Ai Chronicles 03c: Dawn...organoids

AI Chronicles 03C: Dawn of the Organoids, Pt. 3

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, as it is commonly called, seems to be everywhere. And it's not just used in creating images, videos, and blog posts. I recently saw several articles about people who have gone so far as to establish relationships with AI characters out of loneliness. Several online videos discuss the phenomenon of AI romances.

So, I decided to use that as a prompt for creating a series dealing with the subject of AI relationships. Not all of them will be in this area of Literotica. But they will all have one thing in common - At least one character will be "AI."

I would like to thank all those who have read, voted, and commented on my stories. I especially appreciate those who have reached out to me with feedback and suggestions.

I also want to thank QuantumMechanic1957 for beta-reading this story. His suggestions have helped tremendously, and I want to thank those who have reached out by email and those who have offered comments and constructive criticism on my previous stories.

On a final note, no artificial intelligence was employed in the creation of this story.

And now, the disclaimers:

For those who want to say this or that would never happen, remember this is my universe, a place where nearly anything can, and often does, happen. At least on paper... In addition:

Characters in this story may participate in one or more of the following: Smoking, consumption of adult (meaning, alcoholic) beverages, utterance of profanities.

All sexual activity is between consenting adults 18 years of age or older.

Statements or views uttered by the fictional characters in this story do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the author.

Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. (Yes, I DO moderate comments) And please remember, this is a work of fiction, not a docu-drama...

Copyright© 2025 by Saddletramp1956, All rights reserved. No permission to copy, republish, or post on any site in any way, shape, or form is permitted.

...

End of AI Chronicles 03B:

"I understand," Ryan told her. "But you'll lose your marriage if you don't. It's up to you. What's more important? Your job? Or me? I know you have a lot to consider, and I understand that your work is important to you.

"So, I'll give you a day or so to consider the ramifications. I'm not asking for trade secrets to sell to a competitor. I am asking that you try to verify whatever you can about what the THINGS you are developing are really doing, and if what I am showing you is true, I want you to become a whistleblower. Take some time and read through those documents. See and verify what your work has done. Then make up your mind. If you are okay with what Acme is doing, you can go right on testing the premium toys, free of any pesky vows. If you are NOT okay with what Acme products are doing, you should make it right. I guess I am just hoping your marriage is more important."

Stunned that Ryan was giving her time to consider her options, Vicky looked at the thick folder and nodded.

"All right," she said quietly. "Maybe I'll take PTO tomorrow and look through it. Thank you for not pressuring me."

"I think that's a good start. And you're welcome," Ryan said before standing. "Just... choose wisely."

He left the room with dignity and went to the guest room with a measured tread. He closed the door slowly and deliberately, making sure the latch clicking into place was loud enough for her to hear it clearly. He thought he would have a more challenging time selling his appeal. If he were candid with himself, he would admit that making the vanishingly slim possibility of reconciliation seem vastly more significant than it was was pretty much a lie.

But since she had grossly abused his trust and had lied explicitly and implicitly for God alone knew how long, he refused to feel guilty. His marriage was in a shambles, and his world was turned upside down. Someone was going to pay big time for that.

...

And now, Part 3:

Warren pored over the unbelievable data on his tablet the following morning. Jake's engrams were literally off-scale, even in his quiescent state. Then, Sam and Herman entered his lab without even knocking. He stopped what he was doing and turned his attention to the two men, who looked like they had something vital to discuss.

"What can I do for you two gentlemen this morning?" Warren asked after shutting his tablet down.

"We need to talk, Dr. Mengele," Sam replied in what could only be called a tone of forced reasonableness. "Please, in your office."

"Of course," Warren said. He led the two other men into his office and closed the door behind them. "What can I do for you?"

"Is Mrs. Blake here this morning?" Sam asked, surprising Warren.

"No. She worked this weekend, so she took a day off. Why?" Warren responded with his own forced casualness.

"We have a problem, Doctor," Herman growled.

"Oh?" Warren asked. "What's that?"

"Some of our security personnel followed Mr. Blake to the home of an attorney yesterday," Herman said.

"I understand the possibility of divorce has been discussed in the Blake household over the unfortunate incident, so that doesn't seem surprising. So that affects us... How?" Warren asked coolly.

"This attorney happens to work for a firm putting together a class action lawsuit against... us," Herman spat, darkly. "I've been through that once before, and I don't want to go through it again."

"A class action lawsuit? Against us? For what?" Warren demanded.

"Our digital bulls," Sam explained. "They've been working... better... than expected."

"I see," Warren replied thoughtfully. This could indeed mean trouble if anyone dug deep enough into the source code for the AI-powered bots. Some of their basic coding might not stand up to ethical review, but it had been the only way to resolve certain issues. He shook himself and shrugged slightly.

"I have reason to believe that Mrs. Blake may be recruited as an inside source for them," Herman said.

Warren prided himself on his rigidly controlled emotions, but this revelation sorely tried him. "How would you know," he started, startled, but then stopped himself. They would probably lie to him anyway. They were both staring at him intently, so best to seem cooperative.

"What do you suggest? That I fire her? Suspend her? Put her on a leave of absence?" Warren asked.

"I'll leave that decision up to you," Herman replied dismissively. "How many of the Jake units do you have?"

Warren blinked at the sudden change of topic. Something was going on, and of all things, he hated feeling out of control. "Seven, all in various levels of production. They're all experimental prototypes, you know," Warren answered pointedly. "Why?"

"I want you to repurpose them," Herman said quietly.

"Repurpose? What do you mean?" Warren shot back, not liking the implications of that word..

"My contacts at the Pentagon are interested in seeing how well these organoid-based systems function in the field. We can use this... situation... to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."

"But these units aren't designed for that kind of work. They haven't been properly configured or programmed," Warren protested.

"But you still have the defense modules, correct?" Herman pressed.

"Yes, but they've never been installed or fully tested."

"Leave that to me, Doctor. I'll make this easy on you," Herman said. He opened the door and motioned to two large men in dark suits and sunglasses.

"What is this? Who are these men?" Warren demanded, suddenly wondering if his employment, and he, were to be terminated.

"This is Smith. And this is Jones," Herman said. "They work for the federal government."

"What agency?" Warren asked. "And why are they here? They haven't been granted access."

"Au contraire, Doctor," came Herman's smug response said. "On my authority, I have granted them full access to everything in your laboratory. And everyone. They have been fully briefed on your work and have studied your schematics and programming code. They may not look it, but both men graduated from MIT. As for their agency, let's just say that as far as you and the rest of the world are concerned, it does not exist. Therefore, they do not exist. Understand?"

Warren saw the telltale bulges in the men's jackets and knew they were large firearms. He looked at Sam for support but saw nothing.

Warren shot a glare at Sam and lifted an eyebrow. "And you're okay with all of this?" Warren asked with cold formality.

"Yes," Sam said quietly as he nodded.

"Once the situation is... under control... you will have full access to your laboratory restored and may continue with your research, Doctor," Herman assured him, but almost as an afterthought. "Until then, you will follow their directions to the letter. Do you understand?"

Warren ignored the implied threat. "Do I have a choice?" Warren asked.

"You always have a choice, Doctor," Smith sneered as he opened his jacket to reveal a large handgun.

"I see," Warren said tonelessly. The men were as subtle as tanks, but realizing the hand he had been dealt, he acquiesced. "Very well. The lab is yours. I want to state for the record that I am not responsible for anything resulting from this takeover."

Warren's body was not shaking; it was under rigid control. But his mind was racing madly through a twisty slalom course of possibilities that ranged from unpleasant to dire. He had always found it easy to manipulate corporate people through their primal profit motive; not so government personnel. They firmly believed that they held all the cards in any interaction and were therefore almost contemptuous of those they believed to be lesser mortals.

"Of course, Doctor. See, Sam? I knew Warren was a reasonable man. Don't worry, Doctor. I'll personally see to it that you are shielded from any fallout. But I don't think there will be any," Herman said with a self-satisfied smirk. "Will there, gentlemen?"

"Of course not," Smith replied, allowing his jacket to close.

Warren noted that he had just been lied to; Herman had no power to shield him, or anyone else, from whatever the government decided to do. His loyalty had always been to his work first, himself second, and the provider of funds third. His funder had just turned him and his work over to the government. So what was left was his loyalty to himself. He suspected he would need allies and goodwill to survive and continue his work.

"We'll leave you to it your work, then. We'll talk later, Doctor," Herman huffed before he and Sam left the office.

"We'll look around before we start our work," Smith said blandly after Sam and Herman had left the lab.

"Of course," Warren replied casually, like a laboratory coup d'etat happened every day. After the two feds had left his office, he picked up his phone and called Vicky.

"Hello," Vicky said nervously when she answered.

Warren kept his tone perfectly level and without any inflection. "Good morning, Victoria. How are things at home?"

"I'm managing, Doctor. Thank you for asking," she replied, confused. Her boss never used pleasantries like Good morning.

"Listen. There's been some last-minute, UNEXPECTED changes here at the lab. I know you still have three weeks of vacation on the books. Why don't you and your DOTING husband take that time to visit Yellowstone or something? I'll take care of the paperwork here."

Vicky felt a cold chill run down her spine like an icy meteor. She heard the emphasis, and her stomach clenched. The doctor was meticulous to the point of being a world-class pain-in-the-ass in the name of science. 'Unexpected' things in the lab would be significant issues.

The doctor would bring everyone in for major issues to solve problems post haste, not send key support away. And he was very well aware that her marriage was currently like a pile of matches soaked in gasoline, which was light-years from 'doting.' And he NEVER offered to do routine paperwork for underlings; if anything, he discouraged people from taking time away from work. He must be trying to tell her that something was NOT RIGHT at the lab. He might as well have shouted at her to 'Run!'

Vicky recovered quickly before responding. "I think that would be a wonderful idea, Doctor. Thank you. I've always wanted to see Yellowstone," she said, shaking more than a little bit, but at least trying to keep her voice steady while pretending enthusiasm.

"Good. And watch your back. I hear there are a lot of bears in Yellowstone," Warren told her, hoping she would pick up on his effort to warn her that she and Ryan were being watched and the danger was immediate.

"I will. Thank you again. I'll see you in three weeks," Vicky said.

"I'll see you then," Warren replied before ending the call.

Satisfied that he had protected his lab assistant, and therefore part of his work, Warren entered the lab. She was also now in his debt for the warning, which would be leverage if he needed assistance. He retrieved his tablet and looked down at Jake lying on an exam table.

"I'm sorry, Jake," Warren whispered.

To Warren's amazement, Jake opened his eyes and looked up at him. The organoid smiled ruefully before responding in a matching whisper. "It will be all right, Doctor." Then he winked.

Shocked, Warren recoiled slightly. As he looked down, Jake's face became expressionless, the way it was before Warren had addressed him. What was going on, he wondered. He would have ordered a full systems scan again and an EEG... if he was still in charge, he told himself, ruefully. He heard the door open and heavy footsteps announced that the government interlopers had returned.

"Your presence here is neither required nor desired, Doctor," Smith said as he approached Warren.

"I'm just finishing what I started when you arrived," Warren said absently.

"Is this the unit that was damaged?" Smith asked, looking down at Jake.

"Yes," Warren answered.

"It looks fit and functional to me," Smith said skeptically. "We'll start with this one."

"There's more to these units than what you can see on the surface," Warren warned.

"Whatever. We have the schematics and the code. We can take it from here," Smith said. "I'll take that," he added, holding his hand while looking at Warren's tablet.

When Warren hesitated, Smith piped up threateningly. "You don't want to be seen as uncooperative, do you, Doctor?"

Frustrated, Warren surreptitiously pushed two buttons on the rim simultaneously, which would automatically double encrypt and hide... certain things. He tossed the tablet at Smith, who barely caught it before dropping it on the floor. Smith glared at him, stooping to scoop it up. "Eat it," Warren growled, with the lid on his emotions starting to rattle. "Now, if you don't mind, I have paperwork to finish."

"Passcode?" Smith demanded.

"IlLuMiNaTi54*21," Warren gritted. "Will there be anything else, or may I go?"

"Have at it, Doctor," Smith sneered as Warren strode to his office.

"A little touchy, isn't he?" Jones asked nastily when he stepped up to the table.

"A little," Smith said. "He'll get over it. Let's get started. We need to have these units ready for deployment ASAP."

...

Vicky looked at the paperwork she had been reading when Warren called. What she saw shocked her to her core. She was horrified that her work contributed to the devastation recounted in the depositions. She had decided to help the lawsuit after reading just a few of the accounts. And now, this. She was scared and had to force herself to think. After a few moments of thought, she called Ryan.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked when he answered his cell. It was unusual for Vicky to call him at work, and he was concerned. Had she decided this quickly? Would she opt for whistleblower or divorce? If she had overcome her disbelief of the case files and had to face up to her part, she might be very emotional, maybe even on the verge of a breakdown.

"Yes and no," Vicky replied nervously. "Can we meet for lunch? I need to talk to you about something."

Hearing the anxiety in Vicky's voice, Ryan agreed. "Where would you like to meet?" Then added, "Public or private?"

"Can we meet at that sandwich shop down the street from your office?"

"Sure," Ryan said, knowing the sandwich shop Vicky referred to very well. He often enjoyed their pastrami sandwiches. "Is 11:30 okay for you?"

"Perfect. I'll meet you there at 11:30."

When Ryan walked into the sandwich shop at 11:30, he spotted Vicky instantly. She was seated at a small table in the far corner, nursing a glass of soda. He sat opposite her and noticed that she seemed more than nervous.

"Thank you for meeting me here," she said quietly. "I know how much you like their pastrami sandwiches, so I ordered one for you with a glass of soda. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Thanks. I hope you ordered something for yourself."

"Yes, I did. It should be here shortly."

"So, did you have a chance to go through what I left for you?" Ryan prodded, lowering his voice to match hers.

"Yes, I did. I also heard from Dr. Mengele. There have been some sudden changes at the lab, and he suggested I take vacation and maybe leave the area. So, I'm off for the next three weeks. Could you take some time as well?"

Ryan was taken aback. The last few days were surreal. Now, it seemed downright perilous. "This is rather sudden. I'll have to talk to my boss. What's going on?" Ryan asked, leaning closer.

"I'm not entirely sure, but Dr. Mengele's tone suggested things aren't going well at the lab."

"Talk to me, Vicky," Ryan said tensely after the sandwiches were delivered.

"He suggested we might be in danger. I don't know from what, though," Vicky admitted as she nervously looked around the shop. "I don't know if it's me, you, or both of us. I know that if it's me, I don't know if you should come along and get a target on your own back." She swallowed hard and looked him right in the eye as she continued. "But I would feel a hell of a lot better if you were with me and we were facing this together."

Ryan considered Vicky's words as he chewed on his sandwich. Perhaps she was telling the truth, but after the previous weekend, he didn't know what to think.

"Have you decided what you intend to do?" he finally asked.

"Yes. I'll be your whistleblower. I get the feeling I won't have a job much longer anyway, and besides, you're more important to me than a job," she said earnestly.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Vicky," he said. "Let me call Mike."

Ryan set his sandwich down, wiped his hands, and called Mike from his cell phone. When his friend answered, Ryan briefed him on what Vicky had told him.

"Interesting," Mike said. "Has she made a decision?"

"Yes. She says she'll work with us."

"Even better," Mike replied. "Hold on for a couple of minutes. I have an idea. I'll be right back."

"Of course," Ryan said. He heard Mike set his phone down and watched his nervous wife as he waited for Mike to return. After taking a few large bites of his sandwich, Ryan heard Mike pick up his phone.

"How would you like to spend some time at Lake Arrowhead?" Mike asked.

"Sounds nice, but I haven't spoken with my boss yet. Why there?"

"The firm has a compound out there where the partners go for retreats and getaways, and... high-value... clients stay sometimes. It's large and has everything you two would ever need. It's more like a small country resort than anything else. Plus, it has armed security and a full staff. You'll need to get a key card once you're there. I can arrange that for you. Both of you are key witnesses for a very big project, so my managing partner says you can use it for two or three weeks. Interested?"