The dimensional deflector roared to life, the claw-like apertures screaming a low roar. He glanced nervously at the bypass circuits, a series of wires and knobs jerry-rigged from dismantled appliances and broken equipment. He wished he had checked the connections a few more times; a screw may have been loose and a connection may have been short-circuited. It was too late though, shutting down now would definitely destroy his hard work. He had to hope for the best. Remembering his one and only life, he took a few more steps back towards safety. 

"Alright, here we go... " he said to himself, forgetting to breathe afterward. He pulled down a lever to finish the circuit, a strained process that he deliberately engineered to allow for second thoughts. He found it to be unnecessary, unpleasant even, as his muscles moved to complete the task in a blink. 

There was a crackling sound, like the space in the room was being torn apart. It got louder and louder, and Andrew had to muff his ears with whatever strength his hands could muster. The optical lattice was only visible through faint twinkles scattered by the small beads of dust in the air, but it soon became apparent that something was happening to it. A faint gray ball the size of a marble soon appeared at the center of the laser array, but it did not stay a ball for long. It began morphing into an assortment of shapes, mostly irregular. As it did, it also began growing smaller and smaller. 

It's folding into higher dimensions! Andrew realized, cautiously excited. Soon, the gray shape was gone from sight but reappeared again a few seconds later as a smoky wisp. The wisp flashed in and out of existence several more times, then nothingness. Andrew checked the scanner; six-dimensions were now occupied by atoms and energy. He had created humanity's first proto-soul. 

"Alright, now let's see if this is stable... "

He began by pulling back the lever, shutting off the bypass circuits and the dimensional deflector. The proto-soul did not collapse, that was good. He then began systematically blocking the lasers. The scanner still showed all dimensions accounted for. He jumped in place; knocking over a pencil holder in the process, but the mini-tremors did nothing to faze his creation. 

"Cool... Now what... " he began.

"Nice work!" 

Maya's voice seemed to echo across the lab with the dimensional deflector switched off. Andrew jumped a little before turning around to face his supervisor. She was clearly exhausted, with the start of bags under her eyes and her hair crumbling down her head. She might as well have been dressed for bed, with a sleeveless top now complementing her sweats. Andrew wasn't a picture of class either, with a shirt so stubbornly stained it might have been its own design. The two looked at each other in slight pity, recognizing how much the crisis had weathered the other. 

"Thanks, Maya. Though really, you did the heavy lifting. It was just a matter of reconfiguring the force distributions for me."

Maya walked over to the computer. After a while, she turned towards Andrew and nodded. 

"You really did it! Look at you! The guy with the least funded project. Well done!" the words seem to tumble out of her mouth, mere sounds strung together.

"Thanks... again... I guess. But as you can probably see, it's nowhere close to finished," said Andrew, sheepishly scratching his head.

"What do you mean?" asked Maya.

"Well, take a look at the scanner. The proto-soul still occupies the same plane as us, part of it still sits in our three-dimensions. You can't see it since it's subatomic from our perspective, but it is there." 

Maya leaned closer to the screen, squinting a little.

"Sure, but this is what we've expected, right? We still need to figure out a way to bring it to life, to float the balloon."

"Yes, and for that, I have no idea. Actually, scratch that, I have a bunch of ideas, all of which are a laugh and a half." 

"Really? Such as?"

"Sending in a small current to shock it to life."

Maya exploded into laughter, probably her first one in a very long time.

"You wanna Frankenstein it?!"

"I told you they were silly."  

Maya's laughter did not last long. She too was tired and frustrated. 

"So unless there's some new science that shows up, all we've got going for us is Rinpoche's idea of a God?" she asked, breathing slowly.

"Afraid so. You and I have both worked it out. There needs to be an external agent executing the final step," replied Andrew, mimicking her breath. 

"Alright, well. Maybe you should take off for the day. You've worked hard."

"Really? It's like three in the afternoon."

"And you're not gonna come up with anything else for a while. There's no point in you hanging out here and banging your head against the wall. Go home, take a nap. I'll take a look at your data and let you know if I find anything."

Andrew was surprised at Maya's insistence. Was she so tired of her recent failures she felt the need to partake in some successes? No, the concept of ego had long been wiped from her mind, as it had been for most others. This was her being the mother hen. 

"Thanks... "

Just as Andrew was about to thank his supervisor, she began swaying dangerously as if a gale had just blown through the lab. She stumbled a few steps back and almost into the computer set-ups. Andrew managed to catch her before she fell.

"Maya! Are you alright?!" he cried into her face.

"Aw jeez, Andrew! When was the last time you brushed your teeth!" she tried to smile as she struggled to get back upright. "Get a mint or something."

"What happened!" he continued, ignoring her attempt to diffuse the situation.

"I just didn't sleep that well last night... or the nights before. It's part of the grind." 

"Well, you and I both need to rest, it seems. Come on, let's walk to the elevator." 

"I can't! I'm the Director. I need to set an example!" she protested.

"And the example should be taking care of your health," insisted Andrew. "Look, I know you're my supervisor, but I have to insist, Maya. The fate of humanity depends on your well-being."

Maya turned to look at Andrew. He did not recognize that look. It wasn't one of pity nor one of simple empathy. There was a connection, a new bridge that had just been built, and a barrier that had just been dismantled. Her mouth began quivering, and tears began welling up in her eyes. Andrew was soon staring back, unsure of what to think or do.

"So this is what it feels like?" she asked, her tears now sliding down her cheeks.

Andrew stood in stunned silence for a moment. He knew that tone, that look. He had had it, many years ago, when the wall in front of him seemed too tall to climb. Those tears were on his face. He had never seen them; never looked in the mirror when he cried, too disgraceful. It didn't matter though. Once they've rolled down his cheeks enough, he could recognize their cold glitter on another face. He replied with a new understanding.

"Yes, Maya. This is what it feels like. At least you still have your soul."

***

It had been a while since Sino ventured outside his cafe, a good three weeks at least. The city as a whole was more unpredictable, with people on opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. There were those who moped about the impending invasion, and there were those that chose to drink their livers silly. Despite the crackdown on the School of Reincarnation, Sino couldn't help but feel that the world was a little less safe. There have been shouts for him to lay down his life for the world, being a robot and all that. A dispensable tool that was made to serve the unfettered whims of the human race. Such shouters were often too intoxicated to make violent advances, but Sino couldn't help but feel that a surprise was in store.

Sino was out that day because he had made Priya a promise. Free snacks for a free diagnostic. He was sure Priya wouldn't have minded if he delayed his end of the bargain just a little, but Sino was a droid that kept promises. The Tome of Common Sense included moral teachings from various cultures across the world, and by some twist of fortune, Sino had taken them to heart, more so than the average intelligent droid. Those who knew him saw it as more than just simple programming. It was his identity; it was him as a person, or what comes close to a person. He followed his principles like a bloodhound, and at the moment it meant buying the extra flour that he needed. 

The Business District as an area is a well-lit one, but the difficulties of building underground meant there were the occasional dark and narrow alleyways. There rarely were shifty characters loitering in the area; the hyper-socialist approach of the CMC meant everyone had some semblance of a job, but there was always the oddball out for a thrill or an extra buck. Sino could not move quickly; his threads had been pulled from old garbage-collection bots. It was thus very unfortunate that his path led through one of those dark and narrow alleyways. With the artificial sun setting, his built-in flashlights were only a little more than ceremonial. His only saving grace was his giant photoreceptor eyes that allowed him to see danger from an acceptable distance. Acceptable, that is if one could run the average speed of a human. 

Sino began rolling through the alleyway, past the bins and their spills, past the vents and their smells. He had made up the mouse story on a whim, but the scuttling of tiny feet and the glimpses of long pink tails were common occurrences in these parts. Shadows moved and cycled through a thousand forms, some of them humanoid. Sino was not a superstitious robot, but the idea of ghosts still haunted his mind. Souls were one thing, but ghosts were something that humans never understood. With such a complex mind, it was inevitable that the gaps were filled in with irrationality, a paradoxical consequence of common sense. He began seeing each shadow a little larger than they should have been, a little faster than a simple trick of the light.

Sometimes though, the shadows became more than just the product of a well-crafted imagination. Sino noticed that the dark shapes on his periphery were flowing and ebbing with a little too much conviction like they were planning something. He paused in his tracks, eyes whirring around, checking every edge and protrusion. Was there a person following him? He decided to carry on moving as fast as he could.

As the lights from the city faded, the shadows blended into the background. Even Sino's eyes were of little use here and all that he had to go on was faith that the path ahead was straight. There was never a soul in these parts; it was considered too unsettling even for those seeking to disappear. Sino wished that his imagination had been tempered just a little because there were now even more gaps to fill. An innocuous rat became a Lemurian, and an escaped cat was a miniature version of the Alien Mother, the very thing that killed the old Sino. He thought about turning off his eyes, something that he could do a little easier than most humans. No light was sometimes better than a little. He was about to disconnect his visual circuits when his audio ones picked up a splash. Puddles, he realized. People sometimes urinated in these parts and the valley-like structure only served to collect the repugnant fluids. He had turned off his olfactory circuits on instinct, but he needed them now. The more senses the better when it came to danger.

The splashes did not go away. Amidst the reek and the darkness, Sino's instincts screamed at him to go faster. It was a problem if one had upper limits to performance though, for all that did was freak him out further. That meant impaired cognition, visual and auditory hallucinations, and a compromised sense of motion. The latter was the worst. Sino soon found that he had been stationary for the past thirty seconds. And in a bag.

In a bag! How did he get in a bag?! Sino tried to move his arms, but they were bound so tightly that his sockets threatened to pop. Was he upside-down? Was he lying on his side? No, he was being carried, and he was quite high up. It was a person, a big person. Sino had no idea what had happened, but he soon regretted not setting aside some tarts at the start of the rush.   

***

"Hey, Andrew."

When Andrew saw Priya's number on his Caller ID, he thought it was a mistake. He was not sure if he should pick up the call, but decided if she was indeed calling, it must have been for something urgent. When he heard her voice, the world ground to a halt. He glanced at his ceiling; same stains, same cobwebs. He knew this wasn't a dream, and that knotted his stomach.

"Priya? Is something the matter?" he asked.

"Hey, don't read too much into this. I just wanted to see if Sino was with you."

Andrew's confusion at the call lingered in his psyche, a consequence of the events of the day and his overall fatigue. He had accompanied Maya back to her office where she promptly passed out on her chair. He had shut the door and displayed the 'Do Not Disturb' sign clearly on its front. He had never done this for any of his supervisors, and he had never thought the great Maya Roberts could look so vulnerable. The sight of her slumped at her desk only served to remind him of the topsy-turvy world they were living in, and he was still steadying his balance while navigating what should have been quotidian.

"Sino?" he replied, reminding himself that he should not have known about their meeting last night, nor the fact that she was back in town. 

"Yes, I was trying to meet him at his cafe, but he's not in. I thought he might have gone to visit you."

Andrew looked around his apartment instinctively, then nearly slapped himself for doing something so silly. 

"No, he's not here. I can still take a message if he does show up though."

"Sure, thank you," she replied. "Help me tell him that I have the results of his diagnostic ready. It's mostly fine except for some issues with his physics engine. Not a big deal but it might become one if left unchecked."

"Oh! I thought you already finished the diagnostics last night?" 

This time, Andrew did slap himself. He could almost hear the confusion from Priya's end.

"Sino briefly mentioned it to me this morning at breakfast," he said, slightly proud of his quick thinking. 

"I see. Well, I only completed preliminary diagnostics last night. I just finished the deeper dive this morning. Things like the physics engine and Common Sense are the most complex aspects of any sentient AI. Scanning them takes a while."

Andrew stopped in front of his apartment window, looking outside. The complex was dark, with only a few silhouettes fluttering about. The faint artificial moon was up, a recent installment, and it was nearly full. Some of the neighborhood kids had talked about having a 'Vampires vs Werewolves' party. It was nice to be so carefree.

"Humor me a little, Priya," he said. "What's wrong with Sino's physics engine? Tickle the old physicist in me, would you?"

"I don't know about that," she said. "I'm not sure I can just tell you."

"You've already told me there's something wrong with his physics engine, and he's gonna tell me anyway even if you don't, probably the next time I stop by the cafe."

Andrew could hear Priya's breathing over the phone; the breath of thought and tact. Did he go too far?

"This is not some ploy to hear my voice for a while longer, is it?" she asked, her tone sharp with burgeoning anger.

"What? No. I know it's over, Priya. It was never gonna work out and we knew that from day one. This is honestly just me curious about the way Sino works." 

There was a long pause, then some sighing from Priya's end. Andrew knew she could hang up right there and then; it would have been a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Sino was like the child of divorced parents, the last shred of glue that meant they still saw each other on the weekends and graduation ceremonies. It was an instinct, a genuine interest of Andrew. A bit of concern, a bit of scientific intrigue. If it happened to allow him to hear Priya's voice a little longer, that was just a simple, meaningless consequence, he thought.

"Alright... " she said. "Sino's p-prims need some touching up. I found some small non-linearities that need addressing... "

"Sorry," Andrew interrupted. "What were the words you just said?"

 "P-prims? Do you not know them? I thought you did physics before."

"Hmm... this doesn't sound like something from optics or solid-state physics," said Andrew.

"I see. Well, p-prims mean phenomenological primitives. You can think of it as the intuitive method of physics, or how people with no training in physics understand the world around us. Like you don't need to know physics to know that getting closer to a fire would make you feel hotter."

"Huh! Come to think of it, I might have heard about this before," said Andrew. "A buddy of mine used to do some physics education research. He might have mentioned this to me once or twice. Didn't think it was used in modern robotics as well."

"Oh yes, it is a very pivotal part of modern robotics," said Priya. "What eventually pushed robots towards true sentience was their ability to perceive the physical world the way we do. We don't perceive the world through equations or conservation principles, we perceive it through our eyes, ears, and brain. We come up with intuitive physical rules, the p-prims. The genius of the Sun Dancer Organization was the use of these p-prims as first principle inputs for machine learning algorithms."

Hmm... either genius or sheer dumb luck, thought Andrew. 

"Ok... and what was the other thing you mentioned? What nonlinearities are you talking about?"

"Ah that. Put it this way. If he doesn't address it soon, he's going to think the fire's hotter than it actually is."

At that moment, a thought struck Andrew. He began to think of the strange and nonsensical words he had read under the guise of a thesis, the metaphysical and philosophical drivel that seemed nothing more than the rant of a madman or a publicity stunt. He thought a little harder... If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

No! No, it doesn't!

"Priya," he said, wearing new confidence and excitement. "Thank you. You might have just solved the mystery of Joshua Glenn."

"Wha... "

He hung up before she could finish. New energy was flowing through him, energy he had not felt in a very long time. It was the energy that had driven him to pursue a career in physics, the energy that allowed him to push everything aside for the mysteries of the Universe. Ideas were now flooding his mind, and at that moment, he loved all of them like he would his own children. 

Then almost immediately, he stopped himself; erected a barrier between his ideas and his ego. He didn't want to get hurt again, certainly not by his own mind. He looked at the phone and realized his own hastiness. For a long two seconds, he wanted to slam his phone to the ground, to punish himself. He knew good things don't fall from the sky, just death, fire, and misery. He calmed himself, placing a hand on his belly to check his breathing. He texted Priya to apologize for hanging up so abruptly, explaining that he had taken himself somewhere he was not yet ready for. 

He did not know of Sino's peril just yet and he was only thinking of going forward. There were now two names on his mind: Joshua Glenn, and Axel Langevin.

***

P-prims, or phenomenological primitives, is a real thing! Check out: https://emc2andallthat.wordpress.com/category/p-prims/ for more information!

Next up: Metaphysical Primitives, to be published some time in mid-November.