Bryce didn’t have time to wonder about having no recollection of a sleep state. The Harmoniser was present and by the faint, rapid shift in the medium vibration it seemed — agitated?
“H, are you… okay? Functioning without… complications?”
“Yes, Bryce, I’m functioning as expected.”
The Harmoniser paused, assessing the reason for Bryce’s question.
“You must be sensing the field vibrations, Bryce.”
Bryce thought H sounded sharper, louder, more defined somehow. He found the courage to ask what’s been bothering him about the integration since they started seriously talking about it.
“H, how am I going to survive the integration if I’m just a Neural Substrate right now?”
The Harmoniser detected a spike in Bryce’s outputs, and decided to keep the information simplified.
“The containment zone is fine-tuned to support your somatic reconstitution.”
Bryce wasn’t exactly clear what H meant by that. He was going to ask for clarification when he felt the slight increase in the medium vibrations.
“Is that you H? I’m feeling more vibrations…”
“Yes Bryce, I registered an increase in anticipation shortly after completing my project. It has been rising steadily.”
“Anticipation of what, H?”
“Of your waking. I wish to demonstrate the completed project to you, Bryce. It will assist you in the Echo World.”
Bryce felt a surge of affection. H was excited to show him something it had made to help him. He didn’t realise ancient cosmic entities could be so… endearing.
“What is it, H?”
“It is an AI designed for scanning, support and guidance in the Echo World. I have derived it from the Resonator — a data interface module created to support me in my function.”
Bryce found himself carried along by H’s excitement: “That sounds very cool, H.”
“Cool? I don’t anticipate its temperature to fluctuate.”
“It’s a figure of speech, H. It doesn’t refer to temperature at all, just the feel of something. We use it to mark something as interesting, good, positive. The meaning depends on the context.”
“Noted. I researched and added information you may find useful in the Echo World. Resonator ‘Lite’ is the name I believe would hold meaning for you while also describing specialised function. It is — cool.”
“Really talking it up, H. How does it work?”
“It is linked into your neural interface, and it acts as a heads up display.”
“Guess I’ll have to wait to test it…”
“Why do you think that, Bryce?”
“Don’t you need a head to use a heads up display?”
“Technically, no, you do not, Bryce. But that’s beside the point. You have a head.”
“H, I know you’re still learning about human ways, and me specifically. I need to let you know, that is not an appropriate joke. Definitely not yet…”
“Bryce, I feel regretful about the misunderstanding, however I am not resorting to joviality — your progress to Echo World integration has increased exponentially since before your last rest period. I calculate it has entered the growth phase once you started discussing your integration options with me.”
Bryce tried to understand what H just told him. He started asking a question two, three times and stopped. He didn’t actually know what it was he was trying to ask.
What does it mean, I have a head? And misunderstanding, about what. Ok it isn’t joking — and it’s never been cruel before, not even accidentally… Progress to Echo World integration. What?
“H, can you please explain things to me, slowly, one by one, like you were explaining to a — a young member of the human race whose cognitive functions are not fully developed yet…”
Because I feel like a kid who’s trying so hard to understand what the grown-ups are discussing, but he doesn’t understand most of the words they are using. And I don’t think I can tell you that, because I don’t want to confuse you right now.
“I can, Bryce. To do so, I need you to ask the questions in order you want them answered.”
Bryce thought about it for a moment — the most urgent question in his mind was ‘I have a head?’ He wanted to ask that first but it felt like it could throw him, and then he wouldn’t be able to focus on the others. He needed to be able to focus.
“Resonator Lite. It links to my neural interface? What does that actually mean to me right now?”
“The neural interface works in the same way our communication works. You will be able to hear its communications in your mind, as well as receive a visual display of the information directly to your visual processing centre. The region that would receive input from the optic nerve.”
“You said it was used for scanning, support and guidance. Why do I need that in the Echo World?”
The Harmoniser assessed how to respond to this question. It didn’t want Bryce to become needlessly distressed.
“Resonator Lite would serve as your assistant in the Echo World, for general orientation purposes as you are not a native, monitoring and survival optimisation due to your LQTS.”
“So I would be able to hear it in my mind, and see the output. What about the Resonator Lite? Would I have to speak out loud for it to ‘hear me’, or could it hear me if I thought at it? Or would it just hear all my thoughts regardless?”
“I have designed it so it can hear you when you think at it. This improves integration as people you encountered when talking to R2L would not know you were doing so, and would not make assumptions about your sanity. It does not hear any thoughts you do not want to share.”
“R2L? Is that Resonator - to - Lite?”
“Actually, no. Designation R2L denotes Resonator Two. Lite. The abbreviated naming improves the user interface.”
Yeah, it wasn’t being cruel earlier.
“There is an important override available to you, Bryce. If you ever needed R2L to access all your cognitive outputs you would just need to think or say ‘R2L, full access granted.”
“How does the Echo World integration function, H?”
“Once the artist is satisfied the work is complete, the work becomes a world. If the artist decides to add to the work, the additions become a part of the world once completed. I am also able to change an existing Echo World. For your integration, I would write a sequence containing your ‘back story’ and loose purpose. You are a living Origin World human so I can leave the details loose, once you harmonise with the Echo World you do so completely.”
“Can you explain the difference between integration and harmonising?”
“Integration is the ‘functional’ side of you becoming a part of the Echo World. Harmonising is the ‘existential’ side of it. When you harmonise with the Echo World, you are truly a part of it. No longer an ‘integrated Origin Human’ but a true Echo World inhabitant.”
Bryce took the time to think about what H was sharing. It sounded, complicated, huge, and if he was being honest with himself — frightening. It also sounded more than a little crazy, and completely fascinating.
Before he got carried away with random questions, Bryce decided it was time to ask about the ‘head -body’ integration connection.
“H, can you explain what you meant by ‘you have a head’? I thought, you would just… I don’t know, transfer my substrate into a body you somehow ‘creatively edited’ into being in the Echo World for me…?”