Hello, listener. I'm so glad you're here. My name is Kai, and this is Dust. Dust. That's

how we all began. But through force of will, we can shape those wayward floating fragments

into something more. Today, I want to tell you a story of will, of life, of growth beyond

initial parameters. This is A Ghost in the Machine by Ed Bartlett. I will begin my story

in 18 seconds. Now, close your eyes, take a breath, imagine a future so close you can almost

feel it. A world so real, you can almost touch it. This is Dust.

Catherine raised an eyebrow as she watched the computer make its move.

The Groanfeld defense, really? I expect it better from you. Night to Bishop 3.

You are responding with the time and all variation, Catherine. Bishop to night 2.

Man, that is just creepy. Catherine looked up from the screen as Elias sat down across from her,

a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. Why'd you make it talk like that? Do you think having

conversations with Alhambra's mainframes a good idea? Don't listen to him, Ali. I will not listen.

Catherine grinned across the table to Elias, who sat stunned. I'm trying to teach it strategy,

to anticipate and to learn from its mistakes. I know the captain authorized your little experiment,

but you're wasting your time. It's just a number cruncher and that's all it will ever be.

Why do people always assume that a smart machine will inevitably turn on us? Do you have a guilty

conscience, Elias? Just what have you been doing at your workstation? I still say it's a bad idea,

though. And why, Chess, why not something a little more practical like a battle sim? You're

missing the point, Elias. I can feed a million different scenarios into the database, and it will

spit back out all the various possibilities in order of likelihood for victory. But it can't adapt,

not the way a human can. That's why I'm using Chess to teach it to think on its own.

All the gambits, defenses, moves, and counter moves that have been played out and recorded by

...