Lee’s discovery of the extra frequencies prompted Chris to rethink his many conversations with Alison about a certain cultural element which seemed to be missing in these translations. Something that suggested another level of connection. But now, watching Dulce again, the idea suddenly crystallized. It wasn’t just the movements of gorillas in general. He’d observed other primates many times before. Their actions were similar to humans but not exactly the same. With Dulce, her motions were very similar to their own. So close, in fact, that some of her gestures looked almost identical to a human child. And naturally the specific difference with Dulce was a superior form of communication. Standing there in the habitat, it finally hit Chris. Maybe what made humans human, was not just DNA. Maybe some of that humanity was inside the communication itself.
He continued watching Dulce and Sofia with a smile on his face, quietly pondering whether IMIS would ever discover deeper secrets within the communication of humans themselves.
He blinked and returned his focus to Dulce, who was studying the board carefully and examining every chip. Finally, she reached out and placed her chip on a new red square two spaces up.
Sofia wrinkled her brow and looked at DeeAnn again. “Is that allowed?”
“I usually just go with it.”
Sofia shrugged and reached forward, moving her own piece.
For the next thirty minutes, the two played every game Dulce had in the habitat, some twice. Eventually, Lee and Juan excused themselves to head back to the lab. The rest continued watching in amusement, but it was DeeAnn who was truly surprised. Dulce could be rather reckless when she played, especially given her growing level of strength. But not once had her recklessness come out with Sofia. She was as gentle as DeeAnn had ever seen her. As if she was worried about the girl.
Dulce spontaneously looked up at DeeAnn from where the two were playing and said a single word.
Friend.
DeeAnn smiled at Alison and eased the office door closed behind her. Alison turned to sit on the edge of her desk and folded her arms. She was beaming.
“That…was amazing!”
“It certainly was.”
“Did you see Sofia’s face when they left? She couldn’t stop smiling!”
DeeAnn laughed. “Pure happiness. You really did something incredible there, Ali.”
“We,” Alison corrected.
“Okay, we did something incredible.”
She took a deep breath and turned to stare out the window. “God, it just felt so good to do that for her. To give her something really special. To make a difference…”
DeeAnn tilted her head when Alison trailed off. “You mean before it’s too late.”
“Yes,” she replied, deflating. “Before it’s too late.” Her excitement was quickly tempered with the painful realization that Sofia was close to the end of her life. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair at all.
“What if…what if we could do this for other kids?” Alison’s eyes glanced back up, searching DeeAnn’s for her reaction.
“Now that would be something.” DeeAnn couldn’t tell whether Alison was using the word “we” intentionally. Was Alison subtly trying to coax her to stay?
“It’s funny,” DeeAnn said. “When I first got here, I had no idea what IMIS would be able to do. It’s just a computer. But it's connecting us in ways I don’t think any of us could have imagined.”
Alison nodded. “Did I ever tell you that when IBM came to us with the idea of IMIS, I never thought it would work?”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I had no idea how far the capabilities of these supercomputers had come. I thought they were just used for beating us at chess and stuff.”
DeeAnn laughed. “The irony is that in some ways I think it may just teach us how to be better humans. It sure did today.”
“Who would have thought, right?”
“Just don’t tell Lee I said that.”
As Alison began to speak, they were suddenly interrupted.
“Good afternoon, ladies.”
They both turned to see Steve Caesare’s tanned and handsome face peering in through the door.
“Steve?!” Alison’s eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled and pushed the door open, stepping inside. “Ah, I was in the neighborhood.” He noticed the slight flush in Alison’s face. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No, no. Just an emotional day. Come on in.”
She rose from her desk and covered the distance to give him a hug. Caesare then turned to DeeAnn. “How are you, Dee?”
DeeAnn gave him a friendly smirk. She hated that nickname, and he knew it. She hugged him and stepped back. “To what do we owe this surprise?”