Although the park didn’t close until midnight, I always noticed that there was a decrease in patrons around dinner time. There were a few restaurants and dinner experiences they could purchase; however, there were even more places to eat outside the park on the island. From data I had stored, restaurants in the park were 15 to 45 percent more expensive. This was due to getting to meet different characters and the quality of food was finer. It seemed as if people would spend one night eating in the park, but the rest they spent outside of the park to save money and still get high-quality food.
This was the time of day I most enjoyed. People were not in a rush but were making their way to the last few things they wanted to see for the day or were heading to dinner to wait until the fireworks show and parade started. Everyone, including myself, had a part to play in the show and I would have to make sure I showed up at the designated spot at the right time, which I always did. It wasn’t exactly a program I could ignore.
I checked the map of all the AI again and found that Mamoru was still in the backstage area of the Aladdin section of the park. If he had been assigned to her today, why had she been brought over to me to work on?
The lines were still quite long at the Sleeping Beauty castle, where one got to try on different dresses that magically changed color, similar to my outfit. Then they got to witness Prince Phillip wake Sleeping Beauty and dance in the ballroom all together. It was magical to see everyone’s dresses and suits change color like light hitting a prism as they danced around. If I could pick which section I could work as a performer, it would definitely be that one.
There were also quite a few people at Pele’s performance as she moved magma around and created islands. I was glad when that stage broke I wasn’t the one who had to fix it, as some AI had lost their arms from the lava. They, of course, were fixed with new arms, but it just didn’t seem like something I wanted to have happened. We didn’t have pain receptors, but the idea of losing my arms freaked me out.
As I approached the Aladdin section, I found Badroulbadour was outside the palace greeting people. Her dark hair was back in a traditional style braid and she wore jewels in her hair and on top of her forehead. Her light blue dress with a light-colored coat on top contrasted her mysterious eyes. She appeared like a jewel on the beach.
I clutched my hand, trying to focus on why I was here, even though I wanted to check up on her. She had been malfunctioning after all—it would be only natural for me to want to investigate and make sure everything was fine.
Before I could decide that was a legitimate reason to monitor her, Badroulbadour waved at me. I waved back as she stepped over to me, her dress flowing around her legs.
“Chio, I want to thank you again for helping me with my malfunction. I am feeling a lot better.”
Her voice sounded like a song bird. I tried to not get lost in it and nodded. “It is no problem. That is my job and what I am programed to do.”
“Well, thank you anyway. It is a shame that you don’t get to do any performances that often. It would be fun to have you here.”
Before I could respond, she turned back to the patrons and began chatting. I debated on taking her back to the maintenance room and double checking her coding. Having feelings like she was expressing was not normal. Perhaps it was that hidden code I saw. Maybe I didn’t fix it completely.
Which meant I needed to talk to Mamoru.
I turned to Badroulbadour and Aladdin’s palace and entered through the AI-only entrance. As I did, I watched a couple of children try to follow me, only to be smacked with the force-field. They weren’t AI nor did they work here, so they wouldn’t be let behind the scenes. Their parents grabbed them and scolded them for even trying, as they didn’t want their passes revoked. Typically, when children tried to sneak in somewhere, they didn’t get penalized, but when adults did, they would see a warning on their pass.
Making my way through the maze of hallways that made up the attraction, I found Mamoru in the maintenance room working on one of the dancers that performed when Aladdin finds the genie’s bottle.
“Hi Mamoru,” I said as I stepped inside.
He turned to me. “Chio. What are you doing all the way out here?”
“I have a couple of questions for you, actually. First off, what is wrong with this AI?” I gestured to the disabled female android.
Mamoru shrugged as he turned to her. “I am not sure. She kept screaming. It was a miracle for me to turn her off as fast as I did. I am just going through her codes right now.”
“Do you see anything peculiar?”
Mamoru furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“When I was working on some of the androids this morning, I noticed a code that wouldn’t open up for me. It was where the error was developing from. I was able to report it, but I couldn’t analyze it.”
“Let me take a look.” He paused for a moment as his sensors read the code of the dancer. After a few moments, he frowned.
“That’s odd.”
“Did you find it?” I asked.
He nodded. “I did. And it seems to be where the malfunction is coming from, just like you said.”
“I don’t remember seeing anything like it before, do you?”
Mamoru shook his head. “No. My data doesn’t show that we have dealt with anything like this. I sent it in to the main control unit, but I never hear back from them.”
“Me neither. What do you think we should do about it?”
He turned to me. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s a strange code, isn’t it? Shouldn’t we look into it?”
“Our program is to fix AI and rides. We don’t need to investigate anything else.”
“But if it keeps happening, shouldn’t we get to the bottom of it and fix it before it becomes a huge problem?”
“If it becomes a large complication, the higher ups will give an executive order for us to investigate. There is no reason to become concerned. It’s not in our programming. Maybe I should check you for this code?”
Should he? I have felt a bit off since this morning, especially when it came to Badroulbadour. I shook my head. “No, I am fine. I am just trying to sort this out so that our patrons will have the best experience they can.”
“Well, if you change your mind, feel free to come back here.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Oh, and one more thing. Do you know why Badroulbadour was sent to me to fix instead of brought back here? I found it odd that she was delivered to me to work on today, given that you are working here today.”
“I do not know. Perhaps someone thought you would be more suitable, or perhaps they didn’t realize I was working here.”
“Right. I suppose that is it. Well, thank you for your help. It has been much appreciated.”
“You are most welcome.” He bent forward and turned the dancer on.
The dancer blinked a couple of times and glanced around. Her eyes became wide and before she could scream, Mamoru switched her back off.
“It seems this one needs a bit more work. I will catch you later at the parade, Chio.”
“Right, see you then.”
I turned and left him to work on the dancer. It was odd that he had worked on the code that I had earlier, but it didn’t seem to make the AI change. What was happening and how were we going to fix it?
And was it something that was even fixable?