thing I did notice, however, my veins were more noticeable, and grayish. I suspect that whatever color SmartBlood ™ was (whatever it really was), it wasn’t bloodred. I dressed myself again.
My PDA beeped at me. I picked it up. There was a message waiting.
You now have access to your BrainPal ™ computer system, it read. Would you like to activate it at this time? There were buttons on the screen for YES and NO. I picked YES.
Suddenly, a deep, rich, soothing voice out of nowhere. I nearly jumped out of my new green skin.
“Hello!” it said. “You are interfacing with your BrainPal internal computer, with the patented Assistive Adaptive Interface! Do not be alarmed! Thanks to the BrainPal integration, the voice you are now hearing is being generated directly to the hearing centers of your brain.”
Great, I thought. There’s another voice in my head now.
“After this brief introductory session, you may turn off the voice at any time. We’ll begin with some options you can choose by answering ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ At this point, your BrainPal would like you to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ when directed, so that it may learn to recognize this response. So when you are ready, please say the word ‘yes.’ You may say it at any time.”
The voice stopped. I hesitated, a little bit dazed.
“Please say ‘yes’ now,” the voice repeated.
“Yes!” I said, a little jumpy.
“Thank you for saying ‘yes.’ Now, please say ‘no.’”
“No,” I said, and for a moment wondered if the BrainPal ™ would think I was saying “no” to its request, get huffy and fry my brain in its own juices.
“Thank you for saying ‘no,’” the voice said, revealing itself to be something of a literalist. “As we progress together, you will learn in time that you will not need to verbalize these commands in order for your BrainPal to respond to them. However, in the short term, you will probably wish to verbalize while you become comfortable communicating with your BrainPal. At this time, you have the option of continuing with audio, or switching to a text interface. Would you prefer to switch now to a text interface?”
“God, yes,” I said.
We will now proceed with a text interface, a line of text read, floating directly in my line of sight. The text was perfectly contrasted against what I was staring at. I moved my head, and the text stayed dead center, the contrast changed to stay perfectly readable at all times. Wild.
It is recommended that during your initial text session, you remain seated to avoid injuring yourself, the BrainPal wrote. Please sit now. I sat.
During your initial sessions with your BrainPal ™ , you will find it easier to communicate by verbalizing. To aid the BrainPal ™ in understanding your questions, we will now teach your BrainPal ™ to understand your voice as it speaks. Please speak the following phonemes as you read them. In my field of vision, a list of phonemes unspooled. I read them right to left. The BrainPal then had me speak a number of short sentences. I did.
Thank you, the BrainPal wrote. Your BrainPal ™ will now be able to take direction from the sound of your voice. Would you like to personalize your BrainPal ™ now?
“Yes,” I said.
Many BrainPal ™ users find it useful to give their BrainPal ™ a name other than BrainPal ™ . Would you like to name your BrainPal ™ at this time?
“Yes,” I said.
Please speak the name you would like to give your BrainPal ™ .
“‘Asshole,’” I said.
You have selected “Asshole,” the BrainPal wrote, and to its credit it spelled the word correctly. Be aware that many recruits have selected this name for their BrainPal ™ . Would you like to choose a different name?
“No,” I said, and was proud that so many of my fellow recruits also felt this way about their BrainPal.
Your BrainPal ™ is now Asshole, the BrainPal wrote. You may change this name in the future if you like. Now you must choose an access
My PDA beeped at me. I picked it up. There was a message waiting.
You now have access to your BrainPal ™ computer system, it read. Would you like to activate it at this time? There were buttons on the screen for YES and NO. I picked YES.
Suddenly, a deep, rich, soothing voice out of nowhere. I nearly jumped out of my new green skin.
“Hello!” it said. “You are interfacing with your BrainPal internal computer, with the patented Assistive Adaptive Interface! Do not be alarmed! Thanks to the BrainPal integration, the voice you are now hearing is being generated directly to the hearing centers of your brain.”
Great, I thought. There’s another voice in my head now.
“After this brief introductory session, you may turn off the voice at any time. We’ll begin with some options you can choose by answering ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ At this point, your BrainPal would like you to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ when directed, so that it may learn to recognize this response. So when you are ready, please say the word ‘yes.’ You may say it at any time.”
The voice stopped. I hesitated, a little bit dazed.
“Please say ‘yes’ now,” the voice repeated.
“Yes!” I said, a little jumpy.
“Thank you for saying ‘yes.’ Now, please say ‘no.’”
“No,” I said, and for a moment wondered if the BrainPal ™ would think I was saying “no” to its request, get huffy and fry my brain in its own juices.
“Thank you for saying ‘no,’” the voice said, revealing itself to be something of a literalist. “As we progress together, you will learn in time that you will not need to verbalize these commands in order for your BrainPal to respond to them. However, in the short term, you will probably wish to verbalize while you become comfortable communicating with your BrainPal. At this time, you have the option of continuing with audio, or switching to a text interface. Would you prefer to switch now to a text interface?”
“God, yes,” I said.
We will now proceed with a text interface, a line of text read, floating directly in my line of sight. The text was perfectly contrasted against what I was staring at. I moved my head, and the text stayed dead center, the contrast changed to stay perfectly readable at all times. Wild.
It is recommended that during your initial text session, you remain seated to avoid injuring yourself, the BrainPal wrote. Please sit now. I sat.
During your initial sessions with your BrainPal ™ , you will find it easier to communicate by verbalizing. To aid the BrainPal ™ in understanding your questions, we will now teach your BrainPal ™ to understand your voice as it speaks. Please speak the following phonemes as you read them. In my field of vision, a list of phonemes unspooled. I read them right to left. The BrainPal then had me speak a number of short sentences. I did.
Thank you, the BrainPal wrote. Your BrainPal ™ will now be able to take direction from the sound of your voice. Would you like to personalize your BrainPal ™ now?
“Yes,” I said.
Many BrainPal ™ users find it useful to give their BrainPal ™ a name other than BrainPal ™ . Would you like to name your BrainPal ™ at this time?
“Yes,” I said.
Please speak the name you would like to give your BrainPal ™ .
“‘Asshole,’” I said.
You have selected “Asshole,” the BrainPal wrote, and to its credit it spelled the word correctly. Be aware that many recruits have selected this name for their BrainPal ™ . Would you like to choose a different name?
“No,” I said, and was proud that so many of my fellow recruits also felt this way about their BrainPal.
Your BrainPal ™ is now Asshole, the BrainPal wrote. You may change this name in the future if you like. Now you must choose an access
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