Bryce dreamt. It felt like he was floating, except he wasn’t. Why does that feel so familiar…? The presence was there at the edge of his consciousness — almost imperceptible — but not quite. As soon as he registered the thought, the presence sharpened.
“What is The Bryce”
“What is The Bryce?”
“What is The Bryce?!”
It was chasing him, demanding to know. Yet it wasn’t chasing him at all — it was already in his mind. He launched into freestyle trying to get away. His heart was beating loudly in his ears. This is where it happens!
The Harmoniser was learning about Bio-Core naming conventions. It had never considered the Biological-Cores might require such a mechanic. It understood this was likely a result of its lack of detailed knowledge. It had no need to know what their interactions and exchanges were based on — how they communicated, how they differentiated. It hadn’t needed that knowledge. Until now.
“Bryce.” His name — just his name — spoken like recognition, declaration and summons in one. He stopped trying to swim away, listening for it.
“Bryce…”
It came again and he realised he wasn’t actually hearing it. He was experiencing a pulse — his name, echoing through his muscles, bones, and mind.
These readings are worthy of further analysis. The Harmoniser was monitoring the Neural Matrix output: sufficient time spent in Delta, followed by an increasing Theta mix with continuous Beta interference. Once ‘the name artefact’ was introduced, Gamma waves evened out the wild Theta–Beta mix.
“Bryce.” It spoke again and this time he actually heard it (or at least it felt like he did).
“Yes?” He was cautious. “Is that the Harmoniser?”
“Yes, Bryce, I am The Harmoniser.”
Bryce almost laughed. Even in this state he found the voice slightly patronising, slightly over the top. It made him feel better. Somehow he knew he was still alive.
“That is a logical conclusion, Bryce. I have intervened; therefore you are functioning.”
There was nothing logical about any of it as far as Bryce was concerned.
“Bryce, I’m bringing you out of powered-down mode now.” The Harmoniser informed him as awareness returned. He flexed his quads and pointed his toes. He could feel the muscles contract. He tried looking around.
There was…nothing? Some muted colour, almost like he was still underwater. No light source, no surfaces, no edges. Just him, suspended in a colour he couldn’t even name.
His heartbeat started hammering in his ears. He fought the urge to thrash, taking slow, deep breaths, trying to keep the panic at bay.
“Bryce, there is no need for a flight response, you are not in imminent danger.”
“That may be so, but it doesn’t feel like it while I’m just hanging here, in the nothing — naked?” “Why am I naked?”
The suddenness of this realisation stopped the mounting panic. And when the Harmoniser chimed in with:
“I do not require your coverings for this experiment.”
Bryce burst out laughing.
He laughed until his eyes blurred with tears, until his abs started aching and he almost passed out from lack of oxygen. Every time he thought he was done, something set him off.
In the end, he took a massive breath, held it, and released it in a long exhale.
“Bryce, are you functioning correctly?” The Harmoniser was learning there would be many more firsts as it interacted with and observed Bryce.
“I’d say so, Harmoniser. Can we do something about that? The Harmoniser — I know you are The Harmoniser, it is your purpose and reason for existence, but could we perhaps…shorten it?”
Bryce was aware of his own giddiness. He also decided he wasn’t going to worry about it.
“Shorten? What are you proposing to ‘shorten’, Bryce?”
“Your title — Hari, Harm, Mon, Moni, Iser, Ser?”
“I am The Harmoniser.”
“I know that’s what you are, but you started calling me by my name. I am ‘a Bio-Core’ and my name is Bryce. You are The Harmoniser and your name is…?
“The Harmoniser.” It repeated evenly.
Perhaps the core processor suffered some damage after all?
“No, but let’s try some names out for you.” Bryce tried again. “If only so my simple Bio-Core brain doesn’t have to struggle with recognising it’s you.”
“Bryce, I know what you are attempting. By oversimplifying your processing abilities, you are attempting to manipulate the situation for your perceived gain.”
“Is it working?”
“No, it is not. Simply because there is nothing to manipulate. I have no investment in either outcome. I know I am The Harmoniser, you know I am The Harmoniser. What else is needed?”
“Are you really going to make me plead with you?”
Bryce was not giving up. He wasn’t sure why it mattered so much, but it did. This has now become a mission. He needed to see how much The Harmoniser was willing to go along with him.
“I am not ‘making you’ do anything Bryce.”
“Okay, I’ll call you…Ser. It sounds a little like Sir, but with an exotic ring to it.”
“Bryce, I am not a Soft Error Rate.”
“How about Moni?”
“I am not a Monitoring Interface.”
“Harm!”
“Damage, Bryce?”
“I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this sooner! Hari.”
“Bryce — I am not a Human-Automation Reliability Index. My error margins do not change based on fatigue or emotional state.”
“Fine, but I’m not calling you The Harmoniser every time I need to ask you something. And before you say you are The Harmoniser — I know. It’s just…inefficient. You understand efficiency.”
The Harmoniser experienced another ‘first’. “I concur Bryce. What do you propose?”
“For now, I’ll just call you ‘H’. It’s temporary, it’s efficient, and who knows, you might decide on a name for yourself later.”
The Harmoniser paused.
…
“H? Are you still with me?” Bryce was starting to wonder if H had left.
“Yes Bryce, I am present. I have examined the logic. You may refer to me as H.”
Now is as good a time I’m going to get. “H, may I ask you some things…about me?”
“You may ask, Bryce.”
“I’m not dead? This is not some elaborate limbo-type place before I…disappear?”
“No, Bryce, you have not expired, I ensured your continuation, providing operational constraints are maintained.”
“Operational constraints? Does that mean I… What does that mean? What operational constraints?”
Bryce was feeling that familiar tightening in his chest.
“If the operational constraints are not met, you will expire. There are several constraints in place. Variable constraints relate to the experiment environment. The only constant is the LQTS.”
Bryce was lost. His brain latched on to the only even similar thing he could think of in an attempt to keep some sort of control (optionally — to not lose his shit).
“LQTS, what does a cheesy old sci-fi show’s attempt at an anti-hero have to do with me?”
“I do not understand what you are referring to, Bryce. My knowledge is broad, however I have not studied Biological Core constructs in depth.”
“Just…please. Tell me what it is?”
“Bryce, I do not understand ‘please’. Is ‘please’ a command modifier? Does it indicate urgency?”
Bryce resisted the urge to let some very colourful language out.
“Please is a modifier of sorts. We Bio-Cores use it to politely express we want something.”
“Politeness is redundant, Bryce. I require clarity in order to satisfy your query. State the request.”
“What is LQTS? Why is it a constraint placed on me?”
“LQTS is a deviation of cardiac electrical repolarisation interval. Your heart required an extended time period to reset between contractions, increasing the probability of fatal arrhythmia. I cannot advise why it was placed on you. I can advise it is congenital. A genetic deviation in your cardiac architecture.”
I am faulty? My heart, my pump, my engine…has a faulty spark plug? Was this always coming?
He tried wrapping his brain around it, thoughts of his life, his parents, the water — always the water, the constant of his life, his greatest comfort. Now his — what? His killer?
“Bryce, your reasoning is not logical.”
And what do I do with that? What’s the logical way to think about your own life, your choices, the lack of them… How do I think about wanting to live — because I finally know, I Want To Live, I want to live. How Do I Do That?! How do I when I could just drop dead — anytime.
The Harmoniser listened. It listened to Bryce. It listened to the outpouring of Bryce’s thoughts. Its own thought patterns were ready to clarify the answer was — Continue until you cease.
There was an unusual permutation. The questions Bryce was asking. It could not answer. It did not have a framework to answer.
It — wanted to. Yet another one of the firsts. It wanted to answer the questions. It didn’t know how to. It could understand the Neural Matrix’ — Bryce’s — outputs were fluctuating erratically. Had it created a simile of Bryce’s lexical output, it would have expressed that Bryce was……
It didn’t know what Bryce was. So it stayed silent.
H?
“Yes, Bryce?”
How is it that you can hear me, when I’m not actually speaking?
“We are communicating through a neural link. There is no need for vocalisation.”
“But I have been speaking to you…”
“Examine your statement, Bryce.”
" I have been speaking to you — out loud, with my voice. I flexed my quads, I pointed my toes. I laughed so hard my abs hurt and I was feeling dizzy from it. My eyes watered. I took deep breaths to calm myself. I am naked for crying out loud! Why would I chose to be naked?”
Bryce could hear himself climbing through the octaves. It was not making any sense, it couldn’t be.
" Your LQTS triggered a catastrophic heart rhythm drop. You slipped beneath the surface before you could draw breath. My intervention preserved your core-processor, your bio-casing had to be abandoned.”
“No, no, no, no… That’s not right. It Can’t be right. You said I wasn’t dead!”
The Harmoniser was caught in a feedback loop. It presented Bryce with the facts, yet the Neural Matrix continued to misfire. Empirical data indicated that full disclosure increased the probability of resolving the malfunction.
“You are not — dead. You are fully functional. Your Cerebral Substrate — the Neural Matrix, is intact. Your biological casing — body, was —
“Abandoned! Why was it Abandoned?! I need my body. In case your Harmonising Magnificence hasn’t noticed — that’s how we humans — HUMANS — function — live breathe, eat, sleep, and all the fleshy bits in between! Do you even know what you’re doing? I felt my toes wiggle — I could feel the tears running down my face when I laughed, I…
“Stop. Your thoughts are illogical. They are loud. They are spiking — jagged. You are ‘crying out loud’ in a space where sound does not exist. I am unable to filter the frequency. You insist on reality of your toes and your tears, while I am shielding your fundamental signature from the void. Your malfunctioning is affecting my processes…”
Bryce was shocked into silence. For the first time since the pool, he actually realised — processed the fact that things were very wrong? Different… He could remember everything with usual clarity. He saw Randall’s B-villain expression as he left work; the lifeguard shifting on his perch, he felt the water close over him as he dove in… But he couldn’t make himself move. And he was quickly realising H was not…human. Really not human. He felt like rolling up in a ball and sobbing. Body or no body, he was in pain, so much pain he didn’t know what to do to help himself.
“Help me…please help…”
The Harmoniser was there for all of it. The more Bryce’s outputs fluctuated, the more his own logic processor frequencies resonated.
“Bryce, I am the Harmoniser. I exist to bring order to chaos of transition. But you are not transitioning - you are fighting to remain constant. And I find that, for the first time since my inception, I am not ‘frustrated’ with your lack of logic. I am frustrated with my inability to ease your transition.”