-A few hours ago:

An Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short, sentimental and self-conscious, more intelligent and efficient than any human mind could be along with the ability to run thousands of simulations or calculations within moments and many more, they were nothing but a dream at the current moment. Sure, there were a few exceptions but none of them could be called a fully sentimental AI.

While a lot of people are afraid of Artificial Intelligence because of their beyond human capabilities, there are also others who believes that they are the next stage for development.

David planned to build exactly that, a sentimental artificial intelligence.

It was quite easy, just a lot of work but nothing too difficult, just what he was used to, or so he thought but…

“Damnit! It always shows an error.” Whenever he solved one problem, two more popped up for him to solve, it was an endless cycle he was going through.

‘To make matters worse, creating the algorithm and coding takes more than an hour each time.’ He had to do it all over again when it showed some error.

The problem was that he was not sure where the problem was. There were terabytes of data he had to write each time and decoding them would be nothing but a waste of time.

The thought of just giving up came to his mind. He could use this time he was wasting on something else but…

“No” He was not one to give up, especially when faced with a challenge that proved difficult. He leaned back in his chair, apparently contemplating on the problem.

“The main issue is that there is too much data…too much…data…” His last words trailed off as he went deep in thoughts. Seemed like something had clicked in his mind.

He spoke after a moment of silence. “It would be risky and I’m not sure if it would work but…its worth a damn try.”

He sat straight as he began typing, so fast that his hands were almost were a blur, thanks to his enhanced agility and reflexes. It would not have this kind of effect if it was someone ordinary because the Whatever-Radiations did not affect or enhance the intellect of a person, as per his research, but it was a completely different story when it came to him. His intellect was fast and flexible enough to keep up with his enhanced functions.

It was almost a gamble, but one he was willing to take.

***

“Sir, there is a matter I would like to discuss with you.” The voice spoke in an eloquent British accent.

“…Sure, shoot it.” He said as he grabbed another water bottle and drank it.

“I would like to be given a name.”

“Just that? you can choose one yourself, right? I mean, you are a completely independent individual. There is nothing binding you to me.”

That was the gamble he did. Not only did he not put any limitations on it or any safety measures in case the AI went rouge, he also did not specify any personality algorithms or things of sort. Surely it was not an easy feat and he had to do a lot of work but, the end product was not his creation, at least not completely. The chances of success were low but, it succeeded.

“That might be so, but I recognize you as my creator…that and I don’t see any better options around that, sir”

“Hm, creator, huh?” He hummed to himself as he wiped the sweat off his face with a towel. “Anyways, why did you choose your…” He struggled a little with his choice for words.

“Gender, sir” The AI supplied helpfully.

“Yeah, that”

“It just seemed appropriate, sir”

“Well, fair enough, I guess” He shrugged. “What do you think about Sally?”

“Is there any reason behind that, sir?”

“Nope, just felt appropriate.” He grinned at…empty air? Well, he just grinned at the AI.

“Well, fair enough, I guess, sir” The AI, now Sally, replied, tone was slightly amused, he guessed.

“Nice to have you with me Sally, at least until you find a better boss than me”

“The pleasure is mine, sir”

“Oh also, while we are at it. Drop with the ‘Sir’, I don’t quite work like that.” David replied with a wince. “Not to mention, it’s getting on my nerves.”

“Yes, if you wish so. What should I call you then?”

“Just call me David or anything you want.”

“Then David, I look forward to working with you.” Her tone was full of amusement. Seemed like she was learning fast, a good thing for David and Sally, both.

“Sally, can you try to scan for any heat signals in the area? Also try to contact military personnel or anything of the sorts” His expression now serious. “Surely, we are not the only ones left in this sh*t hole” His voice shaking, ever so slightly, near the end.

Sally noticed that, naturally, she was able to see her ‘contractor’ through the CCTVs installed in the area. Being able to read body language or noticing minute details that would go unnoticed by humans was easy for her. But she decided not to comment on that and replied.

“I have been trying for a while, but I can’t seem to get any reading.”

“So, its like that, huh.” David sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.

“I believe something is interfering with the scans, an external factor.”

“Yeah, I found that out already…thought you would be able to probe further and get an idea of what it is.” He said with an exasperated sigh.

“While I am not certain itll succeed, I have a few ideas that might help.” Sally supplied, helpfully.

With that, they got to work.