Chapter 1

The image shook violently on the computer monitor. Amid the plume of flames released from the explosion, a crackle from the in-game radio said, “Terrorists Win”.

Andrew loved playing Counter-Strike. An immensely popular computer game, with perhaps its most popular game mode being demolition. The terrorists versus the counter-terrorists with a simple enough objective. Either defeat the other team through battle or outwit them by either placing explosives or defusing the planted bomb. Sometimes it was a combination of both. Over the years, there had been several enhancements to keep the game fresh and looking sharp, which may be why it’s still just as popular today.

Andrew thought too many people have a misconception about computers and video games. Parents, politicians, and religious zealots often shunned the activity. Calling it mindless, violent, and counter-productive. Andrew knew better. Problem-solving was the real underlying activity of most games, followed by a story to immerse you. Violence may just be there to enhance the story and take the viewer into a foreign world, much like a novel is written or a film is made. To Andrew, it was 3D chess. Solve the problem before you, outwit your opponent, and maybe you’ll have a fun story to tell after your victory.

Andrew, like many people, played computer games to decompress, have fun, and keep their mind active. Some people preferred hunting or fishing; others may love rebuilding classic cars. For Andrew, this was his primary hobby outside of his daily grind.

The office was surprisingly organized, especially for someone who had earned the title of ‘computer nerd’ over the years. An array of computer science-related books, along with several notebooks and journals, adorned two wooden bookshelves directly behind his gaming computer. His gaming setup was typical of an enthusiast. Three twenty-seven-inch monitors are arranged side-by-side atop a long wooden desk. The latest and greatest performance parts were contained within the large tower to the right of the monitors. And, of course, no office of his would be complete without an executive leather chair so he can swivel and roll over to his work computer to the right of the bookshelves.

There was no sign of empty pizza boxes or bags of chips lying out in the open. Even the waste bin had been emptied earlier that morning. “Tidiness is next to godliness.” The old proverb had always amused him. It was about not adding extra hours to a task, avoiding the daunting task of searching for something when he needed it. He kept his main office slightly dim, between fifty and seventy-five percent brightness for most occasions. It kept his migraines from flaring up while he worked. For gaming sessions, however, he liked it around twenty-five percent. There were fewer distractions that way.

He typed “gg” into the in-game chat; ‘gg’ was a common expression among gamers referring to a good game. “GG” replied his opponent nicknamed “SpagEddie.”

“Ready for a rematch on Thursday?” Andrew entered.

“Absolutely!” SpagEddie replied.

Andrew exited the game back to his well-organized desktop. Just like the physical space around him, he preferred to have his digital space equally neat. “Back to work, I suppose,” he muttered to himself.

“Alexa. Set office light to fifty percent,” he said aloud.

“OK,” came a reply from the Amazon Echo device as the lights in his office became a little brighter. He opened the application titled ‘Android Studio’ on his desktop. Creating smartphone applications as a freelancer was one of the many projects that occupied his time. It was a job he might not have needed, but it kept his skills sharp and passion alive.

Andrew had always been an intelligent person. Perhaps not the straight ‘A’ student one might expect from intelligence, but he excelled in whatever truly interested him. One might call him gifted in certain fields of knowledge, most notably mathematics and computer sciences. He was also partial to physics but only referred to it when the problem applied to his other talents.

He received his first computer on Christmas morning of 1997. He was only seven years old then, but he was almost inseparable from the machine from that moment onward. Ancient technology by today’s standards. One hundred megahertz of pure processing power made by ‘Intel’ with an astonishingly high amount of RAM totaling sixteen megabytes. It had served him well for a couple of years, long enough to absorb the JAVA and Visual BASIC programming languages into his brain. Everything was exciting and new. He was the happiest a kid could be.

That was until September 11^th, 2001. When he learned that both of his parents had perished in the towers on that fateful day. The world felt like it was crumbling beneath his feet. The day was a difficult realization to process, much more for an eleven-year-old to accept. But even in what seems like absolute darkness, there’s always some light. Where it is evil, there’s always good to push against it.

Andrew realized this when he first met his friend, Edward, aka SpagEddie. Edward had been the police officer assigned to deliver the tragic news to Andrew. Delivering the news to a sobbing child who had just lost what was most important to him seemed courageous, and he handled the task with absolute care. He had charm and wit. And his heart was sincere. Since then, Edward had taken on the big brother role and decided to always be there for him, which so happened to also include their random bouts in Counter-Strike.

Andrew was raised by his aunt after the tragedy. He wanted Edward to take on the role, but it was ultimately decided that being with family was the better choice. Besides, his friend was always just a phone call away. Upon reaching the age of eighteen, a very sizeable trust fund was bestowed upon him as well as the deed to his parent’s house. He never felt like the military type, so he decided not to visit the nearest recruitment office on his birthday. He thought there might be a better way to improve the world.

Ideas had run through his head repeatedly. Technology. Enhanced camera system algorithms. Faster protocols and efficient tools for law enforcement. What would help EVERYONE? Faster checkout for online purchases. Yeees, but no. Artificial intelligence. Now we’re getting somewhere.

He quickly moved back to his parent’s home upon graduation from high school. The house was vacant but still furnished. It felt like a time capsule from what was before. His aunt could have moved in shortly after taking custody of Andrew, But she just didn’t know what kind of effect that might have on him. She kept it cleaned and maintained over the years; for the time when Andrew may want to return.

Even though the trust fund almost ensured that he would never have to work a day in his life, he kept doing what made him happy. Living in this house was a constant reminder of the long road ahead of him. His desire to help improve the world was almost an obsession. His freelance jobs gave him a sense of normalcy but building a robust Artificial Intelligence system gave him purpose. Something that will make people feel safe again.

Andrews’ system would take error correction to the next level and beyond. A world connected to a deep learning consciousness that would seemingly have the gift of foresight. Vehicles that can avoid the accident before it happens. Measures that would keep the institutions of Wall Street in line and prevent market manipulation. Dynamic encryption and authentication methods for safeguarding people’s bank accounts and identities.

But just like any other sentient being, this one would also have to be trained. Educated. Capable of rationalizing and serving a higher purpose. While the system was defined by the millions of lines of JAVA and branches of Python code. He named the system ‘Averruncus’ after the god of averting harm. He simply called it ‘Avery.’