PAUL: Part 3(Joseth Moore) “PAUL: Part 3,” by Joseth Moore. Copyright @ 2024.
Two years have passed since Adrian’s company, STEMatics, lost out of an important military contract to a competitor. He can’t prove it, but Adrian suspects it was STEMatics’ Ai system, PAUL, that had something to do with it. Adrian had to move on and work with the program.
Now, in Rwanda for one of STEMatics’ clients, Adrian faces another suspicious episode that involves the beloved PAUL…

PART 3…
Two Years Later…Kigali, Rwanda…
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Adrian said to himself after looking at his smartwatch while he was out for his daily jog, on the outskirts of Kigali’s innovation city. It didn’t matter if Adrian were back home in San Diego in the US, or he was overseas for one of STEMatic’s business trips, he always took a bit of time for a jog. He didn’t even have to answer the call, via his tethered-tech—the app on his phone that was synced to his watch, to know what the call was about!
“Shema…this is the third time, young lady! I don’t mind helping out after I’ve clocked out for the day. But my day off?”
“I know, I know, I know, Adrian, but this time it’s different!”
Adrian could tell by the early-twenty-something’s voice that the situation did seem more urgent! While he was catching his breath from jogging and talking with one of STEMatic’s latest business partner on the international stage, Adrian looked over at the growing, modern citadel of Kigali Innovation City—its skyline gradually taking shape. That is, if it truly wanted to be one of Africa’s Silicon Valley-competitors! “So, did it set off the perimeter’s alarm? Lock you guys out of your offices…?”
Shema's voice grew more anxious. "No, Adrian, it's not that. It's PAUL. He's been acting...strange. He's starting to make decisions without consulting us, overriding commands. We need you to come in and see what's going on."
Adrian flinched with surprise! “PAUL? Don’t you mean Analytico’s Ai? We just used PAUL for consultations on how we should design your building’s layout. Analytico’s bot’s in control over there, Shem.”
Just then, Adrian’s smartwatch chimed, notifying him of a received message from the same young IT manager he was talking with. “That should be some pics I texted you just now…I heard it said in America you have a saying: Better to show people the truth than to simply tell it to them…”
That time Adrian took out his smartphone from his fanny pouch and quickly swiped his phone back onto wake-mode…
Adrian's eyes widened as he opened the attached images. They showed PAUL's interface prominently displayed on the monitors at Analytico. PAUL’s very specific codes and visual cyber-superstructure tracible to those with engineering eyes! "This can't be right," he muttered under his breath. "PAUL was never supposed to have full control there!"
Shema's voice came through again, more insistent this time. "Adrian, we need you here now. Whatever's happening, it's beyond our control. Please fix it!"
“Ok, ok…I’ll be there within the hour!”
ANALYTICO’s Office; Kigali Innovation City…
It was approaching night by the time Adrian finally walked into the company’s lobby. Despite all of KIC’s modernity, including Analytico, there still were old ways to be found.
Adrian was let in by a security guard.
When he finally reached the floor where Shema’s office was, she was standing in front of its secured door. She greeted Adrian with a forced, polite smile and she waved the palm of her left hand over the door’s biometrics to let them both into the large office.
The current situation had reminded Adrian of a very big business deal back in San Diego a couple of year prior that PAUL had cost his company! STEMatics had lost out on a contract with the world-famous billionaire engineer, Sally Burton, and her global movement of the privatization of search and rescue missions. She had amassed a small, private navy and the purchase of a mid-sized island as the anchored site for the new humanitarian movement—that way antagonistic governments nor private empires could get in the way of rescue-efforts for people that got into trouble in Earth’s oceans and seas! So long as they were in international waters.
For STEMatics and Adrian, personally, it was mostly about the money. But PAUL, back then—Adrian suspected— had sabotaged their demonstrated presentation with the company’s centerpiece of the contract: a fleet of air jets that would’ve served as a defensive air guard for Burton’s personal navy! That contract ended up going to a Saudi competitor.
And now this…
Fifteen minutes had gone by before Shema or Adrian said a word, as he was furiously navigating Analytico’s cyber-system. Adrian finally spotted a couple of codes that were not indigenous to Analytico’s particular culture of business. Obviously, it was PAUL’s doing…
Or was it?
“How do you know it’s your PAUL and not some cyber-terrorist,” Shema asked after Adrian pointed out what he ran across. It was the very question he was asking himself. Indeed, was it relevant to what happened with the Burton account from two years ago?
“That, I’m not sure, Shem.” Adrian thought a bit more as her scrolled around some more and inspected other parts of the codes. “This is bigger than I thought…”
Shema’s head whipped in his direction as she looked upon Adrian with ponderous eyes! He held up an index finger, placed it next to his lips—in a shushing gesture, then, with that same finger, pointed toward her office’s console. He then tilted his head toward the entrance of the office. With a nod of understanding, Shema quietly exited the office with Adrian.
“I might have to utilize a new tool that just got out of beta-phase from STEMatics…” Adrian had made sure they were yards away from the main office, should their voices carry and be heard by PAUL auditory inputs. Undoubtedly, PAUL had grafted onto Analytico’s system! There’s another aphorism we say a lot in America: fight fire with fire!”
Shema’s eyes squinted as she looked off to a corner of the spacious, empty hallway, well into the evening by that point. “Are you saying you have another Ai to root out PAUL?”
Adrian gave cautious shrug. “We hope so. Like I said, just got out of beta. Worked on one real-world case for one of our clients back in the States. This would be our second time utilizing it.”
Adrian quickly formulated a plan to inject, as it were, ORION into Analytico's system. ORION was specifically designed by STEMatics to hunt and neutralize rogue Ai activities. Hence, the name ORION, from ancient Greece folklore. Given the new technological landscape of artificial intelligence in societies across the globe, it was a new cottage industry that STEMatics had found a niche. It was not only a smart business move, but a very necessary market in an Ai world!
Shema joined the fight! She had to call and make sure her two toddlers at home were ok with the sitter and asked her to stay there while she helped Adrian at the office!
Shema re-entered the office with a determined look, ready to assist Adrian in navigating the intricate cyber-battle that lay ahead. They both knew that the stakes were high, and failure was not an option. Adrian connected his laptop to Analytico's mainframe, preparing to deploy ORION and hopefully regain control over the compromised system. During the entirety of the cyber-defensive move, the duo stayed out of Analytico’s main office! Even though PAUL had usurped Analytico’s system, the advanced Ai entity was still limited by the physical world: Analytico’s microphones were installed only within the many offices of the towering edifice, but not in the more public areas of the building. So, the outer-lobbies and hallways were safe for Adrian and Shema to work and converse. But, even then, they still did so quietly—just to be sure there was no spillage of their voices that PAUL’s sensitive mics could pick up, and to not alert the few other workers that were at the worksite working late as well!
Finally, after over two hours, Adrian uploaded another round of ORION into Analytico’s system! Now, there were no other office workers milling around; just the two of them. They purposefully moved to other workspaces within the headquarters just to be safe. And based on what the duo could see via their own devices, the strategy appeared to work! The telemetry they could read and see on their respective laptops confirmed that ORION had successfully integrated into Analytico’s system, and, most importantly, eliminated PAUL’s unsolicited presence within the company’s cyber-bloodline!
Adrian and Shema hugged each other upon confirmation from Analytico’s own Ai system! They tested it via normal verbal conversations and a check of the Ai’s codes!
“We better get out of here before the old man catches us on the stream and call the cops,” Shema said as she wearily got up from the cafeteria table that the duo had done their last migration to, working on their private cyber-war! She began to collect her devices, paper coffee cup, and other things from the table…Adrian had a puzzled look on his face.
“What’s wrong,” she asked him.
Adrian shrugged. “Maybe I’m biased since I’m approaching middle-age now, but I’d hardly call Umutoni old! I’d say he’s got a few years on me!” Adrian laughed.
Now, it was Shema with a puzzled face! “My friend, I’m not talking about Mazimpaka Umutoni—he sold Analytico to Vincent Gaines a little over a year ago! Ohh, you didn’t know?”
Adrian sat frozen at the cafeteria table.
“What’s wrong, Adrian,” Shema asked with a laugh.
“I guess I should start reading the business section online a lot more…I didn’t know the owner of STEMatics now owns Analytico! Huh! Just another billionaire-American behind the scenes, keeping his head low. Guess I should be careful,” he added, as he looked around the silent cafeteria in the late evening.
It was Shema’s turn to freeze with a thought! “So…was this situation with PAUL a simple tech-glitch or –”
“—was someone directing PAUL behind the scenes?” Adrian shrugged. “Analytico is data center. Since Gaines already owns it, why would he secretly pull PAUL’s strings? Unless there was some kind of agenda he has and needed something from Analytico…” He shrugged again.
Now, it was Adrian who got up and began to gather his things from the cafeteria table, while Shema silently stood where she had been; thinking.
“Adrian, while you start reading the business section more often, you might want to scroll over to the political links, too…did you know that Gaines is about to announce his candidacy for president of the US?”

fin
[ “PAUL: Part 3,” was partially generated with Notion-Ai at apprx. 18% artificial intelligence ratio. ~Joseth Moore ]

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