iFrankenstein (sequel to iDrakula) (iMonsters Book 2) Read online

  Let me know how your chatbot is coming along. You are the only one who groks what I’m trying to do here and why it’s so cool. A Virtual Victor! I think I’ll name it V.V. If my V.V’s good enough, it can talk to the Sperm Donor and I won’t have to. That’s cooler than that house cleaning robot, right?

  What did the doctors say? Any good news?

  Victor

  Text from Elizabeth Lavenza to Henry Clerval

  October 23

  12:45 PM

  Elizabeth

  Look what I see!

  Henry

  Looks like Victor, but more buff

  Elizabeth

  It's Lord Byron on his deathbed

  Henry

  There r worse ways to go

  Elizabeth

  Bruges is great! Medieval architecture, a chocolate museum, & this! Wish u were here

  Henry

  At least u have Victor

  Elizabeth

  He stayed at the windmill, typing & muttering & tearing his hair

  Henry

  U can take the boy out of the computer lab, but u can’t take the computer lab out of the boy

  Elizabeth

  Yup. Shame because it’s beautiful here

  Henry

  Pondering art in solitude is the best way

  Elizabeth

  Master of spin

  Henry

  Have to be!

  Elizabeth

  BTW, I’m starting to think that my mom & Alphonse…

  Henry

  Really?

  Elizabeth

  Don’t tell Victor. He’ll freak out. I’m freaking out a bit myself

  Henry

  Why?

  Elizabeth

  I miss Dad. I know he & Mom will never get back together. But…

  Henry

  But?

  Elizabeth

  I’m not ready to move on, let alone watch her do it. It still hurts

  Henry

  I’m sorry, E *cyberhug*

  Elizabeth

  Thanks, Henry. How r u today?

  Henry

  Lot of tests

  Elizabeth

  School or doctors?

  Henry

  Dr

  Elizabeth

  Why?

  Henry

  Stanford Hospital. They have an experimental program. Want to see if I’m a candidate

  Elizabeth

  Fingers crossed!!!

  Text from Alphonse Frankenstein to Victor Frankenstein

  October 23

  1:29 PM

  Alphonse

  Lydia said you’d gone into Bruges with Elizabeth. Next time, please tell me in advance. Where are you?

  Victor

  Alphonse

  Glad to see you are appreciating the lovely medieval sites of Bruges. Where the hell are you?

  Victor

  Internet café

  Alphonse

  I suppose it’s better than being stuck in our cabin. Kindly remember to be on the dock before the last tender leaves for the SS Walton.

  Email from Henry Clerval to Victor Frankenstein

  October 23

  1:50 PM

  Re: It’s begun!

  Dude,

  Congrats on starting the first stage. I still think that your data gathering is too random. You’re going to get garbage in your database and the chatbot will be weird forever. Mark my words and all that.

  If you’ve started it up, why not go see more of Bruges? Although you probably haven’t noticed, Elizabeth says it’s great. And I think she would love it if you joined her.

  You could also use this time to improve things with your dad instead of just calling him the Sperm Donor. It’s been more than a year since your mom died. Maybe it’s time for you two to move on together. End of lecture. Mostly.

  Doctors say they don’t know. Maybe someday is the cheeriest news they had. And you know how cheery they are. Spinal cord injury, so they tell me, is no joke.

  Not to worry you, but my chatbot just swept the Northern California regional championships.

  Henry

  October 24 - Elizabeth tours Amsterdam on her own

  Elizabeth's Browser

  October 24

  Amsterdam, Holland

  Art Museums

  Text from Elizabeth Lavenza to Henry Clerval

  October 24

  10:19 AM

  Elizabeth

  Off to Amsterdam. On my own

  Henry

  Hate to ask, but where’s Victor?

  Elizabeth

  Computer. I don’t get it. What’s the point of creating a talking head that just answers questions?

  Henry

  It’s a chatbot, not a talking head. If he wins those contests, he might get a scholarship next year

  Elizabeth

  I’m losing out to a computerized head, Henry

  Henry

  I’m sorry

  Elizabeth

  Am I really so hard to notice?

  Henry

  I notice u!

  Elizabeth

  Thank u. But why won’t Victor notice me? Or at least Europe? He’s missing out on all the cool stuff

  Henry

  A price Victor is eager to pay. How about taking ur mom?

  Elizabeth

  She’s on another “research expedition” with Alphonse

  Henry

  Eww…

  Elizabeth

  I think it’ll get grosser too

  Henry

  Buy me a tulip, try not to think about it

  Elizabeth

  What did the Stanford docs say?

  Henry

  I’m a candidate. They start tomorrow

  Elizabeth

  Gr8t news! R u nervous?

  Henry

  It won’t hurt. Haven’t felt anything in so long, pain would be good

  Elizabeth

  I’m sorry, Henry

  Henry

  Me too, E

  Text from Elizabeth Lavenza to Henry Clerval

  October 24

  9:39 PM

  Elizabeth

  Couldn’t find a tulip. Got this instead

  Henry

  Sweet!

  Elizabeth

  I saw that painting at the Van Gogh Museum, then had lunch with a cute Dutch guy

  Henry

  Picture!

  Elizabeth

  His name is Abraham. I gave him my email so we can stay in touch

  Henry

  Looks like they have plenty of hair gel in Holland. Or it that butter?

  Elizabeth

  Henry!!!

  Henry

  Sorry. We should all live vicariously through u. U r the only one with any kind of life, romantic or otherwise

  Elizabeth

  When I get home, we’ll go do some cool art museum stuff. Promise

  Henry

  Taking the cripple out for a stroll?

  Elizabeth

  Going with a friend to a museum, Henry & u damn well know it

  Henry

  Sorry for the self pity. Miss u guys

  Elizabeth

  Miss u 2

  Text from Henry Clerval to Victor Frankenstein

  October 24

  10:19 PM

  Henry

  Heard u blew off Amsterdam. What’d u do instead?

  Victor

  Programmed. Took a quick turn around deck to count the lifeboats. Did the math. There r enough

  Henry

  Reassured? Elizabeth said Amsterdam was fun. And she met some cute guy

  Victor

  So?

  Henry

  So, indeed

  Victor

  Good night, Henry

  October 25 - Victor starts the AI analysis

  Text from Elizabeth Lavenza to Lydia Lavenza

  October 25

  8:58 AM

  Elizabeth

  Breakfast?

  9:07 AM

  Lydia
>
  Lunch? Lido deck? My treat?

  Elizabeth

  Ok

  Text from Lydia Lavenza to Elizabeth Lavenza

  October 25

  11:59 AM

  Lydia

  Something came up. Feel free to eat without me

  Elizabeth

  Gee, thanks

  Lydia

  I’m sorry, honey

  Elizabeth

  So I see

  Lydia

  Maybe you can find Victor

  Text from Alphonse Frankenstein to Victor Frankenstein

  October 25

  12:03 PM

  Alphonse

  Victor, why don’t you have lunch with Elizabeth?

  Victor

  Busy

  Alphonse

  Take a break. Eat. Walk around the deck. Step away from the computer. You just might come back to the computer refreshed, and with new ideas.

  Text from Elizabeth Lavenza to Henry Clerval

  October 25

  1:21 PM

  Elizabeth

  Lunch alone. Victor stares into that damn laptop all day & night. He’s gone off the deep end

  Henry

  One giant leap for mankind, but one small step for Victor

  Elizabeth

  Any news from Stanford?

  Henry

  Tried it. It’s electro-stimulation. They make my muscles move. Creepy

  Elizabeth

  But it’s good that the muscles are moving, right?

  Henry

  I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me about ur problems

  Elizabeth

  Victor? Not only doesn’t he notice ME, I don’t think he knows that HE’S alive anymore

  Henry

  How so?

  Elizabeth

  He hasn’t eaten in 3 days. Even when I bring him food, he barely touches it

  Henry

  Maybe he sneaks out to eat when u r asleep

  Elizabeth

  We’re sleeping in the same cabin

  Henry

  WHAT?!?

  Elizabeth

  It’s not what u think

  Henry

  Enlighten me, E

  Elizabeth

  Alphonse & my mom are in the other cabin. All the time. Like bunnies

  Henry

  Ewww

  Elizabeth

  U r telling me. It sucks

  Henry

  I bet

  Elizabeth

  I’m stuck on board with all the old folks & we’re not docking anywhere today. It’s lonely

  Henry

  Isn’t there anyone fun on board?

  Elizabeth

  It’s just me, CyberBoy, & the Fossils

  Henry

  Sounds like a band. Cyberboy & the Fossils play The Warfield

  Elizabeth

  I’m worried about him. I tried talking to his dad when he came up for air, but he doesn’t seem to care

  Henry

  This is normal for Victor

  Elizabeth

  Not like this. What if he starves?

  Henry

  He’ll eat when he’s hungry enough. When do u guys come home?

  Elizabeth

  12 days till we’re back in Southampton

  Henry

  As long as he’s drinking water, he’ll be fine

  Email from Victor Frankenstein to Henry Clerval

  October 25

  4:36 PM

  Stage 2

  Not having reliable internet is killing me! I have the source code on my laptop, but I can’t hook it up to anything. My crawler is done and the database is loaded. I start the AI analysis part today, but I can’t see the results until we hit another port with internet tomorrow. This is like the punch card days. Or maybe even abacus era.

  What if it crashes and burns? I’ll have wasted the whole year. At least I never told the Sperm Donor what I’m doing, so he can’t mock me if I fail (and, no, I’m not going to “bond” with him on this trip even if he suddenly did start to care that I’m alive). The ship still hasn’t fixed their internet so it comes and goes. Plus I worry that Dad’s creaky old laptop will implode any second. I miss my desktop computer with a pain that feels visceral.

  Congrats on your chatbot winning the regionals. That will just make it all the sweeter when chatbot V.V kicks chatbot Cyber Clerval’s ass.

  Elizabeth is freaking out because I’ve missed a few meals. Nothing to worry about, I assure you.

  I’m sure she told you about her mom and the Sperm Donor. What if she ends up my stepsister?

  I’m trying not to get too attached to her, but it’s hard. She’s in my face and in my cabin and she is incredible and funny and smart. Don’t tell her I said any of that. Burn this email.

  Maybe I’m just going crazy because I haven’t slept in a few days. Between worrying about V.V and having Elizabeth a few feet away just lying there breathing all night, I can’t sleep. She smells great, have you ever noticed that?

  Here she comes.

  Email from Henry Clerval to Victor Frankenstein

  October 25

  4:45 PM

  Re: Stage 2

  Dude,

  Your confidence is all over the map. WTH is up? Just start the program. If it breaks, fix it. Develop. Debug. Repeat. Remember?

  It’s just code. Not a spinal column.

  Now, let me get the rest of your email straight. You are sharing a cabin with a hot teenage girl who might even like you and you are spending all your time working on a chatbot? Are you out of your mind?

  You can have a relationship with her no matter what happens between your dad and her mom. Stepsister does not equal real sister. Carpe diem!!!

  I am so over talking about your stupid chatbot. Let’s focus on what’s important.

  Text me. Sheesh.

  Henry

  October 26 - Virtual Victor (V.V.) is alive!

  Elizabeth's Browser

  October 26

  Oslo, Norway

  Art Museums

  Text from Elizabeth Lavenza to Henry Clerval

  October 26

  10:12 AM

  Elizabeth

  Have abandoned Victor for Vigeland. It’s breathtaking!

  Henry

  I could see how abandoning Victor would be

  Elizabeth

  Lol. Looking at this place give me hope for humanity. For art. For life

  Henry

  Whee!

  Elizabeth

  This one reminds me of Victor, except there’s no computer

  Henry

  Is he the scowly guy or the bird?

  Elizabeth

  The bird moves every so often, so he must be the guy

  Henry

  He makes the Fossils look active

  Elizabeth

  :)

  Henry

  Miss u

  Elizabeth

  Miss u 2. U’d love it here!

  Email from Victor Frankenstein to Henry Clerval

  October 26

  5:24 PM

  Stage 3

  I took your advice, or at least some of it. Thanks.

  I’ve now got everything set up. I downloaded it just a few minutes ago. I got a nasty zap from the computer at the internet café. Must have been a short. Who says programming isn’t dangerous?

  The short knocked out the power and the lights and everyone started yelling in the dark before everything came back on all at once. So I had a properly dramatic download for V.V.

  Now: V.V is LIVE!!! Pass around the virtual cigars. You can see him here.

  http://www.bekkablack.com/virtual_victor

  Isn’t he cute? I had Elizabeth draw his avatar icon.

  And he’s self-extending! I have him monitoring all my portals, etc. going forward, so he’ll be able to change when I do. I have new inputs weighted differently than old so he’ll pay more attention to the newer stuff I post than the old.

  Come talk to him and let me know how it goes.
I’ll be checking his chat transcripts when I get back into port. I’m putting out word on the various boards to get some interactions going so he can start learning. I put in some tweaks so that nobody can replicate him. I don’t want him to get stolen. But I’m hoping lots of folks want to talk to him so I can start fine tuning his responses. So far my tests have been stellar. Carnegie Mellon, here I come!

  V.V will change my life!

  Victor

  Text from Alphonse Frankenstein to Victor Frankenstein

  October 26

  5:26 PM

  Alphonse

  What are you up to?

  Victor

  Alphonse

  Do you think I brought you to Europe so you could sit in Internet cafes?

  Victor

  This trip has nothing to do with me

  Alphonse

  What does that mean?

  Victor

  I think u know the answer to that question

  Alphonse

  We’ll talk about this when you get back on the boat tonight.

  Victor

  If u can fit me in

  Robot Chat

  Recorded Chats: 0

  October 26

  5:35 PM

  AmazingFrank: Hello! Why are you here?

  V.V: Hello to you! I am here to answer your questions. Please try to make them interesting.

  AmazingFrank: Good use of the word please. Politeness is nice. Who are you?