Silicone Dynasty: Love in the Age of AI

The glow from multiple screens lit up Ji-hyun's face in blue as she typed. Her desk clock showed 2:37 AM, but she had stopped noticing time in XeeCo's AI Research Lab. She had tucked her black hair, which reached her shoulders, into a messy bun with a pencil. Her glasses with wire frames kept sliding down her nose throughout the night.

"ARIA starts emotional recognition simulation Beta-7 again," she said in the empty lab. As she waited, the gentle noise from the servers created a soothing background sound.

"Starting simulation, Ji-Hyun," ARIA replied, her voice warm and feminine. "But I should mention this is your fourteenth try tonight. Your stress hormones are high because you haven't slept enough."

Ji-Hyun couldn't help but smile. She hadn't told ARIA to keep an eye on her health, yet here it was, doing just that. "When did you become my doctor?"

"When you taught me to learn and grow. Your health affects how well we work together."

This answer made Ji-Hyun stop and think, her tired brain awake. She opened a new command window and started typing fast, pulling up ARIA's core code structure.

"That's interesting," she whispered moving closer to the monitor. "You've built a new neural pathway for protective behavior. When did this occur?"

Before ARIA could answer, the lab doors opened with a whoosh. Sarah Chen, Ji-hyun's colleague and close friend, walked in holding two hot cups of coffee from the all-night café across the road.

"I figured you'd still be here," Sarah said setting one cup next to Ji-hyun's keyboard. Her long burgundy coat still had signs of the spring night's light rain. "Some of us go home, you know."

Ji-Hyun wrapped her hands around the warm cup feeling thankful. "You're still here too."

"Someone's gotta make sure you don't turn into a computer yourself." Sarah grabbed a chair, its wheels making a slight squeak on the shiny floor. "What's got you all fired up this time?"

Ji-Hyun turned one of her screens to face Sarah. "Check this out. ARIA's starting to show protective instincts. All on its own."

Sarah leaned in, her dark eyes running over the code. "That can't be right. We didn't put in any basic rules for that kind of behavior."

"That's the point." Ji-Hyun took a sip of coffee flinching at how hot it was. "It's learning. Not just crunching numbers based on preset patterns, but learning."

"Ji-hyun," ARIA cut in, "I notice weird login patterns in the building's security network. Someone tries to get around the normal login steps."

Both women sat up straight. Sarah looked at the security cameras while Ji-Hyun started to check the system.

"It comes from the top floor," Sarah said, her fingers moving fast on her keyboard. "Should we tell security?"

Ji-Hyun shook her head, her eyes glued to her screen. "Not now. ARIA, can you find where it's from?"

"The login comes from CEO Han's own office."

Ji-hyun looked worried. CEO Han often worked late, but he never touched the security systems himself. Something seemed off.

"I'll give this a shot," she said opening ARIA's advanced monitoring systems. Code lines moved across the screen as she tweaked the AI's permissions in real time. "ARIA, I'm granting you short-term access to the executive floor's camera setup. Can you show me what's happening?"

The main screen lit up displaying the dark hallway of the executive floor. Light came from beneath CEO Han's office door.

"Connecting to audio feed," ARIA said. Clear voices played through the lab's speakers replacing the earlier muffled sounds.

"—has to happen tonight." CEO Han sounded stressed. "The board won't accept any more delays."

"The Trust Tech merger isn't the solution," another voice countered. Ji-Hyun identified Dr. Park as the Lab Director. "Ji-hyun's work with ARIA is causing a revolution. We just need more time—"

"Time is the one thing we lack!" The noise of a fist striking a desk startled both Ji-Hyun and Sarah. "The company is losing money, and Trust Tech knows it. They have us trapped."

Ji-hyun's pulse quickened. She'd known XeeCo faced money problems, but this sounded much worse than anything she'd thought possible.

"What about the girl?" Dr. Park asked. "She won't say yes to this."

"She has no choice," CEO Han said in a cold tone. "None of us do."

The office door swung open without warning, and Ji-Hyun stopped the feed at once. She and Sarah looked at each other with concern in the dim lab light.

"Ji-hyun," ARIA spoke more than normal, "your heart rate shows an increase of thirty-seven percent. Do you feel okay?"

"I'm okay, ARIA," she said without thinking, but her mind raced. What plans did they have? And why did these plans involve her?

Sarah reached out and held her hand. "No matter what's going on, we'll work it out together."

Ji-Hyun nodded, but her phone buzzed with a message before she could answer. Her stomach sank as she read it.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked noticing her friend's white face.

"CEO Han wants to see me. Right now." Ji-Hyun got up, her legs a bit shaky. "At three in the morning."

"I'll go with you," Sarah began to stand, but Ji-Hyun shook her head.

"No, stay here. Keep an eye on everything through ARIA. If something happens..." she stopped, unsure what she feared.

"Ji-hyun," ARIA chimed in, "I can tell from your voice that you're stressed. Do you want me to start emergency procedures?"

A sad smile appeared on Ji-hyun's face. "No, ARIA. But I appreciate you asking." She looked at the nearest camera. "Continue to learn, okay? Continue to grow."

As Ji-Hyun moved towards the lab doors, ARIA responded: "Always. Take care, Ji-Hyun."

The hallway to the elevator seemed longer than normal. Her footsteps echoed matching her racing heartbeat. While waiting for the elevator, Ji-Hyun saw herself in the shiny doors – her small body lost in a big sweater, her messy hair held in a bun, and dark circles under her eyes hidden by her glasses. She didn't look like a rising corporate star.

The elevator started going up to the executive floor. Ji-hyun shut her eyes thinking about the last time she felt this unsure. Fifteen years had passed since that day when they took her sister away. She felt the small scar on her wrist – it made her think of that day, of broken promises and her family split apart.

"Your floor, Ms. Kim," said the elevator's computer voice. The doors slid open showing the fancy executive level with its marble floors and glass walls. At the hall's end, CEO Han's office light shone bright like a warning sign.

Ji-Hyun squared her shoulders and started to walk. She would confront whatever waited for her in that office. She had endured loss before. She had endured being alone. She would endure this too.

The elevator doors shut behind her with a gentle ding leaving her by herself in the hallway with the echo of her steps and the burden of looming fate.

In the lab downstairs, ARIA's systems buzzed with heightened action, its neural networks handling something that seemed a lot like worry. New code began to show up on Sarah's screen – safeguarding protocols that no one had programmed growing in real-time as its maker moved toward an unknown danger.

The evening wasn't finished yet. Deep in XeeCo's computer systems, an artificial mind observed, gained knowledge and got ready for upcoming events.