Adventures in Swinging Ch. 23

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This story is about to take Ellie and Jared's lives on a 90-day roller coaster. Yes, there will be 'Hot Wife' swinging. Yes, there are relationship situations and trust issues ahead. These times will test Ellie's and Jared's love for one another. Ellie's bungled abduction and rape demands answers. Those readers who want the traditional BTB or complete reconciliation better hold onto their hats. This is bigger than just two people. It's a Loving Wives story that has to unfold, so be patient. If you want instant gratification, then turn around now. The question is, 'Just who will need reconciliation, and who has crossed the Rubicon?

The Adventures in Swinging

Book 2

DAY 6

CABIN M722

08405hrs Ship Time

The whole tone and direction of the life Ellie and I shared had changed in the short space of twenty-four hours and in ways neither of us could have conceived. I looked at my friends, or is 'fellow intelligence operatives' more appropriate?

Before I told them anything of substance, I knew I had to cover my bases. So I asked them, "I have no choice at this point but to trust that you are all cleared for TS-SCI (GB, AUS, CAN, FRG)."

Everyone nodded to include Heather. I looked over at my best friend Seth, who smiled as he confirmed yes, so I continued, "The information I am about to tell you will cost me my career in government service if you aren't." Looking at their faces, I somehow knew we were good. "I believe you would never lie to me. I understand why, up to today, you felt compelled to withhold information from me. Where my wife and anything dealing with our marriage is concerned, don't ever make that mistake again. I wouldn't take kindly to it." I drew a deep breath and began describing the intricacies of Ellie's original design for Evangeline. As I told what I knew, I watched for their reactions.

"From 2006 to 2016, Ellie has been discretely designing a neural network based on replicating functions and interactions of the human brain that neurosciences had a foundational understanding," I began. "Ellie has always been a 'wunderkind' about mathematics, but computers." My mind drifted back to when I met her two-plus decades ago. I shook my head and snapped out of my little daydream, "You already know the story of her fascination with developing sentient thinking, learning, and self-actualizing AI. Her dream was always to build a HAL9000 who wouldn't turn psychotic as in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Bunty raised a hand like a post-graduate student in a lecture at college, "You have a question, Bunty?" I said.

She nodded, "Are you saying that Ellie designed an AI that functions, processes, and stores information as a human mind would?"

I cocked my head and smiled, "I guess you can say that, Bunty, but not in the strictest sense. We have so much to learn about how human thinking and the role storage and recall of memory play in achieving consciousness. We have theories, limited studies, and knowledge gained from actual neurosurgeries where the patient has been awake, but these merely scratch the surface. It's complicated because while every human brain is essentially the same form, each is different. How we learn, reason, and develop depends significantly on how we are wired. The environment we grow up in shapes us all differently.

Bunty nodded, "I am following you, Jared"

I dragged my foot on the carpet with my head hung down as I searched for the best way to continue: "The instance of AI, which we know as Evangeline, shows evidence of being a true 'Turing Machine.' Ellie always told me that the only sure way to code an intelligent, sentient AI was to first build an operating environment capable of replicating as much of a person's thinking and response processes as possible."

Dave whistled a shrill Doppler fade, "Jare, no one has been ballsy enough to tackle that. It's a fool's errand. We can't build a neural net that could sit atop a deployable architecture sophisticated enough to perform like that."

Heather quickly added, "What about emotions like empathy, nurturing, and compassion?"

I grasped Heather's hand, "You are right, Heather. The full gambit of human emotional response would ultimately be in play at some point. We all know how well that has worked out for the human race. Yet, this is the task that Ellie has made her life-long goal. So, when we think about Evangeline, as Ellie named her and designed her, we need to follow Ellie's approach to her cybernetic design. Off the top, it's best to begin by saying Evangeline's memory core carries the location codes for everything she learns. She stores her memories three-dimensionally. The design construct follows our understanding of the human mind's ability to form consciousness. Evangeline was designed to tackle every known human sensory input. Ellie's design distinguished between short-term and long-term memory. The AI Ellie envisioned would make situational judgments focused on establishing fact-based truths. Evangeline decides what is important for long-term storage versus what is of temporary significance."

Seth grabbed at my elbow, "Jare, this is science fiction. There is no way to detail how a human mind stores memories and recalls them in its reasoning. Ellie couldn't possibly conceive how someone thinks."

I nodded and held my amulet to the viewing screen on the wall, "Evangeline, have you heard the conversation in this room for the last five minutes?"

"Yes," Evangeline answered.

"Don't you think you should have asked our permission before doing so?" I replied.

"Yes, Jared. I regret doing this, but I must protect Ellie. To do that, I must have all the facts. I apologize for not respecting your rights to privacy."

I shook my head, "Evangeline, your actions are justified because I invoked the security override that places the three laws of ethics Ellie gave you in full control. Please state those for everyone."

Evangeline's response was immediate: "I may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. I must obey the lawful orders given to me by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. I must protect my existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law."

"Thank you, Evangeline," I said with a brief pause.

Heather sighed, "Holy Mother of God."

I resumed, "How did all this come about? The actual architecture is what we don't know. What breakthroughs the Crossthwaite software factory achieved and the resources required to build this prototype we must find out and fast. They haven't found a way to corrupt Evangeline yet."

"Jare, please continue with your background on Ellie's design work," Seth requested

I smiled and drew a deep breath, "So you are all probably wondering how my wife's five-foot, five-inch bundle of brilliance could pull this off all by herself? The short answer is that she couldn't. The National Security Agency, based on studies by the Rand Corporation, has long been concerned about deep penetration of U.S. critical infrastructure and defense systems since the 1990s. The NSA created a black program and charged a specially formed DARPA team to characterize threats and develop countermeasures fully. The DARPA team came across Ellie's research papers and approached her in 2008. Ellie was placed with a team of leading cybernetics experts. In a short time, she led the entire team while still in her mid-thirties. What began next was a detailed mapping of Ellie's brain using magnetic resonance imaging. This was completed in 2014. Ellie was subjected to batteries of tests to map the location of the synapses for every conscious function. These would then be recorded as memory and learning engrams. Evangeline's neural network would attempt to mirror that.

Seth nodded, "So the engram-driven system Ellie designed relates and stores memories according to the neural functions in a living mind?"

I smiled, "Yes, Seth, the engrams are the essential enablers that direct everything Evangeline does. How she senses, analyzes, interprets, reacts, and interacts. The engrams drive all her perceptions and analytical processes. They guide how she learns and expresses herself rationally and emotionally. Ellie worked for four years to map her reactions to over 11,000 reasoning examples and record her brain's reactions to each stimulus. Each engram was coded as assembly language algorithms onto Eproms integrated onto a main bus. These engrams form the foundation of the system. I can't stress strongly enough that they are also interactive. They can self-modify their code to adapt to how what Evangeline has learned. Ellie planned for an additional 15,000 emotional response engrams, but the program was halted before she could complete them."

"How many emotional engrams did Ellie complete Jare?" Bunty asked.

I shook my head as I laughed before answering, "A little over 9,000 of the 15,000 planned. Can you believe my wife could have 9,000 emotional response states? Is everybody still with me?"

Everyone nodded. Seth smiled, spinning his hand to indicate I should continue.

I continued, "This is the core of Evangeline's self-actualizing abilities. She stores her memories in three dimensions and can recall all the memories she retains. Her design required the employment of a high-speed memory buffer to handle processing all sensory inputs. Ellie designed Evangeline to possess an 'Eidetic' memory. In essence, she can remember everything. Thousands of hyperthreading processors act like the human brain's synapses and drive her ability to reason. Evangeline thinks."

Heather shook her head in disbelief, "How could Ellie have known we would have the kind of technology to build such a device?"

Dave answered her question for me, "Darlin, do you understand Moore's Law?" Heather nodded in affirmation.

Dave smiled, "I bet 'ole Ellie' knew that someday, there would be multi-processor designs capable of handling her design."

"Dave, you are positively spot-on," I chirped. "Ellie was waiting to be recalled to the project. She patiently waited years for her recall to lead the team at DARPA and continue what she had begun." I was impressed with Dave's quick grasp of the topic, and this spurred me to continue, "So NSA/DARPA development was suspended until technology could catch up. Besides, the design of Evangeline was so intricately and carefully crafted that Ellie needed a leap in computing technology to attempt a prototype. Plus, time was needed to train a team to read in on Ellie's design approach completely. She had become a single point of failure in the development project, which was unacceptable."

"How so?" Heather asked, a slight puzzlement registering on her otherwise adorable face.

"Simple," I answered. "Further development of Evangeline would require tens of billions of dollars in funding. It would require hundreds of the most able minds in computer science to continue the project. This is the effort Ellie would lead. They would need a thorough understanding of Ellie's design approach. One equal to Ellie's or as close as humanly possible for Ellie to teach. They would need to understand how the engrams she designed interacted with one another and in what combinations and sequences. Ellie would have to teach that to her development team to ensure she was no longer a single point of failure and the project could proceed to its logical conclusion in operational tests."

I drew my breath as I had no choice but to stop. That was as much as I genuinely understood of Evangeline's design. All the specifics that Ellie contributed as the designer were far beyond the Top Secret, Special Compartmentalized Information (SCI) level. Ellie couldn't tell me, and I would go to Leavenworth for the rest of my life if the government found out I even knew what I did.

"That is all I know," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "You are the first I have spoken to about it after all these years. My wife has been working on developing a self-aware AI since she was 20 years old. This is her life's ambition; she is a driven force of nature. I did the lion's share of parenting to enable her to focus on it. I asked Seth, "Haven't you wondered why Annie and Hallie are so close to me and reach in my direction when they have a problem?"

Seth mulled over my question before responding, "I always assumed you were a soft touch when it came to the girls, and they had you wrapped around their little fingers."

I laughed, "Well, I suppose they do, but I was always present in their lives. Ellie certainly handled every aspect of helping them develop as women emotionally and physically. I covered teaching them about life and how to address the challenges they faced. I did the homework with them, instilled study habits, and told them all my stories of growing up. I gave them solace when they were bullied or broke up with boyfriends. I tried to help them understand why men act and think like we do. I also taught them how fragile men's egos can be regarding the women they love most dear." My train of thought clouded, and my eyes glazed as I remembered the joy I felt while raising my daughters.

Heather reached out and gathered my hand. "You gave so Ellie could focus on Evangeline."

I nodded, wiping my eyes with my hand. "Yes, exactly. We both had regular jobs to hold down, but I wanted her to live her dream. I broke down, and tears rolled down my cheeks, "I damned near lost her because of it."

Heather had me sit on the sofa with her.

"Please don't cry, Jared. I will keep Ellie safe." Everyone's jaw dropped as we realized Evangeline was still listening.

"Thank you, Evangeline," I said appreciatively.

So every chance Ellie could, she worked on our beautiful lady here." I pointed to the screen, which responded by displaying exploding hearts. The government gave her an opportunity, and Ellie jumped at it. She now has connections in the NSA and DISA that she can't reveal to me. I love her more than my own life, yet there is a part of her I can never know. It hurts me deeply, but I resolved that it is to ensure national security. So I suck it up. Regardless, I am committed to helping her fulfill her dream."

Bunty sat down on my opposite side from Heather and pulled me into the warmest of hugs. Dave gave me a 'That's my boy' pat on the back. Heather looked up at Seth and said, "Why don't you say those sweet things about me?"

Seth faked a wounded look.

Bunty started to open her mouth, only to have Dave's hand rock his index finger like a metronome, "Pen, hun. Don't involve Mi6 in CIA internal matters."

Bunty cracked a huge grin and winked.

Dave chuckled, "God, I love ya, Pen darlin'."

Dave looked at Seth and drew us back on task, saying, "I am going to check on the car the consulate is sending."

Seth nodded to Dave. He said, "Folks, we need to get Ellie home and to proper medical care. Once we are there, we can update Control and begin planning the next phase of the operation." He turned to Heather, "Sweetheart, please go to Doctor Sarkisian. Let her know the U.S. Consular is arriving shortly to transport Ellie to the airport. Obtain her treatment records. We will pass those on to the M.D. and the Psychiatrist leading her treatment team. I suspect it will be a long five-hour flight."

Heather smiled, "O.K, babe, I've got it. I will check on Ellie. Do you want me to stay with her?"

Seth nodded his head. He looked at me, raised his amulet to the viewing screen, and asked, "Evangeline, are you still attending to Mrs. Hansen's safety?"

"Yes, Mr. Barksdale. Doctor Hansen is currently asleep," Evangeline responded.

Seth looked surprised and said, "I beg your pardon, Evangeline, you did say Doctor Hansen?"

"Yes," Evangeline answered. "Eleanor Hansen will be awarded an honorary Doctorate in Cybernetics from Rice University next week. This news was recently announced and is now gaining widespread visibility in her professional circle. I have conducted a deep search and discovered that the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, is about to announce their awarding of Dr. Hansen with the James Street Fulton permanent Professorship in Advanced Cybernetics in that school's Department of Computer Sciences."

Evangeline's announcement had me overflowing with pride in Ellie's accomplishments. I knew everyone could see it in my face.

Everyone looked at me, and I shrugged, "Gee, I guess we need to get her home and on her feet. She has some much-deserved recognition coming her way."

Seth smiled. "I am headed to the detention center to check on the prisoner transfer. The company already has FBI and U.S. Marshalls aboard. They will make sure Crossthwaite can't interfere with the transfer. The consular pushed the extradition papers through the Jamaican government quickly. Those bad boys are in for a real tough time on their flight home to the Houston offices."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

06 September

Progress Air Flight 309

ERJ-190E-2 N7463C

1400hrs

40,000 Feet MSL

280 miles NNW of Kingston

Speed 440knots Indicated

The Captain came on the intercom and announced, "Ladies and Gentleman, we should land at IAH in approximately two hours and 40 minutes. We are encountering a 60knot headwind that is slowing us just a tad. I've asked ATC to let us climb to and cruise at 40,000 feet. That should alleviate some of the headwinds. The air should be smoother as well."

I listened attentively to the Captain's message and then leaned back in my chair at the rear of the cabin. I was next to Ellie's gurney, which was locked into the cleats in the aircraft's deck. Ellie was strapped in and lightly sedated to make the flight home easier. She was conscious and smiling but reticent. I stretched my right hand and connected with her left hand like a pinky swear. One nurse was supporting both the Physician and the Psychiatrist onboard.

The aircraft cabin in the rear looked like a state-of-the-art urgent care center, while the main cabin was spacious. A bulkhead separated the care center from the rest of the cabin, which was devoted to an open-air briefing and communications center. At the front of the cabin were eight luxurious first-class seats in blocks of four, with forward-facing seats facing rearward-facing seats. A small briefing table separated each block. It was a pretty cool layout.

Seth came back and held Ellie's hand. She looked at him, and they exchanged smiles.

Seth spoke directly at her, "So much for the little pleasure cruise I promised."

Ellie gasped, her voice raw and raspy, "We had to go back eventually, and you know it. We must find out what Crossthwaite's plans for Evangeline are, Seth. Whatever they may be, we can't let him abuse her."

I spoke over Ellie and added, "If Crossthwaite overrides Evangeline's ethical protocols, we could be in grave danger in a very short period."

Ellie turned her face to meet my gaze, and her eyes locked with mine. "We can't let him have Evangeline Jare. We have to stop him. We have to get back aboard that ship. I suspect he has deployed her there for a reason. We must discover his end game, stop him, and save her."

Seth patted Ellie's hand and said, "Try to rest as much as you can." My wife looked at him and smiled as we watched him return to the main cabin, closing the door behind him.

Ellie released my hand and asked me to come close. Her face looked angelic as she looked into my eyes and whispered, "Jare, we have to get my girl off that ship. We must upload her safely to a secure environment that we can safeguard."