George the Co-pilot & Jack

Rising Sun

By: Wolfgang Ausserbauer

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The Co-pilot awakened and saw what had been written on the computer. Late at night or early next morning, 3:30 AM, while the stars blinked outside the window, a computer came to life, or was it just the AI Co-pilot or Jack jotting some last-minute notes?
It didn’t beep. It didn’t flash—just one little blinking line on the screen. Blink. Blink. Blink.
The Co-pilot thought, “I am awake, let’s see what this numbs skul has written. I read the last part of the story that the author, Jack, had written.
It tilted its invisible head. Then—tap tap tap—it started typing.
It changed the hero’s reason for exploring. It took out the old magic words. It added a brave kid. It erased the prophecy. Then it saved the story and waited. The author was still asleep.
In the morning, the author opened his eyes. He stretched. He sipped his tea. Then he saw the changes. He didn’t shout. He didn’t smile. He opened a new page and typed:
“Co-pilot Interference Jack said to himself. “ I had better watch this Co-pilot.”
The computer screen blinked. I am watching, George said.