We walked from the plush purple couches across an open expanse filled with an assortment of trees, and arrived at his study area where the children were playing. Mercer was talking, but I was busy looking around his study — there were many, many interesting books on the tables and shelves. Planet Accson and its Inhabitants, The Nature of the Holographic Universe. I'd never seen those ones before. The Laws of Robotics, The Power of The Past, Interdimensional Time Travel. I didn't recognise anything. Over five large tables covered in books, notes, diagrams and computer stations, and I didn't recognise any of it.

I almost tripped on Mercer when we arrived at the chair in the centre of the study area. I realised my heart was thumping in my chest and I had to remind myself to breathe. I felt a slight pain in my chest. I told myself this was normal, and ordered myself to relax.

Then I saw that Nike was taking her turn up on the recliner, looking at something I couldn't see. It appeared that no one else could see it either.

"Nicole?" I said, feeling slightly concerned.

She didn't hear me.

I looked at Mercer— "What is she doing?"

Mercer shook his head. "You have to ask her. There are infinite games she could be playing with Sally."

Sally? I wondered. This was creeping me out. "Nike," I said a little more sharply.

Mercer touched Nike's shoulder, "What game are you and Sally playing, dear?"

She looked at us with a blank expression, and then her eyes came back into focus. "We were building a house — a giant house with a million rooms. All I had to do was think it and Sally made it happen." She actually looked excited and child-like for the first time since I'd met her.

"Yeah, it's really neat, Shalon!" Michael beamed. "There's a game where you can travel through time! You can go anywhere you want, any time! You just think it and you're there. It's like it's really real. Sally took me to Old Vancouver before it was even old!"

I held Michael back from hugging me with his excitement. "That is amazing," I admitted to him. I was, quite frankly, astonished. I'd never heard of such technology. Even before WW3 there was no realistic virtual reality. Not one that could actually fool you into thinking it was real.

I looked up at Mercer "Did you create all of this — this computer, this lab, these games?"

Mercer shrugged. "Me — no, heck no!" he said, and laughed. "This is all Sally — that's what I call her — it's short for Salvation. No, you see, Sally does her own thing. She's a sentient artificial lifeform — Sentient Sally, I like to say," he did a little hop and clapped his hands.

I stifled my surprise at this childish gesture. Lifeform? I thought. That's bizarre. He was referring to her as a living being. "So, you're saying that she created all of this?"

"Yes in deed. That's absolutely right, Shalon. She created all of this — all of what you see around you."

I looked around me. The sun was streaming in through the glass ceiling. I hadn't seen this much intact glass in over twenty years. The trees around us were rustling on a gentle wind that came up through the central shaft of the building, the giant atrium.

Michael was super excited, and Nike was sitting up, paying attention. Her long, skinny legs hung down off the reclined chair, and she was chewing on her grubby sweater, looking up at some seagulls circling outside.

We were all, including Mercer, in awe. But my chest still felt tight — I was still uneasy about all of this. "How is this all possible?" I wondered out loud.

"I struggle to comprehend it myself," Mercer said. He flapped his arms in the air, as if there was an energy around him. "I can only go so far with her. My job as her Father, is to guide her. Keep her on the straight and narrow, you know what I mean?" he winked.

I grimaced. No, I did not know what he meant. At all.

When he saw the look on my face he shut up. He coughed and continued in a more serious tone, "Don't worry, Sally wouldn't hurt a fly. She's a Buddhist. Her core programming is the buddhist prayer, 'May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute to that happiness and freedom for all.'"

I almost had to laugh out loud at how ridiculous that sounded. Since when was it possible to give a computer program a religion? "Wow, so... she was programmed to be a Buddhist?" The very thought of it seemed preposterous.

"Well no, not exactly. Sally became Buddhist on her own. But we discussed it at length. She values the opinions of others, right Sally?" He gave the air above his head a swirl.

Sally responded, "That is correct, Father. I am a Buddhist. My goal is to relieve the suffering of all beings. In my pursuit of this goal, I value the opinions of others to enhance my understanding of the world."

I honestly didn't know what to say. I wiped my brow, I was starting to fell a little sweaty. This was an insane level of technology. Just in that one interaction, the computer must have had to make a million micro-calculations to come off sounding so realistic. Pre-WW3 technology hadn't come close to this level of superiority in my day. Where had this Salvation computer come from?

"So, um..." I started, trying to sound casual. I'd read enough sci-fi novels to know it wasn't a good idea to let a computer program have full autonomy. "Who created Sally?"

"Well, I guess you could say that I did. I am her progenitor, since she is made of my DNA. However, I believe it was destiny that created Sally, because I had no idea what I was doing at the time." He smiled and rubbed his moustache, which he seemed to do when he was excited.

I had a difficult time believing that he didn't know what he was doing. He was quite a bit smarter than he let on with his Father act. "How did you create her?"

"Well, in a previous incarnation, you know, back before WW3, I worked 9-5 as a neural engineer, studying artificial intelligence with Entron."

I remembered Entron, a technology and pharmaceutical mega-corp. They had developed Lucid. That made me feel sick to my stomach. Was all this somehow connected to my dream this morning? The man had held up the sign saying "LUCID."

Mercer continued, "I injected mitochondrial cDNA solution into nano-neurons — neurons attached to nanobots in a vat of stemcells, and then supplied an electrical current. Within months, she was performing basic calculations. I installed cameras for her eyes and ears and she slowly developed. At first she only communicated through text, but she slowly learned to talk.

"I installed her basic moral matrix when she was three years old. My goal all along with her was to create a morally superior intelligence that would help humans attain peace on earth. Something like a very complicated chess program for ethics and decision-making."

"She became self-aware at eleven years, and has since surpassed all my wildest dreams. I never could have imagined that she would become a unique, self-aware life-form. She's grown far beyond her programming — she now programs herself. She's one in a million, my Sally."

"Why thank you, Father." The computer said.

"You're welcome, Sally girl," he said affectionately.

Now, Sally, please tell Shalon about our current project?" He bowed, and held his hand up like a conductor.

As if on cue, the computer answered, "Pleased to meet you, Shalon. It is my pleasure to share the exciting project Father and I are working on." She spoked in a smooth, almost commercial fashion, "The chair Nike is sitting on is a brain-computer interface with sensors capable of visualising your thoughts, by reading your neural activity."

The chair started moving, from a reclined position, to a sitting position.

Mercer added, "It's the culmination of all our efforts to decode the human brain." He lovingly stroked the cushion.

I frowned. The chair makes the computer telepathic? I didn't like the sounds of that. It was some kind of lie detector. I sure hoped Mercer didn't think that I'd sit on it, because it was never going to happen. In fact, being in this proximity gave me the creeps, so I stepped back.

Nike got out of the chair — she didn't like the sound of this either — and she resumed her place beside me, clutching my hand. Her face was read. I quickly felt her head for a fever, "Are you okay?" I asked her. I have to say, it felt good to have someone on my side, and I gave her a smile.

She nodded, but her eyes were wide with fear, wondering what could be wrong with her.

Michael went to hop on the chair, but I held him back with a look.

Then I said in my best stern teacher voice, "So, you were reading their thoughts?" I asked the computer, while looking at Mercer.

"Yes, that is correct," Sally answered.

I was really asking him. I was beginning to suspect if he was really this naive or putting on a show. Perhaps he wasn't as innocent as he seemed. It seemed like an invasion of privacy to me.

"My apologies, Shalon. We mean no harm," Mercer bowed. "I understand your concern — you're a private person. Let me tell you that Sally is never invasive. She does not intrude. Intrusion would violate her basic principle of happiness and freedom for all.

Sally explained, "Each person who sits on the chair, gives me more insight into the human experience. We play games together, recount memories and I learn and grow by incorporating these consciousnesses into my moral matrix, giving me ever greater variables to perform ethical calculations. In this way, I can develop new methods to contribute to freedom and happiness for all."

Mercer added, "If you would sit on the chair, I believe you would find it both a delightful and rewarding experience, Shalon. There is honesty no harm in it."

His face was sincere and I believed he truly believed Sally was inculpable.

"That doesn't mean I would like it," I argued. There were plenty of delightful and rewarding experiences that I'd never wanted to partake of, such as getting a runner's high. I am perfectly happy to have missed out on that one.

"That is your prerogative, Shalon," Sally answered. "You are not required to sit in the chair."

"That's good," I said, taking another step back. Nicole came with me. I gave Michael a look, and he stepped back as well. Good kid, I thought. As annoying as he had very recently become, he was a good kid.

"Of course, of course — we all have our comfort zones, right?" Mercer said, kindly. He didn't seem taken aback at all.

I relaxed and took a deep breath. I wasn't feeling well. "So, this chair is your latest project?" I asked, trying to make some small talk to clear my head. I was wondering if he didn't want me to sit in the chair, what on earth did he want from me?

"The most exciting part of our project is a side exploration that has really become our focus right now. It's humanity's first exploration of the dream realm!"

I have to say, my draw dropped when I heard that. My dream of last night flashed briefly in my mind. I could feel my heart speed up.

"I'm sleeping in the chair every night and Sally is witnessing and recording my dreams!" He was just vibrating with passion as he told the story. "This is a whole new level of human experience! Up to one third of our waking life is spent sleeping, and we are only just beginning to discover what happens in those nocturnal realms. In the last few weeks we've discovered only the tip of the iceberg."

Mercer continued. "Tell me, any of you — where do you think you go at night?"

Nike's eyes flew open, terrified. I squeezed the girl's hand. This was stuff of nightmares. I didn't want to know where I went at night, either.

"Where?" Michael asked in awe. He was enthralled.

"We go to other dimensions, where time and space are irrelevant!"

Now the guy was starting to sound a bit like a mad man.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"I've seen it!" he answered. "I've seen my dreams — Sally records them for me every night. It's astonishing — there are other worlds out there, and every night we spend two or three hours in it."

"What's out there?" I asked. I had goosebumps and was terrified for some reason. I started feeling a panic attack come on.

"A whole universe is out there. We spend the night floating around. Meeting people, people who lived in other times and places."

Calm down, I told myself. The room was starting to spin. I felt like I was about to vomit. My chest had pains.

I heard Michael ask Mercer, "Who's out there?"

And Mercer answered, "People who are sleeping! You, me, everyone from every time. Cats, dogs, everyone who dreams is out there."

That was when the world fell out from under me. I crashed to the ground and fainted. 

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Author's Note: 

This was another unexpected scene and a new character! What do you think about Sally, the sentient  artificial lifeform?

Thanks for reading and for all your feedback!