Free A Learning Experience 2: Hard Lessons by Christopher G. Nuttall

understand.”
     
    “Most people get a little nervous at this point,” the doctor said.  He passed Martin the packet and motioned for him to inspect it.  “The package should be sealed.  Please check.”
     
    “It’s sealed,” Martin said.  “Why ...?”
     
    “Remove your clothes, then lie down on the bed,” the doctor ordered, taking back the packet and opening the box with practiced ease.  “People have a tendency to thrash around when implanted, Mr. Douglas, so I will be putting you in a restraint field.  You will be unable to move until the field is deactivated.  I advise you not to panic, as panic will only delay matters.  Do you understand?”
     
    Martin swallowed.  “Yes, sir,” he said.  He started to remove his shirt as he spoke.  “Does it hurt?”
     
    “It shouldn't,” the doctor assured him.  “But some people have reported odd and uncomfortable sensations as the implants are inserted into the brain.  They’re purely psychosomatic, but they happen.”
     
    “Oh,” Martin said.  “How do I cope with them?”
     
    “You endure,” the doctor said.  “Do you understand what I mean?  Or do you want to back out?”
     
    “I can't,” Martin said.  “I mean ... I can't go any further without the implants, can I?”
     
    “No,” the doctor said.  “Not in the military, at least.
     
    Martin swallowed, then finished undressing.  “I’ll take the implants, please.”
     
    “Good,” the doctor said.  He took ... something out of the packet as Martin watched, then waited for the younger man to lie down.  “Close your eyes and try to relax.”
     
    Martin closed his eyes.  A moment later, he felt his skin tingle ... and when he tried to move, his body refused to obey.  Panic bubbled at the back of his mind, no matter how hard he tried to calm himself.  But it was no good fighting.  The field held him gently, but firmly.  He couldn't move a single voluntary muscle.  A moment later, he felt a sharp jab of pain at the side of his head, just behind his right ear.  He wanted to jerk his head away, but he couldn't move at all.  And then there was a weird sensation spreading through his mind ...
     
    The panic grew stronger.  All of the movies had shown men and women – mainly women – controlled through their implants.  They’d been puppets, forced to do as their masters commanded, utterly unable to resist.  It had seemed funny at the time, particularly High School Jinx , when the hero had managed to hack into implants and make his fellow teenagers do funny or embarrassing acts, but somehow it was no longer so amusing.  He wanted to struggle, to fight, to run ... but he couldn't even open his eyes.  It was impossible to escape the sensation of being prisoner inside his own mind.
     
    “Good morning,” a voice said.
     
    Martin would have gaped, if his mouth had been movable.  “Good morning,” he said, in reply.  “I ...”
     
    This time, he thought he did blink.  “How am I talking?”
     
    “Strictly speaking, you’re not,” the voice said.  It was calm and intensely focused.  Martin couldn't help finding it reassuring.  “You’re accessing the standard vocal communications channel.  Your mind is interpreting this as verbal communication, but you’re actually sending your thoughts to me.”
     
    Martin shivered.  “And who – or what – are you?”
     
    “Interesting question,” the voice said.  “We have debated the issue endlessly for thirty years, Mr. Douglas.  More processing power than you could hope to imagine has been devoted to the question of precisely what we are.  And yet we have no answer.
     
    “But for your purposes,” it added after a moment, “you can call me SMOKEY.  I am an Artificial Intelligence.”
     
    “You're in my mind?”  Martin asked.  “Why?”
     
    “Right now, I am calibrating your implants,” SMOKEY said.  “Later, you will find me serving as one of your Drill Instructors, providing you