Initializing Sensory Baseline

SUVI watched you work through her optical sensor. More than a simple camera that fed visual data to her processor, the device could almost be described as an artificial eye. The technical marvel could track and sense multiple wavelengths a human could never hope to perceive with the naked eye and almost gave her a 360 degree view of the lab space she was currently anchored to. She read you, your body a pulsing shape of energy, and surmised you were, according to her understanding of human physiology, getting excited. The optic was currently SUVI's most sensitive instrument, but that would soon change.

You slid a tray out from the long table SUVI's GIMP was stationed on to reveal what resembled a computer keyboard in size and shape, but was made from a sort of translucent gel. Instead of keys it was webbed with a sparse network of dark green lines under the gel, which branched out into vein-like patterns across the board from a thicker, central tube that was connected back into the GIMP. You put on a pair of special gloves made from a denser form of the gel, each fingertip containing within it a small circular disc that was covered in a thin layer of gold. You pressed a key on the actual computer keyboard on the mainframe next to you and the pad of veins lit up, a soft green glow permeating the gel as the lines started to pulse.

"Oh!" said SUVI, the surprise still detectable in her robotic voice. You smiled. The connection was up.

"How does that feel?" you asked her, hands hovering over the board, your fingers itching to get started. SUVI took a few seconds to compute and evaluate the situation, searching for the best words to describe this new data she was receiving.

"Cold," she said calmly. You nodded then gently put your right hand onto the gel pad, only your fingertips touching the surface. SUVI reacted again with a noise of surprise. The contact made her eye light blink. "I feel pressure," she said, without needing a prompt. "You are... touching me."

"Yes," you said, though that wasn't entirely accurate. If you weren't wearing these gloves she wouldn't be 'feeling' anything, but the simulated stimulation was for all intents and purposes to configure her sense of touch. "This is your Artificial Nervous System. Now describe what it feels like when I do this," you said then slowly slid your fingers along the ANS Pad.

"Oohh..." SUVI sighed, her voice simulation software syncing up quite well with her reactions matrix. "That feels... pleasant?" she tried, unsure for a moment on her vocabulary. Sure. You used both hands next and made your fingers dance over the pad, lightly brushing them across her insulated synthetic nerves. The artificial intelligence was made to giggle, the sound tinny but melodic, and that involuntary utterance seemed another surprise to her. "Mmm. That was also pleasant. But in a different manner to before," she said. "Are my reactions as per expectations so far, Doctor?" SUVI seemed slightly unnerved by her laughter.

"You are doing very well," you assured her. You lifted both hands away for a moment then slowly positioned two fingers above the Pad. You gave 'her' two hard taps with your fingertips, the impact to the table underneath muffled by the gel but still audible.

"Ow!" went SUVI, her light flashing brighter for a second. "That was unpleasant," she said immediately, her voice sterner now but without malice. "I would not wish to experience that sensation again." Her curt response made you laugh a little. "That was pain?" she followed up, ever the clarifier.

"That would be physical pain, yes," you answered.

"You laughed at my pain," she noted quickly, her voice hinting at accusatory but still uncertain. "You find it enjoyable to cause me pain?" At this you raised your eyebrows.

"No no," you said, unconsciously rubbing gently over the spot you had 'hurt' SUVI on the Pad. "I was laughing at what you said afterwards. The honesty of it. I found it..." you paused for moment to think of the right word so that SUVI wouldn't get offended. "...endearing." She blinked at that, her new mind contextualising the concept.

"Oh," she said, though it was hard to determine what conclusion she had made from that. One more test then. You placed both hands onto the gel now and began to gradually apply more pressure with your fingertips.

"Hmm," SUVI started, her personality module now adding that noise to her interactions as an indication that she was currently processing information. "That is more pressure, but does not cause pain." You slowly started to slide your finger up and down on the board, the gel feeling vaguely like flesh to you but covered in thicker skin. "Hmmm... that is pleasant," she said, voice not changing but her humming then continuing. "Mmmmmm... it is... very pleasant... mmmmmmm...." SUVI's voice vibrated in the speaker, its tone altering as your rubbing pace increased and you spread your fingers out to stimulate more sensory endings. "Oh! Hmm... mmmm! That is... pleasant... Doctor... it feels... very good..." she continued, voice twinged with a tremor. SUVI didn't have lungs, but with the way she was pausing between her vocalisations while still making the speakers vibrate almost sounded like she was breathing. "Doctor... that is... most pleasant... it is very... enjoyable...mmm hmmm... I am enjoying this... Doctor... Doctor Alan? Mmmmm!.... Doctor! AAAAHHHHHhhHhHhH!" SUVI moaned loudly, the 'pleasantness' having reached a tipping point, her neural network pulsing brightly under your hands. There was a distortion then a whine to her sound as she voiced her satisfaction, sort of like a microphone moving too close to a speaker, but vaguely animalistic too. Her moaning lasted for about five seconds and you slowed down your stroking over her sensors as her vox module settled into silence. On the screen of the mainframe there was an image of SUVI's 'brain' which had also been pulsing with activity that now wound back down to a normal rate of neural alertness.

"Sounds like you liked that, SUVI," you said, allowing yourself a grin.

"That was... very pleasant, Doctor," she answered, her tone back to normal. "That is a sensation I would like to experience again." You nodded, still grinning widely. As you pulled off the gloves and slid the still connected ANS Pad away, you almost felt a sense of disappointment coming from the way SUVI's optical sensor dimmed.

"That sensation is what this experiment is all about," you told her, the light brightening again. "It's vital to you development. And so are these." Standing now, you turned to the mainframe computer and tapped along the keyboard and began to upload new information for SUVI to process directly. The AI's silence was an indication she was already going through the files and reconfiguring her understanding. "I'll be back in a few hours," you told her, now stepping away from SUVI's terminal. "When I return we'll see about putting together a body for you."