The Unstoppable Wasp

Nadia had to admit that she could certainly use some help.

“The more you include me in your life,” VERA said, “the more I can take off your plate. I can leave you free to travel more, say yes more, and never miss a birthday or anniversary again. That’s what the VERA project is all about: Doing less; experiencing more.”

Doing less; experiencing more. It sounded like an impossible dream.

NADIA’S NEAT SCIENCE FACTS!!!

Artificial or machine intelligence is the computer science version of a human brain. Except human brains are mostly small and stupid and computer brains are so gigantic that our tiny, pathetic human brains can’t even comprehend the speed and capacity of computer brains. You are probably familiar with interfacing with a lot of artificial intelligence in ways that we no longer find exciting, like playing chess against a computer, stabbing enemies in video games, or telling your phone that you really need to know how late your favorite Ethiopian place is open for delivery and having her both understand your words and respond to your question with a relevant result. (Which maybe only happens sometimes and other times she might tell you to turn left on Fifth, or something else completely nonsensical, but AI is not perfect.)

VERA appears to be an example of what computer scientists would call humanized AI or human-level artificial general intelligence (AGI). This means it displays cognitive intelligence (using past experiences to inform decision-making), emotional intelligence (self-explanatory), and social intelligence (self-awareness and self-consciousness). Essentially, it could learn anything a human being could learn. The most famous test for AIs is the Turing Test,* wherein in order to pass, a machine must answer questions in a manner that is indistinguishable from the way a human would answer those same questions. But there are many things to consider when determining if a machine truly displays AGI: autonomous learning, reasoning, planning, sensing, imagining…

Until now, only a few select Avengers had cracked that code. Apparently now, though…there was VERA.

“So,” VERA said, smiling. “Do you want to get started?”

Nadia did. She really did. But there was something stuck in the gears of her mind, keeping it from turning further—something she absolutely needed to know more about before she could move on. Nadia had moments like that, sometimes, especially when she was in the lab. She would fixate on a concept, an idea, an impossibility, and she would chase it and chase it until she crested the hill or ran into a brick wall. Her medication helped with this urge; it rarely got destructive anymore, as long as she was careful. But Nadia was still Nadia, at the end of the day, and she still loved to follow those hot points in her mind. They didn’t always lead somewhere successful, but they always taught her something.

“Almost,” Nadia answered. “But first—can you tell me more about your founder?”

* But also, for the record, IQ tests are ridiculous.

* Did you know in America they tried to pretend that Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were cousins? Absolutely ridiculous. Even in the Red Room, they knew better.

* Developed by Alan Turing, a mathematician and computer scientist whose work was foundational in theoretical computer science. He also shaped our thinking on algorithms and artificial intelligence, way back in the 1940s. Turing was a code breaker during World War II, instrumental in the work at Bletchley Park. He was also a gay man, and his unfair prosecution for his sexuality (and his treatment thereafter) remains a shameful mark on the UK’s history. He was posthumously pardoned in 2013.

“Taaina!” Nadia ran out of her room and into the lab. “Tai!”

“What, what?” Tai came rolling out from her corner of the lab. “I’m in the middle of—”

Nadia ran up to Tai and threw her arms around her friend’s shoulders, leaning down to engulf her in a hug.

“Okay, we’re hugging now,” Tai squeezed out. “This is happening.” Taina was always snarkiest when she was happy (or, at least, that’s what Nadia told herself). But Nadia had no time for deciphering Tai’s sarcasm right now.

“Is everything okay…?” Tai squeaked out, still being squeezed to within an inch of her life. “You’re in your Wasp suit. Are you okay?”

Nadia jumped backward, freeing Taina from the tyranny of her hug, and clasped her hands together.

“Oh, I’m good,” Nadia reassured her. “Meds: taken. Therapy: had. Behavior: self-monitoring.” She reconsidered for a moment. She was feeling good. Really good! Not manic good. Just…good. Actually good. “I think I’m just…really excited. I have a plan!”

“Okay…” said Tai, her eyes narrowing. Nadia could hear the concern in her voice. That was fair; in the past, Nadia’s plans had ranged from “let’s have a sleepover” to “let’s have a sleepover and then seven more sleepovers in a row while we work through the best way to get Shay’s teleporter to stop eating people’s socks when they use it.” Nadia could understand why Tai would be hesitant. But she had nothing to worry about—not this time.

“Follow me.” Nadia waved her friend toward the lab’s exit, bounding as fast as Tai could roll.

“What kind of plan?” Tai asked, pushing herself out of the lab doors. Nadia saw Tai still trying to hide her concern as they grabbed an elevator down to Pym Labs’ ground floor. The Pym Labs lobby was one of Nadia’s favorite places—important people bustling, talking and clipboard-carrying, doing what Nadia could only assume was important, life-changing, earth-shattering science. She felt alive with the buzz of its activity every single time she passed through it. Above all, though, she loved seeing the G.I.R.L. logo on the directory board.

“A plan for…” Nadia trailed off as they approached the sliding glass doors onto the street. They opened automatically. Nadia didn’t waste a second before she leapt through them, jeté-style. “This!”

It was absolutely pouring rain outside. It was coming down so hard it seemed like the rain was trying to exact vengeance on the citizens of Cresskill, New Jersey. The wind, whipping through the trees around Pym Labs, made it seem like it was almost raining sideways. It was cold, and blustery, and violent.

And it was perfect. Nadia activated her suit’s nanotech, her helmet forming around her face instantly. She threw her arms out wide and turned her face up to the storm, letting the rain hit her face. She laughed as her visor almost instantly needed the equivalent of a windshield wiper.

“It’s raining!” she shouted to Taina, who was still safely inside the building.

“Yeah!” Taina yelled back, as if to a very small child. “I can see that!”

“Come on!” Nadia beckoned to her friend, shielding her eyes from the rain with her other hand.

“I’m good, actually,” Taina shouted back, shaking her head vehemently. “More of a land creature.” Nadia saw her reach for her wheels to back up.