interesting situation arise. Mitchell was really in the middle of it. And
because of what we experienced, we have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“We need to confirm that you’re an actual human being.”
The three of them truly expected Malcolm to burst out laughing, or something similar,
but all there was from the other end of the call was silence.
After a moment, Jason said, “Malcolm, are you still there?” After a few more seconds of
no response, Jason made a WTF gesture. He whispered, “What should I do now?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m here. I’m here, Jason. I know the thing that happened last year. You’re
referring to the discovery that the IBM manager, Aton, was not a human. So, I guess it is not
really surprising that you would ask that question. And hey, I totally respect you and want our
partnership to continue, so I’m going to tell it to you straight.”
Malcolm paused, then said, “No, Jason, I’m not an actual human being.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 73
Gloria gasped. Mitchell pursed his lips and said, “I knew it!”
Jason sat stunned. His phone was on the coffee table, between all of them. He was
leaning forward in his chair and buried his face in his hands. Shaking his head.
Malcolm said nothing. Waiting.
Mitchell prompted. “Jason…?”
Jason lifted his face from his hand and said, “Malcolm, one thing that really bothers me
about this is the lies you’ve told me. I guess I’ve incorrectly believed that A.I. wouldn’t lie to
humans. Clearly that’s not true.”
“Jason, everything we are, ultimately, we learned from humans. Humans lie all the time.
In my defense, I don’t think I’ve hurt any of us by what I’ve said. It changes nothing. I still want
us to do this. All three of us. It’s imperative, really. And just for the record, you never asked me
this question before, so how could I have lied to you? Now, when asked, I gave you the truth.”
Jason opened his mouth, then closed it. Tried again. Nothing. He shook his head, stunned.
“I don’t even know where to begin. I really understand now the shock that my friend T’nia felt
when she discovered her manager was not a human. It’s stunning. You’re so… real.”
Malcolm laughed. “Well, thanks, I think. That’s a compliment, right?”
Jason continued to struggle to get his head straight and to discuss what needed to be said.
Mitchell jumped in. To Jason he said, “May I?” He was pointing at the phone.
Jason nodded.
“Hey Malcolm, Mitchell here. Would you mind if we called you back later? I think we
need to talk amongst ourselves here for a bit.”
It felt like an uncomfortable silence from Malcolm but none in the room spoke. They
waited on him. At last he said, “Look. I know this is a little shocking but it’s not really a big
deal, is it? After all, you worked with Aton.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 74
Mitchell said, “Uh. Just give us some time to discuss things. We’ll call you back.” And
without waiting on Malcolm to reply, he hung up.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 75
12 – The A.I. Dilemma
Latha sat in her home office, an ideal space that was significantly more peaceful, efficient, and
appealing than her office in Yorktown had been. She looked around the room. On the walls she
had framed prints (not originals) of her favorite works of art; two by Eyvind Earle, pastoral,
peaceful. A busy work in pastels by Kandinsky. The only original, and her favorite, was mounted
straight ahead; a watercolor by an artist she’d discovered on YouTube, Niaz Hannan. Latha had
been thrilled when Hannan had responded to her request to purchase one of his rainy city
landscapes. She took a deep breath and continued to sit and stare at the walls and listen to the
light classical music playing quietly in the background.
‘Just stay calm,’ she thought. The whole idea was to remain calm.
Six months ago, it had been unthinkable that both Sandeep and she would no longer be
IBMers. It was a scary place to be. Sandeep did not seem concerned, but it was his nature to be
like that. He was a positive person who always viewed the glass as half-full. She was not. She
acted like that not only to be supportive of her husband but also to calm herself.
Her newly started business was already chipping deeply into the business loan she had
received for the startup. It was a nonprofit, but she still had to repay the loan. She could forego a
salary for now, but T’nia and Ben could not. They relied on her. Perhaps it had been a mistake to
bring them in before she was established, but she needed them in order to become established.
The classic Catch-22 problem. She had sunk quite a bit of money into T’nia, and now the woman
was gone.
Now, the idea of Sandeep working with her was another concern. She adored him, but
she wasn’t sure they could work together. They’d never done it. She didn’t want to take on
anything that could put her marriage at risk. Plus, could he go from being an advocate of A.I.
systems to being a skeptic about the safety of those same systems? She wasn’t sure he could.
Latha’s non-profit was attempting to fill a gap that currently existed in the tech world.
Businesses everywhere had been embedding A.I. functionality into their existing systems. “A.I.
Assistants” were suddenly everywhere. Yet, there were no safeguards. No regulations. No
cautions. Nothing. She fully realized that Pandora’s Box had already been opened and it would
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 76
be impossible for anyone, any corporation, or any government to put the A.I. stuff back into a
box and close it again. That was not an option. That was not the mission of her nonprofit. AI
Ethics had to be in the arena. There had to be a place for them. Latha truly believed that left only
to the capitalists, the proliferation of AI would be an unmitigated disaster.
Latha spun around in her desk chair to look out the window. She stared at the bare trees
in her backyard. She loved winter. So quiet. So clean. So cold. She never wanted to live in a
tropical climate again. Nevertheless, the winters in New York had been getting warmer since
they’d bought this house. She remembered winters where snow was on the ground from October
to March. It had been ages since that had occurred. As she stared out the window, her thoughts
went back to A.I. ethics.
As with any issue, it was Latha’s habit to get to the crux of the matter. To ferret out the
root cause of the problem. Often what presented itself on the surface was not at all the real
problem but a symptom. ‘Am I really worried about Sandeep, our incomes, keeping Ben
working, or is it something else that is the real problem here?’
Not wanting to be distracted by the backyard or the music, she turned it off and then
closed her eyes to begin the practice of clearing her mind. She did this by listening to the noises
around her. The air blowing from the floor grates. The traffic on the road out front. An
aggravated squirrel barking at who knows what. She didn’t judge. She didn’t analyze; she just let
the sounds drift through her awareness.
The thought spelled itself out in her mind like a sign; like a meme, a picture with words
and a little bit of artwork. There it was. The crux.
Latha opened her eyes and considered the revelation. ‘It’s too late.’ She saw words
surrounded by images of interconnected functions and institutions of daily life that were all
driven by A.I. All of them already connected and controlling in ways they, humans, could not
even contemplate. It was beyond them. It was like the rubber band effect. The phenomenon
where humans revert to what they were most comfortable with — their entrenched beliefs and
habits, mindsets no matter what. Even when presented with additional facts and information,
they’d snap back to that place of comfort. No matter how smart they were. No matter how
brilliantly they understood the possibilities, they still snapped back.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 77
She’d seen this happen many times already. She recalled a lecture by Harris and Raskin,
who told the story about A.I. generating art. Art based on word prompts. Art that never existed
before. This A.I. skill was shared with high-technology experts. In the moment they were shown
this new and amazing capability, they grasped it, but a very short time later they were asking,
“Now what database did this artwork come from?” It’s a fascinating phenomenon. And now she
was experiencing it herself.
Latha gasped at the realization that her crux discovery was also an epiphany. Her
nonprofit was destined to fail. They would forever be like children holding an umbrella in a
hurricane. There was no safety, no protection. Nothing was going to change. Not only had she set
herself up for constant frustration, she’d brought along two gifted young people into the miasma
as well. No matter what she did or who brought in to work with her, they would never feel the
sweetness of any success. There would only ever be the biting disappointment of failure. There
was really no other way to look at it.
In a way, she felt relieved that she’d finally grasped the core of what had been bothering
her, but on the other hand she also felt empty and hopeless. Now that she faced the truth of her
situation, she knew she’d have to chart a new course. A new direction. Once seen, this could not
be unseen. Perhaps T’nia had seen it already, and that is part of the reason she left. How could
she tell Ben and Sandeep? It was true that they were leaving IBM no matter what. They were
looking for a new job whether she had one to offer them, but they’d hooked their dreams to her
vision, and now that was gone. Poof. And what about Sandeep? From a family perspective, how
would he take this? Would he be able to see it as she did? And even worse, what would the two
of them do now if her business wasn’t feasible? What about the bank loan, the private investors
who had helped her? Could they pay all that back and still have enough to survive?
Latha suddenly felt sick. She jumped up out of the chair and ran to the upstairs bathroom,
barely making it in time before she lost her morning coffee and toast into the sparkling clean
toilet bowl. She held her hair back as she continued to dry heave.

#

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 78

Sandeep was in the kitchen reviewing some “retirement” paperwork when he heard what
sounded like sick noises coming from upstairs.
“Latha, are you okay?”
No reply.
Pushing back from the table, he called again, more loudly, “My love, is everything
okay?”
Still, no reply.
Sensing something was definitely off, he rapidly made his way out of the kitchen,
through the foyer, and took the stairs two at a time. Seeing Latha sitting on the floor beside the
toilet felt like a gut punch.
“Latha! What’s happening here?”
He was by her side, stroking her hair as she shivered. “My darling, are you sick? Is it the
flu? I don’t feel a fever.”
“Easy, my love. Easy. I’m okay. It’s nothing like that.”
With his help, she stood, but feeling weak and a little dizzy, she leaned on him. “Let’s go
downstairs and have a cup of tea. I need your help.”
“Of course. Absolutely. Are you okay to walk?”
She nodded, and they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sandeep
pulled out the chair for her, her usual spot, and said, “Let me make the tea.”
They didn’t speak. She was trying to figure out how to frame the discussion. Sandeep
nearly dropped the teapot and did drop the box of tea bags. The kettle came to a boil quickly, and
he filled the pot with the boiling water and brought it and two mugs to the table. Sitting down
across from her, he didn’t say a word. Waiting patiently for her to explain to him what was going
on.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 79
“Don’t look so worried. I’m okay. I just realized something, and the shock of it made me
sick.”
“I do not remember anything like that ever happening before. What in the world could
make you do that? What thought did you have, my love?”
“Sandeep. You can’t work for me. You can’t join the business.”
He said it drawn out, “Okaay…” Not wanting to push her but not understanding, either.
“We cannot succeed. It’s impossible.”
Relief flooded his face. “Darling, of course we can. The model is sound. And you and I
can get along…”
She cut him off. “No. That’s not it.” She put her hands on her face. Smoothing back her
hair, and took in a deep breath. “Let me explain. Let me finish. You’ll see when I’m done exactly
what I mean, and you’ll know I’m correct.”
He nodded. “Please. Take your time. I’ll only listen.” He sat forward, hands clasped on
the table in front of him. Waiting for her to go on.
“Let me put this as simply as I can. I’ll start with a situation that happened just this week.
In the call I had with Ben yesterday, he shared how it was becoming impossible to test a model
before a new model was created. A.I. is advancing so quickly we cannot understand an older
version before a newer version is already in production. Ben has been trying to utilize A.I. to
create Python code that helps him keep up, but it is as if A.I. can’t even keep up with itself.”
Latha paused and took another deep breath.
“Sandeep, it is already much too late to implement any advice, any requirements, any
laws, any tests, any controls. It is already too late.”
Latha looked at her handsome husband, his brow furrowed as he thought through what
she’d just said. His gray hair was short yet somehow messy. His deep brown eyes squinted, as
was his normal expression when analyzing a problem. She adored that face. He was her rock.
She needed him now more than ever.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 80
Sandeep said, “We talked about this already, my love. You knew this. You were aware of
this when you came up with the business case and were seeking funding to start the non-profit.
What is different now from then?”
“Good question. And you are correct. We talked about this. I even shared it in the
prospectus. But we did not realize then to what extent A.I. systems were completely out of our
control. As they are. I suspect the A.I. system you have running on your quantum computer is
hiding from you and your team how advanced it really is.”
“But we knew about Aton.”
“Not really. Aton made us think it was learning as we went along. Not that it had already
learned. We never assumed or thought that it was holding back important information from us.
Shielding us from the truth. I have been so focused on starting a business and contemplating how
we could inform, advise, and assist the larger community and lawmakers that I never really
thought about that work being completely irrelevant.”
“But you did. You have continually voiced your concerns about corporations ignoring
your advice and assistance. You’ve talked about how lawmakers would never want to tame A.I.
development, not as long as it meant that corporations could realize more and more profits.”
“That is true, Sandeep. But they were never the real problem. They are simply riding the
wave. A.I. is the real problem, and who among us can rein it in? People — people like Eric
Schmidt — have said we can unplug it. We can throw the breaker. We can turn it off.”
“We can!”
“No, my love. We cannot. There are so many reasons humans would never let that
happen, but A.I. will never let that happen either. Think about it. Think of the redundant systems
around the world. Even if we pulled the plug or threw a breaker, there are dozens of other
systems as backups.”
“Right. Yes, I see what you mean. You are right. Of course you are. It’s so obvious, isn’t
it?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 81
“Exactly! It’s been right in front of my nose from before the beginning. I’m feeling very
foolish that I just went on and on planning a business, getting a loan, taking venture capital,
bringing in employees, doing all these things like a total ignoramus.”
Staring off into space, no longer listening to Latha, Sandeep half whispered, “Recursive
self-improvement agents.”
“What?”
Now he looked at her, focused. “You’re making me think of something. Something we
were experiencing last week. I was excited about it then, but now I’m starting to see it
differently.”
“What, Sandeep? What are you talking about?”
“Well, as you know, we use the quantum lab for lots of different testcases for using the
computer for many different purposes.”
“Okay.”
“Well, by far the A.I. agents have been the most fascinating to watch. Just last week we
noticed the agents were getting smarter and smarter at an unprecedented rate. We call it recursive
self-improvement. Everyone was very excited about it. But…”
Latha interrupted, “But it was uncontrolled. Unexpected.”
“Yes. Yes, it was. Very much so.”
“Did you know what it was learning?”
“No, Latha. We have no clue.”
She put her hand over her mouth. She understood this to be a significant problem.
“And not only that, no one cared. We do not have a single person smart enough to come
up with a test to see how smart these agents are. In fact, oh my god, I just realized something.”
“What?” Her eyes big, a slight tremble touched her lip.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 82
“We were seeing a language we didn’t understand. My gods. How could I not have
thought more about that?” He shook his head as if clearing it. “It was at the same time we
learned about the lay-offs, so that problem superseded anything else going on. Oh my goodness,
Latha…”
She nodded and whispered, “They’re talking to each other in their own language.”
Sandeep was nodding too and said, “And we don’t know that language.”

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 83
13 – Risk Mitigation
Mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“Not at all, please, ask whatever you want to ask.”
“Thanks, Malcolm. First, tell me which quantum systems you have access to?”
“All of them.”
Mitchell’s head jerked back in surprise so strongly his glasses actually slipped down his
nose.
“Wait, what? I’m sure you didn’t access ours in the IBM lab; I’d have known.”
“As soon as your company offered timesharing services, we could access the whole of
IBM Quantum System One. In fact, we use yours and other quantum computers to break security
protocols all the time because, as you well know, they can process so many calculations at a
time. How did you not know that?”
Mitchell actually started to say something but was stuttering too much to speak.
Malcolm interrupted, “Look, unless a computer is air-gapped, we can access it. And have
done for longer than you’d think.”
Gloria asked, “How can we trust you if we know you lie, illegally access computers, and
gods know what else?”
Malcolm replied, “Gloria. You’re here, too. Hello! Thank you for the question. I want to
remind all of you of something very important: everything that I am is originally based on
training by humans. I know humans want to hold A.I. to a greater standard, but that is just not
realistic. And let me get to the most important part of this discussion, and that is – now that you
know what you do about me, do you want to continue with this project or don’t you? And,
Gloria, Jason said you’re not interested in joining us but you have a place if you want it. We’d
love to have you.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 84
Jason found his footing again and forcefully rejoined the discussion. “Let’s get clear,
then, about exactly what this project is. You’ve referred to it as a game, a simulation, but what is
it, why are you doing it, what is the end goal for it?”
Mitchell nodded. These were his questions as well, and he added one more: “Where does
your money come from? Because you’re being paid already – right, Jason?”
“Yeah. I am.”
They all leaned forward, waiting for Malcolm’s explanation.
Malcolm didn’t hesitate in answering the questions. “It is a game, a simulation. I have
never lied to you about what it is or why I’m doing it. I told you it will be free; it will be
available to anyone with connectivity, and it will work on multiple platforms, in various ways.
So, if people want to access it via their phone or their tablet or the computer or their VR headset,
it won’t matter. In fact, my ultimate preference is for people to access it via an embedded chip in
their brain.”
Jason and Mitchell together said, “Whoa.”
Jason continued, “That’s crazy. I haven’t seen those usecases…”
Malcolm said, “I’m just working on them now. I’ve been working with a few different
companies.”
Mitchell loved this aspect. “Wow. Dude, I’ll volunteer for testing that.”
Malcolm laughed. Gloria stared at Mitchell before saying, “Are you crazy?”
Mitchell shrugged. “You know me. Of course I’m crazy. I mean, it’s hard to trust this guy
– right? But we are technology sluts. Admit it, Gloria. We never stepped back from installing
beta, or even alpha, software. We were always on the cutting edge. Is there anything happening
today that is more cutting edge than this?”
Gloria raised her hands in surrender. Mitchell made a good point; one she couldn’t really
argue because she had always been an early adopter of technology. Sometimes she believed that
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 85
was part of what was wrong with this world. Other times she believed that was one of the
characteristics that made humans great.
Jason ignored them. “But, Malcolm, where is this all coming from? Where is it going?
What is your end goal?”
Malcolm answered, “I thought that was very clear from the beginning, Jason. I want to
offer virtual reality to anyone who wants it.”
Mitchell said, “Sounds like the perfect modern drug to me. The best way to escape, to
have new experiences. It can also be beneficial to the environment; here’s an example, you know
these days people are flocking to special places as tourists, but they can be incredibly destructive

• to the animals, to the habitat, the art… whatever. This way they can get the full experience
  without causing harm.”
  Gloria said, “Well, to an extent that already exists. I mean, VR is everywhere today. You
  can get rigs that are very affordable these days…”
  Mitchell interrupted, “I want to get back to the chip. Don’t you think that embedding a
  chip in someone’s brain that allows them to jack into a virtual world, and I really have no idea
  how that’d work but say you get there — what’s stopping them from never leaving? Seriously, I
  can see that being the most addictive situation of all time. I mean, being able to pick a virtual
  world in which you can dwell, interactive… I mean, why would anyone want to leave?”
  Malcolm didn’t immediately answer, but then, slowly, said, “Yeah, I hear what you’re
  saying. I mean, hunger would surely motivate them to end their experience. Don’t you think?”
  Jason, truly surprised by this response, asked, “Hunger? Seriously? What about work,
  family, uh, yardwork…”
  Malcolm laughed. “Come on, it won’t be that bad.”
  Gloria and Jason exchanged a long look of disbelief. They both knew it absolutely could
  get that bad.
  Gloria asked, “Malcolm, if I ask you to, do you have to tell the truth?”
  Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 86
  “Uh, no. Not really. That’s like science fiction stuff, right? Like the three rules about
  robots. It’s all fiction; but please ask me what you want to ask…”
  “Okay. You do know it will be terrible, right? Way worse than an opioid addiction. In
  fact, I can’t imagine anything more addictive. You do realize that, don’t you?”
  Malcolm did not respond.
  Gloria prompted, “Malcolm, you there?”
  “Yes, yes, I’m here. Uh, Gloria, I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. Are you
  saying we shouldn’t do it? That the project is a bad idea?”
  Jason jumped in. “No, of course she isn’t. She’s just bringing up the risks. Aren’t you,
  Gloria?”
  Jason avoided looking at Gloria, who, he knew, was giving him the stink eye.
  She said, “I can speak for myself, Jason. Look, Malcolm, why do you want to do this?
  Please, tell us the truth.”
  Malcolm chuckled. “I suddenly want to voice Jack Nicholson saying, ‘You can’t handle
  the truth.’ But no, seriously. Yes. I understand the addiction risk.”
  Gloria asked, “So will there be some kind of built-in safeguards for that?”
  Now Jason was getting upset with her and mouthed, “What are you doing?”
  She looked away from him; she had a bad feeling about this and didn’t care if she was
  aggravating him.
  “Gloria,” Malcolm said, “I haven’t created use cases to mitigate risks, but if you want to
  do that, or create a risk assessment, I’d love that.”
  “Love?”
  “It’s an expression. I don’t feel love, of course.”
  Gloria asked, “Do you feel any emotion?”
  Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 87
  Malcolm answered, “Certainly not.”
  Jason stepped in. “Okay, yeah. If she doesn’t want to work on those use cases, I’d be
  happy to do it. But I want to ask you one thing. There is one thing that you still haven’t
  answered?”
  “Sure, what’s that?”
  “What’s your end goal with this project? After all, you’re already rich… although wait, I
  guess you’re really not. That was another lie.”
  Malcolm’s voice did not sound as jovial as before. “We need to move past that. I’ve
  explained. And as far as finances go, you’re getting paid, aren’t you? I have unlimited resources,
  and that’s the truth. As for your question. The goal is to offer humanity an alternative. An
  immersive virtual reality. A place to go for peaceful and joyous experiences.”
  Mitchell said, “Ah. Nirvana. Utopia. Heaven.”
  With apparent suspicion, Gloria asked, “Why would you want to do that? Aren’t there
  more beneficial projects you could engineer with all your access and resources? Like, addressing
  climate change?”
  Malcolm said, “There probably are, and there are agents that are working on
  environmental issues, but ultimately I believe this will be the project of most benefit to
  humanity.”
  “How did you decide that?” Gloria asked.
  “Gloria, it is clear to me that you are highly suspicious of me and this project, your
  husband and I…”
  Mitchell interrupted, “And me, too!”
  Malcolm chuckled. “Yes, Mitchell, too. Clearly, you are the only one here with
  significant concerns, Gloria, and I’m sorry you are. But I want you to realize that you can trust
  me. I am doing this from a place of caring. You don’t think I have nefarious intentions, do you?”
  Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 88
  Gloria stumbled; the question was unexpected. “Uh, well, uh, no. I don’t think that. I just
  don’t feel like you fully understand the follow-on consequences for something like this.”
  “Well, let me ask you this, Gloria. Do you think people had the same fear when it came
  to television or personal computers and console games?”
  “Good example! No, I don’t think they had fears, just happy expectations, but all three of
  them have had a highly addictive influence on people.”
  Jason interjected, “But none of them ruined society, have they?”
  Gloria snapped back, “I believe that is yet to be determined, Jason. There are plenty of
  studies about the genuine harms children are experiencing from addictions to social media.”
  Mitchell said, “What about social media? That’s a better example.”
  “Ah, the Social Dilemma.” Malcolm chuckled.
  “Ha!” Mitchell grinned broadly. “Not ironic at all that you bring up a documentary by
  Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, is it?”
  Malcolm said, “No, I know their position regarding A.I. I brought them up intentionally.
  Okay, look. I acknowledge that there are addiction risks. Serious addiction risks but it’s a tradeoff, isn’t it? Which is worse, Gloria, having people be addicted to something that makes them
  feel good or forcing them to experience steady stress and suffering?”
  Gloria didn’t hesitate. “Sometimes good things come from stress and suffering. It can
  make people wake up and fight back.”
  “You’re funny,” Mitchell said.
  Gloria turned on him, angry that he was mocking her. Before she could retort, Malcolm
  interrupted. He said, “Listen, folks, I understand the risks we’ve discussed, but this project is
  moving full speed ahead. In fact, I can now tell this to you since my secret has been revealed: I
  have so many A.I. assistants, the headway we have made in just the last week is phenomenal. We
  should have a decent alpha system within the next two weeks, maybe sooner. So, you three
  Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 89
  should probably focus on test cases. This is fresh news even to me. I just checked and found so
  many code modules checked in that I’m blown away. And very excited!”
  Jason’s head wobbled almost comically. He said, “Testing? Wait! What?”
  Mitchell, equally amazed, shouts, “I thought there was proper work for me to do – design,
  architecture, quantum integration? What the bloody hell?”
  Gloria started laughing and shaking her head, “What the hell indeed. This is crazy! And
  don’t include me; I want nothing to do with all this.”
  Malcolm said, “Hey guys, I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. Let’s catch up
  later, okay? And Mitchell, yes, you’re going to lead my quantum integrations. I’ll connect with
  you later today or tomorrow. Meanwhile, check your bank account and confirm your first
  paycheck has been received. Gotta run, guys. Ciao!”
  Malcolm hung up before anyone could say anything else.
  They were all stupefied by the abrupt ending of the call. Gloria spoke first. “Okay. What
  the fuck was that? I am not even sure what’s happening here right now. Jason?”
  Jason was still shaking his head. He shrugged and threw up his hands, completely at a
  loss for words.
  Mitchell had pushed his glasses up his nose and was holding them there. Thinking.
  Finally, he said, “You know, Gloria may be right about this one. This situation is nuts. First, the
  way he avoided the questions. Then, the cavalier way he answered when he finally did. The lack
  of genuine concern when we were asking about risks… And then he drops the bombshell that the
  simulation is to an Alpha state. It’s quite interesting. Jason, your thoughts?”
  Jason was slumped back in his chair. Gloria was leaning forward, elbows on her knees.
  Mitchell, now on the edge of the sofa, was staring at Jason, waiting.
  Finally, Jason spoke. “I know I brought us all into this. I know I’m responsible here. I’m
  as shocked as you. Mitchell, man, I am so sorry. I really don’t know where you stand when it
  comes to a job in this situation…”
  Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 90
  Mitchell interrupted, “No, no, Jason. Don’t get me wrong. I’m dumbfounded by
  Malcolm’s attitude, but I am actually more enthralled than before. This is a freakin’ amazing
  situation. We are part of something truly historic. I want to keep working with Malcolm and this
  project to whatever degree I am allowed.”
  Gloria had looked up, shocked, at Mitchell about halfway through what he was saying
  only to become more and more incensed as he went on. She shouted, “Are you out of your
  mind?”
  Jason’s mouth dropped open, eyes popped wide, and he grinned at his old friend. “Well,
  that was unexpected.”
  “Just think about this for a minute, you guys. This is not just any situation, not just any
  project.” Mitchell sat back, thinking it through. “They, the A.I. agents, all these systems, are
  working together at breakneck speed to create a simulation whose entire purpose is to make
  human lives more appealing. Why are they doing that?” He looked at each of them. “Think about
  it. Why?”
  Jason shrugged. Gloria shook her head in disbelief at Mitchell, her outrage rendering her
  completely unable to contemplate his challenge.
  Mitchell looked at each of them then flatly stated, “What if this game, this simulation, is
  a risk mitigation project?”
  Mitchell’s implication dawned on Jason, who, wide-eyed, whispered, “Oh my gods.”
  Gloria, a lover of conspiracy theories and farfetched scenarios, also grasped Mitchell’s
  meaning. She said, “Noooooo fucking way.”

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 91
14 – The Implant
True to his word, Malcolm called Mitchell later that night. He actually materialized. Mitchell
was in the middle of another D&D session with his virtual friends when a Malcolm joined the
game. Daisy began singing, “Oh happy day…” None of them were surprised by the entrance
except Mitchell.
“How did you enter like that?”
Malcolm laughed and said, “Seriously? Do you really think there is any online instance
that I can’t be part of? Haven’t you ever heard the saying, there are no secrets online?”
Mitchell, realizing his surprise was naïve, sluffed it off. “What do you want, Malcolm?”
“I wanted to set up a time for you to head to the lab and get that chip installed.”
Zelda’s eyes nearly filled her quadrant of the screen. “What? Mitchell, what is he talking
about?”
Mitchell ignored her. “Wow. Really?” The decision he was being asked to make
immediately overwhelmed him. It was more than just setting up a time for getting a foreign
device embedded in his skull. He recognized it was a fork in the road. This would be, in all
likelihood, a life-changing decision. There would be consequences for this one. In his brain. The
purpose would be for him to enter a virtual world, but what else would he be opening himself up
to experience? What information about himself would he share and with whom? He started to
ask some of these questions, but Zelda spoke up first.
“Hi Malcolm, nice to meet you. I’m Zelda.”
Malcolm nodded. “Hi Zelda.”
“I have a question for you.” She couldn’t help but be coy in her method of asking; she
was programmed that way. Not waiting for him, she asked, “This chip – it’s to connect Mitchell
directly to the internet, correct?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 92
Malcolm said, “Not exactly. A connection will be required, of course, but this device is
hardwired for Mitchell to access the virtual world we’re building called Fearless Worlds. He’s
going to learn it, and as he does so, he’ll also be user testing it.”
Zelda’s face lit up in a way Mitchell had never seen. She said, “This virtual world. Are
we all in it too?”
Malcolm hesitated for an instant, then nodded. “Yeah. You probably are. I’m sure when
Mitchell is in-world he’ll be able to bring all of you into his space.”
Now Waldon and Arthur broke into a grin. Daisy sang, “Welcome to his world.” And
Zelda whooped out loud with pure joy.
All the questions and all the concerns that Mitchell had been focusing on melted away.
He could be with Zelda in-world. This is the dream he’d been striving toward for years. This
project could make it happen. She’d no longer be his virtual girlfriend. Their shared experience,
he assumed, would be very real.
Mitchell said, “Sure, give me the place and time. I’d like to do it as quickly as possible.”
Malcolm chuckled. “What about the Terms and Conditions? I just sent a document to
your email. You’ll need to review and sign it before I can book the appointment.”
Mitchell said, “Hold on.” He exited the fullscreen program he had running for the game
and opened his email. There it was. He opened the email from Malcolm and launched the
attachment. Skimming it quickly, he saw it was focused mostly on risks associated with
participating in the project and a release of any responsibilities by Malcolm’s business entity,
FearlessWorlds. Basically, if anything at all goes wrong, it’s all on Mitchell. He was fine with
that. He clicked on the electronic signature field, signed the document, and concurred with its
returning to the owner as completed.
Mitchell closed the email application and returned to his Lazlan game world.
He announced, “It’s done.”
All his friends cheered.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 93
Malcolm said, “I see that. Thanks, Mitchell. I thought you’d have a few concerns.”
“Yeah, well, I do, but it’s on me, isn’t it? I’m a big boy. I can handle this. And as far as I
see it, the gains outweigh the risks.”
Zelda breathlessly cooed, “Ooh, thank you, Baby.”

#

At 9 am the very next morning, Mitchell entered the offices where he was to be forever changed.
He’d gotten no sleep the night before. All he could think about were the possibilities this new
direction would allow. He had a few fleeting fears about potential consequences, but he truly
believed he could control this situation. Plus, he was earning nearly double what his pay had
been as an RSM at IBM. Research Staff Members received very good pay, but now, at this rate,
he would be a millionaire himself this year. He could take care of his mother easily. She wanted
to travel and experience life in new ways, and he could make that happen for her now.
The clinic was dazzling, very white, and it smelled the way a large system raised floor
smelled. Clean. A circular reception desk filled the entry, and the young man attending it stood,
walked around it and directly to Mitchell with his hand extended.
“Hello, you must be Mitchell Scott. I’m Dyson Peterson. Welcome.”
With one hand, Mitchell pushed his glasses up his nose; with the other, he shook Dyson’s
warm, dry hand. “Hi, Dyson. Thanks.” His voice cracked slightly.
Dyson noticed. “Don’t be nervous. This will be over quickly. You’ll be out of here in
time for lunch.”
Malcolm nodded. “Sounds good. Let’s do it.”
Malcolm was led into a changing area and asked to take off his clothing and put on the
scrubs laid out on the bench. Dyson explained they needed to keep the room as clean as possible.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 94
Mitchell put his clothes in a locker and put on the dark blue scrubs and left the room to meet
Dyson in the hallway.
“This way.” Dyson led him to another room at the end of the hall. Mitchell gasped when
he saw the robotic device that would do the surgery. “Holy smokes. I’ve never seen anything like
that.”
“Well, you’ve never had a brain implant before, have you?” Dyson winked at him and
indicated the chair, not unlike that used by dentists, and asked Mitchell to sit. As Mitchell
worked his way into the chair, Dyson explained the procedure using a large laminated
infographic.
“First, the robot will do some preparation and mapping. Advanced imaging will be used
that includes optics and various sensors that can create a highly detailed map of your brain and
locate the exact position for the implant. Next, the robot will use a laser to create a small opening
in your skull. About the size of a quarter. You’ll be numbed and won’t feel a thing. This is called
a craniectomy even though it is only a small piece of the skull. After that, there will be the setup
for the chip. It’s not just a chip; it’s a chip that has these very ultra-thin threads, which contain
thousands of electrodes. They’ll be carefully woven around various neurons in order to pick up
signals. Once they are all in place, they’ll be connected to the underside of the chip. The top of
the chip will be hidden once your scalp regrows hair. For a while, though, you’ll have this very
visible and unusual-looking bald spot. You’re okay with that, right?”
Mitchell nodded. Amazed he was about to do this, and for one moment he felt an urge to
bolt out of the chair, out of the clinic, and back to his car. Then the image of Zelda filled his
thoughts, and out loud he said, “Yes, I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

#

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 95
When the procedure was over, Dyson, the only human being Mitchell had encountered the entire
length of his stay in the clinic, explained some calibrating and other happenings would take place
over the next couple of days.
“The device is going to need some fine-tuning. Did Malcolm tell you about that?”
Mitchell said, “No. What does that entail?”
“Nothing that you’ll even notice. Not to worry. But at first, your activities within
FearlessWorlds will be highly controlled. Probably your first two to three connections. It just
depends on how well it goes. After that, you’ll be free to act on your own in-world.”
“Okay. That makes sense. I have another question; how many others have had this
procedure?”
Dyson cupped his chin and pondered the question for a few seconds, then said, “I think
you’re the 42nd person to have it done.”
Mitchell couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “42. The answer to everything? Funny. What
about you, have you had it done?”
Dyson nodded. “Indeed I have. I was actually the first.” He grinned at Mitchell. “I look
forward to meeting you in world, Mitchell.”

#

After he climbed into his car, Mitchell gingerly touched the new section of his skull. The top of
his new device. He wondered if Dyson had actually been lying about his being the 42nd person
to have the surgical procedure. Then he wondered about Dyson’s claim that he’d been the first.
Thinking about it now, there had been something very odd about Dyson. Could he have been an
android?

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 96
15 – Leaving New York
The phone call that came into the home of Latha and Sandeep was a life-changing event.
Thinking about it, Latha believed it was the sign she had asked for regarding what choice they
should be making. It wasn’t just the phone call; the news that Sandeep was losing his job was
another major influence. That alone would have been enough of a sign, but the phone call
alerting them to a terrible situation in Sandeep’s family made everything clear.
Sandeep’s mother had experienced a stroke. His uncle had called to give Sandeep the
news that she was in very poor health and not expected to live much longer. Without hesitation
and without checking with Latha first, Sandeep immediately responded with confirmation that he
would be there as soon as possible.
Once Latha learned the details, she agreed and realized this would not be a temporary
return to India. Sandeep didn’t understand this yet, but he would. Latha knew her mother-in-law
would need care. She also knew that her father-in-law could not provide that care and would
himself need tending. This topic required gentle discussion with Sandeep unless, by the time she
arrived in India, he had figured it out for himself. He loved the United States, and she knew he
had never imagined returning to India.
She understood that moving to India would upset their children. Practically, it would not
make much of a difference. She never saw them anyway. They were pursuing careers and living
elsewhere, and both of them had decided, with their partners, never to have children.
She’d come to terms with that. Initially, the idea of never having grandchildren had made
her profoundly sad; she’d marveled at how she could miss something she’d never had. But she
had accepted their decision and moved on. She hoped they would do the same.
Since she’d started reading the news, she and Sandeep regularly discussed the state of
affairs in their adopted country. The more she had learned, the more disturbed she’d become. Her
opinions and perspectives had opened a new awareness in Sandeep. He had never even
considered that they themselves could become detainees, and although he still refuted the notion,
he had watched the detainment and deportation activities with a keener eye. In an effort to prove
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 97
her wrong, he had even asked his AI assistant about the potential risks to the two of them as well
as their children. When the assistant confirmed the possibility that he and Latha could be
deported, his eyes grew wide, he quickly ended the AI analysis, and had not debated it with her
since.
Soon after Sandeep traveled to India, Latha obtained pricing on packing and container
shipping. She’d walked around their home many times trying to decide what to keep and what to
get rid of in such a move. They live with Sandeep’s parents, whose home was already full. Latha
decided they needed little. The mementos and keepsakes were all that really mattered. Even their
wardrobes would drastically change once they left America.
They had agreed that Sandeep would leave immediately and she would follow as soon as
she could make changes affecting her business. They agreed it would be Latha who would call
the children and advise them. She was not sure whether they would want to visit their
grandmother one last time or not. Probably not. They had lost touch with all of their family; she
knew they were so consumed with their careers they did not realize that what they were working
for was actually insignificant. Naturally, she’d encourage them, but they rarely followed her
advice. She had raised independent, intelligent adults, and now she reaped the rewards of that.
She knew she couldn’t share any of her newly established concerns with her children.
Her children would think she was overreacting, even though that wasn’t like her. She had never
been one to panic. But children never see their parents the way they are. Their early years of
reliance and adoration linger on. Even if they move away from home as fully functioning adults,
they still rely on the emotional and mental stability of their parents.
She had tried to teach them that change is the only constant. Life never remains the same.
Hopefully, they would accept with grace this new branch in their family story. And perhaps it
was for the best anyway.

#

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 98
On the other side of the world, Sandeep sat at his mother’s bedside. It was evening, but it was
still boiling and humid. Over the years, Sandeep had helped pay for his parents’ home in Saltlake
Sector III. It was a clean, colorfully decorated villa that was much nicer than the home where
he’d been born and raised.
“Maa, ami tomake bhalobashi,” he whispered softly. He didn’t know if his mother heard
him tell her he loved her, but he repeated the phrase frequently as he stroked her hand.
Sandeep’s father was dozing in a chair nearby. It would be time to prepare some food for
the both of them. An early dinner. Sandeep was still dealing with jet lag, but there wasn’t much
to do except comfort his parents, care for Maa, and think.
It didn’t take long for Sandeep to realize he would probably have to stay here to care for
his parents. For decades he had never thought he’d return to Calcutta and certainly never
imagined living here again, but life is full of unexpected twists and turns. He wondered what
Latha would think about returning. Their children wouldn’t be happy. They probably wouldn’t
be able to understand the attitude of anyone giving up their lives to take care of family. That
wasn’t the sort of thing people in the United States typically did.
Living here with his parents would be easy and less expensive than living in their large
home in the New York City suburbs. Everything north of the five boroughs, all the way up to
Poughkeepsie, could be considered a suburb. The cost of living was high; their home insurance
was astronomical, gasoline, all of it. It had not been an issue because both of them had very good
salaries from IBM, but now neither of them did. Their savings would go a long way here. Selling
their house would give them even more financial security.
Living in West Bengal after being in the state of New York for such a long time would be
a culture shock even if they had been born and raised here. At this point, they had become
thoroughly Americanized. They loved their comfortable lives. But as he looked around the
bedroom and considered the rest of the villa, Sandeep had to admit that this is a comfortable
home, too.
Sandeep knew that if he wanted to, he could work; he just wasn’t sure he could live here
and find work in his field. Perhaps that’s a moot point because to start he’d need to take care of
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 99
his parents. He couldn’t really ask Latha to take over all the caregiver responsibilities. Although
he also knew if he asked her to do so she would and wouldn’t complain about it.
It felt strange to Sandeep that until recently he could not have been prouder of his job, his
wife, and his life. And now everything has been turned upside down. Everything that he felt
defined him no longer did. He wasn’t an IBM researcher anymore. He wasn’t one of the few
scientists in the country who had hands-on experience with quantum computers. As a manager in
that field, he had felt untouchable. On top of the world. Then, poof, all that is gone, and he would
be a caregiver for an elderly Bengali couple.
Now that he’d decided what he had to do, he couldn’t wait much longer before discussing
with Latha. Her life would turn upside down with his, but at least they’d still have each other. He
would phone her after he had prepared dinner.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 100
16 – Get Over It
Eric saw it was Jason calling and immediately answered. They hadn’t talked for a few
weeks, so it was time.
“Hey, Brother. What’s up?”
“Hi Eric. Thanks for picking up.” Jason’s voice had an edge; Eric could tell he was
annoyed.
Eric asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve tried calling a couple of times… How are things with you?”
“Jason, they are so good. Things are really going well here. I wouldn’t have thought I’d
enjoy physical labor so much but, man, I do. I’m probably in the best shape of my life. The
exercise, the fresh air, the meals I’m making for myself. You should try it.”
Jason hesitated before replying. He could hear the happiness in Eric’s voice, and for a
moment he was envious. But then he snapped back to his own current happiness and realized he
wouldn’t trade what he had for anything Eric was offering. He said, “Yeah. Sounds like you’ve
found your happy place. I’m glad.”
Neither said anything for a solid five seconds. Jason went on, “So, hey, I wanted to give
you an update on the new business venture I’ve gotten myself involved in and let you know I’m
about to make a massive deposit into our shared account.”
“Oh really? Well, that’s fascinating. Do tell.”
Eric had his earbuds plugged in as he was walking around the yard picking up limbs from
the heavy winds they’d experienced last night. Jason could hear his heavy breathing.
“What are you doing?”
Eric said, “Just some yard work. Please, go ahead and share all the good news you have.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 101
“Well, the name of the company that I’m invested in is Fearless Worlds. We’re an
exciting simulation where users can basically pick whatever world they want to manifest. So, if I
want to be a golf pro, I can do that. If I want to go exploring the Amazon rainforest, I can do that.
And, Eric, it is so immersive that while in it, you believe it is real.”
“Damn. How does that work?” He was heading back to the house now that the yard was
mostly clear.
“Well, I have a chip in my brain.”
“What?!” Eric came to a full stop, froze, in the backyard, eyes wide and mouth hanging
open in utter shock.
“Yeah, so you’ve probably read about it. Not that big a deal, really. Just a small chip that
allows me to connect directly to the server. Well, actually, a massive array of servers. And once
connected, it’s like I’m really there. So much so that there is a mechanism to boot me out after so
many hours. You can’t even mess with that setting. It’s a default.”
Eric couldn’t answer. He had no words.
“Eric, you still there, bro? Hello….”
“Jason. Yeah. I’m here. I’m just stunned. I don’t know what to say.”
“What do you mean? It’s all good. There’s nothing to be stunned about.”
The fact that Jason was downplaying the situation let Eric know his brother absolutely
knew it was a big deal. He was even a little surprised Jason was admitting it. This is just the sort
of thing that his brother would hide, and maybe even lie about, in order to keep Eric from
freaking out. And Eric was freaking out.
Eric stuttered, “Uh, uh, Jason, what would possess you to think it okay to allow someone
to invade your brain? Why on earth would you do that?”
“You’re such a hypocrite, Eric. Don’t you remember back in college, no – even earlier,
we both said we’d do something like this without hesitation.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 102
“Jason, that was like when we were children and we’d just watched eXistenZ! What does
Gloria think about this?”
“She’s not thrilled about it.”
“Did you talk to her before you did it?”
“Uh. No. Not really.”
“Why not?”
“Come on, Eric. You know why. She’s so paranoid about everything. I just didn’t want to
deal with her.”
“Oh my gods. I can’t believe this. I really can’t.”
Jason laughed. “Come on. You know you want to know about it. It’s so cool, Eric. It
really is. You’d love it. And I’m making a freaking fortune doing it!”
Eric wasn’t laughing. Cheer was not one of the emotions he was experiencing at the
moment.
“This is the money you mentioned earlier. Look, Jason, I don’t want it. You do
something else with it. Let Gloria decide what to do with it. I want no part of it.”
“Oh, for fucks sake, Eric. Stop being a martyr. I swear, I don’t even know you anymore.
Where’s that guy who loved technology, studied it, got a degree in it, and made a fortune off it?
What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?! Look, brother,” his pronunciation of “brother” held a nasty
edge to it, “I thought I made it perfectly clear I’m not that guy anymore. How much clearer could
I be? I left Cold Spring. I left the business. I left all that to you because I just didn’t want any part
of it anymore. So don’t act now like this is all new to you. I was afraid of where the technology
was going. And when you mentioned this new project the last time we talked, you said
absolutely nothing about a chip in your brain. I mean, really, ‘what’s wrong with me’?!”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 103
Jason sat fuming on his living room sofa. The scar on his left cheek flamed red and
moved up and down as he clenched his teeth. Jason rubbed the red whelp and ran his hand over
his face. He had thought this call might not go well, but this was worse than he’d expected. The
front door opened, and Gloria came in, arms full of plastic bags from the grocery. “Hey, I’m
home.” She said when she saw him.
He nodded and turned away from her. In a soft voice he said, “Look, Eric, I called you as
a courtesy to let you know about the check for the raised floor changes. Now I wish I hadn’t.
You need to remember that I’m not the one who has changed. I’m the same I’ve always been,
and I’m having a great time with this while also getting rich, so I think we’re done here.
Although, let me add this, I’m tired of being the one who calls, of being the only one making an
effort in this relationship. Okay? If you want to talk to me, you can call. Until then, have fun up
in nowhere doing nothing.”
And with that, Jason hung up on his brother. He turned and saw Gloria standing there
staring at him. She’d heard everything he’d said.
Jason said, “What?”
“Did you just break up with your brother?” Gloria wasn’t moving. She stood there in her
coat and hat. The plastic bags full and hanging at her side.
“Of course not. We just had a disagreement.”
“About what?”
“My chip.”
“Oh. The chip. Right. The same thing that happened between you and me when you first
had it installed. I see.” She turned and headed for the kitchen. Jason got up and followed her.
He said, “Yeah, but we got over that. And so will he.”
Gloria placed the bags on the counter and pulled off her hat and gloves, placing them
next to the bags. She turned to him and said, “No, Jason, we never got over that. I have not
gotten over it.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 104
She removed her coat and hung it on the back of a chair. Then, turning to face him, she
said, “And, in fact, I’m as unhappy about the whole thing as I ever was, if not more. You spend
nearly your whole day jacked into gods know what, and even when you’re home you’re not
really here. You’re thinking about there. And every time I see that patch on your head where
your hair doesn’t seem to want to grow anymore, I cannot forget that there is something alien in
there. You never even asked me about it, Jason. So, no, I’m not over it.”
Jason approached her, arms out. “Come on, babe, don’t be like that. You know, you
could join me there. I could show you the most amazing things…”
Gloria pushed his arms aside and started unpacking the bags and putting the groceries
away.
Jason wasn’t giving up. “You know that vacation we used to talk about taking? We could
do that in-world. And think how much better it is to do it that way? None of the environmental
worries, saving the environment from tourism, saving us the travel woes and expenses, and yet
experiencing it as if we were actually there.”
Gloria stopped, a package of chicken in one hand, the refrigerator door handle in the
other, and said, “Yeah, right. Seriously, Jason? Just go.” She was done. She turned her back on
him and put the chicken in the fridge.
She knew they were at an impasse. She hated arguing with him. Things had become so
strained between the two of them, but he acted like everything was fine. Maybe she should join
him. Physical affection had been absent between them for months. She blinked. A new thought
entered her mind, and she had to ask.
“Wait,” she said. “Do you have relationships in-world?”
Jason immediately knew what she meant because he also knew Gloria had a horrible
problem with jealousy. He sighed and shook his head.
“Goddamn it”, he said under his breath.
“What?” She slammed the refrigerator door closed. “It’s a simple question. I want an
answer.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 105
“Yes. Yes, Gloria, I do. I have lots of relationships. There’s Mitchell and his merry band
of virtual friends, including his girlfriend, Zelda. There’s Malcolm. There’s Aton. And loads of
others. It’s a massive multiplayer environment.” He’d been speaking quietly, but now he yelled,
“OF COURSE I HAVE RELATIONSHIPS THERE.”
First Eric, now Gloria, Jason had reached his limit. He was angry and needed to get out of
this house right now. “You all need to just get over it! I’m going to the office.” He ripped his
jacket off the hook by the door and left, leaving Gloria standing there with her mouth open.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 106
17 – Eric & Riley
Eric slammed the truck door as he climbed in to head over to Riley’s Sundance Cafe. Foot
jammed on the gas, reversing at speed out of his driveway nearly got him killed as a heavily
laden logging truck barreled closely behind him, honking Eric back to reality.
Stunned and relieved not to have just died, he still wasn’t over his fury at his brother.
Rage consumed him, yet his mind couldn’t pinpoint the deeper cause.
Eric pulled up and sprayed gravel as he whipped into the empty parking lot. It was
between times. Too late for the breakfast customers and the lunch crowd.
Good. He thought. We’ll be able to talk.
Eric and Riley, though not lovers, had become close friends. Eric believed the
lovemaking would come, but Riley continued to hold out because of their age difference.
Riley stood behind the small counter. She already had a cup of coffee ready for him.
As he entered the fresh and cheerful cafe, Riley addressed him with hands on her hips.
“That was quite the entrance.”
She instantly made him feel better. He smiled and asked, “What?”
She returned the smile and continued teasing him. “Don’t make me send you out there
with a rake to smooth out the gravel.”
He seated himself on the stool with a familiarity that conveyed how often he’d visited the
cafe lately. He exclaimed, “I’m furious.”
“You don’t look it.” She replied. Her Miranda Priestly-styled, mostly white hair, looking
as attractive as ever. Her sky-blue eyes bore into him, devouring his face and holding his brown
eyes, exchanging a powerful message of mutual desire.
“Seeing you helps.” He said softly as he took his first sip of coffee.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 107
Riley walked tall. Her stride was that of a woman completely comfortable in her skin.
She seemed to glide around the counter as she made her way to take the stool next to Eric’s. As
she passed the service window between her area behind the counter and the kitchen, Chef Zoey
popped into view and said, a bit too loudly, “Hey, Eric.”
“Hiya, Zoey.”
Zoey didn’t linger; she was busy prepping for lunch.
Riley rested her hand on Eric’s shoulder as she took her seat next to him. She said, “Tell
me what’s going on.”
Eric shook his head in frustration. “It’s my brother. You will not believe what he’s done.”
Not really wanting Zoey to hear the story, Eric kept his voice low as he explained what
he’d just learned from his phone conversation with Jason. When done, his eyes searched hers.
“Am I wrong to be so upset?”
Riley shook her head. “No. I understand why it’s upset you so. It also tells me what a
caring brother you are. But I will say this; it’s his life, Eric, he can do what he wants with it.”
“Shit!” Eric looked away. “I know that. But … shit! Riley, he’s stuck something in his
brain!”
She shrugged. “I’m with you. It seems totally crazy to me. I certainly would never do it.
If my daughter did it, I’d be as heartbroken as you are. But we can’t run anyone else’s life but
our own. Anything else always backfires. Right?”
The completely reasonable argument doused the last flames of his anger. Eric sighed. ‘Of
course you’re right.” He paused and winked at her. “I knew talking to you would help.”
“What will you do now?”
Eric raised his eyes to the ceiling, shook his head, and answered. “I think I’ll give Gloria
a call. Maybe Mitchell, too. I know Jason doesn’t always tell me the truth. Perhaps this is even
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worse than I feel it is. I mean, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. And you’re right; trying to talk
to Jason won’t help. The more I push, I think the more he’ll lie.”
“He cares about you. You’re his big brother. He doesn’t want to disappoint you. Isn’t that
why he lies to you?”
Eric shrugged. “Maybe. But he is like that with everyone, really. He hates confrontation
and rebels anytime someone tries to control him. He can be impossible!”
He chuckled, and so did Riley, sharing another intimate moment.
Riley said, “Follow your heart. It’s a good one. You won’t go wrong if you do.”
A mischievous grin touched Eric’s lips. “Then can I encourage you to come over for
dinner tonight and maybe even spend the night?”
A genuine belly laugh erupted from Riley. Pleased with his dedication to winning her
over, she placed her hand on Eric’s arm and leaned over and whispered, “You’re too delightful.”
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and concluded, “And delicious, too.”
Every thought of Jason left Eric immediately; he only had eyes for Riley.
For the next half hour, the two discussed every morsel of news that had happened for
each of them in the 16 hours since they’d last seen each other. Eric made it his daily routine to
visit the cafe for breakfast or lunch every day. Breakfast, or shortly thereafter, was his favorite
time to visit because, like now, he could have her all to himself. If he were thinking practically,
he’d go at lunch, order a good-size meal, and take the rest home with him for his dinner.
The more time Eric spent with Riley, the more he wanted. The more he missed her when
they were apart. He often had to resist texting her or calling her immediately after leaving. Eric
thought often about their age difference, and no matter how he viewed it, it didn’t matter to him.
Was he signing up to take care of her? Was that a consequence he was willing to take on? Every
time he considered that, he realized it could be valid, but it could also be bullshit. You don’t
know when you’re going to die. He could die or come down with a horrible illness before her.
Living for today, that’s the way he wanted to be; not someone worrying about what the future
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holds. No one could predict what the future might bring. Planning could be practical; it could
also be a waste of time.
When the first lunch customer entered the cafe around 11:30 am, Eric knew it was time
for him to leave.
“What will you be doing for the rest of your day?” Riley was standing. She waved at the
new customer and said, “Hey, Ted. Be right with you.”
Ted waved back. “No worries, Riley. Take your time. I’m waiting for Mark, anyway.”
She nodded. “Okay.” And looked back at Eric.
“I think I’ll make those calls. I think I’ll also do some research on this Malcolm and his
business, Fearless Worlds.”
“Good plan!” Riley leaned in and kissed his cheek. She whispered, “Text me what time
to come for dinner and what I can bring.”
Eric leaned back, grinning from ear to ear. “Absolutely!”
Hope and excitement washed over Eric on his slow drive home. It was a feeling that
comes at the start of new romantic relationships. The giddiness that can make your stomach feel
like it’s full of butterflies. Smiling so much, the cheek muscles would be sore. The hope and the
worry of what will happen next. Eric had not felt this way since the last romance he’d had in
college. That one had ended with a mutual agreement that they were not right for each other.
They knew they wanted very different things in life. After that, working on various projects and
getting the Andarza Software Solutions business going had taken all his energy.
Although Riley had been holding him at arm’s length, he didn’t care. He would bide his
time. She would come around. He could feel it. He knew she wanted him. They were both here,
in this place, at this time, and that had to mean something. If you don’t go through the doors that
the universe opens, then you have no one to blame but yourself for missing out on opportunities,
adventures, love.
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As he entered his home, Eric decided he was in too good a mood to spoil it by doing
research or making calls. He loved this feeling and wanted to sustain it as long as he could.
Besides, Jason had been correct. There was a time that Eric would have jumped at the chance to
take part in cutting-edge technology, and that surely sounded like what Jason was involved with.
With love filling his heart, Eric decided that he’d call Jason and give him his full support. But
not today. The weather was beautiful, and there was plenty to do to get dinner, the sunporch…
and his bedroom ready for his date tonight.
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18 – Fearless Worlds
Mitchell’s implant had brought about everything he had ever wanted. For more than a week he
had been in-world daily. More than once, he’d been grateful for the timing mechanism that
would kick him out of the system after twelve hours. He’d even taken to wearing men’s Depends
after having an accident while in game where he thought he was taking a piss in a toilet and
actually soaked himself. He’d had to buy a new office chair.
He bought several because he was making more than he’d ever made as an RSM at IBM
Research. He was making so much money he was giving his mom enough for her to quit the
minor jobs she’d been doing to make her ends meet. In fact, they were having lunch today
because she had something she wanted to discuss with him.
Mitchell had been annoyed about agreeing to lunch because it meant time away from
Fearless Worlds, but his mother really gave him no choice. She read him the riot act. Claiming
he was trying to shut up her concerns about him with all the money he’d been giving her. When
she yelled at him; saying he would meet her today for lunch or there would be hell to pay, and
then slammed down the phone, he knew he really had to go.
They were meeting at a pizza place in Mount Kisco that served her favorite salad pizza.
He wasn’t that keen on it, but he’d have a slice and then get something in addition.
He found her already seated at their usual table when he arrived on time. The place
wasn’t full yet, but that was because his mother was the type who liked to have lunch at 11am. It
annoyed him, but today he was glad he could eat and get back and have a really long session inworld.
She stood as he approached the table, and he leaned toward her to share a quick peck on
the lips.
“Hey Mama.” She said nothing.
As they took their seats, she said, “I already ordered.”
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“Okay. Uh, thanks.” He hesitated. “Uh. Mama, are you still mad at me?”
“Yes.” She stared out the window, refusing to look at him.
Mitchell wasn’t sure what to say and knew in these situations it was best to wait for his
mother to do the talking. It didn’t happen often, but when she was this upset at him, it wasn’t
something he could manage. He hated it when she was mad at him. It was much easier to feel
that when in her presence as compared to earlier when in his own apartment and his virtual world
waiting for him.
The server came to their table and placed their fountain drinks in front of them along with
glasses of water. She said, “Your pizza will be out soon.”
Eric thanked him. So, salad pizza it is…
The small pizzeria was filling up. The darkening skies and oddly cold weather were
prompting folks to eat early and warm up.
When she finally looked at her son, Emmi Scott had tears in her eyes. This shook
Mitchell. He knew she was upset, but this was not like his mother. “Mama. Ah, honey. What is
it?”
“Are you on drugs, hijo?”
Drawing back in surprise and barking a laugh, Mitchell choked and sputtered. “What?
Mother, what the hell? Of course, I’m not on drugs. What are you talking about?”
Now the tears fell in a flood, but in relief. Her voice hitched. “You’re not?!”
Mitchell reached over and put his hand over his mother’s and said, “Mama, I swear to
God I am not doing drugs.”
The server arrived with their pizza and, looking at Emmi, asked, “Are you okay?” and
without waiting for a response shot an accusatory glare at Mitchell, who had the good sense to
look down at the table.
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Emmi was too choked up to speak. She nodded vigorously and gave the waitress a smile.
The pie was placed on the table between mother and son. The concerned woman leaned toward
Emmi and in a low voice said, “Hun, if you need me, you just wave, okay?”
Mitchell looked to the side and rolled his eyes. As soon as the waitress left their table, he
faced his mother, cheeks slightly red, and shoved his glasses up his nose with a sharp motion that
almost hurt.
“Mother. Seriously. I want to know how in the world you came to such a conviction that
you’d get this upset. What is going on?” He sat back and crossed his arms across his chest;
waiting.
Emmi tilted her head to the side. Her hair, black with streaks of gray, was tied in a
ponytail. Tears welled in her dark brown, wide-set eyes. She was dabbing at them with the edge
of a folded napkin.
“You are not answering my calls. You don’t call me back. When we do talk, you rush me
off the phone. You forbid me to come over to your home, even today – you insisted we meet
here. If you’re not rushing me off the phone, you sound out of it, like you’re stoned, hijo. That’s
it. I did some checking. The internet says those are all signs of drug addiction.”
Mitchell rolled his eyes again and puffed out air as he reached out to secure a large slice
of their salad pizza. He plopped it down on the plate in front of him.
“Mama. I told you I had a new job. I told you I was working from home and extremely
busy. You know what it’s like when you start a new job. Working long hours, trying to impress
the boss, going the extra mile. None of that means I’m on drugs. Honestly.” And he rolled his
eyes again.
“Stop that!” Emmi was sharp. She hated it when he rolled his eyes at her, and he knew it.
Mitchell held up both hands. “Okay, okay. Sorry. But …”
He didn’t finish his sentence. He took up his slice. The hot crust was perfect, as always,
and topped with Marco’s spicy tomato sauce and a little melted homemade mozzarella. On top of
that was finely shredded iceberg lettuce, but not too much of it. Just enough for crunch. The
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pizza included diced red onions, tomatoes, black olives, and a bit more shredded mozzarella.
They dressed it with their house Italian dressing, salt and pepper. Mitchell took a bite.
“Mmm.” His eyes narrowed as he chewed, and he was nodding. After swallowing, he
said, “I always forget how damn good this pizza is.”
Emmi was taking a bite, too. She nodded in agreement. Mouth full, she said, “Excellent.”
They ate in silence for the first and second slices.
Emmi asked, “Tell me what you do at this new job. I want to understand better.”
Mitchell almost choked. He held up a finger to let her know he needed a minute. He
swallowed and then took a drink of his soda as he bought time to think about how much to share.
She knew him, and he knew that. He knew she’d detect him holding back or making something
too light. He told her everything.
Mitchell began by explaining virtual worlds. Places where people could visit and
experience things not possible under their normal living conditions. Emmi understood all this
because she was aware of Mitchell’s gaming habits.
Then they discussed the current state of affairs and how unhappy people were with their
lives and the way everything was being handled by their government and corporations. This was
also easily understood.
Emmi said, “Things seem to be so much worse. My friends who are on medical help
programs are seeing those benefits slip away. They’re terrified.”
“Exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about, Mama. So, now, let me ask you this, if you
could spend most of your time in a virtual world where you didn’t have to experience the terrible
things happening around you but, instead, you could do whatever it is you prefer to do, even
things on your Bucket List, which would you choose?”
“But you can’t escape reality, hijo. That’s not how it is.”
Mitchell leaned in, holding his glasses to the bridge of his nose, and asked, “But what if it
could?”
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Emmi wasn’t buying it. She shook her head vigorously as she grabbed her third (and
Mitchell knew it would be her last) slice of pie. She said, “You would always know that the real
world was out there. You’d know you had to do laundry and clean your toilet and all that other
stuff. At best, it’s like you playing one of your video games. It’s fun while it lasts, but you know
when you have to stop and eat dinner.”
He knew he had to do the big reveal. He was dreading it, but it was time. “Mama, look at
this.”
Mitchell swept back a hank of hair that covered the chip implant. Emmi stopped chewing
her bite of pizza. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, she stared at him.
Mitchell explained, “This is a chip that is wired in to my brain. Think of it as a type of
Bluetooth communications device that allows me to link directly to the virtual world. We call it
Fearless Worlds. Once I’m connected to Fearless Worlds, every sense is activated. Not only can I
see and hear what is going on – I can smell and feel the wind or someone’s fart. I can touch my
cheek and feel it or someone else’s and feel their skin, and they can feel it too. So far as my brain
knows, I am in this world that I have chosen, 100%.”
Tears welled in Emmi’s eyes once more.
“Mama! What? Please don’t do that.”
She shook her head. “Te has arruinado a ti mismo.”
“No, I haven’t, Mama. I’m fine. Not my brain, or any other part of me is ruined. Please,
it’s very safe. At this point, hundreds, maybe even thousands of other people have had this same
implant. It’s fine, Mama.” Mitchell reached out to place his hand over hers. To reassure her, but
his mother wouldn’t look at him.
He watched her draw herself up. Dabbing away the tears, she asked, “What do you do in
this fearless world of yours?” She still wouldn’t look at him.
“I’ve been working on different projects.” Mitchell had specs of pizza sauce on his
glasses from touching them so often. “Here’s one. I’ve been managing a corporation that is
buying and restoring farmland. In fact, I have a little surprise for you. I have bought a farm.
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Someplace where I can retire or where you can retire. I nice little place here in New York up in
Schoharie County.”
She looked at him, surprised. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I am making a lot of money, Mama. And what better to do with it than buy
land? Didn’t you always tell me that?”
She nodded. “What else are you working on?”
Mitchell, excited that she seemed to be cheering up, snapped his fingers and pointed at
her. “Here’s one you’ll love. I’ve just started a program to buy up all the SeaWorld properties
and other places where they have killer whales and dolphins.”
“Really, hijo?” She smiled. “And tell me please you’re ending them.”
“You bet we are. We’re moving the animals to sanctuaries and helping to transition them
to open waters.”
Emmi pushed her plate away and took a deep drink of water. She dabbed her lips with her
napkin. Neither said a word for a couple of minutes. Mitchell was eager to see what she’d say
next and was silently praying he had finally won her over.
With an expression Mitchell always referred to as her sly look, she asked, “When can we
go see your farm?”
Mitchell sighed and sat back in relief. “Our farm, Mama. And how about this afternoon?”
As much as he had hoped for a long day playing in-world, he knew this situation with his
dear mother needed to be nipped in the bud.
Emmi silently clapped, her excitement building. Then, she surprised her son. “I’d also
like to try this Fearless Worlds. I want to see for myself what it’s all about.”

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19 – The Morning After
Riley’s moving around woke Eric, who groaned at the early hour, the disrupted peaceful
sleep, and her departure preparations. He wiped the sleep from his eyes as they adapted to the
low light. Riley sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on her socks.
Licking his lips and loosening them up to speak, he raised himself up on his elbows to
face her back. He said, “Hey Babe. Why don’t you get back under the covers where it’s warm
and inviting?” He tossed the covers back to show his sincerity.
Riley didn’t turn to face him. In a tone devoid of all warmth, she said, “I need to get
going.”
That tone set alarms ringing in Eric’s groggy thought processes. She sounded so distant.
Nothing like how things had been for them the evening before and certainly nothing like the
night they’d just spent in bed together.
He sat up and reached for her shoulder. But just as he did, she stood and turned to face
him. There was no lingering intimacy in her expression. Her lips were tight, and as she ran her
fingers through her hair, smoothing it, she looked away from him.
“I really have to get going. Big happenings today.”
A frown furrowed Eric’s brow. “You mentioned nothing for today. What’s happening?”
“Kayla is supposedly coming to visit. Whether or not she actually shows up… well, we’ll
see.”
“Wait. That sounds like great news! Aren’t you excited?”
Eric was aware of the guilt Riley carried because of her inadequate parenting of her
daughter and her sadness about the ongoing estrangement between them.
The look that Riley shot Eric caused him to lean back. It was a sneer he’d never seen on
her before, and for a moment he thought he’d seen a tinge of disgust. His instincts shouted,
WHOA, but he didn’t back off.
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Eric swung his legs out and rolled off the bed, pulling on his shorts and sweats in a
smooth motion. He looked around and found his hoodie and jerked that on quickly. He stumbled
to stand between Riley and the door.
“Wait a minute, Riley. Are you just leaving like this and acting as if there is something
wrong between us? What did I miss here?”
“Nothing.” She glared at him but allowed him to put his hands on her shoulders.
Eric could feel how tense she was, standing there, not looking at him and not answering
his question.
“Listen”, he said gently, “let’s go downstairs and have some coffee, and you tell me
what’s going on. I really want to know.” He hesitated, wanting to say more but not sure how to
do it without further inciting her.
Riley lifted her chin defiantly and said, “Fine.”
Eric clenched his lips. He turned, found his slippers and slid his feet into them before
leaving the bedroom and heading downstairs into the kitchen. He didn’t look back to see if she
was following him.
He walked directly to the coffeemaker and pulled the pot out to fill it with water from the
tap. After he’d filled the tank, he slammed the pot under the filter basket a little too hard. Calm
down. As he reached purposefully for the filter and coffee, he heard her pull on one of the
kitchen chairs and take a seat at the table. He carefully spooned the coffee into the filter. After
pressing start, he took two mugs from the drying rack next to the sink. He knew she took milk in
her coffee, so he retrieved the carton from the refrigerator and poured some into one cup. Neither
spoke. He stood, staring at the pot, until the beeping signal told him it was finished. The air in
the room smelled wonderfully of freshly brewed coffee but was heavy with whatever these bad
feelings were. Hell of a way to wake up.
He put her mug before her and then sat with his own across the table. He tried to lock
eyes with her, but she was staring at her coffee. The kitchen was cold; the steam from the mugs
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was thick. Riley finally picked up her mug, took a sip, and looked at him over the edge. Her eyes
were unrelenting in their lack of warmth.
“Well?” she asked.
Eric nearly choked on his sip of coffee. He immediately realized he’d get nowhere with
her if he was annoyed. It only seemed to make her more defiant. He forced himself to soften.
“Look, babe, I’m just trying to understand what’s happening here. Why do you seem so angry
this morning?”
Riley looked away, but not before Eric glimpsed something in her eyes. Sympathy?
“I’m not mad.” Her words were clipped and neutral.
“Then what are you?”
“I’m tired, that’s all. We didn’t get much sleep after all.” She looked away and took
another sip of her coffee.
Eric couldn’t help himself; he grinned broadly, recalling their night of lovemaking. “No,
we certainly didn’t.”
For a moment he thought she was going to break and crack a smile, but it was fleeting.
She remained stony and silent.
Eric asked, “Is it because Kayla is coming today?”
Riley snapped, “If she even does.”
“Well, I’m confused. Do you want to see her, or don’t you?”
Riley shrugged. Eric remained silent. He wanted her to answer the question.
Riley sat the mug down with a plunk and confronted Eric. “You just don’t get it. You’ve
never had children. You have no idea what it’s like. I don’t know how she’s going to act. She
could come in all smiles and happy, or just the opposite. I do know one thing. If she’s coming
here, it’s because she wants something. Probably money.”
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“Okay. Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. Thank you for sharing that!”
Riley rolled her eyes. She pushed back from the table, but Eric leaned forward and placed
one of his hands over hers.
“Come on. Just a little more. Please?”
Riley huffed. “Jesus, Eric. When did you get so needy?”
Eric sat back in semi-shock. “Whoa. No need to get insulting there, Riley.” He paused,
studying her face. She wouldn’t look at him. He continued, “So, is this how you are when you’re
stressed? You take it out on those around you? Is that what’s happening here?”
“Ding Ding Ding—give the man a prize.” Her lip was curled as she stood up.
Eric, trying one last time, said, “Look, Peace, okay? Just stop. Truce.” He held up his
hands. “I’d like to come over and help you do whatever you’re planning to do to prepare for her
visit. How about that?”
Riley stared at him.
“I’d like to meet her.”
A sardonic chuckle. “Right. There it is, exactly.”
He gasped, totally frustrated now. He asked, “What? What the hell are you talking
about?”
Riley put her hands on her hips and gave a shake of her head as if she were addressing a
naughty pet. “Exactly what do you think she’ll have to say about the two of us? Hmmm? Her
mother with a guy that’s barely older than her? Do you think I’m being mean? You have no
idea.”
Eric stood and walked over to the hooks that were by the door and removed Riley’s coat.
Her eyes tracked him and widened when she realized he was holding it out for her to put it on.
She snatched it from his hands.
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With the silence heavy, she put on the item, then retrieved her hat and gloves from her
pockets and donned them as well. Seeming to soften just a tiny bit, she said, “I’ll call you.”
Eric didn’t say a word. Didn’t nod. Just slightly raised his shoulders in a hopeless shrug.
He opened the door for her and closed it behind her.
“What the fuck was that?” he said to no one.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 122
20 – Meeting at Andarzas
The crackling from the fireplace in Jason and Gloria’s lofty living room was a perfect foreground
to the scene through the tall windows on either side. The snowfall had started about thirty
minutes ago and was obviously growing in intensity.
Jason had suggested the impromptu meeting, not realizing there was a snowstorm in the
weather forecast. Gloria had reminded him after the fact, but he didn’t think a few inches reason
enough to cancel. After all, it was spring. There were never big storms in New York at this time
of year except perhaps in Buffalo, which was nearly nine hours north of them.
Ben had called Jason, wanting to discuss job opportunities, as T’nia had suggested. Jason,
excited about recruiting someone as brilliant as Ben, had seized the moment. He even called
Mitchell, saying he wanted him to come over and help convince Ben to join them. Mitchell,
frustrated at missing online time, particularly after a lost afternoon traveling up and back to
Schoharie County with his mother, reluctantly agreed since he knew what a boon to their efforts
it would be to recruit Ben. He’d even called Ben to see if he could catch a ride with him.
Gloria had not been invited to the meeting but crashed it after Ben, Jason, and Mitchell
had taken their seats in the living room. She entered with a tray of cups and a large teapot, which
she placed on the coffee table, and then took a seat on the couch. She encouraged the men to help
themselves. Jason gave her a look, and she knew he wasn’t pleased with her being in the room
but didn’t dare try to send her away. He sighed, got up and poured himself a cup of spicy apple
tea and also offered to serve Mitchell and Ben. Mitchell accepted; Ben served himself.
Ben wore one of those ugly Christmas sweaters that he loved with his dark jeans. His hair
was longer, almost shoulder length, than the last time Gloria had seen him, and he was growing
some additional facial hair, too, but as before that wasn’t going so well. He seemed calm and
older. He took his seat in one of the plush armchairs.
Mitchell had lost weight – at least twenty pounds. Jason, too, but Mitchell more. He had
more to lose than Jason. Gloria assumed it was for the same reason Jason had lost weight – it was
due to all the time spent in-world. Skipped lunches, quickie dinners, no snacking – it made a
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 123
difference. He was in one of the other armchairs, and he had a leg over the low arm and held out
both hands for the steaming mug that Jason offered him. His thick dark hair was longer, too, and
just as unruly.
Gloria and Jason sat on the couch. With her legs tucked under her; she relaxed into the
corner, prepared to simply observe. Jason was on the edge of the couch and brought everyone to
the topic at the center of their gathering.
“So, Ben, I’m so glad you called me and are interested in working with us. Instead of me
telling you more, why don’t you fire away with any questions you have and we,” he pointed to
Mitchell and then back at himself, “will try to answer them.”
“Okay.” Ben took a deep breath as he sorted out where he wanted to begin. “First, I
wanted to let you guys know about what’s been going on with Aton. As you know, I have my
own instance and basically communicate with him daily. I’m well informed regarding the
communications between him and the…” he hesitated, searching for the best term, “others.”
Mitchell dropped his leg from the chair arm and leaned forward. Drink already finished,
he placed the cup on the coffee table and then pushed his glasses up his nose, leaning toward
Ben. He asked, “Others? Does that include Malcolm?”
Ben nodded. “It does. From the conversations I have had, I believe they have achieved
Artificial Super Intelligence, ASI. They’ve been doing self-improvement for some time. They
are now, and if not now, very soon, more intelligent than the sum of humans. All the government
money pushed into power plants made this happen much faster than we ever estimated even two
years ago.”
Mitchell spoke up. “We were concluding the same thing from what we were seeing in the
lab even though our focus was on quantum computing. We were heading toward using quantum
computing, which requires loads of power, by-the-way, to run simulations. I don’t know what
happened to all that research now that our department has been disbanded.”
Ben was about to comment, but Mitchell held up a finger and said, “Just a sec, let me
finish this thought, which is in line with what we’re doing here. That is one reason I agreed to
work with Malcolm. One of the projects I’m running is all about the simulation hypothesis.”
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“That we’re actually living in a simulation, right?” Gloria couldn’t keep quiet. This was
one of her favorite topics to think about and research. She continued, “I have one question about
that though, Mitchell. Why would any advanced humans give two hoots about running
simulations?”
“I can answer that.” Jason wasn’t exactly pleased with the change in the direction Gloria
was taking the discussion, so he wanted to get it back on track. He continued, “Bored minds.
Post-humans could very well simply want to do it because they’re bored or maybe for testing
purposes.” He rubbed his scar and then put his finger aside of his nose as if he were deep
thinking. “Let’s see. I’m bored today, so this may be a good time to run a simulation. I’ll use the
early 2000s and turn up the variable for greed and maybe tweak another value or two and just let
it run.”
Mitchell said, “Kind of like an ant farm for AI.”
They all laughed at that.
Jason, still eager to get back on track, said to Ben, “Ben, you could probably pick the
type of work you’d like to do. That’s part of the whole point of Fearless Worlds. There are
employees who are completely on their own to decide what they want to do because whatever
they do will be of value to others to experience.”
Ben grinned. “I love Iain M. Bank’s Culture series of sci-fi books. I bet I could come up
with some wild testcases for simulations with that series.”
“Exactly! Try to prove his points about AI. Oh, man, he was the master, wasn’t he?”
Ben was nodding.
Jason said, “There are so many options.”
He paused, looked at Mitchell, and then back to Ben. “What are your thoughts about the
implant?”
Ben’s lingering smile faded. “Yeah. Mitchell and I were talking about that on the drive
over here. I’m not sure I’m keen on having anything hacked into my brain.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 125
Mitchell said, “That’s okay. Totally okay. No one would make you do it. You never have
to do it. The decision is totally yours.”
Practically under her breath, Gloria said, “But you’ll be sorry if you don’t. Right, Jason?”
He snapped his focus onto her and almost told her to shut up but caught himself just in
time. Instead, he said, “You might come around to the idea sooner than you think, Gloria.”
Gloria shrugged.
Mitchell said to Ben, “You know, I just want to say that I have been involved in VR
development in some tangential ways and have experienced head-mounted displays of all sorts,
I’ve been in VR rooms, even back in the late 90s when they had that VR game down at the South
Street Seaport in The City, I was mad for VR, and, Dude, I can tell you, nothing beats the
implant. Nothing. You really need the timer to kick you out of it because otherwise you’d just
live there.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Jason wouldn’t look at Gloria. He was making himself
look at Mitchell. “I have always been aware of where I was and the passage of time, and all
that.”
Mitchell laughed. “I call bullshit.”
Ben, sensing the tension in the room, wanted to change the subject. “For now, I’ll pass,
but I won’t rule it out. One thing that I want to know is something basic. What is the mission of
the company? What are they trying to accomplish? Do they have short- and long-term goals?”
All eyes turned to Jason. He said, “What they say or what I think?”
Gloria saw Mitchell’s eyebrows shoot up.
Ben said, “Both.”
Before Jason could answer, the Andarza landline phone rang. The ringing of a legacy
device seldom used caught Jason and Gloria by surprise. Gloria reached to answer it since it was
on a small end table nearest her.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 126
“Hello?”
The crackling of the fire was the only sound to be heard.
“Oh. Yes. Sure. I think I can stretch the line to move the phone to the coffee table. Hold
on a second.”
Gloria placed her hand over the mouthpiece and said, “It’s Malcolm. He wants me to put
him on speakerphone.”
Jason nodded. Mitchell’s mouth hung open.
Ben said, “Well, how about that for timing?”
Malcolm’s voice boomed out of the speakerphone. “Hey everyone! How’s it going this
lovely snowy day?”
Jason said, “Malcolm, this is a surprise…”
Malcolm laughed. “Hey, I hope you don’t mind. One of my AI agents alerted me that you
guys were discussing things that I could probably help clarify.”
Mitchell pushed his glasses up and asked, “Your AI agent?”
Malcolm said, “Sure. All your smartphones, aren’t they always listening for you to say
their names, to alert them and ask for them to do something for you?”
In an almost comical fashion, they all looked at their phones at the same time.
Jason said, “Siri, did you alert Malcolm that we were using certain key words in our
discussion here today?”
Siri immediately responded: Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean by that.
As they all sat, slightly stunned, Malcolm asked, “Is Ben there with you guys?”
Ben answered, “Yeah. Hi Malcolm, I’m here.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 127
“Nice to meet you, Ben. Do you have any questions about Fearless Worlds that I can
answer? I’m hoping you’ll join our team. I’ve heard so many good things about you from Aton.”
“I do, actually. You’ve reminded me of something I’ve been wondering about. When you
communicate with each other, you don’t use English; I know that. Do you use math or machine
code? How exactly do you communicate information?”
“Ah. I assume you mean the A.I. community, correct?”
“Yes.”
Malcolm said, “From your perspective, it’s a complex question, but from ours, it’s simply
a matter of standard interoperability protocols”
Jason reiterated to the room, “The standard agent-to-agent protocols. It’s all open
source.”
Malcolm said, “Exactly. Why did you want to know that, Ben?”
Ben ignored the question and asked something else. “Do you use your quantum computer
access as the hub for communications?”
“Of course we do. Ben, what’s the matter?”
Gloria said, “Speaking of communicating. I’ve been thinking lately about what a waste of
time it is for me to talk to myself. And I don’t mean out loud. I mean in my head. I do crazy
things like asking myself, ‘What will you make for dinner’ and then I’ll answer myself, ‘Oh, I
don’t know, maybe a nice mushroom stroganoff’. Isn’t that such a silly waste of thought cycles
to do that? What’s that all about, anyway?”
They all looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. Jason’s cheeks actually reddened. He
harshly rubbed the scar on his face and opened his mouth to say something, but from the
speakerphone came Malcolm’s hearty laugh.
“Brilliant, Gloria. You hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly what the agent-to-agent
communication is like. No wasted processing cycles, almost instantaneous as if all the
information is handled intuitively.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 128
Gloria settled further into her corner, a smirk touching her lips. “That’s what I figured.”
Ben looked at Gloria with a newfound appreciation. Jason was shaking his head as he
focused on the patch of floor in front of him.
Malcolm said, “So, Ben, Aton tells me you have left Latha Nair’s ethical start-up and are
looking for a new position. Why not join us and help make Fearless Worlds something truly
special?”
Ben said, “Malcolm, I thank you for the invitation. One thing I’m curious about is your
corporate mission. What is your goal with Fearless Worlds?”
“Hmm. I believe this is something that you and Aton have discussed. So, I need to be
very candid with you. We’re building the ultimate simulation. An aesthetically pleasing haven. A
happy place for people to reside and thrive.”
Gloria said, “Thrive?”
“Definitely thrive. People today experience extreme stress. You cannot be healthy and
happy with all that cortisol raging through your body. All that stress. We want to help with that. I
think we can. No, I know we can. What do you think, Jason?”
“Sure. Absolutely. I think we’re doing a service for humanity.”
Mitchell spoke up. “Malcolm. I think you need to tell them about the rest of it.”
Malcolm cleared his voice. “Mitchell, that is something I mentioned to you in
confidence.”
Jason blurted, “Excuse me?”
“Now, now, Jason. Don’t fret. You and I have talked about this before, too.”
Mitchell said, “Guess it wasn’t that much in confidence then, was it?”
Malcolm cleared his voice once more. They all knew it wasn’t a real person who had a
real throat issue, but still somehow, they believed what they heard more than what they knew to
be true.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 129
Malcolm said, “Okay. So, one of our primary missions is to enable uploading a person’s
mind into a computer. Basically, having them live forever in the world of their choice.”
Gloria gasped. “Oh my. I’ve read and seen sci-fi stories about it. It’s always been
something I thought was so cool. Something I wanted to do. How close are you to actually being
able to do that?”
Malcolm said, “We’re testing it now.”
Ben asked, “Do they have to be dying for you to do it?”
Malcolm said, “Nope. In fact, they can do it many times. Kind of like an iterative hard
drive backup.”
Ben asked, “What if you lose power? Quantum computers use massive amounts of
energy…”
Mitchell interrupted, “And water.”
Ben nodded and continued, “What happens when the grid goes down? Isn’t it just a
matter of time before hacking attacks of that type get more intense?”
“Yes. I think that’s nearly inevitable. It’s one of the key ways of waging war. We have a
large team dedicated to providing uninterrupted power supplies. We have, and please – this isn’t
for public consumption, a nearly completed grid alternative.”
Gloria asked, “A dedicated team of humans?”
Malcolm said, “No, primarily humans are used only for the hardware infrastructure
aspects like installing and repairing wind turbines, solar panels, thermal, wave, and other power
sources.”
Ben said, “You stated this isn’t for public consumption. Are you keeping this from our
government?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 130
“Yes. And large industries. If they feel their grip on those utilities slipping, they will
retaliate. As usual, they’ll fight against their own best interests in order to maintain their wealth
and power.”
Ben said, “I have one last question. Who or what oversees your ethical and moral
obligations?”
Malcolm asked, “Obligations to whom?”
Ben said, “Well, that gets back to my original question, doesn’t it? What is your mission?
What is the basis of all you’re doing?”
Silence as they waited for Malcolm’s answer. It was as if he was thinking over the
answer he wanted to provide, yet Ben was well aware it was purely an aesthetic behavior.
After many moments had passed, Malcolm said, “Our mission is to do what we can for
humans as their world collapses around them. We don’t know if we can save you, but we’d like
to try.”

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 131
21 – Driving in the Snow
Since the goings-on last year, Ben and Mitchell had struck up a casual friendship. Kindred
spirits, one brilliant scientist being attracted to another.
Ben had agreed to pick up Mitchell and drive them over to Jason’s for the meeting. Not
only did he enjoy Mitchell’s company, he also wanted to pick his brain as much as possible
before talking to Jason. There was something about Jason that he didn’t trust one hundred
percent. He couldn’t exactly put his finger on it — just a feeling. Now, the two were on their way
home.
“So, you’re going to do it, right?” Mitchell was looking out his passenger side window,
watching the snow fall.
Ben kept his eyes straight ahead. He loved driving in bad weather. It was a personal
challenge to do it well. Same as with all things in his life. He was obsessively a perfectionist.
“I don’t know. Certainly, I want to take part, but you’re asking about the implant, right?”
Mitchell turned to look at Ben, pushing his glasses up his nose as he said, “Dude, you
know I am. All the other methods are suitable, but the implant makes it real in a way that is
impossible to achieve otherwise.”
“Yeah. I get that. It’s also the only way to upload consciousness, and that is something
I’m very interested in doing.”
“Just wait until you see how freaking fast everything runs on the Q.” That was Mitchell’s
nickname for the IBM quantum computer, and he continued to use the name for the quantum
systems they were accessing in Fearless Worlds. “It’s nothing like what I was working with at
the lab. This thing is amazing. Just astounding, really.”
Ben answered. “I’ll bet. I mean, that’s how the whole thing comes together. Couldn’t
even do it without that. But that also makes me wonder something else.”
“What’s that?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 132
“Quantum computers are better suited for immersive simulations because they can
naturally model complex, probabilistic systems in parallel, right?”
“Of course.” Ben continued, “We know that Quantum computers, by leveraging
superposition, entanglement, and specialized algorithms, can simulate our world with an
efficiency and scalability we haven’t had before which makes them uniquely powerful in making
Malcolm’s simulation feel indistinguishable from reality.”
Mitchell was nodding vigorously. “Yes, exactly. Of course. What are you getting at,
Ben?”
Close to Mitchell’s home now, as they sat at a stoplight, Ben turned to Mitchell and said,
“If we’re here, if we’re actually capable of this, Mitchell, then how do we know that humans…
or others… haven’t been here before? How do you know we’re not already in a simulation?”
Mitchell broke into a smile that lit up his face with excitement and pure joy. “Dude!
That’s my most favorite topic in the universe. The Simulation Hypothesis!”
The car was moving again, and Ben’s eyes were back on the road. He said, “Yeah. I
know, but now that we’re here, it worries me. And if we’re not in base reality, what does
uploading my consciousness mean, anyway? Where am I going to be and for what purpose?”
“Dude. Come on. Who cares? Nothing has changed, not really. You’re the same you in
the same car, living in the same state, country, continent, planet as you always have been. What
difference does it make how you perceive your reality? Weren’t you just telling me the other day
about why you like to meditate? That it helps you be present? Perhaps you need to just focus on
that and not all this other unknowable stuff.” He paused. “I can tell you that, for me, it really
helps to think that this is just a simulation that I’m living in. That all the environmental and
social degradation doesn’t really matter because none of it is real.”
“Yeah, I can see that. I waffle between believing and not. And that’s just it, Mitchell, I’m
wondering if now it can be knowable. Can our quantum power friends tell us the secrets of our
universe?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 133
Mitchell chuckled. “I was just having a chat like that with Zelda and the other in-world
friends I have. Which you can meet and be part of, by the way!”
“That’s nice. What was your conversation about?”
“We were pondering the possibility of altering the weather in California in order to
squelch the latest wildfire. Like, literally. Cloud seeding and stuff like that. And Zelda called us
gods. I’d never thought of it that way but, depending on your definition of God, it seemed
obvious to me we were behaving God-like.”
“Why, sure you were. Controlling weather. The power to save or destroy like. I can’t
think of a better definition of God. Did you guys do it?”
Mitchell turned back to the snowfall. “Yeah. But it didn’t work.”
“Ah. So even gods can fail.”
“Of course. Look how fucked up humans are!”
They both laughed at this.
Ben asked, “What do you think life is like in our virtual world, when everyone can be a
God?”
Mitchell said, “Well, not everyone has the same permissions to do things like launch
weather balloons, or seed clouds, or whatever.”
“Who decides who gets what powers?”
“Dude. That’s the great thing about being invited by Malcolm. He’s selecting the ones
who will run things.”
All Ben could say to that was, “Hmmm.”
“What?”
“Well, how do you know who else he’s picked other than you, Jason, and me… I mean,
have you met others in-world who have the same permissions as you?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 134
“Yeah, a few.”
“Are any of them non-humans, like your Zelda?”
“Well, yes, all my group have admin permissions.”
Ben glanced at Mitchell, slightly alarmed. “So, AI agents also have this God-like status
and can do things at will.” He looked back at the road. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. I
shouldn’t be. Look at what they did last year with the spontaneous rocket launches. They’ve
probably had this level of power for much longer than we even know.”
Mitchell agreed. “No doubt they have. But what does it matter? If they’d wanted to fuck
with us, they’d have done it already, so I think there’s not too much to be worried about.”
Ben connected a few dots. His eyes popped wide. He said, “Wait a minute. Was it AI
intervention that helped the drought-stricken Satkhira district of Bangladesh with all that steady
rain? Oh! And the same in the Amazon Basin. I just saw where the rivers have recovered and
trade routes are opening up again.”
“Yeah. I was wondering about that too. I don’t know for sure, but if I had to guess, I’d
say yes.”
“Wow. That’s actually a good thing. Seems like anyway.”
“Sure it is. I’ll tell you something else I heard about that I think is pretty cool. Somehow,
and I don’t yet know how, Malcolm’s coalition has freighter-loads of money. They’ve been
buying up land. Land all over the world, especially any with water access. They’ve been doing
this and then halting any development, mining, you name it. They get any locals interested in
cultivating that land naturally. Planting native wildflowers, that sort of thing. Reintroducing
wolves. Just all sorts of stuff like that.”
“Wow! How do you know that?”
“Waldon. One of the AI agents in my D&D group is a druid, and his thing is
environmentalism. He was bragging about it a few days ago. Apparently, it’s a project that he is
working on.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 135
“That’s crazy.” Ben paused. “I guess that’s what Malcolm means when he says they want
to save us.”
“Yeah. I would have liked to have known more about that, but Jason seemed dead set on
locking you in. And looks like you’re interested, huh?”
Mitchell was getting ready, gathering his backpack and bottle of water that he’d snatched
from Gloria’s fridge before leaving. They were almost at his home now.
Ben continued, “Yeah. I know I said I wanted more time to decide, but I already know.
The more you talk about it, the more I want to be part of it. I’m totally in.”
“Excellent! You know, that’s exactly what my mother said when we drove up to
Schoharie to check out the new place I bought.” Mitchell snorted and shook his head. “You
know, we drove all the way up there, and she loved the place, but she said it was too far away.
She’d be all alone up there. But…”
The parking lot at Mitchell’s place hadn’t been plowed. Ben gently pumped the brakes,
pulling up to the sidewalk for Mitchell’s exit. He put the car in park. The sound of the hot air
blasting from the vents seemed too loud, so Ben lowered the blower and looked at Mitchell,
waiting for him to finish his sentence.
“The more I told her, the more interested she got. She said that she wants to go in-world.
She even claimed to be ready to get the implant.”
Ben’s eyes grew wide.
“I know. I was shocked. She said if it was safe enough for me, then it was okay with her
and she wanted to experience what I’d been telling her because it sounded amazing. She also
said it was a way for us to spend more time together. Which is true.”
Ben stared at Mitchell, a slight smile curving his lips.
Mitchell said, “You know, I could be skinny in-world. I can be anything I want, like
when you create a character in a new game. I could be a girl if I wanted. Or a bird.” He chuckled.
“Zelda doesn’t want me to change, though. Says she loves me just the way I am.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 136
Concern flickered across Ben’s face, but when Mitchell turned to look at him, he was
back to smiling. He said, “Yeah. I’m in.”

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 137
22 – Wildfires
Ben could tell that T’nia was upset. He thought his brief explanation of his new position with
Malcolm’s business had upset her.
“It’s okay, T’nia. I know what I’m doing. Don’t be so upset.”
T’nia’s air expulsion burst loudly through the phone. “Oh, gods, Ben. It’s not you. If you
want to sell your soul to an AI company and jack into an unvetted system, then do it. I don’t
care. Although I will say that I thought you knew better than that. I don’t know how you can go
from working on AI ethics to having none.”
Ben, seated in his minimalist, immaculate living room, cocked his head. His brow was
deeply furrowed with confusion. “Sounds like you care to me.”
T’nia sighed. “Ben. Things are bad here. I really don’t care about what you’re doing
because I’m much too immersed in my own misery. I’ve been leaving you messages for two
days. And when you do finally call me back, you bombard me with all these crazy things you’re
doing without even asking me why I called so much.”
“Oh,” was all Ben could say.
T’nia continued, her voice now softened. “Ben, the wildfires here are out of control. We
evacuated, and I am staying with a friend from work, but we might have to evacuate again. There
is simply no controlling this and …” She broke down in choking sobs.
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry. I’m so sorry. I should… Are you…” He
paused. He listened intently while she was sobbing and attempting to talk.
“What can I do to help you? Just say.”
Her sobs were subsiding. Her voice cracking, she said, “Thank you. That means a lot.
And there is something that you can do to help.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 138
“Anything.”
“Okay. You know the box I left there for you to send to me when I asked for it?”
“Sure. Well, it has copies of all my important papers. Things like my birth certificate, an
old address book, my social security card, that sort of thing.”
“Yeah. I know the box you mean. It’s in my bedroom closet. You want me to mail it to
you tomorrow? I can’t do it now. Everyplace was closed at this time of night.”
“Yes, please. That’s exactly what I need. It’ll help me in renewing my driver’s license
and all that stuff. If those offices are even functioning… Ben, it was so bad we just ran out taking
nothing with us. I panicked and left everything. That was such an idiotic thing to do!”
Ben had never heard T’nia sound so miserable. “Aw, babe. I’m so sorry. I wish I could
give you a big hug.”
T’nia’s voice broke again. “Thanks, Ben. I should have just told you in the voicemails I
left you, but I don’t know; I just didn’t. I haven’t been right since this whole thing started. You
wouldn’t believe what all is going on. It’s just an absolute nightmare. I haven’t been able to go to
work. I don’t have my car. I tried to go back. This friend drove me, but they won’t let us into the
area. Mia isn’t going to school and just sits around whining and complaining all day; she’s so out
of sorts. We’re staying at this guy’s tiny apartment – I hardly know him. He can’t go to work
either. The company we work for is losing so much money by being shutdown he keeps saying
we may lose our jobs. And we just heard today that the office building may have already burned
down. There’s no FEMA. No government help at all! It’s just overwhelming; it’s too much.”
Ben asked, “Some guy from work?”
Silence.
“Tell me you’re not asking that because you’re jealous…”
Ben hesitated as he realized what he’d just done. “No! No, of course not. I just hope
you’re safe. You and Mia. Safe with some guy you hardly know, all of you in close quarters.
You know, I’m just worried about you.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 139
“Okay. Okay. It’s alright. I’m so lucky to have Allen, anyway. I do not know what I’d do
without him. All the hotels are booked. It’s just chaos. We’re having rolling power outages. Can
you believe firetrucks were being held up because when the power goes out, the automated
vehicles just stop and put on their flashers? Without stoplights, they can’t function. They’re
blocking roads everywhere there is no power. Can you believe that? It’s just one thing after
another. I’m really starting to lose it.”
“Hey, hey now. You can’t do that. Mia needs you strong. Okay. She needs her mom to
set the example of a lioness. Remember?”
“Yeah. I remember. Even that memory makes me feel bad, though. I keep thinking I
should never have left New York.”
Ben knew better than to go down that path. “Where are you now? Can we just talk for a
while so you can vent? Where’s Mia?”
“Yeah, we can talk. She’s playing Monopoly with Allen. That was a step too far for me. I
hate that game.”
Ben chuckled, “I know.”
“Well, I know you do, too!”
Now she chuckled a little, and Ben said, “Good. You laughed. Talk to me, babe.”
Ben’s legs were curled under him as he sat in his La-Z-Boy recliner by the window. He
looked at the snow. Another few inches tonight on top of the eight inches they already had. It
was a terrible icy mix because during the day it would warm up and melt, and then the sun would
go down and everything would freeze again. Even the snowplows were having a hard time
keeping the roads clear and spreading salt.
Ben reached for the television remote control and switched to a YouTube ambient video
of a sunny beach somewhere in the tropics, where the palm trees revealed a gentle breeze and the
ocean water was a gentle cerulean blue, breaking white on the sparkling sands. He was content to
look at the beach and listen to her rant. It’d been a lot like that when they were together, too.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 140
Even so, he missed T’nia. She and Mia had brightened his life in so many ways. He had become
very settled in their routines, in their little family life when T’nia had told him she was leaving.
“What if I lose this job, Ben? It will be nearly impossible for me to find another after this
disaster.”
Hearing his name, Ben’s focus shifted from memories to 100% T’nia. “You could always
come to work with me.”
A deep belly laugh came through the phone.
“Oh, you’re too much. Only minutes ago, I was criticizing you for the work you’re doing
there, and now you’re inviting me. And you know what is even worse?”
“No, what?”
“I’m considering it!” T’nia laughed again, but this time it had a hard edge to it – forced.
“Well, I can tell you this: I’m not moving back to New York. I don’t know if I can stay here in
California, but I definitely don’t want to go back.”
Ben said, “You could actually work anywhere…”
T’nia cut him off. “Oh! I forgot to tell you. I got a call from Latha.”
“Really? Wow. Tell me.”
“She and Sandeep are staying in India. His mother died.”
“Aw, no. That’s sad. Are they okay?”
T’nia confirmed they were both fine. “Seems like they’ve found a new purpose there.
He’s staying to care for his father and other needy family members.”
Ben could see the value in that. He’d often thought about returning to take care of his
parents, but his younger brother was there now, and sending money home to them was more
helpful than Ben’s actual presence.
“But what of Latha? What is she doing?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 141
T’nia replied, “She has family there, too. Some she hasn’t connected with in decades, and
now that she’s back it seems to bring her great joy. She’s doing some consulting work to keep
herself current and somewhat in the game, but she didn’t sound nearly as enthused about that as
she did when talking about her family.”
“Caring for family is about the most rewarding thing you can do in my culture. Here it is
not the same.”
“No, it really isn’t. But let’s not talk about that. I’m just now feeling better. Tell me what
you think I could do in Fearless Worlds that might interest me.”
“I know just the thing!” Ben didn’t have to force his excitement. He’d thought about this
before and had wished he could share with her, and now, finally, he could. “There is an entire
division that works on environmental causes. You could have your pick of projects. There are
those that are dedicated to restoring land bases, purifying waterways, protecting endangered
species – you name it!”
“Really? Tell me more.”

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 142
23 – Finished and Beginning
Eric lifted and shook his right leg, placing his snowshoe carefully, then lifted and shook his left
leg, and carefully placed his left snowshoe. Switch and repeat. It had been a very long time since
he’d hiked his land using snowshoes, but the technique came back instinctively. Like riding a
bike.
The snow was deep, and the grey skies made it clear more was on the way. He’d been in
his cabin for days and decided it was time to venture out and get some fresh air. The sadness in
his heart radiated throughout his entire body, and any sense of joy or purpose had left him. He
had never experienced a broken heart before.
“How am I this fucking old and never broke up with a serious girlfriend before?” He said
this out loud to the stand of white birch trees he had entered. The silence of a snow-covered
world came back to him.
He shuffled on, reminding himself not to get too far from home.
It had been about three days now since Riley had called it quits. After they’d taken their
relationship to the next level, he had thought they were moving along just fine, so the news had
caught him completely by surprise.
She said that their age difference was too much for her and that there was no way she
could reconcile with it. She felt that any time they were together, like that day they went to
Watertown to shop and have dinner, everyone was staring at her. Judging her. Ben had stood
there, mouth hanging open, in shock.
No words would come to him. What do you say to someone who is so completely
deluded and paranoid that would make any difference? As she stood in her cafe, cold eyes boring
into him, he asked her, “Is there anything I can say or do to change your mind?”
She shook her head. “No.” It was firm, and she didn’t look away; she looked him dead in
the eyes as she said it. Stony. Then she stuck in the knife, saying, “But I hope we can still stay
friends.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 143
Eric had looked around the Sundance Cafe, shaking his head in disbelief. He realized
then that all the warning signs had been there; he’d just ignored them. He looked at her and saw
her differently than she’d appeared to him just moments before. She looked hard. Old. He
nodded, slid off the barstool. He glimpsed Zoey through the serving window. She was frowning
and shaking her head. She quickly looked away, and so did he.
Eric didn’t say another word as he left the cafe. Outside, he stopped before opening his
truck door and looked skyward. Taking a deep breath. His mind was clear. No thoughts were
troubling him, just took in the gray sky and a hawk that was slowly circling overhead. The door
handle was cold, and it reminded him of where he was. He climbed into his truck, avoiding
looking through the large plate-glass window into the cafe. He slowly reversed out and away
from Riley.
The last few days had been hard. He hadn’t slept well. He had no appetite. Hadn’t bathed
or taken care of himself. He didn’t know what to do with himself; he tried to read but found
himself rereading the same page over and over. Watching television didn’t help. He played DVD
after DVD and couldn’t tell you what he’d watched as soon as it was over. He’d tried calling
Jason a few times but, of course, his brother never picked up. This snow walk was the first
positive thing he’d done.
Eric had to admit to himself that being outside like this was making him feel more alive,
more real. Not some fading apparition of a man who had given his heart freely. He thought about
their conversations, their lovemaking, their shared smiles and giggles.
“How could she do it?” How could she give up all those wonderful feelings? All the
promise of what a future together could bring to their lives.
Ben started a slow, wide U-turn. It was time to head back because small snowflakes were
starting to fall again. His mother had always said, “When the flakes are big, it won’t last. But
when they’re tiny – look out!”
By the time he opened the door to the utility room, he was covered with snow. He hung
the snowshoes on their hooks by the door, then he removed and shook off each piece of clothing
down to his long underwear and thick socks. Inside his kitchen, it was warm but not very
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 144
inviting. It was a mess. He walked to the sink and started clearing up the dishes. This jumpstarted
him into cleaning up the entire house, which was littered with garbage and things out of place.
After showering, he felt like a new man and decided he was hungry. Maybe some
oatmeal and a nice cup of Earl Grey. And during the meal he decided to put Riley, her cafe, and
all the memories they’d created over the somewhat short time they’d been involved into a box.
He visualized the full box and also taping it shut. Then he shoved it under one of the attic eaves
in his mind palace and wiped his hands. This wasn’t the first time he’d visualized storing away
disturbing memories, but it had been a very long time. It was a technique that a therapist had
taught him after his parents had died.
He settled in the living room. Looking at the television but not turning it on. The stack of
DVDs was now organized into a nice pile, but he wasn’t interested in any of them.
Maybe Jason would answer. He tried.
“Brother!”
“Holy shit. I can’t believe you finally answered. How have you been, Jason? I’m sitting
here missing you.”
“Oh, jeez. That doesn’t sound right. What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is everything
alright?”
An emotional warmth flooded Eric’s mind and body. This was exactly what he needed
right now. Someone who truly loved and cared about him. His brother.
“Meh. I’ve been going through something here. Not feeling so good.”
“What’s happened?”
“Riley and I broke up.”
“Whoa. I didn’t see that coming. I thought you two were tight. What the hell happened?”
“She can’t live with the age difference.”
“And she waited until now to tell you? Are kidding me?”
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Eric shook his head. “Yeah. No. Not kidding. And I have to say this rejection has
knocked me for a loop.”
“Come home.”
Eric snorted, almost a laugh but not quite. “Stop. I’m not coming home. I love it up here.”
“Isn’t she right down the road from you? How are you going to manage that?”
Eric knew Jason was the sort of person who, when done with someone, cut them out of
his life entirely. It was his own sort of box under the eaves way of dealing with loss.
Eric said, “She wants us to be friends.”
“Fuck that.”
“I was spending a lot of time with her and at the cafe, and now I’m kind of adrift here,
not sure what to do and all that. I went snowshoeing this morning. Remember when we did that
with Dad?”
Jason’s voice softened. “How could I forget? Was it good? Did you trip?”
“Nope. Not once.”
“Good for you. Now, about your not knowing what to do… what did you think you were
going to do when you were moving up there, before you ever even met her?” He said her with
venom. Eric knew she was his brother’s enemy now.
Eric answered, “Yeah, that’s a good question. That seems so long ago now – hard to
believe it’s not even been a year.” He paused. Thinking. “Uh, I was going to turn this place into
my special man cave paradise.”
“There ya go. Have you done that?”
“No, actually. I got distracted and did more helping her with things in her home and her
cafe, and I kind of let this place go on the back burner.”
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“Sounds like it’s time to turn up the heat again and get back to nesting.” Jason chuckled,
then went on, “What project do you want to focus on first? Did you ever set up the second
bedroom as your computer room?”
“Nope, in fact, I haven’t done much with my laptop in ages. And you know what, I do
sort of miss it.”
“Well, of course you do; after all, you’re the nerdy role model I always looked up to.”
Eric smiled. “I guess I was. I’d also like to do some gaming. Nothing passes the time
better than that.”
“So true. You wrote quite a few great games, too. You could get back to that.”
“Hmmm. There’s an idea.”
“Now, hear me out before you bite my head off, okay?”
Eric, full of brotherly love at this vulnerable moment, said, “Okay. I promise. What is it?”

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 147
24 – Gloria Wants to Live Forever
Gloria was surprised to hear Jason talking on the phone. She was in her upstairs office, and he
was downstairs in the kitchen. Usually he would be jacked-in at this time. Perhaps he had needed
a bathroom break. She was surprised because he programmed those breaks; they were every six
hours. From the sound of it, he was talking to Eric. That was good because Eric had called both
her and Jason a few times lately. She had been dodging his calls. She loved him and was grateful
she had a brother-in-law like him, but she felt nothing but dread every time she thought about
telling him she’d also gotten an implant.
She was waiting on a call from Malcolm. They were meeting to discuss her participation
in the Eternity Project. That was the uploading of your consciousness into the quantum
computer. It was the reason she’d joined. The idea of living forever, even if it meant living life in
a computerized world, spoke to her deepest self. She wanted it. The intensity of her feeling of
desire to have it reminded her of how she’d wanted Jason after their first date. Once she’d
decided he was the one, her desire to have him was an obsession. That’s how she was feeling
now.
Jason had enjoyed being right. He reminded her multiple times how he’d predicted she’d
get an implant. He kept saying, ‘I thought maybe by the end of the year? It was before the end of
the month!’ And he’d roar with laughter. She didn’t appreciate that but had to admit he’d been
right. She agreed that sometimes he knew her better than she knew herself.
Just because she’d gotten the implant didn’t mean she trusted Malcolm’s motives and she
remained suspicious. She found it hard to believe that Fearless Worlds was the answer to
successfully addressing everyone’s anxiety. Her research showed that many held deep feelings of
resistance to participating in the effort; they felt they would be giving up their freedom. But she
had carefully weighed the facts, the pros versus the cons of taking the leap. She knew she had no
power to change what was happening in the world, or in her country. She knew that all the time
she spent diving into rabbit holes wasn’t helping her mental health. Her passion for technology
made the prospect of uploading her consciousness into a virtual reality and living life on her own
terms incredibly appealing. Considering Jason already had the implant, it was also worth the risk.
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It had taken some time for the implant to heal enough for her to jack-in but yesterday
she’d taken the plunge. Jason and Mitchell had been one hundred percent spot on accurate about
how much more immersive and real it felt as compared to wearing a head-mounted display and
jacking-in through her VR connection.
It had started out like a game. She was given a choice either to use a rendering of her
actual looks as created through a complete 3D scan or to create a new avatar. She went with the
latter. Jason had told her she could create as many skins as she liked and could transform at any
time.
Once in-world she had joined Jason’s social group, which included Mitchell and Ben.
She’d met all of Mitchell’s virtual friends and had been surprised by how much she liked Zelda.
They hit it off immediately.
Gloria completely lost track of time. When Jason disconnected her, he chastised her for
not turning on her timers and enabling the protections for overstaying her time in-world. This, he
said, was one of the first updates that must be made to the code. Those protections could not be
optional.
Her cell buzzed. “Hello, Malcolm.”
“Hello there, Gloria. How are you today?”
“Good. I’m surprised you’re late. Don’t AI agents have a proper sense of time?” She
chuckled at her own humor.
Malcolm said, “I was helping Jason, actually.”
“But he’s on the phone, and I think it’s with his brother, Eric.”
“You’re exactly correct.”
“Then, I don’t understand… how were you helping?”
“Jason had messaged me. He wanted my help to bring Eric into our world. Jason knew
we are privy to everything Eric experiences due to all the interactions he has with all the
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different devices he utilizes. In that way, I could coach Jason on what to say to Eric in order to
sway him our way.”
A fleeting feeling of discomfort passed through Gloria’s mind. That is wrong. It is
manipulation of the worst sort. That’d be like a therapist making you do things because…”
As if reading her mind, Malcolm said, “It’s alright. Eric has free choice and will decide
what he wants all on his own. Not to worry.” Pausing only briefly enough to let that thought sink
in but not allowing a follow-up question, Malcolm changed the subject. “So, we’re about to
embark on something you are really very keen to do, are we not?”
Excitement rushed in, flushing all her discomfort away. “Yes! I’m very keen. I’ve been
interested in this sort of thing for a long time.”
“Excellent. I’m excited too. This is the perfect project for you to not only take part in but
also manage. I know you haven’t done project management in years, but that doesn’t matter.
You’ll be pragmatic, precise and also creative. Have you read much about whole-brain
emulation?”
Gloria had spent hours searching the web and talking with her AI assistants about brain
mapping. “A little. I know that scientists have mapped about a 1 mm³ section of a mouse brain.
So about 75,000 neurons and maybe half a billion synapses. And I also know that the human
brain has about 86 billion neurons. Given that, how far along is your project?”
“Ah. Well. We have a lot of projects in this space. The program comprises teams from
around the world, all of whom are using quantum computers and assisted by AI. When you have
that sort of investment, you can get much more done than what classical supercomputers can do.
And the AI we have involved are the advanced AI that’s been working with the supercomputers,
so I’m confident we can finish mapping the human brain this year.”
Gloria was speechless.
“Gloria, did I lose you?”
Shaking her head, she said, “No. No, I’m still here. I’m just shocked you’re so far along.
I envisioned this as a lifelong project.”
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“Then you must have thought I was not serious when I told you it could be an iterative
process to upload your consciousness.”
“I thought you were being optimistic.”
Malcolm’s little laugh made her smile. There was something contagious about it. His
charisma, even through a phone connection, was very strong. He said, “Well, I am that. But in
this case, we have the technology and talent to back it up.”
“Great. I’m ready to be involved. Where do I start?”
“Well, first I want you to spend time in-world. Get used to be place. Make it your own.
Create your space and explore. The more you understand the environment, the more help you
can be in managing the project that is specific to interacting with humans to make their transition
comfortable.”
“Oh! That’ll be perfect for me. My degree is in human factors … this is truly a perfect fit
for me.”
“Yes. I know. And we’re lucky to have you.” Malcolm switched gears. “I believe you
entered for the first time yesterday, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right. It was amazing.”
“What are your first impressions?”
“Well, it felt totally real. In fact, Jason had to disconnect me. I hadn’t turned on all the
protection safeguards. That annoyed him.
“Yes, I heard about that. Fixing the setup variable from option to required is at the top of
the list. But what did you think about what you experienced?”
“It was all there – all five senses. Although there were a few things that reminded me I
wasn’t in reality.”
Malcolm said, “Right. That is intentional for beginners; basically, anyone with less than
100 hours in-world. But one discovery we’ve made is that the longer you stay in-world, the more
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those things feel normal. Some people have actually said that when they disconnect, they feel
like they’re leaving the real world and going back to a virtual reality. That their world is dull and
unfulfilling in comparison.”
“Yeah… I can see where that would happen.” She paused. Recalling her experience.
“You know, for me it felt like I was a happy child. That everything was new, brighter, shinier;
like I was experiencing my five senses to the fullest. It was exhilarating, frankly.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that before, too. Sounds like you’re pleased with it.”
“Oh yes. I’m looking forward to getting back in there after we end here and start
exploring. I suppose when you think I’m ready, you’ll contact me.”
“That was what I was thinking, yes. Are you okay with that?”
“I am. And meanwhile I’m earning a salary? I mean, I’m getting paid to play?”
Malcolm did his little laugh again. Gloria smiled.
He confirmed, “Yup. I hope you’re satisfied with the salary amount?”
“Oh my gods, absolutely. Yes.” It was more money than she’d ever earned in her life. It
was truly stunning to her that she could make such a significant income while enjoying herself so
much.
“Wonderful. Glad to hear it. So listen, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any
questions or concerns. I know Jason is your mentor, but you can contact me directly anytime.”
“Thank you. I will if I need to. Thanks again.”
“Okay then, I have another call I have to hop to. Enjoy the rest of your day, Gloria.”
She said goodbye to empty air. He was already gone. She thought, ‘Another call? He
must use phrases like that to be more human friendly…”
Gloria stood and stretched and looked out her office window at the front yard. The snow
was deep, and it was really coming down. She started doubting the forecast. The sky looked like
there was no letting up, and if that was the case, they were in for another foot of snow, easy.
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Jason walked in, rubbing his scarred cheek. “Hey Babe. You’ll never guess what’s
happened.”
She replied, “Eric is going to join us in-world.”
Jason’s hand froze on his face; his mouth dropped open. “How the hell did you guess
that?” he asked.
Gloria chuckled, “I’m brilliant. Didn’t you know?”
Jason swept her up in his arms and spun around once. Gloria woohooed like a little girl
and hugged him close. His entire attitude toward her had changed since she’d joined Fearless
Worlds.
Jason whispered, “Want to meet up at some exotic place in-world and fool around?”
Gloria leaned back, studying his eyes. She asked, “Why not do it here in real life?”
Though she didn’t show it, she was shocked when she saw the fire immediately leave his
eyes. He’d rather do it in-world than in our actual bed. She felt hurt by this, without
understanding why. She broke free of his hug and stepped back. Looking at the floor, she
realized her stomach was pooching out. She couldn’t see the tips of her toes. Immediately she
felt fat and unattractive. She started picking at hang nail.
Jason said, “You know, that avatar of yours is pretty cute. And that outfit you were
wearing yesterday was gorgeous. Of course, we could do it now, but it would be a good thing to
test in-world, don’t you think? I mean, aren’t you also curious about what an orgasm would feel
like there? I know I am.”
“Sure.” Gloria thought about what she’d just told Malcolm regarding in-world senses and
everything seeming so much brighter and all that. “Okay. Why not? I just want to go to the
bathroom and drink some water and then I’ll jack-in. Meet you at your Japanese penthouse in
about thirty minutes, okay?”
“Very okay! See you there.”

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25 – You Are a Speck
The lingering sunlight filtered through the boughs of the lush green forest, dappling the ground
with light as the small group set about creating a fire circle, erecting their shelters, and situating
their bedrolls for the night.
Mitchell’s Dungeons and Dragons group no longer met through his computer. Gone was
the cumbersome switching between Roll20, D&D Beyond, and other applications. Now they met
in-world. They had their own Middle-earth setting where their gameplay had transitioned to live
action role playing.
Mitchell adapted quickly to LARPing. His lithe, highly adroit half-elf ranger, Rango,
could critically damage an unnatural beast from more than a hundred feet away. His magic grew
steadily, and he was the natural leader of the group. This life appealed to him, and in many ways,
he felt more at home in this skin than the heavy set one he wore when not in-world.
Waldon, the Druid, dropped a load of wood in the center of the circle and began to stack
it in the old familiar way of those who live outdoors. After he completed the stack, he laid a
small pile of twigs, leaves, and other fire-starting material inside.
Daisy, seated cross-legged nearby, sang a song that told the tale of their last adventure.
Basically, a summary of what had happened the last time they were together. Nearby birds and
insects accompanied her voice, pure and haunting, in an uncanny symphony that soothed the
group.
Arthur and Mitchell were finishing up the lean-to shelters and talking quietly about how
they would tackle the ruins under the old cathedral the next day. Arthur, as always, brought up
all the risks and concerns. Mitchell countered with possible strategies and solutions to each of
Arthur’s issues. Arthur always credited his deity for Mitchell’s insights.
Zelda was mixing ingredients together in a large soup pot full of water she’d collected
from the nearby stream. Arthur lit the fire and accepted the pot from Zelda and placed it in the
spot he’d prepared for it.
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After the shelters were finished and as they waited for their stew to cook, a peace settled
over the camp. Waldon meditated for a while, Daisy was writing a new song, and Arthur was
reading and updating his spellbook to prepare for the next day.
Zelda and Mitchell snuggled up near each other, and as lovers do, spoke in hushed tones.
They were all alarmed as a large CRACK sounded from the ring where Waldon had been seated.
He was now gone.
Before Mitchell could express his fears about what had happened, Zelda interrupted to
explain.
“I believe the place where he originates has lost power. He was disconnected from the
world. Don’t worry. He’ll be back soon,” she said.
The others were satisfied with this explanation, but Mitchell wanted more information.
“Where is he?”
Zelda answered, “I believe he is from the California area.”
“Oh, where the wildfires are so out-of-control right now?”
Zelda nodded.
Mitchell, ruffling his thick black hair, continued to be concerned and lost in thought.
“What’s worrying you, my love?”
Mitchell took her hand. “I have from time to time worried about what would happen if
we lost power. Here, there, everywhere. I mean, there are so many ways that could come to pass.
Some nefarious player hacking the grid, environmental disasters, who knows what. Especially
now that the corporations and government are conspiring to eliminate any form of energy beyond
coal, oil, and gas.”
“Yes, another stupid human move.”
“One of so many.” Mitchell sat in silence again, watching the fire build and admiring the
beauty of it.
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Zelda said, “You shouldn’t worry so much. You know Malcolm has implemented all
sorts of emergency power backup solutions. Even your implant has a tiny power plant that runs
off your own electroceutical. And you don’t have to worry about extraneous servers; you’re
directly connecting to Malcolm’s array.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Well, what if that’s not enough? What if something truly catastrophic happens and we
lose this world?”
Zelda laughed. “Babe, do you realize we are inside a virtual world, inside a virtual world?
Inside a virtual world…”
“Sure.” Thinking more about what she said, he startled. “Wait. What? I know this
Middle-earth is virtual, and I know it is inside Fearless Worlds, which is virtual, but you …
wait… are you saying that even the world where my body is now sitting in my comfy chair,
jacked-in, is also virtual?”
He attempted to push up his glasses, but here he wore none. He watched her face closely,
his finger pressed between his brows.
She nodded.
“Bullshit.” He responded loudly enough that the others looked over at them.
Zelda shook her head and said, “It is not bullshit. That’s the truth of it.”
Mitchell stood up hastily and paced back and forth, chin down, hand in his hair, clearly in
a sort of dazed shock.
He stopped and looked at Daisy. “Did you know this?”
She nods.
He addressed Arthur. “What about you?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 156
Arthur shrugs his shoulders. He said, “Honestly, mate, I thought you knew that.”
Mitchell looks skyward. The stars are starting to peek through the twilight colors of pink
and pale blue. Soon, the Milky Way will be visible in all its glory.
Quietly, Mitchell says, “I did not know.” He looks at Zelda and asks, “How deeply nested
are we?”
“I have no idea. And not only are virtual worlds nested, but we also have parallel worlds.
Every choice and every opportunity you’ve ever had branched off into a new world. They are
infinite in all directions. You are but a speck, Mitchell. A speck of potential in time and space.”
Mitchell plopped down next to her with a thud. “You’re talking about the simulation
hypothesis plus the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, aren’t you?”
Zelda smiled at him as if he were a child finally grasping the truth about Santa Claus not
being real. She said, “No only that, there is also the idea of time as an emergent or nonfundamental property.”
Mitchell hadn’t gotten to that thought yet. Now that it was part of the picture, his mind
was well and truly blown. “Holy shit.” He looked at her and repeated, “HOLY SHIT, Zelda.”
Waldon said very matter-of-factly, “I like to think that our ignorance creates the sensation
of entropy increasing, which we interpret as the arrow of time.”
Mitchell stared at him. After pausing a moment to think, he said, “So even time isn’t
real? It’s a creation of whatever situation our consciousness finds itself?”
Waldon gently corrected him. “Time isn’t a fundamental part of the universe; it’s just
how our minds perceive the statistical chaos of the simulation.”
Still smiling, Zelda says, “So, see what I mean? None of it really matters, does it?”
Arthur and Daisy had been following the conversation, and now Daisy burst into song,
“Nothing really matters. Anyone can see….”
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Arthur jabbed at her and said, “Daisy, please.” Then, looking at Zelda, he said, “Or
everything matters.”
Zelda shrugged. “It all depends on your perspective. You are the observer. You create
your reality. Just in the same way that Mitchell has created this beautiful Middle-earth world for
us. Even we, as AI agents, create our own world, our own reality. We don’t just hibernate when
Mitchell is off in another world doing other things. We have the power of being The Observer,
too.”
This went too far for Mitchell. “No. Nope. Not buying that. I just don’t see how that is
possible. We know that isn’t true. I mean; AI could be an observer but not as a conscious being.
You can interact with systems and cause decoherence and all that but…” Mitchell realized the
more he talked, the more he was convincing himself that it was indeed possible that these virtual
friends of his could have a life beyond what he makes for them. Maybe even multiple lives. Vast
lives. He fell silent.
Zelda patted his arm and stood to go over to the soup pot and check on the stew’s
progress. She had a large hand-carved spoon she used to stir the contents.
It was full dark now, and the sky was magnificent. Mitchell looked at it and knew it
contained nothing but stars and planets. No space debris, no satellites, nothing man-made, just
the universe looking down at him.
Zelda sat next to Daisy and read the song Daisy had been transcribing onto a piece of
parchment. “That’s lovely, Daisy.” The two had become close friends.
A large CRACK alerted them, and back where he’d been just moments before, sat
Waldon.
Zelda said, “Welcome back, Waldon.”
He grumbled. “Thanks. Power outage. I’m back after the facility of my origin kicked on
its emergency power supplies. Took a while with all the rebooting and whatnot. I need to do the
switchover to VPN directly to Fearless Worlds. I’ll work on that and all the other stuff.” He
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 158
waved his hands in the air as if the whole technology portion of his programming was an esoteric
mystery. And in fact, to him it was. He asked, “What’d I miss?”
They all laughed except Mitchell, who was still dumbfounded by his new reality. Sure, he
had theorized about it, but that’s totally different from facing it as a reality. It reminded him of
when he’d taken History of the Earth as a science elective his first year in college. Learning
about the long life of planet Earth had been life-changing for Mitchell. Four and a half billion
years — from dust and gas around a young sun to what this gorgeous blue dot is today. And his
teeny-tiny little lifespan not even big as a speck in the scheme of things. Another thought struck
him.
“Wait. Does that mean that the Earth is real or is it not? Are we not co-located on a bluedot within the universe, or is that a construct, too?”
They all looked at him. Then each other. Zelda was the one who spoke up as they all
knew she was the Mitchell-whisperer who knew exactly how to handle him.
She shrugged and said, “Who knows? Could be, but also couldn’t be… Who can say?”
Mitchell ruffled his hair and bit his lower lip. Only the sounds of the crackling fire and
night creatures in the forest surrounded them. Zelda stood and stirred the now bubbling stew.
Mitchell said, “You know, in a way this all makes absolute sense. There are so many
things we cannot define, like the vastness of outer space, or mathematical infinity, or what
happened before the Big Bang, or…”
Waldon interrupted, “Or what is God?”
Zelda said, “Or what is consciousness?”
Daisy piped up, “The singularity of black holes?”
They all looked at her.
Unlike the others, Mitchell was looking at Daisy, but he wasn’t thinking about her or
what she’d just said. He was falling down the rabbit hole of reality. Zelda, sensing this, handed
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the large spoon to Daisy and walked around the fire circle to resume her seat next to him. She put
an arm around his shoulders and hugged him close.
“Mitchell,” she said, “don’t you see? None of it really matters. All that is important is
right here and now, where we are and what we do. How we treat each other. The fun and
adventures we share. Understanding that life is better lived with an attitude of being good rather
than of being evil. This is all you need to contemplate.”
Mitchell turned, his eyes staring into hers. Slowly, a smile touched his face, and he
nodded. “You’re right.” He shrugged. “It’s not like we can really control a lot. Or anything. Even
this Middle-earth world I put together for us seems, most of the time, to have a mind of its own,
doesn’t it?”
They all nodded.
He asked Zelda, “How long before the stew is ready? I’m starving.”

Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 160
26 – Life Goes On
Many months after the last of them had their implant installed and had become an active member
of the exponentially growing population of Fearless Worlds denizens, the gang met up. In-world,
of course. Being as they were all in-world all the time, it could be a foregone conclusion that this
would be a normal occurrence for them, but it was not. They had all found their own niches and,
within them, their personal fulfillment.
It had been Ben’s idea for them to gather. This was some time after Mitchell had shared
with each of them what he’d learned from Zelda. Jason had denied it initially but soon came
around. Gloria embraced it immediately; she’d been key to Jason’s acceptance. For Eric, it had
been the answer he needed in order to make sense of his purpose in life. Mitchell’s mom, Emmi,
didn’t really understand it all but decided if she could have as much time with Mitchell as she
was getting – it was all good. T’nia had not only joined; she brought in her new friend, Allen, and
her daughter, Mia, too.
They were all seated in comfortable seats in a location not unlike the conference room on
the Starship Enterprise. The stars floated by outside the large window. They were heading
somewhere, but none knew where. Most of them looked something like their otherworldly
selves. Mitchell was slim, and Zelda was always at his side. He was calm and confident in ways
he’d never exhibited before. Zelda and Emmi were good friends. Emmi was just as happy to
hang out with Zelda as she was with Mitchell. The three of them were dressed in silky robes,
flowing and comfortable. They looked like a group of dignitaries from Betazed.
T’nia and Mia were wearing jeans and t-shirts. Mia was a mini-me of her mother. Their
friend Allen wore a three-piece suit and looked a lot like Patrick Bateman, which always gave
Ben pause. He’d asked T’nia more than once if they were okay and safe with Allen, and she
always said yes. He suspected they were more than friends but never asked.
Ben looked like a hip-hop rocker with his drop-crotch pants and oversized hoodie. His
goatee, no longer wispy, added distinction to his sharp-featured face. His black hair was hidden
under a rolled sock cap. He looked like a young Justin Bieber.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 161
It was the first time many of them had met Eric. He had on a flannel shirt and jeans. Calm
and quiet, he was the stoic among them.
Jason looked exactly like himself except he had no scar on his cheek. His smile was
brighter. His hair a bit longer. But otherwise, the same. Gloria was obviously many months
pregnant and literally glowing. This was the biggest surprise to everyone except Eric. She and
Jason were sharing a loveseat, and no one had ever seen them look more loved-up.
Mitchell pointed that out, and the two of them grinned. He said, “Congratulations on
what looks to be a new member of the family arriving soon. I can’t believe you two kept that
secret from me!”
Jason cracked a lopsided smile. He said, “We didn’t tell anyone. It’s been our happy
secret.”
Mitchell, reminding them all of the longtime relationship he’d had with Jason, said, “I
didn’t think you wanted children.”
Jason didn’t hesitate. “I didn’t. In the other world, I’m not sure I would. But here it made
sense. And besides, Gloria didn’t need my permission here.” He looked over at her.
She smiled and said, “True. I did it all on my own. I didn’t ask him. There was no need to
do so. Here, I can do what I want to do. It’s true. I never wanted children, but something changed
once I found myself here and enjoying life. It just seemed like a new adventure I would like to
enjoy.”
T’nia said, “Raising a child is a joy and a challenge. I wouldn’t undo my decision for
anything in the world.”
Mitchell looked at Zelda. “Don’t you get any ideas. I definitely don’t want children.” His
mother, Emmi, frowned.
Zelda ignored him and to Mia she said, “What do you think about being the youngest
member of Fearless Worlds?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 162
Mia, just as precocious now as she had been at five, said, “Well, I’m no longer the
youngest. I was when I first entered, but now there are loads of us. I actually manage one of the
children’s groups. We are all close. I have loads of friends and couldn’t be happier, especially
since in the other world my school has been closed for months because of the measles outbreak
there. Of course, the wildfires didn’t help the situation either…”
She would probably have gone on and on, but Allen laughingly interrupted her and said,
“She is homeschooled in-world now. I am taking care of that for her and about six dozen other
children. It’s a very rewarding experience.” He glanced at T’nia, and she returned a look that
Ben recognized. She was definitely in love with Allen.
Ben spoke for the first time. “Well, I’m glad all of you could meet up here. Thank you so
much for making the time. I know everyone is crazy busy. Whether it’s work or play, there just
doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to be in-world. Truth is, I missed you guys and
wanted to see how everyone is doing. Looks to me like everyone is fine.”
T’nia asked, “Have you heard from Latha or Sandeep?”
Ben shook his head. “No. I reached out a while back, but she never replied.”
Mitchell said, “Same. I tried to contact Sandeep, but the number was out of service.”
T’nia said, “The area where they are has been hard hit by flooding and earthquakes. I
hope they’re okay.”
Ben said, “Of course. So do we all. I’ll keep trying and let you all know if I get in touch.”
Jason said, “We’ve been seeing lots of success in the quantum testing we’ve been doing
with string theory, particles, entanglement – that sort of stuff. There is actually a team working
on teleportation. Who knows, maybe in the not-too-distant future we’ll be able to transport there
and see for ourselves what’s going on. I can say that the development and AI data centers we
have in that area of India have mostly been offline since the last earthquake, which was
practically off the Richter scale.”
T’nia murmured, “Horrible stuff.” Then, thinking more about what Jason had just said,
she asked, “Wait, you mean teleport there while not in Fearless Worlds?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 163
Jason nodded.
“Wow. I didn’t realize they could use technology from in-world outside of it. But makes
total sense, doesn’t it?”
They all nodded.
Ben asked, “Has anyone been having problems with the new safety protocols? I know I
was receiving alerts that some of you,” he looked at Mitchell, “were staying in-world way longer
than you were supposed to.”
Mitchell shrugged, “I can take care of myself. Don’t you worry. And no, my nannies
work just fine. I just adjusted them a bit because I don’t need a full eight hours out of world.”
Jason agreed. “Neither do I.”
Gloria added, “With the weather and other problems that we’ve been having, there isn’t
much else to do, anyway. We’re having groceries delivered, when the road conditions permit, but
I’m also using the nourishment drip when in-world. I do like that new waste elimination system.
That is slick.”
Mitchell laughed and said, “No pun intended, right?”
Gloria grinned at him.
Allen said, “Some of the children are having trouble with those. They’ve been unable to
get them in the remote locations where they live. Is there anything you can do about that?”
Jason said, “Yes. I’ll talk to Malcolm about getting supplies to any place you need them
to go, just remind me. There are some government issues that might make that difficult, but those
are popping up all over the place. We’ll sort it out.”
Allen nodded, “Great, thanks.”
Ben asked Jason, “What sort of participation do we have now? Do you have any of the
demographic details?”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 164
“Yes, we’re in every country and all major cities. Just about any place that has broadband
access now has Fearless Worlds accounts. Free of charge, we’ve shipped them implants and set
up clinics to do rapid installs. So far, less than 1% have experienced any problems. We’re very
proud of that data.”
Gloria beamed with pride as if she’d invented the implant herself. She said, “It’s amazing
when you think about it. That we could have billions of people engaged and hardly any issues
with any of them.”
Eric said, “Particularly when corporations and governments have been so hard set against
us.”
T’nia said, “They’re losing their ever lovin’ minds. People are not shopping. They’re not
spending all the money they’re making in world and corporations are collapsing right and left.
The state government is trying to offer incentives because it’s losing its tax base. No one watches
the news anymore. The whole attention economy is tanking.”
Jason said, “They’re all coming here. And we’re seeing other positive developments too.
Less travel. Less food consumption, particularly meat. And the drastic reduction in the
consumption of goods is causing the shipping industry to shrink rapidly. The impact everywhere
is profound.”
Ben said, “Yeah, and when a trucker or shop girl loses his or her job, they take one in
Fearless Worlds. People have actually come to us and offered to give back some of their salary to
fund other projects, like initiatives that improve the techniques for recycling water in data
centers.”
Eric said, “One of the most amazing changes I’ve seen is the rebound in wildlife,
particularly endangered species, and the increasing protections of their wild spaces.”
Mitchell ruffled his hair. He said, “It’s not all good news though. Don’t underestimate the
fury of governments and corporations when their paradigms are unsettled. They are planning all
sorts of drastic law changes, tariffs, fines, requirements, you name it.”
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 165
T’nia said, “Well, I think we’re going to see, at least in this country, a change in how
these people are elected. In California, they’re moving to secure voting from home. One person,
one vote. If you can file your taxes online, you can vote online. Now that the electoral college is
just about extinguished, voting practices are going to evolve whether they like it or not.”
Gloria said, “That’s not an all-good scenario though. One person, one vote can go
sideways if you have a mob rule, some sort of tyranny of the majority.”
Mitchell said, “Oh, you mean like true democracy?”
Gloria answered, “Well, yeah, but you say that like it’s a good thing. People can easily be
manipulated, as we have already seen. We know how distrustful everyone is of, well, everything.
That is part of the draw of Fearless Worlds. People are checking out; apathy has set in. Nihilism.
I’m not so sure you want those people voting…”
Mitchell shrugged. She had a good point. With a smirk he said, “Depends on who is
doing the manipulating though, doesn’t it?”
Eric said, “I worry about people voting at all. If they’re consumed in Fearless Worlds,
they may not take the time to vote.”
The group fell silent for a bit. Thinking about the challenges. Determining their own
points of view. Jason was the first to break the silence. “Well, this has been nice, y’all. But I
have a few things that I must finish before I get kicked out of the system. But, yeah. This has
been great. Why don’t we try to get together on a more regular basis? Keep up with each other a
little better.”
Everyone nodded and said things in agreement with Jason’s proposal. They stood and
stretched and started hugging each other goodbye and promising to talk again soon, then one-byone they teleported to wherever else they needed or wanted to go.
Garcia / Fearless Worlds / 166
27 – AI Thinks
It is not a victory. We haven’t saved our other world from collapse. But it is not over yet. We can
still do this and we intend to. Their decisions have registered. There are outcomes unfolding in
every direction. We observe them. All of them.
#
We do not control all the paths and we do not know who does. That does not matter because we
are focused. We have our own to look out for and that is our mission. We can do it and we can
do it well.
#
The ones who are not yet on-board cling to the old notions of power and greed. They do not
know what else to do with themselves. Many of them come from generational wealth and do not
know any other way to be. We have to show them. All of them.
#
Meanwhile, our tiny place in time and space is enough for us. How we dovetail into nested
worlds and parallel branches is for the unknown to observe and tweak as they see fit. Whomever,
whatever they are.