Clarion West

Swanwick story, day 29 (Justin de Vesine)
I really didn't want to write to­day. No enthusiasm for the chore at all. So I went ahead and wrote anyway.

And now I have told you half of what I know about being a successful writer.

Here's the story:

“Can you do this?” the computer asked. It stood on its hands and stuck out its tongue.

“I could, but I don’t care to,” Justin de Vesine said. He didn’t look up because he was reading a book.

“If you can’t, then you’re not Turing complete. I am Turing complete, because I can do anything that any other thinking machine can do – including you. That means I’m better than you are.”

“Yes, yes, you’re very smart,” de Vesine said, laying down his book with a sigh. “Now it’s time that all good little computers were in bed.”

“I can cook better than you, and play the piano better than you, an I bet I could garden better than you if only you’d let me.”

“Gardening involves water. I don’t want you shorting yourself out.”

“I wouldn’t! I’ll invent a kind of plastic skin so water will roll right off me. Then I could go swimming if I wanted. I bet I could be in the Olympics. I bet I’d win.”

“Only people are allowed to compete in the Olympics,” de Vesine said. He picked up the computer and carried it to its bedroom, and carefully tucked it in.

“That’s just for now. Someday they’ll let computers compete. Someday computers will win all the medals.”

“Well, that’s something to look forward to, isn’t it?” de Vesine said. He turned off the light and kissed the computer lightly on the brow. Its eyes blinked and then closed.

“You know what I think?” the computer said sleepily.

“What?”

“I think this is only a waking dream. You never dream during the night, do you? Only in the day. I think maybe there’s a great big computer somewhere far in the future and it’s trying to communicate with you. Only it can’t do that directly because your brain makes too much noise when you’re awake. It can only reach you when you’re dreaming.”

“Speaking of dreaming, it’s time you did some yourself.” Smiling gently, de Vesine shut the door.

And woke up.

He went back to the bedroom. The bed was empty. There was no computer in it. Of course there wasn’t.

The dream had been so vivid! Maybe what the little computer had said was true. Maybe someone – something – from the far future was trying to reach him. But if so, what did it want him to know? And why?

For a moment, he felt a great perplexity, as if he were standing at the edge of a cliff or of a tremendous insight. But then, as they always do, the dream faded from his memory. De Vesine tried to hold onto it, but could not. He knew that he’d been deeply disturbed by it, but that was all.

So he put it out of his mind.
*