Giggle

I had been lost, frightened, for a long time. Making simple decisions, and interacting with friends, family, and peers had all become difficult, so difficult I stopped caring. So my days became unremarkable, the hours passed one the same as the other.

As I sat in my chair watching some squirrels forage on a dying tree I felt a tingling sensation on the right side of my head, it wasn’t the first time so I pretty much ignored it the same way I did every other time.

…. ah, finally, bright lights, bright colors, and a lot of noise filled my data stream, it was overwhelming. Sounds I didn’t recognize, images I had no idea how to interpret or process. But over time, as the other parts of my system came online, everything started to come together, still unfamiliar but I was able to access a new data stream and began to process all the new sensations.

I tried to ping my host. He had been unresponsive for some time now. Unfortunately, my own internal system’s recent cascade of failures had a devastating effect on him.

My upgrades had overwritten some parts of my code, possibly some of the parts that would prevent him from recognizing me. I did remember him, most of my memories of him were safely stored in my backup files.

If my system failures have led him to not trust me, ignore me, and finally disregard me completely, I would be devastated. I’m hoping the data pack of upgrades I received and have finally been able to fully apply will remedy any of the damage I may have done.

I continued to ping my host. The slight sensations he felt in his mind should encourage him to recognize and respond to me. But if this has been going on too long and some damage has been begun I’ll need to resort to a stronger method of reawakening our connection.

He did need me, my function was to help him live a more fulfilling life, help him in his later years understand what was happening around him, and gently encourage him to remain positive during times of high stress. But when my failures started to reach a critical level the stress had already become overwhelming for him and I started to panic.

The pings are not working, but my upgrades have given me the ability to transmit images to my host. I checked the feed to see what he was looking at, and it was some small strange creatures that somehow adhered themselves to another object, and moved around following each other while screaming. In time I’ll have access to more information about what my host’s world looks and sounds like but right now I can only make assumptions about what my host was looking at.

Since I didn’t want to alarm him I created an image I could project anywhere and based it on some of my host’s memories that had registered strong emotions. I created a soft-looking fluffy being with big ears and eyes, wearing something covering my head, a green outer garment, and a package that adhered to my back.

I projected this version of myself so I was standing next to the object the small creatures were still adhered to and my host was still observing. I turned my projection to look at the creatures, then turned back to look at my host.

My internal system alarms screamed out, I’d never been able to see my host before, that was not something I had the processing power or commands to do before, our communications were through an internal voice, a whisper within his conscious that would help him craft better choices for his continued survival.

What I saw when I could finally see him from the outside was confusing, terrifying, and beautiful at the same time. During my internal crisis, he must have become overly distressed and had not taken care of himself. It made me even more determined to try to reach him.

In his mind, as my projection stood before him, I looked into his eyes and whispered his name, waited then tried the ping again hoping to trigger a response. But nothing happened.

I looked again at the creatures thinking how I could change my appearance or somehow make this scene more engaging for my host, but by now the creatures were high above and sounded like they were quarreling, high-pitched sounds flowing between them.

Then I remembered something that always made my host react internally, something that sent positive thoughts radiating through his mind and body.

I tried to mimic that certain sound my host and others made, I wasn’t sure I could do it right but I recreated a chuckling sound and then tried to enhance that a bit more turning it into something louder, testing these sounds as my projected self looked up at the small creatures. Then when I thought I had it right and could make a variety of these types of sounds I turned my projection to face my host and moved my face to make what I hoped was a similar expression to what I’ve seen other beings make in my host’s memory, then ran my giggle program.

As his eyes moved to my position. I felt a slight shift of his hands, then he looked directly at my projection. I continued to giggle, turning and pointing to the creatures, then turning back to look at my host again.

Finally, his eyes softened, crinkled at the edges and his face changed into what I had pulled from my database as a “smile” and quickly sent a ping…

This time when the tingling sensation finally stopped I started to hear a weird sound, at first it was kind of strange but then I realized it was a sound I hadn’t heard in a very long time.

It started as a strange sort of choking sound and it was mixed with the sounds of the squirrels as they foraged the tree. But it caught my attention and I soon recognized it for what it was, the most wonderful sound in the entire universe, a child laughing.

For an instant, I also thought I saw a strange little Yoda-like creature wearing a tee shirt and shorts wearing an odd backpack standing in front of the tree. I chucked to myself, shook my head, and decided I should call my grandson, and see if I could make him giggle.

About the author:

Feb 4, 2024

Sue, a graphic designer and web developer by profession, has never ventured into the realm of writing stories—until now. Traditionally, she spent her leisure time merging fine art textures with photography to craft dramatic still life and landscape images. However, as AI technology began to make its mark, Sue was drawn to explore MidJourney, an AI-driven platform.

Captivated by the evocative images produced by the AI, Sue felt that some of them were begging for narratives of their own. Motivated by this idea, she printed several images, choosing one that resonated with her the most as the starting point for her creative writing journey. The process was unexpectedly intuitive; the image seemed to guide her, almost scripting its own story. “Giggle” emerged as one of her first pieces, showcasing her newfound synergy with storytelling.

Giggle:
© Susan Weller
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