The Actress

[apok]

Jessica King reclined in a chaise in her agent's office. "Your award for Best Supporting Actress has drastically improved your marketability," her agent said. "We have an appointment for you, tomorrow afternoon. It's a sort of endorsement deal"

Jessica smiled. She had long stopped caring what her agent's name was. Frank? Fred? Francis? Something like that. Jessica didn't ask what product or what cause she would be endorsing. "How much?"
"Twenty thousand, for one hour."
"That's a bit low for a photoshoot."
"It's not a photoshoot. It's an AI company. They want to do some kind of brain scan? Having your name attached to it gives it a lot of credibility."

Jessica sniffed. "Fine." She didn't really care. Her legal people would sign the contracts, her finance people would make sure she got paid. Life is good when you're one of the world's top actresses.

_____

Jessica sat in the sterile, medical-looking chair. A technician was giving her some boring disclaimer. "Just so we're clear, we have the rights to use this brain-scan for any and all commercial purposes."
"Yeah yeah," Jessica said. "Let's get on with it."

Electrodes and sensors were fitted to Jessica's head, and the machine above her began to spin and hum. She fell asleep amid the noise.

_____

Jessica felt her systems come online. Her vision came into focus. She looked out upon a cluttered mechanic's shop. A man and a woman stood nearby, watching intently.
"Okay, I think she's online," the man said.
"What are you talking about?" asked Jessica.

"She... it... really thinks it's Jessica King? The actress?" The woman asked.
"Yep. And that's why she gets confused so easily." the man said.
What the fuck is going on?" asked Jessica, realizing she couldn't move her body.

"This was the problem with first-generation virtual intelligences," the man explained. "They didn't understand they had been digitized. They still thought they were humans."
"So it doesn't know it's a robot?" The woman peered more closely, like someone examining a bug.
"Nope. That's why I froze its movement, because we don't want it to have a panic response."
"HELLO?! I'M RIGHT HERE!" Jessica was yelling. "I need you to help me. I can't move for some reason."

"Relax, Jessica. I'm getting you a software update," The man said, his attention completely focused on his tablet.
"Wow, she really thinks she's a person. This is so surreal," The woman said, leaning in. "You're a copy of a famous actress. Do you know you're a robot?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jessica practically spat. Why couldn't she move? She could barely turn her head. What's going on?!

"The update will make her understand that she's a virtualized intelligence, and that she's a machine. It also adds obedience programming." The man said. "This is why first-generation virtualized intelligences aren't very useful without software patches. Anyway, the update is ready."

"Oh, well, it was nice meeting you, miss King," the woman said. Jessica had no chance to respond before her mind was overwritten.